Author Ronald Buckley has written what will surely be considered the Manifesto for Manufacturing at the dawn of the Third Millenium. He clearly and concisely puts forth a methodology based, not on theory, but his own experiences in turning his factories into manufacturing powerhouses to be reckoned with.

From the factory, to quality, to cross functional self-directed work teams, Buckley shares with his readers a blueprint for "doers". Only a 30 year operations veteran could offer his readers this sage advise, " Sure, it would be nice if the resources were available for a full blown Six Sigma program; however much progress can be made using the simpler tools, such as SPC. So if you are a smaller organization, start with SPC and when you collect from the payoff of your efforts here, move on to Six Sigma, but don't think for a minute that you cannot compete without it." This may be considered heresy by the Six Sigma "bigots" but for a small or midsize company struggling to survive it's like the clouds parting and the stone tablets being handed down from on high!

If your company's back is up against a wall, your choices have been reduced to two: You can quit or you can stand and fight. If you choose to stand and fight "Winning in a Highly Competitive Manufacturing Environment" can be a tool to begin rebuilding your factory with a chance to have a future!

Mr. Buckley has captured the essence of what it takes to win in a highly competetive manufacturing environment. The most important element of any continuous improvement program is employee involvement. The author conveys an exceptional message that it is the combination of teamwork along with lean flow techniques, that can make an operation truly great.

Mr. Bucklet has captured the essence of Flow Techniques and the true benefits of the Cross Functional Self-Directed Teams in this book. His explanations and information in support of each element discussed is presented in a simplistic and easy to understand manner. Read this book and look within your organization to see the benefits of applying these principles. It works not only for the organization, but it has an incredible affect upon the personnel building their self esteem and capabilities.

.....or if you had to travel back in time. I had this for my textbook in Biology back in 1987 and even then, .... well before the human genome was anywhere near being charted, let alone completed, this was a spectacular acomplishment. This book isn't riveting like say Druyan and Sagan's SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESOTRS is, but it is as good as any biology textbook can possibly be. It has EVERYTHING you could possibly want to know about biology; from modern cell theory to ecology. All you have to do is look this over and you'll see why I highly recommend it. Does any other bio textbook even compare?

This is by far the finest Introductory Biology textbook I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Biology teachers, do yourselves (not to mention your students) a favor--make this the required text for your Biology I (and II) Class! Special Thanks goes out to Dr. Michael Hoefer...for requiring this textbook!

This is definitely the best intro to bio books out there. As a graduate student I got the chance to read lots of bio books and this one by far is the best. The chapters are well organized and easy to follow and gives you the depth needed to pursue any area of biology. When it was time for me to student teach this was the book of my chose. It expensive but definiely worth it to any biologist. The CD-ROM is also very good!

This book was a delightful read! It gives an up close and personal view of what the priesthood is like for so many that have answered God's call for their lives!

I no longer think of the priesthood as a "lonely" life.....this book has proven what "fulfilled" lives these men lead and that they truly do have lives in addition to their ministries of preaching, counseling, administrating parishes, performing weddings,funerals, baptisms, Holy Communions and Confirmations!
What an inspirational read, especially for those interested in vocations, young and old alike! Tom Kane is to be applauded for his work!

This book is a delightful compilation of very heartwarming stories depicting the human side of priests. With all the recent scandals surrounding the clergy in the Catholic Church, it was a pleasure to hear from the "silent majority" of good priests. If you ever thought priests were "holy" all the time, this book provides a refreshing look at the human and often humorous side of our church leaders.

THE CONTENTS OF THE BOOK ..WHILE WELL WRITTEN AND ENTERTAINING..WAS A
COMPILATION OF SURVEY REPLYS THAT SHOWED SOME VERY SINCERE MEN AND... LIKE ALL HUMANS...SOME PRONE TO THEIR OWN EGO...
THE BOOK WAS WELL PACED AND KEPT YOU GOING...HOWEVER..SLOWLY...SOMETIMES !!
I HAD THE MOST FEELING READING THE HILTON RIVET SJ.SECTION PG 167 AND DONALD KANE PG 139...THEY WERE UPLIFTING FOR ME !!!
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE...IT WOULD BE A WORK THAT ANY YOUNG MAN SHOULD READ IF HE IS PROSPECTING FOR A LIFE STYLE.....AND... THE BOOK SHOULD BE IN EVERY RELIGIOUS ARTICLE STORE..

