Dayton's book argues that, in terms of courtroom cases, women in colonial Connecticut fared better under Puritan legal ideas than later when the laws became more like those in England. She takes the reader through five kinds of cases that involved women to show the changes in the law over time. Her style is easy to read, and she uses anecdotes about specific cases to illustrate her points. A very unique study, unlike any that I have encountered in colonial American history.

This book is a nice short piece on the nuts and bolts of selling, but be forewarned: it has about as much to do with Microsoft and its methods as I do (hey, I'm running Office 2000 on my computer, woohoo!).

You get the occassional gem about taking Bill Gates along on a sales call. That's what you call a closer. But that's about it. Other than that, Dayton could be describing how to sell cardboard. Not that it's a bad thing. But if you're looking for strategic selling techniques for high technology sales, best look elsewhere.

As opposed to most "hot new" sales approaches which focus on changing your personal style, this book does a great job of providing a strategic step-by-step plan from A-Z. It's void of fluff and gets right to the point of outlining the nuts and bolts of the process including pre-sales planning, performance tracking, maintaining growth, and time management. It's worth reading in general and especially for those migrating into tech sales.

This book is one of the best books on selling high technology products on the market. It provides invaluable knowledge on a full range of selling topics including effective time management, marketing, sales support, sales people, sales managers, and customer support. The section on time management was very helpful. When I first started reading it I was wondering why the author took the time to insert a chapter on time management when there are so many books devoted to the subject. Before I realized it I was saying to my self, "... this is happening to me every day I must take control of my schedule." The Client Centered approach to sales is the central focus of the book and is described in detail. Some of the methods presented in the Client Centered approach have been presented in other books, but the author did an excellent job of bringing together the various ideas into a well-defined plan. The forms and checklists included are a valuable addition, and help in transforming the ideas presented into a plan of action. I was so impressed with the book that I am purchasing copies for all my sales and marketing people.

Dr. Rude should have read her book before she wrote it. While her advice is sound enough, she almost uniformly fails to follow it herself. Her book doesn't follow the schemata, the grammatical rules, the proofing rules, or the design rules, that she sets out for others. The ultimate example of this was when, in the section on political correctness, she advises the reader to refrain from using perjorative or demeaning terms for "handicappeds." "Handicapped" is itself considered perjorative and demeaning. She therefore broke the rule in stating it! Amazing.

Dr. Rude did a masterful job of explaining the concepts behind good writing. Reading this book improves your entire writing process by teaching the reader what he should not do when constructing any component within a document, be it a sentence, paragraph, chapter, etc. It also provides an excellent reference for copy editing symbols, defines the various levels of editing, and defines the roles that writers, editors, and publishers should have. Overall, Technical Editing has done more to improve my writing than all other writing books combine. It is a must have for your reference library and excellent for classroom instruction

I liked Photoshop 5.5 Wow book. For a start, it has high quality color screenshots. I am still surprised to see many Photoshop and other art titles showing up printed in greyscale, good color is essential in books like this one. As for content, once again, we have to read about stuff that's already exposed in the original PS documentation from Adobe, plus the usual clichés, color theory, etc. Fortunately, the amount of redundant information is reasonably acceptable. As for really creative ideas, this book does have some. A few interesting tutorials are perhaps the best of the book, which includes some chapters on natural-looking painting (For those won don't want to go for Corel's Painter series), and the usual topics. (Nothing like checking the Table of Contents link) In my case, I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Montage and Collage, and also on masks and adjustment layers.

This title is very acceptable to most beginners, (some might have trouble with some tutorials) and has value even to advanced users, but those will definitely not get all that much for the money. These days you can read impressive Photoshop tutorials on the web for free (Phong, and Eyeball are just a few examples of such sites) and books have to offer more and more to be worth the price. But still, I liked the Wow 5.5 book, it's far from reaching the depth I wanted, but it's not as basic as I feared it could be. Very full of color and some interesting tutorials. There are some bad aspects, mostly small details, like absence of a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. They are not compiled, but somewhat spread on the whole book. The showcase of artist projects was a good idea, but it would be better to have the .PSD files available for tutorials. Yes yes, I know, Copyright issues might be the reason here, but it would be a lot more impressive to see them as tutorials than just JPGs with some "how-to" explanations. Also, I have little interest in seeing several pages full of examples of the use of certain Plug-Ins that everybody already knows pretty well. It's mostly just to fill space, unless you really use the covered Plug-Ins in depth (but in that case, you should know the effects pretty well by now. Eye candy, but not really all that useful). This is also a very broad title, if you need detail in some areas (color correction, Collages,etc) you will need more books. It is true that it adds little from previous versions, but that's hardly a reason for 1 star reviews. If you own a previous PS Wow book, it might not be worth the upgrade, but for the other readers, it's worth taking a look.

