This book reminded me of a Dean Koontz novel but with a little more substance and without the golden retriever. Wilson asks the question, what does it mean to be human? Aliens settle in orbit around earth and ask humans if they would like to live forever. However, living forever would mean becoming something not exactly human but perhaps better. 10% of the world population, including the protagonist, decide not to take them up on their offer. The book then follows the adventures of the hero and his few companions who have also declined the aliens' "gift"

What would I do? That wasn't the only question that popped into my head when I finished this novel. It was followed by a host of others. Excellently written, Wilson made me feel good about the human species, when I thought the times could only get worse. Even reading it at 16, the novel made me feel like I was there and living. Excellent.

Why are all the best books out of print? And why didn't this man get some sort of award for this book? It was an old topic explored in an original way. I read this on a road trip from Ohio to Florida, and I will tell you, I hated when I had to take my turn driving. I could not get my mind off of this book from page one until the end. What an excellent storyteller this author is!

Having never read any Dickens before - and unaware this was his maiden effort - I was hooked from the first few pages. The benevolent Mr. Pickwick, with his faithful sidekicks, experiences Victorian England as a well-to-do citizen. While the bulk of this novel deals with the "softer" side of society, the hard-edged aspects of the era are nonetheless acknowledged. With memorable characters, marvelous misadventures, subtle comedic touches, and an occasional suprise around the corner, this novel holds it's own as a "classic." My only "Pickwick" regret was waiting this long (24 yrs. old) to read it. This book will undoubtedly serve as a springboard for ALL of Charles Dickens' works.

I don't think I've ever read a novel half as entertaining as The Pickwick Papers. I agree with the reviewer who said that it was as if Dickens had a million jokes that he wanted to get off of his chest. And such wonderful characters! The last part of the book though is more about Mr. Pickwick himself than about the club. He also becomes less of a doofus and more of a lovealbe and sympathetic character as the novel progresses. If you are ever down and feeling depressed then this is the book to read.Sam Weller is one of Dickens greatest characters, the book really comes into its own when he becomes Mr.Pickwicks servent.

This hilarious book tells the outrageous adventures of a cast of characters to remember forever. It's a joyous, humane, and faithful portrait of the British society. It is full of acuteness, irony, tenderness and sarcasm about the human condition. As in all of his books, Dickens reflects his experiences (prison for debts, etc.) in this book which tells the love affairs, countless drunken nights and fights in which the Pickwickians get. Apparently a book whose only purpose is to entertain, it is, like all intelligent humor, a bitter but optimist critique of the human being. The cast of characters is wonderful, and you will be just delighted you picked up this volume.

"The Pickwick Papers" was the first fictional book by Dickens, and it shows how capable of good humor he was. The title's character is a restless good-spirited man, a Don Quixote with a British touch, whose adventures are less noble and a lot more messy that those of the Don. The story of his friendship with the rest of the crew is hilarious and moving at the same time. Come read the story of this excentric lot, as they drink their way in and out of trouble.

Buy this book. I can't say enough good things about it. First, the book is extremely well written, and targets a specific audience, that many of us are in.

If you are not professional investor, and want to learn more about the basics of investing and about the different products out there, then read this book.

Charles Schwab takes your through a good squence of explaining different investment philosophies, tools, tricks, etc. He proves that you don't have to beat the market to make money, you just have to match it. Now, I have heard this before in other books, but the overall presentation and support for this, is much well represented in this book.

If you are starting out, or attempting to re-organize your finances, before you get a money manager or financial advisor, get this book. It will definitely save and make you money. You will learn how to invest within your comfort level, and by the end of the book, the stock market and investing will be demystified.

You will regret not reading this book. I think this would also make a good gift.

