While this book may not be for everyone, Smith's Last Rites still holds a place as one of my favorite satires. Some of the humor may seem a little dated since the 70's, and a great deal of the references are fairly obscure (ala a Dennis Miller monologue, only funny), but on the whole, if you think you would enjoy a farce starring an alcholic priest (who also happens to be a computer genius) inducted into an secret think tank that may or may not be run by the Devil, then this book is for you. It's really ahead of its time.

It's really a shame it's out of print.

This is an amazingly thorough resource that explains different problems different learner groups have with English. The books is organized by language group (Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, etc.) so that you can easily look up your area of interest. Each chapter covers phonology, orthography, grammar, vocabulary, culture, writing/translation issues, and more. Each EFL teacher should have a copy of this book, to help him/her understand his/her students better, and it would be great for EFL students to have a copy too, so they can more readily see their pattern of errors.

The only thing missing is some kind of section on exercises to do to correct the errors. You'll have to go to another book for that.

This book teaches how to create a structured menu, use local foods and cuisines and maximize profits. It can help to determine where your restaurant can make money and where it doesn't. I would definitely recommend it to help you develop a good product menu mix.

Although I have not finished reading this book yet, I am already impressed with the amount of detail regarding the early organization and personalities of British intelligence agencies. No other work I have read (admittedly, this has been few) contains the detailed geneology of how MI5 and MI6 developed from their pre-WWI beginnings to their present day structures and missions.

This book is the best single book on fire department pumping apparatus and related topics that a driver/operator needs to know. if you are only going to have one book, this is it. This book replaces and combines the information from IFSTA's Fire Stream Practices, Pumping Apparatus, and Water Supplies.

My only real issue with this book is that though it is much more practical that having to read three other books, there is a lot missing that would be useful to know. The three books it replaced had over 1100 pages of information, and this book only have about 470. There is over 630 pages of information that has been left out and much of that is important to know. The most important information is included in this book but there is so much that is left out. If you can get the other three books, to get the left out and more technical information, take advantage of that.

On the plus side this book is an improvement on much of the past work that IFSTA has done. The information is more practical than in the past. In past texts it's been difficult to understand fire pump theory and operating the vehicle but this book helps to make it easier to understand. The hydraulics section is clear and covers most of the essential knowledge that a pump operator would need to know. The colored pictures make the book a little easier to read.

I'm also partial to this book because one of the training officers from my department had a hand in putting this book together. If you are going to buy this book, make sure you get the study guide with it. Much of the knowledge in this book is technical and the study guide helps you to make sure that you are understanding the information.

They just keep adding to this book without removing or editing old material. The book has become a chaotic jumble of ideas of the various authors. There are other better books out there.

Well, I think this book is very informative. Unfortunately it is very boring. But, that just goes with the subj. matter. The one thing that is extremely annoying is the unit conversions table. I think that it could had been placed at a more convinient location (inner front cover) instead of being on pg.651/789. On that note, I'd recomment photocopying the u.c.table when working on the problems. An introductory book to get you started is: Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes (richard m. felder). Great book!

This book is written specifically for chemical engineers.It covers topics such as EOS for non-ideal multicomponent mixtures, chemical reaction thermodynamics and thermodynamics of solutions. I suggest it to everyone who have trouble with this course.

We just got back from 5 days in New Orleans, and this was the only guide we took with us. It was a mistake. It's a difficult book to navigate, has limited maps, limited selection of accomodation & restaurants. If you go outside of Madi Gras & with children (two teenagers in our case) half the book is irrelevent. The restaurant '100 best' list doesn't match Zagats (always reliable). It warns against solo visits to the cemeteries (they're not safe, go on a tour), but doesn't explain why! Pity there isn't a Michelin Green Guide.

If you are going to New Orleans to enjoy the truly (as opposed to superficially) diverse culture of the United States' most distinctive city, then read this book before your trip.

Bultman's history of the city (perhaps the book's strongest feature) is fascinating and the neighborhood descriptions will help you decide what to see. More importantly, the information on N.O.'s unique slang, customs and food is essential. The dozens of great photographs will whet your anticipation before you go and remind you of the Crescent City's pleasures when you're back home.

