I found the book Questioning Extreme Programming to provide a good explanation of XP for people who don't already know its jargon.

However, Pete's assertion that XP only works in a certain niche of possible project-types isn't supported in the book -- the assertion is made many times, but no real evidence is presented. Since there are many successful projects out there doing XP, the niche must not be as small as Pete says.

I agree with one point from another (not yet published) book on agile software development: XP can provide a great improvement in software quality in those companies that don't already have a good development process. If your company has a good development process with acceptible agility and good enough results, you don't need to change what you do.

Most programmers have used some form of XP over the years. Actually it dates back to times when there was no software development lifecycles. Am I dating myself? However, it can work in some circumstances with smaller projects and very thorough, disciplined and highly technical programmers. For the most part however, I find that it causes a lot of extra re-work, delays getting the finished project implemented as the user wants it, and uses a lot of time re-building, re-testing, excessive version control, re-implementing, changes, changes, changes, and lots of scope creep and gold-plating. Not only that but when I was programming it was not beneficial to have another programmer or anyone breathing down my neck. I need complete focus and concentration for long periods of time. It seems that things like this always tend to run in circles. With the younger generations trying what the older generations tried and then realizing you cannot skip the up-front work.

Some quotes from a longer review that I wrote:

"presents many good challenges that need to be addressed"

"Questioning XP did not appear to be backed by enough meaningful research or experience to provide a truly honest critique of XP. Its conclusions did not seem to be in line with the evidence presented in the rest of the book. However, I do recommend it for XP coaches--it does provide a thorough awareness of the issues that will be faced on an XP effort."

A complete review is available at xprogramming.com.

This collection of essays about the Battle of Gettysburg is an unusual mixture of descriptions of selected people and incidents inter-cut with the author's personal reflections from today's (© 1994) perspective. The author presumes that the reader is familiar with the participants, geography, sequence of events, and details. I probably should not have bought the book because I don't yet know enough about the battle.

Gramm's descriptions of historical events often left me wondering and in a few instances they are intentionally incomplete. Describing Lincoln's reaction when asked what he should do about slavery, Gramm says only that "Lincoln's dry and more or less sardonic reply is well know." Gramm doesn't tell me what it was and I don't know (p. 22 in the Indiana U. Press paperback). Elsewhere Gramm reports "'If I can't whip Bobby Lee with this,' said George McClellan, waving the copy of Lee's orders-but the rest of the story is well known." (p. 72) Not to me.

Gramm's approach to the history of the battle wobbles. Sometimes he writes straight historical detail: "For the Second [Wisconsin regiment], 302 present, 26 killed in action, 155 wounded, 52 missing: 233. . . . The Seventh, with 370 originally present, defended 35 yards, losing 39 killed, 103 wounded, 52 missing during the whole battle. During the war the 7th Wisconsin enrolled 1,714 men: 1,029 originally mustered in plus 685 recruits throughout its service . . . ." (p. 161)

Sometimes he indulges in careless approximations: After stating, "Gettysburg receives on the average 3, 018,123 visitors per year, who spend $81,077,687," Gramm astounded me by saying, "I have made these figures up, but they will do." (p. 2) If Gramm wants to make this point, why would he not go to the little trouble it would take to gather the data?

Sometimes he offers chat and speculation, perhaps intending to be witty or disarming: "maybe Archibald was a pain in the neck, a self-righteous, teetotaling ass" (p. 121); "that incredible jerk Kilpatrick" (p. 26); "Quite possibly Lee blew his cork, and Stuart cried" (p. 25); and regarding Heth, "Somewhere he had requisitioned too big a hat and had stuffed a wad of newspaper inside to make things fit, and the bullet's impact was cushioned by the newsprint. The moral is that it's good to steal hats." (p. 66)

At their best, Gramm's "meditations on war and values" are trite or puzzling: "The idea that voting is nonviolent is wistful; the physical violence is merely at one or two removes." (p. 29). "The battlefield itself is like a holy book., motionless yet always moving, palpable but always new. Similarly all the world: infused, shot through, with mystery, terror and beauty, changeless but changing as we are changing" (p. 45).

