Dreams of a Young Girls is a typical work of David Hamilton's. Those who are familar with his particular brand of artistry will feel at home with his adoration of the young female form. Those a bit more on the prudish side will see the man as nothing more than an aging voyeur. Whatever your personal opinion, "Dreams of A Young Girl" is standard Hamilton fair.

RAND, as usual, produced a first-rate study here. In this text, they looked into commercial SATCOM for Department of Defense use, what roles it should fill, and cost comparison between DoD-owned satellite versus commercial satellites. Many graphs adorn the text, adding useful information to make conclusions clearer and vivid. Anyone interested in commercial satellites and the role they should play for the DoD should buy this book. No hyperbole or propaganda here, RAND's text is useful text and solid conclusions that layperson and communicator alike can understand.

I have never been so moved by an artist in my life! David has captured purity, in these Angelic forms of innocence.

If only we could preserve, what David has so passionately embodied in the pages of all of his books.

I await the next release

The table of contents of this text indicate a wonderful range of topics, from resolution, abstraction to multi-level simulations and even the object-oriented paradigm. However, this text is simply too ambitious and none of these topics get covered in an real detail. (390 pages)

This team has put together a comprehensive collection on a topic that is so hard to keep up with. The reader can take in as little or as much as needed. "Distributed Simulation" is a good reference and important reading for anyone in the field.

Though usually hesitant to read books on Oprah's list (I believe in my own ability to find a good book, though I admit she has picked some winners), I read a bit of this one at the store and felt I would enjoy it. WRONG. The only character in the book I actually liked and cared about was Theresa, and it was not her story. Though a lot takes place in this novel (death, prison, false accusations) and it reveals life truths (such as the fact that many spouses don't know each other and one's seemingly safe life can snap in one minute, without the slightest hint of forewarning), it left me saying - "Oh, deal with it." The novel held no great revelations for me, nor did I find the central characters compelling in any way. Far worse things have ocurred to others not as well situated, and they have conquered their demons with more grace, common sense, and ability. Better novels have told similar tales in more compelling fashion.

Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World is a novel that has moved her among the major writers of our time. A great piece of literature, Hamilton beautifully portrays the hard times of suburbia America and the hardships many families face everday. This adult novel faces such touchy topics as death of children, stress in relationships among friends, and the coping of a life not wanted but is truly necessity. This book was given to me by my AP English teacher who described it with one word-"sad". Not one to get emotional over literature, Hamilton's diction, syntax, and description allow the reader to actually feel the emotions of the average farming family. By sectioning of parts of the book by character titles, the author permits a deeper look into the mind and lives of certain characters drawing the reader deeper into the depths of dispair as the family continues to struggle with Life. A "normal" American family with a mother, Alice, a father, Howard, and two daughters, Alice and Emma, Hamilton discusses the fears that so many citizens are afraid to bring forward, even into their own thoughts. With only one real family friend, Alice faces the rough life of not only being considered the outcast of the perfect little town of Prarie Center, but also the scrutinous routine of the farmer's wife. Forced into marriage by the conception of their older daughter, Emma. Following the footsteps of her husband, she agrees to buy a farm due to her husband's dream of becoming a dairy farmer. With the accidental death of her only friend's daughter, Lizzy, Alice loses touch with not only herself but also the rest of her family. She falls into a deep depression which only escalates further with Lizzy's funeral. This unforgetable journey of sadness and desolate commiseration leaves the reader compelled and wanting more of the exquisite individual passages. With a gripping sense of the human heart and uncharted country between author and reader, A Map of the World assembles an engrossing, powerful portrayal of the life that nearly every woman in America is afraid of living.

Sunny55428@yahoo.com I read this book because it was Oprah's choice for December. I finished it a month ago but it's still haunting my thoughts and dreams. But for the Grace of God go I. It's scary when I remember the many times I baby sat other people's children at my home, took them swimming, to the zoo, libraries, museums, church, parks...All with no untoward incidents other than mosquito bites and maybe a splinter.

Lessons to be learned from A MAP of the WORLD:

· When responsible for others who are dependent on you for protection, stay alert and in the present. Don't get sidetracked with daydreams.

· Never threaten others, not even when they deserve it. Example: Alice threatened Carol Mackessy with calling the authorities and it backfired. Carol had Alice called before the authorities, taken away from her family, jailed, beaten unconscious by a cruel, mentally deranged prison inmate, lost her farm and almost lost her familly.

