Gene Smith's treatment of the l868 impeachment and trial against President Andrew Johnson is beautifully written and presents fair, yet compelling portraits of all of the major players. In the wake of the most recent impeachment crisis concerning President Clinton, this book becomes more important than ever.

This book describes exactly how to put together an academic paper. This could be used for masters or doctoral level students as well as for college freshman and sophomores. Johnson describes the process of finding sources, taking notes, organizing your notes and looking for groups, drafting, and revising. He also gives the specifics of APA citations, reference pages, seriation, some basic grammar and other mechancis. An Masters or Doctoral student should buy this just for the section that describes exactly goes into each chapter of a thesis or dissertation. This book is short, to the point, and very easy to read and understand.

Although there is really nothing revolutionary about "Revolutionizing IT", this is a good book for seasoned and war-torn IT professionals as well as end-users frustrated with their IT departments. It offers some *evolutionary* ideas on how to improve project and support methodologies based on the experience of the Andrews Consulting Group.

Several principles put forth are those many of us already knew but never mentioned out loud.

•Despite how much time, money, and attention given at the outset of the project, it is impossible to create a complete plan and cost estimate for an IT project.
•Any complex design will be imperfect.
•Scope control, although unpopular, is absolutely critical.
•There will never be enough resources available to build the optimum solution.

Some insightful tenets I took away.

•Those most familiar with an existing system/design are in a poor position to lead the recommendation of a new one (because of a bias)
•IT professionals like complexity and by their nature tend to bring more complexity into projects.
•Endusers should be 100% accountable for projects.
•Time is a project's worst enemy - as more time passes between approval and deployment, the number of things that can go wrong and the number of assumption that can change increases.

The authors discuss their "RITE Approach", which again is not revolutionary ... or contradictory to other methodologies, but rather offers some common sense best practices that complement waterfall, Agile, and RUP methodologies. The authors self-admittedly bash the waterfall paradigm, but then come back and confess that the waterfall is the foundation of all PM methodologies.

Good book to read to insure you're on the right track ...

This is one of the most practical books on the topic I have read, and I have been following and participating in this field, and following writing on the subject, since Fred Brooks taught us fledgling programming managers in IBM about the mythical man-month and other programming project realities.

This book is being routed throughout my IT department -- managers, developers, infrastructure and support people. I suggest they read the last chapter first as it is an excellent summary and reference checklist of the points Andrews and Johnson bring to the reader.

Key reminders and points made and expanded upon, for me, include:
1) Just do it -- the perfect solution is never available.
2) Know what goes wrong and what goes right and manage accordingly.
3) Control scope creep, probably the greatest weakness of all of us IT managers who want to be loved by our customers.
4) Managing programmers -- "junior programmers run the world" making those detailed, seemingly low level decisions that can compromise a project implementation.

This is not only a great read but an excellent reference manual for experienced and new IT managers alike -- one of those books we should each read every year! Well done, guys.

You have to like any book that is what it claims to be, and Revolutionizing IT is exactly what it claims to be. After reading this book and recently completing a 10 week course based on its contents I can say happily that it will "change the way you think about the management of any complex task, especially if it involves Information Technology."

Written for a non-technical management audience, its best attribute is the multitude of genuinely useful examples that illustrate the principles of the authors' RITE approach in detail for serious understanding. Unlike many books, especially college textbooks, these concrete examples keep the book, which is filled with good project management theory, from becoming merely a set of entertaining but impractical and vague remarks on IT as some books are.

Of course, while these qualities are helpful for the non-IT managers at whom this book is aimed, I found it to be invaluable for college students planning on entering the business world upon graduation with aspirations toward higher management. Not only does this book help future mangers understand IT, an important task in and of itself, but more importantly it's simply good advice for anyone who will be managing people and major projects in the future.

In my personal experience, Revolutionizing IT has made me very aware of the risks, and how to manage them, involved in any change to an organization that will fundamentally alter the way current staff will be doing their jobs. While this is a good reminder for experienced managers (who should be aware of this already), this advice both on how to look out for and how to deal with potential resistance and hostility toward business process changes is invaluable for future business executives. In fact, as I read the book I found myself wishing I had read it before I embarked on a particularly difficult internship which involved my writing an efficiency audit report for a department within the organization. The report ultimately culminated in the firing of the department manager.

