Although this last book in the Doom's Day trilogy was good for the most part, some of the story slows down in a few places like when Doom's plan is finally revealed and when the final battle takes place. It seems the last fight took forever to resolve and it is somewhat disapointing, but the epiloge makes up for it. Still for the most part, it was an enjoyable book.

This book starts off with action as Doctor Octopus is freed from prison. Then it declines and picks up with an exciting finish. Spider-Man Readers will love this book for its fast-paced action.

I have read this book and I think it's great. Although I think there is a hole in the plot because Dr. Doom is the kind of guy who would not ask for anyone's help regardless of their expertise, he probably would have known the stuff himself

This book has what Peterson's "Mexican Birds" lacks: good colour pictures of (nearly) all birds of Mexico and adjacent areas and their Spanish names. However, the presentation of the pictures is a mishmash. The descriptions of the birds are not detailed but very short. It is a pity that there is no information about the behaviour of the birds, often very important for identification.

We used this book on a recent trip to Belize. It is THE book in use by local Belizian birding enthusiasts, and we only saw it for sale at one shop during our 12 day stay, so it might be hard to get once you're there. Birds of same species on different color plates slow you down, but the pictures are very good. Highly recommend taking this book with you if you plan to do any serious birdwatching.

This field guide will enable you to see paintings of all of the birds that occur in the area. It also discusses (briefly) each bird. The paintings are excellent and the copy is quick and to the point. To pick at nits, though, the arrangement of the paintings is confusing. Not all birds in a specific family are illustrated on the same plate, and some are found pages away from the rest of their family. The logic seems to be that if the bird is found regularly in northern North America (the elegant trogon, for example) its picture does not need to run with the rest of its relatives. Close study of the guide can overcome this problem, however, making it an easy, economical way to pack the information of other guides into the field.

Previous: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

This book, while the plot is on par with the rest (and follows basically the same formula), is sub-average in the writing, and therefore not as good as the rest. There are some very charming and funny moments-Bertie's pondering how Bingley (the re-christened Brinkley from Thank You, Jeeves) managed to do so well is truly hilarious. Notable in this book is Jeeves saving Bertie's life (not just saving his neck as he normally does) and subsequently bringing him into the revered Junior Ganymede Club-the exact opposite of Bertie's Drones Club-for a restorative drink, where we make the astonishing discovery that Jeeves has a first name. The astonishments continue when we discover that the sacred Ganymede Club Book has been stolen for nefarious purposes. Bertie is faced with two horrifying prospects this time-Madeline Bassett on one side, and Florence Craye on the other, and it will take some doing for Jeeves to get him out of the soup, and retrieve the sacred book as well. While not as well-written as the rest, the ending is utterly charming and, if I might go so far, heartwarming.

One thing, though-I first checked this book out of the library under the name Much Obliged, Jeeves, and I would SWEAR the ending was slightly different than the copy I purchased under the name Jeeves and the Tie that Binds. (Wodehouse scholars-help??)

Next: The Cat-Nappers (Aunts Aren't Gentlemen)

The Jeeves and Wooster books generally follow the same template: the young, wealthy airhead Wooster or one of his upper-crust pals gets in some sticky social situation, and it is up to his genius butler Jeeves to devise an ingenious solution to the quandary. Often the stories involve some manner of deception, misunderstanding, or often, mistaken identity-and sometimes, Jeeves' scheme backfires, resulting in even greater hilarity (although as with every comic tale, all is set right by the end). The books can fairly be compared to contemporary TV sitcoms, as they to reply on recurring (often over the top) characters, a rarefied setting, a single type of humor, and recurring situations. Simply put, if you like one Wooster tale (and don't get sick of them), you're going to like them all. Much of this can be explained by Wodehouse's mastery of the language and constant deft turns of phrase, period slang, and comic timing.

This entry in the canon (a direct sequel to Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves) is a little disappointing in comparison to others, mainly because for once, Wodehouse overuses some of his gags. Throughout the story, Wooster fumbles for words and phrases, a device which quickly loses any of its scant charm. Similarly, Jeeves' erudition is overdisplayed, as quotes from Shakespeare, Burns, Worthsworth, and numerous Romans are crammed in-as are Biblical references and Wooster's reminiscing about winning a school prize for Old Testament knowledge. Still, the story of a local election, a purloined silver pot, the missing journal of the Junior Ganneymeade Club, Spode, and various ladies eager to marry Bertie, all set amidst Aunt Dahlia's mansion, is sure to please what Wodehouse refers to as "the old sweats."

