The pictures were good. It was relavent to the age group it was made for because it was easy reading.

This book is definitely decent to say the least. You need not be a culinary master; the recipes are relatively simple and easy to prepare, and as far as I can tell, none of the recipes take more than an hour. However, the title is deceiving. As an incoming freshman, I expected it to use microwaves and hotpots, but it requires stoves and ovens. This book is good for the busy, hungry student, but not for one still in the res halls. It is aimed well at the college community, complete with sections on different drinks and munchies. The recipe names are a little cheesy at times, and I'm not quite sure how a casserole called Hangover Helper would help a hangover, but it was good enough for me. If I could I'd give it three and a half stars; maybe I will compile my own in my upcoming college years.

Captain Picard, Dianna Troi, and Lutenant Worf are on a mission to Oriana to negotiate a peace treaty between waring factions on the planet, who are finally becoming convinced that if they don't find peace soon, they will all be doomed to die along with thier ravaged planet.

Soon after the away team beams down, the Enterprise recives a distress call and leaves the team on the planet while Riker leads the Enterprise on a rescue mission.

Now alone, things soon take a bad turn as the Peace delegation discovers the terrible things which war has done to the planet, and to the people through the long two hundred year war. Picard is arrested when someone is killed by poision in the first peace talk gathering. Worf and Troi must now invistigate the murder to clear thier Captain's name or he will be executed in three days time.

This was a good book, a quick, enjoyable read. This is Worf's first need to be a diplomat, and at the point it was written in the series this was a nearly absurd thought, most espically to Worf. However, you may also be interrested in a book "Diplomatic Implausibility" which is in the timeframe after Worf has served on DS9 and has actually become an ambassador.

I was sorely disapointed with this book. I was hoping for the majority of it to be background and detail that wasn't covered in the series. Unfortunately, other than some "physical data" on many of the star systems, a few in depth histories and one or two other tidbits, most of the information in here is directly from the trilogy, just repackaged. This book was a waste of my money.

The Confederation Handbook is a companion volume to Hamilton's massive "Night's Dawn Trilogy", which was a trilogy in Britain, but not in the USA. It lays out the history and technology of the major cultures, discusses the planets on which the action of the trilogy occurs, and fills in a little background information.
Why is it a book of spoilers? Much of Night's Dawn consists of going through a long series of adventures to find out the quirks of Hamilton's galaxy. It is the wealth and appeal of his background, and the daring of his conceit- scifi that overtly tackles all the issues usually left to religion-- that make "Night's Dawn" so popular. With this book you get in neat summary the information that would otherwise require you to read thousands of pages of the trilogy itself. Indeed, if you read the first volume of "Reality Dysfunction" and would like to know where the story goes, you have only to read this book, skip the next four and a half volumes, and read the last 100 pages of "Naked God", and you will have the plot. So this book can be considered the Cliff Notes version of "Night's Dawn". Readers who have read and learned all the information provided in the trilogy will find little new here. Since I had read the six volumes at different times, there were gaps in my knowledge, and this book was wonderful for filling those (somehow, I missed the part where he explained the cause of the reality dysfunction itself). So I enjoyed and profited from this Handbook. Please note that the one thing omitted from the "Handbook" is the Deus ex Machina ending of "The Naked God"; readers seeking more information about that phenomenon will be disappointed.
Fans of "Night's Dawn" might want to buy this book as a reference work. It has handy sections on Voidhawk breeding, etc.
Now you can make your own decision.

Here is one book that I am divided on. On the one hand, I can hardly claim to be disappointed since the book delivers exactly what is described. On the other hand, I am a little disappointed due to the nature of the book itself. The first thing to understand is that this is not a book of stories revolving around the "Night's Dawn" trilogy and its Future History. Rather this is basically a compendium of the people, technology, cultures, etc. of that Future History in a condensed format. That being said, all of this is available in the trilogy itself somewhere. It is not in the condensed format, granted, but it is in there. That, of course, is to be expected. However, there is really nothing extra that makes this book all that compelling of a buy. I am sure there are a few extra details here and the degree of satisfaction you will feel with those few extra details will depend entirely upon just how deeply you want to get into the Future History.

