if a train watcher of any kind you need this book but the black and white pix, or lack of many pix as well as lack of any maps at all shows a distinct lack of effort by Kalmbach; very dissappointing

American Shortline Railway Guide is a great help for any train buff. Over 500 short lines are described: history, current status, number of engines (some lines with full listing), cars, as well as address of owner and radio frequencies. I especially liked the many pictures accompanying the text. There is really one drawback only: The book does not contain any maps. You will need a train atlas or a Rand Mc Nally on the side, unfortunately. Other interesting details are lists of abandoned and non-operating lines as well as addresses of ownerships companies. A must-have for US train buffs, especially in conjunction with the Train-Watchers Guide to North American Railroads (also by George W. Drury).

This was a disappointment to me. The Carrier series has been action packed and militarily intense up until "Alpha Strike." Most of the book is about diplomacy between the U.S., China, and Vietnam with not a lot of air or sea battles taking place. Another problem I found was the editing. There is one point in the book where it is July 3 and 1800 hours local time then a few pages later the date is the same and the times earlier. What happened? Speaking of what happened, where is Willis E. Grant, a.k.a "Coyote." Hopefully, the next book in this series, "Arctic Fire" is a whole lot better.

Non-stop action and adventure abound with Book Eight in this Naval Aviation Series. Tense and dramatic, Terence Aselford gives a superb reading as the day dawns on another Cold War. When a carrier is sent to the South China Sea to maintain a presence in that area, the Chinese provoke an international incident by sabotaging their own outpost and blaming it on America. A high-tech thriller at its best!

Great idea, just poorly executed. I thought I was hooked from the first page, but by the time Susan was going to...(for those who haven't read it yet, I won't say what she was going to do), I had lost interest.

Then when Ishuguro popped up with all that techno mumbo jumbo (Pinerio gives way too much information and way too many characters) I forced myself to read on. The next time he popped up, I skipped. Concentrated on where Susan was in the book only. Only up to page 160 (after having the book since August), but I can read it faster and enjoy it more by skipping to the Susan parts. (I agree with the NY Times review).

The real shame here is that Pineiro had a great idea here but he weighed it down with trying to come off as 'smart'? I don't know the word but I do know what the average reader wants is a good old fashion read, with not too much narrative and a real focus on one individual, not a bunch of people crowding the pages with plots and sub plots, making me care less and less about them as I go along.

A re-edited version of just Susan as the focus would made a great book. I know where you were going Pineiro, but you just failed in getting me there so far.

I bought this book looking to see what drivel someone would put into a book on the Y2K issue. I was not disappointed. I gave this two stars because I did bother to finish it.

As far as the plot goes - been there, done that. There were some mildly interesting twists on occasion but overall it was too close to a rewrite of...

On a whim, I looked to see if said 'author' had managed to get any other books printed since this abomination and lo I was amazed to see that not only had he gotten published again, but THIS WAS NOT HIS FIRST BOOK! Utterly mindblowing.

This is one of the _least_ accurate computer books I have ever read (I'm a programmer). I was SHOCKED when I read that the author was "a 16 yr veteran of the computer industry". All I know is that he is no software guy. His attempt at trying to discribe a virus was totally laughable - dude, if you want to write more computer books, I'll be happy to consult w/ you - and I'll even do it for free.

Flat characters, silly plot, technical inaccuracies over and over and over again and gratuitous violence is what you'll find. If you want a quick, mindless read this is your book. If you want a technothriller novel, well, look some place else.

I'm not even going to waste my time reading any of his other books. Personally, I'd be embarrassed (if not richer) if I had my name on this book. Perhaps someone needs to tell this guy not to quit his day job.

Mr. Pineiro approaches the "millenium question" from the fascinating perspective of a merging of computer science, anthropology, and astronomy.

To avoid giving away too much information, I offer the following.

The book opens with a computer virus suddenly locking up computers worldwide for 20 seconds. To search for the source and a cure for the virus, the FBI turns their top cybercrime investigator, Dr. Susan Garnett, loose on the problem.

Meanwhile, a pair of married astronomers, a Japanese husband and Japanese-American wife, conducting SETI research with a radio telescope in Chile, note unusual activity from the constellation Centaur.

