I picked up this book because I was told that learning ASP would be a good introdction to web programming. While the book is thorough, it tends to bog down in detail while not making clear what is central and what is secondary. So the authors spend one scanty chapter on control structures--absolutely crucial to any programming--and then devote the next chapter (of equal length) to a terminally detailed discussion of built-in functions--which should have gone in an appendix. This might be a good reference book for someone who is already a programmer, but by the end of the first "week," this newbie was completely lost. I had to put the book aside and learn more about programming from some better written JavaScript and beginning programming texts before I could come back and make sense of this text.

Advice: Don't purchase this book unless you already have sufficient programming background so that the introductory chapters are really "review" and that you can distinguish what is important from what is secondary.

I read this book without any previous knowledge of ASP, and after I finished reading it, I found I could understand more than I thought. The book not only has very good examples but also has a wrap up sample project every "7 days" that if you decide to do, will enforce what you've just learned. I think it is the best introductory book you can find. As a side note; I also purchased WROX Beginning ASP, and although I would also give 5 stars to that book, I'd suggest that if you want to learn and have never coded in ASP before, definitely this is the book to start with. If you already have some idea, then you might like to consider going for the WROX one which goes a little more in depth into some areas and you can always use as a reference in the future. You will definitely not be dissapointed about this book if you are a novice like myself. It begins with the logic to start coding in ASP(Control Structures) and it takes you all the way to connect to an Access Database and fully interact with it.

I picked up the book a few days ago, and from never have used ASP before, I finished the book in 3 days (I was very eager to get going and was short of time to finish what I wanted to do), and now I easily put together very advanced dynamic userbased websites with connections to databases. Needless to say that I finished my project on time. The book was excellent written and all the information was easy to understand and to learn immediately. I can't say it enough, one of the best programming books I've read since I started programming way back in the 80's on the Amiga. A huge thanks to the authors, it was a literally a lifesaver!

I really like Maugham's work, especially "The Moon and Sixpence," and enjoyed this book. The basic plot concerns a writer (Maugham himself serves as narrator) who becomes acquainted with group of wealthy Americans. They come into and out of each others lives over a period between WWI and WWII. One of these Americans, Larry, decides to drop out of society. At first it is unclear why he does so, but eventually it becomes apparent that he is seeking spiritual fulfillment. Equal parts mysticism and social comedy, the "Razor's Edge" is well-written and thought-provoking.

I'm not a fan of novels that deal with religion or philosophy, but I was intrigued nevertheless by "The Razor's Edge." It's the type of novel that sticks with you after you've read it and the characters remain vivid. I did however, think that Larry is more of a literary device than a fully fleshed out character. He seems to pop in at convenient times, drop some spiritual wisdom, remain mysterious, and then vanish. Maugham also spends a disturbing amount of time describing again and again what a wonderful smile Larry has. The use of Maugham as the narrator is also a bit suspect at times, as he frequently (and needlessly?) elaborates that he is simply relating stories that others have told to him, that he is reconstructing these tales, that he is adding details, etc. - very repetitive. Despite these flaws, the book is a very worthwhile read, and I highly recommended it.

William Somerset Maugham is considered one of the best authors of the 20th century. After reading this book, I can understand why. His grasp of the human condition is simply phenomenal. He is one of those rare authors that can make his characters leap off the page and become living, breathing creatures. The introduction to this Penguin edition spends much time trying to place the fictional characters into the context of Maugham’s life. I’m sure the characters in this story are somewhat based on real people, as any author worth his salt always draws on real experience to create a story. Personally, I couldn’t care less if these characters were based on real people, as it wouldn’t make them any less interesting to me.

