After going thru a number of other asp books I find this book to be the premier source of information on the subject. The topics covered are from the ground-zero level without spoon-feeding yet the material will help build a foundation for advanced application needs. It is obvious that for the advanced development one should seek specialized books addressing the topics - eg: ADO, Java & Active-X, ExchangeServer intergration etc. Compelling Reading !!

The short time I have been using this book I find that I can find very useful information for what I need to do with ASP. Very good examples. Very well layed out book. The number of yellow stickies shows me that I have found useful and specific examples relevant to my needs. The book uses VBScript which is just what I want. Even walks you through creating a COM component.

I purchased this book knowing only a little about object-oriented programming and VBScript but hoping to become proficient in ASP in a very short time. This book was the perfect answer - clear explanations, good examples, solid code -- and all at the right pace. I read the first four chapters and was writing efficient interactive web pages for database access the next day. I highly recommend this reference.

This book is the Bible of Internal Medicine. Anyone considering a career in medicine should have this book in their library. Comprehensive and well written, it is the gold standard of medical textbooks.

This book is a medical tradition, and it is as important to doctors as their stethoscope.
It is very complete, there is no doubt about it. Every subject of medicine is covered, and for a reference book is a must-have. It is also written in an easy-to-read way, but some chapters are more difficult to understand than others, and like a good meal, in excess it can get heavy and occasionally become a brick, so slow-reading is advised. Also worth to mention are the atlases, that give a lot of pictographic information.
I would recommend it only as a reference book, because for the USMLE, or as a course textbook, it is impossible to read it all, especially if time is scarce.

I have been using the 14th Edition of the main textbook for over two years now. The sheer size [and weight] of the book does not allow for easy carriage, especially when you have limited space. Moreover, I often had to leaf through reams of pages or read through several paragraphs when looking for information on specific topics. The companion handbook makes all these unnecessary. It is easy to carry around unnoticed in a small bag and, when there is need to double-check that elusive info, it is right there. Of course it is not as detailed as the parent text, but as a companion text, it fulfils its role very well.

I'm a big art fan and *adore* journals, but this book just didn't do anything for me. Sabrina tries very hard to be this uplifting, creative, inspiring artist, but she just doesn't fit the role. Her writing is too cliche -- yes, we know being a girl is hard, yes, we know girls feel fat sometimes, but do we really want to hear another writer whining about it? -- and her art, though pretty sometimes, is ultimately untalented. It's a good picture book to get from the library, but if you're going to buy something, you're better off with 'the Journey is the Destination' by Dan Eldon or 'Succulent Wild Woman' by Sark.

"Spilling Open" by Sabrina Ward Harrison is a truly amazing book. After reading it, I realized that I shouldn't hide myself or act like someone I'm not. I could completely relate with Sabrina most of the time in the story; going through the same experiences or problems as her. This book opened up a whole new window to me - a window of Sabrina's life.

Sabrina Ward Harrison's book, Spilling Open, is an inspiration to me and has helped me through numerous times of hardship. This book is chock full of emotions, experiences, doubts, and love. It reminds me that everyone has days when they feel useless and that everyone will come out of those hard times a stronger person. Thank you Sabrina, you have helped a lot of people with your expereinces shown in this absolutely amazing journal.

This is a fabulous evocation of the fab four's rise to greatness, written with just the right amount of reverence and objectivity. Davies manages to ellicit some great anecdotes from people who were closest to The Beatles. Mimi, Paul's dad, the Harrisons, close friends, Fred Lennon (John's dad), Pete Best; they all get to have their say. The book is especially strong during the Hamburg years (loosely 59-62). Davies captures the growth in their popularity, attracting interesting characters along the way, yet having no fan base outside Liverpool and Hamburg. He demonstrates so vividly the growing desperation of the boys to make it big. Once the rollercoaster took off then the book is on trickier ground. Davies clearly wants to divulge stuff which The Beatles were not keen on him revealing (Davies was writing the book during 1967/early 68). For instance, Lennon was heavily into drugs at this time and Hunter Davies refers to John as being in a daze. Yes, you have to read between the lines! One of the strengths of this book is its matter-of-fact delivery. Although Davies is clearly a fan he still keeps his feet on the ground. The death of Brian Epstein is well-handled. Remember, this was written before all the Klein, Apple, Ono nonsense hit the fan. Yet Davies manages to convey a growing sense of isolation amongst the group. His pen-portraits of each member is uncannily (eerily) accurate, bearing in mind the general public thought The Beatles were a rock-solid national institution. The book is a cracker and loses a star of its rating only because of a rather mysterious lack of detail around Rubber Soul and Revolver. The rest is gear!

