Kavik the Wolf-dog was the first book about wolf-dogs I have ever read. Because of this book, it inspired me to respect and raise my own wolf-dogs and wolves to teach people how noble these animals are. I was in second grade when I read it.Now I'm almost thirty and this book stills vividly sticks in my mind. This is a classic novel.

I read Kavik The Wolf Dog and loved every bit of it. I like how it told a story about a dog trying to find his way home, and the challenges that he had to overcome to get back to the place is loves. I think that this is a book that lots of people would love to read. If you like adventure, this is the book for you!

I loved this book! It may be dull at first, but soon you'll be hooked. I liked it so much, I didn't want it to end.

Kavik is a wolf dog who is a champion sled dog who belongs to Charlie One-Eye. He gets sold, but the plane flying him to his new "owner" Mr. Hunter it crashes, and Kavik is left to die. His only hope is a boy named Andy Evans who is out hunting. He is shocked when he finds Kavik, and wonders if he should take his gun and put him out of misery. But Kavik's golden eyes say "I'm not ready to die." Andy takes him home, and after a while, with the help of a nearby doctor, Kavik heals, But his courage is damaged from the crash. His owner returns to take him. Kavik is miserable in the puny dog run Mr. Hunter looked him in, and hates Mr. Hunter as well. One day when Mr. hunter is showing off Kavik, he runs away, on his quest to get home to Andy. Kavik gets a ride back up north on a boat with an elderly couple. He runs away from them, and meets a young female wolf and falls in love. Like in the real world, Kavik must fight another wolf for her, and he gets his courage back. But a hunter kills her, and Kavik continues to travel until he finally makes it home to Andy, and Andy gets to keep him. It is a wonderful book that has everything. Love, compassion, loyalty, adventure, action, and all that other stuff. You gotta read it!

First of all, if you're looking for a highly detailed review of the content of this book, nope, wrong place! I review books with the enjoymnet factor being of number 1 importance. What I learn after my enjoymnet comes next. There's another review of this title that you can read for high level stimulation. So, let's get going...

I liked this book a lot, how's that for intellectual. It reads well, I was entertained and I learned a lot more then I expected, which is good for I planned on learning a lot about becoming an effective executive. But history lessons, hey, this is a bonus.

Mr. Drucker uses, as have other leadership teachers, many important history lessons of this century to illustrate his effective executive points. He includes life adventures of Gen. Marshall, Presidents Roosevelt and Kennedy, even Bach, Mozart, Verdi and Haydn to illustrate points. One of my favorite comments is from Chapter 5 (First Things First), "Executives can hardly assume that they are 'executive Mozarts'". No more hints, you'll understand when you read the book. The chapter addressing "The Elements of Decision Making" is the best of the book, although the others are not far behind.

If you are in the market for a book on executive leadership, you better put this close to the top of your short reading list. If you are searching for an insightful look at some 20th Century history, then this is a good stop for the political scientist. Whatever your reason, buy and read this book, and see how it helps you become a more decisive and better leader, oops, "Executive".

This book has some powerful messages for the modern executive. The difference between being busy and being effective is an important distinction that Drucker highlights. He also highlights some important rules of thumb that are very true but often taken for granted. For example, the fact that any significant innovation requires large chunks of consecutive time spent focused on the issue. Any manager that wants to create a breakthrough change in their organization needs to think through the issues in large chunks. All we can do in small chunks of time is what we did yesterday. He also points out that the critical scarce resource for any executive is time and that some of the most important decisions an executive makes is any honest assessment of what is not going to get done. Too many projects keep moving forward burning up critical time and never reaching critical mass. Drucker provides insight into how to either make something happen or how to be decisive about what you are not going to do which is often even harder

The content of this book is very timely and applicable to anyone who is considered to be a 'knowledge worker'. Regardless of title, the knowledge worker really is an executive. Several pages in the first chapter are dedicated to setting up this argument and scoping out the audience.

