This book has pictures and an article for each campaign - beginning from George Washington up to the 1996 election. While I found some of the pictures to be quite interesting and the articles to be somewhat informative, I would still say that this is more of an overview kind of book - as opposed to a detailed version of our elections.

I think the author could have picked some other pictures or visuals to make the book more appealling, and could have written in more depth about the campaigns.

Nevertheless, the book is a nice book and is a book that could be used as a reference in some respects.

Deep in the political season, this book makes for a good read. It is neither a complete history nor a complete pictorial of all the great campaigning photographs which abound. I was suprised by the iconic photographs not included. I wish I had leafed through this in the bookstore before buying. That said, it is a good book for any fan of political campaigns.

Politics is the great American sport and its bats and balls are pins and bumper stickers. This is a great history of torchlight parades, whistle stops and all sorts of campaign paraphenalia. It makes me happy I saved that LBJ for the USA button--it doesn't take long for this stuff to acquire value. SAme can't be said for websites, though. Words and images here are also a healthy reminder that one great tradition of the sport is slamming the other guy--don't forget Jefferson's Sally Hemmings scandal and Lincoln "the big monkey." More fireworks, fewer veep debate lovefests, please.

I love most of Richard Matheson's books, which is why I am so disappointed with this western novel. It takes a whole novel to tell you this: A young lady lies and says an ex-Texas Ranger had insulted her. Her boyfriend is incensed and, egged on by his manic father, shoots the ranger dead in a gunfight. The rest of the book and characters are nothing but filler. I really resent losing the time I spent reading this excuse for a book. If the author was not well-known, no way this poor-excuse-for-a-book would have been published. Ignore it.

This book is un-doubtedly one of the best novels that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was definately "the most" climactic novel ever. I was shaking near the end as I read. You can really feel with the characters. The ending was shocking and disturbing. This is the best western I have ever read, the only other westerns I've read have been trashy supermarket paperbacks. Richard Matheson is THE MAN. He is THE WRITER. No one can deny it. Stephen King and many other writers compliment every piece of writing that Richard Matheson has ever writen. It's sad though how something that Stephen King writes automatically becomes a number one best seller when this book is forgotten and barely read by anyone. I've never read the Journal of the Gun Years, but after reading this, I will. I also look forward to reading other books by Richard Matheson. Richard Matheson builds a climax like no one else can. His stories are all exciting, interesting and totally en-grosing. This is THE MOST engrosing novel I have ever read. It's a landmark in literature. It's flawless. Read it if you can. It's a masterpiece.

If you want a good UNIX book, buy O'Reilly books. Dont waste your money on these 'basic' books that dont cover the details and are too abbreviated

instant unix is well paced, and covers enough detail to be useful beyond the introductory level. I have read two other unix books of an introductory level and instant unix is far superior, and very well organized.

This is an excellent account of the numerous ascents and descents that characterized Deng Xiaoping's remarkable political life. Evans is ultimately telling us a story within a story. Deng's political life spanned the bulk of the twentieth century, and it is against this backdrop that Evans tells us his story. He does a fine job of illuminating how Deng spent his time during the Cultural Revolution, as well as informing the reader what the logic behind his reforms was. As a whole, I liked this book very much and would reommend it to anyone interested in learning more about contemporary China. The writing is consistently concise and to the point. This book does not confuse or bore the reader with lofty theoretical arguments that try to prove causation for various events in Chinese history, it lays out the facts as they are known. This book is both captivating and instructional. However, for those who are well read in Chinese history, much of this book will be redundant. Yet, its redeeming qualities are in ample supply.

This is a really enjoyable book, written by an author that really knows how to pull your heart into a story and hold you there. I can see this quaint book as a staple reading materal every Christmas. I real tradition starter.

Review of The Index Fund Solution by Evans/Malkiel

This is a good primer on using index funds to build a core portfolio, both with tax-deferred funds, such a 401(k) retirement savings, and taxable funds. The contributions of Evans , an investment advisor, is sandwiched between Professor Malkiel's introduction and closing chapter. It is one of three books I have read recently on the subject. Bogle's 2nd book on Mutual Funds is more technical and Swedloe's book is similar but is more oriented to the Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) approach.

The only mention of DFA is to Rex Sinquefield, Co-chair and CIO of DFA whose name is misspelled and whose title is wrong. DFA's enhanced index funds, based on the CRISP indexes are a major omission in the Evans-Malkiel book. Individuals can purchase those funds either if their employer's 401(k) has them available or if they use an advisor who has a relationship with DFA. The DFA 9-10 microcap funds have vastly different characteristics of size and value than the Russell 2000 or Wilshire 4500 index funds.

A few minor quibbles The Sharpe ratio example (p 86) 1.14% should be 1.14

P47 implies that "defined contribution plans" started in 1978. They go back 50+ years earlier to money purchase, profit sharing and stock bonus plans. In addition recent legislation allows employees of non-profits to be covered under 401(k) as well as 403(b) plans.

Evans chapter on taxes might have mentioned federal estate taxes which have a great impact on qualified plan participants with sizable estates. His three recommendations for variable annuities are all more expensive than one he omitted, TIAA-CREF.

Malkiel's final chapter provides an excellent rationale for capitalization weighted indexes as the only practical index-fund alternative, compared to dollar weighted and price weighted. DFA has an interesting approach to foreign indexing involving equal country weighting.

Malkiel, in his recommended portfolios, doesn't mention DFA's products in the large cap, REIT, foreign and small cap areas. While MPT and efficient frontier portfolios may be intellectually satisfying, Bogle and I have some problems with how slavishly one should follow their results.

All in all, this book is a very good starting point.

Conrad M. Siegel FSA, Consulting Actuary

The authors, due to space considerations, do not include the nature and source of incomes used for their comparisons. Without this information, how can one determine if they fit the profile used.
Without knowing the amounts of various sources of incomes used,
I find the book of little use.