Every year I tell my friends that *this* is the year I'm going to Hawaii - and every year they give me another travel book on the 50th state. This year I received Rum & Reggae's Hawaii and I've finally booked my trip. Thanks to Mr. Runge's thorough (and thoroughly entertaining) descriptions, I know exactly where to go, where to stay, and what to avoid. I've been waiting for a travel book to really tell me what's what for years. I can see I'm not the only one who appreciates an opinionated travel book - there are far too many dull ones out there. This book pushed me over the edge to finally go to Hawaii - quite an accomplishment. Buy it for a friend of yours!

Just returned from the Islands of Hawaii (Oahu, Maui, Lanai, and big island) - can't wait to go back and explore the other parts of such a wonderful part of the world. I will say that without my copy of Rum&Reggae's Hawaii travel guide - I would have been lost and probably would have had a much lessor experience. I bought the book well ahead of my departure and used it as the foundation for my trip - setting up an appropriate itinerary, logistics, great places to stay, authentic restaurants, and unique places to see not covered in any other guide books I looked at - The tourist scale rating system was really helpful and accurate - without a doubt this guide book is right on the mark. Not only was the book my best reference while I was traveling, but it also was fun to read about the history and cultural stuff I did not know along the way. As with the Rum&Reggae's Carribean guide book (which I used and would also highly recommend if headed there), I found this book very readable, no-bull, and colorfully different from other stuffy, flat guide books I have tried to use many times in the past. Thank you Rum&Reggae for this book - I will go back with your book in hand! My next trip is to South America - when is your travel Guide on Brazil coming out?

This is not my first encounter with Mr. Runge's work nor, I hope, will it be my last. I started with Rum & Reggae 2000, the definitive "inside scoop" on the caribbean, and I've been hooked on Runge ever since.

This is not your ordinary travel guide. It reads more like a converstation with a friend over cocktails. And what better way to plan your next trip than to chat with a friend who has 'been there and done that'?

Be it solitude or 'sauce' that you seek; deserted beaches or a little cha-cha-cha, you'll find it here.

The first edition was very good (see all the other reviews below). This edition, with the exception of some "troubleshooting technique" chapters, appears to be almost an entirely new book (I am glad I got both -- a LOT has changed since 1998, and Feldman has kept up with the times.) There are many more concrete examples that will be useful both for networking pros and the casual office network guy. Good windows coverage...good wireless...with easy-to-read, intelligent and funny writing.

I took Feldman's book to my first systems job as a newly-minted MCSE with no on the job experience. Feldman was my good companion during those first terrifying weeks when I was on my own and didn't know a data packet from a date. Unlike MCSE exam tomes and Microsoft guides, Feldman explains *networking* concepts w/o the Windoze myopia and offers concrete troubleshooting and discovery tools available freely to anyone. As the fog clears the stuff seems almost fun! Indispensable...I sometimes go back to it just to refresh my knowledge and rediscover certain basic concepts that one tends to forget. If you've been voted the "IT guy" at your small company, this is a friendly and useful guide. Thanks Jonathan!

Although not specific to any OS, architecture, or network design, this is an excellent text for anyone beginning a computer networking career. Some may claim that the first few chapters cover common sense, but these chapters superbly augment troubleshooting techniques used in repairing anything technical. The 2nd half explores the most common operating platforms, whetting the reader's appetite for further study in a myriad of networking concepts. This book alone won't make you an expert in any one area, and it doesn't claim (thank God) to be the definitive text for passing some certification exam, but it does offer essential general information any Sysdamin needs to hear again and again.

Thanks to the authors' well balanced account of Donald Crowhurst's early years and his participation in the first non-stop sailing race around the world, this book transcends the nautical genre by far. As such, the story of a rather inexperienced sailor starting a grueling endeavor on a poorly designed and only partially finished boat contains elements from some eminent literary precursors and evolves into a true to life version of crime and punishment.

Devoid of any attempt to overanalyze, the authors start this book with an account of Crowhurst's early years. The daredevil character that is portrayed is well in line with a personality that would feel challenged by an impossible task like the one facing Crowhurst later. On top of that, the recurrent theme of a person breaking into new territory to leave tangled situations behind gives an important clue to his behavior under the stress of his sailing voyage.

