Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Book reviews for "Elbogen,_Paul" sorted by average review score:

K-9 Soldiers: Vietnam and After (Hellgate Memories Series.)
Published in Paperback by Hellgate Press (1999)
Author: Paul B. Morgan
Amazon base price: $13.95
Average review score:

K-9 Soldiers
Paul Morgan's book K-9 Soldiers: Vietnam and After is a story of Paul's military life from beginning to end and the intense training this soldier endured to become a U.S. Army Green Beret with two tours in Vietnam. There are stories about Suzie his faithful German Shepherd that saved him and his buddies more than once in the jungles and rice fields of Southeast Asia. After the military he started his own K-9 security business. The many stories that he tells about his K-9 companion's will bring tears to your eyes and make you smile.

Jim Hart 12th SPS K-9 PhuCat 1970-1971 USAF

K-9 Soldiers Revisited
I don't often re-read a book in the same decade, but after recently re-reading K-9 Sodiers, Vietnam and After, I learned over the "NET", that Suzie's story is to be aired on Discovery Channel early next year. I think this is SUPER, giving our four-footed heroes some much deserved recognition. ... For readers who haven't read K-9 Soldiers, you really should. It's the kind of book you won't put down until you have reached the back cover. ... For those of us, who have read it, I heartly recommend Paul Morgan's barely fictionalized account of behind the lines action around the Cambodian border, entitled "The Parrot's Beak". This is another slam 'em, bam 'em, damned good read. You can taste the smoke of battle and feel the humidity and tension ... go now ... read "K-9 Soldiers", read "The Parrot's Beak" ... Look for Suzie's story, it's to be featured on Animal X, Discovery Channel in 2001 .... AND K-9 officers attention ... "K-9 Soldier's" is a must read for you, I understand some K-9 units consider it to be one of their manuals!

War Dogs -- The Forgotten Heroes
We are, all of us, veterans or civilians alike, aware of the tragic proportions of the Vietnam conflict. However, even many veterans are unaware of the crucial role played by the heroic K-9s. These four-footed soldiers were responsible for saving many lives in the steaming jungles and the fetid rice paddies of Vietnam.
Maj. Paul Morgan's book, K-9 Soldiers, Vietnam and After, illustrates with striking clarity the bravery, skill and boundless heart displayed time and time again by the faithful K-9s of Vietnam.
As a Vietnam veteran I never had the opportunity to work with a K-9 unit but Mr. Morgan's book impressed me with its stirring first person accounts of the true-life actions of these courageous dogs and their handlers. Mr. Morgan's book formed the basis for a widely acclaimed TV movie that is also heart wrenching in its depiction of the K-9 units' daily struggles. Any reader with an interest in history and certainly any animal lovers will be captivated by these accounts.
As a combat Marine infantryman I can attest that this chronicle rings true. Mr. Morgan has been there and back and has rendered these stories with an experienced eye and ear.
Mr. Morgan is the founder of the effort to create a war dog memorial in his home town of Suffolk County, New York. His efforts have suceeded with a projected unveiling of the memorial within the next year.
Mr. Morgan has been honored numerous times for his heroic work at the WTC on September12, 2001 along with his Search and Rescue dog Cody Bear. Mr. Morgan has been a life-long dog handler and his rich experience informs the reader on each page of this gripping work


The Practical Dreamer's Handbook (eBook): Finding The Time, Money, And Energy To Live The Life You Want To Live
Published in Digital by Barnes and Noble Digital ()
Authors: Paul Edwards and Sarah Edwards
Amazon base price: $6.95
Average review score:

Permission to Dream
At last, a book that gives us permission to dream and a guide on how to bring those dreams to fruition. Only Paul and Sarah could have written such a book. So often others tell us to forget our dreams and merely live as the rest of the world. But in "The Practical Dreamers Handbook" we're told it's all right to have these dreams and to act on them. I've noticed a different writing style from Paul & Sarah..one of peace and tranquility. Thank you Paul and Sarah for this book.

