I borrowed this book from my local library and I liked it so much that I realize that I'm going to have a hard time parting with it and returning it to the library. What really appealed to me about this book was that it was written for the thoughtful, intelligent reader who knows something about computers and the internet and who is interested in continuing to progress and expand in this knowledge. It doesn't give the reader a whole lot of useless, technical information that would probably be over the head of the beginner-intermediate computer user, nor does it approach the subject of the internet with the assumption that even a "dummy" or "idiot" can learn the material. The colorful graphics grabbed my attention, (yes, even adults like pretty pictures). There was plenty of useful, interesting information, including how to access some great websites and how to conduct various kinds of research. And most especially, I left the book wishing that it didn't end just then. This book almost compelled me to write the authors and demand a sequel !!

My husband does call it "keep it simple stupid" but really it is "series." :) I think that is a play on words and I appreciate not being called stupid for sure. I don't think anyone who is online is stupid, but there is so much to learn and it can be a bit overwhelming to someone just going online for the first time.

This book will help you master the basics of getting connected, help to unlock the secrets of the World Wide Web, e-mail, and chat rooms. You can discover how to shop, bank and do business online. If you want to navigate the Net with confidence this is the most informative book around. You can find the right service provider, access and download information, create your own web pages, enhance your family's hobbies, interests and education and even plan a vacation. One of the best parts of being online is meeting people in cyberspace. You are bound to find someone who has the same interests as you.

I "simply" love this colorful book. The pictures are adorable and "simple simon" who looks like a little dog appears all over the book. Sometimes he is found holding a VIP symbol and this points out a topic that deserves careful attention. At another page you might find him holding up a warning sign or telling you the inside scoop. When he gets technical he offers information on a deeper level in detail. There are little boxes which include specific web addresses which will take you directly to useful sites so you might want to be online while reading some of the book.

There are also little Trivia boxes which give fun facts and an extra appreciation of the cultural phenomenon that is the "Net." A definition box gives words and terms that are defined in an easy-to-understand style. There is also a complete Glossary at the back of the book with all the Internet lingo.

Part One is a Welcome to the Internet. It shows you how to get a handle on the Internet, how to get started, safety issues and smooth sailing guidelines. Part Two discusses communication online. You can also learn to put up your own Web site. Part Three is a fun chapter which shows you how to find the fun stuff. This explains advanced searching, specialized searching and how to download items. Part Four is especially designed for Families who love the Internet. It includes information on children being online, where to find special interests and how to get an education on the Net. Part Five could be a bit dangerous because you learn how to shop online. Once you have shopped online, there is no turning back! You can also learn to manage your money, invest in the stock market and make money online.

Amazon is listed as one of the online stores. There is also information on how to act when going to a board online. Bulletin boards act like a notice board. You can post a message and talk to many people all at once. Once a message is out there, there is no turning back!

Each "part" has a complete contents page at the beginning of the book in the contents section. Then, the pages are color coded so each chapter is easy to find. There are full-color pictures of Web pages and plenty of illustrations. This is one interesting book! The text is often in color and helps to make ideas stand out.

How do I love the Internet, let me count the ways...I also love this book. It is the best book out there. If you don't have it, you are missing out on one of the most brilliantly organized books about the Internet. This is a must have for the 21st Century. Can it get any better than this. I would live online if I could :). Being online really expands your world. Once you get there, you may never want to leave. It can be a bit addictive, so do try to sleep now and then. It sure beats watching TV. Being online will make you smarter, I can guarantee it. There is so much to learn that for some people it becomes overwhelming. I didn't get online until the year 2000. So, if I can do this...you can too.

Jump in baby and enjoy surfing. Hey wait...you are already here :). Oh, you will still need this book and love it!

On the back of "The New Penguin Opera Guide", it quotes an endorsement from the Boston Globe--"...The best one-volume opera guide...". This is absolutely the truth! I haven't seen another one volume opera guide that doesn't shamefacedly pale before this one! It covers composers and operas the others don't even get close to. It also includes information that is really valuable to a dedicated opera nut like me, such as premier places and dates, the name of the publishers and whether a full score or only a vocal score has been published, and a list of recordings.

Does all this praise mean I don't have any gripes? Far from it! Some of my complaints may reflect my own operatic interests, but others really are flaws. My thing is late romantic opera, so I can only comment on areas that I know.

