This was better than the movie, only because it was had more room to fill in details, draw our attention to small touches, and give more of an internal view of the characters. Peter David seems to have a real feel for the characters within the Babylon 5 universe, and there are no jarring notes struck throughout the book.

If only the Dell series of books had been able to approach this general quality of writing.

I have read many of Peter David's Star Trek novels before. Some of them were Ok and others were very good. However, this one is excellent. The writing was wonderful. I couldn't stop reading it! I never saw the movie but if it's anything like the book I will definitely watch it.

By far the best of the Babylon 5 movies, the book form may also be the best of its kind. The Earth-Minbari war is one of the key elements of the Babylon 5 universe, but its origins and (more importantly) implications were not fully covered in the series.

The story is full, fast-paced, and totally consistent with the B5 universe. The book adds depth and character to the already rich scenes from the screenplay. Read it. Today.

Finally some insight into Chris Parker! Laura Antoniou pleases her readers by continuing her series set in the world of the "Marketplace" which many of those in the SM community wish existed, I'm sure. If you've read the first three books in this series, you'll be well equipped you jump into the Academy and learn along side the trainers and spotters. Many questions from the previous novels are answered in intelligent and arousing ways. Even better, the format, a novel with short stories interwoven into it, allows one to easily return to a section or two to enjoy over and over if one wants a more immediate form of gratification. Kudos to Ms. Antoniou for this novel and these short stories! It was well worth the wait.

If you noticed anything about S/M fiction in over the last year or so, then you know that it's been impossible to get your hands on any of the Marketplace books. When Masquerade Books released the third book in the series, The Trainer, it quickly went through two printings before vanishing from sight. Why? Because Masquerade Books vanished from sight. Yes, no matter how many Masquerade Books you may see on your local Borders bookshelves, they are actually no longer in business.

Fear not. Mystic Rose Books has picked up where Masquerade Books left off, continuing Laura Antoniou's celebrated Marketplace series with the release of The Academy: Tales of the Marketplace. Set in Japan, Antoniou's newest novel places trainer Chris Parker in the heat of the Marketplace's annual gathering where he must present a proposal that could threaten a schism within its ranks. Parker's deft maneuvering amid the politics of the Marketplace becomes a lesson in savvy thinking and honorable actions for the reader.

And that's only part of the novel's rich content. Again, we're treated to Michael LaGuardia and his ongoing struggle to become a trainer. We witness more of the Marketplace in all its variety with pony and dog trainers, in its world-wide diversity which ranges from the upper crust of English society to the wild, wild west of Canada's northwest to the formality and stern expectations of Japanese mores. Plus, we learn even more about the elusive Chris Parker's identity (a Must Do for Parker fans). And, yes, there's the occasional orgy and hot sex too.

However, the one-hand pages are few. Antoniou intentionally puts the sex on simmer so she can turn up the heat on the world-building and she applies the same skill that SF/F writers use in their craft to her book. The result? The Marketplace has never been more fully rendered, and Antoniou's novels are pretty much the only pieces of S/M fiction that explore the inner workings of its world more than it explores sex and sexuality. (And I'd like to think the S/M reading world is big enough to accommodate and celebrate her brand of fiction.)

Just as innovative as Antoniou's world-building focus is her invention and use of her "novelogy" template. She invited authors Karen Taylor, david stein, M. Christian, Cecelia Tan, and Michael Hernandez to contribute a series of short stories to The Academy's pages. Each story weaves itself into the overall novel and furthers the lore of the Marketplace. On the whole, the stories explore everything from the first moments of submission to spotters gone wrong to husband hunting via the Marketplace.

Best of all, as you grow use to the stories' presence in the novel, you find that their interludes begin to take on a Canterbury Tales feel to them. You begin to enjoy their place and presence and look forward to one character or another interrupting the novel to tell you a story. I found the novelogy a warm and wonderful thing and I became as rapt as a child during kindergarten story time.

Perhaps the only real criticism I have with The Academy is Michael LaGuardia's role in the novel. Between The Trainer and The Academy, I invested a lot of energy in Michael (even when I didn't like him), and when Anderson reveals LaGuardia's most likely outcome to Parker and then to see it played out in a few swift pages, it all felt very abrupt and dismaying. Even if Michael's route was preordained, it was worthy of a novel in and of itself, given the amount of time readers have spent with him.