But often his "meditations" are attacks. Sometimes they are aimed at fundamental and evangelical Christians whom he calls "fundagelicals" (p. 121). An example: "Fundamentalists are sinister. Most American 'evangelicals' are fundamentalists who shop at Marshall Field's." (p. 242)

More often they are attacks on American culture and values.

"Today a young black man in an urban ghetto is worse off than his father or grandfather was. If you are poor, young and black you have as little hope as a slave had. . . . America is dying in the streets." (p. 23)

"We have been expending everything, and putting nothing of a moral nature back in. . . . Out goes the children's education, out go the poor, the homeless, the Hispanics and blacks, out go the old people, out goes Nature itself; out go Vietnam vets and 300,000 Iraqis . . . In come the Japanese." (p. 31)

"But now all the glory is spent, and America is a geriatric debauchee rolling downhill in a Japanese wheelchair." (p. 107)

"The New American Dream has become a cruel reality. . . . We are beyond all appeals to honor. We are about to be overwhelmed. . . . we don't believe in what we are doing." (p. 242)

To me, Gramm's ideas are tired, his insights are banal, and his ranting is mostly confused, stream-of-consciousness, self-indulgent ruminations woefully in need of a heavy-handed or even ruthless editor. Perhaps somewhere behind the jumbled gush of words there are fresh ideas that with more discipline and rigor could have been expressed coherently to readers.

I expected much better than this from a book about the Battle of Gettysburg and subtitled "meditations on war and values."

If the book is redeemed for me to any degree, it is largely by the essay on Dorsey Pender.

To any person who has visited the Gettysburg battlefield and experienced its spiritual quality, this book is definitely for you. This book brought back the rush of visiting the battlefield with a crushing force. The author describes the battlefield in terms of sight, sound, smell, and sometimes touch in such detail that a past visit is recalled and an additional visit is desired. Anyone who is anticipating a visit to Gettysburg would find this a useful preparatory source. The locations and geographic aspects of the battle are vividly described. The only down side of the book is that detailing some of the author's "Values" which I find a curious combination of sixties liberalism and latterday pessimism. I found the historical analysis of the battle to be accurate but challenging to many of the commonly held tenets which are printed about the Civil War and the battle. More than anything else, the author's love and reverence of the Gettysburg National Park flows out of this book like a river.

Kent Gramm's, "Gettysburg- A Meditation on War and Values", is the oddest "war" book I've ever read- and the most wonderful. Gramm's novel approach posits the Battle of Gettysburg as a lens through which to view contemporary society for the purpose of examining two basic questions: "Are we better off today than we were in the Civil War era?" and "Have we earned the sacrifice that those soldiers made?" In Gramm's opinion, we fall woefully short of positive answers to both of them.

Gramm attempts to show that we have squandered both the ideals and the dreams those men fought for through a combination of purposeful action and outright indifference. We have, he argues, fallen headlong into a morass of thoughtless materialism. The result of our tumble is an unforgivable lack of any sense of nobility in our society on either the collective or individual level. Whether or not one agrees with the author's conclusions, they are argued cogently and with tremendous passion, and are, at a minimum, quite thought-provoking.

Gramm's history is as well-done as his sociology, rendered in a semi-conversational style that is eminently readable, informative, and entertaining. His accounts of events and people from the Battle of Gettysburg are fascinating and spot-on, with the effect of making his social critique that much more moving (his brief study of Confederate general Dorsey Pender is especially effective in that sense).

"Gettysburg" is a brilliant book that not all will find to be such- if one prefers his history "straight up", Gramm's approach will likely be rather annoying. But for anyone willing to try history "with a twist", written from what is clearly a deep reservoir of feeling and experience, this book will prove to be a treasure.

At the very beginning of "Gettysburg", Gramm justifies his whole approach with a Thoreau quote: "...it is the province of the historian to find out not what was, but what is." Perhaps it is the province of the reader of history to do the same.

i should have read all the reviews not just the first one. i didnt like this book at all.

