Mr. Pipes, eminent scholear and great inflamicist of Islam most recently completed his book 'militant Islam reaches America' but this book is by far more scholaraly and gives a more complete picture of the Islamic world. This read has several shortcomings. Mr. Pipes attempts to survey many Islamic countries where Islam is the vast majority or the near majority. In these short paragraph length studies he does not touch on one subject that needs to be touched on, namely the fate of minorites in Muslim societies. He does not explain the ethnic cleansing carried out in many Muslim countries that helped create a homogeneity within nations like Turkey. Nevertheless he provides a wonderful appendix that includes a list of Muslim populations of countries throughout the world. What one will realize when reading this list is that the number of minority populations in a Muslim country is directly proportional to the time the country has been Muslim. I recommend this book wholeheartedly in light of our need to understand and critique the Islamic world. A good companion to 'The Rage and the Pride'.

Few writers, Thomas W. Lippman wrote in the Washington Post, have explained so lucidly the complex developments of Muslim history.

It is difficult to address the questions of Islam, the Arabs and their relations with Israel and remain nonpartisan. But Business Week's Ronald Taggiasco called Pipes' scholarly explanation of events and faith in that little-known, volatile, and important part of the world well worth reading.

Pipes' reasoned, literate explanation of what generated the Islamic resurgence goes a long way to explaining recent events. Written in 1983, this book provided the first comprehensive political study of Islam's extraordinary role in modern world. We are fortunate indeed that Transaction has rescued the political and global implications of the Islamic revival, revealed here, from the out-of-print category, complete with a new preface for 2002.

The book is divided into three sections. The first covers the premodern legacy of Islam's sacred laws and its failure to implement the public ideal represented by those laws--as existed in the single state for Muslims (Dar al-Islam) from 622 to 753 A.D. According to Pipes, for most of Muslim history, traditional Muslims were willing to accept the gap between the ideal and the actual, to live with a less-than-complete implementation of Shari'a, although the Muslim approach to politics derived from the "invariant premises of the religion" established more than 1,500 years ago.

The second section covers Islam's encounters with the West, beginning with the matched powers of Crusaders against the Ayyubids, and proceeding quickly to Napoleon's 1789 invasion of Egypt. (This prompted the Ottoman Sultan Selim III to declare Jihad against the French and join the infidel British and Russian empires to keep his own in tact).

Muslims had ruled millions of Christians in Europe for 450 years before being displaced by Turkey. Then the western cultural onslaught began in the first half of the 18th century, and ran from Umma's eastern end (China and Indonesia) to its west (Crimea). By the end of 1919, only Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Arabia and Yemen retained political independence, the first three by balancing the claims of Britain against those of Russia and the latter two simply by being remote and completely barren. Meanwhile, the Muslim Empire had also lost battles of scientific, technical, mechanical, geographic and historical knowledge. Even daily Western life differed markedly from that of the Islamic east. Thus fundamentalists began lobbying for strict Shari'a everywhere in the Umma.

In contrast, reformist Muslims argue that traditional Shari'a is hopelessly illiberal and conflicts with the true Qur'anic values. They reject Shari'a traditions emanating from Hadith, consensus of the 'ulama and reasoning by analogy as inauthentic and outdated, respectively. Similarly, they approve of parliamentary systems of government, but view hold their record in Islamic society in contempt. On some fronts, liberal views conflict with themselves. While they admire pan-Islamic solidarity they are not committed to it; and they recognize national interests but disapprove of Muslim states fighting one another. And as for non-Muslims, according to Pipes, reformists are caught by ambiguity, between their desire for equal status for all and the wish for Dhimmi laws that traditional Islamic states use to bestow a special place on Muslims, while relegating all non-Muslims to inferior, even slavish conditions. The fact that Westernization did not markedly improve the Muslim world in the 1970s led to increasing fundamentalism.

