I mostly agreed with Eric Ma. There are some areas that Wrox needs to review the whole process of publishing Java-related books. Here are some drawbacks that I can draw from reading recent Java-related books:

(1) Repeated Contents: Materials about Servlet, JSP, EJB, JNDI, JDBC, XML, etc are repeated over and over many books. This could waste time, money, and papers for both Wrox and readers.

(2)Books or Articles?: I asked myself: is Wrox publishing books or articles? Each book is written by many authors and the book's flow is inconsistent. The assessment that it is not a book but a collection of articles may partially true. It is true that a book if written by a team of authors could speed up the process of releasing it, but if Wrox editors and coordinators have to do their better jobs.

I suggest that Wrox should review its strategy of publishing books to avoid the repeating of materials over and over and thus bring down the cost associated with publishing the books. The final result is: readers and publisher will both save time and money. Otherwise, readers will loose their belief with Wrox.

For the past 2 years Wrox has been publishing books dedicated to Windows-based data access (ADO etc.), but the same cannot be said about their Java/database collection. Although you find chapters on JDBC scattered all-over almost all server-side Java related books by Wrox, there was no single volume from them that teaches JDBC first, and then show how it is used by the newer dependent technologies, until this book arrived. After looking through this book, I must say the authors and editors have done a rather commendable job.

Why do I make the above conclusion? Let me give you my general impression of the book first. A theme repeated in several of my recent reviews on books from Wrox is about the problem in coherence associated with multi-author books. Well, having more than a dozen of authors for a single book seems to be a fact of life (for books from Wrox at least) now, as the publication cycle gets shorter. I was rather surprised to find out that the organization and coherence is very good in this book, i.e., there is very little overlap among chapters. Also, this books uses JDBC cleverly to tie other pieces of J2EE together, making smooth transitions from one chapter to another. If you want to know, this factor alone prompted me to add an extra star to the overall rating of the book.

Let's now run down the chapters of this book quickly. The first 115 pages deals object-oriented and database modeling, and can be skipped by any "Professional" developer. Then after your obligatory intro to JDBC API, the next chapter covers the JDBC 2.0 optional package. This is the best treatment of this topic I have seen. Then another chapter is all about SQLJ, another first. The effort of having a chapter on database performance should be lauded, where connection pooling, prepared statements and stored procedures usage are demoed. The reminder of the book is about applying JDBC in various J2EE components, such as JSP, servlets, EJB, JMS, and XML. For this part of the book, even though I accept the fact the proper stage has to be set for each one of them, I still don't believe the book found the right balance between focusing on JDBC and showing what these other technologies are about. A large number of pages are used to teach basic JNDI, servlets, JSP's, and EJB's stuff (remember there is already a book on J2EE from Wrox!). Therefore, it is up to the reader to discover the real nuggets of gold hidden in this pile, which are far and in between in places. I found that some critical issues are not highlighted or details are lacking, such as how to use connection pooling/data sources in servlets, JSP's, and EJB's, the threading issues related to sharing database connections, and good database practices in BMP EJB's. However, the one thing I cannot complain about is that the book did not forget to teach the transaction aspect of EJB with a good depth (there is a short ans sweet chapter on using JTA/JTS inside EJB). There is also a chapter on the brand-new JDO framework, even though the spec is still in a state of flux. Finally, there are 4 case study chapters in the book - although the design and implementation are limited in scope and as a whole those samples do not teach all you need to do know about enterprise scale J2EE system development, they do provide a flavor of how JDBC is used in real world, together with setting up Tomcat, JRun, Orion, and WebLogic to access MS SQL Server and Oracle databases.

Now my overall take of this book. For VB/SQL and pure back-end PL/SQL developers who are eager to jump on the Java express train and need a suitable platform (especially for the ones who learn best from playing with actual code), I recommend this book as one of several you should own. Compared to other JDBC books from say O'Reilly and Sun's JDBC Tutorial, this book is the most up-to-date, contains the most source code, and has the broadest coverage of related topics. But keep in mind some of the advanced topics such as EJB and JMS can be intimidating for new-comers. On the other side of the coin, people who are advanced in various server-side Java technologies are unlikely to benefit a great deal from this book and should look elsewhere for info (for example Wrox's J2EE and upcoming EJB titles).

Published in 1973, THE FILMS OF MARLON BRANDO covers his film career from his first film, "The Men," released in 1950, through "Last Tango In Paris" which was released in 1972. The book opens, after a short introduction by Pauline Kael, with a fairly detailed discussion of Brando and his career and continues with a chronological, movie by movie, discussion of the films he made during the 22 year scope of the book.

