"Emily Dickinson is Dead" is one book that I didn't enjoy out of the 4 on my summer reading list...what a slow beginning. The title made it seem like it was a book about Emily Dickinson, but instead it was about a conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her death.... that didn't include women and a fat girl who tried to kill a pretty one (who disappeared anyways) by burning down a building and who ended up being killed...what about Emily Dickinson HERSELF??? THAT'S who I thought the book was going to be about...not a bunch of confused people. I didn't expect it to be a biography or anything, just not what it was.

I chose the book because a friend is an Emily Dickinson fan, I'm a mystery fan, I was charmed by the author's sketches, and delighted by the snippets of Dickinson's poetry. What a fine discovery! The characters are complex, subtle, and interesting. The college town setting is vivid. The plot had unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing. I learned something about the workings of dams and reservoirs, and I learned something about Emily Dickinson and her poetry, enough so I followed up "Emily Dickinson is Dead" by reading her biography. This was my first Jane Langton book. She has managed to do what a lot of writers only aspire to -- her writing is so transparent I forget the story and setting were coming to me through print on a page.

I have to totally disagree with the previous review. I found this Homer Kelly mystery refreshing and fully of marvelous characters full of human foibles. The descriptions were subtle but often verged on the hilarious. This is the book that hooked me on Jane Langton. It's too bad that the previous reader did not read the dust jacket before purchasing this book. It very clearly identifies itself as a mystery and not an study in Emily Dickinson. It's not surprising that she did not enjoy the book since it mocks stuffy Emily Dickinson scholars. But I found this book to be a skillfully written romp in weakness of human nature.

This is a deeply disappointing collection that I am not sure I would even recommend to the serious student of the Iliad. And one can be forgiven for being disappointed, after all Harold Bloom is the editor. When I was a University student in the seventies, Bloom was revered, in particular by students of the Romantic poets. Bloom had written what was (and still is) a vital text on Shelley (Shelley's Mythmaking") and had followed that up with a magnificent survey of the Romantics in, "The Visionary Company". When my interests turned to Blake, Bloom was there with Blake's Apocalypse".

And so, when later in life I developed a keen interest in the Iliad, I was overjoyed to see that Bloom had pulled together a collection of essays to help me understand this complicated yet surprisingly readable poem.

WRONG! Of all the thousands of commentaries on the Iliad, Bloom somehow managed, with a notable exception or two, to pull together some of the most arcane, obtuse writings I can imagine. Even the specialists will be challenged by some of the subject matter here. And the presentation? Well, for the most part the prose is turgid, representing the worst of academic stylism. The exception is the lucid and beautifully written excerpt from E.R. Dodds', "The Greeks and the Irrational." But this is to be expected, as this is justly one of the most famous and important books ever written on the subject of ancient Geek culture. I found the rest of the essays to be overly technical and narrow in scope and compass. If you have read Victor Davis Hanson's "Who Killed Homer", you will find most of the sins he enumerates present in this collection.

But the MOST disappointing part of this entire collection is the introduction itself. In which we see Bloom at his worst - preachy, tendentious, over weaning. He takes the opportunity to take a few pot shots at the authors represented in the collection and to advance his own, in my view eccentric, conception of the poem. You know you are in for a rough ride when from the very outset we are treated to a comparison of the Iliad with the Hebrew Bible - a comparison in which the Iliad does not come off on top. At the end of the introduction, we read that while Homer himself is the "best of the poets", unfortunately, he lacks a "quality of trust in the transcendent memory of a covenant fulfilled, a lack of the sublime hope that moves the Hebrew poet Deborah." Geez, I'm sorry but, umm, who cares? This is a bit like complaining that apples don't have the citrus acidity of oranges.

Clearly, Bloom had an axe to grind - and grind it he did. It is as though he was determined to make the case for the Bible's superiority to the Iliad. As an introduction to a collection of essays, Bloom's is, in a word, "lacking"!

So where does that leave the interested reader. Well, it's not easy. I can think of no good general introduction that is separately published. That said, Bernard Knox wrote an introduction to Robert Fagles' translation of the Iliad that is almost transcendent. It puts to poem in context, describes the central action and delves into the poem's main cultural foundations. I would recommend that a first time reader of the Iliad equip him or herself first with this and second with Stanley's Lombardo's brilliant modern translation - oh, and stay away from this collection.