Pipes devotes the third section to Islam in current affairs, detailing the effects of the fundamentalist surge on 22 Muslim-dominated nations from Indonesia, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Central Asia and Asia to Algeria, Morocco and Egypt in Africa and Syria, Iran and Iraq, in the Middle East. In at least 8 other nations, from Malaysia to Nigeria, Muslims vie with non-Muslims for power. In one of these--the Sudan--the conflict has grown bloody since this book was written, forcing millions into subjugation and slavery. Pipes also reviews 20 areas, including the former Soviet Union, where Muslims account for less than a quarter of the population but are asserting themselves. Pipes includes an extensive 50-plus page look at the means that the oil boom provided to promote Islam. Oil is behind the political importance of Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian Revolution, for example.

But Pipes also concludes that an Islamic revival dependant on oil constitutes a mirage, for the cash that oil provides cannot last forever. This, Pipes predicts, will leave the Islamic world with a choice that has become increasingly urgent--to adapt and come to terms with global Westernization, or to accept apologetics, introversion and poverty.

This broad treatment remains as helpful in understanding current events as when it was written nearly 20 years ago. Alyssa A. Lappen

Inside AutoCad 12 For DOS ISBN 1562050559
While a co-worker was spending hundreds of dollars to
learn AutoCad at the local collage, I learned as much at
the same pace at home with this fine book. It should be sub-titled as a tutorial. The book begins assuming you know nothing about AutoCad,
and carefully explains in a straight-forward method all you need to know. Everything is done in sequence so each excercise teaches
new commands to be used in following drawings. It is a great primer
for new users learning 2-D basics, and I have shared it with experienced users at work as a reference manual for 2-D
and 3-D drawings. The book comes with a disk with programs
to help you learn which was a real time-saver for me. I would recommend this book to all beginning and professional
AutoCad users. I have other titles from The New Riders Publishing Company, and they have all been a very good investment.

While a co-worker was spending hundreds of dollars to
learn AutoCad at the local collage, I learned as much at
the same pace at home with this fine book. It should be sub-titled as a tutorial. The book begins assuming you know nothing about AutoCad,
and carefully explains in a straight-forward method all you need to know. Everything is done in sequence so each excercise teaches
new commands to be used in following drawings. It is a great primer
for new users learning 2-D basics, and I have shared it with experienced users at work as a reference manual for 2-D
and 3-D drawings. The book comes with a disk with programs
to help you learn which was a real time-saver for me. I would recommend this book to all beginning and professional
AutoCad users. I have other titles from The New Riders Publishing Company, and they have all been a very good investment.

Daniel Cole's path-breaking study of the myths and realities of environmental regula tion in Poland is "must-reading" for anyone concerned with how the former communi st countries can become modern democracies. At last, From Red To Green provides the West w ith a clear-eyed and definitive exposition of falacy of environmental protection during the communist era and the efforts to achieve genuine reform in Poland's post-Soviet political life. Cole masterfully synthesizes the historical, political, socio-economic factors impac ting on environmental policy in Poland's past, providing a base to assess environmental pro tection today. Cole has established himself as one of the most penetrating analysts of adm inistrative law in the former Soviet bloc, and here he harnesses his strengths to produce a provocative analysis of a country which has probably engaged reform and modernization more aggressively than any other former sattelite state. For those involved in research on poli cy in the post-communist world, From Red To Green offers a pragmatic and compelling vision. For those in charge of environmental policy-making in the region, it is required reading.

Mark Brzezinski, Hogan & Hartson LLP, Washington, DC

INSTITUTING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION is excellent. Of the handful of good studies of the environmental degradation inflicted on Central European countries under communism, Cole's book is one of the best. What sets it apart from other examinations of environmental problems is its focus on the legal rationalities and irrationalities of "real socialism" in Poland. This is a topic much neglected by social scientists and economists, who tend to assume that communism was, if not exactly law-less, at least a social order in which the law mattered much less than dozens of other factors. Cole's book has convinced me that socialist law is a necessary and important variable to be considered, that the law in communist Poland was deeply intertwined with the other political, social, ideological, and economic variables to which most analysts devote their attention.