“The Razor’s Edge” really has a simple message. It asks us to reflect on how we lead our lives. Do we follow the masses or seek inner fulfillment? Is it right or wrong to drop out of society and follow our inner selves? Maugham makes us ponder these questions as he introduces us to his characters ... When I think of the overall plot of the book, even after reading it, it doesn’t really seem that interesting. But when I think all of the little things within the book, I realize how excellent the novel is. Read this book, even if it is the only Maugham book you ever read (which is a pretty pretentious statement on my part, as this is the only one I’ve read). The prose is excellent, and the psychological insights are really amazing. Recommended.

I discovered Maugham last year reading Of Human Bondage for the first time. Instantly, I became a fan. Having finished The Razor's Edge, I am on a quest to read everything I can by this wonderous, insightful and witty author. Maugham himself appears in this book and takes quite an actively passive role with his cast of characters. The lines between reality and fiction are blurred and I agree with another reviewer when you begin to question what is story and what is memoir.

I walked away from this book, for the most part, admiring Larry who deliberately chose to follow a different path than his peers.. a path leading towards spritual enlightenment. Due to an unfortunate encounter with the loss of a comrade during the War, Larry decides that he needs to find out the meaning of life-- much to the dismay of his betrothed. Isabel just wants to live the "normal" life that every girl of her station (upperclass) has the opportunity to take advantage of. They choose to go their separate ways and the book follows their choices (as well as others in their circle) over the next couple of decades through the roaring 20's and the Great Depression. While no character actually seems by the end of the novel to be truly happy (except Larry) each achieves exactly what they set out to achieve. Maugham points this out in the end, and it is a comment that still leaves me questioning. What amazed me most about this novel was that I could recognize people in my own life as fitting some of the roles depicted in it. The people we learn of are REAL people...their actions, sufferings, and idiosyncracies are recognizable in ourselves and others. A morality play of sorts, the Razor's Edge offers a look at how individuals choose to fulfill their time here on Earth.. it is both a comment on society and its mores as well as a discourse on personal freedom and spirituality.

... This is one of those movies that you have to appreciate for it's simplicity and sometimes almost cheesy scenarios. I can't imagine anyone playing these characters other than the people cast. Robin Williams performance as Popeye is reminiscent of the really old B&W Popeye cartoons where half of the time he's mumbling which adds to the comedy. Even the costumes in this movie are semi-cartoonish which cleverly adds to the cartoon-to-live-action transition while reminding us that the silliness is part of the reason we loved the cartoons and characters as much as we did, and still do.
Bravo to Paramount for finally releasing this on DVD for the people like me who have been searching for this classic since I bought my DVD player. I've been checking on a weekly to monthly basis for a long time now, and am estatic to see my searching has paid off.
If you haven't seen this fantastic movie before, or haven't seen it in years, take the time to rent it one more time so you can see what you'd be gaining by ordering or pre-ordering this today!!

I was 9 when this movie came out and it rocked my world. I grew up in San Diego watching LA station KTLA's Popeye show every Sunday morning, so I was primed for this. It suprises me how much I still love it today. The casting is flawless (Except for the Bluto part, I thought he was still the head guard from Midnight Express instead of Bluto) and the songs...well what can I say, it just proves yet again what a genius Harry Nilsson was (RIP). I still catch myself singing some these tunes every once in a while.

Robin Williams is the only actor in history that could have pulled off the role of Popeye. His comic genius is now a known fact now but back in 1980 this movie proved he could do more than just Mork from Ork. Shelley Duvall, same thing, no one else could have done the Olive Oyle role any better. Had they decided to set the movie in the real world it may not have worked out, however, by creating a mythical island town like Sweethaven, it allowed the movie to feel like you were being transported to a wierd, trippy world where no one is completely normal.

I agree with a previous review that this movie suffered from a bad marketing strategy. It really straddles the fence between being a movie for adults or kids. This is probably why it stands the test of time so well. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie, don't buy it yet because it is not available on DVD. Write an email to Paramount requesting that they put it out on DVD immediately!! In Widescreen!!

