This tradepaperback reprints the first apperarances of all the original Thunderbolts. For those of you unfamiliar with the Thunderbolts, they are Marvel's newest and greatest superhero group. What makes them so interesting is that they are all former villians! A half dozen of Marvel's villians known as THE MASTERS OF EVIL changed thier identities to a new group of "good" guys in order to gain the public's trust and then strike! A true Troyjan horse. The only flaw was that most of them

found the public's audulation and addmiration too much and could not follow through with their "master plan". Now they struggle to stay on the right side of the law and are trying to atone for previous indiscresions. That's where this book comes in. It is a compilation of all the characters first comic book appearances in their former villianous identities. This book reprints the entire stories the characters were originally in. Featuring such heros as the Hulk, Captain America, the Avengers and more. You get classic Marvel stories from the 60's and 70's. Highly recommended

This 'Essential' really doesn't have any exciting material, really. It's all just pointless, meandering filler. The characterization is nonexistent and the plots are very run of the mill. It's only worth seeing and reading as a sort of time capsule. It's not very good, but it's one example of how comics were like in the sixties.

Easily the best volume of the three Avengers Essentials to date, we now see Rascally Roy Thomas at the scripting helm, along with Awesome John Buscema doing most of the art chores. Say no more! This duo is one of the greatest in comics lore... and even demi-gods Barry [Windsor] Smith and Gene Colan show up to help out on art.

This collection contains the spectacular introduction of the Vision, the Avengers vs. the (old) X-Men, several battles with arch-foe Ultron, and the classic Avengers vs. Avengers thanks to the machinations of the time-spanning Scarlet Centurion. I'd give this compilation five stars, but the several issues featuring Hercules and the battles in god-ville are just plain dull. (Avengers #50 featured this crap? YEESH.) But don't let these few pages spoil the rest of the great fun.

This third volume collecting the earlier issues of the Avengers sees the title emerging from the somewhat listless period on the last volume. Roy Thomas is now the writer, and is plainly undertaking the work with enthusiasm and a desire to create something very much worth reading.

This volume sees the membership of the team in flux, with characters being added and removed, and some not even officially joining the team. The stories themselves see members departing for personal reasons, and older members, who are technically off the team, dropping by.

It also sees the introduction of some elements that continue to have impact today: the first two conflicts with Ultron, the introduction of the Vision, Hank Pym taking up the identity of Yellowjacket, the Scarlet Centurion, the conflicts of loyalty that beset the Scarlet Witch and, in particular, Quicksilver...

Art-wise, we are generally in the safe and capable hands of John Buscema, although there are a couple of issues illustrated by Barry (Windsor) Smith, who will soon go on to greater things... Also present are Don Heck, Gene Colan and Sal Buscema.

The stories still show the elements of a relatively new writer working out what works and what doesn't in this format. However, they become increasingly self-assured towards the end, and Volume 4, when it is released, will show a far more mature writer...

Sorry. This is OK as a textook for students of Civil War battles, but wouldn't interest most people. Not for me.

This book gives a good insight in the military operations during the american civil war. The books helps a lot to get a clear understanding of the decisions wich where taken by the military and civil leaders. A strongly recommend to buy also the Atlas.

The West Point series consists of an excellent group of works, and "the American Civil War" is no exception. The text is easy enough for almost anyone to understand, which makes it ideal for students doing research. In fact, I first used this book in a high school class! However, the series also contains enough detail and information to be taken seriously by the experienced historian.

Overall it is an excellent resource as well as an enjoyable read.

(The only bad point is that because the text is such a large book for a softcover the pages have a regrettable tendancy to come loose and fall out if the book is used often. Be gentle and they should stay in place

In here Exodus is the trouble maker while Magneto is recovering from the loss of his mind, and colossus feeling kind of guildty for leaving the X-men, THis book is great, it has a lot of heroes in it and you can keep track of all the heroes. If you love The avengers, avengers WEst Coast, The X-Men, Exodus, or even Fabian Cortez, this is the book to read.

Agreed the art isn't great in the Avengers pieces, but if you like a lot of variety and a fun, fun book with a lot of adventure and a good ending that is a surprise till the end, this may be for you.

A good story with Avengers tension, mutant vs hero tension, mutant vs mutant tension and a great "Mageneto's Family" suffering for Magneto's sins storyline.

I would reccomend it.

An excellent story, showing a darker side to the marvel universe. The tragic story of war in the island nation of Genosha, the gritty realism of the story along with the excellent artwork, makes for a great read. I would strongly recommend this, for it is truly, one of the few classic storys produced by Marvel.

