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Book reviews for "Thomas,_Michael_A." sorted by average review score:

Hobbes: On the Citizen
Published in Hardcover by Cambridge University Press (1998)
Authors: Thomas Hobbes, Richard Tuck, and Michael Silverthorne
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Who should read this?
It's a bit difficult to know who to recommend this book to. It's not that it's a bad book - it isn't - rather that it contains almost exactly the same arguments as Leviathan, only shorter and in less detail. Consequently they are more convincing in Leviathan than here, and I have to recommend Leviathan instead of this.

If you're unfamiliar with Hobbes, what his political argument basically boils down to is that people are naturally bad, and will all try to steal from their fellows, and kill those that displease them, and so on, meaning that in their natural state man is in a constant state of war. It is necessary then to establish the Leviathan, that is, a Sovereign, who has ultimate power unquestioned by anyone, who stops men from fighting by imposing laws with penalties for breaking them so harsh that it would be madness to not obey them. In this way order is kept.

That is the argument put forward here, and in the Leviathan, only, as I said, the Leviathan puts it better. I can only think this book would be useful to those who find the 500 odd pages of the Leviathan too daunting, and want to start with something shorter.


MCSE TestPrep: Windows NT Server 4, Second Edition (Covers Exam #70-067)
Published in Paperback by New Riders Publishing (1999)
Authors: William J. Anderson, R. Andrew Brice, Bill Matsoukas, and Michael Lane Thomas
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Great chapters with some not so great chapters
This book is a great complement to the training guide but some chapters include some information unnecesary foir the exam like how to reboot tje computer cally runddll32 to setup API and similar ones. It has some tipos but information on monitoring optimization and conectivity is superb, and very clearly explained. I've passed my exam with 900 and have bought the Wks version...so good overall choice


Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place (The Genius of Man and Place)
Published in Paperback by Adam Hilger (1991)
Author: John Meurig Thomas
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Disappointing treatment of true genius
This is not a particularly good book. It is only readable because of the fascinating live that Michael Faraday lived. The author gives us a sense of that, but he could have used a more vigorous copy editor. And perhaps he could have refrained from filling page after page with quotations from different scientists of the day.

This is not a biography as such, more an account of Faraday's work and that of his associates at the Royal Institution and around the world. It offers some interesting historical insights, but overall it disappoints. ... for a 200-page paperback with B&W illustrations??


Popular Modernity in America: Experience, Technology, Mythohistory (Suny Series in Postmodern Culture (Paper))
Published in Paperback by State Univ of New York Pr (2000)
Author: Michael Thomas Carroll
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Is popular culture fascist?
No one should deny the boldness of the task to map out a history of esthetical technologies as driving forces in American popular modernity as M.T. Carroll does in this book. Concepts like hypermediation and Mythohistory are introduced as exciting ways to think about popular culture. But I have one major objection: I find it very hard to follow an argumentation that links almost everything, from Roosevelt to Rap music, to fascism. Heavy Metal bands, H.P Lovecraft and Freikorps homo-erotica may have something in common, but there is a chance that the word facism is being over-used here, with the danger of devoiding it of meaning. Apart from this, I think Carroll makes many good observations on popular culture, abeit most of them are based on other people's research. Further is the last chapter very good, and it gives the analysis more complexity. All in all, this book could function as an introductory text to the study of popular culture.


Translational Control (Cold Spring Harbor Monograph Series, No. 30)
Published in Paperback by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1997)
Authors: Michael B. Mathews, Thomas Cech, John F. Atkins, John W. Hershey, and Nahum Sonenberg
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Authors?
Is this the same book? Different authors. From the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press homepage:

Translational Control Monograph 30

Edited by John W. B. Hershey, University of California, Davis; Michael B. Mathews, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Nahum Sonenberg, McGill University, Montreal


Understanding More Quantum Physics: Quantum States of Atoms
Published in Paperback by Pearson Education POD (23 May, 1991)
Authors: Michael A. Morrison, Thomas L. Estle, and Neal F. Lane
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Introductory and limited
This book was the basis of a "Quantum Mechanics II" course I took as a junior several years ago. Essentially, this book is an introduction to atomic physics. With a minimum of mathematics, it applies Hamiltonian-based quantum mechanics to study a variety of simple problems in atomic physics.

