The book does not lack interesting subjects, but most of them are not peculiar of ERP systems, and could be suitable for many other kinds of software systems. Gap analysis, costs, human resources and chains are problems people are dealing with since the first computer entered the business word. I would have liked a publication in which briefly summarized process and data issues would be referred to a proper functional, and even technological, architecture of ERP. I do need buy and read a book whose title is ERP in order to get a description of the problems whilst the book is supposed to dissert about their solutions. The latter target has been someway met, but not fully reached.

Because this is a dense read, you won't be surprised to learn that the author, Daniel E. O'Leary, is a Ph.D. If you don't have a conversational grasp of acronyms - including, but not limited to ERP, LAN, WAN, SMEs BOPSE, MAPs, SAP and BAAN - then you'll have to decode as you read. If you're actually interested in using the business resource known as "Enterprise Resource Planning," or ERP, your company should be grossing some $200 million a year, because ERP costs about $15 million to implement. While O'Leary makes a very compelling case in favor of ERP, citing integration of information infrastructure, real-time data, value creation and other wonderful attributes, this is a very expensive and risky resource to pursue. Companies such as Microsoft and Cisco had a hard time implementing it and even they have to worry about cost. We [...] warn that this is serious tech for Big Money companies. Mom and Pop operations need not apply.

This book is more suited as an executive guide for anyone who is considering ERP or evaluating ERP systems. In fact, the book appears to have been designed with busy senior management and executives in mind because it's focused, hits all of the key points and each chapter is treated as a whitepaper that ends with case studies reinforcing the topic and references. Also, the author makes excellent use of window diagrams throughout to convey information. A random example if this is in chapter 11 where the linkage between implementation approach (big bang vs. phases) is shown by impact of the extent of changes to be made to ERP modules (minimal to extensive) vs. Number of modules in implementation (few to many) and how this translates to the preferred method. This is but one of many such examples.

The book is organized into four parts: (1) introduction, (2) ERP systems and capabilities, (3) ERP life cycle (deciding, selecting, designing, post implementation and training) and (4) electronic commerce and risk.

Each section is backed with cited references and necessary facts with which to decide whether or not to opt for an ERP system, and if so, how to select the correct package. The references and citations extend into every chapter, which I liked because when the author cites a fact, such as a typical cost of an ERP implementation ... you know where that figure came from. I normally do not like discussions of specific products in general books, but given the narrow field of ERP vendors the discussion of each of the major players, their company histories and market position is appropriate for this book given the subject and audience.

I personally liked the case studies at the end of each chapter because there were specific to the chapter's topic, were drawn from real life, and were frank about the problems encountered and how they were addressed. This is a gold mine for executive management seeking to determine the true scope, cost and potential value of an ERP project. I also like how each option for implementation was thoroughly covered.

Overall, this book provides complete coverage of all of the issues and factors that need to be examined before taking the plunge into an ERP system. It will definitely allow executive management to make informed decisions, and will also prepare IT and business stakeholders for the realities of an implementation. This book will pay for itself many times over for the intended audience. It is clear, concise and factual.

Over all, this is a good cookbook for an experienced general cook or someone who already knows a lot about Ethiopian cooking. Some of the recipes are very good (e.g., Yemiser Kik W'et and Doro W'et are both good) but the instructions are generally poor. Unless you already know what a dish should taste like or look like, you will be left mystified by instructions like those for Injera (made from T'ef), which tell you to "cover and let stand still till the mixture rises." Given that the consistency you're looking for with an injera batter is close to a crepe or pancake batter, knowing how long it takes to rise is totally necessary unless you know what a risen pancake batter should look like. Even an experienced bread baker might need a little more instruction here.

There is also insufficient explanation for why you must do some of the things you do (e.g., boiling 1 cup of the Injera mixture and then cooling it and putting it back into the original pot, to which you then add more water). It would be nice to know why some of the steps must be taken, since some of the recipes seem to be written for a chef who is beginning at the very beginning (like with whole t'ef grain, rather than with te'f flour, for example).

All in all, I think this might be the best ethiopian cookbook available, and is well worth it for those, like me, who want to explore this fantastic cuisine and don't have access to a knowledgeable friend or co-worker.

