On the positive side, this book has many excellent case studies and examples. It is well written and interesting. However, I was disappointed, as I was expecting use of Excel to rigorously solve decision making and data analysis problems. The focus of the book is mostly traditional statistics solved using a group of commercial add-ins for Excel. If this is what you want, then the book would get five stars. However, for data analysis and decision making, I think a more thorough treatment using Excel without relying so much on the add-ins would have been appropriate.

The text book is great. I have many of Winston's other books and they are all great. The Palisade stuff works just fine. However, the StatPro Addin that accompanies this text does not work with MS Excel 2000. I contacted the IT guy that the authors directed me to--he was stumped. He just gave up and suggested I return my book for a refund because he could not figure out it out. Again, the book is great but the StatPro Addin sucks!

I find the text and software a useful set of tools. It assumes familiarity with basic statistics and Excel, and builds on them to develop a powerfull ability to analize data and make decisions from it. I experienced no trouble with the software install or operation.

This is a great dessert cookbook for chocolate lovers. There is a nice range of recipes from basic cookies and bars to elaborate cakes. The recipes are clearly written and can create impressive results for bakers of all levels.

The pictures really inspire the reader to pick up a mixer and try the recipes. It is also fun for fans of Forrest Gump to read the little side bars.

This is a great compact cookbook that has a lot to offer!

I have countless cookbooks and recipes (especially for desserts), but this one is by far one of my favorites. I have tried many recipes from this book, and almost every single one is amazing. The first time I made "Forrest's Four Chip Fudge," my friends and family could not get over how good it tasted. They couldn't stop telling me that my fudge was the best they'd ever had. Not only are the recipes great, but there are so many helpful hints for working with chocolate that even a beginner could master the techniques in no time! Plus, I think it's adorable the way it is written from Forrest's view point, as he always talks about how great his mama was.

I found this recipe book to be wonderful. I have tried several recipes and they turned out fabulous and a good one I can recommend right off the top of my head is the hot fudge sauce. This is so simple and absolutely wonderful -- the best hot fudge ever! Try it, you'll like it. :-)

While an incredibly intelligent work, Zen and the way of the sword is a book of primarily scholarly merit. In that regard it is a masterpiece. For the seeker, however, it's a rather dry read with only a thin smattering of real spiritual value.
Get this one if you want to understand the development of Japan's collective consciousness. -Look elsewhere for spiritual importance.

Winston King, professor emeritus of Vanderbilt University, has long had an interest in the way that Buddhist doctrines and values play themselves out in everyday life. This book is, in a way, a follow-up to the one on Suzuki Shoosan, exploring the historical conditions that led to one of the oddest marriages in religious history: Buddhism, which espouses a basic attitude of nonviolence, and the samurai class of Japan, warriors who trained themselves to inflict death without forethought or hesitation, whose goal was summed up by Miyamoto Musashi thus: "Whenever you cross swords with an enemy you must not think of cutting him either strongly or weakly; just think of cutting and killing him. Be intent solely upon killing the enemy." (p. 120). The central problem and theme of this book, then, is: How did this come about? How is it that the samurai of medieval Japan found in Zen Buddhism an ideology and a method of training that fitted them for such an un-Buddhist occupation? In different sections, King tackles this question from a number of angles. He begins with historical considerations, outlining the early history of Zen in Japan as well as the conditions that led to the rise of the samurai as a self-conscious class. He then explores the culture of the samurai, centering his discussion around the image of the sword.

It must be said at the outset that this is not really an academic book. The bibliography is pretty spare. As a publication of Oxford University Press under its "Oxford Paperbacks" imprimatur, it's apparently not intended as high-level scholarship, but rather as a popular introduction to the place of Zen in samurai life and culture. It's written in highly accessible language, with illustrations of swordmaking techniques, fighting styles, and core values. The illustrations bring the subject matter to life and perhaps correct some of the over-romanticizing of the warrior ideal and the aesthetic beauty of Japanese swords that Westerners are prone to. The illustrations remind us that, in the last analysis, the swords were very large, very sharp knives whose sole purpose was to maim and kill. When all is said and done, this is a book that should definitely be on the shelf of anyone interested in East Asian religion and culture.

