This is one of the top three books I read this year.

Whoops. It's January 5th. OK. If I had finished this book 6 days ago, I would have put it alongside of John LeCarre's "The Constant Gardner" and Lehane's "Mystic River." Forget any naysayers. "Eureka" is a eureka, a great mystery with wonderful conversations that smack of times gone by. An excellent novel.

Growing up on the East Coast, I remember old guys who had fought in WWI. One fellow lived into his late 80's with one lung gone, having given the first one up to mustard gas at Belleau Wood. So there's a 'reaching' aspect of Eureka that transcends a number of years. And we really don't feel it. Diehl is able to interrupt conversations in the past, flash forward, come back chapters later to finish them. Very tricky; very well done.

Diehl captures the chronology swiftly and smoothly. Sometimes he's writing of events a 100 years ago, sometimes 60, sometimes in between. "The bohunk got ironed out in a hit and run." The dialogue is crisp and seemingly accurate. Very timely. Great conversations.

Everyone who reads the reviews knows the plot by now. Honest cop, diamond in the rough, investigating the accidental electrocution of a widow in a 1940 bath tub, with only two things out of order: no will and "100 large in the bank."

A tough WWI veteran about to run for Governor, unanswered questions about the past igniting the future with a 40 year fuse. The quote from Gatsby, 'boats against the current,' is as prescient now as it was then.

Some romance that might be too much but everybody finds someone sometime.

The best dialogue is found in Elmore Leonard. Diehl gives him a run for his money in Eureka. Strongly recommended.

Diehl, who created the excellent Martin Vail series, has spun a truly epic novel in this well-written masterpiece. Not a fan of those "noirish" novels of the forties, I wasn't sure what to expect from Diehl in this one. However, it is a stunning work, filled with excellent characterizations, true plot twists, and some excellent scenarios.
We start the novel out with Brodie Culhane, a young man given a new life by a wealthy landowner in turn of the century California. Brodie becomes our hero, ending up fighting in World War I, surviving and returning to his home to become the sheriff.
Next, we have Zeke Bannon, another policeman in the 40's, who investigates a murder that leads him to the domain of Sheriff Culhane, who is now planning on running for governor.
How could our hero from the first part of the book be such a corruptible character in the 40's.
That's what makes this novel so complex and interesting. Bannon's involvement with Culhane and how they come about "cleaning up" this sordid region makes for one engrossing read.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

William Diehl weaves a beautifully conceived and convoluted tale surrounding homicide Detective Sergeant Zeke Bannon of the Los Angeles Police Department in 1941. Bannon and his partner, Ski" Agassi stumble into an apparent accidental bathtub drowning of a middle aged woman in a middle class L.A. neighborhood. Upon investigation they discover the woman, Verna Wilensky died without a will and with $98,000 in a savings account. This amount accrued as a result of a monthly check for $500, a princely sum in the depression, for about 17 years. Eventually forensics determines that the accident was actually a murder.

Bannon discovers that most of the checks have originated from a town about 100 miles north of L.A., called San Pietro. San Pietro formerly known as Eureka, at the turn of the century had been an open, lawless town replete with gambling, prostitution, and alcohol (despite Prohibition). Eureka was controlled by a group of rich robber baron types lead by railroad tycoon, Eli Gorman, who lived above the town in what was called "The Hill".
The town was kept under control by sheriff Buck Tallman who was adorned in a ten gallon Stetson, fringed suede jacket and a holstered .44 caliber Peacemaker. Tallman used to ride with Pat Garrett and Bat Masterson and knew how to keep chief mobster Arnie Riker in check. Tallman shepherded both Eli Gorman's son Ben and his best friend "Brodie" Culhane.

As time passed Brodie Culhane left Eureka to become hugely decorated Marine war hero in World War One. He came back to eventually take over Buck Tallman's law enforcement duties in San Pietro. Tallman is ultimately killed in a wild shoot out with four gangsters in a high class bordello. Aided by a multitude of battle experienced war buddies, Culhane becomes the big wheel of the county and is now primed to run for governor of California. Culhane is unfortunately the central suspect in the murder being investigated by Bannon.

Diehl diligently takes us through the plethora of layers of Bannon's investigation, revealing 20 year old secrets until the true nature of the crime is revealed. The book is marvelously authored and a classic 1940's period piece.

