This is an absoulutely brilliant work and makes fascinating reading for any Civil War Buff, collector or digger. Very well written articles that belie any misaprehensions that this may be too technical a subject. I couldn't put it down. It exemplifies the belief that "every artifact has a story to tell." Highly recommended.

This is an excellent book for the anyone interested both archaeology and history. Many people do not know what a great deal of information can be gleaned from an archaeological analysis of historic sites. The authors look at several archaeological studies done on the Civil War, especially the battle of Antietam, and shed some new light on military strategies, the ebb and flow of battlefields, and the daily lives of soldiers and citizens. A must-read for any Civil War buff and anyone interested in seeing how archaeology can affect the historical record.

i borrowed this book from my university library initially,but i found i can't live without it,so i bought it. it provides a clear,thoroughful introduction to samba,and smb. then give u a detail intruction to administer samba. the most convenient part is the trouble-shooting samba,which contains a lot of cases that u will face when integrating samba, so buy one yourself

If you ever wanted to know about SAMBA, what it is, what it does and how to use it, this is the book...the ultimate book...

Not only covers it all features found in SAMBA, it also covers most intergration with other systems, containing many helpful hints for servermanagers.

The book also manages to both look back over the past of SAMBA, but also look ahead into the future use of the product.

Awesome book, you can't go wrong with this buy.

This third 'Harry Potter' novel from JK Rowling proves that not only does JKR know how to write a good book - she also knows how to write a great series.

The patterns that seemed to be emerging in books one and two (Harry vanquishes Voldemort in some form, and is praised as a hero by the school) don't recur here - we have some alternative 'bad' characters, and some of them are extremely surprising! Also there is less coverage of the Dursleys, which came as a relief to me. The book fleshes out the history of Harry's parents, and we learn a lot more about James Potter and his friends. Sirius Black is a great new character, as are Professors Lupin and Trelawney - and of course Snape is still around, nasty as ever!

Many new magical concepts, artefacts and creatures are introduced, broadening the scope of the Harry Potter world considerably. Also, a special mention has to go to the Dementors, AKA the prison guards of Azkaban - truly the scariest characters in a children's book for quite some time. As you'd expect from JK Rowling, 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' is expertly written, and entirely unpredictable. Definitely worth reading, for children and adults too.

You can identify with Harry Potter, an orphan raised by mean-spirited relatives. In many ways, he is a very ordinary boy, with unruly hair, glasses, and a love of sport (Quiddich, that is). He isn't as good in school (Hogwarts) as is Hermione Granger, one of his best friends, and he likes to wander around having adventures (especially at night) rather than doing his homework. Despite his notariety, he quiet and unassuming. But he's different in a way we all wish we could be: He is a wizard of immense and mysterious power. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, as in the first two books in the series, he confronts awsome forces of evil -- and prevails.

The details of the Wizard world are wonderful. There are candies that magically take many different flavors (not all of them are desirable), owls that deliver letters (including "howlers" that noisily scold the recipient), a magic bus that causes houses and trees to jump out of its way, and portraits that look and talk as though they were alive.

And the characters are wonderful, too. One of Harry's best friends is Ron Weasly, who comes from a big poor family, all of whom have flaming red hair and get lumpy sweaters from their mother for Christmas. The teasing that goes on among the Weasly children -- one of whom takes his position as prefect all too seriously -- is very funny and very true.

All three books are magical, but this one has more depth than the first two. As we learn more about Harry's parents -- their friends and the circumstances of their death -- were learn more about Harry, the evil that stalks him, and the strenght and wisdom of his supporters (especially Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts).

My wife and I have read all three book out loud to our three boys (ages 8, 11, and 13). The final 100 pages of Prisoner of Azkaban went in one sitting that lasted past midnight; we simply could not put it down. "When is the next Harry Potter book," they now ask. We are all waiting eagerly.

No doubt about it: Harry Potter is the character of the century, and the rapid-paced Sorcerer's Stone, which introduces him, is exactly the right book. While he's no handsome jock, quite the opposite really, Harry becomes the object of the reader's heart almost immediately. He is adorable. Intelligent, a bit shy and awkward at eleven years old, and still far from any sort of worldly wisdom, Harry has lost parents he never knew and has been raised in a tiny, dark, spider-full closet under the steps of his unbelievably mean aunt's and uncle's London house. And then the action begins.

Harry discovers to his amazement (and his family's horror) that he is a wizard! He's magic! As the chapters unfold the reader follows Harry with baited breath. Will nasty, sneaky Professor Snape catch him and throw Harry and his friends out of Hogwarts? Will they escape from the three-headed monster guarding the treasure? Will Harry be able to solve the mysterious and deadly riddles in time to evade Voldemort and save the day? The adventures never stop, and the pages turn themselves.