Having burned his bridges and created a presumed win or lose all situation, Crowhurst sets out ill-prepared on a partially finished boat, that has already shown clear design flaws and was put together in too much of a hurry. Rather than face obvious defeat Crowhurst chooses the risk and the impossible mission of sailing around the world. Although he initially tries to make the most of the situation, he soon realizes that he will not win the race and possibly not survive a trip through the rough waters beyond the Cape. In a Shakespearean 'to be or not to be situation' this Hamlet decides to perpetrate fraud rather than admitting failure. Making up false nautical positions along the way and forced to radio silence not to give away true position, Cowhurst never leaves the Atlantic Ocean, makes some repairs in Argentina and bides his time while some competitors drop out or make real progress. Ending up in winning position Crowhurst turns himself in a real life Raskolnikov and philosophizes himself into madness and ultimately suicide.

Especially, since the approach in this book is entirely journalistic, analytical and objective this story gives a rare detailed 'play-by-play' account of someone going of the deep end. Based on a twisted interpretation of a line in Einstein's own book on Relativity, decent skills in mathematics and analytical reasoning and quite a bit of creativity, Crowhurst sets his mind on a track that degenerates in self destruction. While this is in no way the first account of advancing psychopathology, both Crowhurst isolation and hardships and the impossible task he has set himself make this a heart wrenching story. Thanks to the excellent introduction there is ample indication that both Crowhurst nurture and nature on the one hand, and Mother Nature on the other, provided him with a challenge he failed to meet.

Thanks to the journalistic approach and excellent writing this story is still gripping in a world whose technical advances have made a repetition of Crowhurst's attempt at pulling a fast one all but impossible. Thus, the portrayal of the sailor's slow mental degradation competes with the very best accounts in fiction.

Towards the end, reading Crowhurst's last log entries, I worried that I myself might come unhinged.

This is not a sailing book -- it is a detective story about what pressure and isolation can do to the human mind. The authors do a wonderful job of assembling and presenting the evidence.

It doesn't matter at all that you know the complete story before you start: A guy's marriage and business ventures are in shambles; he hoodwinks a town into building him a bad plywood trimaran for an around-the-world race; he gets scared and fakes everything by staying in the Atlantic and sailing in circles; he goes nuts and walks overboard.
An amazing study of the human mind under pressure -- I commend the authors.

This book will shake you up. The necessary antidote is "The Long Way" by Bernard Moitessier, a lyrical story about the same race by the man who was winning it, but was so raptured by the Deep that he forfeited the prize and just kept on sailing...

This is my all-time favorite sailing book. The story is gripping, the writing is extraordinary and the reader really comes to care about the characters. Although we know how the story ends, we feel the tension as Crowhurst is swept away by the forces he himself set into motion, a prisoner of pride and publicity. I am thrilled to see this book re-issued.

This is the actual script from the original stage play. It is VERY helpful in sorting through some of the SE London accents and slang in the movie. There are scenes and dialogue that are not in the movie that give further background to the story and character development. A GREAT love story. A MUST READ.

I received this video for Christmas and have fallen for it deeply. I've watched 'Beautiful Thing' every day -- I can't get enough of it. The story is honest, down-to-earth and very, very funny. Jamie and Ste will steal your heart!

I first found this film in local library and fell in love with it. It is a simple and honest love story, I laughed and I cried all the way through it, I have also performed in the play as the main character Jamie.

The cover of this book alone cracks me up as does much of the content inside. "Goats" is a non-syndicated web comic strip done by Jonathan Rosenberg. This strip came to my attention when Jonathan first started it and asked me to throw him a link (my site being all about comic strips). "Goats" is a surreal strip about two male best friends Jon and Philip, their talking pet goat Toothgnip, and their evil talking pet chicken Diablo. There are also aliens, beer, women, beer, dwarves, beer, zombies, beer, and more beer.