This is a great book, easy to read and full of wisdom hard won through the experience of its authors. Put it into the hands of non-IT managers, especially the ones who are uncomfortable with IT. But first put it into the hands of young business people, even the ones who think they understand computers, because they will need the advice on project and people management.

Justin Swift
Principia College

I bought the book so that I could understand the roots of our American home styles. Andrew Downing, however wrote much more...He frequently wrote about European culture and the differences in the New World mentality at the time. I have a better feeling now of attitudes of the 1800's.

This book is by the grandaddy of American cottage-style home designer's: Andrew Jackson Downing (1815-1852). He wanted all of us to enjoy the simple, but rich, life of the cottage. You won't understand the roots of the American cottage unless you know about the life and work of Andrew Downing. As a footnote: He died young trying to save other's aboard Robert Fulton's steamship after a boiler fire. Someone should make a movie about this guy.

This text is a true classic. Orginally published in 1850, it is a reprint of the Gothic Revival pattern book of Andrew Jackson Downing who was the authority and champion of this style. Gothic Revival houses dominated the American countryside from the 1830s to the 1860s, and most of the designs for these houses were based on the patterns found in this book. The interior layouts from this age will most likely not suit the taste of modern day houses -- Gothic houses typically have a stair case just after the front door. Most home builders today like to have a living room or foyer just after the front door to greet guests. But for getting ideas on exterior designs of Gothic Revival houses, this book is the only authority.

A well told and enthralling story of the search and eventual discovery of the body and belongings of the original Everest pioneer, and a re-examination of the "history" surrounding the fatal 1924 expedition. Seen through the eyes of Jochen Hemmler (the historian/scholar who began the "serious" search) and mountaineering legends Eric Simonson and Larry Johnson, this book is a "must read" for Everest fans, and fans of all great adventures. Well written by William Nothdruft, the book chronicles the challenges, setbacks, determination, skill and sheer luck that led to the discovery of the body of George Mallory high on Everest. The tale is spellbinding to any of us Mallory history fans, and is told with an extraordinary level of sensitivity and unconcealed respect. It is beautifully photographed and illustrated with plenty of archival photos to set the stage properly, and with excellent color photography from the expedition itself. The photographs of the body of George Mallory were thankfully few and tasteful, the sense of history rich and satisfying.

The single most striking thing about the book, for me anyway, was the overwhelming feeling of admiration and respect conveyed upon George Mallory and his achievements by the likes of Eric Simonson whose own list of accomplishments is rather lengthy and extraordinary. This really gave me a better perspective on Mallory's accomplishments, all done with appallingly primitive equipment. This was a hard-won victory for the expedition members, and most of all for Jochen Hemmleb, who, though a man of no great financial means himself, conceived, researched and sacrificed much to make this historic event happen.

One is still left with an appealing lack of confirmation whether Mallory did or did not make the first summit, maybe some stories are just better that way.

For those of us that easily recognize names like Messner, Hall, Fisher, Hornbein, Simonson, Breashears, Viesturs and Mallory, this is a must read.

I thought it had all been said about this expedition and Everest in general until I read this book. The accounts published by the authors in magazines such as National Geographic, and Outside are good but pale in comparison to the quality of the presentation of this book. The photos of the primitive equipment Mallory, Irvine and their colleagues used almost 100 years ago tell a compelling story. I cannot imagine achieving the heights they achieved with the hobnail boots. I had never seen a pair up close. The photos of the mountain from each expedition are remarkable and unique. This book is more than just a climbing tale. The author does a superb job of portraying the people on the 1924 and 1999 expeditions, and the cultures in which they immersed themselves. Mountaineers Books also did an outstanding job of producing the best quality Everest book I have seen to date. It is beautifully designed and executed. It is one of those rare books that I hated to finish and will no doubt refer to and savor again. You will want a quality hardback copy for your library or coffee table.

