I heard about Stefan Bourque's novel "Juggler" just before Christmas. I was looking for something good to read over the holidays so I bought the hard cover. The book's very first pages kept me riveted to a crucible of suspense, horror, and fantasy all wrapped up in a fantastic story.

Juggler is definitely unique, fresh, and at the same time raw. It captivates and holds you right there in those pages. I agree with the other readers, you just cannot put the book down after the first few pages, it sucks you in and keep you reading to the very end.

Stefan's writing style is as different as Steven King is to Clive Barker. The only similarity that Stefan has to these other authors is the genre that Juggler belongs to. Stefan does not copy any other writer's style that I know of. He is in his own right -- unique. On the contrary, he will rise in popularity because of his unique style of writing. Whether you like the styles of Steven King or Clive Barker in their novels, Stefan had added his own style to this genre that will definitely gain many fans of his own.

Looking forward to his next novel...

I heard about Stefan Bourque's novel "Juggler" just before Christmas. I was looking for something good to read over the holidays so I bought the hard cover. The book's very first pages kept me riveted to a crucible of suspense, horror, and fantasy all wrapped up in a fantastic story.

Juggler is definitely unique, fresh, and at the same time raw. It captivates and holds you right there in those pages. I agree with the other readers, you just cannot put the book down after the first few pages, it sucks you in and keep you reading to the very end.

Stefan's writing style is as different as Steven King is to Clive Barker. The only similarity that Stefan has to these other authors is the genre that Juggler belongs to. Stefan does not copy any other writer's style that I know of. He is in his own right -- unique. On the contrary, he will rise in popularity because of his unique style of writing. Whether you like the styles of Steven King or Clive Barker in their novels, Stefan had added his own style to this genre that will definitely gain many fans of his own.

Looking forward to his next novel...

This is the second copy of this book I bought - I loved it so much I'm buying it as a gift for a friend; I won't give up my copy because I know I will read it over and over again! If you like Steven King or Clive Barker you will LOVE Stefan Bourque. He has an amazing ability to suck you in and keep you feverishly turning the pages. I don't want to give away the unique story line (which is in itself a breath of fresh air in a genre of overdone story lines) but I will let you know that you will care about his characters and want to find out what's going to happen to them - and it's not always what you expect! Mr. Bourque is personally responsible for several sleepless nights - both from staying up late reading his book because I was unable to put it down, and from the content of the book keeping me awake afterwards! I highly recommend buying this book - this is an author on the rise and I can't wait for his next publication!

Romeo and Juliet

Felipe Gravier and Lorenzo Schiavo review:

We think that Romeo and Juliet tells the story of two star-crossed lovers whose families are in a terrible fight which prevents them from coming together. How far the couple will go to be together becomes the focus of the story. Of his richest poetry. The opening and closing choruses are some of his most outstanding work. Romeo's It is a brilliant love story but not much more. It still possesses however some wooing of Juliet is fabulously written. The Friar gets the best lines. Mercutio is one the best friends of Romeo. It is not as good as Shakespeare has written but it's still a fabulous book and up there with his best work. One part of the play we didn't like was that for the tow families get arrange there two kids had to die.
The English language wasn't finally finished so Shakespeare had the liberty to create words and play with the language, as he liked. That's why It was so difficult to understand what each character wanted to express so the teacher had to explain us each of that words and teach us all the words in that age and told us which were the words in the English of today.

This book provides lots of Shakespeare's Storys like "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and "Hamlet" with a children's fairy tale twist. The storys are the same as Shakespeare's, but easier for children to understand. My favorite story was Hamlet because I had just seen the play. A while after we read Children's Shakespeare and it helped me to understand Hamlet better.

Shakespeare is for kids and adults in E. Nesbit's creative mind. I always liked fairy tales, but I couldn't read Shakespeare very well. In Children's Shakespeare E. Nesbit turned his work into fairy tales without changing the story and morals. This book is not much like Nesbit's other books because it was written by Shakespeare, but I bet there are some simularities.

This book was a overall well writen book and I beleive E. Nesbit put a lot of hard work into her books in her life-time. I'm sure if she were alive now she would still be writing good books to this day.

This is an extremely useful book for any Digital Communication System designer or engineers who wish to develop digital transmitters and (especially) receivers for a given system. Covers all aspects, including recent developments and classic algorithms used for synchronization of digital communication systems. Phase synchronization, timing offset estimation, and frequency offset synchronization are treated in detail. A particularly interesting section about effect (degradation) due to non-synchronized receiver is given. I could not quantitative and intuitive treatment of this topic anywhere else. However, this book is recommended only to those who understand the basic communication theory very well.

