This book is one of the 2 most desirable and collectible books on classical guitars (the other one is: Collection of Fine Spanish Guitars from Torres to the Present by Urlik, Sheldon). The figures are superb and the text informative. The hard cover edition is better in the following senses:

1. The hard cover edition is a limited edition (6000 copies only).
2. It is like a textbook which can be opened fully on its back. Easy for reading and scanning.
3. It's got a hard protective slipcase

However, getting the softcover edition might be your choice for its price and availability.

If you are a lover of guitars, specifically classical guitars, you owe it to yourself to purchase this book. There is nothing else like it. Great photography, details on some of the best guitars from some of the best makers...Romanillos, Smallman, Bernabe...They are all here. Inclusively, the book covers players (Williams, Bream, Segovia) as well as an in depth look at wood and the guitar market today. Great stuff and at ..., an incredible bargain.

Any lover of the classical guitar cannot help but appreciate this gorgeous collection of instruments, as well as the way in which they are displayed on the pages. Filled with information about the guitars and their construction, the luthiers, and which players'CDs you can hear them on, I highly recommend this fine edition. I take issue only with the subtitle "A Complete History", as the guitars are based on a single collection of instruments, owned by Russell Cleveland, and not necessarily what any other person would consider "Complete". That fact does not diminish my enjoyment of this exquisite book one bit.

I read this book a while ago but it is still within my heart, inspiring me to have a deeper walk with God. It has a unique way of making the scriptures alive and accessible to us, so that we can see God's call on our lives today.

This book is simple yet deep in its illumination of the scriptures. By reading and applying the truths in this book, I have learned many things about the Lord, and have developed a much closer relationship and walk with Him.

The author clearly has a deep relationship with the Lord. What is so beautiful is the humble way the author conveys to the reader that the reader, too, can have a walk with God and a deep relationship with the Lord. The author, in very clear and plain language, instructs the reader on how to deepen his/her relationship with the Lord.

The rhythmic scheme of this book of poetic works is nothing short of extraordinary! Each work portrays a portion of real life that we can all relate to. There are poems that speak to the past and present, and there are poems that speak to future possibilities as these possibilities may relate to the past. Some of these poems can be closely personal while simultaneously being distantly vague yet revealing. These are the works of a person driven by life and the beauty of its failures and successes, a visionary who does not judge harshly the difficulties that we as human beings experience, but translates them to poetry that we can reflect upon and be awaken by.

More than just another collection of thoughts on paper, this book portrays the realizations of life in an emotional, thought provoking way. It grasps both the hardships and joys found in each person's life while intertwining a spiritual aspect of the heart.

Excerpted from a review by Locust & Honey: A Review of Christian Poetry.

Rhyme for All Seasons has a pleasing, highly readable style. The rhyme structure does not sound forced, allowing the reader to focus on the rhythm and meaning of the words and their relationship to the author's perspective. Sparks' window on the world transparently shows that, in the midst of rampant evil, many voices are crying out which praise and glorify the Creator rather than the creature.

Rhyme for All Seasons contains 130 pages of a good variety of themes. Some poems are strictly related to biblical literature while many others deal with aspects of the Christian life, such as the subtle attractions of sporty cars, tending a flower garden, the difficulties of raising up Christian children or coping with the winter-born February Flu bug.

...No other poet whom this editor has seen has managed to employ such a variety of forms, aware of the history of great poetry yet not chained to it. He does this occasionally by cutting loose in free verse as well as moving skillfully from sonnet to quatrain without the reader being so much as conscious of the tapestry that he is weaving.

Whether he cries out against the parents who have become "Less Than Dogs" conjuring images of Romanian children kicked out on the streets by their parents or whether he reminisces about the scrappy refugee kid from his childhood who grew up to endure "Russians, Nazis, relocation camps, and eager fists made in the USA," Sparks has a compelling tale to tell in verse.

--Adam Spurgeon Zens

Wow! Wow! I could not put it down. This is the smart man's John Grisham. If you love current events and are into the psyche of white supremacists like Timothy McVie and black muslims like Louis Farrakan, THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I promise you will not put it down once you pick it up and you will never forget it.

I never read a book that kept me awake at night until now. All of The Spark's characters; Ruddy, Sister Farah, Bowman, come to life, and the realistic possibilities of the pent-up anger the blacks had for the whites, and the deep-seeded suspicions the whites had of blacks brought out in this story left me feeling cold and thrilled. I love Hughes' writing. It's a combination of John Grisham and Stephen King. I hope he continues his Bowman character in his next book. The Spark destroyed many beliefs that I had about my 'white prespective' of the current race relations in this country. It also destroyed a full-day at the beach. I stayed inside to read and never left my room

If you are in the business of creating serious software that is safety critical or security related then this book is essential reading, it is also an excellent guide if you have an interest in how such software is created. Focusing on how the SPARK language assures correctness throughout the construction of the software and how the supporting tools allow analysis of the resulting program, the book forms an essential reference work for users of the SPARK approach to developing software.

