In my work I needed to find the shortest path from a single point to a set of points. This book really helped me to find the suitable method: the Dijkstra algorithm. I began reading Chapter 9, which is "Shortest Paths and Discrete Dynamic Programming". The material is presented clearly and with relevant and adequate variety of examples. I haven't read the other chapters since they are not required for my work at this moment and I don't have ample time to make a full review; however, I can say this: My many years in research in several fields have often put me in a position of transfering mathematical algorithms in one field to another or to search for an effecient one. I frequently get a limited time period to do literature search and I usually page-read many books. This is one of the rare books which are easy to read and comprehend. I thank and congratulate the author for doing a wonderful service.

I got my B.S.E. in Industrial & OPS Eng. from U of Michigan. During that time, I had to take a course in Linear/Math. Programming. The course content was simple, but the book we used was TERRIBLE!!. Now finishing my M.S., I used this book in an OR class for my Masters Prog, and it is THE BEST BOOK! I literally read it page by page. It is the best written, hand holding book to a rather complicated subject. I got an A in the class, and gained great understanding. This is a book I WILL KEEP FOREVER, a great reference for the workplace as well!!!

I had absolutely no clue about optimization before I read this book. This book not only helped me overcome my diffidence, but also provided me with a very thorough understanding of the basics of the subject.

It is extremely difficult to criticize this book in any way. The language is plain English, not the technical jargon which other "introductory" books use. The book does not assume that the reader has a thorough understanding of linear algebra. Only a course in differential and integral calculus will do. The book provides several primers on a lot of topics- matrices, analysis, vectors etc., so that you do not have to interrupt your optimization studies and digress into these subjects.

There are three full chapters where the author provides real-life examples of mathematical modeling. Again, these are built up step-by-step, and not shoved down your throat.

The different approach to the Simplex Method is more intuitive than the traditional approach and more logical. The basic discussions on integer programming and non-linear programming are also worth mentioning. The numerous exercises and the presence of solutions to a number of them in the end make the text even more helpful.

The only somewhat weak point of the text is the chapter on interior point methods, where the book only provides the formulae and states that the derivations are "beyond the scope of the book". But, this is negligible and I recommend the book wholeheartedly

Wait no more for the definitive book on negotiation. Mr. Shapiro has demonstrated that you can be successful in the cut-throat arena of sports representation without compromising your soul. Unlike some other self-proclaimed "super agents" and "Jerry Maguire wannabes", Mr. Shapiro has given this hopeful a ray of encouragement to stay the course and continue practicing the "power of nice".

A first rate book. It gives a practical outline leading up to negotiation and the negotiation itself. Focuses on going forward relationships that allow for new opportunities post-negotiation versus scorched earth winner-take-all embattlement.

I've read many a book on sales and negotiation and The Power of Nice is by far the most informative book I have read to date. It provides ethical; eaisy to understand philosophies and strategies for anyone in sales who wants to build long-term WIN-win relationships with their clients. It's a must read for the beginning as well as seasoned sales professional.

Socrates' Way is the best book on self-development I have read since Michael Gelb's How to Think Like Leonardo. Gross shows how to apply the famous Socratic Method to such practical issues as how to choose your friends, how to get new ideas to improve your life, and how to find the time to nurture your emotional life. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "Socrates' Way for Women," which showed why the unique psychological strengths which many women have, equip us so well to succeed in the 21st century.

Socrates' Way: Seven: Master Keys To Using Your Mind To The Utmost by Ronald Gross is a marvelous and unique "self-help" book that draws on the wisdom of the philosophical genius Socrates himself. Centering on seven great precepts espoused by this wise man, ranging from "Know Thyself"; to "Speak the Truth"; and "Strengthen Your Soul," Socrates' Way is an inspirational, involving, rewarding reading and a superbly presented reading for anyone seeking personal or professional self-improvement.

Never mind the "how to" and "dummies" books; this is the ultimate life and how to understand it book. With Ron Gross as Socrates incarnate we are privleged to experience wisdom of the ages brought relevant to the present times. A must for any thinking individual.

Thanks to this well written book, I was convinced and persued the new oral HGH with embedded precursors that is now on the the market. ...with vantastic results! It explains in detail of how the mechanisms aging are interelated to HGH and how can slow down and rejuvenate individuals. If you want to feel like your at your peak all the time, read this book!

