The Auditors Guide to internet resources is a very useful tool for the practising Auditors as well as Auditors who are in the employment. With the help[ of these resources the Auditor can provide value added services to their clients

Jim Kaplan's The Auditor's Guide to Internet Resources, 2nd Edition

By: Ron Keister Date: 6-15-00

The Auditor's Guide to Internet Resources, 2nd Edition has a lot of very useful information for auditors interested in using the Internet as an audit tool. In fact, there is good information for anyone interested in using the Internet. While the whole book is useful, for auditors the most interesting and immediately useful areas include:

A. The Internet Literacy Checklist B. The Digital Literacy Self-Assessment Tool C. Information on how auditors can use the Internet D Internet Search strategies and evaluating search results E. Guidelines and techniques for auditors to evaluate Internet information and data

The Internet Literacy Checklist and Digital Literacy Self-Assessment Tool will help auditors understand their Internet strengths and areas that could use improvement. Audit Directors and Managers can use these to help identify audit staff training needs, as well as help them assess their reliance on auditors' use of Internet information. The effective use of these can help improve the quality and quantity of audit work.

The Internet audit use areas presented in this book are some things that all audit organizations should seriously consider. I fear too many are not making high-quality use of the Internet, resulting in less economical and valuable audits. With the usual limited resources, audit organizations must focus their efforts on key organizational issues in an efficient and effective manner.

Knowing how to identify and find the "right" audit information via the Internet in a well-organized and successful way is essential. This book provides excellent techniques and ideas for how to achieve this. First, it provides a good method for identifying what information should be searched for. Then it provides excellent Internet search techniques and ideas. Last, it provides a first-rate way to assess the adequacy and validity of the Internet information obtained.

If the above were the only things in this book, it is worth the price. But no, there are other interesting areas including:

A. The list of available Internet features and how to understand and use them B. Good information on audit discussion groups, tips on use, and a thorough list C. Excellent "real-life" examples of how auditors have used the Internet D. A great list of technical data that can help reduce the dreaded call to "support" and the wait on them to "fix it" E. Last, but not least, is the details or inside Internet information that help you understand the Internet, how it works, and it's good and not so good features.

Reviewer Background: Mr. Keister has a bachelor and master degrees in Accounting; is a CIA and CPA; and has more than 25 years auditing experience, the last 20 in internal auditing in both large and small organizations, private industry and higher education. He has been using computers since about 1982 and the Internet since 1995, but is not an IT auditor.

The reviewer below got it right....this is a beautiful, inexpensive edition that houses two fine, fine novels.

This is a truly excellent edition (and compilation). It may seem like a small point, but I really love the typeset used. And the prefatory material, especially that of Robert Kaplan, is particularly good. The selection of Lord Jim and Nostromo was also well done, for it juxtaposes two of Conrad's best and, perhaps, most representative works. On the one hand, there's Lord Jim, largely psychological and personal, in which the title character struggles with, and constantly returns to, a trying moment in which he acted questionably. On the other, while no less psychological, there's Nostromo, which enters the realm of politics, revolution, and ideology--a more mature Conrad and certainly much more complex, stylistically and thematically. The works themselves, of course, deserve five stars, but so, too, does this stunning Modern Library edition.

Having offered books on "The Sluggers" and "The Hurlers," the World of Baseball series offers "The Fielders: The Game's Greatest Gloves." The book opens with "Mr. Impossible," recalling Brooks Robinson's performance in the field in the 1970 World Series. Throughout the book Jim Kaplan focuses on each position on the field in turn, which, by the numbers would be: The Fifth Infielder, Backstop, Scoop, Keystone Cops, The Hot Corner, Captain Infield, the Hitter's Spot, Captain Outfield and the Longest Arm. There is even a tribute to Dick Stuart, known variously as "Dr. Strangelove," "Stone Fingers" and "The Boston Strangler" because of his fielding ineptitude. As with all of these books, the great defensive players are profiled and while you will find a couple of great offensive players like Carl Yastrzemski and Richie Ashburn, most of these players are known more for their gloves: Bill Mazeroski, Carl Furillo and Jim Hegan. One section is even devoted to the great good field, no hit shortstops of the 1960s: Ray Oyler, Ed Brinkman, Roy McMillian and Dal Maxvill. There are little gems scattered throughout the book, such as the tobacco cards of Tinker to Evers to Chance, the evolution of the glove over 100 years, a chart showing the average number of chances/errors per position per game, and a profile on Ebbet's Field. Because fielding is the most neglected area of the game, this book sheds light on more things I did not happen to know than the volumes on hitting and pitching. After reading "The Fielders," you will certainly have more of an appreciation for cover boy Ozzie Smith and his brethren.

Jim Kaplan sets out in this well-researched book to resurrect the figure of Lefty Grove, a 300-game winner whose career spanned those of Walter Johnson and Ted Williams. For the most part, he convincingly makes his case that Groves deserves to be included among a handful of baseball's elite pitchers and that he was perhaps the best lefthander hurler ever.

