Robert Amiss only lives up to his surname when he heeds the advice of his friend Baroness Jack Troutbeck. After all the misadventures that Jack gets him into he wonders why he still listens to her. This time around, she persuades (perhaps bullies is a more apt description) a near broke Robert to accept a job accompanying her when she visits Westonbury Cathedral. He should have known that the easiest job in the world would turn int o the job from hell if Jack is involved. ..... It seems that the locale, the Westonbury Cathedral, is imbued with a massive controversy that threatens to rip the Church of England in half with its worst feud since Henry's days. The new dean is an American fundamentalist who wants to end all the new age gurus that have entered the church. His ideas split the church into two factions who turn violent and deadly, including killing the new dean. Robert and Jack find themselves flooded with numerous suspects as they try to uncover the identity of the killer. However, in Robert's mind, it is Jack's friendship with everyone in the universe and her opinion on everything under the universe that is driving him away from the church. ..... The Robert Amiss tales are superb satires that laugh at every potential politically correct thing imaginable. However, it must be understood that MURDER IN A CATHEDRAL is not for everyone. Some readers will laugh at the antics of Jack, while others will feel that she is an abrasive SOB. The who-done-it is fun, but whether the reader enjoys Jack's pontificating on everything right and wrong with the C O E (the Church of England not the Corps of Engineers) depends on whether they love a British satire that overwhelms the mystery. ......Harriet Klausner

THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD TELLING OF SOME GREAT PLAYERS WHO RAN INTO INJURY OR DESTINY. IT IS WELL TOLD AND FULL OF VALUABLE INFO. I RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO IS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THESE GREAT PLAYERS OF BAD BREAKS. THE AUTHOR DOES A VERY STRONG JOB OF STORY TELLING AND FACTS. A VERY RECOMMENDED READ. WELL WORTH YOUR TIME.

After reading the first 3 deadly sins, and knowing that the 4th was the last one, I was looking forward to reading it. I was disappointed in that it wasn't as suspenseful and action packed as his other Deadly Sins(Actually #1 and #3 were the best, with #2 being a disappointment). I do not want to reveal the ending, and I am glad that Delaney does figure out the case, but I was disappointed in the way the killer is punished. If I had to rank all 4 books, #1 is a 5 star, #3 is a 4 star, and #2&4 are 2 stars. Start with the first- it is a classic detective/killer book.

First was too detailed and confusing, second one better, smoother on the third, running out of gas by the fourth. OK but not the best.

Sanders became a bit tiring with this last entry in the Delaney series. In fact, he probably should have stopped writing altogether. It is also too bad he didn't see fit to write about sins 5, 6 and 7. If Sanders had reinvented himself and kept his style fresh, this novel would have really shown. But as it is it is only lackluster. But still, it is worth reading. Just be prepared to be accused of being a cult fan.

The Prince and the Pauper was a classic example of early literature. It was written like every other Mark Twain book, in old English dialect. I could understand it, but at times I had to read some areas over again to get what he was saying. I read this book for a literature assingment, and I did not enjoy it. Some areas of the book are funny and quite charming, but overall the story is really hard to get into. If you like fairy tales or stories from medievil times, this is the book for you. I really think I could have read a book better than this one with my time though. I also recommend: "Princess: A tale of life under the veil in Saudi Arabia" By: Jean Sasson