First of all, while they've wisely chosen a wide range of experts to write the descriptions of the composers and operas in question, some composers are treated with much greater sympathy than others of a similar historical importance. For instance, most of the German expressionists make out quite well. Zemlinsky (who's one of my favorite composers)is reviewed by Antony Beaumont, who not only knows about Zemlinsky (he's written an excellent biography), but completed the orchestration of his final opera! You could hardly expect Beaumont to say "'Konig Kandaules' sucks!" On the other hand, it's hard to find a single verismo composer, Puccini excepted, for whom the guide has much sympathy...Giordano "lacks resoursefulness and inventiveness". Mascagni's creative impetus was "short-breathed and lacked continuity". Zandonai showed "dangerous signs of repeating himself". Montemezzi was a "relatively minor, conservative composer", who's later works are "disappointing...unassuming, and unadverterous". You get the idea. The guide also gives far more weight to modernist and recent works than their performance histories seem to justify, while neglecting important works by expressionist, verismo, and American romantic composers. Alfano's "Cyrano de Bergerac", which has two available recordings, and upcoming productions starring Roberto Alagna and Placido Domingo, doesn't have an entry. Neither do the operas of American composers Victor Herbert or Deems Taylor, though they were of some historical importance, and Taylor's works were popular successes. Henry K. Hadley, who's "Cleopatra's Night" was successful at the Met, isn't even included in the book. It also lacks a meaningful table of contents.

These things aside, this is a must have title for the serious opera fan. The CD-rom version of this book has even more information as well as some sound samples and more pictures.

Years ago, I found a copy of "The Viking Opera Guide" on the shelves of a large bookstore. I was astonished by how superior it was to every other opera book I'd ever seen. I looked at the back and was discouraged by the price: .... But the book was so great I would have bought it anyhow, except the book was not in very good condition and I'm a stickler on that point. So I investigated a little further, and quickly discovered that the book was out of print! Why on earth, I wondered, since it was so obviously superior to any other book its size in print?

At any rate, I decided not to buy it, thinking that it was so good that another edition must be forthcoming. I waited a couple months to no avail. I broke down and decided to buy the soiled copy in the bookstore if it was still there. No such luck!

Now this "New Penguin Opera Guide" comes out, which is an abridgement of the original. I looked it over in a bookstore and saw immediately that it was just wonderful, albeit missing at least a third of the entries in the original Viking book. Nevertheless, at the level of my interest (complete works of Handel and Janacek, for example, but not some of the more obscure opera composers), it seemed to fulfil my craving for the original Viking book. So I bought it and I am greatly satisfied with it.

Still, my curiosity about the original Viking book remains. I searched Amazon for used copies. Imagine my dismay when I saw that the cheapest used example now goes for [price]! It is a collector's item priced considerably higher than its original price! So you can still get the original Viking in the used book market, but if the cost exceeds your means, this "New Penguin Opera Guide" is a worthy paperback substitute. It is a heavy volume printed on high quality paper and loaded with B&W photographs. It far exceeds its predecessor, "The Penguin Opera Guide" published in 1995. That also is an abridgement of the Viking, but it only contains about 25% of the original text and is printed on light-weight, poor quality paper. Nevertheless, what there is of the text of that edition is worthy, and it is light and small enough to stick it away on a trip to the opera. Not so this New edition, which is way too heavy and big to hide away in your coat pocket. For just browsing at home, I reiterate: it is wonderful -- until and if the original Viking is reprinted in its entirety.

Amazon sent me this by mistake. What I really wanted was the NEW Penguin Opera Guide, which is vastly superior with twice as many pages and higher quality paper with lots of B&W photographs. It also weighs a ton compared to this lightweight. Make sure you get the new edition, unless you want something lightweight to take with you to the opera. What is here, however, is fine, just not nearly as complete as the new edition.

Let's put it simple. If it is not in Viking, you have to do quite specialized research to find it.

The author's step-by-step explanations are great, and the issue coverage superb. The CD-Rom was a disappointment, however, as it contains simply the book text and graphics; I expected sample, working spreadsheets like that found in Benninga's Financial Modeling book. Despite the shortcoming, Holden's book is worth the money.

This is NOT a handy book of spreadsheet templates for use in finance. It IS a book to TEACH you about building spreadsheets for use in finance. The author has built dozens of very useful spreadsheets that he gives you step-by-step instructions on building and WHAT the step is about.

If you build all of the spreadsheets in the book you will gain a great deal of understanding about the subjects covered in the book and will be miles ahead of the calculator-based approach typical in today's classrooms. No professionals use calculators to figure duration or convexity or optimal portfolios, why should you? This is a very needed book and a nice approach to the subject.

