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This book's focus is on performance and capacity of applications in the e-commerce infrastructure, and like the other books by the authors, it covers every facet while explaining the what's and why's. More importantly, this book will not overwhelm readers who are rusty in math because the authors weave in refresher material as they go along.
What makes this book valuable is the blend of business and technical topics, particularly in Part I where business models are thoroughly discussed. I personally believe that this material is as important as the more technically focused material in subsequent chapters because it wakes up the technical reader as to why their job of developing scalable solutions is important by linking the technical aspects to business imperatives.
Parts II (Evaluating E-Business Infrastructure and Services) and III (Capacity Planning for E-Business) are the heart of the technical matter, and the chapters systematically dissect each aspect of an e-commerce infrastructure from the application layer point of view. This is where quantitative methods are introduced and where the value of the spreadsheets on the CD ROM increase. Note that there are more up-to-date versions of these spreadsheets on the book's associated website, as well as errata for the book.
Practical considerations that blend the business and technical perspectives are presented in Part IV (Models of Specific E-Business Segments). This chapter consists of case studies that tie together all of the preceding material using real world examples.
Because this book is more focused on performance and capacity at the application and business model layer, you should read the authors' newest book, "Capacity Planning for Web Services: Metrics, Models, and Methods". That book covers the lower level details of the infrastructure
to round out the picture of an end-to-end view of performance and capacity management.
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The author states that he was a skeptic, but that personal
experiences and research have convinced him that spiritual healing really exists and is a potent therapy. The book contains 124 scientific studies supporting various methods of spiritual healing.
Many well-known healers, such as Harry Edwards, Ethel Lombardi, and Dr. Ursula Thuberg are mentioned and their methods and approaches discussed. In 597 pages, the author seems to have touched all bases in providing proof that spiritual healing works. It is more than a book. It is an encyclopedia.
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I have shared my copy with several divorced women who all felt they learned a tremendous lesson, just as I did.
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aeromondo@yahoo.net
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This is Father Ciszek's odyssey from class bully to rough- hewn, intrepid minister inside and out of the best accommodations the Soviet Union had to offer for their political prisoners: the best KGB interrogators, the best watered-down soup, the best concrete bunks, the best mix of sociopathic criminals mixed in with the prisoners of conscience, the best conditions guaranteed to reduce the expense of maintaining an extensive number of prisoners who, however inadvertantly, irritated the authorities.
There are few spiritual insights--this isn't a letter from Saint Paul, nor Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn--but his experiences speak for themselves. Fr. Ciszek endured the rigors of intense interrogations followed by five years of imprisonment in cells, both isolated and crowded, within Moscow. He endured another ten years in worker camps inside the Arctic Circle.
In spite of the hardships, he managed to minister to a captive audience supplied by the Russian authorities. He heard confessions and said Mass with provisions supplied by the prisoners themselves, such as fermented raisins for sacramental wine, and a paten made of nickel.
There were some minor disappointments. He had his picture snapped at Lenin's tomb days before he was airlifted from the national prison Lenin founded. For all the suffering he endured out of love for the people of the Soviet Union, I overlooked his touristy affectation. Besides, he DOES offer a prayer for Lenin's soul: "He was a man, after all, . . . and he may be in need of more prayers than he's getting here."
Also, I would have appreciated a few pages relating how he readjusted to life back home.
This memoir should sit next to other prison crucibles, such as "The Gulag Archipilago by Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, "When Hell Was In Session" by Jeremiah Denton and "Against All Hope" by Armando Valladares.
Once again, Daniel Hood has used superb characterization and wonderfully evocative language to bring his fantasy world to life. The characters are very three-dimensional and are normal people with strengths and weaknesses. This book stands alone (and Hood does a splendid job at giving new readers a quick synopsis of previous adventures when necessary), but will reward dedicated fans with more fascinating glimpses into Liam Rhenford's cloudy past. Take the time to find and buy this book - you will love it!