Cuts through all that New Economy hype and gives you the real deal. A wonderfully easy book to read, understand, and immediately use to drive competitive advantage and concrete business improvements.

Highly recommended to anyone looking to jump-start their organization's use of technology.

"Business Expectations" blasts through the self-indulgent clap-trap of recent tech business books with clear thinking and a gripping style that will super-charge your organization and its use of technology.

While some companies claim to have drunk the Kool-Aid of Innovation, reading Blander and Bergeron's book will make you think you've got Innovation coming out of your pores.

A must for every desk blotter!

Using the fascinating analogy of the alchemist turning magic into gold, Bergeron and Blander - two Harvard & MIT professors - describe the process of turning an idea into a successful product. And that's just the first section!

As a partner in a professional services firm looking to diversity our labor-intensive services into technological applications, this book was right up my alley. Business Expectations helped me understand the process using real-world models and examples.

I highly recommend this book!

Beautiful little paperback with 200 superior, very sharp full color pictures. Sets are grouped by manufacturer. There are brief sections covering cautions, definitions and warnings. Current values of each model appears, along with its description, model number and year of manufacture. The products of nearly 120 manufacturers are included. Anyone collecting vintage TVs or those interested in nostalgia items will enjoy this book.

This book is lots of fun even if you only want to look at the many excellent photographs.

A must have for anyone interested in television. Clear and easily readable, this book provides all the essential information (and then some) when it comes to vintage TV's.

Very conceptual with alot of research cases and physiological aspects, but perfect for anyone who is preparing for neurosciences and want a NO NONSENSE textbook to have and to keep referring to. It is definately fundamental

I was very impressed with the 3rd edition of this book back when I was in graduate student, and the 4th edition seems to have kept up the high standards. I highly recommend this book for anyone approaching advanced studies in any behavioral or neuroscientific field.

This textbook covers human neuropsychology from a more scientific, as opposed to clinical, viewpoint than many other graduate-level textbooks. Perhaps this is due to the authors' own research experiences, which have been conducted primarily with animal models. Personally, I think that this is a great strength, since the authors very effectively tie together the findings from human and animal work, and fill in the gaps which would remain speculative if one had to rely solely upon research with human subjects and clinical cases.

What this means is that there is very limited discussion of assessment and diagnosis, but a thorough review of the anatomical and neurochemical organization of the brain, and well as a thorough review of brain function broken down by behavioral domain (sensory, motor, language, memory, etc.) and by cortical region (frontal, temporal, parietal etc.).

Although published in 1996, this book still remains fundamentally state of the art, and a fine textbook in the field.

This book intergrades different brain structures into holistic pictures that make people easier to understand how the brain works. I had enjoyed reading it! It had solved my puzzle about structures and functions of the brain.

This is the Revised Brief Thirteenth edition, not the full edition. The paperback version comes with a plastic ring binder that is not suitable for heavy use. In short, this is not the version that a professional editor would want, although it might be fine for students.

I found this book to be a wonderful reference when writing anything from a short paper to a forty page research paper. Neither would have been possible without this text. A great buy!

The only reference you will need for everyday professional and proper usage of the English language. Very well organized and extremely easy to use. I highly recommend this book.

Nickels and Dimes is a combination love story/suspense story that therefore has something of interest for readers who enjoy different kinds of novels. The reader is left wondering how the protagonist will resolve the romantic dilemma and the solution will surprise readers as well as generate a range of emotions. Be prepared to be astonished by the resolution!

There were so many things that I enjoyed about this book - a very compelling love story started by a mutual magnetic attraction, with a side story of intrigue that takes place in the Washington, DC area. The writer is adept at painting dramatic word pictures so that you not only enjoy the facts of the story, but you also can "feel" the electric emotions of the characters. This book had romance, sex, drama, humor, intrigue - a little of everything that makes it a great read for men and women alike.

Since I live and work in the Metropolitan D.C. area, this book really captured my attention. With its blend of suspense, intrigue, romance and passion, it met all levels of my expectations. Anyone who likes these qualities in a story will definitely like this book.