This book is an excellent learning tool for those who are already familiar with communication theory and are interested in communication over fading channels. This book also contains very recent work that has not been covered anywhere else, for example, relating estimation theory and information theory. This is highly recommended, but only for those with a strong background in communication theory.

Floyd Gardner has written a comprehensive review in the IEEE Communications Magazine, September 1998, Vol.36 No.)on two recent books on the subject. (one being the book discussed here)

Excerpts "These books are massive, authoritative expositions of synchronization;their authors are long-time researchers in the field. Heretofore there has been no book, to my knowledge that provides a comprehensive up-to-date account of sync.of data signals-until now"

"Both books are directed at advanced graduate students, seasoned practicioners, or active researchers"

(About the book' Digital Communication receiver') "(But) this book is without peer for someone who wants to probe into the underlying foundations of data signal reception, or to cope with difficult fading channels" "

Great book to accompany study of pathophys. Although not complete, its atlas format with charts, pictures and diagrams is great for recall of pathophys of disease and clinical manifestations. Taking notes on it while studying completes most of what you need. Great for the wards.

every image has text for explanation, it is so simply written(20-30 words) that it is not easy for me, a beginner at Pathophysiology, to understand well. it is a book of incomparable utility I recommend 100%,

every image has text for explanation, it is so simply written(20-30 words) that it is not easy for me, a beginner at Pathophysiology, to understand well. it is a book of incomparable utility I recommend 100%,

Great introduction for tech or non-tech readers into the field.

Excellent introduction and reference on information hiding. Covers very well the various aspects of the subject. With this book and the procedeeings of the information hiding conferences, the subject is pretty much covered. This research area is relatively young, and no other serious text is available.

This is a very good introduction to steganography and watermarking. The book is well organized. Moreover, many researchers who have been studied in this field contribute to this book. I think this book gives a comprehensive understanding to people who want to study on watermarking.

Thank you Mr. Stefan Kanfer for tackling the project on the diamond empire. The subject matter is not easy to write, but Mr. Kanfer managed to tell a story in a way that portrays a business biography in an academic yet exciting tone. "The Last Empire" is a very thoroughly researched and extremely well written book. I've learnt so much about the history of the most powerful diamond organization in the world (The DeBeers), its operation, structures, system, human interaction and the people behind the industry. Lots of great pictures and the stories of old Africa is filled with romantic images it makes reading a pleasure. Truly inspiring!

Kanfer has done an outstanding job of making the past come to life. The book is an excellent study of a country, a company and the uneasy relationship between government and the people. A wonderful combination of history, biography, and business.

I thought this book was very informative and one of the easiest reading non-fiction books out there. I was surprised to find out just how many different people were involved with the diamond trade in South Africa: Cecil Rhodes (the only person to have a country named directly after him), Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill...the list goes on. This book is one I had to add to my own shelf.

Este "detalle histórico" me permitió entender el valiosísimo aporte de muchos de nuestros antepasados (hombres como nosotros)quienes nos dejaron un legado inmenso e impagable. Cada relato es tan fascinante como la realidad a la que invoca Zweig cuando nos lleva con el lenguaje tan bello y profundo que lo caracteriza a los conflictos de un navegante especial. Un trabajo minucioso digno de ser leido. Fue un viaje de retorno a aquellos días donde la humanidad descubría contra viento y marea el mundo en el que nacimos.

The untold story of the first man to circle the globe... contrary to common belief it was not Magellan. He died during the trip. It was a slave known only as Enrique.All the other people aboard the ship were far away from returning to their birthplaces in Spain or Portugal. But Enrique, a slave taken by force to Europe by the old route used by traders before the new world was discovered, returned to his island by the opposite direction... fascinating.

Discovery, human conflicts, deep psychology, all interpreted with meticulous accuracy and breathtaking storytelling. An evergreen, a real mental stuff to read and best entertainment.

I read this book as a teenager and its still one of my all time favourite books!Its written very passionately and that Zweig passion leaps from page to page - I swear my cheeks were burning while reading this book and its my highest recomendation!