Schwab, of discount brokerage fame, has written an easy to read introductory guide to savings and investment. None of his material is unique or new - it is similar to that presented by Suzie Orman and the Dummies guides. Nonetheless, Schwab's book is probably better for new investors because he uses plenty of charts, graphs and personal examples, and presents it all in a very user-friendly format. The theme is basically not to jump in with both feet, but to do as much as you can. There are a few gratuitous plugs for his brokerage firm, but the book is definitely not one big advertisement. This book is well recommended for first-time investors and recent college graduates about to start their first job (good graduation gift). It is not recommended for people who are already in the stock market or who already own mutual funds and regularly invest - you already know what is in this book.

Charles Schwab has opened the doors of investing to the masses. This book simply and clearly illustrates how to invest for one's future using an easy-to-understand, common sense style. Not only does Schwab demystify the stock market and the principles of investing, he makes you excited to get started!

Arthur Andersen executives Robert Hiebeler, Thomas B. Kelly, and Charles Ketteman have brought the company's "Global Best Practices" program to book format. They tell you how to adapt any company's best practices to your business. They highlight dozens of examples from the thousands that they have collected for Andersen's popular database. The authors take a direct, no-frills approach to presenting their ideas and information, and concentrate on case histories that give you plenty of details. This makes the book highly useful, clear, and free of useless jargon, so we [...] recommend it to people at all levels in any business. You are bound to find some useful gems.

An enthusiastic two thumbs up!

Unlike most businesss books that say in 300 pages what can be said in 3, this book delivers its message clearly and concisely.

It offers many "best practices" learned from direct client experience that can be used immediately in companies. Colored with examples, and punctuated throughout with tidbits of wisdom.

A must buy!

No it doesn't take major working capital to build a successful marketing machine. It does require a focus on the details that are important to your customers. Before you squander working capital on fancy advertising campaigns, read this book. Then you will learn that spending your money on product formulation, service and support are the cornerstones to successful marketing. This book provides exceptional real world examples of how to grow a business by focusing on customer service solutions.

First let me make a statement about the last reviewers objections. First, hey nobody in NLP claims that this stuff is all air-tight and scientific. "The map is not the territory." This is one way of saying BS is fine if its a useful model. Second, this is not a re-hash of the tremendous book Psycho-Cybernetics in which Maltz has us spend 30 days a night visualizing ourselves with all the behaviors, emotions, and achievments we wish we would have in order to supply a new self-image to our instinctive "success mechanism". (Of course there are many other very interesting ideas and recommendations in that book.) The exercises in this book has us make movies or pictures in our mind, experiment with shifting parameters (submodalities) like size, color, brightness, speed, and border to alter our way we feel about things. As another example it has us rapidly blend pictures from a cue condition to a desired self image (swish pattern). Now I must mention that the Review Synopsis above doesnt seem to describe this book at all to me. Business mettings? Maybe a little. Mostly this book is a self-help book for people who are not really sick in the head but would like to improve their motivation, goal reaching, control over their emotions, persuasiveness, and self-image. The last reviewers objection that there is a lot of mumbo jumbo is a good point. It turns me a little off too... but you can also make the same point about other great self-help books like Psycho-Cybernetics or Think and Grow Rich which believe that there is mystical knowledge floating around in space waiting to be picked up by a tuned-in unconscious mind. Just skip the obvious nonsense. If that kind of BS really bothers you, then you can read Tony Robbins, but on the other hand this book I think is better organized and more fun than his.

For the last 12 or 15 years I have been a keen reader of Self-help, self improvement books, ranging from Selfhypnosis, creative visualization and meditation. This one is far the best I have ever read. After the short introduction, the rest of the book takes you through the basics of NLP. Each chapter is covered by excercises that with their implementation convinces even the sceptic, that NLP truely is the New Technology of Achievement. It's not just a book to be read, but a book to be experienced. The impact of the excercises will fast benefit in all aspects of ones life. Dont just read it, TRY IT.