It covers the one-electron atom very well, solving Schroedinger's equation in the usual way (separation of variables into radial and angular components). Great pains are taken to be as detailed as possible which is nice for those with little or no experience in mathematical physics.

It gives a brief stink on the variational technique as a method of calculating the upperbound of the ground state energy. The discussion is not particularly deep.

There is a clear, example-oriented treatment of Rayleigh-Schroedinger perturbation theory (both degenerate and non-degenerate, time-dependent and time-independent). I don't think much emphasis or discussion is given to the limitations of the perturbation theory, specifically, when and why the perturbation expansion breaks down. Still, there is enough material for the student to gain a good appreciation of the method.

There is not a word in this book on the WKB method. Perhaps it sees little use in atomic physics or perhaps because this method is more mathematically sophisticated than many other things and almost without fail involves the evaluation of many unfamiliar and fearsome integrals. There is also not a word on the Dirac delta function.

The remaining chapters cover spin but almost entirely in the context of atomic physics and gives a introduction to many-electron atoms. The treatment of spin is reasonable but limited; focus is on the spin-orbit interaction and the Pauli Exclusion principle. There are many other important topics, such as spin dynamics in the presense of magnetic fields, NMR, and so on.

Overall, what is contained in this book is well-written and worth it's price, but it lacks a lot of material important to a large scale understanding of quantum physics. Liboff is a good choice in this respect.


Working in America: A Blueprint for the New Labor Market
Published in Paperback by MIT Press (09 September, 2002)
Authors: Paul Osterman, Thomas A. Kochan, Richard M. Locke, and Michael J. Piore
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Poorly written/some good insights
The poor, repetitious writing may be due to the fact that there was a "group effort" preparing and writing the book. There are a lot of good insights comparing the "old economy" labor force and the "new economy" labor force. The reader, however, must perservere to get through the repetition and disorganization. There are few short but interesting case studies in Chapter 3, and lots of left-wing policy recommendations throughout the book.


Microsoft Visual Basic 6 Complete Concepts and Techniques
Published in Paperback by Course Technology (08 April, 1999)
Authors: Gary B. Shelly, Thomas J. Cashman, John F. Repede, and Michael Mick
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Good for gving you false confidence.
First there'e the misleading title - COMPLETE CONCEPTS & TECHNIQUES
Once I went through this book, I found it very easy & thought I was really a PRO in VB6.
I got a rude shock when I actually met my programming friends: If you think you are a pro and can create useful applications with this book, you cannot be more WRONG. This book teaches you nothing about VB6 language. All it does is teaching you to layout a nice form & some extremely elementary code.
I personally do not think you can create anything useful based on the knowledge from this book.

Misleading title
I teach Advanced Visual Basic. I inherited students who took the prerequisite course, Visual Basic from instructors who used this book. All the students I got in Advanced Visual Basic had absolutely no idea about programming. All they could do was draw good looking forms with some controls on them and copy the code from Shelly and Cashman book. It does not provide challenging, unsolved programming projects for the students. All the students learn is to copy its forms and its code. Whatever this book is, it cannot serve as a good textbook!

For my Advanced Visual Basic, I use Chapters 7 through 12 and appendices of "Computer Programming with Visual Basic 6: A Problem-Solving Approach with Cdrom" by Alka R. Harriger,Susan K. Lisack,John K. Gotwals / Paperback / Prentice Hall, and I like it very much. Frankly, Chapters 1-6 of the Harriger et al book would be much better for the first course!

not a sound investment
The purchase of this book was a horid mistake. Only people who either want to learn a VERY little bit of VB or have cash to burn (in which case you should e-mail me for some ideas) should buy this book. There are other books which have a much lager, more usefull, scope. The book does hold your hand throughout the proccess, but it never lets go. The pace is way to slow, even for the newest newbie. The authors must have had elementary school children in mind while editing. It's more of a kids picture book than a textbook. Trust me... don't waste your money!!


