The Saga of Galanor crossed the ocean and reached me in a royal blue journey; a typical Brazilian one. I took a day to open the book - I feared it somehow. When I did, the barriers of time vanished and I was thrown into the fantastic realms of Atlantis and beyond; somehow so familiar to me and, until then, so long distanced in my memory. The story is an image poem; and, the book itself is a film! Watch out, it has a magical effect!

Not only is the book a great adventure, it is beautifully put together. This book is amazing in it's artwork, it's format. It is a book like nothing you have ever seen. This is a book that you will want to pass down from generation to generation. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next saga.

Galanor, a strong leader in a fantasic fantasy tale, that will keep you wanting to read about his next adventure.

Groundbreaking book for the layperson and professional alike. Defines and outlines the characteristics of the syndrome also referred to as Higher-functioning Autistic Disorder. The book provides a professional synopsis of Aspergers and its profound effect upon the lives of those living and dealing with it.

This is a groundbreaking book for the layperson and professional alike which outlines the characteristics of the syndrome also referred to as Higher-functioning Autistic Disorder. The book provides a professional synopsis of Aspergers and its profound effect upon the lives of those living and dealing with it.

Well written and widely focused, this book touches on all aspects of the disorder. On a personal level, families of several individuals who have Aspergers provide poignant insights into the day to day struggle with the disorder through their stories and anecdotes. On the intervention side, stratagies for helping enhance the learning of elementary and secondary students at home and in school are discussed. Definately geared towards the diversified needs of the child.

This book was wonderful, especially in regard to understanding how children and adults with autism see the world. It is a great resource for teachers and professionals who are programming for these children. Excellent

The practical exercises in the Christian traditions are useful, and cause growth. (Romans 12:2) This book is useful for any spiritual formation group and increases awareness of need to grow in Discipleship. Have used exercises in my Walk to Emmaus(spiritual formation/accountability) reunion group--leads to Christian action.

This book will help you discover where you need more balance in your Christian walk. As you learn to practice the 6 different traditions; social, contemplative, holiness, charismatic, evangelical, and incarnational, your walk with the Lord will become more balanced. This has been a life-changing study for me!

This is a very good book for starting a Bible study that is labor intensive versus study intensive. I do recommended this for all people to lead after they have to a personal study with Celebration of Discipline materials. To my knowledge, this version is out of print because it has been revised and replaces by ISBN 0062516264. This new book includes the sixth tradition of incarnationalism. Also recommended.

This book is a must read for anyone who has hunted or considered hunting whitetails. It is filled with exceptional detail and photographs to assist with recovering wounded deer. Hats off to Richard Smith and the people who assisted him with the production of this book. I feel he has done a great justice to the deer and deer hunter by writing this outstanding reference.

Tracking wounded deer will put more deer in your freezer. If you hunt hard and put yourself in a positon to make a shot on a deer and loose the animal, nothing is more of a let down. There are so many variables involved in the hunt, the odds of making a marginal shot with a bow or gun is always there. I have been owning this book for so long, I can't remember where I bought it. I read it over every year and have loaned it to and insisted that hunting buddies read it. To me the trailing of a hit animal is only second excitement wise to making the shot. If you hunt long enough, at some point there will be a tough tracking job. When you come across this tough job and have read this book, you will surprise yourself at how much you see besides the obvious. The book starts off with hit or miss determination. Reading of the blood condition and color as well as hair type which is critical when starting the blood trail. This book will show in great detail the blood from different hits and what I have found to be an incredible asset, a color photo with hair from 12 seperate areas on a deer. Plenty trails start without blood and hair is your only clue. Next the author discusses vital or mortal wounds and how to go about approaching the trail based on your determination of the hit. Next Mr. Smith covers nonfatal hits, string trackers and tracking with dogs. Also the last two chapters cover mistaken impressions such as hitting the wrong deer or even two deer and other such instances,and the final chapter deals with stories involving finding deer shot by other hunters. The book closes with a Bibliography and a very helpful index.