If you are a person that has trouble getting into "space opera" type stories where there are many characters, cultures, and technologies, this book might help you make sense of it all beforehand rather than learning it piece-meal via reading through the "Night's Dawn" trilogy of books. However, if you are not that sort of person my guess is you will feel that you wasted your money. (Note: I am not saying you will feel cheated. As I said, the book gives what it promises.) I gave this three stars because it is an excellent compendium to the "Night's Dawn" trilogy but I kept the last two stars simply because nothing extra was really added for those fans who might have wanted a little more. If I had to make recommendations, I would say avoid this one and read the trilogy or "A Second Chance at Eden" (which is a collection of short stories and novellas dealing with the Future History).

After reading the various pros and cons of this book, I thought I would take it for a spin from my local library. Unfortunately, for the author, he runs off the road in the first two pages. In this short space, he talks about how terrible it was that when Napoleon fell from power the great personal freedom(???) that the French people had was lost, onerous reparations that France had to pay, and how great social institutions were dismantled. Those three statements alone are enough to show that this author should be stopped for WWI (Writing While Intoxicated). As an example of the great personal freedom that the French people had he mentions that people were able to rise due to merit. Hmmm, I guess being a relative of Napoleon is meritous since that's all it took to become the king of Spain - even when Joseph didn't want to be the king of Spain. Titles and estates were given hither and yon simply for being a good general in the rape and pillage of innocent countries. Maybe the author meant free speech, but no there was none. Newspapers were closed. A printer *in another country* was kidnapped to France and executed for having the audacity of printing a anti-Napoleon pamphlet. Napoleon was the sole arbiter of plays, music, newspapers, etc.
The state was everything... the individual, nothing. Elections were fixed, his assistants virtual slaves. His secretary of ten years asked to leave due to health problems. His house was stripped, his reputation ruined, his ability to earn a living destroyed simpley because he wished to leave a job. Maybe he meant freedom of property or commerce. Confiscatory taxes were used to supply the army. If taxes didn't cover it, then you would supply a loan at the point of sword. If you asked for repayment... another sword point would meet you. After the taxes, the loans, and simple confiscation they would come and take what they needed including your son. In Poland, Napoleon got a mistress by threatening the countries nobles. Even if you weren't French, you could conscripted in to their army. There was no freedom of commerce. If you traded with England for anything, anywhere in the world, you were an enemy. Napoleon was genius, but a heartless, flawed, faithless and incredibly malicious and cruel genius.

Hamilton-Williams places an entire new slant on the subject of Naploeons fall and uses his many sources well ( and provides warnings when the sources are not trustworthy ) most of his conclusions are viable on the evidence provided and well written. Half his problem are that a large amount of his conclusions destroy the assumptions that a large portion of Napoleonic historians make and like to continue to make and hence the backlash against him. His view of Napoleon essentially brought down from within is one that is gaining more and more acceptance and anyone who is prepared to cope with his partisan approach to the issue will enjoy and learn from this book.

With regards to emphasis the book leans heavily on the undercurrents, political manouverings of this period and thus provides a fresh look on an overwritten subject. Excellant

Hamilton-Williams builds his book around original documents, including memos and orders. His view is as free of bias as one can hope, while building a compelling case against the Grand Alliance and for Napoleon

If you're a fan of Salinger's work, do not read this poor written biography. The best you can do is just read his marvelous books, and forget about the writer to focus on the writing.

Take first the fact that you're reading a book about someone who did not want to be involved with this book at all. You could put that aside. After all, if a new Salinger book showed up without his permission, I guarantee I would snatch it up even as I complain about the publisher going against his wishes. Even if Hamilton's writing was the only thing lacking, you could probably get past that and seek out some interesting information on Salinger's life/work/etc., but it goes beyond just poor writing. There is nothing of real merit here as far as I can see. Why write a book that basically restates what you can find in an encyclopedia section on Salinger? When you simply restate that after a certain point not much is known over and over again or try to use the investigative journalism approach to gain readers' sympathy (think of all of the reporters who knock on the door and scream inside about the person avoiding the interview and although the clip is really a bore, it gets used because it backs up the viewpoint of that reporter). I am a huge Salinger fan, and I would have settled for a poorly written, unauthorized biography if I could have found something else of value underneath.