Another wonderful book about the Japanese Buddhist mind from a one of a kind scholar and teacher. Winston King is, as always, honest, accurate, informative, balanced, engaging, and right on target - as he was in class. If you can't learn from him, you can't learn.

Perhaps slightly better than Virtual Mode, but not by much. Again, I recommend this for juveniles and not adults. It seemed to me that the book was really a series of short stories strung together. There is the initial conflict with the despots of Nona's world but Anthony gets away from that quickly but returns to it in the end to wrap things up. Darius is really a minor character in this book which is surprising. The sexual references are getting really old by now. Anthony's description of fractals is hard to follow, and I was a math major! An illustration in a future edition would benefit the reader in showing the layout of the Fractal Mode. On to Chaos Mode which will finish up this series. If there is another book in this series, I plan to steer clear of it.

This book is very interesting, covering a variety of topics from child abuse to in-depth discussion of fractals, love to culture, society to magic. Piers shows an acute knowledge of the scientific aspects of what he writes about. The book seemed to focus a little too much on helping Nona, and not enough about the MAIN characters, but this didn't detract from the book too much. The settings are varied, as always with Anthony, as are the characters. Anthony provides much insight to what Colene is thinking, which I think is the most interesting part of the book-- to see how she reacts mentally to things like stress, Darius, her parents, etc. There are heartwarming moments, and some interesting happenings back at good old normal Earth. Many different things happen, settings change quickly, minor characters come and go, but the plot runs smoothly enough and what the gang learns along the way is interesting and their adventures are still fun, sometimes amusing--they get stuck in one really odd situation in Nona's reality! If you read Virtual Mode and are interested in how Colene and Darius' relationship will grow and change, and how Nona plays into their scheme, and if Colene and Darius will EVER settle down back in Darius' home reality...this is a good book for you.

I think that people looking for a book that they can just chill with, litrally switch their brain off and read are going to hate this book. It has references to maths, explanations of magic, totally-twisty landscapes, in depth character profiles and a totally confusing multi-reality storyline. Oh, and some sexual references too, which might wake some up. This is the second book of the series that touched me, I love it and could recommend it (and have) to anyone. Read it, read them all! I await the arrival of my Chaos Mode book.. and whats this I hear about another!

This book lets any fan know that alabama football is a lifetime of hardwork and achievements. I am proud to own this book. This is the same author that wrote the book "Forrest Gump", and he does a great job of illustrating Alabama's history of football. May tradition continue and the tide roll.

this book for a birthday gift. Naturally, I was reluctant to read it at first - it sat on my nightstand for months - and yet it seemed to call out to me in clarion tones of The Truth. When I finally indulged these entreaties, I realized I had undergone something of a conversion. At last, I can freely admit that Alabama football is the most complete expression of excellence in collegiate athletics. Roll Tide Roll

Alabama has a football history that is truly second to none. Groom brings a storyteller's touch and a fan's enthusiasm to an exhaustive and impressive look at the Crimson Tide.

And to the reviewer who mentioned the lack of Central Florida being mentioned: the book was released in September, the UCF game was in October.

Churchill was a superb writer, a man whose style I find inspiring. The way he conveys the information in this volume is most engaging. However, this is not really a good history book, as Churchill's focus is much too narrow. He focuses on military and political matters to the near exclusion of everything else. He gives little discussion to things that have had profound effects on history, like disease and plagues (the Black Plague receives brief, cursorary treatment), and if you read through this volume, you will find little if any discussion of music, dress, art, architecture, language, agriculture, sport, religion, literature, or daily life among the English speaking peoples. Science and inventions are only mentioned if they contribute something to the art of war. His work is accurately described by a quote from J. Henri Fabre, "History pays but little attention to these details: it celebrates the battle-fields whereon we meet our death, it scorns to speak of the ploughed fields whereby we thrive; it knows the names of the King' bastards, it cannot tell us the origin of wheat. That is the way of human folly." While Churchill's style is excellent, his chronicling is myopic and therefore unsatisfactory. This volume does not give much "history" of the "peoples" (as the book's title would suggest), but it does tell about an island's wars and her kings.

