Mr. Grant's analysis and insight into market inconsistencies, anomalies, and absurdities is refreshing in this age of me too financial journalism. The articles, taken from Grant's Interest Rate Observer, are as original in thought as they are uncompromising in their logic. I am a finance professional and feel that this book is a must read for any young entrant into the field. This perennial bear can teach even the most ardent bull to reflect before they leap. Beware if you've been nurtured on Money Magazine!

This book will likely not become obsolete as long as nonprofits are raising money. It doesn't attempt to address many specifics, as are different in every situation and with every organization wishing to raise money. Instead, it addresses the theories and philosophies of philanthropy and the ideas behind the core art of fund raising. I'm having my employees and board of directors review this book when I am finished with it.

This reference starts off by showing that an important unsolved problem in evolutionary biology is why sex should be necessary. Sex appears to be required by most higher lifeforms. Indeed, most asexual species which exist are recent derivations from sexual species, implying that without sex a species tends to go extinct. The mechanisms of sex at the cellular level are considered. The book then considers mating behaviors of various animals.

I NEED READ THE BOOK IT'S MY OBLIGATION

He fully understands the relationship between collaborative technology as it relates to project management in a large enterprise environment.

As he so well points out... "the speed which one implements technology relating to process management in order to accomplish large tasks" will differentiate success from failure. This is a "must read" for senior management if they wish to survive in a complex "project management", collaboration /Internet environment. How to utilize technology to accomplish this is the key!!

A great resource for management.

Mr. Shield clearly gets it!!".

He fully understands the relationship between collaborative technology as it relates to project management in a large enterprise environment.

As he so well points out... "the speed which one implements technology relating to process management in order to accomplish large tasks" will differentiate success from failure. This is a "must read" for senior management if they wish to survive in a complex "project management", collaboration /Internet environment. How to utilize technology to accomplish this is the key!!

A great resource for management.

An excellent overview of a very complex and timely subject. I especially liked the ERP/E-Business Matrix and the discussion of regions, companies and assumptions underlying it. I found the discussion of "adaptive" vs. "disruptive" changes helpful and insightful. Very concise and to-the-point, a quick & easy read, but one which should be internalized over a longer period of time. Covered a lot of ground in less than 200 pages. Overall, an excellent addition to my bookshelf.

Would, however, have liked to see a bibliography & some footnotes for the statistics cited

"The Southern Heirloom Garden" is a rich and instructive work.

At the start of the book, William C. Welch and Greg Grant tell us that "gardening is one of the oldest, and richest, of our Southern folk arts."

The authors divide the book into two sections. The first section refreshingly explores French, German, Spanish, Native American, and African-American contributions to Southern gardening.

The Spanish, for instance, intensely developed and utilized small garden spaces, while African-Americans used brightly-colored flowers in the front yard as a sign of welcome.

This section also has a commendable essay on historic garden restoration in the South.

The second section addresses the plants "our ancestors used to build and enrich their gardens."

There are nearly 200 full-color photographs here, along with dozens of rare vintage engravings. While some of the pictures are a bit small, they are still informative.

Southern gardeners and historians will particularly enjoy this fine volume.

This is a really great book. I loved the essays on each plant. Greg Grant is very humorous. This is not just a coffee table book, although the pictures are beautiful. It offers advise and inspiration to those of us who will never have the "Southern Living Landscape" look.

In these days of trying the "Western grass garden" or the "English perennial border" it's particularly refreshing to study a book devoted to plants that happily grow in the Southern humidity and heat. While the opening chapters on historical gardens in the new world (French, Spanish, etc.) were interesting, the later chapters on plants were the most informative. When reading I could hear my Grandmother using the same commonplace names, like "paw-paw" and how to make jelly from the fruit. The challenge will now be to find some of these plants. (The authors admit some plants are only available from old gardens in the South). It remains one of my favorite garden books for its affectionate commentary on one of the oldest southern pastimes - our gardens and the talking and sharing of plants with loved ones.