With their splendid book "Ghosts of Everest" ("Ghosts"), the authors have taken up the gauntlet of attempting to determine whether or not Mallory & Irvine reached the summit of Mt. Everest on June 8th, 1924, before perishing on the descent. The authors provide a fascinating and hugely-detailed description of the fatal climb, and of the Simonson expedition which discovered Mallory. The layout, photography, graphical and sheer physical qualities of the book are to the absolute highest standards.

The front half of the book describes the 1999 expedition, a tale that begins like many of this genre. The difference in "Ghosts" becomes quickly apparent. This is not your bunch of good old boys undertaking a simple task of conquest. Instead, they are only the second expedition since WW-II launched expressly to find the body and camera of the two British climbers, with the intent of finding out how far they got.

Unlike most other Everest expeditions which conjure up the names of Mallory & Irvine to raise financing, the Simonson team actually made the search for the two men and their camera(s) their number one priority. The search effort was planned by Mallory & Irvine researcher Jochen Hemmleb-the catalyst with Larry Johnson-for this expedition. Hemmleb has amassed practical research on the 1924 expedition that pinpointed the probably location of Irvine's body as evidenced by the 1933 discover of his ice ax lying on the route. Yes, they had great luck with the weather-the mountain being unusually clear of snow--but Lady Luck often smiles on the well-prepared, and none were better prepared to undertake this arduous search than the team of this expedition.

The shock of actually finding their needle in the haystack-and then discovering that the body was that of George Mallory rather than Andrew Irvine--sent climbers and researchers reeling back to their notes to try to make sense of this first new ground truth since the discovery of an "English dead" by a Chinese Climber in 1975. The stunned reaction of these hardened climbers to their momentous discovery adds a new element to this tale of historical research conducted under enormous physical adversity; and the photographs of the 1924 artifacts act like an eerie time portal glancing back to an age when climbing the world's highest peak was undertaken with equipment which would today be considered inadequate to climb Mt. Hood. While the consensus forming is that the route was too long and the Second Step cliff too difficult for those pre-WW II climbers to have reached the top, enough ambiguity still exists to give heart to the true believers for whom success might still have been possible. Only the still-sought Kodak camera, with film preserved by the Everest's icy grip, may someday give the final answer. Until that day, "Ghosts" has moved itself to the center of gravity of this still fascinating legend.

This book has the most dog breeds I have ever seen!! But not much information on the breeds. It's good if you are a beginner and would like to see what many of the dog breeds look like.

We use this book constantly at our small animal shelter. Good photographs of breeds, and the breed key with each description helps people focus in on breeds they'd like to do further research on, and to drop from their list, the breeds that would not be suitable for their lifestyle. It's great for showing people what kind of personalities are blended together in that adorable mutt they are considering adopting from the shelter. The adoption helpers almost never put this one down while showing the dogs.

If you ever wanted to know about dogs or the history of dog breeds, this is the definitive book that you should own. There is almost every breed of dog ever known and the descriptions will guide you if you are thinking about getting a dog, and if you just love them, it's for you!!

This isn't by any means exhaustive, either in coverage or growing information, but as an intro to native plants it is a fine addition to your library. Generally excellent photographs and an accessible page layout, with a description, requirements (soil type, sun), propagation tips, and good companions for each plant. Very pleasant to read.

There is one goofy thing about this book that is worth mentioning: The plants are presented in alphabetical order by common name. This leads to confusion when you find nothing under Trillium, only to find it under "Western Trillium," or you find Coneflower under "Purple Coneflower." The index lists only Latin names. To get around the problem of multiple common names, the book should be sorted by Latin name, and the common names should be available along with the latin names in the index.

Great pictures and a worthy book. This book describes the benefits of growing native plants and has beautiful photos. I am always in a quest to find and identify native plants to Michigan and this book is a terrific asset. It differs from wildflower books as it strictly focuses on the native plant and not the non-native yet wild. I would like to see the author write a larger more comprehensive guide. I have shared this books with friends and they have all found it very beneficial in appreciating the native flowering plants.

