Loud and Clear is an outstanding resource for producing an effective presentation. The emphasis on audience analysis, which is so often overlooked, is excellent and will lead you to focus on the things that matter for your presentation. I especially liked the exercises suggested by the authors. Do them; you will learn more about your style of communication and your ability to connect with audiences than you had ever imagined. This book is probably most effective for newer presenters who need a foundation in the building blocks of assembling an effective presentation. But, it will also be instructional and valuable to check the effectiveness of more experienced presenters. Overall Loud and Clear is a concise, well-written recipe for effective presentations

Extremely detailed description of military life and protocol. Insider knowledge (reminiscent of Tom Clancy) of Special Operations selection process and operational methods. Very timely topic as public interest in the U.S. anti-terrorist campaign is peaking.

Preamble: "The Other Balkan Wars" is a reprint of the Report of the International Commission To Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). It was published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in May-June of 1993, under the presidentship of Morton Abramovitz.

Professor George F. Kennan has written the Introduction only for this book -date unavailable.

Quite a long time ago, almost twenty years before CEIP president, Morton Abramowitz, has brushed this book from the shelf, I have had the original in my hands, and this with the greatest care. My father, as a volunteer telegraphist was in the midst of the first book's subject.

Giving an opinion of the first and the second edition in English -I have no knowledge of any translation- is a task of the utmost seriousness. Let Good Lord help me to condense my view in less then a thousand words. At that point I will more than gladly respond to your kind offer and continue along this lines.

Sincerely, DJGB Popadich

This quaint but charming tale is by the beloved and respected Scottish storyteller, George MacDonald (At the back of the North Wind.) Originally titled, "My Uncle Peter" this Victorian Christmas story was published in 1870 and recounts the heart-tugging adventures of a badly-abused street urchin who is adopted by a kindly gentlemen, then viciously, greedily kidnapped.

MacDonald 's literature (mainly for adults) exerted a great influence on subsequent writers, who freely admit the importance of his literary legacy. C.S. Lewis regards him as his master, claiming to have quoted from him in almost all his books. JRR Tolkien used his work as a measuring stick for his own writitng in Lord of the Rings. MacDonald himself claims that he writes not for children, but for the childlike.

Named Little Christmas this pitiful waif is a character out of Dickens; she inspires both evil and generous reactions in those she meets, while suffering great injustice with stocisim. This story transports the reader back into violent times, with an ingenuous heroine and a tender benefactor. A delightful book to remind us of Christian charity and rekindle the flame of Christmas generosity.

The Vinland Map purports to be a 15th century map depicting Vikingexploration of North America centuries before Columbus. If genuine,the Vinland map is one of the great documents of Westerncivilization; if fake, it's an astoundingly clever forgery and Yale University has egg on its face. The first edition of the book in question, The Vinland Map and Tartar Relation, announced the discovery to the world in 1965. To commemorate the thirtieth anniversary, YUP published a second edition, adding a few new essays in support of the map's authenticity.

Of the controversy over its authenticity little more can be said in this review. The book itself covers some of the important objections (e.g. the presence of titanium in the ink), but slights or ignores much of the philological and historical criticism of recent years. (The web contains a certain amount of such criticism.) Lay readers may come away with the impression that the academic world is solidly behind the map, although this is far from the case.

Nevertheless, if you're interested in the Vinland Map this is the one essential book to own. It includes high-quality black and white plates of the map, together with text and translation of the legends and suchnot. The map was at one point bound with a manuscript known as the Tartar Relation (Historia Tartorum), itself a fascinating specimen of medieval geographical knowledge. As the circumstances of its production and replication are critical to the authenticity of the map, a full text and translation is also included.

This is definitely one of Elizabeth George's best! The character development in this book envelopes the reader in a carefully constructed storyline that keeps the reader guessing. The complicated relationships between Juliet and Colin, Juliet and her daughter Maggie, Maggie and her boyfriend, Polly & Colin etc. were fascinating (sometimes disturbing as well). George's descriptions of the countryside in England always make you feel as if you are right there with the characters. I've read 5 of her novels to date and this one is just behind In the Presence of the Enemy (which was my favourite). The only thing wrong with this book is that we didn't get to see much of Havers.

