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I found this book extremely well written. The descriptions have excellent clarity and gradually lead you to the real complexity of the topic at hand. No room for misunderstanding or confusion! Figures and Tables are liberally used and illustrate the topics really well. My knowledge of Datacomm/Networking increased tremendously after reading the book just for a few days. The book includes basics as well as the latest in data comm. protocols and networking devices. I highly recommend this book to a beginner as well as an expert.
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This comic book contains one hundred Zen Tales (koans), and I have heard some of them before. They seem to gain something when presented in this format. The author brings out something of the shock that is enlightenment that I hadn't really felt in the stroies before. The artwork is simple, yet effective. The writing is the same. The ideas conveyed are both profound and obvious. And, of course, it is a very enjoyable read.
In the 1925-27 revolutionary upheaval, the Communist Party achieved a decisive leadership position among the masses of urban workers in China. But the party, under Mao's leadership, and working along the lines of Comintern policy, attempted to build an alliance with Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang. The Kuomintang was a nationalist party increasingly coming under the control of China's tyrannical landlords. This mistaken policy resulted in a massacre of the Communist-led workers in Shanghai carried out by Chiang's troops. Chen and his followers opposed this disastrous course.
A large portion of this 580-page book deals with the explanation of how the Stalinized Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. In the post-WWII chaos the peasant masses surged forward repeatedly demanding control of the land and its resources and an end to landlord parasitism. The weakened Kuomintang was like a rotting wooden raft in this stormy revolutionary sea which served as the only hope of salvation for the wealthy and privileged elements in China, and they found themselves desparately clinging to it.
The Communist Party, having retreated to Yenan in 1934 after a series of defeats, found itself bolstered by the massive influx of worker and peasant fighters who saw this party as the starting point of opposition to the decaying Kuomintang regime. In the years leading to the insurrection of 1949, Chen explains, the CCP (a non-revolutionary, Stalinist party) repeatedly sought to dampen the rising struggles of the oppressed masses, to limit their gains, and to come to terms with Chiang in the formation of a coalition government. The Kuomintang was too weak, however, and the outcome of the struggle was determined by its own inner logic, not the aims of the CCP.
Forced to flee to Hong Kong in 1948 Chen continued to guide the Chinese Trotskyist movement as well as to participate in discussion and debates among revolutionary Marxist leaders worldwide. He supported the 1949 victory of the Chinese revolution, which was a giant gain for the masses of workers and peasants in spite of the Stalinist leadership. A workers state was formed. But he stressed that the accession to power of Mao's party did not change its essentially counterrevolutionary character. In order for the masses of Chinese people to achieve their liberation from all forms of exploitation they would need to effect a political revolution to bring to power a genuine Marxist party. This party would then serve as the vehicle for bringing the weight of the Chinese masses to bear in the worldwide struggle for socialism.
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The stories all take place on the border of China and the USSR during the early 1970s when the two communist countries actually came pretty close to war. The stories are actually a microcosim of Communist China as a whole.
The stories are wonderful and I highly recommend this book not just to sinophiles but to anyone who wants to read a great collection of stories.
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This is the finest novel i've ever read. I remember reading this novel as a young martial arts student and loving every minute of it. Now as an instructor of Shaolin Kung-Fu, i not only carry the series but a i recommend it to all of my students! The characters in this novel are famed throughout history and Shaolin Monks often named movements after these heroes and their adventures, like Wu Song - "Step Back and Ride the Tiger!" Even entire forms were created to commemorate heroes - "Li Kui's Double Hand Axe" and "Subdue the Tiger w/fists on Jianyang Ridge" forms come to mind.
(if you have never seen the Chinese Goverment soap-opera style production of Outlaws of the Marsh or "Water Margin" on DVD, you don't know what you're missing!!! Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon type quality - the goverment spared no expenses! Amazing fight choreography and drama. No English subtitles though, so need to have read the books to follow along!)
The only problem i have with the book version that Amazon.com is offering is the fact that it is not available in hard cover. The paperback version was the first one i owned (3 volume set, 100 chapters) but i've found hardback more durable.
In fact, i carry only the 3 volume HARDBACK (100 chapters) set at my school for a few dollars more than the paperbacks.
Must read !!!
It is generally accepted that Shi Nai'an is the author of this novel who is rumoured to live from late Yuan to early Ming Dynasty, around mid 14th century, though no one has ever been able to provide solid proof of his existence. Some believe that Luo Guanzhong, author of "San Guo Yan Yi"/"Three Kingdoms", is either the co-author or editor of "Shui Hu Zhuan".
Although the novel is around 600 to 650 years old, the story is about how 108 men and women became the heroic outlaws of the Marsh of Mount Liang (Liangshanbo) during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Northern Song Dynasty (1101-1125), i.e. more than two centuries before the completion of the novel.
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I have come across a number of small annoying errors in Forouzan's text, as well as a number of opinions that he puts out as facts. Of course I wouldn't be annoyed if his opinions and mine agreed - but he could at least properly identify them. This mostly is a problem with what technologies are "winners" or "losers" in the marketplace, or what dificulties are presented with trying to implement some of the protocols mentioned.
If you want to know how stuff really works go with Stallings or Tanenbaum. If you want to know how to communications is used by a business - there are a number of other texts that are far better. I feel like this text is half-way in between. Unfortunately I am unable to change what text we are using here...
Another review recommends the above authors - and I agree they give an excellent treatment of the topic - but they require an advanced student. I would select Stallings or Tanenbaum for a paper that follows the introductory paper (we actually use Comer for the advanced paper which is specifically TCP/IP)
Forouzan's "Data Comms and Networking" is clear, plainly written - yet gives a good depth to the topics being considered. The diagrams and practice questions are excellent.
I highly recommend this book for an introductory under-graduate text.
Mr. Forouzan's prose is clear and his examples understandable. The only thing that might make portions of this book a difficult read for some people is the complexity of some of the material covered. The book starts at the electrical (Manchester encoding, NRZ, etc.), and gradually builds until the networking process is clear, top to bottom. In terms of completeness, I have not seen another book that covers everything from the LAN to the WAN like this book. Also included are related topics like cellular networks, PSTN, encryption, and even the application layer of the OSI model. The complete OSI model is covered with great depth.
This book covers computer networks as well as the voice and other parts of telecommuncations, which I wasn't particulary too familr with before.
If you are a serious student or professional who want to learn more about fundamental networking, you should pick up this book. I highly recommend it.