Mark Twain's, The Prince and the Pauper is a classic look back into sixteenth-century English society. Tom Canty is a young boy who is born into poverty and is forced to beg in the streets of London by his father. Edward Tudor is the Prince of Wales, heir to the throne. Both of these boys were born on the same day but grew up in opposite ways of life. One day Tom is dreaming about being a prince and starts walking towards the royal palace. When he reaches the palace the guards try to stop him but Prince Edward sees Tom's condition and invites him to his quarters to hear what Tom has to say. While they sit there they begin to realize what strong resemblance there is between them and decide to switch clothes to fulfill Tom's dream of looking Princely. All of a sudden Edward storms out of the room to denounce the guards who did harm to Tom, only to be mistaken as the poor pauper and locked out of the royal palace. From here on out the two boys experience what life is like in the other's shoes. Mark Twain does an outstanding job of developing each character and showing how each must learn new ideas to deal with their latest way of life. Unfortunately I did find myself losing my concentration while reading this book. This easily could have been due to the fact that the way Twain wrote The Prince and the Pauper was actually on a very easy reading level, which would lead me to recommend this book to readers of middle school age who enjoy adventurous tales like The Boxcar Children or The Hardy Boys.

This is the story of a prince and a pauper who switch places because of their uncanny outer resemblance. They obviously go through many trials and ordeals - the pauper trying to learn the ways of royalty, and the prince having to witness and undergo the results of some of the ridiculous laws and practices of the period.

Like many of Mark Twain's books, this is another satire that makes fun of the values that society holds to be important. In this story, Mark Twain points out how people place so much importance on outer appearance. A prince and a pauper, who, despite their outer resemblance are very different people, switch places, without anyone noticing. There is more to a person than their looks, and this is one point stressed throughout the novel.

The one complaint I have about this book is that there wasn't enough written about Tom Canty, the pauper who became a prince. I found his situations much more interesting than those of the true prince, but this was only a minor point.

I would recommend this book for ages 12 and older. Younger people could read the story, but miss the underlying meanings in certain situations. I wouldn't call this book a "Must Read" but it is a good introduction to classic literature.

Reinforced concrete is the corner stone of our civil engineering profession, making it interesting is where the hardship lies. Dr. Nawy, along with his book made it seem like a breeze. He made the course both enjoyable and interesting and enhanced my confidence in going out to the real world to face my job. I learnt alot about my profession from him and even mentioning his name as one of my professors has given me a whole lot! I am grateful i was one of his students. Thank you Dr. Nawy and Good Luck to you! P.S. The quality of a book should not be rated according to typing errors, it is a weak and cheap attempt of bad publicity. I am sure Dr. Nawy does not have control over what the editor decides should be printed or not. But its natural, if they aren't up there, then they try to bring down everyone else who is, grudges and jealousy make people go a long terrible way.

Nawy's Reinforced Concrete Book is THE Textbook for learning concrete design and analysis. The examples and theory are stepwise organized for the beggining student and detailed enough for the practicing engineer to make reference. Nawy's book follows the ACI 318 Code closely with practical examples and detailed working drawings for better visualization of code requirements. This book is being used for both the intro R/C design as well as the Advanced Graduate R/C class. Seismic & Indeterminate sections are second to none. Highly Recommended as a learning tool or an addition to your engineering reference library.

The new 5th edition of the Reinforced Concrete textbook is one of the best out there. It is a great resource for both learning the subject matter for undergraduate and graduate students and for referencing as a practicing engineer. The topics are organized in a logical manner that builds the reader up into really understanding the material, both design and theory. There are many useful examples provided throughout the textbook with detailed computations and explanations of the steps taken. Flowcharts are also presented for every design aspect to supplement, not replace, the reading and provide a concise summary of the design procedure.

I have used this textbook (and previous editions) to learn the subject of reinforced concrete both for my undergraduate and graduate studies and I still use it as reference for my research work. I also used Nawy's Prestressed Concrete 4th edition textbook for my studies. The way I see it is that if you want to be the best, you learn from the best. Just check out Nawy's accomplishments for yourself!!

This book was used in an introduction to differential equations, and was of very little reference value. The theory is extremely distant from application, and the scientific and engineering motivations for solving differential equations are not apparent. If a concept was missed in lecture, it was often an ordeal to attempt to learn from the book.