Practically Dreamy
This book was (for me) just the right mix of motivation for following your dreams and practical advice. The book is nicely divided into three sections - 1) Desire-Awakening the Dream, 2)Action-Building the New Reality, and 3)Satisfaction-Enjoying yourself. This is an uplifting, can-do type of book that celebrates your dreams and ambitions, which is nice in the face of all of the nay-sayers. If you don't have a dream yet but want one, _The Practical Dreamer's Handbook_ might just help get your juices flowing again!

A personal life-strategy coaching session !
The gurus of working from home have done it again-- managed to package a personal coaching experience into the pages of their latest work, The Practical Dreamer's Handbook. I wasn't looking for a book that would change my life, but I sure found it. With their usual practical hands-on approach to working through a problem, the authors have provided us with the means to evaluate our life, choose our dream, and find tangible ways to achieve our goals.

From visualization exercises to training us to set measurable goals that can be attained, Paul and Sarah Edwards provide us with the tools to finally live our dream. I started reading this book on a Friday afternoon, and by Sunday I had rewritten my business plan and set some personal goals with my spouse. I guess you could say it has changed my life, and I plan to practice these techniques for continued success and stress-free living. Many thanks to this talented pair who continue to share their secrets and talents with the rest of us.


Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook
Published in Paperback by Workman Publishing Company (1992)
Authors: Crescent Dragonwagon, Paul Hoffman, and Dragonwagon Crescent
Amazon base price: $10.47
List price: $14.95 (that's 30% off!)
Average review score:

The soup book no kitchen should be without.
This book not only contains wonderful, usuable recipes, but it also tries to show you how to cook. It gives you the frame for any recipe, and then with what you have on hand you can feel confident to vary, vary, vary to your heart's content. This is the basis of good cooking, not whether or not you can follow a complicated "conde nast" recipe. In rural Japan it is very difficult to get so many ingrediants people take for granted (fresh dill? out of the question) so this flexibility is very important.

A Constant Companion in my kitchen
Although the focus is Soup here, I began using the baking section first. I found definitive buttermilk cornbread, biscuts and muffins, although I have been a good baker for a long time, these were truly the "best in class" and are the standard for my kitchen. I have some favorites now among the extensive soup section but still need to supplement with other cookbooks when I want a meat recipe since the focus here is chicken, fish, vegetable or legumes based. I found the book gives a blueprint that allows me to make some kind of soup out of what is on hand. I also found the "Sandy's Great Lentil Soup with Greens and Garlic" to be a completely fresh, nutritious take on lentils and simple to boot. The small section on Salads is invaluable. I use the Curried Vinaigrette (for the Curried Lentil Salad with Vegetables) on sandwiches as a spread since it keeps forever. The Mexican Corn and Avocado Salad with the Cilantro Vinaigrette gets raves every time and satisfies my Avocado cravings. I couldn't do without this one. It's a good read too with lots of stories and info imbeded in the text.

My copy's spattered, stained, and used time & again
Soup. Bread. Muffins. Salad. Yum. This is a book full of great recipes and wonderful lore. I enjoy the quotes and anecdotes almost as much as the food, and this is great food. We enjoy the Hillbilly Many-Bean Soup, the Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread, the Glazed Orange Muffins, the Dairy Hollow House Pasta Salad, the Chicken & Cheese Soup with Green Chiles again and again. Some of these recipes even go with us on vacation. There are great directions for making your own soup stocks, and no, you do not have to live in your kitchen all day to do it. We keep finding interesting recipes we want to try, as well as returning to our favorites time & time again. More than a recipe book, this is a visit with a friend who loves to cook. Enjoy!


