Understanding Hypermedia 2,000 is a wonderful read. It takes you on a journey tracing the origins of hypermedia from its very early beginings way back in the 1700's with the birth of print, all the way through to the modern new media revolution. It charts the developments in technology, culture, science and the arts to give you a very broad understanding of just what hypermedia is and where it came from.

Looking to the future, Understanding Hypermedia looks at the components of hypermedia - interface design, typography, text, animation, video, vrml, etc -, the processes of designing and building new media projects - including examples from the web, cdrom and kiosks - and the future of the medium. From the hypermedia innovators to the visionaries of cyberspace.

This book is a wonderful, rich and fasinating source of information and inspiration for anyone interested in or working with new media today.

Oliver Stone is known for making intense, controversial movies, based on historical events. I don't know how much of this story of Nixon is true, but what is written is a very dramatic and interesting story of the goings-on in the White House. If you enjoy the film Nixon, check out this book. You will not be disappointed.

I only like this book because it is clear about the kind of thing which everybody thinks is typical, but most people would think that only fools can object to this much truth and get away with it. To be specific, on pages 371-391 is a Transcript of Conversation in which Nixon and Haldeman talked on May 5, 1971, more than a year before the Watergate break-in, but from a "Watergate Special Prosecution Force File Segment." It might be a conversation about Colson and "a guy that nobody, none of us knows except Dwight." (p. 379). "Thug type guy." (p. 379). "This is the kinda guy can get out and tear things up." (p. 379). "Just ask them to dig up those, their eight thugs." (p. 380). "They, they've got guys who'll go in and knock their heads off." (p. 380). "Murderers. Guys that really, you know, that's what they really do." (p. 380). "And, uh, hope they really hurt 'em. You know, I mean go in with some real--and smash some noses." (p. 380). "They'll just get, the country'll just get a belly full of these people." (p. 381). "There's no, there's no, uh, semblance of respectability." (p. 381). "How the hell do you expect the poor God damned policemen--" (p. 382)? Parts of the transcript were sanitized, RESTRICTED-"D", and the way administration records are likely to be withhelf from public view forever after now, people might as well figure that whatever the government is up to must be in the RESTRICTED-"D" category.

"Nixon" was, I think, the best film of 1995 (it was certainly more important and fascinating than "Braveheart")and here is a great book that gives you a good glimpse not only into it's production, but into the documents, the testomonies and brilliant artistry that make the film what it is. It starts off with an interesting interview with the great cinema genius Oliver Stone in which discusses the film's genesis (how interesting that he passed on a film about Noriega for this movie). And then come the fascinating, interesting and great essays by important Nixon-era, Watergate figures like John Dean, E.Howard Hunt and one Cuban CIA operative. The co-writers of the screenplay also contribute great essays that explore Nixon and a history of political assassinations and black ops within the American government and its overseas operations. The screenplay itself is brilliant, mingling intrigue with drama and political issues, not to mention thrilling history. Stone, as in "JFK," makes a fascinating study of politics and power with this movie. He also makes a point about how our government conducts operations which involve assassination, secret underdealings etc. just as much as any South American or Central American country. "Nixon: An Oliver Stone Film" is a must for film buffs, political film analysts and fans of Oliver Stone (me).

This is a great story of hockey success in a city better known for its music industry than its stick handling. Craig Leipold tells an inspirational story of how he put the Nashville Predators organisation together from scratch in a very short time period.

The book, in my opinion, is let down in the way that the material is presented. There seems to be no logic in the way the story is told, both on a macro and micro level. On the larger scale the story seems to vaguely follow a kind of chronology, but there are regular jumps both backward and forward in time. On a smaller scale, I also found the paragraphs hard to follow, as they too would randomly criss-cross the chronological flow of the text.

In addition to the above criticism, I found the writing to be very dry, and without direction. Many chapters had no clear focus, and others had no climax when it was clear there should have been. One example of that was in a chapter where (if memory serves me correctly) the authors were setting the scene for a big game against Dallas, and the tension was clearly building towards game time where we were going to see if the Preds could defeat the Stars. As the tension was rising, the authors flippantly give away the final score line -in parenthesises no less- making one wonder where the chapter was really going in the first place.

These criticisms aside, the book is still a good read, and is engaging enough that in the end I felt an emotional attachment to the Predators, and I know that I'll think of them differently next time I watch them play (on TV of course!), and in some way consider myself a fan.