Dr. Klatz shows the safe and simple ways to obtain HGH, or stimulate it naturally through nutrition, supplements, and exercise in order to build a better body, increase cardiac output, lower blood pressure, increase immune function, revive sexual performance, tighten aging skin, and improve memory and thinking ability. It includes the "GH Enhancement Program," a practical, self-help guide to reaping all the benefits without costly injections, including an entire section on the various over-the-counter supplements, the foods, and the exercises that will allow everyone to boost their HGH levels.

In view of the scientific breakthrough in anti-aging medicine, I started using the oral spray GH on January 31, 1999, to discover myself the benefits of GH replacement.

This book is an excellent information source to learn about the new possibilities of resetting the biological clock we all carry around with us. It's exciting to know there is something we can do to make a difference. I have been very excited to find a very affordable source of Homeopathic HGH that allows me to experience the great benefits described in this book. My E-mail address is mobev@ipa.net. Contact me if you'd like to talk more about this awesome book and the HGH factor in our lives.

. . .plus cultural information!

This book, the first of two in the "History of Middle-Earth" series dealing with later textual developments in "The Silmarillion" provides a great deal of information on how Tolkien's philosophical and theological development influenced the later aspects of this work. (As the reader should remember, Tolkien worked on these legends for more than 50 years.)

However, one of my greatest delights in "Morgoth's Ring" was a lengthy essay detailing aspects of Elven culture, including information on courting, betrothal, marriage, and child-rearing. Also included is a discussion of the judgement of the Valar concerning the remarriage of Finwe of the Noldor.

Throughout, the volume demonstrates that Tolkien wished to truly create a complete culture, not merely a history.

A worthy addition to this series.

This is the tenth volume of a detailed study about the "Silmarillion" era (Pre-"Lord of the rings" epoch). No question from the silmarillion, is left unanswered after you've read this hyper-detailed book about the fallen ainur, Melkor, most known under the name Morgoth meaning "the enemy of the world". Here is described the rise of Arda, the assignments given by Eru, the lord of all, to the ainur, making them become the Valar, AND how Melkor (who was Eru's favorite and most skilled of all) fell from grace and lusted to control the earth and everything in it. In this book , you will find how immensely great was Morgoth's power and how he could even distort Eru's very designs in the birth of the universe. It also includes lots and lots of informations about particular elven kings, half elven and men, who had a particularly important role in the historyand shaping of Beleriand and Middle-earth. All fans of middle-earth and fantasy are advised to get this superb annal of the history of middle-earth and dive once more into the realm of the tree-light gems...

The most important part of this book is the section titled "Laws and Customs of the Eldar". For the only time in his long career of writing essays and opinions essentially intended only for himself the author of The Lord of the Rings set aside story and drama to explore the social and cultural heritage of the Noldor and the Eldar in general.

All the other works in this book fall into place only if the reader understands the peculiar outlook that Tolkien envisioned for the Elves. They were not truly deathless, but recognized many forms of death. And for the Elves the union of spirit and body was as intrinsic as breathing and life. All their griefs therefore proceeded from the disruption of these fundamental precepts in Aman, where such disruption should never have occurred.

Though people speak highly of "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" it really has no meaning without the context provided by "Laws and Customs". A great many questions are answered in very matter-of-fact fashion by the author, often as asides.

The last section, "Myths Transformed", actually leaps ahead to a period late in Tolkien's life when he began to unravel all the tales and mysteries and design a completely different cosmology. Had he finished this later work, Tolkien would have rewritten his Silmarillion completely and in doing so would have destroyed some of the most beautiful myths of our time.

Delderfield's To Serve Them All My Days is a book that I have read frequently over the years. I found it after I watched the PBS Series. It is a very interesting period in British history - the end of "the war to end all wars" and the start of World War II. It is a time of social change, economic downturn and political upheaval. Delderfield uses the vantage point of a boy's school in Dorset to look at these issues and events. It is an extremely successful tactic. But what makes this book even more memorable are the people, from the stationmaster on the first page to the last boy on the last page, these charecters all have a very human aspect that connects to you immediately. Even the not so admirable or more difficult to like charecters make an impression.

This book is one that should be in everyone's library. It is a must have for teachers - maybe not to use as a teaching guide, but to show that our problems of today, stimulating learning, school politics, funding, are not new. Nor are the problems with parents.

This is a fine book and I recommend it highly. It is just the book for a cold rainy day and a goes well with a hot cup of tea and a scone.

When I became a teacher, my uncle gave me his copy of this book. He said it was a wonderful novel and I would take pleasure in it. He was so right! Delderfield makes PJ, Bamfylde and the whole crew come to life in my imagination. I have been even luckier to have gained access to the wonderful Masterpiece Theatre rendition of it as well. If anyone lives near either the LA or NY site of the Museum of TV and Radio, you can see the miniseries, too! It is 13 hours long but well worth it.

