When I was about 15, my mother brought home this book for me to read. It was called The Three Investigators and the Mystery of the Talking Skull. I am 26 now and still hooked on the trio of Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews.

Like all of the other Three Investigator books that I have read, The Secret of Terror Castle is just wonderful. It is suspensful and interesting throughout the whole book. Be aware of reading it because it will get you hooked and you will have to buy all the books in the series.

I hope the whole series comes out again, because I have not read about 15 of them. My fondest memories of the books I have are the Three Investigators hideout or clubhouse. They made it out of a junk pile and it has different passage ways. I dreamed of having a clubhouse while reading the books. Get out there and buy these books. I'm sure that you will be glad you did.

Wow. I'm 33 years old and thought I am probably the only adult who would pick up a Three Investigator's book and read it. I am here looking for some of The Three Investigator's books for my girlfriend's son. I saved a few of the books I had as a child, a couple of them in hardback, with the intent of saving them for my children. Most of the books I read in the series I checked out at the library. Reading these books provided some of my fondest childhood memories. The young man I am buying these books for has just discovered a love for reading and I believe that these stories will hook them just like they did me. Amazon, please act upon the suggestions of others and release the entire series if possible.

The Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series was the best juvenile mystery series I ever read, and is of such high quality that I can still read and enjoy it as an adult. In fact, I only need "The Mystery of the Cranky Collector", the last book in the original series, to complete my collection.

For far too long these books have been out of print, though I understand they're still being published in Europe. With their return, a whole new generation of readers can thrill to the adventures of Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews.

In "The Secret of Terror Castle", Jupe, Pete and Bob, whose motto is "We Investigate Anything", investigate an allegedly haunted house in order to prove their mettle. Author Robert Arthur not only gives the boys distinct personalities, rather than making them "types", he also has them conduct their investigation in a logical, methodical fashion, even as they deal with a trouble maki! ng rival. He also plants clues throughout the text to give the reader a sporting chance to solve the mystery.

Arthur and his successors further respected their readers' intelligence by making the endings of the books logical developments of the stories, rather than coming up with a contrived solution. Granted, the means by which Jupe, Pete and Bob become involved in "The Mystery of the Silver Spider", a later book in the series, is a bit contrived. However, that story is also good, and throughout the series as a whole, the writers don't talk down to their readers.

Readers of the original hardcover editions may remember an illustration on the endpapers that depicted Hitchcock in profile behind a spider web on one page, while the facing page showed Jupe, with magnifying glass, Pete, with tape recorder, and Bob, with a home made walkie-talkie, making their way through a cemetery at night. That drawing exuded an atmosphere of mystery, and Random House might want to! consider duplicating it, sans Hitchcock, of course, in the! current paperback reissues.

In fact, Hitchcock's absense is the only negative aspect of the revised version. He added a touch of realism, because he was a real person. Now, he has been replaced by the fictional characters of Reginald Clarke and Hector Sebastian, and the illusion that Jupe, Pete and Bob might have been real people is gone. This is a minor point, of course, and doesn't affect the stories themselves.

At least not until the series gets to #31, "The Mystery of the Scar-Faced Beggar", the first post-Hitchcock volume. Jupe, Pete and Bob meet Hector Sebastian for the first time in that story-- a meeting which is central to the plot. I hope the series will continue to sell, so we'll see how that problem will be addressed.

Better still, I hope Random House publishes new adventures after the old ones have been reprinted.

Back in the late 80's, Robert Mason's "Chickenhawk" appeared on bookshelves. Mason's personal story of a helicopter pilot in Vietnam was the first of it's kind and has since spawned a number of personal helicopter stories, and they all owe the market being opened by Robert Mason. I was still in high-school when the book out and I wanted very much to fly helicopters for the US Army at the time. After reading this book I was not sure what to do, I was scared at the thought of being shot down in battle, but also saw the pride in what the helicopters pilots had done in Vietnam. This was also the first book I recommended to my father to read, a two tour veteran of Vietnam himself. I have gone back and reread "Chickenhawk" at least 4 times over the years and it still holds up so well, and I still feel like someone hit me in the stomach everytime I get to the end and read those last few lines.

