One would think that among three authors at least someone would do some basic editing; fun can be had during a read finding a page that does NOT include a typo, spelling, grammatical, or typesetting error of some sort (even in the major headings you notice things like "6.5 Windows 200[sic] Boot Disks"). Many of the included figures have been moved around but not renumbered in the text itself. In other areas one finds notations like "AUTHOR: SUPPLY FIGURE" apparently from the publisher left in the final print. Perhaps somehow I got a pre-print copy and subsequent ones have been cleaned up.

More disturbing, however, were a number of inconsistencies and inaccuracies between the authors among the various chapters, particularly with regards to descriptions of WINS name resolution with the LMHOSTS file, and use of private (RFC1597) and automatic addressing (169.254/16) in DHCP. While not particularly critical for setup and operation, it's good to have a proper understanding for these services when debugging problems.

Coverage of Active Directory is broad, through much of the network service specifics are given a hand-wave following a cursory, but decent TCP/IP introduction (such as actually setting up redundant DHCP and DNS servers).

Nevertheless, you get the message despite the glaring distractions and without alot of the typical fluff found in other boots. An OK book for a new admin, but anyone with any background (Windows or UNIX for that matter) might prefer something a bit deeper where it counts.

I would not feel comfortable recommending this book to others, except to give away my copy.

-eric

I was some what fimiliar with Win2k before reading this book. Im only about a third of the way through it and I have learned alot. Very well written and easy to follow.

As a NT network administrator who hasn't had a lot of time to look at Windows 2000, I really liked the straightforward style of this book. The authors obviously have real-world experience, and it showed in their examples and explanations. Great book, and one I will keep for a long time!

I bought the book after reading the reviews - I took the exam and failed. In total about 2% of the exam topics were covered and not indepth as needed. I felt like I was in the wrong exam.

At over 400 pages, this is a huge certification prep book for this type. Its a shame it doesn't come with a companion CD-ROM because something this big should. However, the information is quite useful even if you don't intend to take the exam. The text is easy to read and understand important topics. There is a good balance of text and diagrams and screen captures. It also contains a handy cram sheet.

As usual, I used the Sybex study guide as my main study tool, combined with a lot of hands-on. I used the Exam Cram the last week before I took the exam to refresh my memory and work on my weak points. The authors had some very good explanations on concepts that other sources (including the Microsoft Training Kit and a NETg CBT I had access to) left unclear. The concepts covered in the Exam Cram map very closely to the items I had on the actual test. Both the Sybex and Microsoft guides had a lot of extra material that didn't show up in the test. I'm glad I studied that extra material, but I'm also glad that the Exam Cram let me skip that extra material in the final week of study when my emphasis was on passing the test. Overall, the best Exam Cram I've used to date.

I have found this book quite useful and comprehensive for my course work. As a computer Science student I would like to keep this book in my personal collection for a long time. It is good introductory, advanced and reference source for me and has added definite information to my knowledge base. Thanks for writing good books!

If you step into the Java universe bubble, then "Java Collections" means the standard core API with the same name. This book does not cover the standard classes and interfaces that form the Java Collections API, and this is a real shame. I don't like books that feature highly misleading titles, because it hints at a lack of accuracy of the book's content.

I've been teaching data structures and algorithms for over 25 years,
and the fundamentals--which every computer science student should
know--haven't changed very much. However, it doesn't follow that
everyone needs to write their own linked lists or hash tables from
scratch, when Java already supplies so much of that. I have looked for
a textbook that balances explanation of the basics with exploration of
the Java Collections Interface, and this is by far the best book to date.
(The similarly-named book by Zukowski has too many errors of fact
in it for my taste.)

Another reviewer said that this book does not cover the Java Collections
API. This is incorrect. The authors develop the ideas behind each data
structure as a suitably abstract data type, and then go on with "...and
here's how the Java Collections API does it." I think the previous
reviewer simply didn't read far enough to get to those parts.

For a tutorial on just the Java Collections API, Sun's online "Trail" is
the best single source, and has the advantage that it is not intermixed
with implementation details. If that were enough, no data structures
textbook would be necessary. However, in real problems, any
predefined generic data structure is likely to be inadequate and will
need to be extended; this is why a good programmer needs to know
the Collections API (so as to avoid reinventing the wheel), but in
addition a good computer scientist needs to know how these data

structures are implemented, so that he/she can go beyond them when
necessary.

The book is somewhat weak on algorithms and would not serve as a
reference on this topic; however, there is plenty of meat here for a first
course on data structures and algorithms.

