I am sorry to say that after much excitment in finally receiving my copy of this book I was bitterly disappointed in the end. In fact I did not finish reading this book but I put it away half way through it. I really wanted to get to the fighting and to learn why this battle (disaster) took place. I wanted to read about the courage of those Union troops attacking the postions on the heights above the town, I wanted to read about the Angel of Marye's Heights but I couldn't, I just found it too hard to continue reading. The book didn't draw me it from the start, the narrative had no warmth to it.

General Stackpole's The Fredericksburg Campaign is a solid work that serves as a good departure point for further study of the campaign, and I will relate some of the book's strongpoints and weaknesses.

Since there is no other campaign history of Fredericksburg written in the 20th century (there is in fact only one other, written in 1882) which makes Stackpole's book invaluable in and of itself. The major historians, Catton, Foote, and McPherson do not devote more than a few chapters to the subject. While Catton devotes portion of a book, but it is unsatisfactory as a campaign history. Gary Gallagher has recently edited a book of essays of various elements of the battle but again, it is not a campaign history.

The focused scope of the book allows it to discuss the aspects of the campaign and battle in great detail, which is another strongpoint. Also, I greatly appreciated the numerous maps; it enabled me to see the flow of battle and the importance of geography.

The book's only one major weakness is its concluding analysis. General Stackpole comes to to simple of a conclusion, although it is understandable given his military background he is disgusted with the apparently wanton waste of human life at Fredericksburg. General Stackpole's concluding analysis compels one to look further, to gain a broader perspective, and this is where I would suggest Gallagher's book as well as Jay Luvaas' Battlefield Guide to Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Stackpole provides a great foundation upon which further study will build.

I gave the book a rating of "8". Five points came simply because it is the only modern campaign history; that by itself makes it worthwhile reading. Two points came from the solid historical work; he makes good use of primary sources throughout and his analysis of the battle is sound. One point came from the maps, which again were quite useful and accurately detailed. I cannot give Stackpole higher due to his conclusions but this in no way should deter a! nyone from reading it. It is well-written (not in the sense of McPherson) and is an easy read. Stackpole doesn't answer every question, but he makes you want to delve deeper, which is the mark of a valuable book.

This book is little more than a rehashing of other works written by someone who apparently thinks she has something special to offer - she does not! While her book does offer some practical post rape advice, the safety and self defense sections are full of errors; it reads like someone who took a few classes but lacks the voice of real experience. Her self defense advice reads like pseudo-feminist exercise lessons. No where does she even address the intensity of fear or how violent real attacks can be, or even the most basic martial concepts of speed and power - the might and force it takes to repel or incapacitate a comitted attacker. All in all, Wiseman's book has a juvenille, rich girl feeling - certainly not grounded in streetwise reality. My best advice to her is to stay on the pretty college campuses - and stay off the mean streets.

This book might actually be of some help for a women who has been sexually assaulted and is looking for help in dealing with the aftermath. However, as a guide book dealing with women's safety issues, this book is no better than those free pamphlets that you can find at the local police station. The self defense section is made up of only a few sketches. My 3 year old niece could have done better. Howerver, I was turned off by this book, and by Rosalind Wiseman, before I had even finished reading the preface. After that it was all just more of the same.As you may, or may not have noticed, it seems as though every martial arts writer must have a story,.i.e.,..a defining moment that coincidentally can only be resolved through violence. The story may or may not be true, but the story is stll necessary in order to establish the author as an expert. Rosalind Wiseman's story is so ridiculous that I nearly threw the book into the fireplace after reading it!It seems as though Ms. Wiseman's eye opening catharsis came during sparring practice with a guy in her karate class. At that time her violent distain for men was so great that she went crazy and deliberately kicked her unsuspecting sparring partner (probably in the groin although she doesn't specify) as hard as she could. Then, while she watched him on his knees and in pain, she suddenly came to a brilliant realization that any school yard bully would have understood since his days in kindergarten,.i.e.... There's no honor and there's no satisfaction to be gained by assaulting someone simply because that person resembles someone or something that you happen to resent.....I simply couldn't belive what I was reading! Her story is laughable!The bottom line is this: If you're looking for a good book about women's self defense and women's safety issues then you'd be better off by looking elseware!

While it's true, the firearms section contains arguable information, this book is a MUST READ !

The information on Rape Psychology is great and the encouragement of women to be responsable for their own safety without taking any responsability for an atackers actions is fantastic.

Also, unlike much work on the subject, it does not take a gender seperatist approach !

Buy it, read it, be safe !

This is not actually a book, it is more comparable to a booklet or pamplet, and is very outdated. I was looking for something to offer information to a medical office manager and found absolutely nothing helpful inside the pages of this book.

Simple, concise but presents only the basics on types of medical practices and office management. Great for medical students and residents unaware of current medical practice conditions.

If you revere books and are an avowed bibliophile, then Henry Huntington is someone to admire and respect. His book collection is one of the premiere collections in the world, especially his concentration of incunabula. Huntington's mammoth collection is stored in the incomparable Huntington Gardens in San Marino, California - one of the most lovely places on earth. The permanent exhibitions include a first edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and numerous Shakespearian folios. Huntington's massive collection of autographs is also on display.

The story of how Huntington amassed these priceless treasures is fascinating: the amount of zeal and money he poured into this endeavor makes for a world class story. Unfortunately, this book doesn't focus enough on this aspect of his life. The narrative becomes slow, plodding and ultimately tedious. One wishes that Thorpe would have concentrated more completely on Huntington's mania for book collecting, a passion to be envied for those of us not blessed with being multi-millionaires. Instead he veers off into areas not particularly interesting, though his history of early 20th century California is exceptional.

Huntington's story is not one full of scintillating orgies, nor was he a riveting personal character, like Hearst. But this book paints a rather dour, boring picture of one of the greatest American collectors.

This book covers Groove 1.0 and is already outdated. Groove 2.0 has many enhancements and features and was released recently.

Stanhope's Get in the Groove book covers the new version.

I did finish reading this book, but I had to go out and get another book just to verify what I read was wrong. It is really a written over-the-night book. I keep this book in my bookshelf,,, just because it was a gift from my gf.
MCSE, A+, Network+, i-Net+

Was disapointed with the basic structure of a book that was labled as intermediate to advanced level. would not recomend it to anyone with basic knowledge.

This book is absolutely worthless for passing the exam, teaching, or learning networking in general. Amazon needs a -5 Star rating for this book. There are numerous typos, information that was not researched and very wrong, multiple concepts thrown out in the same paragraph that have nothing to do with each other, and topics and information that are beyond the scope of the test and most beginning students. Save your money and buy the New Riders book.

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