This book starts off as a story about a private passion, and takes us through Mason's classes learning to fly helicopters. From there it turns into a novel like Conrads "Heart of Darkness". The book takes you deeper and deeper in small incremental steps until at the end you glimpse the personal private hell of one mans vision of war. When I put the book down I literally gasped. Mason drops you in so fast you just don't see it coming. The transition is brilliant and effective. Mason really makes you see his inner soul in a way I have never seen before. And because he takes you with him in his joyous flights from training school to the war in Vietnam, you are still with him when he falls down hard on his return. A great book if you like helicopters, even better if you don't like helicopters.

With no disparagement to more current personal accounts of Huey/Cobra helicopter pilot books on the market today, you need go no further than the original Chickenhawk if combat helicopter flying in Vietnam is of serious interest.

Robert Mason, although later after Vietnam service succumbed for a number of years to personal demons by choice, nevertheless portrays a shattering exciting picture of the smell, feel, madness and futility of of his Huey unit in the central highlands of Vietnam unsupported by a corrupt, incompetent US Democratic Party government back in Washington.

Having recently(May97) been in SE Asia on business and visited the "Golf Course"(Mason's old army helipad) near An khe VN, it's clear his accurate and riveting portrayal of the Air Cav are geniune and even more impressive.

I've read this book at least 5 times over the years and it is never dull without a doubt giving much satisfaction and entertainment. The author's true gift to us is to describe his hellish piloting experience and bravery in combat in a very readable way. He is a true inspiration to people of all walks of life.

As a former combat arms US Army officer(1970's Korea DMZ), my premonition is that the likes of Warrant Officer Bob Mason and his Huey compadres would be few and far between in today's politically correct, powder puff, his or her Clinton army.

Sit back and invest in yourself. Read Chickenhawk (more than once).

Stupendous in the scope of its research, meticulous and flowing in its prose, Caro's biography of Robert Moses is not only of interest to New Yorkers and students of urban politics, but is essential reading for anyone anywhere seeking insight into the exceptional human personality and its attendant darknesses.
The first pages of Caro's book point to a saga of a white knight corrupted, but as we read on (and on) we find that the author's fascination with his subject includes much positive feeling. The book is a great read for this very reason: in one chapter we are incensed by Moses' ruthlessness and his crushing abuse of power, in the next we marvel at the scope of his vision, his intellect and vigour. Moses, embodying all that is good and bad in American political life, emerged from this giant book with his carefully engineered reputation in tatters. But Caro has granted his urban Machiavelli immortality amongst true readers of non-fiction everywhere.

As with his biographies of LBJ, Caro delivers a scathing critique of the means and purposes of a powerful man in 20th century American government. "Power at all costs" is the theme he applies to both subjects.

The amount of detailed research in the book is amazing. We are able to follow the character development of Moses from his days as an idealistic civic reformer through the transformation by which he became one the most shrewd, and venal, operators in the system he set out to reform. As the years go by, we learn that although Moses's energy and ambition do not wane, his ideas of urban infrastructure design are hopelessly out of date. Furthermore, his preference for glamorous bridges instead of more practical tunnels, and his stilting of the mass transit system in favor of more and more expressways results in censure from Caro. In he end, we are intended to believe that the work of Robert Moses has become a barrier to the development of the greatest American city.

In his judgement of Moses, however, Caro still brings out the genius of one of the most influential shapers of modern urban design of the last century. The genius was, unfortunately, corrupted by the trappings of absolute power in his field.

The book is worth reading as an insight into urban politics, as a history of the infrastructure of New York, as a character study of an amazing personality and as a well written narrative biography. Combined, these factors make the 1200 pages well worth plowing though. Several unexpected stories within the book could stand alone as great (but certainly not impartial) writing. The story of a Jewish neighborhood that was torn down to make room for a Moses expressway is perhaps the most powerful passage in the book.