I am currently using this text for an intro level differential equations course, and I feel that this book is well suited as such. It should be easily acessible to anyone with a basic intro calculus foundation and it is ideal for self-study. On the other hand, this text does contain a noticible number of typos, both in "back-of-the-book" answers and example problems. A potential reader should note that this book is fairly applied in its nature (as the title would indicate--engineers take delight, theoreticians take dismay), so one shouldn't expect more than an introduction to the theory of differential equations (ie. don't expect much proof or mathematical rigour).

I don't know why everyone else attacks this book! I used it in a third semester math class at Cornell which was 1/3 vector calc (we used Thomas' Calculus, another great book), 1/3 differential equations, and 1/3 Fourier Series, partial differential equations, boundary value problems. We covered Chapters 1-3, parts of 4 and 6, and all of chapter 9.

The book is excellent. The explanations are clear. The example problems are not just "plug and play." The problems at the end of each section are not bad. I learned about oscillations and mechanical vibrations in physics and then learned about them from this book (3.4/3.6)...the difference was amazing. Their derivations made sense, and the characteristic polynomial technique they use is 1000 times simpler than the trial solution method that many introductory physics books on mechanics use.

The book's only weak point is the discussion of stability and the phase plan in 6.1. They develop it through a bunch of examples instead of talking about the general theory behind it. But this is a minor problem.

This, the follow-up to the excellent Graves' Retreat, has only the setting and time period in common with its predecessor (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the late 1800's). Perhaps Gorman would have been more successful treating this more like a sequel, but Night of Shadows introduces us to Anna Tolan, the first uniformed policeman in town.

Anna does have her hands full. Zipping around town on her new bicycle, she has to keep up with a suitor that won't take "no", a gunfighter with a drinking problem who's rolled into town to visit a sick friend, and a troubled middle-aged man who's overbearing mother has turned him into a ruthless killer. It's all a little much plot-wise, if you like your Westerns based on some kind of reality. Without ruining the story I can say that there are some twists in the plot that will make anyone shake their head and say, "What just happened!?"

Gorman's study of the historical side of Cedar Rapids at the turn of the century is more thorough this time out, and the asides about local attractions and news stories of the day are genuinely interesting. The telephone was just becoming popular, the airplane was still unknown, and the banks of the Cedar River were lined with ice houses. As with many of Gorman's novels, Iowa residents will find more to like here than anyone.

I love Gorman's books and, thank God, there are a lot of them out there to take on. For fans of Graves' Retreat, however, the 2nd installment just doesn't stand up.

They fell in love way too fast, even for a hopeless romantic like me. I would have liked Christine and Vincent to have gotten to know each other a little better before declaring their love in this Beauty and the Beast story.

Several story threads started and never finished. Why did Christine tell the Earl they were penniless? Why did he trust her when he trusted no others? What was the sneaking around to her bedchamber about? I thought Vincent's crime that sent him into seclusion (not the injuries) a little too contrived. Despite the flaws, I still found the story entertaining and very readable.

I loved that Vincent pushed himself to come to London. I was touched by Christine's loyalty and love for him even while becoming the toast of the town. Aunt Nellis was an interesting side character though I think she sort of fizzed out at the end. Quick read. Worth reading but not a keeper.

I have been a lifelong follower of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and thought I knew a great deal about the facts of her life. But like everyone else I was on a quest to understand what was under the facade. This book didn't bring more insight about the ever elusive "Jackie", but it did provide a fleshed out version of many of the extraordinary circumstances of her incredible life. With so much of the history of her life presented like "visual" soundbites, it was engrossing to read this book's details which to a great extent humanized Jackie to me as never before. The image may have seemed effortless, but the cost of her public persona was more than anyone should have to pay. It is strangely comforting that she was so very human, and such a woman of her time -- at first looking for her purpose through a man, and finally finding her identity and happiness from within. I thought when I was a child at the time of JFK's assassination that I would never have been able to do what Jackie did during the time of his death and funeral. It is reassuring to know that no one, not even Jackie, could possibly behave the way she did without a tidal wave of emotional pain that nearly spanned the remainder of her time on earth.