Those who deride the shallow subject matter and milieu of the Jeeves and Wooster series need to recall the context in which these stories appeared. Only a few years removed from the horrors of World War I-an event that is never alluded to in the series, despite the loss of an entire generation of British young men-the stories can be viewed as a bandage of sorts, an attempt to transport the reader to a world far removed from the traumatic recovery from the Great War. Not to mention Wodehouse's clear depiction of the upper classes as wastrels and idiots of the highest order when compared to the street savvy of the servants (as exemplified by Jeeves). Of course, one doesn't read Wodehouse for social commentary or as a salve these days, but for his dry wit and keen command of the written word.

I first discovered P.G. Wodehouse through his mostly-true autobiography, "Bring on the Girls," in which he adroitly recalls his theater days with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern. But Wodehouse is most famous for his "Jeeves" books, featuring the wise and unflappable butler who extricates Bertram "Bertie" Wooster from all manner of ridiculous conundrums. The wonder of these farces is that Wooster himself narrates the story, presumably unaware of his foolish prattling and numerous faux pas. In the Jeeves books, Wodehouse manages to write similar plots that are soothingly familiar and yet still ingenious. Wodehouse typically sets the bumblings and posturing of the "social betters" against Jeeves' clever, no-nonsense, "psychology of the individual" solutions. Wodehouse is nimble, nuanced, and both smilingly and laugh-out-loud funny.

This is a good, but somewhat disappointing (by the very elevated Wodehousian standards) work. For one thing, Wodehouse's humorous devices are somewhat redundant, centered too often around Wooster's difficulties with words and phrases. Wodehouse dips into this well just a little too often: "Ceasing to expostulate then, if expostulate is the word I want," and "What's the word I've heard you use from time to time--begins with eu?" "Euphoria, sir." While perhaps a minor complaint, Wodehouse's vitality and invention are somewhat enervated by this reliance on linguistic stumbling.

The plot involves (as usual) fiancees on the brink, Wooster accused of pilfering, and assorted foolish/nasty characters gathered at his Aunt Dahlia's house. This time around, the butlers'club journal (in which the butlers record the less commendable actions of their employers) is stolen by one of its members with a mind for political blackmail. A wonderful engine for a story, but I thought Wodehouse lost some opportunities in not exposing any of the club book's contents, and paying just fleet attention to an apparently uproarious political debate. It's true that Wodehouse is a master of understated humor, but I've read other books in which he better exploited an episode's comic possibilities.

Still, Wodehouse is always a treat: "she guffawed more liberally than I had ever heard . . . If there had been an aisle, she would have rolled in it," and "He . . . gave the impression, as Esmond did, of being able, if he cared to, to fell an ox with a single blow. I don't know if he had ever actually done this, for one so seldom meets an ox . . . " Wodehouse's nuanced humor and farcical elements are always enjoyable, especially in Wooster's scenes with Jeeves and with his aunt. I just think that the initiate might better begin with a different, perhaps more humorous "Jeeves" book, such as the excellent "Code of the Woosters." I hope you'll give P.G. Wodehouse, "the Master," as he is known by his many fans, a try, you'll be very pleased indeed.

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, this book chose the thousand-word route in most cases. Neural nets are ideal candidates for illustrations. So, why they decided to use endless descriptions is beyond me. It is like giving directions over the phone when a map would get to the point much faster.

It also needed to explain more conceptually how neural nets actually work, not just how they are arranged. Examples where the net matches one-to-one with an actual image or pattern are easy to follow, but how they recognize different variations of patterns (variety) I never got a good feel for from this book. However, the description of an Adeline node was pretty good.

The book is a very inspiring introduction to artificial neural computing. It explains the intutive motivation behind the design of almost all major artificial neural models. It explains insight in simple english. This book along with a mathematical rigourous book can provide a very good understanding on the modern neural network research.

This book walks through practical examples of various neural network designs and their relationships among eachother.

My review is brief to match this book. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. I have read all of PKD's novel and short stories and another person's views are always of interest to me. But I suspect that a reader who does not know PKD's work well may find this book more confusing than stimulating. I would also have liked more of the short stories to have been discussed - some of the great stories not yet made into movies, plays or operas.

And finally, in a critical analysis like this I would have liked some explanation of how Mr Butler determined his ratings, and I would also have liked some considered opinion as to why PKD has such a great following that far exceeds, apparently in number and reputation, such other SF stalwarts as Simak, van Vogt, Asimov and Heinlein. And does PKD have a reputation outside SF that these other authors do not?

I am what could be defined as a PKD scholar, and I think this small book is very useful as a reference. While writing my articles and essays I often use it. And I recommend it to those who have just read 1-2 novels by Phil Dick and wish to know more, and would like some advice about what should be read next by the same author. Andy's reviews are fair and the plot summaries won't spoil your reading. And there is a wealth of useful info to boot. Very high price/quality ration, in my humble opinion. Recommended.