I will go mad if I hear one more critic say that Popeye is a mess, or one more person laugh and look at me strange when I bring up this movie. This movie is a work of art. The songs are works of art. Shelley Duvall's Olive Oil is a work of art. The lines Robin Williams mumbles so you have to watch the movie ten times to hear them are a work of art. The set is, the plot is. Did I say the music is? You're going to tell me that Shelley Duval dancing about oddly on the deck singing he needs me, he needs me, isn't just absolutely perfect!? And that whole Fooey, fooey scene! I'm gonna do one of those twist up my arm punches to the next person that says this movie was a travesty for Williams or show boating by Altman or anything else! AUGHHHHH! thanks for listening.

Like most Wrox books I've read, this book contains lots of easily understandable information, but it is not as concise as it could be. Still, I learned to use ASP from this book and I recommend it.

I have done a little Visual Basic and HTML coding, and to me this book seemed too basic in parts. The first part of the book is about how the server deals with HTML and about VBscript. The book doesn't really get into ASP until about page 170.

The examples are usually short, which is good. Too bad the examples are not more self-contained. The authors too often illustrate a new point by saying "use the code in the previous example, but with the following changes..." That's just lazy. A complete new code listing for each new topic would have been more helpful.

If you are a beginner and you don't mind wading through a lot of words (1000+ pages worth) and a somewhat boring book design, get this book. It will teach you a lot.

If you are a very experienced developer, this book will be too basic - look elsewhere (the Wrox book Professional Active Server Pages 3.0 seems popular with reviewers on Amazon).

By the time I finished reading this book and working through the examples I was writing somewhat complex ASP pages and publishing them on the web (thanks to some cheaper ASP compatible ISPs). It is clearly written (there are typos but they're not insurmountable) and shows instant results through coding.

An unexpected corollary to this book is that it actually helps with general Windows database programming. The database portions of this book basically deal with ADO, and this knowledge is applicable to Visual Basic 6 database projects (there are nuances, of course, and one must learn VB, Access and/or SQL Server, but the underlying theory and methodology is very similar). So you actually get more out of this book than you realize.

Possessing a working knowledge of HTML is a good thing before taking on ASP 3.0. The book will move slower if you don't. Also knowing something about JavaScript or VBScript will help, but the book does address this (it mostly uses VBScript with ASP 3.0), though having general knowledge of how scripting languages work (e.g., which runs from the server and which from the client and how and why) will speed up learning ASP.

This book will not prepare you for ASP.NET or ADO.NET. Those are different animals, and the book predates them both. Regardless, there is a lot of ASP 3.0 out there, and it will not likely go away soon. At the moment you have a choice: learn ASP 3.0 or learn ASP.NET. It depends on your needs. If you end up choosing ASP 3.0, this is the book to start with.

I found this book to be absolutely amazing!!!! It is so easy to learn from and the format is extremely easy to follow. And although it is a beginners book, you'll already be writing some very useful code about a quarter of the way through.

The best part of it is that it gives the reader an exercise in every section of the book, to review and practice what's already been covered. After that, the authors go through the example step by step to explain exactly how it works.

I already have some programming experience in C++, Java, JavaScript, Assembler, and Pascal. Now this book covers VBScript throughout the book and introduces the reader to it almost from the start. So already knowing other languages made it even easier for me to learn VBScript, but even if you've never touched programming, this book makes it easy to learn VBScript. The authors teach it in a way that anyone at any level can learn it quickly. The explanations are excellent, the terminology clear, and it just teaches you what you need to know to program ASP. Nothing more, nothing less. In other words, I'm sure that you'll be very well prepared to program ASP after using this learning tool.

The next best thing about the book is that it teaches you to apply your new-found skills in VBScript to programming ASP, and that's part of every exercise in the book.

The authors even went as far as explaining how to install and configure IIS (Internet Information Services) which comes with Windows 2000. IIS supports ASP 3.0, and since most people run ASP on an NT or Win2k server, this was a definite added bonus.