Churchill has written a wonderfully readable history of early Britain. This effort is broken into three books: 1) The Island Race (i.e., Roman Province, Vikings, Saxons, Alfred the Great); 2) The Making of a Nation (i.e., Norman Invasion, William the Conqueror, Henry Plantagenet, English Common Law, Magna Carta); and 3) The End of the Feudal Age (i.e., Henry V, Joan of Arc, York and Lancaster, Richard III).

As you can tell from this brief sketch of the table of contents, the book is primarily a political and military history of Britain. Although some of Churchill's commentary on the issue of religious faith in Britain was of interest, this effort lacks in its sparse coverage of such matters. The same may be said of Churchill's treatment of Britain's social history.

Churchill does not appear to have broached any new areas in the history of Britain. I'm left with the impression that he is merely passing on the ideas of other historians which he personally believes to be true. Yet, there is nothing wrong with coming to conclusions, and there is great worth in passing on excellent and interesting information to the readers.

Frankly, I enjoyed this book very much. It is an excellent survey of Britain up until the time of the Reformation. I recommend it highly to all who are interested.

When you consider the conditions under which Churchill wrote these books, they are even more amazing. Churchill writes history the way I like to read it. History is about people, ideas and concepts. As the German metaphysical philosophers are so fond of suggesting, perhaps history is the outworking of God's Mind. When I read this book I began to understand not just the evolution of the island race, which I have read about before -- the migration of the tribes across Europe -- but more importantly I began to understand the evolution of the English Parliamentary system. This book describes the painfully slow and difficult process of hewing out those rights which we in America consider our "entitlement" and so often take foolishly for granted. Furthermore, I grew to understand, as the great lawyer, Ray Garrett, Jr., once said, "It is the law that makes organized life possible." Winston Churchill had one of the greatest minds in history. It is a thrill to share his intelligent reflections on history and culture. This book is a must for your personal library.

This is a good book for PC users. Lots of the hardware and some of the software content is not needed by Macintosh users. The photography tips are excellent for all. It is well-written with lots of attractive Windows photographs, but if you are a Mac user, you already have lots of the digital video solutions that are in the book. If you are a PC user and are really, really serious about digital video-well-it could be time for a platform change.

This book brought my camcorder to life. I'm having a great time learning how to edit my videos, and make better all the way around.

This book turned my digital camcorder into a valuable tool. I can use it for much more than I thought. I'd recommend this book to anyone who recently bought a digital camcorder. Lots of stuff in relatively few pages.

Authors indicate that "black" in the biblical text refers to skin color, while "white" does not refer to skin color, but is only a metaphor. See (or better yet, don't see) the notes to Song of Solomon. This is only one of a parade of inconsistencies and errors. This "bible" is a hermeneutical disaster. The only redeeming quality is the King James text, but even that is riddled with apparent type-setting or typographical errors.

Upon reading several passages, I began to find typos in this Bible. This is the first Bible that I've seen with typos.

Psalms 21:2 - Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

This scripture sticks out to me the most. If you have the Bible, I encourage you to look at the scripture. At the end, it says, "... his liSelah." When I first read that, I was too confused. I had to go to another Bible to see what was being said. There are other typos in that version of the Bible, but I've quit reading it and don't remember them anymore.

All things need to be in decency and in order. Typos of God's Word is not. Have a blessed day all.

