Don't be fooled by Steven McLeod's review. This book is not an English translation of the French poet's work. It is printed entirely in French with no side-by-side translation. Just don't make the same mistake I did and send it as a gift to a non-French speaking friend!

(By the way, my three stars mean nothing as I couldn't read the book either, but was required to fill-in the field to submit this "review.")

I am not a writer, nor a critic. I am a mere reader who appreciates good works. This is one of my staple books, which I often reread and recommend to people who I feel might have the mind to appreciate genius. This is the best translation I know of and as a necessary feature of translated poetry, it includes the original French text, as well. Baudelaire reveals the beauty within darkness and exposes the darkness within light. Brilliance has always been rare, but I would say now it is more rare than ever within the literary field. This may very well be due to books like this going unread by the majority of the population. This is a wonderful book to enhance a person's writing depth, and their understanding of the world. Other great author's and books are: Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud, Mallarme, Antonin Artaud's Anthology and The Death of Satan, Lautremont and Maldoror by Issidore Ducasse, All of the Marquis de Sade's works, Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, Anne Sexton's Complete Works, La Batarde by Violette Leduc, the diaries of Anais Nin, and Sylvia Plath's poetry.

... This book does indeed include the original French version in its second half, and Richard Howard's breathtakingly vivid and vital English translation in its first half. This is the definitive English translation of Les Fleurs du Mal, and by far my favorite.

As to the substance of this remarkable book of poetry, Baudelaire's work is one of such groundbreaking genius on so many levels that it may never be equaled. He has achieved Gustave Flaubert's great aim of "le seul mot juste" (the unique right word) with such consistency that one can only smile in amazement and wonder. The aural music created by this poetry intoxicates as the meaning of the words strikes deep into the heart of the reader, putting into words thoughts and feelings that he could never express. These alternate with shocking and horrifying images that bring to mind Kafka's "Metamorphosis." Longing, irony, desolation, desire, betrayal, anger, melancholy, ecstasy, alienation, and more are Baudelaire's subjects, and his words are the arrows in his quiver that never miss their mark. A few of my favorites are: The Albatross, Elevation, Hymn to Beauty, The Head of Hair, The Cat, Spleen III, The Clock, and Hymn.

As a look into the human heart and mind, I rank this work with Michel de Montaigne's "Essays." It would also land on my list of universal, desert-island books.

Howard is a great historian and he manages to boil the First World War down to 135 pages. This is an informative work for those who do not have the time to invest in a more detailed book.
It breaks down the war into an introduction, and the years of the war, plus the results of the war. If one is looking for specific information about battles, then this is not the book for the reader.
As Howard relates in his introduction, there is still a lot of controversy about some aspects of the war. Howard relates the most popular versions, but the reader can still chose to second guess. This is good starter book for those interested in the First World War.

This book is a quite good very brief introduction to World War I. All aspects are covered, though concetration is on military events viewed from a high strategic level. Thus, only about a page is spent on the Battle of the Marne and surrounding events, but the reader is made aware of the basic movements and their importance. And, in one paragraph, the author conveys a better feel for the ebb and flow on the eastern front in 1914 than usually happens in more detailed histories. One is never going to lose sight of the forest for the trees in this book! There are spare but useful maps, some photographs, and a table of casualty figures. There are a few misprints, and some awkward syntax on occasion. Also, from a style viewpoint, I felt the author overused the phrase "as we have seen". But those are minor quibbles about an overall excellent book.

The book is small and very short. That means it cannot discuss things in details, and thus one cannot expect to be an expert by reading it.

The book does explain most of the major events, all very briefly, all very well.

The book is easy to follow and understand and has simple diagrams that complement the reading.

