I picked up this book because of the title. And the introduction was so inspirational that I called up two friends and read it to them. In the most simple language James W. Moore explains how to love and enjoy walking this Christian path. Through Biblical examples and the most common sense explanations SOME FOLKS FEEL THE RAIN OTHERS JUST GET WET makes you want to cheer to be alive. Moore's words are both humorist and tearful, I found myself laughing while tears of joy fell down my face. This is definitely a book that will make you feel stupid for looking down so long, dumb for not stopping to smell more roses, and overjoyed and blessed to have sense enough to pick up this book to read!

This book is a compendium of the ten knowledge areas (KAs) that cover all of the important elements of software engineering as a discipline. Note that this is a work in progress, and this version was reviewed by hundreds of reviewers from 42 countries before making it into the content set forth in the book.

The knowledge areas are: (1) Software Requirements, (2)Software Design, (3)Software Construction, (4)Software Testing, (5) Maintenance, (6) Software Configuration Management, (7) Software Engineering Management, (8) Software Engineering Process, (9) Software Engineering Tools and Metrics, and (10) Software Quality.

If the KAs in the SWEBOK look similar to the CMM process areas this reflects consensus in the software engineering community regarding key processes and knowledge areas for the profession. There are differences between the SWEBOK and the CMM. Unlike the CMM, which is an assessment-based model that determines an organization's capabilities based on a maturity scale, the SWEBOK is an "informed and reasonable characterization of the software engineering Body of Knowledge and as a baseline document". As such it is a framework for a software engineering organization that maps closely to what is set forth in not only the CMM, but SPICE and Bootstrap, and is an ideal career guide for software engineering professionals. In addition to that function, this guide aligns nearly perfectly to the P-CMM (see People Capability Maturity Model by Bill Curtis , William E. Hefley and Sally A. Miller ISBN: 0201604450). Specific P-CMM process areas that this book supports include: Level 2 Training and Development; Level 3 Competency Development; Career Development and Competency-Based Practices; Level 4 Competency-Based Assets, Organizational Capability Management and Mentoring; and Level 5 Organizational Performance Alignment.

This book should be one of the primary references for any motivated software engineering professional or mature organization.

Scotty Moore is one of the unsung heroes of rock 'n roll and his writing style reflects his playing style- simple, precise and to the point. In a humble, matter-of-fact style, guitarist Moore recounts his experiences with the King in an eminently readable and interesting way. I have read many Elvis books and this is one of my favorites. After reading it, you just wished you could bump into Scotty sometime, buy him a beer and talk the night away.

As Role Playing Game supplements go, this one has all the elements of a "must-have". Along with the Q-Manual and Basic game, this add-on shows once again the high quality of gaming materials Avalon Hill has become known for. Being the last supplement published for the highly underrated role playing game featuring the world's greatest spy, "Thrilling Locations" is one of the jewels of the collection. (As a side note, Avalon Hill was purchased by Hasbro Interactive in 1998 and it has become unclear what will happen to the James Bond 007 roleplaying franchise as the company is restructured to fit Hasbro's business model.)

If you play the James Bond roleplaying game, and particularly if you are a game master, this is an invaluable resource. One can find in-depth information about the ritzy locations and high-priced vehicles James Bond would encounter in one of his most extravagant missions in Her Majesty's Secret Service. From casinos to restaurants, yachts to jets, this book gives in-depth descriptions and game stats on the most expensive of Bond locations and vehicles. One can also find the bios and stats of the people who can afford to live such an outrageous lifestyle, or those work for them. This softcover book features color photos and the information is surprisingly accurate, as the book was written with the cooperation of the actual establishments and manufacturers it features.

"Thrilling Locations" also contains the rules and game mechanics for a host of games of chance that players may encounter in the game, including roulette, blackjack, and of course, baccarat.

After reading this very enjoyable book, one truly knows a little more about how it would feel to stand in the shoes of the man known as "Bond... James Bond."

This book gives readers a graphic look at the REAL world of crime, investigation, and the inner world of law enforcement, along with fascinating facts and interesting stories.