From anyone's point of view, the story is one in a million. No matter what your age (and I'm in my 50s!), you'll find yourself reading under the covers with a flashlight. From an English teacher's perspective, the book is a wonder. The grammar is near perfect (it's conversational, so the pronouns don't always agree in number); and the images the author employs are marvelous! You could teach word-ology just on the study of "muggle" alone. And where in the world did Rawlings come up with Quiditch? You'll wish you'd written it yourself, for it's the Pied Piper of all books: it will have children of all ages following it anywhere, loving to read, and begging for more...now!

Harry Potter thought he had a fairly normal life (aside from living with his aunt and uncle who hated him), but he was very wrong. On his 11th birthday he learned that he was a wizard and had been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly, Harry is plunged into an entirely new world of magic. At Hogwarts Harry has friends for the first time in his life. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are his best friends at the school and they are the ones who help Harry through all of his troubles. From the very beginning though, Harry is slightly aware of something strange going on at Hogwarts. Harry pieces together the mystery slowly throughout the school year in while he isn't busy working on schoolwork or Quidditch (a magical game played on broomsticks).
My favorite part about this book was the world that J.K. Rowling created. While it would have been easy for her to just set the story in a school where the kids learn magic, she didn't. Things like Diagon Alley, which is where all of the students go to get school supplies, allow her to add so much more to the magic world just through descriptions of things Harry sees. Quidditch also makes the world seem much more real.
I originally read this book because I needed a young adult book for class, but I ended up enjoying it far more than I thought I would. I can't remember the last time I actually read much outside of school, but after reading this book I read the other three and am now anxiously awaiting the fifth book. I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone. It's obvious that it was aimed at younger readers, but I found I enjoyed it as much at 17 as my sister did at 11.

Although I realize that due to the overwhelming volume of review responses there is little chance my offering will be read, I enjoyed the book too much to be able to resist. It is an absolutely marvelous story, the best new book since who-knows-when and easily topping even the works of "adult" literature with which it shares the best-seller list.

It is a geography of the imagination, which will remain long after the ephemeral chronicles of the time have withered and blown away. Having a classic structure and classic protagonist doesn't do it any harm, either.

Harry Potter is a more-or-less archetypal sort of hero. Parents mysteriously killed, raised in menial domestic situation by aunt and uncle, possesing a strange mark and even stranger powers- that type of the hero can be picked up everywhere from early fairy tales and legends to "Star Wars". And the story's plot- the education of the remarkable young man- is equally precedented.

But the wonders J.K. Rowling works with her classic form! Her story is a perfect blend of theme, plot, and character, action, humor, drama, deeper meaning, and sheer imaginative revelry. She has combined her ingredients, and said the magic words, and has caught the reading world in the resulting enchantment.

Harry Potter has lived a dismal life with his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. He sleeps in a closet and has never had a birthday party or Christmas presents. Even worse, he has to endure life with his horrible spoiled cousin, Dudley. Then on Harry's eleventh birthday, things change when a letter arrives, (by owl), inviting him to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly Harry finds himself among friends, learning about potion-making and magic-wand waving and broomstick riding. There're chocolate frogs and Every Flavor Beans and a three-headed dog and Quidditch-a game better than soccer. Also, Hagrid, a lovable gamekeeper who befriends Harry; Hermione Granger, a witch who's read all the school books and knows all the rules; and there's Ron Weasly, Harry's best friend who has quite a legacy of his own to fill. Hogwarts treats him well, even with the abomidable Malfoy's mean tricks or Professor Snape's obvious hatred of Harry. The soon Harry finds himself in the middle of a mystery at Hogwarts, and together with his two new friends, embarks on adventures he never dreamed possible.

The book is engaging with its imagery, humor, plot twists and real-life child problems. The book doesn't only appeal to children but adults as well. She's a master on fantasy. She really can, with no difficulty at all, think herself back to 11 years old. You will love the whimsical descriptions, humorous quotes and the fun characters. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

The great strength of Rowling's works is her conscious effort to never let the messages in her stories overshadow their readability and sense of fun. All books should first and foremost tell the story, and Rowling never forgets that. That said, her latest installment, The Goblet of Fire, takes us back to Hogwarts for another year of magic, danger and intrigue. This book is the pivotal part of Harry's seven year tale, and ends on a note that many readers may find unsatisfactory, as the issue of accountability and leadership in the Ministry of Magic comes to light.
Goblet of Fire reads on many levels; younger children will delight in the fast and inventive pace of the plot and storytelling, and older readers will find themselves waiting to see how the issue of Voldemort's true return and the Ministry of Magic's reaction are resolved or expanded in book five.

