The Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers is a comprehensive single volume book. This book is divided into 23 sections covering entire gamut of civil engineering. In first few chapters it deals with design management, specifications etc. These chapters are quite informative. It also describes various construction materials in a lucid form. But the chapter on structural theory should have more elaborately presented. Many aspects of advanced structures such as plate, shell etc. are not discussed. Finite element method is almost untouched. This book does not contain too many numerical examples. Rather it tells you how to take decision. For example, it tells you how to choose structural system for multistory building, but does not tell how to analyze the same. Geo-technical engineering section is also little bit concise. Concrete design section is good but a number of worked out problems would have made it better. Same goes for steel design section. Surveying was featured in very lackadaisically. Building engineering section is well written with very good general descriptions. Transportation, water resource and environment parts are also well covered. Coastal engineering is just touched. In overall this book is a good buy. But this book won't be much useful to all because it is written only in American code. What I dislike most about this book is that it is not written in metric units.

I'm a senior in CE this year and I have been using the 2nd edition of this book (1976) more or less daily as I work on my senior design projects. Not really in depth on any one subject, but its great if you just need to look up a formula or technique that you forgot from some class. I plan to ask for the new edition as a graduation present.

"Dry and testing" is a perfectly accurate description. Maybe it is becuase I have a bias against most twentieth century music, but I really have a distaste for this book. I must say, the exercises are good. They helped me understand the material much more quickly than simply reading about it or listening to the author ramble on - he's dry and testing too. I suppose this book is decent enough for a class - given that the teacher is creative and uses other sources as well. I wouldn't want to keep it around afterwards as a reference.

This is a workbook generally covering all major twentieth century developments in composition. However, it heavily concentrates on rigid objective theories which analyse 20th century music, and as a result can tend to be a little dry and testing for the reader at times. The author also tends to overcomplicate simple concepts ocassionally. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see how music theorists have attempted to grapple with highly complex areas such as twelve-tone theory and neotonal harmony.

I read this book cover to cover and found that it only provided me with 80% of what I need to know for the exam. The chapters on ActiveX technology were poorly written. The other chapters were better. I guess having multiple authors will lead to the inconsistency. These guys should have proof read each other's work. The test CD was soooooo disappointing. Some test questions were poorly worded and about 20% of the answers were incorrect. i'm sure that you'll be frustrated when you work with the practice test. Don't forget to download the errata.txt file. My final advice is to supplement this book with something else. Aside from the CD, it's still a decent book with good information. However, you need other references to fill the gap. I was able to use the Mastering VB5 CD from Microsoft and the VB Online Help file. Well, the good news is that i was able to pass the exam this morning with a score of 915. Good luck to you!

Studied and relied on this book. Studied 'Exam Cram' for about 15 hours after I started scoring 90% on practice test in this book. ExamCram had good additional hints and tips. Exam Cram practice tests are harder, and has some material not covered in this book. However, this book has better explination of the material covered.

VB5 was my first certification test and I passed on my first try.

The best thing about this book is the CD that comes with it. The computer graded test are great and help you locate your trouble areas. It's not going to show the exact questions that will be on your particular test (i.e. cheat). The practice exams (and flashcard test)will test your readiness to take the MCSD Visual Basic 5 certification exam offered by ICCP. Even if your not going to take the test the book and computer aided testing software give all Visual Basic programmers strict coding guidlines. You won't just learn how to pass the test you'll also learn good coding techniques. I wouldn't rely solely on just this book as your only source/means to pass the test, you'll have to work very hard to become certified in any worthwhile field. If more books came with test like these you can mark me down as a potential buyer.

As I've worked my way backwards through Kent Haruf's catalog of books, I've become increasingly impressed with the seeming simplicity of his writing and how he lets his characters come alive on their own terms instead of his. This allows the reader to understand the characters quirks and motivations in a way that reminds us of relationships with real people. We don't know everything about someone the first time we meet them, instead we learn what they want us to know and draw other conclusions from their actions and what other people let us know about them. In Where You Once Belonged, that is exactly how I grew to know Jack Burdette and the people in Holt, Colorado whose lives he so deeply affected.

