I have been reading books on the assassination of John Kennedy my entire life. Then I came across this book, "Who's Who in the JFK Assassination", I couldn't beleive it. Never before did I read through a book so fast and when I was done, I had to go back and start over. It's not really meant to read cover-to-cover, though. When I am reading a book on the assassination, and see a name I don't know, I can flip to it in this book and know just who this man is. For anyone who has looked at the assassination, they know you come across hundreds of names and you can't remember them all, thats where this book came in. Let's say I see the name Ruby Henderson; I can look her up in this book and find out she saw TWO men in the 6th floor of the TSBD, one of whom had a rifle, but she thought they were with the secret service. Anyway, I would tell ANY person looking for information on the Kennedy Assassination to get this book anyway they can. What else can I say, Michael Benson did a GREAT job.

I've known this book for over thirty years. Kennedy approachesVaughan Williams's catalogue both widely and deeply, with plenty ofmusical examples. Since I'm a Vaughan Williams headbanger, a book like this is my equivalent of hagiography. Kennedy assumes (correctly) that Vaughan Williams is one of the major composers of this century, and not just in England, and thus discusses works in a clear-eyed way, without special pleading, emotional ginger-up, or hysterical proselytizing. He gives us the musical "facts" of a work and shows, in purely compositional terms, why it's wonderful -- the most convincing argument of all. I've almost worn out my copy through reading and re-reading. When I listen to a Vaughan Williams work, I usually have the book handy. A classic of music writing.--Steve Schwartz

Based on a series of Lawrence Henry Gipson lectures presented at the Lehigh University from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, and aptly edited by Michael Kennedy and William Shade, The World Turned Upside-Down: The State of Eighteenth-Century American Studies at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century is an amalgamation of essays contributed by a broad range of distinguished scholars. These essays cover American History as part of world history rather than as if American History were isolated in a political vacuum. The scholarly, thoughtfully and persuasively argued essays cover such topics as early American technological history, slavery and African cultures in America, and the histories of early American women. Involving in its analytical depth, The World Turned Upside-Down is an excellent, most welcome addition to academic American history reading lists and reference collections.

There seems to be a lot of misperception of what Final Judgment does and does not say about the JFK assassination. The book does not say that "the Jews killed JFK." That's horse manure.

What the book does say is that:

When New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison charged businessman Clay Shaw with participation in the JFK assassination conspiracy Garrison stumbled upon the Israeli Mossad connection to the murder of President Kennedy. Shaw served on the board of a shadowy corporation known as Permindex. A primary shareholder in Permindex was the Banque De Credit International of Geneva, founded by Tibor Rosenbaum, an arms procurer and financier for the Mossad.

What's more, the Mossad-sponsored Swiss bank was the chief "money laundry" for Meyer Lansky, the head of the international crime syndicate and an Israeli loyalist whose operations meshed closely on many fronts with the American CIA.

The chairman of Permindex was Louis M. Bloomfield of Montreal, a key figure in the Israeli lobby and an operative of the Bronfman family of Canada, long-time Lansky associates and among Israel's primary international patrons.

In the pages of "Final Judgment" the Israeli connection to the JFK assassination is explored in frightening--and fully documented--detail. For example, did you know:

• That JFK was engaged in a bitter secret conflict with Israel over U.S. East policy and that Israel's prime minister resigned in disgust, saying JFK's stance threatened Israel's very survival?

• That JFK's successor, Lyndon Johnson, immediately reversed America's policy toward Israel?

• That the top Mafia figures often alleged to be behind the JFK assassination were only front men for Meyer Lansky?

• That the CIA's liaison to the Mossad, James Angleton, was a prime mover behind the cover-up of the JFK assassination?

Why didn't Oliver Stone, in his famous movie "JFK" not mention any of this? It turns out the chief financial backer of Stone's film was longtime Mossad figure, Arnon Milchan, Israel's biggest arms dealer.

The very fact that the Israeli lobby has gone through such great lengths to try to smear Michael Collins Piper and to try to discredit Final Judgment gives the book great credibility. If the book was really so silly or so unconvincing, it doesn't seem likely that groups such as the Anti-Defamation League would go out of their way to try to suppress the book as they have. The fact is that Piper demonstrates that Israel did indeed have a very strong motive to want to get JFK out of the way and that numerous people who have been linked in other writings to the JFK conspiracy were (as Piper documents) also in the sphere of influence of Israel's Mossad. Not only Clay Shaw in New Orleans, but also James Angleton at the CIA, who was Israel's strongest advocate at the CIA and also the CIA's liaison to the Mossad. The Israeli connection is indeed "the missing link in the JFK assassination conspiracy."

The "Reader from Chicago" who wrote the review of Final Judgment posted here is really off the beam and I suspect he (or she) is deliberately distorting what Piper's book does say in order to try to discourage people from reading it.