In other words, this book doesn't skip a step when it comes to learning what you set off to learn in the first place, namely ASP3.0. If you're interested in learning ASP 3.0 and would like to program in it using VBScript, then this is a must buy. I give it 2 thumbs up!!!!

Having read two other McDermid books (the first two featuring the Tony Hill character), I thought this was her best (to date, anyway). This is a stand-alone book. The rural English atmosphere of the '60s is evoked as are the characters, especially the lead detective, George Bennett. Plus the entire small, secluded town atmosphere. Just relax and let the mystery unravel. The author keeps you guessing until the very end. In short: young girl missing. What REALLY happened to her? (I know it sounds cliched, but McDermid creates a page-turner.) It's my belief that one important trait of good fiction is to make you feel you are THERE. Place of Execution did indeed. I couldn't put it down.

In December 1963, Alison Carter disappears from her home in the small village of Scardale, a tiny farming community set apart from the outside world. Newly promoted Inspector George Bennett is assigned to the case and works tirelessly, round the clock to find out what happened to the girl. After several false starts and dead ends, he finally arrests a suspect and brings him to trial.....Fast forward to 1998: With the help of George Bennett, journalist Catherine Heathcote has written the definitive book on the whole Alison Carter affair. But just before the book is to come out, she receives a letter from the now retired inspector, asking her to stop publication. New information, he won't divulge, has come to his attention and he is adamant that the book never be published. Catherine now feels she needs to reinvestigate and go back over the entire case to find out why.....A Place of Execution is an eloquently written, remarkable book, full of atmosphere and suspense. The book is divided into two parts. The first, a mystery/police procedural, could stand alone. In fact, the last scene of the first section is so harrowing, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, holding your breath. The second section, the investigative journalist at work, takes you back over the events of thirty-five years ago, but this time, from a different perspective. Put together, Val McDermid has written an amazing, intricately plotted novel, full of great, interesting characters with strong voices, vivid, riveting scenes and a powerful ending that will knock your socks off. A Place of Execution is an intense and gripping thriller, definitely one of this years best and a book that shouldn't be missed.

I normally read American hard-boiled mysteries, so when a friend told me to read A Place of Execution, I was really skeptical. Anything that is set in the UK, especially in a small village, usually screams "cozy" at me.

Boy, was I won over! This book is more like a true-crime book than anything else. The story about the missing Carter girl is written in a satisfying way to those who like gritty details, psychological reasoning, police officers with humanity, and people in bad situations who don't curl up and die.

I was really impressed with how much I was won over by this book, since it is so far out of the genre I normally read. I generally don't pick up books set in the UK since the language difference can be jarring to me. That didn't happen with this book at all, much to my enjoyment. I suspect this book will win over a lot of American readers, as well as satisfy those who read a lot about Scotland.

A very satisfying read. A successful jaunt out of genre for me. I will be reading more McDermid books.

Ken Follett writes two kinds of novels: good spy thrillers or good historical novels. This is the latter, a book where the reader is dipped into the subterfuge and manipulation of a major banking company in Victorian England, owned by the Pilaster family who have been haunted by an event which happened at a boarding school years ago. The plot has more twists than a corkscrew as the family's need for money and recognition plunge them into devious playing of Victorian values, ambitious plans and even murder. Hugh Pilaster, the hero of the story, has a kind of Hugh-Grantish confusion about him, even as he fights to keep the love of his life and his position in society, which is at times both endearing and annoying, and we find out more about Victorian brothels than we really want to, but other than that, a brilliant read.