With over 15 years of programming experience and no experience with Java, I found this book difficult to follow. I normally like to dig right in with numerous examples so I can test what I have learned. This book has few meaningful examples and when they do exist, the author uses concepts which have not been covered yet. Confusing! After reading half the book I am now searching for a more beginner book.

This book is a very good text which explains concepts like object oriented programming in java, basic concents on java, working with real world applications and much more.
Written by Peter Norton in his unique style it is a good guide & text for beginners and intermediate level.
Explains user interface design, file IO, awt and much more.

USEFUL AS TEXT BOOK. -niteen.

Ideal for anyone that wants to become an advanced Java programmer. Covers applet and application development in grand style! When other books run out of gas in the beginner/intermediate topics, this book is picking up steam and carrying you all the way from novice to advanced programming and expert-level topics.

"Shadowland" is two stories in one book. The first is set in a strict prep school, the second is set in the confined house of a madman. Though this book had strong imagery and allegory, I found the story to be too complex. Straub tried to tackle too many issues at once and just barely scraped by. The characters are developed well, but I was unable to grasp the emotion of the love between Tom and the mysterious "Rose." If you'd like to read a book with a well-written love affair that is also black with horror I recommend reading "Wizard and Glass" by Stephen King. Overall, I found Shadowland to be too long, and the ending is unsatisfying and abrupt.

Peter Straub has been called the thinking man's Stephen King. I think that he is the thinking man's Peter Straub. Mr. Straub has once again written a novel that has a plot too complicated to sumerize, but is an incredible work to read. Like his two best books, GHOST STORY and KOKO, SHADOWLAND is filled with interesting and very realistic characters. Like his other books SHADOWLAND at first seems utterly confusing, but by the end everything comes together in ways that will amaze and delite.

Rates in my top five all-time favorite books. This one delivers it all. Caught somewhere between a fever dream and the cool, longing whisper of a childhood memory, this book does what so few can: creates a narrative that is truly unique. As a film director, I have watched and read--"absorbed"--so many stories, that it is impossible not to see lazy "cookie-cutter" storytelling in almost everything. How often have I picked up a book or watched a movie with an interesting premise only to find that it is just like every other book or movie. Not so with Shadowland, which kept me forever off balance--but not enough to lose me. I was lost and riveted at the same time.

With absolute precision, Straub brings to life the adolescent's journey into manhood; how even everyday life can be a wonderous, terrifying mystery. By reframing this subtext within the confines of Shadowland itself--the magician's mansion--Straub creates a level of uncertainty and terror that you will feel lingering with you long after you've closed the book.

I can't imagine that this book will suit everyone's taste; but for anyone who likes their fiction to remain elusive, revealing, suprising, this is a book that will haunt you for years to come.

After tackling the subject of greed and selfishness in "Martin Chuzzlewit",Charles Dickens turned his critical eye on pride and selfishness to achieve another masterwork in "Dombey and Son"."Dombey and Son" presents a vivid "criticism of life" teeming with unforgettable characters and scenes,written with an almost surreal intensity.The novel,like most of Dickens' others,is hauntingly lyrical and is embued with a quiet melancholy."Dombey and Son" tells the story of the destructiveness of a rich merchant's deadening pride on those around him.It details his own "comeuppance",when after ruining much of the lives of those who love him,Dombey is nearly destoyed by the villains and fools surrounding him,who have used his wife-a tragic and desperate golddigger more proud than he-to strike at him."Dombey and Son" illustrates the old message that nothing but love and kindness matter,that we and everything we have will ultimately perish and pride and selfishness are the frailest goods to be bought in this vanity fair.Yet the book's many original characters gives the conception fresh life and its comedy both genial and satiric lightens the sad gloom of such a moral tale.There are(as typical of Dickens)many grotesques in the novel-some good(the affectionate and good-natured Captain Cuttle,the saucy and defensive Susan Nipper),some bad(the sour martinet Mrs. Pipchin,the apoplectic and sycophantic Major) and some just plain evil(that emblem of consummate hypocrisy-Mr. Carker)."Dombey and Son" is like a grand feast where there is so much being served,that you don't know where to begin-and this for some readers may not be a good thing.The book is very long and Dickens' long sentences dwell lovingly on every detail(you will probably never see so many semicolons on one page);they who prefer something that gets to the point quicker or someting lighter may not have the patience for Dickens.However for me this was not a problem-Dickens' use of sentimentality,though, was.It is unfortunate that he chose as with Little Nell,to "angelize" Florence Dombey.She is fatally marred by being made to not only meekly love a father who neglects and despises her but to wander forlornly around their house,kissing the furniture he has touched and spending half the book in tears.This is a shame since Florence is at times charming and some of the book's more powerful scenes make effective use of her.The character of the precocious and doomed Paul Dombey,however is of a different achievement.The chapter entitled(I think)"What the waves were always saying" details with hallucinatory intensity the world to the eyes of a dying child and was one of the most famous scenes with the Victorians;it remains one of the most powerful in all of literature."Dombey and Son" despite its length and flaws will always remain for the true lover of literature-immortal.

