Unlike any other MIT press book that I have read, this one is a waste of time and money. The book is a compilation of one paragraph summaries of newspaper articles about viruses, hacking, piracy, etc. There are no in depth case studies or analysis. At one point the author complains that Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation can advocate free software because he receives funding from the McArthur Foundation. "Other programmers have to eat!" he quips. Can you get any more shallow than that? And besides, I imagine that Red Hat employees are eating just fine. I picked this book up in the MIT Press remainders section for a buck, and let me tell you - I paid too much!!!

This book serves as a good introduction to the main seven areas of information technology reguiring ethical considerations. It is suitable for anyone who is new to computing with a social concience.

Conan encouters little green men, giants, a wolfman, a catwoman, a wizard, and a four armed mutant -- all this and less in a story only a juvenile can enjoy. Thankfully, the book was short.

This book started entertaining enough, but after the part where they join the merchant's caravan, it goes downhill. The beginning with the giant village was pretty cool, and the ensuing action. I also thought it was interesting how there were actually three different stories going on for at least 3 or 4 chapters. But I thought the end was weak-it was just stupid. I wouldn't recommend this book, but its has its good parts. I'd give it 2.5 stars if I could.

'It Takes a Moron' would be more like it; this incredible- literally- compendium of semi-fictitous tales of the selfish, the ill-informed and the misguided virtually defines the term 'wise use'. If you think people who fight on a daily basis to preserve wildlife, wild places, clean air, clean water, the ozone layer, the oceans, our forests etc. etc. are the 'enemy' and find resistance to their efforts 'heroic' you might enjoy this drivel by James Watt's bestest buddy. Probably not.

Thank goodness there is finally a counterbalance to the eco-craziness that has blindly trampled individual liberty. Pendley clearly argues a point one would think was obvious: people are important. This work is a powerful antidote to those who would prefer to see the West (among other areas) people-free. This book is bound to annoy, and hopefully educate, the droves of band-wagon armchair ecologists in America today.

Someday, when the historians and sociologists of the future try to dissect the late 20th Century, they will make snide comments and rude remarks about the rampant "political correctness" and revisionist history that infected so much of the 1990s -- and they will use the text of this book as "Exhibit A." It entirely misses the essence of what actually happened here during three hundred fascinating years.

"Pacific Arcadia : Images of California, 1600-1915" ought to be a wonderful book; the history of California is full of fizz and sizzle, a place where spectacular things happened and superb artists were present to record them. The images in this book are indeed wonderful -- but they are accompanied with a commentary that commits a historian's cardinal sin, applying the manners and morals of the present to a time and place in the past. The author simply can't accept that the artists who recorded their views of California back in the 18th and 19th centuries actually liked the things she abhors today. Here's just one small example:

" . . . The repeated instances of animals under restraint - tethered horses in the field, rearing horses dominated by Spanish riders, cattle corralled by the presidio walls - serve as metaphors for the involuntary servitude of the native laborers and refer to the often unwilling role of Indians in the 'encomienda' system. Furthermore, the pointed wedge [in one painting] of the garrison walls that cuts so imposingly into the fields where the Indians work also hints at the frequently hostile relationship between the settlers and indigenous tribes. ..."

Well, if you like that kind of stuff, there's plenty more of the same. It is really rather tragic, too, because the book includes some really delicious painting, drawing, photography, and engravings that deserve better. The illustrations are generally subordinate to the text; reproductions are often a bit too small to see clearly, and captions provide only minimal information. The author of this book has obviously spent a great deal of time studying the people of California's past; it is unfortunate that she didn't seem to learn much about them.

For anyone who is interested in the history of California and art, this is a very interesting book.

This book was not what I was expecting. Or maybe it was, and I just don't know it yet. From the beginning, I just couldn't grasp what was happening in the story. The main character, Allen, is basically a frustrated gay man with a very poor opinion of himself, apparently centered around his small endowment. He is picked up by Destry Powars, a big hairy brute at a bath house who's rough look, vulgarity, and belittlement of Allen just make me wonder "Why?" Allen follows him home basically because he "couldn't say no." Ends up going on a trip with Destry to Switzerland where some pretty wild things happen.

The story just doesn't make sense. The characters are never really flushed out, so you don't know why they are the way they are. They ask questions that are never really answered. There is some mystery and possibly even a little horror thrown in, but it's usually barely touched upon and not fully explored. I mean are we dealing with warlocks, vampires, Satanists, or just some regular folks who follow a troll with some unknown magical powers? There's even a bit of erotica there, but it's not worth the couple paragraphs spent on it, as Allen usually goes on a mind-bending daydream during it so you forget what's going on.