In general, interesting title, definitely worth checking out. I'd lose the plug-in pages and would add more depth to some areas, but in any case, most beginner-to-intermediate readers will probably learn (or remember) something. If you're buying, you might want to consider waiting for a possible 6.0 version, which might cover the new slicing and vector drawing tools of Photoshop 6.

I liked Photoshop 5.5 Wow book. For a start, it has high quality color screenshots. I am still surprised to see many Photoshop and other art titles showing up printed in greyscale, good color is essential in books like this one. As for content, once again, we have to read about stuff that's already exposed in the original PS documentation from Adobe, plus the usual clichés, color theory, etc. Fortunately, the amount of redundant information is reasonably acceptable. As for really creative ideas, this book does have some. A few interesting tutorials are perhaps the best of the book, which includes some chapters on natural-looking painting (For those won don't want to go for Corel's Painter series), and the usual topics. (Nothing like checking the Table of Contents link)

In my case, I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Montage and Collage, and also on masks and adjustment layers.

This title is very acceptable to most beginners, (some might have trouble with some tutorials) and has value even to advanced users, but those will definitely not get all that much for the money.

These days you can read impressive Photoshop tutorials on the web for free (Phong, and Eyeball are just a few examples of such sites) and books have to offer more and more to be worth the price. But still, I liked the Wow 5.5 book, it's far from reaching the depth I wanted, but it's not as basic as I feared it could be. Very full of color and some interesting tut

There are some bad aspects, mostly small details, like absence of a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. They are not compiled, but somewhat spread on the whole book. The showcase of artist projects was a good idea, but it would be better to have the .PSD files available for tutorials. Yes yes, I know, Copyright issues might be the reason here, but it would be a lot more impressive to see them as tutorials than just JPGs with some "how-to" explanations. Also, I have little interest in seeing several pages full of examples of the use of certain Plug-Ins that everybody already knows pretty well. It's mostly just to fill space, unless you really use the covered Plug-Ins in depth (but in that case, you should know the effects pretty well by now. Eye candy, but not really all that useful).

This is also a very broad title, if you need detail in some areas (color correction, Collages,etc) you will need more books. It is true that it adds little from previous versions, but that's hardly a reason for 1 star reviews. If you own a previous PS Wow book, it might not be worth the upgrade, but for the other readers, it's worth taking a look.

In general, interesting title, definitely worth checking out. I'd lose the plug-in pages and would add more depth to some areas, but in any case, most beginner-to-intermediate readers will probably learn (or remember) something. If you're buying, you might want to consider waiting for a possible 6.0 version, which might cover the new slicing and vector drawing tools of Photoshop 6.

I agree with the readers, about the book's small changes. Though there haven't been drastic changes in the book, it isn't really fair to give it one star either. The authors managed to cover every new feature and tool, even giving them special coverage, plus the full color layout, makes the book a sheer haven to read. (And also because this book was written for Intermediate-Advanced users, the idiot who bought the book without noticing the fact first has got to be the stupidest person I know.) If the program didn't change, how big of a change do you expect from the book. The coverage from the Photoshop 4 Wow! Book was amazing, so there really isn't much to cover anymore in version 5, I'm sure. This book is great, the CD-ROM, is even better than any other CD-ROM which came with other books I've read, no CD-ROM managed to come up with such great actions and collage layers such as this one.(Due to distribution laws, I'm sure the authors loved to give you a fully functional copy of Alien Skin's Eye Candy and Kai's Power Tools, but couldn't)

Can any kind soul tell me which 4 exams are covered by this book? it received only one star for lack of this vital information. Thanks.

