Eureka is the generation tale of a frontier town that is tamed with the barrel of a gun. We meets Thomas Brodie Culhane (everyone calls him Brodie or Captain). Brodie grew up in Eureka, joined the Marine Corps, fought in the Great War and came home to become the town's sheriff.

His mentor was Buck Tallman, a man right out of the old west, and we are told he was deputy for Wyatt Earp. While Buckman is a bit 2 dimensional, his presence lingers throughout the novel.

Then there are Eli, Isabel and Del. Without spoiling anything, it is the stuff good sagas and generation novels are made of. By the time Mr. Diehl finished introducing Brodie, I really liked the character.

The novel shifts to Zeke Bannon - a hardboiled detective working for the LAPD. He begins investigating an apparent accidental death that turns out to be a homicide and the trail leads him to San Pietro (Eureka's new name) and to Brodie. You see there is something dark and sinister in Brodie's past and while you really don't want something to be wrong. Mister Diehl continues to lay a body of evidence that points to Brodie.

This is a very satisfying read, and it lives up to what I've come expect from this author.

When my son asked me: "What was the best thing he has written?"

I answered without missing a beat, "Everything."

Diehl, who created the excellent Martin Vail series, has spun a truly epic novel in this well-written masterpiece. Not a fan of those "noirish" novels of the forties, I wasn't sure what to expect from Diehl in this one. However, it is a stunning work, filled with excellent characterizations, true plot twists, and some excellent scenarios.
We start the novel out with Brodie Culhane, a young man given a new life by a wealthy landowner in turn of the century California. Brodie becomes our hero, ending up fighting in World War I, surviving and returning to his home to become the sheriff.
Next, we have Zeke Bannon, another policeman in the 40's, who investigates a murder that leads him to the domain of Sheriff Culhane, who is now planning on running for governor.
How could our hero from the first part of the book be such a corruptible character in the 40's.
That's what makes this novel so complex and interesting. Bannon's involvement with Culhane and how they come about "cleaning up" this sordid region makes for one engrossing read.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This is one of the top three books I read this year.

Whoops. It's January 5th. OK. If I had finished this book 6 days ago, I would have put it alongside of John LeCarre's "The Constant Gardner" and Lehane's "Mystic River." Forget any naysayers. "Eureka" is a eureka, a great mystery with wonderful conversations that smack of times gone by. An excellent novel.

Growing up on the East Coast, I remember old guys who had fought in WWI. One fellow lived into his late 80's with one lung gone, having given the first one up to mustard gas at Belleau Wood. So there's a 'reaching' aspect of Eureka that transcends a number of years. And we really don't feel it. Diehl is able to interrupt conversations in the past, flash forward, come back chapters later to finish them. Very tricky; very well done.

Diehl captures the chronology swiftly and smoothly. Sometimes he's writing of events a 100 years ago, sometimes 60, sometimes in between. "The bohunk got ironed out in a hit and run." The dialogue is crisp and seemingly accurate. Very timely. Great conversations.

Everyone who reads the reviews knows the plot by now. Honest cop, diamond in the rough, investigating the accidental electrocution of a widow in a 1940 bath tub, with only two things out of order: no will and "100 large in the bank."

A tough WWI veteran about to run for Governor, unanswered questions about the past igniting the future with a 40 year fuse. The quote from Gatsby, 'boats against the current,' is as prescient now as it was then.

Some romance that might be too much but everybody finds someone sometime.

The best dialogue is found in Elmore Leonard. Diehl gives him a run for his money in Eureka. Strongly recommended.

With over 15 years of programming experience and no experience with Java, I found this book difficult to follow. I normally like to dig right in with numerous examples so I can test what I have learned. This book has few meaningful examples and when they do exist, the author uses concepts which have not been covered yet. Confusing! After reading half the book I am now searching for a more beginner book.

This book is a very good text which explains concepts like object oriented programming in java, basic concents on java, working with real world applications and much more.
Written by Peter Norton in his unique style it is a good guide & text for beginners and intermediate level.
Explains user interface design, file IO, awt and much more.

USEFUL AS TEXT BOOK. -niteen.

Norton & Stanek are the dynamic duo when it comes to Java. If you look at the other options I think you will agree this is a great book. Solid use of object-oriented design and object-oriented programming concepts. Terrific practical advice from two industry authorities that know what they are talking about.