To Serve Them All My Days is probably the greatest book ever written about post World War One life in England. Like other readers I regularly go back and revist the likes of PJ, Algy and the boys of Bamfylde. I am lucky to be able to regularly visit the Devon countryside where the novel was set. RFD loved his Devon and the people that live in it. Having read To Serve Them All My Days and other RFD classics like Diana, I now see Devon through RFD's eyes. If you haven't read any other RFD books I stongly urge you to try, I promise you wont be dissapointed. He is my oldest and dearest friend whose stories I return to whenever I need a lift.

Run, don't walk, to order your copy of this book. Ron Baker does for pricing our services what Montgomery did for Auditing.
What a novel idea, to get paid for the value of the services that we provide to our clients.
Ron Baker's goal, as he so aptly describes it, is "to trash time sheets forever". Keeping track of time is the biggest waste of time ever perpetrated on professionals. Accountants have become slaves to the concept of "the almighty hour". We are not selling hours but intellectual capital.
Ron takes you through every step necessary to start your trip to successful value pricing. You will learn exactly how to present this to your existing clients. You will also learn how to use a change order when there turns out to be hidden surprises that no one anticipated. He will explain the concept of service guarantees as an excellent way of gaining new clients and show you in detail how to draft service agreements to use. The book comes with a CD-Rom that has many forms and agreements referred to in the book.
I don't know too many people who are thrilled about the idea of having any work done for them without knowing exactly what the cost will be. It's like boarding an airplane in Los Angeles, flying to New York, and being told your fare will depend on how many minutes you're in the air.
Ron Baker is truly one of the very few original thinkers in the accounting profession. Listen to him; learn from him, and I promise you that you will improve your professional life and most important, your bottom line as well.

I bought this book on a trial basis, due to its cost. It came on a Friday, and I scanned it that night. I wrote the check next morning.
This book changed my attitude about my profession. I was ready to quit. Burned out, tired, frustrated, and angry.
Within one month, I had identified 5 major clients and had more than doubled the revenue from those clients. My staff is happier because they feel they are being treated as professionals and generating fees more in line with their abilities. We have "dismissed" several non-productive clients, and haven't missed the revenue. We work fewer hours at more enjoyable work and actually make more profits. It has positively affected my home life as well.

Having read the previous edition of this book for just 20 minutes I e-mailed the author to tell him that "I have seen this book described as the most important book in the profession. Without a shadow of a doubt, it will change my life."

The new chapters make this latest edition even better. Read the chapter on Total Quality Service to understand how to compete in the future. Ron Baker will completely change your views on pricing professional services. You will start to charge what you are worth with a consequent improvement in both income and self esteem.

Recently I was in a group of 70 accountants who listened to the author speak on Value Pricing for just ten minutes. At the end he received a standing ovation. In my 30 years in the profession I have never seen accountants show such enthusiasm for a speaker and his subject.

If you want to change your professional (and personal) life for the better buy this book.

"The Wall" is a patriotic book. It was easy to read; that made me understand how the Vietnam War turned out in the end.

The boy and his father try to find the grandfather's name on the Vietnam Wall memorial when they pass many other names. When the father reads the names on the wall, the boy imagines each name as a real person, standing next to him and talking to him.

If you are interested in the Vietnam War and how people sacrificed their lives fore us, then "The Wall" would be a good book for you to read.

I gave this four stars out of five because I found the book to be very moving. If you like books about wars, then you'll like "The Wall."

For over a quarter of a century the key imperative in American Foreign Policy has been to avoid another Vietnam. Now we have a new generation of children, born to the sons and daughters of those who fought in Vietnam but never came home. How do we tell them the story of Vietnam so they understand how much it scarred the national psyche and how their is such a national resolve never to let it happen again in some way more substantial than showing them "Forrest Gump?" Eve Bunting comes up with one way in "The Wall," ably assisted by the watercolor illustrations of Ronald Himler. "The Wall" is the simply story of a little boy and his father who have come from far away to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. to find the name of the boy's grandfather.

What makes "The Wall" so moving is that instead of answering questions it will get children to ask them. Like the little boy in the story, children reading this book will see man in combat fatigue in a wheelchair because he does not have any legs; an older couple hugging and crying; flags, teddy bears and letters laid against the wall. The little boy does not ask any questions about what he sees, but I have to believe that students reading this book certainly have questions that they want answered. Whether it is used for Memorial Day or Veterans Day, or any discussion in which children are thinking about war and its consequences, "The Wall" is a very thoughtful book that should be very helpful to teachers and students alike.