Barron's book notes for the Iliad are, believe it or not, better than Cliff's. The chapter summaries are longer and more detailed, but not too long. And, it helps one to understand the complexities of Homer.

Iliad is harder to read than Odyssey, but it is as rich as this one, and the person who attents, without contemporary prejudices, to the details of this work, to this person will be revealed one of the few, really few jewels that humanity wrote in its adventure. May you admire the star calle Homer.

I purchased this book from Amozon, attempted to read the first 3 chapters and returned it all within 24 hours. The writting is very unclear and I had a hard time following the topics. It was difficult to tell what they wanted us to try and what they were they were trying to explain. Maybey somebody with a few more years of experience in Visual Basic may have found this book usefull, but if you are new to VB, I strongly recomend against it.

This book is a bit too convoluted and indirect about the things it must cover in order to make you an effective VB5 ActiveX programmer. I've seen it done much more efficiently. I got two thirds of the way through it and had to lay it down.

This book has 6 chapters : 1. The Poetic Tradition. 2. The Gods. 3. War, Death and Heroism. 4. Achilles: One. 5. Achilles: Two. 6. Hektor and Troy. I have found the 1st chapter on the oral poetry formulas clear and helpful. A diagram of the structure of the Iliad might have been helpful.

In this book, Schein reviews the standard literature of the Iliad. He provides a structure for understanding the work. Beginning with the original performers and listeners, what stories they would have know, how this tale is different from the normal hero tales they were use to, and how those differences are important to the tale.

Another axis is how Troy was destined to lose, and at the same time, Hector is shown as the more moral of the leading fighters in the epic.

You can see the listeners hearing what they want from the story: a simple story of how their side won a long war, how their favorite warriors were braver than anyone else during some phase of the battles, how it would have all been different if the gods had not intervened, how it only turned out right because the gods intervened. And then also listeners who were listening for something more, also heard about 'good things happening to bad people', and then even more that the bad people were in circumstances in which there were no other options, and how these people accepted their undeserved fates or railed against them.

In the time of Homer, the story of the Trojan War was common knowledge. Therefore, when Homer composed the Iliad, he didn't worry that his audience might be left hanging by the poem's "abrupt" ending, which occurs directly after the funeral games for Patroclos, with Hector recently dead and Achilles still alive. Homer's audiences knew all that would happen, and weren't concerned that he left out the death of Achilles, the Trojan horse gambit, and even the fall of Troy itself. Likewise, his audience wasn't troubled by the fact that the Odyssey begins ten years later, with Odysseus long gone from Troy, and the War but a memory. Homer's audiences knew all of that, they just wanted to hear a good story.

But we need more than that. It goes without saying that the happenings of the Trojan War are no longer public knowledge; they had even slipped from the public consciousness by the time of Quintus of Smyrna, roughly around the 3rd Century A.D. A poet of medium talent, Quintus took up the noble task of writing an epic that would bridge the events in the Iliad with those of the Odyssey, hence the title of this work, "What Homer Didn't Tell."

Besides Quintus' annoying, overly-consistent usage of metaphors, there are a few problems with this epic. For one, there is no central character to identify with. Whereas the Iliad told the story of Achilles' wrath and the Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus' craftiness in overcoming his many challenges, this story has no central theme, other than constant battle and the eventual fall of Troy. Several new champions arrive to help the Trojans, kill a bunch of Greeks, and then are killed themselves. This is the usual pattern for the first few hundred pages; soon after, Odysseus and Diomedes enlist the aid of Achilles' son, who provides the impetus (along with the infamous horse) for Troy's fall. The funny thing is, Achilles' son is basically Achilles himself, in power, ability, and charisma. Quintus went a little overboard with this character: he's just as superhuman as his father, and, reading the book, you can't even tell the difference between him and Achilles.

