I use this book to teach my university-level students. As someone who prefers a practical approach to GIS, but still wishes to back it up with theory, I have great appreciation for this book. It provides an excellent overview of topics relevant to GIS without overwhelming computer-wary students. Don't be fooled by the colorful, pretty pictures in this book,though-this is a serious primer on almost every theoretical topic related to GIS. My students tell me they especially like how much of the theory is backed up with practical examples. I especially recommend this book to GIS professionals who wish they had a background in Geography. It tells you everything you need to know and little that you don't.

One caveat-if you are not an ESRI user (ArcInfo, ArcView, ArcGIS) this may not be the book for you. Although other software packages are covered in the examples, the focus is heavily on ESRI.

For years I've searched for a GIS textbook comparable in scope and design to the standard Biology, Geography or Physics text. The existing GIS texts were either overly dense or painfully reductionist, lacked the interdisciplinary range necessary to fully represent the art of GISc, were minimally illustrated and designed, and generally failed to inspire students and practitioners alike. The new textbook by Longley, et al, challenges the conventions of the GISc textbook and in the process raises the bar on what we should expect from these texts.

A few of the features of this marvelous text: Illustrated in glorious full color, includes the range of fields and disciplines making use of GISc (Civil Engineering, Geography, Urban Planning, Environmental Science, Business, etc.), presents GIS within its broader scientific context (the "GIScience" in the title), leads the reader through the discipline by first presenting the principles of the field, then the techniques, and finally gives real world examples in its practices section, written at a fundamental level yet doesn't shy away from advanced language and applications when appropriate.

A wonderful addition to GISc literature, I heartily recommend this text for any intermediate GISc course looking to explore the richness of this exciting field.

This is a book by Springer Verlag that came out if 1999. This book introduces a lot of useful statistical tools and has chapters written by statisticians and computer scientists. The editors also contribute. They emphasize useful tools and computer tools. It includes material from the artificial intelligence literature including fuzzy set logic, genetic algorithms and expert systems. There is some discussion of data mining, Bayesian methods and neural networks.

Chapters are written on an elementary level for students and pratictioners of modern data analysis techniques. Written mainly as a text but expanded to cover topics of interest to researchers in statistics and computer science by subject matter experts. The last chapter on Systems and Applications by Xiaohui Liu includes coverage of data quality. Among the references on data quality and outlier detection is the book edited by Wright "Statistical Methods and the Improvement of Data Quality". That book was a collection of papers from a conference held in Oak Ridge Tennessee in 1982. That volume was published by Academic Press in 1983. It is not often sighted in the statistical literature but it did contain a number of interesting papers. I contributed a chapter on influence function methods for outlier detection to the Academic Press book.

Hand has written many books on statistics and especially some excellent texts on classification and pattern recognition. His recent work on data mining was published in 1999 by MIT press, a volume he coauthored with Mannila and Smyth. it is one of teh few data mining texts that is highly regarded by the statistical community. Much of that work in referenced in this book particularly in Chapter 1, the overview chapter on intellegent data analysis that Hand wrote himself.

Resampling methods, generalized linear models, Bayesian methods, time series, multivariate analysis, random effects models and entropy are all covered with nice elementary introductions.

This is a great reference source with over 440 articles and books in the list of references.

This book provides a detailed presentation of several important approaches to intelligent data analysis. It has ten chapters, each chapter written by a different technical specialist. The book could well serve as a text for a graduate level course on data analysis. It also works well as a reference. There are many useful illustrations and examples.

The first part of this book is focused on classical statistical issues. Arguably, anyone seeking to perform advanced data analysis should have a working knowledge of this area. It is my personal observation that, unfortunately, many workers do not. This book provides a good way of gaining a broad understanding of statistical methods. My only caveat is that the discussion of naïve Bayesian classifiers could have been more extensive. (The chapter on general Bayesian classifiers is other wise well done.) Naïve Bayesian classifiers have been reasonably successful in machine learning and a more in depth treatment would have been useful.

The later chapters focus on machine learning. They provide useful introductions into: induction, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and stochastic search. These chapters are particularly useful to workers contemplating how to best perform advanced analysis of complex, large, and possibly imprecise data sets. Consequently, someone contemplating data mining or other intelligent data analysis applications should seriously consider acquiring this book.

