Of the many successes of Python, this is the least known but one of the most impressive: it has gained the affection and the respect of a hard guy like Alex Martelli. That is not an easy task for a small, interpreted programming language like Python.

When I first met Alex Martelli, at Think3, he was one of the oldest and most experienced programmers of the company, a programmer who had already used most of the existing languages and had used these languages for the development of large and complex applications, the kind of projects that took months or years to complete. He knew Perl very, _very_ well and was used to rely on a robust, elegant and sophisticated language like C++ for the development of his applications (like Think3's Thinkdesign, a very complex 3D CAD program). He was writing a _lot_ of software, using a large array of different languages and tools. He was a well respected internal consultant at Think3, charged to solve difficult problems related to the software architecture of the program being developed. He was not an easy guy to impress with "yet another small language".

Despite this, Python has gained some room in his heart. I consider this fact as one of the most significant success of this elegant and powerfull language. To be completely honest, I'm not completely surprised by this ending.

Alex Martelli is the kind of scientist and professional that appreciate elegance, wherever he can see it. The taste for elegance, the ability to take pleasure in elegance, is an important part of the scientist and engineer personality. It is hard to be a really good software professional without having any kind of interest for elegance. When you need a simple tool that can face complex problems, you are asking for elegance. When you need a language that leave you with maintenable code, you are asking for elegance. When you want a single language for a wide array of applications, you are asking for elegance. Python can supply you with all the elegance you can ever ask for.

Alex's and David's book is a collection of good techniques that you can use to face a large set of problems with Python, from text transformation to GUI building to OpenGL grahics. You will not find here an introductory book, rather you will find a good second-reading book, the kind of book that can take you from the beginner level to the advanced. It is also the kind of book that can widen your knowledge of the Python world, showing you how this modern language can easily deal with problems that you usually face with C++ or the like.

If you are looking for an introductory book, buy "Learning Python" by Mark Lutz and David Ascher: it is the best one for this task. If you already know Python, buy this book and see how much you still do not know about it.

I really appreciate the depth and quality of the work in this book. The concept of having the Python community build a book is keeping right in line with the philosophy of the original development of Python. Thanks you Alex. Looking forward to your next book.

This is one of those rare books that is all meat and no fat. It is a wonderful collection of relevant and useful solutions for many programming problems that you will face, and many that you probably just figured were too hard to solve. It is clearly laid out, so finding a needed solution is easy.

One of the most powerful benefits of owning this book is astonishing amount of knowledge you can pick up by browsing it. With almost every recipe I discovered either a new approach to doing something with Python, that was far more elegant than what I would have thought of, or something that I didn't even consider was possible. It covers a vast array of important topics, from text processing, threads, object-oriented programming, and much more.

In short buy this book, grab a drink, and have a nice long sit-down session with it. You'll love every page of it.

This is a great book if you want to know the future of what Microsoft's top researchers like XD Huang etc are thinking and working. Dr Huang is a super star of the field and it is equally worthwhile to read his excellent book.

A thourough and complete review about the subject, in which many disciplines (language, computer, probability, statistics, numerical analysis) converge. As a non-practitioner I have found it an enjoyable opportunity to refresh my knowledges in the field of signal processing, and a source of many hints I have been able to develop in other branches. In spite of notations and methodologies (e.g. bayesian) a bit far from I am used to, the near one thousand pages never seemed extreme related to the meaning compressed into them, spreading from base theory to advanced applications.

I love this complete and practical book on speech technologies and application. It always ties in the real-world practice. While also covering most theoretic/academic results, it always points out what's used in daily practice. This feature can help new comers identify promising directions to solve real problems. The only thing I don't like is that it emphasizes too much work done in Microsoft Research, although this is understandable and MS is becoming power player in this arena.

DURANTE EL EMBARAZO ( No importa que sea el primero o el quinto )Y HASTA MAS RESPUESTAS DE LAS PREGUNTAS QUE NI A UNO DE LE OCURRE HACER...
Por ejemplo, jamás me había preguntado de qué esta hecho el líquido amniótico, ni hasta que fecha subsiste el riesgo de un aborto ni qué provoca la eclamsia o toxemia...

