"Being John Malkovich" is one of the most insanely creative films ever made,and a large portion of the credit for that goes to Charli Kaufman's moody,intimate,and sly script,presented here in pretty much the same form as it is in the finished film.Which is great,but on top of that you get,a stellar,caustic introduction in which the author is told to say a few words to the readers,beacause the readers are"owed...something"."I said I would try" replys our intrepid narrator,and what follows is a darkly hilarious trip through his mind as he tries to come up with something insightful or inspirational to say,all the while revealing his self-loathing and profound contempt.In the end, the best he can manage to come up with is "And if you're going to write a screenplay,try to keep it around one hundred and ten pages".Which when you think about it,is probably the most practical advice he could give.

The real bonus here is Kaufman's intro--which, rather than explicating the writing or making of this movie, is an anguished, hysterical, can't-take-it-any-more Dance of Despair and Disillusionment that will brighten the day of any struggling scribe. "Wow!" one thinks, avidly turning the pages, "Charlie Kaufman waited five years, got the huge payoff, had a critical and commercial hit...and he's still absolutely bananas! God bless America!"

Los Angeles writers will especially enjoy the part about making friends with the take-out bags left on the floor of one's ever-more-apartment-like car.

Kaufman's growth proceeds apace: his new script ADAPTATION is like a feature-length expansion of his intro here. You've just got to love a guy who's an addled mess and doesn't try to whittle it into a cutesy Woody Allen persona. He's just cuckoo!

"Adaptation" is one of the most creative and original scripts that I have read in a long time. I actually bought this before seeing the film, which told me that I had a lot of faith in the fact that the film would be more than extraordinary. I was right and I read the script the day after seeing the movie.

Charlie Kaufman wants to adapt Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief" into a movie script. He wants to create something that is true to the book and doesn't have to include numerous chase scenes, violence, sex, drugs, or nudity to have it appeal to the public. The only problem is that Kaufman is having trouble in trying to adapt it and comes across a major case of writer's block. He ends up writing himself into the script and it turns into a screenplay that is about him trying to adapt the book into a movie. That is only part of this off-the-wall and unpredictable script.

The screenplay is written by Charlie Kaufman; the man who wrote "Being John Malkovitch." The dialogue and characters are really excellent. There are numerous parts that you'll want to re-read over and over again. You actually find yourself repeating some of the lines because once they get into your head, they stay in there for a long time. This is really something you should consider purchasing if you loved the film. As subtle and off-beat the film is, you miss certain things and pick up on them later after further evaluation.

The screenplay also includes a foreword by Susan Orlean, a critical commentary by Robert McKee, and an interview with Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze. They all really give you an interesting look into the film. There are also b&w photos from the movie as well.

"Adaptation" is a fantastic script that I enjoyed reading, and even read it for a second and third time. If you love a good screenplay and loved the movie, this is a worthy purchase to make.

Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World is one of the best technical security books around.

This edition is updated from the first edition to include topics such as IPSec, SSL/TLS, e-commerce, PKI and more.

The book is geared for system programmers and developers who need to add security and cryptographic functionality into their systems. Those looking for a high-level security book will not really benefit from this title.

The authors writing style is quite readable, especially about such a subject that can be quite dry at times. The book is not as deep and theoretical as Schneier's
Applied Cryptography' (and is also much shorter), but is clearly written to be much more practical.

The book is made for those that have somewhat of a background in security and cryptography. The newbie will likely be overwhelmed with a lot of the concepts and implementation issues.

Overall, Network Security: Private Communication in a Public World is an excellent reference and text for anyone needing to come up to speed in infosec. It is concise, to the point and very readable.

The second edition of this witty and informative book on network security is even better than the first edition and is clearly the best book on the subject currently available. Secret and public key algorithms and protocols, message hashes, authentication, Kerberos, PKI, IPsec, SSL/TLS, and e-mail security are all explained at length. Chapter 26 on security folklore is a real gem. In security, the devil is in the details. For anyone planning to design a security system that is actually supposed to work, this chapter is must reading. The book is aimed at readers with a university degree in the sciences, engineering, or mathematics. If you want to learn everything there is to know about network security, look no further.

I took this book along on a business trip with the expectation that it would work better than chamomile tea before bed -- instead it kept me up well into the night. It turns a, necessarily, tedious subject into compelling reading. A "must-read" and "must-have" reference for any person charged with managing a distributed computing environment.

What you get is the shooting script for this gonzo film plus a sixteen page color photo insert of stills from the movie. At the end is an eight page interview with the reclusive Charlie Kaufman about the writing of the film in which he uses the word "... ..." quite a bit. By the way, if you're interested in the script, there's a quite good interview with Kaufman about the film in the March/April 2002 issue of Creative Screenwriting magazine. The Nov/Dec. 2002 issue also has an interview with him, that one's about "Adaptation" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."