It is one of the finest in-depth case study I have encountered of the problems of establishing the rule of law during the last years of a communist regime trying to implement reforms and during the more fundamental transition from communism to democratic government and a market economy. It will stand as a model for any future studies of such non-environmental topics as communist and post-communist labor law, property reform, and so on.

Quite apart from its status as legal analysis, this is a superb study of the relation between politics, economics, social interests, and ideology. Its audience will extend far beyond legal scholars. In fact, this book should have an impact on such disciplines as Environmental Studies, Political Science, Economics, History, and Sociology. Needless to say, this is more than most legal texts achieve.

This book is as thoroughly researched as any I have read on the topic. Hardly a source is left untouched. At the same time, never is there a hint of the problem afflicting all too many academic studies, the needless compiling of bibliographic references for the sake of displaying the references. Cole has obviously read everything that is worth reading (and more!), and integrates this material into a coherent whole.

I bought this book based on the review of it written by the author. He wrote exactly what he described -- a treatise on all types of insulation and other means of blocking heat flow for applications around the home, etc. No high temperature ceramic stuff or cryogenic stuff is covered in this book. In particular, the chapters on fiber glass batt insulation, rigid board insulation and radiant barriers are well detailed and will give you the exact infomation needed to deal with contractors, or buy exactly what you need for your next remodeling or other project that involves insulation. A cursory review of the other chapters also showed good information, but was less relavent to my project. This book is as well detailed as any John Wiley book; Much better detail than you would expect from a McGraw-Hill publication. Copyright is 2001. This book is up to date. Engineers and architechts will find it to be a page turner. Even ordinary folks who might be spending thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on remodeling their home should buy this book just so they can help their contractor avoid making huge mistakes at the home owner's expense. Also covered in detail in this book are the development of modern insulations and insulation products used in the past.

The Insulation Handbook, my third book, explores a full range of insulation materials and methods in one complete resource. The 500 page text contains over 140 illustrations along with a resource guide to facilitate correspondence with the product manufacturers of the materials discussed. Although the book is geared toward the residential architect and homebuilder, the informative and easy-to-understand writing style allows the text to be easily understood by the homeowner and architectural intern without sacrificing technical information.

As everyone knows, electric bills, gas bills, oil bills, HVAC repair bills, etc., are an everyday part of homeownership. As most homeowners, contractors, designers and architects already know, there is no magic pill to swallow in order to avoid the monetary realities in obtaining thermal comfort. But there is joy to be found in knowing the homeowner's most precious commodity is constructed using the most efficient, most environmentally responsible, most vermin resistant or maybe even the least expensive method available. There are a number of reasons as to why this book should be an essential part of a professional library. Geared as a resource in the evaluation of the many different types of insulation materials, The Insulation Handbook demonstrates that R-value is no longer the only consideration when choosing residential insulation. Other properties that now demand, and deserve, proper review are the material's cost, fire resistance, mold resistance, insect resistance, vermin and moisture transmission, environmental benefits, health impact as well as the ease and appropriateness of its application.

The organization of the book's text is simple and logical. The concepts of thermal comfort, vapor transmission, insulation principles and building codes provide the reader with a solid understanding of the "how's and whys" of building insulation. The chapters that discuss specific insulation materials are organized by application method; such as loose fill, blanket types, sprayed-in-place, foamed-in-place and rigid board products.

The scope of The Insulation Handbook goes beyond conventional insulation materials. Historical products from the early to mid-20th century, such as asbestos, insulating board and urea formaldehyde foam insulation (UFFI) are examined. Alternative strategies and materials are also discussed at length. Reflective insulation systems, as one example, demonstrate the use of a system of reflective sheets (radiant barriers) and air spaces that act as insulation when designed together. Also discussed are ceramic coatings, earth wall construction, straw bale construction as well as engineered systems such as in structural insulated panels (SIPs) and insulating concrete formwork (ICF).