This is one of several books I bought while in med school studying neuroscience. This is a beautiful text, with wonderful drawings, good use of catscans and MRIs, and an excellent layout. It helped me considerably to learn the anatomy of the spinal cord and brain. Since I am deaf and they couldn't deal with it in a classroom (looking down at microscopes does not make lipreading easy or help my interpreters)...they sent me to the morgue with medical students and nursing students. This book provided the background I needed to do well in this situation, because the drawings were explicit enough to be recognizeable when presented with the real thing. I also use this book with deaf students who I hope to encourage to go into science. The drawings always get them interested enough to ask questions, and that is what good science is about. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

John H., Phd Martin constructed a well-rounded neuroanatomical textbook. The material covers every anatomical aspect of the n.s. including chapters on embryonic development and vascular anatomy. The text is continuously tied in with detailed images (ct, mri, & myelin stained slices of c.n.s.). The reading material is exceptionaly easy for its class. The book gets very detailed, and will make you a leading source on neuroanatomy. Author comment: "Even though this book came out a few years back in '96, the material today is still very similar and they do not get any user-friendlier."

This book is good in that it teaches consonants and vowel points simultaneously. Instead of teaching the letters alphabetically, it teaches them as they appear in several brachot. So, you're learning to read by reading written Hebrew. It's not meant to teach vocabulary or grammar.

The book is very easy to read and understand, but I was a bit disappointed in the religious overtones. There are people that want to learn to read Hebrew as a language, not for any religious purpose.

This book is a truly effective method of learning Hebrew letters. It has the repetition needed when learning a foriegn language. In studying it, you are able to recognize letters many pages after you learned them. I recommend this book to anyone needing to learn to read Hebrew.

This is the best IIS security book I've found yet, and I do Microsoft network security consulting for a living. Most IIS books simply rehash the IIS help files or Resource Kit-- this doesn't. Moreover, IIS 5.0 on Windows 2000 is substantially different than IIS 4.0 on NT, but nobody else I've read tackles the new heavy features like Kerberos authentication, digital certificate mapping to Active Directory, IPsec packet filtering for HTTP, distributed applications with COM+/DCOM, WMI, ADSI, etc.. The CD-ROM is also very useful; for example, it includes a Perl script which will search IIS logs for common attack signatures for intrusion detection. This book is written for security administrators and web-application developers. It has saved me MANY hours of trying to track down IIS 5.0 security internals that might not be documented anywhere else.

I've read many books about computer and network security, and this blows away all of them. It's easy to read, extremeley pragmatic and, as far as I know, it is the ONLY BOOK that discusses how to design, build and troubleshoot end-to-end security. The degree to which Michael discusses 'real-life' security issues is incredible, there is so much information in this book, and I thought I knew how to build secure solutions.

You gotta buy this book, it'll save you time and consulting fees.

The best book I've read regarding web security. Covers a lot of ground, quickly and logically. I didn't realise there was so much to learn. The author's obviously know their stuff and have had their fair share of battle wounds, it shows in the non-alarming wisdom throughout the book. They've 'been there, done that.'

Covers all the bases for building secure applications, not just little bits of security. This is a failing of so many other security books.

Security is a strong as the weakest link and this is the only book that covers all the links.

Too many books talk about how to secure a network, and discuss network-based attacks, but this book is different; it covers how to design, build and test the code at the end of the pipe - the application software.

The book is complete in its explanation of how to make sure your application code, be it web-based or otherwise, is secured from attack.

I learned a great deal from this book, and, based on code and design reviews of my company's code, the authors obviously know what they are talking about - as we made a lot of fixes, and added many new security test cases to our test suites.

Simply put, we never knew we had problems, until we read this book, now it's mandatory reading for all our software engineers.

I bought this book after the *Bill Gates* email came out about Microsoft being serious about security. I figured that when he sends email like this to the company, it's important. And when **he recommends this book** in the email, it's something worth looking at. It is - Writing Secure Code is great. It's an easy read, full of great design, development and testing principles and ideas.

The first couple of chapters revolve around design, in fact ch2 is over 70pp long, and it's all about how to design secure systems.

The bulk of the book focuses on secure coding, including buffer overruns, sockets, RPC, COM, Crypto, canoniclization issues, least privilege, storing secret data, Web apps - and more!

The last part of the book discusses common .NET coding errors, and how to build security test plans.

What makes this book utterly unique is it really teaches you how to design and test secure applications, as well as how to write them. The design and test stuff I have seen nowhere else.

The book is worth every penny, and I now know why Bill Gates recommends the book to all Microsoft developers.

