A good if somewhat dated book on telephone survey methodology.

I thought the writing was cliche-ridden and the characters were one-dimensional. I suggest Mr. Bishop read some Ridley Pearson or James Lee Burke to see how characters should be drawn. I will admit the plot idea was pretty good.

Being a Southern California-based mystery writer, I recently sat beside Paul Bishop during the first Men of Mystery Day in Orange County. During that hour or so, one person after another asked Mr. Bishop to sign TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD, most praising the title. The book does have a great title, but it is also a fine mystery. The plot involves the murder of a member of LAPD's anti-terrorism unit, and Fey Croaker's search for the truth. The plot takes many unexpected twists and turns, and soon Fey is struggling to protect Los Angeles from an international terrorist attack. Paul Bishop is a pro, and TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD is a top-notch book. There is much to savor in TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD in addition to its clever title.

Bishop's value has writier has hit the bull's eye with this one. As always, he speaks the truth about fiction. A great work by L.A.'s finest.

Roberts, a masterful travel writer, has brought to us once again another gem from his collection. In three successive journeys to Iraq - before, during and after the U.S. war, he compassionately brings to full force the tragedy of modern Iraq and it's crazed leader. Using a sprinkling of history and humor over sometimes dangerous travels, he reveals the plight of the common Iraqi since the inception of Saddam's self-described "reign" in 1979. Roberts takes on the west and it's policies as well, and as he describes what it is like living in a crumbling society under a demonic leader, the likes of which we have not seen since Hitler, he brings to the forefront the massive suffering of the Iraqi people under western sanctions designed to further insure their demise. This is a very readable book; you will not put it down until you're through. Although not his best work, Roberts comes through again, pulling the heartstrings as he does in his other travel adventures - "River in the Desert" and "Empire of the Soul". You may not agree with his politics, but you will come away with a new understanding of what war and megalomania are all about. Don't miss it.

The best qualities of this book were it's humor, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and its open-minded account of the realities of life in Iraq. However, if you are offended by harsh language, by irreverence towards authority, or by cynicism, then you may not like what you read. Also, some of the funniest parts were the author's (supposedly) phonetically accurate accounts of conversations with various Arab people. While I found these very funny, I was a little concerned that they appealed to a certain stereotype. But since I don't mind when my foreign friends make fun of me, I comfort myself that I am entitled to laugh at this purported butchery of the English language (matched only by my last sentence!).

I also enjoyed the book's exploration of the causes of the Iraqi situation. As an American, I found some of the author's conclusions offensive, but overall, I thought he did a good job of extrapolating some very plausible explanations out of what seemed like a limited amount of exposure (which is still infinite compared to mine). Profound and insightful conclusions were drawn out of what were often very ordinary situations, and the whole thing was woven together with an almost total lack of pretense.

Overall, I think I came away with a better understanding of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi situation, and the similarities of human nature around the world. The humor, the realism, the disregard for authority, propaganda, and easy answers -- all of these factors made the book a pleasure to read.

Earnest idealists and humorless conservatives will never get it. The book is screemingly funny, obviously written by a keen student of the tragiocomic human condition. Roberts does a fine job clubbing us over the head with the absurd realities of third world existance (and making us enjoy it), while never letting us forget the underlying human tragedy. Nothing's sacred here, not history, not his host's English skills, not the press corps, not 300 pound gay secret policeman, not George Bush, and certainly not Saddam Hussein. I particularly enjoyed Roberts' hilarious commentary on Saddam Hussein's official biography, his tripped out interview with the demonic dictator poster boy himself, and the bit where he dared the leader of Islamic Jihad to show him exactly, exactly mind you, where it says in the Koran that Israel must be destroyed. I also loved the eerily plausible conspiracy theory where George Bush orchestrated the invasion of Kuwait. On another level I cannot forget the harrowing descriptions of a clandestine trip into the heart of Bagdad in the midst of the Gulf War bombing. The book had me laughing and at the same time educated me a bit about the history of the region. I liked it immensly, but then I'm more cynical then your average third world dictator.

I was very surprised when I ordered this book and found out that yes, indeed, it was merely a very tiny portion of what I had expected. I suppose I should have known from the price, but the description (at least at that time) did not make it clear that it wasn't the entire dictionary.

While this may be a very thorough source for the words it covers, it should be noted in the basic information that this is ONLY 128 pages of a 15,000 page work. The description above is very misleading.

itz a dictionary. what more can i say

I know that Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Robert Bartholomew and William Brann co wrote this book with Paul. All in all a great read!

This book was descent. It covered most of the material on the CNA exam. I have not yet taken any CNE tests. The disks left some to be desired and the book actually left a few things out. I don't recomend this book as your only resource for the CNA or CNE exams.

Often confusing, and leaving important details for later, this book got confusing enough that I had to eventually put it down. It does assume that you do have some programming experience in another language and thusly does not go into the basic programming theories which programmers already know.

I received this book as a free offer from McGraw-Hill a few years ago when I was new to networking. I learned very little from it. I am so glad I only paid for the shipping and handling. If you are new to the field and need a good study guide, don't buy this one!

This book doesn't even deserve 1 star at all. What a waste of money and paper. The authors have no clue on what it is meant by "Study Guide"

The book is about 900 pages and it wasted 233 pages for introduction of CNA/CNE, the cert, and the advantage of the cert, etc. For 4.x Administratin, it only provide 22 pages (and there is 16 pages for Questions). Do you think that good studying content can be included in 40 pages?? You know the answer!!