"Shadowland" is two stories in one book. The first is set in a strict prep school, the second is set in the confined house of a madman. Though this book had strong imagery and allegory, I found the story to be too complex. Straub tried to tackle too many issues at once and just barely scraped by. The characters are developed well, but I was unable to grasp the emotion of the love between Tom and the mysterious "Rose." If you'd like to read a book with a well-written love affair that is also black with horror I recommend reading "Wizard and Glass" by Stephen King. Overall, I found Shadowland to be too long, and the ending is unsatisfying and abrupt.

Peter Straub weaves a mind-blowing web of horror and emotion in this unsettling tale of darkest magic. As with his subsequent novel, The Talisman co-written with Stephen King, Straub demonstrates his unnervingly clear vision of magic at its most real, devastating and climactic potency. Quite simply, this is a book that can be re-read just to absorb Peter Straub's mastery of story telling and literary atmosphere.

Rates in my top five all-time favorite books. This one delivers it all. Caught somewhere between a fever dream and the cool, longing whisper of a childhood memory, this book does what so few can: creates a narrative that is truly unique. As a film director, I have watched and read--"absorbed"--so many stories, that it is impossible not to see lazy "cookie-cutter" storytelling in almost everything. How often have I picked up a book or watched a movie with an interesting premise only to find that it is just like every other book or movie. Not so with Shadowland, which kept me forever off balance--but not enough to lose me. I was lost and riveted at the same time.

With absolute precision, Straub brings to life the adolescent's journey into manhood; how even everyday life can be a wonderous, terrifying mystery. By reframing this subtext within the confines of Shadowland itself--the magician's mansion--Straub creates a level of uncertainty and terror that you will feel lingering with you long after you've closed the book.

I can't imagine that this book will suit everyone's taste; but for anyone who likes their fiction to remain elusive, revealing, suprising, this is a book that will haunt you for years to come.

The inexplicably neglected 'Dombey and Son' is a stunning masterpiece of 19th century fiction. The invention and bravura of Dickens' use of language is astounding. Coupled with that is a wonderful insight into the introduction of the railways in Victorian England and the often oppressive, alienating powers of a rampant Capitalist system that forces itself above the values of family and personal relationships. In 'Dombey and Son', the dangers of equating business partnerships with social ones are vividly revealed. Coupled with all of this is the presentation of one of Dickens' most compellingly vile villans: Carker. You could call this book, and the ones that come after it, "Dickens' with Teeth" and it is 'Dombey and Son' that inaugurates this development in Dickens' writing. Read it. It's wonderful.

A previously posted review asks: "How can readers accept that a woman's happiness can be achieved either through living to make men happy OR through living according to one's conscience? Surely one of these characters deserves the author's condemnation yet neither clearly receives it." It is sad when a reader is so intent on pigeonholing complex, richly drawn characters into narrow politically correct categories that he or she misses out on joys of a wonderful novel like this. Florence is denied her father's love, blames herself, and strives harder for it. This is a psychologically accurate portrait of what such a child would do, not an example of "living to make men happy" that Dickens should have condemned or praised. Likewise as to Edith's "living according to her conscience," although in fact she fails to live according to her conscience, and hates herself for it. And another previously posted review says that "the ending is wonderful, and Dickens ties up the numerous subplots with the most delightful precision." I found the final 100 pages the only bad part of the book, as Dickens artificially ties up matters that he had no need to tie up; he should have ended the book sooner. But this is my favorite Dickens novel so far.

this novel, sitting as it does between dickens' early and late novels, captures the best of both dickens. it has the humor, grotesque characters, and melodrama that characterized the early novels, but it isn't without the unified structure, mature style, and psychological depth that were the hallmarks of his later books. it's one of my favorite dickens books (i've read 11 of them), and if it weren't for the length i'd recommend dombey as the place to start for someone looking to read chas. if 900 pages doesn't faze you then by all means dive in. if it does, then start with 'great expecations' instead. but be sure to come back to dombey. you won't be disappointed.

