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Book reviews for "Gordon,_Michael" sorted by average review score:

Histology: A Text and Atlas
Published in Paperback by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers (15 October, 2002)
Authors: Michael H. Ross, Gordon I. Kaye, and Wojciech Pawlina
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Great Text, Poor Atlas
This book was one of two required for a graduate course in Histology. If you must take a Histology course in graduate school or medical school, I would recommend purchasing a separtate atlas, especially if you are a novice or have limited availability to quality slides. I personally recommend diFiore because it has multiple atlas plates for each tissue with different magnifications and stains. It is also reasonably priced. The text in Ross is very well written and presents the material in a compact, to the point style. This allows the student to learn the material without searching for what is and is not important.

Very good
I liked the book very much for it has Histology with some Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology included. Of course these text takes space from the book and reduces the amount of slides but each slide is given similar information and not just identification. Time to time comparative information. I found this book very useful when compared to simple Histology Atlases.You may need another Histology Atlas for more pictures if you are interested but this book is very simple and to the point all encompassing

Super Histo Text for Medical Students
This book doesn't assume that you have an extensive background. The first year medical student who was a liberal arts major can read through this book once and know histology as good (or better) than a student with a master's degree in anatomy! The chapters flow very logically, allowing the reader to make the all-important integration of various regions of the body and the processes/histology associated with them. Furthermore, every page has photomicrographs and/or drawings which allow the reader to have not only a more complete understanding of the material, but a clinically useful knowledge of the proper appearance of tissues. This book leaves nothing out and is, at least at the medical school I attend, unanimously agreed to be the best histo book available.


Mastering Data Mining: The Art and Science of Customer Relationship Management
Published in Paperback by John Wiley & Sons (2000)
Authors: Michael J. A. Berry and Gordon Linoff
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Good, not Great
This book provides a number of case studies on applying data mining. I didn't learn a lot since the studies weren't applicable to what I am doing. Someone else might get more out of than me though. I did like their first book (it was very good) but this one wasn't nearly as good. There are better books that discuss the use of data mining software.

Ideas for GUI design of data mining software
While doing a graduate elective on Decision Making Technologies, I realized that data visualization and representation is crucial for data exploratory and validation of data mining analysis. To get some ideas on how the various data visualization and workflow techniques are applied and integrated into the GUI of commercial softwares, survey the various chapters of this book.

Excellent book!
This book is an excellent book. The authors explain the various techniques, and show real world examples of their use. Most importantly, they explain the underlying goals of the various techniques, and what to watch out for when using them. I was most relieved to read that I am not alone in having limited success with association rules!

Although some of the particular examples were not the type of examples I deal with, the reasons they were chosen make perfect sense. Data mining owes much of its popularity to people attempting to find churners, etc. But there are plenty of examples covered, and with each one some new insight is revealed. Especially useful to me were the explanations of what it is one sees in the decision trees, lift curves, etc. Also, seeing various problems solved with several of the popular tools (MineSet, Enterprise Miner, etc.) was very helpful. There are many examples from various industries, and you learn something new about those industries too! (If you like the Sesame Street videos of how cans, tires, etc. are made even more than your kids do, you'll love this book for the examples alone.)

It is clear from this book that the authors not only know what they are talking about, they can actually break it down for a newbie like me. I have also had the pleasure of being in one of Mr. Berry's MineSet classes, and he demonstrated the same depth of knowledge and ability to convey it to others in that class as well.

This book is not an algorithm book, but it touches on them. It is not necessarily a tour of data mining tools, but does do this to some degree. It is probably most useful for anyone who wants to know "What is this 'data mining', and how can it help me?" with real world examples to make things clear. If the reader starts out thinking that data mining is just tossing a bunch of data into a tool and getting concrete results back, the confusion will not remain after reading this book. Finally, this book is VERY easy reading. Do yourself (or your boss) a favor and buy this book!


Early Adopter Curl
Published in Paperback by Wrox Press Inc (15 September, 2001)
Authors: Michael Gordon, Chris Ullman, James Joly, David Kranz, Dan Maharry, Paul J Metzger, and Daniel Maharry
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More Context Needed
With a book of this nature, it's hard separating an evaluation of the book from an evaluation of the technology itself -- so I won't try too hard. Yes, the book showed certain evidence of haste in editing and proofing but the errors and weaknesses are not of the type to cause an early adopter to stumble. For instance, there is no index but chapters are distinct enough so that it is easy to find the broad categories.

I eagerly picked up this book after attending a very impressive demo of Curl's capacities. Only skimming the two chapters on Object Oriented Programming, I concentrated on the other chapters most relevant to GUI developers of Web-based applications.

