I note that the first reviewer is Daniel Byrd, a colleague that Dr Cox works with at times.

I cannot agree with Dr Byrd's view. I found this book to be impossible to read. It is highly mathematical, poorly laid out, written in a very heavy, formal style and focuses entirely on human health risk, which is not apparent from the book title.

I also know that some of the analyses that were performed in the book, and models Dr Cox created, have turned out to be extremely dubious, if not simply wrong.

I am afraid that I cannot recommend this book at all.

The book covers all essential stages of quantitative risk analysis, from identifying risk sources to calculating rational decisions under risk. Though it announces health risks as its main target, the methods and techniques are equally applicable to other areas, e.g. finance and engineering.

The book is well written using a clear and rigorous style. However, it is not an easy-reading. A reader is supposed to be closely familiar with basic concepts of calculus, linear algebra, probability and statistics, and differential equations. Reading the book with pen and paper would bring much more than just glancing through. The resulting benefits worth these efforts.

The book is best for deep studying of risk analysis, and as a handbook for skilled professionals. I would also recommend it to everyone wishing to gain clear understanding of quantitative decision-making under risk.

This book is essential to all serious users of risk assessment and management. It is accessible, well written and has many examples that illustrate the issues discussed. Dr. Cox's book spans from cancer model to decision and game theory. Its broad coverage and depth make the book an essential companion to those who must account for uncertainty and variability when assessing the potential outcomes of alternative choices. Because the book consider the single decision makers, as well as situations characterized by several decisionmakers, it is of much importance to current debates having to do with uncertain causation in health and environmental decisionmaking. I now look forward to a text on ecological risk assessment by this Author because this area of risk assessment requires a unifying framework, much like he has done for human health.

The activites in this book are enjoyable for children to perform, but there is very little science taught.

My daughter very much enjoys performing the activities listed, however, I need to heavily supplement the material and description given in order to provide any scientific explaination of what she is doing. Additionally, the scientific method is completely missing from the 'experiments.' The simple activites are prsented in a "do it and observe" form, with no specific idea or result which is tested by the activity.

A good book for entertaining activities, but not for teaching science.

I have got both these books (The first one being 365 Simple Science Experiments with everyday materials) for my kids (aged 8-12) and they find the experiments extremely fun and interesting because they don't need much adult intervention when trying them out , it helped them at school by providing them with a good background of practical science; the kind you encounter everyday but take for granted. It is written for kids, not for adults who then have to explain it to kids. The book covers many scientific concepts to do with physics, time, nature and space.

I loved it! The experiments are so much fun! They were interesting and fascinating! A *Must* for any scientific youngster.

One of the most complete general works on African Art and well worth purchasing for detailed information on the variation in art form, tribe, country and art style in Africa. Almost full tribal location information and regionalised art details makes this book a must for the serious collector and student on the subject. From early Egyptian to more recent times, it is a book you have to read several times to understand that no one can ever know the true depth and complexity within the African Art world. A good all round reference book on a much missunderstood and underated art form.

Mark Farley

Instinctively, most decent people don't like to see anyone singled out and denigrated unfairly. To most, it seems particularly distasteful if the denigration is on the basis of race, gender or (to many, at least) sexual orientation. Yet the authors of this book, all of whom are active in campaigns for equality as well as for civil liberties, see codes on US campuses which prohibit and punish such speech as a threat.... Why?

Their book examines the arguments for and against such codes and the issues that underlie them. Objections to these codes include that :

They are a threat to basic free speech principles. In particular the idea that speech should be protected regardless of its content or viewpoint -- a principle intended to prevent the law from favouring one interest over another.
 
They have a chilling effect on wider discourse. Nadine Strossen points out that : Regardless of how carefully these rules are drafted, they inevitably are vague and unavoidably invest officials with substantial discretion in the enforcement process; thus, such regulations exert a chilling effect on speech beyond their literal bands. (1)
 
They put us on a "slippery slope". Ideas not originally intended to be the subject of the codes will be penalised. Throughout the book examples are given of this happening. Strossen points out that in Britain the "No Platform for racists and fascists" was extended to cover Zionism (whereby its victims included the Israeli ambassador to the UK). (2) In Canada the victims of restrictions of free expression have included the black feminist scholar Bell Hooks, and a gay & lesbian bookshop in Toronto. (3)

Much the same issue was raised from the floor of an LM sponsored conference in London at which one of the authors (Nadine Strossen) spoke; it was pointed out that the UK Public Order Act of 1936, which was ostensibly introduced to control the followers of British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley, had been invoked time and time again to ban demonstrations by leftists and trade unionists. Similarly, police tactics used against the National Front in the 1980s to prevent their coaches from reaching demonstrations were later employed against striking miners.