this novel, sitting as it does between dickens' early and late novels, captures the best of both dickens. it has the humor, grotesque characters, and melodrama that characterized the early novels, but it isn't without the unified structure, mature style, and psychological depth that were the hallmarks of his later books. it's one of my favorite dickens books (i've read 11 of them), and if it weren't for the length i'd recommend dombey as the place to start for someone looking to read chas. if 900 pages doesn't faze you then by all means dive in. if it does, then start with 'great expecations' instead. but be sure to come back to dombey. you won't be disappointed.

The inexplicably neglected 'Dombey and Son' is a stunning masterpiece of 19th century fiction. The invention and bravura of Dickens' use of language is astounding. Coupled with that is a wonderful insight into the introduction of the railways in Victorian England and the often oppressive, alienating powers of a rampant Capitalist system that forces itself above the values of family and personal relationships. In 'Dombey and Son', the dangers of equating business partnerships with social ones are vividly revealed. Coupled with all of this is the presentation of one of Dickens' most compellingly vile villans: Carker. You could call this book, and the ones that come after it, "Dickens' with Teeth" and it is 'Dombey and Son' that inaugurates this development in Dickens' writing. Read it. It's wonderful.

While the book is an interesting and entertaining read, most of it is untrue and horribly researched. The one star review lower on this page got it right. The facts that Mr. Allen gave as the boy's identity, his father, and where this all happened are all dead wrong. Nothing ever happened in the town or house that he said it did. It was apparent that Mr. Allen did minimal digging into the subject and just took what he found and threw it on the page with nothing to back it up with. What's even odder about this is how easily the real information(from the "Strange" Magazine)was found by that reporter. That Mr. Allen didn't take enough time to see that what was in front of his face was horribly wrong and what was right was not hard to figure out. When Mr. Allen was even contacted by the other reporter, he seemed to not care or answer any questions as to why he didn't go further to find the real truth. Everything he has stated about the boy and the location, is all wrong. Even the possessed boy himself stated that he never lived there and didn't know why people thought that. While the book is an interesting read, it can only be categorized under 'fiction', because that is what it is.

When I first read this book in its previous edition, I, too, was impressed with its supposedly accurate and dispassionate account of a true-life exorcism. That was before I read the extensive "Strange" magazine article debunking the case, which shows up the shoddy lack of research conducted by Allen. (In fact, Allen ends up looking like the Erich von Daniken of exorcism scholarship.) "Strange" magazine's investigative research discovered a whole lot that Allen apparently did not (or did not wish to reveal), such as the fact that the case did not take place in Mount Rainier, Maryland, as press reports stated, and the fact that the boy's father did not believe his son was possessed. The "Strange" magazine researcher not only tracked down the identity of the "haunted boy," but interviewed former neighbors, friends, and classmates -- basic research that Allen failed to do. The actual facts are quite different from those claimed in Allen's highly sensationalized and fanciful account.

I have always wanted to tell this story someplace, and here seems as good a place as any. I swear that what I am about to describe really happened. It was pretty scary.

Although we now live in Pennsylvania, my husband and I used to live in St. Louis. We know where the Alexian Brothers Hospital is and some of the other landmarks in the book. When this book came out it was released in St. Louis first, before it had a nation-wide release. I purchased the book with the intention of sending it to my father in NY State as he had liked the movie The Exorcist.

The first night I read 1/2 of the book. The following day while cleaning the livingroom I heard the distinct sound of rapping and/or scratching coming from a corner of the room, up near the ceiling. My husband laughed it off as either a mouse or my over- active imagination from the book, but later that night he heard it too. We had never in over 10 years had a problem with animals or mice in the walls, etc. In the book...the possession starts with rapping sounds.