Being an ardent practitioner of the W3C's Cascading Style Sheets technology, I was a bit disappointed in Curl's implementation of styles, which seems clumsy and very limited, even considering the differences in syntax. The authors were very knowledgeable on HTML and CSS issues -- which made their reliance on tables for layout a bit disturbing. Does this indicate that Curl lacks equivalents for CSS positioning and layout properties -- or merely that the authors did not happen to see this as important enough to include in examples?

I was dissatisfied with the paucity of examples and the fact that these examples were not of the type of depth to glue the various parts of Curl together. There were some good examples involving 2-D and 3-D graphics which showed the technology to advantage. However, if your primary interest is in form-based Web applications, the examples were sketchy.

The book really needs to have context. Criticism of Java, HTML, JavaScript, etc. is not enough.
The authors must speak more directly to the questions:
{}Does the Web world need another proprietary, Java-like browser plug-in?
{}Does the Curl organization have what it takes to go against Microsoft's .NET, which has a similar architecture and revenue model?

Answer these questions and you not only have a good book, but a real cool winning tool.

Good book with a few warts
Curl is an important new client-side web language that permits you to create web applications that have the same rich interactive power of local applications (Word, Excel) while reducing the complexity that arises from using multiple existing web languages.

This is currently the BEST Curl book on the market. Ok, it's currently the ONLY Curl book on the market, which makes it Good News/Bad News.

Good News: This book does a great job of providing Curl information and "how to" examples in more depth than the Curl manuals. All the major topics are covered, which makes this a good overall reference book. The graphics architecture section is particularly helpful, where the authors describe the overall graphics framework of Curl. This info would save any new user time when learning Curl.

Bad News: by targeting the early adopter, the book is timely, but shows some warts. Some sections still show and describe the last beta version of Curl. The last beta was mostly similar to the current version of Curl, but the small differences are occasionally distracting. The book also has a number of typos and the class descriptions in one table were copied directly from the (free) Curl manual. As most of the authors are from Curl Corporation, this is not plagiarism, but it is not new information either.

Overall, this book serves its purpose by being the first overall book on Curl. The book itself is a great way to learn Curl in conjunction with the Curl manuals. Despite its warts, it is well worth owning.

[Bruce Mount worked as one of the Technical Reviewers for this book. No, he didn't review the section with typos. :-)]

Technology that may never take off
If you have never been to curls website and looked at this new web technology, you do not know what you are missing. In some ways, you can think of Curl as Flash on steroids, although you can do much more than the eye candy Macromedia is known for.

They call this book an early adopter book, but, since I think Curl is most likely going to go the way of Microsoft Agent, it is more a Bleeding Edge book. Unlike Microsoft Agent, however, I do think this technology is very useful.

So, what is Curl? Curl is a new OO technology for web UI development. In many ways, it is what Java promised, with applets, in its early days. The main difference here is Curl is designed to create dynamic, awe inspiring presentations (ala Flash) without a lot of work (once you learn the language, that is).

The book deals with Curl primarily as a UI development language. Through the chapters you will learn to work with 2d and 3d environments, multimedia and even dynamic client interaction. As with all Wrox books, there are plenty of code examples (all downloadable from the Wrox site).

I really love this book, although I wonder if the technology will ever really take off (Curl engine download is huge if you have a dialup).


The French Challenge: Adapting to Globalization
Published in Hardcover by The Brookings Institution (2001)
Authors: Philip H. Gordon, Sophie Meunier, and Michael H. Armacost
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Superficial scholarship
The central claim of this book--that France is actually adapting to globalization (whatever that means) better than the political rhetoric might suggest--is counter-intuitive and interesting. However, it is superficially researched and lumps together public opinion, social movements, interest groups, trade policy, etc., as if they were acting in the same field and part of a single, homogeneous phenomenon. Although the overview of trade debates in several sectors is interesting, the authors reduce antiglobalization politics in France to a nostalgic longing for French 'grandeur'. Such a label is perhaps applicable to some sectors of the French elite (Chevenement, Seguin, Pasqua) but certainly not to the wide variety of social movements and associations that focus on the democratic deficit and the increase of inequalities.

An excellent book
This is a wonderful book, thoroughly researched and very well written, which should satisfy both Francophiles and Francophobes alike! Gordon and Meunier offer a balanced account of a contemporary France that adapts remarkably well to globalization but hides this adaptation under a cloud of anti-globalization and anti-Americanization rhetoric.

A "must"!
"The French Challenge" is a MUST for anybody who wants to understand contemporary France. This is provocative book which has many insights into the love/hate relationship of the French with globalization. A very solid piece of work and a great read.