I've used this book on three trips to N.O., and I still enjoy reading it. The restaurant and hotel recommendations aren't perfect (hey, tastes vary and things change) but they give you a place to start before you discover your own favorite spots.
Buy this book, make your reservations and let the good times roll!

This is really more than a just a guidebook but a very informative and entertaining history and cultural guide of New Orleans. Even though I had been to New Orleans before, the trip I made with this book as my companion was my best.

On past trips to New Orleans, I never could successfully determine what was real and what was for the tourists. I was especially impressed by the restaurant picks in the book which were outstanding.

I purchased this book and give it a two or maybe a three. I used some of its references in working on my Thesis. I found it also a pretty good source for biblical reference for use while doing psychotherapy. One of the main issues is that even though the book does use scripture to back up many of the ideas, it fails to acknowledge professionalism in the field of Christian Psychology. I do agree that almost everyone is able to counsel with some informal training, but this can and does lead to trouble down the road in a Church. Some people may need Pastoral Counseling, some may need Christ based psychotherapy. The issue is that someone in the Church needs to determine that issue. A lay person should not be addressing this issue, but a qualified person as either a Pastor or Psychologist. It needs to be noted that there is a big difference between counseling and therapy. Psychotherapy goes much deeper than counseling and deals at dealing directly with the root of the problem. This is why Psychotherapists are highly trained in dealing with many of the deep issues requiring much care and spiritual guidance. I believe a much better book is "Christian Counseling" by Gary R Collins. I find this book much more informative and offers more "meat" of the subjects at hand while using scripture to back up these ideas. This book is a very good tool for lay people, pastors, social workers, counselors, and psychologists.

This book uniquely removes the counselor from the counseling. It centers it's context on what the scriptures say, as opposed to what the counselor thinks.

With the nouthetic approach, the counselor has the unique ability to remain apart from the solution, not a part of the solution. This dynamic is critical to effective counseling.

I believe that in the counseling arena there is to much human intervention, opening the door to a high subjective point perstective. Although there is often good intention in the human perspective, we must know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Bible centered counseling is the state of the arc in counseling. When you get your anwser, it's god that is giving it not man.

I would applaud mr. Adams for a work well done.

Competent to Counsel by Dr. Jay Adams is worthy of reading, but is equally worthy of implementation. This book is not a theory of counseling so much as it is a call for believers to begin the biblical counseling of one another.

Dr. Adams shows a positive approach to what the Bible teaches on counseling. Most relationship problems arrive at our doorstep because sin entered the world ages ago. Many personal problems are a result of God's need to impose trials on His children to help them grow, or, to rebuke sin in His children's lives. This book addresses how to caringly work through such spiritual issues, one believer to another. In many instances, this is accomplished through simple encouragement-an art form and a responsibility often overlooked by the church today.

While modern "psychotherapy" is often grounded in doctrines of amoral values of humanism, Dr. Adams is careful not to disparage all psychology, the study of the human mind and human behavior. Actual illness needs to be referred to the appropriate medical doctor. But issues of sinful behavior patterns by professing Christians need to be handled by the loving care of fellow believers working through a biblical model of problem identification, repentance (where needed), and change.

Many have called this book groundbreaking. What has happened with Nouthetic Counseling since this book was first introduced is nothing short of revolutionary in the Christian church. The numbers of Christians who have been restored into a healthy relationship with God and the church as a result of this book are simply uncountable.

Read this book. Put the principles into action.