Overall, I think it can be entertaining, but there's a lot better stuff out there.

Warlock, like many of this author's other works, embraces the spirituality of gay romance through a deftly balanced amalgam of erotica and fantastical themes. Though not as exotic as Angel Lust or as adventurous and fast-paced as Harvest, this particular book is crafted on the premise that horror works best on a subtle, psychological level. It is also a testimony to the maturity that Perry Brass has reached in his writing technique. By eschewing its reliance on fictional locales, the settings of New York and Switzerland and the situations they present compelled me to read on.

From a gay perspective, the characters were not as positive as I would have liked. I suppose that their flaws were simply meant to flesh them out as well as to imbue the story with a sense of humanity (a necessity in this genre). Thus, the characterizations of Allen and Destry were credible yet intriguing. The story was further spiced up by a host of colorful minor roles. Occultwise, howevever, I was never quite rewarded in the way I would have thought. Perhaps, this was the author's intent so that the air of expectancy would not be diminished. From the way Warlock resolves itself, I get the distinct impression that there's a good chance of a sequel.

Perry Brass is a sensualist who seems to achieve his literary goals by incorporating mellifluous and very lyrical depictions of everyday actions into his narrative. The fact that he did not rely on the usual horror cliches enables this tale to keep its contemporary edge while exuding a Lovecraftian aura. Granted, this book is not for everyone. But then, neither is Lovecraft or gay erotica.

This book came with a VB starter kit I purchased a couple of years ago. When I read it originally I was impressed more by the writing style than by the content. It does introduce VB Programming and that's all the book claims to do. Mr. Perry, I think you are an excellent writer, please put more content in your books.

This book would be better if it had a sequal book for more advanced vb programs (as in a set). I liked it - but would have liked it better if it would have had more example programs. The book does cover the different elements in Visual Basic programming but would have been better if it was more in depth in certain areas. The book is well written and easy to follow along. Greg Perry is both a good teacher and programmer but I would like for him to share more of his talent.

Good things about this book: Simple approach / easy to follow. Gives hands on examples.

Things I didn't like about this book: Should have provided more hands on examples. Should have been more in depth (further explanations).

As the novice programmer to VB or any other langueges, I found this book to bring me up and running in programming in no time. It introduced me to a lot of "easy" concepts of programming with clear and through explanations and examples. I don't remember of having any trouble with the source code andsmall examples, so SHAME ON YOU, who told that there were alot of mistakes.

I recomend this book as the beggining to VB, now for expertese.

I tried to listen to the taped version. It's 12 two-sided tapes, with an advertised running time of 15 hours and 5 minutes. After about 10 hours into a car trip, we voted unanimously to put in the last tape, just so we could satisfy our "Who dunnit?" curiosity. Alas, even that strategy was frustrated, as only one of the murders is solved on the last tape. The writer's style is both pretentious and repetitious, a deadly combination. After we had heard "lugubrious" for the third time, the groans became audible, even above the traffic noise. The writer's obvious fascination with the styles, manners and customs of London in 1890 have led her to assume that all her readers are similarly inclined. For me, they got in the way of the story... constantly! I got the book/tapes from the local library, so it was free. It still wasn't worth the price. Unless you're fascinated by the trivial aspects of living in London circa 1890, save yourself from a gruesome ordeal.

Just a very tedious book, with far too many extraneous details and repetition. Not a bargain at any price.

This story was better than highgate rise. I thought it was well told. The very last few pages dragged on a little too much. I am still looking for something within the pages to make me "feel" something for the characters. There is still that undefinable something that makes you genuinely care about characters that is missing. If you have a desire to understand and connect with characters in a story, then I would not recommend this one (although sometimes you come close with Emily & Jack). If you really don't care about that aspect of this type of story, then I think it makes good reading. -Reed

Moore has a created voluminous account of the nearly unknown and bypassed Allied Intervention in The Russian Civil War; both in the North -Archangel/Murmansk campaign and in the South- Ukraine and Siberia. It is a very thorough book delving into the individual units and tables of equipment and organization, the most extensive book available in one volume perhaps.