This is an essential document for Beatles scholarship. At the time it was simply a pop bio by a competent writer, but it depicts the Beatles at a fascinating juncture in their career. It is particularly notable for its accounts of songwriting and recording sessions, for a glimpse of their home lives, and for their opinions about life in general at the time. Since this is an authorized biography, critics may complain that it is whitewashed - but one can read between the lines and gather the full meaning of everything pretty well. All in all, it is remarkably honest. This updated edition features a sterling introduction by the author about the writing of the book and offers further insight into the personalities of the Beatles.

I'm sure there were books about the Beatles written before this, but this book was written with the Beatles (complete with interviews). Hunter Davies includes some of his own opinions in later editions but this is about the Fab 4, their rise, and where they were in 1968 when this book originally came out (John admits to be bored with life as Yoko Ono had not yet been a household name to us and George was already sick of being a Beatle at the time). The later editions have a section about the breakup, what they did individually in the 1970's, the tragedy of John Lennon in 1980 and more recent interviews with Paul, George, and Ringo. You can trust Davies since he got the Beatles' authorization and respected their privacy (he mentions that George Harrison asked that certain things not be printed). As Davies points out, this story is about the rise and not the fall.

this is a pretty funny book about an errant-knight and his many misadventures. only problem is, there's really only one joke in this massive (1000+ page) book, namely, what a fool and madman this gallant knight is. after a while, the joke begins to wear thin. i don't think this is the greatest novel ever written. it's too poorly stuctured and one-dimensional for that grand distinction. i think the reason this book IS so famous is because of the character of don quixote himself. the image of the mad don charging giant windmills is one of the most colorful and memorable in all fiction. don quixote is one of the few examples of a character who transcends the book that created him. hamlet and falstaff are two other examples.

a good read, but doesn't live up to the hype.

I read this book in its original language, spanish (since it is my first language too), and I found Don Quijote's adventures fascinating, comical, and sometimes even slightly pathetic.
"El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" is about a man, Alonso Quijana, who reads so many books of knights from the middle ages (this was written in the baroque times, NOT the renaissance or the enlightement as other reviews say) that he loses his mind and decides to become a knight as well. This anacronysm is the first clue of the comic life Don Quijote leads from then on.
The whole novel is a mockery of other books about knights (although not about the knights themselves), as Don Quijote continually struggles to do justice and to right wrongs, but is met with nothing but sad defeats.
Overall, although it is very long and uses somewhat complicated language (it is written in spanish from the 1600s, although I suppose that the translation makes it simpler as it is to modern day words), Don Quijote and his adventures are something that I'd reccomend to anyone with the patience to read it.

I took the time to read both volumes of Don Quixote, starting at the end of this past summer, and just finishing up in mid-November, and even better, in the New Century Library version, lovely old leather bound books with gold ribbons for markers. I didn't read it straight; it was interspersed with many other books on my stack.

Oh my. What a satisfying read. Of course you are familiar with the basic premise of this book, the mad Don Quixote tilting after windmills, his faithful squire Sancho Panza at his side and always on the lookout for a good meal. What I was not prepared for, and was totally delighted by, were the many and varied side stories, the topsy turvy relationship between madness and sanity (and who is which, anyway?), the wisdom of Sancho Panza as Governor (at long last!) of his very own island, and the surreal relationship between the narrator, the author, and the narrated.

This is a complex work, and could be discussed with many different themes in mind--idealism vs. pragmatism, honesty vs. duplicity, madness vs. sanity, the follies of the rich vs. the follies of the poor. Chivalry. Romantic love. Storytelling. Renunciation. The Quest. Devotion. Class structure. Religious persecution.

The only thing that bothered me about this book was that everybody was endlessly enchanted and ready to give the benefit of the doubt to beautiful young men and women, that beauty in this book equaled virtue and a kind heart, a small complaint indeed regarding this masterpiece.

If you've already read this book, this is just preaching to the choir. But if you're trying to decide whether or not to take the time, the answer is yes, yes and yes! You won't regret it, and your heart and soul will thank you.

