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Book reviews for "Stevens,_Paul" sorted by average review score:

Acceptable Risk : A Critical Guide
Published in Paperback by Cambridge University Press (1984)
Authors: Baruch Fischhoff, Sarah Lichtenstein, Paul Slovic, Steven L. Derby, and Ralph Keeney
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This is an excellent monograph on the thinking behind risk
I read this monograph years ago and lent it to someone who obviously found it equally fascinating because I've never had it back. If risk is a theme in your work, the ideas in Fischoff and Lichtenstein's book are worth reading. They offer explanations and analysis which seem to match how real people and organisations take risk decisions.END

Brilliant and insightful
This is a brilliant and stimulating book. Although it nominally concerns itself with the area of hazard management, policy and technology choices associated with loss of life or limb, it provides a great deal of insight into all forms of risk management and formal decision making.

A very well-researched book, it is obvious that the authors have not only thought long and hard about the subject matter, but have also applied a very disciplined analysis to it. Although the authors are scholars, the book is not necessarily aimed at an academic audience. While challenging, it is still approachable by the lay person.

The text does not recommend any particular methodology for decision making, but instead provides a context within which different decision making methods can be understood and evaluated. It begins by analyzing the problems confronting all acceptable risk decisions, discussing '5 generic complexities' that negatively affect all forms of formal risk analysis. Then the authors provide '7 criteria for evaluating the acceptability of approaches to acceptable risk.' The remainder of the book is spent analyzing approaches to risk management on a spectrum of empirical to formal methods, using their 7 criteria.

I found it an extremely enlightening text with applicability beyond that stated by the authors. It sheds light on many of the 'formal' methods that have been developed for areas of concern to me, specifically in the Information Security field, which often tends towards voodoo analysis based on unstated assumptions and incomplete methodologies. Although it was written over 20 years ago, it still provides a great deal of utility and insight today. One of the text's final recommendations is that the field of Risk Management be made into a formal career choice, with all of the 'formal trappings'. It is a tribute to the foresight of the authors that this is exactly what is happening today, with the emergence of the Chief Risk Officer role, trade journals devoted to the generic concept of risk, and ever greater academic attention and career training in risk management.


Monet in the 20th Century
Published in Paperback by Yale Univ Pr (2000)
Authors: Claude Monet, Maryanne Stevens, George Shackelford, Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain), Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Michael Leja, Mary Anne Stevens, and Paul Hayes Tucker
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A wonderfull look at Monet
I found this book not only to be filled with the wonderfull works of Claude Monete but it also has a great insight to his life and the imprssion he left on modern art today. This book also contains full fold-out pictures of some of the artists best works. For anyone who has ever enjoyed any of Monets work you will love this book.

A must, for anyone looking to expand an art library!
This book is a perfect addition to any art library. Having seen "Monet in the 20th Century" in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts, I was well prepared for the exhibit by having read the book first. I found the exhibit to be an extraordinary example of Monet's achievment in his later years. This book focuses on the works of Monet starting at the start of this century right up to his death in 1928. All through this period of Monet's life and including the representation of the body of work produced within those years, this book never skips a beat. Although not an all-encompassing look at his complete works of that period, this book offers the best look out there of his paintings as well as his development throughout the last quarter-century of his life. I found it to be in keeping with what is already known about Monet's later years, but certainly not devoid of interesting insights. The quality of the book, it's contents, including all of the color plates reproduced within is very good. I would not have an art library without Monet representation, and this is the ideal book for an addition or a starter.


Textures of Place: Exploring Humanist Geographies
Published in Library Binding by University of Minnesota Press (2001)
Authors: Paul C. Adams, Steven D. Hoelscher, and Karen E. Till
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All Over the Place
Collections are difficult to review, especially one as wide-ranging as this. The thread that (supposedly) holds this collection together is that it is inspired by Yi-Fu Tuan, a "humanist geographer" (who, judging from his essay, and the many bouquets thrown his way in the other essays), is the very picture of a modernist major geographer.

