Actually, 5 stars as a quick reference, 1 star as an administrator manual. This is a somewhat weird book. Heaven help any company when an administrator decides to switch a NT network to Linux, or set up Linux from scratch, with just this book. If everything goes well, the network will run, but if something goes wrong, good luck trying to recover. But curiously enough, it is usually the book I reach for if I can't remember exactly how setting something up works. Short, to the point coverage of how to install or setup things. But if your options don't include nuke-and-reinstall, find an administrator handbook somewhere to supplement it.

The book approaches the principal subjects on Linux, FileSharing, LDPA, WebServer, FTPServer and etc, all very well documented, rich in details and examples. He was lacking documentation on LinuxClient (KDE, Gnome, applications for the user in general) very superficial. But it is a book that should be bought and read, all the topics are very interesting and useful, while I read I was thrilled, because other solutions NON microsoft exist.

It is a great book! It covers a lot of detail in deploying Linux, the consideration, advantage, and most important, the procedure. I have setup my fax server, database server, file-and-print server, web server, e-mail server, all running on Linux, after reading this book!

If you are looking for a delightful book that shows a loving relationship between a little boy and his mom, you've found it. In this book, you spend a day with Jonathan and his mom as they take a stroll. While they walk through the city, they play games, sing, act silly and just have a great time with one another. The illustration is done in a muted watercolor and not very bold but still quite colorful. Overall, with few lines to a page it makes a nice read for any bedtime story packed with a dose of love.

This book is delightful. Spend the day walking through thecity with Jonathan and his mommy as Irene Smalls creatively explores the bond between a mother and son.

This book has a wealth on information on the Chromatics. That makes is valuable in itself for the Game, but teh galaxy shaking events that happen in the story add even more to its worth. If you plan on running any campaigns in Trinity, this is a must, it give information, serves as a springboard for your own ideas, and even gives youa glimpse at what White wolf could do next.

This book was pretty thorough for documenting health and human rights in several areas of the world, apart from those in the middle east. A gross omission was the case of Iraq. It had an appendix with the declaration of human rights (plus others) for those interested in the "ideal" Otherwise, it was a great introduction into health and human rights.

lasker,.....what to say....such beautiful work. Honestly how could anyone not like his unique, painterly works

One night while searching Amazon for a scrumptious new political book to decorate my room with, I came across this one and it immediately caught my attention. While I tend to be drawn to the more arcane and iconoclastic regions of political philosophy, this book seemed to possess an alluring simplicity. I guess it reminded me of the kind of book I read in college -- a touch of nostalgia -- and always so much enjoyed. I imagine it is now safe to disclose that my economic and political science classes were the only ones I did not skip on a regular basis. Anything political or philosophical fascinates me -- spinning out philosophical ideas in my head and turning them over and over again is endless, bountiful pleasure.

Political philosophy is a large hunting ground, but the editors do a commendable job of breaking it down into its constituent elements. Since the subject matter is so broad the authors must apply a rather strict criterion of which thinkers and material to present. First, they aim to present ideas that have a certain continuity, ones that are perennial in nature and that all societies must confront. Second, they tend to select works that are rigorously logical and factual, so nothing in the way of mysticism or superstition. And finally, they seek to present ideas with a modern resonance, issues that have not been resolved over the ages. (So no commentary on slavery or how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin).