This book is a great introduction to NLP. It covers the fundamental principles and techniques in a concise manner. There is no fluff, which is something I appreciated. It can be used by novices to learn the "big picture", and as a refresher by those who are familiar with NLP. There are many exercises, and the step by step instructions are clearly written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning and experiencing what NLP has to offer.

I have just tried searching for this book (which I bought and read in 1990) on the UK Amazon site, with no success. What does that tell us about us Brits I wonder? Perhaps we don't value our creative talents enough? In my view, this is a book whose time has come, but do not be deceived by it. It reads amazingly easily and I came away with a feeling of empowerment. However, the key to producing results is still hard work, albeit on a pychological and psychic level. I have always dreamt of being a £ millionaire, but I have not yet achieved it. In fact, my reason for re-reading the book now is that I need to boost my income and achieve financial independence. I still believe I will succeed, and I believe that the Dyna/Psyc techniques described by Joe in this book are the key. The book is a tough training course in itself. It demands self-analysis, self-discipline and honesty, particularly in the section concerning self-image. I believe we owe Joe a great deal of gratitude, and if others are interested in joining me on my journey to wealth and financial independence through the applicaiton of these principles, I would love to hear from you. Christopher Simon-Evans, England.

I've read about 75 of the best known self-help books, and The Lazy Man's Way to Riches is the most unusual one, and it actually works! If you want to actually accomplish things, get it - but get the ORIGINAL, 1973 edition, which AMAZON.COM has in paperback and hardcover. Avoid this re-issue or the "Roadmap" workbook, both written 13 years after Joe Karbo's death. They are loaded with extraneous writing that sometimes contradicts the original text within.

I read Joe Karbo's The Lazy man's way to riches whilst still living in New Zealand in 1983. Joe's philosophy impressed me a great deal and not long after that I left NZ for a new life in Australia. In 1984 I began implementing the strategies and techniques from Joes' book in my own life and met with a great deal of success. Since 1989 I have been working as a personal growth and development consultant with unemployed people throughout Australia, using many of these strategies, alongside those of Anthony Robbins, Norman Vincent Peale, Robert Kiyosaki, Steven Covey and Edward de Bono in my presentations and training. Over all the results have been amazing, and my heart bursts with love and pride when I witness the changes that occur in peoples lives when they take on and apply the things Joe Karbo wrote about.Joe's book became my bible and I lost count of the number of times I lent it out and/or had to tape it back together again because it was falling apart. Eventually in 1995 it disappeared and I have been searching for it ever since. So it is with much joy that I order a new copy from amazon.com. The primary reason for this is that in my life I have been blessed with meeting so many incredible people, one of whom was Robert Kiyosaki who wrote a wonderful book called, "If you want to be rich and happy don't go to school". I have been fortunate enough to have worked with Robert for short time on one of his sojourns to Australia and he gave me some advice which I have never forgotten. That is, that no matter how many times you may read, try, do or see something, there is always some new thing to learn or some new distinction to make. This has been so true in the work I have done using Joe Karbo's The lazy man's way to riches. Dyna /psych is simple and powerful and does make a difference if you apply it with persistence, discipline and determination. The rewards, both material and spiritual are immense. Life is beautiful. Thank you Joe.

Let's dispense with the formalities. Melmoth the Wanderer is a really long, really verbose book. However, it is a MASTERPIECE of gothic literature. Its best parts (and there are many) surpass Poe's nightmarish tales for sheer paranoia and fear, but the inordinate amount of time Maturin takes to reach the next denoument in the story took away from my overall perception of the novel. Very long, and gothic to the point of absurdity. (you'll love it!)