That night I read the rest of the book, although by this time I was a little frightened. The following morning my mother in NY State called to tell me of an odd occurrance. The phone had rang the day before and when she answered it the person asked for "Sadie", my mother's name. When she said, "This is Sadie" the person started talking, according to my mother, "gibberish". She couldnt understand what they were saying or even if it was a male or female or what language they were speaking. When she asked who it was the person stated "Emily" which is my name. My mother said, "This is Emily, my daughter?" to which the person said, "yes" and then started speaking gibberish again. My mother hung up.

What is odd is that the phone number at the time was listed only in my father's name and I hadnt lived at home for almost 10 years. How did this person know BOTH of our names?

Because this freaked me out even more, that day I wrapped up the book and sent it to my parents. I didnt hear anything about it until about a week later when I asked my mother if she had the book, she said she did, and that my father would thank me for it but he wasnt at home. I asked where he was and she said that he was at the hardware store buying mouse traps as "We have heard scratching in the walls for a week now, so we must have a mouse."

This incident happened about 10 years ago. Nothing else happened after that, my parents never caught a mouse, the scratching stopped, and the book appears to be lost as I havent seen it when I have been over there. But it was very odd when it happened.

So...read the book, it is a fascinating story. But if anything odd happens to you or your family, please write a review and let me know. Thanks.

This is Shakespeare's 2nd last play. Yet, nothing indicates that he was running out of steam. The images are beautiful. Stephano, Caliban, and Trinculo are memorable as the bumbling conspirators. Miranda and Ferdinand are fine as the two young lovers. Ariel is striking as Prospero's loyal servant. Prospero is a magnificent creation. Not only does he offer several beautiful and memorable passages, but he is well drawn as a character who was unfairly forced into exile. He also makes his prison his paradise. In addition, he is a fine representation of Shakespeare himself: "Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me / From mine own library with volumes that / I prize above my dukedom" (1.2.166-168). His speeches in 4.1 and 5.1 also reflect how Shakespeare himself was contemplating the end of his career. The story itself is very well drawn. Shakespeare grabs our attention with a storm at sea. He offers us a reflection of himself, comical touches, beautiful images, profound passages, beautiful language, young lovers, comical villains, and deep messages. If you like this, be sure to read his final play "Henry VIII."

Comedy, in the strictest sense, is concerned with ultimate forgiveness and reconciliation. In Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest," the protagonist, Prospero, must come to terms with his brother Antonio, who conspired to have him driven from his duchy in Milan, and with the world of social interaction in general.

Magic, Power, and Conspiracy are the foundational thematic elements through which Shakespeare effects Prospero's reintegration into human society. Thrown into a boat with his infant daughter Miranda, Prospero comes to live on a nearly deserted island in the Mediterranean Sea. Prospero's concentration on developing his proficiency in Magic caused him to become alienated from his political and social responsibilities in Milan, leading to his expulsion. His brother Antonio conspired with Alonso, king of Naples, and seized the power Prospero forsook for book-learning.

Prospero hears of a sea voyage undertaken by his enemies, and, using his Magic, whips up a storm, a great tempest, which causes his enemies to be shipwrecked on his island. On the island, Prospero exercises total power - over the education of his daughter, his slave, the deformed Caliban, and now over his enemies. He engages Ariel, a sprite, to orchestrate the division of the traveling party, and to put them through various trials to exact vengeance and ultimately, submission from them.

"The Tempest" is a fine effort from Shakespeare, but the power relations in the play are problematic. Prospero's insistent dominance over the action of the play is extremely troubling. Although he is presented as a benevolent character, Prospero's relationships with Miranda, Caliban, and Ferdinand, King Alonso's son, complicate his overall worth as a man and an authority figure. The dynamic between the slave Caliban and the drunks, Trinculo and Stephano, is also very unsettling.

Overall, "The Tempest" remains a whimsical flight of imagination, while exploring intriguing themes of education, political intrigue, and romance. Certainly, it is still a well-constructed and entertaining play after nearly four hundred years.

One of the best works by Shakespeare and also his final full play (most likely), The Tempest draws on many elements that Shakespeare used in his earlier works and adds a comic twist. Shakespeare doesn't spend much time on character development in the Tempest, other than Prospero and possibly Caliban (e.g. Miranda is the ideal chaste woman, Trinculo & Stephano are lowly schemers). However, Prospero is extremely well developed and the simple aspects of the other characters do not detract from the story at all. There are many different levels of meaning at work in the play...some see it as a pro-colonialist diatribe, others see it as Shakespeare's own swan song, where Prospero himself is based on the Bard, and Prospero's surrendering of his magical powers is representative of Shakespeare giving up his craft. I read it as both, and a million other things, and that is one of the great things about the play...it can be read in so many different ways. The structure of the play seems almost chaotic at first, with so many things going on at once. However, if you read the play over again, or read some of the essays contained in the Signet Edition, it becomes much more clear, although still open-ended. The Signet Edition is excellent, and Signets in general are. Buy this over the Folger Library editions...the footnotes here are much easier to work with and make the reading much smoother overall.