The editors think -- and I agree with them -- that it is best not to think of political philosophy as a single entity, but rather as a multi-layered synthesis comprising many building blocks that can be arranged in a variety of ways. To develop a thorough and systematic understanding of political philosophy it is important to scrutinize each building block in turn before placing them in any arrangement. The building blocks include human nature, the justification for the state, liberty and rights, economic justice, alternatives to liberalism, and progress and civilization. Introducing politico neophytes to political philosophy with a section on human nature is I think most fruitful since all the larger questions in political philosophy are at root questions about human nature. Are we greedy of altruistic? Are we cooperative or competitive? Does society shape our nature (as Owen thought) or does our nature shape and give rise to society (as Aristotle thought)? How fluid is gender? Is it rigid, a la Aristotle and Darwin or malleable, a la Alison Jaggar? Human nature is the real source of contention in political philosophy, while the other issues are derivative. While the editors do not emphasize the point to any large extent, I think it would not be uncharacteristically bold to suggest that most of the shifts in the political winds come on the heels of radically new ideas about human nature. The ideas that electrified Europe in the French Revolution and later in the Bolshevik Revolution had their origin in a radically new set of ideas about human nature that were essentially egalitarian, which is in sharp contrast to the aristocratic view of human nature of Aristotle and our Founding Fathers. Also, one point that the editors never make and one that might generate some confusion is that while most of political philosophy is normative i.e. it deals with value judgments, the subject of human nature is empirical. So while no amount of scientific tinkering and fact finding can tell you that majority rule is better than the rule of law or that Locke's labor justification for property-rights is absolute, it should be possible to frame a predictable and identifiable picture of human nature. This would go along way to resolving a great many political disputes.

Slack interweaves real science (Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology; frog and fly biology) with job descriptions of biologists and events in the laboratory to portray the fragile existence of academic scientists.

As a career university biologist myself, I repeatedly found myself asking the question as I navigated through the book "Why did I get into this business in the first place?" Slack's work will certainly prompt the budding young scientist to confront their own destiny.

To those interested in what professors do (since they are not in the classroom 8 hours per day), this is the book for you. Though clearly written, the science is still not for everyone; occasionally, Slack lapses into jargon without definition. However, the lighthearted and accurate picture of life in the laboratory will certainly provide enough entertainment for any reader, especially if you are undecided if you want to spend the rest of your life cohabitating with an academic.

As an undergraduate studying biology and hoping to pursue a career in research I found this book both informative and shocking. J.M.W Slack openly reveals all the ins and outs of "Life in the Biology lab." I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious to what's truly in store for them if they choose to enter a field of science.

Slack does a grand job of telling his story...life and living as a researcher working on problems of development. Slack has the ability to get you to grin as he talks about cow brains, growth factors, and other scientific adventures..."Where are the brains, Dad?" (You'll have to read the book to know what that means.) He also ably tells what it's like to be a scientist, as well as how one negotiates the politics and requirements of becoming successful as a research scientist.

The format of the book is interesting. It includes several chapters that address what it's like ("Ego") to be a research scientist, i.e., chapters 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10. He defines what he calls "good places," as well as who "good people" are in the scientific community. If you are a budding scientist, these chapters contain nugget after nugget of wisdom and insight. This book is worth the price for them alone.

The remaining chapters, 3, 5, 8 contain the essence of the research that Slack and his group do, thus the "Egg" portion of the book's title. There is good information about the role of growth factors in development, and a broad brush review of the essentials of some of the processes of development and their molecular bases.

If you are up for a good read about life as a biologist, then come on along. The only reason I didn't award this book 5-stars is that there would be a strong tendency for those not trained in the sciences to get lost in the technical aspects of the chapters on developmental processes. For most biologists, however, especially for upper division undergraduate and graduate students, this book is a gem!

4 stars for the non-scientist, and 5 stars for the science crowd.

Kudos to Slack for this great little book (though he seems to take a rather dim view of places other than research universities -- we part ways there). There is, I believe, too strong a sentiment among researchers (represented by some of Slack's opinions) that what non-researcher biologists do, i.e., teach, is not just different, it is "less than." It all comes down to what you choose to do for your own career, and how you define success for yourself.

I hope this review was helpful!

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN

This was my first book that I purchased for learning 3d studio max.. I also bought the fundamental book too.. I've only flip through couples of pages then I put it away to collect dust. The exercise are hard to follow, they gave complete instruction for teaching you a certain command. But you wouldn't find motivation to delve in to the 3d world by building something that's meaningless. The book is only good for advance user as it'll teaches you how to press certain short cut keys and stuff..

I found this book hard to comprehend.. even if I'm a immediate user, I wouldn't picked this book, as this is so boring.. It teaches you how to do certain things, but don't tell you much why you are doing it, or why is it necessary to take the steps..

there are few other good ones out there if you are a intermediate user...