An excellent introduction to the complex world of Philip K. Dick, filled with insight and synopsis galore, it gives a quick and in-depth look into each of the works of this Chicago born genius. Mr.Butler has given us the perfect introductory book to Philip K. Dick, with a quick to the point review of a truely facinating career. It points the way to further reading. The book is clear evidence that Philip K. is one of the most important authors in American SF. This book is a must have for any reader of Dick, novice or expert.

Sheridan's phrase "school for scandal" is a grand metaphor for the gossipy London society of the late 1770's, and the longevity of the play that bears it as its title attests to its relevance in any place and time. Sheridan captures the inherent drama and humor in the truism that people are always talking about other people behind their backs and uses it as a foundation on which to devise a plot of intrigue.

The school's "principals" are Lady Sneerwell and a man named Snake, who like to collect gossip about their neighbors and others in London society; one of their cohorts is the brilliantly ironic character Mrs. Candour, who openly reprehends idle gossip but blithely participates in it anyway. One of their favorite subjects of gossip is the Surface brothers, Joseph and Charles. The popular perception is that Joseph is responsible and respectable, while Charles is a wastrel and a miscreant.

The Surface brothers' uncle, Sir Oliver Surface, returns to London after spending many years in India, hears the rumors about his nephews, and decides to verify them for the purpose of choosing an heir between the two. Since he has been gone so long that his nephews would not recognize him, he visits them incognito. Posing as a moneylender to Charles, and as a poor relative to Joseph, he discovers that his nephews are not quite of the natures he has been led to believe.

Sheridan employs some typical comedic devices like love triangles and hiding characters, but for the most part this is an inventive play that picks its targets well and hits the bullseye every time. Considering it was written at such a turbulent time in England's history, it's interesting that social satire still managed to break through greater national concerns and be successful and appreciated.

This book made it fun and delightful to follow how rumors and scandals are started. Anyone who wants a ligth hearted read in the style of a Shakespearean comedy, "School for Scandal" by Richard Sheridan is for you. It has the most entertaining characters, who anyone could recognize as being people they know and are friends with, and it pokes fun at soap-opera-like dramas that have forbidden loves and misleading coincidences. The situations that arise seem so unthinkable and impossible, and then you realize that you or someone you know has been there right down to the last detail. "School for Scandal" is a entertaining read for anyone who has ever passed on a rumor.

The aptly named Sir Oliver Surface would like to know which of his nephews is the more worthy, and, well, nothing is ever simple. This comedy of manners is one of the best ever written, and it rings true 225 years after its first performance thanks to its snide comments on English aristocrats and one-liners such as "I'm called away by particular business. But I leave my character behind me."

The Dover Thrift edition has no introduction or analysis. Intoduction and analysis are of course not necessary, but in some situations they are nice things to have.

Jon Butler's "Becoming America" offers a new perspective on revolution. Instead of arguing for the conservatism or the radicalism of the American revolution, Butler argues that there was a fundamental revolution in practices before 1776. In Butler's opinion the years 1680 to 1770 saw a revolutionary transformatiion in which the American colonies became modern in five major ways: ethnic diversity, modern market economies, modern participatory politics, modern consumerism and religious pluralism. (2) The relationship of this silent revolution to 1776 was very complex, but it could be said that "the American Revolution of 1763-1789 can rightly be called the first modern revolution, THE model for the French Revolution of 1789 and subseqently" onwards. (227)

In many ways this is a fine introduction to pre-1776 America. Butler is concise and his use of the secondary literature is very thorough. Problems, however, start with his chapter on ethnic diversity (8-49). For a start ethnic diversity is not a hallmark of modernity. The fact that more than 90% of Japan and Korea are of the same ethnic group does not make them less "modern" than India or Indonesia. Butler also underplays America's linguistic uniformity, where English among whites was overwhelming, in contrast to still Gaelic Ireland and still Welsh Wales. Actually the most modern thing about America's population was not its diversity but the rise of international migration, a process whose causes Butler says relatively little (22-23, 29). His discussuion of the African-American experience leads to another problem. His account of 18th century slavery (36-49), slave poverty (86-88, 136, 139-40) and slave religion (215-24) is based on the most thorough and recent research. Yet it is segregated from the larger American experience, as if slavery was something that only happened to black people, and not to the larger society as a whole. In other words, it is insufficiently dialectical (the same goes for Butler's view of women).