I have used this book extensively over the past five years, preparing several of the recipes from its contents. I find this cookbook to be among the best I possess with only two cautionary details:

1. A few recipes reference the use of rue in their ingredient lists. Rue, as cited on page 244 in "Exotic Ethiopian Cooking" is an herb given the botanical name Ruta graveolens, a toxic plant. Though its use in food preparation and homeopathic medicines is widely known; symptoms from poisoning may include dermatitis, gastro-enteritis, vomiting, convulsion and even death. Use reasonable judgment; educate yourselves on the use this herb and its toxicity before making a decision to include rue in preparation of these recipes.

2. Instructed measurements in a very few of the recipes seem to be quite disproportionate; exercise your own personal taste and judgment in preparation.

"Exotic Ethiopian Cooking" is more than just a cookbook; it is descriptive of culture and traditional food preparation which helps to bring to the reader a greater experience than simply satisfying his or her culinary desires. I also appreciate that this book has a great deal of nutritional information for ingredients such as t'ef and qoch'o for which one would not usually find a Nutrition Facts label.

Ethiopian food is of the best and most complicated cuisines in the world. This book is a great introduction and guide. I am writing this review because I read a review that said that this book did not have enough detail. The recipes for Injera (the Ethiopian staple bread) are the only ones that I have ever tried that actually work. If you have any doubt about what the finished product should look like, just check out the many great color photos in the book! If every country in the world had a Daniel Mesfin writing books about its cooking and culture, the world of cookbooks would be much more fascinating than it is. If you have never tried Ethiopian food, find a restaurant in your state. Then buy this book and start cooking for yourself. The book contains contact information for businesses that sell Ethiopian ingredients. This is an awesome book.

The value of reflective teaching is not recognized nearly enough in recent research. This book convincingly documents the need for culturally relevant pedagogy in today's public schools. A worthwhile read.

The value of reflective teaching is not recognized nearly enough in recent research. This book convincingly documents the need for culturally relevant pedagogy in today's public schools. A worthwhile read.

After many years of working in the field of curriculum and instruction, this is by far the finest work I've read on the subject. Zeichner and Liston offer astute insights on the complex relationship between culture and teaching and this book is a must-read for all teachers and anyone with even a passing interest in the education of our nation's children. Highly recommended.

Two things I can say about this book:

1. The story opens to a slow start. This certainly was a deliberate move on Leiber's part. He is working towards a sense of uneasiness, but to me it felt like his characters were moving underwater, slowly and clumsily. Yet, this is all nicely tied up in...

2. The brilliant and exhilarating ending. The disjointed happenings of the previous chapters are all nicely wrapped up in this section of the book. Beside it, the rest of the book pales in comparison.

I was left with the sensation the book may be too long for the tale it tells. Leiber bursts in creativity and commanding (and maniacal) prose until the last chapter, making the rest of his book seem ungainly.

On a final note: Previously, the only other novel by Leiber I had read was "Conjure Wife". This one seemed to me a stronger and better effort, and I highly recommend it.

After receiving a letter from an old college friend, John Ellis, the writer George Kramer travels to a small Californian town out in the desert. Here he is confronted by strange happenings, the result of another of his old college friends, Daniel Kesserich, who has discovered, quite by accident, a way to use an energy anomaly of collapsing magnetic fields to move in the super-time of the fifth dimension, and thus the time of the fourth dimension. This activity normally has no consequences with regard to the surrounding town and its population. But when Kesserich uses his discovery to return John Ellis' wife from the dead, the result of a seemingly accidental poisoning, the town's population succumb to a general psychological trauma due to the temporal contradictions set in motion. There's a lot of good ideas in this little book, which before its recent publication have appeared in other Leiber titles, such as, Gonna Roll them Bones, and The Big Time. Daniel Kesserich is slightly lumpy to read, especially at the start where the narrative is not quite as smooth as is usual for a Fritz Leiber story, making it necessary to read the first chapter and the forward a couple of times to iron out any apparent oddities.

Overall that's the main complaint in an otherwise nicely presented book with its great black-and-white illustrations and text on quality paper. It's A Leiber all right, but suffers slightly from not having the benefit of his ultimate attention.