While the book is an interesting and entertaining read, most of it is untrue and horribly researched. The one star review lower on this page got it right. The facts that Mr. Allen gave as the boy's identity, his father, and where this all happened are all dead wrong. Nothing ever happened in the town or house that he said it did. It was apparent that Mr. Allen did minimal digging into the subject and just took what he found and threw it on the page with nothing to back it up with. What's even odder about this is how easily the real information(from the "Strange" Magazine)was found by that reporter. That Mr. Allen didn't take enough time to see that what was in front of his face was horribly wrong and what was right was not hard to figure out. When Mr. Allen was even contacted by the other reporter, he seemed to not care or answer any questions as to why he didn't go further to find the real truth. Everything he has stated about the boy and the location, is all wrong. Even the possessed boy himself stated that he never lived there and didn't know why people thought that. While the book is an interesting read, it can only be categorized under 'fiction', because that is what it is.

When I first read this book in its previous edition, I, too, was impressed with its supposedly accurate and dispassionate account of a true-life exorcism. That was before I read the extensive "Strange" magazine article debunking the case, which shows up the shoddy lack of research conducted by Allen. (In fact, Allen ends up looking like the Erich von Daniken of exorcism scholarship.) "Strange" magazine's investigative research discovered a whole lot that Allen apparently did not (or did not wish to reveal), such as the fact that the case did not take place in Mount Rainier, Maryland, as press reports stated, and the fact that the boy's father did not believe his son was possessed. The "Strange" magazine researcher not only tracked down the identity of the "haunted boy," but interviewed former neighbors, friends, and classmates -- basic research that Allen failed to do. The actual facts are quite different from those claimed in Allen's highly sensationalized and fanciful account.

I have always wanted to tell this story someplace, and here seems as good a place as any. I swear that what I am about to describe really happened. It was pretty scary.

Although we now live in Pennsylvania, my husband and I used to live in St. Louis. We know where the Alexian Brothers Hospital is and some of the other landmarks in the book. When this book came out it was released in St. Louis first, before it had a nation-wide release. I purchased the book with the intention of sending it to my father in NY State as he had liked the movie The Exorcist.

The first night I read 1/2 of the book. The following day while cleaning the livingroom I heard the distinct sound of rapping and/or scratching coming from a corner of the room, up near the ceiling. My husband laughed it off as either a mouse or my over- active imagination from the book, but later that night he heard it too. We had never in over 10 years had a problem with animals or mice in the walls, etc. In the book...the possession starts with rapping sounds.

That night I read the rest of the book, although by this time I was a little frightened. The following morning my mother in NY State called to tell me of an odd occurrance. The phone had rang the day before and when she answered it the person asked for "Sadie", my mother's name. When she said, "This is Sadie" the person started talking, according to my mother, "gibberish". She couldnt understand what they were saying or even if it was a male or female or what language they were speaking. When she asked who it was the person stated "Emily" which is my name. My mother said, "This is Emily, my daughter?" to which the person said, "yes" and then started speaking gibberish again. My mother hung up.

What is odd is that the phone number at the time was listed only in my father's name and I hadnt lived at home for almost 10 years. How did this person know BOTH of our names?

Because this freaked me out even more, that day I wrapped up the book and sent it to my parents. I didnt hear anything about it until about a week later when I asked my mother if she had the book, she said she did, and that my father would thank me for it but he wasnt at home. I asked where he was and she said that he was at the hardware store buying mouse traps as "We have heard scratching in the walls for a week now, so we must have a mouse."

This incident happened about 10 years ago. Nothing else happened after that, my parents never caught a mouse, the scratching stopped, and the book appears to be lost as I havent seen it when I have been over there. But it was very odd when it happened.

So...read the book, it is a fascinating story. But if anything odd happens to you or your family, please write a review and let me know. Thanks.

Comedy, in the strictest sense, is concerned with ultimate forgiveness and reconciliation. In Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest," the protagonist, Prospero, must come to terms with his brother Antonio, who conspired to have him driven from his duchy in Milan, and with the world of social interaction in general.

Magic, Power, and Conspiracy are the foundational thematic elements through which Shakespeare effects Prospero's reintegration into human society. Thrown into a boat with his infant daughter Miranda, Prospero comes to live on a nearly deserted island in the Mediterranean Sea. Prospero's concentration on developing his proficiency in Magic caused him to become alienated from his political and social responsibilities in Milan, leading to his expulsion. His brother Antonio conspired with Alonso, king of Naples, and seized the power Prospero forsook for book-learning.