Brando's reputation as a stage star was wholly due to his portrayal of the brutish Stanley Kowalski in "A Stretcar Named Desire." His fame as a film star came from his first six films. These were followed by many years of poor film choices and lackluster performances. His career was finally revived by his starring roles as Don Corleone in Mario Puzo's "The Godfather" and of Paul in "Last Tango in Paris."

According to Thomas, Brando never fit into the Hollywood lifestyle and was very open in expressing his disdain for both the film industry in general, and for the people who made films.

It was interesting to note that, because of Brando's many years of making unsuccessful movies and because of his reputation for "being difficult," when Francis Ford Coppola suggested to Paramount that they cast Brando as Don Corleone in "The Godfather," Coppola was told to forget that idea and to cast someone else in the part. Through subterfuge, Coppola finally got Paramount to accept Brando for the part, but they were unwilling to pay the large fee that he normally demanded., He agreed to a salary of only $100,000 but asked for, and received, a percentage of the gross. With the great success of the film, Brando eventually made millions from this contract.

I'm afraid that I've never understood why his performance in "The Godfather" was so critically acclaimed, but I do agree with the book's evaluation of at least three of his early films. These were: "A Streetcar Named Desire" which was written by Tennessee Williams, "On the Waterfront" by Bud Schulberg, and "Viva Zapata" with a screenplay by John Steinbeck. I think that all three had writing that was superior to that found in most Hollywood scripts. This fact, along with Brando's best acting, contributed heavily to their success and, coincidentally, to my enjoyment of them. The reviews in THE FILMS OF MARLON BRANDO are all very well written and give credit to all those who contributed to the success of each film. On the reversie side of the coin, they pull no punches when discussing the mediocrity of many of Brando's films in the 60's.

I can recommend this book both for its biographical material and for its discussions of Brando's films. Brando was a very private man who gave very few interviews, so it is really a bonus that this book uncovers a little of the mystery that was Marlon Brando.

After the de rigeur citations of every great thinker from Einstein to Jean Piaget, Wagner finally gets on with letting us know what he thinks. His own thoughts are good enough that he didn't need to lean on current heavies from Harvard or big names from bygone eras.

His point is that standardized tests aren't the answer, but before we deal with them we need to focus on the problem they address. Are kids getting what they need out of school? What can and should be expected from them? Are schools organized optimally to deliver education?

His assessment of the need: Kids need the basics -- reading, writing and arithmetic. Today's kids need a richer dose of the following: 1) exposure to adults, along with understanding and approval; 2) ability to work in teams; 3) training in citizenship. He relates the need to the labor marketplace in which workers increasingly need to work with and exchange ideas. He says that what they need is "Emotional Intelligence," one of those trendy concepts that has so swept the pedagogues that the latest evidence of my fossil status my 13-year-old has dug up is a lack of "EQ." However trendy, it remains true that kids need to be socialized, though I can't imagine it ever being unimporant.

Wagner recognizes that standard tests do not measure kids' individuality. They learn differently. They have different abilities to learn. Furthermore, teachers aren't robots. Different teachers have differing approaches. He recommends that parents have the freedom to choose schools that are appropriate to the needs of their children. He provides strong evidence that it can be done within the context of a public school system.

One of the strongest points Wagner makes is that a teacher's effectiveness is related to the amount of respect they get from their employer and the extent to which they can choose their own teaching style and materials. I know this first hand as a private school trustee, parent and substitute teacher. Teachers want to teach. They are passionate about it when the materials are their own, when they can talk with collegues about the best ways to teach, to integrate curriculum, to reach a certain kid, and so on. The passion dies when they are told that all 10th graders in California will cover pages 38-50 of Silas Marner on October 15.

Wagner's best point goes to organization. State school superintendents and elected boards of education know more about politics than they do education. Schools need to be small (400 kids or less), largely autonomous (set their own curriculum, choose their own materials), and supported by parents (free to choose which among several public schools best suits their children's needs). Parents who have a say in the school will become involved. Teachers who see the same kids over a period of years, and see maybe 40 instead of 150 different faces over the course of a day, will know more about those kids and be better able to help them.

Wagner cites a lot of evidence that smaller schools do not cost more than big ones. Classes may be smaller, but the need for security, counseling and other types of specialists decreases when teachers and administrators know the kids personally. As private school parents already know.

Good going, Tony. Speak with your own voice instead of borrowing those of other experts and I'd give you five stars. People should be citing you.