Worth reading all the same.

Fritz Leiber's The Dealings of Daniel Kesserich was recently published, years after Leiber's death. The book was originally written in 1936, apparently while Leiber still corresponded with Lovecraft, and it shows. It has all the elements that we've learned to love: the letter from an old friend living in a nameless, backwater town; the college mate with interest in more than three dimensions who lives in isolation from the community; the small something that appears to eating away at the town people's minds; the mysterious death - and this is only in the first five pages. The book is quite a good read and absolutely hard to put down, with some scenes that are pretty scary, specially when you realize that they involve only people behaving strangely. However, at some points it has a somewhat raw feel to it, may be because it was never edited. If you're looking for some Lovecraftian read and are tired of the recently published titles, this may be able to please you.

"The Diggers" was my absolute favorite book as a child, nearly 40 years ago. The main attraction was the pictures, obviously. So when I saw that it was back in print I wiped the tears of joy from my eyes and ordered it immediately. Imagine my disappointment when the book arrived, full of bland, boring, politically correct 1990s pop art!! The wonderful old two-tone sepia and green drawings in the original were dream-inspiring. Margaret Wise Brown is an old favorite but I wouldn't call her a master of the pen. Her books are dear to us because of the magical combinations of low-key narrative and old-fashioned art. Set to computer-generated modern graphic ..., the old manuscripts do nothing for me. BRING BACK THE ORIGINAL -- PLEASE!!! Thanks all.

My daughter got this for her 2nd birthday 2 years ago, and she adores it. I am a huge Daniel Kirk fan, and the illustrations are outstanding. It is so refreshing to see brilliantly done oil paintings in a children's book (while most of them are cartoons, computer-generated, or pale watercolor). I am not much of a Margaret Wise Brown fan, but the rhythmic prose was catchy, and a joy to read. It was and remains one of my daughter's favorite books.

What could be better for a boy of 2 1/2? After three days with this book my son was actually reciting pages of it to me. And the lyricism pervasive in all of Wise's books makes it a pleasure to read and to hear.

With a book of this nature, it's hard separating an evaluation of the book from an evaluation of the technology itself -- so I won't try too hard. Yes, the book showed certain evidence of haste in editing and proofing but the errors and weaknesses are not of the type to cause an early adopter to stumble. For instance, there is no index but chapters are distinct enough so that it is easy to find the broad categories.

I eagerly picked up this book after attending a very impressive demo of Curl's capacities. Only skimming the two chapters on Object Oriented Programming, I concentrated on the other chapters most relevant to GUI developers of Web-based applications.

Being an ardent practitioner of the W3C's Cascading Style Sheets technology, I was a bit disappointed in Curl's implementation of styles, which seems clumsy and very limited, even considering the differences in syntax. The authors were very knowledgeable on HTML and CSS issues -- which made their reliance on tables for layout a bit disturbing. Does this indicate that Curl lacks equivalents for CSS positioning and layout properties -- or merely that the authors did not happen to see this as important enough to include in examples?

I was dissatisfied with the paucity of examples and the fact that these examples were not of the type of depth to glue the various parts of Curl together. There were some good examples involving 2-D and 3-D graphics which showed the technology to advantage. However, if your primary interest is in form-based Web applications, the examples were sketchy.

The book really needs to have context. Criticism of Java, HTML, JavaScript, etc. is not enough.
The authors must speak more directly to the questions:
{}Does the Web world need another proprietary, Java-like browser plug-in?
{}Does the Curl organization have what it takes to go against Microsoft's .NET, which has a similar architecture and revenue model?

Answer these questions and you not only have a good book, but a real cool winning tool.

Curl is an important new client-side web language that permits you to create web applications that have the same rich interactive power of local applications (Word, Excel) while reducing the complexity that arises from using multiple existing web languages.

This is currently the BEST Curl book on the market. Ok, it's currently the ONLY Curl book on the market, which makes it Good News/Bad News.

Good News: This book does a great job of providing Curl information and "how to" examples in more depth than the Curl manuals. All the major topics are covered, which makes this a good overall reference book. The graphics architecture section is particularly helpful, where the authors describe the overall graphics framework of Curl. This info would save any new user time when learning Curl.