ES UN LIBRO DE SOLUCIONES, RESPUESTAS Y ADVERTENCIAS PRUDENTES PERO TRANQUILIZANTES.

DULCE, AMENO, MUY BIEN INFORMADO Y TAN CÁLIDO, QUE LO LLEVARÁS PREBDIDO AL RECUERDO DE TU EMBARAZO..
Te informa TODITO !

LIBRO COMO ESTE Y QUE HASTA VA A GUARDARLO PARA CUANDO NUESTRA HIJA CREZCA Y TENGA UN BEBÉ...
Me consta que ella estuvo super tranquila en su embarazo...y con este libro siempre cerca !

Alex McNeill's "Total Television" is one of those reference works which is useful both for settling trivia arguments at parties and for helping those engaged in serious scholarly study of television programs and their impact upon popular culture. As of this review, "Total Television" is in its fourth edition.

The book is basically an alphabetical encyclopedia of thousands of television programs in every possible genre: dramas, sitcoms, game shows, cartoons, and more. Each entry lists the series' air dates, principal performers, and other relevant data.

In addition to the main body of encyclopedic entries, the book includes a wealth of supplemental features: lists of Emmy winners, a chronological gathering of one-shot specials, and more. Particularly interesting are the programming grids, which show the nightly lineups on each network for each night of the week. You can turn to a season (say, 1951-52) and see what choices the American TV viewer had each night! This feature is great for historians.

Although most of the entries on each series are brief, McNeill spends more time and space on certain series of outstanding impact. These extended articles on "All in the Family," "CBS Evening News," "Dallas," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and more are truly fascinating.

TV has been derided by many with such epithets as "the Boob Tube" and "The Idiot Box." On the other hand, it was praised in an episode of "The Simpsons" as "teacher, mother. . . secret lover." McNeill captures TV in all of its facets: from the depths of inanity to the heights of cultural significance. This book is a great achievement whose reputation, I believe, will increase with future editions.

Like author/critics from Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael to Joel Whitburn and Fred Bronson, TV historian Alex McNeil has a fun but never-ending job. He charts the myriad of programs that have appeared on broadcast networks (including those, like Dumont, which no longer exist), cable, and in syndication. His fun comes in praising the praiseworthy, trashing the deserving, goreing sacred Hollywood cows and keeping a critical expert's eye on important pop culture strands and shifts.

"Total Television" is exhaustive, enjoyable, fun and fact-filled reading from any page it's read. McNeil generously shares facts, transporting you to time, channel, cast (sometimes literally in hundreds) and summaries of thousands of familiar and long-forgotten TV shows. TV's giants (from Walt Disney and Captain Kangaroo to Oprah Winfrey and "Monday Night Football") receive their fair space, while McNeil also chronicles changes in TV daytime dramas, game, talk, and sports shows.

McNeil's consistent irreverence and historical perspective is remarkable. He salutes Walt Disney for creating TV's first mini-series (the wildly popular "Davy Crockett") while also creating TV's first "synergy" (TV show promotes park and films, which promote movies and TV show).

McNeil also gives long-running, non-cult classics like "Gunsmoke," "Knots Landing," and "Wagon Train" their proper respect while chronicling the knotty, behind-the-scenes problems plaguing stars from Nat Cole to Judy Garland to Jerry Lewis to Sammy Davis, Jr., and the respective failures of their 50s-60s variety shows. (He recalls failed sitcoms like "Family Dog" and "The Waverly Wonders" with especially sweet relish). McNeil also features sections on landmark TV moments (which decrease in number and size from the mid-70s), full TV schedules, and Emmy winners.

This is NOT a book read cover to cover, even by diligent TV fans. Series' with same or similar titles, long paragraphs retelling old tales of Roseanne Barr and 1992's "Tonight Show" fiasco (in an otherwise fascinating entry on that TV staple) are redundant one after another. But in preferably small portions, "Total Television" is a refreshingly unobjective reference book of the best, worst, longest and least TV's omnipotentence has presented.