I first read this book about 5 or more years ago, and everytime I talk to people about reading, I recommed it.. I have NEVER read a more touching story and the way Sue Harrison describes the surroundings, the people and their feelings is just impressive!! If you want to read a "One of a Kind" book, this is it...I am 100% sure that you are gonna love it as much as I do. I still keep this book and I'm about to read the following stories and someday my now 20 month old baby, will read them as well....Enjoy them!

It's not often I read into the wee hours of the morning, but Sue Harrison's story kept me glued to her book. Couldn't wait to read the rest of the trilogy and look forward future books. Transported me to a different culture.

I have to admit, I never read any series like this before. "Mother Earth Father Sky" was given to me by a dear friend who also enjoyed the series. I found this book to be almost like a soap opera with great character development. It is almost as if you feel like you know the characters. I read all three books in the series and was sad when the story ended.

If you're getting into Intranet development, or you're trying to build web based applications on a Windows NT server running IIS, Active Server Pages is the way to go and this book is all you need.

When I started ASP coding I knew a little Visual Basic and HTML code, this book takes you from there to building full blown web based applications, it's well organized and presents source examples for everything (available on-line). If you want to get the edge on ASP fast, buy this book and read it.

Let me put my review in perspective. I have been programming in one language or another for almost twenty years. I am an Internet Engineer for a Fortune 500 company. I perform contract work consisting of database design and implementation. In other words, I'm very familiar with many of the topics as they're presented in this book. Coming from this background, I found this book to be an invaluable resource.

I would NOT recommend this book to a beginner. I can't stress this point enough.

For an experienced programmer (and not just an experienced web surfer or HTML author!), the Wrox "Professional" series are a tremendous resource. Too many Internet-programming books start out with the history of CERN, HTML, ad nauseum. The "advanced" books are only useful as references, but you could never read them cover-to-cover. For me, the Wrox "Professional" books fall somewhere in between--exactly what I'm looking for.

"Professional Active Server Pages 2.0" did a great job of bringing web applications all together: from server side scripting, to client side scripting, to configuring IIS 4.0, to programming and installing Visual Basic components, to implementing transactions with Transaction Server. I found the segments regarding Internet security to be especially interesting. Although several of the examples assume a Windows NT Server 4.0 setup with IIS 4.0 and Microsoft SQL Server 6.5, I was able to implement many of them using Peer Web Services on Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Personal Web Server on Windows 98, and Microsoft Access 97.

The book does have some drawbacks: there are some pages that have incorrect code examples. Chapter six, which covers the Server Object model references many components which simply do not function as advertised. I had to purchase the "Internet Information Server Resource Kit" and install some of the components from the accompanying CD-ROM before I could use them. However Wrox does provide an errata bulletin board on their website, and there are a few discussion groups there as well that can help you through these types of problems. I even e-mailed Wrox for some of my questions, and was very grateful to receive answers straight from the authors.

If you are already comfortable with object-oriented programming, and have a reasonable understanding of the Internet, then you should find this book to be a great resource. I can't recommend it highly enough. However, the novice web programmer who is simply looking to spice up their pages with a little server side scripting would be well advised to look elsewhere.

After wasting quite a bit of money looking for an ASP book that I can use as a self-teaching guide, I finally found it! (Serves me right for not reading amazon.com reviews earlier.) This book has it all: clear, efficient descriptions; excellent real-world examples; and fantastic on-line support from the publisher. Within a day I had a firm grasp concepts that so many other books had failed to properly convey. Within a week I was deep in the process of designing a web-based front-end for our corporate data warehouse. What set this book apart for me is its thoroughness. Rather than assuming you have an intricate knowledge of ODBC, Java, VBScript, IIS, NT security and HTML, it briefly touches on each of these topics and tells you everything you need to know to make your web site work.

I did not read this book until ten years ago - age forty for those who count - and found it a brilliant work. It touched on every aspect of life in that era, using a difficult premise at the focus.

One reviewer called it 'sexist.' In that era, women were kept removed from the world, so men were the ones who made the initial contacts with reality and their sexuality. If Lawrence had written about that society in any other way, he would have been inaccurate. Lawrence shows the social conflict with both subtlety and brutality. Yet, Mellor IS a lover. There are sexual descriptions which are explicit, but within the coccoon of emotional bondings.

The way that Lawrence has essayed the class structure of England in that era is brave and accurate in all ways. He makes the posturing of the aristocracy both frivilous and full of assinine criteria at the same time he understands the willingness of those in power to offer their lives in the defense of the general welfare.