Bad News: by targeting the early adopter, the book is timely, but shows some warts. Some sections still show and describe the last beta version of Curl. The last beta was mostly similar to the current version of Curl, but the small differences are occasionally distracting. The book also has a number of typos and the class descriptions in one table were copied directly from the (free) Curl manual. As most of the authors are from Curl Corporation, this is not plagiarism, but it is not new information either.

Overall, this book serves its purpose by being the first overall book on Curl. The book itself is a great way to learn Curl in conjunction with the Curl manuals. Despite its warts, it is well worth owning.

[Bruce Mount worked as one of the Technical Reviewers for this book. No, he didn't review the section with typos. :-)]

If you have never been to curls website and looked at this new web technology, you do not know what you are missing. In some ways, you can think of Curl as Flash on steroids, although you can do much more than the eye candy Macromedia is known for.

They call this book an early adopter book, but, since I think Curl is most likely going to go the way of Microsoft Agent, it is more a Bleeding Edge book. Unlike Microsoft Agent, however, I do think this technology is very useful.

So, what is Curl? Curl is a new OO technology for web UI development. In many ways, it is what Java promised, with applets, in its early days. The main difference here is Curl is designed to create dynamic, awe inspiring presentations (ala Flash) without a lot of work (once you learn the language, that is).

The book deals with Curl primarily as a UI development language. Through the chapters you will learn to work with 2d and 3d environments, multimedia and even dynamic client interaction. As with all Wrox books, there are plenty of code examples (all downloadable from the Wrox site).

I really love this book, although I wonder if the technology will ever really take off (Curl engine download is huge if you have a dialup).

I disagree with the reviews above. I feel this book is really confusing. Ive been weight training, on and off, for 7 years at least. Due to lack of progress and chronic shoulder injuries I was forced to rethink my training program and start from scratch; back to the basics.

The book is basically split up as follows:

1) Basics: make up of muscles, stretching, Reps, Sets

2)Set programs A, B, C, D Starting with program A for beginners and ending with D for athletes.

3)Exercises: The above programs contain a number of recommended exercises done over a certain time period. this section explains how the exercises in the above programs are performed.

4)A whole section on nuitrtion: the basics, what kind of diet to maintain according to the type of sports youre in, and a bit about supplements.

Now i personally had no problems till i reached the set programs section. Personally i was hoping the book would teach me how to tailor programs for my own needs. I was more than happy to do set programs, except for the fact that the book was very vague in a few areas. For example, how many sets should one do for each exercise performed. To say that athletes can do such and such number of sets and that beginners should do so and so isn't very helpful for someone trying to get back into training. Plus there is no real mention of whether or not one should incrementally increase weights from set to set. I mean does one stick to one workload weight or increase as one goes on in the same exercise?

I don't know. This maybe a good book for some but it definitely left me more confused than I was to begin with. This is not a book that can be used to tailor your programs at all, which is what I was looking for. Out of fairness I cant say that the set programs don't work as I haven't tried them out. This is the first Weider book ive purchased and it hasn't given me a good first impression. And the only reason i gave this book a two star was because of the few bits of information here and there that i found useful. Definitely not for everyone.

This is one of the best books on fitness that I have read. Its definitely better than a lot of the books on the market. The book would be helpful to beginners, as well as those who have a long history of working out.

The style of the book is written somewhat as a weightlifting by dummies approach, except in a much more professional way. Specifically, the authors stick to general issues in the text, which they then support with more complex details, such as issues relating to physiology, in grey boxes.

For beginners, the detailed workout schedule may prove helpful. For advanced lifters, the discussions on different muscle groups (and how to improve muscle in those groups) is enlightening.

The section on nutrition is very detailed and, quite frankly, a bit long. It was the only part of the book that I viewed as somewhat weak (they tried to outline diets and dietary supplements, which is a very difficult thing to do).

This is the book I've been waiting for! While the exercise component at the front of the book was a little elementary for me (I've been training for three years), the Dynatrition section provided answers to many many questions I've had, and in an easily digested manner. Wonderful.