The book's authors note that the codes give power to institutions and government. Can we trust them with these new powers? As David Coles, a law professor at Georgetown University, wrote :

...in a democratic society the only speech government is likely to succeed in regulating will be that of the politically marginalised. If an idea is sufficiently popular, a representative government will lack the political wherewithal to supress it, irrespective of the First Amendment. But if an idea is unpopular, the only thing that may protect it from the majority is a strong constitutional norm of content neutrality. (4)

Donald E. Lively questions how new powers will be exercised :

Reliance upon a community to enact and enforce protective regulation when the dominant culture itself has evidenced insensitivity toward the harm for which sanction is sought does not seem well placed. A mentality that trivialises incidents such as those Lawrence relates is likely to house the attitudes that historically have inspired the turning of racially significant legislation against minorities. (5)

But perhaps Ira Glasser puts it best in her introduction to the book :

First, the attempt by minorities of any kind -- racial, political, religious, sexual -- to pass legal restrictions on speech creates a self-constructed trap. It is a trap because politically once you have such restrictions in place the most important questions to ask are: Who is going to enforce them? Who is going to interpret what they mean? Who is going to decide whom to target?
The answer is : those in power. (6)

Another condemnation is that the codes are an exercise in self-indulgency, a trivialisation of real racial imperatives by the pursuit of relatively marginal and debatable concerns....
Donald E. Lively states :

As a method for progress, however, protocolism (1) seriously misreads history and disregards evolving social and economic conditions, (2) is an exercise in manipulating and avoiding racial reality; and (3) represents a serious misallocation of scarce reformist resources. (7)

Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex doesn't just put the arguments against speech codes -- it also deconstructs the arguments put in their favour. The three most interesting arguments in favour of such codes are, in my view, (1) that racist expression is not about truth or an attempt to persuade and so is not worthy of protection; (2) that racist declarations are in fact group libels; and (3) that racist expression is akin to an assault.

All three arguments are dismissed by the authors. In the first case, Justice Douglas is approvingly quoted :

(A) function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger. Speech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have unsettling effects as it presses for acceptance of an idea. This is why freedom of speech, though not absolute is nevertheless protected against censorship or punishment, unless shown likely to produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance or unrest. There is no room under our Constitution for a more restrictive view. For the alternative would lead to standardisation of ideas either by legislatures, courts, or dominant political or community groups. (8)

The second argument -- that racist, sexist or homophobic statements are group libels -- is likewise dismissed. The authors point out that libel involves the publication of information about someone that is both damaging and false. Apart from the obvious fact that group libel doesn't refer to an individual does it fit the definition? Henry Louis Gates Jr. states that it does not. He points out that racist statements may be right or wrong but cannot in many forms be judged true or false. they are often statements of what the individual thinks should be or an expression of feeling. As Gates points out : You cannot libel someone by saying 'I despise you', which seems to be the essential message of most racial epithets. (9)

The last argument -- that such speech represents an assault or words that wound -- is examined, and also dismissed. The authors accept that words can cause harm. Their concern, however, is that no code can be drawn in such a way as to punish only words which stigmatise and dehumanise. They point out that the most harmful forms of racist language are precisely those that combine insult with advocacy -- those that are in short the most political. (10) Attempts to deny that racist speech has a political content also deny that they are part of a larger mechanism of political subordination.

So, can we combat hatred on grounds of race, gender or sexual preference whilst cherishing and nurturing civil liberties? Can we encourage a diversity of thought as well as of population and lifestyle? The answer given by the authors of this book is an emphatic 'yes'. They don't see equality of opportunity and freedom of expression as being at odds. As such, their ideas are refreshing in contrast to the many who seem to have quite unthinkingly accepted that we must sacrifice our freedom on an altar of (faked) equality...

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This book covers a retired exam (640-507).

Passport does not produce the CCNA 640-607 book.

This book will not prepare you for the CCNA any more.
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Way too many errors. This is not a good book for someone who does not have any experience. The IP addressing section is a joke.

Lots of errors and all kinds of typos.
Some topics are missed.
Only good if you already know the material so
you will enjoy finding errors and misleading facts.
I am wondering if author ever read his own book.