Prospero hears of a sea voyage undertaken by his enemies, and, using his Magic, whips up a storm, a great tempest, which causes his enemies to be shipwrecked on his island. On the island, Prospero exercises total power - over the education of his daughter, his slave, the deformed Caliban, and now over his enemies. He engages Ariel, a sprite, to orchestrate the division of the traveling party, and to put them through various trials to exact vengeance and ultimately, submission from them.

"The Tempest" is a fine effort from Shakespeare, but the power relations in the play are problematic. Prospero's insistent dominance over the action of the play is extremely troubling. Although he is presented as a benevolent character, Prospero's relationships with Miranda, Caliban, and Ferdinand, King Alonso's son, complicate his overall worth as a man and an authority figure. The dynamic between the slave Caliban and the drunks, Trinculo and Stephano, is also very unsettling.

Overall, "The Tempest" remains a whimsical flight of imagination, while exploring intriguing themes of education, political intrigue, and romance. Certainly, it is still a well-constructed and entertaining play after nearly four hundred years.

This is Shakespeare's 2nd last play. Yet, nothing indicates that he was running out of steam. The images are beautiful. Stephano, Caliban, and Trinculo are memorable as the bumbling conspirators. Miranda and Ferdinand are fine as the two young lovers. Ariel is striking as Prospero's loyal servant. Prospero is a magnificent creation. Not only does he offer several beautiful and memorable passages, but he is well drawn as a character who was unfairly forced into exile. He also makes his prison his paradise. In addition, he is a fine representation of Shakespeare himself: "Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me / From mine own library with volumes that / I prize above my dukedom" (1.2.166-168). His speeches in 4.1 and 5.1 also reflect how Shakespeare himself was contemplating the end of his career. The story itself is very well drawn. Shakespeare grabs our attention with a storm at sea. He offers us a reflection of himself, comical touches, beautiful images, profound passages, beautiful language, young lovers, comical villains, and deep messages. If you like this, be sure to read his final play "Henry VIII."

Yes, there is once again murder brewing in the play of Shakespeare but only in a comical way. Not able to claim to be a Shakespeare expert, I have only read four of his other plays. However, it is in my opinion that this be the best one, most likely because it is a comedy and is much lighter that his other plays. This classic play tells the story of the former Duke of Milan who was wrongly dethrowned by his brother. Using his magical power that originally expelled him from Milan, he is able to bring the King (Alonso), Alonso's brother (Sebastian),his own brother (Antonio) and other servants to the his mostly vacant island. Ordering about the spirit Ariel, he manipulates his way into an interesting and funny situation. There is much to gain from reading this wonderful play which is one of Shakespeares last. I recommend this book to Shakespeare lovers and even more so, to variety readers such as myself. You won't be dissapointed by the plays light mood which is much better than Shakespeares serious murder stories.

This play can be read as anti-semitic. In fact, it's pretty hard to defend it from such charges. Shylock is a pretty rotten character and the fact that he is jewish is difficult to overlook (particularly since the other characters mention it on pretty much EVERY page). However, I think it is important to mention that the "heroes" of this play do not necessarily have to be interpreted as heroes. They are by no means perfect and there are many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) instances within the text in which their biases against ANYONE unlike them is illustrated. If one reads the play this way, then Shylock becomes more of a tragic figure rather than an absolutely heartless villain. I don't know. My feelings about this are mixed. There are a few funny parts of this play and the language is, as always, beautiful. The theme of putting a price on human beings is one which has been explored numerous times since. Overall, it is enjoyable, but perhaps not so much so as some of the other comedies. Do not read this play without having read a few others by Shakespeare first. It is an excellent play, but not his best and not his most enjoyable either.

After reading most of the other reviews here, I am fully aware that most of the reviewers didn't read carefully enough (or watch carefully enough if they saw the play.) Now, I'm not saying its not open for different interpretations, but there is one thing I would really like to get straight.

I read MoV for a Bar Mitzvah project on Anti-Semitism. Naturally, my sympathies went to Shylock. However, even if i were Christian, i still would've favored Shylock. What many people believe is that Shylock is a cold hearted ruthless person and only wanted to get back at Antonio because Antonio was a Christian.

Not true. Shylock specifically says something along the lines off, "Why should I lend money to you? You spit on me, and call me a Jewish dog!" I'm not saying that Shylock was a good guy, but I am saying that he is not the villain.

