Island is possibly one of the best caper mysteries ever. Certainly the best I've ever read. Thomas Perry has the unique gift of creating both interesting characters and an engaging and complex thriller/caper plot. His other books are all must reads but this one is a stand alone as we watch how a group of con-artists running from the mob attempt to pull off one of the biggest cons ever-- it's not everyone who can make their own country.

This is an excellent book. I had read Pursuit and was looking for something to read. I picked up Island and loved it. The story is highly original and not predictable. If your looking for a book that will have you engrossed pick this book up.

Much as I enjoy Perry's Jane Whitfield tales, I regret that his wonderful pre-Jane novels are almost all out of print: Butcher's Boy, Big Fish, Metzger's Dog, and especially Island. These books all side with hard-boiled yet intrepid, dryly humorous (sometimes hilarious) bands of petty larcenists stealing from even worse characters than themselves. Island has a married couple absconding with the Mob's money, which they use to create a pile of garbage on a sandbar somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. They then announce the creation of a new nation (and tax haven), import some Native North Americans for an instant indigenous population, and they're off. Complications ensue as the years pass, bigger fish take an interest in Harry and Margaret's scam, and the islanders start forgetting it's all a scheme and begin to get downright patriotic about their tiny island paradise--much to Harry's consternation. Perry has rarely shown the whimsical touch and dry humor in his Whitfield stories as he did in Island and his other early works. I advise anyone finding a mystery-themes used book store to hoover up any old Perry volumes you can find...

Even if you've never programmed before "Crash Course in Q Basic" offers a no-frills quick introduction into this easy programming language. Take it one step at a time and soon you'll be writing simple programs. By the end of the book you'll have a good knowledge of the language and be able to write moderately complex programs. I teach basic programming to beginners and recommend this book as an excellent reference.

This being my first programming book after learning GWBASIC, I found this book to be very well written considering the size of the book. If you just don't have much time to spend learning QBasic, this book takes you on a Crash Course(surprise) through the fundamentals of the language with plenty of examples demonstrating the topic effectively. I STRONGLY recommend this book if you want to learn QBASIC.

A great deal of astrological monkey business and fun. Lawrence Block tells a terrific tale as do Simon Brett, Peter Lovesey and Anne Perry herself. There are astrological clues, astrology murders, detective work by astrology and a great deal of well written stories. Some that may even scare a Scorpio or a Taurus! This is a really fun book and all mystery lovers of any sign should love it.

It's a star spangled banner, this collection of short stories by some 16 luminaries of the printed page, themselves! While most readers will be familiar with the novels of many of these authors, it's a refreshing change of pace!

Edited by Anne Perry, the stories revolving around astrology and astrological themes goes over with a big bang! In the Introduction, Perry asks, "Do you believe in horoscopes?" Then she invites us to "meet those who care passionately about the real stars and the astronauts who journey toward them."

The acclaimed authors who are included know their stuff and that's no mystery. From Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma--who's always given us a turn for our money and time--to Edward Marston (departing from his usual Medieval mystery setting) to Lawerence Block to Peter Lovesey to Simon Brett and concluding with Anne Perry herself, this is a delightful read. Granted, a change of pace, but a delight nonetheless.

What a clever idea to arrange such a collection around such a theme! The sky's the limit! ...

Bahouth's sense of color and composition are outstanding, and her knowledge of the period make the designs not only beautiful but true. Charts are clear, and color numbers are given for both Appleton and Paternayan wool, depending upon what a stitcher has available.

My one criticism of the book, and the only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars, is that Bahouth includes pictures of finished projects for which she does not provide the charts. This is maddening, because it seems that the one which really grabs you is the one you can't stitch. This is not the only book with this characteristic; reviews of her other books have indicated the same problem.

Other than that, anyone who enjoy medieval design and would like to create rich, beautiful pieces should consider adding this book to the library.

The designs in this book are wonderful and not difficult to follow, even for a beginner. My only disappointment was that several of the designs in photographs are not charted in the book. I wish she would do another book with some of them. I have made several pieces from this book as gifts.