I read this book during my course of IPE while studying an MBA. These book will really help students, financial advisors, CEO's, politicians and everyone involved in International Management to make better analysis and take better decisions. Some time people believes in a conspiracy and take events like a isolated things, the fact is that everything is related and the three major perspectives of the world are in constant conflict everyday. ¿The three major perspectives? Yes: The liberals and the free trade perspective, the nationalists and the structuralism or modern socialist. It also covers the green perspective (oriented to take care of the environment) . Balaam makes a very clear analysis and he doesn't take sides so you will understand the way thinks happen and the media and politicians will not cheat on you to push you to "take sides on poll's". Enjoy.

Unfortunately for those of us who teach International Political Economy to undergraduates on a regular basis, most text books on the subject are either better suited to a graduate-level course, or are still mired in the past. I am grateful to David Balaam and Michael Veseth for providing a fresh, up to date, approach. I particularly like the fact that they cover basic theory as well as the modern structures of the international system. Perhaps most important to me (because I expect my students to acutally read their text) is that their book can not only be understood by undergrads, it is far less likely to be used as a sleep aid that any of its competitors.

The entire series is excellent!!! I have all four and I highly reccomend them. They teach science, literature, native american culture, and give children a respect for the natural world at the same time. (there is even the occasional bit of math thrown in). My son loves doing the activities with me! Excellent for unit studies!

We use this book as a homeschool social studies/ecology resource. Each section begins with a Native American story related to the topic of the chapter, then moves on to a discussion of the subject matter. Each section also has activities/experiments, questions for review and discussion, and recommendations for materials for further study. My kids really look forward to each lesson in this book, because the information is presented in a fun manner, and the activities are appropriate for a wide-range of ages!

The entire series is excellent!!! I have all four and I highly reccomend them. They teach science, literature, native american culture, and give children a respect for the natural world at the same time. (there is even the occasional bit of math thrown in). My son loves doing the activities with me! Excellent for unit studies!

While all of the "Keepers" books are excellent in their presentation of Native American stories and activities to enhance learning about the natural world, this one is my hands-down favorite. There is something magical about the night, and we have strayed so far from that magic in our incandescent world. The stories and activities in this book will allow you to try and recapture some of the enchantment of the nocturnal world for your kids and maybe even for yourself.

The stories themselves are very tellable. I have had sixth graders learn and tell these tales. The activities are broken into categories, such as the night sky or nocturnal animals. This is an excellent resource for anyone working with groups such as Scouts or nature centers, wishing to incorporate enjoyable activities and stories into their night-time programming.

As humans have done for eons before us, take this guidebook with you to your next campfire, and share the magic of stories spun by fireside.

This book is perfect for kids and not bad for adults either. It is very clearly written and has outstanding illustrations. The health strategies and tips provided are done in the context of prevention... But things happen, accidents occur, kids get hurt. This book helps you and your children learn/know what to do in these situations. A fun, interesting, read.

I have 2 young children (ages 5 and 9 yrs old) myself and helping them understand what happens to their bodies when they hurt themselves is tough to do. Not to mention what to do when they are injured. Sometimes it is more "scared about the unknown" than anything. This book really helps the child research and learn how their bodies tell them when they are hurt and how to take care of the simpler injuries themselves. Plus,the format of the book draws them into learning about their bodies before an injury occurs. The illustrations are funny and help drive the points home in a kids kind of way. Great book and my daughter is already trying out the different first aid techniques in advance. Teach the child and you have taught the adult forever!