The authors provide an excellent overview of what to expect when embarking upon the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system like SAP. They provide thoughtful insight on factors that should influence the decision to proceed with such a project as well as sufficient detail on the particulars of SAP.

An excellent introduction to SAP by people who live and breath it.

This book has excellent sections on Business Case, Functionality (showing the links between modules, not just functions)and Deployment Options. It really helped me understand what I was going into implementing SAP for my company.

The Book has only two dissappointing sections. The chapter on process reengineering could have been better structured and applied, Hammer has better material. The walk through of methodology in chapters 17 and 18 was dry, uninspiring and again unapplied. More could have been written on ASAP.

This book is designed for managers and deciders who are in an evaluation phase and compare different ERP solutions. R/3 is a world-class integrated ERP solution and the less risky possible choice. If there is any doubt left, this book will convince the reader. SAP is not just a piece of software, it's also a culture and a club. Belonging to it is a real asset in someone's career.

Beckett publications have the most sought after price guides in the hobby of Baseball. I've collected sports cards since 1972, and Beckett is used by more people than any other guide in the world. As for this book, you're getting a guide with over 1,000 pages of informative prices for some of todays (and yesterday's) hottest sets. Sets from as far back as 1887 to 2002. What I've always admired about Beckett guides is how extensive their listings are. Please note, while Beckett and other guides attempt to give you the most extensive coverage of the Baseball card market, it's virtually impossible to list every single set in existence. So if you get a guide and you do NOT see your card or set listed, it doesnt mean it isn't worth anything, it just means that your particular card or set may not be known of in the open market, or that it's not one of the most traded cards on the market.
The guide is set up so that the brand names are listed in alphabetical order, there's a section on the history of baseball cards, a guide to help you determine the condition of your cards (and folks, please know ahead of time, it's not kosher to put rubber bands around your collection) tips on how to Sell them, a Terminology section, a small section on how to collect, where to find them and how to preserve them. Each of the sets are broken down to list each single card of the set. You may find production numbers in the listing, as well as any known error cards or other variations. Rookie cards are designated with the RC mark. Here are some examples of the kinds of sets Beckett has listed in the guide: Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Sportflics, Bazooka, Old Judge, Squirt, Topps Big, Topps Tiffany, Score, O-Pee-Chee, Denny's, Nabisco, Pacific, Ralston Purina. You will get listings of lots of subsets and parallel sets, and you will get photos of certain cards. If you are putting together a set, and it's listed in this guide, you have the perfect checklist to help you keep up with what you do and do not have. This book is a valuable tool for any baseball card collector or investor.

Hi there. I'm Frank, and I'm fillin' in for Zaggy while he gets away from the scene for a while. For this review, I wanna tell you all about one of my all-time favorite reference books: the annual Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide! Since I work at a comics and sports collectibles store, I've find this book to be very helpful. Sure, there's the monthly Beckett that helps keep you in the know about the most popular baseball card sets. But there are those times when you have those weird and offbeat cards from various promo sets & stuff that the monthly issues just don't have the space to list. That's where this here big book comes in. Just about any single and set you can imagine, from cereal promo cards to those ones K-Mart put out back in the 70s, is listed and priced between the 1000-plus pages of this book. Of course, not every single card ever made is listed and priced here. But as far as I can tell, there's very few that aren't! Um, listed that is... uh, yeah. It's even got some really neat miniature black & white photos of some of the more valuable cards. Which is kinda neat. If you're into that kinda thing of course. You know? Oh no, I gotta go. Ro'y says I gotta get back to work and sort more cards. And I don't wanna get Ro'y mad!

G'Bye

If you collect baseball cards you absolutely must have this book. It catalogs virtually every baseball card ever made, including variations and errors.