I was very disappointed with this book. I bought it in order to get some in-depth descriptions of deaf culture. I knew it was in anecdotal form, but I thought the anecdotes would have a little more in the way of substance. Instead, I got a bunch of very light, largely uninformative and uninteresting anecdotes. What I found particularly annoying was that some anecdotes were absentmindedly repeated throughout the book. For anyone looking to get deeper insight into deaf culture, I would instead recommend "The Other Side of Silence".

I gave it a three because it wasn't too bad, but I know that I wouldn't have read it if I didn't have to. I had to read this book for a class along with "Deaf in America". This one was a little more light-hearted. It had funny little stories and jokes. Deaf in America was actually about the past and more of the culture.

"You get into a fight with a friend. She gets tired of fighting and locks herself in a room. You are determined to get the last word in, so you write a note and pass it under the door . . . You go to a restaurant with a friend. The first thing you do after being seated is to remove the centerpiece so that you have an unobstructed view of your friend's hands . . . Even though you have installed an elaborate cordless doorbell light system, the pizza delivery man uses the knocker on the door. You wonder why your pizza has not been delivered."

These are just three of the Holcombs' classic "anecdotes from the Deaf community." This book is the third edition, and the first on which the Holcomb sons have collaborated with their father. It includes sections on hazards of new technology, the relay system, obsolete hazards, and classic Deaf jokes. These anecdotes are so universal that I had to stop myself from filling in the end of several of the jokes in conversation.

All in all, for the hearing person who wants insights into the daily experiences of Deaf people (or, I would imagine, for the Deaf person who wants a chuckle), this book is irreplaceable.

This book was a great disapointment. So much of contents seems to have been "culled" from the very good Selous Scouts "Pamwe Chete" and Barbara Coles book on the Rhodesian SAS. Its totally empty of daily information about the Rhodesian Airforce. Fire fights and raids are thin on material. Sorry I paid a lot of money for this book and it was just not worth it. ( Rhodesian Airforce 1967 - 1972 )

As the son of a former member of the Rhodesian Airforce (my father David Dodds having served up until 1974) I have read this book with great interest. The narrative itself is totally unbiased and factual to the point where at some times it seems too detached from the reality of what it must have been like serving in this highly motivated, yet under-equipped force. For those who did serve, this book is a must-read and takes the reader right from the beginning of the forces inception, through the battles of World War Two, the rapid growth of the 1960's and then the action of the 70's. It continues into the birth of the Airforce of Zimbabwe and how this force had to integrate the former Rhodesian Airforce into a force that was racially diverse enough to suit the new country.

The text may seem too brief to some, and at times the reader is left wishing for more personal accounts of the action - the what was it like to be there? sort of feeling. On the other hand, by its very nature the war from the air was far more detached than the war on the ground. Readers who have read the excellent 'Selous Scouts - Top Secret War' by Lt Col. Ron Reid Daly, will know that it is the personal side of warfare that is so compelling in a book of this nature. The book does not have enough of this type of information.

Sadly, in and effort to appraise the reader of the wider context of the Rhodesian situation, the writers have found it necessary to digress from the narrative to explain events taking place in the region as a whole. At times, for those who lived in Rhodesia or have read books on the general subject this may be irritating, as it takes up space in what is already a brief text. If the book were 20 or 30,000 words longer, then the digressions would not have been such a concern.

On the other hand there are plenty of rare and interesting archive photo's pulled from a whole range of sources. Noteworthy too is the amount of work that has gone into the writing and compiling of the Appendix. Every single plane that served in the force is noted and what its fate was, the serial numbers, the previous serial numbers, what bulkhead cracked and where etc., all these details have been noted.

It was personally interesting for me to see the serial number and information of the Canberra B2 bomber that broke up in flight on 16/11/71 killing it's two crew. My interest in this stems from the fact that it crashed on my uncle's farm southeast of New-Sarum. My father had even been talking to one of the ill-fated crew on the morning of the crash. I now have a small part of the canopy, recovered by myself from the site whilst I was on holiday in Zimbabwe in 1987.

The book does give the reader a good understanding of what it must have been like trying to procure equipment and spares for an airforce unwanted by the rest of the World. It is a testament to the skills of the men who maintained the machines with brilliance and sheer ingenuity, so that so many of them were still flying whilst aircraft of a similar age had become museum pieces.