This is by far the best Harry Potter book. As an adult, I've enjoyed reading these as much as any child. Filled with imagination, insight, and yes, riveting plot twists, the Harry Potter series is destined to be a classic. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry begins to mature into adulthood and learn the true meanings of magic, friendship, and fear. In his fourth year, Harry encounters characters whose actions in the past have affected him, his friends, and his future. In this book, Rowling deepens Harry's story revealing poignant and sometimes tragic aspects of minor characters in a way that humanizes what until now have been relatively flat characters. Without spoiling the read, it is safe to say that Harry is selected to test his mettle as a wizard in a unique and challenging contest. Behind the scenes, however, lurks an all too familiar evil that is out to kill Harry and do much worse. Parents will be pleased that this book treats the horrific and tragic happenings in a way that is sensitive and thought provoking. As Rowling's child audience matures, so Harry has grown and experienced life in such a way as to fulfill one of the goals of all literature--to inform and entertain.

It is quite hard to believe just how good Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is; the first three books, all of which impressed me deeply, seem almost forgettable compared to this intense fourth entry in the series. This is as rich a reading experience as you will find, no matter what your age. The storyline as it exists at the end of this mammoth epic has more of a hold on me now, as an adult, than the Star Wars saga had on me as a kid, which is saying a great deal, I assure you. One barely knows where to start one's praises of this book; yes, it does have both dark overtones and undertones to it, yet it also boasts some of the funniest moments of the series. We learn a great deal more about the major characters and turn our attention to new attractions such as the unique new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mad-Eye Moody. Events in magical circles outside of Hogwarts increase the landscape of Rowling's magical world many times over as we are given insight into the workings of the Ministry of Magic, are treated to the best seat in the house at the Quidditch World Cup championship, and are introduced to two wholly new magical schools in foreign locations. The pattern one might have come to expect of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is thrown immediately out of the window; there are no school Quidditch matches this year, nor is there even an inter-house cup competition. Instead, Professor Dumbledore makes the extraordinary announcement that the Triwizard Tournament has not only been reinstituted after many years, it will take place at Hogwarts. Only sixth- and seventh-year students are eligible to compete, seeming to leave Harry Potter quite out of the mix, which is fine by him. A Goblet of Fire decides which of the volunteers from each school will compete as its Champion, but this quite impartial judge surprises everyone by selecting a certain familiar, fourth year student for the competition. What follows is a roller coaster ride of a year, with Harry enduring more trials and troubles than ever before: his friendship with Ron threatens to end forever, he faces incredibly difficult tasks that may or may not serve as a means by which someone can kill him, a thoroughly sleazy tabloid reporter makes his and his friends' lives all but unbearable on a number of occasions, and he faces perhaps his biggest challenge of all: having to ask a girl to accompany him to the Yule Ball. Oh, a certain arch enemy also rears his ugly head once again.

This is a large book, obviously; it gets off to something of a slow start, taking 171 pages just to get Harry to Hogwarts to start the new year. Have no fear, though, because the novel then sucks you in so deeply that you may be unable to get out of it, should you even want to. The length of the book quickly becomes a comfort to you, as you will not want this book to ever end. End it shall, however, with an incredibly intense final 125 pages that will leave you gasping for breath, roiling in shock, and surging with adrenaline. Anyone unable to understand why untold millions of addicted fans have been climbing the walls for three years waiting for Book 5 have simply not read this book. Events of quite drastic proportions have been set in motion now, and the end of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts holds little resolution to it. There are dark days ahead and a significant number of plot points appear on the horizon. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are growing up, with normal teenaged issues already beginning to manifest themselves, Hogwarts is in something of a tizzy over the culminating events of the completed school year, and the whole world of magic shows every sign of being in utter disarray. The world of Harry Potter has never been more intense, exciting, and portentous as it is at the end of this unbelievably good book.

I just finished "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", only a day and a half after starting it. In five days, I've read the first two books, and in my opinion, this is by far better than the first.

Starting with the good: The plot is darker, much more of a horror than an adventure, and a lot like something Stephen King might write--my favorite author. Second, the characters are now more interesting due to their increasing knowledge of magic, which makes the plot and the story a little more action-packed. Also, I liked the surprise ending--just like the first--and just as I did in the first book, I didn't figure it out until it actually happened.

The Bad: There aren't too many things wrong with this book. It's about thirty pages longer than the first, which isn't bad, and is actually better for the story. However, the ending is dragged out, and it could've come to a close a little sooner. Another thing would be the beginning, where a lot is reviewed from the first book. You could actually pick this one up and understand it having no prior knowledge as to what happened in Book 1 (although I do recommend it.) If the author would've just started where she left off, assuming that they were to be read in order without a review, I--and probably many others--would've appreciated it.