In fact, the "Merchant of Venice," in this story is actually Shylock, not Antonio, contrary to popular belief. My thoughts on the story was that Shylock requested a pound of Antonio's flesh because he did not trust Antonio. Who would trust someone that spat on him? The fact is, Antonio doesn't pay him back in the end.

Now, there's always something else we have to put into consideration. Would the judge had given the "spill one ounce of Christian blood" verdict at the end if Shylock were not a Jew?

This is the mark of a great play. A play that really gets you thinking. But I encourage you, I beg of you, that when you read it or see it, please do not hold Shylock up to being a cold hearted villain. Hold Antonio up to that image. (joking, of course, Antonio's not a bad guy, he's just not a good guy.)

This is a wonderful play - and unless you have seen it or read it you don't know it at all. That's because everything the popular culture tells us about this play is false (for example; how many of you think this play is about a merchant named Shylock? ;-)

The Merchant of Venice is a lively and happy morality tale. Good triumphs over bad - charity over greed - love over hate.
There is fine comedy. Portia is one of Shakespeare's greatest women (and he ennobled women more than any playwright in history). There are moments of empathy and pain with all the major characters. There is great humanity and earthiness in this play. These things are what elevate Shakespeare over any other playwright in English history.

Plays should be seen - not read. I recommend you see this play (if you can find a theater with the courage and skill to do it). But if it is not playing in your area this season - buy the book and read it.

Look, I've read the book many times and seen the movie also many times (one of my favorites). Saw the movie first, so I couldn't wait to read the book. Unfortunately, the one thing I truly cared about and most, the one link to the original Exorcist (don't think anyone cares that much for Kinderman, more now since a different actor played him), meaning Father Karras (Jason Miller), was mising!! Sure, his body is there, but it's not "him". He's not "possesed", he's not there at all!! Just some nut and his dumbo brother, and maybe the demons. Who cares about the Gemini and his brother? (Are we supossed to feel good for them when they finally go away?) And Blatty makes him symphatetic!! Abused chilhood, dumb abused brother, hateful father... Come on! Blatty almost tells us to cheer up and feel sorry for him (particularly at the end, when he can't "go on" without Kinderman believing him nor his brother now that daddy dearest is dead), a serial killer!! No wonder it wasn't a hit. Sure, Anfortas and the dead people voice-recording and the "double" was interesting, but not that much. Obviously Blatty recognized this and got it right in the movie (yes, the ending could have been better). In the movie Karras is "there", not really possesed, but more like trapped in his body (remember, he "died" while still being possesed) by the demons in order to allow the Gemini to live and go on killing, and to torture him. And the Gemini is really evil and twisted (as any other serial killer really is). We got to know and care for Karras, not Kinderman, in the Exorcist, that's why his "presence" is so important. That's why the movie is better, and the book a misfire.

Of course, I could be wrong. Anyone who thinks different, tell me why.

I think I need to state right off the bat that I am not a Christian. Never have been, despite the efforts of my more religiously inclined friends and family, and never will be. But, having said that, I am occasionally given a reason to question my beliefs. "Legion" is one of those occasions. My main beef with Christianity is the whole concept of a loving omnipotent god that is able to damn his imperfect creations to eternal suffering for committing sins that they might not even be aware of or understand. Yet, in "Legion," Blatty gives another take on that idea, and I have to admit that it makes me say, "Hhmm, I wonder..." I won't ruin it by explaining it here, so you'll have to read it.

Anyway, before I ramble on further, let me stop and say that I love "Legion." As has been stated before, if you are looking for a similar book to "The Exorcist" you'll need to look elsewhere. This is a sequel in story and in spirit (pardon the pun), but not on the same level of horror. "Legion" is more a metaphysical treatise than a horror novel, though there are a few horrific moments and descriptions. I tend to think of this as more of a "Thinking Man's" spooky book. It is certainly not for the weak minded. It challenges you on every turn, and every page is a revelation. I cannot recommend it enough. My only fault with the book is the ending. It seems way too rushed and tacked on for my tastes, as though Blatty was getting tired of it all and just said, "Screw it. I'm done." I wish he would have drawn it out just a bit more and made it more satisfying.

