Mandy Hope loves animals and she knows a lot about them, too, since her parents are vets. She is sad when, Prince, a pony she knows is sold and even more sad when she finds out his new owner is Susan Collins, the most stuck snob in the whole school! Susan is entering Prince in a contest and Mandy realizes that Prince is ill and not fit to take part in the contest. Can she and James save Prince's life?

I find this to be a really great book. Mandy and James have to try and save Susan Collins' horse, before she enters him in the jumping competition and causes him to become sick.

I didn't finish this book but its really good. It is about a pony named prince. He has to get sold and Mandy is sad.She meats this new girl in school.Her name is susan collins and she got a new pony. she is really snobby and Mandy doesn't like her.Susan's dad invited Mandy and James for dinner. When Mandy excepts Mandy wants to see who susan's Pony is, and it turns out to be prince!

This was a very interesting and eye opening book. The book is broken into chapters that look at different aspects of the current war / armaments industry. We get the full picture from arms dealers, armaments companies and their lobbyists to private mercenary companies. The author gives the arms dealers some extra mystery by introducing us to two of the more successful ones, both of which were ex-Nazis. We also get a who's who name run down of past government officials who are now employees or lobbyists for large arms manufactures. I now know where all the cold warriors go after they leave office.

The book really leaves the impression with the reader that the military arm of the government is running the rest of the country via the spending allocated to it via the budget. The author presented the reader with an armload of facts, and left the reader to make his own conclusions. This is not an anti military propaganda piece, but a good book with an incredible amount of information. One of the more shocking conclusions one takes from the book is the ongoing American policy of continual military mobilization. I guess this should not be that surprising given that it is a billion dollar business that has a vested interest in making sure the business keeps on coming it's way.

Overall the book was very good and interesting. It was easy to read and I got through it in only a few days. My only complaint is that there was no ending chapter, no wrap up - it just kinda ended. Other then that a great book.

Ken Silverstein's "Private Warriors" is an excellent resource -- I wish we had more journalists like him, willing to delve deep into a story and present just the facts, and leave it to the reader to connect the dots. Silverstein doesn't preach: he just offers an incredible amount of information -- all but the most diehard reactionary will find it persuasive.

He names names, and provides an exhaustive account of the ongoing American policy of permanent military mobilization, which was conveniently masked during the Cold War but which continues to grow after the death of Soviet Communism.

The book is broken into six chapters, each exploring a different avenue of the war industry -- from ... arms dealers to private mercenary companies, to the cynical use of military consultants to evade public accountability and oversight and, of course, Star Wars (these days referred to as the Ballistic Missile Defense).

What I was struck with on reading this book is how cynical and amoral the participants are -- they may be flag-waving Americans, but the brotherhood of warmongers really transcends nationality, which is probably a sign of the changing times. It's frightening and infuriating when you see the level of corruption at work, here, and the incredible success achieved by these individuals, and the degree of networking they engage in to ensure that American policy remains firmly locked on a wartime footing.

The only drawbacks I saw in this book was there was so much information presented, it was a little hard to keep track of all of the players -- I would have liked to see some graphs or lists to illustrate some of the points Silverstein enumerated. Also, I thought there ought to be a concluding chapter to the book, to sort of wrap everything up.

Get this book if you want to get a sense of why the "peace dividend" was a short-lived concept (I recall it being talked about for about two weeks, after the collapse of the USSR); I recommend it as a gift for anybody who wants a sense of what's wrong in American policy, and also for anybody too enamored of the status quo.

I thought this book was great.I think that Private Militiary
Compinies are the Futuer of warfare.I think America should train fomer Soviet countries against terrorism.I found this book very informative.It was great.

