List price: $15.00 (that's 30% off!)
Used price: $2.85
Collectible price: $3.01
Buy one from zShops for: $4.75
Used price: $218.05
Buy one from zShops for: $225.40
The section on basic principles is subdivided into 10 chapters on: the rationale for using microbial pesticides, virus characteristics, assessment of biological activity, baculovirus ecology in insects, control strategies, virus production, formulation, spray application, conducting and recording field trials and future developments. Although this section duplicates much of what has been presented in earlier texts, it brings together information that has not been integrated into one text before, updates earlier information and broadens the utility of the book. The "rationale" chapter is a concise and convincing justification for the use of microbial control agents of insect pests. A fairly short chapter describing characteristics of entomopathogenic viruses provides a synopsis of each of the families of viruses found in insects with the majority of the information devoted to the Baculoviruses. The chapter also includes the latest nomenclatural information. The next chapter is a short introduction to the principles of assessment of biological activity that is supplemented with detailed "hands on" procedures in part three of the book (Practical Techniques). The chapter on ecology of baculoviruses in insect hosts presents a detailed overview of this subject and supplies the reader with a multitude of references. In addition to pathology and the dynamics of virus transmission, biotic and abiotic factors that influence viral activity in insects, persistence of virus in the environment and epidemiology, there is a section on the use of models in understanding and using Baculoviruses in pest management. The chapter on control strategies includes the use of viruses in classical and semi-classical biological control, inundative applications, methods to enhance effectiveness and integration of viruses with other pathogens and conventional chemical insecticides. Chapters on virus production, formulation and spray application present a mix of theory and practical information. The most comprehensive of these is the chapter on formulation which includes a broad range of formulation components and their functions. The chapter on "Conduct and recording of field control trials" delivers a concise overview on a variety of topics related to conducting field trials, including parameters related to the condition of the virus inoculum, virus coverage, susceptibility of the target insect, field design and statistical treatment, and recording data.
Part two of the book, "World survey" is a review of the usage of entomopathogenic viruses against specific pests from a global perspective. Twelve chapters cover 11 geographical regions in terms of current research and control practices. The introductory chapter by P. F. Entwistle presents an overview in the form of tables for each of the geographic areas covered in subsequent chapters. In addition to the viruses that are addressed in each zone, the tables present an overview of work being conducted on: strain search, characterization, infectivity testing, ecology, safety testing, environmental impact studies, formulation research, field trials, extension trials, production and development, registration, commercialization and sales. The following eleven chapters are contributed by 15 authors, most of which are from the geographic areas being covered. The length and content of the chapters varies, but the reader will be furnished with a summary of fairly up to date information literally from the four corners of the globe. The general format of each chapter includes a regional perspective, information on virus production, formulation, safety tests and registration, and field experimentation. Most of the information regarding field experimentation and efficacy is organized under specific target pest insects.
Part three is an extensive "how to do" section of the book that concentrates on techniques used to work with entomopathogenic viruses and their production in host insects and cell lines. It also includes biochemical and molecular methods (Western blots, protein assay, PCR, etc.) and a variety of useful information from general laboratory practice to spray application. The chapter on mass production, product formulation and quality control actually contains very little regarding mass production, but procedures for production are covered in several other chapters. Procedures for formulating virus supplement the detailed chapter on formulation in part one of the book. The final chapter of the section on registration requirements is a bit out of place in that it does not include practical techniques per se. Chapters in this section will be useful to the novice as well as the experienced insect pathologist and include step by step procedures, materials that are required, and didactic figures and diagrams to assist the user.
Part four on environmental factors influencing viral survival contains two short chapters focusing on solar radiation and the effect plant surfaces can have on viral activity. The solar radiation chapter generally covers the physical properties and biological impact of ultraviolet radiation in terms of damage to DNA, RNA and proteins. The chapter on plant surfaces addresses the effects of leaf surface macro- and micro-structure, and chemical and micro-meteorological conditions and their measurement.
The book will make an excellent addition to the library of anyone working on entomopathogenic viruses. Its thorough coverage of the subject will provide the reader with a single source of information without the need to cross reference another 2 or more books. The dedication of the book to the late Norman Crook is a sad reminder that we have lost one of our best in the field of entomopathogenic viruses.
Used price: $30.54
Collectible price: $13.22
Used price: $55.00
Buy one from zShops for: $81.18
Used price: $11.00
Collectible price: $29.00
Although a hefty book, with a hefty price tag, this book simply discusses Exchange in general at great length without actually telling the reader anything useful at all. The raft of casual references to other Microsoft products and programming technologies would surely bore and baffle most programme managers while the lack of specific technical information and advice means that it is useless to administrators as well.
The style is verbose and so littered with gratuitous acronyms as to be unreadable; should you make the effort to unravel a paragraph you realise that actually there is no useful information there at all.
If you're looking for help with a real world exchange environment, want to know how exchange actually works, need to learn advanced administration techniques, or have to design an environment and want some pointers then forget this book. Even the supposed "Immediate Solutions" sections simply provide facile GUI screenshots of straightforward and basic operations without providing any explanation of what is going on.
In summary: I bought this book, and wish I hadn't.
I should say that there is one message that does come out of the book. It is so permeated with "Microsoft Exchange is your ultimate savior" promotional content that I'm surprised it isn't a Microsoft Press book. If your desire is to learn how Exchange fits into the context of Microsoft's overall messaging strategy, then this book is very good. It also definitely does have a lot of information in it, expressed in Microsoft terms. But if you are looking for the so-called "popular Black Book problem-solving format", then look elsewhere. Maybe you'll find it in a Wrox or O'Reilly book.
Used price: $2.79
Collectible price: $14.95
Buy one from zShops for: $3.27
Used price: $0.69
Collectible price: $3.60
Yet, surprisingly, I found myself getting captivated by the plot of two princes disguised as shepherds to win the girls of their dreams (in the process, of course, they also win girls -- and guys -- of their nightmares). The somewhat stilted (even by Renaissance standards) language makes it difficult to plod through at times, but the plot is interesting and keeps your attention -- and that's ultimately what counts.
Re: this edition, it is one of the few good editions of the original "Old" Arcadia around. Sidney revised the work during his lifetime and his friend and biographer, Fulke Greville, later published a bizarre composite of the old and revised versions that for centuries stood as the definitive "Arcadia". K. Duncan-Jones provides a clean text with useful scholarly apparatus. One caveat: in my edition, pp. 297-306 were *missing*, mistakenly replaced by a double-printed pp. 307-316. This is an annoyance for someone who is reading the book as a scholar, which I believe represents the majority readership of the book, as I can't imagine casual readers picking it up for bedstand reading!
All in all, a fun work and better than the first act leads one to believe!