The Academy has smaller quirks as well, too. It's obvious that Antoniou wrote the novel some time ago, what with references to Hong Kong's impending (and now passed) return to mainland China and to the emerging (and now dominant) "World WideWeb." On the one hand, those passages do capture S/M sentiments circa 1996 and, in time, these portrayals will become charming. On the other hand, it does mark just how long Antoniou has waited for this novel to see print and reminds me just how disruptive Masquerade's demise has been for established authors.

Laura's getting back on track, though. Mystic Rose Books will release the first three Marketplace books in coming months, plus Laura's fifth Marketplace book, The Reunion, will follow soon after. She's even at work on a sixth novel, The Inheritor. Given the rich tapestry that Antoniou wove in her newest novel and given the pent-up demand for Marketplace books, the new novels can't see print soon enough. Which is a wonderful position to be in.

After too many years of waiting for the 4th MarketPlace book to come out, Ms Antoniou has gifted her fans with a continuation of her entertaining, thought-provoking, and mentally stimulating world of a fictional modern day consentual slave market. There are new characters to get to know and love or hate. Characters from previous books are re-visited and details gone into about some of the more intriging personalities. The novelogy style of the book works well, and the transition from story to story and author to author is done in such a way that it doesn't interfer with the reader's enjoyment of the various tales of politics, self discovery, and yes, the occassional orgy, though not quite like what one might think. It's much better. If your tastes are to sit back with a series of stories about things that could really happen, that you might have wished would happen, and dream might happen to you one day, this book as well as the other MP books, are for you. This book pulls you in, brings you into the character's lives, and makes you care about them. Everything a well written book, no matter what the subject matter, should do. Laura Antoniou gives her readers writings of substance, a meal instead of a light snack.

Excellent book, and extremely informative; I just completed the EMT-Basic course and the National Registry exam. The book was a wonderful source of knowledge, and reference. What I would like to see is perhaps a cheaper, paperback version of the book come out; we completed the course and had to return the book, and I just think that if it was more accessible, more students would have purchased it, instead of signing it out.

As a future EMT-B student I wanted to buy some books prior to my course beginning. I bought Mosby's, Aehlert's, and Brady's books. I finally got to this one (being the last I was to read), and have to say this is the best Ive seen so far. With clear concise text, and abundance of knowledge, real life situations, and amazing pictures (which Aehlert's has almost none of), I must say that this book is not only the most informative, but is also the most user friendly. It has a great index, glossary, and the anatomy pictures are cut outs of REAL humans. I mean it just doesn't get any better than this. I just found out a few days ago this is the book my instructor is going to use, and for a good reason!

This EMT Emergency book ROCKS! As an EMT student, I find this book to surpass all other EMT books in print. The whole class loves the book as well. I recommend getting the, self study Workbook that accompanies the textbook. Without a doubt, it wins a Gold Metal and a Five Star Award for outstanding publication and instruction into the field of the EMT - Basic.

I bought this book as a present for my husband who happens to be a major Seinfeld fan. The book was terrific! It has black and white photos of the casts last days on the set with their comments. This book is perfect for all heavy duty Seinfeld fans. Crys

This is a great book... wonderful pictures! From "Hello Newman!" to watching Kramer run into Jerry's apartment, but from KRAMER'S side... These are all execellent pictures and excellent moments. Each of the cast members ideas and thoughts about the serious. Plus, you get pictures of EVERYONE, even Babu, Soup Nazi, Mr. Pit, the Constanzas, the Susan's parents, and many more...

Seinoff (1998 Harperperennial Library, written by Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards, and David Hume Kennerly) A photojournalists dream; to be the only photographer on the set during the week of the Final episode taping. This was Kennerly's assignment, and he completed it extremely well, capturing some of the quiet/secret moments fans rarely, if ever, get a glimpse of. Cover to cover black and white photos of the cast and crew, the sets and props, and this is only half of the book. Along with the photos are some of the best, most sensitive, most revealing quotes from Jerry, Michael, Jason and Julia that have ever appeared in print. This is only the 2nd 'coffee table book' that's worthy to sit on my coffee table. (Kramer wrote the first one.)

