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The authors' abilities to create an overall level of understanding is great - they go the extra step to not only tell how to do things at a basic, very understandable level, but why things work the way they do and how they relate to other facets as well. They do it in a way that is not boring.
The tools alone are an unbelievable wealth of resources.
It is obvious they have worked hard to improve their product with each new version. This is not just a run of the mill basic how to book that never gets beyond ground level - it takes one to a higher level of competency that most books never attempt to address.
It's all one needs.
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This book may not be for those who enjoy traditional comedy, but it's certainly worth a read if you're looking for something new. The complete randomness and, well, weirdness of Lennon's style (and, perhaps, mind) are very intriguing, whether you find it funny or not.
The introduction by Yoko Ono is also worth a look at (it's a little suprising, but oddly thought-provoking).
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The dictionary has lots of pictures (over 1700) for words that can be explained but for which a picture is much more effective like "hinge". The words have a pronunciation guide with a mark (') showing the main stress. There are many useful appendixes like irregular verbs conjugation, usage of numbers, punctuation, family relationships and a few colorful maps.
Over 220 usage notes clarify the subtle differences among words such as dealer trader and merchant. Although it's mainly a British English dictionary the differences in spelling, use or pronunciation between American English and British English are stressed.
By far the most interesting feature is the extremely reduced defining vocabulary constituted of 3500 words. The great majority of definitions are written using that reduced defining vocabulary. This simplifies the definitions and it's a great starting vocabulary for the beginners. The use of such a small defining vocabulary rules out the use of this dictionary as a thesaurus but the advantages compensate this drawback.
My copy is a paper back that has been reinforced with adhesive tape. This makes the dictionary lighter and handy. I used to put it on my back pack and take it to all my classes when I started college in USA.
The drawbacks are the need of an additional thesaurus and the fact that the entries are not syllabified. Nevertheless I would give it 10 stars if I could.
Leonardo Alves - December 2000
This one has been very helpful to me as it gives precise yet comprehensible definitions. This is maybe the most important point of all.
I found it very easy to look up a word i did not understand and gain a conceptual understanding of that word after a short period of time. The definitions just make sense and are not too complicated and confusing.
It also includes example sentences and idioms and information for the further usage of a particular word.
It also has a section with colored pictures (maps, categories such as clothing, food, animals etc.) that provide a picture of the real thing that the word represents - a quite useful tool for foreigners and non native speakers like me.
If you are currently studying english, reading english texts (but have a limited vocabulary) or just don't want to run into too many complexities when using a dictionary and don't want to be too confused but you just want to know the meaning of a word and understand it, then this is the right dictionary for you.
As it is a dictionary for "learners" it does not include things like etymology and syllables (the only negative points), technical definitions (although it includes some where their appearance is reasonable) etc.
But it includes phonetic symbols at the bottom of each page and has, as all dictionaries, a section wich explains each symbol and abbreviation that can appear in an entry.
If there would appear some symbol or abbreviation in the entry that you wouldn't understand, you would find it easy to find its meaning as everything in this dictionary is exactly where you would consider it to be.
So you don't fool around loosing time and getting frustrated. I think the editors of some dictionaries assume that you already know all these symbols but include their definitions anyway in a very complicated way.
Not with this one.
I highly recommend this dictionary. You can buy it without reservations.
But...you should have a second one with etymologies at hand.
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Brickhill gives a firsthand account of the escape of 76 men from Sagan, a German prisoner-of-war camp, during World War II. Through tireless efforts and disheartening setbacks, the men managed to dig a lengthy tunnel 30 feet down into the earth, and 300 feet towards possible freedom. The plan, which originally called for three such tunnels, was the single largest escape in WWII history, and the efforts, patience, and bravery of the men secures their escape as one of the most noble efforts of man.
What a pity, then, that THE GREAT ESCAPE is a fairly badly written first-hand narrative, related with all the style of a person making a grocery list. Brickhill has provided the bones of an amazing story, but he neglected to provide any meat along with them.
