This book reviews the lives of three long-neglected cowboy stars - Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Audie Murphy. Specifically, it follows the western films of these three actors. The book presented a good deal of information on the films and it is too bad most don't seem to be available on dvd as I would like to see the films that I have not seen. There were great descriptions of the plot and making of the films which was well done because it was evident that the author had viewed most of the available films. However, what bothered me was the inaccuracy of the very first line of the book that indicated Scott was born in Orange, North Carolina when all references I have seen indicate it was Orange County, Virginia. When I see something I know to be inconsistent with many other sources, I begin to wonder if anything in the book is accurate as to the biographical data on the stars. However, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in these films or the stars.

Entertaining and well-written book about the 3 movie-cowboys: Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea and Audie Murphy. Book tells not so much about their private lives and relations - but focuses on all the westerns they made since 1946. The writer tells detailed about each film and gives his personal opinion. DonÂ't think that he considers all of them to be masterpieces - far from that! So, if these actors were some of your movie heroes from the 50Â's and 60Â's, the book is recommendable and easy read (even for a foreigner).

Apart from John Wayne, there were only three cowboy stars who hung on in the late 50s and early 60s, before spaghetti westerns briefly revived the genre, and created a new cowboy hero, Clint Eastwood. These were Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea and Audie Murphy. The films made by Scott between 1956 and 1960, directed by Budd Boetticher and written by Burt Kennedy, are among the best westerns ever put to film. What Nott has done here is to briefly survey the careers of all three performers before the late 50s, then give a detailed look at their final films. His research is excellent (I only found one error, the often repeated nonsense that Billy the Kid was born in New York City or Brooklyn) and his writing style is coherent and clear. Although Nott clearly loves these performers and these films, this is not a gushing fan publication... a comment that cannot be made for much of the output of this particular publisher. Recommended.

Overall I was not impressed. Information on the majority of subjects covered, is readily available in either the phone book, dial-up directory, or by doing a simple internet search. It appears the author is trying to turn a subject worthy of a pamphlet into a novel. With each turn of the page I felt more the chump for having purchased this book. I am left to believe, the appendices must have been included for the benefit of the simple minded - so "elementary my dear, Watson" they are almost an insult. If a P.I. needs a book like this I probably wouldn't hire him. A recommendaton for Black Book 4 would be to include some of the ways P.I.'s really get information for their clients.

I can't believe someone would divulge these secrets in a book. The information would take a private investigator several careers to obtain. I would be lost without this highly reliable and useful resource. Thanks Mr. Scott.

Couldn't put it down.
Went online the first day I got it, using the links provided by the book. Six hours later I realized it was getting late and that I was only up to page 80 or so.

A fantastic source of hard to find info, with tons of URL's provided, when available.

The first book I have bought in several years, in which I feel I got the better end of the deal.
It provided much,much more value than the ...price.

Scott of the Antarctic belongs in any complete collection of books on Antarctic exploration. It has a wealth of good, basic information on Scott's Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions.

But, having said that, the prospective reader must be warned that the book is a love letter to Scott, and has been utterly eclipsed by Roland Huntford's The Last Place on Earth, a far more scholarly and accurate account of the race to the South Pole.

A true classic of the genre, "Scott.."chronicles the exploration of the world's last frontier: the great polar ice caps. The reader is emersed in the expedition as the pair of explorers plod endlessly in the tractless permafrost, unaware of the gaping crevaces hidden beneath the snow, but painfully aware of the howling winds that pelt their faces with stinging ice, and numbing cold. This very well written book is indeed a fitting tribute to those intrepid scientists who brave hostile regions to further man's knowledge of the globe.

