This book is great as general advice. There are SO MANY different projects though that there is not a great level of detail on any one. Just enough of an overview and "how-to" to make you feel comfortable about taking some of these projects on for yourself or answering those questions that always used to make you go "Hmmmmm." Still, for a first time homeowner it will give you a lot of ideas and confidence to start making plans.

This book is so well layed out. I give this book 5 stars because it has excellent descriptions and pictures. I built the terra cotta fountain in the book and I love it so much.

I have been in the search of a home for months now and the one thing I kept telling myself was that when I finally bought it, I would also buy this book. I looked at lots of books at Home Depot, B & N, etc. but this is one of the best and most creative landscaping books I have found. So today, knowing that I have a home and YARD that I can call my own, I am buying it!!

This book's slogan "Be a traveler - Not a tourist" had me questioning the definition of those words throughout my trip. This book is easy to read, and is a good guide if you want to live Ecuador on the beaten path. When selecting a hotel or restaurant from this book we could trust that it would be a nice respectable place with good service/food/lodging/etc.

The print in it was the largest of the 3 books we used, making it the largest & least compact book. The maps in the book were our least favourite as they had very little detail.

Ecuador is an inexpensive country to visit at the moment. The book's Budget section only lists the higher priced budget options ($15 for a double room when there are decent $4 options around.) The recommendations in the book did not guide us to "locals" places; our neighbors in the hotels & restaurants recommended by the book were all tourists.

We followed the book's 'budget' recommendations, and ended up spending much more money then we would have without the book, but staying in nicer hotels and eating in 'safer' (tourist friendly?) restaurants.

I would recommend this guide if you want to tour Ecuador without getting your feet too dirty. If you are looking for a shoestring traveling experience, look elsewhere.

I just used this book for a great trip to Ecuador. I consider myself an adventurous, independent traveler, but I don't need to suffer in bad hotels and eat tasteless cheap food to earn travel stripes. Yes, you can go to Ecuador for pennies a day, but I prefer to get a good feel for the culture, stay in small, unique hotels, and eat flavorful local foods.

This book helped me do that perfectly. It is right on. I appreciate the authors opinions, who obviously have the same travel requirements that I do...small, unique, interesting...I like getting somebody's opinion rather than a whole laundry list of alternatives with no real feedback about how to spend my limited vacation time.

I still had an inexpensive trip, but it was really nice as well. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

This book, dare I say, bests Lonely Planet all around. The husband-wife team has been wandering the backroads of Central and South America for more than a decade, and their grasp of local culture shows on every page. Like other Open Road guides, this title appeals to budget, real-world travelers; if you read Big World, you'll probably enjoy their titles immensely.

A rich tapestry of ideas and half-familiar characters, it's witty, and dark, and complex, and I like it a lot. I haven't read the book this is supposedly a sequel to, yet, but I certainly intend to now! I should note, I do tend to enjoy Victorian-flavored alternate history in general (like Phil Foglio's Girl Genius series, which is admittedly MUCH sillier than this). Papal assassins. A countdown to disaster. Massive neat-looking airships, and city streetcars that look like dragonflies ...