The Photos in this book are incredible and there is even an actual deer carcas with a cut away view of internal organs. This along with the actual blood trails and recovered deer will amaze you.

From a personal stand point, this book has made the difference of a sad story of a lost deer and putting meat in the freezer after a tough tracking job. Not just for me but for many of my friends that I have helped. This book WILL make you better at recovering your deer. It will also get you invited on many tracking jobs because of your skill in tracking.

I have pictures of a 10 point that I shot in 1996 and I put the book in the picture because I found this animal because I learned what to look for from TRACKING WOUNDED DEER.It was 8:15 A.M. and I made a broadside shot with my 30-06 at about 100 yards from about 45-50 feet in a tree. At the time I didn't know, but I had just clipped the paunch side of the liver and the exit was through the paunch. There was no blood, but there were loads of hair and it may sound funny, but several stunned ticks on the ground where the hair was. After collecting the hair and sneaking off back to my camp, I was able to determine where the hit was from the photo of the hair in my book. My concern with no blood and tons of hair was that I had made a flesh wound and knocked off some hair. From the photo in the book I realize that hair was from the lower side of the deer. This gave me hope that I had actually hit the deer in body, but was it a gut shot because of no blood. After this determination my friend and I decided to wait a while, have lunch and then sneak back into the trail where I saw the deer run. After about 35 yards into the bottom we found a drop of dark blood. It wasn't much, but it told us that we had a liver hit. The blood sign was very sparse, but reading the blood splash patterns and other little clues lead us through many back tracks and past one of my buddy's lock on stands. After 3 hours and nearly 300 yards though fairly thick brush, my buddy spotted him. He pointed the deer out to me and I could only see the body to the shoulder, the view of the head was obstructed by some trees. The deer was laying upright just as if he were bedding and I though to shoot, but my friend could see the head and it was on the ground and the deer was dead. After the high fives and hugs were over, sure enough I had barely clipped the liver and exited about 2 inches above the white hair belly line on the opposite side. We got the deer out of the woods and my buddy still had time to make a quick evenig hunt and I had to do the cleaning and picture taking by myself.

Bottom Line: Tracking deer after the shot is a critical part of the hunting process. In that respect, this is the best, most educational book about deer hunting I have ever read. Sometimes I think I should just buy a case of these books and give them to all my hunting buddies. JUST BUY A NEW COPY OF THIS BOOK, BECAUSE THERE AREN'T GONNA BE ANY USED ONES FOR SALE.

Thanks to Mr. Smith for the Education!!!!!

This book is a must read for any novice or expert whitetail hunter. Richard clearly describes the steps you should take to track your deer for several different shot scenarios, and color illustrations are included. Well worth the money, this book will help you find your next deer.

Anyone going into law enforcement or with a love one in law enforcement should read this book. It carries the readers through the day to day life of an officer. Never in my wildest dreams did I realize the stress level and physical demands placed on someone in this field. I think Richard did a great job and hopes he continues with other books.

One Stands Alone is a spirited and honest account of a long, intense career in Law Enforcement. Richard A. Smith fearlessly describes his own learning process, his mistakes, accomplishments, and those of others in actual situations. He shows incredible respect for the needs of his readers, though respect was usually not what he received while on duty. Technical terms and situations are explained, often with humor, even at his own expense, in such a way that the author is never "talking down" to his audience.

The positive frame of mind that Richard maintains overall throughout the book is even more remarkable when you read about his harrowing and discouraging experiences and life-changing line-of-duty injuries. He shows that officers are not just uniforms with badges, but are real people who share all emotions and experiences of daily life with the rest of us.

I give a lot of credit to Richard for reliving incidents to give us a view of a very unbalanced and often frightening world that the police face daily on our behalf. I thank him for sharing such a great part of his life, and as importantly, for sacrificing so much of himself while "protecting and serving."

In the writing, Richard shares a number of nicknames he received throughout his career. With this book, he has earned yet another, that of "Master Storyteller." As I hear a siren or watch officers at work, I often reflect on things said in One Stands Alone. It is much easier now to understand that what appears to be happening is often very different from the actuality. I only hope that this book is the first of many from this gifted author.