Lawrence notes again with unpleasant accuracy the detriments of an unchecked Industrial Revolution on the social structure of the time. He has Constance both witness these effects and suffer the olfactory damage.

This is a literary work which has an effect across the full spectrum of the possible. Finely drawn characters searching for a better way to survive their lives in a scenario that is rife with obstacles and unpleasantness. He has the touch of the finest artist working with the lightest gossamer and the blunt force of an ogre swinging a stone axe.

This was published in an abridged version because it was felt that the societal message it conveyed should be allowed to transit the draconian (by the less filtered standards of today) censorship of the era which DID focus on the sexual descriptions but could NOT stop the voice of social criticism any more than the same group could stop Dickens a few decades earlier.

As with any good novel there are several levels on which this book may be read. Taken factually, here a woman forsakes her incapacitated husband and takes the gamekeeper of their estate as her lover. Pretty ugly scenario! How can such a cruel action be justified? Lawrence is not afraid to take on this formidable challenge.

To some people there is absolutely no issue here. When you marry, you commit yourself exclusively to your mate. Period! Case closed! But in real life, the matter is not so simple, unless you choose to make it so.

On a deeper level a marriage inherently has hidden strings attached. It requires an honest effort by both partners to commit to the marriage, to sense their partner's needs, and to respond to them honestly and with sensitivity. If one mate is not perceptive, not doing their part, not "truly interested" in the marriage, then the marriage is in reality already dissolved, albeit not legally. This was the case with Lady Chatterly and her husband. It was also the case with the gamekeeper and his wife. Lawrence had to courage to recognize and to address this marriage problem, which probably is more common today than we would care to admit.

The level at which I most liked this novel was in the descriptions of the actual physical encounters between the Lady and her lover. I have not counted them but there are perhaps four or five, all under different circumstances, all resulting in different degrees of satisfaction. Which suggests to me tht the sex act, in itself, is an almost neutral event. What gives it meaning are the attitudes and sensitivities that its participants bring to the occasion.

At its deepest level sex is a reverent act, a sacrament. It is an uncompromising, fully trustful yielding of one's body to the care and love of another person. The result can be the most glorious feeling a human can experience. It can also be the most degrading feeling in the world. In this novel Lawrence follows the Lady and her lover through their progressing relationship. The novel can serve the reader as an inspiring view of the great beauty and joy that a loving relationship may eventually engender.

Should teenagers read this book? In my opinion, no. Nevertheless, they will. But, like Shakespeare, they will not be able to absorb its wealth. I encourage them to save its reading for their later years when they are trying to bring new riches to their lives. Sort of like saving the icing on the cake, and eating it last. I think Lawrence would like that.

Lawrence really lays bare his soul in this book. It is the story of a ripe, red blooded woman who needs a real man. As usual there doesn't seem enough to go around. Ladies! I hope you all meet a Mellor's in your lives. Gardening is indeed a great trade for aspiring lovers. And You'll love this tale - it was one of Lawrence's best.

Lawrence wanted to bring us back to our dynamic center; he hated this celebral world and head sex. His domain was the realm of the body ... And all of its pent up sexual dynamisms. If you read Fantasia of The Unconscious you will be able to access his views right from his teeming intelect. He was perhaps one of the finest writers Britain ever produced and his literary output was prodigious indeed!

James Siegel has created a novel with shock value as its vantage point -- and I mean that in a good way. This fast-paced, engrossing and gripping thriller will have you turning the pages onto the late hours of the night.

Charles Schine lives quite an ordinary, if perfunctory, life. However, things haven't been going so well as of late. His white-collar position as creative director at an advertising agency never fails to stress him out, his daughter's childhood illness has him in a state of turmoil, and his marriage has fizzled out. But in a twist of fate he meets a beautiful stranger on a late morning train ride to Manhattan. Little had he known that meeting said woman would change the course of his life in ways he'd never envisaged...

There are some rather gruesome scenes in this novel. At first I thought some of the scenes were an attempt to shock the reader, but as the story progressed I realized that those scenes were essential, for they emphasize the ongoing terror the protagonist encounters throughout the novel. The narrative is excellent and the characterization is precise. I take one point off because the dialogue is resonant to that of a suspenseful film at times. Sometimes I got the impression that Mr. Siegel leaned the novel toward notable film script material. Other than that, Derailed is one of the most entertaining and gripping thrillers I've read in quite a while. Highly recommended...