With the explosion of available networks on cable television, this book becomes more than just another reference work for professionals in the media. It's instantaneous information on any show that might happen to pop up on TV Land, Nick at Nite, A&E, PAX, Game Show Network, Soap Opera Network, or the multitudinous other outlets for yesterday's programming. And once you've dipped in, the information MacNeil gives (along with the occasional opinion)is like salted peanuts -- you'll keep dipping your hand in the jar. A comprehensive index of performers, a listing of notable TV movies and specials, and a chance to go back in time with prime-time network grids for every year up through the publication date, all make "Total Television" impossible to resist. You'll be counting the days until the fifth edition as soon as you've spent a week with this one (which takes us into the age of "Must See TV").

I am fascinated with New Orleans and the River Road area and it's history .This has to be one of the best publications about this subject. Sexton seems to capture so much of it's history in the pages of this book, more so than any other author has. The photography is also wonderful and straight forward. I recommend it to any one who wants to learn more about southern Louisiana plantations.

Although I've never been on River Road I feel this book brought me an authentic glimpse of life during the plantation era. The photographs are amazing and the book kept me spellbound for hours!! What fascinanted me most was how some plantations looked as if their inhabitants literally walked out the door and never looked back. Fine furniture, pictures, personal posessions were just left to slowly rot under leaky ceilings and caving roofs. On my next trip to New Orleans I will make it a priority to take a trip down River Road.

I spent many summers on St Joseph's Plantation which is next to the more famous Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie,La. I was pleased to see that Richard Sexton was able to bring to life the many beautiful plantation homes in his book. The photography is spectacular! I would recommend this book to anyone considering a tour of the River Road. Mr. Sexton accomplished the difficult task of presenting the "grandeur" of planation life in this book.

My comic book days are about over, but I remember them fondly. I remember some of my enduring favorites. The Spirit; The Green Lantern; The Blackhawks, to name a few. Now, my friend Alex has brought forth one who fills a deep void in the pantheon of world class heroes pitted against an evil force. BlackJack is one on a par with The Blackhawks, full of daring adventure in exotic places in the world. Bravo!

--- Morgan Freeman, actor and film star ---

Someone please make this into a film right now!

Alex Simmons's "Blackjack: Blood and Honor" is fresh and exciting, thoughtful and informative, and incredibly well-written. Yes, this is a graphic novel, and you are thinking, "I'm only into real books, man." Here's the bottom line, pal: This is a real book, just done in a fresh, thrilling way.

Blackjack is an adventurer-for-hire, who takes a contract to protect a Japanese official opposed to the pre-World War II build up in Japan, circa 1938. I never even knew any leading Japanese were opposed the war! I found it great to learn something new while reading a strong action tale.

Simmons writes more words than usually show up in graphic novels, and does it in such a way that this is, indeed, a very good thing. I forwarded my copy to a friend who commented that he didn't need the visuals to follow this tale; that is how clearly Simmons spins his yarns.

But the art is wonderful to behold as well. From the intense cover painting to the frequent action sequences, the illustrations deliver the back up punch to the intelligent, intriguing prose. And additional pages such as "Shades of History" serve as exquisite desert to this hefty reading meal.

So pick order it, sit on down, enjoy, and bon apetite!

This is a corner-stone of Cisco routing engine explanation. It doesn't contain any braindump stuff like many books do. But it covers many topics: theoretical basis, IOS pseudo code explanations, configuration examples and trace/debugging methods. There are also many interesting details and gismos that I didn't find anywhere . It's very useful as a preparation guide -- you have to read this book if you do want to pass some sort of serious Cisco's exams (I mean CCNP or CCIE). So it's outstanding title (in other words -- it worth to spend 50+ bucks for it guyz!) :))

Btw, now I'm waiting for your next book. Why not? Will it be dedicated to MPLS or MLOSPF? Huh? :))

If Jeff Doyle's book is a masterpiece so I'll say this is a classic. Oh boy! did I ever say I know routing? If I did, I am sorry because this book is an eye opener. I am still half way through it but cant resist to comment. Awesome work Sir Alex ;-)

Shahid Shafi

Great book! Every CCIE should have this book. Every CCIE candidate should read this book if they really need to understand how IP routing works on Cisco routers. This is very much like the IOS Architecture book (Russ White et al) in that it covers information that no other book covers. Another must have book!