One final point is that Caro tends to sensationalize the sins of Moses, while painting other characters in a more positive light. For example, very little of the political machinations of Fiorello LaGaurdia and Al Smith are discussed, making Moses look evil in comparison to the two. Caro does a similar thing with his portrayal of Coke Stevenson in the LBJ books. Caro definitely sets out to get Robert Moses, but he backs up his criticism with a brilliant book.

Perhaps the best way for me to recommend this book is to say that I had bought this 1100+-page book thinking that it would be my reading project for the next 6 months, and yet I finished it in about a month. The pages fly by due to how interesting Caro's subject is, Caro's obviously thorough research and his great writing style--the combination of a journalist's ability to make one see events and a suspense writer's flare for the dramatic. I was born and bred in Manhattan and Brooklyn, so it is possible that it's not be as easy a read for a non-native New Yorker, but I suspect that it would be.

The Power Broker is Robert Caro's opus about Robert Moses, New York City and its eastern suburbs on Long Island and, to a lesser degree, about New York State. To call it a biography would not fully capture it. One should pay attention to the second half subtitle explaining that the book is also about New York. Caro diverges from his subject to spend chapters or parts thereof on other important figures to New York and Robert Moses, such as former New York governor and presidential candidate Al Smith or to the workings of New York City and State's government before Moses came to power.

Caro gives the reader an amazing sense of what life was like in New York throughout the first two-thirds of the Twentieth Century and how Robert Moses changed and shaped the life of New Yorkers. You will picture great public works such as parks, bridges, beaches and highways spring into being, you will feel the pain of people kicked out of their homes to make way for these edifices. You will peek into legislatures and governor's mansions to see how they were delayed or speeded up, you will imagine the smoke-filled rooms of Tammany Hall where taxpayer money was passed between corrupt politicians with Robert Moses' help to make these works come to life. And, of course, most of all, you will picture Moses striving to make all this happen and grasping for power.

I wish that this review could be completely positive. I believe that Caro's writing style, research and his ability to translate the research into words deserves the 5 stars I gave this book, but I must say that I found some flaws in this book.

First, Caro paints Moses as a caricature. That is not to say that Caro paints Moses as all evil or all good. He explains several times that Moses did many great things for New York and many terrible things to it. He also says that it is impossible to know whether New York would be better or worse without Moses.

However, the picture of Moses Caro gives us is one-dimensional. He gives him three motivations for all his actions: a love to build, a love of power and an arrogant intelligence. With all due respect to Caro's thorough research, I can't believe that this is true. Moses, like all of us, must have been motivated by many different things. And yet, Caro hits us over the head with the same motivations over and over again in every chapter.

My second complaint is that, it seems to me that he ascribes much too much effect to Moses' causes. In one of Caro's greatest chapters, he describes Moses' tearing the heart out of East Tremont in the Bronx, NY to build the Cross-Bronx Expressway. He explains how Moses ruined the neighborhood without thought to its residents even though he could have built the highway in a much better location with almost no dislocation.

However, Caro goes too far and says that the neighborhood would have remained stable for the foreseeable future without Moses. Caro tries to explain why he believes that East Tremont would have survived. But his explanation is weak. It is probably impossible for him to explain how East Tremont, unlike its surrounding neighborhoods in the Bronx and unlike every other urban neighborhood of all ethnicities and all political stripes would not have succumbed to "white flight" as more Latinos and Blacks moved in. Caro could have said, as he did, that Moses destroyed a neighborhood and left people homeless without trying to argue, unsuccessfully, that the neighborhood would have been fine without Robert Moses.

Everything said though, this is a great book that will give you insight into a man, a city, public works and the actions of powerful people.

I run a business in Mexico that has an openly viewable competition trait. That means my competitors can see my targets before I engage. With that I had been doing something that this book has aided me significantly. I had been used to unconscious decisions that worked in the past quite well until my competitors began to predict my next moves. The Book 2000 percent gave me a mental jolt, that woke me up to my business habit. I read this book just in time, I actually could have lost serious business without it. I now use what Donald calls total consciousness, some may think that is ridiculous, but you need to read the details of what that means to get the full effect and just think if you are a business owner how many times you used what seemed to work before without thinking about it. This is in fact a huge change and now my competitors are on the run and my employees have the confidense in me that they are also performing remarkably, due to other applications of 2000 percent as well. I am as surprised. This book has a great deal of other help aids and can help any person for many causes. I would also like to thank Amazon.com as I would not have been able to get this book in Mexico any other way. Thank You Donald Wayne Mitchell and co authors.