Published in 1820, Maturin's "Melmoth the Wanderer" is usually named as the last of the Gothic novels. Gothic here implies the incorporation of Burke's elements of the "sublime", wherein terror and sorrow invoke in the reader a heightened sense of empathy with the events unfolding in the narrative. Maturin pulls out all the stops of his time in creating situations of hopelessness, fear, and both religous and social sadism. Melmoth himself has sold his soul to the devil (will these people *never* learn? ;-) and attempts over the course of scores of years to find someone so desperate that they will take this "bargain" off his hands before the devil comes for his due. The novel is constructed of tales-within-tales, depicting the awful conditions the people Melmoth seeks out find themselves in. For example, the "Tale of the Spaniard" is told by a prisoner of the Inquisition (although this tedious tale takes over 120 pages to even GET to the Inquisition), whose life is still not so horrible that he would willingly trade place with the wandering Melmoth. The narrative is infuriatingly slow and convoluted, and only a perseverance surpassing the average will reward the patient reader with the creation of atmosphere that keeps this book on the "must read" list of true afficiandos of the supernatural. A minor note: Patrick O'Brian pays tribute to the author by naming one of contemporary literature's most well-known characters after him: half of the "Aubrey/Maturin" team of O'Brian's 19th-century novels of naval warfare.

"Melmoth the Wanderer" is a tour de force of Gothicism, however, the psychological profundity of each character distinguishes this novel from typical examples of the genre. The multi-layered narrative, while occasionally confusing, is worth the concentration as Maturin weaves a complex and gripping tale. Of particular interest is the Tale of the Indian, which is concerned with the influence of Melmoth over Immalee, an innocent girl, alone on an Indian island. The description of her innocence is magnificent in its simplicity and effectiveness. An absolutely astounding, challenging and exciting book.

It seems to me that everyone is happy with the book, but is it really that good? In my opinion it's far from perfect preparation guide for OCP exam. It's true that author covered *almost* all topics from OCP preparation guide, organization of the book is indeed good, questions at the end of each chapter and sample test at the end of the book are real gems. Even typographical errors are almost gone in this edition compared with author previous edition Oracle7 to 8 Upgrade (which was probably not proof read at all).

So, where is the problem? First I found layout of the book simply terrible, it really hurts readability of otherwise more or less well-written chapters. You'll probably need a set of markers at hand while reading to make clear distinction of key words, wrapped syntax and dense sections. Extensive usage of boldface and lack of white space in this book makes this even worse and as such worthless for any kind of reference in the future (ok, this last one is perhaps too much to expect from cram book, after all ;-).

When I prepared for upgrade exam from Oracle 7.3 to 8.0 I used Exam Cram study guide as my primary source of information, ILT Courseware as second and Oracle technical manuals for detailed explanations on particular topics as third source of information. This time around I think ILT courseware is better exam preparation resource than Exam Cram book Oracle8 to 8i Upgrade. ILT is certainly more readable (thanks to clear layout) and more comprehensive at the same time.

Topics that I found incomplete or with missing explanation in this book are: LogMiner (incomplete description of V$ views), LOBS (temporary LOBS...), DBMS_REPAIR, FGAC (data dictionary views?), Constraint Changes in Oracle8i and last but not least, chapter on Resource Manager is a clear example of how NOT to present new feature in study guide.

You should also be careful while reading and answering the questions because some statements (answers) are wrong, for example false statement introduced in Oracle7.3 to 8 Upgrade book that makes you believe that partitioning of bitmap indexes was not possible in Oracle8 is still here, wrong definition of normalized / denormalized dimensions and unclear definition of prefixed index are also examples of possible misunderstanding of the topics.

So, the question is should you buy this book if you already have ILT? Don't forget that the main objective of Exam Cram books is to help you pass the exam (not necessarily help you to really *learn* something), I'm sure this book will deliver that promise. Those of you without ILT don't have much choice, Mr. Freeman book is still the best OCP 8 to 8i study guide on the market. Good luck!

With this book and experience as my preparation, I just passed the 8i upgrade exam with plenty of room to spare. The average question on the real exam is actually easier than those found in this guide. Just as I discovered with the Oracle8 Networking Exam Cram text, I scored 10% higher on the one that counted.