I recently had to cut short a business trip due to extreme leg pain that lasted day and night. I went through the usual period of treatment by my GP with medications and rest before seeing a Surgeon. He recommended steroid shots and Chiropractric treatments. I found Back Sense and read it just after the shots. It confirmed what I had suspected for years. That my leg pain is directly related to stress. After reading and following the book I have had very good results. I recommend this book for anyone who has ever suffered from neck or back related pain.

After a fall, I suffered from chronic leg pain for a period of 20 months before finding this book. For 20 months I spent countless hours seeing doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, message therapists, and other health practitioners, including acupuncture. I was desperate to get well. I had made progress, but I still felt it very difficult to walk or move normally--I was still in essence "crippled," and I feared my life might never been normal again. Then I found this remarkable book. In the period of time it took me to read the first few chapters, I knew what the authors were suggesting would work for me. I was able to immediately implement the principles. I got up from where I was reading and began to walk completely normally for the first time in over a year and a half. Soon thereafter, I found myself bounding up stairs and skipping with joy. Three months later, I'm still doing great. I'm so happy to be "Free At Last!" If you suffer from chronic back, neck, or leg pain, I urge you to read this book. It may not have the same effect on you, but you have nothing to lose but your pain!

I have had mild to moderate, with occasional severe, back pain for many years. Generally, the pain started when I was in graduate school. I thought that the long hours of sitting in class, reading and studying was damaging my "weak" back.

After reading this book, I started to realize how much stress was a major factor in my back pain. Just before I read the book I was visiting my chiropractor every week and getting a massage a couple times a month. I loved the treatments, but I was getting increasingly concerned that I had a serious problem with my back that was going to disable me, sooner, rather than later.

After finishing Backsense, I have stopped stressing about every twinge, tight muscle or pain in my back---and the pain has been much less and less frequent! I now enjoy my gym activities and play time with my children, knowing that my back is strong and healthy.

Backsense gave me a better understanding and confidence in the strength and durability of my back. It was easy to read and understand. Anyone searching for relief from back pain should read this book.

I believe that the authors wanted to display the wonderful true life AIM lifestyle in fiction format and they have succeeded. Beyond that they have provided a fun yet very educational book. What better way to learn the ins and outs of network business than by an entertaining and enjoyable novel. They ought to make it into a movie! This book also dispels the common myths regarding the network marketing and restores dignity to this honorable profession.

I loved this book! It's a story of a wife that found health AND success. When I read this, I could have been reading the story of my life, only I had brain surgery and was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder, neurosarcoidosis. AIM is a wonderful company. AIM has helped me to improve my quality of life and earn some extra money (Money was an extra bonus). Altho' written in fiction, this is anyone's story. It can be your story too! Read it today!

Wow! What a summary of all the excitement, emotions, ups and downs of being a human that has the courage to share something good with his fellow man. A networker will shout, cry, and laugh while reading. A non-networker will maybe finally realize that sharing your love for others instead of fearing others is the greatest goal of life. As Ron Price puts in his seminars we are here on this earth to live, love, learn and leave a legacy. I'm not an AIM distributor but Ron has done a great service to all MLM networkers. Thanks Ron!

Dr. Ruden is my Physician and all I will say is that he is the best doctor I have ever have. If I ever have to switch Insurance and have to go outta network to see him, I will.

When you read this book, let it be known that you are in good hands.

On Jan. 23/00 I was waxing and waning on the merits of this bio-balance approach to addiction. Well , confession time ; I wrote that the day I severed the bond (33 years) with nicotine How - Zyban - if that is O.K. to mention .... but somehow ,in someway , that particular concotion ... ( its really wellbutrin), did everything that Ruden talks about.... it is definitely in the neuro-chemical balance in the brain; for me it worked; it cut the chord so to speak; ever since I can decide that I do not wish, desire or want to smoke......and 347 days later still agree with delightful easement. If only the medical establishment would get serious and start doing some baseline metabolic type test : why did it work on me and not on .. Joe or Mary ???? Letsget with it!

Finally , something on , about addictions that seems to hit the proverbial nail on the head. A forward assault on the bottom line of'addiction' ..the craving brain .....the complex of neuro-chemicals , especially dopamine and serotonin , and the yin/yang; up.down ; getting the right balance. Presented as a theory ... as such holds the potential as a very fruitful theory.