Being a creature of habit, I put the 2000% Solution on my bookshelf and thought about reading it. Without ever touching it, I was in a "stall". Finally, I read it!

The 2000% Solution offers is an excellent book to help keep processes moving along- both organizationally and personally. In this very entertaining and well written book, Mitchell, Coles and Metz, offered very practical, creative, innovative and thoughtful ways to overcome both simple and complex obstacles. Chapters entitled "Manana" "where many cooks improve the broth", and "the square peg in the square hole" not only ring true in terms of issues I've encountered, but also provide the necessary and rigourous solutions to improve the inherent strength of corporate organizations.

An added benefit is that the 2000% Solution also has real life, personal implications. It's true life skills for productivity an open capacity.

An excellent book

Who knew making huge leaps in achievement could be this easy -- and this fun? The 2000 Percent Solution gives you a simple process for overcoming mind blocks (the book calls them "stalls") and achieving fantastic results. The book gives funny and vivid examples (my favorite is the apes in the cage)which make the book an enjoyable read instead of just another dry essay on management. You'll be kicking yourself because you haven't recognized many of the self-imposed obstacles to progress that the authors describe. I had to read the book more than once to grasp some of the ideas in the second part and I'm sure that I will read it again to get more of the fine points. The best part of the book is that the authors give you this great concept but then they also give you a process to enable you to act on that concept. You'll actually find yourself acting differently instead of just filing the book and then proceeding with business as usual. Read this book and you'll start looking at the world in a whole new light. Suddenly the unattainable seems just around the corner!

I would recommend this book if you wish to find out the fates of Anne's children as adults, but don't expect it to be as enchanting as the rest of the Anne books. I felt that it was too sad and had a rather dark and unhappy air about it; none of the characters seemed really happy through any of it.

I felt that although this book was very well written and portrayed the effects of the war on Rilla and Prince Edward Island very well, it didn't quite reach the same caliber that the rest of the Anne books did.

I loved Anne and she is my favorite character in any book I've read. In "Rilla," however, Anne seemed completely erased. Montgomery persistantly referred to her as "Mother" or "Mrs. Blythe" and never really opened any window into Anne's feelings or reactions to the war. Susan, who is just the maid was more of a mother than Anne was, and I find that to be backwards. I also felt that the rest of the cast were really not involved enough at all, except those who had something to do with Rilla. For example, I would have liked to hear about the romances between Jem and Faith and Jerry and Nan with a little more detail. Furthermore, there were times I even forgot that Di, Una, Nan, and Shirley even existed. The entire book revolved far too much around Rilla, with not near enough emphasis on the minor characters, except Walter and Ken.

I did enjoy the transition between Rilla becoming a frivolous, vain girl to a responsible, mature woman and I respected her for the trials she was able to bear. However, I felt that she lacked the vivacity and other qualities that make a heroine memorable.

I have read all of the books in the Anne series and I must say that this is by far my favorite. Even though it is not so much about Anne as it is about her daughter it is interesting to read because Rilla is very much like her mother in some ways. I loved the parts with Rilla and Kenneth Ford because their families have history which caused for entertaining reading because it also tells how a girl feels when she likes a boy. The best but saddest part of the book was when Walter died (sorry to spoil it for you but if you read the other books you would remember something about "a white cross somewhere in France"). When I read Walter's letter to Rilla that she recieved after his death I cried. If you like to cry I would recommend this book, even if you don't I still recommend it and the other Anne books.