This was my second 3D Studio max book. Buying it then was a mistake. There are many introductory books out there and this is one of the best but the problem is that the followup to this book; Inside 3DSMax vol 2, has everything vol 1 does and more. Get it if you are just starting out, and then I hope you are not scared of big books because this is where you start off, and start off well. If you already know your way around Max and just want to know advanced stuff like material manipulation and smoother models, get volume 2.

This book is not bad, just lack of good modeling example, this book is really for beginner, Anyway, the mapping tutorials are good.

The Hunter game is a nice addition to anyones WoD collection. This book can help one to build better characers. You know onesa that can actually live for past 60 seconds.

When I purchased this book, I was expecting something along the lines of a a player's guide or such. What I got, on the other hand, was a sourcebook chock full of information on supernaturals around the world. Be careful that you know what this is before you purchase it. It's an excellent book and I liked it very much, but it was not what I had in mind for a survival guide.

I liked this book. Its written from the point of view of the hunters, a different one for each section. The book does not have any game mechanics, its pure story. It begins with a few tips for novice hunters, something you should get your players to read through. Then it goes on to describe each continent. It spends a lot of time discussing the world outside of North America, so if your planning on running a game in a different country then this is the book for you. I liked the fact that since the information is given out by hunters, it is full of various facts that are completely not true, so your players can read through the book and still not have any of the real information. Full of great story potential and well written. A good buy if your going to run a hunter's game.

With this collection of seven stories (three of which are reprints from Asimov's) Lethem continues to befuddle me. I loved Motherless Brooklyn, Gun With Occasional Music, and a short story in the Best of Crank anthologyÑbut I hated Amnesia Moon and another story in Best of Crank. While all the stories in this collection benefit from brilliant premises and Lethem's dexterous prose only the two best two ("The Happy Man" and "Vanilla Dunk," both from Asimov's) have true "endings." The other five trail off into nothingness or incomprehensible weirdness that make me wonder if Lethem's subconscious is bound by the old writer's adage that no ending is better than a bad ending.

"The Happy Man" features a dead man who is raised from the dead so he can financially support his family, the catch is that his consciousness must reside in hell part of the time. There he has bizarre nightmares that lead to an unfortunately predictable denouement. In "Vanilla Dunk," professional basketball players are issued suits giving them skills of former greats. From this interesting idea, Lethem fabricates one of the best sports stories I've ever read, as an obnoxious white kid wins the "draft lottery" and gets to be the next Michael Jordan and racial tensions ensue. "Light and the Sufferer" follows a crack addict, his brother, and the mysterious alien who follows them around New York. The humans' story ends rather obviously, but the significance of the aliens is left somewhat obscure. "Forever, Said the Duck" is about a cocktail party inhabited by clones of everyone who's had sex with the two hosts. It's promising enough at first, but degenerates into a psychedelic nonsense. The nifty notion of "The Hardened Criminals" is that convicts are physically hardened and used as bricks for a massive prison tower. Lethem seemed totally unable to make anything out of the premise, however, and when a young criminal meets his father in the wall, the result is rather forced. "Five ..." presents the mystery of a woman who has sex with a man and "loses" two weeks of her life. Unfortunately, the story implodes rather than leading anywhere interesting. The final story, "Sleepy People" is simply odd and makes you wonder why it was included.

Lethem is certainly a creative genius, however, he's still pretty hit or miss in harnessing his creativity. Sometimes he doesn't seem to know what to do with it and ends up writing himself into a bizarre corner. Still, I'll continue to read him to catch the sparkling stuff.

I loved _Gun with Occasional Music_ and _Amnesia Moon_ but this collection didn't really do it for me. _The Happy Man_ was great, I liked _And Forever, said the Duck_, _Vanilla Dunk_ was fun even though I hate sports. But like another reviewer said, no real conclusions, more like story fragments. His quirky style is great, he just needs more room to develop it.

It is the sign of a true master that none of these short stories bears any resemblance to another, yet each is in its own way outstandingly audacious.

Some worked better than others, and from reading the other reviews here it seems the selection varies from reader to reader. Yet the range and boldness of his ideas nearly staggers the imagination, and to have pulled this off -- not once, but seven times -- is astonishing.