As for the characters who appeared in the Iliad, all of their stories are tied up in this. Odysseus doesn't take that great of a part in the book, other than his contest with Aias and his idea for the horse. Nestor provides his usal wisdom, we see the ending to the triangle of Paris, Helen, and Menalous, and we see how morbid and joyless Priam has become, now that his son Hector is dead. Diomedes appears and disappears throughout the book, though, sometimes aiding the Greeks greatly, other times nowhere to be seen: he's set up as almost superhuman in the Iliad, but Quintus diminishes his powers somewhat, so the new heroes he introduces can take the spotlight.

All in all, a useful addition to your library if you're into Homer's work, if at least to fill the gap between the Iliad and the Odyssey. Just understand that Quintus is not nearly the poet that Homer was, and this is through no fault of the translator, who provides his own critical judgement of Quintus' skill in the foreword. If Quintus had tightened the plot with a lead character, cut out some of his rambling metaphors, and written the events in a manner that made them seem less repetitive, then maybe this book would still be in print and also be better known.

First the obvious: This is not as lyrical as the Iliad; it lacks the adventure of the Odyssey; and the use of the metaphors will KILL you if you don't steel yourself (a really sadistic English teacher could assign this and make you try and come up with some unifying theme).

So why 4 stars? Because Quintus shows the war and the Greek "heroes" in an accurate light. His most vivid section (and that with the fewest metaphors) comes at the end in the sack of Troy. He graphically describes the murder of the men, even the elderly. Neoptolemus, Achilles son, lacks any of the heroism or even pity Achilles had when he happily kills Priam. The most heartbreaking scene in the entire book is when the Greek soldiers throw Astyanax, the infant son of the dead Hector from the walls of Troy. I spent the entire book dreading this passage, but I still wasn't prepared for the cruelty of it.

Helen, not the most sympathetic character in the history of story telling, is made even worse here. It is stated in the Iliad and implied here that she was Paris' willing paramour. However, when Menelaus takes her back, she claims that she was an unwilling victim who tried to end her own life rather than endure her new fate. When Paris dies, she weeps, but more for herself than for her dead lover. Quintus doesn't give a clear explanation for why no one thought to turn her over to Menelaus after Paris' death.

The biggest flaw of the characters in this book is the over-emphasis on Fate. Every character suffers when those words come out of his or her mouth. I believe Quintus was trying to make a point when people excused their actions through fate. We may be tempted- however briefly- to buy into it when someone as clever (but not very eloquent here) as Odysseus argues his way out of blame through the device of Fate, but when we hear Paris use the same excuse, we know we're being hoodwinked. Fate here is an excuse for the weak-willed, selfish, jealous or bad-tempered.

It's amazing that a book so short can be so repetitive. I lost track of how many times I was told that IIS 6 installs in a sepcial "locked down" state. Somehow, the book manage to avoid getting in any real detail about other security issues, like certificates and how to install SSL. What's worse, sometimes the repetition isn't even in agreement. For example, early in the chapter we're told that setting ODBC logging disables the kernel cache automatically. Later on, we're warned that if we enable ODBC logging, the kernel cache feature will still work and hits won't be logged. I'm still waiting for a third chapter to weigh in with the tie-breaking vote.

Perhaps the most entertaining part of this book is it's puzzling Confucius like sentences and complete disregard for grammar. Chapter 5 (Administering IIS) is particularly notable--it includes sentences like "Since ABO can't be used in scripts, we cannot use it to investigate ABO since they'll not be handy for us to do stuff quickly" (page 129) and "MMC is the most famous way to administrate" (page 102). No, I'm not making this up, and yes, I could continue, but I don't have time--I have to find a new IIS 6 book to make up for the time I've wasted reading this one.

The Book is really handy and provides a nice insight of the new features offered by IIS6. It was right to the point and a nice value addition to my tech book collection. Its really worth it....

This book was short, but to the point, and gave me all of the information I needed to get a good idea of what IIS 6 is (and is not). It's clearly a version worth the upgrade, and this book showed me all of the new features that support that decision. That's what these handbooks are for, no?