The Fatima Prophecies: At the Doorstep of the World
Published in Paperback by St Andrews Productions (1998)
Authors: Thomas W. Petrisko, Fr Rene Laurentin, and Michael J. Fontecchio
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Lacking and Somewhat Disconcerting
I bought this book as a general reference on Fatima while doing some personal research, and found it to be wholely unsuited to my purposes.

As an introduction, the book lacks the necessary structure to introduce those unfamiliar with basic the basic details of Fatima. Rather, it is an argumentative text that strikes me in the same manner as the publications of the Marian Movement of Priests.

I skipped a good deal of this book due to general frustration with the rambling approach and the extension of scope beyond Fatima and into generalized Marian apparitions.

That this book lacks Nihil obstat and Imprimatur is telling, although the author notes the Vatican ruling that these are not required. The author's assertion of unconditional submission is heartening, however. Yet the Foreword is vey defensive in tone, and this defensiveness seems to permeate the work to follow. Perhaps Dr. Petrisko has suffered supression and criticism to justify this generalized tone, but it comes across as something of a persecution complex.

Overall, I would recommend a more sober review of Fatima, and a separate review of Medjugorje and Marian apparitions before approaching this work.

WARNING
Warning to true Catholics: This book promotes Medjugorje. The Medjugorje apparition is not approved by the Church and has been denounced by some of the highest members of the Church, including Father Malachi Martin, Father Fiore, Cardinal Ratzinger, and many others. "I don't know what's coming out of Medjugorje, but its definitely NOT Our Lady." -- Father John O'Conner. Medjugorje is deceptively promoting socialism (the dangerous political system of Karl Marx that has killed more people than any other in recorded history, by far.) This book is entirely too flattering to Medjugorje, and it doesn't bother to refute the seemingly endless amount of anti-Catholic "messages" coming from the apparition. For those who know their Catechism, this book will probably repulse you. For those who are lost, this book will lead you further down the garden path.

THIS IS A GOOD BOOK!
I cannot agree with the first reviewer. This book is well written and is primarily focused on the APPROVED apparition of Fatima and links events, etc.. into a very interesting process of thought. The Medjugore ref is not the main line here, and by the way, I can't agree with the reviewers ideas about the message of Medjugore and no-matter - if you read the messages given in concern to Medjugore - they are about prayer, turning away from sin - I have never read about it being disapproved by Ratzinger and others listed. In fact from what I have read, the Pope has seemed to be favorable about it. I trust John Paul II. I also must add that even if you don't know how you feel about Medjugore - there are also focuses on Akita,etc.. basically the major apparitions that have been reported. Please do consider reading this book - it is very interesting with it's heart centered on Fatima which is approved. Read and decide for yourself, ask God to help you discern about this book in prayer. God Bless!


Thomas Andrews: Shipbuilder
Published in Hardcover by Blackstaff Pr (1999)
Authors: Shan F. Bullock and Michael McCaughan
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Difficult to Read
I was disappointed with this book since it is written in a style that is extremely difficult to read. There are too many commas and semi-colons to provide any kind of continuity. I own over 20 Titanic books, most purchased before the movie, and this is one of the worst.

Thomas Andrews: Shipbuilder
Alittle hard to follow. For anyone interested in a book about Thomas Andrews or the Titanic I recommend the book "I Built The Titanic".

The 1912 biography
This book was originally written in 1912, right after the Titanic sank, so it is invaluable when you consider that this is the way people thought of Thomas Andrews in the year of his death. I only wish it was longer!


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