The book is fine. ()It only contains standards from 1932.This book is not very usefull to anyone building to current standards.

It has 154 more pages than the 9th edition, so it has new information, but as you page through it you will find it seems almost identical. They need to keep most of the old data, so I wouldn't take off points for that. You can see the publisher's review for all of the new features: I noticed that the Historic Preservation chapter has been shortened a bit.

Potentially, the biggest addition is the CD-ROM, which has CAD files ready to use, and includes pretty much everything from the book. You might think that you are getting all that for the cost of the book, but...no. The "demo" CD comes in a sleeve inside the back cover, and is noted: "Full functionality, Limited data." You can access a drawing of a bar joist, for example. It exports a DWG or DXF file with layers based on line weights. The interface is pretty clear; you don't have to read any instructions to start using it. The CD actually has all of the data, but you have to pay another $425 online to "unlock" it. That could be a bargain, but I suspect that most firms will feel that their own detail library is more applicable to the work they do. Still, $425 represents less than a day's worth of billable hours.

Every architect knows the value of this book, and most every architecture firm (in the U.S. anyway) will want at least one copy just to stay current, and because the old one is getting worn out. You might as well get it now, and decide on the CD-ROM later. I'd love to have a special edition set with each page ever published in all of the AGS books, or even just the last 3 or 4. I'd give that 6 stars.

A good reference book but of limited use, Its tables of materials is quit limited, especially sections dealing with steel,wood and concrete structural properties. The book tries to touch on all things at the expense of specificity in regards to basic materials and building techniques, The book would be fine for Architectural students but would be of limited use as a reference book for design. Severly over priced.

John Stuart Mill, author of On Liberty, defines the nature of civil liberty, and most importantly, the harm principl. He aims to give readers a better understanding of the nature and limits of power that can be exercised by society over individuals. The purpose of this book is to inform interested individuals about the rights of individuals and the limitations of the government. This book of philosophy was written almost 150 years ago. By reading the book, the reader is able to apply Mill's message and examples to our lives in America today. The ahead-of-the-times ideas that are in On Liberty can be related to our world because it discusses controversies that are still seen in our courtrooms today. Mill is able to accomplish his purpose because he uses many examples, thoughts, and theories about individual and social rights. He works through each of his ideas, looking at both sides of the issue to enable the reader to make their own informed decision about each matter. This book has a practical meaning because it allows the reader to develop and reason ideas about government power and when that power should be exercised over the people. Unfortunately, this book does have one draw back. Mill was a very educated man and wrote very well for his time. Yet today, our style and writing techniques are not the same as they were in the nineteenth century. This makes On Liberty a difficult book to read. His book is very decriptive, yet his wording is not easily understadable and some paragraphs have to be read two or three times to fully understand what he is writing about. Aside from his writing style, John Stuart Mill has put together an essay full of educated ideas about society and individuals. John Stuart Mill wrote an informative book geared towards an educated audience. He has achieved his purpose for the essay through the use of situations and examples that can be applied to real life cases still today. He managed to keep the readers interested and I look forward to reading other books he has written.

It was not Socialism itself that is an evil, but the way it was implemented in some countries, in response to white-anglo-whatever's totally value-less review. Mill's book about liberty was of vast importance in freeing the individual from the tyranny of communal opinion. Someone may dislike homosexuals, but has no right to harass them or pass ethical judgements on them for what is their choice, of no harm to anyone else. Those are opinions of an indeterminate validity. Socal intervention may only be used to protect someone from restriction of their liberties. What Mill lacks in rigour, he makes up for in persuasiveness. He has some great lines in defense of liberty, a pre-dominant value of human life. Although, it is to be noted that the book can be somewhat tedious in areas which it is repetitive. This book also illustrates what can be seen as a fault in utilitarianism. Utilitarianism takes no notice of other values, or of a conflict of values, such as liberty of existence over the majorities happiness, in which ethics slides into absurdity.

J.S. Mill has written the best promulgation of classical liberalism in his book "On Liberty" (OL). Although a socialist himself, many of the ideas in OL are actually tenets of modern libertarianism (also called classical liberalism). Mill states that the only reason that force can be used on any man is to prevent harm to others. I consider "focre" to be either social or economic. Mill saw it as only social, which explains his socialism.

Not to detract from Mill or OL, the book is a resounding defense of civil-liberties. OL completes modern democratic theory as promulgated by John Locke in his "Two Treatises of Government." While Locke argues for some kind of democracy reminiscent of Athens, Mill qualifies Locke's point by protecting the minority from the majority. This book should be read by Americans who want to know more about freedom, and by our elected officials.