This pack is a collection of 3 books:

MCSD Training Guide: Visual Basic 6 Exams (70-175 & 70-176) ISBN:0735700028

MCSD Training Guide: Solution Architectures (70-100) ISBN:0735700265

MCSE Training Guide: SQL Server 7 Database Design (70-029) ISBN:0735700044

The average rank of these books is 4 stars (better and cheaper than Microsoft's books). It may not be sufficient for the exam. I think I am going to buy: -MCSD in a Nutshell: The Visual Basic Exams ISBN:1565927524 -Exam Cram Vb6 Core Three : McSd 70-175, 70-176, 70-100 ISBN:1576103935

Hope it's helpful

4 in 1! This is really good, I appreciate. However the ultimate goal is passing exams. I hope this have not been forgone for the price. As I can see all in one helps reduce redundancy and above all provides greater level of consistence. I even value the book much higher for hitting the points straight while maintaining its readability. The techniques used to represent the precepts are not only being suitable for providing exams concepts but also intellectually refreshing, since for most professionals studying means discoveries of new tricks, ways and knowledge to accomplish daily challenges. By the way: thanks to the author.

I wish it was a little more understanding about the horses themselves. It didn't tell why they expressed certain behaviors.

Anyone who has had multiple overuse injuries from aerobics can certainly appreciate this book--and the message that it is possible to be healthy and in shape through proper weight training techniques. The training routines and background in this book are very good. The overall nutritional message (low-glycemic carbohydrates and ample protein) is also right on, since most weight-loss diets are woefully protein deficient and emphasize refined carbohydrates.

On the down side, the majority of the menu plans are nothing more than an advertisement for a supplement company. Most nutritional meal replacements and supplements are so laden with artificial sweeteners and chemicals to make them palatable that their health benefits are suspect at best. Also, the workout routines in the book are good, but it would have been better for the author to provide information for the reader to custom-design their own routines--in this respect you're left to your own wares. He doesn't explain the method behind his madness...

The machismo in the book is WAY over the top--but if you can overlook it (and the rather high price for such a thin book), I think the exercise routines are worth checking out. I was looking for something to change my exercise routine around, and especially get out of doing endless amounts of cardio which was aggravating my lower back and plantar fascia and generally not doing anything for my weight loss. I've only been doing the routines for a week and I can already feel a difference.

The only downside with the routines is that they require you to superset two or more exercises--which can be impossible in a crowded gym. My recommendation is to do the best you can--if you absolutely can't superset a block of exercises then just do straight sets (all sets of the first exercise, then all sets of the 2nd, and so on) in the order presented and don't take long rests; you'll still get most of the benefits from the program. But if you can do the supersets you're in for one heck of a workout.

Finally...a book about how to lose weight without resorting to pansy aerobics classes. This is a great resource for men who want to lose the unwanted fat, but know that there is now way they are going to step inside an aerobics studio. And why should they? Charles makes the point that weight training is better at melting fat than trying to hit your "target heart rate." The surge in growth hormone from the high lactate concentrations that will result from these workouts is beneficial in dropping that fat. I've used similar routines from Charles before, and let me tell you, these are not easy routines. If you never thought you could breathe hard while lifting weights, then you are in for a surprise! With the simple diet plans given, you can reach most any weight loss goal. I feel this is a book whose time has come!!

I must admit that when I purchased this book from Amazon and pulled it from the mailing envelope, I was a bit surprised when the book was as thin as a coloring book for the price. However, the surprise was fleeting when I began to read what Poliquin had written. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section provides the theory of the book which explains how this book differs from others. It's an easy read as well as being full of valuable myth shattering secrets. The second section provides suggested meal plans. I truly appreciate this section because the daily meal and supplement suggestions are so easy, there's not much meal planning at all. I love Poliquin's writing style. He is very direct and somewhat startling at times. For example, Poliquin acknowledges that "we (men) prefer to think about sex more than food so this is going to be a simple diet that can be assembled in minutes." He doesn't shy away from naming names also, especially those diet "experts" who suggest they know all the answers. The final section consists of the workout routines which are listed simply with diagrams. This section is great because in it, Ploiquin lists the secrets that I pay my trainer alot of money to share with me. As a guy who has been plateauing for about four months, I want to thank Charles Poliquin for finally giving me permission to occasionally cheat on a diet. This diet has gotten me off of my plateau. If you want a great resource which is well worth the price, buy this book.