Any exprienced C# programmer may not regard this "C# Class Design Handbook" as the best design tool, but almost all will acknowledge that it has got a lot of positive qualities. These attributes include: good coverage of .NET Framework Class Libraries, detailed recipes, and design interoperability.
Apart from being down-to-earth, with its method of defining terms and concepts, it has an illustrative teaching pattern, which included a collection of problems and solutions.
Also, this book contains code recipes, which program developers could use to improve their understanding of the C#; and subsequently, their overall programming skills.
In summary, this handbook is a multi-purpose manual, which programmers should value for its complementary outlook.

On the whole, I was extremely pleased with C# Class Design. It has great organization, perfect length, and superb topic coverage. It is focused, in-depth, and challenging. This is a must buy and a must read for all serious C# developers. In fact, if I could mandate that all of my teammates read this book, I would do it in a heartbeat. Even those using other .NET languages could benefit from this book because many of the principles are not C#-specific, though some features discussed may not be available in other languages, such as VB.NET.

I would not, however, recommend this book to a beginning developer unless he or she has a good foundation in object-oriented design and other core software development principles. It is by no means a primer, but rather is targeted at the intermediate to advanced developer who wants to excel in designing robust, reusable, and extensible classes for the .NET framework. Nor is it for one who simply wants a set of instructions on how to build an application in C#; rather, it is for the developer who wants to build the best applications because he or she has the best understanding of the effects of class design in the .NET CLR.

On a more granular level, the table of contents provides a sufficient look at what each chapter covers, and each chapter delivers on what the TOC promsies, and more in some cases. Chapter One takes an in-depth look at reference and value types and, augmented by Chapter Three's discussion of method parameters, arms the developer with the knowledge needed to make the right choices between the two by providing a solid understanding of how they are handled by the CLR. Chapter Five is another essential read, covering object lifecycle and a few design patterns.

Most of the chapters offer practical advice on best practices in bulleted format to encapsulate some common-sense deductions from the data covered in the chapter. And there are a few gotchas that this book can help you avoid, such as how the compiler handles constants (you'll have to read it to find out).

There are only two things I'd criticize about this book. First, even though some of the topics covered are complex, I tend to think that it could have been considerably more readable in places, particularly Chapter Seven that deals with inheritance and polymorphism. Of course, part of the problem is that those topics cannot properly be covered in so short a space--they deserve (and have) book-length treatment. The second detraction is that Chapter Eight, while providing useful information, is somewhat off-topic, treating namespaces, assemblies, and documentation, which are only peripherally related to effective class design and are covered in several other books as well as the MSDN documentation.

In short, this book is definitely worth the {money} that it costs . It is not an easy read and should only be taken up by developers interested in knowing more than the minimum required to build an application. One of the things I love about this book is its focused approach and, consequently, its readable length of only 347 pages. Most books that are longer, that is most developer books, are full of too many code examples and too much re-coverage of topics that other books have already covered. This is a notable exception. I highly recommend it to intermediate to advanced developers.

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"C# is Microsoft's new object-oriented language, specifically designed to take full advantage of the .NET type system. At the heart of .NET programming in C# is the task of building classes. All C# code participates in the .NET type system, because all code is contained in classes and other types which participate in the class hierarchy of the .NET framework. This book is a guide to help you design these classes effectively, by looking at what control we have over our classes, and how C# turns our class definitions into executable code.

"Ask anyone: designing effective classes that you don't have to revisit and revise over and over again is an art. This Handbook aims to give you a deep understanding of the implications of every decision you can make in designing a class, so you are better equipped to take full advantage of C#'s power to create classes that are robust, flexible and reusable.

"This book assumes that you are already familiar with the syntax of C#. It assumes that you have already used it to write code and that you are familiar with your chosen development tools and know how to compile and run C# code. You should also be aware of .NET's basic object-oriented mechanisms. In this book, we'll lift the lid on the simple syntax and examine what it really does behind the scenes."

This is an excellent grammar for English speakers. It has a thorough review of preposition usage, an excellent guide to the subjunctive and pretty much everything else I usually get wrong ;-) I browsed for a couple of hours in Borders on Oxford Street and couldn't find anything better. Nicely type-set as well. The only problem is the hideously ugly cover.