Huxley gives the background information on why and how the South Pole expedition of 1910 -1913 became a disaster. The author gives valuable information to understand the history of this endeavor and why Scott was chosen as a leader beginning in the 1880s. She gives an excellent insight on preparations of the expedition and Scott's rivalry with Shackleton. The analysis on why Scott chose ponies and motor sledges as auxillary means of transport over dogs is excellent. The mixture of amateurism and masochism that led to failure shown by the immense feeling of pride to do everything -especially man-hauling the sledges- the hard way has not been explained as well in any other book I have read on the subject. In the foreword the author states that Scott only became a hero because he died and led his four companions into death. After reading the book one can only wonder how muchbecoming a hero might have been a motive that led to self-destruction after having only been second to the Pole after Amundsen's Norwegian expedition.

Historian David Yelverton takes a long overdue look at Scott's Discovery expedition, the first significant attempt to probe the interior of that great southern continent. He pays great attention to Scott's difficulties in securing funds, crew, supplies and so forth. And, of course, Yelverton writes at length on the Discovery herself, an leaky craft that would have never made it south were it not for the constant struggle at the pumps. There is also a good deal on the cooperative effort with the Germans (!) on making often difficult magnetic observations, one of the principal reasons for the expedition in the first place.

This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the history of the Antartic continent, Scott and, to a lesser degree, Shackleton. It is, without question, the most complete review of the Discovery expedition.

Although Scott's disaster in 1912 overshadows the Discovery effort, it could be said (and this is the point of "Unveiled") that there was much more meaningful work accomplished during this 1901-03 expedition.

Most readers will find "Unveiled" ponderous a times, although that is to be expected in a work of this depth and precision. I was disappointed with the occasional childish snipes at Roland Huntford's monumental "Last Place on Earth," a book that is a sore point with Scott's many fans. It's too bad that writers on Antarctic exploration feel as if they have to be one side of the fence or the other. Scott accomplished more than most other polar explorers -- but he also made many, many blunders.

But, in the main, "Antartic Unveiled" is worth looking into.

Recent writings on Antarctic exploration have not been kind to Scott's leadership. If you're interested in a different look at the man (to some degree) and the first (Discovery) expedition try this book. The author gives one a sense of life on the expedition and takes one along through daily life on the ship, over the winter and on the sledging journies. Heavy on detail and a bit too focused on 'righting the wrongs' of Huntford, etc., the result seems an extremely well-researched view of the scientific goals and results of the expedition. (And, perhaps the author can be forgiven for the emphasis on righting wrongs--previous works have certainly emphasized contrary views.) I've long felt that viewing the turn-of-the-century expeditions through today's 'lens' is problematic. Scott and the others were English men of their time and subject to those values, just as we are products of our time. I recommend the work to those interested in a detailed view of that first expedition, how its course affected the Terra Nova expedition, and a different view of the explorers and the expedition--placed in their time.

Let's just say if you have lot of time, you can try using method described in the book. But for lot of people in business of delivering the products in time, this may not be a good book to get influence from. There are some interesting examples in there that may be useful, but using as a reference....hmmmm.....think twice. There was an article published in ACM Interactions magazine while ago where they reviewed using OVID method, and they also came into same conclusion: high learning curve and implementation time was too long.

Book itself was simple to read, well at least for me. There are lot of examples, but I found them inconsistent. You may want to try IBM's website to get more information on OVID if you don't want to buy the book.

The following quotes are from the cover of the book:

"This book is of critical importance in our endeavors to leverage different world views in order to successfully develop software in combination with users, user interface designers, and programmers. I plan to incorporate this approach in my own work and hope you will see the worth of this in your work also."

Dr. Brad Cox, Author of Object-Oriented Programming: an Evolutionary Approach, George Mason University

"The effective translation of an understanding of the user into highly usable product design is one of the most significant challenges in the information technology industry. OVID directly addresses this challenge by defining a new, comprehensive approach that is based on solid, object-oriented methods."

Karel Vredenburg, Corporate Team Lead for User-Centered Design, IBM

"This is a very good book for introducing programmers to object-oriented GUI style, especially for applying programmers' object notations to OO GUI style. This is one of the rare sources on the critical topic of how to represent object "views" in those notations."