The story couldn't help but lend itself to a fascinating read. The actions of these men could never be anything less than remarkable. But all Brickhill does is tell the story. He doesn't add any true characterization to the hundreds of people who pop in and out, resulting in a lack of empathy for these men. The reader is left wanting to know more, but is frustratingly denied the opportunity. Even the leader, Roger Bushell, is a cipher, easily interchangeable with any other character.
It is easy to see why this story makes such fertile ground for a movie. The plot is astonishing, and the complete absence of any true personality leaves the filmmakers free to make up any character they want. Roger Bushell didn't escape from Sagan, Richard Attenborough did. So did Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson.
I don't want to seem as if I am making light of the situation. THE GREAT ESCAPE was a shining example of what humanity can achieve under the most strenuous circumstances. But Brickhill doesn't provide us with any reason to care. The story unfolds with all the excitement and tension of someone telling of their day at work. Simplicity in storytelling can be a fine thing, but not where the story demands so much more.
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The beauty of this book is the little things, the attention that Harvey Frommer gave each page and each section. He listed so many facts in this book that any baseball fan would find this a great read.
The book has great quotes, timelines, short stories, player bios, full breakdowns of great records like the Joe DiMaggio hitting streak and when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's record (the breakdown of Ruth's 60 is in the book too!). The quotes are great too and there is a lot of information in this book that has never been seen before like Mickey Mantle's Hall of Fame speech!
The nickname section is priceless and all of them are explained in good detail. The pictures are well above average too as you will see a younger Casey Stengel, Thurman Munson, Ruth, Mantle, Maris, and Mel Allen. That's right even the great announcers that have worked for the Yankees over the years get their moment in the sun too.
Expect a lot of Billy Martin mentions and Yogi-isms in this Yankee treasure. There are also mentions of movies and really anything that has happened to the Bronx Bombers like Yankee Firsts and Lasts. And this book even has every manager to ever put on the pinstripes.
This book will cost you just over twenty dollars, but for the money you get a ton of baseball knowledge so it is well worth it.
By Dan Mackie
Valley News Staff Writer
I shoulda been a Yankee fan.
Well, that's what I learned from reading A Yankee Century: A Celebration of the First Hundred Years of Baseball's Greatest Team, by Harvey Frommer. He's a teacher in the Liberal Studies program at Dartmouth College "and a longtime Yankee fan,'' according to the book jacket.
He's also major league prolific, the author of more than 30 sports books and a number of popular oral histories.
Yankee Century is a book for the fan, the true believer, for 12-year-olds tucked in at night in Yankee pinstriped pajamas (and for 40-year-olds tucked in at night in Yankee pinstriped pajamas, for that matter).
The Yankees, according to this telling, have been an assemblage of characters (Casey Stengel, Lefty Gomez, Yogi Berra) and demigods, (The Babe, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle). If the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team, then this was Heaven's Team. Greatness followed the players around like an adoring shadow.
Sadly, it's sort of true. In the last century, the Yankees have collected pennants and World Series victories as if they were routine stuff. The Yankees were the Big Dog, Microsoft, Joe Louis, General Motors. Other teams have risen up and taken their shots at greatness, but no other major league team has been as consistently good.
Time for an admission: I'm a Red Sox fan. History has not been kind: The Sox are the Titanic, the Yankees the iceberg. I read this book out of professional obligation. I've had my nose rubbed in the greatness of the Yankees all my life.
The Red Sox last won the World Series in 1918. The Yankees have since won 26 times. They've been feasting, while Red Sox fans have been left with bitter crumbs. But enough about the Red Sox, baseball's longest-running Shakespearean tragedy. ("My kingdom for a first baseman. ... Out, damn Bucky Dent! ... What fools these managers be!")
A Yankee Century takes the reader through New York's glory, and a couple of dry spells. It's mostly uncritical, the way sportswriting used to be, before reality and cynicism intruded. That's kind of refreshing in a way. If we wanted to think about labor strife and corporate shenanigans, we'd read the Wall Street Journal, not box scores. Alas, that's too simplistic, but baseball seemingly was meant to be a simple pastime.