We live in a world where most Americans seem to take for granted their rights as citizens. We expect and demand protection and seldem do we understand or thank those who have taken the oath to protect us. In this book, the author has taken the reader by the hand and led him into the world a law enforcement officer lives in twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The average citizen never experiences the fear, harrassment and personal loss that a police officer takes on when he puts on that badge. The author has done an excellant job of describing the day to day life of an officer without using the professional jargon that most people would not understand. He allows the reader to feel his fustration, lonliness and anger at the ills of our society and its bureaucracy. This is a must read for anyone wanting to enter that world and for those of us who take for granted the men and women in uniform who have sworn to protect us. You will leave with a better understanding and appreciation for law enforcement officers and their families.

The one thing that ties all humans together, rich or poor, famous or unknown, powerful or helpless is death. To many Americans our Presidents are either marble figures (Washington, Jefferson...) or are little known familar names (Tyler, Harding...). This book does a great job of making ALL of our Presidents into human beings. The pictures, the writing, even the index pages are outstanding.

What better way to really understand a person than to know their final words. Or better yet to see their final resting places many of which were picked out by the individuals themselves. One can learn a lot about the true character of a person if you see monuments they designed for themselves.

I have visited many Presidential homes and several gravesites but after reading this book I have decided to make visiting all of the gravesites one of my goals in life.

It is strange that a book about death should bring history so alive. BUY THIS BOOK!

For years I have wanted to tour World War One battlefields, and finally I came upon Before Endeavours Fade: A Guide to Battlefields of the First World War, by Rose E. B. Coombs. I read it cover to cover and felt doing so was the next best thing to touring those sites. When I finished reading this book, cover to cover, I thought this is better than going to each birthplace! It is certainly a lot easier, and I found it extremely satisfying to see each gravesite, all in the course of a couple hours, and to learn so many interesting things, like: What state has the most Presidential graves? Why is there a picture of David Rice Atchison's gravestone in this book? What President lived the shortest time after leaving office? If these sort of questions intrigue you, as they do me, get this book and revel in all the fascinating things you can learn from it.

Who's buried in Grant's tomb is an interesting guide filled with small histories on each American president. The book contains accurate directions to help you find presidential gravesites, museums and libraries. Furthermore, the book contains addresses where you can write for additional information on each site and even includes website addresses when applicable. I have toured a few of these historical locations myself and have found the information in this book to be especially helpful in providing hours of operation as well as admission prices to some of these places. The book might appear a little morbid when you consider that it focuses on presidential burial sites but once you read it, you quickly find out that it provides a doorway for you to study the human side of these men. By visiting their homes graves and museums, you realize that they are not merely cold icons that you read about in history. They were very real with interesting lives and this book invites you to study their legacies.

This book is a collection of theoretical summaries, reports, analyses, and strategies all quite useful to anyone interested in generating some thinking and action around change. The team of five writers (Peter Senge, Richard Ross, Bryan Smith, Charlotte Roberts, and Art Kleiner) provide some original work, but also serve as editors to a vast quantity of material drawn from practitioners, theorists, and writers in the field of organizational improvement. According to Senge, "great teams are learning organizations - groups of people who, over time, enhance their capacity to create what they truly desire to create." (p.18) This book is really about creating and building great teams. The learning organization develops its ability to reflect on, discuss, question, and change its current and past practices. To do this, people and groups in the organization need to meaningfully pursue the study and practice of the five disciplines - personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning, and systems thinking.

The learning organization - Senge's vision for the productive, competitive, and efficient institutions of the future - is in a continuous state of change. Four fundamental questions continuously serve to check and guide a group's learning and improvement (see page 49): (1) Do you continuously test your experiences? ("Are you willing to examine and challenge your sacred cows - not just during crises, but in good times?") (2) Are you producing knowledge? ("Knowledge, in this case, means the capacity for effective action.") (3) Is knowledge shared? ("Is it accessible to all of the organization's members?") (4) Is the learning relevant? ("Is this learning aimed at the organization's core purpose?") If these questions represent the organization's compass, the five disciplines are its map.