This book is the first "Goats" book despite the fact that it is called "Volume 4". However, Jonathan has promised to follow George Lucas's footsteps and release the prequels soon ("Volume 3" will be out soon). This book covers strips from January 2000 to December 2000. The significant event of this book is that Jon (who is a loser when it comes to women) finally gets a girlfriend named Megan. She's a hottie and totally with it that makes you wonder if it isn't pity love. Ah, but if it weren't for pity, many of us would be in a world of hurt!

Bottom line, this is a pretty funny comic strip but it is NOT for the kids (in my opinion). The humor and content can often shift into the "R" range so you've been warned. Otherwise, get this book and help a web cartoonist!

Fantastic. Magnificent. Compelling, original and satyrical, a must have for any Gen-Xer's Ikea mail-ordered coffee table or the floor of the bohemian studio apartment in the parent's basement. Bringing together issues of single-life, animal rights, alien invasions, sexual dysfunction, and sado-masochism this hilarious book filled with wit and slapstick compiles the Goats comic strip for the year 2000. Not only are the comics a poignant commentary on everyday-life, through trips into the surreal they speak volumes on social issues of the day. Through the innocence of some characters and the wickedness of others, the entire gamut of human emotion is displayed among the denziens of a specific New York pub. This book makes a fantastic gift for those who've never heard of Goats and enjoy quality, edgy humor.

Jon Rosenberg's Goats can't fail to raise a smile from these jaded lips when I read it online, so a book with hundreds of those self-same strips is just the thing to see you through the long ,dark winter. Pert, pertinent character comedy, surrealism and pure sexy fun make this a must-have. If you liked Bloom County, this is for you. If you like Fred Bassett, it might just take the top of your head off. Superb.

This book is great! I first got one for my daughter when she was about 2 (and a real Daddy's girl!). She loved it so much she'd go to sleep with it! The pull-tabs are pretty easy to move, even for her, but most of the time I have to do it for her and help her resist the temptation of tearing away at the parts that stand out. Well, having been somewhat unsuccessful in doing that, we now have to get a second copy for her little brother! But not until after we wore out the battary in the book first!

My 18 month old daughter received this as a Christmas gift from her Grandparents and absolutely loves reading it with Dad and Mom or on her own. She loves to pull the tabs and surprisingly enough after several months of abuse, it still works. I'm purchasing another copy so her brother has a chance to read this great book!

My baby boy Emre, loved this book since he was 12 months old. Now he is 16 months old and he is still crazy about it. When I take this book out, he gets involved in it for at least half an hour. Nothing else can do that. He imitates the sounds and loves to pull the tabs. Of course the figures got pretty damaged with such pulling and tearing but still it works. And the book is quite good in making the mother role an independent one, and making the father the care taker at home, at least for one night.
I deinitely recommend it.

"You silly a . . . " is a phrase often repeated by Bertram (Bertie) Wooster's favorite Aunt Dahlia in describing him in this country romp of romance and gastronomy gone wrong. And that's the nicest thing she has to say about him in this story.

Bertie's main redeeming quality to his friends and family in this story is his manservant, Jeeves. Over the years of their relationship, everyone who knows Bertie comes to realize that Bertie is a bumbling fool and that Jeeves is a problem-solving genius. The parallels to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are unavoidable in one's mind, except these stories are played out as comedy along the lines of A Midsummer Night's Dream rather than as serious business. Like Dr. Watson for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bertie is the narrator of this novel.

Bertie, as a gentleman, feels that it is important to keep Jeeves in his place. He looks for the old feudal spirit of serf to master from Jeeves. When Jeeves challenges Bertie's decision to wear an informal jacket in the country that he brought back from Cannes, Bertie decides to put Jeeves in his place.

In Right Ho, Jeeves, everyone is looking for solutions to their problems from Jeeves. The fly in the old ointment though is that Bertie tells Jeeves to stifle himself while Bertie tries to save the day. As you can imagine, each Bertie wheeze (or plot) turns out to be a blunder instead that makes things much worse. Then Bertie tries again, with even worse results. And so on.