I am a sixth grade social studies teacher. Yes, this book is below the average sixth grade reading level. However, I read this along with other books, orally, to my classes at the beginning of the school year. It gives the students a sneak preview as to what their studies are going to be all about. It also encourages the idea that history is not so bad after all. It should encourage them to read about history and may even introduce the genre to some students. The book also provides realism to the plight of the Vietnam War. It is a good book experience for all who read and/or listen to it.

I bought this book on friday and finished it on sunday. It takes you deep into 19th century Russia and the semi-feudal nightmare of Gorky's childhood and it does so with pace and vitality. There are few judgements; about the brutality,horror and poverty inflicted on an intelligent suffering child who became grew up to be great. This is no Hollywood, bad guys get what they deserve happy read this is a true story and it is life. A must for any lover of Russian literature.

It's probably because of his being labeled as a "revolutionary writer" of the Russian Communist Revolution -- though his aversion to the mass killings conducted by the Communists led him to eventually commit suiside -- Maxim Gorky has been a rather obscure name to the American readers. Fewer even have read or head of his autobiographical trilogy: The Childhood, My Apprenticeship and My Universities. To these people I say you have missed the classic human literary production at its best. Comparable to such classics as Dickens's David Copperfield, Gorky's The Childhood is a powerful work of a child's journey in life in the wake of his father's death against the backdrop of the tumultuous 19th century Russia. With depictions so beautifully vivid and forceful, it recounts the touching relationship between the unforgettable grandmother and the "I" who is put into custody at his grandparents home. The image of his multi-faceted grandfather, who can be brutally fierce and childishly tender at the same time will leave an indelible memory to any reader for the rest of his life. For an author like Gorky who has received no more than two years of formal education, and whose poverty-stricken childhood formed his life-long compassion for the underdog, The Childhood is imbellished with nostalgic reminiscences of lower class people whose qualities of integraty and dignity shine through the pages. There are the half-blind dye factory worker Gregory who finally succumbs to total blindness as a down and out begger, the foolhardy and rough captain on the ship who enjoys a good night's reading from Gorky and shares generous tears at the depiction of death of a national hero, and Gorky's little orphaned friends who live out of garbage cans dreaming of a utopian netherland create greatest impact upon the readers of today where child poverty is as rampant as the epidemic AIDS. The seemingly hermetic world of the grandparents' house leads us into a panoramic view of human conditions and conflicts. The grandmother, being the consumate reincarnation of good, beauty and truth, a simple woman who knows how to make people laugh, provokes the reader to reexamine one's own selfish nature. Rarely in literary characterization can we experience in such conviction in the character of the grandmother the genuine beauty of optimism in the direst situations, the honesty in a world of deceit, the unselfishness and total sacrifice around treachery and hatred, and fighting spirit in defense of values and dignity. This book and the other two in the trilogy written a century ago will guarantee an unforgettable cathartic reading. It is every bit as relevent to readers of our age as Internet for Dummies. Well, without enriching ourselves from the past treasures, aren't we all going to become dummies!?

Probably because of his being labeled a "revolutionary writer" of the Russian Communist Revolution -- though his aversion to the mass killings conducted by the Bolsheviks led him to eventually commit suicide -- Maxim Gorky has remained an obscure name to the American readers. Fewer still have read or heard of his autobiographical trilogy: My Childhood, My Apprenticeship and My Universities. Those who haven't read his books have missed out on the classic literary production at its best. Comparable to Dickens's David Copperfield, Gorky's My Childhood is a powerful work of a child's journey in life in the wake of his father's death against the backdrop of the tumultuous 19th century Russia. With depictions so beautifully vivid and forceful, it recounts the touching relationship between the unforgettable grandmother and the child Gorky who is put into custody at his grandparents's home. The image of his multi-faceted grandfather, who can be fiercely brutal and childishly tender will leave an indelible memory to the reader. For an author like Gorky who has received no more than two years of formal education, and whose poverty-stricken childhood formed his life-long compassion for the undog, his My Childhood is imbellished with nostalgic reminiscenes of lower class people whose qualities of integrity and dignity shine through the pages. There are the half-blind Gergory who works at the grandfather's dye factory and who is taunted by his co-workers before finally succumbing to total blindness to become a down and out beggar, the foolhardy and rough captain of the ship who enjoys a good night's reading from Gorky and shares generous tears at the depiction of the death of a national hero in the book, and Gorky's little orphaned friends who live out of garbage cans dreaming of a utopian neverland ... these characters help generate greatest impact upon the readers of today where child poverty is as rampant as the epidemic AIDS. The seemingly hermetic world of the grandparents's house leads us into a panoramic view of humnan conditions and conflicts. The grandmother, being the consumate incarnation of good, beauty and truth, a simple woman who knows how to make people laugh, provokes the reader to reexamine one's own selfish nature. Rarely in literary characterization can we experience in such conviction in the character of the grandmother the genuine beauty of optimism in the direst situations, the honesty in a world of deceit, the unselfishness and total sacrifice around treachery and hatred, and fighting spirit in defense of values and dignity. This book and the other two in the trilogy written a century ago will guarantee an unforgettably cathartic reading. It is every bit as relevent to readers of our age as Internet for Dummies. Well, without enriching ourselves from the past literary treasure, aren't we all going to become dummies!?