this is the best review of the cognitive psychology of memory, by one of the leading experts in the field. I personally did not enjoy the artistic aspest of the book, but many say it was complementing. Now there are much better cognitive neuroscience books on memory -Kandel and Squires books, Steven Roses, among others- but as for the psychological aspects, this book stands above all others. At times it reads too much like a collection of case studies, but few would deny that lesion studies have contribuited a lot to an understanding of the brain/mind.
Most of the memory field is covered: recogntion vs. recall, implicit vs. explicit, episodic vs. procedural, short -long term, working memory, genral,emotional, semantic, etc..... but there is also a welcome and thorough discussion of false and recovered memories. In no other field can one see better the imediateimpact that cognitive psychology of memory has on legal and social issues. Schacter effectively explains everything we know about the phenomenon. As for the other themes, adequate and sufficient reviews are given. I personally would have liked a bit more of neuroscience, but it is a great read nontheless. There is also not much mention of the relationship between memory and other higher cognitive processes, like consciousness (a good place for speculation) or attention. But Schacter sticks to what is known, and does it well.
AS an introduction to any aspect of memory studies, few texts are better than this one. But I would tell anyone interested to also read other Schacter books, as well as more pure psychology and neurological texts on the subject. (see Seven Sins of Memory by the same author, Kandel and Squires Memory:from Minds to Molecules and Roses The Making of Memory among others).

The title of this book is not very helpful in understanding what this book is about. There is a translation of Schacter's book (ISBN 3498063243) in German titled "Wir sind Erinnerung", meaning "we are recollections". These three words sum up the essence of the whole book much better than the original title. Really.

Schacter seems to be one of the leading scientists in the field of research on memory. He coined several technical terms of the field and built theories about how humans remember, what they remember and how they fail to remember. This book is a summary of Schacter's work over the period 1980 to 1995 in plain words. While the main text uses very few technical terms, there are many many references to scientific papers. The Notes section stretches over 40 pages, the bibliography covers 35 pages, and the index is excellent. All in all a well written book about a scientific subject.

If you are a scientist in the field, this book is not for you. You should read scientific papers instead of reading 400 pages of a paperback book. There are some other things I do not like about this book (which others seem to like). Schacter often refers to paintings of artists which are reproduced (in black and white, no colour) in the book. These pictures illustrate the way some artists feel about several aspects of memorizing. Well, I am not interested in such poor black and white reproductions, but perhaps you like it. Another annoying feature of this book is that there is often too much story telling in it. I would have liked more conciseness and precision instead of the many many cases a clinician sees through his career. Anyway, it was good enough to keep me reading it from the first to the last page.

Schacter has written a superb overview of the working so the brain and memory. I read this book in one night! I can highly recommend it!
Other recent great reads: "Decoding Darkness" (Tanzi and Parsons) on how Alzheimer's affects the brain -- fascinating stuff!

This book would be an useful companion to beginners of the game, but it's not much use to experienced players who already know how to build large, happy cities. I was hoping to find more detailed technical information on, for example, exactly what effect various measures have on property value or crime, etc. - in short, for "charts, graphs, and numbers" - and I was utterly disappointed. This book provides hardly any more technical info than the manual, and includes much info that is redundant (e.g. every time a zone or item is described, the authors twll you how to connect it to the power grid. duh). On the positive side, it did provide me a few ideas for experimenting (especially with zones) which were fruitful. A good companion for beginners confused by the game's mechanics, but just not worth the money otherwise.

My kids like this book, I like this book, you'll like this book. It's full of insight and strategies and written with enough wit to make it real fun. Can't recommend it highly enough.

This book is the second best SimCity 2000 book I've ever read, but its true value shines only in the face of a beginner. This book is one of the few that can send a point with words and pictures instead of graphs, tables, and labels that are incomprehensible to a poor beginner who hardly knows what 'SC2K' stands for. It is like a dog whistle- only the lower life forms (mainly dogs) can hear and obey it easily. This works for experience- newbies canactually understand the material. If you're an experienced player, you can still get some stuff out of it, but there are much better books with graphs, hexadecimals, tables, and the like to portray superior knowledge unnecessary for building a small, self-satisfying (if you're a beginner) city to cherish through rain and through sunshine, through thick and through thin, for richer and for poorer... anyway, it's a good book. To be brief... BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT! BUY IT NOW!

The Mind's I promises more than it delivers. Perhaps this is not surprising given the immensity of the subject, i.e., what is consciousness, what is self, who am "I". Hofstadter and Dennet wisely avoid attempting to answer these questions directly. They choose instead to share a collection of 27 science fiction stories and scientific essays from various authors, sharing their own "reflections" after each entry. The selections range from the playful (The Riddle of the Universe and Its Solution) to the analytical (Minds, Brains, and Programs), and the editors are to be commended for including a sampling of authors whose views they do not share.