I've been reading through a copy of this book, and comparing it to another notable book on the same subject, mainly "Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis in Java" (DSAAJ) by Mark Allen Weiss. Something very noticeable is that Java Collections is a much simpler book to tackle, though I feel that this detracts slightly from its use as a textbook. As a PhD student in Computer Science, I prefer the mathematical detail I found in DSAAJ than the lesser amount of math that Watt and Brown provide in Java Collections. Yet, at the same time, the case studies in Java Collections are a tremendous help in understanding what a given ADT is useful for, which DSAAJ doesn't go into at all. And the detail on what a specific ADT is supposed to do is much better detailed in Java Collections than in DSAAJ. As a TA, I taught a course in Data Structures and Algorithms for Computer Engineering students. The textbook we used for that was Weiss' DSAA book directed towards C++ instead of Java, but for those who know both versions of the book, the two are very similar. If instead of C++ the course was oriented towards Java, I would have chosen this book as a textbook for that course; these students weren't needing the math focus, and they (and I) would have preferred the practical programming knowledge in here.

For the programmer out of college, or the college student that wants an alternate view on ADTs than what DSAAJ provides, this is an excellent book.

Member of the Columbia Java User Group (www.colajug.org)

This is a beautiful cookbook, with a few very good recipes--Fragrant Ginger Lime Chicken Fingers and Southwest King Ranch Casserole among them. Unfortunately, these are far outnumbered by the recipes that simply do not work, especially those involving the delicate manufacture of dough. At first I thought I had it wrong, but over the course of repeated failures, I realized that the problem was in the testing and/or proofreading. And it's not just dry measures; the text of one recipe calls for onions, when it means potatoes. Several re-readings later, I finally cracked the code. I sincerely hope that the authors try again to get it right. The tragedy is how close they came...

I've been a regular shopper at Whole Foods Market for years and I've been waiting for the company to put out a cookbook with some of their own great recipes, like Ed's Tantalizing Tofu, for the home cook. So when this book finally appeared, I was one of the first in line for it. Unfortunately, it's not what I'd hoped for.

I have no complaints about the ingredients list, that's why I shop at WFM -- beautiful fresh, organic produce, all varieties of grain and pasta products, and a wide assortment of gourmet and International foods not found in other stores. For many of my favorite cookbooks [like Nina Simonds' Asian Noodles] Whole Foods Market provides one-stop shopping.

The problem I have with the book is that of the half-dozen or so recipes I tried, I had to make repairs midway through the making, or the flavors or ingredients didn't come together as I expected, or the end product just plain didn't taste good. I was left with beautiful food made into lousy meals.

If you're looking for great-tasting recipes tailor-made for WFM shoppers, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while longer. This one should be sent back to the test kitchen.

My daughter and I both bought this book after my sister recommended it, and we love it. My husband was suspicious when I bought some of the ingredients, especially the tofu, but he has loved every recipe I've tried. My whole family has especially enjoyed the Javanese Roasted Tofu, Mediterranean Tuna Salad, and Carmelized Onion Turkey Roulade. We have found every recipe we have tried to be appetizing and a very satisfactory alternative to red meat. I have given this book as a gift, and I would buy the sequel if it existed!

Granted; XSLT and XPATH in particular aren't easy to cope with, but I did never find the "key" to the sequence of material in this book. Especially XPATH must be covered better, since XPATH are so central in XSLT.

When you also find typos, such as not well-formed XML in the examples, you waste time to figure out if the XML itself is correct or not.

In short, I didn't like this book.

Michael Floyd's Special Edition Using XSLT starts with an informative and accessible overview clearly explaining how XSLT fits into the bigger picture of the Extensible Stylesheet Language, and the differences between XSLT and XSL-FO. Special Edition Using XSLT then demonstrates practical examples of XSL transformations from XML to a variety of other useful formats including HTML, PDF, SVG and others. Later chapters discuss developer techniques for implementing XSLT within dynamic web environments including ASP and JSP. Flyod also covers debugging techniques and how XSLT relates to .NET. Highly recommended for beginning to intermediate level users, Special Edition Using XSLT then concludes with a useful reference section including detailed coverage of XSLT, XPath and XSL-FO. 480 pages.

Aside from the editorials included, the writing is dry and often convoluted. The briefs on the historical periods during which these editorials were written could be improved with a little clarity on the author's part.

Though this book was compiled in 1997, women are absent from this collection. Thus, this book perpetuates a subtle stereotype that women have worked for years to destroy: that "greatness" can only be achieved by or associated with men.

Look to this book for a one-sided interpretation of editorial writers and history.

Editorial and opinion examples (and background
on their authors) from Revolutionary,
Constitutional, Abolitionist through Civil Rights
periods are teriffic for teaching and
student learning in graduate and undergraduate
courses in editorial and opinion writing.
The examples are good for study, analysis
and for oral reading.

The interwoven material on the development
of the newspaper and the editorial
writing form and purpose from
early U.S. to comtempory times is also
instructive. More is needed, though,
from the contemporary era.

It is unfortunate that the authors
excluded significant women and African American
journalists' writings. It is unfortunate
that they omitted discussions of
the Black Press history. But these
unfortunate omissions could be corrected
in a revised and updated edition.

Carolyn L. Bennett, Ph.D.
Professor of Journalism
Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