In my opinion, Ken Follett is one of the better writers working currently, and A DANGEROUS FORTUNE is one of his best books to date. I liked his EYE OF THE NEEDLE and PILLARS OF THE EARTH very much, too, and while I don't think FORTUNE is quite that good, it is still one of the most entertaining books I've read recently. The story is set in England in the latter half of the 19th century, and revolves around the wealthy Pilaster family. The Pilasters are bankers and control the large and powerful Pilaster Bank. As schoolboys, both Edward Pilaster and his cousin Hugh, son of the family black sheep, are involved in the death by drowning of a fellow student. That event is the beginning of 25 years of intrigue, corruption and murder as the fortunes of the Pilasters and those close to them play out. Follett weaves an intricate and fast-paced, if not always surprising, plot around his characters that carries the reader from the mansions of London's rich and powerful, through seedy bordellos, to vile gambling dens.

This is contemporary pulp fiction at its best. The characters have depth and believability and Follett seems to do a good job of evoking the look and feel of the period. The pages roll by quickly and the book is hard to put down. But, if it's so good, why didn't I give it five stars? Generally, I reserve five-star status for books of what I regard to be classic status. Caesar, Tolkien, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter (yeah, I do think Harry Potter will be around for a long time). Maybe Harry Bosch, although I may have gotten carried away, there. This is, after all, pulp fiction and it just doesn't have the depth of the above. It is very entertaining, though, and I think most readers will enjoy it very much. Consider it a strong four plus and give it a look.

ooow, this was a good one! great story-history,family,romance,money, greed...oh, delicious!
worth the read.

This book is called *Professional* Active Server Pages -- and rightfully so. Believing that I was on the Professional level, I purchased this book and read most of it before placing it on my desk at work for reference. Every once and a while I picked up this book with a specific ASP question in my head and tried to find the answer within its pages. This was a mistake.
If you're looking for a reference book, check out *Beginning* Active Server Pages -- also by Wrox press. Otherwise this book is great. The sections on ADO and XML are well written as well as the performance tuning sections. There is information on these pages that I haven't found elsewhere and for that reason alone, this is a great book to read.
My only complaint is that there seems to be a lack of good examples. The text does contain some examples, but sometimes the concepts can overcome the reader and there needs to be a bit more clarification. More pictures, code examples and general explaining would have been very helpful.
Overall, I've been very happy with this book. Wrox Press has been turning out some great books with the Web Applications Developer in mind and I hope they keep up the good work.

Professional Active Server Pages 3.0, by Alex Homer, is a book on developing web applications using Active Server Pages 3.0. This book goes in depth into developing web applications with discussions and examples on advanced topics such as, CDO/Microsoft Exchange Server, ADO/Microsoft SQL Server, and ADSI/Active Directory. Homer presents the reader with a wealth of information on advanced enterprise level topics based on Microsoft technologies. This book is excellent for intermediate/advanced users who wish to learn about Active Server Pages using Microsoft technologies, however due to the fact Homer does not goes in depth with fundamentals of programming Visual Basic Script, this book should not be recommended to novice developers.

Throughout the book, Homer discusses the importance of COM/COM+ and what that technology can do for your web application. He writes examples of a COM+ component in Visual Basic and shows the user how to register/load the component into memory along with utilizing the functionality of them in an Active Server Page. Homer further explores the features of Windows 2000 by introducing the features of Active Directory and explaining/demonstrating how ADSI can connect an Active Server Page to the Active Directory. The book goes into further detail on enterprise level topics by discussing how CDO interfaces with Microsoft Exchange Server. Using CDO, a developer can access all of users Exchange account information including mail, contacts, calendar, etc. The book ends with performance and security issues for web applications running on a Windows 2000 Server and how an administrator should configure a Windows 2000 Server for maximum performance and security.

The software/technologies the book uses are based on products/technologies developed by Microsoft. Since Active Server Pages is a Microsoft technology, it would be reasonable to use only Microsoft products/technologies. However, in the real world, many businesses have heterogeneous environments with Oracle database servers and JavaScript web developers. The fact that this book only exposes the reader to vendor-specific technologies could be a down fall, however creates a centralized focus for the reader.