Another Luther Arkwright story? I just got to the point where I was beginning to understand the first one! Graphic author Bryan Talbot has given us another cross-universe tale involving everybody's favorite psionic-messiah. Though conspicuously inferior (even though it's in color) to the original series ' a circa late '80's black and white 'science-fictational' story 'in nine parts', it's still a massive romp.
IF YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT: The continuum in which Arkwright lives encompasses a reality composed of multiple universes called 'paras' ' each one being its own reality both divergent and convergent with others. While the inhabitants of most of these universes are oblivious to the existence of the others, the advanced (and highly secularized society) of 'Para 00.00' has not only learned how to cross the multi-versal divide, but has taken it upon itself to police the continuum. Using high-technology and 'psionics', they saved the continuum in the first series from a doomsday weapon fielded by a mysterious army called 'disruptors'. Luther Arkwright is 00.00's greatest weapon against multi-versal disruption, but even he is an alien to 00.00. Arkwright instead is the product of eons of genetic engineering meant to create a human with unmatched psy-powers, capable of crossing the barriers between parallel universes. As in the original AoLA, "Heart" involves some terrifying threat to the existence of the entire continuum, but focuses much of the action on a parallel in which the imperialistic powers of pre-WWI Europe were never wiped out. (In AoLA, the crown heads of Europe conspire to overthrow the fascist British regime descended from the 17th century theocratic protectorate of Oliver Cromwell's Puritans and install a puppet king in his place; with Cromwell's help, the weak Prince Charles is killed and his sister, the strong-willed Anne succeeds to the throne on Cromwell's ouster. When the rest of Europe's royalty is 'accidentally' killed in the climactic battle of AoLA, leaving Anne the sole surviving ruler, her kingdom is poised to become the greatest on Earth.) Got that?
A complex plot linked Luther's origins with the fate of the universe and that of the inhabitants of that specific para. Even when its plot wasn't clear AoLA excelled in its narrative, a peerless blend of graphic art and judicious use of prose and dialog in place of traditional comic technique of using thought-baloons. To sweeten things for people who insisted on having everything explained to them, Talbot crafted a wonderfully nuanced alternative earth, inspired by Europe in both its early fascist and terminal imperialist phases (AoLA appeared in the late 1980's when the cold war looked ready to take a dramatic turn).
"Heart " takes place nearly 20 years later and Britannia truly rules. While Princess Victoria, the tempestuous daughter of Anne and Luther, struggles under endless migraines, the empire faces threats from without and within. Anne's closest advisers are actually a cell of hardcore neo-Puritans, with a plan to reclaim power; while in Rome, a dying pope dispatches an assassin with orders to ensure that Anne "render her empire to the Church". Unknown to them all, a horrific psionic force is building strength across the many universes, primed to explode in days, already leaving hints of itself everywhere. Luther, who disappeared shortly after Anne's ascension, a feared victim of underground puritans, is of no help. Only Victoria, who may have inherited Luther's psi-capabilities, has a realization of something horrible and imminent. In frequent black-outs, she dreams of her twin brother Henry, murdered by puritan terrorists.
"Heart" is superb, but still less than AoLA. The colors are splashy, but lack the intricate detail that drove AoLA 's plot robs the sequel of its narrative force. Also missing...is Luther himself for large spans of the story - leaving poor Vicky to shoulder the burdens of heroism, which also deprives the story of as centralized character as Luther. When Luther does show up, he's more aloof than ever, unfortunately. Also missing is a good villain - the neo-puritans of this book are just a bunch of deluded fascists, possessing not a shred of the self-awareness of Cromwell in the first book. Their leader, Kray is too cartoonish (metaphorically and literally ' we first meet him as he poses for a portrait that looks more real than he does). Vain and hinting of racial tendencies that underlined Anglo-identity theory, he's a corseted, spectacled loser with shoulder pads and a bad haircut to go with his big dreams; only Queen Anne's growing dementia allows these guys to get as far as they do. Nothing underlines the futility of the puritans' cause as much as their slogan - "The Future Belongs to Us" (I wonder how long it took to dream that up). The joke of course is that there may not be a future to steal. The horrific force itself, when revealed, is essentially a blob, a force of nature without the character of those who invented the 'fire frost' weapon of the first series. The real menace of the original story was Luther and his untapped abilities, but that's sidelined in the sequel. Even Rosa Wylde, Luther's love of the first series is grayed here. With her hair in beads, Rosa looks a shadow of her former self. The end is much too pat and unsatisfying, revealing the disparity between two Arkwright epics. Still, it's an Arkwright story, one that you can get into if you've never read the first, and one that perhaps should be read first.

