This book is a must have for anyone interested in PR. It is up to date and illustrates all the relevant forces working in PR. It also outlines application and startegy for an effective PR campaign. Along with this book, I would also recommend Michael Levine's Guerill PR Wired, which is also a must have for anyone remotely interested in PR.

Whether you are a student or a pr practitioner, this book clearly tells you what Public Realtions is all about. Plus, you won't waste your money on this. It is up to date with the latest trends affecting PR, like laws, cases, and technology. I highly recommend this to all people who are interested in public relations. I have read many pr books but this one tops it all.

This volume collects the first four issues of the Transactions of the Royal Martian Geographical Society, a formerly-defunct magazine for GDW's late, lamented Space:1889. I regretted not acquiring these issues when they came out, but now I'm glad I waited. This combined edition is greatly superior to the originals: layout is improved, there are more graphics, and it is nice to have everything combined under one set of covers. The articles themselves are good-to-excellent in quality, and are frequently better than the material released for the original game. Many of the authors are professional historians or graduate students of history, and their depth of knowledge shows. The only thing preventing me from giving this product five stars were the facts that a: my copy (and mine alone, it seems, since I spoke with others who purchased this) was a little defective, and b: this product only covers Space: 1889--which was entirely fine by me, but might limit its appeal to other Victorian-era gamers who aren't great fans of the Space: 1889 universe. Future issues will broaden the coverage, I am told.

I am also told that the editors believe that this product was not 100% perfect, and that there is room for improvement. Personally, I don't see how. I found the product to be excellent, and welcome its release. And if volume 2 is going to be better than this, as the editors promise, it will be _extremely_ impressive indeed.

If you like role playing in the Victorian Era, this is a resource that you won't want to pass on.

There are all sorts of nifty things, adventures, floorplans, characters, cross over ideas, and background flavor.

Like the Unified Modeling Language (UML), the Rational Unified Process or RUP can be intimidating when first encountered. However, there are simple, introductory books describing them and Scott is the author for the best in each category. In this book, you are gently led through the four phases of each cycle: inception, elaboration, construction and transition.
The inception phase is where the case for the viability of the proposed system is put forward and properly answered, although it is not necessary to finalize all the requirements. Basically, this phase ends with a go/no go decision. Once the go decision is made, then the purpose of the elaboration phase is to establish whether your organization is capable or can be made capable of building the proposed project. It is here where the specifications are finalized and the final decision is made whether to proceed with the development. The construction phase is where the building takes place using the modern techniques of iterative, incremental development. Finally, the transition phase is when the final bug fixes are done and the product placed in the hands of the customers.
Each phase is characterized by a major milestone. For the inception phase, it is the lifecycle objectives, where the business case is proven strong enough to justify moving on to the next phase rather than terminating the project. The milestone of the elaboration phase is the life-cycle architecture, which is where the main functional requirements have been set down and the initial plan for the construction phase has been developed. The major milestone of the construction phase is when a more-or-less functional beta version of the software is in the hands of customers for evaluation. Finally, the major milestone for the transition phase is that magic moment known as the product release. All of these phases and milestones are described in detail, albeit in simplified form, as befits a primer.
Five workflows are continuous throughout the development cycle: requirements, analysis, design, implementation and test. Those early in the list are more prominent at the beginning and then fade to almost nothing at the point of release. The workflows at the end of the list start at almost nothing and rise to prominence at the end of the cycle. This natural progression is yet another way to verify that the project is healthy.
Written at a level that is easily accessible to managers, this book can also serve as an introduction for developers. If you are investigating or are planning on using the RUP in your development projects, then this book is the place you should start. Easy to follow, it will show you the basics of what you are getting yourself into.

This book solves a very basic problem with the Rational Unified Process: its apparent mystery and complexity.

You see, Rational's own documentation tends to be overly academic and self-referential, meaning it uses its own lingo heavily to explain the lingo. This serves well as a reference to a practitioner, but no good as an introduction. And you can't get your whole team, much less your customer, to read thick documentation. You can do an overview presentation for the customer, but I believe team members need much greater understanding of the methodology, and they need it *now*, beforehand, not discovering it as they go.

Scott cuts through and succinctly but thoroughly present RUP in about 160 pages. He does this in a consistent, deliberate format. This can be scanned page-by-page in less than 30 minutes by every development team member, and the benefits can be enormous.