This book covers a wide spectrum of advanced knowledge with Active Server Pages, however is completely based around Microsoft technologies. Several other authors composed this book, which helps the reader get a dynamic flavor of knowledge from chapter to chapter. Any intermediate/advanced web developer, interested in enterprise web application development, should purchase a copy of this book for reference purposes.

It is a very comphensive book that covers the basic of ASP 3.0 and other web technologies like XML, COM+, and ADSI, etc. I did hestitate before buying this book from the web since I was only playing with the beta version of Win2000 server. However I need to work with ASP and IIS, therefore I bought this book.

This book does cover lots of new things compared to Professional ASP 2.0 The new features of ASP 3.0 are briefly introduced in the chapter 1. There is a good coverage of ADO 2.5 in chpater 8. If you are familar with ASP 2.0, you can finish the first 10 chapters and can grasp the differences quickly. XML, IIS 5, active server components, COM/COM+, ASP Script Components, C++ component issues, ADSI and Active Directory, Message Queue Server, Collaboration Data Objects, Exchange Server integration, certificates, site load balancing, and ASP Object Model are introduced from chapter 11 to 27. These are heavy readings with minor typos. However these chapters worth the money.

I have the Beginning and Professional ASP 2.0 Wrox books and the OReilly ASP book. I like Wrox better since they use lots of examples and their teaching style is very practical. This is a must have ASP book for many web developers.

This is not just another JSP book. Rather, it is a complete presentation tier design book covering JSP architecture, JSP design, Servlets, and JavaBeans. As with other Manning books I have read and reviewed, this book is complete, and leaves no stone unturned. This book is very well written, and easy to understand. The authors have added tips and tricks, and they interject "real-world" notes throughout the book. The coding examples are clear, concise, and fit well with the concepts described. I found so much useful information in this book I was marking almost every other page.

The book starts out with a review of other dynamic content techniques (CGI, ASP, Cold Fusion, etc.), which gives the reader a context in which to place the JSP technology. After a somewhat slow start, the book really picks up speed and gets into the guts of JSP and Servlet architecture. Topics such as session management, buffering, and exception handling are covered in great detail, with issues and alternatives introduced. I was very impressed with how the authors introduced these concepts and applied them to the technology in a clear and concise manner. There is an entire chapter devoted to the JSP directives and scripting elements, which I also found very complete and full of clear and relevant examples. The treatment of JSP implicit objects (request, response, session, out, page, etc.) was also very clear and easy to understand. It is here that you will see a big difference between this book and others; in this book the authors not only explain these concepts, but also illustrate how and why they are used in the overall picture.

One recommendation I would make is to read chapter 8 on JavaBeans before reading chapter 7 on the JSP component model. It seemed to me that these chapters are somewhat out of order. I thought that the chapter on JavaBeans (chapter 8) was the best chapter in the book, and gave the cleanest explanation of the role of JavaBeans within the overall presentation tier architecture I have read to date. The scope of this chapter was perfect for the context of the book, and the examples were very clear and understandable. For me, this chapter cleared up questions I had regarding the difference between JavaBean components and value objects.

One thing that impressed me about the JDBC section was that the authors presented and discussed many real-world issues such as techniques for handling large result sets and creating persistent result sets. The following chapter then discussed the overall presentation tier architecture, including page-centric design and Servlet-centric design (dispatcher design). Within this section the authors once again presented real-world issues, limitations, and design considerations within each of these two presentation tier designs.

Chapter 11 is devoted exclusively to building a sample app from the information learned in the previous chapters. I went through the example, and thought it was clear, and in sync with the information and content previously presented. I saw this chapter as ending what I call "part 1" of the book. The chapters following this one were more advanced, and a little more difficult to follow. For example, I felt that the treatment of listeners and filters, which covered several chapters in the book, was useful material, but the authors dove straight into code rather than spending enough time on the concepts. However, the chapter on JSP deployment with WAR files was extremely thorough, and covered all aspects of WAR files and JSP deployment.