This is simply the most intelligent, intricate graphic novel that I have ever read. It contains the most stark mixing of sacred and profane elements- and yet it works. To put it mildly, it works. It is a continuation of the story of the shaman/savior Luthor Arkwright (I fully recommend the original _The Aventures of Luthor Arkwright_). Every time you pick this book up you find something new in the complex story line or intricate artwork. Only a writer/artist could produce a work like this, for only a person who thinks in images could master the symbolist world view that it mirrors. Here you have alternate universe after alternate universe- yet all connected by underlieing currents and patterns. As above, so below.
Oh yes, it also has a healthy amount of English working class bloody mindedness- something that we in America are becoming increasingly familiar with as the corporate "upperclass" tries to turn this society into a rigid caste-based oligarchy....

As Osprey Campaign series books go this is one of the best. The focus of the book is the blunting of the Nazi counter offensive by the Patton's 3rd Army. It is laid out in the traditional Ospery style and as always gives the reader a broad overview of the campaign.

What makes this book better than most is that it does not get lost in the details of the military movements. It does a fine job of explaining the whys and the hows. Not an easy thing in the limited space avaliable. The most interesting part of the book focus on the German commanders, fresh from the Russian front, fighting the American military with the same Eastern font tactics. As explained, the American use of artilery and close air support made the tactics a disaster.

Steven J. Zaloga, the renowned expert on armored vehicles, has delivered a solid campaign synopsis of the battles fought in Lorraine between 5-29 September 1944. The campaign pitted General Patton's pursuing 3rd Army against the hastily-raised 5th Panzer Army under General Manteuffel and elements of the 1st Army. This campaign has received considerable attention in other far lengthier works, so this volume does not claim to break any new ground. However, it does offer a balanced account which covers all the key events and offers perspectives from both the American and German points of view.

As in all the Osprey Campaign series, the volume starts with a section on the opposing strategic plans. In assessing Allied strategy, Zaloga conforms to conventional wisdom in suggesting that if only Patton's 3rd Army in Lorraine had been accorded logistical priority in September 1944, then perhaps the year might have ended very differently. This is actually the voice of Patton glorifiers/Montgomery bashers. This conveniently ignores the logistic bottlenecks back at the beaches: even if Eisenhower had given Patton the bulk of available supplies, the Redball Express could not have supplied Patton very much further east at that time. The Allied armies were consuming vast quantities of fuel in their pursuit across France and they needed a deep-water port like Antwerp in September 1944 far more than a tenuous foothold across the Rhine. Finally, does anyone seriously believe that Patton's 3rd Army - which only had 8-10 divisions at the time - could have mounted a serious invasion of Germany with minimal support from the other Allied armies? Zaloga ignores the vast manpower and material resources that were still available to Hitler in September 1944. Despite widespread condemnation by many armchair strategists, Eisenhower's "Broad Front" strategy was the best course of action under the circumstances.

The section on commanders is a bit odd because the majority of the space is devoted to well-known higher-level commanders, including Hitler, Model, Bradley and Patton. The corps and below leaders who actually fought the battle are barely mentioned - the two US corps commanders receive one sentence each. Major General Wood, commander of the exemplary US 4th Armored Division, is barely mentioned anywhere in the text. Given the local nature of the armored battles in Lorraine, it is probably inappropriate to describe this series of actions as "Patton versus Manteuffel". These were battalion and brigade-level fights.

As expected from a technical expert, the sections on the opposing armies are quite good. In particular, Zaloga makes very good points about the US edge in battlefield communications. However, one major item lacking here is a discussion of tactical organizations: what did German armor battalions look like in comparison to their US counterparts, particularly in terms of scouting assets, support weapons and maintenance capability? As a former armor officer, I can attest that maintenance capability is much more critical in sustaining armored combat than is often appreciated. Unfortunately, Zaloga leaves this vital area blank and instead tells us that the Germans committed about 616 tanks and assault guns against 1,280 US tanks and tank destroyers.