I was excited to see a new history book on El Capitan, but the final product was short of my expectations. Duane draws a few good observations and insight at times, but the guts of the book strike me as a rehash of articles from all kinds of other publications. I have an unusually large collection of climbing literature, which may skew my observations because I've seen so much of the raw historical material he draws from for the book in so many other places. I don't mind that so much, but I was hoping to hear some of the not-so-well known stories of adventures on El Cap and a little more new insight into the historical figures of the big stone. It just wasn't there for me. People who are not so read up on climbing history will probably find the book more enjoyable. The book is an incredibly quick read (not that much text, but lots of pictures) for a subject that could easily justify a much larger book.

El Capitan is the Holy Grail of Big Wall Climbing and Duane does a very good job providing background history of the Walls and the Legends who made their mark on them. Yes, I've read the other reviews concerned with minor inaccuracies and lack of mention of significant climbers. But, hey, I'm a novice and have never been to Yosemite although I hope to go in the next year. Duane is best in interviewing the legends and telling their background stories and trying to translate the reasons they climb. It's a fascinating story. My favorite being the men stuck on the wall when a storm comes and their bivouc tents are virtually destroyed. Also, it's nice to read about the free spirits whose goal in life have nothing to do with money and all to do with the Wall. Overall, I found this book informative, very concise, and filled with great pictures. It may not however, satisfy the experienced climbers who follow climbing history or have significant experience in Yosemite. But for people fascinated with climbing and the personalities involved, it was a great quick, informative read.

This is truly a splendid book, capturing personalities of Valley climbers better than anything I've read. Beautifully written, thoughtful, insightful. Great pics also. But Duane is sometimes a sloppy researcher. Misspelled names galore (Scott Burk throughout, e.g.) Wrong dates. Wrong first-ascent names. Screwed-up captions. Bad geography (Palms Springs lies under the Tehachipi Mountains?). These are minor flaws but irritating to see in such a brilliant writer.

I found this book extremely informative. I have implemented many of the strategies suggested in the book. I have done an ample amount of research on a variety of individuals, as suggested, and my portfolio reflects the changes I have implemented. I strongly recommend this for the novice and the advanced.

Kudos to Daniel Strachman on his second book, Essential Stock Picking Strategies! This book is both informative as well as entertaining. Mr. Strachman not only provides information on how the markets work, he also gives an introduction on how they began - giving the reader a sound understanding of AMEX, NYSE and NASDAQ. This book brings some of the most fascinating hedge fund and mutual fund managers to life including Bernie Horne, Scott Black and Marion Schultheis, one of Wall Street's leading women. Everyone who reads this book can greatly benefit by learning the methods, tactics and strategies that professional investment managers use to make money!

Finally a book explains how to invest assets without simply just listening to tips or surfing the net. This books spells out why long term investing is the only way to go and while people need to realize they can't do it all themselves.

The movie is astounding, but this book is less than great because the interviewer of cast and crew was amateurish at best. EVERYONE was asked: "What did you think of the sets?" and "What was it like working with (fill in the blank)?". Those are the type of questions one would expect of a high school journalist. Some of the interviewees, however, managed to rise above the questions and provided some interesting insights into the film and it's making. The photos are very good, but don't show much of the "behind the scenes" perspective that would have been interesting. Get the book if you loved the movie as I do, but be aware that it is more of a coffee-table book than an exhaustive making-of book.

I have seen the movie and read this book about the making of the movie. I am struck by the interviews done with the actors and the production people involved with the making of this movie. They all agree on two things: That Martin Scorsese is a genius and that they were not terribly impressed with "The Gangs of New York" by Herbert Asbury upon which this movie is based. Scorsese may be a genius but his movie is not a work of genius. It is a flawed work which never quite comes together and therefore does not satisfy. Asbury's book will live on long after the movie is forgotten.

It's a given: if you love a movie, you'll love every "The Making Of..." that comes out about it. This is no exception. I loved this film. I enjoyed reading the script, and all the interviews and photographs were delicious gravy. The story of how Scorsese and his team captured, very accurately for the most part, the way The Five Points looked is itself worth the price. If there is anything negative to be said, it's that some of the photographs are not of the best quality. But I'm nitpicking. Treat yourself to this superb book!