Like Plainsong and The Tie That Binds, the reader is drawn into a seemingly simple story that simmers with local personality and an undercurrent of conflict. Slowly, Haruf lets you in on the complexities and even when the story here doesn't seem as compelling as his later work, you know there's more going on than you're being told. That Haruf can make the reader believe it's for the better not to know is a testament to his unique storytelling style.

I don't think Where You Once Belong is as powerfully told as Haruf's next books, which earns it a strong three star rating, but I would highly recommend it to any reader who already knows his style or appreciates subtle stories of lives not too unlike our own.

Having previously read Plainsong (as I am sure many who read this novel will have done), I was looking for a similarly enjoyable reading experience. Actually, in some ways, I liked this novel better. As much as I liked Plainsong, I found that there wasn't enough of a focus on a single storyline, and, in the end, I found it a disjointed work. Where You Once Belonged is much more of a traditionally structured novel, and the conflicts are clearer to the reader.

Haruf's simple style is both deceptive and hypnotic. I read this book in two sittings, and it was the power of the style that kept me going. The story involves a high school football star who is forgiven many of his character flaws by the town where he lives. After a long absence from the town, he returns, and the novel is the story leading up to that fateful return to town.

If you're looking for exactly the same feelings of community and warmth you had at the end of Plainsong, then you will be sorely disappointed by this novel. If, however, you are looking for a more compelling plot with a few more twists, then this novel is for you. I can see why many of Plainsong's fans don't like this one, but I see them as two distinct sides of a very good writer.

Having not had my fix of Haruf's writing after reading Plainsong, I immediately bought this book and found it to be equally satisfying. This is a book with a lot of heart and one that reminds you that no matter where you are right now you are never to far from home and your past, for better or worse. Haruf has an uncanny ability to draw you into his story and allow you to genuinely empathize with his character's emotions. You will be thrilled when the narrator finds his true love and you will be disgusted when you read the bitter and shocking ending. This book can be read in a matter of hours. Give it a chance.

I love the Bolitho series and have reread them all several times, Kent has not proved able to handle the transition from officer/captain to flag rank. Too dark, not enough action, what happen to the brillance of "To Glory We Steer" and others of the earlier books.

By now we've heard almost all the sail commands and maneuvers possible, and Kent seems to have run out of new sea lore. This is another book in which Bolitho's passionate interest in his married lover Catherine takes pride of place to sea action. Kent is spinning his wheels in these later stories, or better said: "he's all aback, an' that's no error." Now that Richard Bolitho has been an admiral for a while, he's become more involved with grand strategy than small ship actions, and Kent is harder pressed to make him an exciting figure. This is probably true to life but makes for a tedious tale. Symptomatic of the problem is the fact the publisher devotes most of the cover blurb to the author's credentials to write such a book, and only two sentences to the story. The "Reefs" of the title are more metaphorical than geographic: the estrangement of Bolitho and his favorite officer, Herrick; Herrick's court-martial; Bolitho's cruel sister; Herrick's betrayal; and Bolitho's continuing estrangement from power and reward due to envy and his illicit affair. Despite his youthful appearance, a lifetime's violent assaults and horrific losses are grinding Bolitho down. Kent's mistake may have been to start Bolitho too early in his career and promote him too rapidly, arriving at flag rank too long before the convenient end of the Napoleonic world wars. Kent seems to be grooming Admiral Bolitho's nephew, frigate Capt. Adam Bolitho, for better and more cheerful stories in the future.

This book may not have the major fleet engagements sprinkled through it as most Alexander Kent books do, but it is not lacking in action, character development and page turnability (that feeling when you just have to read the next section to find out what's going to happen next). I first fell in love with this series of books when I was 12, and I'm most of the way through a complete read of the series in many years. These books are as fresh and enjoyable to read as the first time I picked up Sloop of War. I highly recommend this entire series to anyone who is interested in the days of fighting sails and sailors.