This book consists of three main parts plus an appendix.
The first part consists of an overview of why SPARK was created and the background to the language and tools.
Part two looks in detail at the SPARK language.
Part three considers the tools available; various code analysis techniques and design issues that can help in the development of high integrity software. Three small case studies are included, together with some examples of real projects where SPARK has been used in large scale industrial projects.
The Appendix covers the syntax of SPARK, how to use the CD-ROM and some notes on the continuing developments of the evolution of SPARK.
The included CD-ROM allows you to try out some of what the book teaches and includes limited versions of the SPARK Examiner toolset.

In this book John Barnes writes in a style similar to his other texts; this is rather like a guiding teacher leaning over your shoulder as you work at the computer, pointing out things to observe and illustrating with snippets of code or background information. It is a style that has been criticised by some, but I find it rather reassuring as you are guided along the path to understanding. The inclusion of a CD-ROM also allows you to understand by doing, and although the tool is limited in capability, it is possible to get a good flavour of the capabilities of its parent product.

This book replaces the previous SPARK book: "High Integrity Ada : The SPARK Approach". Barnes covers the revisions and enhancements of the SPARK language described in his original book, if you are an existing user of SPARK, you need this issue to stay up-to-date with the important revisions of the language and tools. This book tries to distance itself somewhat from Ada95, possibly because of the image that language has with less well-informed programmers, but since you need an Ada compiler to produce executables from SPARK programs it would be fair to point out that SPARK is firmly rooted in Ada95.

Creating high integrity software is a disciplined process, and the book is very much based in the practical application of SPARK in building high integrity software. The SPARK language is based solid mathematical foundations, but there is no detailed descriptions at this level, the book rightly points out that they are there and then moves on towards giving you the practical information you need to write SPARK programs. Mastering SPARK gives you unprecedented skills in the highly desirable field of producing high integrity software.

Thus spake the Master programmer:
"A well written program is its own heaven; a poorly written program is its own hell."
- - from The Tao of Programming

Elder John Sparks is an ordained minister in the United Baptist denomination and thus is intimately tied to the richly historical traditions of what is general known as the "Old Time Baptists" of central Appalachia, divisions such as Regular Baptists, Old Regular Baptists, Separate Baptists, United Baptist, and a host of other groups, including a wide range of Primitive Baptists. Sparks sets out to document the influence of Shubal Stearns on this entire Old-Time Baptist phenomenon, and his work in excellent in scholarship and analysis.

For those of use who have labored in this this particular field of scholarship, it is a joy and an inspiration to see the field of study added to so wonderfully by an individual who has come from the indeginous base of the phonomenon. Sparks received a degree from Pikeville College in Pikeville, Kentucky, and promptly turned himself in to a excellent scholar. Read this book. You will be rewarded with a much deeper understanding of Appalachian religious history than has heretofore been provided.

Howard Dorgan Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Appalachian State University

A classic reference work to really understand the gospel narratives as they relate in similarity and difference. This resource helps the student of the gospels to construct the full picture of Jesus from the complimentary views of each evangelist.

Author takes a total view of organizational issues that confront companies and reduces the solution process into an understandable, practical, and systematic way to overcome problems. Arnold's years of experience implementing his techniques are specific highlights that bring life to the information. A "must" if you want to take the easier, softer road to problem resolution and positive results. Highly recommended and worth finding.

Before reading, I thought this story wasn’t true. The editor made this story and it made an elephant man. But read and read and then finished. This book made an imagination from book. An elephant man was a strong person better than me. He was a pure, kindly gentle man. He could care for someone, and even he couldn’t live by himself. I would try to kill myself or I couldn’t find me ever.

This book is great and one of the best books when I read for school. I could be change when I met a body defect person. I’ll be a nicer person better than now.

...
I agree with the reader from Pensacola. The reader is right about the fact that it is very difficult to put the book down. It expresses so many of our human emotions, and it makes you wonder how can one author possibly put so many thoughts down in to one book. As well as the abundance of human emotions, there are also many acts of human kindness. ... The thing that is so sad about this book is that while it seems like this book is fiction, it is unbelievably true. One man went through so much pain and agony, and yet he stuck it out. If any one needs a story of hope, this story would be the motivation you need.

