Occasionally one stumbles upon a work that is truly enlightening and not only thought provoking, but thought changing. This book belongs to that highest category of literature. Friedman, a Nobel Prize laureate, lays out a concise explanation of the basic market forces that control markets and then uses those principles to support his classical liberal ideals. For one who's mind is open, Friedman's exposition can radically change your view of the world. People have a tendency to make erroneous assumptions about economics(like the idea that raising the minimum wage will help workers) that are totally wrongheaded(raising minimum wage actually causes employers to hire fewer people), though seemingly supported by common sense. Capitalism and Freedom will set you on the right track to understanding how things truly work. Most importantly though, Friedman explains how capitalism and freedom are irrevocably linked and that one necessitates the other. This is a must read for anyone serious about politics, even if you don't agree with it wholeheartedly it gives you a perspective from where libertarians are coming from.

In the tradition of Hayek, Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom attempts to show the dangers of centralized power. Although it is rather short, much like the Road to Serfdom, and lacks the comprehensiveness of a Free to Choose (also by Milton and Rose Friedman) it still comes across rather forcefully. His attention to principle's, something lacking in our 'pragmatic' politics of today, and his ability to come to logical conclusions is remarkable.

I gave the book five stars because I welcome such analysis and believe the book to have achieved what it set out to do (at varying points in the book Friedman would point out that this book is not meant to be 'thorough' in the sense of a complete exposition and refers the reader to alternate books for further discussion). A must read for all politicians and government types alike (whether in Canada or abroad).

Without a doubt, Milton Friedman is the most important and influential economist to emerge in the past half century, and is only surpassed, at least in terms of influence, by Keynes when one considers the entire 20th century.

As we all learned in macroeconomics, Friedman is best known for his "monetarist" movement. That is, the belief that inflation is always caused by excessive monetary growth and that changes in the money supply directly affect aggregate demand both directly and indirectly.

In "Capitalism and Freedom," Friedman argues that politics and economics are practically impossible to separate. Therefore, one can not have political freedom without economic freedom, and vice-versa. However, Friedman does acknowledge the need for government as a "rulemaker and umpire," as well as to control externalities.

While this book was written in the 60's, it covers some surprisingly contemporary issues: public schools, international trade, corporate social responsibility, etc. Friedman even suggests a school system that is publicly funded but privately administrated. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the population (cattle) are too ignorant to ever allow such a thing. Last year, a voucher system that would allow parents to choose a private school instead of a public one for their children was placed on the ballot. It was rejected by the voters.

Of course, conservatives will love a book such as this, while the something-for-nothing types will cry foul. I suppose that I am neither. I just know the truth when I see it regardless of the package it comes in.

This book does not profess to teach the C++ language in 10 minutes, as some have tried to claim. The 10 minutes comes from the size of lessons...short, concise, and accurate.

This book is perfect for those who are curious if C++ is for them before they buy a 900 page tutorial, those who (like me) need to brush up on C++, and those (also like me) who wanted a little pocket manual to refer to when that one function seems to slip from your memory.

All in all, its a good little book for the beginner, but I would recommend Liberty's "C++ in 21 days" to really learn the language. I would keep this one on hand to look up stuff on the fly.

I agree with all of the reviewers except the reader who didn't even read it. Write a review without reading a book? Well, I read it and loved it. This should not be the only c++ book you have; however, you should have it. It covers a large amount of topics in its 246 pages (counting the index). It could fit into your coat pocket and probably should be carried with you. If you are a c++ beginner that needs to have examples and short clear explanations of all of the basics and object-oriented c++ then this is the one. If you're looking for a c++ refresher course then this is the one. I loved it and have it next to me now. I didn't time myself, but I'm sure it took more than 10 minutes :) Please note that the author doesn't claim to be able to teach the language in 10 minutes, just 10 minutes a topic. The SAMS Teach Yourself in 10 minutes series is just that, a series, the author wrote a book for this series. The series is not intended to cover an entire language or application in 10 minutes. The books are short concise to the point books with "just meat". There are no long chapters and nothing that doesn't deal with the subject of the book. An example is: What is looping? How do we use it? Here is the framework of a looping construct, and then a code example. The entire book is set up in that manner. It is also arranged in a very well thought-out way, simple to advanced. You never learn a topic without acquiring the foundation for it first, so you're never lost. If you're a beginner don't skip around in this book. It's a very fast read anyway.