Making hockey successful in the middle of the bible belt was no easy task, and this is a remarkable story of management excellence. Predators owner Craig Leipold and renowned management author Richard W. Oliver combine to tell an unforgettable story. It is a must for fans of good management as well as hockey.

For anybody thinking about getting into sports management or becoming a professional athlete, this is a must read! It provides an insightful view of what is expected of professional athletes and how to successfully manage a pro organization. Being a successful athlete in this day and age goes well beyond just raw talent. Highly recommend this book for high school and college athletes.

I'm going to be a first-time Eastern Europe traveler this summer. However, I have travelled extensively and one of the first things I look for in a travel book is a book that offers information on all aspects of a country. For example, I felt the information on countries like Yugoslavia and Macedonia was a little abbreviated. There are some people out there who would actually like to do an "off-the-beaten-path" trip in those countries and Lonely Planet wasn't able to help me plan for this. The information on Greece was definitely helpful, but for those who plan to travel on their islands, I'd recommend Lonely Planet's Greek Islands which had exactly the right amount of information I needed to make my travels there worthwhile!

We purchased this book before going to three of the countries covered, because there are so few books that cover Eastern Europe as a whole.

Although the information was limited, we found it helpful in general terms. It also whetted my appetite for going to the other countries in the book!

I can only speak for the Yugoslav section in this book, since it is the country I am most acquainted with.
Generally speaking, the LP team did an excellent job researching Beograd, but information on the rest of the country is poor. They don't mention a thing about Serbian institutions like Studenica monastery; they omit everything about the Fruska Gora and there's not even a word on the charming town of Sremski Karlovci.
I wonder whether the information on the other countries is equally poor. If that is the case, I'd rather tour the region on my own without any book at all.
However, one improvement with respect to the previous edition is they are now including Kotor (But Ulcinj is not so much recommended as before, which I don't know why since the beaches are much better than in Budva).
With regards to Novi Sad, their suggestions are very poor, even in what concerns to lodging. My recommendations are: add the Fruska Gora, Srem Karlovci, Raska and probably Nis.

Easy read, good overview of shifting global environment.

very interesting 'Post-Information Society' theory.

First 100 pages tidy but overly simplistic recap of what we all know (Part I and II). Part III very good reading, thought provoking, unique and vision altering concepts introduced (especially chapter 8 - The Post-Information Society).

Author Richard W. Oliver argues that speed and customer responsiveness are keys to the new world of business. To stay alive, companies must flatten their corporate structures, do away with old roles, and embrace the technology that allows data mining and Internet-based purchasing. The author predicts that in the new century companies will sell directly to consumers, job descriptions will become more fluid, and smart cards and knowbots will become ubiquitous devices. This compelling, thoughtful book examines the trends shaping the global economy. While the book isn't always organized clearly, it illustrates its points through examples of real companies which have changed their practices. We [...] recommend this book to any owners, executives, and managers who are involved in planning long-term strategies.

Richard Oliver held executive positions at Nortel and DuPont.

He is currently a professor of marketing at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and sits on the boards of six U.S. companies.

Daniel Bell's THE POST INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY heralded the end of the industrial era and outlined the structure of the information age. THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME heralds the end of the information age and outlines the structure of what Oliver calls the Bio-Materials Age.

Can it really be that the information age is just about to end? Oliver makes a convincing argument that it is already over.

The author structures the outlines of what needs to be done in the Bio-Materials Age and provides concrete examples of companies currently doing it: Southwestern Airlines, Oticon, W. I Gore & Associates, Chaparral Steel, Granite Rock Company, Bank of Montreal, and the U.S. Military. We love the range of the companies he selected!

As we on Boards of Directors help steer our companies out of the industrial era into the information age, it is vital to keep in mind that the information age itself will be a relatively short transition. "Keep Your Eyes on the Ball" is necessary but insufficient. We need to make sure that management is keeping its eyes on the direction of the ball.

You don't have to agree with every detail in his book. But you will probably acknowledge that the general direction of Richard Oliver's argument is both logical and unavoidable.

MARYANNE PEABODY & LAURENCE J. STYBEL are co-founders of Boston-based STYBEL PEABODY ASSOCIATES.