I read most of the early Wrox titles on .NET and this book, like many of those (Public beta etc.,), are a great introduction into the various technologies. Unfortunately, there is too much errata (should you visit their site) and makes you seriously question the credibility of the prose and capability to learn the technology from their text. I have found "Pure ASP.NET" and "Designing ASP.NET" as better sources, but they were written or finalized during the Release Candidate phase. There will probably be a slew of 2nd Edition titles forth comming that will be better but if you, like me, bought several of these titles from Wrox (...dollar amount...) then this could be disconcerting encourages a more wait and see approach if you rely more on this publisher. On the other hand, being an early adopter may involve this kind of trial. In short, my review is to the huge number of errors. I copied and pasted the errors directly into Word from the website and it was 22 pages.

In my mind, Wrox has become the defacto standard for technical topics. I can't imagine going elsewhere, because the authors usually do such a great job covering every angle of a subject.

This book also meets that high expectation.

I was initially concerned that the material would be incomplete due to the current state of the .NET technology (Beta2), but my fears were unfounded. I feel very comfortable that the material contained herein will be relevant for years to come. As I have scanned the entire book, and read numerous chapters, I am very pleased with the wide coverage given to every relevant topic: Controls, XML, Database integration, Security, Web Services, COM+ integration, Architecture, etc. It's all there, and so better than anything else I've found or seen.

I've been anxious to get started with .NET, and now I finally feel like I've got all the knowledge I need to start building real .NET apps.

Nicely done!

Active Server Pages (ASP) has proven to be a very popular technology for web developers. The main reason for this has been ease of use. Even though ASP can run on other platforms, it is mainly found on the Windows platform. The advent of Microsoft's .NET framework has caused many people to wonder about the future of web development for windows based developers.

'Professional ASP.NET' is aimed at existing ASP developers who are considering the move to .NET. The authors begin the book with various introductions, i.e. ASP.NET, .NET framework and the main languages that it supports. The emphasis then shifts to the bread and butter aspects of ASP.NET, the server controls, data access, debugging and error handling. The book also covers some important issues such as the architecture and how to use and extend the intrinsic server controls. Chapters are also dedicated to Web Services and other devices such as phones and PDAs.

Chapter 23 is concerned with the issues involved in migrating your existing ASP applications to ASP.NET.

The final chapter is a case study of implementing a simple n-tier e-commerce application with ASP.NET.

All in all the standard of ASP books from Wrox have been high in the past and the leagacy of books such as 'Professional ASP 2.0' lives on with the latest offering. If you are a serious ASP developer then this book is essential.

There is no mention that this is merely book 2 of a three book series. What good is book 2 without, at least, book 1 which is out of print. I returned my copy. Save your money.

This is the second book, but it there doesn't seem to mention of that. Without the first book, which is out of print, it seems to be to pretty much a waste of money to spend on unless you can get that first book. Everywhere I looked for that first book I could not find it.

Having just finished Book 1, and begun Book 2, I can say without a doubt that it was primarily this text that enabled me to make the progress I have. I have examined both this series, and the Athenaze, and would very much recommend this one, not becuase it is better, per se, but because it is more rewarding. Indeed, I have finished just one year of a language, and can already read one of its most famous authors! To a highschool student who has already taken 5 years of another language, and still cannot read classic Spanish literature for want of elevated course rapidity, this is astounding. I will say that this pace does require some level of devotion. There were times (around sections 25-30, and again at sections 50-60) when I was convinced that I could go no further. Yet, I have made it to Book 2, and say that anyone else can as well, just so long as they put the work into it, persevere, and occasionally can talk to a good tutor. This last point is really the key. I find this text far more useful than the Athenaze, but I must also relate that, as with any language, it is best to learn it at least partly from one relatively "fluent" in it. A tutor is a must for almost all. With that said though, I will restate the fact that this is a wonderful and rewarding text to study from, and one that will undoubtedly amaze any who would never consider themselves able to read ancient Greek. Just give it a try--as long as you stick to it, you will eventually succeed.

I'm afraid I'll have to call this book a failure. I feel that if I buy a "programmers reference" book it should be just that. If I go to System.Web.UI.WebControls I want to see a list off all the web controls and a concise breakdown of all the parameters of each. I don't want a story about the control and a "let's make a web page with this control" exercise. I long for the days of my C++ BIBLE.