I just turned 15 recently and I've been learning to program in C++ for only about 5 months. I bought Sam's Teach Yourself C++ in 21 days. While 21 Days was a good book for me, it didn't provide me the challenge of fast paced learning that I was looking for. I went out to the bookstore and found a book that was perfect for what I was looking for. Sam's Teach Yourself C++ in 10 minutes of course. At first I was worried that it would make up for the time with little content, but was relieved to find that it did not. In fact, when I went back in 10 minutes and reviewed what I learned in 21 days, I found several things that I missed and somethings that when put in a format I needed, were made very obvious. Thankfully for me, since I am so young, it was right in my price range. This is the only product I know of that comes for a lower price without lowering standards. The format of the book is clean and simple. Starting from "Hello World," to loops, to Polymorphism, References, Objects, and Classes. The book itself will never become unneccesary for me. Whether I become rusty or just have trouble with one aspect of programming. Without it I wouldn't be able to say I am as good as I am today. I'll be sure to make room for Jesse Liberty in the special thanks for all my programs.

There are some truths in the book, but it's full of lies and the perversion of facts. Although the Liberty was in the international water. It did not have to be at the demarcation line, knowing that there a war in Isreal. The truth is the Liberty was assessing the war to report to LBJ. Check all independent sources and verify it's accuracy.

"Assault on the Liberty," is a thought-provoking book that deserves to be read by all interested in understanding the truth. Author James M. Ennes Jr., provides a detailed and painstaking analysis of a tragic event. To this end, he quite properly sets in perspective the often too-glibly-taken conclusion that the attack on the USS Liberty was an accident. There is no doubt that the author is honest and patriotic. He answered the nation's call to duty...he was on the Liberty...he was wounded and he witnessed the death of American sailors. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

The attack on the USS Liberty during the Six-Day War is one of the most unusual events in the history of modern warfare. Traditionally, when US Navy ships are attacked, the results are predictable and swift: the Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, The Luisitania, The Maine. But not in this case.

James Ennes, a USS Liberty officer who lived through the attack, was the first to write the history of this disturbing event in "ASSAULT ON THE LIBERTY". This volume, drawn from the eyewitness accounts of the survivors, tells the chilling story of how the ship was sent into Harm's Way, and then abandoned. And afterwards, the survivors were sworn to secrecy.

This book is a must-read for anyone who seeks to understand the history the involvement of the United States in the Middle East.

First I want to commend the author, Fareed Zakaria, for writing a book that is easy to read, and well written. To take on this topic in the manner he does is courageous to be sure, as the idea of criticizing "democracy" is not one with much support.

Despite the fact that book is researched well, and his ideas are outlined clearly, it is apparent that there is a certain bias inherent in his worldview. For example, he states that "democracy is not inherently good". What does he mean by this? He seems to be trying to start with a premise, and then support it through his conclusions. However, the premise is weak. I do agree that a "democracy" in and of itself does not mean that the result of that "democracy" will be inherently good. Democracy is not a result, but rather a process. A process that can result in positive or negative consequences depending upon how it is used, and by whom participates. Another reviewer here nailed it when he said that a democracy needs "good people" to function properly. This is truly the heart of the matter, and is usually so obvious as to be "self evident". However, Zakaria misses this point entirely.

Another weak point being made is that "in numerous new democratic processes, the elections serve not as a guarantee of liberty, but a legitimization of tyranny". I believe he is at best over simplifying and at worst completely wrong. In the first sense, an election which "legitimizes tyranny" is in effect a self-refuting concept. Either the elections are not truly a democratic process at all by not allowing for free and open decision making by the people (thus the tyranny), or the result of the election is the chosen path by the people. In one case, democracy exists in name only and simply does not really exist at all, and in the other case it has worked as it should. Since democracy is a process by which people determine the outcome, the blame for a negative result of the true use of a democratic process lies with the morality of the people participating, not the process itself. In the examples he uses throughout the book, he seems to miss this point.