Ironically, this is the basis of one of the book's weaknesses. Hofstadter and Dennet quickly dismiss opposing views as being based on false analogies, yet to win the reader over to their camp they employ similarly flawed analogies. (Of course, analogies are like false profits -- they should not be trusted.) A number of the reflections following certain science fiction entries choose to focus on the impossibility of the plot rather than the philosophical questions raised. Moreover, the editors' emphasis on artificial intelligence and whether machines can have souls, while occasionally helpful in pushing the reader to determine his own definition of consciousness, tends to obfuscate rather than clarify what should be the main thrust of the book: who am (is?) "I"? Finally, key concepts (e.g., dualism) are not clearly defined early on, a handicap for the casual reader.

But there is something worthwhile in The Mind's I for most readers. The science fiction fan will more than get his fill; the fiction writer will have fun imagining entire universes he has created; and the introspective soul will be seduced into reflecting on whether "I think therefore I am" is a strong enough argument.

After writing the magnificent 'Godel, Escher, Bach', for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, computer scientist Douglas Hofstadter (a professor at my alma mater, Indiana University) collaborated with philosopher Daniel Dennett on this anthology of essays and stories that explore the areas of human and artificial intelligence.

What is the mind? What is the self? Is there really a soul? Are feelings and emotions artificial constructs of information bits inside of us, and if so, is it possible that machines can think and feel for themselves?

For that matter, do we truly think and feel for ourselves?

Hofstadter and Dennett have selected pieces that approach these questions from many angles, from hard-science observational techniques to spirituality dimensions in stories. Each piece is followed by a reflection that sets the context of the piece in relation to the larger question of intelligence.

Contributors include mathematician Rudy Rucker ('Infinity and the Mind'), philosophers Raymond Smullyan (perhaps best known for logic puzzles) and Robert Nozick, literary figures such as Jorge Luis Borges and Stanislaw Lem, and pioneers in the field such as Alan Turing.

The editors use a section of Turing's early article on 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence' from 1950 to set up much of the subsequent discussion. One often overlooked idea from Turing, oddly popular among British scholars of the first half of the twentieth century (and still more prevalent among British scholars and intellectuals than those of other cultures) is the idea of ESP and paranormal abilities. Turing felt that the final difference between machine-thinking, once it had reached full potential, and human thinking would be that humans have the capacity for ESP and other such abilities.

Turing's foundational point rests on the answer to and the meaning of the question, will a machine ever think? Turing's answer to this is yes, and upon this assumption, the meaning of a machine thinking becomes the critical determinant. People infuse too much emotionalism into the question, Turing thought. Ironically, half a century after Turing and two decades after publication of The Mind's I, people watch depictions of thinking machines in science fiction shows without a second thought, even as these shows explore the connection between thinking and emotion.

As many of the essays and stories make clear, it is often as much the way the question is asked as it is the content of the answer that can make a difference in the way the observer reacts and interprets. And yet, it becomes difficult to distinguish linguistic intelligence, intellect, and 'having a soul'. One question that is addressed can serve as illustration: Do animals have souls? For instance, does a chimpanzee with with partial linguistic ability learned in a laboratory and greater ability to care for herself and her offspring have more of a soul than an human being who is physical and mentally impaired? Almost everyone would say no, but how this difference is characterised becomes difficult in many contexts.

Terrel Miedaner has an intriguing set of stories, 'The Soul of Martha, a Beast' and 'The Soul of the Mark III Beast', which explores the fuzzy dividing line between the way in which we think of human feelings, animal feelings, and potentially even machine emotional responses. Part of the analysis of Hofstadter and Dennett focuses upon the construction of the stories, which are purposefully designed to evoke human emotional responses to anthropomorphised creatures. But this begs the question -- if we can anthropomorphise them, to what extent might they in fact have elements in common with human beings that make them worthy of consideration on a human level?

Issues such as the difference between education and programming, free will and determined patterns, conscious and unconscious potentials, and (perhaps both most maddening and enlightening) the difference between reality, apparent reality, belief, and thought about belief (see Smullyan's 'An Epistemological Nightmare').

This is a very entertaining, often witty, occasionally disturbing book, that presents these philosophical problems in an accessible format.