I like this version of the book MUCH better than the Fundamentals version. But that is my preference; pick the book that is right for you. They are both very good. I intend to get more in the series.

the book looks pretty good but i was wondering what heppened with the CD that comes with the book, if anyone knows please let me know

This workbook is truly the strongest complement to the classroom. It allows the student to flesh out the theoretical concept while building an important skill set for anyone who wants a career in finance. A wise investment...looking forward to the new titles coming out in the fall!

Gotta say, with many, many books telling you how easy it is to make a hit film it's nice to have come across and read this honest, and highly readable, approach.
I liked the size, unlike several other film making guides it wasn't some 'Book of Lore' that requires lifting equipment to read. You could probably fit this in your back pocket and read it over a couple of afternoons(or nights...)
It's simple, it doesn't fly away with obscure technical speech, and I liked the way when some film making process was on the verge of getting complicated, there's a breather and explanation that allows the reader to follow EVERYTHING.
It actually talks about creativity and how to go about writing scripts and thinking of stories as well as how to get the most out of camera and methods and procedures of making a film. I don't think I've ever seen a book or on-line guide that merged these themes so well. Three for the price of one!!
I guess the British guy who wrote this, knows what it takes to get a film started and made. OK, there's a few Britishisms, but the information is pretty universal and above all simple and helpul.
Definitely good background reading to my film studies course.
I feel as though I have discovered a real gem here.
T.D.

Did anyone forget that making films should be fun? The guy who wrote this book sure didn't. This has got to be the first book where everything is infused witha real sense of enjoyment and fun, but at the same time combined with simple and structured learning. I've read some real stinker film making guides for my media production college course, but this book bucks the trend big time.
Highly reccomended reading for the media or film production student!!
Read, enjoy, have fun, learn.

I was skeptical about what I might find on this CD-ROM, but after browsing it, I have found it to be incredibly packed with a lot of information about a lot of different Y2K problems.

The publisher boasts that if you were to print the contents of the CD, it would stack to over 6 feet tall. I can attest that this is the case.

There is a wealth of information, some of it dated (though there is a quarterly release of the product scheduled throughout 1999) and much of it current. However, the information that may be dated is informative, and shows a history of the news surrounding the Y2K crisis and how little coverage the crisis was getting in 1998.

Well worth the money that I spent because the CD contained enough information that kept me from spending days of research on the internet.

I'm not a Y2K fanatic but I found the information on this CD-ROM to be quite invaluable. There's information on every topic concerning Y2K and it is fairly easy to navigate.

I was able to find more info on the specific topics that I am concerned about than I did in my time-consuming web searches. And I learned alot about other Y2K related items as well.

Since the info is all on CD-ROM, I can now easily help out my co-workers by printing out articles relating to their concerns.

The diagnostic programs on the disk have shown me the programs on my computer that may be problematic come January 1, 2000. So I have time to correct or remove them before they crash my system. That alone was worth the price to me.

Holden Caulfield is an untypical character, scandalously believed to be the epitome of teenage angst. Subjects of his kind are few and far between and worshipers of his ethos contradict themselves with un-Holden-like gestures of 'coolness' and materialism. No wonder Salinger 'pukes', as he might put it, at his cult following, ALMOST the antithesis of what he was trying to promote.(PR)I met a girl outside a nightclub with an American accent. "Have you read 'The Catcher in the Rye'?, I asked. "Yes!!!!", she replied, "I spent a time being in love with Holden Caulfield!". I was pleased, but then she tried to shake my hand in a stylised 'cool' manner. I tried to respond but failed...oh...but she turned on me; "Hey, get with it, man!", and walked off, not annoyed, but none too impressed...the point is 'The Catcher in the Rye' is a comment on society. It is densely planned but sounds like the simply written diary of a complicated, compassionate, emotional person. It is hilarious and tragic, the author engaging one in a seemingly non-technical rollercoaster of truth, of the way life should be and the way people could be. There is no effect of Salinger distancing the reader with any form of over-stylised excess. Holden is talking TO you, not at you. He becomes the reader's friend.(PR) This is no adolescent book: it is universal and for anybody who has sense and compassion enough to understand: the adolescent eyes of Holden Caulfield are used simply as a means of making the point: he hasn't enter the world so his plight becomes more powerful. He doesn't want to because he is more mature...ironically.(PR) The Vespers of wit clothe the more sombre truth in a short, to-the-point novel, written by a perfectionist with no frills, about a man who so longs for an escape route from imperfection. Joseph Zachary Humphries (jzh1ugs@bolton.ac.uk),Bolton, England.