Sadly, it's our elected oficials who probably won't get it.

Another great Flashman read, although certainly no where near as clever or funny as some of the early in the series. Some very interesting historical information as always, and Flashman is inserted into history rather well. But the scope/focus of the book is a little to narrow, and the main focus of the book really not all that interesting from a late 20th Century reader's perspective. Flashman's ideaology seems to come out rather more in this book, and its a bit of a worry from an experienced Flashman reader's point of view that he *has* one! :-) I'm looking forward to the book which details Flashy's exploits (or lack of them) in the US Civil War - I hope that will set the standad as a real Flashman classic.

As a dedicated Flashman fan since discovering the first in the series in 1974, I was disappointed. I had, of course, both to read it and have a hardback copy for my collection, but I hope Mr. Fraser isn't running out of steam or humor. Neither of the two immediately previous books (Dragon and Mountain of Light) were especially funny, but they were both fascinating and satisfying without being as contrived as this one is. I think I disliked (relatively speaking) this one for the same reason I disliked (relatively speaking) Royal Flash: it was very contrived. One great thing about the Flashman series has always been the ease and seamlessness with which Mr. Fraser has inserted our protagonist into history. Perhaps this is a preliminary to his book about Flashman in the Civil War, which I've been waiting for for what seems like forever, probably since reading Flashman's Who's Who entry in the first book. I hope Mr. Fraser writes that book next and that he does all he can to make it worth a twenty-three-year wait.

Flashman and the Angel of the Lord was my introduction to writer George Fraiser and "his" character, Harry Flashman. I was impressed and pleased. Impressed with Frasier's scholarship (the fictional Flashman's interactions with real historic persons and events is accurate, as his extensive endnotes demonstrate). Pleased with the irreverant, wholly unconventional and most certainly un-PC character of Harry Flashman.

In the Angel of the Lord, Flashman - a scandalous character "resurrected" from the 19th century novel Tom Brown's Schooldays and a self-described "bully, poltroon, cad, turncoat, lecher and toady" - finds himself aiding John Brown in his raid at Harper's Ferry. Conspiracies abound with several factions enlisting the "assistance" of Flashman to either foil the attempt or help pull it off. The misadventures of Harry Flashman as he navigates the intrigue and double-dealing combined with the Fraiser's rapier-like wit and irreverant style had me riveted to the story line while laughing out loud. I will certainly read the remainder of the "Flashman Chronicles" and I recommend this one highly.

Much of the text here is already covered in TradeStation's free EasyLanguage reference. The book is sloppily written and edited, and the coding style leaves much to be desired. It is a weird combination of EasyLanguage syntax, trader interviews (get Market Wizards series instead), and a few "winning" trading systems, which really are not winners at all. Basically, the text was cobbled together without any underlying insights into how to really build winning trading systems.

I gave this book the maximum 5 stars because its overall impact on me as a trader was so profound. I would say it catalyzed a revolution in my success rate to such an extent that I now feel capable of making a living at this profession for the first time in my career. Obviously (as the title suggests) the book is primarily about how to use Tradestation software, or more specifically, the programming language that comes with TS known as Easylanguage. Long regarded as an oxymoron by those in the know, 'Easylanguage' is in fact anything but easy...it can be downright daunting at times. But this book really helps to break the ice by enabling dedicated students to get a working feel for the ins and outs of Tradestation and its various idiosyncrasies. Worth the price of the book alone is the chapter about trading strategies (chapter 6), subtitled by the authors "The Big Damn Chapter on Trading Strategies". A word to the wise - the SuperCombo System elucidated in this chapter contains all the elements to propel the reader much closer to that final elusive goal of consistent profitability. Perhaps you will need to modify it a bit here and there to suit your chosen market, but in the final analysis the seed concepts embedded within this single mechanical trading approach are robust and universal enough to grind out real money day in and day out for a long, long time to come. Please don't get me wrong - this is not so much a ready-made formula as it is a theoretical framework which needs to be "fleshed out" through hard work in order to be fully viable. I have always had a great deal of respect for John Hill and George Pruitt, both because of their candor and straightforwardness and because of their willingness to tirelessly follow a lead through to the end in order to discover the truth. "Building Winning Trading Systems with Tradestation" is more than a book about Easylanguage, it is a Magnus Opus of sorts, weaving many different ideas on many different levels in order to reveal a tapestry of trading that borders on something resembling a Rosetta Stone for the aspiring trader. Highly recommended.