There were no fill-in-the-blank questions on the real exam this morning. But knowing the material well enough to successfully deal with that type of testing will enable you to navigate through multiple-answer / multiple-choice format without a problem. I do not fault the authors for this variance; Oracle most likely changed the format (or much less likely, fill-in-the-blank questions still exist, but were not randomly selected for my test).

There were many typographical errors that prevent me from giving this work 5 stars. It seems like search and replace was used overzealously (e.g., "Cer1tification").

So when will Exam Cram be releasing a book for the "8i to 9i Upgrade"? ...

I found this book to be an excellent upgrade guide with just the right emphasys on the new features and still maintains good integration with general Oracle theory. Easy to read and few errors.
One warning, expect the real exam to be much more difficult than the book's questions.
I read this guide three times and passed the exam with 80%.

Private Robert Sneden of the 40th New York Volunteers was trained in architecture and engineering and assigned to make detailed maps of the unknown terrain being traversed by the Union Army. This assignment gave him unusual freedom to roam the areas and battlefields to which he was assigned. Fortunately he kept a daily journal and made well drawn sketches and watercolor paintings as he went. The book covers the period from September 29, 1861, shortly after he joined McClellan's army encamped at Leesburg, Virginia, to December 26, 1864, when he was finally reunited with his family. With an artist's eye for detail and a surprisingly deft ability with the English language, Sneden provides the reader with some of the most memorable descriptions, watercolor colors of scenes, and eyewitness accounts ever published on the Civil War. Sneden's experiences can broadly be divided into two major periods.

The first general section of his journal concerns the events connected with McClellan's move toward the botched siege of Yorktown, Virginia, and ends with the bloody battles of the 7 Day's War in which Lee attacked the Union forces at Mechanicsville and forced the ensuing retreat. Sneden's almost matter-of-fact descriptions of the fighting, confusion, carnage, small unit movements, individual heroism, death, and destruction are powerful and moving.

The second general section of Sneden's journal concerns the events leading up to his capture by Mosby's Confederate cavalry, his internment first in Richmond and finally at the infamous Andersonville, and his eventual release and reunion with his family. No brief review could possibly do justice to the descriptions of the inhumanity displayed at these prison facilities. Sneden's accounts are strong, detailed, and painful to read.

I highly recommend this book. It is a book which belongs in the collection of anyone interested in United States history and the Civil War in particular.

This book is remarkable and different from almost any other war remembrance I have come across. Not only has Robert Knox Sneden penned a highly descriptive account of his years with the Army of the Potomac and as a prisoner of war, his work is illustrated with scores of his own watercolors depicting what he saw -- many made at the time he was witnessing places and events during the war.

Sneden had an unusual vantage point. An engineer and draftsman, Sneden's services were employed as a map maker for several Union Generals during the first two and a half years of the war. Although a private, this posting gave him an easier life than experienced by most privates. Although in the field, Sneden was attached to headquarters. His staff position and duties also gave him considerable free time -- from which we benefit. Sneden used this time to record his observations in both written form and via sketches and watercolor renderings of war scenes.

Sneden's posting was not without difficulty or danger. Several times he had to reconnoiter close to the enemy or between the lines in order gather the information needed for accurate local maps. He was also asked to journey over recently fought over battlefields to aid in the construction of after-action reports -- after the Union army had left and local control had reverted to Confederate partisans.

On one such journey away from the main army, Sneden and a few of his companions were captured by Mosby's Rangers. Sneden then began his journey through the Confederate prisoner of war system staying in Richmond, Andersonville and several other locations.

His experiences are well written. Sneden has a very matter of fact style of writing that gets to the point and is descriptive without being overwrought. Having read "Company Ayche" by Sam Watkins and "All for the Union" by Elisha Hunt Rhodes, I would rank Sneden's work as highly among Civil War remembrances. His unique position enables him to comment on battlefield and camp experiences in all their gritty detail as well as those portions of the Union high command with whom he came in contact. His prisoner of war writing reveals the brutal realities of life at Andersonville and other locations. The raw and inhumane world of these men is given testamony by Sneden in his gripping account of what he and others bore.

