This is a great book if you want to know the future of what Microsoft's top researchers like XD Huang etc are thinking and working. Dr Huang is a super star of the field and it is equally worthwhile to read his excellent book.

A thourough and complete review about the subject, in which many disciplines (language, computer, probability, statistics, numerical analysis) converge. As a non-practitioner I have found it an enjoyable opportunity to refresh my knowledges in the field of signal processing, and a source of many hints I have been able to develop in other branches. In spite of notations and methodologies (e.g. bayesian) a bit far from I am used to, the near one thousand pages never seemed extreme related to the meaning compressed into them, spreading from base theory to advanced applications.

I love this complete and practical book on speech technologies and application. It always ties in the real-world practice. While also covering most theoretic/academic results, it always points out what's used in daily practice. This feature can help new comers identify promising directions to solve real problems. The only thing I don't like is that it emphasizes too much work done in Microsoft Research, although this is understandable and MS is becoming power player in this arena.

This book is a classic on panel data econometrics. Nevertheless, the materials in this book do not account for nonstationary panel data. I am anxiously waiting for Arellano's Panel Data Econometrics, which contains up-to-date treatment.

This neat monograph is necessary for any research in panel data analysis.

We bought this map and the "Eyewitness.." map of Rome. The "Let's Go.." was preferred by the group - more detail, easier to read. Both maps lack up-to-date info on the expanded metro, so be sure to get a paper map also when you arrive.

This fable is common throughout Ethiopia, Eritrea and surrounding countries and the author choose this Ethiopian version to write.

The wonderful images along with simple beautiful text which includes some Ethiopian words is just lovely.

It tells the story of a orphan girl Tshai, her selfless gift to the countries ruler and the darstadly thinking of the wicked Jib. The telling is enhanced by the legend of Ethiopian pronounciations and all round is a lovely addition your library if like me you have an Ethiopian child in your home.

In "A Thousand Moons on a Thousand Rivers" translator Michelle Wu delivers competently and faithfully the daunting task of translating Chinese (a visually stunning but grammatically simplistic language) into English (a language that is descriptive but mostly through explanation).

The story reads like a soft breeze in midsummer; Hsiao is a master at communicating complex traditional Chinese ideas through descriptive and humorous prose. The understated (and sometimes overstated!) emotions of the story reflect an essential aspect of the Taiwanese culture.

Clearly written. Well worth the price. The only drawback being, X4 is out and there is some significant differences. 3d accelaration is the most notable.

This Xfree86 book is just what I needed. I wanted something that went in depth on how to hand configure Xfree86. Even though this book is 3 years beyond the publishing date, it has served very well toward getting my feet good and wet in Xfree86 configuration. I have looked for some time for a book that covers this subject and now I have it. You will have to mug me to get this book from me.

This book explores in depth about X- it is very thorough!

I would highly recommend it!

In an unusual mystery genre work, the author tells an interesting story that isn't exactly a heart pounding thriller but treats the reader with some wonderful insights of a contemporary China. Although the story took place in 1990, many of the issues facing the hero, Chen Cao, still apply today. Nepotism, corruption, and a high-cadres-network are as, if not more, rampant. The author's depiction of the forces influencing the contemporary Chinese is subtle, detailed, and sensitive.

This reader especially appreciates the verbal gems that Mr. Qiu flashes throughout the book - "A room is like a woman. It also possesses you. Besides, you have to spend a fortune to make it love you."

However, some aspects of the writing in the book are disappointing. The passage about the American couple, "the Rosenthals" is almost amateurish. Some translations from Chinese are curious too. The editor failed to point out that Guangzhou Opera is generally known as Cantonese Opera in these parts. Like many speakers of the Shanghai dialect, the author often mistook the "wang" sound for the "huang" sound. It's "Wangfujing", not "Huangfujing".

Knit-picking aside, reading "The Death of ..." is a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

This novel merits attention not only because it is excellent, but also because it is groundbreaking. As fas as I know, it is the first English-language police procedural set in contemporary China that is written by a Chinese author. Of course, I would love to be proven wrong on this since it would mean that there was other material out there for me to read. To my knowledge, most previous mysteries and thrillers set in China have been by Western authors. The most famous are probably van Gulik's classic Judge Dee mysteries. Unfortunately, more recently we have suffered from inane thrillers in which a Western protagonist becomes entangled in some sort of incomprehensible and fundamentally absurd political intrigue, confronts a series of diabolical but paper-thin villains, and receives assistance from some sort of beautiful and exotic love interest. Finally, with Red Heroine, we have a detective novel written by an insider with Chinese protagonists, Chinese villains, and only incidental roles for Westerners. I hope very much this is the beginning of a trend.