Other than that, I have no other complaints. This is, in fact, the better of the first two. I just started reading the third, and I hear it's the best of the first four, but I'm not jumping to any conclusions considering I heard the second was boring and dull.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of was an exciting novel to be read by any literate person young and old. Although short in length when comparing it to the final book, The Chamber of Secrets leaves nothing short of pure perfection. The descriptive dialogue between Harry, Hermione, Ron and the deceitfully evil Draco Malfoy entangles the reader with the problems of being a famous wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Twisting and turning through writings on the wall, whispering voices and a fifty year old percieved myth, J.K. Rowling makes each step of the Harry Potter legend better than before, crushing the previous books with ease and precision. Harry Potter is not just a book about a tale of a secret chamber and it's inhabitant, but the unraveling of a mysterious life. Inside of each experience there lies a small chunk of Harry's life and the life he never knew. J.K. Rowling entangles Harry's Quidditch lessons, classes, teachers, and trouble with information about the young wizards past and family. How his parents died, what the man was like who killed him, and everyone that is hiding Harry's life-threatening fears and most potent of hopes. It is he alone who must uncover the mystery to the Chamber of Secrets and save his friends from turning to stone.

Year 2 at Hogwarts begins with Harry's summer holiday with the Dursleys. The Dursleys haven't changed they're still horrible. Harry is visited at the Dursleys by a new character, Dobby the house-elf who is hysterically funny with his self-punishment, made me laugh out loud. Unfortunately, Dobby's visit causes a number of problems for Harry and his life at the Durselys becomes even worse, if that's possible.

Ron Weasley and his two brothers arrive at the Dursleys in a flying car to rescue Harry. When the school year begins there is a new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, who is an outrageous ego-maniac, a ghost named Moaning Myrtle and the ever-present local bad-guy Draco Malfoy.

The theme of this second book is prejudice against "mudbloods", people who are from Muggle parents and "purebloods" people who come from wizards and witches. J.K. Rowling does a superb job of addressing the issue of prejudice while weaving another fascinating mystery for Harry, Hermoine and Ron to solve.

This second in the series was every bit as entertaining as the first and I have already started on book 3 as I write this.

As a registered adult Harry Potter addict, I picked the new book up as soon as I could on June 21 and read pretty much straight through until I finished it the next day. And I don't have kids, it was just for ME, a grown adult, who can't wait any longer than a 12 year old!

Harry Potter V is another triumph for J.K.Rowling, as she somehow makes the subtle transition into fiction more likely to be fuond in the Young Adult section of the library. The writing style changes, Harry changes, there's adolescent reality (and confusion) woven in with the story line. The ease with which Rowling moves the sophistication of the series along by degrees is quite astounding. Not to mention that the story is as compelling as all the previous volumes, if not even more so.

Because you will soon read a thousand reviews about how wonderful the book is, so I will simply give a word of personal experience in it's reading. I'm not sure I'd recommend the total immersion approach. It's just plain old HARD to come back to one's real life when it's over! Spare yourself and integrate the reading into an hour or two a day with the rest of your life. And spin out the magic for yourself....

The depths of J.K. Rowlings series never cease to amaze me. I don't know how she came up with all of this, but I bow down before her for it. Wow.

I read this book in about 9 hours, probably a record or something, but I just couldn't put it down. The new characters are wonderful; Umbridge is deliciously horrible, and when she started taking over Hogwarts, I was just begging for something to stop this woman from attacking all my favorite people. I love the background about Harry's father and Sirius, the old-married-couple-like realtionship between Ron and Hermione, and Harry's teenage anger and angst. I've been fifteen, and I know how it feels--I would have reacted the same way as Harry in a lot of those situations. I hated that he was so angry, but I could completely relate.

Rowling manages to combine the regular problems of a teenager--hormones, mood swings, school, new relationships--with a dark and magical tale of good and evil. Voldemort is a terrifying enemy, just as bad as Sauron and Morgoth in Tolkien's world. And now that I've read the second to last chapter about four times, I can only say this: poor Harry. If this year was hard, the next two are going to be much worse.

J.K. Rowling-please start writing the sixth book soon!

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix... after waiting 2 years for the next enstallment, I am here to say it was well worth the wait!

After recieving the book in the mail, I read all 870 pages in one day. I found myself immediatly emmerged in a flow of new information- and the return of several old friends- within the first few chapters. Unlike previous books in the series, Harry is now potrayed at his most vulnerable, which for me, made him all the more lovable and easy to relate to. His anger, love, confusion, and self-questioning drew me in to the world of Hogwarts. Rather than the home-away from the horror of the Dursleys, I found Hogwarts in turmoil with the troubles of the Dark Lord lurking just below the surface. As the end drew closer and terror nearer, I was on the edge of my seat, soon shocked and teary... rather than spoil the end, all I can say is READ THE BOOK.

From page one, this book in a winner. I can only hope that the six one comes faster and as thoroughly entertaining as the last five have been.