The section on cookies, error handling, and shopping cart processing was great. However, the chapters after that (Chapters 17 and 18) seemed very out of place in the book. I did not find these particular chapters useful at all. However, the treatment of JSP custom tags, which spanned 3 entire chapters of the book, was the best coverage of this topic I have seen.

The book is full of all sorts of goodies at the end, including changes in the JSP specification, installing and configuring Tomcat, a very extensive JSP reference listing, and a JSP syntax and API reference.

Whether you are a JSP novice or a presentation tier architect, I would highly recommend this book. After reading it I found it is valuable as a learning tool and a quick reference. Without hesitation I give this book a big thumbs up.

I read through this book in a week and I must say it is very well written. The concepts of JSP are well explained with an appropriate depth for a JSP application developer. I especially like the part when it explains the servlet-centric design. With this design model we shall be able to create large Web application with complex workflow, because we can implement an automata in the center servlet and use multiple JSPs to provide interaction with end-users. Personally I feel it very hard to understand JSP before you understand servlet. Thus I will advise any reader of this book to read some Java servlet documentation or code some Java servlets before you touch JSP or this book. It will be even better if the example in this book has a login page, a necessary component in a lot of JSP applications. Fortunately, you can find some solutions for that from the Net, so don't worry.

Just finished reading this excellent book. I believe this is one of the best well-written books ever since Java came into existence. The things I liked about this book are:

- The authors spent a lot of time explaining the fundamentals of JSP in detail, thereby providing a very good foundation.

- The chapters "Architecting JSP application" and "An example JSP project" have been very useful for me. In fact, I am using the concepts and examples presented in these chapters for a project that I am working on.

- The tips, notes, and warnings throughout the book are very useful in applying JSP technology in the real world.

- The support sites, author-online at the Manning web site are available for us to ask questions to the authors and also for discussion on JSP. I have personally found these sites to be extremely useful.

I hope to see the following things in the next version of the book:

- An exclusive chapter on the fundamentals of servlets and how it ties with JSP.

- An exclusive chapter on how JSP and EJB can work together - A real world "non-trivial" example will certainly help.

- I would also like the authors to address some of the concerns that Jason Hunter (Author of JAVA servlet programming, by O'Reilly) listed on his site,

Previous to reading this book, I knew only that ASP meant Active Server Pages and that you could access databases with it. I knew nothing else, and this book gave me all the information that I was looking for.

I found the examples very useful, especially in terms of accessing databases which is really why I bought it. The CD comes with all the source code, and I'm now happily ASPing away!

I only have one criticism (and it's a small one); I would like to see a bigger section on VBScript, and perhaps a command reference at the back of the book.

Well worth the money.

Active Server Pages technology rocks! This is the easiest way to harness web database power. Turn your clients' web sites into interactive WEB APPLICATIONS today. Learn how to easily use built-in web server objects to pass data between your web pages, and to and from your server using Request, Response, Application, and Session. Discover the global.asa file which maintains your application & session objects. Learn about the built-in server component for database support, ADO, and its Connection & RecordSet objects. Brush up on your SQL commands so that you can customize your database queries. I went from non-programmer to intermediate-level ASP developer in less than a month. Find an ISP that hosts the IIS or chiliSoft ASP web server, and read these great books to learn how to get your Web APPLICATION up & running this week: ASP for Dummies --> Beginning ASP 2.0 --> Professional ASP 2.0 and ADO 2.0.

Based on recommendations from a website, I bought the WROX book "Active Server Pages 2.0" to learn ASP. I found the book to be generally well-written and comprehensive, but a bit cryptic. I then bought ASP for Dummies. This is a tremendous book! Not as comprehensive as the WROX book, but very easy to read, and it generally covers everything most web developers will need to develop ASP pages. If you are a highly technical person and want to know everything about ASP, buy the WROX book, but if you want a clear, concise introduction to ASP programming, nothing can beat ASP for Dummies.