Also meanwhile, a French bureaucrat, facing unemployment and disgrace, hires a team of mercenaries to steal a cure for the virus in the hopes that he can salvage his career by selling the cure to the rest of the world.

Dr. Garnett, isolating the virus, traces its source back to a spot on the Yucatan peninsula. At this point she contacts Dr. Cameron Slater, an anthropologist and expert on Mayan culture.

The story evolves from there.

The book is an excellent read, with two qualifiers. The ending is a bit anticlimactic and Mr. Pineiro needs to spend just a tad more time researching the zoology of the areas he is writing about.

As with most of this series there is plenty of action, and even a couple of interesting twists in the plot, but the editorial mistakes (particularly the ones confusing types of aircraft - saying A-7 when A-6 is what is meant, ditto SH-53 vs. SH-60) is beginning to get beyond a joke.

Despite its title (THE TASTE OF THE PINEAPPLE: ESSAYS ON C. S. LEWIS AS READER, CRITIC, AND IMAGINATIVE WRITER), this book's stated aim is to offer the reader criticism on C. S. Lewis' criticism. The articles in it are divided into three sections: "Part I: C. S. Lewis and the Critical Enterprise," "Part II: C. S. Lewis: The Practice of Criticism," "Part III: C. S. Lewis: The Critic as Imaginative Writer."

*The copy I had was paperback, and was published in 1998.

This book is truly an astonishing piece of work. Considering its grotesque factual errors and bizarre misreadings of source material (more than I have ever seen in a single work of non-fiction,) the pompous writing style, the author's grating tendency to make childishly snide (and irrelevant) side comments, and--most bafflingly--the remarkable hatchet-job he does on Grant's wife Julia, I think I can state unhesitatingly that this is the most thoroughly unprofessional biography of anyone I have ever read. I find myself genuinely baffled that Perret evidently still has a career as a historian.

As appalled as I am by the thought that readers who had no prior knowledge about Grant will be led to take some of this tripe seriously, I am even more stunned by reviewers who state unblushingly that Perret's allergy to accuracy does not matter, as long as he is pro-Grant and writes in what is, to them, an appealing writing style! There are few people who defend Grant more wholeheartedly than I do (hey, I even maintain he was a pretty good President,) but I believe that a bad defense of USG can, in the long run, be as damaging to his reputation as no defense at all. My advice to Grant neophytes? Read the man's own words, in his acclaimed memoirs and fascinating private letters, as well as first person accounts like "Campaigning With Grant," and give this silliness a wide berth.

And those cracks of his about Julia REALLY set my teeth on edge.

Without a doubt this is the most poorly-researched historical biography I have ever read. It's amusing that other reviewers here dismiss the criticism that the book is laden with errors and have a "don't care" attitude about it. Why would anyone want to read a book that has hundreds of factual mistakes? Curious indeed.

Perret specializes in breezy and fairly incompetent treatments of historical personalities. He moves from icon to icon, skimming the surface, engaging in haphazard research and producing pop biographies which are always compromised by egregious errors. He's written books on Ike, MacArthur and his new study will examine JFK. The old adage "Jack of all trades, master of none" immediately comes to mind. There is never anything new in his books and one can always count the mistakes on nearly every page.

Perret's limitations with Grant are obvious to anyone with even a peripheral interest in the subject. Others have listed and detailed the mistakes, but they cripple the book and ultimately make it something of a joke. Dates, personalities, people and battles are constantly being mangled, mixed up and treated incompetently. Perret's analysis of Grant's complex personality is something out of "17 magazine," it's so wide of the mark it's ludicrous.

None of the major players in Grant's life are profiled correctly. His take on Grant's wife, Julia is incorrect and mistake-ridden. Similarly, his profiles of Sherman, Rawlins and Lincoln are also facile and obtuse.

His writing style is mid-Victorian and quirky. There are some passages that are rather moving and beautifully written, but then a misstatement of fact is thrown in to ruin the mood. For anyone with an interest in Grant or the civil war, this is a primary book to avoid. It's the nadir of scholarship, devoid of any revelations about Grant as a man or military entity. It is also crippled with mistakes of the most rudimentary nature. Grant deserved much better than this treatment.