Ejercicios Isométricos (Isometric Exercises)
Published in Paperback by Editorial Libra (03 August, 2002)
Author: Jean Paul Stevens
Amazon base price: $15.98
Average review score:

LOS MEJORES EJERCICIOS DEL MUNDO !
Los màs eficaces y menos fatigosos!
Eso de que "para que el ejercicio sea bueno, te tienen que doler los mùsculos ", m e parece espantoso !
Aqui, haces el ejercvicio sentadito, caminando rumbo al trabajo y hasta en la oficina...
Mis compañeros de trabajo estàn asombrados de ver mis mùscullos..¡Y eso que comencè hace apenas dos meses ! ¡Ah, y ya no estoy panzòn !

TRABAJO MUCHISIMO...PERO CASI SIEMPRE
SENTADA, porque tengo un servicio de proveeduria para el que hago y vendo sandwiches ( muy ricos,eh?), pero estos ejercicios han sido mi salvacion, ya que antes era deportista y cuanod deje el deporte por el trabajo, me comencé a engordar la barriga...

Pues se acabó la barriga, Y NO ME FATIGO !
Vi el resultado en 4 SEMANAS

COMO LA MAYORÌA DE LOS HOMBRES,
VIVO ATADO A UN ESCRITORIO. DE AHI, AL COCHE. DE AHI, A LA MESA. DE AHI, A PLATICAR Y COMPARTIR CON LA ESPOSA Y LOS HIJOS...
Como la mayorìa de los hombres, no me queda ni tiempo ni humor para andar por ahi corriendo como loquito ni haciendo lagartijas o push ups... PERO ESTOS EJERCICIOS, NO SE COMEN MI TIEMPO... TODO LO QUE SE HAN "COMIDO " ES MI BARRIGA DE CERVECERO !

GENIAAAALES !


Escape From Voicemail Hell / Boost Your Productivity By Making Voicemail Work For You
Published in Paperback by ParLeau Publishing (01 October, 1999)
Authors: Paul LeBon and Sara Karam
Amazon base price: $11.95
Average review score:

A must read for anyone who uses a phone to conduct business.
This book is a quick read that provides us with great tips on how to be more effective in our use of an underutilized tool -- voicemail. If followed, the ten tenets should make every reader more efficient in their day to day business and personal lives and free up that most elusive resource -- time. The examples given after each of the "ten commandments" are fun to read and really drive each of the writer's points home. This is a book every business person -- and really, non-business person, too -- must read and follow. If everyone obeyed the tenets of the book, it would make all of our lives alot easier!

A Must Read for all Business Professionals!
"Paul LeBon has his fingers on the pulse of modern business. "VoicemailHell" goes beyond the mechanics of flow charts and phone systems to the real power of voicemail. It provides simple solutions-human impact solutions-that will help you improve communications with employees, strengthen business relationships with clients, and effectively manage your time. Not since the "One Minute Manager" has a business book packed such a punch!"

Are you a Sales Pro Frustrated by Voicemail?
Here's a book that not only offers great ideas, but sets some outstanding 'rules' to follow when getting caught up in voicemail. It's a quick read and the only book available on this topic. You'll be very glad you own this.


Las Nuevas Defraudaciones Penales: Los Delitos Incorporados al Articulo 173 del Codigo Penal Por la Ley 24.441/95
Published in Paperback by La Ley (2000)
Author: Ruben Omar Carrizo
Amazon base price: $33.45
Average review score:

supreme
this book, is without a doubt my favorite book. The best Ive ever read. I'm not just saying that cause i'M writing a review for it, but that I absolutely treasure this book. I read it about three years ago, it looked like a average fantasy book,and a wasnt a very big fantasy person, so i decided to try it not really expecting anything fantastic, cause it was a fantasy novel,but i was so, supremely surprised. Paul Kidd, the author, is such a wonderful storyteller,he makes every page imaginitive and a delight.

the return to an old friend
I have already left a message here, but I feel that something else is necessary. After I left a review here, the author was kind enough the email me and thank me. I was too shy to email back and thank him. But I would just like to say that I love this book and that I hope it returns to print. It should,it really should. Even after a couple of years, It is stil my favorite book, and I have read many books. The other people here have reiterated their wonder in the quality of this novel so I will not be redundent. But, let me say that I find the book a sort of sanctuary where I can return to after I grow weary or depressed. Not that I am obsessed or anything. I only read it about 6 times :0)

It's my favorite book in the entire world of fantasy novels.
I love it and every body should read it.