Simply put, this really is the very best book on French I've ever come across, so much so that I bought it on the spot, which is something I very rarely do. It is well-organized, has wonderful examples, and has a particularly good section on adverbs. Although most grammars are simply grammars, I think this is a wonderful book for vocabulary expansion because of all the examples provided, and for the most part translations are provided for both phrases and individual words. It also has a very good index, which is always good in a book, especially so thorough a book. One of the best and most easily-overlooked conveniences is that the formal or colloquial usages are noted right alongside the rest rather than being put in seperate formal or colloquial chapters which would complicate things too much for the student.

I'm not sure how the beginning student would find this book though, but I think I would've liked to have it when I first started out. Perhaps some pronunciation guides would help, but I really don't think that the lack thereof is particularly detrimental.

I'm glad I've finally a decent grammar book for French. It's an extremely helpful reference. The earlier review mentioned that the cover is hideous but I have to say, the cover is *not* a problem.

There are notes on the differences between "written" and "spoken" French. Overall, this is a great book. Easy to use. Even if you're a complete beginner, you shouldn't have a problem.

Recently, my high school's performing arts department played this musical. It was fun, despite our long practice hours and unfriendly performance times. The lyrics and the general "feel" of the music is, of course, humorous. The first time we ran through it, the pit went hysterical. The only thing at fault with it is that at certain locations in the score, it contains errors.

I was the pianist for my high school's performance of this musical, and when I heard the music (the 1997 CD), I fell in love immediately. As the rehearsal pianist, I played through this book three hours a day for two months, but the original appeal has not faded! In fact, since I have to return the book (it's a rental), I plan on purchasing it as soon as the show's over.

I am in this play at a Performing Arts Group that I am in, and I think that this is one of the most hillarious plays I have ever done. This book is hightly recommened.

Finally, after years in the making, this atlas is finished and I'm glad to have it.

This is a great work, all the detailed knowledge about location of cities, shrines, roads, etc, etc., etc., that has been gathered about Roman and Greek sites has been put together in just one atlas. Even individual estates are placed on maps, when convenient.

Seamlessly, from one map to another you can trace any route, find any name, and look into the neighboring area.

The map by map directory provides further insight into the sources of information, variant ancient names and modern place names (if any),

Obviously there's no such a thing as a telescope/microscope. You have to know what you are looking for, because details can sometimes shield the big picture. You need to know the original spelling of a name, or some variant. This book is invaluable when looking for names and places that are nowhere else printed in a map, at least a map that covers an area that places them in context.

Now, what else could be useful?

Basically, I would have liked three things:

- an 'inverse' gazetteer or 'name dictionary'. Look for modern place names and find ancient equivalents.

To look for a modern name is difficult. The book is not intended for this. You have to use the search engine in Acrobat, which means that you have to be using a computer. And scroll though the results. There is no straightforward way. So, a 'Modern Names Gazetteer' with ancient equivalents is something I'd like to have. Could a database fulfill this purpose? PDF formats do not allow data management, but the editor must have the data. Someone will provide this.

- a different altitude color-coded scale

As for the altitude color-coded tints, to my taste, there is at least a brown shade too many. The tinted scale is such, that some maps look a little brownish, because everything above 1000 feet has that background color. Of course, there are contour lines, but you have to look at them and read the numbers. Coding is not very useful in such a situation. Printed names over brown background are not easily readable.

- a heavy paper o plastic loose-leaf with the Map Key

The Map Key appears only on map 1, on the reverse side of the page, a good idea since the maps are not clogged with repetitive information and space is used for the essential purpose. But then you have to return to it for a reference. Thence, either it will wear out or hopefully you will remember usual references. Not for the casual reader. I've already photocopied it.

Overall, an outstanding achievement. Four stars, could have been five if some of the above items had been included.

There has never been an atlas of the ancient world to compare with this incredible piece of scholarship and mapmaking. At a cost of about five million dollars and over a decade in development, it contains highly detailed professional maps equivalent to the best atlases of our modern world. It goes beyond the Mediterranean world to include europe as far as Britain and the east as far India. The last atlas of this time period I purchased had a few dozen imprecise and limited small maps. There are 99 full-color large-scale maps in this volume. I haven't been this excited about a reference book for several years.