What is a geographer these days you might ask? If you were to read this book, you would have to believe that everyone who has ever read any postmodern thinkers on the subject of boundaries and/or space is a geographer. That means just about everybody, of course, as postmodernists are all about space and, dare I say it, spatiality. How soon will place be converted into platiality?

Despite my snarky comments above, I like this book. Some of it postmodern ideas are only rearticulations of stuff hardcore guys like Derrida are known for, except here is is told from the perspective of geographers. I'm not sure what makes these folks geographers exactly -- in fact a couple of them are teachers of medieval literature -- but, I am sure that the majority of these essays are thoughtful and thought-provoking. Particulary fine is Wilbur Zelinsky's "The World and Its Identity Crisis" which sketches out a (very) shematic history of the world and our place in it. Here's a quote:

"We find ourselves caged in a curious world of contradictions, of unprecedented personal and group anxieties. The freedom to comparison-shop among lifestyles, to rotate among multiple identities, this culmination of millennia of human struggle and progress, such power and flexibility, all this has failed to generate the bliss one might have anticipated or hoped for. Instead an increasingly large segment of First World populations, and incipiently others as well, has begun to wonder who or what they are, or should be."

Here he is quoting Zygmunt Bauman:

"Postmodernity is the point at which modern untying (dis-embedding, dis-encumbering) of tied (embedded, situated) identities reaches its completion: it is now all too easy to choose identity, but no longer possible to hold it. At the moment of ultimate triumph, the liberation succeeds in annihilating its object...Freedom...has given the postmodern seekers of identity all the powers of Sisyphus."

So, this collection offers the general reader a chance to check out what's going on in the new world of humanist geography. Essentially it's re-thinking the ways the world, space and place have been thought about, and are thought about, which is what most post-modern stuff does. Good illustrations, mostly good writing which in some cases opens up new territory, and in others, treads over old, but still interesting, ground.

An insider's view
I would like to append my comment's to panopticonman's below (which I much appreciate). To contextualize myself, I am a graduate student in geography at UCLA. This quarter I am enrolled in a seminar which is reading this book, alongside Claudio Minca's volume "Postmodern Geography: Theory and Praxis." The seminar is run by Denis Cosgrove, a contributor to both volumes, and is attended by Karen Till (one of the editors of "Textures of Place") and Michael Curry, another contributor and former student of Yi-Fu Tuan. Furthermore, I have taken to identifying myself as a "humanistic geographer." Thus I have a particular insider's perspective on the work.

Some minor corrections of panopticonman's comments, to contextualize the work itself. First off, humanistic geography is nothing new. Prior to this book, the most definitive statements on humanistic geography were produced in the mid-1970s, in a series of papers by Nick Entrikin, Yi-Fu Tuan, Ed Relph and Anne Buttimer (all of whom contribute to this volume), and a book titled "Humanistic Geography: Prospects and Problems." What makes "Textures" so interesting is that it is the first book in nearly 25 years to actually have the phrase "humanistic geography" in the title. In our (post)modern times, the very idea of 'humanism' has become less than fashionable, with some avowed postmodernists (see the Minca volume or "Place and the Politics of Identity") actually taking an "antihumanist" stance. Most of the contributors to "Textures" have wrestled with postmodernism before, and many would perhaps take issue with being labeled "humanists," but all have benefited from the work of Tuan and other humanistic geographers. So what you see in this volume is not so much work on postmodernism particularly, but rather on the viability and value of humanistic modes of inquiry in our postmodern context.