Tom Dayton, Senior Usability Engineer, Sun Microsystems Usability Labs & Services

"There has long been a need for a method which integrates Object Oriented Design of applications and their GUIs. This is it."

Paul Brebner, Software Research Engineer, CSIRO Land and Water, Australia

"Object-oriented interface design is an excellent way to bridge the gap between task data and fully realized systems. Object, view and interaction design (OVID) methodology provides indispensable guidance on bridging that gap successfully."

Christopher R. Hale, Senior Human Factors Engineer, Intel Corporation

User interface design has long been a mysterious area for many software developers. OVID blends the art and science of user-centered interface design and usability with the familiar and structured methodologies of Object-Oriented Design. I will use this book in my consulting work, seminars, and courses--and know its practical approach will be very well-received.

Theo Mandel, Ph.D., Interface Design/Usability Consultant, Interface Design and Development, Author of "The Elements of User Interface Design" and "The GUI-OOUI War"

"At the beginning of this decade, Don Norman characterized usability as 'the next competitive frontier.' Here at the end of the decade, OVID arms user interface designers for that competition, offering a series of proven design methods presented in a cogent framework, with the user kept at the center."

Randolph G. Bias, Manager, Usability Engineering, BMC Software, Inc., co-editor of "Cost-Justifying Usability".

This book bridges the theory and practice of leadership by focussing on the remarkable story of Coach Bill Snyder and the tranformation of the Wildcat Football Program, Kansas State University, and the community of Manhattan, Kansas. Drs. Scott and Shoop are to be commended for selecting a leader whose purpose is to give significance to others rather than seek it for himself. The authors are to be further applauded for taking perspectives and quotes from a group representative of those people Bill Snyder has impacted: players and their families, university employees and students, and citizens of Manhattan and the state of Kansas. The lessons are very practical; Bill Snyder's philosophy of continuous improvement can be freely adopted by anyone.

This book is an easy to understand, step-by-step book on applied leadership principles of one of the greatest college football coaches of all times! Coach Snyder's approach to leadership is readily adaptable by anyone in a leadership position. Dr Shoop and Dr Scott carefully applied Coach Snyder's principles/traits and then supported these with real-world comments by people both external and internal to his sphere of influence. The supporting documentation/comments from these "real-world" experiences enhances the applicability of this book for any leaders "must" have portfolio. This book is a must for anyone in a leadership position, aspiring to be in one, a student of leadership, or a coach. Finally there is an easy to read, comprehend, and apply book on leadership.

I would recommend Leadership Lessons from Bill Snyder to anyone interested in leadership and developing their own leadership skills. As a recent college graduate, I found Coach Snyder's leadership philosophies insightful and inspiring. Though the book documents the evolution and success of Kansas State University's football team, led by Coach Bill Snyder, it is much more than a biography or a history of KSU football. Leadership Lessons from Bill Snyder provides concrete examples of Snyder's leadership strategies in an easy-to-read, almost conversational format. A person in any walk of life could easily draw parallels between endeavors with their own organization and Bill Snyder's proven leadership as he turned a bankrupt organization into a top-ranked national powerhouse.

I found this book in a church Library and fell in love with it. the more I read the more I realize Short's Excelent perception on human nature and Christianity. I was especially fond of the titles of the chapters including: "The Wages of Sin is "Aaaughh"", and "Good Grief". These Titles and the titles of the book however are going to be offencive to some Fundimentalist Christians. That is a shame because if they read this book they would see how good of an evangelical tool it could be. I hope anyone struggling with their own faith could read this book. It really Pokes fun at human nature.

It is, surely, a matter of basic courtesy to an author to read his or her book before reviewing it. The pseudonymous "lexo-2" (see below, six reviews down) knows his Peanuts and his Preachers, and his verdict on Short is "Wrong, wrong, wrong." Well, six months after reading that review I have at last got around to finishing my used-bookstore copy of "The Gospel," and I find myself feeling so annoyed that I simply must respond.