Well, this book is really oriented on the topics of the 70-175 exam but it just go quickly over the themes without going to deep in the matter. It could be good for a fast review if all the topics but YOU REALLY NEED ADITIONAL SOURCES. You can not miss the official training course from Microsoft. If you have passed the 70-176, then with the course materials and this book you would do Ok.

On both of the exams for Visual Basic 6.0, there are numerous questions about Visual SourceSafe and the Package and Deployment Wizard. You will need to have a through understanding of these in order to pass the exam. This book gives the basics but does not go in to great detail on these subjects. I would recommend James D. Foxall's "MCSD in a Nutshell" and the Transcender courses if you are really serious about your certification. Visual Basic 6.0 is still the main development environment at many companies. You want the best training and education you can get. This book is about average. This book is OK if you use it as a supplemental book to the other study guides.

If you are a programmer and heading towards your MCSD exams, the Fast Track series is wonderful. I bought both the 70-176 and the 70-175 books and I am impressed.

Once again (see review of 70-176), this is not a learning tool for Visual Basic. And, once again, I reserve the fifth star until I take the test. Some of the content is the same from one book to the next, but learning the IDE is as important, test wise, to each.

This book is absolutely horrible. I bought it on SALE in a local comic shop and thank God it was discounted! I went home and read it and haven't reread it since. I wouldn't re-open this graphic novel if I was super-bored! This is absolutely the worst Superman trade paperback (well, The Marriage of Superman is also Horrendous) so ONLY buy this if it is discounted. I am not a fan of Dan Jurgen's Superman. He killed Superman, remember? And brought him back. He married Superman. And he killed Clark Kent? Geez, if he's trying to make his mark on Superman, I'd suggest he come up with something creative. Now, he's not the prime writer in this trade paperback, but you can see the indecision around here. There is no unity or solid storytelling with this whole group of writers. Superman never looked so confusing and lost and the writers go off and kill his identity?? This is a major no buy. Buy it if you are a die-hard Superman fan. Buy it if you are missing these issues and cannot find them in the .50 cent bin. Buy this if you are a collector of graphic novels. Buy this if you are curious. But if you are looking for a great read, I'd suggest you look elsewhere (ie, anything NON-Dan Jurgens)

After you have already killed the man of steel, had his funeral, and then brought him back to life, what do you do for an encore? You "kill" his alter ego or secret identity of course.

When the villianous Conduit learns that Superman and Clark Kent are the same person, the life of our hero is turned upside down, and the lives of those closest to him are put in danger, as a form of blackmail. Therefore: Kent must die. At face value, the story is an interesting idea, but the way it unfolds left me disappointed. One of the things that bothered me about the story was its villian. Quite frankly, using Conduit, was a bad idea. The back cover of the trade paperback proclaims that he is one of "his greatest foes". While a certain amount of hyperbole is fine to describe charaters in comics, in the story, he hardly came across as "great The character seemed like one big cliche. In the end it was like so what let's move on. The story didn't have the impact that I think the Superman writers were hoping for. Due in large measure, to a poorly realized foe--the story would have worked had Luthor or Brainiac been the main catalyst. The story seemed to go on much longer than it needed to.

The Superman artists did a nice job on the muti part story As usual the work of Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, the legendary Gil Kane, and Dennis Janke stand out here, among all the artists who worked on the saga

The trade paperback collects all 12 parts of the story and includes reprints of the covers as well The book has 319 pages. Who knows? With a better villian and a shorter length, things may have turned out much more enjoyable than they did. Buy this book only at a discount if you must-otherwise don't bother Read The Death Of Superman instead

Now don't get me wrong. It was as enjoyable as any other mediocre comic book, but not worth the money. Read the 'Death of Superman' et al series if you really want to see Clark die! ...and die he does!