Each of the five disciplines is explained, and elaborated in its own lengthy section of the book. In the section on "Systems Thinking" (a set of practices and perspectives, which views all aspects of life as inter-related and playing a role in some larger system), the authors build on the idea of feedback loops (reinforcing and balancing) and introduce five systems archetypes. They are: "fixes that backfire", "limits to growth", "shifting the burden", "tragedy of the commons", and "accidental adversaries". In the section on "Personal Mastery", the authors argue that learning starts with each person. For organizations to learn and improve, people within the organization (perhaps starting with its core leadership) must learn to reflect on and become aware of their own core beliefs and visions. In "Mental Models", the authors argue that learning organizations need to explore the assumptions and attitudes, which guide their institutional directions, practices, and strategies. Articles on scenario planning, the ladder of inference, the left-hand column, and balancing inquiry and advocacy offer practical strategies to investigate our personal mental models as well as those of others in the organization. In "Shared Vision", the authors make the case for the stakeholders of an organization to continually adapt their vision ("an image of a desired future"), values ("how we get to travel to where we want to go"), purpose ("what the organization is here to do"), and goals ("milestones we expect to reach before too long"). The section offers many strategies and perspectives on how to move an organization toward continuous reflection. In "Team Learning", the authors rely mostly on the work of William Isaacs and others, and make a case for educating organization members in the processes and skills of dialogue and skillful discussion.

This book is enlightening and informative. It has already found a place on my shelf for essential reference books.

Senge's second serving of the Learning Organization is filled with practical tips and real-life examples from companies and organizations that have embraced the teachings of the Learning Organization successfully.

The Book is a collaboration of several writers who do a superb job of unraveling the web that is the learning organization. At times, it may seem to the reader that the book is a labyrinth of disjointed concepts and ideas. However, if you have read 'The Fifth Discipline' you will find no problems following the concepts introduced. In fact, you will even understand why the writers have chosen to introduce them in that fashion. If you have not read "The Fifth Discipline', do not despair, it will take a little longer to get 'the whole picture'.
The Book is divided into 8 main sections:

1) Getting Started addresses the basic concepts and ideas of the Learning Organization.
2) Systems Thinking (the fifth discipline) - Many people have argued that Senge should have delegated the fifth discipline until the end, however, without Systems Thinking, your vision is disjointed and incomplete.
3) Personal Mastery covers the area of individual development and learning. The chapters here are among the most valuable in the area of self-growth and self-improvement.
4) Mental Models - These are the pictures that you have in your head which represent reality.
5) Shared Vision - You've seen the whole picture, you've developed and you understand how you see the world. Now you need to find a common cause with the rest of the people in your organization, something that you all work for.
6) Team Learning - As you work with other people in teams or groups, you need to pass the stuff that you have learnt and the wisdom you've acquired to others. At this stage, the learning is no longer that of the individual, but the group.
7) Arenas of Practice - (Self explanatory)
8) Frontiers - Where do we go from here.

If you are interested in development, learning, growth, leadership, gaining a competitive edge whether at an organizational or personal level, then this book is for you. In fact, I'd venture to say that this is book is for everyone.

Everyone who reads THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE comes away excited about the benefits of having a learning organization. Yet many get stuck in a rut as they try to implement what they learned in that superb book. THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE FIELD BOOK helps fill in that lack of understanding with dozens of questions, examples and exercises. You'll have a ball with this, even if you only use a little part to focus on where you need help. A great related book for building a learning organization is THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION, which teaches a new thinking process that simplifies and speeds up learning for an organization. It also shows you where you need to get rid of old thinking that is holding you back. You should read and use both.

An exciting book on authentication, of all things? Is such a thing even possible? Yes, Richard E. Smith proves it by publishing Authentication - a comprehensive guide to all things that authenticate or are authenticated. The book will educate you on more aspects of authentication than you ever wanted to know, but most likely you will enjoy it. As a security professional, I found the author's writing style to be excellent and even entertaining, a clear sign of writing by a true expert on the subject.