I first read this book when I was a sophomore in high school. I remember myself drawn into it then but after I finished it I thought it was fun but didn't quite think it a classic. Recently, I had felt a need to escape my everyday life and the idea of taking off from my job, roommates, life really appealed to me so I picked up this book again. I read it little bits and pieces and treasured each moment. I really identify with Holden a lot mre now after being in the world for a little bit. Salinger's observations through Holden are interesting and his digressions make for great reads. But what I noticed this time around almost above everything else is the intense and sharp humor of the book. I found myself several times laughing out loud. The book is really funny. Holden's observations are so true, it's just funny. The humor relies on behavior instead of jokes and I think at 24, I've observed more behavior and appreciate the humor. The relationships Holden has a very touching and interesting too. I felt that he was more similar in this regard to an early twenty something than a high schooler, but I think early twenty-somethings are a lot more "phony" than holden so he works better as a high schooler. It's a good book. I want to read it again.

The book "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger is an excellent comming of age novel. You see the world through the eyes of the main character, Holden Caulfield. Salinger uses swirls his unique characters into his "stream of concious" writing style. The blend of Holden's tangents and his simplistic observations of other people serve as a source of comedy and sadness.
Holden is a unique character in himself. He observes other people's "phony" actions and ridicules them for it, when at the same time Holden is not perfect by any means. I think the idea of seeing your self, and self-actuality are two of the novel's main themes. Holden is one of the most prominent protagonists in contemporary literature because he is so easily realted to. His hardships of adolescense can apply to almost every teenage in today's world. The struggle for a purpose in life is one of the biggest challenges that people face, and I think the novel shows one way that a lot of people handle it.
This novel is one of the best books in American contemporary literature because it carries so many themes and ideas about life that everyone can relate to.

This is a tale of a boat trip up the Congo, although nowhere in the book is the actual name of that river or the Belgian colony that emerged on its banks ever used. The writer, Joseph Conrad, was probably more interesting than any of his characters. Although writing about stiff-upper-lip types and managing to be more English than the English, he was actually born in a country that was undergoing its own form of colonization in those days, that is Poland. Going to sea, Conrad experienced many adventures around the globe, providing him with the rich stock of stories that were to win him acceptance from the English reading public.

Most people now come across this book as part of some college course condemning colonialism. At least that's how I came across it. Others might know it as the prototype for Francis Ford Coppola's amazing movie "Apocalypse Now."

Although an enthralling read, it is also a strangely vacuous book and, as a consequence, extremely well-named, as Kurtz, the central character, remains a dark enigma at the heart of the story to the end. We never really get to know who he is. Sent by the Belgian colonial authorities upriver, Kurtz has 'gone native' and our narrator is sent after him to investigate.

This format allows the narrator to drop-feed us information about Kurtz during the long river voyage, giving us pieces of a jigsaw that is never completed. As we read we are nevertheless tantalized by the prospect of meeting the man who has scrawled "Exterminate all the brutes" on his report for the "International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs," participated in "unspeakable rites," and established his authority among the natives through the uncivilized practice of impaling heads on poles.

Is this a true picture of colonialism? During his life as a sailor, the writer visited the Belgian Congo so the details ring true. Also the objective, descriptive, and rather emotionally detached style of the narrator proves convincing. Nevertheless there is something rather mechanical about this picture. Conrad presents economic exploitation or vicious greed as the dominant if not the only force in this view of colonialism. Perhaps in the case of the Belgian Congo, a particularly brutal colonial system, this is justified, but those college students being fed this novel as representative of colonialism in general should be more wary.

To our modern materialistic sensibilities, it makes perfect sense that colonialism should be so greed-driven, but there were also more altruistic motives at work such as the desire to 'save,' 'educate,' and 'civilize' the natives. Conrad treats these with a healthy dose of cynicism. The philanthropic motives, sincerely believed by many in the home country, such as Marlow's Aunt, become in the face of the ruthless greed and brutality existing in the Congo no more than empty jargon, ironically spoked to justify the terrible cruelties inflicted on the natives for the benefit of the Company. But quite often these motives were actually sincere and brought great improvements to the natives, in many cases actually giving them the tools with which they later won their independence.

Although condemning their exploiters, Conrad has little real understanding of the natives who always remain mysterious and unfathomable:

"The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us - who could tell? We glided past like phantoms, wondering and secretly appalled, as sane men would be before an enthusiastic outbreak in a madhouse."

In this there is a lack of true sympathy, which however reassures us that he is not exaggerating or sentimentalizing the plight of the Africans. Colonialism was certainly not a blessing; maybe it wasn't a mixed blessing, but it might have been a mixed curse. Anyway, however you choose to view it, it undoubtedly had a profound impact on the economy, environment, culture, and identity of native peoples. We get little of this from Conrad and his "unfathomable savages."