Too many books talk about how to secure a network, and discuss network-based attacks, but this book is different; it covers how to design, build and test the code at the end of the pipe - the application software.

The book is complete in its explanation of how to make sure your application code, be it web-based or otherwise, is secured from attack.

I learned a great deal from this book, and, based on code and design reviews of my company's code, the authors obviously know what they are talking about - as we made a lot of fixes, and added many new security test cases to our test suites.

Simply put, we never knew we had problems, until we read this book, now it's mandatory reading for all our software engineers.

I bought this book after the *Bill Gates* email came out about Microsoft being serious about security. I figured that when he sends email like this to the company, it's important. And when **he recommends this book** in the email, it's something worth looking at. It is - Writing Secure Code is great. It's an easy read, full of great design, development and testing principles and ideas.

The first couple of chapters revolve around design, in fact ch2 is over 70pp long, and it's all about how to design secure systems.

The bulk of the book focuses on secure coding, including buffer overruns, sockets, RPC, COM, Crypto, canoniclization issues, least privilege, storing secret data, Web apps - and more!

The last part of the book discusses common .NET coding errors, and how to build security test plans.

What makes this book utterly unique is it really teaches you how to design and test secure applications, as well as how to write them. The design and test stuff I have seen nowhere else.

The book is worth every penny, and I now know why Bill Gates recommends the book to all Microsoft developers.

I got this book for free from Microsoft, because our company became a Microsoft Partner. I must admit that at first I was a little bit sceptical about it, because afterall this book is published by Microsoft and they have this reputation of selling rather insecure software themselves. But after reading the first few sections I knew it was going to be a very good read.

The book explains in very clear language almost every aspect of secure programming and gives a good overview of all common security flaws that can (and will!) enter your programming code. You'll learn how to securely design, implement, test and deploy your programs. Ofcourse buffer overruns are handled (Public Enemy #1 according to the authors), but that's only the tip of the iceberg. The book does a great job by identifying and providing solutions to common security pitfalls. Topics that are handled include: database access, user privileges and Access Control, Cryptography, handling secret data, user input, encoding and internationalization, RPC, DCOM, DOS attacks, .NET and writing secure program documentation.

I recommend this book to every programmer out there, even if you're not programming for the Win32-platform. Don't let the fact that this is a Microsoft publication refrain you from buying this book. If you are serious about writing secure programs this is the book to get.

After taking eight Microsoft exams, Win98 is the hardest that I have found and I am very thankful to have had this book to help me through it. The Exam Cram series has been wonderful and this installation is no exception. Of all the study guides that I used for the Win98 exam, this one was by far the best. I would suggest supplimenting it with the Windows 98 Resource Kit.

I am currently self-studying to obtain my MCSE. This was the third book I picked up to study for 70-098. I wish it was the first! An over-abundance of information, no messy typos and technical errors. I read the Sybex book and they left a lot of details out that I needed for the test! This book is great and may be the only one you ever need however I also recommend the white & green paperback books - Accelerated MCSE Windows 98 70-098 as a supplement to this book. Those two together are an excellent pair. Forget about the Sybex book, too many typos and sloppy writing prevent it from being truely useful. I passed the exam with 709/1000 BTW... barely passed on the first shot.

As is the case for all the Exam Cram books I've used, this is the best study guide on the market. It is packed full of the information you'll need in order to pass the exam. I thought I was ready to pass, until I picked up this book and learned quite a few little nuances of Windows 98 that I hadn't used before and/or wasn't familiar with. It also provides many study tips and exam taking tips for those who are new to the certification exams. Highly recommended!

This book advocates a new force structure for the US Army. Current US forces are composed of heavy 2D mechanized forces, and light Airborne and Air Assault capable infantry units. The heavy forces have great tactical mobility, but no strategic or operational mobility. The light forces are opposite, with great operational and strategic mobility, but are foot mounted upon arrival on the battlefield.

This book proposes a helicopter transportable light mechanized force for the US Army. This force would give the Air-Mech troops much greater firepower and mobility than the current airborne/air-assault units have. It would also remain air transportable for vertical (3D) envelopment (impossible with heavy mechanized units), as well as having a much smaller logistics requirement than the current heavy mechanized force.