In my experience, RUP practitioners tend to be one of two types: overly zealous or overly loose. The former regards the process as a set of decree laws around which everyone, including the customers must suffer. The latter, well. This is unfortunate and is usually the result of the team's insufficient buy-in and understanding of the role of a development methodology like RUP. If Scott's explanations are more widely read and understood, more teams would apply the principles more appropriately and produce better results. This book makes this understanding much easier to achieve. I know I'm getting my whole team to read this.

The bief end sections comparing RUP with Extreme Programming and ICONIX are very helpful in putting all 3 in perspective, again in a clear, demystifying approach.

A minor improvement would have been to present the four phases and five workflows TOGETHER on a few typical visual graphics. He describes them in words as "cuts-through" in a "matrix" but this isn't very helpful, unless of course you already know what he means.

a realy great book for this new year 2000ad may this kind of book increase

This book was one that I read in a time when I needed it most. Kendall did a wonderful job of sharing how to prepare ourselves to be ready "When God Shows Up." He challenges us with this book to seek God at all times and to draw closer to our Lord. This book addressed all the issues that I was dealing with at the time such as: when it seems that God hides His face, letting God love us, and waiting patiently on the Lord. I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking God's will and answer in their lives.

I'll get the negative stuff out of the way first: This book seems to be in need of some further editing. The analogy of the layers of onion used in part two to describe layers of "character" needs to be re-worked. The auther starts out fine in explaining the first four "layers of character." Those are listed as sensory image, personality, activity and history. Turn the page and we are getting ready to read about the fifth layer. This is explained as the "core elements of a character." So far, no problem. BUT, turn the next page to where we are supposed to be reading about a character's core elements, and the writing is about three of the first four layers from two pages prior. (???) There is also an entry listed as part of the core of a character which is called "crucible." This is stated to be an outside (external) boost to get the character to go through the coming struggle. How can this be part of the "core of the character" if it is an OUTSIDE/EXTERNAL event? One other confusion I'll mention here is the author's concept of the "BIG Three." He lists the BIG Three core character elements as character, goal and conflict. How can "character" be a core element of itself?

There are other apparent inconistencies, but they are similar to those stated. In a nutshell, this section (pages 18-27) needs some work to make sense within the analogy given.

THE GOOD NEWS is that if one can basically forget about the analogy and read, the ideas are VERY MUCH worth reading! And very sensible. Kendall Haven, now a professional storyeller, has an education in science and has done research in that field. He has put his research education into looking at "what readers/listeners want" in order to help writers to write better. I would say he has done an excellent job!

One final note: I have not yet finished reading this book, but you can bet I will be!

I teach in a school system that has an extremely strong emphasis on objectives that the students must know. I find Kendall's book to be extremely helpful in teaching Language Arts.

Clearly written by a Christian, for Christians, but an incredibly poor execution of Christian values. This book reeks of smugness, arrogance, cultural and religious intolerance, and yes, even racism.

For a book that champions evangelism and proselytization, it is not likely to win many converts with its condescending attitude towards non-white Christians. Not content to praise Christianity, Chaikin engages in sensationalistic Hindu bashing, often resorting to outright distortions of Hinduism.

By her own admission, India is "rooted in religious convictions", but then she cannot resist adding the words "however dark". She writes of India as a country deep in the grips of "satanic bondage" and describes Lord Shiva, a member of the Hindu Trinity as an "idol of death and destruction". Of Hindu mothers casting their children to crocodiles and of men castigating their flesh to appease Hindu gods. Indian officials are "gaudily dressed" while dandified and heavily bemedalled British officers are dignified and handsome.

Chaikin clearly has some knowledge of India, enough to throw out names and places and give the impression of familiarity. But her knowledge is superficial. She gives Muslim characters Hindu names (and vice versa) and mixes up Hindu and Muslim characters in ways that would never have happened during the era she writes about. She writes about relationships between Indian men and women, who were (and in many places still are) strictly segregated, as if they mingled as freely as Westerners. She delves into the underbelly of Hinduism and generalizes to all Hindus.