This book was written in such an easy to understand way, it was unbelievable. The author broke down the beatitudes and commandments in such a way that brought about new understanding and insight. I feel that I now have a better understanding of them and can apply them to my daily christian walk. I am now able to break it down to others so that they will be able understand as well. It is definitely a must read for all christians - or anyone striving to be!!

Wild West Companion is the best of the books for Werewolf the Wild West. A combination of a players guide and a storytellers guide, WWC shines in both departments. Chapter 1 is devoted to the history of the wild west in the World of Darkness as told by Laughing Manyskins, a Nuwisha. The info is perfect for both players and storytellers, giving you a great idea of what the Savage West was like.

Chapter 2 covers the other half of the west; the Storm Umbra. The Storm Umbra is a nasty, violent place, with Storm Eater on the loose devouring or destroying everything in it's path. This chapter give a discription of it, as well as nasty rouge storm spirits and ideas for adventures.

Chapter 3 is the goodies chapter for players. It includes Merits and Flaws, Natures and Demeanors, Tribal Weaknesses, and the big attraction, all new Gifts. Most are good Gifts, with a few incredible ones spiked in here and there (Most notably, the Silver Fang Gift Silver Bullets. Very deadly in the right situation).

Chapter 4 is the sotrytellers section, starting off with the Storm-Born, twisted creatures merged together by the power of the Storm Umbra. Next up are the stats of various creatures of the wild west. There's every thing here from the normal (Bisons, Horses, Wolves, ect.) to the fantastic (the Chupacabra, or the Jackalope). The chapter finishes with mass-combat rules.

Chapter 5 is on the other changing breads in the wild west. It covers the Ananasi, the Gurahl, and the Qualmi. It also covers the Cascra AKA Abominations, the Bunyip, and a all new bloodline, Los Infelizos. Overall this is one great book, with a lot of info. However, if you already have the Werewolf Players Guide, there is a lot of info that has been recycled (most of chapter 3 and 5), but if your looking for a real gem for Werewolf the Wild West, GET THIS BOOK!!!

The dark force known as the Wyrm stands poised to strike down all that is left good and decent upon Gaia, the Mother Earth. Now only the Garou, shapeshifting werewolves with mystical powers and deadly strength, can stand against their assault and prevent the Apocolypse. From the company that brought you Vampire: The Masquerade comes Werewolf: The Apocolypse, a storytelling RPG of the end times and the battle of survival. Play as a Garou from one of thirteen tribes who must battle against twisted, corrupted minions of the darkest force in existence, the Wyrm. Like Vampire, this game is based in the same World of Darkness that is a mirror of our own world. Unlike Vampire, Werewolf is a game of the brutal reality that the world is coming to an end. And with so few protectors left, will the Wyrm succeed in destroying everything?

White Wolf's greatest RPG, this book tells about the history and culture of werewolf society. These werewolves, known as the Garou, fight against a dark force destroying the planet and they are willing to go down fighting them. This is the best role-playing game for all ages!

Of all the Storyteller Games from WW, Werewolf is the one with the most "feeling" to it. From the very first page you can feel the sorrow of the wolf people, crying to their mother for the mistakes from the past. The book has everything you could want. In it, you can find everything you need to start a very interesting story, no matter where in the world you want it. The only thing sad about this book is that every tribe could have had a little more detail, that's why I give it a 9. The rules are easy to understand, the artwork can really make you feel the mood of the game, and the book is organized in a very intelligent way. What else can you be looking for. Like every other book from WW, the presentation alone is the book's value, and you won't find missing paragraphs like other products from the Storyteller line. All in all, this is no ordinary game; because you play the part of the ultimate killing machine, it doesn't mean you will always be fighting. The spiritual side of the game (sort of shamanic ethos, with spirits and animal totems) is what makes the role playing a unique experience. For the past year I've been very tied to this game, and I made a whole story based on the spiritual world here in Costa Rica. I've enjoyed the game a lot, it has opened doors I never knew existed. But the best part is that my people and I have had a really good time, trying to tell the tale of the War for Gaia, the tale of the Apocalypse. From all the Storyteller games, I can say that Werewolf is the best. There's only one thing left I can say about this game. "...and a question hangs in the haze... When will you play it?"