The Producers: The Book, Lyrics, and Story Behind the Biggest Hit in Broadway History!
Published in Hardcover by Hyperion (2001)
Authors: Mel Brooks, Tom Meehan, Paul Kolnik, Thomas Meehan, and Rocco Landesman
Amazon base price: $28.00
List price: $40.00 (that's 30% off!)
Average review score:

The Producers a smash book
Unless a person has been isolated in Siberia I think everyone has heard of the Mel Brooks hit musical "The Producers". Written by Brooks and Thomas Meehan it is probably the biggest hit on Broadway in the past 50 years. Tickets are unavailable until July 2002 and "prime" seats are fetching $480. Is the show worth it? You bet and so is the book. And it is only ...
The book is a wonderful coffee table volume full of wonderful photographs from the production, rehearsal, casting and out of town tryout. There are stories from the stellar cast such as Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Brad Oscar and Cady Huffman. Madeleine Doherty relates her hilarious audition as a little "old lady" and Brad Oscar's rise from a swing/understudy to the permanent part of Franz Liebking when another actor was injured.
All of the lyrics and most of the book are included Act by Act. The lyrics for some of the songs that were deleted are hilarious. With Mel Brooks heavily involved in the book, we get to know how this valentine to Broadway was created and how the original 1968 film came to be.
Miramax Books is to be given a standing ovation for the gorgeous design on this publication.
If you have seen "The Producers" in New York as I did one month ago, this book is a wonderful souvenir and a necessary addition to your bookshelf. If you haven't seen it yet, it is still a wonderfully enjoyable volume. Anyone interested in Broadway or musical theatre will pore over the pages for hours.
I highly recommend it and it would make a great gift.

Can't get a ticket? Here is your 3-step solution....
As I've written elsewhere, if you can't get a ticket to this, the greatest Broadway show of all time, here's what you should do, courtesy of Amazon.com.

1. BUY THIS BOOK. It contains all of the lyrics, super pictures, and more important, not only the entire script, but the entire chronology, from its inception as a movie to creating the stage story to slapping together the first few songs to nervously hosting the first previews in Chicago to its blockbuster grand opening at the St. James Theater in New York! It doesn't get more comprehensive than this!

2. BUY THE ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM ON CD. This contains every song, from start to finish, sung by the award winning cast. The lyrics are here too.

3. BUY THE DVD/VIDEO, "Recording The 'Producers' - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks." This is the closest you can get to seeing the musical, albeit not on stage. And don't be fooled by the liner notes. This isn't ONLY the 85 minute version that aired on PBS, it has extra footage that clocks the package at around 1 hour and 40 minutes!

I saw the show in October and I'm going back to New York to see it again in March. I've NEVER been this INSANE about any entertainment product (books, films, music, staged theater) in my LIFE.

With all three items -- the book, the CD and the DVD/video -- you get a pretty good idea of what makes "The Producers," with its spectacular mix of merriment and mirth, mayhem and satire, so great! It deserves all of its hype. You can't oversell it!

Every song is a show-stopper, a throwback to the riffs that feel like a "best hits" package from the greatest musicals ever made. A little bit of Cole Porter, Gershwin, vaudeville and classic dance melodies reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly (e.g., "Gotta Sing-Sing!" -- as in prison!), with lyrics that are so happily vulgar and irreverent that you're lucky you're not more doubled-over in pain from laughing so hard if you could only see the girls wearing pretzels on their heads and others doing the swastika "circle" march (visible via a tilted mirror toward the audience), done in Busby Berkeley style! Heck, there's even a bit of an homage to the Andrew Sisters (e.g., "He's a Hot-sie-tot-sie Nazi! Woo-woo, he's a hot-sie-tot-sie Nazi! Woo-woo! The Fuhrer...is in a FUROR!")...

