This softcover book contains many fine photographs which demonstrate superb control of light,depth of field and also posing his models. A few are set in outdoor urban settings, and they are not as successful to my eye as the more controlled indoor photographs.

Beefcake certainly sums up the majority of the models, amny of whom appear to be well into their 20s. There are very few (well two) tender young subjects.

This is a great addition to a collection unless you don't like B&W images.

Beefcake in an urban setting. Costa has chosen a variety of super-hunky guys and placed them in abandoned buildings and in front of a crumbling industrial landscape. Another quality must-have from publisher, Bruno Gmunder.

Costa takes his young men and us into the ambience of old and deserted city buildings. With his poetic images Bill Costa has created gay icons of lust.

This book is an incredible resource for cyclists. It is unfortunate that it hasn't been given more recent updates, or that the publisher doesn't adequately support it. The degree of topographical detail on the root profiles is unsurpassed on any books I've seen in the United Stages -- perhaps the Atlas les Cols des Alpes comes close. It fails to get a 10 because:
1. it is becoming obsolete
2. there may be some minor errors in the data

This (and its companion book) are the best ride books I have ever read. In fact, they're the only ones I've ever even liked.

Each route is laid out in elevation profile in an attractive, uncluttered profile. Scale is provided in miles and kilometers for the distance; feet and meters for the elevation; 0 at road start for both. The gradient for steep sections is cleanly labeled on the profile itself. Intersections with other major (from the cyclist's perspective) roads are indicated with a reference to the page number for that road.

The short, spare route descriptions do it for me. They're not the usual boring blow-by-blow description of the road. "At this point, if it's spring, notice the colorful flowers on the left." Rather, he provides a spare description of the feel of the riding of the road, as a cyclist would feel them. At least, as I do.

Note: the book also contains a number of black and white photos of the roads, back roads usually empty, with curves, and shot at low angle. The photographer often darkens the road, so there is little contrast between it and the surroundings. The road appears incorporated into the natural environment. Again, a cyclist's feel.

This book is the best resource for a rider that you can find. It's written to appeal to everyone from a budding racer to someone looking for family fun.

I found this book to be very refreshing in the fact that its central character is a 40 something widow, and not some bimbo that no one can relate to. I absolutly could not put this one down the first time I read it, and I still get enjoyment out of it many times after that first read. I think the Black Lace Series is truly a step ahead of the competition when it comes to writing women's erotica. Ever time I can, I try to expand my collection, and you should do the same. And then, introduce your friends. Their sure to love it as well!

As a fan of the Black Lace series, this one is up to the standards I expect from a woman writer. It was well written, and a page turner that I finished in one day, with no complaints from my partner about my mood later. I would recommend any further books by Portia Da Costa for any discerning reader who likes erotic fiction, as hers never disappoint.

Wow! This book was really hot! All I can say is, I would LOVE to find a guy like that wandering around the grounds of my estate. Their early encounters are perfect -- taut with the uncertainty of the unknown, the forbidden, but still with a strong erotic charge. And things only get better as each explores previously-hidden, or forgotten, passions.

This book establishes the advantages of the nonjudgmental, empowering experience of cognitive coaching over that of the traditional behavioristic supervisory model in the mentoring process. The three major goals of cognitive coaching are establishing and maintaining trust, facilitating mutual learning, and enhancing growth toward holonomy (individuals acting autonomously while simultaneously acting interdependently within the group). Efficacy, flexibility, craftsmanship, consciousness, and interdependence are the five states of mind that combine to provide the actualization energy of holonomy. Trust in self, trust between individuals, and trust in the coaching process are all necessary characteristics in aiding the facilitation of mutual learning. This strategy is demonstrated at the individual level with teachers and students and at the school level with administrators and teachers working in conjunction. Costa and Garmston use the concept of renaissance to describe the rebirth and redefinition of schools and a greater understanding of how we learn. They view the renaissance school as a holonomous organization that embodies all of the above principles in a value-centered, idealistic environment. While this book details cognitive coaching in the educational environment it could easily translate into the corporate or government arena. It is rich with graphs, charts, tables, and other tools that can be used in the mentoring process. The layout is similar to a textbook, which may negatively effect reading continuity, but is written in an easy, conversational style. I would recommend it as a useful primer in understanding the mentoring process at multiple user levels of student, teacher, and schools. Although in many cases the coaching relationship is between a more experience mentor and a less experienced mentee the authors also discuss the merits of peer coaching.

The authors of this book wrote not only about coaching as a method for professional growth in education but also about proven practices in education with ideas to better create a productive learning climate to help everyone learn. The concept of a school as a learning community with a focus on the students is wonderful. This is one of the best works on the powers of total staff collaboration that I have come across. You need to read this and talk through it in a discusion group to really grasp the power of its message. The only criticism that I have is how the work of Madeline Hunter was portrayed. I believe that parts of many programs should be integrated and adapted for benefits. Madeline Hunter strongly advocated reflection for improvement and did not intend her research to be the basis for staff evaluation. I also advocate the 'clinical model' be used as part of evaluation, and cognitive coaching is a wonderful component for everyone in education to keep growing!

This book wasn't written to convince anyone that the business community lacks a moral conscience. It was written to help employees, citizens, manager, owners and CEOs deal with the problem. It's a workbook for new and on-going businesses which want to incorporate ethical practices into the company.

Dalla Costa names companies which have acted with a moral conscience and explains how this has not hindered their success, but has even stood them in good stead through a crisis. The words moral and business don't usually go together, in fact many people think they are opposites. It's all about money and many business people will tell you so...until a law suit arises. Then they whip out their ethics policy and blame a "rogue employee".