Secondly, this book offers a very particular representation of academic geography. As panopticonman noted, what binds all the essays together is the presence (explicit or implicit) of Yi-Fu Tuan. (In fact, the book has its roots in a set of paper sessions held at a national meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Tuan's honor.) The three editors are all former students of Tuan (Till was his last formal student) and several of the contributors are former students. As well, quite a few of the contributors are colleagues of Tuan. The contributing geographers include several emeriti professors, several who have been active in the field since "humanistic geography" first emerged (and, indeed, helped to shape that perspective), and several who have begun their professorial careers in only the last 5 or 6 years. In other words, you have presented here close to 30 years or more of academic geography's history. This volume, then, is a good indicator not only of contemporary work in geography, but the historical trajectory which geography has taken. Furthermore, beyond the discipline of geography, you have represented the fields of English and American literature, art history, philosophy and anthropolgy, marking the influence of Tuan beyond his formal disciplinary boundaries.

Finally, I would just like to offer something moving (slowly but inexorably) towards panopticonman's question: what is a geographer, anyway? Certainly for many of the contributors to this volume (and including myself, though I am merely a reader of the book, and lack an authorial presence), Tuan does offer a model of the ideal geographer. His intellectual project begins with a simple supposition: that geography is the study (and, following Sack's analysis, the practice) of how humans transform the world into 'home.' Tuan has been concerned throughout his career to analyze how people have actively shaped their world -- nature, relations with other people, even 'raw' space itself -- in order to transform it into meaningful places. This project involves active (materialist), normative, and aesthetic dimensions; these various dimensions are explored, singly and in combination, by the contributors to "Textures." As well, Tuan has exerted a significant pedagogical influence on geography, exemplified in Entrikin's closing essay of the volume. Entrikin identifies Tuan as "the perfect humanistic geographer," focusing on Tuan's understanding of liberal education and humanism as a philosophical outlook on the world (as expressed most particularly in "The Good Life"). The purpose of humanistic inquiry, for Tuan, "is to develop the whole person, to create a good person, and in this way to cultivate humanity" (Entrikin here connects Tuan's project up conceptually with Martha Nussbaum). This volume, drawing on the force of Tuan's personality and perspective, contributes to the cultivation of humanity through its engagement with the material, moral, and educational directives and achievements of contemporary geography.


Third World Atlas
Published in Library Binding by Taylor & Francis (1994)
Authors: Alan Thomas, Ben Crow, Paul Frenz, Tom Hewitt, Sabrina Kassam, and Steven Treagust
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Please update soon!
I ask my students to use this book in an anthropological course on globalism. It is a gold mine of information--historical, economic, social. It is a must-have reference book for the historically and geographically challenged. However, the information is aging. I fervently hope that there is an update in the wings.

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School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Published in Paperback by McGraw Hill College Div (1995)
Authors: Steven E. Tozer, Paul C. Violas, and Guy B. Senese
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Tozer is not a dozer! This book will help you out.
School and Society by Steven E. Tozer et al was a well-written text that was easy to read. I found the text very applicable to my class assignments because it provided very helpful information. It covered such topics as understanding school & society; liberty & literacy: the Jeffersonian Era; the common-school era; social diversity & differentiated schooling; diversity and equity; schooling & African-Americans; schooling & American Indians; national school reform; liberty & literacy today; the professionalization movement; vocational & liberal ideals; the post-cold war era; and school & contemporary society. If you need information on historical and contemporary perspectives on educational issues, then this book will be a great asset!

School & Society: the growth of our educational system
If you have ever wanted to know how the United States' present day school system came to be, then School & Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives, by Steven E. Tozer, Paul C. Violas and Guy Senese, is a must read. The book covers the earliest public school system influenced by Thomas Jefferson up to the system that exists today. As equality and equity became a major focus, the system continually modified itself to meet the varying needs of diverse students, changing first to accommodate women, then African Americans and American Indians, and most recently, students with learning disabilities. The book also offers an in depth look at the major figures who were responsible for effecting these changes: Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, Emma Willard, Booker T. Washington, Edward Burghardt Du Bois, John Collier and James Bryant Conant.

I never stopped to think about how a society's ideology or system of beliefs can alter the educational system. This book showed me just how much change did occur once the United States began to see the treatment of all of its people as equals as a necessity. If you are a teacher, student, or parent of a student in a public or private school, or you just have an interest in this country's educational system, then this book has a lot to offer you.