This play can be read as anti-semitic. In fact, it's pretty hard to defend it from such charges. Shylock is a pretty rotten character and the fact that he is jewish is difficult to overlook (particularly since the other characters mention it on pretty much EVERY page). However, I think it is important to mention that the "heroes" of this play do not necessarily have to be interpreted as heroes. They are by no means perfect and there are many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) instances within the text in which their biases against ANYONE unlike them is illustrated. If one reads the play this way, then Shylock becomes more of a tragic figure rather than an absolutely heartless villain. I don't know. My feelings about this are mixed. There are a few funny parts of this play and the language is, as always, beautiful. The theme of putting a price on human beings is one which has been explored numerous times since. Overall, it is enjoyable, but perhaps not so much so as some of the other comedies. Do not read this play without having read a few others by Shakespeare first. It is an excellent play, but not his best and not his most enjoyable either.

This is a wonderful play - and unless you have seen it or read it you don't know it at all. That's because everything the popular culture tells us about this play is false (for example; how many of you think this play is about a merchant named Shylock? ;-)

The Merchant of Venice is a lively and happy morality tale. Good triumphs over bad - charity over greed - love over hate.
There is fine comedy. Portia is one of Shakespeare's greatest women (and he ennobled women more than any playwright in history). There are moments of empathy and pain with all the major characters. There is great humanity and earthiness in this play. These things are what elevate Shakespeare over any other playwright in English history.

Plays should be seen - not read. I recommend you see this play (if you can find a theater with the courage and skill to do it). But if it is not playing in your area this season - buy the book and read it.

After reading most of the other reviews here, I am fully aware that most of the reviewers didn't read carefully enough (or watch carefully enough if they saw the play.) Now, I'm not saying its not open for different interpretations, but there is one thing I would really like to get straight.

I read MoV for a Bar Mitzvah project on Anti-Semitism. Naturally, my sympathies went to Shylock. However, even if i were Christian, i still would've favored Shylock. What many people believe is that Shylock is a cold hearted ruthless person and only wanted to get back at Antonio because Antonio was a Christian.

Not true. Shylock specifically says something along the lines off, "Why should I lend money to you? You spit on me, and call me a Jewish dog!" I'm not saying that Shylock was a good guy, but I am saying that he is not the villain.

In fact, the "Merchant of Venice," in this story is actually Shylock, not Antonio, contrary to popular belief. My thoughts on the story was that Shylock requested a pound of Antonio's flesh because he did not trust Antonio. Who would trust someone that spat on him? The fact is, Antonio doesn't pay him back in the end.

Now, there's always something else we have to put into consideration. Would the judge had given the "spill one ounce of Christian blood" verdict at the end if Shylock were not a Jew?

This is the mark of a great play. A play that really gets you thinking. But I encourage you, I beg of you, that when you read it or see it, please do not hold Shylock up to being a cold hearted villain. Hold Antonio up to that image. (joking, of course, Antonio's not a bad guy, he's just not a good guy.)

Look, I've read the book many times and seen the movie also many times (one of my favorites). Saw the movie first, so I couldn't wait to read the book. Unfortunately, the one thing I truly cared about and most, the one link to the original Exorcist (don't think anyone cares that much for Kinderman, more now since a different actor played him), meaning Father Karras (Jason Miller), was mising!! Sure, his body is there, but it's not "him". He's not "possesed", he's not there at all!! Just some nut and his dumbo brother, and maybe the demons. Who cares about the Gemini and his brother? (Are we supossed to feel good for them when they finally go away?) And Blatty makes him symphatetic!! Abused chilhood, dumb abused brother, hateful father... Come on! Blatty almost tells us to cheer up and feel sorry for him (particularly at the end, when he can't "go on" without Kinderman believing him nor his brother now that daddy dearest is dead), a serial killer!! No wonder it wasn't a hit. Sure, Anfortas and the dead people voice-recording and the "double" was interesting, but not that much. Obviously Blatty recognized this and got it right in the movie (yes, the ending could have been better). In the movie Karras is "there", not really possesed, but more like trapped in his body (remember, he "died" while still being possesed) by the demons in order to allow the Gemini to live and go on killing, and to torture him. And the Gemini is really evil and twisted (as any other serial killer really is). We got to know and care for Karras, not Kinderman, in the Exorcist, that's why his "presence" is so important. That's why the movie is better, and the book a misfire.