I am an Elvis fan and got this book as a gift for my birthday. I'm sure a lot of work went into it, but it's not actually an Elvis quiz book. At least I didn't have to pay for it, so I suppose it could have been worse.

Moore & Scott have a real winner with the Ultimate Elvis Quiz Book. It is a very unique way to learn about Elvis. More importantly, it is just a lot of fun doing the clever puzzles. A bonus is the great pictures, most of which are rarely seen. There are books available about all aspects of Elvis' life, but this one is totally different from all the others. All Elvis fans should have this book.

This book is a continuation of the Bolitho series. It starts after " Beyond the Reef". Bolitho is headed back to Cape town. The theme is more thoughtful then some of Kent's earlier works. It lacks some of the mindless action some readers might crave. It does have excellent ship to ship action as well good plot development, and the the usual excellent cast. I liked this book.

The Richard Bolitho series now covers something like 23 books and (by my count) about forty years of story time. One of its chief attractions, especially in the last six or eight books, has been watching the characters grow and change and watching their lives criss-cross and intersect. The later books have (properly, since Kent is scrupulous about playing fair with Bolitho's age and medical problems) been less about swashbucking and more about relationships.

All those trends are at work in this installment. If your principal interest to Kent's novels is the sea battles and swordfights, you may want to give up on the series--or at least this piece of it. If you've stuck with the series because because you care about Bolitho and the other continuing characters, though . . . settle back and enjoy a deftly written story about love, loss, and second chances (punctuated by some 1st-rate sea battles).

It' some time ago since I've last read one of his books, but I'm always happy do catch one. I'm only sad that it takes sooo long till there is an other Bolitho on the market. There is only one better in writing narval fiction who is C. S. Forester with Horatio Hornblower.

Too many story lines and the ships jumping from the Med to Engalnd to Africa to the Med with people jumping in and out and and a new woman thrown in. Can't anyone in this series fall in love over a period greater than one day? THe action is limited and the book doesn't stand alone. Unless you have rtead the first 24, don't start here

This novel is tagged as a Richard Bolitho novel. It's not. Mr. Kent chose to kill Richard Bolitho off two novels ago and left us with his whining nephew, Adam, who annoyed me from the very beginning. I'd been reading of Richard's many and varied adventures for 25 years and Mr. Kent kills him off in one paragraph!? How did faithful, loyal Allday feel? Who knows? Mr. Kent chose to totally disregard his friendship with Richard. I was so disgusted I donated the book to my local library. Adam is a whiner. The women in Kent's latest novels have the men wrapped around their little fingers. Geez! Where's the fabulous comraderie of the earlier novels, the triumphant battles and the agony of defeat? Also, he killed off most of the wonderful characters I so enjoyed (thank goodness dear Allday was spared, the *only* character left I can empathize with). So no. I will not read another Adam novel.

Alexander Kent is now depicting the Royal Navy without a defined enemy and the impact this is having on it. Without a belligerent France across the Channel, the strength of the navy is slashed to the bone and beyond.

Adam Bolitho is still in command of the frigate Unrivalled only now is dealing with ships packed to overflowing with Africans en-route to slavery and with North African pirates. Neither of these opponents are giving much concern to politicians and merchant bankers of Great Britain, except in so far as they are accumulating wealth from the transport and auction of slaves. The man in the street knows little about this and cares less.

It is this apathy of the public that the Royal Navy in general and Adam in particular must battle. It might be easy to die for your country when the enemy is French or Spanish, but when it is a slave runner, the concept becomes a little vague. Fighting in the Bay of Biscay is one thing, fighting in the Bight of Benin is something else entirely.

Kent creates the atmosphere of these times with great care. You are faced with seamen, tossed onto the beach without thought, after being through tremendous hardship and danger. You are also faced with the families that they had left behind and now must support in some form or fashion. Also, there is the aristocracy, both of society and the Royal Navy that must be maintained. These features never go away. One would think that the needs of the Naval aristocracy would decrease as the Navy shrinks - far from it!

Adam Bolitho is a complex man and as I learn more about him, I can see this. From a bastard orphan to a successful naval officer, we have seem him evolve. Yet he is still dogged by his origins - he has never forgotten the days as a youngster fending for himself as his mother became unable to care and support him.

