Harrington and Burger waste a lot of time, and my money, in this book without an end. When detailing the crimes, they become rather coy and worried about being overly sensational. I appreciate that many books become lurid in their description of crimes, but Harrington and Burger are almost shy in their description.

The real mass of the book is an endless litany about how long it takes to get Ng to trial, and in fact, the trial hasn't even begun when this book ends. The authors endlessly quote sources, to the point that the reader just wants to cry.

I am still trying to figure-out the reason for this book. It basically tells the reader nothing, and doesn't inform in any way.

Don't waste your money.

The trial was only half over when the book ends. Yes, Ng was found guilty but the penalty phase of the trial remained. After 14 years, couldn't the authors (and publishers) waited a few more months? I found the account and analysis of the legal wrangling simplistic and shallow.

Among true life crime stories, this one gets high ratings for effort and its choice of the most sensational subject matter. The perpetrators of the hideous crimes described in these pages make Ted Bundy look like a boy scout. The two villains of the case stalk and capture their victims, force some of them into sexual slavery, torture them in a variety of ways. These miscreants have no moral limits, taunting a mother with the threat of killing her baby (which turns out to be no idle threat) while they force her to perform sexual acts on film. Men, women, and children (even whole families) disappear from various California locales and end up savaged by the brutal world of Leonard Lake and Charlie Ng. Aside from sexual perversion, robbery and theft of identity are the other motives of these crazed killers. The gruesome stuff occupies the first half of the book and includes descriptions and narratives of the various law enforcement agencies involved in the case.

A key ingredient of this book is the very size of the case, which presents giant hurdles for the police and prosecutors who must bring the case against Charlie Ng. Fortunately for law enforcement and victims, one of these murderers commits suicide when first apprehended. But the remaining killer, Charlie Ng, flees to Canada to escape the possible death penalty in the U.S. Charlie Ng is a master of gaming with the legal system, firing his lawyers, stalling, engaging in other delaying tactics at the expense of the victims and the legal system. The legal manipulations get so bad that an appeal goes beyond the Canadian high courts to the United Nations committee on Human Rights. Although the murders were committed in 1984, it's not until 1998 that Ng actually goes to trial. The sheer size of the case is staggering, and the legal system is in danger of collapse from its crushing weight and the tremendous financial burdens imposed upon the authorities.

The last section of the book is devoted to ideas and commentary on reform of the judicial system. On the whole, this is an ambitious book, but it chokes on the same bones that the legal system uncovers during its investigations. There's too much of everything to consider: too many murders, too many people, too many clues and crime scenes. Another reason for what occasionally seems a disjointed approach may be that it was written by two authors. Though some readers might need to bypass the nauseating details of the crimes, this is worthwhile news reporting of a case that occupied the public attention for more than a decade and resulted in several network television documentaries. The book's commentary and critcism of the legal system have an appeal and relevance to crime victims and their families, as well as to officers of the courts.

This cliff notes is very disappointing. To much analysis and not enough straight fact from starters. Also, as I perused it in 10th grade for my final exams, I wondered if Cliff and I had read the same book. The book is short..you're better off reading the book. At best, use it as a companion to the book.

I needed cliff notes for my report, but all they do is help...

As a complete novice to Perl, the cover comments and certifications looked good. But it didn't take me long to realise that this was one of the worst computing books I've read. Inaccurate explanations, incorrect examples, examples on the CD that don't work, sections of corrupted text, the list goes on. I expected far better from a publisher like SAMS. I've complained to SAMS but they havn't replied ! DON'T BUY THIS BOOK !

I have spent some time looking at this title, and it covers quite a broad section of Perl applications. The actual language section represents less than 20% of the text, the rest is dedicated to the actual use of the language - databases, cgi, Win32, system functions. A good book for people with more advanced applications to write.

