This book could have also been called "Best CM and software development practices".
I've read many CM books over the years and this is one of those rare books that focuses on the "rubber meets the road" aspect of good CM and software development practices.
Many CM books out there are so theoretical that they are barely useful. This book answers many software development practice questions that I've had to address in my years of doing software process improvement and proprietary CM tool, ClearCase, Version Manager, Config Builder, Tracker, ClearQuest, and now PVCS Dimensions administration. Anyone who does CM for a living gets asked the "how do I do this" question where the question that first needs an answer is "what are you trying to do with the tool?".
This book addresses those questions in a 100% practical and easy to understand way. I recommend this book to anyone who is serious about process improvement and CM and knows that it's usually not what CM tools you have but what you do with them is what helps software development get done in a sane fashion.

Software Configuration Management (CM) is often needlessly painful. Processes don't scale, practices get reinvented after dragging everyone through long debates, shiny ... new tools get brought in as silver bullets then seem to fail. The CM failings I've seen stem in part from failure to match tools and practices to context. What works for a team of 3-5 doesn't scale once the team grows to 10 and beyond. What works when people are all within the sound of one another's voices doesn't scale when the team is split between buildings (or states).

By approaching CM from a Patterns perspective--presenting CM approaches that balance competing forces within a context--this book lays out a coherent big picture against which specific tactical decisions can be made (e.g., do we develop on a main line, do we freeze, or do we branch? when do we merge?) and then made again when the situation changes.

Don't buy this book expecting specific solutions using specific tools. The major CM systems are mentioned, but without going into detail on how to use them. Buy this book to get a good map of the problem space.

An exceedingly readable book, that is not limited to practitioners of Java. Yes, yes, here and there, the text refers to java files, but it delves no further into the specifics of the language. Rather, the principles described are good, general coding practices, for teams of two or more programmers that want to maximise their efficiency. You could be a C++, C# or even a[gasp] Cobol house, and derive benefit from reading this book.

There is minimal use of jargon. The authors appear to have gone to some trouble to make their points as simply and as broadly accessible as possible. One, possibly unintended, consequence is that a tyro programmer may consider this book trivial or vacuous. No complex UML diagrams, no intricate refactoring examples,... It may well be that an experienced old hand might get more out of the book, having endured many an unwieldy or uncoordinated project.

Another significant point is that this book is accessible to nontechnical managers. Two scenarios are possible:

1. You are a manager, possibly nontechnical. You want to avoid mismanaging a team of programmers that wants to do things their way. This book might give valuable guidelines; plus you can use it to persuade the team about the logic of your decisions.

2. You are a programmer that is in a project that has had bad management decisions. This book might offer better strategies. Plus, it gives you a way to argue them persuasively to your bosses, even if they are nontechnical.

If you are not lucky enough to live in SF and take classes from Darren, this is a wonderful book. Darren is a fantastic teacher with lots of thoughtful ideas on the practice of yoga (as well as a great sense of humor and overall perspective.) If you live in the Bay Area, take one of his classes or workshops - you'll want more and will find this book inspiring.

Darren does a wonderful job of presenting the yogic spiritual principles and then showing us ways to weave spiritual action into our modern day lives. This book is warm and accessible urging progress and allowing us to let go of the anxiety producing drive for perfection. Darren's personal examples and explanations come from a place of authenticity and compassion inspiring the reader to practice not just on the yoga mat, but in the car, standing in line at the grocery store, and in the workplace. This is a great book to read and a fantastic book to keep coming back to. I highly recommend this book to anyone, yoga practitioner or not, who seeks guidance in connecting with the deeper principles of a meaningful life.

Wow! Darren's words are honest, inspiring, and clear. His belief in and passion for yoga comes through, inspiring the reader to Know him/herself and have fun along the way...

As an author of a practical guide to dating and relationships, I was naturally skeptical about a reincarnation-karma type approach to love success. This is not the kind of thing that a group of "Sex and the City" fans are going to identify with, is it?

But according to author, Stephen Petullo (a longtime, past life-regression therapist), the past affects the present (and future) and he backs this up with many case histories of how past life regression analysis can successfully improve a person's love life, whether they believe it or not.

Fortunately for me, my personal background as an NLP (neuro-linguistic programming....a secret skill mastered by motivational guru, Tony Robbins) trainer has already introduced me to this type of valuable mental technology.

For example, this book includes many scripts the reader can use on their own to go back in time and explore past lives for fun or to find out why they're still single, why they attract the wrong people, why their partners cheated on them, or for any other relationship issue.