Drucker is very methodical in laying out his 5 principles of effectiveness. These are the basis for his two arguments in the book - executives must be effective and effectiveness must be learned. In each chapter that supports his principles, he lays the foundation for the principle, builds walls around it with countless real-life examples, and then drives them home with even more real-life examples.

Perhaps the greatest asset within this book is the rich examples that Drucker has provided. He is the oracle of management that has real experience as a strategist and theorist. He has no qualms with hitting common textbook theory head on in his books and has countless examples to back him up.

One drawback is that it can become tiresome to read some parts. Drucker really drives home some points and if you've already got it, you lose appreciation for the extra examples.

Ok, so it's not like reading a Grisham novel, but I promise you will take some valuable nuggets away from this book that can help you in building your career.

As a 35 year old comic book fan who has been reading comics for 31 of my years, it is a sincere compliment to Peter David, for me to name him as one of my two favorite comic writers. The other is Alan Moore. You're in good company Peter. I purchased this paperback on the strength of Mr. David's name. I was not dissapointed. Well, Then again maybe I was a little. While the story and characterization were up to what I expect from him, I felt that the story became a little rushed about halfway through the book. Being the regular scripter on the Hulk comic book, no one has a better grasp of the Hulk's supporting cast than Peter David. Most of my favorites were in this book and very deftly handled. The story flowed well for one that had to be written with the restrictions of being able to fit into the current comic continuity without altering the same. My one complaint is that I think that Peter David is spreading himself a little thin these days, and it showed in this book. It appeared to me that about half way through he became a little hurried in his story telling. The story became a somewhat weaker because of this. While he still managed to pull of a good ending this is due to his skills as a plotter not to the storytelling abilities he displayed here. Peter, I am a great admirer of your work but I would love to see a little less of it, if that allows you to bring your writing up to the level I have come to expect from you. This was a good read but it could have and should have been better. Tim Drinnon Morristown T

Now THIS is what I'm talking about. Finally a novel worthy of its main character. You can tell that Peter David knows his stuff, and *GASP!!!* actually CARES about his characters instead of just writing about them. I was actually shocked by how much turmoil that the main characters (Bruce Bnner/Hulk, Betty Banner, Doc Samson)went through in this book, OUTSIDE of normal comic continuity. This is quite literally a "page turner" as the sotry is just, literally, all over the place. My only complaint is that the end conclusion feels abrupt and rushed. Maybe Mr. David was on a deadline, or maybe he just couldn't come up with a worthy enough conclusion to his fantastic story. Who knows, but it won't diminish the impact of what happened before. It's a shame that Mr. David didn't write another Hulk novel, as the Hulk novels are actually some of the better ones. Oh well, definately check this out!

This is the only book I have ever bought, then read, then only minutes after putting the book down, picked it up and read it - AGAIN! I've read it three times now, and have to say that it is the best Hulk story out there. And this from a guy who has almost 300 issues of the comic series, including the entire Peter David run. Thank you Mr. David.

O'Reilly sets the standard by which all other technical publishers should aspire; their books are technical, dense, and personally, I love the pithy, no nonsense tone. I have never been disappointed with an O'Reilly book. This book continues the tradition of above par books and I can attest that hands down, this is the best book available on Samba.

Remarkably, the information inside is aging very well. While it doesn't cover the most current version of Samba, this book is by far the most informative and helpful on the subject available.

While the book is fortified with examples, screenshots, and an easy to read style, by far my favorite portion is on troubleshooting (complete with a "fault tree"). It is just a way of systematically approaching connectivity problems in relation to the samba server.

I mean, really, what exactly is "System error 53?" This book won't tell you outright, but it will help narrow down the problem to solvable proportions.

The included CDROM also includes a mirror to the official Samba FTP site, including sources, binaries, documentation, and utilities.

When I have Samba configuration problems, or questions pop up about Samba, this is the book I reach for. If pressed for time and pressed for answers by coworkers, I have been known to pull it off the shelf and lend it out.