All cultures and all religions have members who distort behavioral norms and religious teachings. Human sacrifice and widow burning (sati) are no more representative of Hinduism than pedophile priests and snake handling Charismatics are of Christianity. The latter is far more common, in fact. In my lifetime, I have only heard of one sati (which is illegal and was loudly condemned by Hindu India) and I have never heard of a single child sacrifice. How many times has one heard about sexual abuse of children by Christian priests on the evening news? As for Hindu men who hang their bodies from hooks, has the author never heard of Christian monks who practice(d) mortification of the flesh or self-flagellation? Such bodily mortification is about as common among Hindus as it is among Christians. Again perhaps even less so -- try looking up self-crucifixion in the Philippines during Easter. It is a contemporary phenomenon.

Finally, Chaikin's use of Hindi is awkward and stilted and sometimes, just plain wrong. This is a relatively trivial complaint, but curious nevertheless. I can't help wondering why she sticks to outmoded and incorrect anglicized spellings of Indian words instead of using the contemporary standardized format. She has an Indian character refer to an English character as "Sahib Buckley" as if Sahib is a direct translation of Mister. It is an honorific all right, but it comes AFTER the name, as in "Buckley Sahib". She translates "Jai Ram" or "Ram, Ram" as a greeting, but completely misses the sanctity inherent in the words -- Ram is another name for God and "Jai Ram" literally translates as "Victory to God" or colloquially "God be with you". But perhaps Chaikin thought it would be blasphemous to acknowledge expressions of Hindu devotion.

To give her credit, the author depicts Indians as both positive and negative (or good and evil) characters, as she does the British. But her treatment of Indians, even Indian Christians, is so condescending that she cannot escape the taint of racism. In one incredible episode, the heroine who is given sanctuary in an Indian home orders her hostess about like a servant. Good Christian attitude that.

God is best served by love and devotion. Does the author really believe that Jesus Christ is pleased by her contemptious depiction of deeply held religious beliefs? How Christian is it to condemn love and devotion because it assumes a form that the author fails to understand -- and clearly does not want to?

I would not recommend this book to anybody. It is a pity because the basic premise is a good one, but the book is so deeply embued with false pride, arrogance, ignorance and intolerance that it is beyond salvage. An exceedingly poor homage to Christianity.

The fight scenes in this last installment of Chaikin's Heart of India series are as usual in Chaikin's writing quite good really. She keeps the whole thing masculine, as it should be, instead of playing things down completely for the women readers. Coral and Jace continue their love story in much the same way as in the first two books, and everything is righted in Coral's world at the end. All in all, this was a good read that the avid Chaikin reader will enjoy.

I believe this series is one of Linda Chaikin's best that she has ever written. She is great at creating complicated plots that work out smoothly to the end. Jace Buckley, a major in the British army in 1800 India is caught in intrigue that threatens his life, Gem's life and Coral's. He is on a mission to find Coral's missing adopted son but Coral's Uncle Hugo stands in the way of getting to Gem in his own quest for political gain. Coral's heart and mind is set upon building a school for the India's forgotten children, the untouchables. With the help of Dr. Ethan Boswell, she builds the school of her dreams but not without the disapproval of the natives there. Ethan is the man that her family wants Coral to marry. Will Coral find her true love? Will Jace find what his heart is longing for? Can he get to Gem in time? So much to say about this book that will certainly thrill you about the culture of India, how the British lived among the natives and the Hindu religion. Linda Chaikin weaves a great story about love, danger, betrayal and sacrifice in this final book of the HEART OF INDIA trilogy.

It seems that the author was too busy trying to destroy Existentialism, rather than understanding it. Mr. Kendall also seems to have a suttle fascination with turn of the century French literature, especially when it comes to eggs.

Ayn Rand once said, "A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others". Kendall should take these words to heart. It seems he is more concerned with destroying the worldview of his enemies rather than proving his own thoughts, which I would imagine is as sporadic as his writing style. A clear product of academia and a suffering reader who has read too many comic books.

To my dear fellow readers,
If you like the beat generation, but are most definitely a late twenties early thirty something, you will enjoy this book (if you're sick and twisted). Ever see a friend junked out, or someone just too disturbingly intelligent for their own good? That's what reading this book is like: taking a long hard look into the conscious rhythm of a genius/lunatic and realizing that it's more than you ever imagined.
Mr. Klayton's writing is smooth, flawless, and has a sickening striking power that will leave an iron and bloody taste in your mouth when you are finished. The man's distaste for our rapidily degenerating college culture (once the hotbed of radicalism and pure thought, and now the festering cesspool of Dawson's Creek) is apparent and well aimed.
Enjoy the hell out of this book, and let him know what you think.