I got this book for free from Microsoft, because our company became a Microsoft Partner. I must admit that at first I was a little bit sceptical about it, because afterall this book is published by Microsoft and they have this reputation of selling rather insecure software themselves. But after reading the first few sections I knew it was going to be a very good read.

The book explains in very clear language almost every aspect of secure programming and gives a good overview of all common security flaws that can (and will!) enter your programming code. You'll learn how to securely design, implement, test and deploy your programs. Ofcourse buffer overruns are handled (Public Enemy #1 according to the authors), but that's only the tip of the iceberg. The book does a great job by identifying and providing solutions to common security pitfalls. Topics that are handled include: database access, user privileges and Access Control, Cryptography, handling secret data, user input, encoding and internationalization, RPC, DCOM, DOS attacks, .NET and writing secure program documentation.

I recommend this book to every programmer out there, even if you're not programming for the Win32-platform. Don't let the fact that this is a Microsoft publication refrain you from buying this book. If you are serious about writing secure programs this is the book to get.

This is an essay with deep insights, but it is not a portal to other knowledge as it lacks any notes or bibliography. The author is one of our top strategists, historians, and teachers of war and peace and this is very much a capstone presentation.

The settlement of disputes among groups whose grievances are so great they are willing to die rather than accept impositions from others, are a fact of life. As 11 September has shown us, we are vulnerable to unconventional attacks against civilians, within our own borders--this book is relevant and readable.

The core idea is that only organized nation-states that can command the loyalty and obedience of their citizens, are capable of preventing war and championing peace. The concepts of corporate peace and non-governmental peace are explicitly disavowed.

Legitimization and brutality are recurring themes in history--peace among nations occurs when mutual respect or fear legitimize the status quo, and incredible brutalities, including routine massacres of "infidel" civilians, occur when states fail to control themselves or their populations.

A major disruptive factor in today's world is the combination of educated but unemployed masses within the Arabian and Islamic nations, and the globalization of communications--but it is a one-way globalization, firehosing the Muslims with corporate consumerist visions and impositions, while a Muslim Press Service has yet to form. Individual states--one could suggest that the United States is among them--failing to nurture a clear definition of citizenship, and the requisite loyalties--are destined to suffer internal fragmentation and external attack.

Strong militaries are needed to win wars, but overt military intervention is not the route to a sustainable peace in today's complex environment--only diplomacy, cultural outreach, and mutually agreed consensus can create and sustain peace....this is the simple yet brutal message of this book, one our leaders have yet to grasp.

In a short and concise essay Micheal Howard explains why the universalist pretentions of idealists from many Western European countries are intellectually unsound. It is quite a strong bit of conceit that leads such misguided ideologues to believe that by simply imposing a Western European notion of peace through means of "internaltional law" war can be either outlawed or severely mitigated. Given that there are still a great many different cultures, with different views on peace, war, and the legitimacy of both, it is hard to imagine how to achieve the consensus necessary to legitimize such Kantian dreams. It is further a strong bit a irony that those who cry loudest for the imposition of their peaceful ideas on humanity as a whole also champion multiculturalist toleration, thereby implicity preserving the the very social structures that precludes the possibility for the establishment of a universally acceptable code of law. Even if this world-wide legitimacy were to be miraculously achieved sometime in the future, force would still be required to uphold it, as force is required to command obedience to cultural norms in all societies, no matter how homogeneous. "So although it is tempting to believe that as the international buorgeois community extends its influence a new and stable order will gradually come into being, we would be unwise to expect anything of the kind" (113). Unfortunately, wisdom is not seen as an impediment to sentimental action by the champions of the new juridical utopianism, who, having been forced to give up their previous attempts to legislate social justice by means of various past liberal ideologies, have moved on to international law. Although teleological theories of history have long been out of fashion in intellectual circles, the Hegelian dream remains strong among the self appointed moral elite.

The most important thing for you to know is that yes, peace was invented. It is a relatively new concept that is not clearly defined, and yet we strive for this idea that contradicts essentially all of human history. Michael Howard does a beautiful job of narrating this book, its' brevity hides the true depth of the authors' work. I must wholeheartedly recommend this to everyone.