This book is excellent to learn Perl 5, it is better than other titles that I've checked. You only have to read the three first chapters to understand others Perl scripts and even write your own scripts; you can read them in a week. Perl 5 Unleashed is my personal "Perl Bible". This book is clear and concise, excellent if you are a beginner and don't want to spend many hours to learn Perl; also it's an excellent reference for advanced programmers. It's true that the book has some typos, but you will get enough knowledge that you will find them easily, which by the way can be considered as excellent "find-the-bug excersises". I strongly recommend this book if you need to learn Perl right now and from a good teacher. Thank you Husain.

I was warned by a bad review of this book, and bought it anyway because I liked the Gospel According to Peanuts by the same author.

Short has become an apostate. This book amoung other things claims that satan doesn't really exist, and is just another side of the almighty God.

I assure you satan does exist, and is going to be shortly bound a thousand years. This isn't a Christian book.

Which is too bad, because it takes away from Charles Shultz own Christian cartoons, and in particular the much beloved Christmas special, A Peanuts Christmas.

I suggest getting that video, and ignoring this book.

I had to read it to believe [the] review since I too read "The Gospel According to Peanuts" by Robert Short and found the same results when comparing these two books by Short. It's an ironic joke how Short emphasizes the importance of knowing the bible while he doesn't notice his own failure at knowing enough to write accurately upon Christian doctrine. For example, Short is correct about his explanation how man really doesn't have the free will to choose God since God is sovereign and elects whom He predestines. The problem comes when Short claims there is no future Judgment Day and no future hell. My question for him to answer is, "What has God saved His children from if it isn't eternal damnation?" Another confusion Short doesn't realize he creates through this book comes from the false doctrine of Jesus having died for each and every person who ever is/was conceived and using that as his explanation for why there will be no person to be punished by God's wrath for sin. He failed to point out how the context of how the word "all" is meant in the verses he focuses on. The sense of all as to eliminating the exclusion of certain groups of people compared to the meaning of each and every individual is an immensely vital concept to reveal for understanding the true humility behind, "Therefore but by the grace of God go I into heaven while others do NOT receive His gift of mercy." The fact is most people don't think they need mercy because they think there is nothing to fear from God and again this book doesn't help to bring someone to realize their need to drop to their knees in repentance begging for it before it is too late. True love warns others of imminent danger while the selfish person only seeks to be popular by talking about only things which are pleasing to hear and will make the speaker popular. The Old Testament contains plenty of examples of prophets rejected or accepted by people. Learn the lesson of what human nature tends to want to hear and then compare it against what God has to say. If only Short used his own advice on childlike faith to write this book rather than expressing childish faith in what he is teaching.

Theologians don't usually get enough credit for showing all they know. In the case of Robert L. Short, this book, on THE BIBLE and Peanuts, may be expected to generate comments on religious doctrines, like my own tendency to suggest that it suffers from single savior syndrome, as churches tend to do. This can go on until the Hegelian cows come home, but the fundamental matter actually gets discussed in Chapter 9 of this book, on "the experience of a broken heart." (p. 38) The kind of sense which Short is trying to make comes out as an inner dialectic on precisely this point. "Indeed, it's the purifying and purging and hellish fires within the broken heart that boil down the Bible's message into what is most essential and necessary for us to understand for our heart's peace." (p. 41) For my own good, it is nice to know that a comic strip in which Lucy van Pelt offers flawless advice for 5 cents, with "THE DOCTOR IS IN" showing on the front of her neighborhood shrink booth in five of the panels of that strip, can be seen on page 45 of this book, and helps make psychiatric care a contender for those who need some support in order to seem more respectable, even if her final comment is "BACK ALREADY? WHAT HAPPENED?" The effort to deal with profound matters in the tensions of our times shows up best for me in the Notes on pages 141-2. Note 11 shows that his quote of Oscar Wilde was from the poem, "The Ballad of Reading Goal," not a matter to be taken lightly.

Okay, now, for those of you who think Finney was such a great "evangelist" who brought in so many "converts" to Christ, you should study some of his beliefs before you go on saying how great a preacher and revivalist Finney was. Finney denied justification by grace through faith alone, total depravity, inherited and imputed sin, and prevenient grace. As a result, people become their own saviour. Obviously, the problem with these types of revivalisms are that they have no solid and orthodox theological foundation.