Accommodations in Higher Education under the Americans with Disabilities Act: A No-Nonsense Guide for Clinicians, Educators, Administrators, and Lawyers
Published in Hardcover by Guilford Press (01 July, 1998)
Authors: Michael Gordon and Shelby Keiser
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Shelby Keiser notwithstanding, this book is helpful
I understand the ire of a person who resents having to be compared with the general population, rather than to a specialized group the person wishes to become a member of, to have accommodations, but I feel that in her chapter on testing accommodations she does explain her viewpoint and the legal underpinnings of her opinion. In general, this book is a very good guide to documentation standards, provides forms that are useful, and is well worth the money as a reference book. Melissa Manning, Ph.D. Associate Director, Services for Students with Disabilities University of Kansas

Informative
As the Disabilities host at BellaOnline, I recommend this book. It's clear cut and informative. Every educator should read it and be aware.


Practical Golf Course Maintenance : The Magic of Greenkeeping
Published in Hardcover by John Wiley & Sons (01 August, 1998)
Authors: Gordon Witteveen and Michael Bavier
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No Magic Here
This book is best suited for the first-time greenskeeper or a greens committee member. It contains basic processes such as top-dressing and stays away from specifics like optimal mower height settings for greens. In addition, this book stays away from prescribing remidies for such things as excessive thatch buildup or constant fungus problems. If all you want are the very basics in management practices then buy this book. If you are searching for innovative and detailed turf management applications then you will need to supplement this book with other references.

Good. VERY Good.
While perhaps limited to the basics, Witteveen's text is well organized and comprehensive enough to assure that I'll achieve my professional goal of being promoted from Assistant Greenskeeper to Head Greenskeeper within 6 years. In fact, in my opinion, it's on par with Chuck Shick's seminal treatise on the subject. One nitpicky point is that the treatment of cinch bugs, manganese, nitrogen and gophers (and other varmint menaces to the golfing industry) is far too brief. Also, more advanced topics such as the theory and practice of inventing your own type of grass would be welcome. Overall, though, it is top notch!


Empires of Time: Calendars, Clocks, and Cultures
Published in Paperback by Kodansha International (1995)
Authors: Anthony F. Aveni, V. Michael McKenzie, and Gordon Wise
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Fascinating
Aveni's book is a fascinating portrait of the rhythms and roles of time keeping in a variety of cultures including the Aztec, Inca, Maya, and ancient Chinese. A fascinating exploration of a topic we all too often don't bother to consdier.


Public Administration in America
Published in Hardcover by Wadsworth Publishing (05 September, 2000)
Authors: Michael E. Milakovich and George J. Gordon
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Great survey book; ideal for intro undergraduate courses
I have used several editions of this book in my introduction to public administration courses; I have been very pleased by the breadth of coverage as well as the clarity of the exposition. In particular, the book adopts a strongly political view of administration in the public sector that is easily translatable to the classroom.

In particular, the authors adopt Yates' framework of administrative efficiency vs. pluralistic democracy early in the work and this framework serves to inform the discussion of policy, personnel, budgeting, decision making, et cetera. This provides the book with a strong thematic component that I have found lacking in other books of this type.

A couple of criticisms: The sections on ensuring democratic processes in public administration is a bit confusing and lacks a unifying theme. However, the elements of the discussion are there and can be easily clarified in a classroom discussion.

Secondly, and this is a quibble is that the treatment of alternative decision making models is a bit sketchy, but then again this is an introductory tome.

All in all a good, useful and CLEAR book for undergrad courses.


A question of leadership : Paul Keating
Published in Unknown Binding by University of Queensland Press ; Distributed in the USA and Canada by International Specialized Book Services ()
Author: Michael Gordon
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A must have for any Keating fan
A must have for any paul Keating fan. It reveals a complex character, and a driven personality, who possessed a quiet touch of flair and style. While the Carew bio preceeded this one, Gorton's bio provides a great introduction into the Keating persona, and is probably the "got to" book on this subject at present.


The royal baccarat scandal
Published in Unknown Binding by Kimber ()
Author: Michael Havers
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Compelling reading with many modern day parallels.
I could barely put this book down. It pieces together the events in a celebrated libel action brought in England in 1891. What is at stake? Simply a gentelman's honour, which may not mean much these days. However, for me the whole book was a gripping if sad commentary on human nature and personal motivation, further magnified by the English class system. The plaintiff in the case, a highly decorated soldier, has been accused of cheating in an illegal game of cards. Was he or wasn't he? He simply wishes to clear his name, but other issues are in play - notably that his friend, the Prince of Wales and heir to the English throne, was also (scandalously) playing. The authors skillfully piece together the events of the weekend of the fateful card games before carefully examining the subsequent trial, including brilliant cross examinations, revelations of prejudice among the witnesses and apparent prejudice on the part of England's most senior judge. Why should anybody care about all of this upper class cheek slapping? Perhaps because it contains parallels in today's world at every turn, from the desire of society's lever-pushers to supress a scandal to the way in which people run for cover once the lid is blown off. You don't need to be a lawyer or a historian to read and enjoy this book. It is extremely well researched and written. In fact the only thing I didn't like was the jury's verdict........


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