Dalla Costa doesn't just concentrate on U.S. companies. His imperative for the global economy is global responsibility.

He has the experience to speak knowledgeably and the plan to help us begin to change.

Four stars because it was tedious at times but still worth reading.

The author demonstrates the connection between ethical conduct and successful business. He provides a critique of economic assumptions and tackles hard issues head-on. He argues forcefully against the pessimistic, fatalistic view that ethics are the ideal-but amoral behavior is the 'real.' He sees the emergence of a global ethic. To achieve a global ethic Dalla Costa offers a business model for an ethical orientation which includes: manage assets professionally; conduct interactions with humanity; be fair; be honest; strive for justice; and honor the environment.

The author's view is that a global ethic involves the policies of nations and strategies of companies, but at its core is the ethical orientation of the individual. The current stuggle for achieving "transparancy" in financial matters in most parts of the world, however, points up the complex challenges the global economy presents on the most basic level. The ideas in this book are a tough sell, but they are persuasively and clearly presented, leaving one with hope. Dalla Costa is clearly one who sees light at the end of the tunnel. Excellent. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, founder, Stern & Associates, author of Stern's Sourcefinder The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources, Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder, and the Compensation and Benefits SourceFinder.

I have been to Portugal a long time ago and this book brought back many cherished memories. Reading it was just like being in Portugal all over again. The book captures the spirit of Portugal nicely.

I spotted this book on one of the small bookstore shelves at Lisbon airport. I had just spent one week in Lisbon visiting Expo '98 and was simply waiting for time to board for my return home. I purchased it with my last "escudos," simply out of curiosity. It made for fine reading on the way home. I particularly admired the author's ability to value another culture with what seemed to be a natural spontaneity. The author not only truly captures the essence of everyday living in Portugal, but he emerges as a refined explorer, displaying great tolerance, understanding and patience, caracteristics often not found in "travelers." Mr. Perlman has gained my full respect.

This book has an excellent assortment of literary excerpts beginning at the pre-Colombian period. I recommend it for the advanced Spanish student because the old Spanish is hard to understand, as is some of the vocabulary. This book gives good explanations of history, culture, as well as literature from Latin America. If you are up to a challenge, I recommend this book for students interested in learning more about Latin American history.

As a student who recently used this book for a Spanish Lit. class I must say that this book is by far the best that I have encountered. Not only does it cover literature from pre-colombian days but it goes all the way up until today's comtemporary writers. Futhermore each section as well as each author has an introduction which provides the reader with extra insight. Even if you are not a student, but if you are interested in Spanish literature, I highly recommend this book.

This book does a relatively good job of introducing the IFC from Netscape, but beware that some of the code that appears in the book does not appear on the CD-ROM. Contact with the publisher two months ago brought promises to hunt down the authors and make the code available, but I've yet to be notified that any of the missing code has been provided. Other code that IS on the CD-ROM is notably buggy, whereas the code in the book is often correct.

I acquired this book and a similar one, Mastering Netscape IFC, at the same time. This book was tremendously useful while the other one was a waste of time & money. You will be satisfied with this book if you want to really take advantage of IFC.

Holding claim to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, I was disappointed that this book did not have more Costa Rican beach shots. I did enjoy the unique perspective of covering the culture from a human standpoint, but I would have enjoyed a little more diversity.

Costa Rica is a beautiful and complex country with an outlook that is unique in the Americas. It is hopeful, proud, respectful of its natural beauty - and complex and contradictory. I've traveled to Costa Rica several times and I was completely impressed with how the pictures captured Tico life. I think a more powerful testimony, however, was provided by my friend, a Costa Rican living in America for over a decade: When I showed him the book, it brought him to tears with homesickness.

Few books tell better stories or capture more with pictures.

If you want a touristic brochure you may want to order something else. But if you want to see the "Life of Costa Rica" and enjoy the natural and human side of this unique country, you'll like it. Going through this book is like telling a great photographer to get the essence of her country and translate it for you in a way you'll enjoy and will want to see again and again. Saying that Costa Rica is just beaches and parrots is like saying that the U.S. is just hot dogs and football. If you want to see what Costa Rica means to a costarican, things you enjoyed or missed while being here, or the things you'll want to see the next time you come, this book is a great start.

I read this book because I was headed to Costa Rica and enjoy reading mysteries set in various locales. It wasn't until I opened the book that I found the main characters were lesbians. Except for some male-bashing and inclusion of only perfect super-women, I enjoyed the book, regardless of the orientation of the characters. I think the book is incomplete and that "Storm Rising" should have been the second half of the book. So much is left unresolved in this book I don't think it stands alone. I enjoyed the setting and the writing.

I have read all of the Delta Stevens books by this author. As the previous reviewer stated I am dying for the next book, since this one left us with the heroines being torn from one another. I am hoping for a return of the cat burgler of a previous Storm book in the next book. I think it should be any easy tie in since in "Tropical Storm" Delta came to rescue Megan in South America where the cat burgler escaped to. Linda Kay Silva, keep writing. Your books would make great films.

There has been only two authors that have left me left me so emtionally drain and mad at the same time that you just want to throw the book across the room at the end. Linda Kay Silva is one of them. This by no means is a slight against the author, she took a big risk with this book and came out smelling like a rose. Well Let me take that back . I have to wait for the scquel, which I have been waiting now for over a year. That's a long time to be left hanging by a thread. I call Naaid it seems like every other week for her next book. I have read everyone of Storms adventures and they just keep getting better. Which is hard for a writer to do but Silva has found that magic. I highly recommend all the Storm novels. Tropical Storm the fifth of the Storm series, be prepared for the emtionally rollercoaster ride it's a book that will just make u stare at the ending.