I am a huge fan and relative of Herb's writings. He has a true gift for the written word and I have enjoyed all of his books. Herb, my prayers and thoughts are with you during these very trying times. I am thinking of you incessantly and the entire family prays for you daily. Godspeed.

Critics complain that he was a Johnny-One Note who played the same person over & over, & wasn't very good at it. I say this is Baloney.

The annecdotes & observations of the people who lived & worked with him that are found in this book show that he was able to do so much, physically, & emotionally with the characters he played.

You come away with a better sense of why you cheered, laughed, & cried under the spell of his performances. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the actions of his character, you still cared for him & cared about what happened to him

His friends, family, & co-workers loved & admired him & it shows very clearly in this wonderful book.

Sure, he drank, & smoked, & was a staunch anti-commie, but he was also a loyal, funny, kind & gentle family man who worked hard to perfect his craft & cared about his co-workers.

Read this book & understand.

"Duke We're Glad We Knew You" is an exellent book. People such as Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson, Lee Aaker, John Wayne's stepsister, and many more write of when they knew Duke.The foreward is written by Ronald Regan who knew Wayne personally. Author, Herb Fagen. interviewed many of them personally. The book has stories about how Wayne first got started in acting, his childhood,his marriages, his movies, and his death. I have really enjoyed this book.

A must for anyone who loves Tolkien! Very fine!

With the reissue of Tolkien's cover of "The Hobbit" and other original drawings that he did, it seems like an appropriate time to pick up this book. Why? Because for a really complete vision of Tolkien's work (Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, and all the rest) it's probably best to see it as he saw it.

This book contains all the artwork that Tolkien created (NOT all the artwork BASED on his works, just the stuff he did himself!). Some are miscellaneous sketches and doodles, some are watercolors, ink drawings, prints, pencil sketches, and combinations of all of the above. One doodle looks like multicolored snowflakes, some are landscapes or pictures of little houses, teddy bears, owls, and so on. Very cute and cool, especially the illustrations done for "Roverandum."

And many are Middle-Earth related -- different views of the Misty Mountains or the Elvenking's hall, the evolution of what the Shire looked like, different Laketowns, different "Doors of Durin," even drawings of the tattered pages of the Dwarf Book of Moria. Near the end, even Tolkien's design drawings for LOTR book covers are included. And, of course -- MAPS! Maps of Wilderland, as well as the famous map from "Hobbit."

The text accompanying these many pictures carefully dissects all of the drawings and their importance, as well as how they evolved. (It's a bit like looking at concept art) As well as going over only Tolkien's work, Wayne G. Hammond also examines influences on Tolkien's artwork. For example, there is a fairy-tale picture that influenced a "Hobbit" picture, and a scientific drawing of a golden eagle that influenced another "Hobbit" picture with Bilbo.

This is a must-read for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, a great peek into a great mind. And it emphasizes that Tolkien was not just a brilliant writer, but a brilliant artist as well. Great stuff, definitely a must-see.

This book sheds so much light on the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien, and it allows the reader to see what he saw and know what he thought. It is a fantastic read and an invaluable addition to any Tolkien library.

At one time or another, most of us will likely have to write code performing some amount of numerical computation beyond simple integer arithmetic. As many of us are neither mathematicians nor intimately familiar with the bit gymnastics our machines must perform in order to manipulate numbers, we can get ourselves into trouble if we're not careful. Luckily, "Java Number Cruncher" comes to the rescue.

This book is an introduction to numerical computing using Java providing "non-theoretical explanations of practical numerical algorithms." While this sounds like heady stuff, freshman level calculus should be sufficient to get the most out of this text.

The first three chapters are amazingly useful, and worth the price of admission alone. Mak does a fine job explaining in simple terms the pitfalls of even routine integer and floating-point calculations, and how to mitigate these problems. Along the way the reader learns the details of how Java represents numbers and why good math goes bad. The remainder of the book covers iterative computations, matrix operations, and several "fun" topics, including fractals and random number generation.

The author conveys his excitement for the subject in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand manner. Examples in Java clearly demonstrate the topics covered. Some may not like that the complete source is in-line with the text, but this is subjective. Overall, I found this book educational, interesting, and quite enjoyable to read.

Numerical computing in JAVA is an often-overlooked topic. So when this book came out, I couldn't wait to find out what it offers.