As for the movie that is based on this book, "Exorcist III." Much of the dialogue is lifted straight from the book, but as is usual there have been a veritable TON of changes made. Characters have been left out or combined, new characters created, and the ending totally changed. I hate to say it, but I like the ending in the movie better. It was more... visceral, more heart-pounding. I only wish that the movie could have touched on the spiritual explorations of the novel. But, be that as it may, the movie is far scarier than the book, and on that level should please many. A curious side note is that Blatty also directed and wrote the screenplay for the movie, and I have to wonder what he prefers when comparing them.

Eh, anyway, get this book if you want a more cerebral horror novel. It with give you the creeps on occasion, and more than that it will make you think. That's pretty good, if you ask me.

I read Legion about five years ago and continue to pick up the book at least twice a month. Blatty did a wonderful job tying up a few loose ends from The Exorcist and further developed the characters of Kinderman and Dyer, which have proved to be complex and entertaining.

This book should not be considered a simple sequel to the Exorcist--its main focus is a side character called the "Gemini Killer" who is out to settle the score for the previous exorcism, but is mainly there to test the faith of Kinderman and continue his "own work." The murders that occur are disturbing--but not as frightening as the manner in which they are carried out. Karras does indeed make an appearance but is not a major player in this book.

The conversations between Kinderman and whoever will give him the time of day are thought provoking and often beautiful--the religious theories that Blatty explores not only help in character development but also help to provide comedy in what otherwise would be a very dark book.

I recommend the novel to all who enjoyed The Exorcist--keep in mind, if you are looking for The Exorcist part deux..look elsewhere..this book is strong enough to stand on its own.

What I really liked about this book was the characters. Straub took settings and situations that mostly are reserved for female characters and filled them in with men. The range of emotions displayed by each male in this book was unique and refreshing to see. Now, as for the story, it was okay but again I was let down. this book does connect the other two together but mystry and Throat failed to keep up the suspense that was evident in Koko. I read or in my case listened to all three back to back and each could have stood on its own. Again, if you enjoy mysteries, read this one as well, but not for strict horror fans. Out of all the books I have listened so far by this author, Ghost Story is the best followed by Koko and then Houses without Doors where all this Blue Rose business begins.

I have just started reading Peter Straub, and must say, I thoroughly enjoyed The Throat. I have only read Mr. X and Magic Terror, and was excited to discover that the character of Fee Bandolier, whom I was first introduced to in "Bunny Is Good Bread", appears in this novel. I had some ideas about who Fee was in The Throat, but was left guessing until the end of the book. I would have given this story five stars, but I was a little disappointed by the ending, kind of a letdown. All in all, this book has a very satisfying plot and good characters, but I felt the character of Tim Underhill was a little vague. I suppose I will read "Koko" and "Mystery", so that I can get to know him and Tom Pasmore a little better.

I've read and re-read this book and each time I get something different from it. It's a richly textured story with characters that I found compelling and involving. Some are horrible and repugnant and some, like the Tom Pasmore character, I yearn to learn more about. I can see how that book just wouldn't be some people's cup of tea but I loved it. Also, I loved the whole story of Fee Bandolier and the mysteries Tim Underhill confronts. I'm actually quite comfortable with some of the mysteries and contradictions of the story. I think it mirrors things I've encountered in my own life.

I guess I expected that a platform independent standard such as XML would have been better expained using a platform independent language such as java. For the unix/java engineers out there....this book contains much useful information and don't get me wrong, I learned a lot. The question is, would I have learned as much or possibly more if I didn't have to put up with 90% of the code examples written in VBScript? Many examples require Internet Explorer. Content was up-to-date and informative but somewhat repetative (12 authors).

The book covers too many topics and just few are developed in deep while others are superficially introduced because not yet standardized at the time of print. The book claims it covers the following topics: XML, XSLT, DOM, DTD, SOAP, XLink, XPointer, XPath, WAP, WML...and more; but just XML, Schemas, DTDs and SOAP could almost fit the book's size.

Chapters don't follow a very logic thread and it doesn't deal enough with very relevant subjects. Wrox probably planned to make this book the XML bible but I think they are far from the target.