By far, I feel that this is my favorite of the Anne of Green Gables series. I truly loved this book. Rilla Blythe is, at the beginning of the story, a vain and naive young girl, but by the end of the book she seemed to blossom into a sensitive, unselfish young woman. She is strong despite the cruelty of the war and the loss of her beloved brother, Walter. When Walter died, L.M. Montgomery painted the feelings of the characters so vividly that I shed a few tears along with his family and friends and with the one young woman who loved him, but was too shy to let him know...and lost him "somewhere in France." I had learned to grow fond of Walter, and I was very sad to see him go. All in all, this book is a very heartwarming, loving, classic book that I found very enjoyable. In the preceeding 7 "Anne" books, the scenery and way of life on P.E.I seemed calm and perfect.....but in Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery lets us know that perfection can be spoiled and our lives could be waken up with a jolt, although at times not a very pleasant one. For anyone who is a fan of L.M. Montgomery and of Anne Shirley, her family and friends, I would recommend reading this book. It is a treasure.

I love physics, but I used to think that it was difficult. Most authors of physics books are too smart to explain it to other people. Feynman is one of the few who realized that not every student is brilliant and that some of us never paid attention during calculus classes - my observation is that people who really like physics don't like mathematics. He takes his time explaining calculus and he pays attention to the smaller steps that in other books are neglected since the author seems to think that readers can do these steps by themselves. We don't, we are stupid!

Feynman's famous three-volume set is an edited set based on his lectures to the introductory physics classes at Caltech, which are widely considered to be among the best lecture series ever published. Feynman takes a different approach from the typical introductory physics textbook. His point of departure perhaps assumes a higher level of mathematical sophistication than most introductory or survey texts. Also, his choice of topics is not as broad and comprehensive as many modern surveys of introductory physics. What makes Feynman's work remarkable is the his manner of explaining physical principles underlying a topic, instead of simply presenting the traditional expression of a rule and its formal mathematical expression. When one completes reading a section of Feynman's lecture, if one has the mathematical sophistication one will obtain a "feel" for how the topic fits in the broad context of physics as a whole. As a note of caution: most introductory physics surveys do not present material with use of matrix mathematics. Feynman assumes familiarity with the basics of matrix algebra, and this fact makes his presentation challenging to many students. In various sources I have read that his lectures were well attended by students in the upper division portion of their education and many graduate students and faculty, while the freshman audience intended may have been poor. That reflects the series as being a high-level conceptual overview reflecting the unified structure of physics. Perhaps not suitable for introductory physics instruction to any but the most advanced students.

Unlike my fellow reviewer above (below?) I *have* a PhD in physics, yet these books taught me more basic physics than I ever learnt in 4 years of undergrad. The quantum mechanics book is especially clear...I honestly wish my first 1st year phyics lecturer had of simply said 'read Feymnam'..I would have learnt so much more than I ever did in lectures/other texts. Give these books to a child starting science/maths and let them grow up using it and learning from it...there could be no better gift.

"The Ultimate Competitive Advantage" provides business leaders with real-life examples and the rudder necessary to shift the course in a stormy, ever changing environment and find the most direct way to new opportunities. This is a useful toolset necessary to develop a winning business model in a globally competitive environment. The authors of this foremost book understand business models and how to make them a source of adequate competitive advantage. The primary idea of Don Mitchell and Carol Coles is simple and rather practical at the same time: improve the effectiveness of everything you do. The authors show how strategic innovation can emphasize your business from the stack and deliver stronger.

The book is well organized and the writing is clear and concise, all making for an informative and enjoyable read. It is an excellent book for a strategic planning point of view. It is an absolute necessity for the 21st century business owners and CEOs. The book is teaching you about Business Model Innovation and the ideas might become useful as your business direction changes. The book offers help to anyone looking to improve theirs chances for success. And it is quite readable. I highly recommend it for senior and mid-level managers, entrepreneurs, consultants, and business students.

Alexander Petrochenkov

Kudos to Mitchell and Coles for this fascinating, valuable, and paradigm-shifting how-to. If you are even remotely concerned about (1) successfully meeting continual market changes, (2) expanding the scope and effectiveness of your business, and/or (3) building value for all your stakeholders (from investors to employees to society), you must not only read this book but also make it your business bible.

Filled with well-written stories of inspiring individuals (such as barber Michael Cogliandro) and progressive organizations (such as Habitat for Humanity, Dell Computer, and Disneyland), it provides the reader with a step-by-step method to adoitly leverage what's available and accomplish the five ultimate principles of business model innovation.