· If you find you're having trouble being in charge of yourself and the path of your life, get yourself into therapy before tragedy strikes. Alice obviously had self-awareness-identity problems. It's' too bad someone, she or her hubby didn't' recognize that fact and get her into therapy before the unimaginable incident came to pass.

· Forgiveness. How to forgive the unforgivable. I don't know how the mother of the drowned child could do it so completely and immediately, without questioning or demanding some sort of payment or special favor.

· People, lives, and apparent everyday situations and circumstances are far more complex than first glance might indicate. Never take routine for granted. Be alert for the unimaginable, the unthinkable, and the unexpected! Especially when helpless little ones are in your charge.

I guarantee A MAP of the WORLD provides fuel for lively, enlightening discussions and haunting dreams.

The tendency of this book to ridicule America (its history, its culture, its priorities, etc.) really calls into question the objectivity and political persuasion of its authors. Whether it's the destruction of the environment or world poverty, America and the American people are always to blame. We use too much energy; we don't share enough; blah blah blah. America does more to promote peace and economic development throughout the world than any other country. While the authors of this book don't seem to be so, I, for one, am PROUD to be an American

The general feel of this book is dark and dull. Graphics are oddly benign,upside, the Geography in Action sections offer realistic insight into Geographic concepts. Clawson and Fisher tried.

Check the source material...

He quotes books of his own he hasn't written yet...boxes in archives that don't exist, etc.

Anyone who takes this book seriously doesn't know much about Napoleonic history and anyone who buys it is wating their money.

The shortcomings of this book are by now well known. A fair number of the author's citations sem to be fictional, and the attack on the Sibornes is unsupported. However, the actual campaign narrative in this book is really rather good. It takes a broad perspective, unlike many other accounts, is full of useful insights, and is well-written and entertaining. No doubt it contains flaws, though it is interesting to note that most of the critics of this book focus on inaccuracies in the citations (and the attack on the Sibornes) rather than specific errors in the campaign analysis itself.

By all means ignore the rant against the Sibornes, and read the portions alleging various conspiracies against Napoleon with a healthy measure of skepticism, but don't dismiss the campaign history. It may not be the gospel truth in all particulars (what historical account is?), but it is more insightful and informative than most treatments of the Waterloo campaign.

I found Hamilton-Williams' book to be most enlightening, despite certain flaws in its source material. To my knowledge, and I may be incorrect, Waterloo: New Perspectives was among the first english-language books to seriously challenge the long-held notion that the British defeated Napoleon at Mont St. Jean. Simply by challenging the status quo, well-founded or not, Hamilton-Williams appears to have made the battle of la Belle Alliance once again an issue of intense controversy. Whether "meticulously researched" or not, I remain in doubt as to whether subsequent works on the battle emphasizing the Dutch, German and Prussian roles would ever have been written. As for the account itself, it seems well-enough written work, and very informative in areas where citation is not so necessary, such as the depictions of the musket smoke clouding the battlefield, and descriptions of the horrors of receiving artillery fire. The general narrative is also good, especially regarding the Prussians' travails.

After reading the various pros and cons of this book, I thought I would take it for a spin from my local library. Unfortunately, for the author, he runs off the road in the first two pages. In this short space, he talks about how terrible it was that when Napoleon fell from power the great personal freedom(???) that the French people had was lost, onerous reparations that France had to pay, and how great social institutions were dismantled. Those three statements alone are enough to show that this author should be stopped for WWI (Writing While Intoxicated). As an example of the great personal freedom that the French people had he mentions that people were able to rise due to merit. Hmmm, I guess being a relative of Napoleon is meritous since that's all it took to become the king of Spain - even when Joseph didn't want to be the king of Spain. Titles and estates were given hither and yon simply for being a good general in the rape and pillage of innocent countries. Maybe the author meant free speech, but no there was none. Newspapers were closed. A printer *in another country* was kidnapped to France and executed for having the audacity of printing a anti-Napoleon pamphlet. Napoleon was the sole arbiter of plays, music, newspapers, etc.
The state was everything... the individual, nothing. Elections were fixed, his assistants virtual slaves. His secretary of ten years asked to leave due to health problems. His house was stripped, his reputation ruined, his ability to earn a living destroyed simpley because he wished to leave a job. Maybe he meant freedom of property or commerce. Confiscatory taxes were used to supply the army. If taxes didn't cover it, then you would supply a loan at the point of sword. If you asked for repayment... another sword point would meet you. After the taxes, the loans, and simple confiscation they would come and take what they needed including your son. In Poland, Napoleon got a mistress by threatening the countries nobles. Even if you weren't French, you could conscripted in to their army. There was no freedom of commerce. If you traded with England for anything, anywhere in the world, you were an enemy. Napoleon was genius, but a heartless, flawed, faithless and incredibly malicious and cruel genius.