The XML declarative language, with its adaptability and expressive power, is continuing to become the language of choice for reporting and classifying information. XML is a formal grammar that captures the syntactic features of a document type definition, and its properties, syntax, and applications are discussed effectively in this book. It covers XML as formalized by the W3C and the authors show how to use XML in Web-based and database applications. Readers who have developed applications in HTML will probably view XML as somewhat more abstract, since the visual representation of the content of a document is not emphasized in XML. Readers are expected to have a background in HTML, JavaScript, Java, and ASP in order to read the book. Although XML can be learned by reading the W3C specifications, these documents are frequently difficult reading, and this book makes the learning of XML much easier than reading these specifications. They include the W3C specifications for XML 1.0 in an appendix to the book for the interested reader. The book is a little dated, since the W3C has been updating XML specs since the time of publication (especially with regard to schemas), but there is a 2nd edition coming out soon.

In Chapter 1, XML is introduced as a mark-up language and its inherent extensibility emphasized. This is followed by a detailed treatment of XML syntax in the next chapter, with emphasis placed on the hierarchical nature of XML. The authors do include a discussion of Processing Instructions (PIs) for users who want to use XML in this fashion.

Document Type Definitions (DTD) are the subject of Chapter 3, where the authors communicate effectively how DTDs formal grammar is used to specify the structure and permissible values of XML documents. The formal DTD structure is discussed, and the principles behind writing DTDs are effectively outlined. They also discuss the problems with using DTDs.

Data modeling with XML is discussed in the next chapter, with information modeling via static and dynamic models treated in detail, and the authors carefully distinguish these two approaches. The actual designing of XML documents is given a nice overview as well as the role of schemas in XML. This is followed in Chapter 6 by a discussion of the (tree-based) Document Object Model, which overviews how XML documents can be accessed by various programs. Some helpful examples are given on how the DOM can be used to create an XML document programmatically. An alternative way of processing an XML document is discussed in the next chapter on the (event-based) SAX interface. The authors outline in detail the benefits of using SAX rather than DOM. In Appendix B the reader will find the Internet Explorer 5.0 XML DOM 1.0 W3C specifications. In addition, in Appendix C, the specification for the SAX 1.0 interface is given.

The shortcomings of DTD are addressed in terms of XML Schemas and namespaces in chapter 7. Since this book was published, XML Schemas have reached W3C recommendation status as of Nov 2000. The authors give a good overview of namespaces and schemas, with helpful examples. This is followed in chapter 8 by a discussion of how to link and query into XML documents using the XML information set, XLink, XPath, XPointer, XML Fragment Interchange, with XLST covered in the next chapter. For database applications, the authors outline the differences between relational databases and XML documents. A very detailed treatment of how XLST transforms the source document is given, and the authors compare XLS and DOM transformations. An Internet Explorer XSL reference is included in one of the appendices of the book.

More details on the relationship between databases and XML is the subject of chapter 10, wherein the authors show how to store XML and how data can be communicated between different servers using XML. The issues involved when moving data from RDBMS to OODBMS or from Oracle to Sybase, are discussed by the authors. This is followed by an interesting discussion on how to use XML as a distributed component model for server-to-server communications via XML-Remote Procedure Call and Simple Object Access Protocol.

E-commerce applications are discussed in the next chapter, with EDI and its improvement via XML. The business markup language cXML , which allows business to business electronic commerce transactions across the Internet, is also treated in detail.

The authors then finally discuss how to render XML documents more readable and pleasing for the viewer in the next chapter using the style languages CSS and XSL. The discussion is really interesting, for the authors dig a little deeper into the foundations of style languages. The discussion of style languages as rule-based languages is particularly illuminating.

The next chapter is very interesting and its inclusion is actually very surprising, namely a discussion of the Wireless Application Protocol. The authors give an introduction to the Wireless Markup Language and WMLScript. The book ends with four useful chapters on case studies for data duality, distributed applications, a book catalog information service, and SOAP.

There are many applications of XML in many different areas, such as CellML (proprietary) used in cell biology, CML (Chemical Markup Language) for molecular chemistry, IML (Instrument Markup Language) for control of laboratory equipment, BSML (Bioinformatic Sequence Markup Language) for gene sequencing, and MathML for formatting of mathematical equations. I find XML an extremely powerful approach to information reporting and I am currently developing a package called NMML (Network Modeling Markup Language) for use in reporting results in simulation and mathematical modeling of networks, and FMML (Financial Modeling Markup Language) for use in reporting results in the modeling of financial instruments. This book, along with the W3C specifications, has been a tremendous help in the development of these applications.