Sadly, this original cast won't be together much longer, but the traveling show officially begins next year (it'll be in San Diego from December 2002 to January 2003)! So the wait won't be as long as we thought!

To recap -- get the CD, the DVD/Video and THIS BOOK! Then you'll save some big-time $$$ until the show arrives in your backyard! Whatta deal!

Outstanding Look at Creating The Producers!
Caution: This book contains vulgar three and four letter words in the libretto and lyrics of The Producers. The intent behind the use of these words is humor, rather than prurience.

The Producers is by far the best book I have ever read about the development and staging of a Broadway show. Anyone who likes Broadway, comedy, or Mr. Mel Books will find this book to be irresistible! For those who cannot get tickets to The Producers (or have tickets for 2003), this book is your best bet to enjoy this marvelous musical in the near future. I strongly recommend this book as a gift item for those who don't mind some salty language and references.

This book contains reminiscences of the show's development from the first contact by Mr. David Geffen to Mr. Mel Brooks to encourage Mr. Brooks to create a Broadway musical version of the 1968 motion picture of The Producers by Mr. Brooks. Each personal statement is accompanied by beautiful, lighthearted candid photographs of the people involved. One of the most touching sections involves how Ms. Susan Stroman was chosen to direct and choreograph the show after her talented husband and artistic partner, Mike Ockrent died, and Ms. Stroman was still in mourning. The stories about the first reading for producers will leave you with a tingle of excitement. After the first act was read, Mr. Rocco Landesman offered the St. James Theatre. Fourteen producers present eventually invested in the show, after Mr. Geffen had to bail out due to other commitments. The accounts are full of one-liners to keep you laughing as you learn. For example, turning a movie with two songs into a musical with 16 more is described as being "not unlike trying to translate it from English into Serbo-Croatian."

Although the feedback was good all along, everyone kept waiting for something to go wrong. But it never did. The most negative thing anyone said about the show was Mr. Brooks. "It's not funnier than Blazing Saddles." When the New York Times Review came in, it was an amazing rave that began with "How do you single out highlights in a bonfire?" You then get some background on sets, costumes, and winning 12 Tony awards.

From there, the book presents the libretto of the show and the lyrics of the songs. The only thing that's missing is the musical score. But you can sing to yourself, and enjoy the many wonderful photographs of the 22 person cast (featuring Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock and Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom -- with full allusions to Ulysses intended). This is an annotated version, so it includes notes about what the draft versions had called for and the reasons why certain changes were made. Having seen the changes, I must agree that the decisions were unerringly improvements. Some of the false starts are pretty funny, too, such as the planned beginning with a "Hey, Nebraska" spoof of a well-known Broadway musical.

If you are one of the few people who doesn't know the story line, let me give you a brief summary without spoiling it for you. Max has just had a flop ("Funny Boy" based on Hamlet). Accountant Leo notices that Max made a small profit and speculates that a lot of money could be made by over raising money for a flop on which little was spent. Max falls in love with the idea, and draws Leo into a plot to do this. They find a story called "Springtime for Hitler" which they feel will offend practically everybody, and hire a director to make an outrageous version. Max raises the money by romancing elderly female investors. The rest of the story takes a number of unexpected twists that will delight and entertain you. One of my favorite lines from the show comes in Act 1, Scene 1 when Max comments that "the reviews come out a lot faster when the critics leave at intermission."