This is the textbook for one of my classes. It is a well written book that is quite technical in some points. An example "X.25 Packet network: provides low-speed, switched, duplex, data-only transport. Best solution when poor quality transmission links are present." Parrot this when anyone asks you what an X.25 network is and you'll look like a star. The only problem is to understand how all that fits into a concept which you can grasp your brain around. This book is excellent to have if you already are a technician and/or have a engineering/science background. If you're new to the industry, you'll find yourself drowning in technical terms and concepts. The book also takes side trips in wave-form analysis which the reader could only fully understand if he or she happens to have an oscilliscope handy. Other parts are quite dry and you'll be searching quite a long time for an oasis of understanding. In short, this book is great to have if you need to move beyond the more user friendly books and need a concise reference book. BTW: I can't recommend highly enough "Newton's Telecom Dictionary." As a "dictionary" it quite more readable (and enjoyable) than this Telecommunications "Primer." (Note the liberal definition of "primer"!)

It has been a corner stone in my telco career education, despite my degree. Someone said that this book is part of their class work. Great, I've been saying that it should be for 3 1/2 years.

Ditto on the other positive statements/reviews. I enjoy reading and have searched for THE book on telecommunications for 7 years. If you are "in" or part of telco, this IS 'THE' book. READ: good diagrams; good descriptions; and good interrelations of systems.

The only thing I don't look forward to, is highlighting the new edition I have to buy.

I really enjoyed reading Telecommunications Primer. Without a doubt it is one of the best introductory texts on the subject of emerging telecom technologies available.

The author provides a level of detail that is missing in most other "off the shelf" telecom/datacom books, without overdoing the math/EE "gore". This book is perfect for someone with a science/Engineering background who needs to get up to speed on voice and datacom quickly.

This book is considered an introductory overview to China. Well, I have a master's degree in East Asian studies and I still found this book enlightening. The book does an excellent job at explaining China's societal and political structures and how those structures effect the state's decisions and policies. In doing so, the author does not get much into the culture and history of the nation. In this way the book is unusual and, dare I say, unique. To some, the book may seem rather mechanical, but its structural approach serves to reduce bias and prejudice. Too many books purport to explain the entire Chinese nation culturally, but the country is simply too heterogeneous for that approach to be very effective. Other books define China as a slave to its history, but history is just one of many variables. That is why I appreciate the rather mechanical approach this book takes to explaining China's politics and society. That said, however, it might serve the newcomer to Sinology well to read other texts on Chinese culture and history as a primer to this book.

Mr. Starr does a good job of covering the economics, politics, and geography of China. It is a great introduction to this developing country. Having recently spent a year in China as a teacher, I agree with most of Starr's findings. Starr demonstrates how China's economy is rapidly growing, but perhaps not fast enough to head off future problems such as food production.

Tht book examins all levels of China's society. From problems in the economy to how problems are dealt with by the government. The author also summarizes the basic structure of the Chinese government. The range of issues dealt with in this book are an excellent beginning to further investigate China's situation.

After I read "Beneath a sapphire sea" I absolutely had to read the others in this unique series. However, This is certainly not up to "Sapphire sea." The story-telling is flat and too informative for a romance. There is definitely not enough character development. Also, Ms. Bryan hasn't learned the basic idea of telling a story in this---Show, don't tell. I want to see the characters actions, not read pages and pages of boring thoughts on the same idea. However, The subject was interesting and unique, and the characters do grow on you.

This is one of the most fascinating and original books I've read in a long, long time. And even though it wasn't heavy on the romance and was more plot than character driven (my usual preference) I literally could not put it down.

Thalassa, born and raised as an Amazon warrior, is happy with her life. It isn't an easy one and her people are constantly at war with men but she is free. Fighting and protecting her sisters is what she lives for - until the day she is abducted by Dorian, King of the Merfolk, who sweeps her away to his world under the sea. She is furious and despises him immediately but tempers her rage when she realizes that her Goddess has ordained their match. Eventually this gentle God-like man with super human powers begins to tear down her defenses with kindness, fairness and patience and allows her to accept her fate and his love. But she never forgets her beloved Amazon sisters. And when she overhears that their lives are in danger she and Dorian risk everything to enter the battle.

Filled with historical and fantasy details that I've never before read about, I learned so many amazing things about the strong but doomed ancient tribe of woman warriors known as the Amazons and the mythical Merfolk who created a peaceful life under the sea. Interspersed with the fantasy elements are rich historical details of daily life and survival in those brutal times where women were little more than slaves. There were several sub-plots and secondary characters that were all equally riveting and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This book is brutal and heartbreaking and filled with three-dimensional characters. It's not light and it's not funny and it's not my typical reading material but if you find it do not pass it by, it is a truly incredible book. An unforgettable one.