What about the modernity of the American economy? Butler has no clear account of demography, even though the American colonies had the fastest population growth rate in the world. White Americans were easily the most prosperous people in the world and Butler is quite right to note their superior literacy (111) and healthier diet (134-38). On the other hand America was 5% urban, compared to 20% for pre-revolutionary France and higher still for England. Butler offers many examples of American modernity, such as the booming power of merchants (68-74), the growth of public buildings (164-70), the rise of literary clubs and freemasonry (174-84). But these were largely urban affairs. What about the vast rural majority? Although many have viewed pre-1776 America as a hub a capitalism, in one important way it was not. 70% of white Americans were independent farmers. In contrast only a fifth of Englishmen were. While it is true that farmers were more commerical in 1760 than in 1680 (53-54) it is not clear this makes them capitalist. Butler does not help by not defining or discussing what capitalism is. He states however that southern colonies took the lead in commericalizing agriculture (55-60). Since slave plantations were not as it turned out the wave of the future this complicates his definition of modernity, which is also not very well defined.

This chapter on religion is very good, since it is Butler's specialty as a historian, and there is much that will interest a beginning reader. Still, this is not a book that is as provacative or as original as it appears.

Jon Butler has a great combination of skills as a historian. He understands his subject matter, is an excellent writer from a wordsmithing & sentence/paragraph construction standpoint, and demonstrates the ability to organize his material so the reader doesn't get lost and knows where he/she is going. This book could have been a very dry long survey ... a book for college courses rather than the general, interested reader. Not that that would be bad, but it would confine the readership to those who browse through college bookstores instead of the corner bookstore. This book is well written enough to find its place in the latter, appealing to the scholar in us & to the trivia searcher in us. I highly recommend this book to the serious reader of American history.

Walt Whitman once said: "It is the job of the poet to resolve all tongues unto his own." In this regard, Robert Olen Butler is a true poet in the way he goes inside the head of a teenage Vietnamese American boy to create a living, breathing character that anyone with a heart should be able to identify with. This book should be taught in American high schools. (P.S. For a fascinating non-fiction companion to this book, read "Born to Kill" by T.J. English, the true story of a Vietnamese-American gang.)

Butler has written a great piece on an Amerasian's experience in New York City during the 80's. The author shows the main character's struggle with figuring out his identity and the different types of people who live on the fringes in New York City. A great fusion of 1970s Saigon and 1980s New York.

I have this boxed set, and a considerible amount of other Forgotten Realms boxed-sets as well. They don't seem to give you enough important information and data in it, and seem to be really vague. The idea of the game is great and everything, I just wish they could have been a bit more precise. The maps are wonderful along with everything else... I just wish that they would have stayed on one path and gone with it.

This boxed set (easily coupled with the Cormanthyr expansion) is an excellent starting point for a creative DM who wants to unfold the history of the Realms with the PCs involved.

The boxed set includes the history of Netheril, magical items and spells of the era, and two high-quality maps. The materials offer excellent adventure hooks, great detail of the era, and modern-day issues (racism, slavery, et cetera).

If you're an imaginative DM, and want to shed some light on the mysteries of the Realms' past, definitely pick this boxed set up. It's worth it.

This box set is a masterpiece, lighting up the histroy of Toril for all to explore. The realm of Nethril is a magical paradise in particular the spellcasting charicter classes, but excels for those who enjoy playing wizards. It at last gives DM's an open campaign expansion with scope, not basing the entire area around a singular advennture, and giving the DM several Thousand years of development to play with. I recommend this supplement in particular for high level players, allowing characters to become truly powerful and legendary figures, shaping the future of Toril (Who knows, your character could have been the inventor of the stoneskin spell, eh?)
But don't despair, it's also fun for low levels, and is a great way to show magic in a new light, and design stories which span the centuries in a truly epic way.
A must for those who want to explore the age of magic!

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE STUDYING FOR THE NEW ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING PE EXAM - IT IS NOT USEFUL AT ALL. I bought this book as reference to study for and take the newly established Architectural Engineering PE exam and was sorely disappointed. The author fails in his self-proclaimed attempt to distill engineering design formulations into an easy-to-read format. The equations throughout the book are simply "dumbed down" linear statements of esoteric symbols with next to no regard to engineering notation conventions. The example problems may resemble some types of common design problems, but are rarely general enough to apply to varying situations. I didn;t refer eveon one time to any equation or example problem in this book when studying for or taking the actual PE exam in April 2003.

This book is very helpful for the architects understanding of structures with its companion CD, is a unique problem-solving tool and provides solutions to difficulties as they arise on the job.

Excellent resource for professionals who need ready access to common architectural design issues. Provides excellent emperical techniques not available in academic texts. Real time saver. One disappointment - the computer disk of calculations was for the P. C. computers and not usable by the MacIntosh community which I am a part. Even without the computing aid, the book was well worth it's price.