I checked this beat up book out of the local library and was interested in perhaps purchasing a copy. It is a companion to a PBS series, according to the cover. It gives a great overview on fourty classic westerns, beginning with B Westerns like Rider of Death Valley with Tom Mix from 1932, and ending with major motion picture Westerns like The Shootist with John Wayne from 1976. The overviews include cast and crew information, what movie studio put it out, and a plot synopsis. It is chock full of great, clear black and white photos. The photos were what made me pick up the book, as I was doing some research for work. Alas, maybe I'll be able to find a copy somewhere along the way.

I was thrilled when I first came across this book, someone finally did a price guide for the kind of LP's I was collecting. Unfortunately the book didn't turn out to be all I was hoping for when I bought it. It is useful as a discography for the artists listed and seems very complete in that respect but I wish it contained more and better examples of classic LP cover art and more biographical information on the artists. I suppose this may be asking too much from a price guide type book. But even as a price guide this book seems a bit off. Although there are exceptions, almost all of the records are listed as being worth $3-5 or $7-10. Now as a collector I think it would be great if record dealers would adopt this as their official pricing guideline, but if you are buying these type albums anywhere besides your local thrift shops you are probably forced to pay more than that for these records, sometimes a LOT more ( at least that has been my experience). In fairness, I guess it wasn't too long ago that you could pick most of these records up for under a buck almost anywhere, but original LP's of lounge and space age bachelor pad music seem to be going for premium dollars these days and a recent price guide should more accurately reflect that. BOTTOM LINE on this book...Should you buy a copy if you are into this type of music? Yes! by all means. While this book does miss the mark a bit (in my opinion) there is precious little information published about this type of music and this book is one of very few available on the subject. While I was initially somewhat dissappointed when I first read the book I have gone back to it on numerous occasions to look something up and I am glad to have it on my shelf. The discography type information alone is worth the price of the book and there is a bunch of other pertinent information included which is also useful (websites, etc.).Most of the book is taken up by the price listings but I did enjoy reading the text that is there and found it informative as well. Now if I could just convince my local record dealers to sell me those Esquivel and Three Suns albums at this book's prices.

Anticipating a great catalogue and price guide for lounge music, I was somewhat disappointed in this publication. Too much page space is given to the discography and price listing and too little to a beautiful presentation of the covers which are so essential to this style of music. All the good stuff(photos and text) inhabits verticle strips on the edge of the pages. The covers are poorly printed with a dull look. The pricing seems pedestrian and not detailed enough. Too bad because the list of artists is large and largely accurate. Sort of a 70% effort.

This volume is cleverly as composed as the best of lounge entertainment

This book is important for the historian who wishes to get a glimpse into the workings of the mind of an important figure in American Revolutionary history, but it doesn't stand on its own. It is written almost entirely as a response to Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France", so I would not recommend reading this one until and unless one has read that one. Otherwise, it is impossible to judge the fairness of the rebuttals of Burke's points, as one only sees them through Paine's perspective, and Paine is far from a fair and impartial debater; he misses no opportunity to belittle his opponent's arguments, and even his opponent himself. I would not be at all surprised to discover that he gives an inaccurate picture of what Burke had to say, particularly given that history speaks rather better of Burke's misgivings than of Paine's panegyrics. Both books were written before the Reign of Terror that resulted from the revolution in 1793; the second part of this book came out in early 1792. Also, history shows us just how silly some of Paine's claims for a Republican, representative government are: 200+ years of representative government in the US have hardly banished wars, or the high taxes associated with them, even though the world as a whole is far more democratic than it was at his time. He makes some good points, and certainly it is hard to stand up against him in favor of hereditary monarchy, but it is apparent that he failed to see that not ALL "democratic" movements were necessarily benificent, even if it would be hard to have much sympathy for the autocratic regime that they overthrow.

This book, above all others, reveals the breakdown of classical (libertarian) liberalism into the statist liberalism of today. Although the first part of the work, being a refutation of Edmund Burke's silly nonsense, is stellar, and is well worth reading. Regardless, the second part, the chapter on "Ways and Means" in particular, is composed of the most despicable, anti-liberty doctrines that one can find. What Paine basically proposed was a late 18th century form of the welfare state, replete with progressive taxation, subsidies for child birth, and other fine statist amenities. Thus, as all of these things are, in his words, to be claimed as rights, the title of this book comes to mean nothing whatsoever. It is indeed sad that Thomas Paine has gained such an enduring legacy as a friend to liberty. In truth, he is actually one of its worst enemies, as he combines a just zeal for resistance to oppression, revolution, and reason, he sabotages his entire political philosophy.

Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" is truly a classic defense of self government and reprsentative republicanism. Paine copmletely demolishes Edmund Burke's defense of aristocracy and monarchy as outmoded and absurd institiutions. Paine shows the immorality of monarchy and the plunder that it commits on it's own people through high taxes,unjust property laws,and priveleges for the nobility. Paine shows the virtues a representative system has over the monarchial form. He denounces aristocracy and monarchy as "frauds" and based upon tyranny. The first review by Will Murphy critsizing Paine as a sort of statist is way off the mark. Paine did recommend many ideals of the welfare state. It must be remembered he was speaking to an age where a large wealthy aristocracy ruled alongside the monarch, living in luxury off the high taxes drained from the middle, lower and working classes. Paine was one of the formost defenders of freethought in religion,speech, and ideas.To imply Paine was a sort of 18th century fascist is utterly absurd and ahistorical. Paine was not an enemy of property, just an enemy of aristocracy,who in his day did not obtain property by hard work. Usually property rights in monarchial nations were written to favor the wealthy and powerful, and grant them priveleges at the expense of the populace. Paine completely destroys the ideal that a chosen few were meant or ordained by God to rule. If you love freedom, you can't go wrong with the "Rights of Man".

As a die hard Redskins fan, I was very sorry to see this excellent concept so badly muffed. The idea behind this book is to cash in on the Washington Post vault, providing great photos and articles combined with new pieces by long-time Skins beat reporters to tie it all together. Sadly, whoever edited and proofread this thing reeeally dropped the ball. Sentences at the bottom of the page are repeated at the top of the next, photographs are mislabeled, pieces of sentences are missing, words are chopped off in the middle. Probably still of some value for the die hard Skins fan, but a real black eye for the Washington Post. If their newspaper were produced as shoddily, Richard Nixon would have finished his second term.

Yes, there are some typos and such in the early chapters but the book isn't as lousy as described in the 2-star review. Most of the problems are hyphen-ated words that are not at the end of a page or line. It is like the typeset was changed but the book was not reproofed.

Still, there is a lot of good information in the book. I think it covers items that Loverro's book (very good as well) ignored or glossed over-- how Gibbs wanted to sign and trade Riggo and how Joe Jacoby ended up sticking around in that first camp. The Times summary makes it sound like Gibbs and Beathard were geniuses building a team. This book shows that they were also lucky geniuses. If you are a Skins fan, you should own this book.

I see there is also a newer edition out with the Synder years (ugh).

Tony Thomas died in July 1997,just a few days after Olivia deHavilland's 81st.birthday. His work here is,for the most part,the most accurate,and least opinionated,of all the deHavilland Film/Bio-Graphies to date,and his writing on this subject is quoted liberally (Mistakes and all!),in at least one multi-volumed film guide. The introduction by the late Bette Davis is a sincerely kind,and profoundly positive tribute,that can be considered more insightful about Miss deHavilland's personal character,than much else that's written in the book. This book served for me as a starting point for my own research into Olivia deHavilland's work,and on more than one occasion I have found myself being confused,and amused,by viewing one of her films for the first time,and discovering that it didn't quite go the way I had read about it! I discovered (Also from my own research),that he was sometimes short on facts,and slighly over romantic on some points of the deHavilland family history,especially the family of Sir Geoffrey deHavilland (Find out more on him in his autobiography "Sky Fever",and hopefully in Olivia's new autobiography to be released... someday),who was Olivia's uncle ,and who was famous for founding his own British aircraft company. Overall,a good book for it's time,but hopefully,better is yet to come!

Picking up where Jerry Vermylie (author of "The Films of the Twenties", "The Films of the Thirties" and "More Films of the Thirties") had left, Thomas presents his personal list of the 100 most significant or representative films produced in Hollywood in the 1940's. Following the usual pattern of the Citadel Press series, this book includes for each movie a cast list and main production credits, plus a brief synopsis and plenty of beautiful b&w stills (I reckon over 50% of the total area of the pages in this book consists of pictures). The author's comments on each movie are brief and superficial, so don't expect any serious analysis or film criticism. But at least he conveys his personal judgment rather than just pointlessly quoting contemporary newspaper reviews, as is the rule with many Citadel Press books. As for the selection of the movies themselves, it is inevitably controversial (as any such selection would be), but Thomas clearly states his criteria in the foreword, and it must be admitted that most of everybody's favorites have been included.

In conclusion, this is a fairly good reference book, interesting mostly for its nostalgic value for classic film buffs, or for those who seek some guidance as to which are the "must-see" classics when renting or buying videos.