He also argues that "liberty depends less on the will of the majority than it does on the institutional safeguards for the rights of minorities." This is a common tactic, but one that isn't the neutral worldview he would have you believe it is. It implies that the "minority" in opinion "should" be treated with the same level of weight as the majority. Why? He seems unaware that this view is in itself a philosophical worldview that has no foundation. Falling into the illogical spiral that is moral relativism, he equates "minority" opinion as being more valid than majority opinion, to the point of saying the failure to safeguard the minority opinion threatens liberty. Strong words indeed, but what does he truly mean by them? Are all minority opinions valid inherently simply because they are in the minority? One hopes not. In this country there are many minority opinions, such as neo-nazi's, and other racist hategroups. Is he implying that because these views are not popular, and not held to the same standard as the majority view of freedom for all that liberty is threatened?

I will agree with him on one thing, democracy in and of itself is not inherently good. Without a moral compass to guide, and standards of morality on which to base judgements of good vs. evil, a democracy can a failure. The majority can be tragically wrong, as he points out as one example of democracy gone badly: 1930's Germany. He is right in implying that the majority view is not always good, but what he in the end fails to do is to provide any solution. One could walk away from his work thinking that there is some formula of the right mix of democracy and dictatorship that will result in a moral and "good" society. Sadly though, democracy is but a process, and with any process, the true determination of whether it is good or bad is the hearts of the people participating. In the end, his views are not new; they are scattered throughout the New Testament of the Bible, where the ultimate consideration for governing and decision making is a reliance on the "law written on our hearts". All other processes, including his idea of liberalizing international politics, will only be as successful as those who participate. Another reviewer quoted Winston Churchill: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." Nothing in this book suggests otherwise.

Along with Tom Friedman, Zakaria is one of the country's top foreign affairs columnists. Unlike Friedman's "Longitudes and Attitudes," however, this book isn't just a rehash of old columns. It's a fascinating look at the past, present, and future of democracy, here in the States and all over the world. The book is essential reading, for example, for anybody interested in the Bush administration's attempt to "democratize" Iraq. Basically, Zakaria argues that although we take the concept of "liberal democracy" for granted, in fact the two components of it have not always gone together. "Constitutional liberalism" is responsible for a lot of the good things we like (rule of law, protection of human rights, etc.), but it hasn't always been associated with democracy. Democracy, meanwhile--rule by a popular majority--isn't always or necessarily connnected to liberalism. With these ideas in mind, the author covers an incredible amount of ground, both historically and geographically. And he writes amazingly well, so every page is not just filled with interesting information, but is also lively and fun. This is that rare kind of "big" book, in other words, that people not only talk about, but enjoy reading. If you liked Fukuyama, Huntington, Bernard Lewis, and stuff like that, you'll just love Zakaria...

Mr. Zakaria's central point of the book is that democracy alone is not necessarily the best form of government for a newly freed people. Democracy must be coupled by the strong forces of constitutional liberation which reinforces democracy through freedom of the press, an incorruptible legal system, a protective and not oppressive security forces (i.e. police and/or military) and other basic but necessary functioning organizations of society. Without these organizations and practices, a country will spiral into disaster even though it may be considered a democracy because the country will be illiberal.

An illiberal democracy may have free elections but the citizens will not have liberty. The rush to free elections in a developing country is not the best course of action for a country. Some level of autocratic government can be more beneficial for a people instead. Zakaria cogently supports his ideas with numerous examples from various countries around the globe - Singapore, India, Chile, China, Chad, etc. He effectively illustrates countries where stability and people's freedom have ultimately flourished and foundered.

Zakaria also argues that excessive public participation in government is not necessarily healthy for functioning democracies. He spends a significant chapter discussing the state of democracy within the United States. Here, he grimly lays out evidence of a deteriorating democracy that is crippling the U.S. government's ability to lead. The increase in direct democratization has given exceptional power to special interest groups which has allowed these organizations, that represent a sliver of the entire population, to hijack government's ability to create effective policies. Zakaria interestingly points out that the three most effective (and most revered) institutions in the United States are the Supreme Court, the armed forces and the Federal Reserve System. All three institutions are insulated from the pressures of public opinion and have the autonomy to do what its members feel is in the best national interest. Yet with an effective freedom of the press, these institutions' powers are held in check.