Network administers will invariably face the task of integrating Windows systems with Unix or Linux ones. Samba provides an excellent solution to this problem, but for people starting out, Samba seems like a daunting task.

Not so with this book. Prior to reading this book, I had no experience with Samba whatsoever. Before long, I found myself setting up Samba on a linux server and setting up file shares to Win2k systems. The massive smb.conf configuration file no longer looks menacing, but rather, its easy to read now.

I see why this has been adopted by the Samba team. Its very easy to read, very relaxing in its pace, and very thorough in its treatment of Samba topics. I do not believe there is a more comprehensive on Samba to date. Even the reference sections in the back are very nicely organized, and very easy to use.

What really tops this book off though is its treatment of Windows networking. For those who have little or no understanding of Windows and how networks are organized, this book covers the topic very well. Unix/Linux administrators will be glad they read this chapter.

In closing, I strongly recommend this book to Network Administrators, particularly those using Unix/Linux. This book is very comprehensive, but very easy to read.

This is by far the finest computer book I have ever read. I recommend this book to people wanting to install and use Samba because no other book, HOWTO, or online forum explains SAMBA so well. I also recommend this book to people just getting their feet wet with networking because it comprehensively examines both Linux and Windows networking issues in an extremely easy to read, step-by-step way.

This book has screen shots -- a lot of them. This book has examples -- a lot of them. This book has very easily followed writing that tells you how to set up your Linux and Windows machines and how to get Samba going. The book sits down with you, rolls up your sleeves, and shows you how to progress in a way that yeilds desired results -- Samba installs and works on your network! It blends instruction with just the right amount of background explanation without forcing you to read page after page of useless, smothering detail. A lot of authors would be well advised to achieve this kind of balance in computer books and darn few succeed. I had my Windows box talking to my Linux box via Samba in just a day. I spent about 2 weeks going over the book and studying my existing Windows network before making any software changes whatsoever.

This book offers a comprehensive networking fault tree people new to networking will find extremely useful. Follow this fault tree and you will be able to correct general networking problems as well as specific Samba problems. When I had networking problems back when I first got into Linux with Red Hat 6.0, I could have fixed them with this book's fault tree. It would have saved me hours of frustration to have worked through this book's fault tree.

I think everyone wanting to connect Linux boxes to Windows boxes should rush to order this book and then spend 2 weeks reading it cover to cover before messing with ANY network settings. You will be rewarded for your money and patience with results and a feeling of genuine accomplishment.

I've noticed a trend in Linux books where the authors like to waste space and reader's time with useless banner "warnings" and sometimes repetitive moralizing. Some writers print warnings every 2 pages and sound as bad as hoax emails. Well you won't find many warnings in Using Samba. They are worth reading when found.

As far as I can see, there are only 2 bad points about this book and you can't blame the authors for them: unless it is lovingly revised in a new edition, increasing rollouts of Windows 2000 will rapidly obsolete the excellent Samba advice you can get here. As of this writing (August 2000), Windows Millenium Edition will be available to consumers September 14, and depending on sales this may help obsolete the book also. The second bad point is that Samba has not gone into a new version which can deal with Windows 2000 and Millenium Edition yet. It is still stuck at 2.0.7. Hopefully the Samba team will release a new version in the near future covering Windows 2000. And I sure hope The Samba Book, as it is called, is revised to cover the new Windows products!

Of all the computer books I've bought over the years, this is the first that not only has taught me some new techniques, and clarified some rough spots I'd had, but also inspired me as an artist to improve my ideas as well. Even the new user could learn the program from scratch with this book! It's certainly for all skill levels, with everything from building models to adding special effects. Details like textures and lighting are covered in great detail, with input from other industry experts. You also go step-by-step through creating an animation: from getting your ideas out of that thick skull to writing a storyboard and creating your masterpiece. All written in a tone of encouragement by the author.