When the two biggest names in system tracking get together to write a book, a prudent investor buys.
For the price of a few commissions, this writing has substance.
This is one of the few books that not only demonstrates varias trading systems, but provides one with a CD to download the material!
The systems alone could sell for thousands of dollars apiece.
When the professionals give you this much information, buy.

Robert Estill
Former NBC Sportscaster
Current Active Trader

This book is regarded as a 'classic' and rightly so. It assumes a minimal background, some familiarity with the propositional calculus. Even this can be dispensed with, if the reader is sufficiently motivated, as there is a well-written review of the first-order logic that one typically learns in an introductory formal logic course.

The book is highly readable. Each chapter begins with a short paragraph outlining the topics in the chapter, how they relate to each other, and how they connect with the topics in later and earlier chapters. These intros by themselves are valuable. The explanations though are what stand out. The authors are somehow able to take the reader's hand and guide him/her leisurely along with plentiful examples, but without getting bogged down in excessive prose. And they are somehow able to cover a substantive amount of material in a short space without seeming rushed or making the text too dense. It's nothing short of miraculous.

What made the book especially appealing to me is that it starts right out with Turing Machines. As a topologist who recently got interested in computational topology, I needed a book that would quickly impart a good, intuitive grasp of the basic notions of computability. I have more "mathematical maturity" than is needed to read an introductory book on computability, so I feel confident in saying that most of the standard texts on computability revel in excessive detail, like defining Turing Machines as a 6-tuple -- something that serves no purpose other than pedantry. This book is different. I particularly liked how the authors stress the intuitive notions underlying the definitions. For example, they lay special emphasis on the Church-Turing thesis, always asking the reader to consider how arguments can be simplified if it were true.

One should note that the emphasis of this book is more towards logic. While it starts with issues of computability, it moves into issues of provability, consistency, etc. The book covers the standards such as Goedel's famous incompleteness theorems in addition to some less standard topics at the end of the book. A small set of instructive exercises follows each chapter.

This is an excellent book. Like two other books I reviewed on Amazon's web site, it will not be appreciated by people who don't like mathematical reasoning.

Many books on logic do a couple of hundred pages of nitpicking uninteresting stuff before getting to completeness, compactness, incompleteness, provability, etc. This one gets quickly into the interesting stuff after a short one-chapter explanation of first-order logic.

Any mathematician who wants to find out what this subject is about and why it's interesting should start with this book.

Just about the only mathematical logic book readable by ordinary human beings, assuming only a background of first-order predicate logic, taught in almost any introductory logic class.

The first eight chapters introduce Turing machines and other formal models of computation, emphazing the evidence for Church's thesis. Chapters 9-13 prove important results concerning first-order logic, including soundness, completeness, compactness, and Lowenheim-Skolem. The rest of the book focuses on number theory, and proves results such as Goedel's incompleteness theorems, Loeb's theorem, the existence and structure of non-standard models of arithmetic, and the decidability of Presburger arithmetic.

Highly recommended as an introduction to mathematical logic.

Two things struck me while reading this book, the first is that I doubt there is a book out there that is truly balanced and not somewhat biased. The second thing was that Gore really got the shaft, not so much by the recount wars, but by the election official that came up with the Butterfly Ballot. In the history of the USA this decision ranks up there with new Coke and the XFL, what a mistake. As far as the reporting in the book it was not bad for a review of all the articles they had in the paper, but it did not really dig into the particular issues very deeply. I wanted more detail and behind the scenes with both the candidates. I also wanted more details on the court cases; I felt like the sky-high overview of the issues of the cases did not do such an important issue justice.

In reading the book I think a little bit of a democratic bias comes out, just a little, but enough to notice. I also thought it interesting that they had far more details of the Gore group then the Bush camp, it follows the perception that the Post is somewhat liberal in its views. The book is an overview that came out almost 10 minutes after Gore hung up the phone on the second concession call so there are a few more details out now that they did not get in the book. Overall it is a good effort and a readable book, but not the end all be all on the subject.

This book, by the editors of the Washington Post, does a good job of describing the events which led to the deadlocked 2000 Presidential election. In addition to detailing the paths which led to the deadlock, the book discusses all the post-election issues in a very readable format. Surprisingly, the books editors seem only slightly tilted towards Gore (especially considering it is the Washington Post, which is noted for its liberal bias), so no matter who you voted for, there is much to be found here for anyone with an interest in contemporary politics.