The fact is that Piper's book documents (quite clearly, in my estimation) not only the means, opportunity and the motive for Israeli Mossad involvement in the assassination (working in conjunction with the CIA), but it is also quite fascinating and very interesting read. "Boring" is the last word I'd use to describe the book, and it is certainly not "poorly written."

What's more, the book is not--I repeat--not "anti-Semitic" and the book has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the subject of the Holocaust.

In fact, anybody familiar with any of the standard writings on the JFK assassination will recognize the names of some of the key players in the scenario Piper documents: Clay Shaw, David Ferrie, Guy Banister and James J. Angleton of the CIA--and none of them were Jewish. So where this reviewer gets off saying that Piper finds "a Jew under every rock" is beyond me.

I have read literally hundreds of books and magazine articles and other material on the JFK assassination and not in a single one of them--with the exception of Final Judgment--did I ever learn that President John F. Kennedy was trying to stop Israel from building the nuclear bomb and that this literally touched off a "secret war" behind the scenes between JFK and Israel's prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who resigned (among other reasons) in disgust over JFK's policies with Israel. In fact, Israeli historian Avner Cohen in his book, Israel and the Bomb, documents this quite thoroughly.

And in Final Judgment Piper also outlines some interesting Israeli connections by people who have been linked to the JFK assassination and cover-up, including Clay Shaw of New Orleans. Even Israeli journalist Barry Chamish has written in an Internet review of Final Judgment that he finds Piper's Israeli connection (via Shaw and Permindex) quite convincing.

There was a controversy in the Chicago area following an attempt by the Anti-Defamation League (an Israeli lobby organization) and people associated with the ADL to prevent Final Judgment from being placed in the Schaumburg Township District Library. Chances are the Reader from Chicago is probably an ADL representative!

A landmark book for modern American history that should be on the bookshelf of every serious historian as well as every single concerned American. Let me give my reasons.

This book is an extraordinary feat of investigative journalism. The information and facts that Piper uncovers are used in an extremely powerful way to reveal a whole sequence of Israeli/Jewish actions culminating in the assassination of JFK (who was an implacable opponent of the Israeli nuclear weapons program of the early 1960's and 1950's ).

The depth and thoroughness of Piper's investigative journalism literally takes one's breath away. At the same time the book is very easy to follow and understand as Piper methodically builds up his damning case against showing the depth of Israeli involvement in the JFK assassination.

Once I started reading this book I could literally not stop until I had finished. I thoroughly recommend this book as a way to expand one's mind beyond the confines of the modern day media which has severely suppressed this book making it almost a taboo for mainstream booksellers to stock it. This is shown by the fact that it takes Amazon.com 4 to 6 weeks to obtain a copy.

As an Israeli/American peace activist I welcome this book . This book is especially topical today as the search for peace in the Middle East continues. As Israelis as well international Jews who care about our country I believe it right and proper to engage in an informed and vigorous debate about the undoubted wrong-doings of our government in an open and informed way. This is the only way in which the worst excesses of Zionism can be curbed. This book provides us all with just such an opportunity.

Piper does much more than convince readers of the multi-layered conspiracy to remove JFK from office: he convinces us that the facts have always been right before our eyes. "Final Judgment" is easily the most well-documented conspiracy book of our time....a great -- and frightening -- work.

I'm thoroughly happy with this book as it is very easy to understand and follow. However, one or two of the tutorials are very dodgy indeed. Like for example the Tidal Wave effect on the CD is not very good, the wave looks extremely fake and out of place. But apart from that, the rest of this book is very well made and presented. A must buy for any intermediate users.

One of the big gripes I hear from people using tutorial books for software is that they are linear. (They make you start with the apple, then they let you model the tree, and somewhere way down they road you get to model Johnny Appleseed.) This is not the case with 3dMax 3 Magic. Each chapter introduces a new technique on a new tutorial model. In one chapter you are shown how to make realistic looking water surfaces, in another you are being shown how to make the best looking car paint I've ever seen. Like the title of this review states, this is a goodie bag. It is for the Intermediate to Advanced user who wants a "How To" on some of the things Max 3 has to offer. The Authors of the book assume that you atleast know your way around the application. I'm happy to have this book on my shelf, right next to my computer!

This is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to enhance their abilities with 3D Studio MAX 3. It goes beyond the MAX tutorials to show you how to create effects that obviously took some of these professionals a long time to perfect. The car paint material chapter alone is worth the price of the book. My only complaint is that it's too short.

As a person of Irish descent, I was very happy to see "The Irish in America". This book is full of colorful illustrations showing what the Irish have accomplished in this country. I am referencing the book in my MA, History Thesis, this Autumn.