This is the first book in Trollope's 6 part Barchester series. While the subject matter, the intrigues surrounding clerical life in a fictional English cathedral town, might put you off, don't let it. Trollope wrote fantastic characters. While it's sequel, Barchester Towers, is even better, this is an excellent short introduction both to the series and to Trollope's writing as a whole. (Incidentally, the BBC TV series `Barchester Chronicles' is a really good adaptation of both `The Warden' and `Barchester Towers'.)

This is a simple, short novel dealing with the ethical dilemma of a virtuous man. The Reverend Harding is the warden of a small home providing quarters for 12 retired, indigent workers. The facility is provided for by a trust set up by its founder over two hundred years ago. Income off the land provides revenue for the maintenance of the home and a living for the warden.. The warden has traditionally been the benefactor of this income which has increased over the years. The Rev. Harding is a gentle, honest man who has never given thought to his 800 pound annual revenue until a young reformer files suit, claiming the intent of the will is being violated. Harding thinks about the matter and is inclined to resign. The Bishop and Archdeacon argue that he is entitled to the income.

This book certainly would be a good one for a book club read and discussion. The reformer, the lawyers, the church hierarchy and Reverend Harding all have their views on the matter. Author Trollope does not really pass final judgment on his characters; none of them are cast in black and white terms. In fact Trollope makes the unusual move of bringing a criticism of both the press and Charles Dickens into the novel. The press makes strident value judgments about issues without bothering itself with all the facts or considering the effect their articles will have on the people involved; Charles Dickens treats people as being all good or all bad. Indeed, I found myself arguing with myself for several days after reading The Warden. What should the Rev. Harding done? Was the issue shrouded in shades of gray, or was it clear cut one way or the other?

Many critics consider this to be one of Trollope's lesser works, yet to me it is a very interesting, valuable presentation of an ethical dilemma. And for readers who are reluctant to pick up Victorian novels because of their common 700+ page lengths, this is a little gem at less than 300 pages. Criticism? Well I did a bit of eye-rolling during some of the melodramatic passages. All and all, though, this is an excellent read. From an historical standpoint there was considerable attention being paid to clergy income during this period in England. Trollope's tale was very timely in this regard.

One final note. There are many outstanding Victorian novels that I would give a five star rating to. This book doesn't quite fit into that hall of fame so I have given it just 4 stars, which shouldn't be interpreted as a slight to Mr. Trollope or The Warden.

I first read Anthony Trollope's book "The Warden" in 1995 at the age of 54; three years later I had finished all forty-seven Trollope novels, his autobiography, and most of his short stories. "The Warden" provides a necessary introduction to the Barsetshire Novels, which, in turn, provide a marvelous introduction to rural Victorian society, and its religious, political, and social underpinnings. However, "The Warden" is a small literary masterpiece of its own, even though the more popular "Barchester Towers" tends to obscure it. "The Warden" moves slowly, of course, but so did Victorian England; soon the reader is enveloped in a rich world of brilliantly created characters: in the moral dilemma of a charming and innocent man, Reverend Septimus Harding, who is probably the most beloved of all Trollope's characters; in the connivings of Archdeacon Grantly, who will become a significant force in the later Barsetshire novels; in Eleanor, an example of the perfect Victorian woman, a type that appears in many of Trollope's subsequent novels; and in the sanctimonious meddling of John Bold, whose crusade for fairness throws the town into turmoil. In modern terminology, "The Warden" is a "good read" for those readers with patience, a love of 19th century England, and an appreciation of literary style. Trollope's sentences have a truly musical cadence. "The Warden" was Trollope's fourth novel and his first truly successful one. It provides a strong introduction to the other five novels of the Barsetshire series, where the reader will meet a group of fascinating characters, including the Mrs. Proudie (one of Trollope's finest creations), the Reverend Obadiah Slope, and the Grantly family. The reader will soon find that Trollope's well-developed characters soon become "friends," and that the small cathedral town of Barchester becomes a very familiar and fascinating world in itself. It is a wonderful trip through these six novels. (I read all six in about three weeks.) But one must begin with "The Warden." Brew a cup of tea, toast a scone on a quiet evening, and begin the wonderful voyage through Trollope's charming Barchester. When you have finished the six novels, you may, like me, want to commence reading the Palliser series (another six novels) and follow Plantagenet and Glencora Palliser through their triumphs and travails! However, that remains another story.