The examples included are wonderful, showing how such a reasonably priced program can create some stunning and beautiful art and animation. All it takes is some know-how and a heaping dose of creativity and a splash of inspiration, and Mr. Plantec shows you how to pull it together.

This book has a permanent spot next to my computer since the day it arrived! A definate read for anyone interested in 3-d computer art and/or animation!

The Caligari TrueSpace 2 Bible is an excellent and VERY thourough 3D animation information source. It's scope truly does compare to the bible, as its name implies, because it covers not only the essentials of mastering the TrueSpace 2 program, but a comprehensive introduction of how to use this tool to create art. Included is the psychology behind character developement and many in depth tips describing techniques that Hollywood cinematographers use, such as camera angles and pans, to engage your audience. The only thing I did not like about this book was the fact that the CD, which includes a 30 day trial demo of the program did not work due to its having been made in 1995 and I suppose only good for thirty days after its creation. Changing your system clock won't help. The guys that wrote publish the book will send you another for free or you can download the same demo from Caligari's site. This is actually a good idea since you can download the newer demo version, TrueSpace 3, and many others as well.

I purchased TrueSpace 2 because I was interested in 3D art. Like many others, I thought it was "cool". However, after struggling with the users manuals that came with the program, I set TrueSpace aside for about six months. Then one day, I happened to be walking through Fry's Electronics and spotted this book "Caligari TrueSpace 2 Bible". I always heard rave reviews about the Photoshop bible that is also published by IDG books. Well, I thought, if it is half as good as the Photoshop book, it might be worth taking a look at. I was not dissapointed. The book is excellent! I can hardly put it down. It explains things in laymens terms and before you know it you are creating complex objects and animations... easily! I love this book. It's got me hooked on 3D. Peter Plantec (the author) does a wonderful job of not only teaching through example, but really gets you excited about 3D modeling. It's like he is almost in the room with you, guiding you, teaching you. He makes it fun and has a gentle, and somewhat humorus way of writing. I can't recommend this book enough. -Brian M. Web Engineer Mountain View CA

I was so surprised at this book.. I bought it for curiosity, because it really amazes me (as a member of the post-Cold War generation) how terrified people were. It turned out to be an amazing, complex story, and even I didn't predict the ending. I've really never seen anything like Forsyth's work. (The best part is that I read this for school credit in 8th grade.. for once, a book I didn't hate.) I had to reread several times, not for confusion but for the brilliance of the dialogue. It's a shame Forsyth has given up suspense, but I wish him well.

The Devil's Alternative is one of the finest thrillers ever written. In my opinion it ranks with The Negotiator as the best novels by Forsyth. What makes this book great is the realism. Forsyth knows his stuff, and has done a perfect job of researching the Halls of Power on both sides of the ocean. His depiction of the Soviet Politburo in action is one of the best representations in all of fiction. His use of technology (the tanker, etc.) is well done, with no inaccuracies. [Although it should be noted that the largest oil tanker in the world is the Jahre Viking, which is half the size of the Freya in the book] The characters, unlike most other thrillers, are not your everyday stock characters. Forsyth gives them a personality. The ending of this multi-layered thriller is also a gem, and no other author could have written such a perfect book.

Another solid job by this author who I have always liked. This was another of his fast paced, easy to read stories with a good long story. I love the detail of the USSR government, you really feel like it in a non-fiction book at times. He has always used a lot of good factual details to make his books solid. Like the work of all good authors, you really grow to know the characters, like some and hate some - they have solid reasons for doing what they are doing in the book. There is a lot going on but the way he writes it you do not have any problems following the action. A great book that is well worth the time.