"Whether or not Schulz is a devout Christian I could not say," writes lexo-2. If he had taken the trouble to actually read Short's book, however, he would have found numerous quotations from Schulz himself concerning his religious views. Speaking of a Bible-study group he attended shortly after his return from the Second World War, Schulz says, "The more I thought about it during those study times, the more I realized that I really loved God" (quoted on p. 70). Or again, "I don't even like the expression 'take communion.' You cannot 'take' communion. You are a part of the communion. You are communing with Christ; you are a part of the community of saints" (p. 80). The rhetoric, complete with its anti-Catholic bias against the notion of "taking" communion, is clearly that of a born-again evangelical (in Schulz's case, Church of God). And lest there be any doubt of Schulz's authorial intentions, he is quoted in the very first chapter as saying, "I have a message that I want to present, but I would rather bend a little to put over a point than to have the whole strip dropped because it is too obvious. As a result . . . all sorts of people in religious work have written to thank me for preaching in my own way through the strips. That is one of the things that keeps me going" (p. 20).

Schulz was worried about being too obvious. Clearly he wasn't obvious enough.

Short's book is cogent and well argued; it certainly is not a collection of "homilies." Contrary to what lexo-2 implies, Short does not ignore the darker side of the Peanuts world. Indeed, of lexo- 2's "three phrases," Short uses two or them in chapter titles: "The Wages of Sin Is 'Aaaugh!'" and "Good Grief!" Good grief! Read before you review!

Yes, lexo-2 is quite right that the world of Peanuts is a "sunlit hell, in which the characters never grow, never change, etc." Where he goes wrong is in assuming that Short--a Ph.D. in literature and theology, a man who had taken the trouble to study the cartoon in depth and even write a book about it--couldn't see that for himself. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Short's whole point is that we all live in a "sunlit hell," suffering "unimaginable fears" and "wreaking appalling cruelties on each other," and that we will never escape that hell unless we can find . . . (you guessed it!) the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The salvationist message does not come across too strongly in the cartoon (Schulz did not want to be "obvious") but it just as surely is there, between the lines, in the occasional epiphanies of love and reconciliation that illuminate the otherwise bleak moral landscape of Peanutopia.

You can agree or disagree with the Short-Schulz analysis of the human predicament. Personally, I disagree strongly. But in a world in which evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity have so much influence and power, it simply will not do to be idly dismissive. Indeed, I particularly recommend Short's book to freethinkers of every stripe, if only that they may remind themselves just how subtle and persuasive evangelical discourse can be. There is more, much more, to Short's little book than "pious ramblings" and that is precisely what makes it, depending on your point of view, so inspiring or so insidious.

This is the first book of theology that I ever read - and what a great introduction to theology! Short pulls out the theology of love and grace, the very human-ness of Christian faith (rightly understood), from the cartoon Peanuts, written by the unique Charles Schultz. This is actually the best introduction to real Christian theology that is available. Tillich, Kierkegaard, Niebuhr, Luther, Kafka, T. S. Eliot, and Karl Barth are only of the people you'll encounter in this splendid summary of essential Christian thought. I have valued this book for years, from when I first read it in high school to when I gave it as a gift to a lay minister in the diocese that I serve when I was consecrated as a bishop. Of all the dull and boring books of theology out there, this one is fun, and one of the best ever!

I've noticed a disturbing trend in MS books that I have recently read. Both this and "Programming ADO" have been written by support guys at MS who seem to have a reasonably broad handle on the subject matter, but not a very deep one. This book, in particular, teased me with the richness of the IE development environment without really drilling down. This would have been a better book if it was lighter on scripting (there are much better books out there for that) and really explored the IE interfaces (of which there are a ton) in depth. Having said that, If you are new to IE, then this book has some value - especially if you prefer books over MSDN documentation. The source code is decent as well, and at least doesn't short-change the C++ programmer - another disturbing trend in MS Press books.