After having read this book, I have mixed emotions. First, I'd say that I learned quite a bit, and enjoyed the tremendous amount of research the author put in. Hambrick-Stowe is clearly knowledgeable and it comes through in the book.

My main hesitations in recommending this book are the almost gratuitous jabs the author takes at Finney and others that really take away from the scholarly feel. For example, after his conversion, Finney quit his practice as a lawyer and told a client (as he writes in his autobiography), "I have a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead his cause, and I cannot plead yours." Hambrick-Stowe felt the need to follow this up with the line "A famously witty utterance, it is also the kind of line that may have gotten better with each telling until it finally saw print" (p. 19). This type of cynical statement, grounded only in the author's speculation, almost ruined the book for me. He does it several times. Sometimes it's based on his opinion (as the above example). Other times, when there are two conflicting accounts, he will select one as the "correct" version and then put the other version in a bad light. He does this a few times with Finney's Memoirs. Charles Finney wrote his Memoirs (his autobiography) when he was in his seventies, about events that happened up to fifty years earlier. Interestingly, he asked his wife to burn it the day before he died. He never even intended his autobiography to be published! Though there are undoubtedly some errors in his Memoirs, it was actually a "prodigious feat of memory" as Hambrick-Stowe calls it (p. 292). Whenever Hambrick-Stowe finds a discrepancy in it, he should have been more charitable, realizing it was the work of a man in his seventies who did not intend it to be published. In general, I wish he had been less caustic in general, especially in the early parts of the book.

To his credit, Hambrick-Stowe does nicely set Finney in the historical context, and acknowledges the immense accomplishments and genius that Finney had. He ends with the appropriate quote from James Morgan that "There was in him [Finney], in prayer, the most remarkable power that I have ever seen in any human being."

Charles G. Finney And the Spirit of American Evangelicalism By Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe

The book Charles G. Finney by Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe is a biography of an influential nineteenth-century Christian, Charles G. Finney. Hambrick-Stowe writes of the ways that Finney influence on the people brought forth the spirit of American evangelism. The author looks at Finney as a typical American, and as a Spirit filled believer mixed into one. One of the major themes in the book is how this complex man, Finney, managed to hold together the very different religious beliefs. These beliefs were of Presbyterian New School-Old School schism, and the Calvinist and Wesleyan versions of the Protestant gospel. Another theme is about the effectiveness of Finney ministry and his way of preaching. Before his conversion Finney was an apprentice to a lawyer, and Hambrick-Stowe points out how this had much influence on the way that Finney preached. Finney began his preaching career in and around New York after the first Great Awakening, and before the Civil War. According to Hambrick-Stowe's account of Finney's conversion and preaching ministry, was anything but traditional. Hanbrick-Stowe continually points out different times that Finny broke with the traditional ways of preaching and went on to forge new ways to evangelize the American people with much vivacity. Hambrick-Stowe did not believe that Finney started the Second Great Awakening, but he was a major contributor influenced by preachers from the Great Awakening. His critical thinking skills and the poor preachers that he heard before his conversion helped strengthen his conviction to present the gospel with furor. Hambrick-Stowe makes Finney out to be the spark that lit the fire of evangelism. Because there was much turmoil in the church, and a lack of enthusiasm in preaching, Finney's style spoke directly to the people and brought on deep conviction of even the hardest critic. People responded to Finney's preaching because he used whatever method was necessary for the congregation. The greater the crisis in the community where Finney preached, the greater the response to the Holy Spirit. If a town or city were experiencing turmoil in any sense of the word, they would look to religion to lighten the burden of the social and economic status. Finney used this to his advantage in the pulpit. Hambrick-Stowe lets the reader believe that another reason for the effectiveness of Finney's preaching is due to Finney's personal interest in the people Spiritual wellbeing. In his ministry, Finney would go to different people's house to talk to them on a personal level, and to get a better understanding of them. He would talk to the local authorities and the religious leaders as well. Finney would encourage people to pray for the ministry, for penitents to give their lives to Christ, and for those who had special needs to come up to the front to be prayed for. Hambrick-Stowe tells us that another factor that contributed to Finney's influence was his message for all peoples regardless of age, race, or sex. Even during a time of heated theological debate between the denominations, Finney brought harmony where there was discord between people. Finney's role in the time was of a person who led the way for a new means of revival that continue today. His idea's of salvation for all persons was a new idea after the puritan and Calvinistic ideas of predestination. Finney encouraged door-to-door evangelism, personal testimonies in a service, and even women's testimonies. This is a good educational book.