This is a fine book for anyone's martial arts collection, however I already owned a copy. The reviews from publishers and other customers are actually for "The Fighter's Notebook", a great resource for buyers interested in a purchase they can actually learn mixed-martial art techniques from. I hope the current wrong reviews are corrected and were an honest mistake.

Not really a book but rather a no nonsense reference of mostly BJJ techniques (typically demonstrated JKD style with T-shirts and wresstling boots). Techniques are numerous, more than any other. Basically a big ring binder. I find it usefully to fill in the areas which I haven't been able to cover with my instructor until I get there. In other words, it gives you the theory and when you get the practice you jot down your own notes as per your inclass practical.

This book provides some interesting theories and some good beginning info about the various secret and not-so secret societies. However, it needs to show more clearly where some of the information is coming from. It's one thing to say, so and so was a mason or whatever, but where did this come from? How do you know? The flow is a little dis-jointed and scattered but it holds a reader's interest. It definelty gives some good background and will pique your curiosity to learn more. Coupled with some of Graham Hancock's stuff and you will come away with a really new perspective on history.

Precious book which provides factual insight into the origins, aims and machinations of secret societies. Book is more profound than its insinuating title would suggest. A must read for all rosicrucians, masons and would-be templars. This is a non-fiction edition of Foucault's Pendulum!

Karl von Clausewitz's (1780-1831) masterpiece On War, has deservedly been translated into most major languages. The Everyman's Library Edition of On War introduced by Peter Paret is the perhaps most widely acclaimed English edition.

Long recognized as the classic the strategic principles of armed conflict, the book continue to influence military thinking. On War is an attempt to reach an understanding of the nature of war itself. The Prussian general defines war as violence intended to compel the opponent to fulfill the will of the proponent. Violence is the means; submission of the enemy is the object.

The ultimate goal of war is political - armed combat is the means to a political end, without which war becomes «pointless and devoid of sense». Another key thought is that the total defeat of the adversary is the essence of war. A critique often heard against this strain of thought is that Clausewitz's focus on decisive battle and over strategic maneuver invites bloodbath.

The book is experiencing a renaissance in the post-Cold War era -reading it may well help to explain the phenomenon of war also in the years to com

Karl von Clausewitz's (1780-1831) masterpiece On War has deservedly been translated into most major languages. The Everyman's Library Edition of the work - introduced by Peter Paret - is the perhaps most widely acclaimed English edition.

Long recognized as the classic the strategic principles of armed conflict, the book continue to influence military thinking. On War is an attempt to reach an understanding of the nature of war itself. The Prussian general defines war as violence intended to compel the opponent to fulfill the will of the proponent. Violence is the means; submission of the enemy is the object.

The ultimate goal of war is political - armed combat is the means to a political end, without which war becomes «pointless and devoid of sense». Another key thought is that the total defeat of the adversary is the essence of war. A critique often heard against this strain of thought is that Clausewitz's focus on decisive battle and over strategic maneuver invites bloodbath. This can also serve to illustrate why the book has carried relevance over the centuries. -It focuses on the -how's of war rather than considerations that are bound to be influenced by Zeitgeist.

The book is experiencing a renaissance in the post-Cold War era -reading it may well help to explain the phenomenon of war also in the years to come.

I have the Regnery edition- "War, Politics, and Power," but this edition surmising Clausewitz's writings seems more widely available. So I offer my review on his writings and recommend this book. This book was widely disseminated in Red China, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union.

Essentially, this book contains the best writings of the German military theorist. Clauswitz, the Prussian Sun Tzu, effectively brought the concept of total war into acceptability. Gone our the days Antonie Henri Jomini's chilvarious code of conduct and honor- Civilians will not only be subject to attack - they'll bear the brunt of the battle in an age of total war. Several points are made- which are crucial to surmising Clausewitzian theory- 1) "War is the continuation of state policy by other means;" 2) "All war is based on the art of deception;" 3) "No one starts war... without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it;" 4) War is "an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will." 5) "If the enemy is thrown off balance, he must not be given time to recover. Blow after blow must be struck in the same direction: the victor, in other words, must strike with all his strength... by daring to win all, will one really defeat the enemy."

To me this work is valuable in its historical context- and as an ardent student of military history.