I have also investigated some of the insulation materials that designers may encounter in the foreseeable future. Not only are these technologies a significant departure from conventional thermal mass-type materials, they are generally thinner, lighter and possess much higher R-values than common insulation materials available today. For example, a silica aerogel, in a 90 percent vacuum, has a thermal resistance of R-20 per inch. Other products, such as vacuum insulated panels (VIPs) can attain R-values of R-16 to R-40 per inch at room temperature.

The transfer of energy, heat, air and moisture is never-ending. My task as an author was to make the extreme amount of information available so that we, as architects, designers and builders can make informed and wise decisions regarding the critical selection of an insulation method. It has become paramount to understand why the proper installation of insulation materials is so critical to the life cycle cost of a structure and the thermal comfort of the occupant.

Happy reading !

I use this textbook and its previous edition to teach International Business to senior level students in cyberspace. I consider this the most readable text on the subject. This edition has been slimmed down from the previous edition, and it is an improvement to an excellent text. My students agree that this text is great.

Anyone who needs a comprehensive book on this field should purchase this text, it is worth every penny!

I am at present using textbook "International Business", by John D. Daniels, Lee H. Radebaugh. Eighth Edition. I would be very grateful if you could Fax me as soon as possible the necessary forms to order one copy each of the supplementary publications: -Instructor's Resource Manual. -Study Guide. -Test Bank

Your sincerely,

Saeed A Al Musbeh ( Personal Manager )

Sharon S. Brehm is a respected social psychologist who has composed a witty, fun, and insightful tome regarding the many fascinating contributions her field has made to the study of love relationships. Popular press books may or may not offer valid advice--they aren't relying on scientific research, but rather on opinions (which often conflict with the opinions found in still other books). Brehm offers her readers information that is reliable and valid, and perhaps most importantly, useful. Better still, her book is equally applicable for men and women. As a psychology professor and a consultant for individuals seeking their life mate, I read and use many books--texts and popular press--on this issue. Brehm's book is among my most trusted resources, and it gives readers the best of all worlds: excellent and engaging writing that is easily understood, information that is eminently useful, and solid research evidence rather than opinion alone. Should you live together? Does marriage really make people happier than if they had remained single? What attracts romantic partners? If you want "just the facts," this is the place to go for them. (If you want opinion-type popular-press books that support "the facts" and thus really do give good advice, I highly recommend "If I'm So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single?" by Susan Page, as well as "How to Find the Love of Your Life," by Ben Dominitz, "The Rules," by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider [note: "The Rules" are for women only], and "Mars and Venus on a Date," by John Gray.)

Confused about your conflicts with your significant other? Do you want to find out why people are attracted to some people but not others? Reading this book for my sociology class in college allowed me to better comprehend my own relationships. The book collects together social psychological research on intimate relationships, discussing such topics as attraction, sexuality, power, conflict, loneliness, and relationship development. Unlike other non-scholarly books written about relationships, this text is based on studies published by psychologists. Their conclusions can help you better understand your own relationships, but of course each individual person may differ from what sociologists generally conclude about human beings. Even though this book was written for psychology courses, the text is not too difficult to understand. This book is extremely interesting, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has been, wants to be, or is currently in a relationship - which is, basically, everyone

This is a brilliant effort, and easily the best work on telecommunications history in a politico-economic context that I have read. Headrick does the hard work, provides the detail, and then makes genuinely insightful comments to educate the reader as to the meaning of various events. It is rare to read such a well researched, straight forward book, and it is even easy to read. A complete success.

Daniel Headrick has written an essential resource by those working such issues as communications, national security, intelligence, and history. "The Invisible Weapon" describes the development of telecommunications from 1851 to 1945. Mr. Headrick shows how the new technology permitted the expansion of Britain's empire, and London's international influence.

