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Book reviews for "James,_Michael" sorted by average review score:

Babalu : Favorite Recipes from the World's Top Latin Chefs and Celebrities
Published in Hardcover by General Pub Group (1998)
Authors: Michael Valdes, Art Torres, and Edward James Olmos
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The best latin cooking book I've had my hands on in years!
It is difficult to find good latin cooking books in the United States - If you get one out of the country then your problem is that you cannot find all the ingredients they call for. On the contrary, this book is filled with wonderfull authentically hispanic/latin recipes that are easy to make with ingredients available even in Jackson Mississippi. It is not only a wonderfull cookbook but an enjoyable one as well. You can sit and read about the artists, their favorite meals and so forth. Yet their comments and pictures do not cloud the purpose of the book. The presentation of the book is also very well put together, the pages are excellent quality hi-gloss with beautifull colorfull pictures of select dishes. All my friends who saw it loved it. I think it is a wonderfull piece of literature to have and to enjoy!


Basic Methods In Molecular Biology
Published in Plastic Comb by McGraw-Hill Professional (01 October, 1995)
Authors: Leonard G., Ph.D. Davis, W. Michael, Md Kuehl, and James F., MD Battey
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A must for any student/post-doc in molecular biology
The book is a cookbook collection of procedures and methods in molecular biology. It is written in a pragmatic and didactic fashion so that the understanding of the process is clear. There is a comprehensive list of reagents and solutions. It is well worth the buy!


A Behavioral Theory of the Firm
Published in Paperback by Blackwell Publishers (1992)
Authors: James G. March and Richard Michael Cyert
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Selected quotations
We start with the simple conception that an organizational decision is the execution of a choice made in terms of objectives from among a set of alternatives on the basis of available information. This leads to the examination of how orgnizational objectives are formed, how strategies are evolved, and how decisions are reached within those strategies." (Pg 19)

Major subtheories for a behavioral theory of the firm: theories of organizational goals, org expectations, org choice and org. control.

Conception of organization: "It is a coalition of individuals, some of them organized into subcoalitions."... " any theory of organizational goals must deal succesfully with the obvious potential for internal goal conflict inherent in a colalition of diverse individuals and groups" (Pg 27)

The goal formation process for a coalition:
1.- bargaining process by which the composition and general terms of the coalition are fixed
2.- the internal organizational proceses of control by which objectives are stabilized and elaborated
3.- the proecess of adjustement to esperience by which coalition agreements are altered in responseto environmental changes.

" We have argued that the goals of a business firm are a series of more or less independent constraints imposed on the organization through a process of bargaining among potential coalition members and elaborated over time in response to short time pressures. Goals arise in such a form because the firm is, in fact, a coalition of participants with disparate demands, changing foci of attention, and limited ability to attend to all organization problems simultaneously" (pg 43)


Black Masters
Published in Paperback by W.W. Norton & Company (1986)
Authors: Michael P. Johnson and James L. Roark
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amazing and well-written
Opens a world that most people don't even know about. Black slaveowners?  Most people are shocked and amazed to discover that there were black slaveowners. While always an anomaly, there were 10,000 to 12,000 black slaveowners in 1860, though many of them had purchased family members and continued to hold them in slavery because their state of residence did not allow masters to free slaves.

The exact breakdown of black slaveowners by category does not yet exist; for some insights into the life of at least one black master, Johnson and Roark's book provides a fairly detailed examination of what are necessarily incomplete records. William Ellison was born a slave in 1790, and developed a skill as a master craftsman, a cotton gin maker. He bought himself out of slavery, apparently with the active encouragement of his master -- who may well have been his father -- and became, in turn, a slaveowner himself -- and wealthier than 90% of white Southerners. Indeed, he owned more slaves "than all but the richest white planters." [pp. xi-xii]

As it examines the status of William Ellison, his relationships with white masters, and the social milleu of Charleston, this book also paints an interesting portrait of the three race system of South Carolina life. While whites considered free mulattoes (those of mixed white and black race) in the same category as pure blacks, the mulattoes insisted on keeping distinctions, one of their "attempts to shape social reality to their sense of themselves as an intermediate class, to give repeated public demonstrations that their social niche had clear racial boundaries and that their racial niche had equally crisp social limits." [pp. 225-226]

The chapter "Masters or Slaves" wanders far afield from William Ellison and his family, but provides some interesting insights into the manner in which working class free whites regarded free blacks and slaves who directly contracted their labor (sometimes with little or no involvement by their masters) as a threat to their economic status, and vigorously sought laws on the eve of the Civil War to prevent blacks from competing on an equal basis in what was essentially a color-blind, free market economy.

