The RCA CED VideoDisc system is barely mentioned in this book, but it does provide a comprehensive history of video tape formats, with an emphasis on how RCA and other American manufacturers let VCR production slip through their fingers. Besides covering the Betamax and VHS tape formats, the book also deals with other obscure tape formats like CV-2000, U-matic, EVR, InstaVision, Cartrivision, AutoVision, V-Cord, HoloTape, and MagTape. The last several chapters of the book deal extensively with the landmark Universal vs. Sony lawsuit.

This book is so relevant to the time we live in now its silly. All the IP issues that are argued ad nauseum about ... and its ilk have all been hashed out 20 years ago. Even some of the players were the same, such as our old friend Jack Valenti and Sony (who were on the other side at the time!) The IP parts are great, but the history of the BETA vs VHS battles are also very illuminating and the stories about the Sony engineers and early failed attempts at VCRs are fascinating.

Techno junkies will love this book. Order it....

This is a great book for those who think that Japanese firms somehow misbehaved in overtaking the U.S. electronics industry. It is also one book that the founders of Apple should have read. By keeping it for itelf, Sony seems to have insured the demise of the superior beta format!

David Durk is a crusader in the best and worse sense of the word. He relentlessly fought for justice, despite the apathy and corruption of the New York City Police Department. For his noble efforts, he was rewarded with a partial pension, a long list of powerful enemies and an exile in upstate New York. It is a travesty that someone who devotes his life to helping people would receieve such horrible treatment himself. This book made me angry and sad but also hopeful that someone like David Durk exists to fight the system. I hope one day he wins out.

David Durk did not fit in the NYPD of the sixties and seventies from the start. A tall, wiry, Jewish college graduate-- it never quite seemed that Durk was going to be a typical cop; and he wasn't. Durk was to be a true Crusader, along with his acolyte and friend, Patrolman Frank Serpico, Durk the Idealist would go on to expose the massive amounts of corruption that lay undisturbed, rife within the NYPD. Durk's obsessive love of the truth and his equally obsessive love of policing led these dramatic changes. The NYPD is less corrupt today than it was thirty years ago, and we have David Durk to thank for that. This book retells, in startling detail, the methods which Durk employed to achieve his goal; to rid the NYPD of corruption.

Two things struck me while reading this book, the first is that I doubt there is a book out there that is truly balanced and not somewhat biased. The second thing was that Gore really got the shaft, not so much by the recount wars, but by the election official that came up with the Butterfly Ballot. In the history of the USA this decision ranks up there with new Coke and the XFL, what a mistake. As far as the reporting in the book it was not bad for a review of all the articles they had in the paper, but it did not really dig into the particular issues very deeply. I wanted more detail and behind the scenes with both the candidates. I also wanted more details on the court cases; I felt like the sky-high overview of the issues of the cases did not do such an important issue justice.

In reading the book I think a little bit of a democratic bias comes out, just a little, but enough to notice. I also thought it interesting that they had far more details of the Gore group then the Bush camp, it follows the perception that the Post is somewhat liberal in its views. The book is an overview that came out almost 10 minutes after Gore hung up the phone on the second concession call so there are a few more details out now that they did not get in the book. Overall it is a good effort and a readable book, but not the end all be all on the subject.

This book, by the editors of the Washington Post, does a good job of describing the events which led to the deadlocked 2000 Presidential election. In addition to detailing the paths which led to the deadlock, the book discusses all the post-election issues in a very readable format. Surprisingly, the books editors seem only slightly tilted towards Gore (especially considering it is the Washington Post, which is noted for its liberal bias), so no matter who you voted for, there is much to be found here for anyone with an interest in contemporary politics.

I personally think the Washington Post and NY Times are liberal rags that are generally not worth the paper they are printed on. However, in fairness, when they do well I think they should be commended. I read the NY Times "36 Days" and still think that book was not worth the paper it was printed on. It was nothing more than a reprint of their articles.