On page 57, however, the editors have made an understandable error. They attribute the founding of Manhattan College (1853), De La Salle University (1863) and St. Mary's (Moraga, California, (1863) to the Irish Christian Brothers. As a 1965 graduate of Manhattan College, I can tell you that these three colleges were founded by the French Christian Brothers, also know as the De La Salle Brothers. This teaching order was founded in Paris by St. John Baptist de la Salle, and predates the Irish Christian Brothers by almost two hundred years. To my knowledge, the only college founded by the Irish Christian Brothers in the U.S. is Iona College (1940) in New York. Personally, I enjoyed the book, found new facts about the Irish in America, and would recommend it to any Irish or Irish-American person.

Coffey and Golway give a wonderful overview of the experiences of Irish men and women in the United States. Coming to the U.S. as a result of political an religious oppression, as well as a result of the potato blight in the mid-19th century, the Irish worked hard to gain respectablity and political voices as American citizens. In many cases, especially in the early 20th Century, to be Irish was to be a second class citizen in the U.S. Today's attitudes prove that the Irish have come a long way in American society from being judged as such to becoming a very proud and celebrated nationality in our country.

Coffey and Golway use numerous anecdotes, excerpts, and other quotations from famous and not so famous Irish Americans. Included in this book are Denis Leary, Frank McCourt, and a forward by Patrick Kennedy. Reflections of these Irish-American personalities on their grandparents' or parents' lives and hard work, as well as memories of Catholic school, and other aspects of Irish-American life. Glossy photographs accent each passage beautifully and add to the overall attraction of the book. Contributions by all the authors provides a celebration of Irish ethnicity and heritage in the United States that is portrayed as humorous, melancholy, but overall proud. This book accents the PBS Documentary by the same name very nicely. After reading this book, I wished in a sense, that I had some Irish heritage.

It's appropriate that this admirable volume should have appeared in 1999, with the 50th anniversary of Richard Strauss' death occurring on September 8 of that year, and with (by bizarre coincidence) the demise the previous March of Stanley Kubrick, whose use of Strauss' Thus Spake Zarathustra in the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey introduced the German master's genius to millions who would no more have visited a concert hall than flown to the moon.

Compact discs' effectiveness not only at widening the available repertoire but at conveying even the most elaborate instances of Strauss' orchestral filigree -- as no earlier recording medium could consistently do -- has itself done Strauss' standing a favour. But few earlier books on Strauss are recent enough or comprehensive enough to make sense amid the CD revolution. Fortunately Michael Kennedy's clear-headed, unfailingly craftsmanlike account is. It also provides some much-needed balance to often peevish and ill-informed accusations that Strauss was a stooge of the Third Reich.

Strauss, whose tongue seldom emerged from his cheek, called himself in 1947 "a first-rate second-rate composer"; but Kennedy's verdict -- that Strauss ranks as high as any composer the 20th century produced -- is not only more generous but probably more accurate. The Strauss expert will relish this book; the newcomer to Strauss can be assured that, save for Kurt Wilhelm's study, no better book on the topic exists.

I have grown up reading Michael Kennedy's biographies of such great English composers as Vaughan-Williams and Edward Elgar. So I eagerly picked-up his latest biography of Richard Strauss partly because of what I deemed to be Kennedy's objective approach to his subjects, and also because Strauss seemed to be a deeply held secret not meant to be shared with us ordinary listeners (in other words, there wasn't much else available).

Kennedy seems to have slightly more passion for Strauss it turns out than for RVW or Elgar, or at least enough moxy to blow the cover off some well established sacred cows. I know that I was not expecting to read exactly what I read.

If you are even vaguely interested in the music of Strauss or even if you are simply intereted in the history of Germany from 1900 to 1950, then this is a very interesting read.

Very well done!

I read the original Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz in the early 70's. I read it again last month and then read Bobbe Sommer's version. I think the original is better. Maltz keeps it simple and focuses on the subconscious as the primary goal seeking mechanism. I thought Sommer's book diluted the message with cross messages from other self help techniques. Maltz's method works great. It's simple and effective. It's not a self help book, it's a book about reprogramming yourself. Sommer seems to turn the science into a self affirmation exercise.

This book is so instrumental that I plan order additional copies for family and freinds.The results I have achieved are fascinating.The techniques are simple and effective but you must take action! Just reading the book will not do, you must apply the imformation.I've used this book to improve my self esteem,release stress, improve focus and master the art of goal setting.I highly recommend it for those serious about changing their life.I would also recommend"Psychology of Winning and Nine Empowering Secrets of Successful Living-Dennis Waitley,Think and Grow Rich-Napoleon Hill and Awaken the Gaint Within and Unlimited Power-Anthony Robbins".I would also recommend Using your Brain for a Change-Richard Bandler-a teacher to Anthony Robbins,covers the subject of NLP.Take back your life and read this book!