Perhaps the most startling part of the book is the extent to which the Ellison family identified with the slaveowners of the Confederacy. His sons invested heavily in Confederate war bonds, and his grandson John Wilson Buckner was allowed to enlist in the South Carolina Artillery because of "personal associations and a sterling family reputation...." [pp. 305-307] Of course, once the Civil War was over, this identification with their class, not their race, paid bitter rewards. The bonds were defaulted, and the Ellison family slaves freed. Without slaves, and in the subsequent depression, the Ellison family's land became worth far less -- broken as much as many white slaveowners.

Well-written, filled with fascinating and at times astonishing information. Aimed at a well-educated and scholarly audience.


Brothers in Gray: The Civil War Letters of the Pierson Family
Published in Hardcover by Louisiana State University Press (1997)
Authors: Thomas W. Cutrer and T. Michael Parrish
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3rd Louisiana Infantry, 9th Louisiana Infantry.
The four Pierson sons, intelligent, and well-educated for their time, originally opposed secession but served their country whole-heartedly in all theaters when the War came.
The letters of three sons are contained here, preserving valuable insights not only of battles and camp life but also frank opinions of the behavior of high officers and politicians. The tenacity of the Piersons, through sickness and wounds and hunger, in a War they didn't welcome, is fine testimony to the courage and patriotism of the Condederate soldier.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting with Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)


Changing Politics of Canadian Social Policy
Published in Paperback by Univ of Toronto Pr (2000)
Authors: James J. Rice and Michael John Prince
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Best read in years!
Changing Politics of Canadian Social Policy is an amazing book. It incudes current, informative facts that surround the reader with a true feeling for Canada's social policies. After reading this phenomonal book, one will feel a better understanding of Canadian government and the people behind it.


Children's Literature, Briefly
Published in Paperback by Prentice Hall (01 September, 1995)
Authors: James S. Jacobs and Michael O. Tunnell
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It's a keeper.
The over 10,000 title database on the CD included with this book is alone well worth the price of the text. It is a welcome time saving tool for busy teachers. Not only can you perform searches to find books to match different topics, you can organize and enter information about your existing library, whether or not all of your titles are included in the database. You can add your own comments to the information stored for each title.

The book covers the different genres chapter by chapter. At the end of each chapter, the authors have compiled a very useful bibliography, including their ten favorite books in each genre. I'm glad I found this book--it's one I'll use for years to come. It won't be gathering dust on the shelf as some of my professional books have.


Christian Morality and You
Published in Paperback by Ave Maria Press (1991)
Authors: James Finley and Michael Francis Pennock
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Great book for the Morality concept
To teach the justice in morality it would be wrong if you don't get this book. This book brings up all the ordeals someone would need to know. And how to act with a moral decision process, This book is gret for people that care. Personally I would recommend it for teenagers and up


The Cinema of Tony Richardson: Essays and Interviews (Suny Series, Cultural Studies in Cinema/Video)
Published in Paperback by State Univ of New York Pr (1999)
Authors: James Michael Welsh, John C. Tibbetts, and Jocelyn Herbert
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Interesting and accessible
A good range of essays about Richardson's key films. Most of the essays are easily read (not overly academic)--the work with TOM JONES is especially solid. Recommended as an overview of a talented man's career


CISSP: Certified Information Systems Security Professional Study Guide
Published in Hardcover by Sybex (03 March, 2003)
Authors: Ed Tittel, Mike Chapple, and James Michael Stewart
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Solid exam preparation tool
I must admit a soft spot for Sybex (and Ed Tittel) study guides, having used them extensively for Microsoft exams. This book follows in that tradition, providing a good balance between detailed explanation and comprehensive coverage of the exam topics.

The bundled CD is useful. I raced through the 250 flash cards in an hour, which is good for jogging the memory. The four bonus exams, of 75 questions each, are good, but are not as difficult as the real thing. These exams provide grades broken down by each CISSP exam domain, which is excellent for identifying topics for revision.

One book can not guarantee coverage of all CISSP exam topics, particularly given the long list of references on the CISSP suggested reading list. I also skimmed through a friend's copy of Shon Harris's "All-in-One" exam guide. I would still rate this book higher, but Harris's book covers some topics in more detail then the Sybex book. The "All-in-One" practice exams are more difficult, though some of the questions are not clearly worded.

The biggest disappoint I have with the exam preparation experience is with the CISSP's ten domains. The examination questions are based on 'good exam fodder' from topics in the ten domains. The topics lean towards an academic approach to security, rather then knowledge needed by a working security professional.

The other references I would strongly suggest to help to gain a security brain, as well as a high exam score include: Stephen Northcutt's 'Inside Network Perimeter Security', Ross Anderson's 'Security Engineering', and Syngress's 'Special Ops'. Maybe I should take one of the SANS security exams, which are much more practical in nature.

And best of luck with the exam!


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