I have been a faithful consumer of Lonely Planet products for the last five years. However, this collection does little more than offer superficial information on every country in Central Europe. If you want to go anywhere besides the capitals and most well-known tourist "traps", forget it. I was particularly dissapointed with the book's treatment of Germany and Switzerland. Very vague, very minimal. If you want to visit any of the countries in Central Europe, buy the Lonely Planet Guide to that country or look for a different publisher. Sorry guys, this one doesn't go in my travel bag.

This book is fantastic. I was amazed at how thorough a book could be. These authors also have a great sense of humor. Lonely is an oxymoron. This book is very comforting. I highly recommend this book.

Being an avid investor, and heavily invested in technology, I was looking to expand into other areas of technology such as biotech which is how I was drawn to this book. This book is great for the Biotech beginner and provides a good overview of the opportunities in biotechnology from Healthcare to Agriculture. Although the author may be a bit too zealous in his promise for biotechnology, and the coming biotech explosion, he does offer compelling evidence that this is the next wave of technology and every long-term investor should consider biotechnology (preferably via a mutual fund) as an addition to their existing portfolio. The only negative I found with this book is that the author is a bit repetitive in his use of the some examples. In fact, the reader will get 90% of the useful information in about the first 6 chapters plus one or two at the end. Overall, I would recommend this book for those who are interested in investing in biotechnology or just have an interest in science. It's an easy read, not too technical, and provides a good overview of many of the potential opportunities in this exciting field.

A fascinating book, The Coming Biotech Age: The Business of Bio-Materials will be of interest to investors and financial advisors alike who are searching for a crystal ball's view into the next exploding economic wave. Bio-Materials will be to tomorrow's stock market what the Internet and e-business is to today's. Every investor who wants a glimpse into the next economic explosion should read this book.

Dan Coholan, Managing Director, Co-head - Global Communications & Technology Group, Investment Banking, RBC Dominion Securities, Royal Bank of Canada

I am purposely reading this book slowly because i am so excited by its contents I am learning and enjoying the brilliance of this easy yet sophisticated read. Richard Oliver puts biotech on the front burner like never before. The information is written in a way where you get all the facts but the reading is fun and informative. Imagine five years from today when biotech information will double daily...this book will open your eyes to future developments which will make our lives and our children's lives different and better. If you want to know about the future of biotech, and/or want to know how to approach the group as an investor, don't hesitate.

The book, a broad, shallow technical description of the Coalition armies is intended as an economical alternative to acquiring a number of more specialized works. Assuming there is an audience for undetailed technical descriptions, the next question is how well does it do what it sets out to do? The answer regrettably is not very well. It appears to be mostly a compilation of many of the more common and accessible secondary sources out there. Since most of these secondary sources are undefinitive and oft times contradictory, the test of the Handbook is how does it resolve such situation. The answer appears that it simply goes with one source or another, and there appears to be little ambition to do better than that. Thus the Handbook offers undefinitive information, economically. And it is rather pricey...

This is a comprehensive book on the armies of the Napoleonic Wars, especially for the wargamer. The detail is sufficient for those who want a general understanding of the countries and their armies under review, and is highly detailed in providing data on regimental campaigns as well as details on some (but not all unfortunatley) of the generals involved. I can't wait for the second volume to be published. Any ideas when that might happen?

Bottom line, if you are a Napoleonic History buff, wargamer or just interesed in the armies of the period, this is a book for you!

This was an interesting story, which I did not know a lot about. With more terrorism focus in the media today and the troubles in the Middle East a situation like this could come up again. I also liked the detail of this particular terrorist group, which I think is no longer active. Overall the book was solidly written but not a fast paced page-turner. If you are interested in the time frame or particular event then it is worth reading.

This book was originally published in 1987 and updated in 1996, and authored by two attorneys. It is probably targeted at the vast college market for lower division courses, where the instructor doesn't critically evaluate texts. The book is built around legal cases, usually Supreme Court cases but occasionally state court cases, that the authors use to illustrate a particular theme. However, the choice of case frequently fails to clearly illuminate the point, and the authors have a tendency to offer their opinions as conclusions without clearly identifying them as such. The book is strongest where the authors focus on their expertise - law; and weakest where they wander off into policy and philosophical issues. In particular, the authors seem ill equiped to address the broad policy and philosophical issues which they want to make the focus of this book. I can't really recommend this book to any audience. There are much better texts for discussions of environmental law, whether for students, laypersons or serious students of policy. Also, there are much better policy and philosophy texts for all levels.