This is the kind of first novel which, with the right PR people, could become a national best-seller. It will provoke you, puzzle you, touch some inner part of your spirit that you didn't even know existed.

Give this book a try!

This is, in my opinion, an excellent book. It's short and sweet; it includes enough information to be useful without going off the deep end into territory of interest primarily to academics. This book emphasizes a refreshing, low-ceremony approach to software development. All the major aspects of UML are discussed: Use cases, class diagrams, sequence diagrams, collaboration diagrams, stereotypes, packages and collaborations, state diagrams... I found the concise explanation of the differences between association, aggregation and composition to be especially useful. At the end of the book the author also goes through a simple example using Java to show how to get from modelling to an actual piece of code. If you are a solid intermediate-level developer, this book is an invaluable stepping stone on the path toward mastery of object-oriented design techniques. It would probably be somewhat useful for a beginner, and would probably be rather too trivial for a sophisticated software designer.

This is an informative and satisfying guide to using UML in object oriented development. In relatively few pages the most commonly used aspects of the standard modeling language are presented, explained, and illustrated. A developer already familiar with an object oriented language could make good use of this book as their first introduction to UML. For those without any grounding in object orientation I think Sams Teach Yourself UML in 24 Hours or Fundamentals of Object-Oriented Design in UML are better places to start.

The thing I liked the most about this book was the practical advice for moving an object oriented project through to completion. As asides to the explanations of UML syntax and form, the authors dropped in tidbits of advice... "Don't try to do software that exactly maps the conceptual perspective. Try, instead, to be faithful to the spirit of conceptual perspective but still realistic considering the tools you are using" (p. 150). This was said in the context of one of the longer chapters in the book, UML and Programming, where the reader is walked through a demonstration of using UML to conceptualize a patient information system for a hospital and then walked through the choices that might be made to implement it in Java. The authors work with a sample where an ideal solution is out of reach and illustrate instead a pragmatic choice that works. This kind of thing is done over and over again in the book. Martin Fowler also refers the reader to his website where he extends this demonstration into greater complexities than the book covered.

Since this book is so brief it would be a great choice for an entire team to read together to get everyone on the same page for a project.

I was assigned a problem recently in a C++ Advanced course that required me to quickly obtain exposure to the UML. I used Amazon to find this book. On month later I have read four books on the UML and have two more books waiting on my office shelf! I am extremely fascinated by the UML and recommend all software engineers look into its use. I highly recommend Martin Fowler's UML Distilled for engineers who have no previous modeling exposure. It is a fast way to get your feet wet and obtain a high-level overview. After reading this book you might consider the path I forged for myself:

1) UML Distilled by Martin Fowler 2) UML Toolkit by Hans-Erik Eriksson & Magnus Penker (* includes a CD-Rom with Rational Rose 4.0 demo). A great second book! You can also obtain a free UML Modeling tool by TogetherSoft.

3) The Unified Modeling Language User Guide by Booch, RumBaugh and Jacobson. A GREAT book and definite read, however I would not recommend it as your first if you are new to modeling (as I am). I was extremely impressed by Grady Booch's writing skill. He infused me with a love for modeling. (I also intend to read his other books.) As a parent I enjoyed his comments regarding teen age daughters in addition to the fine art of dog house construction.

4) Real-Time UML: Developing Efficient Objects for Embedded Systems by Bruce Powel Douglass. A SUPERB book! I am just finishing it. I was impressed with the author's extensive real-time knowledge and appreciative of his ability to communicate it so clearly to interested readers. I found his dry sense of humor entertaining and intend to look into the Dave Barry reference. I only wish I had time to immediately sit down and read his second real-time book "Doing Hard Time". It is however waiting on my office shelf.

Thanks to all the authors sited. Good luck to you on your discovery of the UML.

Although the author, Kendall Taylor, begins her biography with a disdainful look at how all biographies of Zelda are about F. Scott Fitzgerald, she proceeds to do the same thing, badly.