The appeal of the story is that it ultimately upholds positive values while poking good-natured fun at everyone involved in the Broadway community. Since no one is spared by the satirical spear, no one can be terribly offended. There's a lot of cross-dressing to spread out the small cast that gives the show some of the sophomoric appeal of a Hasty Pudding theatrical, which is well captured in the photographs.

Creativity experts say that you can find improved solutions by trying to do the opposite of what you've been trying to do. So the notion of trying to make something bad . . . to find something good . . . is a well established one. Turning something from one form into another one is also advised. So you can learn new ways to solve old problems, even from Broadway musicals!


Inside the Pike Place Market: Exploring America's Favorite Farmers' Market
Published in Paperback by Sasquatch Books (2003)
Authors: Braiden Rex-Johnson and Paul Souders
Amazon base price: $13.97
List price: $19.95 (that's 30% off!)
Average review score:

Inside the Pike Place Market
Braiden Rex-Johnson has written a foodies delight. Sumptuously decorated with the photographs of Paul Soders, Rex-Johnson's exploration of Pike Place Market is candy for all the senses. This is NOT a cookbook. There are just 20 recipes (all very good). Rather, this is a delightful narrative of the history of the market, the people and products that inhabit it, and the terrific food that emerges from it. Braiden-Rex is deeply in love with her market, and it shows in her wonderful book. When you finish the book, you'll be hungry, but very, very satisfied.

Inside the Pike Place Market
I rarely read a food-related book, skimming instead for any nuggets of wisdom, or a select recipe or two. But few such books are as well-written as Braiden Rex-Johnson's "Inside the Pike Place Market." I opened to the first paragraph and just couldn't put it down. Part history, part travelogue, part cookbook, and lavishly illustrated with Paul Souders' photographs, this is indeed a book to savor from beginning to end.

"I thought I knew everything about the Market, but not so!"
As a Seattle native I thought I knew everything about the Pike Place Market but not so-Inside the Pike Place Market is a wonderful exploration of Seattle's most famous landmark. The pictures are stunning and Braiden Rex Johnson's intimate knowledge of the market has deepened my appreciation of the farmers, craftsmen and performers that make each trip to the market better than the last. Can't wait to try the recipes they look yummy. What a great gift book for my friends, in and out of town!


John Redman's Essentials of the Golf Swing
Published in Paperback by Plume (1994)
Authors: John Redman, Michael E. Thomason, and Paul Azinger
Amazon base price: $10.50
List price: $15.00 (that's 30% off!)
Average review score:

A very easy way to hit a golf ball
I've played for over 15 years and read at least 15 golf books. I understand kinesiology and I thought I understood the golf swing until I read this book. Redman, along with one of my alltime favorite golfers, Paul Azinger, simply explains a much better way to hit a golf ball. His method produces a much better chance for a square club face at impact and also produces plenty of club head speed. When I relaized how easy the swing really is, I was amazed. I had tried to coordinate swinging arms with turning hips and rolling forearms and that's just too difficult for most people to accomplish. I also purchased "The Azinger Way" video tape and it's a nice compliment to the book because you can see how repeatable Paul's swing is with all clubs. Buy this book, learn the system, enjoy it, and never read another quick fix tip again. I don't know why more teachers don't use this model; it's much easier to teach and easier to learn! By the way, Azinger's putting tips in the book and video are also excellent.

THE ONLY GOLF LESSON YOU WILL EVER NEED!!!
IF I HAD RED THIS BOOK AND FOLLOWED IT 30 YEARS AGO,I CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE HAD A LOT MORE ENJOYMENT PLAYING GOLF.THE BASIC TECHNIQUE THAT JOHN REDMAN TEACHES IS SO SIMPLE,THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REMEMBER IT WHEN YOU SWING THE GOLF CLUB.I HAVE DROPPED 12 STROKES OFF MY SCORE!!!!