Yankee Century offers all the highlights, funny quotes, trivia (Iron man Lou Gehrig pinch-hit for Pee-Wee Wanninger, not Wally Pipp, to start his historic streak), lists and quizzes a true Yankee fan might want.
Other fans wrestle with the question of whether all this Yankee success has been good for the game. Much of it has been due to smarts and talent, but much has also been due to the Yankees' dominant revenue stream. If you can't beat 'em, outspend 'em.
Yankee fans, of course, do not worry much about this. The last century was theirs and presumably the new one won't be bad, either
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This book covers all of the Ins/Outs of Access programming. While it might be a bit much for an absolute beginner who has no prior programming skills, it is a good book for anyone who intends to do a significant amont of work in Access. This book has basic information as well as some rather advanced concepts and techniques. All topics are presented clearly and with good examples.
There is even a touch of humor interspersed throughout the text. Be sure to look for the discussion of the evolution of COM.
In comparison to the earlier version of book, the same general topics are covered but many of the solutions are even better than they were in the Access 97 Handbook. There are many examples of class modules and collections. The examples themselves are useful (I love the TaggedValues class - I only wish I had thought of it myself)and they provide a good jump off point for someone who wants to build his own class modules.
I would definately recommend this book to anyone using Access 2000, whether or not you already have the earlier version.
The only topic this book does not cover is the DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange). On the other hand, after reading the book, I realized that the DDE is not necessary for automation since the Object Model is more powerful and efficient.
I recommend this book to anyone who has the need to use VBA for automation and for extending the standard capability of Access 2000.
The Developer's Handbook has everything anyone could ever need to know about Access. Granted, it is not for Access beginners, but if you have a handle on tables, forms, queries, and reports, and you aren't afraid to get into a little bit of VBA, (i.e. if you're not in the market for "Access for Dummies" or "Access in 24 Hours") then skip the books for intermediate users, such as the completely inadequate Access Bible, and get the Developer's Handbook.
Part of my job is developing Access databases for small businesses and I use this book on a daily basis. I have yet to find a single feature in Access that this book does not cover. And if you're trying to do something with Access that it doesn't readily perform, chances are this book will tell you exactly how to do it, or it will provide a work-around for the problem you are facing.
Do yourself a favour: don't waste your time buying other Access books. Get the Developer's Handbook and you'll save hours of frustration.
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I don't know what the previous reviewer's demands are when reading a novel, but mine are these: the story must create its world - whatever and wherever that world might be - and make me BELIEVE it. If the novelist cannot create that world in my mind, and convince me of its truths, they've wasted my time (style doesn't matter - it can be clean and spare like Orwell or verbose like Dickens, because any style can work in the hands of someone who knows how to use it). Many novels fail this test, but Bleak House is not one of them.
Bleak House succeeds in creating a wonderfully dark and complex spider web of a world. On the surface it's unfamiliar: Victorian London and the court of Chancery - obviously no one alive today knows that world first hand. And yet as you read it you know it to be real: the deviousness, the longing, the secrets, the bureaucracy, the overblown egos, the unfairness of it all. Wait a minute... could that be because all those things still exist today?
But it's not all doom and gloom. It also has Dickens's many shades of humor: silliness, word play, comic dialogue, preposterous characters with mocking names, and of course a constant satirical edge. It also has anger and passion and tenderness.
I will grant one thing: if you don't love reading enough to get into the flow of Dickens's sentences, you'll probably feel like the previous reviewer that "...it goes on and on, in interminable detail and description...". It's a different dance rhythm folks, but well worth getting used to. If you have to, work your way up to it. Don't start with a biggie like Bleak House, start with one of his wonderful short pieces such as A Christmas Carol.
Dickens was a gifted storyteller and Bleak House is his masterpiece. If you love to dive into a book, read and enjoy this gem!
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As an old Access 95 Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) I thought I knew the majority of the ins-and-outs of Access programming. Paul Litwin, Ken Getz, Mike Gunderloy - I give you my thanks for teaching this old dog new tricks.