I actually read this book in a French translation (from the original German) that appeared in 1936, but it is a timeless story and can be read in 1999 with great pleasure. This is a finely-crafted biography of the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots, crowned queen at the age of one week upon her father's untimely death, shipped off to France at age 5 where she was brought up and eventually married the future king Francois II, then sent back to Scotland by her mother-in-law, Catherine di Medici, when Francois II died while still a teenager. The book concentrates on the few years in Scotland during which she set up her court, married a young English nobleman, Henry Darnley, and was led down a path of plots and assassinations until her flight to England several years later. This all took place while she was in her early '20s. It is a gripping story and Zweig tells parts of it in her own words, poems and letters.

She was an accomplished horsewoman, having learned how to hunt in France, leading armies into battle, and escaping from imprisonment in Scotland by all-night rides; cultivated, having learned poetry from Ronsard in France, and continuing to write poetry in French much of her life; passionate, falling madly in love with the unworthy Darnley, then after his death, with the dark Bothwell, his assassin; religious, defending Catholicism against the extremist protestants of Scotland and Elizabeth I of England, and finding solace in her religion at the end of her life. Surrounded by Scottish lords looking out for their own clans, she was unable to play the brutal game of survival, preferring to follow her instincts and desires. Zweig's short book combines historical facts with speculation on her motives and character; this is a book that reads like a novel, written by a master of biography. I would love to see a new movie based on this book, because I find her story so intense and relevant to today's world. I put off reading the last chapter (about her execution at the hands of perfidious Elizabeth I, who then denied her responsibility in it) until I had time to start re- reading the book from the beginning, because I didn't want it to end!.

This book is dealing with the past but talks about eternal human things. The style and historical accuracy is unparalleled ! Read it!

As a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh and author of an upcoming guidebook to the area, I believe Pittsburgh: Story of An American City is a wonderful book for more than Pittsburghers.

This book lifts the lid on all our progressive city has to offer, it educates those who have outdated knowledge of Pittsburgh, and it makes a great gift book.

If that's not enough, it provides an ideal history lesson for all as Western Pennsylvania has many historic sights to see as well as splendid architecture!

After reading, you'll want to extend your next business trip to Pittsburgh, shop in more than our airport, and visit our family-friendly parks. Don't forget: Mister Rogers lives here! Your kids will love Idlewild Park, with the only life-size Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

If you can't be our neighbor, come see us. You won't be disappointed!

The latest edition of Pittsburgh is an expertly crafted and beautifully photographed continuation of the Lorant chronicle. Although Mr. Campbell finished the work after Mr. Lorant's death, the new chapter flows with the Lorant style. The edition uses an impressive array of photos to help tell the story and give a sense of the kind of people who have remained at the hard work of rebuilding an industrial city. Like the editions before, the work emphasizes the positive about the city and concentrates on physical renewal. Yet you come away thinking that whatever its problems, people working together can come up with a solution. People from the area will like this book but others who believe in the importance of cities will find it interesting and instructive.

We landed at Pittsburgh International Airport a little after dusk, impressed with how the runways appeared to grow out of the natural contours of the land. We joined the flowing rush hour traffic as the comfortable limousine sped in towards the city. Joe, our driver, talked enthusiastically about the change from steel city to high tech city, the history of an era that changed from black to white, but nothing was to prepare us for what was to follow. As we escaped through the Fort Pitt tunnel the night light panorama left us breathless-this surely is one of the new post-modern views of a post-industrial age.

The purpose of our visit had everything to do with 'The Book'; the style in which Pittsburgh's citizens would affectionately refer to Stefan Lorant's monumental opus Pittsburgh: the story of an American city. With an initial ten years in the making, first published in 1964 and revised in 1974, 1980 and 1988, Lorant was completing a fifth edition when he died in November 1997 just 100 days short of his 97th birthday. Twenty-five thousand copies of this new version, the 'Millennium Edition' are now on the bookstalls due to the tenacity, talent and sheer hard work of Bruce and Gail Campbell who inherited the copyright. Lorant himself was tenacious, immensely talented, capable of recognising talent in others and certainly subscribed to the work ethic. It is intriguing to speculate why a Hungarian, a foreigner and stranger to the city could write such a volume, on the surface a notion to be easily dismissed but a reality that became spectacularly successful.