Not only does she discuss the friendship between the Fitzgerald's and the Hemingways. she also discuss all of their friends, enemies and the possible lovers of these same friends and enemies.

There is nothing new. The biography is not well written, which I generally expect from a English professor (too self-involved.} Beside the mediocre writing, the proofing is terrible, as is the editing--if there was any--leaving mistakes and errors galore.

If the reader is interested in Zelda and her descent into madness and what happened after Scott died, chose another book. I'm sorry I wasted the time and money on this one.

If you are at all interested in the Fitzgeralds, this book is a precious gem. It shows far more of Zelda's creativity and outrageousness and less of her madness than Nancy Milford's book (which Scottie Fitzgerald was very upset by). It captures the Jazz Age and shows how Scott really assisted in Zelda's madness by insisting her life was his material and that she couldn't develop a professional reputation of her own as a writer. Nearly every schizophrenic episode Zelda had was preceded by Scott's blocking her attempts at self-expression. It still presents a sympathetic portrait of Scott, however. It's the best book on the two of them that I've ever read, and really brings the period to life. It makes you want to cry afterward for the potential that was wasted with both of them.

As an English major in college, I was required to reach much of F. Scott Fitzgerald, most particularly "The Great Gatsby" and "Tender Is the Night." And like many others of my ilk, I fell madly in love with the legend that was the Fitzgeralds. I went on to read everything I could get my hands on, from Scott's collected short stories to "The Beautiful and the Damned" to "This Side of Paradise" to the tragically unfinished "The Last Tycoon."

Through all of my Fitzgerald worship, I viewed Zelda as an "also-ran"--the madcap flapper, the passionate spouse and lover, the quintessential "roaring 20s girl," the great beauty who was her husband's muse-until she went crazy. I never took her seriously as an artist in her own right, and why should I have done so? Certainly until recent years, no biography of Fitzgerald painted her that way, and I found the few biographies of Zelda opinionated and suspect.

Now, with a fascinating work that took author Kendall Taylor 30 years (!!) to write, the tragedy that was Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald finally comes to light as never before. And for the first time, I realize that the incredibly brilliant prose that made up Scott's novels was often lifted VERBATIM from Zelda's most intimate and personal diaries, which Scott viewed as his own property, to be purloined at will. I find that some of his most cunning and original turn of phrase was taken VERBATIM from Zelda's unique, brilliant, colorful, and wholly her own way of speaking (probably, in fact, a precurser of the schizophrenia that was to overtake her). I find that Scott was so possessive of Zelda as his SOURCE that he actively forbade her to write on her own, although she showed great talent. He went so far as to write long letters to her various doctors forbidding them to allow her to write, and they agreed to do so! A highly creative, completely unique human being, Zelda was thwarted at every turn, whether her painting (which Scott ridiculed) her sad attempts to become a prima ballerina (equally ridiculed and the final step to her first breakdown) to anything else she attempted to do.

Scott, a difficult, vain, selfish and jealous human being, viewed Zelda as more than his lover and wife, as more than his helpmate and muse. He felt he owned the very words that fell from her mouth, and strongly resisted any attempt on her part to express herself apart from him, feeling that their mutual story belonged to him and him alone, as the novelist and breadwinner.

We all know the end of the story. Scott died much too young of heart disease and TB brought on by acute alcoholism. Zelda, in and out of mental hospitals from her late twenties on, died in a horrible fire at the institution where she was housed. These two bright flames, these two icons of The Jazz Age, these two physically gorgeous people, the flapper and her swain, were doomed from the start. But until the recent death of their only daughter, Scottie Lanahan, many of their papers, letters, diaries, and so forth, remained unavailable to the public. Taylor was given unprecedented access to these, and tells her tale in as objective a way as she can, given her subject matter. One must commend Ms. Taylor for her Herculean efforts and her fascinating story. Unfortunately, like many authors of today, she has fallen victim to the same bad editing that plagues most paperbacks in today's marketplace. Therefore, the paperback version of this book (which is the version I read) is plagued by silly grammatical mistakes and typos that Scott OR Zelda would have noticed. It isn't fair to Taylor, but so be it. Suffice to say that, upon reading the very last sentence of the very last page, I broke into sobs. I now wish to go on and read Zelda's collected works (available from Amazon!), view all her artwork (ditto) and reread Scott's works-from the viewpoint of all I know now. I commend Ms. Taylor on a simply brilliant job.