In the United States, we have come to take for granted that constitutional liberalism and democracy coexist in our society. But that has not always been the case. This book's great value is in helping the reader understand that and why we should care.

Introduction

The arrival of ASP.NET has been a great boon to classic ASP programmers. To keep pace with the new technology has always been a challenge to all of us. One of the way to achieve this is to get to know about the new technology, ASP.NET, by reading one of ASP.NET book. "Programming ASP.NET" helps us to get to know all about ASP.NET. This book is written for programmers and web developers who want to build web applications using Microsoft's powerful new ASP.NET platform. All examples are explained in both VB.NET and C#.

Simple Statistics
Author(s): Jesse Liberty & Dan Hurwitz

Publisher: O'REILLY Pages: 944 Chapters: 20

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: ASP.NET and the .NET Framework
Chapter 2: Hello World
Chapter 3: Events
Chapter 4: Controls
Chapter 5: ASP Control Details
Chapter 6: Programming Web Forms
Chapter 7: Tracing, Debugging, and Error Handling
Chapter 8: Validation
Chapter 9: Data Binding
Chapter 10: List-Bound Controls, Part I
Chapter 11: Accessing Data with ADO.NET
Chapter 12: ADO Data Updates
Chapter 13: List-Bound Controls, Part II
Chapter 14: Custom and User Controls
Chapter 15: Web Services Overview
Chapter 16: Creating Web Services
Chapter 17: Consuming Web Services
Chapter 18: Caching and Performance
Chapter 19: Security
Chapter 20: Controlling, Configuring, and Deploying Applications
Appendix A: Relational Database Technology: A Crash Course
Appendix B: Bug Database Architecture

What can you learn from this book?

ASP.NET is mostly based on event driven. Chapter 3 gives you an insight to all events that are available in ASP.NET. This chapter discusses about how events are handled in ASP.NET. ASP.NET has a rich set of in built controls apart from the regular HTML controls. Chapter 4 explains about available HTML server controls and ASP Web server controls. Each web server control is explained in detail in chapter 6. Each control is well explained with examples. The controls which are mainly discussed include, Label control, Panel control, Calender control, Image control, Hyperlink control and Button controls.

Testing the output in Classic ASP was a very very difficult task. The only way was to put some Response.Write in between lines in which the bug may occur. But, in ASP.NET we have a wonderful mechanism called "TRACE" which enables us to write everything into the browser about the ASP.NET which is processed. Chapter 7 takes you to a tour on how tracing is achieved in ASP.NET and how you can debug an ASP.NET page from Visual Studio .NET.

How many lines of code we might have wrote using Javascript or VBScript to validate HTML controls to make sure that user have entered proper data. With the help of in-built Validation controls available in ASP.NET, now we can validate any HTML control with a simple validation control. Databinding is a new concept to all Classic ASP programmers. What is this Databinding? Chapter 9, has everything about Data Binding. Another frequent task that we use to do using classic ASP was to fetch data from a table. And we used to loop through the recordset mainly to create a HTML table to represent the data in rows and columns. Datagrid does the same thing in ASP.NET. Also datagrid has in-built features such as paging, sorting and editing. Chapter 10 and 13 contains all about Datagrid control, repeater control and datalist control.

The main aspect that I liked about this book was its dealing with Web services. Authors have alloted three chapters for web services which narrates about the web service, how we can create web services and how to consume a web service. Chapter 16 has a good example in detail which talks about creating a web service. And in Chapter 17, we can learn about how to consume a web service. With the help of Web services, we can pull data from different web server (web site) with ease.

Chapter 18, 19 and 20 discusses about three major features of ASP.NET. And you will get the best from these chapters. Caching has been best explained in chapter 18 with many examples. I really loved this chapter. Security is an unavoidable one in any web application. Chapter 19 explains about the three major aspects of security, such as Authentication, Authorization and Impersonation. What else do you need to protect your Web application. ASP.NET has a rich set of directives. One of the topic in chapter 20 is about the directives which helps us to specify settings that the compiler will use to process the ASP.NET files. You should read this chapter, if you want to know more about directives.