One of the most interesting parts of the book was the "Love Cycles" section. Here Petullo shows how to use simple numerology calculations, based on your date of birth, to determine what kind of events or situations to expect in your relationship or on what path to a successful one. Numerology has been used and valued for centuries and can be used as a method of self-discovery and for foreseeing future trends/probabilities.

If you're ready to take another look at taking control of your love life, here's a book that I highly recommend. This thorough metaphysical approach to love may be just the perceptional shift that you need in order to move closer to the love relationship you truly desire.

This book has a unique concept, not just reincarnation, not just relationships, but combining the two for further understanding.

What was particularly interesting was asking the reader and/or patients to suspend believe, just for a moment to go with the flow. If you think about it, how many of us know why or how are computer works, but none of us question that it does. This is not a unique concept if you think about. Given that, the author gives some really solid interesting information and advice when it comes to relationships. Some of it is pure common sense, some shows a unique insight into the psyche.

This book is divided into several sections.
SECTION I:
What you need to know about Reincarnation, Karma and Regression therapy. This section gives you the basics of these concepts. If you are a disbeliever in these concepts, this section may not interest you so much, but it is worth reading. It would give you a the background of the of the terminology referenced later on. If you are less skeptical, there is some solid refresher information here.

SECTION II
Exploring love lives through regression therapy. I felt, even if a person had difficulty with the concept of reincarnation, there was some solid concepts here. The references to the various relationship problems were dead-on and the specific examples of people's situations offered an insight to some concerns many people have. The examples were particularly useful because by looking at the dynamics of another's relationship versus descriptions of problems really helped to characterize the issues discussed.
This section dealt with why some people are still single, Love or lust at first sight, reoccuring negative relationships, lack of commitment, abandonment issues and starting with your own regard for yourself before you look to others for love.

SECTION III
Sexuality and past lives. Given today's hot topics and issues on the various forms of sexuality, I felt this went a long way to help begin an understanding of why people may act the way they do. Even if this is not a topic you may personally be interested in, it may help you to understand others around you. It is rare today that you don't at least know someone that has struggled with these issues. Case histories in this section also personalize these issues for the reader.

SECTION IV
Dealing with other relationship issues. This section deals with commitment issue from leaving, the timing of leaving, peaceful breakups and commitments. Let's face it all relationships either end or continue. It is all covered here. Additionally, there are several sections that deal with non-monogamous relationships and the issues associated. This is about the only book I have ever read that covered this issue. I'll be honest if this is a consideration for you and your significant other, there are some reasonable guidelines here. Case histories also abound in this section as well. From the peaceful breakup to the uncommon relationship. What I particularly liked about this section were the steps in the commitment process. There were 6 sections: Children, Money, Sex, Monogamy, Relatives and Other. This should be required reading for all those considering marriage. Couples actually sitting down and talking over these issues prior to marriage could put many divorce attorneys out of business. Also it emphasized that people grow and change in their relationships. Bingo. Many people don't ever consider that. It can't be emphasized enough and this is the first book I've read that considered this and suggested couples prepare for this.

SECTION V
Discover, forgive and release. Even within working relationships, sometimes there are blocks to intimacy and less than full communication between partners. This section helps you work to dissolve these issues through meditation and regression.
There are a number of meditation exercises and scripts for you to work with. Also there is a script for self regression. I haven't tried these yet but I plan to. This section is chock full of great ideas.

SECTION V1
Other resources to improve your love life. This section covers Numerology, its relationship to reincarnation, and gives a beginning method to calculate your own numbers. Some emphasis was also provided on Astrology too. Along with this was a comprehesive discussion of dating services and what to expect. I would say the author has very high standards for dating services and you would be wise to follow them, if you spend your hard earned money there. This is a great idea, because most of us have no clue where to start or what to expect. He also provides some dating hints and ideas. As much as this might seem basic, many of us, have no clue. This section is chock full of ideas from the spritual to the practical and they all flow together in a very comprehensive summary. I found this section to be very interesting.

What was very interesting in the end, the author addresses the skeptics as well. Let's face it. Some of this may be a stretch for some, and for others may make perfect sense. As was commented in Ian Stevensons' book Old Souls. In the eastern world Reincarnation is consider as a fact for many religions and no proof is necessary. In the western world Reincarnation is not considered as possible, and no proof is enough. Hence very little research is funded or has been done to bring this to light, as one considers it unecessary and the other a waste of time. Even if you are not ready to take a leap of faith and consider this your first and only life, this book has solid relationship information, I have not seen duplicated elsewhere.