A LAND SO REMOTE

Prior to the holidays, I received a great gift, a copy of the beautifully produced three-volume study A Land So Remote, authored by Larry Frank and Skip Miller, and published by Marianne and Michael O'Shaughnessy of Red Crane Books, Publishers, Santa Fe.
Creation of a successful publication of this magnitude can only be accomplished by many who work in concert, in this case scholar, editor, publisher and, of course, those who are willing to share their treasures with anyone wishing to turn the pages in this landmark study. Frank and Miller have devoted a large percentage of their lives carefully studying and painstakingly handling objects-some of religious importance, powerful images that were the subject of daily devotion, while other objects that served a useful function in the lives of hundreds of thousands attempting to make their lives easier. To the Hispanic, Native American, and the Anglo, these objects were an integral part of daily life-whether as an expression of their spirituality, their intense religious devotion-- or to enable them to perform certain physical tasks-- cutting wood or baking bread.
The authors, in concert with photographer Michael O'Shaughnessy, have treated each object sympathetically, whether it be a santo or bulto, or packsaddle or carreta wheels, with the same level of care, even reverence. The real joy is in seeing so many diverse objects fashioned out of wood and other materials in significant numbers. How often have we had the opportunity of examining page after page of images beautifully organized and described. The authors, of course, treat us to a display of work by lesser known santeros, as well as the most celebrated, notably José Rafael Aragon. Volume two devotes pages 288 to 377 to some of the most powerful religious images by Aragon and his followers that the reader will ever experience.
Since 1974, I have been a frequent visitor to New Mexico and have written a few books on the Anglo painters. After reading Miller's and Frank's essays, I said to myself, "I wish I had written these words. Both scholars write with conviction and authority. They also write in a style I have labeled "an easy read." They have organized their material so that it makes sense. You understand why the objects were created, who created them and importantly, how they were created. Happily, these objects, some still in the churches in Ranchos de Taos, Chimayo, Taos, and chapels throughout the Southwest, others in museums and private collections, have been "gathered" and presented to the reader and viewer in a beautiful and effective manner (I was tempted to use the phrase elegant but refrained).
All reviews of the publication praise A Land So Remote for its visual appeal, handsome photographs," fascinating account of the history and culture of Hispanic New Mexico," scholarship, a major contribution to Hispanic studies. One critic even suggested that, before being placed in a glass case [with other rare books], it might serve as a coffee table book. Never! If anything, it will be a banquet table book, and will be the scene of great feasts-visual and literary. But their words, like mine, fail to express the impact this handsome three-volume study will have on you-the participant. This study will, like the objects that it treats, transcends time. Secure your copy. I can assure you that it will never gather dust (although it will go out-of-print).

Dean A. Porter, Ph. D.
Director Emeritus, The Snite Museum of Art
Professor of Art History
University of Notre Dame

Published by the vaunted Red Crane Books of Santa Fe, New Mexico, this three volume set on religious art and wooden artifacts of New Mexico is a rare, rich visual and intellectual repast. It would be a treasured gift, one to which collectors and aficionados will return time and again.

Larry Frank is remembered for "The New Kingdom of the Saints" (1997), while Skip Miller is curator and director, Taos Historic Museums.

With 842 stunning color photographs and 848 pages A Land so Remote surely holds the most comprehensive and accessible information on this subject. Many of the photos included are of rare objects gleaned from nine museums and a number of private collections. Carefully selected for the part each plays in this artistic corpus, photos are accompanied by concise essays that enhance knowledge while still piquing an interest to know more.

Volumes I and II beautifully present the growth of religious art during a period of over 125 years. It was a time when in order to undergird their faith Spanish settlers turned to santos, visual representations of saints. Thus was born an art form unique to America which once was of great import in churches, communities and homes.. Santos were, if you will, incarnations of the hopes and dreams of these immigrants.

"Rightly understood," author Frank remarks, "santos are a kind of 'liberation theology' written in the language of wood, plaster, and paint, an understanding of Christianity that empowers the poor to free themselves from unjust socioeconomic and cultural structures in the larger world and within themselves.

Volume III centers on wooden objects, such as tools, furniture, toys, and domestic utensils. These objects testify to the influence of the Spanish on the traditions of the indigenous inhabitants of this region.

Photographer Michael O'Shaughnessy described his task as a "...wonderful, often awesome, experience of having such close contact with material that radiates the love and importance that their makers brought to their creation."

Such is the case with readers as they leaf through the pages of these landmark volumes.

- Gail Cooke

What a wonderful tool this little book is. This LP guide to the midatlantic states provides information that both a foreign tourist coming to the area for the first time and a local searching for a new experience will find useful. In addition to being chock full of information the text is illuminating and humorous reading as well.

Of all the guidebooks I've read, I've found this guide to be the most helpful, well setout, motivating book yet. I've been in New York for 1 month now and I have found the book invaluable. I especially like the sections on transport. It offers choices not just a statement of what you need to do. Also, the way the attractions are all logically set out by areas is helpful in trying to plan your days and getting the most out of them. I will be in New york for the next 11 months and I'm sure I will continue to use my 'bible of New York' till I leave. Well done Lonely planet

Dear Readers, This book is a really "Soul Catching" book. It's amazing, once you start reading it, the book will grab your soul, and the first time I read it, when I finished, I felt like I was MJ! If you like "lending" your soul to a book, and you love sports, this is the book for you. See ya' later!

I love this book. It reaches deep into the soul of the reader and MJ! I'm waiting for the sequel! (hint, hint)

Higly recomendable for those people who enjoys Michael's music and philosophie

Michael Jackson is a legend. His music is the best, his videos are the best, all of him is the best. And, of course, his book is the best. A great biography his, and by his own words. Great.