The concept is significant for the US, but is already employed (in a modified form) by Russia. The book is a bit heavy on specific details such as vehicle modifications, and weapons configurations rather than the theories or concepts showing how such a unit will be employed tactically (it covers operational deployment well).It also has little coverage of the USSR/Russian experience with this type of organization.

This is a multi-authored book, and takes the form of a series of chapters rather than an integrated work by one man. As a result many issues are covered in duplicate. As a side note, the book constantly assigns made up names to armored vehicles such as the M-113 or the German Wiesel. These are not officially assigned or recognized names. This ametuerish touch only confuses readers who might not be familiar with gimmicky renaming.

Had the book spent more time explaining the potential tactical employment of the ideas, along with how it will fit in with the new 4th Generation Warfare models now being explored I would have rated it higher. Coming up with a good military theory is only half the battle. Effectively conveying these ideas and why they are important is the other half. This book achieves the first requirement, but fails on the second.

Overall this is an important book in that it proposes significant and valid changes to US Army structure. It is a diamond in the rough, and if the reader can tolerate the various issues mentioned above it is worthwhile.

My first impression, thinking about 2 dimension warfare and three dimensions with lethal, airmobile fighting platforms, was how heavy Army forces have done the powerful, ground assaults in 2 dimensions, with huge linemen like 70 ton M1 tanks, but with Air Mech Strike, it's like technique called 'passing' has been made available. When passing (3D air mech maneuver) was introduced into football, many probably hated it, but where would NFL and college football be today with passing, interceptions, etc. 3D and 2D can 'work' together, just like football is the metaphor for War (principles are similar - Mass, Maneuver, Unity of Command, Economy of Force, Surprise, Simplicity, Security, Objective and Offense.....)

With 3D Air Mech and 2D heavy forces, we have more synergy and options to defeat the enemy, get the 'drop' on them, take the offense, make first downs and get in end zone. Now of course Air Defense can be very dangerous to Air Mech, but so are interceptions in passing game, there is RISK, and Quarterback and receivers DEMAND training, just as future Air Mech Strike troopers should be highly trained and have superb leaders, just like the couragous airborne and glider troops of the 101 Airborne and 82nd, led by great men like General Gavin and General Ridgeway. The brave troopers of 1-7 Cav at Ia Drang with then LTC Moore and other pioneers of airmobility in the First Cav, Big Red One and almost every unit in Vietnam pushed airmobility. Too bad our skills have withered, and it's time to renew those skills. This book is rich with materials, references, and graphics all well balanced to offer a 3 dimensional vision of future war, grounded on historical and current scenarios.

It's time for the Army and rest of DOD to get serious and find some good 'passing' QBs and great Receivers' to make this unique and bold doctrine effective for a powerful 2D and 3D American military on any field of battle, not just in the Superbowl!

Attention readers!

Remember March 15, 2002 well!

This was the day the U.S. Army conducted its first helicopter-based Air-Mech-Strike combat assault in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda...just like described in the book. Co-author Major Charles Jarnot is in Aghanistan NOW and he emailed me the following description:

Air-Mech-Strike in Afghanistan!

The war in Afghanistan has seen several combat firsts for the U.S. Military, first use of an armed un-manned aerial vehicle and the first use of the B-1B Bombers in a close air support role to name just a few. Now in Operation Anaconda another first for the U.S. Army, the first employment of helo-based airmechanized forces by a U.S. field commander in combat, complements of the 3rd Battalion of the famed Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group.

On March 15, 2002, the Canadians attached to the U.S. Army's 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division, used U.S. Army CH-47D Chinooks to air assault their armored tracked BV-206 airmechanized vehicles into the operation Anaconda fight.

Airmechanization is a relatively new maneuver warfare doctrine extensively developed by numerous European armies. First theorized in the 1930s by Soviet Field Marshall Tuchachevskiy, today the Russian, British and German armies have fielded airmechanized brigade and division sized units. The concept involves the vertical insertion of tracked combat vehicles via helicopter and fixed wing para-drops. The idea is to use aircraft to break friction with the ground and cross vast treks of terrain and obstacles to quickly gain positional advantage. Once inserted, the mechanized vehicles provide the vertically inserted force with tracked terrain mobility, protection against small-arms and shrapnel and significant increase in firepower via the heavier weapons carried on the vehicles vice foot mobile troops inserted by parachute or helicopter.