Though I found this book in the romance section of the book store, it could easily have been listed as historical fiction. It is apparent from the beginning that the author has thoroughly researched the early Mediterranean cultures. Set in 1260 B.C., it is the story of Thalassa, a young Amazon warrior, and Dorian, King of the Merpeople. Ms. Bryan skillfully weaves historical facts with an imaginative, but convincing story of the Merpeople.

Thalassa, a fiecely independent Amazon warrior, was chosen by the Elders to be the mate for Dorian. Set against the backdrop of the struggle between the Greeks and the Amazons the story tells of Thalassa's struggle to accept the role of mate to Dorian. At first she resists becoming a "slavemate" to Dorian. After spending time with Dorian and the Merpeople, she is able to appreciate the respect they have for all living things. She eventually is faced with the choice of a future with the kind and honorable Dorian or as an Amazon warrior.

Across A Wine-Dark Sea is a well-written historical romance which I find thoroughly enjoyable - every time I read it.

In his preface to this book, Irving Younger applauds Darrow's systematic annihilation of poor, befuddled Bryan. "Analysis of this kind of drama is irrelevant. One can only smile, admire, and wonder," he says. Although Younger declined to analyze Darrow's examination of Bryan, the contemporary press (most of whom staunchly supported teaching evolution) were not so reticent to judge. Edward J. Larsen, in the Pultizer Prize winning history of the trial, "Summer for the Gods," summed it up thus: "[T]he nation's press initially saw little of lasting significance in the trial [whose centerpiece was Darrow's examination of Bryan] beyond its having exposed Bryan's empty head and Darrow's mean spirit." p. 202.

Some quotes from contemporary sources found on page 207 of Larsen's book: Walter Lippman of the "New York World": "Now that the chuckling and giggling over the heckling of Bryan by Darrow has subsided it is dawning upon the friends of evolution that science was rendered a wretched service by that exhibition." The New Orleans "Times Picayune": "Mr. Darrow, with his sneering 'I object to prayer!' and with his ill-natured and arrogant cross-examination of Bryan on the witness stand, has done more to stimulate 'anti-evolution' legislation in the United States than Mr. Bryan and his fellow literalists, left alone, could have hoped for." The Vanderbilt University humanist and champion of evolution, Edwin Mims: "When Clarence Darrow is put forth as the champion of the forces of enlightenment to fight the battle for scientific knowledge, one feels almost persuaded to become a Fundamentalist."

As Larsen explains in "Summer for the Gods," Darrow's examination assumed the status of a legendary victory only after the release of the McCarthy-era morality play "Inherit the Wind," which took great dramatic license in depicting the examination as having "won" the Scopes Trial.

When a lawyer performs as mean-spirited an examination as Darrow did of Bryan, the lawyer's rabid fans are enthralled, his enemies are enraged, and those on the fence are encouraged to join the enemy. Darrow's examination of Bryan should be studied as a fine example of how not to perform a cross examination.

The public recollection of what happened when Darrow questioned Bryan in the case of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes is a mixture of topics and outbursts. Most accounts of the trial, as well as the fictionalized version in "Inherit the Wind," include the discussion of the Bible Stories of Jonah being swallowed by the whale/big fish and Joshua making the sun stand still. The crucial point of the exchange comes when Darrow forced Bryan to admit the days of creation in Genesis were not 24-hour days, thereby forcing Bryan to deny the Fundamentalist's literal interpretation of the Bible. Scopes himself called it the "great shock that Darrow had been laboring for all afternoon." However, the actual exchange does not support such an interpretation. Darrow specifically asked about the number of days involved in creation. A fuller examination of the transcript, which this volume provides, indicates Darrow was trying to get at not only the length of creation but the DATE as well, intending to get Bryan to endorse Bishop Usher's infamous calculation the earth was less than six thousand years old in order to confront Bryan with evidence of civilizations considerably older. The key to the exchange is that Bryan gives a preemptive answer, declaring the days of creation were not 24-hour days BEFORE Darrow asked the specific question, in order to avoid agreeing to Usher's flawed calculations. More importantly, Bryan volunteered the information twice, each time cutting Darrow off from a particular line of question.