Each section of the book brings to light the enormous impact the new telegraphic system had on world events. Mr. Headrick describes how Britain was able to secure near monopoly on important telegraphic technology, how London used its submarine cables to link the Empire, and how it controlled information to weaken its enemies. One cannot help but be captured by the amazing parallels to today's communications developments. Indeed, "The Invisible Weapon" has been noted on the bookshelves of experts in information warfare

The book contains clear and concise maps, excellent tables and figures,! and thorough footnotes. Each chapter contains an excellent conclusions section. The only flaw noted by this reviewer is the jacket design, so dull and grey that it likely hindered sales. Nevertheless, "The Invisible Weapon" will no doubt find a prominent place on bookshelves for decades to come.

Is God Real -- Let the truth be told, By Daniel Milton Taylor is an excellant book that you have no choice but to walk away from a more encouraged person. This book is wrote so that even the worst reader will be able to read and get the full understanding. "Is God Real" will definatley have you thinking of how wonderful God has been in your life even when you didn't know it. I'd highly recommend this book to everyone.

God will speak to you through your own life as you read this book from the beginning to the end. If you skip around you might not hear Him clearly, which may cause you to miss His full message to you. This book will push you into reliving your own personal search for the truth about God. If you're still shaky about what you believe about God, this book will help you settle your issues/doubts about His existence. However, get ready to relive certain pieces of your life, good or bad. Don't worry if old wounds are opened because the book provides a remedy that'll help them to close and heal. Go ahead, give it a try. You have everything to gain and absolutely nothing to lose by reading this book.

A missing piece of the Native American literature. So many stories are about the removal, or the myths. But how did the Cherokee actually live? What did they eat? What kind of games did they play? This book expertly deals with these everyday issues.

It is a clearly written book with bright, graceful illustrations. I enjoyed reading it to my daughters several times. And now they are older they enjoy learning Cherokee words.

An excellent book...and one every librarian should consider having.

I was astonished to read of something that pertained to my family history. I am so amazed by Daniel Pennington's writing's. He made me feel like I was there watching this in real life. This will be a great tool to teach my children about my heritage.

This beautiful book -- from cover to cover including the dustjacket you see above-- is for and about people like you and me, and Aunt Marie who can cook and bake just a wee bit better than anyone else, of course. As you're perusing the wonderful recipes and stories, if you're lucky you'll meet Lem (is he really Jack Daniel?) or Pat or Lynne (those beauties on the dj) you'll never forget them. Heck, make trip to Lynchburg AND you'll really meet the warmest, most friendly folk since you were a kid in kneepants (or buttons and bows). Don't know who runs the office where this book was born (and no one will admit to it so if everyone's just "cog in the wheel" --- what a smooth-running and happy machine!). This latest and an earlier volume (call it One, this one Two) are both keepsakes, and a good cook's chance to "break out of the mold." Yes, there are some Social Drinks in there like Rolman's Year-Round Toddy that keeps him young and fit, and the Hollidays' La Creme Damage, which takes a sippin' whiskey to a smooth milkshake. OK, OK, Cakes, Casseroles, dishes for those down-home get-togethers...at Christmas, Special Birthdays, Family Reunions, close-knit neighborhoods just making their own weekend retreat while the ballots are being counted. Hearth and Home, Oh My! Did I mention Pat Mitchamore's "A Tennessee Legend," all about Bottles and Jugs? That's one of my favorites, too.

I received this wonderful cookbook as a present. (Thanks Sandy!) It has many excellent recipes containing my beverage of choice ;-) as well as other "down home" and family keepsake recipes gathered from the citizens of Lynchburg, TN. (For the uninitiated, this Divine Nectar is distilled there - in a "dry" county!) There are luscious photographs of the food and a travelogue for Lynchburg. Thoroughly enjoyable!