I really love this book. I've been trying to live a drug free life, but the stress and pressures I feel sometimes make me think that it would be easier if I just started drinking beer and smoking weed like everyone else does. But after reading this book and incorporating some of the exercises into my life, I've found it easier to stay away from drugs. This guy has a great sense of humor and really seems to understand kids. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a way to releive stress without using drugs. Thanks, Alex. You rock!

"HIGHS overflows with effective ways to chill out or feel exhilarated without using drugs or alcohol."
-BOOKLIST

"Much more than a preachy tome on alternatives to drugs. Written with wisdom and wit, the author brings together an amazing collection of things to do to live a better, fuller, life. This is one of the best life-skills books on the market, and it should be on every teen bookshelf."
-SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

"Filled with ideas for how to put yourself at ease without putting yourself at risk. An informative and entertaining read for young people. The suggestions would not hurt adults either."
-YOUTH TODAY

WINNER:
- "Parents' Choice"
- "Garden State Book Selection," New Jersey Public Library System
- "Children's Choice," International Reading Associatin/Childrens Book Council
- "Quick Pick," Young Adult Librarians
- "Read, America!" Selection
- "Top 10," Independent Publisher's Association
- National Parenting Publications Award ("Best Resource")

It's all here - what every teen and young adult needs to know about how to feel really well and really good about themselves. On the premise that human beings like to get high, and that getting high is good, Dr. Packer's newest book tells us how to do it - without relying on alcohol, drugs or other substances. Written and illustrated in an engagingly contemporary way, "Highs" provides the reader with fresh, usable insights on such matters as serenity, nutrition, exercise, and relationships. Organized in three sections and 11 well- outlined chapters, it is possible - perhaps even recommended - that the reader turn to an area of particular interest first. Literate, witty, insightful, and irreverent where it should be, "Highs" is highly recommended to young people and parents alike.

Ben met Helen when he was in what he perceived to be an unbearable solitude. When they began dating, he felt as though he had banished this lonesome existence for good. But Ben was a writer, he was an artist, and weren't artists meant to suffer in lonely conditions? How else can an artist feel the brunt of life and transform it into art unless he is living in it?

FINDING MAKEBA opens with a nineteen-year-old Makeba embarking on a trip into Philadelphia. Her father is holding a book signing for his new novel, and she has come to see him after ten years of not hearing from him. The remainder of the book is presented in what seems like a rebuttal. As Makeba reads the story of her father's life, and how she came to the point where she is, she journals her thoughts and feelings on each chapter.

I cannot say that I am surprised that Pate's novel is so affecting, or that the characters are so finely crafted. I have read his work before, and this work personifies the strong emotional content of his other works like Losing Absalom and The Multicultiboho Sideshow. This is a novel that described things familiar to all who are living - healing the wounds inflicted upon us by ourselves, others, and the world. This is a fine piece of literature and a fine slice of life.

Reviewed by CandaceK
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I love this book, and I highly recommed it. The characters were fleshed out flawlessly, and emotions ran high. I look forward to more from this author.

Based on a friend's recommendation, I decided to give Finding Mabeka by Alex Pate a chance. What an impressive and remarkable novel.

Can you imagine a situation where you haven't seen your father since your childhood, but yet he's written a story about his life with you and your mother for the entire world to see?

Childhood is supposed to be filled with everything nice, sugar and spice, two parents and a secure, loving environment. Even though Makeba's parents argued often, Makeba never imagined that she would be the product of a broken home. Ben Crestfield wanted to write; writing was his first love. His wife, Helen, wanted him to have a job which offered security, benefits and a steady paycheck. When Helen's love starts to become overbearing, Ben decides that he must escape so in the middle of the night he kisses Makeba and says good-bye. While Ben said he was leaving his wife, he promised Makeba that he wasn't leaving her and that he would always be there for her. A promise that he would find impossible to keep.