As The Truth is always destined to rise again, so does The Original African Heritage Study Bible come forth by unquenchable daylight into it's intended prominence. This book is a miracle. The various essays which highlight the ancient spiritual facts which transcend space-time dimensional understanding are like a breath of fresh air for a rescued drowning victim. For this work to actually be manifested and distributable among true believers is equivalent to a black hole in the far reaches of space suddenly reversing it's magnetic force of destruction and becoming a nuclear fusion miracle of LIGHT again which radiates life to all who will see. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and desire to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the deep and intimate knowledge of The Lord will breathe a sigh of relief as they ponder the once hidden but now made known truths such as: THE MYTHICAL CURSE OF HAM / AFRICA, THE GARDEN OF EDEN[Historical Evidence] / THE RIVERS OF EDEN / WHAT COLOR WAS JESUS? / AFRICAN-EDENIC WOMEN AND THE SCRIPTURES / THE ANCIENT BLACK CHRISTIANS / EARLY MARTYRDOM AND AFRICAN CHRISTIANS / PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH and so much more. This information is not presented from a racist point of view which would only be the darkness of ignorance, but from the facts as they should have been known since long long ago.

Churchill is one of the most amazing figures of the last century - yet with all of his background to pick from, this book doesn't present much of him.
This is basically the author sort of randomly meandering around through Churchill's life and then stating his opinion of certain decisions Churchill made. And it's done without providing much of a framework for the various events he discusses. I've read a lot about Churchill and yet I was lost at times trying to figure out where/what/when on some of the events.
There is a lot better out there (William Manchester's 2 volumes for example).

I bought G Best's book because of its apparently good review in John Lukacs book on WSC.

It probably appeals to readers who want a general read about WSC, but in the sense that it appears to be written from existing book sources, it does not seem to offer any new insights - at least it did not for me.

Geoffrey Best undertakes an unenviable task with this book. He attempts to capture the life of one of England's greatest leaders in one book. Best is successful in his attempt.

While it is obviously impossible to list all of Churchill's great stories and accomplishments in just over 300 pages, Best is entertaining in his approach. While this chronological tale may be a bit dry to the average reader, those who enjoy history will embrace this book. Best documents Churchill's attitude that he was destined for greatness early in life, discusses many of his war strategies, and is thorough enough to look into Churchill's family and personal life. Many people are unaware of the tragic lives of his three children, all of which are alluded to in this book. There truly is more to this man than is demontrated in the common pictures history books record of him.

Churchill worked toward bettering England and world almost unitl his death. This man who was largely self taught played a large role in shaping contemporary Europe even when he was no longer the Prime Miister. Even when his idea of the United States of Europe failed, he continued to be an early proponent of arms control and ending communism. The chapters which discuss his later years are among the most fascinating parts of this book.

Books on the life of Churchill can go into much greater detail than this. This book is an excellent starter for learning about the life of Churchill.

Reuth claims he embarked on this biography of Hitler's Propaganda Minister because there weren't any good books on Goebbels. Not only is this balderdash, his offering is the weakest Goebbels biography in recent memory. The writing style is extremely pedantic, plodding, slow-as-molasses and tedious. Goebbels was an extremely complex, brilliant, devious man, but you'll not encounter much of him here. Reuth inexplicably chooses not to use the copious 1920's Goebbels diaries, which David Irving included in his infinitely superior biography of "the little dwarf."

This book is heavily weighted towards Goebbels role in WWII Berlin, which is curiously among the least-interesting periods of his life. Utterly glossed over are the most engrossing years of the "Kampfzeit" in the 20's, where Goebbels was a discipline of Gregor Strasser and then only came under Hitler's spell once he met him. Then it was no turning back. There is shockingly little interest displayed here in Goebbels' fascinating private life. Magda, his wife, is scarcely mentioned, nor is Lida Baarova, the Czech actress that Goebbels fell in love with in 1938.

A chilly, disappointing read. Not recommended.

This is not a light and fluffy biography. Reuth has put an amazing amount of scholastic work into reconstructing the life of Goebbels. Be warned, however, that the book is slow-going, and often tedious.

Settle in and concentrate on this slow hard look at Goebbels. If you are into detail on National Socialist interparty politics, this is the book. This guy was pure evil. He is the only figure surrounding Hitler that can actually eclipse the Fuhrer's ugliness.