This book has many glaring mistakes and does little to explain why the QRF took a 25 mile long detour to the airfield, deployed out of the same site as the Ranger Convoy, or why the QRF ended up going the wrong way and got into an extraneous fire fight near the Digfer Hospital/Old Russian Embassy. I will address just one glaring inaccuracy. It credits 1SG Dooty of Company C, 2-14th Infantry with rescuing SGT Carroll who was injured in the Quick Reaction Forces initial attempt at rescuing TF Ranger. 1SG Dooty was not there and SGT Carroll was a Specialist that afternoon. 1SG Dooty was about 150 meters up the road with his Company Commander CPT Whetstone. Those who did go out and bring SPC Carroll back were SFC Eddie Ricord (a Special Forces Medic attached to the 2-14th as part of a Civil Affairs Team), 1LT Flaugherty (sp?) (the Battalion Physician's Assistant) and PFC Jackson (a Medic from 2-14th). They applied initial treatment to SPC Carroll and moved him back to the Civil Affairs HUMVEE for transportation. When I read this book I passed tthe copy along to SFC Ricord who of course was incensed that someone else was taking credit for other's work (particulary since 1LT Flaugherty was quoted on the previous page). The authors did little to double check claims of action and took at face value that one interview. This type of investigation tends to lead to unsubstantiated claims and inaccuracies.

This book has too many contradictions, about the people involved. The author (a weekend warrior and an officer no doubt)misleads the reader by giving various titles and positions to people that took part in the events. For example; if CWO Durant was stripped naked of his BDU's, how was it that he was videotaped wearing his BDU Trousers and Brown Undershirt? C'mon. I was in the Army and Infantry, I don't deny the heroics that day but we should'nt have been in Somalia in the first place. If the US does return to Somalia in some trumped up excuse for finding terroists we're in for another (***) whoopin unless we go in loaded for bear.

Very easy to read and actually quite amazing. Most people don't know what happened with these guys and this book did a great job telling the story in a very readable way. Both, my son and I enjoyed this book very much and are awed by the sacrifice of these brave soldiers.

If you read the review on the back cover you think you are getting a great book, but MS Press must have written their own on this book.

Figures. Can't believe I read the reviews and bought this book anyway. Sheesh. Like, 3 frickin pages in the whole book about multiplay and not nearly enough about advantages,disadv of each culture.

This book is just what the novice player needs. It provides the tips and strategies necessary to make the game enjoyable rather than frustrating. Well written and nicely illustrated, the book carefully details the individual scenarios within each campaign, allowing the player to develop the basic knowledge and skills for more advanced play.

This book delivered exactly what it had promised...a quick review prior to the exam. I read the book a week before I took the exam and passed. Keep in mind that this book is not meant as an in depth review that will cover topics easily found in MSDN and the VB Books On-line. It goes over some key elements that will help you pass the test.

I believe this book is best used by experienced professionals who have already passed a previous VB Exam. If this is your first VB Exam, pass on this one and get a more comprehensive guide.

All in all, this book was perfect for me; I read it in a week (as opposed to 2 months for the first exam book I read on VB 5.0) and passed the exam.

I bought this & the Fast Track for -175. I've passed both exams by using the product & reviewing these books.

That said, these books ASSUME you know the product. These books do not try to teach you concepts. They point out what the concepts are you need to know for the exam. They tell you how MS creates the questions & what it expects developers to know. If you use the product & know the product, this book will be sufficient.

If you are new to VB, a more complete book will be required.

As the authors say, this is a book designed for experienced VB users. Works extremely well at categorizing topics in alignment with the exam's. Newbys who try to use this or any other book to obtain the knowledge required to become certified as professionals are neither professional nor realistic in their expectations. I had pre-ordered this book back in April and, upon delivery, registered for the exam. Read the book (not scanned, but READ) from cover to cover the weekend before and felt extremely comfortable on exam day. And passed. The areas stressed in the summary sections are the ones stressed in the exam.