From Hell is not a book just anyone can pick up and get into. There i've said it. Not that it is an overly cerebral story, however it is such an oppresively dark comic that it really isn't just about Jack the Ripper, but it's also about the dark side of Britain as a whole (of course a dark side of over a hundred years ago, but...). The true meat of FROM HELL has very little to do with the murders...other than chapter ten, of course...By that I mean the act of the murders. The murders are, of course, at the center of the comic; however the comic seems to be telling the story of how an overly uncaring, and oft-times hellish, society seemed to simply LET the killer go.
If you've seen the movie, and expect to read the story of Inspector Abberline and Marie Kelley as they discover their romance for each other as they are led into the seedy and darkly crafted(heh... inside joke, Mason's and buildings play a role in this too...it's a pun...never mind...) society of 1880's england by Abberline's psychic visions... then be careful pickling this book up. That's a different FROM HELL.The book is the most starkly and frightening depiction of reality filtered through a researched fiction that I can think of.
And if you have a problem with Eddie Campbell's uniquely simplistic dark and sparse artwork, than you have to open your eyes. Look at how the art relates to the depiction of the times as a whole, Victoria's London wasn't exactly the gloriously beautiful empire that history books would have you believe, now was it?
Last note, after reading the book through once, go back, and read it while reading the appendices together. Still a highly entertaining read.
Fun and disturbingly and brutally upfront.(in an educational way. Hey, I convinced my !2th grade lit. teacher to let me use it for a book report AFTER she flipped through it. Read it you'll see why that's an accomplishment.)

When it comes to serial killers, Jack the Ripper has always been the name brand. He was a pioneer in many ways --- on the twin forefronts of mutilation and mocking letters sent to the police (even discounting the numerous crackpot letters) he seems to have established a highwater mark for gruesome violence. Ultimately he has come to inhabit the popular consciousness from comic books to STAR TREK. (I wouldn't be surprised to see a Ripper plush toy offered somewhere for sale; in a world that contains an Ed Gein fan club, ANYTHING is possible.) Now Alan Moore has crafted an endlessly fascinating,often infuriating and extremely rewarding story about madness and the abuse of high position. This complex tale takes its time unfolding, but everything ultimately is relevant, although the reader may not think so for a couple of chapters. My only (minor) complaint is that Campbell's art is somewhat lacking in characterization, making individuals occasionaly difficult to

tell apart, but ultimately this is an essential read for those who find the shadowy figure of Springheels Jack an ever-potent icon of dread.

The most recent offering from Alan Moore, the author who, alongside Neil Gaiman, was responsible for bringing comic books to their fullest potential as art on par with novels, From Hell is a brilliant, moody, and well-researched re-telling of the Jack the Ripper story. Moore takes an interesting twist on the story - and one he himself admits that he believes is false - but the point of the book isn't so much a whodunit as a treatise on the combining of fact and fiction into myth, and the nature of sensationalism and crime in the 20th century.

From Hell features an amazing cast of characters and the story is told in sixteen chapters - two of which are a prologue and an epilogue. Moore weaves historical facts together to form a cohesive story, and draws on dozens of sources, both Ripper-related and otherwise. From Hell suggests that the Ripper was, in fact, William Gull, Physician Ordinary to the Royal Family and a member of the Freemasons (this fact is revealed very early on in the book, unlike the movie which IS a whodunit). Where high-level criminologists like FBI profiler John Douglas (inspiration for the Crawford character in Silence of the Lambs) seem to think that the crimes were motivated by a fear of women, Moore focuses on the calm, ritualistic nature of the murders, and the important connection between the victims - that they all knew each other.