Why only four stars and not five? Subtle reasons, mostly. The main reason is that this book, despite being released recently, does not do a very good job of covering the professionally graded baseball card market. This is even more surprising as Beckett does have a grading service of their own. As such, the sections covering the history of baseball cards and how to grade cards is lacking and is pretty much a reprint of what's been appearing in Beckett books like this one for over fifteen years. They really could have done a better job of modernizing those sections.

However, as a reference book to help identity cards and give approximate values, this book cannot be beat. Buy it now!

it is very detailed from cards 1953 to 1999 this is a great beckett with tons of minor league cards and other miselanioues things like penates and all other kinds of stuff this is a great book

This almanac continues to expand -- and become better. Each year, it has added more sets, more details and more areas of collectibles. It is about to ``outgrow'' its covers. But that will be a long-range bonus for collectors. Beckett and able company will be forced to split the book, probably taking out minor league cards. The editors have become particularly adept at adding team-issued sets. A complete checklist of McCarthy baseball cards -- rumored for No. 6 -- would be a great addition. The only improvement I would like to see would be for more details on some sets and certain variations in a set (how to tell them apart). If you are a serious collector of baseball items, this is one of the few MUST books for your book shelf. And it's getting better and better with each edition.

An excellent analysis covering the entire scope of Grant's tactical operations. However, this book reaches too far. Like the title, the author's military assertions and their subsequent impact on the Union's conduct of the war are a little too grandiose. Grant did not win the war on July 4, 1863. It would drag on for two more years. But just maybe Lincoln did.

Grant's amazing victory was as much politically as tactically driven. From the point of view of Grant's career, he had to win, had to take unorthodox chances, because he was as close to being dead meat as any Union general ever came. For months and months he was bogged down before Vicksburg. We know Lincoln was so dissatisfied with Grant that he sent Charles Dana to Vicksburg as the President's special envoy to see what was really going on.

General Banks, a Lincoln political appointee and very close friend, was driving north from Baton Rouge toward Port Gibson and Vicksburg. Banks stalled and Grant was ordered by Halleck (via Lincoln??) to assist Banks. Grant disobeyed this command from the then General in Chief of all Federal armies and went his own way. WOW! Big decision. What a way to make friends when you are under the looking glass.

Last, placed within Grant's command structure is another Lincoln political appointee and friend, General McClernand, who Grant subsequently relieves prior to Vicksburg's capitulation. Is he thumbing he nose?

At Vicksburg we see Grant's first inclination to tactically detach himself from direct supply and communication lines. But what caused it? Was it Pemberton's chauvinistic defense of Vicksburg and Grant's straight forward desire to defeat his foe? Or was it the internal pressure within the Union army and Grant's desire to save his career that forced Grant to do very, very differently from then current military principals, causing him to develop this amazingly different set of operational plans he would resort to again and again during the remainder of the war?

Last, from the Confederate side there is Jeff Davis' incredible stupidity. Did Jeff Davis hang Joe Johnston out to dry? And lets not forget Pemberton's direct disobedience to his theater commander's, Joe Johnston's order: Save the army, abandon Vicksburg. Why did Jeff Davis never censure Pemberton not only for the loss of Vicksburg, strategically and psychologically important to the South as it was, but also the loss of an entire army, complete with thousands of men and irreplaceable stores, arms and ammunition? And why does Davis again relieve Johnston from command, not reinstating him until the final hours of the war?

Seen simply from the viewpoint of the Union high command, i.e., a traitor in his midst (McClernand), a presidential spy at headquarters (Dana), an unwillingness to unite forces with a fellow field commander (Banks) and the disobedience of his direct superior's orders (Halleck's), Grant should be thankful for Lincoln's reaffirmed evaluation of him: "I cannot spare this man; he fights". Good for you, Charles Dana.