Crestfield vowed that he wouldn't be another AA male statistic...you know father who leaves home never to return to check up on his children or see that they're surviving physically, emotionally or financially...you know those deadbeat dads that leave mothers to become single parents and children in broken homes. So what happen to make everything go so wrong?

Fast-forward a decade later, Makeba is a young lady and Ben is a published writer. Imagine Ben's surprise when he's at a booksigning promoting his book and he looks up to see a young lady asking him to "sign it for Makeba Crestfield". Suddenly and without warning, Ben is forced to confront his past when he comes face-to-face with the daughter he abandoned so many years before.

Finding Makeba is a remarkable novel about father-daughter relationships, fatherhood, forgiveness and redemption. Pate expertly weaves the story of Ben and Makeba as he alternates chapters with Ben's story and excerpts from Makeba's journal. Finding Makeba is a creatively crafted story about a familiar topic told in a refreshing and engrossing manner. I like that Finding Makeba was told with emotional honestly and that the father was presented in a positive light. Ben Crestfield really wanted to do right by his daughter because even though he no longer wanted to be married to his wife he still cared deeply for his daughter and due to circumstances beyond his control he was forced to abandon her. I really enjoyed Pate's writing style, tone and point of view and I look forward to reading other novels from this talented author.

APOOO Bookclub

I thought the war of the worlds was an ok book the thing's i didnt like about it was that in alot of parts in the book it dragged on and on like they just kept on running and running from the martians from mar's.Thing's i enjoyed about the book were it was cool about them breathing fire on the people at where the cylinder first fell.I also liked the times when the martians started destroying everything but it dragged on alot.
Ialso enjoyed when the army came and tried to shoot down the martians but nothing happend.

I am an Old Time Radio fanatic. I love War or the Worlds and this book is the definte history of this imfamous radio broadcast. The Mercury Theater on The Air was such a great crew and this book tells a great deal about them.

War of the Worlds enthusiasts continue to love, emulate and draw new stories from this, the original outer-space invasion novel. The story has been filmed twice--once as a television series and once as a 1950's sci-fi epic--but it's been copied and re-told many times in other films, INDEPENDENCE DAY included. What would Hollywood do without this original, one-of-a-kind horror story? This new book has everything, including a CD and excerpts from a recorded discussion between H.G. Wells and Orson Welles, as well as the original 1938 Welles broadcast, and two press conferences with Welles. What's missing is the fascinating story of how and why Wells wrote this story (it's truly a horror tale--our hero has to sit in an abandoned house for days, listening to the Martians eating live humans, for instance), which contains many of the same suspenseful elements you'll find in other classics that will not die--such as FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. When I traveled to England to attend a meeting of the H.G. Wells Society in 1998 (the centenary of War of the Worlds' publication), I was treated to a walking tour of the actual Martian landing site, the sand pits of Woking. Then, we followed the same path that the Martians traversed during their campaign against the world. A small, polished pebble lifted from the sandpits sits before my writing desk, a relic of a fictitious war for which, like the recent attacks on New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, no-one was prepared. Wells was living in a time of unrest, when anarchists (terrorists?) might strike at any time at the powerful and arrogant British Empire, and the portent of war was everywhere. War of the Worlds was a wake-up call! Ray Bradbury's foreword is worth the price of the book. He is truly Wells' successor--a behavioral optimist who in every way is the kind of writer Wells tried to be. Incidentally, Bradbury once told me that he missed his chance to meet H.G. Wells when he lectured in L.A. Bradbury was a high school student and didn't have the price of admission. Besides, he told me, "I was afraid I'd die of a heart attack if I met him!" Wells dominated the first half of the 20th Century, Bradbury the second half. Both were believers in the potential and unrealized greatness of humankind. Both are worth reading. --Jim Reed, author of DAD'S TWEED COAT: SMALL WISDOMS, HIDDEN COMFORTS, UNEXPECTED JOYS