Stephen Petullo's Your Love Life & Reincarnation: Why The Past Is Affecting Your Present And How To Fix It is a holistic, metaphysical self-help guide to improving one's love life through understanding karma, past lives, and reincarnation. Individual chapters address matters ranging from the benefits of regression therapy, to how past lives influence sexual orientation, to the overwhelming importance of forgiveness. A quite powerful and transcendental guide, Your Love Life & Reincarnation is strongly recommend addition to metaphysical studies and human relationship reading lists and reference collections.

Anyone who's willing to write about Shelley Winters' HUGE bloomers in the underwater sequence of the Poseiden Adventure gets a snap from me!

This book is an absolute riot. The authors takes on these movies are great. What makes the book better than the standard bad movie review is how they trash movies you think might be good (like Fatal Attraction). My only complaint is there are sections with too many references to old (50's) movies that I have never heard of. Otherwise it is hilarious.

I hate to say it, but I think I have seen every movie in this book, most more than twice. This is a very funny (and helpful for the afficianado) book. The premise is different than the usual book about "bad" movies: no "Plan Nine from Outer Space" et al- that's left to Michael Medved and his ilk. No, these are movies that just are slightly crazed, over the top, or just, well, BAD. Ones that will make you ask "What were they thinking? What were they smoking! " Some of the movies are laugh-out-loud stinkers like "Female on the Beach", some are just jaw-droppingly awful like "Xanadu". But the writing is funny and fresh, and you will find yourself agreeing with the reviews of the movie you have seen, and going to the video store for the movies you have not. Unfortunately one of the authors is no longer living, but I would hope that they could collect the rest of the reviews from Movieline (the magazine from which this book sprang) and put out more editions as soon as possible

Stephen Arroyo is in my opinion the best astrologer of our time. He is able to combine impeccable technique with a deep understanding of the human being and its psyche. His astrology is a reflection of his humanistic orientation and his keen insight. All his books are an incredible worthwhile read for both the beginning and the veteran astrologer.

In his Chart Interpretation Handbook, Arroyo gives us a way of looking at the birth chart in terms of the energetic building blocks within it. Unlike more cookbook style texts, he does not provide just a list of planets, signs, houses but teaches the reader how to tune into the chart in a more subtle way. At first this text might seem a bit vague, but it is ultimately a text in which Arroyo shows us his particular way of sensing the subtle nuances of the astrological energies.

Arroyo also in this text is a master at showing us how to unravel the themes within the birth chart. I particularly loved his description of the sub-tones of planets that is something that I use to this day in my chart interpretations. Stephen Arroyo is a fantastic astrologer and writer. All his books are marvellous and this one is no exception. I cannot recommend it enough.

As a new student to astrology I appreciate Stephen Arroyo's straightforward style. Easy to read and easy to understand, Arroyo breaks down chart interpretation into the basic elements of astrology.

If you are familiar with Parker's Astrology, this book is totally different. While Parker's is very detailed, a sort of encyclopedia for astrology, this is a much smaller volume that gives general guidelines. Arroyo deliberately kept things general. Evidently he thinks it's best to think in broad terms and to only deal with the essentials of a chart when interpreting it. By teaching us the basics of astrology Arroyo helps us do that. I see Arroyo's book and the Parker book being very complementary--being a new student I appreciate what each has to offer.

This is a great place to start of you are serious about understanding the fundamentals of astrology.

This book is the most valuable reference tool I own. I've always admired the way Stephen Arroyo makes astrology accessible and useful without all the hocus-pocus. He brings out the building blocks of chart interpretation and encourages the reader to think instead of just leaning on tradition. Everything you need is here: elements, signs, planets, houses, the trips and quads, aspects...

The language is clear, modern, and anyone from the most neophytic can understand and apply it immediately.