Every obscure form of authentication protocol (have you heard of X9.17 lately?) finds its place in a book. Passwords, tokens, biometrics, various authentication protocols are all described and analyzed in great detail, in plain English and with multiple diagrams. Another valuable feature is that for every authentication protocol, the relevant attacks and defenses are outlined in every chapter summary. The attacks which are not covered by existing defenses ("residual attacks") are emphasized at the end as something to watch for. For example, a 'trojan horse' attack to steal authentication credentials is one of them - apparently there is no 100 percent reliable way to stop it.

A chapter on passwords contains several creative ideas to make this ubiquitous form of authentication more effective, simultaneously more secure and more usable. It also answers some interesting password questions. When does it make no sense to enforce a complex non-dictionary password? How random is a random password from a dictionary? Why is a bank PIN of four digits secure enough for the job? When it is better to write a password down? Read the book and you will discover the answers! The book also explains public key crypto systems and their use for authentication (such as PKI).

People issues of security also receive well-deserved coverage in a separate chapter. Various kinds of secrets used for people as passwords are outlined. An interesting discussion on choosing an initial password when providing system access reveals important aspects of this process that few people think about.

For more technically inclined readers, straightforward analysis of complexities of Windows authentication (LANMAN, NTLM, Kerberos) and attacks against it is provided in a "Challenge Response Passwords" chapter. Computer scientists will find some insights on authentication algorithm design patterns. For less technical readers, understanding authentication based on Ali Baba and a cave of treasures will help to sort through the authentication system requirements and peculiarities. Overall, the book (while being targeted at security professionals) contains something for almost everyone interested in how computers tell that whoever is sitting at the console is who she says she is.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D. is a senior security analyst with a major security company.

I'm in complete agreement with the previous reviewers that this book is easy to read and that it clearly explains complex material.

What I like is the way the author integrates theory, application and the human side of authentication. For example, he makes excellent use of tables to distill and display information, such as summary tables for attacks and defenses that are cross-referenced to each other. This is particularly useful to anyone who is developing security profiles, and the thorough and meticulous way that the author summarizes the information reduces the attack-defense pairings to the essentials.

His clear explanations of authentication methods and their underlying technologies, as well as how they evolved, are among the clearest in print. More importantly, he goes beyond explaining the mathematics behind the protocols by also showing how assumptions can lead to exposures. An example is the 4-digit lock, which has 10,000 possible combinations. At first glance it would seem that you have a 1-in-10000 chance of guessing the combination. However, he goes on to explain that a study showed 50% of people chose a calendar date for the combination, then leads you through the math of showing why you have approximately 1-in-512 chance of breaking the combination on the first try. He uses similar techniques throughout the book, which makes you think in real-world terms. It's his treatment of the people side of the authentication techniques that add to the real-world approach.

I also thought that the chapter on picking PINs and passwords was exceptional. I've written password management policies and procedures for a number of clients in recent years and thought I was an expert. After reading this 37-page chapter I discovered what I didn't know - and it was a lot!

Each chapter is filled with facts that you may have or have not considered, and each is filled with common sense, backed up with the math or technical underpinnings. Moreover, the book complete covers authentication and will get anyone quickly up-to-speed on the basics and many of the finer points. This book is especially important as a resource to anyone who is involved in health care because the material is directly applicable to requirements set forth in HIPAA. It is also essential reading for anyone who develops or manages security in a web- or e-commerce environment because of the dependencies upon the technologies and methods that are discussed in this book. IT security specialists will also find this book to be an invaluable resource, especially the parts that cover password management, social engineering and practical applications of authentication.

Authentication is one of the 4 pillars of information security(authorization, confidentiality and integrity being the other three); but very little has directly been written directly on the topic outside of the academic community; until this book.

Authentication: From Passwords to Public Keys is an excellent work that covers all of the direct areas of authentication. Authentication is a huge challenge in that most users would prefer to have their passwords short and easy to remember, which is exactly what a password should not be.