The only reason I took off a star is because...well, I have bathed in the warm waters of Roger Angell's baseball chronicling since the publication of his first such anthology, "The Summer Game," and I have bought every last one of the successor books ("Five Seasons," "Late Innings," "Season Ticket," and "Once More Around The Park"), and I really didn't need to see a lot of the essays contained in this volume all over again. Even if I think "Distance" is the absolute best and most humane essay you'll ever read about Bob Gibson, please: A third anthologising (it debuted in "Late Innings" and was recycled in "Once More Around The Park") was as excessive as some would consider a stolen base in the eighth inning when the thief's team was on the winning side of a 12-1 blowout.

But if you have never before approached even the edge of those waters, this is the book with which you want to begin; the editing and arranging of the material, appropriately enough into seasonal sections, is even better than "Once More Around The Park's" had been. Don't let my harrumphing about over-repetition of some choice essays deter you (I certainly didn't let it keep me from adding this to my library). If you are a newcomer to Mr. Angell's virtuosity (and if you are a newcomer, you should probably ask yourself where you've been all your life), from the loveliest book of baseball letters of the year. Peter Golenbock, in his oral history of the Boston Red Sox, called Mr. Angell "baseball's Homer," but Golenbock has it backward. With apologies to no one, Homer shall have to settle for having been ancient Greece's Roger Angell.

If you are familiar with past baseball books of Roger Angell you know you are in for another treat with his latest offering. Part of the book includes passages from past books, but, at least to me, it doesn't detract from this book at all. A good part of the book covers recent playoffs and World Series including 2002 and if you followed the games during the past several years, these parts of the book will have additional meaning to you. A lengthy section on former Cardinals' fireballer Bob Gibson and a visit with Smokey Joe Wood while viewing a college game between Yale and St. Johns with Ron Darling and Frank Viola matching up against one another are included as is a section on broadcaster Tim McCarver "There's a lahn drahve!", and another on a scouting mission with California Angels scout Ray Scarborough. Some of these offerings go back to the early 1960's until through the year 2002. In describing playoff and World Series games, Angell doesn't merely recite game facts as to who got hits and scored runs. He has a knack for making the reader feel he is there and tells the story with colorful prose. Here are a few examples: "The hankie hordes were in full cry at the Metrodome, where the World Series began." "We repaired to Milwaukee, where, on a cold and blustery evening in the old steel-post park, County Stadium, Willie McGee staged his party." Regarding Dennis Eckersley: "His eyes burning like flashlights as he spoke." "Luis Sojo, a Venezuelan, is thirty-four but looks as if he'd put on a much older guy's body that morning by mistake." After working on a screwball in high school to imitate Giants' pitcher Carl Hubbell, Angell said, "I began walking around school corridors with my pitching hand turned palm outward, like Carl Hubbell's, but nobody noticed." I could go on and on and on with colorful tidbits found in the book, but I don't want to spoil it for you. Suffice it to say, if you buy this book you are in for a treat. Don't speed read it. This isn't a book to be gulped. It is like a Godiva chocolate bar. This book is to be savored.

This audiobook is an excellent addition to the U.S. history-buff's glove compartment. There are basically four tapes of interviews by Roger Mudd done for the History Channel. Mudd asks questions to the featured historians and they respond with stories and factoids to keep you thinking. I can listen to them many times and still learn things that I didn't catch the last time around. This is also a great way to brush up on your U.S. history while enriching what you already know.

This is the very best audio tape I've ever listened to. While some interviews are better (Stephen Ambrose) than others (Richard White), each one offers important insight and perspective on the most important events of our time. Through the eyes of these men, our nation's history is told so clearly and succinctly, and with such passion, that you can't help but be changed and moved by the experience. I guarantee you'll come away with a better grasp of who we are and where we're headed as a nation.

It's a great book because of it's extensiveness.

Great tutorial that helped me get a A on my final ezam. Amust have to review important concepts and terms.