The significance of this book's subject will keep it a timeless classic. The topic, of course, is "I". "Who am I? Can I explain my mind? Can I formulate what happens in anyone's mind?" And, of course, the daunting question: "can a computer become/have a mind?" With these troublesome queries in hand, Hofstadter and Dennett have collected a string of loosely connected essays to invigorate your thinking. As the Preface states, the anthology "is designed to provoke, disturb, and befuddle . . . readers." If it fails, the readers certainly cannot blame the "composers and arrangers," as the editors dub themselves.

Nothing in here is arcane or pedantic - there are no scholarly papers as such. In fact, some of the 27 submissions are from the realm of "SF" [in the delightful definition of that term coined by writer Harlan Ellison - "speculative fiction"]. Among these offerings are essays by Jorge Luis Borge and Stanislaw Lem. There are, of course, some philosophical statements. Fortunately, none of these require knowledge of "schools of philosophy." All that is required to read this book is a desire to open your own mind and speculate on how you think. And, perhaps, what you think.

A major virtue of this book are the "Reflections" following the essays. In these Hofstadter or Dennett [or both] provide further insights on the author's offering. The "arrangers" don't enlarge on the article or "interpret" its meaning. That's left to the reader. The editors do, however, frequently pose further questions adding to the value of the selection. There is little opportunity, except in a few cases, to critically assess the author's position. With SF, a "philosophical position" is rare in any event. Even so, the SF entries are not mere space adventures, but contributions to the idea of what makes a "self," particularly in a society with high levels of technology.

Concepts of "self" as confronted with modern technology form a sub-theme of the collection. The Turing Test provides a pivot point for many of the essays. Can a computer achieve "intelligence" defined in a blind test of responses to questions? Turing's original essay, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" is offered early in the book, with a thorough examination of the issues raised in an imaginary dialog following. Turing's thorny question is directly addressed in further essays and in the "Reflections". The editors make their own comments on this issue which, of course, is a foundation of developments in Artificial Intelligence [AI].

Dennett, whose capacity for wit is finely honed, brings those skills to these pages. His own essay on brain-body relations is a treasure for stimulating reflection. Hofstadter contributes three essays of his own. The real gem in this collection is Raymond Smullyan's "Is God A Taoist?". This dialog between a deity and a mortal on the issue of "free will" is outstanding - there is no other word that fits. It is fundamental reading in examining the human thought process and the laws of nature. The following Reflections by Hofstadter is rich with questions raised by Smullyan. Hofstadter notes that many will consider the essay "blasphemous," but that charge might be laid on the whole book. That, of course, is what gives it much appeal. While the open-minded will benefit most from this collection, you need only to leave your mind slightly ajar to benefit from what the "composers" have offered you.

The pets that are staying at Chateau Bow Wow want to escape before something terrible is about to happen. I liked the book very much because it had great descriptions that you cant picture in your mind. You are surprised at what's going to happen. It makes you want to keep reading until you find out what happens to the characters. It is also funny. There are other books by this author. The books are Bunnicula, Howliday Inn, The Celery Stalks at Midnight, and Nighty-Nightmare.

Harold, Chester, and Howie are at it again. The Monroes' are going on vacation, and the rabbit, Bunnicula, is going to one of his friend's house. Meanwhile, Chester, the cat, Harold, and Howie, the dogs, are going to Chateau Bow-Wow, what they call Howliday Inn. There's a big mystery going on, can you solve it? You can solve the mystery with Harold, Chester, and Howie by reading this book.

A great book for anyone, young and old. Chester, Howie, and Harold are back at the dreaded Howliday Inn. There's new charecters, such as a couple new dogs, and even a weasle! A ghost dog tells them to beware of the secret of Howliday Inn... Escape while you can... But what is it? Read this amazing, humorous, and mesterious book to find out.

Pollock successfully combines relevant issues of supply chain management into a book that reads more like a thriller than a textbook. While it doesn't fully accomplish either the intellectual endowment of a textbook or the heart-racing suspense of an exceptional thriller, the novel combines elements of each form in a unique manner to afford the reader an impression of both realms of literature. Whereas many other authors attempt to write one or the other, Pollock gives the reader a taste of each. While Pollock's work does have its shortcomings, he does what many novelists have yet to try. Perhaps his amalgamation of literatures will lead to a revolutionary kind of textbook, which will replace the monotonous readings students everywhere are currently facing. And, then again, maybe this is just one exhausted student's naïve desire.