Support for this book and downloading examples:

The support for this book is awesome. And this book also contains about ADO.NET. We have around 125 pages of information about the new ADO.NET, which is explained in detail in chapters 11 and 12. Well, this book is worth for many reasons such as, its content, online support from authors and online examples.

My Rating:
I would rate this book an 8.5 out of 10.

This book jumps out of the pack for its clear, well-written, and often thorough introduction to ASP.NET. Unlike a great many authors in this field, Jesse Liberty writes well and clearly. He engages the reader one properly-explained step at a time in logical progression and liberally provides code examples, virtually all of them in *both* VB.NET and C#.NET code. This is the one of several ASP.NET books I - a long-time VB and ASP programmer - bought that turned on the lights for me. A chapter on securing ASP.NET applications is alone worth the book's price.

However the book fails where so many in this field do: it hurls itself into explanation of code and framework features and how to use them without providing even rudimentary instruction in planning and designing ASP.NET applications. The serious programmer won't find concentrated chapters on best practices in architecting for the .NET framework, suggestions for maximum efficiency in application development and its products, real-world tips and scenarios for implementation and installation, or other issues outside the mere writing of code. Although tidbits appear throughout the book while explaining code, even experienced programmers from other environments may be left thinking, "OK, but how do I start?" Well, with more reading. Applied .NET Framework Programming by Richter is one book which offers a few chapters on issues like these, and the MSDN site now has many articles, but I'm still hoping to find a great single guide to building great ASP.NET apps.

This book is simply excellent. It starts with the core fundamentals, and builds your expertise from there. Every aspect of ASP.NET is covered in detail.

The authors begin with a simple HTML based "hello world" program and quickly build up the asp.net capabilities. They show integrated code and the (preferred) code-behind. The event model is explained in detail. Each of the major controls is shown and the validation controls are described in detail. The authors also show debugging techniques and proper coding idioms.

Every example is shown in both VB.NET and C#, which I found very helpful. This helped me see the similarities in the language and clarified areas that might otherwise be confusing.

The book includes a lengthy section on interacting with data, including a primer on ADO.NET and list-bound controls. The section on custom and user controls is excellent.

They spend 3 chapters on Web Services, and provide a comprehensive overview of this topic.

Finally, the book is rounded out with chapters on caching and performance, security and deployment and configuration.

The writing is clear and crisp, and despite the fact that there are two authors, it reads as if written by just one. The material is delieverd with clarity, and the authors provide unbelievable support on their web site, where you can obtain the source code and also ask questions directly of the authors!

All in all, I was very impressed by this excellent introduction to ASP.NET, and I recommend it highly.

The term "friendly fire" has always been controversial. Some tend to see a conspiracy behind each such incident. A case in point is the Israeli attack, during the 1967 Six-Day War, on the U.S. Navy spy ship-- the USS Liberty. Israel has expressed deep regret for this tragedy, which resulted from an unfortunate mistake of the Israeli intelligence and faulty communication between the two nations. Israel was in a state of war with its neighbors and the vessel was thought to be an Egyptian warship. No American ship was known to be in the vicinity.

The United States forgave Israel for that tragic mistake, but the issue has not disappeared. Some are still claiming it was an intentional attack, and several books have been published attempting to show that it was an Israeli conspiracy. A. Jay Cristol, a federal judge and a former naval aviator, after studying tapes, pictures and interviews with all relevent people, reached the conclusion that the attack was a case of accidental "friendly fire." After more than twelve years of diligent research, he published The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Israeli Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship, in which he proved the conclusion he has reached. This book is a true example of what research is all about-- facts and not baseless accusation.

I am a former Cryptologic Technician (76-80) and served with personnel who were aboard USS Liberty when she was attacked. I have read most of the mainstream books and articles about the attack and had the opportunity to read some classified reports while in the Navy.