In essence, this is an economic interpretation of Southern history in the late nineteenth century based primarily on statistical data. The authors began this project when they noticed the scarcity of scholarship concerning the economic institutions which took the place of slavery in the South; they felt it necessary for the understanding of the Negro experience to understand the manner in which the Negro entered into a nonbinding economic lifestyle in the years after the War Between the States and Reconstruction. A primary concern of the authors was the economic malaise of the South agriculturally and certainly industrially in the period from 1865 to 1914, a time of impressive economic growth elsewhere in the nation.

The authors devote much of their study to a region they define as the Cotton South, wherein they see homogeneous development. They stress the fact that they are economists and not historians--political, social, and cultural history are beyond the scope of this book. While the authors may at times refer to economic effects of noneconomic forces, they make no attempt to do anything more than offer an economic interpretation of the post-emancipation South; that alone signifies their contribution to the historical field. In the end, they give their ideas as to the evolution of a Southern economy that exploited farmers--white and black--and allowed for little or no industrial development.

I was a student of Dr. Ransom at the University of California, Riverside, and I majored in history. Though Dr. Ransom generally is considered an economist, he--more than anyone I've ever read or heard lecture--is able to articulate and present economics within its proper historical parameters, and show you exactly how, for example, whatever historical event is occurring, this is how it affected the world--the people--economically.

Lets face it fame is fickle and fleeting. This book was once a best seller from famed anthropologist Richard Leaky. The lake is Turkana and the time is fifteen million years ago.
This book covers Leakey's finds and his interpretation of such finds. There is s small black and white glossy section that displays the lake and several ancestors (including Australopithecus.)
The table of contents is:

People of the Lake
A question of survival
In the Beginning
A New Perspective on Human origins

The Human Family Unearthed
Lessons from Bones and Stones
An Ancient way of life
The first Affluent society
The nature of Intelligence
The Origins of Language
Sex and the need for Women's Liberation
An End to the Hunting Hypothesis

As you can see this is not just a book about bones. He also quotes a lot of Freud. So I do not know why this book fell out of favor. However it makes for some good background reading.

ITs essential to read this book, in order to get a good handle on paleontology, anthropology ,and sociological phenomenon. Really explains alot about humankind.

This is a poorly written book. Kiel's writing style is very flat, and sounds for all the world like a 9th grader's "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" essay. At first, this simplicity is charming, but eventually it runs dry. It is short on feeling and long on flatly presented facts.

Every job he's ever had is detailed. Kiel is long on money, negotiations, and the one that got away. He's short on real behind the scenes stuff, on personalities, and on pulling out the most interesting details. His lengthiest description in the section on The Spy Who Loved Me was of a restaurant he ate at, it read something like a list of food items, followed by "Yum." I kid you not.

Kiel is selling this book based on his Bond experience, which is emphasized in the title (the full title on the cover is: Making It BIG in the Movies: The Autobiography of Richard "Jaws" Kiel, James Bond's Biggest Enemy, the Man with the Steel Teeth"). However, the Bond movies are given no more attention than any of his other film experience, and in fact, are given less wordage than his failed attempt to get a kid's TV series off the ground. This strikes me as misleading almost to the point of dishonesty.

The book has some small interest, especially if you're interested in the details of negotiating with filmmakers and agents.

Ultimately, it is about Kiel's Christianity, and ends with a chapter apparently intended as missionary work. I don't have an objection to the man being religious, but again, it's not what I plunked my money down for.

Not recommended.

Richard Kiel is one of my favorite actors from both Bond and beyond and this book surely doesn't disappoint! It has lots of backscoop of the movie industry, tip on how to break into the industry, lots of photos and dry humor to boot. My only complaint is that he becomes preachy and Billy Graham-ish in the final chapter, but that didn't sour the book one bit. A must for any 007 fan!!!!!!

Richard Kiel has a warm interesting way of sharing his reality of how persistence pays off. This book gives workable insights that will help anyone wanting to improve their lot in life! Richard's giant-size heartfelt sincerity shines through the dozens of stories about how he climbed each rung of the ladder that led him to more and more success - with dry wit and the type of charm that only truth brings. The "insider" knowledge he brings to life will serve to renew any reader's determination to reach his or her own goals. Definitely up there with books by Art Linkletter, Napoleon Hill and others. Don't pass it up!