Agatha Raisin is certainly one of the most unique heroines in all of mystery fiction. She is loud and bossy, opinionated and often rude, quick-tempered and impatient. Sounds pretty off-putting but it's amazing how Beaton has made her readers come to care about and love the fictional character of Agatha Raisin. It's because behind all her bluster and bravado, Agatha is a decent, warm-hearted person who just wants to fit in life in Carsely, her adopted hometown in the Cotswolds. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death is the first in this series and is one of the best. After moving to Carsely, Agatha attempts to plunge into village life and enters a quiche-baking contest. Agatha is stricty a defroster and microwaver so she enters a store-bought quiche in the contest which ends up killing one of the judges. The plot is truly funny and enormously entertaining.The supporting characters are first-rate and the solution to the murder is really satisfying. It's hard not to read this book and not immediately look forward to the next one. Beaton is an excellent writer and she has created a gem of a character in Agatha Raisin. Excellent book

This book is the first in the series and the first one I have read. I really enjoyed it. I had read several of the Hamish Macbeth series, like them and thought I would try this. I am so glad I did. Agatha Raisin sells her business and moves to a small village. She is determined to become a part of the town so she enters the quiche contest, but she can't cook so she buys a quiche and enters it. She does not win but supposedly her quiche ends up at the home of Mr. Cummings-Brown. He dies from being poisoned and all fingers point to Agatha's quiche. Thery was a plant it it that caused his death. The police say it was a accident, after their investigation but Agatha thinks it was murder. She sets out ot prove it. Along the way are many, many interesting characters. Her good friend Roy, the people at the Red Lion Inn, so many good examples of everyday people. I could just see them and the houses they lived in and the country side. An excellent book. I could just feel like I was there and I think it would be great to live in a place like this.

Crawl into the cozy of the Cotswalds with Agatha Raisin, who makes her debut as unorthodox heroine to the menopausal set. Taking a well earned early retirement to the village of Carsley, Agatha tries to adapt her presumptuous and pushy personality to the cozy and contentious community life. Aggressive Agatha is clueless in the deportment department, but determined to fit into her imagined idyllic retirement at any cost. And never imagines that the store bought quiche she enters into the village cooking contest will kill someone. Agatha's allure lies in her complete lack of tact and charm, her assertive aplomb, shrewd intellect, rude responses, and the little glimpses the reader is permitted of the human Agatha. The scenery is splendidly sketched, the cast of characters outrageous but somehow believable, and this middle aged mama's only complaint is that this book ends all too quickly - but hold on - this is a series, and more Agatha awaits.

Aside from the joking "mistake" on page 3, this book is a fantastic and well-written, concise, thorough explanation of Algebra, in Terms that do not fry your logic circuits.
I am not entirely sure if someone could Teach Themselves Algebra, completely, with this book, but it is a Wonderful Refresher Course. Personally, I had to set College aside for a few years, due to working all the time. When my schedule finally became stable and reasonable, I realized two years had disappeared. So, I used this Study Guide to get myself back up to speed. Sure, I had all of my old notes, tests, quizzes and whatnot, but this book relieved the stress of matching-up chapters to notes and deciphering scribbled notes taken at light-speed. I simply sat-down with this practical study guide for several evenings and weekends, before diving back into college courses.
This book helped jog my memory and get me back on track, quickly. It seems the Perfect choice for refreshing the Memory Chips, between High School and College--esp., for those who haven't had an Algebra course for several years.
My synopsis of this great study guide is:
This is a quick, Painless, way to Learn Algebra and Refresh your memory for college courses, or to use as a helpful study guide along with the College Texts and notes from class.
This book is especially good for people who spend most of their time working, or studying for on-the-job certifications, as well as college courses. I assume it would be great for High School Students, as well.

This book quite simply tells it how it is. Primer books are usually obscure or skip steps. Anyone can follow along each page as every single heuristic and solution is given. Most math books are not self-teaching because they skip many steps or assume you know something. The authors here guide you like a small child who has never seen a linear equation. After reading this booklet you will become a master at algebra and word problems. This book raised my SAT score by 100 points! Surely you can afford a copy, it is actually a better teacher than most college professors. Math used to be my weak point and I avoided it, now I study it with the same rigor I applied to literature.