As with this authors other work on Napoleon there are some mistakes, but given the sloppy level of "scholarship" that abounds in Napoleonic studies this work is hardly a candidate for historiological oblivion - despite the best efforts of the more hysterical and strident readers/guardians of the "truth"

The author's take on Bonaparte is realtively one-sided, but, so what? That's not a crime. Perhaps buyers of this book could place it at one end of their shelf and Alan Schom's "biography" at the other with the truth falling in-between? Either way, more reading is always better than less. Buy this book and enjoy it, it's not bad.

A Reader

Hamilton-Williams places an entire new slant on the subject of Naploeons fall and uses his many sources well ( and provides warnings when the sources are not trustworthy ) most of his conclusions are viable on the evidence provided and well written. Half his problem are that a large amount of his conclusions destroy the assumptions that a large portion of Napoleonic historians make and like to continue to make and hence the backlash against him. His view of Napoleon essentially brought down from within is one that is gaining more and more acceptance and anyone who is prepared to cope with his partisan approach to the issue will enjoy and learn from this book.

With regards to emphasis the book leans heavily on the undercurrents, political manouverings of this period and thus provides a fresh look on an overwritten subject. Excellant

If you're a fan of Salinger's work, do not read this poor written biography. The best you can do is just read his marvelous books, and forget about the writer to focus on the writing.

Take first the fact that you're reading a book about someone who did not want to be involved with this book at all. You could put that aside. After all, if a new Salinger book showed up without his permission, I guarantee I would snatch it up even as I complain about the publisher going against his wishes. Even if Hamilton's writing was the only thing lacking, you could probably get past that and seek out some interesting information on Salinger's life/work/etc., but it goes beyond just poor writing. There is nothing of real merit here as far as I can see. Why write a book that basically restates what you can find in an encyclopedia section on Salinger? When you simply restate that after a certain point not much is known over and over again or try to use the investigative journalism approach to gain readers' sympathy (think of all of the reporters who knock on the door and scream inside about the person avoiding the interview and although the clip is really a bore, it gets used because it backs up the viewpoint of that reporter). I am a huge Salinger fan, and I would have settled for a poorly written, unauthorized biography if I could have found something else of value underneath.

Yeah, this biography is kind of weak but the subject is JD Salinger, at least Hamilton gives explanations for gaps in the story, its not totallyincoherent. Its really a biography and "Making of" the biography at the same time. Hamilton takes us along like a sluething companion. Even if you have sympathy for Salinger's privacy don't worry, so does our author--but his nosy alter-ego is a little less gracious. Despite what other harsh... critics have said, I did learn a lot of info on J.D. such as about his army days during WWII and his numerous short stories published in magazines during 40s and 50s (it'd be nice to take a look at those.)

Because Salinger is such a recluse, this psuedo-bio only covers his writing years (which ended in the early 60s). I found much of the detail on how Hamilton obtains his information interesting. He actually manages to get his hands on original copies of some Salinger letters written during this time. The quoted material from these letters ends up as a legal battle with the man himself (J.D.) which is really kind of dull and uninformative. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth if only because it reminds you that Salinger doesn't want us reading this tripe at all; a conundrum since most of you are probably reading it because you're a fan.

I read this one first, then the one by Lindeburg. There is no comparison- the Potter book has too many mistakes, outdated material, its organization does not mirror the exam's organization like the Lindeburg book does, it is not in depth enough to be of any use. After working through the Lindeburg book, I rarely even referred to this one (and the exam was a snap).

While trying to study from this book I found many outdated references. For instance, tables and charts for the 1984 "green book" and references to the 198-something HCM. The book also has a hydraulics and hydrology slant. Even the Highway section turns into a hydralogy review loosly based on highways. Do not buy this book, instead look into the Lindeman reference.

The mistakes, inconsistencies, and assumptions are frustrating. I don't know if there is anything better on the market. If so, I wish I had it right now.