Although in this book the crime itself was a Masonic ritual, I think it should be noted that Moore isn't trying to smear the Masons, and that should be obvious to anyone reading From Hell. His contention, one that more or less fits the 100-plus years worth of facts, is that William Gull was gradually going insane and had visions about Masonic deities - shreds of old ritual from Freemasonry's past that he blows out of proportion and begins to manifest, at least in his mind. There was nothing anti-Freemason in this book, but I realize people have to find something to get bent out of shape about.

The crowning achievement of this volume isn't the way Moore creates a perfect fit for Gull as the Ripper, but the appendix at the end in which he details the painstaking amount of research that went into this work. He has a reference for nearly every factual detail, and readily admits when he makes things up or dramatizes certain events for the story. It's an excellent resource for Ripperologists and scholars interested in Moore's book, and its inclusion is what makes From Hell such a fascinating read.

I absolutely recommend From Hell, especially if you enjoyed the film - the book is far more detailed, and doesn't sacrifice any historical accuracies to make a better story, as the movie did. If the film is a starting point, this graphic novel is the logical conclusion. Get it today; you will not be sorry you did.

Having previously read Wrox's Professional ASP Programming, I tried this book, hoping for something of equal merit.

This volume is has some decent material, but is marred by a tendecy to sloppiness.

Firstly, as other reviewers have noted, there are too many authors (count 'em - 16!), which is unnecessary, and leads to inconsistencies in presentation. The book could quite easily have been authored by a single writer. There are only a few chapters that required specialist knowledge.

For example, the early chapters are quite good at advising the reader on PHP settings. Since there's no option explicit in PHP,the author correctly advises the reader to increase their error setting to report unused variables. Later, however, much of the code uses uninitialised variables. This is particularly the case in the chapter on form handling, the approach to which is too crude, and uses form variables directly in code, whereas a better approach would be to capture them and process them using isset(). The isset() function isn't even covered in this chapter,but is used correctly in other chapters.

Secondly, while the converstational tone of Wrox books is often appealing, it can also be a problem at times. The presentation is not always comprehensive enough, and Wrox authors have a tendency to give overly clever examples.

Strangely, there's no reference section. I found some of the explanations sloppy and confusing, especially the section of session variables. (I still can't get the WAP application to work properly.)

Thirdly, the chapter on OO design leaves the reader stranded. After a decent theoretical discussion, the writer informs the reader that there will be no code examples, as the reader now knows enough theory to work an example out for themselves! If I've paid for the book, I don't really want to have it set homework for me.

Fourthly, there are an annoying number of errors in the code. Many of these are corrected in the online errata, but there are quite a few that aren't at present. Furthermore, some of them are not typos, but seem to be the result of misconceptions on the part of the writer. This tends to reinforce the impression that some of the authors are relatively inexperienced.

Lastly, there are a large number of errors in the downloadable code. I suppose supplied code should be seen as a bonus, but it's poor quality control, and greatly adds to the user's annoyance.

I learnt PHP3 from Leon Atkinson's Core PHP programming, but i had to refer to the manual and the list archives for several problems.I came across this book recently from KY's review corner - I have been able to raise my level of PHP knowledge after reading through this book.This book is an asset for Professional PHP developers who can refresh their PHP knowledge with the excellent case studies. For beginners there are several examples throughout the book that will help them understand how to use PHP to create fully featured active sites.This book also has extensive database treatment - using PHP with MySQL,PostgreSQL and ODBC.
It is a must for anyone wanting to use PHP or make the move from PHP3 to PHP4!

Another excellent red book on PHP. I have learned PHP through several books, extensive articles, tutorials, and now Professional PHP4 tops the list of useful PHP literature.
Things that i found really helpful:
•Explanation for all those buggy installation problems
•Handling files on the server's file system, and how to upload files from the web browser
•Sending e-mail and posting new articles with PHP, working with SMTP, POP/IMAP and NNTP
•An exhaustive case study (76 pages!) on building a shopping cart application for mobile phones
•Using PHP as a command line script interpreter
•PHP with XML
This book has a pretty exhaustive view of most topics, and is the ideal book for PHP developers wanting to add professionalism to their web application development. I shall continue using this as a reference for all topics PHP (till I get another red book with photos).