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. While reading it, I really could not become absorbed by Conrad's dense prose, though, while occasionaly eloquent, is very thick, and, well, British. But now that I am finished with it, I can not get the images the novella invokes out of my head. The conquest of Africa by the Imperialist on the surface, and the corruption of man's very morality underneath. The story is deceptively simple, merely a man working for an Ivory trading company, ominously called "The Company", going up the Congo river to meet up with Kurtz, the archetype of Western Imperialism. During this trip, we are shown the inner workings of man and his heart of darkness. The novella is not perfect though. Conrad's condemnation of Imperialism is uneven. Yes, the only discernable cause of Kurtz's descent into evil and madness is the imperialist ethic of master-slave, and it is fairly clear that Marlowe (conrad) is condemning that ethic, but at the same time, he doesn't work very hard to elevate the view of the African natives any higher in the esteem of his western readers. Anyway, as the novella is only about 100 pages, it is something that can be read in a day. Invest an afternoon in it, and decide for yourself.

Heart of Darkness is a novella that really needs to be read more than just once to fully appreciate Conrad's style of writing. The story is an account of one man's simultaneous journey into the darkness of a river as well as into the shadows of a madman's mind. There is a very brilliant flow of foreshadowing that Conrad brings to his writing that provides the reader with accounts of the time period and the horrible events to come. Through Conrad's illuminating writing style we slowly see how the narrator begins to understand the madness or darkness that surrounds him.

I recommend this particular version of the novella because it contains a variety of essays, which discusses some of the main issues in the reading and historical information. Issues like racism and colonialism are discussed throughout many essays. It also contains essays on the movie inspired by the book Apocalypse Now, which is set against the background of the Vietnam War. I recommend reading Heart of Darkness and then viewing Apocalypse Now, especially in DVD format which contains an interesting directors commentary.

I am currently being forced to read this book for my Honors English class in high school. I've already read it once before for a different class, so I know what I am talking about when I say this book is the ultimate cure for insomnia.

I honestly try to appreciate what is *supposed* to be fine literature, but "Great Expectations" is about as entertaining as watching kale grow. First off, the fact that this book has two endings inspires a bit of skepticism in me. I've never heard of an author so indecisive that he would put two endings in a novel. It creates a generally unsatisfying conclusion, as you're at a loss for which ending to "accept".

Aside from which, this book has enough useless passages to fill a hundred pages or so. It seems that, basically, Dickens didn't quite know exactly what to write about, but felt the urge to *write* *something*. So he wrote "Great Expectations", following the traditional poor-boy formula of his previous 15 or so books.

I find it especially hilarious that none of my teachers have ever even read the bloody novel, but it's "good" according to the curriculum. In the words of someone from a certain other Charles Dickens book, "Bah! Humbug!".

Don't judge Dickens by this book, however. "David Copperfield", for example, even though it follows the same "poor-boy" formula, is worlds better than this.

As much as I'd love to say, "Oh, it's a classic, everyone should read it!", I personally don't think so.

Like many other high schoolers who wrote reviews on this page, I was forced to read this in my freshman english class. I thought it was an extremely good story. The characters (my favorites being Orlick and Trabb's Boy) are brilliant and subtley funny. The story is creative and unpredictible, and overall, it was absolutely supberb. The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars is because it tends to drag a lot of the time, and Dickens overlong descriptions are a bit grating on the nerves, but I DO understand why people would have liked it like that in the 1800's. They liked their books long and juicy. It's a bit dated but Great Expectations is well worth a read if you have the patience. Even if you are impatient, you can not miss this great story and its wonderful characters, so at least see one of the many great movie adaptions. My personal favorite movie version of Great Expectations is the 1999 Masterpiece theatre version.

I spent a whole term going over this book in freshmen English class. It is an overall good book, full of interpritations. There are many symbolisms and allusions. However, it is important to remember that this book was originally a serialization, as it came out every week in the paper. There are some parts when Dickens drawls on with his plans, events, ect. However, there are scenes that are very fast paced and action filled. The overall plot is a young, naive boy of about ten lives with his sister and her simple husband named Joe. However, Pip is given a secret benefactor and is thrust in the life of nobility. Pip is tangled in his probelems of leaving Joe behind and his encouters with the shallow (and I mean SHALLOW) Estella and the wicked Miss Havisham. Dickens is a master with characters and the languege, but he doesn't describe any everyday events. For example, Pip goes to study law, but thats all we know. In my opinion, it gives the characters this higher than life importance, and less real. But, if you take this book slowely, maybe a chapter a night (instead of the five I had to do), you will definately enjoy this book.