In Mrs. Croft's statement "we women don't want to be in calm waters all our lives" Jane Austen and her heroine, Anne Elliott, move beyond the domestic, from the bracing sea air of Lyme, to glimpses into the seafaring adventures of the Navy brethren. This to me is the predominate appeal of Persuasion - Anne, in her approaching maturity, is reunited with her former suitor in what we may expect is a deeper, more heartfelt love, having endured separation for so many years and she has the prospect of joining him at sea. My heart leaps to see her escaping domesticity and the dull social duties as exemplified by Sir Walter and her sister Elizabeth. Of course, Austen's use of language is perfect. My favourite Austen novel. The film adaptation with Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds exquisitely captures the mood and characters of this book.

This book is one of my favorites of all time. Many people dislike it or don't like it as much when compared to Pride and Prejudice or Emma, but there are many reasons why Persuasion should not be compared to Austen's other novels. This novel was the last one that Austen wrote before she died. It is a more mature novel, dealing with many issues not found in Austen's previous novels. One reason why people find faults with the book is that Anne Elliot, the heroine, is not as spunky or witty as an Elizabeth Bennett or an Emma Woodhouse. There is not so much wit flowing in the dialogue between characters, or even dialogue in general. But these differences between the novels make this one so unique.

It is a novel of second chances. Anne Elliot, no longer in the bloom of youth, is a grown woman of 27 or 28 years. Eight years ago she had been happily in love with a handsome man named Frederick Wentworth. But, unfortunately, due to his financial status, and Anne under the influence of her family and close friend, was forced to reject his marriage proposal and they parted ways. But now, he is within her closest circle once again. Circumstances led to Anne staying with her married sister, Mrs. Muskgrove, while her own house was being let to Wentworth's sister and husband. Wentworth visits his sister and on calling on the Muskgroves finds Anne among them. Anne finds Wentworth, not only looking as good as he ever did, but is now Captain Wentworth, who has made his fortune. Wentworth, still angry with Anne over being rejected, causes him to treat Anne very cooly. But over many weeks of contact here and there, you catch on that Captain Wentworth isn't all that oblivious to Anne anymore, because of all the little 'glimpses' he throws at Anne. The tension between the two is amazing. You can sense a connection between the two, even though they are on opposite ends of the room. In Bath, the tension builds and builds until it culminates into one of the most moving and romantic reunions ever. The letter that Wentworth writes to Anne declaring his love is bound to bring a tear to your eye and a pang in your heart. Happily, all ends well, but throughout the novel you can easily sympathize with Anne. No longer youthful and no longer as pretty as she used to be, she is full of self-consciousness and confusion. She still loves him after all those years, but she cannot act upon her desires.

Austen, yet again, excels in portraying her characters. Anne and Captain Wentworth are full and delightful characters that one must love. Her descriptions of Anne's vain father and snobbish older sister, Elizabeth, hit the mark on satirizing the members of society during that time. She wittingly describes how everyone tolerates Mrs. Muskgrove's hypochondriatic self and how everyone deals with her in their own way. There is not so much dialogue between characters in this book, compared to Austen's other novels. Most of the book is in observation of Anne's character and feelings, which makes it so much easier to relate to everything that Anne feels and you understand her situation all the more. This is a wonderful novel, with many qualities, differing from those of Austen's previous novels, to enjoy and admire.

Having read all of Jane Austen's books, I've been very impressed with her style. Reading Persuasion, I immediately noticed the difference between shy Anne Elliot and Jane Austen's other characters: Emma, Elinor and Marianne, Elizabeth Bennet, Fannie Price, and Catherine Morland. Anne is not the most beautiful, the cleverest, or the most-spirited. She is shy, quiet, thoughtful, somewhat plain, and honest. She reacts to emergency situations calmly and clearly, proving that she does have a backbone. I think the fact that she is older and more mature than Austen's other characters shows a maturity in Austen's writing. I highly recommend this book to those who love Jane Austen and can understand being shy and strong.