Of course, I could be wrong. Anyone who thinks different, tell me why.

I'm a freak! I read Legion before I read the Exorcist! Let me just say that Legion isn't meant to be a sequel... in my opinion. Yes... it has many same characters but many of its ideas and themes are different. And after reading "The Exorcist" I will admit that Legion does not have the horror or eloquent language of "The Exorcist" but it IS thought-provoking.. and intriguing. It's a page-turner that can not be put down! It works on many levels: a horror novel, a mystery novel, a religious novel, a novel about a family man. It's a wonderful book that shouldn't be pinholed as "The sequel to 'The Exorcist'" It's sooooooooooo much more.

Not sure how i found my way here to an out of print book but here i am. I read this book years ago after finding it in a used book sale. I was quite young, hadn't seen or read The Exorcist but liked the cover of the eyes and candle and the blurb "call me legion for we are many." Well i read it, didn't really understand what was going on and forgot about it. I came back to it years later after reading the first book and this time it just blew me away. It has something special in a horror novel in that it is actually very thought provoking. Kinderman's conversations are wonderful. But there is also a real scary atmosphere to this book. I defy anyone to read the section on the tape recording of coma patients and not feel a chill when voices can be heard in empty rooms. This book is a classic and doesn't deserve to be out of print. Maybe when Exorcist 4 comes out it will get a new lease of life.
The film based on this book "Exorcist 3" doesn't have the depth of the book and misses out entirely the tape recordings and the life story of James Vennamun but is quite a good film. It includes that famous one view corridor scene that builds and builds into one of the great horror moments ever.

In this sequel to MYSTERY Straub writes a complex, riveting tale rich in atmosphere in which past crimes return to plague the present. Straub is a master at making us see a character with only one brilliantly worded sentence.. The characters of Tim Underhill and Tom Pasmore are unforgettable, as is the remarkable and elusive "Blue Rose Murderer.". I have read the book three times and each time find something new. This is not a book for readers who like to "figure out" who the killer is by the mddle of the story. I consider it a classic of the genre.

I've read and re-read this book and each time I get something different from it. It's a richly textured story with characters that I found compelling and involving. Some are horrible and repugnant and some, like the Tom Pasmore character, I yearn to learn more about. I can see how that book just wouldn't be some people's cup of tea but I loved it. Also, I loved the whole story of Fee Bandolier and the mysteries Tim Underhill confronts. I'm actually quite comfortable with some of the mysteries and contradictions of the story. I think it mirrors things I've encountered in my own life.

In my opinion the Blue Rose Murder books, Mystery & Throat were PERFECT. (Koko, the first in the series, I didn't like) I enjoyed every minute spent with these two books tho. Just thinking back on them makes me happy! Tom Pasmore and his real father are beautiful characters, Tim Underhill is righton. A Fabulous story that takes you to many places in many times. It flows smooth & easy, fast & exciting

Mystery & Throat = perfection.

Koko = illogical.

The book covers too many topics and just few are developed in deep while others are superficially introduced because not yet standardized at the time of print. The book claims it covers the following topics: XML, XSLT, DOM, DTD, SOAP, XLink, XPointer, XPath, WAP, WML...and more; but just XML, Schemas, DTDs and SOAP could almost fit the book's size.

Chapters don't follow a very logic thread and it doesn't deal enough with very relevant subjects. Wrox probably planned to make this book the XML bible but I think they are far from the target.

The XML declarative language, with its adaptability and expressive power, is continuing to become the language of choice for reporting and classifying information. XML is a formal grammar that captures the syntactic features of a document type definition, and its properties, syntax, and applications are discussed effectively in this book. It covers XML as formalized by the W3C and the authors show how to use XML in Web-based and database applications. Readers who have developed applications in HTML will probably view XML as somewhat more abstract, since the visual representation of the content of a document is not emphasized in XML. Readers are expected to have a background in HTML, JavaScript, Java, and ASP in order to read the book. Although XML can be learned by reading the W3C specifications, these documents are frequently difficult reading, and this book makes the learning of XML much easier than reading these specifications. They include the W3C specifications for XML 1.0 in an appendix to the book for the interested reader. The book is a little dated, since the W3C has been updating XML specs since the time of publication (especially with regard to schemas), but there is a 2nd edition coming out soon.