I have been a lifelong follower of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and thought I knew a great deal about the facts of her life. But like everyone else I was on a quest to understand what was under the facade. This book didn't bring more insight about the ever elusive "Jackie", but it did provide a fleshed out version of many of the extraordinary circumstances of her incredible life. With so much of the history of her life presented like "visual" soundbites, it was engrossing to read this book's details which to a great extent humanized Jackie to me as never before. The image may have seemed effortless, but the cost of her public persona was more than anyone should have to pay. It is strangely comforting that she was so very human, and such a woman of her time -- at first looking for her purpose through a man, and finally finding her identity and happiness from within. I thought when I was a child at the time of JFK's assassination that I would never have been able to do what Jackie did during the time of his death and funeral. It is reassuring to know that no one, not even Jackie, could possibly behave the way she did without a tidal wave of emotional pain that nearly spanned the remainder of her time on earth.

New information awaits those who read this best selling book. I read this book within three days. Highly recommended!!!!! FOR QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS ON JACKIE ONASSIS, PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT MellissaLD@aol.com. HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

In general, this is the worst accounting book I have EVER been forced to decipher (didn't like our cost accounting book either). At my school, and probably elsewhere, ,everybody seems to think Acct 405 (Financial Acct 2) is the "hard" course, but Fin Acct 2, at least to me, has NOTHING on trying to learn governmental accounting from using this awful book.

I am currently a Masters level student who is taking a Governmental Accounting course. I have found this text to be somewhat confusing. The chapters and the information are very detailed however, the study questions introduce new terms and are hard to follow. This makes for a complicated and frustrating process for anyone who has not had a previous accounting course. I understand that there are not many books out there on this topic. However, a study guide or even the assistance of a glossary and some consistency in phrasing questions to be similar to the text would help. If I can't understand what the question is asking how am I to know if I understand what I thought I just read. The lack of pictures and graphics does not bother me and the blue ink while hard to get used to is easier on my eyes. The Powerpoint presentations were also helpful.

I used this textbook the last time I taught GovernmentalAccounting. The book is an excellent introduction to state and local government accounting and reporting, federal government accounting, not-for-profit organizations (colleges, universities, health care organizations, etc.), and public sector auditing. The 20 chapters have numerous illustrations of financial statements and flow charts relating each of the different fund types within specific organizations. The illustrations are both academic (i.e., written by the authors) and actual (e.g., City of Des Moines, Iowa). Where appropriate, there are chapter glossaries. Governmental accounting is unlike corporate accounting, in that both actual and budgetary amounts are shown in the financial statements provided to the external reader. The authors explain this clearly. The authors use t-accounts to show the interrelationship of the accounts and the flow of funds between the accounts. There also useful references to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board...

The previous comment shows a typical response from an undergraduate, similar to what I have encountered on teaching evaluations in my different classes. A number of students believe that a course should be "interesting." That is, more entertaining. (See Peter Sacks's book, _Generation X Goes to College_.) If someone doesn't find governmental accounting interesting, don't major in accounting. It is not a requirement for any other undergraduate major at any school I know; indeed, few schools even teach the course. People should major in areas that they find interesting.

On the other hand, anyone who wants to understand the construction and analysis of statements which present the operations and financial position of government and non-profit entities will benefit from a careful reading of this book. I have used it for directed readings (only one student reading on his or her own) successfully for motivated graduate students.

The previous commentator faults the book for lack of color. For this material, color adds almost nothing to comprehension, slightly to clarity and greatly to the cost. The book already costs $100, because the governmental accounting textbook market, with numerous competitors in it, is only 3,000-4,000 classroom adoptions per year (compared with over 50,000 a year for Principles of Accounting).

My experience as an author suggests that adding color would raise the cost of the book to at least $140. Would the previous reviewer be willing to spend the money in the hopes it would be more interesting?

I recommend this book.