The Lost Art of the Golf Swing
John Redman teaches the golf swing in its purest form. His method has been popularized by golf greats Bobby Jones, Percy Boomer and Tommy Armour. His swing is sometimes called the "older" or "drag back" method because it concentrates on the passive use of the hands and arms. According to Redman the power of the golf swing takes place with the lower body, mainly a natural single axis swing around the spine with all of the power being generated by a level hip and shoulder turn. (Remember Percy Boomer's famous axiom about "turning in a barrel?") In contradistinction to this method most modern tour players and teachers teach a two axis turn. This is often characterized by the Jimmy Ballard lateral move. Unfortunately, this is much harder to perfect and physically coordinate than Redmans method. Subsequently, according to Redman many amateurs come outside the line and "over the top." Slice... slice... slice! Redmans prize student is the famous golf pro and major tournament winner Paul Azinger. Many illustrations of Paul's swing are included in the book. If you are looking for an easier more relaxed way to create club head speed and a golf swing that you can use for a lifetime, then you should order this book before your next round.


Ah-1: Cobra (Modern Fighting Aircraft, Vol 13)
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall Trade (1987)
Author: Doug Richardson
Amazon base price: $12.95
Average review score:

Perhaps the best book ever on bottom-up programming
This is a really great book on Lisp and the concept of bottom-up programming. Instead of directly programming in your favoriate (or required) programming language, you should instead define a language that matches the problem at hand.

While Common Lisp is undoubtedly the easiest language in which to apply the full set of these concepts, many of them may be carried over in weaker forms to other languages. For example, we are using the m4 macro language in a Java project, and Graham's advice is directly applicable to a great deal of what we are doing.

If you want to see what Java and Java programming will look like in 10-20 years, read this book! (Java is really a dialect of Smalltalk, which is a dialect of Lisp!)

How to "Think Lisp"
One problem with Lisp novices is that they generally try totreat Lisp like ALGOL or C; but while Lisp is, technically, animperative language, it is best used as a functional (and symbolic) language, and that requires a different approach to solving problems "in the Lisp way". Once learned, this problem solving approach can be used in a variety of situations even with other programming languages, but the real problem has been the lack of good presentations of Lisp that didn't either concentrate just on the lanugage itself, or on applications. _On Lisp_ is one of the best treatments of *Programming in Lisp*, in my opinion, as it takes the reader beyond just the semantics of the language, and teaches them typical patterns of code which helps one know how to look at problems so they are easy to solve in Lisp.

No matter what your experience level (and I had been a professional Lisp hacker for over ten years when I first read this book), there is something to learn from _On Lisp_. Read it, and improve your ability to conceptualize solutions to your programming problems. END

Read this book
When I find something really interesting in a book that I want to remember later, I write the page number on the end page. A good book might get 5 to 10 page numbers so noted. My copy of On Lisp has 25. Now, not every one of the 25 contains something I agree completely with, but they all made me think. If you're experienced at Lisp, you'll find a similar number of thought-provoking ideas, and if you're new to Lisp, you'll find a whole new way of looking at programming (and you'll find that you can apply the new ideas to other languages as well).

Looking at Graham's code felt like reading my own code masterfully translated, say, from Danish to Swedish. A lot of the ideas are the same, some of the old friends had new names, and there were some new friends that I had never bothered to abstract and name, but recognized instantly once Graham did so (e.g. mapcars, fn).

Along with the ideas, I admire the many handy turns of phrase that make the book a real page-turner:

"It used to be thought that you could judge someone's character by looking at the shape of his head. Whether or not this is true for people, it is generally true of Lisp programs."

"The classic Common Lisp defmacro is like a cook's knife: an elegant idea which seems dangerous, but which experts use with confidence."

"Lisp is not inherently about processing lists any more than Polo shirts are for Polo" (Note that the sentence would have been a little confusing if Graham had written "list processing" rather than "processing lists". In Graham's prose, like his code, every word counts. Time and again I can only say "I wish I had thought of that.")


Related Subjects: Author Index Reviews Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.