Whatever shortcomings the book may have, the reader is bound to be impressed by Kaplan's knowledge of Grove's career (he takes us through each of his 17 big league seasons and four that he spent at the minor league level) and his painstaking efforts to convey a sense of the time in which Grove played. When he describes one of Grove's many confrontations with Babe Ruth, the writing has the ring of truth. Particularly effective is his recounting of the famous 1929 World Series game in which Grove's Philadelphia A's scored 10 runs in one inning to wipe out an eight-run Chicago Cub lead en route to winning the world championship.

Kaplan brings to life several key figures of Grove's time, most notably Connie Mack, Grove's manager with the A's and a man who not only strongly influenced the lives of his players but also the organizational direction of baseball. Long before the 1997 Marlins were broken up to save money, Mack was doing the same thing, jettisoning big names and large salaries to build teams anew. He also offers a valuable analysis of Mack's and Grove's 1929-1931 Philadelphia A's, convincingly arguing that these teams (that also included Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, to name a few) were the equal of the more celebrated 1926-1928 Yankees, whose 1927 edition is generally considered the greatest in baseball history.

Also of note is the final section, which analyzes the careers of Johnson, Grove and Sandy Koufax and offers the reader statistical food for thought in considering who was the greatest lefthander ever.

Kaplan's writing is solid but unspectacular and he lapses at times into a cheerleading tone, particularly when he discusses Grove's great achievements (which included nine ERA titles, a 31-4 season, a career .680 winning percentage and a 1935-1939 resurrection of his craft, during which he transformed himself from a fireballer into a finesse pitcher.)

Kaplan's otherwise fine description of the last day of the 1941 season, in which Williams secured his .406 average by going six-for-eight after refusing to sit on the bench for a doubleheader, is marred by the writer's tone of breathless admiration for the player's feat. Nothing wrong with being a fan when you write a baseball book, but I prefer that the author for the most part let the facts speak for themselves.

All in all, Kaplan produces a portrait of a driven, often disagreeable man who hated losing and was impatient with the shortcomings of mere athletic mortals. The picture of Lefty is convincing, but Kaplan uses the same strokes pretty heavily to produce it.

The baseball fan/historian will find this a very useful look at this undeservedly obscure figure and will find it particularly interesting to revisit an era of the sport that differs so radically from the present one.

LEFTY GROVE AMERICAN ORIGINAL IS WORTH READING. I ENJOYED THE TELLING OF HIS CAREER AND LIFE. HE WAS PHENOMINAL TALENT WITH A HOT TEMPER TO GO WITH IT. THIS NOVEL IS WELL WRITTEN AND KEPT MY INTEREST ALL THE WAY. I RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO ENJOYS BASEBALL HISTORY AND THE GREAT MEN WHO PLAYED IT.

When I told friend of mine (a sports fan) that I was reading a book about Lefty Grove, he asked "Who is that?" Considering Grove was probably the greatest pitcher who ever lived, this public ignorance is unfortunate. Robert Kaplan in American Original does a very good job of letting us know who Grove was. Grove's terible temper and hatred of losing are brought to life in this book. Kaplan also includes a statistical breakdown of Grove's career and a detailed comparison between him and some other great pitchers. No true baseball fan should miss this book!

This is a great book if you wanted to know how the Gen13 comi book series started when Wildstorm productions and Jime Lee were still part of Image comics. It is how the all the characters of Gen 13 first met each other. The first Apperance of Catline Fairchild, Bunrout, Grunge, freefall and Rainmaker. It is also tells how they met I/O or Lynch from the WildCats miniseries. Buy this book if you love Teen superhero genres! It's by Brandon Choi, Jim Lee, J. Scott Campbell and Alex Ganer. At tge end of the book is a sketchbook section by J. Scott Campbell and Jim Lee! It tellls you how the comic book was developed before it was printed.

Dick Perez does the cover painting of Johnny Bench making a play at the plate and the poster of the 20 Hall-of-Fame greats included in this second volume. Perez is pretty much the official artist of the Baseball Hall of Fame, however, the entries on the 20 players in this 1990 volume are illustrated with black & white photographs. As with the first volume, the collection of baseball greats covers old-timers like Grover Alexander, Willie Keeler and John McGraw to more recent stars like Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench and Brooks Robinson. It is nice to see that this time around they have included Oscar Charleston, one of the greats from the Negro Leagues. Each baseball immortal is given one or two pages of highlights from their career and their career statistics. These entries are just introductions to these Hall-of-Famers and a meant to just give you a sense for whey they were voted in at Cooperstown. I also have to admit I am slightly disappointed that something "official" like this from Cooperstown does not have better production values (and they should have included the photographs of the players's plaques like they did in the first volume).