This is the eighth software engineering title that uses the UML (Unified Modeling Language) that I have read in the last five months as I work to establish a software engineering guide and reference framework for a small team at my technology company. This book really sets forth the ICONIX methodology, the author's streamlined approach to modeling using mostly, but not only, UML.

Because of the author's quarrelsome nature and unusual departures from common progressions in the model views, I found this book less useful than the others. The author repeatedly explains (with a careful record of the dates) how much of his integration of the competing OO modeling methods preceded the work of the UML founders (Booch, Jacobson, and Rumbaugh) and frequently raises the small quarrels in the UML world for no purpose except to give a quick and unsupported opinion. Not surprisingly, ten of the twenty-five citations in the bibliography are the author's prior papers.

Although the title claims the method is "use case driven," techniques and guidelines for use cases are poorly done; and the author suggests that the requirements stage should begin with domain modeling and "robustness diagrams" before text for use cases is written. The author also places heavy emphasis on screen mockups during the requirements stage.

The contents would make a good lecture or two; but it is an annoying departure from the efforts of many to extend and enrich UML. Since the book is only 165 pages, it won't hurt for long, and there are thoughts here and there worth reading. Perhaps it's tongue-in-cheek, a test to see if we can spot obvious logical problems with the method.

As I was learning OOAD concept and techniques, and the UML, the one thing I found lacking in most materials was application. There are a lot of great books on what OO is, with guidelines on good design, and great examples of diagrams you can create. None of them that I've read, with the exception of this work, has provided any look at how to put the pieces together in a sane fashion. Rosenberg succeeds admirably at this goal.

Contrary to what some reviewers seem to think, this isn't a book about the UML, and I don't believe it tries to be a definitive reference on methodology, either. Rather, Rosenberg presents (with a clear disclaimer) his perspective and method for performing OOAD; I find it a valuable one, at that.

If you're just getting started with OO and/or the UML, and want a good overview of how the pieces fit together, read this. I'd recommend it to all other comers, as well, unless you think reviewing an additional perspective (from a successful, well-regarded individual) isn't valuable.

"Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML, A Practical Approach" is perhaps the best book on the market for a down-to-earth, hands-on introduction to the Unified Process. As the title suggests, it leans heavily on the methodology of Ivar Jacobson, one of the three amigos. If you are trying to figure out what to do or where to start, this will point you in the right direction.

Three things in particular I liked about the book:

1. "The Approach in a Nutshell" as well as constant reference back to it.

2. The lists of ten.

3. The chapter on "robustness analysis" showing the transition from analysis to design (always a difficult transition in any methodology). This is the best part of the book in my opinion. It was real "hands-on".

"The Approach in a Nutshell" gives a great overview of the process including milestones, and provides a framework for everything to fit into. As the reader progresses through the book, each chapter summarizes that part of "the approach in a nutshell" that the chapter fits into. If this was the only feature in the book, it would be worth the price.

If you have ever read another series with "lists of ten", these are better. The lists of ten (there are over half-a-dozen) are worth taping up on the walls. They reflect the experience of someone who has been there and done that. The lists of ten alone are worth the price of the book.

The transition from analysis to design has rather heavy focus in this book, and deservedly so. Going from analysis to design is tricky in any methodology, and "Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UML, A Practical Approach" shines in this area. The authors refer to this as "robustness analysis," and this section alone is worth the price of the book.

This won't be the only book concerning the Unified Process that you will ever buy. But it is more than likely going to be one of the most useful to you.

This is not a tutorial on the UML; purchase "UML Distilled, Second Edition" by Martin Fowler and Kendall Scott if that is what you are looking for. The title may be slightly misleading in this respect. The real focus is on the "Practical Approach" part. If you are trying to sort out HOW TO DO IT, then this is a necessary addition to your library. It won't replace your books on the UML or the Unified Process, but it will help you pull it all together into a cohesive whole so you can get a grasp on how to start and how to proceed.

In addition to being very informative and clear in direction, the book is also surprisingly interesting to read. Its clarity and brevity keep it simple. You won't get bogged down reading this one. It is very well written.