A Review of School and Society
School and Society, by Tozer, Violas, and Senese, presents the relationship between schools and the society they serve from a historical perspective. Each chapter presents its content in an informative and detailed manner, concluding with a summary of major points of emphasis. Additionally, each chapter ends with selected readings that shed a more personal light on the issue(s) presented in the chapter. Hopefully, the book is being updated for a fourth edition, as many contemporary issues in education are not discussed. Topics such as early intervention strategies to prevent future learning difficulties and alternative forms of schooling, to name just a few, are not addressed. Overall, the book is informative, and the reader can be assured of reading a thorough and enlightening text concerned with presenting the volatile relationship between American society and the schools that prepare young people to be members of society's future.


Business Plans For Dummies®
Published in Paperback by For Dummies (15 May, 1997)
Authors: Paul Tiffany and Steven D. Peterson
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Not bad
This book was not bad, but it needs more sample plans. If you are writing a Business Plan, this book will get you started, but it will not get you finished.

Excellent resource for strategy and planning
I provide consulting help on business and strategic planning for clients in the US and Brazil. I came across this book originally in its Portuguese version. Now, I'm recommending it to all my clients in both countries. It makes my job of explaining what is a business plan much easier and introduces business people to the ideas and, more importantly, the attitude you need to undertake planning. I recommend it highly.

Planning, not just plans
Unlike most business plan guides that focus on producing an impressive document, this book actually helped me plan to run a company. It anticipates and explains virtually every potential pitfall for a company-builder. The book transforms the business planning process into something that you can and should use every day. It touches all aspects of analyzing your business and deciding where to go next. I highly recommend it.


The Judge
Published in Mass Market Paperback by Jove Pubns (1996)
Authors: Steven Paul Martini and Steve Martini
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Pleasant book, realistic it is not
Being in the legal field, I have fun reading legal thrillers. The Judge is a fast read and enjoyable but realistic it is not. The main character is an attorney, Madriani, who is drawn into defending Judge Acosta in a murder trial. Madriani throughout the story breaks laws, lawyers ethical rules, and attorney client rules. He would be disbarred in the real world. Plus he isn't quick enough to catch a major piece of evidence that is basically dropped in his lap until the very end of the story. The story moves quickly both in the courts and by reading. Suspending any real world legal knowledge made it more enjoyable. I think a little more realistic take on being a lawyer would have worked, maybe Mr. Martinin didn't have the time to figure out others ways to achieve the same end results but without destroying his main character's character.

exciting and readable
This is my first courtroom thriller, so I have no basis for comparison (except for Grisham's The Firm, which sucks). What I liked about The Judge is it has many things going for it: 1. Characters - all the players have personality and presence. 2. Lean narrative, good dialogue, no extraneous details. 3. Excitement. The trial scenes were great. 4. Style. I like how Martini sizes things up.

The book is an easy read. In fact, Martini could have fleshed out the book with more information and twists and the story would still be taught. What he managed to do is only admit critical elements to the story to make it a story and keep it engaging. I hope to read more of his works.

The Verdict is in: This is a GREAT Murder/Mystery!
I have long considered Mr. Martini one of the best (if not THE best) legal/thriller author writing today, and this is MY personal favorite of all his great novels. If you have read any of Martini's previous Paul Madriani novels, you know that he and 'The Coconut' Judge Acosta have crossed paths a few times in the past--always an unpleasant experience, especially for Attorney Madriani. Judge Acosta just doesn't like him--pure and simple--actually 'doesn't like' isn't strong enough.