Before I read this book I didn't think it was possible to write a computer book in 3 weeks. I was mistaken. The authors put this book out in a big hurry, and it shows. The book is poorly organized in that chapters are seemingly thrown in as an afterthought to touch on various topics. The touch is a light one too, since only minimal information is presented in most of the chapters of the book. The chapter on SQL is a good example because the authors present only enough information to show how SQL can do cool things, and then they advise the reader to go buy a book on SQL. Why bother writing a chapter on SQL? A teach-yourself book should really have enough information to get the student going, but this book is more like a guided tour of 15 cities in 10 days. A lot of words are expended in the presentation of fluff while the reader is left to ponder on some way to shape said fluff into something useful

This is a good book provided you've used "Teach yourself Visual Basic in 21 days" by Ori & Nathan Gurewich. But, there are too many errors in the book. I suspect microsoft made some changes that the authors did not incorporate. For example Dim dyn1 as Dynaset will not work. Dynaset has been replaced with RecordSet. But I couldn't get the Filter command to work with RecordSet and I couldn't use the dynaset set that the authors have in the book. Overall it's a good book for reading but useless to practice the programs with - that's why I rate it a 7. PS, on day 4 use Biblio.mdb instead of Books.mdb. There is no books file. Good Luck Kimberly Brugier

I can't help but notice that there is a wide divergence of views about this book. Personally, I found it well-written and well-planned. It is not for everybody. In particular, it is not for the experienced database programmer. It is not for a DP veteran. It IS for a competent Visual Basic Programmer (1 or 2 classes or similar experience) who wants to expand his/her abilities to include database programming. If you think that one book will contain all you need to know, well, GET REAL! What you will find is a gradual approach to the subject, with a very good example of several database applications (Actually 3) that will lead you to obtain a solid foundation on the subject. Database theory is covered so that you have a basic understanding. The Visual Basic way of accessing databases is well covered. There are good examples. From here, I would recommend getting more advanced books, depending on which direction you want to go. But this book is all you will need to get up to speed, write some basic to intermediate level programs, and learn the lingo.

This book includes not just black and white photographs shot by Michael Stipe while on the road with Patti Smith, but also many polaroid photos taken by Patti Smith's guitarist Oliver Ray. Oliver Ray's photographs are designated by a little "O" near his photos.

While Stipe certainly has some real gems here, he doesn't demonstrate complete mastery over his camera equipment, which to my knowledge was a Leica M6. Many of the images here are blurry and/or out of focus. But that is ok, it evokes a certain frantic 'on the road touring with a rock band' style.

Oliver Ray's Polaroids are on the other hand, wonderful. Taken with a cheap Polaroid Land Camera 100 (circa 1960s) using instant Polaroid 667 black and white 'peel-apart' film (which is still sold), Ray achieves stunning results especially when you understand the' limited featured' camera he worked with. This book is an interesting study for anyone who is as fond of Polaroid photography as I am.

If you are an R.E.M. and Michael Stipe fan, or a Patti Smith fan, then of course you will enjoy this book. However if you are seeking true pristine photographic works of art, look elsewhere. Most of these images evoke a more 'grunge' (for lack of a better word) feel. There is some great prose by Stipe, Ray, and many others including Patti Smith. And, there are many famous people depicted including the likes of Allen Ginsberg.

One note about my copy of the book-after just one reading, the binding fell apart and the first quarter of the book fell apart into separate pages from the book. This was very dissappointing and should not have happend under normal reading...

Michael Stipe should be commended on this great book of photography being on the road with Patti Smith. What I find truly wonderful is his love and admiration of his dear friend Patti Smith. I am truly moved by this work. I am a fan of both Smith and Stipe. I too like Stipe have been blessed and inspired by Smith's poetry and music. The words included in the book are worth reading. The photos are terrific and presented in an artistic way. It allows the reader (or viewer) to see what is special about Patti Smith, her band, and friends in ways not seen before. It is a great addition for fans of both Patti Smith and REM.

I don't understand all the fuss being made about Michael Stipe's photography in this compelling book. How else would one go about capturing the dervish that is Patti Smith than by being a little out of focus? The images compliment perfectly her body of work, and her DIY aesthetic. As an artist who has picked up Smith's torch, Stipe has created a lovely valentine to her, and he has documented forever her "very big deal" tour with Bob Dylan. Thank Heaven we still have artists still humble enough to give credit where credit is due. This is a very nice addition to any Smith or Stipe collection......