Yeah, this biography is kind of weak but the subject is JD Salinger, at least Hamilton gives explanations for gaps in the story, its not totallyincoherent. Its really a biography and "Making of" the biography at the same time. Hamilton takes us along like a sluething companion. Even if you have sympathy for Salinger's privacy don't worry, so does our author--but his nosy alter-ego is a little less gracious. Despite what other harsh... critics have said, I did learn a lot of info on J.D. such as about his army days during WWII and his numerous short stories published in magazines during 40s and 50s (it'd be nice to take a look at those.)

Because Salinger is such a recluse, this psuedo-bio only covers his writing years (which ended in the early 60s). I found much of the detail on how Hamilton obtains his information interesting. He actually manages to get his hands on original copies of some Salinger letters written during this time. The quoted material from these letters ends up as a legal battle with the man himself (J.D.) which is really kind of dull and uninformative. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth if only because it reminds you that Salinger doesn't want us reading this tripe at all; a conundrum since most of you are probably reading it because you're a fan.

I read this one first, then the one by Lindeburg. There is no comparison- the Potter book has too many mistakes, outdated material, its organization does not mirror the exam's organization like the Lindeburg book does, it is not in depth enough to be of any use. After working through the Lindeburg book, I rarely even referred to this one (and the exam was a snap).

While trying to study from this book I found many outdated references. For instance, tables and charts for the 1984 "green book" and references to the 198-something HCM. The book also has a hydraulics and hydrology slant. Even the Highway section turns into a hydralogy review loosly based on highways. Do not buy this book, instead look into the Lindeman reference.

The mistakes, inconsistencies, and assumptions are frustrating. I don't know if there is anything better on the market. If so, I wish I had it right now.

As I listened to this book on audio tape I wondered how any child could make it through reading it. The pace is slow, and I didn't find the characters very engaging. M.C. himself wasn't even very likeable. The plot--M.C.'s fear of the slag heap behind the house falling on them--is weak. I suppose there are redeeming qualities--M.C. learning to understand his father and M.C. learning tolerance and respect for the "witchy" people, but you have to slog through a lot of uninteresting pages in the meantime.

Virgina Hamilton I Didnt like the book to much because it didnt have any exciting points that i liked.So the next book you write please have some good points in the book.Otherwise than that the book was great.

I like the book M.C. Higgins the Great, because it was kind of interesting.I say it's interesting, because of M.C.being scared of the spoil heap and you know you be wanting to know whats going to happend next.Also what interest me was when M.C. and the girl were like wrestling in the woods.I liked the story a whole lot, because it was different and full of guessing what's going to happened next.

You'll still be a dummie after reading this book. For those with little or no knowledge of carpentry, you won't find what you are looking for in this book.

There are no photos and almost NO illustrations (or drawings), so things are just described and you'll have to imagine how it looks. For example, the vast variety of screws and nails are addressed without a single illustration! A picture says a thousand words and helps the reader to visualize and comprehend the topic, but you won't find it here.

Skip this book and try Black & Decker's Complete Guide to Home Carpentry. It's loaded with color photos of the actual work you'll be doing and explains everything step-by-step.

When you read the title of this book, please take it to heart. It really is only for dummies. Who else but a dummy would need to know how to nail, how to push a button to turn on a saw, etc? There is no real information on basic carpentry skills such as the use of a framing square,framing itself, the use of leveling tools to make sure you are starting with level ground, and so on. A more appropriate title for this book would have been "Home Improvment for Dummies" as one could not take knowledge from this book and build from scratch.

I will no longer purchase "For Dummies" books without checking it out at a bookstore first.

First time builders need not worry! This books explains all you need to know. From tools and uses to step by step instructions. I highly recommend this for any beginner.

Financial Careers? I work in the industry and these sample resumes wouldn't get you an interview to bus tables in our cafeteria...

If you're serious about a career in the finance industry, especially one in i-banking, this is not the book for you. It's childish and unprofessional!

Before reading this book, my recognition of resume writing was just a paper containing descriptions of work experience, education, other skills, etc.. This book unleashes my mind. Resume is your own advertisement rather than a series of dead and routine description. You've to make it impressive. This book teaches us how to make your resume creative and interesting to read. You know, human resource officer often drowns in hundreds of application. Hence, in additional to your own qualification, it is also very important to get rid of those traditional formats and find some appealing way to catch employer's interest. I highly recommend this book.