In Chapter 1, XML is introduced as a mark-up language and its inherent extensibility emphasized. This is followed by a detailed treatment of XML syntax in the next chapter, with emphasis placed on the hierarchical nature of XML. The authors do include a discussion of Processing Instructions (PIs) for users who want to use XML in this fashion.

Document Type Definitions (DTD) are the subject of Chapter 3, where the authors communicate effectively how DTDs formal grammar is used to specify the structure and permissible values of XML documents. The formal DTD structure is discussed, and the principles behind writing DTDs are effectively outlined. They also discuss the problems with using DTDs.

Data modeling with XML is discussed in the next chapter, with information modeling via static and dynamic models treated in detail, and the authors carefully distinguish these two approaches. The actual designing of XML documents is given a nice overview as well as the role of schemas in XML. This is followed in Chapter 6 by a discussion of the (tree-based) Document Object Model, which overviews how XML documents can be accessed by various programs. Some helpful examples are given on how the DOM can be used to create an XML document programmatically. An alternative way of processing an XML document is discussed in the next chapter on the (event-based) SAX interface. The authors outline in detail the benefits of using SAX rather than DOM. In Appendix B the reader will find the Internet Explorer 5.0 XML DOM 1.0 W3C specifications. In addition, in Appendix C, the specification for the SAX 1.0 interface is given.

The shortcomings of DTD are addressed in terms of XML Schemas and namespaces in chapter 7. Since this book was published, XML Schemas have reached W3C recommendation status as of Nov 2000. The authors give a good overview of namespaces and schemas, with helpful examples. This is followed in chapter 8 by a discussion of how to link and query into XML documents using the XML information set, XLink, XPath, XPointer, XML Fragment Interchange, with XLST covered in the next chapter. For database applications, the authors outline the differences between relational databases and XML documents. A very detailed treatment of how XLST transforms the source document is given, and the authors compare XLS and DOM transformations. An Internet Explorer XSL reference is included in one of the appendices of the book.

More details on the relationship between databases and XML is the subject of chapter 10, wherein the authors show how to store XML and how data can be communicated between different servers using XML. The issues involved when moving data from RDBMS to OODBMS or from Oracle to Sybase, are discussed by the authors. This is followed by an interesting discussion on how to use XML as a distributed component model for server-to-server communications via XML-Remote Procedure Call and Simple Object Access Protocol.

E-commerce applications are discussed in the next chapter, with EDI and its improvement via XML. The business markup language cXML , which allows business to business electronic commerce transactions across the Internet, is also treated in detail.

The authors then finally discuss how to render XML documents more readable and pleasing for the viewer in the next chapter using the style languages CSS and XSL. The discussion is really interesting, for the authors dig a little deeper into the foundations of style languages. The discussion of style languages as rule-based languages is particularly illuminating.

The next chapter is very interesting and its inclusion is actually very surprising, namely a discussion of the Wireless Application Protocol. The authors give an introduction to the Wireless Markup Language and WMLScript. The book ends with four useful chapters on case studies for data duality, distributed applications, a book catalog information service, and SOAP.

There are many applications of XML in many different areas, such as CellML (proprietary) used in cell biology, CML (Chemical Markup Language) for molecular chemistry, IML (Instrument Markup Language) for control of laboratory equipment, BSML (Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language) for gene sequencing, and MathML for formatting of mathematical equations. I find XML an extremely powerful approach to information reporting and I am currently developing a package called NMML (Network Modeling Markup Language) for use in reporting results in simulation and mathematical modeling of networks, and FMML (Financial Modeling Markup Language) for use in reporting results in the modeling of financial instruments. This book, along with the W3C specifications, has been a tremendous help in the development of these applications.

Awesome "self-teach" book. I've been programming for years, but was new to XML and needed to start using it in my applications, so I had just the very basic concepts of what XML was before I started reading. This book is very complete, gives tons of practical examples and guidelines, and provides many external references. This is the ONLY book you will need to learn XML effectively on your own.

As others have stated here, the only real downside to the book is that it repeats many concepts more than once, so it is NOT the best choice for a reference book.