I bought this book because I needed an ASP.NET reference. This book seems a bit schizophrenic. Part of it is tutorial and parts are reference. I haven't used it as much as I had hoped because I have run into several major errors.

Examples

Lists System.Data.ODBC when in fact this should be

Microsoft.Data.ODBC
Also forgot to mention the part about having to download it from MS website.

Lots of errors in ADO sections in general. I have tried several pieces of code from the book that simply don't work.

I certainly don't recommend this book.

This book is ideal for intermediate programmers developing web applications with Microsoft's Visual Studio .NET. It works best as a reference for those simply looking for ways to "make stuff work" who don't need the hand-holding of step-by-step instructions, but aren't ready for simple, austere object definitions. Using an appropriate number of examples in both C# and VB.NET, the authors have successfully put together a book that has helped my shop overcome several hurdles in the month we've been using it.
In the new .NET paradigm, ASP exists only as a descriptive name applied to collections of objects that "make stuff work" on the web. Powered by C#, VB.NET, or almost any language you chose, the .NET framework Intermediate Language and Just-In-Time compilation has made an understanding of how "classic" Active Server Pages work obsolete.

However, the name ASP seems to be maintained to provide familiarity to those of us making the transition from ASP 3.0 to "any-web-application-built-with-.NET." This book fulfils that calling by giving the right mix of definitions, examples, and background information without using excess space or time.

The majority of the chapters cover most of the collections of objects (namespaces) that give an application functionality on the web. Without question, we used these sections the most. For those of us making the transition to C# at the same time we're getting used to .NET web development, these chapters were a life-saver. They gave all the answers we couldn't find in any C# reference manual tailored specifically for the types of web applications we were creating. Since we adopted .NET a few months ago, for the first time we were able to concetrate on functionality instead of C# as a frustrating language. I'm not sure how VB 6.0 programmers will look at it, but they seem to be getting the better reference books in the marketplace so far, so it was a relief to find every example done in both C# and VB.NET.

While this book would be key for beginning .NET developers ready for more robust applications or intermediate programmers moving from another language, I suspect that advanced programmers will be disappointed. For example, XML and Mobile Devices get chapters, but they don't conatain enough information for real development. You would need to have a much better background in either subject to actually develop. However, if you had that background, these sections wouldn't tell you anything you didn't already know.

The strength of this book is not as a "front-to-back" read, but as the dog-eared, coffee-stained reference that allows an intermediate level programmer to produce web applications that work--and work well. While not an expert, I've used ASP.NET Programmer's Reference to give myself a solid base of knowledge. By the time I master the material, I'll be well-prepared to tackle some of the more obscure .NET namespaces and cutting edge web technologies. ---Reviewed By Jay L.

This is a basic repair manual. For example, if your wanting to work on the transmission you turn to that chapter and read something like "do not attempt to repair a transmission. This is beyond the scope of the average home mechanic". Well, isn't that the reason you buy a repair manual in the first place? Your much better off to order the Ford Automotive Manual for you year of Bronco II. It is the standard by which the Ford mechanics work from. The Haynes manual is just this side of being a joke.

PS. It does have nice pictures however...

For anyone hoping to find good electrical schematics, this is not the right book. I cannot trace the horn circuit, for example. In addition, I have a failed gas gauge. There is nothing in the book that discusses how to fix this problem. As with some other books, there is a lot of info on how to completely overhaul an engine - but not enough on more minor repairs.

I also own both this and the analogous Chilton manual and I have to say that the Haynes is by far the more accessible: The drawings and photographs are clearer, the instructions are better written, and the seperation of the information regarding the different engines is better. Also, the general maintenance (oil change, lube, and tune up) information is much better.

The Chilton manual, on the other hand, has extensive tables of torque listings, includes Ford part numbers in the drawings, and has factory-style detail regarding the catalyst.

On balance, these two are complementary. Unfortunately, not even both of these in concert are exhaustive: there are simply some details that are not covered. If anyone has a better manual please let me know.

Regarding the electircal schematics comment from previous:
The total system is cut up into several sections and moving between the sections may be tricky (if not impossible), but, again, the Haynes is more clearly labeled.

Disclaimer: I have not yet used either manual for a major job.