Impressive pictures combined with provocative text, the authors have managed to combine middle eastern views with american views to put together a complex view of the many triumphs, dilemmas and challenges that are part of modern israeli life today. A good book for light skimming (coffee tables) or more in-depth review. In my household, it stimlulated a number of thought provoking conversations (amongst those who read it)..

This wonderful book in review of the past 50 years of the
fight & struggle of Israel gave me quite a contemplation when
I recognized events from 1967 onward! I was drawn back to my
childhood days remembering so many of those events that I lived through with bitter-sweet memories. I cherish this book and the memoroies I have!
Stevan Aharon-Clawson

Although PeopleSoft 8 differs in significant ways from version 7 that is addressed in this book, the material is still invaluable. In particular, the authors impart a deep knowledge of PeopleSoft, Tivoli and Tuxedo. In fact, I gained more tips about Tuxedo (an integral part of both PeopleSoft 7x and 8x) from this book than from a pile of resource material from Bea and PeopleSoft. I also gained a deeper understanding of Tivoli and how it can be used to effectively monitor PeopleSoft or any other distributed application. Note that the Tivoli material in this book is also out of date, but a surprisingly large amount is still useful.

You're walked through the actual configuration and installation of Tivoli, which is well done with screenshots and brief, but descriptive explanations. In addition, there is a CD ROM that ships with this book, which contains UNIX shell scripts, most of which are for monitoring Tuxedo.

I gave this book 4 stars because it is out of date with respect to PeopleSoft and Tivoli - however, I didn't give it less (which I normally do for such books) because there is still much that you can learn from it and apply to PeopleSoft 8 with a little research and careful planning.

This book should be your first stop if you want to manage your PeopleSoft environment with the Tivoli Enterprise Suite of products. It explains a lot of Tivoli products. If you are a Tivoli administrator, you will find a great overview on PeopleSoft and BEA TUXEDO, the transactional monitor PeopleSoft uses. Thanks to these overviews, it will be easier to understand each function of the Tivoli Manager products. If you are a PeopleSoft or BEA TUXEDO expert, it helps you to install and configure the Tivoli products quickly and efficently. It gives you all the tips to customize your Tivoli environment as needed. It gives answer to the most frequently questions you may have.

Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook is the definitive source of reference for any chemical engineering problems I've encountered. As a student I find that there is more information than I whould know what to do with. The handbook is organized in a slightly confusing manner at times, which would be its only drawback. Any chemical engineer would be at a great loss without this book.

This book contains more useful information in one place than any other source for chemical engineers. If your are in the feild or are a student, you will find this book to be necessary for almost any job. I recommend it to all chem-Es.

Once long ago, I had read a book about the Cid, and I expected this poem to give a similar story, but it didn't, hence the 4 stars. However, I did enjoy this book because of the beautiful translation, and also because of the medieval feel the translation had. I definitely enjoyed the poem once I realized that the story was different, but really, that is not the fault of this book, but rather the book I had read before. Anyhow, for those who want to know about the Cid and his great deeds, read this book first. Enjoy! :)

This edition of The Poem of the Cid is truly wonderful. For starters, it is a bilingual edition, presenting the reader with the original medieval Spanish text. The translation itself is highly readable. The humour and tension in particular scenes shine in this translation.

The story itself is also marvelous. We get a wonderful sense of the confusion and ambiguities of the feudal society. The uniqueness of the Spanish feudal experience comes through brilliantly. The Muslims are dealt with with more accuracy and tolerance than in any other work of medieval literature. The two Jewish characters in the poem -- moneylenders -- are presented without scorn. Indeed, it is the Frankish (probably Norman) count of Barcelona who is portrayed as the moronic outsider. There is much excellent description of medieval warfare, clothing, hommage ceremonies, and use of money, but most enlightening part of the story is the long trial scene.

The poem is short, with a fast-paced and coherent plot. It is very easy to read this in one sitting because it is so gripping.