As background to the story's beginning, Bertie is just back from two months in Cannes on the Riviera with Aunt Dahlia, his cousin Angela, and her friend, Madeline Bassett. Aunt Dahlia recruits Bertie to give the prizes at the local school, while Bertie scrambles to avoid the appearance. His old pal, Gussie Fink-Nottle, a newt expert, has fallen for Madeline Bassett but he is too shy to propose. Bertie works on Gussie's resolve. Tuppy Glossop, another pal, is engaged to cousin Angela until they have a row about double chins and sharks. Bertie tries to bring reconciliation to the warring parties. Aunt Dahlia's domestic peace depends on the gourmet cooking of Anatole, which is essential to get money for her magazine out of her dyspepsic husband, Uncle Tom, to offset what she lost at the casino. Bertie's misconceptions soon have Anatole in despair, and contemplating departure. Aunt Dahlia is shaken to the core.

Things look glum indeed for the young lovers, Aunt Dahlia, and for Bertie. How will the day be saved?

The book is wonderfully read by Alexander Spencer, my favorite narrator of these P.G. Wodehouse stories and novels. Wodehouse intended these to be read as musical comedy, rather than considered as being drawn from life. With the proper narration, with an appropriate English accent, the tales are much enhanced.

Why, then did I rate the book down one star? First, the plot does go on and on through its complications. A good editor could have chopped this down by about 25 percent and made a much better novel. Second, there is a reference to people of color beginning with the letter "n" that will offend many, and certainly offended me.

A better offering in this series are the stories in the audio cassettes entitled, Jeeves and the Old School Chum. You might start there if you don't know Bertie and Jeeves yet. Only after you have used up the five star Jeeves audio tapes should you listen to this one. And you should do so only if you are fully compelled to have more of Bertie and Jeeves.

After you have finished this book, consider whether you have ever failed to take good advice. If you have avoided that, was false pride involved? If so, how can you overcome that misconception and self-deception in the future?

What?

Previous: Thank You, Jeeves

One of the most popular of the Jeeves novels, Right Ho, Jeeves brings us to Brinkley Court, the lair of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, who is by far my favorite secondary character in all the books. This book is overshadowed by a decidedly antagonistic relationship between Jeeves and Bertie over a certain white jacket with brass buttons, and one can practically see Jeeves snickering in the background when his brilliant solution to the problems at hand is accomplished at Bertie's expense. Nevertheless, he does "rally round" when needed, and saves Bertie from a fate more hideous than death, viz. marriage to the loony Madeline Bassett. There are moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity in this book, notably Gussie Fink-Nottle's prize-giving at the local grammar school after drinking a jug of spiked orange juice, Bertie's very ill-timed question about haggis (a personal favorite of mine-the line, not haggis), and Aunt Dahlia's calm suggestion that Bertie go out to the garden pool and drown himself. This is comedy at its brilliant best. A wonderful beginning to a chain of events and characters that will follow in many books to come.

Next: The Code of the Woosters

This is a favorite of all Jeeves and Wooster fans, and it features one of the most memorable scenes in the Wodehouse canon: Gussie Fink-Nottle's presentation of awards at a grammar school, after drinking a double-spiked orange juice. This is Wodehouse at his best - and that's saying plenty.

I was SO curious when hearing references to the "Talbot method", and HAD to know what the method was that would remove the wetness from the normal collage techniques.

I guess he's got a good idea here. However, I personally am way too impatient to go thru this process. Also, I imagine it would take a LOT of space to spread out the elements while they dry. When I'm thinking collage, I cut out so much stuff, and it just doesn't seem a practical way to work. I'm sure many people who have more patience and space like this method.

The book is more like a lengthy pamphlet, so while I'm glad to have it as a reference, I'm glad I didn't pay more for it than I did.

Although this is among one of the smaller instruction books on collage, it is among the best. Mr. Talbot is a thoughtful writer and he succeeded in packing lots into a small compartment.

This book has totally changed the way I work when I create collages. Don't be put off by the low page count -- there is more information packed into these 55 pages than in the 3 books on collage that I own, combined.

This is a technique book, not a book on collage design or color theory. In this book, Talbot battles the biggest challenge for collage artists: once you've got your elements arranged as you want them, you have to pick them up again to apply adhesive -- and then remember how they were arranged in the first place. Talbot solves this problem with the use of readily available materials, and leaves the artist free to create instead of worrying about what goes where.