Grant's military victory at Vicksburg IS amazing and this book is as good an account of it as there is. But the author fails to live up to his title's claim. Grant's political coup (Lincoln's willing recognition of his ability despite his incredible disobedience and non cooperation with Lincoln favorites) is even more incredulous than his military one. Had not Meade just beaten Lee at Gettysbury on the very same day that Vicksburg fell? Which would have been of more immediate importance: a captured Confederate army on the Mississippi River or a victorious Confederate army next door to Washington? If Lee had won at Gettysburg, Vicksburg would have been what it will always be, a spectacular feat of arms. But Union army and Northern political concerns aside, maybe, just maybe, Jeff Davis and Robert E. Lee lost the war that fateful day when they made the conscious decision to risk swapping Vicksburg for Washington and lost their gamble on both counts.

The most important item to come from the Vicksburg conflict was not Grant's victory as much as it was Lincoln's recognition of Grant as his next General in Chief. And in that vein it was not Grant's victory at Vicksburg but Lincoln's subsequent promotion of Grant over Meade that won the war.

An excellent analysis covering the entire scope of Grant's Vickburg's operations.

But like the title, a little too grandoise in its assertions. Grant's amazing victory was as much politically as tactically driven. Here we see Grant's first indclination to detach himself from direct supply and communication lines. But what caused it? Was it Pemberton's chauvenistic defense of Vicksburg (and Grant's straight forward desire to defeat his foe) or was it the internal pressure within the Union army (forcing Grant to do very, very differently from then current military principals)that caused him to develop this amazingly different set of operational plans he would resort to again and again during the remainder of the War?

Prior to this victory, Grant, as a general, was probably as much at risk to continuing his command as any time subsequent in his military career. He had horrifically bogged down at Vicksburg. General Banks, Lincoln political appointee and close friend of Lincoln's, is driving North from Baton Rouge. He is stalled outside Port Gibson and Grant is ordered by Hallack (via Lincoln??)to assist him. Grant disobeys this command from the then General in Chief of all Federal armies and goes his own way. WOW! Big decision.

Also, within his command structure is another Lincoln political appointee, General McClernand, who Grant relieves prior to Vickburg's capitulation.

Last, there is Jeff Davis' incredible stupidity (did he hang Joe Johnston out to dry)and Pemberton's direct disobedience to his theater commander's, Joe Johnston's order; save the army, abandon Vicksburg. Why did Jeff Davis never censure Pemberton not only for the loss of Vicksburg, strategically and psycologically important to the South as it was, but also an entire army, complete with thousands of men, stores, arms and ammunition? And why does Davis again relieve Johnston from command, not reinstating him until the final hours of the war?

Seen simply from the viewpoint of the Union high command,i.e., a traitor in his midst, McClernand, an unwillingness to unite forces with a fellow field commander, Banks, and the disobedience of his direct superior's orders, Halleck's,he should be thankful for Linclon's non military, non political eveluation of him: "I cannot spare this man; he fights".

Grant's military victory at Vicksburg is amazing. But his political victory (Lincoln's willing recognition of his ability despite his incredible disobedience)is even more incredulous.

Arnold's book is a good solid history of the Vicksburg Campaign. His descriptions of the battles and the strategic and tactical issues facing Grant and the Confederacy gives one an understanding of what problems faced the parties and how they were resolved. His description of the battle of Champion Hill is the best part of the book, as one can feel the bravery of the soldiers involved.

The books limitation is Arnold's almost infatuation with Grant and the need to make Vicksburg the pivotal battle of the war. While the strategy that Grant utilized was daring and unorthodox that does not substantiate the comparison with Napoleon. There is nothing in the campaign that demonstrates that Grant's tactics were Napoleonic in nature.

Whether Vicksburg was the pivotal battle of the civil was may be true. However, Arnold did not make the case that it was. A Union loss at Gettysburg surley would have had a dramatic impact on the Unions will to continue the war. While the issue of which battle was more important was not important to the Vicksburg story, once the issue was raised Arnold should have at least spent more than a moment discussing Gettysburg.

As a story about the Vicksburg Campaign, the book excells.