On the whole though I still heartily recommend this book. It is a worthwhile addition to anyone's military bookshelf. This is especially so as many writers have seemed reluctant to touch the subject of Rhodesia because the subject does not fit in with the Political Correctness of the day. Readers who are interested in more of the history of Rhodesia and Southern Africa may wish to have a look at my brother's book 'The Zulus and Matabele - Warrior Nations by Glen Lyndon Dodds' tracing the history of the Matabele nation and how they broke away from the mighty Zulus. Published in 1998 by Arms & Armour Press, the 100,000 word text is naturally primarily concerned with the Zulus but does trace the entire history of the Matabele nation. Of particular note to students of Zimbabwe's history is the section of the book tracing how the Matabele came into being, how they fought tooth and nail against the Rhodesians at the end of the 19th century, and how they fought again in the Rhodesian Bush War, only to end up fighting for their survival again - this time against the forces of the new Zimbabwe government - a regime intent on crushing any dissent.

A fantastic book I cannot praise enough. Impartial, fair and thoroughly documented. Not to mention a very good read. This book reviews the operational history of the RRAF (Royal Rhodesian Air Force) during its bitter struggle against marxist guerillas. It describes how a small nation with antiquated aircraft put off the inevitable for 15 years against overwhelming odds. The book documents every major operation of the RRAF as well as the tactics it used. It is not a gung-ho white regime book though it documents their failures and their atrocities as well as those of the guerrillas. It also gives an honest and frank opinion of why an air force and military that was so innovative and unquestionably motivative ultimately failed to meet its objective. I recommend this book to those interested in Rhodesia and the history of its military. It would also be a very good book for those interested in Counter-Insurgency Warfare and Close Air Support operations.

Although there are interesting facts about life in the Sixteenth Century, they are few and far between in this book. Probably a good doctorial thesis, this is a tedious, at times redundant, read

Readers should understand that this is not a historical novel, but a detailed narrative about Europe during a period of great religious, political, social and cultural upheaval. Tracing the lives of the Platter men, Thomas and his two sons, Felix and Thomas, Jr., the author reveals a society often overlooked by modern readers. While most historians deal with the political side only, LaDurie focuses on the religious turbulence that ultimately resulted in a new Europe. The fact that Thomas Platter, Sr., an illiterate peasant, was able to rise to a position of respected teacher and publisher, one who was a contemporary of Calvin, and published his Institutes, tells us much about the opportunities for social advancement during the period. Felix's experiences in southern France and his relationships with Spanish Jews sheds a great deal of light on another portion of "hidden history." The influence of the "New World" is also beginning to be felt across! the continent at this time. For any student of social geography or religious history, this book is an absolute treasure chest.

"This book was developed specifically for a first course in structured COBOL programming. After completing this book, students should have a firm foundation in the concepts and techniques of structured program design and. ...should be able to solve variety of business-related application problems using COBOL."
I have to use this book for my COBOL course. The book is the mess. The book is for the students who never had any contact with COBOL; well, I don't have that feeling. The authors maybe know COBOL but they are definitely not the people who should teach others how to program with COBOL. They mentioned flowcharting, but they never explained flowcharting properly. In Chapter 2 they start with a large program and they try to explain it. Problem is that after few pages I didn't know what is what. Their approach is not to start with simple short programs that give introduction into programming that should help the student to develop, to learn different parts of program, they start with the max program and it is up to you to understand it or to drop it. In Chapter 3, Excersize 3, they ask the student to design and code a COBOL program that displays....
HELLO!!! You never showed me how to design and code a program and in Chapter 3 you ask me to do something. How to start, where to start?! How to design, how to code?!
Unfortunately, I have to use this book, but I am afraid that I will hate this book and COBOL because of this book.

COBOL is a mature programming language and this is one of the best books and a superb textbook. Structured Cobol Programming by Gary B. Shelly, Thomas J. Cashman and Roy O. Foreman was my book of choice as a COBOL instructor. The chapters are well planned with steady progress with very good examples. Although new edition is required to cover COBOL Functions this book still remains at the top of my list. As an independent COBOL consultant I find this book a good reference.

This book was assigned to me as part of a college mechanical engineering course. This book was hard to follow and strayed from the course description. It contains aspects of electronics and mechanical design where the math problems are not fully explained and worked out and the machine descriptions are extremely brief. It is possible to get an education out this book, but a person would really have to strain. If you buy this book, I recommend that you get a generic study guide to accompany it.

This text provides a good, basic overview of methods for measuring several physical phenomena. The treatment of most of these is average. However, thermal measurement is given an improved, more thorough coverage. Personally, I have primarily used this text as a reference and guide for Chapter 3: Assessing and Presenting Experimental Data. I have found the sections on Error and, especially, Uncertainty to be very instructive and practical for use during college and post-graduation (as a mechanical engineer in research and development).

As an ecology student, I expected a sound scientifically written ecology and management tool. Although some selected studies were quoted, this book appears to have a political agenda. Every section has a "and here's why doves should be hunted" swing which I found to be annoying.