As the story begins Judge Acosta finds himself in a most awkward position of being accused of soliciting a prostitute. He is removed from the bench pending an investigation. But it doesn't take long before the leading witness for the prosecution against the Judge is found deceased...uh oh. The Judge is now in SERIOUS trouble...so much so that he actually contemplates something that he never EVER would have thought could happen in a million years: He hires the attorney that he despises, Paul Madriani. This murder/mystery/courtroom drama is impressive from beginning to its surprising and absolutely fantastic ending--in MY opinion this has Martini's best ending to date and certainly one of my favorites in fiction. The courtroom drama is clever, surprising and utterly compelling. Several laugh-out-loud moments, too (which came as a complete surprise to me) and an all-around tremendous plot. Easily one of the best in this particular genre I have ever read, and also ranks (again in MY opinion) as Mr. Martini's best novel to date (that includes 'The List' and 'Critical Mass'). Get to know Paul Madriani, the sooner the better, but I recommend starting with 'Compelling Evidence' the novel that debuted Madriani and continue from there. Highly Recommended.


Compelling Evidence
Published in Audio Cassette by Dove Books Audio (1992)
Authors: Steven Paul Martini, Joe Mantegna, and Steve Martin
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Audiobook review
I was never a fan of Steve Martini, and, unfortunately or not, I will not be one after having listened to this audio adaptation. Now, sometimes bad audio versions of book can be due to the ineptness of the reader. But Joe Mantegna's reading was full of energy and nuance, what there was available. I believe the problem lies within the source material. Martini has committed the cardinal sin of courtroom thrillers--he's made them boring.

Don't miss this one
This was my first Steve Martini book. The book is about Paul Madriani, a divorced criminal trial lawyer, who had an affair with Talia, his boss' wife, and was eventually let go from the firm. He is on his own when Ben, his former boss, is brutally murdered and Talia is accused of the crime. He defends her in court.

The storyline behind this courtroom thriller is absolutely fantastic. It took about 100 pages for the book to get really interesting, but once the story took off, I couldn't let go of the book. I can't wait to read one of his other books and I hope you enjoy 'Compelling Evidence' as much as I did.

A Grisham Intermission
Paul Madriani, the protagonist, abruptly left the law firm of Potter, Skarpellos three years ago when Ben Potter discovered that Paul was doing motel briefs with Ben's vivacious wife, Talia. As the story opens, Ben, on his initiative, meets with Madriani for the first time since Paul left the firm. First, they discuss the disposition of Paul's terminated affair with Talia, and agree never to mention it again. Then, Ben reveals that his being selected to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court will be announced soon, and invites Paul to take over administration of an important trust fund since Ben will not have time for this responsibility in his new position. Paul accepts and they agree to meet again for dinner the following night to discuss the details.

Shortly before the appointed hour for their next meeting, however, Ben supposedly blows away the top of his head with a shotgun. No one really believes that Ben Potter killed himself though, and sure enough, we learn that not a shotgun, but a small caliper pistol like the one Talia owns was the true murder weapon. Guess what! Talia is charged with murder and Paul Madriani, assisted by "tell it like it is" Harry are her lawyers.

The drama unfolds with manageable twists, turns and surprises. The cops and the DA seemed convinced that Talia did it, but the reader is soon convinced that she's innocent, so the story has a "whodunit" element along with the courtroom drama. Martini sets his story in "Capital City" in an unnamed State, which I suspect allows him to mix and match actual legal rules and proceedings from different jurisdictions to suit his plot and courtroom activity. This is not obtrusive, at least for a non-lawyer.

It's a satisfying read; something to do while your waiting for the next Grisham novel.


VB. NET Language in a Nutshell (2nd Edition)
Published in Paperback by O'Reilly & Associates (2002)
Authors: Steven Roman, Ron Petrusha, and Paul Lomax
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Quick read but missing key topics
This book is a good light easy to carry overview but really short on some very significant details (com interop in particular) and has too much on useless topics like how to draw a circle on a form. It works as a readable introduction to vb.net but comes up short as a reference. After reading it I found myself constantly failing to find the information I needed.

Great new additions to vb.net such as regular expressions are largely ignored and the coverage of the .NET framework is very thin.