This is not the kind of book that you read, put down, and forget about. It's the kind of book that has you so engrossed that you forget the time and just read and read and read-and cry. This is really one of the most moving books I've ever read. It's the story of a man who is hideously deformed, so everyone treats him like he's just an animal. Only he's treated worse than an animal- he's a circus sideshow freak who is stared at, made fun of, kicked and beaten. His life has been horrible but he is at heart an ordinary man. What makes this book so moving is that it is true. You'll cry because he's beaten and cry when he's rescued. You'll cry basically through the whole book, because it is awful to think of a person being treated the way John Merrick was. And it will change the way you look at people, and the way you think about them, if they happen to be a little different from how you are.

Attention readers!

Remember March 15, 2002 well!

This was the day the U.S. Army conducted its first helicopter-based Air-Mech-Strike combat assault in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda...just like described in the book. Co-author Major Charles Jarnot is in Aghanistan NOW and he emailed me the following description:

Air-Mech-Strike in Afghanistan!

The war in Afghanistan has seen several combat firsts for the U.S. Military, first use of an armed un-manned aerial vehicle and the first use of the B-1B Bombers in a close air support role to name just a few. Now in Operation Anaconda another first for the U.S. Army, the first employment of helo-based airmechanized forces by a U.S. field commander in combat, complements of the 3rd Battalion of the famed Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group.

On March 15, 2002, the Canadians attached to the U.S. Army's 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division, used U.S. Army CH-47D Chinooks to air assault their armored tracked BV-206 airmechanized vehicles into the operation Anaconda fight.

Airmechanization is a relatively new maneuver warfare doctrine extensively developed by numerous European armies. First theorized in the 1930s by Soviet Field Marshall Tuchachevskiy, today the Russian, British and German armies have fielded airmechanized brigade and division sized units. The concept involves the vertical insertion of tracked combat vehicles via helicopter and fixed wing para-drops. The idea is to use aircraft to break friction with the ground and cross vast treks of terrain and obstacles to quickly gain positional advantage. Once inserted, the mechanized vehicles provide the vertically inserted force with tracked terrain mobility, protection against small-arms and shrapnel and significant increase in firepower via the heavier weapons carried on the vehicles vice foot mobile troops inserted by parachute or helicopter.

The technical challenge to airmechanization is how to build a tracked combat vehicle that has sufficient protection and weapon capacity yet light enough to transported by helicopter or parachute. Advances in information/reconnaissance technology, weapon lethality versus weight and the increases in aircraft
lift performance have all contributed to the boom in airmechanization. Today five other countries beside Russia, Britain and Germany, are in the process of fielding airmechanized brigades, including China. The most expensive part of this concept is the fielding of large numbers of heavy lift helicopters and short field cargo airplanes. The vehicles themselves are relatively inexpensive. In the U.S. Military, the critical air component is already in place with over 600 heavy lift CH-47D Chinook and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters and 500 plus C-130 Hercules aircraft in the inventory.

But what about the risk posed by ultra-light combat vehicles? Isnt massive armor needed to survive? Lightweight Airmechanized vehicles (AMVs), like those employed by the Canadians in Anaconda, might seem on the surface to be extremely vulnerable. But surviving on the battlefields of Afghanistan may demonstrate a shift in this traditional paradigm. For example, the greatest risk to vehicle movement in Afghanistan is not Taliban/Al-Quedas Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), but rather the millions of land mines laid throughout the country. The Canadian BV-206 AMV used in Anaconda mitigates this risk by virtue of the very light weight and tracked suspension that results in extremely light
ground pressure. This not only contributes to its excellent terrain agility but makes anti-tank mine detonation a very small probability since the BV-206 ground pressure is far below the minimum necessary to set off a typical anti-tank mine.

Wheeled combat vehicles on the other hand, are extremely vulnerable to land mines due to the high ground pressure characteristic of typical wheeled vehicles. The separate cabs of the BV-206 also lessens the potential casualty effects of RPGs by compartmentalizing the blast areas. The lightweight also means that it can approach the enemy from terrain deemed non-useable by heavier armor and thus lessens the chances of moving into a planned vehicular kill zone. These features combined with the lethality of high tech weapons like the Javelin anti-tank guided missile (50 pounds and 2,500 meters range) and light weight auto cannons and grenade launchers like the M-230 or ASP-30 30-mm and the Mark-19 40-mm make AMVs a deadly package for their size.

Airmechanization, a competitor for the Armys planned transformation based on the Striker wheeled armored vehicle? Intuitively all new ideas are intellectually competitive with older concepts and the same is true of the 3-Deminsional airmechanization idea versus the 2-Diminsional Striker program. But in practical application there is no conflict. As most professional Soldiers know, combat is a combined-arms affair where different weapons, platforms and the specialties of different organizations combine to have a collective greater effect than any one part. The Armys Striker transformation is slated for the light infantry divisions and some of the heavier formations. Airmechanization would be more applicable to the Armys Airborne and Air Assault units where the Striker is not scheduled for fielding. As the European armies who have fielded airmechanized formations will tell you. These agile forced-entry units are battlefield enablers to heavier forces and
not necessarily their future replacement.