Napoleon Hill founded the laws of success, Dale Carnegie taught us how to win friends and Maxwell Maltz taught us how to live it all. This book has in my opinion, what 99.9% of books will forever lack - and that's common sense. There is no need for hype, Maltz speaks the truth which is refreshing in this day and age. He teaches (and in my opinion was the first to teach) the art of compassion, self- respect, relaxation, forgiveness and the art of being a professional human being. In this book you will learn that it doesn't matter how many success principles you know, that if you really want to change you must do so through the self-image -the foundation for all success. It is a book filled with wisdom, humor and hope. So if you want to change and live a better life overall, then buy this book. Take a knife and cut through the diddle daddle and motivation found in those other so-called self-help books. After all, how many other authors have 33 million copies in print over a 40 year life span? BUY IT!

I bought this book with Intermediate Flash skills and intermediate ActionScript skills. This book is far beyond me. That's good and bad. Every chapter can stand alone and the source files are included, but this book won't get me to the next level by itself.

If you are very well versed in ActionScript and the topics interest you as explained in the Editor's review, then this would be a good book for you. If you are an intermediate ActionScripter without the chance to look at this in the bookstore, be cautious, especially if you never return books.

The book does tailor to advanced users, it's just that I bit of more than I could chew. Good luck.

These days there aren't many books out that deal exclusively with ActionScript. There's one from Colin Mook which I like, and the couple others that are out there aren't that impressive. This one isn't worth it's weight in gold but I still find it quite valuable because each chapter is written by a different author, and each of them really seems to know what they're talking about. Assuming that you know your way around Flash, this one won't waste your time going over the usual basics. At times it's a bit difficult to find your way around the sample files, but I'm learning so much just from dissecting them, and the chapters in the book explain reasonably well what's going on. Book looks a bit cheap, but then again, it's not like I'm gonna be using it much once the next version of Flash hits the shelves...

After going through the chapters, I must say there are a few things that disappoint me about this book. The book's layout and design are poor. The information is not well laid out and even though the authors are very well versed, I believe some editorial help on their writing style would have improved the books content dramatically. Understanding that each chapter is written by a different developer, the reader will see that the quality of the explanations varies.

The book has some very interesting concepts and given time and effort an intermediate/advanced flash AS programmer will understand the concepts and theory behind some of the more interesting flash movies on the net.

The authors are true samurai, so if you want to join their clan you're going to need to understand the concepts in this book. If you have your advanced math books from school, you'll want to take them out so you can review some trig and calculus theories, your going to need them.

Novice Flash developers better wait to get this book, trust in my words, you will minimally understand the theories. But if you are adventures, and think you have what it takes. Go for it.

I have a shelf full of books at home on XML, but there is always room for one more ;) This is a new title and I have just received it after being on the wait list for a little while. The reason why I ordered it was because the Web Services specifications were not included in any detail yet by any other books. So, I turned directly to the Web Services chapters, and it did not disappoint! I was able to put the concepts and code in the book (including VB code for .NET) directly to use. The book also included great detail on using Java with the DOM and SAX. In general, this is a focused and well-written book.

Others may be interested in the general XML introduction, XSL detail, and chapters on the various XML standards, but this is meant to be a reference book, and so I was happy with the chapters that I chose to read.

Not a bad buy... Worth the money.

Well, this book is hot off the presses as of the writing of this review, and it's a good thing, since the content is very well written and is extremely up-to-date!

This book makes a good essential reference for anyone who is interested in developing using XML, Web Services, SAX, the JAX pack, etc. Certainly, it has helped me get off the ground and become a better XML developer!

Topics covered in the book include:
+ Fundamentals of XML
+ DTDs, XML Schema, and alternatives including RELAX NG and SOX
+ XLink, XPath, and XPointer
+ XML Database integration and data modeling
+ Processing XML with SAX and DOM, with both Java and VB examples
+ XSLT and XSLT:FO
+ SVG and XHTML
+ Lots of Web Services Content including detail on SOAP, UDDI, WSDL, and implementation
+ Microsoft .NET code and implementation
+ Voice XML and WAP
+ XML Content Management
+ XML e-Business standards including RosettaNet, ebXML, OBI, and vertical industry standards including HL7, ACORD, XBRL, IFX, etc.
+ RDF and semantic web stuff

So,this is really quite a detailed, comprehensive, and actually enjoyable to read book. I have now 7 XML books on my shelf, but they keep getting better ;)

Worth it for newbies and experienced developers alike.

What a relief! This has been one of the most didactically written technical book I have ever read. Well done!

This is definately a reference I will be refering to as it is up-to-date and very complete. For example, Web Services, XFLT, SVG...

Buy this book if you need a desktop reference on XML. You won't regret it!