I personally think the Washington Post and NY Times are liberal rags that are generally not worth the paper they are printed on. However, in fairness, when they do well I think they should be commended. I read the NY Times "36 Days" and still think that book was not worth the paper it was printed on. It was nothing more than a reprint of their articles.

Conversely, though, Deadlock was a well-written book. Two passages are worth noting. The first is about the book itself. About one-third of the way into the first chapter the book says: "These are the ... decisions, alliances, power plays, snap judgments and personality flaws revealed when a flukishly close election is played out for staggering high stakes. Both sides were nimble and brilliant and occasionally shady; both sides were also capable of miscalculations, divisions and blame. The best and worst of politics were on displayed in those 36 days, and both sides trafficked in each. This is how it happened." Although the Post endorsed Al Gore (no surprise) they tried to be equal in their appraisal of how the two campaigns sought resolution in their favor.

As for the two sides' strategy one only has to look within the first three pages of Chapter 2 where the Post records that the Democrats enlisted the services of three authors who wrote "The Recount Primer". The book reads: "Anyone who read and heeded the booklet could predict how the two sides would play America's closest president election -- at least in the broad outlines. Gore would gamble; Bush would stall. Gore would preach a doctrine of uncounted ballots; Bush would extol the dependability of machines. Gore needed more: more counting, more examination, more weighing and pondering of more ballots. Bush needed it over while he was still ahead." The only trouble for the Gore forces with this gospel was that the Republicans knew the same gospel. The book attempted to show how the two sides played out the roles assigned them.

For a behind the scenes objective look at the two sides, I think the Post did a very decent job. This could have been a... job on the Republicans and conservatives, but generally it was not (though I expected it). It could have been a... job on the Democrats and liberals, but it was not (nor did I expect it). I am not accustomed to this degree of fairness from the liberal Washington Post nor do I expect to see it very often in the future.

This book goes a long way to explain just what happens when you get two factions of a cosa nostra family at war with each other. The author does very well to describe what the main characters in the book are like, in many ways the book is unique i have never read a book that is completely based around the transcripts from the FBI bugs skllfully placed by the feds. The book isnt that long which is why i gave it only 3 stars. The bugs pick some very interesting conversations between the Philedelphia boss John Stanfa and many of his crew, he talks about why he thinks that cosa nostra is having such a tough time in the U.S at present, saying that the younger inductees of the mob dont have the same values they have in sicily. Being a sicilian immigrant himself he built a wall of immigrants around him thinking that they would serve him better, how wrong he turned out to be. Although the author doesnt go into the inner workings of the philly mob it is definately worth buying, he bases the book around the characters and what they are. So if you want a book that doesnt take you long to read then buy this at all costs, and at this price it is a total bargain.

The FBI tapes provided here in the book allow for a great insight into the Philadelphia Mafia at a time of great confusion, botched hits, and mutiny in the ranks.

It's an overall good, quick read but there's better out there if you're not looking specifically to find out about the Philly Mob. A good buy is MURDER MACHINE by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci.

It's good to see that the FBI recordings are left untampered with so the "evidence" allows you to draw you're own conclusions. Although this sometimes proves confusing with many unfinished sentances and people cutting in to another's sentance.

I do recommend this book as it does provide a quick and cheap read which is quite fascinating.

I totally agree with the comments of the previous reviewer in that this book is totally worthwhile if you enjoy mob books. While taped conversations did authenticate the book, I would say that was my only complaint, since they are very disjointed and hard to understand. Also they are translated from Sicilian so that adds more confusion. The text part of the book is highly interesting, and I guess I would have liked SOME tape transcripts, but not as much. I found myself hoping for blocks of pages with no tape conversations since they were so hard to follow.

Overall, though, this is a very good story that really shows, I feel, the decline of organized crime in general. Not only are these guys incompetent, they really seem disorganized and you never get the feel that they are a mafia family, just a bunch of hoodlums playing wiseguy games. The whole "old mafia/new mafia" conflict really comes to light and eventually is the downfall of the Philadelphia mob. I also agree that "Murder Machine" is probably the best mob book I have read.

Some wonderful and successful writers gather their thoughts in this book to bear light on the magic of Tolkien's writing. Being a fan myself, I enjoyed the individual tales of discovering "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" for the first time. I related to the same sense of awe and dread, of wonder and inspiration. Surely, Tolkien has inspired many.