The book's format is as excellent as its content. Each chapter represents a sequential step in the innovation change process and flows seamlessly to the next. Each chapter contains a fully-fleshed out real-life example of the point being made. Boxes highlight salient points which are also summarized. Furthermore, each chapter has a set of heavy-duty key questions for readers to think about at length and apply to their own businesses.

Dynamic, practical, insightful, and inspirational, The Ultimate Competitive Advantage is an absolute necessity for today's savvy business owner!

Gadzooks man! When I first started this book and read the business models of the featured companies and I thought "What?! These people are literally gambling at the way they do business!" But the more I read, the more convincing it was to understand that to have the competitive edge in today's business world, you've got the option to think outside of the box.

Using real world business models, author's Mitchell & Coles explain how you can cause your company to have the competitive advantage by simply changing your company's business model. No matter what the size of your company, this book is a definite tool in creating your business model.

Most companies restructure and reorganize, hoping to attain business effectiveness & success. Yet the "Ultimate Competitors Advantage" will help you discover ways to reinvent your business model that will not only meet the needs of your customers, but bring strong profitability back into the company and spread from the employees to the shareholders. All around success!

So put an end to the business model that says, "We've always done it this way." Buy this book, and allow it to help mold and guide your imaginations into 21st century business model innovation!

Peter the Great was a larger than life figure and Massie does a fabulous job describing him and his world in this book. Massie, who is one of the most readable historians I've ever come across, incorporates incredible research and a flair for storytelling to make this both academic and exciting. I began reading the book hoping to learn more about Russia and Peter the Great, but Massie is much more ambitious than that and describes the socio-political climate throughout Europe during Peter's era. It provides a wonderful history lesson and is certainly as thorough as most semester long European history classes. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone interested in history or enjoys exciting stories about heroic emperors, wars, politics, and foreign cultures. Do not let the length scare you off, this will be one of the best historical books you ever read.

Peter the Great:His Life and World is an magnificient biography, I wish they all were like this. Impeccably researched and written, Massie reveals life in the Russian Royal Court in the time of Peter the Great. Massie's writing style is generally easy reading, but it will still take many evenings to complete this book.

Personalities abound throughout the telling of one of the greatest of all Tsars. What really stands out about this particular book, is that while the book is really about Peter, Massie allows the flow of the book to follow personalties of the time as they enter and exit Peter's world. So as well as learning about Peter, I learnt of Charles' rivalry with the Russian leader, and the battles they fought; Tolstoy, the ambassador to the Ottoman empire, and his constant diplomatic battles with the leaders of Turkey. The Sun King of France. These are just a few examples that litter the book.

Furthermore, social and political issues of the time are discussed, some in great depth. I never realised the stuggles involved with the construction of St. Petersburg, the workers dealing with both the [danger] of the Swedish Army and Navy, as well as the marshes on which the city was built. That the establishment of the Russian Navy was initiated by Peter, was another surprise. I would have thought that a major empire such as the Russian would have already had a navy. The political intrigues between the Royal houses of Europe was another eyeopener for me.

There are always faults with any book; Peter the Great is no exception. Some details would be repeated, some to the point of numbness. How many times do we have to hear about Peter's fondness for the sea? Or the sciences? Still, many people like myself will overlook these and instead, look at the book for what it is; a stunning and comprehensive look into not only the life of Peter the Great, but the world of Eastern and Middle Europe. I began reading the book to learn the story of Peter the Great. That I got a history lesson about Europe in the 18th century is a real bonus.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book that Robert K. Massie wrote about the life and personality of Peter the Great and the challenges he faced in trying to make Russia a major power on the European stage of the 18th century. Although Peter is accurately described as being a driven, uncompromising, and oftentimes ruthless man, this book also presents his softer, warmer side that usually opened up only to his second wife Catherine and to his inner group of trusted friends.

In reading the biography of Peter, a great deal of insight is also gained into the society and politics of 17th-18th century Russia and Europe, which in the hands of any other historian might be written in a dry and abstract manner. With Massie, however, he has such an engaging narrative style that the book reads like an action novel at times (such as in describing the Battle of Poltava).