The technical challenge to airmechanization is how to build a tracked combat vehicle that has sufficient protection and weapon capacity yet light enough to transported by helicopter or parachute. Advances in information/reconnaissance technology, weapon lethality versus weight and the increases in aircraft
lift performance have all contributed to the boom in airmechanization. Today five other countries beside Russia, Britain and Germany, are in the process of fielding airmechanized brigades, including China. The most expensive part of this concept is the fielding of large numbers of heavy lift helicopters and short field cargo airplanes. The vehicles themselves are relatively inexpensive. In the U.S. Military, the critical air component is already in place with over 600 heavy lift CH-47D Chinook and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters and 500 plus C-130 Hercules aircraft in the inventory.

But what about the risk posed by ultra-light combat vehicles? Isnt massive armor needed to survive? Lightweight Airmechanized vehicles (AMVs), like those employed by the Canadians in Anaconda, might seem on the surface to be extremely vulnerable. But surviving on the battlefields of Afghanistan may demonstrate a shift in this traditional paradigm. For example, the greatest risk to vehicle movement in Afghanistan is not Taliban/Al-Quedas Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), but rather the millions of land mines laid throughout the country. The Canadian BV-206 AMV used in Anaconda mitigates this risk by virtue of the very light weight and tracked suspension that results in extremely light
ground pressure. This not only contributes to its excellent terrain agility but makes anti-tank mine detonation a very small probability since the BV-206 ground pressure is far below the minimum necessary to set off a typical anti-tank mine.

Wheeled combat vehicles on the other hand, are extremely vulnerable to land mines due to the high ground pressure characteristic of typical wheeled vehicles. The separate cabs of the BV-206 also lessens the potential casualty effects of RPGs by compartmentalizing the blast areas. The lightweight also means that it can approach the enemy from terrain deemed non-useable by heavier armor and thus lessens the chances of moving into a planned vehicular kill zone. These features combined with the lethality of high tech weapons like the Javelin anti-tank guided missile (50 pounds and 2,500 meters range) and light weight auto cannons and grenade launchers like the M-230 or ASP-30 30-mm and the Mark-19 40-mm make AMVs a deadly package for their size.

Airmechanization, a competitor for the Armys planned transformation based on the Striker wheeled armored vehicle? Intuitively all new ideas are intellectually competitive with older concepts and the same is true of the 3-Deminsional airmechanization idea versus the 2-Diminsional Striker program. But in practical application there is no conflict. As most professional Soldiers know, combat is a combined-arms affair where different weapons, platforms and the specialties of different organizations combine to have a collective greater effect than any one part. The Armys Striker transformation is slated for the light infantry divisions and some of the heavier formations. Airmechanization would be more applicable to the Armys Airborne and Air Assault units where the Striker is not scheduled for fielding. As the European armies who have fielded airmechanized formations will tell you. These agile forced-entry units are battlefield enablers to heavier forces and
not necessarily their future replacement.

Like the use of the armed predator UAV in Afghanistan, this first modest employment of airmechanized forces in Anaconda will undoubtedly generate heated debate on the utility of this new and controversial maneuver doctrine. This historical event may be the catalyst for the U.S. Army to convert its own airborne and air assault divisions along the European Airmechanized models or like the ill-fated Pentomic Divisions of the 1950s, be simply a flash in the pan. Still the question that this event will pose for the U.S. Army as whole is the continued validity of parachuting or helo-insertion of dismounted troops close to the enemys crucible of anti-aircraft fire, shoulder-fired missiles and RPGs. The American public and our enemies, should know that the U.S. Armys leadership in Afghanistan is not tied doggedly to any written doctrine. The first use of airmechanized forces in combat by an American commander demonstrates the mental agility and creative prowess of a unified effort that will "leave no stone unturned" in its effort
to defeat the Al Queda and Taliban, to include employing a Canadian airmechanized force!