This book is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I am getting ready to start college, and I wanted to major in theoretical physics but all I had ever taken was basic math through school. This book helped me learn more in one week than a high school teacher could in a month. If you want to learn algebra, and are good in arithmitic buy this book and see for yourself.

This book is a real treat. It starts with a short biography of Jim Davis before he started drawing Garfield and details his struggles getting the strip started. It then gives some background to all the characters, even the MIA Lyman. Then it gets into the heart of the book, strips from all 20 years, showing the evolution of the characters and drawing style. There are occasional comments from Jim that help give more insight. Other highlights include drawings from Mr. Davis's sketchpad that were inspirations for strips, his top 20 strips of all time, all 20 of Garfield's birthday strips, and appearance or references to Garfield in other strips.

I've been a Garfield fan for a number of years now. I greatly enjoyed getting a look into the creative process that gives us such a wonderful daily treat. Any fan of the fat cat will love the book.

I have been a huge Garfield fan since the early '80s. And as I am a few years short of turning 30, I remain an avid fan of the orange fat tabby. I love the ten explainations to why Lyman disappeared. My absolute favorite section of the books is Jim's top 20 cartoon strips he had done. My personal favorite [and one of Jim's favorite] is when Garfield sticks his head into the mouse hole only to be on the receiving end of a makeover. There has never been a moment when Garfield has never made me laugh. To a certain extent I have emulated myself after him. I hate Mondays, I love to eat and sleep, and I am extremely lazy but I don't mail cute kittens to Abu Dhabi and kick dogs off the table like Garfield does. Overall this book is a must have for Garfield fanatics.

Garfield's been around for twenty years now. That's right, he originally debuted in comics all the way back in 1978, squishing Gnorm Gnat... well... flat. And this occaison calls for the appropriate acknowledgement: FEED HIM! Full of laughs, that is. This book is 200 pages of classic (yet still hilarious) comic strips. Everything from the weeks Garfield, Jon and Odie were stuck in the blinds, the the first Monday and diet strips, to the strips that prove Davis is hopelessly obsessed with bugs. Also, Davis reviews a lot of the jokes. That's right. He shows you his favourite 20 gags, tells you what he REALLY thinks about Garfield's love for lasagna, and tells us the tale of how he made Garfield a super star. It's a very inspirational story, yet leaves us laughing. And if that wasn't enough, he also gives us a Gnorm Gnat joke, explanations of Lyman's mysterious dissappearance (I've always wondered what happened to that guy), and a huge section complete with a birthday gallery, weird letters they've recieved over the years, hilarious logo boxes, and the secrets behind how each jokes are thought up of, drawn, published, and put in those great compilation books. It's even got a year-to-year history of Garfield's growing success. So with all this, Is TWENTY YEARS worth buying? Absolutely. It's got all the Garfield magic, laughs, and secrets that've made fans around the world love him for years. It's great for looking back, laughing your head off, and remembering the good old days, when bears were Pookies, kittens were Nermals, and the world revolved around the almighty Garfield. Not that it isn't like that today.

Peter Pan is a good adventure/fantasy that kids and adults can enjoy alike. With much exaggeration, it is something kids can enjoy and read into. It's a page-turning book that once you started you can't stop.

This isn't like the Disney movie! I loved this book but at the same time I was shocked by the violence of the fighting between Hook and the Lost Boys and the Indians. I don't think I'll be reading this one to my nephews and neices, not until I have edited out the violent bits. It wasn't that In-Your-Face violence of the Hollywood movies, it was more insinuated and there was definetly a menacing atmosphere surrounding Wendy's, Peter's and Michael's adventures in Never Never Land. I do recommend it though, just not for easily frightened youngsters. This is definetly in need of a PG rating on the cover. PARENTS: This is no Disney Peter Pan!

My 10 year old daughter found this book in the school library. She read it one weekend and has checked it out several times. The classic story along with the beautiful illustrations by Eric Kincaid have made this one of her favorite books. When I surprised her with her own copy that I had found on Amazon she was thrilled and commented on it's excellent condition.