Each personality of monarchs that Peter dealt with in Europe and the Middle East is given an ample introduction in "Peter the Great", which is entertaining reading in its own right. For example, we learn that Augustus II, King of Poland and useless ally of Peter in the Great Northern War, was a sexual philanderer of extreme proportions and that Frederick Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, had his famous collection of giants and suffered from pains that almost drove him to insanity.

Of course, a major portion of the book is devoted to the conflict between Peter and his archnemesis Charles XII in the Great Northern War. Massie recounts how Charles' fanaticism and his legendary aura of invincibility eventually brought the Swedish empire to its knees.

All in all, this is a book that would appeal to the general interest reader, as well as to the Russophile and to the person interested in European history. If you do get this book, try to get the hardcover edition, because a 915+ page book in paperback starts to fall apart after awhile. And you definitely want to have a nice-looking copy of this book to grace your bookshelf for a long time.

Romanov.... that is a very powerful name... and yet, it is just a name, you were either born with it or you weren't... but for the simple fact of bearing this name, many people had to die... and yet it is just a name. It is a name that says POWER, LOVE, INTRIGUE, MYSTERY, ESCAPE, TRAGEDY.... but it is also a name that for Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei meant FAMILY, and as a family they stuck together, through illness, war, infamy, and even death.
This book tells an incredible love story, that could beat any novel out there, and proves that life is always more mysterious, magical but also more cruel than fiction. It portrays the Romanovs as a family, and gives you an insight on their lives, their thoughts, their letters, their friends and their sufferings. It also lets you take a peek at Tsarist Russia, its power, its magic, its fancies, its relations with other empires, and many other things.
Robert Massie is an expert on this subject, and you can see that a lot of research went into creating this book.
I gave it 4 stars and not 5 because it is a bit outdated when it comes to the finding and retreaval of the bodies, but this is covered in a latter book by the same author.
Highly recommended, especially is you like history.

Massie certainly deserved the author of the month in the
winter 2000 page on the romanov website.
This book is a remarkable study of the last Tsar, his
family and the Russia they ruled. It is the definite
work in that it portrays Nicholas not only as Tsar of
all the Russias , but as the father, the husband, and
the family man.All these aspects are crucial if we are
to understand the man himself and the steps he took
to command his great empire. It is an extremely fair
work, showing the Tsar's shortcomings as a ruler, but yet
at the same time his humaness, his vulnerability from
his own position.
Massie has excelled himself with this book, and I highly
recommend it to any reader seeking an introduction to
this most fascinating period of Russian history.
There have been criticisms of this book stating that Nicholas
and his reign should have been studied in the context of say, other rulers of the time. This is a granted point, but one I feel
Massie achieves in his commentary of the world spectrum on the
whole particularly in the years 1905 through to the first World
War.To isolate the "family man" from the ruler is impossible -
they were part of each other.
So congratulations to Robert Massie, this book is a very
great achievement!

This is generally considered to be the definitive biography of Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, Alexandra. Massie's expert storytelling is well-suited to the compelling story of the last Russian tsar and his consort. The history of Russia was no doubt changed by the deliberate myopia and general inadquacies of these two people. Nevertheless, Massie manages to uncover a more sympathetic side to the ill-fated duo. Massie's writing is as good as that of any acclaimed novelist - there's a fascinating and fastpaced plot, finely nuanced lead characters, an intriguing supporting cast, all against a beautiful background of a majestic bygone era.

This book was researched and written before the fall of the Soviet empire when the state archives were opened and new information about the Romanovs was revealed. Consequently, this book is necessarily incomplete, especially as concerns the execution of the royal family. Massie has since written another text called "The Romanovs: The Last Chapter" which devels deeply into the newly available data and the forensic studies that followed. Consider it an essential volume II to "Nicholas and Alexandra".

This is absolutely the best SQL Server 7.0 development book on the market. I had done a reasonable amount of SQL Server 6.x development in the past, but then spent almost two years working on other things. When a client asked me to do a 7.0 project I went rushing out for a book to get me back up to speed. I bought this one based on the previous reviews and it was some of the best money I've ever spent on a programming book.