The first part of the book covers the pitfalls of doing numerical computing in JAVA. Do you know how many numeric data types JAVA have and what are the differences among them? Do you know which JAVA type, float or double, is more precise and which one should be used in your computation? Do you know what is a roundoff error and what operations could lead to such an error? Do you know how JAVA handles integer overflow, whether an overflow exception will be thrown? If there is a "No" to the above questions, you will benefit from reading the first part. The book starts to talk about computational algorithms in second part. The algorithms are between high school and college level. Although I didn't learn mathematics in English and haven't touched it for many years, I was able to understand most of them without much difficulty. The author does a great job in explaining mathematical theories in a clear and non-theoretical way. The graphical illustration helped me a lot at the same time. I also liked the style that all the source codes are presented in the book. Without having to sit in front of a computer, I can relax in a sofa, browse the codes, learn the implementations and highlight whatever inspired me. I had some trouble following part III, matrix, but still got excited when finding that 3-D animation could be done by matrix operations. The funs come back in the last part. The BigDecimal and BigInteger classes get introduced there and I was impressed by the extensive functionality JAVA delivers.

All in all, this book lives up to its title. Without the requirements of a strong methematical background, you'll find this book very informative and educational and essentially broaden your JAVA and programming skills. I realize more and more applications start to use JAVA for numerical programming, especially in the academic society where the web and rich GUI features of JAVA can bring better learning experience to students. One of my personal interests is to see some comparisons between JAVA and other languages in the aspects of numerical computing.

Numerical computing in JAVA is an often-overlooked topic. So when this book came out, I couldn't wait to find out what it offers.

The first part of the book covers the pitfalls of doing numerical computing in JAVA. Do you know how many numeric data types JAVA have and what are the differences among them? Do you know which JAVA type, float or double, is more precise and which one should be used in your computation? Do you know what is a roundoff error and what operations could lead to such an error? Do you know how JAVA handles integer overflow, whether an overflow exception will be thrown? If there is a "No" to the above questions, you will benefit from reading the first part. The book starts to talk about computational algorithms in second part. The algorithms are between high school and college level. Although I didn't learn mathematics in English and haven't touched it for many years, I was able to understand most of them without much difficulty. The author does a great job in explaining mathematical theories in a clear and non-theoretical way. The graphical illustration helped me a lot at the same time. I also liked the style that all the source codes are presented in the book. Without having to sit in front of a computer, I can relax in a sofa, browse the codes, learn the implementations and highlight whatever inspired me. I had some trouble following part III, matrix, but still got excited when finding that 3-D animation could be done by matrix operations. The funs come back in the last part. The BigDecimal and BigInteger classes get introduced there and I was impressed by the extensive functionality JAVA delivers.

All in all, this book lives up to its title. Without the requirements of a strong methematical background, you'll find this book very informative and educational and essentially broaden your JAVA and programming skills. I realize more and more applications start to use JAVA for numerical programming, especially in the academic society where the web and rich GUI features of JAVA can bring better learning experience to students. One of my personal interests is to see some comparisons between JAVA and other languages in the aspects of numerical computing.

After looking at all the JINI books available except the O'Reilly one, I found this book to be best....by far!
If you want to learn peer to peer computing, start with this book at page one and read all the way through...you will not be dissapointed.
It has everything, great on code...it will show you how to code JINI, philosophy, ideas, implementations etc...

Sing...when are you going to publish again??? You are great!
If you do, I hope its a topic that I need..

Thanks
- Adam

I used this book in parallell with other books.

Chapters on networking and RMI were very useful.

It helped me to understand Jini, though I got a lot of help reading other textbooks in parallell.

Issues on agent techonology were very interesting.

Mr. Li starts out with a section focusing on advanced RMI and CORBA, and how they relate to Jini. The CORBA section includes examples for building a Java client/server using the ORB that comes with the JDK, as well as using a C client on Linux with the free ORBit ORB. An excellent overview of CORBA for people who have never used it or simply haven't used it with Java.

His writing is detailed, explaining how things are done and why they're done that way; after reading this book you will have an excellent understanding of Jini. For example, the detailed discussion and the several examples on UDP multicast and how it is used in the Discovery protocol was quite fascinating. I found the case study chapters, accounts of real-life applications of Jini and JavaSpaces, to be very interesting to read as well.

Overall, an inforative, highly readable book aimed at advanced developers.