This is a beautifully and lavishly illustrated, textually rich book. ItS pages demand the reader's undivided attention and are sure to enthrall all mystery lovers, Everest aficionados, nostalgia junkies, history buffs, and climbing enthusiasts. This book is sure to provide the reader with many hours of enjoyment.

The book chronicles the search for George Mallory and Andrew Irvine by the 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition. It juxtaposes the dramatic turn of events during their expedition with those of the 1924 British Everest Expedition which saw Mallory and Irvine attempt a summit climb, only to disappear into the mists of Everest, never to be seen again. It makes for a spell binding narrative, as past events are woven through present day ones.

The 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition was a meticulously well prepared and well organized venture. With its discovery of George Leigh Mallory's body, it enjoyed much success. The research and analysis that went into its ultimate, well thought out conclusions were comprehensive and fascinating, with its strong reliance upon forensics and deductive reasoning. Their reconstruction of Mallory's and Irvine's last climb is riveting. Unfortunately, the ultimate question still remains unanswered. Did they or did they not reach the summit of Mount Everest back in 1924?

The beautiful photographs of the personal effects found upon Mallory's person underscore a certain poignancy about the discovery of Mallory's well preserved body. The photographs which memorialize this discovery are amazingly lovely and tasteful, considering its subject matter, and hauntingly illustrate the finality with which Everest may deal with mountaineers, no matter how accomplished.

The photographs also highlight how ill equipped for the harsh climatic conditions were the early Everest expeditions. It is amazing, and a credit to those early expeditioners' courage and fortitude, in braving such an inhospitable and harsh terrain with the inadequate clothing and equipment available to them at the time. Mallory and Irvine were certainly intrepid explorers!

This book is a fitting tribute to two men who sought to make a historic summit and, in their attempt, would forever be a part of Everest.

If you have ever wondered what happened to the best climber ever to set foot on this earth, and the brave wonderful man who disappeared with him, this is your book! A group of courageous men set out to solve this question in 1999, 75 years after the mysterious disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. And what they find will chill you to your very bones! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Mt. Everest and all brave but foolhardy ventures.

Treffousse's look at the 17th President of the United States is a fair and well-balanced look at this driven politician. The reader will be left with little doubt that Johnson's racism was his biggest flaw in both his political and personal life. The impeachment is featured but does not dominate the book as it should not.

While the "personal" Johnson is given adequate attention, this book works so well because it concentrates on the political realm, a rarity in these days of social history and psychoanalytical treatises. Of course, the impeachment trial is of primary interest, but the focus on Johnson's overwhelming ambition was appreciated as well. Despite his stubborn attitude, inflexibility, and undeniable racism, Johnson was a committed Jacksonian and sought throughout his political life to promote policies friendly to his agrarian philosophy. Because his presidency represented a key transition in American history (a definite weakening of the Executive until TR as well as a regrettable loss of Reconstruction opportunities), Johnson is, with Polk, Lincoln, and Jackson, one of the key figures of the 19th century. Overall, a solid book worthy of a wide readership.

I found this book was fair to Johnson, despite the author's reputation as friendly to the Radical Republicans. I found myself believing that the failure of the Senate to impeach Johnson was a good thing, since he obviously was not guilty of an impeachable offense--even as our current president was not. Johnson was actually an able politician and a good President, but his bias against blacks caused him to err grievously in regard to them.

The book is very concise in its description as to what thinking skills are and how to use them; very practical information. Additionally, the book is well written and should be an easy read for busy people.

This book takes the jargon and boring academic "intelligencia" out of informing teachers how to work with Gifted and Talented children. The author doesn't make us feel stupid. Instead we are treated as partners in building a challenging, yet safe world for our G and T students. FABULOUS!

This should be the handbook for any general education teacher who wishes to add a variety of activities to his or her classroom curriculum. The open-ended activities can be used to provide instruction for gifted and talented students within the general education classroom. These strategies are also effective in helping lower ability students think and reason. This is a topic that many have made overly-complex and unusable. Johnson has a knack for making it very simple and pragmatic. THere are tons of activities related to reading, language arts, social studies, science, and gifted education.