Conversely, though, Deadlock was a well-written book. Two passages are worth noting. The first is about the book itself. About one-third of the way into the first chapter the book says: "These are the ... decisions, alliances, power plays, snap judgments and personality flaws revealed when a flukishly close election is played out for staggering high stakes. Both sides were nimble and brilliant and occasionally shady; both sides were also capable of miscalculations, divisions and blame. The best and worst of politics were on displayed in those 36 days, and both sides trafficked in each. This is how it happened." Although the Post endorsed Al Gore (no surprise) they tried to be equal in their appraisal of how the two campaigns sought resolution in their favor.

As for the two sides' strategy one only has to look within the first three pages of Chapter 2 where the Post records that the Democrats enlisted the services of three authors who wrote "The Recount Primer". The book reads: "Anyone who read and heeded the booklet could predict how the two sides would play America's closest president election -- at least in the broad outlines. Gore would gamble; Bush would stall. Gore would preach a doctrine of uncounted ballots; Bush would extol the dependability of machines. Gore needed more: more counting, more examination, more weighing and pondering of more ballots. Bush needed it over while he was still ahead." The only trouble for the Gore forces with this gospel was that the Republicans knew the same gospel. The book attempted to show how the two sides played out the roles assigned them.

For a behind the scenes objective look at the two sides, I think the Post did a very decent job. This could have been a... job on the Republicans and conservatives, but generally it was not (though I expected it). It could have been a... job on the Democrats and liberals, but it was not (nor did I expect it). I am not accustomed to this degree of fairness from the liberal Washington Post nor do I expect to see it very often in the future.

NYPD is a history of New York City and its police department. It does not relate the story of either very well. The specific weaknesses of NYPD are several: It's hard to follow. While presented in a decade by decade format, the chronology is still confusing. Accounts of various incidents end abruptly, or merely tail off to no conclusion. Characters appear, disappear and like magic appear once again. Too much attention is given to past riots and "disorders". NYPD also concentrates far too many pages to corruption. This subject is way too old and common to rate the space the authors have devoted to it. Honest cops by comparison are downplayed. We are rarely placed "in the street" with the cops on the beat. The reader gets virtually no sense of tradition, honor, or bravery that many, if not all, policemen routinely display. Also conspicuous by its' absence is HUMOR! Cops must encounter howlingly funny situations all the time, yet the authors ignore this obvious subject. A final objection to the tale is the extreme tediousness of the portrayal of the department up until the great Depression years. The tone of NYPD improves after that but not enough to save itself. Non-NYC residents will receive no feel, no local flavor. It fails on that score too. The recommendation from this reviewer is to "search" elsewhere for superior political AND better police portrayals. ...It's depressing that a lifelong NYC native has to present such negative review. The answer to the question at the top is not why buy NYPD but why was it written in the first place?

By reading the title and information on the dust jacket, I believed this was a history of the New York Police Dept. And, to an extent, it was.

If you can believe that prehaps 3 dozen men founded, organized, operated and developed the policies of the Department over the last 155 years, and that they were crooked, inept, stupid,and brutal, then you will find this to be a good read.

What I found was the stories of about 3 dozen men who had the qualities I mentioned above and whose exploits were detailed at length. And, no matter how these people behaved, the authors had to find something wrong with it. In fact, in several places they seem to contradict themselves as to what should have been the appropriate handling of a situation. And, there really never is any thesis to the book or follow up as to what the authors believed happened. It seems more to be a detailing of fact; little beyond that.

This would be a good book if it were titled, "NYPD: A History of Graft, Corruption and Stupidity" and it was used as a text book for a class at John Jay College in that subject area, but it is a book that is far from a representative of the history of the men in blue in New York.

In addition to those faults, I found the book difficult to read. One moment they are following a chronilogical sequence, then they are following a different line. It made it tough to keep track of the people detailed.

If you want a good book about the New York Police Department history, find it elsewhere. If you are a historian and wish to add one small peice of the story to your collection then maybe this book would be a good buy.

A remarkably complete and concise history of New York City and it's remarkable police department. It is full of facts that are facinating for police officers, police buffs, & interested citizens alike.