Moral of the Story: When there are primary documents available, such as this volume which provides the entire transcript of the trial as taking from the stenographers record, you are better served by reading them rather than secondary sources that tend to privilege a play/movie rather than what really happened.

Finally, you don't have to hear someone else's take on one of the most spectacular court cases this country has ever seen. Decide for yourself who outwitted who in this battle of the courtroom titans. This book includes only the exact words from the cross-examination of William Jennings Bryan by Clarence Darrow. A must read for all those who wish to know how the cross-examination really ran.

Although it's not easy to criticize a book which the author says took four years of his life, and I believe him, shoppers should know that at times this book would be better titled "The Late 19th Century Including a Few Vignettes From the Life of John Montgomery Ward." Yes, this book is symptomatic of the modern trend to make them at least 25% longer than they need to be. The author thinks nothing of spending page after page describing oddities of Ward's hometown which really tells us nothing more about him than the single line "he grew up in the middle class of a small town in Pennsylvania" would have. The entire first chapter is devoted exclusively to speculations on various pictures of Ward without even putting the pictures next to them. There is at least one chapter which fails to mention Ward at all. The narrative wanders off the path often, even in the early going when the reader's attention is most at risk, and stays off for long periods of time. I would have much preferred it if this book had been one of those tall affairs with a great, wide margins and little info boxes along the side. Then one could read or not read the boxes at one's option. Or, it could have been a hypertext document and then if one wanted to read more on some of these topics, click and read more, but no reader should be forced to wade through some of this material, especially as some important details are buried in the middle of it, risking the skimming reader missing it. I suppose the fault is with the editor, but it's difficult to say as words like "faro" and "turnverein" are included without explanation -- maybe originally that wasn't the case. Please note that there are 32 pages of footnotes as well. On the other hand, entirely at the author's door are some very big questions left completely unfielded. Why is there no speculation, for example, about why Ward never participated in that most common of human activities, creating children? Also, in this connection, I am surprised that the possibility that he was tricked into his first marriage by a possible false pregnancy is never considered. His wife was after all an actress and must have been familiar with the trick from the Dramatic tradition. Another important issue: who was Ward actually? What were his politics? He seems a very unlikely revolutionary. Rather, like Aristophanes and W.S. Gilbert, he seems to criticize the system from the right, not because he fails to believe in it, but because he finds those in charge to be no-talent hacks and, significantly, because he can. His "revolution" seems to have been accomplished more by cleverness and opportunism than by principle and reality so naturally it was only a matter of time before the cards came crashing down. A little more of the author's or others' judgement on this would have been welcome, or even just a more inside look at how Ward went about his recruiting and alliance building, but all we get are two sentences. Other than these issues, I did enjoy the book quite a lot and although I cannot recommend it as highly as some others, I feel no doubt that on a research basis at least no stone has been left unturned. Certainly its topic is both rare and enjoyable.

Bryan Di Salvatore has captured the early history of baseball with his fascinating biography of baseball's early days. His profile of John Montgomery Ward, a pitcher and later an infielder, provides a detailed look at the evolution of baseball in its formative years. This was a time of numerous rules changes from underhand pitching, walks counting as hits, absence of a fixed pitching rubber, changing rules on how many balls it took to walk. The author meticulously but always in interesting prose tells us about the many battles between owners and players, the reserve clause, poor playing conditions. Ball players were lazy, overpaid, carousing drinkers(sound familiar) said the owners. Owners were greedy, interested in squeezing players for every nickel(sound familiar) said the players. Clearly the era evoked has many parallels to today except the average player salaries were clearly more in line with real wages. The average ball player made 3-5X the salary of the average working man. Generally the players were more accessible to the public although in one scene John Ward complains about the annoying fan groupies. For the baseball fan this book will clearly be educational and is well worth reading. Very few books describe the pre-1900 era and this book is a rare and thorough glimpse on the emerging popularity of baseball.

A Clever Base-Ballist: The Life And Times Of John Montgomery Ward is the riveting tale of John Montgomery Ward's life and historical baseball career, from his expulsion from Penn State University for stealing chickens, to pitching baseball's second perfect game in 1880, to becoming a member of the New York Giants. More than just a biography for baseball history buffs, A Clever Base-Ballist also paints a bright, engaging picture of American life at the turn of the century. For baseball enthusiasts and millennium enthusiasts alike, A Clever Base-Ballist does not disappoint!