Beware! Once you start reading Derailed be prepared for your life to be derailed until you finish it. Simply stated, Derailed is about an ad executive who makes one stupid mistake that derails his (and others) whole life. The word to summarize this book is "great." Great writing style (in ways it will remind you of James Patterson's style but Siegel is a MUCH better writer), great characters, and great plot. If that's not enough, Derailed is chock full of suspense and excitement. And if that's still not enough, it's filled with surprises that will keep you guessing and panting for breath right up to the last page. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a book that will keep you glued to the edge of your seat. I had previously planned to read Harlan Coben's new book (No Second Chance) as my next book, but I enjoyed Derailed so much that I've gotten a copy of James Siegel's first book, Epitaph, and am going to start it right after writing this review.

If there were a measurement for the addictive character of a book ' that subtle quality that hooks the reader early and makes the book virtually impossible to put down ' 'Derailed' would be the Gold Medallist. First time author James Siegel tells the story of Charles Schine, a New York advertising executive who, meeting a beautiful female executive while commuting on the Long Island Railroad, soon finds his typically mundane life spiraling ever more deeply out of control. Siegel's prose is fast, tight, and riveting, with just enough non-linearity to keep the reader on the edge. Yet despite the leanness, characters and settings are fully developed and wholly credible. Think of Tom Wolfe's 'Bonfire of the Vanities' on pure adrenalin, written with the economy of words and razor wit of a master advertising creative director (which Siegel is). Reviews have paralleled 'Derailed' with Hitchcock ' a valid comparison in the unexpected twists. But much of the allure is in the pure believability of the plot - the realization of how fragile the boundary between 'boring but comfortable' and sheer, unmitigated terror is. Bottom line: if you are only going to read one thriller this year, make it 'Derailed'. Just make sure you don't have any plans for the next several hours when you start.

This book was boring and my opinion has nothing to do with the fact that it was "clean." I've read books by Francis Ray and Victoria Christopher Murray who are "clean" authors who have written strong, wonderful books that I enjoyed.
Where was the dialogue? Why was it so wordy? I found myself bored by the end of the third chapter. There wasn't enough interaction between the characters and some of it was just unrealistic. I would not recommend.

Living on the Edge of Respectability (Living) is an engaging, entertaining and delightful story from first-time novelist, Suzette Harrison. Harrison takes us into the lives of three young professionals...Vanessa, Reina and Chris (the lone male of the threesome). Friends since college, they've been through many trials and tribulations, but they continue to plow forward and come to terms with some hard life truths. Each of them is currently "Living on the Edge of Respectability" as they deal with serious and sensitive issues of obesity, abandonment and secrets regarding a parent's death. Told in alternating voices, the plot thickens and takes on surprising and sometimes shocking turns and twists as each character shares their story.

Living is a great summer/beach type read that moves quickly. From Chapter One, I was captivated and held hostage until the last page. The characters while flawed were lovable. I cried, laughed, became angry, frustrated, and was saddened by events in the characters' lives. I felt like a family member for the few moments that I was allowed into their lives.

Living is an emotionally powerful story filled with wit, humor, candor and vivid imagery. It is a story about friendship, family and relationships between the opposite sexes. The storyline was wholesome and clean and as such a book that could be read by almost anyone without embarrassment. I recommend Living to others who are looking for an entertaining, fast-paced, summer read and one that positively reflects African American males and females. I look forward to other works from this talented author.

Yasmin...

I bought a copy of this work at the urging of my sister. I must say I am thoroughly impressed with this first-time author's refreshing take on interpersonal relationships of the middle-aged African American. The characters complement each other delightfully and the writing is simultaneously thought-provoking and downright hilarious.

I love that the author pulls us into the characters' world through the use of the first person prose--Very unique, very gratifying. I also love her poetic writing style. The imagery is superb. Makes it easy to get "caught up", at times forgetting you're just a reader.

I look forward to sequels and other novels by this author. Hopefully lovers of the written word everywhere will have the opportunity to read her works.

Special note: I appreciate the fact that the author left out the explicit sex scenes and overuse of four-letter words. Not all of us find that necessary or even entertaining. We are allowed to use our imaginations and I feel comfortable recommending this book to readers of all ages and colors.

One warning: Chris is so understatedly charming that you may, like me, develop a crush on him. Shhh, that's my secret. Let's keep that between us.