This is a book without the flash and thunder of a fleet action. Now it is a series of actions between schooners and sloops and oared launches. Adam's ship is too big and powerful to be of decisive value except as a resevoir from which to draw men to man the smaller ships. It is this type of action that is honing the skills of the men of Unrivalled and preparing them for the ultimate combat with African pirates.

Throughout the book, we are reintroduced to charecters of the past, Thomas Herrick, Daniel Yovel, Graeme Bethune and others. We see an appearance by Richard's daughter Elizabeth as she starts to connect to Adam for after all, in spite of birth situation, he is her closest surviving relative and vice versa.

This book is a continuation of the Bolitho family saga. It continues to add to what we know of the family, even if it is only in small details, such as the name of Adam's mother. I found it thoroughly enjoyable and a fine addition to my library. I would recommend it to anyone who has read even a few of the preceeding books on the Bolitho family.

In "Hara, the Vital Centre of Man" Karlfried Graf Durekheim quotes a Japanese acquaintance "Chest out--belly in" a nation capable of taking this injunction as a general rule, is in great danger" I agree Michaek Grant White,"The Breathing Coach" breathmike@aol.com

Review of breathe BETTER feel BETTER The ancient Yogic axiom still applies. "Control your breathing and you control your life". The question remains. In what way do you control your life? So many people underbreathe that practically anything you do with the breath will improve someone's situation. That makes this book somewhat serviceable. There are some good exercises and suggestions. However the reverse breathing (belly goes in on the inhale) leaning of this book flies in the face of every martial art-non violent and violent, opera training, voice coaching, free diving and stress management technique I have ever heard of in 25 years of studying the breath. It is touting reverse breathing. It refers to Dr. Chandra Patel, who did the preface in the latest leading edge Respiratory Psychophysiology book and who I am surprised is allowing mention of her name, plus a leading Indian research institute, which obviously has a sympathetic nervous system bias relevant to the breathing cycle. It also states that learning some of these exercises will improve singing and pubic speaking. I guess maybe, someday, but in my experience, in a very weak way. Stress management yes. Because in the USA about 80% of illness is caused by stress That in itself is reason enough to do the practices and see if they work for you. I just think there are much better books around than this one. Donna Farhi's "The Breathing Book" for one. Conscious Breathing by Gay Hendricks another. Donna admits she taught Yoga for 20 years and didn't know how to breathe and Gay Hendricks at last contact can't sing. I told him I could teach him how. The benefits of each way of breathing very much make up how the culture thinks and feels about life. And the breathing styles are very different in the way they influence the nervous system. To deny the Hara or Tanden and its spiritual center including its keeyi (loud grunt at moment of impact), the Lower Tantien with its ability to maintain one "in the flow", or Wester Medical insights into the sacral aspect of the parasympathetic nervous system and its potentially simultaneously energixing and calming effects are a major oversight. To try and prove a reverse breathing theory with kinesiology is in my opinion stretching kinesiology's credibility and brings it unfair scrutiny. Whether you are stronger when you breathe in the ribs is, I believe, more about common weakness in the diaphragm and startle reflex accumulated tensions in the neck, throat, back, belly, rigidity in the pelvis and knees and lack of being totally in our feet Plus emotional and energetic issues surface in ways that challenge many to keep breathing MORE. Handle those and the breath naturally travels downward into its natural power and resonance. The key is WHAT to do about WHERE the blocks in the breathwave are". How do you assess an unbalanced breath? Specific self assessments, objective and subjective, exercises, stretches, postures, diet and a host of other factors make up what a full breath should be. I am addressing these in my book in progress. I suspect the insights stem largely from people recovering from catastrophic respiratory illness and so need to go very slowly. God bless them and let them do what feels right. For now. And I think I am allergic to the printers ink they used. Michael Grant White, "The Breathing Coach" Breathmike@aolcom Website soon to be: www.breathing.com

This is a wonderful book. Well illustrated and easy in its approach, I have really benefitted from using it. The relaxation aspect that these techniques create have helped me to better cope with daily stresses. Bravo to Howard Kent. He knows what he's talking about.