While Ennis makes a powerful emotional argument that he and his shipmates were the victims of a premeditated attack, his information is based on hearsay and incomplete information. It did not convince me that the attack was intentional. Bamfords work is flawed by his misquotations and mistatements and while he has written some interesting stuff about the NSA, he comes to the Liberty investigation late and with his mind already made up.

Judge Cristol's book is very well researched and documented, since it was derived from his Doctoral Disseration, where shoddy research is not tolerated. It does require some flipping back and forth between the text and the notes, but any reader who truly wants to understand what happened on the June 8, 1967, should be willing to do that. Unless, of course, they have already reached a conclusion.

This isn't fiction. It can be dense, but at the end, I felt that Judge Cristol wrote an excellent, well researched book on the topic. I hade some lingering doubts, but those were dispelled. Some people claim the book attacks other points of view. It does not attack, but does refute, with facts, other points of view where, in Cristol's judgement, those points of view are not based in fact.

The arguments over the attack on USS Liberty will continue for years. While I agree that this has been thorougly investigated by the CIA, NSA, JCS and Congress, if it takes a full Congressional investigation to put this into the past, then I am fine with it.

Mark

I heard of the recently published book 'The Liberty Incident' and, being an avid reader of U.S. history, I purchased the book, primarily relying on the impressive accolades which are displayed on the back cover of the book...

Judge Cristol carefully examined all 10 official United States investigations of the Liberty Incident, all of which support the conclusion the attack was the result of a series of mistakes and blunders by both the U.S. and Israel. He points out that 7 presidents, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton, all accepted the tragic mistake conclusion. Then he supplements the record with additional recently declassified evidence uncovered by his own research to support his conclusions. The book is well researched, well written and fun to read.

I highly recommend it. The conclusions reached are clear and convincing - unless your mind is already made up before you start reading the book.

I have found Jesse's book to be a good book for those of us who wish to make the transition from data and process modelling to object oriented analysis and design. His book provides a good balance between theory and practice. It provides a bridge from the theory of object oriented analysis and design to its actual implementation. As an example, I have read several books on the UML notation, but this book was the best on showing how the different diagrams fit together. In chapter 2, for example, Jesse effectively uses a video store to explain why and how to capture Use Cases. I especially found useful Chapter 3 where he discusses class design. I feel that this book was written by a practitioner for other practitioners who need guidelines on how to do the nuts and bolts of Object-oriented analysis and design. I have recommended it to several of my associates who like me are making the transition from an action-oriented or data-driven perspective to an object-orienter perspective.

As the title would indicate, this introductory book on Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD) does an excellent job of combining theory and implementation in C++. Design techniques from CRC cards to transition state diagrams are presented, with an excellent chapter on classes and design ramifications of association, aggregation, and inheritance. Memorizing simple examples from the book, such as '64 VWBUG or 747, or perhaps Gryffindor could easily help beginning designers avoid implementation errors actual projects. I like the author's sense of humor and writing style, and I especially recommend this book as a valuable reference for OOAD.

Hello, my name is Jason Us. I just started reading "Beginning Object Oriented Analysis and Design", it's really quite good. I am currently working on a software project and this book is really to clear up the whole process for me. Thanks for you time, I am getting so much out of your book!

Jason Us

This book is not for a total beginner...would recommend something along the lines of the Java Tutorial or Dietel and Dietel. If you have some basic knowlege of programming java (intermediate), this book has a lot to offer in the use of understanding awt and swing. Not many books do a good job on building these 'applications'...although I've seen many examples of these types of applets. The beginning has some good software engineering / OOD procedure. Basically, if you want to learn how to make a neat swing app...using all java classes..(yes from scratch), then not a bad buy.

This is a great book for what it is. It is definitely not a beginner-level, just getting into java book, but more for experienced OO programmers who want to learn how to develop applications in Java. I have been looking for an intermediate book like this for a while. This book walks you through the process of how to develop a real application (a stock market tracker/analyzer), and ties it all together nicely from analysis and design, through implementation. The author gives good insight on his thought processes each step of the way. I like the fact that he uses the internet from which to pull off the stock quotes. Hopefully, more authors will follow this lead and give us some example applications that we can use in the real world, instead of a bunch of toy code snippets. The only drawback that I can see to this book is that it stops short as far as using JDBC in a Swing application. I wish the author would have added an extra chapter or two that covered binding Swing components to the database. Can somebody please write a book on this?