There are many wonderful maps of the battles, most redrawn from what is assumed to be those in poor condition remaining in the archives. Hurrah for Moore's attention to detail in these maps, which range from the small scale to division-sized units and beyond, but nowhere, is there a map of Russia or the two primary regional campaigns in their entirety. This would leave most readers confused, the exception being those exceedingly familiar and comfortable with the geography of Russia.

The entire book seems devoted to the military actions in these locales, with no development into the curious political origins of the intervention. Most of the writing is in a simple laundry list style format with little narrative, analysis, or scholarly thought. There are non-standard bibliographies at each chapter's end, but neither end, nor footnotes are otherwise present. Overall, this book is written for the reader who merely needs a compilation of units, equipment and chronology, for they will not get much more out of it.

Poorly written, many spelling errors and font problems. Research is extremely poor and photos do not match captions. The author's references many Russian sources but cannot figure out where they are published. He has them all from Moscow Publishing. This is an indicator that he doesn't read Russian and perhap does not own the books.
The author's few extremely right wing militant comments do nothing for the large amount of borrowed text.

The author uses a lot of never before published material from the PRO, UK. Many maps and orders of battles which are just fantastic. Despite what the other reviewer said, this is a good book for reference on this very obscure period. Bar none! The author focuses on the North and South Russian Intervention by the US and UK, details the use of tanks and eyewitness accounts. Numerous battle sequences. Parts are well written and quite interesting like the costs to the UK to sponser and support the White army under Denikin in 1919, how the British captured Tsaritsyn (Stalingrad)with tanks and so on. I think it is a gold mine of information.

I guess the reviews with 1 star bought the book and the reviews with 4 stars are the writer's friends. I happen to have bought it and returned it the next day. "jog in place while studying so you stay awake" ???? That's one thing this book tries to teach you. Please save your money and buy a real study book for these exams.

This book is a waste of paper and ink. A take-out menu is more informative about the test than this book. - Good Luck!

Richard Perry is a good writer. Possibly he is a good motivator. What he is not though, is helpful in passing either the series 7 or the 63. While I have passed both, I do not credit any of my success to this book, but rather my exhaustive studying of text books available. Mr. Perry's book is misleading. He claims to teach you secrets to pass the test. You learn no secrets of the test, just secrets on taking tests. He directs the reader to drink lots of water, eliminate stress, and sleep well. This lack of depth was by far my smallest gripe with this book though. My prominent objection is that only on the last page of the "$30 pamphlet" was the series 63 exam even mentioned. It would be well worth your time to spend the extra money and buy a real textbook here at Amazon instead.

This is by far the worst Tom Clancy's (or franchise) novel to date. It got so much un-interesting facts / drama / nonsense, that keep me guesing.. where is the good stuff???
Even after reading it (which is a waste of time) I still don't understand the intention of the bad guys (controling the world with network chaos, etc etc??)
This novel also bears a lot of product endorsement. <...

State of War had everything except good authors. I know Clancy's career doesn't exactly revolve around the NetForce series,but he should have kept writing them instead of letting someone else. Anyway, State of War is a multi-point-of-view story. It focuses on a lawyer that loves to see the system crumble, his lap-dog who discovers the excitement of killing a man, and the usual NetForce cast. The first Netforce book had the same subplot on top of supplot basis, but it worked for the book, mostly because the author was Clancy. But in State of War, the different angles are stretched too thin. The problem is since that there are so many charachters there's a chance you'rs going to end up reading an entire chapter about someone you don't care about and want top know about another charchter who doesn't pop up for another eight chapters. The anti-reality Jay Gridley was the main character I couldn't stand to read about. There are about three chapters out of fifteen that he's in where's he's not in the middle of some virtual-reality place that doesn't exist so you just don't care. However, the key element to State of War is Junior (the lap-dog in question). Something about the extreme measures he take to fix his stupid mistakes shows the excitement the book tried to project. The problem with State is that there are too many people to keep track of and most of them you don't like. The idea was great- the 3D charachters, likable good guy, likably bad bad guy, and the list goes on. The authors' inability to keep you interested is the main problem. Would I recomend this? Sure, why not. But be prepared to skip a bunch of pages.

I have to agree that this book does not live up to the expectations of anything associated with Tom Clancy. The book was a fast read for me. I agree a lot of the computer stuff is fantasy at best, with a little too much Virtual Reality [...] involved.The entire book would probably take only 30 minutes in a film. If you like the Net Force series, you will probably like this one too, but if you are a Tom Clancy fan and have never read this series, be warned that it is not written by Clancy, and that is quite eveident.