I had the opportunity to work closely with Scott Roberts in Developer Support for Internet Explorer technologies while Internet Explorer 5 was in development. Scott was so expert in the use of the new technologies that they hired him to develop future versions. Scott's advice was essential while I was writing samples for the book. Pick up the MS Press book on XML, and along with "Programming Microsoft Internet Explorer 5," you'll have everything you need to develop mission-critical weblications using this incredible platform!

Even though I've only made use of Chapters 6 & 7 to date (Automating Internet Explorer and Internet Explorer Events), the book has already paid for itself in terms of the development time it has saved me researching this information. Mr. Roberts does a fantastic job of explaining not just one, but many ways of controlling Internet Explorer via a seperate program and provides many examples. A great resource for the web developer!

"The Publisher's Review" was kind to end its assessment of the book with, "...but a little silly."

"Silly" began about page five and reappeared frequently during the remaining 285 pages. We're looking here at "silly" at the high school composition level, and the plot is strained and worse even than the writing.

This was copywritten 13 years ago, and Littell has become a somewhat better writer in the interim. I just finished his latest, "The Company," and it was worth about 3 1/2 stars. I'll skip anything else by him.

The old phrase, "the book's not worth the candle," is too kind for "The Once and Future Spy."

Bottom line, I liked the premise and enjoyed the read - that is, until I reached the end. I confess, I don't yet quite get it. In six months, once I have had a chance to reflect on the book for a little longer, "Whose truth, what truth?" may help the book come into better focus. But at this point, I simply am not sure how to interpret the end. For instance, where did large parts of the story take place - in the "real world" or in Silas' head? What was Snow's motivation for doing what she did at the end - was she mistaken about her information (re: Huxstep) and more convinced that something wasn't quite right with Silas? Ambiguity is a given in the world of intelligence, but this was a bit too ambiguous for my tastes.

Fellow fans, help me out. If you can, I may come back again and revise my rating upwards. If not, then let's let a 3-star rating stand for a good book make a little too complicated for its own good.

Robert Littell has written a variety of wonderful books that all earn high marks in whatever genre he places them. He has written the spy novel as well as anyone, he has written historically based fiction so well, that some find his version of events easier to believe than those generally accepted as fact. And he has explored relationships that have nothing whatsoever to do with the other categories I mention. His are some of my favorite books, and I hope that many will now be issued once again.

For the spy lovers there have been, "Walking Back The Cat", "An Agent In Place", and most recently, "The Company". Historically based fiction rarely gets better than, "The Sisters", and "The Visiting Professor", fills the relationship category. It's not an easy decision, but my favorite work of his is likely, "The Revolutionist". All of these books I would enthusiastically recommend.

"The Once And Future Spy", is akin to traversing a labyrinth that is made of mirrors instead of green hedges. I also walked through one made entirely of chain link fence once, and with all that it allowed you to see, that it "showed clearly", it too was especially, or perhaps unique in its puzzle.

And despite all that transpires in this book, when you finally put down, or it finishes with you, you are anywhere but at the end. Government conspiracy enthusiasts will love this book, for it not only is clearly modeled after a specific US Presidency, it also portrays a variety of players that are identical to that administration in all but name. The act contemplated has a logic in their world, but once outside of their tortured, groupthink, any ends justifies the means sideshow, what they contemplate doing is no less than a crime against humanity.

Mr. Littell plays a wonderful game of slight of hand, and three card monty novel writing. But he does it with such skill that it never seems contrived, and when you think you have finally found the correct card, he will turn over another, proving you wrong once again. Even when he appears to come clean at the story's conclusion, has he really? By my reading he has not. An uneasy truce based not on mistrust, or threats, but rather participants not knowing where they stand, seems to be the closest anyone can come to comfort.

If you have never read this writer's work, please do, you will find a variety of genres, all capably handled by an extremely talented, imaginative, and skilled pen.