Now for my discussion of the novel itself. The novel worked well on three levels.

First of all, it was the sort of slow-paced, atmospheric police procedural that I like the most. In many ways, it reminds me de Wetering's Grijpstra and de Gier series, Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels, or Sjowall and Wahloo's Martin Beck novels. It uses a criminal case and the accompanying investigation as a lens through which to view contemporary society. The pace is leisurely, it provides a very strong sense of place, and has nicely realized, complex, and mostly authentic characters. So if you like reading about Grijpstra and de Gier, Wallender, or Beck, you will like this book.

Second, I thought it was an excellent and very authentic portrait of life in urban China in the 1990s. The author takes advantage of the possibilities offered by the narrative form of the procedural to introduce characters from many different walks of life and show how they have been affected by the turbulence of previous decades and by the uncertainty created by the rapid economic and political change of the 1990s. Generational conflicts, economic and social clevages, and political change all play a role. The portrait of life is so complete that I am weighing the possibility of assigning the novel when I teach my class on Chinese society next year. The book's focus on the mundane details of everyday life sets it apart from much of the other English-language fiction about China that seems to focus so much on the exotic.

Third, I really appreciated the quality of the prose. Reflecting perhaps the author's apparent background in literature, the imagery in many of the passages was really evocative. I have spent a fair amount of time in China, and the authors' descriptions of people's homes, restaurants, typical street scenes, and so forth all really resonated.

The novel is not perfect, reflecting perhaps the fact that it is the author's first published detective novel. I would like to have seen more of the intricate details of police work that help 'authenticate' procedurals. While interviewing and the gathering of forensic evidence was handled adequately, there were one or two places where the description fell flat. For example, on a couple of occasions when a character needs to go somewhere without being followed, the author simply states that the character 'made sure he wans't being followed.' This is a marked difference from, for example, Wahloo and Sjowall's "The Man Who Went Up in Smoke" where we get ample details of Martin Beck's attempts to evade surveillance while in Budapest. In this particular case, I was completely mystified as to how anyone in China who knew they the subject of special attention from the government could 'make sure they weren't being followed.'

Another very minor quibble I had was that the romanization of some of the names seemed problematic. A historical character named Liu Xiahui (the Liu Xiahui of "Zuo huai bu luan") was repeatedly referred to as Liu Xiawei. The Shenzhen SEZ was repeatedly referred to as Shengzhen. These point are of course minor, perhaps they will be dealt with when the novel is reprinted.

Overall this is an excellent mystery, and a nice picture of urban life in changing China. I am looking forward very much to the author's next work.

As a mystery writer with my first novel in initial release, I have been quite impressed as Qui Xiaolong's DEATH OF A RED HEROINE has swept nominations for every major first novel award in the mystery genre. It deserves this recognition. On one level, it is a simple police procedural. A police detective (who happens to also be a scholar and a poet) is investigating the death of a "model worker." While presenting this story, Qui Xiaolong paints a portrait of contemporary China as it and its people are lured into world affairs and a market ecomony. Fascinating work.

SAMS Publishing could have done a better job of replacing Red Hat 8.0 to Red Hat 9.0. They forgot to update the wording from the previous version .Is anybody reading and correcting at SAMS?
In addition, a few typos here and there. I bought this book because of the security chapter, which I thought was great. However, the author contradicts the official Red Hat Documentation on the Security Level Configuration utility. If a linux server is supposed to be a firewall, a minimum of 2 network interface are needed like any other firewall. The author miss the point on how to firewall correctly a red hat box.
However, overall I was impressed by the quality and some advanced knowledge there is on this book. Certainly not a 24 hour learning curve!!! Supposedly a second version is in the work.

Despite several unfortunate English constructions (which are perfectly understandable) and several editorial mishaps (the most interesting of which is an allusion to "Ernest Hemingway's page-long sentences"), this book is excellent. The quality of the writers featured varies -- Zhang Dai and Li Liufang come across as fascinating, Tu Long and Tan Yuanchun come across as somewhat dull -- but all in all it is a good, light read appropriate for the summer. One wishes that someone (perhaps Yang Ye himself) would translate some of Zhang Dai's books in full: Dream Memories of Tao'an and Searching for West Lake in Dreams seem in particular to merit more careful attention in the West. If any such complete translations do exist, I would very much appreciate someone letting me know where I might obtain them.

An engrossing mix of household intrigues and erotica that paints a picture of ancient China. The tale has a vast canvas as an epic should have and is filled with diverse characters. Gives you an enormous insight in to Chinese mindset, that is supposed to be prevalent till today, albeit with differing circumstances. Not having read any other version, this book is a good one to read again and again.