Robert is obviously a professional SQL Server programmer who clearly understands exactly what's important and what's not. He's also an excellent writer, which makes the book a very enjoyable read. This book is not for beginners or academics, but for working programmers. Robert wastes no time on unnecessary introductory-level material or obscure technical details that you're unlikely to ever need. He gets right to the point and stays there.

I'd usually indicate which parts of a book I thought were particularly noteworthy, but after flipping back through the chapters I have to say this book is just uniformly excellent. My only complaint, which unfortunately applies to almost every programming book I've bought over the past few years, is that the book contained numerous minor typographical errors. This was a failure on the part of the editors, however, and none of the typos interfered with the technical quality of the material.

This book is THE book when you want to learn SQL Serever 7 Databases. I passed the SQL Server 7.0 Database Design and Implementation exam 70-029 by studying this book! Its VERY clearly written. Anyone who has a concept of what SQL Server does and is, can master it by using this book. And guess what?, it has enough gun powder regarding SQL Server 7.0 to help you actually pass the 70-028 Admin exam as well! Last but not least, it is THE perfect companion for the DBA. I think many managers around the globe will be able to sleep at night if DBA's start using this wonderful book. I had a few problems with some topics...guess what..i e-mailed Mr. Robert Viera asking him to explain those topics. He replied within half a day!....its amazing! A man of such wisdom actually HAS time for his readers....and not only that he sent me a detailed e-mail of several paragraphs! Which i personally think is very impressive.

Anyway....what i had to say, said it....now its up to you the reader of this review to either remain in the dark or excel in the glittery world of SQL Server 7.0.

I REALLY Recommend this BOOK!

A truely do-it-all book. Robert Vieira has written the Transact-SQL programmer's dream. Not only is it a good reference for the more advanced DBA, but makes a decent beginner's guide (the book is not a "teach yourself", but rather for a beginner who has completed some SQL Server basics). This is the book for the beginner who wants to move through intermediate to advanced topics. The book covers:

I. Particulars and History - Building DB Connected Systems, Data Access Models.

II. RDBMS - The components of a SQL Server DB

III. Tools of the Trade - Client/Server Network Utilities, Enterprise Manager, DTS, MS DTC, Performance Monitor, Profiler, Query Analyzer, OSQL, Service Manager

Then The Good Stuff:

First the basics:

IV. The Foundation Statements of T-SQL - Select, Where, ETC.

V. Joining Tables - Inner/Outer, Cross, Full, Union

VI. Creating and Altering Tables

Then the Intermediate Stuff:

VII. Constraints - Primary Keys, Foreign Keys, Unique, Check, Default, Disabling, Rules, Triggers

VIII.Normalization and Basic Design Issues - Relationships, Diagramming, De-Normalizing, Examples

Then the Advanced Stuff:

IX. Speeding Performance: Storage and Index Structures

X. Views - Simple, Complex, Editing, etc.

XI. Writing Scripts and Batches - OSQL

XII. Code Storage: Stored Procedures - Intermediate to Advanced - This is pretty much exhaustivly covered. Includes error handling, control of flow.

XIII.Transactions and Locks - More advanced SProc handling, Checkpoints, Locks and Concurrancy, Handling Deadlocks

XIV. Triggers - A truely great chapter, untangling what is usually a badly explained subject.

And a lot more... Chapters 15 through 25 cover the really advanced subjects like: Advanced Queries, Distributed Queries/Transactions, SQL Cursors, BCP, DTS, Replication (in detail), Advanced DB Design, OLAP (in detail), English Query and Full Text Search, Security (very well done), Performance Tuning (in detail), Advanced Administration.

The appendices cover: Global Variables, Functions, Tools, Error Listing, Access Upsizing. An excellent index rounds out the package. If you are worried about coverage on any of the above topics...don't the book is a real luggable (1.5" thick, a couple of pounds in weight).

The only other book I would recommend to round out the SQL Server DBA's library would be MS Press' Administrator's Pocket Guide. You really won't need anything else! This book is a must have.