Stefan Lorant was born in Budapest on February 22nd, 1901 and died in Rochester, Minnesota on November 14th, 1997 at 96-years-of-age. He was a witness to the century with his life spanning a period of political turmoil, war and social change. Lorant became a legend within his lifetime. His work as a visual and literary editor allowed him to pioneer and develop the genré of picture based journalism at a period in time which saw the emergence of modern mass communications. Internationally he became a guiding force, disseminating his ideas and political knowledge throughout Europe in the late-twenties and thirties by working in Germany, Hungary and England, eventually spreading his sphere of influence to America where he introduced the concept of the pictorial biography. His innovative layouts, his 'exclusive' interviews and thirst for knowledge became a familiar part of millions of everyday lives, largely through the pages of his own creations, and in particular the legendary media icon Picture Post. His vision of photography as a documentary medium inspired Life and Look magazines in America, and paved the way for the eventual emergence of the television documentary. For this he became recognised as 'the father of picture journalism'.

Originally published in 1964, the first edition of Pittsburgh: the story of an American city is the mature Lorant at his most brilliant. 'The Book' had a specific local audience as well as a wider interested public throughout America and that is reflected by the reviews of the first edition. Harrison E. Salisbury in The New York Times sees 'The whole tumultuous story of Pittsburgh, magnificently illustrated... is presented in this volume... the study of the metamorphosis is all here-the bloody struggles of the nineteenth century, the grit and smoke, the politics, the toil, the sweat-the imagination.' Publishers' Weekly was equally congratulatory but in a different way. 'It is certainly one of the most fascinating detailed picture histories yet attempted of any city anywhere. For readability, thoroughness (ten years of research went into it), graphic quality, and broad scope (it covers political and social history, daily life, labor problems, architecture and what have you), this is a model history of an American city.'

Lorant's Pittsburgh: the story of an American city is not just a biography of a city but a microcosm of the American peoples. Just ten or so days before he died in November 1997, Lorant complained that he only needed a good day to complete 'The Book'. To be accurate Lorant's 'good day' did not mean a working period of time between dawn and dusk, or any other measure within that 24-hour cycle. It was an infinitely variable amount of time necessary to complete the story to Lorant's satisfaction. He was not to have that 'good day'. He had completed the layout for the new pages and commissioned the new photographs, most of which were in place. Picking up the editorial reigns, Gail and Bruce Campbell have produced this new edition with Bruce weaving the strands of the new final chapter from 1988 to the millennium which he entitles, 'The best is yet to come'.

There are parallels with which Lorant would have been acquainted. Mozart's pupil Süssmayr, well appraised of his master's procedure and intentions completed the final masterpiece-Requiem in D minor. By comparison, the Campbell's share an affinity with Lorant's intentions and have produced a contemporary and forward looking vision which retains Lorant's classic composition.

Those of us who knew Lorant well, can still visualise him sat at his kitchen table in his farmhouse in Lenox with a copy of the new Millennium Edition open in front of him. For a while nothing would be said, though nothing would be missed. Eventually there would be a slight shrug of his shoulders, a nonchalant wave of his hands. 'It is good, very good-but with my help, perhaps we could have made it ten percent better.' That would be praise indeed from this great Hungarian editor, for without question Lorant would have approved.

This is a 'must-have' for any millennium book list!

This is the first original thinking on M&A that I've seen recently. Most of the M&A books go on and on about why mergers work or don't work. Winning the Merger Endgame talks about M&A in terms of its effect on industries and how they consolidate and change over time. The endgames model is intriguingly displayed as an S curve. I would only quibble slightly over the horizontal time axis, which makes the time span for each stage seem more specific than it probably is. But the research is solid and long-term.

In a glut of milquetoast business books, "Winning the Merger Endgame" stands out as a gem. The combination of solid research, analysis and writing style results in a credible, useful book that anyone interested in business should read. The heart of the book is a model that describes and predicts how industries consolidate. It's a compelling discovery that will undoubtedly change--and chart--business strategies for years. Bottom line: read it and use it.

I read this book with great interest. Working in retail for more than 10 years now, this book matched my experience and helps me to forecast what might happen in my industry over the next couple of years. Although I - as well as many other readers - have an idea of what could happen or what is probably, this book with the underlying research of thousands of companies over more than 10 years and the expertise of a consulting powerhouse brings the findings to the point and quantifies them. The only small disadvantage is the title: as the book is not only focusing on mergers, but on consolidation trends as a whole (therefore also valid in times where consolidation trends are fought via price wars and organic growth).

I would already speculate that this book will become a real classic and I recommend it to any strategist, CEO or CFO interested in the mechanics of consolidation trends and finding long term survival strategies.