Jeff Greenfield is widely recognized as one of the premier political analysts in America. And, with the publication of "Oh Waiter" he proves that he's a terrific writer as well. Greenfield graduated from Harvard Law and went straight to work for Senator Robert Kennedy. After Kennedy's death in 1968 he worked as an aide for several other major politicians before tackling a new career as a political commentator for ABC News. His witty yet shrewd analyses of leading politicians quickly made him into a star. By the 1990's Greenfield was working for CNN. As the book reveals, Greenfield longs for the days before exit polling and other modern techniques allowed the political "experts" to know who was going to win the election hours before the polls even closed. On election night 2000 Greenfield (and many other political junkies) got their wish - a VERY close election - but as Greenfield dryly notes, this election was proof positive that you need to be careful what you wish for. As befits Greenfield's on-air style, "Oh Waiter" educates as well as it entertains. He offers a perceptive insight (and a highly amusing one) into the personalities and weaknesses of Al Gore and George W. Bush, as well as why neither candidate could ever pull away to a comfortable lead (they were mirror images of each other). He describes why John McCain, for all the excitement he generated in the Republican primaries, never really had a chance against Bush and the conservative GOP establishment. The best part of the book, in my opinion, were the two chapters which covered CNN's election night coverage. Again, Greenfield offers both amusing commentary and shrewd insight in equal measure. He is also fair (or at least equally harsh) to both sides, and he isn't afraid to skewer his own profession - the media - for their mistakes either. He vividly explains why the sophisticated election-predicting system all the TV networks used was a disaster waiting to happen, and why it finally DID happen in 2000. And, last but not least, Greenfield explains why it was virtually impossible for Gore to have won the presidency, even if all the "what-if" scenarios had gone his way (basically, the Republicans simply wanted it more, to get even with the Clintons). If you enjoy reading a book that in the span of a few pages will have you laughing out loud and then will offer some real insight into the workings of the modern American political system (and vice versa), then you'll find "Oh, Waiter" impossible to resist. I know I did - I intended to simply skim through it in my local bookstore and 2 hours later wound up buying it because I simply had to finish it. Like Teddy White's famed classic "The Making of the President 1960", this book in another 20 or 30 years may itself be seen as a classic look at one of the closest, most exciting - and strangest - presidential elections in American history.

If you're a news or politics junkie and weren't totally exhausted by the news coverage of America's 2000 presidential election, you'll love Jeff Greenfield's "Oh Waiter! One Order of Crow!" Greenfield's affable personality comes through in this quick, enjoyable account of last November's craziness. At times it's "laugh-out-loud" funny, and at other times you'll just shake your head as you recall the events from not that long ago. The most interesting part of the book is the

author's description of the election night coverage: who knew what when, what they were thinking when things went wrong, and how they felt about it afterwards. He also does a great job bashing the partisans on both sides who so blatantly and obviously stuck to their absurd talking points during the Florida court fights.

Greenfield's enthusiasm for the whole affair is evident throughout (it's a political analyst's dream situation, his laundry emergencies due to long hours

notwithstanding). The book's key points, aside from the fascinating explanation of what caused the network glitches, are: (1) The primary reason Gore lost the election was Bill Clinton; (2) After the votes were cast on Nov 7, there was *no way* the machinery in place was going to allow Gore to become president; and (3) the Republicans "wanted it" a whole lot more than the Democrats, who didn't have the same energy invested in the outcome.

Greenfield, as usual, is both objective and witty in his writing. He is able to share thoughts he couldn't say on TV (though he never gets particularly shocking or controversial). At just over 300 pages (with very clever "butterfly ballot" page numbers), "Oh Waiter! One Order of Crow!" is a very quick, enjoyable read for anyone who won't get too riled up by an objective and nonpartisan review of last year's election.