This is the most profound book I ever read. Laing defines mental illness as an ontological crisis with the potential to be a spiritual breakthrough. He decries psychiatry for perversely thwarting this potential with various forms of torture (incarceration, drugs, electroshock, etc.) As to normality, Laing argues it is the product of a pathological "us and them" mentality underlying personal identity and group dynamics.
To be well-adjusted to our modern dysfunctional society is not healthy for the individual or society. Who is more dangerous? Laing asks: the psychotic who mistakenly believes he carries a hydrogen bomb in his stomach or the perfectly adjusted B-52 bomber pilot who will drop very real hydrogen bombs when ordered to do so?
The chapter titled "The Bird of Paradise" is hypnotically poignant in exploring the inner world of thoughts and emotions. Laing was much more than a scientist. He was a visionary who shed light on the dark role of pscyhiatrists as voodoo-like priests and purveyors of social engineering.

No book on first reading has ever hit me with the force of this one.

Some of the content I don't buy: the focus on madness as a positive journey and the de-emphasis on inborn factors that may lead to "schizophrenia".

But as an example of compelling writing, of a writer putting his heart into his work, I don't know of any rival to this book.

But there's a lot more than writing style here. This is one of the strongest challenges to us "normal" folk about the potential we may have tossed away in exchange for a fit in our troubled society.

This isn't a book that tells us what to do or that sells some old tradition. This is a book that tells us how it seems ... to someone uniquely qualified and extraordinarily concerned about our well-being.

Laing was a great gift to the world and this is his greatest book.

This is an important book in which Laing pioneers a new view of "madness" and "insanity". According to L., a sensitive person, pushed by an unhealthy environment, escapes into another reality so as not to deal with the disconnectedness and horror of the consensual reality. As a consequence, he/she is promptly classified as being "mad" by the orthodox psychiatry and its practitioners, ever so scared of losing the monopoly on sanity. During reading of the book, I sometimes had to ask myself who was really mad: the cold, anal and unfeeling parents or their sensitive schizophrenic son, whose ramblings when decoded make much more sense to me than their parents' eerie "normality". Another question that kept cropping up was whether our shrinks, "regular people" who are usually themselves disconnected from their emotional and spiritual foundations, are the right people to guide the sick into other realities and back again? Laing makes a good case that methods used for training and practicing of psychiatry need serious re-evaluation. This is as true now as it was in the 60-ies.

Many ancient cultures value and even encourage temporary forays into "insanity" when the initiate goes to ask the gods about the meaning of life. We have lost these initiation experiences and when they occur spontaneously in the most sensitive members of our society, as they are wont to, the psychiatrists classify these people as insane, drug them heavily and, if they encounter resistance to their authority, lock them up. The loss, sadly, is all ours. As Laing says: "our sanity is not *true* sanity. their madness is not *true* madness. ...The madness that we encounter in "patients" is a gross travesty, a mockery, a grotesque caricature of what the natural healing of that estranged integration we call sanity might be. True sanity entails... dissolution of the normal ego, that false self competently adjusted to our alienated social reality ".

Our culture is a secular one in which the mystery of death and rebirth has been lost. We therefore lost the ability to help people who have stumbled into the ever-shifting universe of ego dissolution. Even worse, our psychiatry is designed to further push them into helplesness and fragmentation of the self. What should be a joyous experience, a journey into the divine, becomes a journey into hell, a true loss of the soul. Laing, in this precious book, eloquently uncovers the heartless and soulless machine that has been entrusted with this process - and that has failed, millions upon millions of times, to bring light into the darkness.