The negative reviews of this book perplex me. I have read all of the Lynley-Havers novels in chronological order up through "Playing for the Ashes". This was slightly better than "For the Sake of Elena", which was the best up to that point. George continues her strong development of the ongoing characters, especially Havers. There was more explicit sex in this book than the previous ones, but that is to be expected as time marches on and tastes change. I believe that the mystery here was the strongest since "Well-Schooled in Murder". If you have enjoyed other Lynley-Havers novels, I would recommend that you try this one.

"Missing Joseph" is by far the best of Elizabeth George's novels. The inter-relationship between characters could not be better. There were many intriguing and fascinating storylines. The book was extremly complex and well-handled. Interest never flagged for a moment. It was by far my favorite book by this superior author.I have read 3 times in the past year. Would recommend very highly!

his great novel, written in 1771, is one of those books that is written so much in the present moment of its own time that it becomes a valuable and fascinating time capsule for future generations. There is no more entertaining way to visit another time and place. There is no need for you to come to the novel already knowing anything about the eighteenth century, because Smollett has his sharp observant mind and all five of his senses open to his world for you--here you will read all of the sights, sounds, tastes, touches, and most memorably of all (for better and for worse) the *smells* of what surrounds him.

The grumpy-old-man-with-a-heart-of-gold Matthew Bramble takes his family and assorted hangers-on for a tour of Great Britain, visiting Bath, London, and many other places along the way. For lovers of Scotland, you are in for a treat here, as Smollett writes this novel as an important "P.R." job for his homeland to his skeptical English readers. The descriptions of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Hebrides make you want to book your airline tickets right away; Smollett has an eye for those aspects of the Scottish landscape and Scottish people that haven't really changed in the last 250 years.

This is an epistolary novel, written entirely in the form of letters with no central narrator.
The strength of this format is that it allows the reader to see the same places and events from the (sometimes radically different) perspective of more than one person. As a result, you get comedy, tragedy, farce, romance, satire, and a good adventure story all in one enjoyable package.

One word of caution, though: because of the epistolary format and the travelogue format, you shouldn't really approach "Humphry Clinker" with the expectations of finding a strong unified plot. This is something that we get mostly from the novels of the late eighteenth century and certainly the Victorian novels of the nineteenth century. There IS a plot--a good one--but just don't expect the plot to be the star of the show. If you read it as a series of memorable and sharply drawn sketches and characters and places, and for how well it captures what is unique to the time and place in which it is written, I think you will enjoy it a great deal.

One of the great things about these Amazon customer reviews is that they can alert you to wonderful books that you would otherwise not consider reading. "Humphry Clinker" is a prime example. An eighteenth-century epistolary novel may not sound too enticing and I would guess that few people other than students whose courses oblige them to, would read it these days. Well, I am here to tell you that you should! It is social satire at its brilliant best. Smollett satirized English society mercilessly, but was even harder on his fellow Scots. The result is a novel that is a continual and wicked joy to read.

The characters are finely drawn and their correspondence is written in very individual voices. We follow their adventures as they journey through England and Scotland in the years before revolution in America and France changed the world forever. It is a world obsessed with social class, money and advantageous marriage (so why did I say it changed for ever!). There is plenty of sharp humor and a deal of profound insight into human nature. Smollett's last and best novel, it is a wise and mature journal of Mankind's folly.

Incidentally, the graphic description of the spa town of Bath will make you never want to drink spa water again. Reading that particular chapter requires a strong stomach.

Full of social satire. A comedy with pathos. Insightful verbal blunders. This picaresque book of travel letters is a hoot with a most satisfying conclusion as the characters get their come-uppance and rewards. I love the distinct and lively images that shine through the puns, word games, and allusions.

I bought this book assuming it was the solution guide to the Alternate Edition book (since Amazon.com had it listed as the solutions manual for the Alternate Edition) but it is completely different problems. This is to accompany ONLY the 10th Edition.

The solutions manual is helpful IF you already know what you are doing for the most part. The explanations are sometimes step-by-step, but many of them are not. This manual does not "hold your hand" like some of the others that I've had experience with.

I would still recommend purchasing this book because of its low price.

IS THERE AN ANSWER BOOK for the EVEN NUMBERED PROBLEMS? I need help with the EXPLORATIONS problems.
- Yi Sun