This book is dreadful. My students hate it and I'm sorry I ever subjected them to it because it makes music and music education seem completely "dead".

We had to read this book for our Foundations course in music education. I found it boring, out of date, poorly written --- altogether, it's a very, very poor introduction to the field of music education by three very pedantic, "out of touch" authors.

The content of this text makes it a fine supplement to any "nuts and bolts" textbook for pre-service music teachers. While the authors do not address important topics such as rehearsal planning, teaching skills, and behavior management; they do address several other topics not usually treated in detail in secondary texts -- topics such as music education history, philosophy and aesthetics, psychological and sociological foundations, curriculum development, research competencies, assessment, and current issues in teacher education. I use this as a library reserve item, asking students to present in-class reports on its various topics. An extremely useful supplement that leads to professionally oriented in-class discussions.

I love Buk, but honestly, the story is 6 pages long, theres a few pages of cartoons, & NONE of it is funny.

This book is more like a booklet. It is VERY slim, with many blank pages, just to make it feel thicker. Crumb fans get 7 drawings, and Buk readers get 7 pages.

This story of a broken down, z-grade, stand up comedian who is on his last legs in the business, is realistic. At one point, the comedy club manager tells the main character, (drawn to resemble Bukowski), to lighten up, that people come to forget their troubles. They don't want to be reminded of their problems by the entertainer onstage. Which is something that I've actually heard a club manager say in my hometown!

I enjoy Bukowski, and have been following Crumb's work for years, so I know that there are much better collections of their work, separately available, that give you much more quantity and quality for your money.

I suppose that this book is only of interest to the confirmed followers of either creator, but be forewarned that you won't get as much as you can usually expect from a book by either Crumb or Bukowski. Bummer.

There's No Business is about a stand-up comedian whose losing his touch. In typical Bukowski fashion the main character is someone you feel sympathy for even though they have no one to blame but themselves for their misfortune. This is worth buying because Bukowski and Crumb are masters of what they do and anything they team up on is instantly a classic.

This book is garbage. It is just thrown together for the publisher and author to make money. It is a very superficial review of cost accounting.

I was pleased with with this book. At the end of each chapter, a demonstration problem is provided with step by step instructions. Also available are template spreadsheet at the Southwestern website which are very helpful in understanding some end of chapter exercises.

This is some of the most famous stories that he has gathered. Famous writers like Poe, Dickens and Wilde... In my oppinion this book is just as many others of this sort. They have the almost the same stories in every book. And after some of them you get pretty tired of them. I didn't like it at all, but i Know that some of you will.

In fairness, I have not yet finished the book. Yet I am already disappointed that so little was included about the European ideological and theological heritage that went into the Articles and the Constitution. Also, very little was said about the motivations and concerns of the Anti-Federalists.
The layout is attractive and easy to read. At times, the information content per paragraph is low. Some of the incidents are interesting or good cocktail party fodder, but they seem to shy away from presenting thought provoking material without accompanying commentary. In other words, I feel they don't trust the reader to think for him/herself.
The authors manifest their views everywhere but do not admit that they are opinions or discuss how the presentation is crafted around those opinions. This feature of the book lends itself to a game that increases alertness while reading: "Spot the authors' opinions." Whether you find yourself agreeing or not, it is important to recognize the authors' goals and rationale.