In addition to the technical information, I found the appendix and source list invaluable. Talbot tells the reader how to easily obtain every item that is mentioned in the book, as well as suggesting alternatives. I have not yet seen another book on collage as well planned and thought-out as this one.

This gives you exactly what you need, and nothing else. It is a great condensed format that if read in full will prpare you for anything on the MCAT. I wish I had these book when I took orgo or physics, t would've helped me in those courses.

I bought this 5 volume set and the Audio Osmosis CDs and spent 3 weeks pouring over them in preparation for the August 2002 MCAT. Additionally, I purchased the 1001 question series for the subjects in which I was feeling weak. I was barely able to get to any of the 1001 question books in that time.

10 years after originally taking the courses covered on the exam, I managed to score in the 80-90 percentiles. Considering how many new graduates I was testing against, I am happy with that result. I thank the Examkrackers series for my good score.

The books and CD lectures cover all of the subjects on the MCAT and allow you to realize your weak spots.

I made a set of flash cards from the CD lectures and books on points of information that I was rusty on. I then memorized those flash cards. I understand Jon and Jordan are coming out with a set of flash cards so that may save you a step.

As a bonus to buying their books, you can access their website at examkrackers com and chat with Jon and Jordan themselves. They will personally answer any questions you have. Also, they have a medical career counselor who will answer your career based questions. From their website, I see that they offer in-class preparation courses on the East Coast. That may be a good option for people living in that area.

Hands down this is the best series for MCAT preparation.

I studied for the MCAT using the examekracker books and the princeton review materials side by side. The princeton review material was far more extensive, but none of the extra material was on the MCAT.

The princeton review exam's were also much harder than the actual MCAT or the examkracker tests (which were of the same difficultly). I guess their theory is that if you can handle their material the MCAT will be a snap. This a disserice to their students as it both demoralizes them and doesnt realistically prepare them for the exam.

Another advantage the examkracker books had was that they were nearly mistake free while the PR had many glaring mistakes.

This is an unusually (sorry, Father) cleverly written book. Lots of
narrative, sentiment and good lines. One of my favorites is on
p. 300. Greeley has this warmly naive fraulein say to the story's
hero, whose car is running out of gas, "May I ask you a question,
Karl?" Answer: "I have to concentrate on driving the car,
Trudi. Please don't bother me." And Trudi says, "But does
the E on that gauge mean empty?" Dry wit at its best!

Greeley's
history is wonderfully accurate. I wish he would have mentioned one of
my wartime favorites, the eponymous H.V. Kaltenborn. I would have
liked a little less sarcasm (mild tho' it was) and less G.I. obscenity
(tolerable tho' it was).

This book deserves a movie contract- with
Father Andrew directing!

Father Greeley introduces us to new and captivating fictional (but don't we know real-life folks similiar?) Irish-Catholic families in Chicago and deftly interweaves them with suspense in Post World War II Germany. But, here's a *WARNING* I wish I would have known when I started this book: this is "Part One" of the saga. Unlike the Blackie Ryan or Nuala Ann books, it is NOT self-contained. One must read the 2d of this series, _Younger Than Springtime_, to have even a glimmer of how it all ends. Order both now, so you won't have to pester your Postperson to keep reading ;-) I hope, to complete the saga (still not wholly resolved at the end of _Springtime_,)that there will be a _Summer_ and _Autumn_?

I enjoyed this book, spending the better part of a Sunday afternoon to finish it. It is the beginning of a series focused on bright and personable young Chuck O'Malley. The young man has the gift for detective work that is a common trait of Greeley's protagonists. While the setting and character types are familiar from other Greeley novels, the story is a pleasant exploration of familiar territory. This story provided a nice balance of action, suspense, and good characters. It's frustration is that it is the first installment in a series and just when you want more the book ends. Of course, the next installment is available as I write this belated review. Chuck O'Malley may just end up on my favorite character list along with Blackie Ryan and the Coynes (Dermot and Naula Ann).