When I first saw the proposal for this book, I was skeptical about the premise. Using the development of a stock market tracker to teach readers how to design and construct large projects involving a GUI interface appeared to me to be a bit too grandiose. This seemed particularly true when the assumptions were that the reader had minimal experience in either the Java GUI classes or constructing GUI interfaces. In fact, the proposal included the statement, "No previous experience required." However, as I received the chapters for examination, I slowly became sold on the authors vision of the learning project. Finally, as the last chapters arrived, I was moved to include a note in my comments that he should consider including a standard disclaimer about assuming no liability for the use of the software. All examples and the final product are included on the companion CD.
The author assumes no previous reader background in using the classes of both the Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) or the Swing library. Both are covered in detail using small stand-alone examples. Event handling is also covered in depth. While these are good, the real strength of the book is in the description of the overall project. Use cases are used to construct the design model, which shows quite clearly how to begin with an idea and move it through all the stages until the end product of working code is complete.
Furthermore, the stock market data is downloaded live from the Internet, so the coverage also includes how to web-enable a program so that it will automatically download and display data from web sites. Certainly a skill not to be underestimated in the modern world. Combined with the other features that are developed, this project is the most realistic example of a major software development project that I have ever seen used in a book. The fact that the author pulls it off as an educational experience is even more remarkable.
Books that include large programs for development often fall short in that the projects seem contrived and not truly meant for the real world. That is not the case with this book and there is something here for everyone, from developers to experienced Java coders.

Disclaimer: The author of this review served as the technical editor for the book.

Most programmers tend to jump into projects with both feet and not spend the time to work all the kinks out of their thought processes. While this method occasionally works out well for simple, single-programmer projects, it certainly does not work when multiple programmers are involved!

This book was helpful to me personally by streamlining the design stages and helping push the timeframe to write code into the future AFTER a system has been fully fleshed in. This minimizes code rewites because of rashly-made design assumptions.

Finally, the book emphasizes a semi-strict discipline which cannot hurt any programmer. The ample discussion of experienced pitfalls serves as a good example of what not to do!

Chapter One: The business of software

Chapter one is the chapter I return to again and again to gain some insight into the madness of IT. Anyone involved in software development will be able to relate to the problems described here.

Get your managers to read it as well!

Clouds to Code is the book for anyone who's ever wondered what it's like to develop software. Get away from tutorials and into real life! Jessie gives us everything from code samples to what book he read to what tools he used. Awesome book!!

By way of The Independent Review (Spring 2000)

Richard Pipes is best known as an important scholar of Russian and Soviet history. In Property and Freedom, he combines his mastery of Russian history with a much broader subject, the relationship between private property and liberty. Relying primarily on the histories of England and Russia, Pipes makes a compelling argument that freedom and private property are intimately linked. As he puts it, "While property in some form is possible without liberty, the contrary is inconceivable" (p. xiii)...

Pipes begins his investigation with a brief but useful survey of some of the common but frequently vague terms he uses in the book. The term property, he explains, has several levels of meaning, the broadest of which can "encompass everything that properly belongs to a person . . . including life and liberty" (p. xv). It is this broad understanding of the term property that "provides the philosophical link between ownership and freedom" (p. xv)...

Chapters 1 and 2 are entitled "The Idea of Property" and "The Institution of Property." The first is a kind of intellectual history of the development of the concept of property, and the second is a historical narrative of how the institution of property developed. Both chapters provide clear, concise reviews of the main points of each history, including well-chosen examples from the historical and anthropological literature...

Chapters 3 and 4 illustrate different ways in which two specific states, England and Russia, actually developed historically. These case studies are the strongest part of the book. Pipes marshals an impressive battery of evidence to demonstrate how in England the importance of private property led steadily to the development of a strong spirit of individual freedom and a vigorous democratic tradition...The history of Russia is so different from that of England, Pipes argues, largely because of the historically weak tradition of private property in Russia. Pipes uses the Weberian concept of a "patrimonial" state to describe Russia. Unlike their counterparts in England (or, indeed, in western Europe in general), the Russian monarchs historically considered themselves and were considered by others as not only the rulers but the owners of their realm. Although private property existed, it did not exist independently of the state, but "emanated from it"...