Even if there were a lot of other books available on the subject, Authentication: From Passwords to Public Keys still would be required reading.

Training my lab,(my first), was a lot of work. The water dog book made my work a sucess. My dog constantly amazes myself and my friends. By following Mr. Wolters advice I have a great family pet who listens well and turns into a champion in the field or blind. This book is indespensable!!!

Richard Wolters understands how to train a retriever. More importantly he understands that retrievers very much want to retrieve, not be pampered friends. The key to the successes found by using his book is his focus on "fun" training after 7 weeks and the enforcement of those lessons in future weeks. Making lessons fun and practicing in repetition is everything and Richard Wolters recognized that fact. Another critical aspect of dog training is that point in a dog's life where they test their owner. Richard Wolters makes it clear, if you are not willing to spank, "stop reading the book". I have found that it is critical to develop a balance between punishment and praise. I quickly reprimand the dog and then follow-on with the lessons. If the problem persists, I stop and start again later. Richard Wolters understands that the desire is there, in the dog, to please its owner. This has resulted from the attention paid to the dog in weeks 8 through 12. But never let the dog "win" by playing the part of a "sensitive dog". As my comments focus on the first weeks of training a dog, I am convinced that Richard Wolters has written the "Bible of Retriever Training" because he understands that those weeks after a dog is taken from the breeder at 49 days are the most critical. It is where the dog gets "started" and allows the dog to *learn how to learn*. WATER DOG is a timeless reference on training a retriever.

I had a great time reading the book. The training tips and techniques have worked extremely well on my lab. There is a logical progression to the process that is well explained. I would suggest that anyone who makes the decision and commits the time to training a retriever read and reread this book. Additionally, pay attention to the comments devoted to trainer patients - - you will need it.

The text has a tendency to get too theoretical with betas and CAPM as they apply to private companies, make too many distinctions between individual and personal required rates of return without a discussion of any empirical data to back up the opinions, not explain the implications of the CML theory to private investments that well, not fully explain the theory and computations behind the models they use or why they use escalating discount rates in the models. To try to understand the models, you have to go to the web site and dissect the Excel spreadsheet. I have the impression the authors bring no practical experience to the text, only the attempt to force complicated corporate financial theory into the realm of privately held business.

As a business appraiser, I found most of the quantitative theoretical information useless and its application to privately held businesses tenuous, at best. Alternative theories and approaches were not really discussed. The concepts of expected value and simulation have some real good application possibilities, but not much time was spent on how to do it in a way usable for small entities with limited budgets and a staff with basically no statistical background. I feel that the authors' agenda was to impress the readers with what they know (or think they know), without regard to conveying their ideas in an easily understood, supportable and workable format. I found chapters 8-11 to be especially frustrating. To top it all off, there are also errors in the answers to the end of chapter questions.

On the positive side, the book was well organized and there were references to studies, papers and other texts that make further reading and investigation into the topics easier.

The book has a good structure and has good chances to become a standard textbook in MBA classes or for industry newcomers. However, to make it a real classic it badly needs a second edition. First, there are too few (good) case examples. Second, the online tools are far from complete (something like this should never be published!). Third, the exercises need revising and are partly inconsistent or reptitive. (Comments based on online tools and materials as of June '01)

In this book the authors have blended business finance and economics in a unique way to help entrepreneurs understand the relationship between venture finance and evaluation of business risk. This book covers some important issues like financial projections, risk evaluation, financial valuation, investor diversification and contract negotiation. This book provides a framework for financial management using complex economic theories (ex. portfolio theory, capital asset pricing model) through simple and user friendly spreadsheet templates. The valuation framework with spreadsheet templates is one of the highlighting factors of this book. The valuation templates with their underlying assumptions help reduce the ambiguity that palgues venture financing today. This book comes with an access to Entrepreneurial Finance website where authors walk the readers through spreadsheet templates and sample business cases evaluated by them in the book. This book is a must buy for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academics.