Look, I have a BS in Computer Science. I see so many manuals that it would make your head swim. This book ranks up with the worst of the worst. It is a reference, NOT a guide. If you already know Miva, great, buy the book. If you are just beginning, keep searching because this book does nothing, absolutely ZIP in helping you create, maintain an ecommerce website.

The book was complete complete and I did not see any mistakes but it was mainly just a nicer printed version of the manual. There were some scripts and explanaitions but not much. If you want a bound and printed reference it is good, otherwise I would just use the only manual and example code from the shopping cart or a miva programming site.

If you're customizing Miva Merchant or developing other Mivascripts, you'll find this book essential. The writing is clear, thetext is well-indexed and full of examples. My only complaint is thatmany of the examples are simplified - perhaps to help us all getstarted...

I have read the Hornblower series twice and the Aubrey/Maturin series three times and I looked forward to reading another Britanic Naval series when I began Kent's Bolitho series. The series began strong but towards the end (somewhere around "Success to the Brave") the series started running out of gas. It appeared to me that the publishers requested Kent to pad the books with inane story lines (or they themselves committed the sin) in order to extend the series (at nearly US$15/book) to increase their profit. I got to the point that when I read the one of many over used phrases, such as "blood ran from the scuppers as if the ship itself was mortally wounded", I put the book down in disgust. Futhermore, I would occasionally read a few pages that reminded me of the better written books that began the series, affirming my belief that a much less talented individual had a hand in the completion of the series. I suggest to anyone looking for another Aubrey/Maturin series to pick up O'Brian's "Master and Commander" and reread that series. However, if you do pick up the Bolitho series stop investing in the books when it becomes obvious to you that the publishers are padding the stories.

I read the first 16 or 17 Bolitho books in a hurry, 4 or 5 years ago, and enjoyed them quite a bit. Recently I picked up this one and was very disappointed. Rather than a good story of action and history, that I had come to expect from the author, this recent edition was dedicated almost entirely to Bolitho and Catherine mooning about each other and lamenting their separations.

This is by far the longest book in Kent's Bolitho series. Unlike most books earlier in the series Bolitho spends considerable time on shore iintimately nvolved with his illicit love, Catherine, and then when he is at sea again passionately longing for her. The brave stories of a scared little midshipman who eventually finds his courage, or the lieutenant who excels despite having lost half his face are nearly lost behind Bolitho's obsessive anxieties over his separation from the bold Catherine. Bolitho, now half blinded, is showing signs of tiring and retiring. The series has become a study in the accumulated effects of endless time at sea and in fighting sharp and desperate actions. Bolitho, always deeply concerned with his men, has progressively lost the closest colleagues on whom he had depended, "we happy few," an' that's no error. Still there are flashes of the old outer heroics while fighting the Dutch for Cape Town, on a secret mission to Copenhagen, and coming to the rescue of his troubled friend Herrick at sea.

Good lord this is bad! Tess is always sorrowful over something or another, the description makes up at least half the book, and the plot moves along at a snails pace. If you find reading about a girl's sensitive feelings (to the point of wanting to attack her), and reading extreme amounts of things like milking cows, harvesting grain, walking places, sleeping, and being pathetic, then this is the book for you. Otherwise, avoid this book like the plague.

It was unique, sad, and brutal. Some parts were too exaaggerated and Tess's maudlin made it all worse! The story was good but could have been written in half as many words!

First published in 1891, Tess... is a very sad book: a young girl's life is slowly but surely destroyed -not by her enemies, but by the people who say they love her.

This book seems to contain plenty of updated information gathered from many good resources. With the exeption of the very many typos, this book is great.

This is a good book covering the fundamentals of Transportation Engineering. There are a bunch of typos which irritate a bit, otherwise the book is okay.

This book covers most of the fundamental knowledge of transportation engineering. The example is straight forward. You might need to adapt it for the real practise. In the descriptive topic, author has his style/vocab. of writing which is quite tough at the begining to understand but his ideas is interesting.