There are already several reviews of this book printed here, with which I agree heartily, so I'll keep my comments brief. Perret's "Ulysses S. Grant, Soldier and President," is the twelfth book on Grant that I've read (I can't seem to get enough of this topic). Perret's writing is crisp and intelligent. He doesn't drag out his thesis in long jumbled sentences, rather, he keeps his reader focused on the point he is trying to make on each phase of Grant's personal and professional life. He exposes flaws in previous Grant biographies by proving their lack of documented evidence and holding the authors to task for their shoddy scholarship. At the same time, he does not give the impression that he intends to "show up" other Grant biographers, he just sets the record straight.

I recommend this biography to anyone who wants to understand America in the Nineteenth century. Ulysses S. Grant is the key: he saved the Union, he fought for the rights of the freedmen during Reconstruction, he was always honest-though he did make his share of mistakes - and when he erred, he accepted the responsibility for his mistakes. Grant was a devoted family man, was loyal to his friends and forgiving of his enemies. He was humble and appeared ordinary, yet he achieved amazing things. Perret's most insightful point in this work is his statement that Grant's religion was patiotism. I agree. No one ever loved this country more.

I found this book to be of limited value. At best it only gives the reader a very basic and overly simplified explanation in some of the general aspects necessary in recognizing and managing potentially hostile situations. In other areas this book is grossly inadequate, in that it fails to even mention some basic guidelines that can be applied in the decision making process when attempting to resolve a hostile situation. I would only use this book as a basic introduction to the subject matter and not as an authoritative text. Of greatest concern, is that a novice will read this book and then become unnecessarily injured because of the minimal and/or outdated information it provides.

This is a decent little book on how to physically restrain a hostile, mentally ill subject. While it is not a comprehensive tome on the subject, the text provides the reader who has little knowledge or experience with a basis for dealing with a confrontational or pre-violent individual. It is worth the money for those individuals.

The first chapters are where the real value of this book lies. It does provide good guidelines for recognizing attack indicators, although, again, they are not comprehensive. A person who has not been in many confrontations will be able to use this information to better prevent assault, and, if assaulted, better respond as a result.

The physical methods of restraint, however, aside from those initially pictured for the "humane restraint of an individual" are basically of no value to the novice or the experienced professional. The illustrated "weapon retention" sequence represents an extremely complicated and outmoded method of police instruction that is thankfully dying out in more progressive training venues. Some of the immediate defense suggestions are of value, as are the author's non-egotistic approach to defense (evade and run if you feel you cannot defend yourself in this situation).

While I know this sounds like a negative review, it is really not. I felt for the average reader, especially one who is not familiar with the psychological aspects of recognizing an attack developing and what is involved in dealing with an assault by a dedicated attacker, the book is well worth the money. This is the reason for the three star rating.

For the experienced professional, whether that is the mental health worker or the police or security professional, this book will have limited value, and you might want to pass. For the police officer who is not familiar with the methods employed in taking down an individual who is mentally ill where limited force options exist (such as inside a mental health facility), the illustrated takedown make the book worthwhile to purchase.

I'd swear I read this beserker story before. First, I thought this was a poor expansion of a previous short story. I've loved a lot of Saberhagen's work including a lot of the Beserker stuff. I'd suggest he put away this milieu until gets some real new inspiration.

First, let me say that in general I like the way Fred Saberhagen writes, and his stories and plots are exceptional. I got hooked on the berserker series after reading "Berserker Base", and went to my local half price bookstore and bought every book in the series I could find. This book, Shiva in Steel, has proved to be the worst. The hype over the big bad Shiva is never resolved! Did it die? Is it hiding in our hero's ship as he makes his get away? We never know. Mr. Saberhagen repeats himself a lot, and his prose isn't very smooth in this novel for some odd reason. He's done fine in the past, but this one was sloppy. New editor? No editor? The plot wasn't bad, but the execution was poor. This should have been a draft rather than the final product. If this is your first Berserker book, don't give up on the series. This was the worst of the bunch; the others are pretty good.

This is really quite weak compared to Saberhagen's earlier writings. Not terribly engrossing. if you're new to the Berserker series, start with a much earlier book. Only read this if you liked the Berserker series as a whole and are willing to spend time on the weakest member of the series.