My professor recommended this book and I'm glad she did. This book was a very fun read. It is action-packed and highlights the role of logistics and computers in modern society in an unforced manner. What did feel forced were a couple of the "romance" scenes but these are fairly short. I'd recommend this book to anyone. It definitely reads like a good novel, not an academic book, but does make you think about the impact of computers and logistics on society.

I really enjoyed this novel of logistics and intrigue. Taking a subject perceived to be as dry as logistics and bringing it to life in the form of Jane Akers was truly unique. I look forward to another book on such subject matters, written in the same fashion!

Regrettably, the essence of what could have been a very interesting French crime novel is bastardized by this unfortunate Anglicized translation, resulting in an adequate, if somewhat haphazard read. Translation is a very tricky business, fraught with pitfalls, and the decision in this case to use British colloquialisms is a total failure (albeit more so for the American reader than the British one). To have uniquely British turns of phrase and slang emerging from what are supposed to be French characters severely detracts from the reader's ability to immerse himself in the book. That said, the story, about a department store employee, and the bombs that keep going off in his store, isn't bad. He and his family are the most interesting and entertaining bits of the book. The actual "mystery" relies on some very disturbing pathology, which I don't find particularly interesting or plausible in general, and the "mystery" as to how the bombs are getting into the store will be apparent to most readers very early on.

A delightful family, where it is impossible to have a boring day; a wonderful prose and the excuse of a couple of murders to make things more entertaining; I dare you to read ONLY one of the stories of Benjamin, Julie, Claire, Therese, Jeremy, Loubna, the Queen Zabo and the rest of the Malaussene tribe. You won't stop until you'll read them all.

This series of "mystery" novels is great fun! They bring to life the Belleville/Menilmontant quarter of Paris with hip, fast-paced prose and plenty of slang. The setting, characters, and philosophizing is ultimately more interesting than what is supposed to be a "mystery," but that doesn't detract from the read. Unfortunately, the translation is laughably bad, putting British slang into the French characters' mouths! Still, this a funky---and very French---series.

I didnt like this book because it was boring. If you would of read it you would of regreted it. this book is about a girl that made a party for pets. How stupid is that. The pets would destroy all the furniture. I rated it 1 star because it had no pictures.

This book is so good you have got to read it.

When Mandy and James are planning a Christmas party for all of the animals in Welford, they find a lost sheepdog. They take her in and name her Tess, but then Tess is accused of attacking local farmers' sheep. Can Mandy and James prove that Tess is harmless?

Frankly, I don't think its worth the money. Some decent facts in here but not too interesting- but it might put you to sleep.

Sizing Up a Start-Up is a great read for anyone considering a career move. Rippy uses quotes from start-up veterans along with his own experiences to accurately describe the work environment, management expectations and life cycle of a start-up. He ties these subjects together by asking the reader "What is your risk tolerance?" and "What do you value in a career?".

After determining if a start-up is right for you, you can then read on to gain important interviewing and salary negotiating tips. Rippy stresses the value of researching a company before an interview and gives heads-up and specific advice about what types of questions you should and should not ask in an interview. Next, Dan discusses what one could expect from a typical compensation package at a start-up. Unlike other books, Rippy takes this subject one step further and outlines strategies to not only maximize, but also value your compensation package.

As a recent graduate from a leading MBA program, I personally found this book to be insightful and helpful during my job selection process. It helped me prepare better and more though provoking questions during the interviews, negotiate better compensation packages, and more importantly, make a decision that I will be happy with in the next few years.

Sizing Up A Start-Up: Decoding The New Frontier Of Career Opportunities offer the reader invaluable, practical methods for making sound employment and career decisions in the new high-tech communications industries, with particular reference to the so called "dot.com" companies. Daniel Rippy shows how to distinguish a company poised to succeed from one doomed to collapse. Sizing Up A Start-Up is "must" reading for job seekers, and has a wealth of useful information and insight for entrepreneurs and investors considering the commercial viability of high-tech industries.