Jeff Greenfield is one of the premier political analysts in America, and as this book proves, he's also a terrific writer. I originally was going to "skim" this book in a local bookstore and wound up spending two hours in the store reading it before I decided that I simply had to buy it and finish it. There are already several books out in print about last year's marathon, history-making presidential race, but this one is by far the best. Greenfield manages to combine both a serious analysis of the election - why Bush and Gore were so perfectly matched as opponents (they mirrored each other's strengths and weaknesses), why the South voted Republican while the North went Democratic, why Bush won (and Gore lost), the "what-if" scenarios (and why he believes that Bush would have won the election even if all the "what-ifs" had broken Gore's way), and even why John McCain couldn't defeat Bush despite his huge wins in the New Hampshire and Michigan primaries - with a delightful, biting sense of humor that shines through on every page. Greenfield's analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Bush and Gore's personalities is both hilarious and on-target, as are his comments on the supporting players from Bill Clinton to Katherine Harris. And, as the title suggests, Greenfield doesn't spare his own profession - the media - from his barbs. His two chapters on covering the election night for CNN are by themselves worth the price of the book. If you're looking to buy just one book about one of the closest (and strangest) presidential elections in history, then "Oh, Waiter" is by far the best choice. Not only will you learn a great deal about the 2000 campaign and the "behind-the-scenes" battles that you didn't know about before, but you'll also find yourself laughing out loud at many of Greenfield's comments. A great book!

I used the 7th Edition in a graduate course in statistics and was frustrated both by the text's poor organization and its failure to present key statistical concepts clearly. I had to resort frequently to other sources to clarify topics that were poorly presented in the Prentice Hall text, and tended to find much simpler explanations outside of the text. The problem sets are particularly troublesome, as many of them do not appear to relate to the section in which they are contained and insufficient explanations are offered in the answer key. I recommend you look elsewhere.

After buying the seventh and the eighth edition of Statistics for Business and Economics. The two are pretty much the same. So, save your money, and fight back the publishing company by not purchasing this book.

Nice pictures of cool aircraft -that what I wanted when I bought it, and that's what I got, so I'm pleased. Haven't read it from cover to cover.

In this world, it is rare that a man show as much love, kindeness, and humility as did George Burns. However, this book chooses rather to focus on the sordid details of his life. The sexual immorality, the dirty jokes off stage, the things that George himself varnished over. George had a right to varnish over the negatives. It is the soul of the man. It is how he made it to 100 years of age. This book instead punches him below the belt posthumously. I was and am a big George Burns fan, and I was sorely disapointed that someone could be so cheap and callous as to sully his image.

To the earlier reviewer : If you can't stand the unvarnished truth, why are you reading this book. If you want rose-colored platitudes, read People magazine. This book tells it like it was, warts and all. Isn't that what a proper biography should do?

The title above is a perfect description of this novel, if I do say so myself. Higgins had garnered a lot of critical acclaim, I believe, based mostly on another novel, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, that I've never read. And I don't think that I ever will after slogging through this one.

Here's my primary complaint. This book is composed almost entirely of dialogue. There is no action whatsoever! I think this is a fatal mistake, considering what this novel is about.

A privileged group of pseudo-radicals finance their 'movement' through a series of daylight heists of armored cars. They are eventually caught after they decide to expand their crime spree to include the robbery of a Boston bar/restaurant fronting for drug dealers. The result is 7 people shot to death, execution style. All this sounds exciting, doesn't it?

Well, it AIN'T!! The reader is not privy to any action scenes at all. All that happens is that we get characters talking about what happened, after the fact. For one example, the state police discuss their plan to capture this group of armed thugs. Then, the next day, we're told how the plan worked to perfection, and everyone is in custody. UGH!! This makes for really dull reading.

The plot itself is relatively interesting, actually. As a lifelong Bostonian, I usually like novels that take place here in this area. But not this time. Yes, I recognized the places where the characters were sitting when they discussed the real plot of the book, but so what?

The funny thing is that this probably could have made a pretty good movie, considering the subject matter, in the hands of an action director. But as a novel, it's really dull. There's a lot of potential here, in the plot, but Higgins mismanaged it terribly.