Like the use of the armed predator UAV in Afghanistan, this first modest employment of airmechanized forces in Anaconda will undoubtedly generate heated debate on the utility of this new and controversial maneuver doctrine. This historical event may be the catalyst for the U.S. Army to convert its own airborne and air assault divisions along the European Airmechanized models or like the ill-fated Pentomic Divisions of the 1950s, be simply a flash in the pan. Still the question that this event will pose for the U.S. Army as whole is the continued validity of parachuting or helo-insertion of dismounted troops close to the enemys crucible of anti-aircraft fire, shoulder-fired missiles and RPGs. The American public and our enemies, should know that the U.S. Armys leadership in Afghanistan is not tied doggedly to any written doctrine. The first use of airmechanized forces in combat by an American commander demonstrates the mental agility and creative prowess of a unified effort that will "leave no stone unturned" in its effort
to defeat the Al Queda and Taliban, to include employing a Canadian airmechanized force!

Major Chuck Jarnot, 101st Airborne Division Liaison
Officer in Afghanistan

Yes. I am currently one of them. I understand your criticisms and your accolades. Therefore, not being one of the original authors, I can play "Devil's Acvocate" with both the reviews and the book.

For the Reviewers: Air Mech Strike is a book by individual authors that bring their long years of experience and study into the mix. There is some duplication and the layout does "hurt the eyes" somewhat. The emphasis on the names, while appropriate, does not add anything to the singular basic argument that 2D and 3D warfare need to compliment each other. While not everyone will be able to readily understand all of the new the concepts , the book is well documented with references to websites, studies, books, and articles. Finally, speaking to the Wing In Ground Effect vehicle points up the problem of strategic airlift. We cannot fight if we can't get there, no matter how light the force may be.

For the Book: The book takes up where the Howze Board, the 11th Air Assault, the 1st Cavalary and 101st Airborne Divisions, left off. Placing troops in the rear or on the flank of an attacking or withdrawing enemy force is the best way to divide the enemy's effort, make him fight two battles on two or more fronts at once, resulting in his piecemeal destruction. It is a follow on to the mission of air assault and air cavalary forces. The difference is that light equipment, beyond the vision of General Gavin's light arms, are also a part of the assault. M113s and the Germany Weasels can be flown across the FLOT to deliver both dragoon infantry and ground cavalry to rip up the attack or withdrawing enemy's C3, artillery, and logistical force. The book emphasizes this type of mission to compliment the 2D maneuver of heavy forces.

Airborne, Air Assault and Light Divisions should be the next units to be moved to the IBCT structure, whether that be an air mech strike capable IBCT or remain a 2D capable IBCT. The air mech strike concept, as theorized in the book, is capable of being carried in the C-130 while the other is not.

Air Mech Strike is lighter and can get there faster. With the limited air lift available, air mech strike gives the Army the ability to get the units there in C-130s and sling them on helicopters once on the battlefield. The book is very clean in this regard and both are required.

Thanks to an advance copy of this fantastic sequel to Col Douglas MacGregor's best-selling "Breaking the Phalanx", I can report that the U.S. Army's combat Divisions have a great future, as do its heavy "2-D" forces with M-1 and M-2 armored vehicles, since the authors outline ways to build Brigade Combat Teams while keeping the Division, so we have size/mass/sustainability for larger fights as well as smaller scale contingencies. The authors show how these "2-D" elements can be fought alongside 3-D "Air-Mech" forces which have vehicles sized to fly into position using aircraft.

America's Army is transforming a handful of its Brigades to a lighter combined-arms BCT structure using Interim Armored Vehicles (IAVs) sized to rapidly deploy by U.S. Air Force, fixed-wing aircraft anywhere in the world to conflict areas. The authors build and expand this "transformation" initiative to another level of capability, explaining how to gain a 3-Dimensional maneuver and fire capability; by using airland/airdrop enhancements,taking advantage of, and further synchronizing Army rotary-wing aircraft into the IAV equipped combined-arms teams.

Building 3-D maneuver and fire capable Air-Mech Strike Brigade Combat Teams, with existing and some new equipment, they show how the Army and Congress can save money to transform the entire Army with the required numbers of IAVs in our units. These affordable suggestions can help our transformation "be all that it can be" throughout the spectrum of conflict.

This is the most important book ever written about the future of America's Army and every Soldier and Citizen should read it as soon as possible.