If you are an experienced vb developer you really should look for a book with more information on how to leverage your existing knowledge. Look for information on com interop and porting.

VB.NET but not in a nutshell
The book is written for a VB6 guru who is about to write some new code in VB.NET. It features a decent introduction to what's new in VB.NET and a comprehensive list of changes. The best part of this book is its large reference section, which contains a subset of VB.NET's statements, functions and classes, including comparison to VB6 and potential pitfalls. What I'm missing is instructions how to migrate existing VB6 code to VB.NET. Also, the writer's attitude is a big too positive towards the .NET framework. I would've expected a bit more critical attitude on the numerous, sometimes unnecessary, changes VB.NET seems to present. It takes time to read this book, so I wouldn't call it a nutshell, rather a good reference book.

Easy Way To Convert To VB .NET
Just when you though it was time to kick back and enjoy your accomplishment in the VB world, someone would just had to come and messed it up - "So, have you look into VB .NET yet?". Tell you the truth, a few months ago, you would have to drag me kicking-and-screaming to get me in the .NET water with my VB swimsuit! With all the rumor of many changes to VB, the idea of re-learning VB was like decaffeined coffee!

So for me to convert to VB .NET, it has to be quick and painless. And this book did just that. It cuts right through the red tape and gets straight to the core. VB .NET language are explored from A to Z. Aside from being labeled as a language reference, the authors go extra the mile to include dedicated chapters on significant topics in VB .NET that are new to VB such as class inheritant, new datatypes, .NET concept and framework. Not to mention the little details such as tips and gotchas added along side with the reference section which make this book quite enjoyable to read too.

I recommend this book for the VB fan, including those who are reluctant to convert to VB .NET like I was. This book is will ease your transition to VB .NET quickly and efficiently.


Critical Mass
Published in Library Binding by Bt Bound (2000)
Authors: Steven Paul Martini and Steve Martini
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A TOO-DRY MARTINI
I am basically a Steve Martini fan. When he is at his best, there is none better. When he is not at the top of his form, you have a book like this: not bad, not that good. The storyline involving a missing nuclear device has been done before and better. While the book is a page turner, getting me to read the last 200 pages at one sitting, I still had no real sense of enjoyment after completing it. The characters were too stereotypical, especially Belden/Thorn and Joss, who never really came across as an appealing individual whom one could care about and really root for over the course of the novel. Maybe Martini got tired of Paul Madriani and the legal thrillers, but I hope he returns to them soon. The List was not up to his standards, neither is Critical Mass. Critical Mass was not terrible, but there is really nothing special about it. I read it, but it was just another book.

A new direction -- well done.
Martini was beginning to stretch his courtroom characters a little too thin in The Judge; I'm glad he went off in a new direction in this book. It's as full of unexpected turns as all his previous whodunits, but this time with domestic and international terrorists. Its basic plot is believable (even if there are a few too many miraculous escapes) and it'd make a great movie. Don't start this book at bedtime because you won't put it down. Martini is to be commended for having a strong woman as protagonist; I only regret she never got her "constitutional rights". In the end Martini kills off the wrong character, the character I had really bonded to and wanted to see in future books. (Or, did he really die? In this book you're never sure!) A great trash read for a beach day, an airplane flight, or a lazy Saturday.

A Martini that shakens and stirs.
Put the name Steve Martini or Nelson Demille or Dick Francis on a book and I'll read it. They all grab you on page one and don't let go until the end. Martini's THE JUDGE got me started on his books and he's never disappointed yet. In CRITICAL MASS Martini not only tells a stirring tale but also leaves the reader shaken by the possibility of what could come to pass in a nuclear world run amuck.

One criticism, however. As one who reads every word, I was struck by the half dozen or so grammatical errors that pull you up short and that you would not expect from a carefully edited Putnam book. Just one will illustrate: "We'll can tell him later." That aside I plan to recommend CRITICAL MASS to my friends as a must read just like THE JUDGE.


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