The artwork illustrates the text well. Although probably considered somewhat rough strictly as art, it is poignant and captivating. His original maps are also fascinating as historical documents.

This is a very good book. The war and prison scenes are engaging and very interesting. The author's style is highly readible and very convincing in terms of giving a front line view of army and prison life. The plentiful contemporary illustrations makes this book a stand out among the genre.

Robert Sneden served as a map maker during the early years of the Civil War, and finished his war in the Andersonville prison camp. Recent discoveries of his drawings and diary have allowed this book to be published. The story is breath taking, a personal sojourn through the mud and battle of America's great tradgedy.

The book is well edited. Brief italicized passages place the reader within the context of the battles and time. Sneden spent most of his time as a staff member at the Division and Corp levels, allowing him to see a wider view of the war than most. He drew maps, but he also drew many sketches. These provide a visual beauty to the book.

The water colors were obviously created after the war, and the diary entries were also updated from memory. His style as an artist is horizontal, with landscapes and muted muddy colors and great details, a map maker who draws the world around him.

Sneden was an interesting man, with some bigotries, and some brilliant insights. His frustration with the generalship of the Army of the Potomac is shared by the reader. His description of prison life in Andersonville reminds me of the book King Rat, and is both evocative, realistic, and saddening.

The wealth of detail is incredible -- early balloon experiments, the frustrations of mud, dysentery, and nature, and the incredible rapaciousness of the average soldier (digging up church cornerstones in search of souvenirs). Thse details are fascinating, but they are encapsulated within a story of great scope -- one man's war that mirrors the entire Civil War.

Sneden was an artist, a good commentator, and he got around. The result is a true story, fascinating for both the civil war buff and the average reader. A tremendous book.

If you like the Van Patten series of grow guides then you might like this one too, which is how I found out about this guide. What I find with these series of books is that they lack overall structure and layout but do cover a reasonable amount of information somewhere in the lengthy text. I found mostly what I wanted in there somewhere and you can too if you are willing to spend the time looking for it.

As other reviewers have said it is not easy to locate and find the information that you need without having to read through a lot more than just what you want. As with other books in the Van Patten series the reader can enjoy a large and diverse coverage of cultivation information within each chapter which spans its many pages.

Although I found the guide to be enjoyable and easy to read I was left with the impression that the book did not make the information that I really wanted very accessable which is really my only gripe with it. So I guess this is not the kind of book I expected to read but I enjoyed it anyway.

The layout and editing could be a lot better. Maybe this book might be a little too narrative and essay-like in its presentation to be considered a good reference book on the subject of marijuana cultivation. If you like essays on marijuana cultivation then this is the one, make no mistake about that, but if you want a good reference guide to cultivation techniques and cannabis botany then I would suggest that you look for an alternative guide too.

Hi - I work in the "field" and I must say I was surprised to see how well structured this new effort of Cervantes. Instead of judging growers methods from a an objective and superior perspective [aka ed] Jorge just offers a complete overview of growing styles from all over the world. The book is packed with pictures, drawings and interesting web links that truly help out the reader in understanding in a simple step-by-step way. Jorge has gained my respect in evolving his guides to "panoramas" and maintain always his humour and personal gardening experience to a level where reading becomes a pleasure and learning a fun process. Thank you Jorge - I hope you guyz out there will appreciate his new book the way I did! Greets from Switzerland - ZtefaN

Always a pleasure to read one of Jorge's books, but this one is far and away the best so far! All information was at my fingertips making trouble-shooting with my garden a simple task. Also a delight to see all those full-color photos - why don't all grow books have these? They should! Thank you, Jorge, for this wonderful addition to my collection. You are, through your books, my personal grow Guru!