The final chapter, "Property in the Twentieth Century," picks up the historical narrative appoximately where the two case studies end. During the twentieth century, the institution of private property comes under relentless attack, first from the totalitarian ideologies of fascism and communism and, finally, from the welfare state. Pipes makes a strong argument that the welfare-state policies that have emerged in western Europe and North America over the past several decades (including the increasing acceptance of the concepts of "positive rights," "entitlements," government "takings," and so forth) undermine private property and, hence, individual liberty...

Pipes continues with this theme in the last section of the book, entitled "Portents." Neither a conclusion nor an epilogue, this section amounts to a warning of coming disaster if the antipropertarian spirit of the welfare state is not checked. Pipes cites Tocqueville in stressing the dangers of a despotic democracy in which, as Tocque-ville described it, the "nation is reduced to be nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd" (p. 292)...

Property and Freedom is an important contribution. By providing two very closely argued historical case studies, Pipes has issued a kind of invitation (challenge?) to historians with expertise in other civilizations or national histories to corroborate or refute his thesis. If he successfully provokes such further studies, he will have advanced the discussion of the link between property and liberty even more significantly.

Richard Pipes is one of the leading academic authorities on Russian and Soviet history. He starts this book by admitting that its subject matter is outside his area of special expertise. Despite this discalimer, he has produced a useful and interesting work on the relationship between property rights and freedom.

Pipes' approach draws on his expertise as a historian. He describes the historical development of the idea of property rights with particular emphasis on the contrasting experiences of England and Russia. He demonstrates that the development of political and economic freedom in England is directly linked to the early establishment of property rights in that country while the total lack of freedom in Russia (prior to 1991 and excluding the brief 1905-1917 period) is equally linked to the total lack of property rights there.

This book is not a complete answer to the very broad question of how property and freedom are related. It does, however, make a valuable contribution from the historical perspective. To more fully understand this question, I recommend the following: For an economic perspective: Mancur Olsen, Power and Prosperity; for a legal/social perspective, Hernando de Soto, The Mystery of Capital. Together, these three books provide a fairly complete answer to the question.

What is it about freedom that causes authors who write about it to end their works prematurely or lamely at best?

Richard Pipes, our greatest historian of Russia, has written a brilliant and learned study of the historical relationship between property and greedom. He argues persuasively that property rights are the necessary, but not sufficient, cause of individual and political liberty. He documents the history of freedom's repeated rise and fall around the world, first as property rights are discovered, defined, and protected, and then as they are swept away by periods of royal absolutism, socialism, or fascism.

The first four parts of the book reflect a life-time of learning and scholarship. Pipes demonstrates complete control over primary as well as secondary sources (despite his humble disclaimer in the introduction). The writing is succinct and fast paced, with disagreements among leading experts quickly identified and the author's own position stated in a sentence or two. This is great research and writing.

Part 5, on "Property in the Twentieth Century," and a brief conclusion titled "Portents," hardly seem to have been written by the same author. Here the text is long-winded and tendentious, the sources are seldom peer reviewed or leading experts (except Richard Epstein, who is quoted many times). It is a mystery why the historian felt he had to become a policy analyst in this final section of the book, rendering his opinions on everything from affirmative action and school busing to wetlands regulation.

I'm reminded of another great book about freedom, "Freedom in the Making of Western Civilization," by Orlando Patterson. That book, too, ended poorly, with a hastily written account of freedom in the Middle Ages and the unconvincing claim that everything thereafter was "merely a long series of footnotes" to what came before.

Richard Epstein's books, especially "Takings" and "Principles for a Free Society," remain the best texts on freedom in the 20th century. But Epstein, a legal scholar, is an acquired taste. We await a history of freedom and property in the 20th century that rises to the bar that Richard Pipes sets in the first four parts of this book.