Major Chuck Jarnot, 101st Airborne Division Liaison
Officer in Afghanistan

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a scary tall tale told in the quiet town of Sleepy Hollow. It all starts out when Ichabod Crane(an intelligent school teacher) goes to a party at the Van Tassel's house. At the party a mean guy named Brom Bones tells a scary tale, about a headless horseman from the Revolutionary War. It was told that he roamed the night looking for his head, which he lost in battle. That night Ichabod had to ride home, he was very frightened. Lets just say Ichabod was never seen again, the only thing found the next day was his hat.
The legend of Sleepy Hollow is a great thriller. You can tell the tale at night, when you have a sleepover, or around a campfire. The book has a good story line and can be easily followed. I hope you don't get too scared when you read about the Headless Horseman...

Will Moses' illustrated retelling of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow rivals Arthur Rackham's near century-old version as the best edition of the book ever published. The Rackham version, with its moody, archetypal illustrations, has the slight edge, as it contains Irving's full original text in addition to Rackham's spectacular artwork.

However, Moses's simplification of the narrative is masterfully executed, and the colorful, playful, and numerous paintings which adorn the book have a warm period charm of genuine Americana. Moses portrays the Hudson River Valley as a lush expansive valley not unlike the Garden of Eden on the first day of creation. Happy farmers, their wives and children, cows, geese, ducks and pigs frolic together amid fields of wheat and corn; galleons approach dramatically from the river; and the Catskill Mountains, sun, and sky suggested an infinite panorama and endless horizon full of promise.

The story tells us that the Dutch colonists were a superstitious lot, and that the Sleepy Hollow region itself was or seemed to be under a spell of some kind. The farmers and their wives suspected witchcraft; strange music was heard in the air; visions were seen; and the inhabitants themselves lived their lives in a kind of continuous dreamy revery. These tales and superstitions give rise to the legend of the headless horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a canon ball in the war, and now nightly prowling the region in search of it. Moses' nocturnal landscapes of the swamps, hills and the Old Dutch Cemetery under a bright harvest moon are particularly effective. Significantly, these stark, haunted landscapes do not violate the spirit of the book, but enrich its sense of wonder.

Moses' Ichabod is a cheerful but somewhat hapless fellow, confident and foolish in equal parts. His Katrina is a strong but innocent blond beauty, and a friend to children. Brom Bones is an appropriately square-shouldered, square-jawed hooligan, rowdy and full of mischief, if not absolute spite.

Anyone familiar with the tale knows that it is not a horror story but a folktale, a fireside spook story, and a 'legend' as Irving, writing here as Diedrich Knickerbocker, himself called it. This edition of the book is appropriate for children but is equally suitable for adults. Highly recommended.

Have you ever heard of the Headless Horseman? Have you ever heard the stories about him and how he attacks people in the woods? Have you ever wondered whether or not the story is real?

Find out for yourself by reading Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I enjoyed reading this book and i think anyone who has a liking for mysterious legends and superstitions should read this book beacause of the interesting legend the town believes in. There are few characters to keep track of and the story is not hard to follow. The book is long but the reading goes quickly.

The story is set in the late 18th century in a town in New York called Sleepy Hollow. The town believes in a legend of a headless horseman who rides through the woods at night anf attacks people. The main character is a man named Ichabod Crane who is a schoolteacher from Connecticut. He moves to Sleepy Hollow in search of work and ends up going from home to home working as a tutor. One of his students is 18 year old Katrina Van Tassel who comes from a wealthy family. Ichabod gets the idea that he will try to marry Katrina in order to obtain the family's wealth. However, Katrina's boyrfriend Abraham "Brom Bones" Brut has other plans for Ichabod. As the tension rises, Ichabod continues trying to win Katrina until a breathtaking surprise appearance by the town's legend creates as mysterious an ending as they come.

The book has many strengths and few weaknesses. The author manages to create a mood in the book that keeps you always on th edge of your seat waiting for the legend of the Headless Horseman to come into play. The story is simple and easy to follow but is still very interesting. The characters are developed well and have personalities that you can understand and relate to. One such character is Brom Bones who is easily seen as an arrogant egotist. The only weakness of the book was one based on my personal opinion. The end of the story leaves too much to be concluded for my liking.