Unfortunately, the praise gets to be redundant and--may I say it?--almost hollow, without the balance of some thoughtful criticism. Personally, I wouldn't have much negative to say regarding Tolkien's work, but I found very little that was genuinely fresh or enlightening in this collection of "meditations." I did discover an interest in some of the authors included (not a bad reason for their involvement in the project) and in earlier 20th century writers that I have never familiarized myself with. Lord Dunsany, E.R. Eddison, Fritz Leiber, and Mervyn Peake are only a few of the old standbys mentioned repeatedly.

Although interesting, a quick read, and well-written, this collection might best serve those curious in unearthing the inspiration beneath some of their favorite authors. I was hoping for something with more vitality, but overall I'd recommend the book.

MEDITATIONS ON MIDDLE EARTH is a collection of essays focusing on J.R.R. Tolkien's works, especially the Middle Earth saga. Some of the more renowned fantasy authors of today evaluate the series that made fantasy a household name. Surprisingly, though everyone agrees that Professor Tolkien opened up the genre to the middle class, not all of the contributors are fans of the actual novels. Insightful and entertaining, each essay is well written with the writer's particular spin. However, this anthology will be loved by those readers analyzing the various cultures in a way that cultural anthropologists would envy or by those fans who cherish Beowulf, which Tolkien felt is the forefather of the genre.

Harriet Klausner

I borrowed this book from the library and enjoyed it so much I asked for it for Christmas (and got it). The different authors writing about the influence LOTR had on their lives reminded me of the first time I read the story and the effect it had on me. The drawings that illustrated the book were very well done. I think this should be in every fan's collection and is a must for anyone contemplating following in Tolkien's footsteps and writing a fantasy novel.

Why Nations Go To War is a fantastic book, and gives the reader remarkable insight into the precipitations of war. While analyzing both the interactions between national leaders and their thoughts in depth, this book is an excellent way to further your understanding of the causes of war. After reading this book, you will easily be able to understand many present-day conflicts, and where and why they began. Why Nations Go To War talks about the Persian Gulf War, Kosovo, the wars between India and Pakistan, and offers valuable background info on a question that has been in the news for some time: Why do the Muslims hate the Jews, and vice-versa? The book is thoroughly intriguing and wonderfully informative, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is big on war, and those of you who would simply like to know what's going on. Enjoy.

Dr. Stossinger's book is a valuable contribution for intelligence analysts wrestling with the strategic intelligence considerations when preparing for war. Stossinger's review of 8 case studies (WWI, Hitler's attack on Russia, Korea, Vietnam, India and Pakistan, Israel and the Arabs, Saddam Hussein, and the Balkans) distills the following determinants as to why nations go to war: the crucial importance of the personalities of leaders, the four sources of misperception (leader's image of himself, his adversary, his adversary's intentions, and his adversary's capabilities and power), and an underestimation of the means and time necessary to win the war. Here, Stossinger contributes to the literature by reinforcing the need to look at war from the enemy's perspective. Strategic intelligence analysts supporting decision makers who are preparing for war should, at a minimum, be addressing seven issues: a clear understanding of the most basic, underlying, issues forming the basis for the problem under consideration; a clear appreciation of how the problem affects one's survival, vital, major and peripheral national interests; a clearly stated political objective that resolves the underlying problem which is complimented with a sound exit strategy and identifiable conditions for knowing when to exit; a strategic self appraisal that assesses one's internal military, diplomatic, and economic condition to determine whether or not the means exist to attain the political objective; a national power assessment comparing the conditions of the other belligerents and interested non belligerents with your previously assessed strategic self appraisal; an integrated political, military and economic strategy to best apply your strategic strengths in pursuit of the political objective; and, the identification and elimination of gaps between the desired political objective and the means to achieve those objectives. Stossinger gives analysts additional perspectives for assessing these seven issues. Each issue should be assessed through the lens of the personalities of each leader of each belligerent nation; assessed for how each of the four sources of misperception shapes each leader's view of the situation; and, assessed for how each leader estimates the means and time necessary to achieve their political and military objectives. This insight reduces the miscalculations characterizing war. Stossinger's book belongs on library shelf of the students and practitioners of strategic intelligence.

While after reading this book you will still now know the answer to the title of this book you will be enlightened by a wealth of information and insight of a truly brilliant individual. Dr. Stoessinger is a Professor at the University of San Diego and has written numerous works and editions invovling politics and history. THis book is well thought out and a great read. Highly encouraged to buy read and re-read. Amazing!