As a person who was also diagnosed with schizophrenia, (though I never heard voices), I found this a fascinating account of another person's journey from breakdown to recovery. The greatest strength of this book is the way in which the authors interwove the tyranny of the voices Ken Steele heard with the events of his life. The book gave me a clear understanding of how nightmarish it must be to live with a constant chorus of psychotic voices harassing you and insulting you from morning until night. Next, what struck me powerfully was the completely inhumane treatment Mr. Steele received from the mental health establishment. During the initial months of his first hospitalization Mr. Steele was locked up in isolation and given so much medication he couldn't move, not even to go to the bathroom. He peed and pooped where he was and attendants hosed him off to get him clean. Subsequently, in other hospitalizations he continued to be subjected to serious overdoses of medication. He was locked in seclusion rooms for extended periods of time, threatened and ultimately gang raped by other patients, and at one point locked in a closet for days on end. During the course of this book Ken Steele speculates that the cause of his illness was entirely biochemical and that his recovery took place solely as a consequence of the new medications he took later on in his life. But I felt that there was no way that his family life could not have had some influence on the outbreak and course of his illness. From the beginning it is clear that his parents have little interest in him, and that he is largely being brought up by his grandmother. When it became clear that he was suffering from a severe mental illness, his parents did nothing about it. And when he later ran into trouble and ended up hospitalized, his parents didn't even bother to visit him or concern themselves with his situation even though they were fully informed of what was happenening to him. When it came to Ken Steele's recovery, medication may have been a part of it, but it is indisputable that before he decided to take the medication, he had come to the point where he made the choice to be responsible for himself, to stop playing games and lying to himself and other people. In other accounts of people with mental illness, this moment of decision, the decision to take personal responsibility for oneself, is pivotal to any meaningful kind of recovery. And Ken made that recovery, and more than just recoverying, he went on to advocate for psychiatric patients such as himself and play a significant role in improving the lives of others. Suffering greatly, struggling greatly, recovering heroically, Ken Steele is without self pity, and through this book, continuing to give to others, even after his death.

I have schizoaffective dissorder and this book demonstrates just how bad this illness is. It's real and almost too real for me. The story is very moving. I could not put it down. Luckly today there are better meds then the ones Mr. Steele started with. I'm glad he had some peace in his life before he passed away.

This book is a must read for anyone who is related to or works with the mentally ill. It is a story that can help break down the stereotypes that the mentallly ill suffer under. The honesty that the author shares helps us all get a small glipse into the lives of the schizophrenic.

Although Stephen's writing style may make it difficult for the scholar to take him seriously (he sounds more like an Info-Age
geek than a academic), he presents some extrordinary ideas that shouldn't be ignored or overlooked. For example, his list of the new elements and principles of design spawned by Info-Age art
forms is revolutionary. A must read for the Info-Age artist,
art critic, social-critic, or art educator!

I teach a graduate design class, and this book is a great way to let students think about their role in the fast changing world of visual communications. Stephens has a great way of putting things in perspective, and notes that each fundamental change in communication has met with resistance, i.e. we still think of TV as the Boob Tube. When I read it a few years ago, it seemed so new--it's fun to see how his theories are quickly melding into our culture seamlessly. It's been an optional read for my students--now it's time to make it mandatory!

I read Stephen's last summer and I'm now rereading parts of it in preparation for using video in my classroom next Fall. There's no doubt what Stephen says is true. The role of the image can often be even more powerful than the word. For example, Henry Hampton's documentary, Eyes on the Prize, conveys much more emotionally and intellectually than any book on the Civil Rights Movement. Even the most prolific readers out there are moved by powerful motion pictures and documentaries. So far me Stephen's work is only a start in terms of examining what we can be done with visual communication, especially the video.

We see things from Sally's perspective- the story told with humor and wonderful pictures. My 3 year old granddaughter and I hope Sally goes to a lot more places- the beach, mountains and farm could be just the start.

I thought this book would be fun for my son since we have a black lab, but I underestimated how much I would enjoy it too! The illustrations are incredible and the text is witty and really seems to show life from a dog's point of view! Highly recommend particularly if you have or like dogs!

This book is great for anyone who loves to take their dog with them. It gives you insight into what your dog is thinking while you're packing for vacation, lounging on the beach, etc. Once again, beautiful illustrations.

This is not only the definitive flyfishing guide to the Bahamas, but also (i) a very insightful book on logistics and non-fishing pursuits on the islands; and (ii) one of the finest fishing guides written for any area in the world, which is an especially great accomplishment given the span of the area. Read to plan, or just read to dream. Essential for anyone deciding on which island to go to, and which areas to fish. My only complaint? -- that I personally wasn't able to help research this book by visiting/fishing all areas covered.

I have traveled to the Bahamas on several ocassions on buisness as well as pleasure (fishing!). Prior to going and while I'm there, this book has provided valuable information and suggestions. Great refrence book!

I bought this for my boyfriend who is a fishing freak for our trip to the Bahamas. I think I had more fun reading it than he did. These folks give so much information about the islands that I think it is a MUST for fishing widows and widowers. It changed our plans as to where to go and what to do. We fished and enjoyed other parts of the islands. I laminated the cover cause we wore it out.