All in all, this book was a great story. The author wrote the characters in such a way that you had definite feelings towards each one of them. Also, the story line was definitely not without surprise. But if you want to discover what surprises I am talking about then I suggest you read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

This is an excellent book for those who are new to setting up LANs in their homes. It covers all of the essentials and many of the advanced issues thoroughly and in an educational manner. A good companion to this book (not a substitute) is Michael Wolf's "Speed! Understanding and Installing Home Networks". If you get both of these books you will be very well informed, able to install your own home LAN, share the internet, etc. Very readable, very useful, and very complete.

David Strom's Home Networking book is a must have. If you read it you'll get a good tutorial on how things work. If you have things that don't work you can use it as a troubleshooting guide. It is very comprehensive -- includes both PC and the Mac and numerious networking vendors. I recommend the book for anyone who wants or needs to know more about how to share computers and printers and files in their home.

Lots of books explain how to network your home. David Strom's "Home Networking Survival Guide" is better. Here's why: Strom doesn't look down on you like you are a "dummy" or an "idiot." Unlike some other books, the tone in which Strom writes is never condescending, never preachy. It's just you and Dave, sittin' on the patio in the back yard, sippin' lemonade, watchin' the clouds float by, and having a good ol' talk about sharing PCs and Macs, files, printers, and that all important Internet connection. Dave puts his arm around your shoulder, says "come with me," and he shows you the way. He won't make you feel stupid. You've become his partner, not his lab experiment.
The chapters are concept-based: home wiring (or wireless) choices, sharing files, sharing printers, sharing an Internet connection, using e-mail, intrusion security, and protecting your family--from their own actions.

Dave walks you through choosing and installing a solution, but he doesn't just dictate a list of steps to follow. He takes the time to explain why. Too many books just say 'do this' without educating the reader. What good is that?

In summary, this book is like that blue blanket you had as a kid. It makes you feel secure and empowers you to conquer, well, home networking in this case. Next time your cable company or phone carrier says you can't have several computers on your cable or DSL connection, you'll know better.

-Joel Shore, Reference Guide Inc.

This reference has more or less picked up the torch from the late lamented "Baseball Encyclopedia," and is indispensible for serious fans (and probably casual ones as well).

Included in the hefty (nearly 2,000 pages) volume is everything you'd expect (player stats, franchise histories, postseason results) and a number of things you might not (Curt Smith's wonderful roster of radio/TV announcers, for instance). It's perfect for whiling away the hours on rainy Sunday afternoons, and invaluable for settling arguments or answering trivia questions.

It would be nice if the next edition included a few more historical essays such as those found in its NFL counterpart, "Total Football II." That's a minor quibble, however, and perhaps impractical considering the voluminous size of the current book. All in all, this is a must-buy for baseball lovers.

Total Baseball is definitely a must for every baseball fan, from hardcore to casual. And it can be a gateway for many who haven't enjoyed the blessings of this beautiful game. There's everything you need to know: from team histories, great essays on the Negro Leagues. There's stuff for the stat nut as well: from sabermetrics to a handy guide on how to score a game, some insights on Women and Baseball, and of course, the hefty, precise and so accurate register of every player in Major League history. There's even a chapter on International Baseball results, that suprisingly, does NOT include the champions of the Venezuelan League, and does have the Dominican and Mexican team champions. Anyway, all in all, if you love baseball or simply you want to understand baseball, this book is for you.

Total Baseball is to baseball what the Beatles' songbook is to rock n' roll music, with authors Thorn and Palmer the Lennon-McCartney of baseball composers. It is a work of mind-numbing thoroughness, the baseball reference to end all references. The prose section includes the story of baseball from every region of the world. Also included are "The True Father of Baseball" and a lively new section of quotes. There are dozens of other sections, including the complete voting for every MVP award ever bestowed and diagrams -- including fence distances -- of every Major League park ever played in. Want to find out the Brooklyn Dodgers total attendance the year before they left for Los Angeles or the attendance of any other team in a any other season? It's in here. The register includes complete records of the nearly 15,000 men who have ever tied on spikes. The statistical derivations, including algorithms, are the standards and most ambitious ever done. For the rue fan, this is it: nearly 2,700 pages of baseball bliss.