The sections covering the actual campaign are quite good, starting with the destruction of the 106th Panzer Brigade on 8 September 1944 and progressing up to the final battles around Arracourt on 25-29 September. While the 3-D maps are quite good, the standard 2-D maps leave much to be desired since key phases of the battle are not depicted. There is no map depicting the German offensive that led up to the Arracourt battles, so it is difficult to determine how the Germans coordinated all their units. This tends to make it look like the panzer brigades were committed with support from other units.

The section on wargaming the battle is ridiculous as it usually is in Osprey books. With the availability of superb computer simulations of the Arracourt battles such as Talonsoft's WEST FRONT and OPERATIONAL ART OF WAR (which are never mentioned in this section on war gaming), it is absolutely ludicrous to read a discussion of a "war game" where the players "wear personal stereos, playing deafening music to recreate the effect of motor noise within the crew compartment. Players could also wear cardboard spectacles, with narrow slits to simulate the view through a periscope or vision port..." and so on. Please stop. Given the existence of Avalon Hill's SQUAD LEADER series and the Talonsoft products, which adequately cover the Arracourt battles, this section is a gross insult to serious wargamers.

Nevertheless, Zaloga's book is a useful campaign summary to keep on the bookshelf. Certainly the organization of the material is more interesting than the actual subject, for this overly-covered campaign was certainly not one of the epic struggles of the Second World War. The US 3rd Army was winded after a long pursuit and at the absolute limit of their logistical chain. Although beaten in Normandy, the Germans were starting to regroup but the Lorraine campaign offers one of the very few times in the Second World War that they fought poorly on the offense. Most of all, the strategic stakes were low in Lorraine. If the Germans won, they might have hurt 3rd Army a bit but they would probably only have bought themselves a few weeks respite. On the other hand, the US achieved a tactical victory but so what - the campaign still ended in stalemate for logistic reasons and the weather. This is a key factor ignored by Zaloga and most other writers on the Lorraine campaign: yes, the 3rd Army defeated the German spoiling attacks but how did this translate into a strategic success? The fact is that the strategic circumstances of September 1944 prohibited 3rd Army from inflicting a decisive defeat on the Whermacht, no matter how much tactical skill they demonstrated on the battlefield.

This little book gives an overview of a single campaign in France during 1944. It involved the liberation of the Lorraine area by Patton and his famous 4th Armored Division versus German armor expert von Manteuffel. The author, Steve Zaloga is a long-time student of armored combat in all areas. His expertise shows in this book as describing this campaign weaves the technical aspects of armor with the personalities of the commanders and the tactical situation. As with most Osprey "Campaign" series books there are chapters covering the larger picture, the opposing commanders, the forces involved and then looking at the actual campaign and significant engagements. At the end of the book are quick notes on touring the battlefield today and on creating wargame simiulations of the campaign. A quick and easy read, but packed with good historical information. Highly recommended for history buffs and armor fans.

The book is loosely organised in chapters each covering one aspect of people-photography. Chapter introductions are rather mellow. It's really a large collection of example photos. Each one is elaborately discussed, including "the story behind" and technical info. Some of the photos are very good indeed. Most are mainstream pictures, however: technically perfect, but not quite inspiring. (Though I wish I could consistently obtain that level of quality myself.) Good book if you have time to read from A to Z and have a patient nature. Very valuable information can be gathered, but it's scattered throughout the book. I made a one-page summary myself.

How many times you want to take people photo and you're afraid? How many times you want to take people photo and you don't have camera? This book will answer your first question and give you many good reasons to have camera with you all the time. Many Bryan's photo will inspire you to have your camera for the next best shots. The important of people photography is the communication among "camera", , "situation", "photographer", and "model". Bryan shows you the optimal way to integrate all four factors for better communication of your people photography.

This may be the only book you'll ever need to read on the subject of photographing people outside of the formal portrait studio. This is a blessing, because very few books, good or bad, are available on this very important subject to amateurs and professional photojournalists. Peterson covers every aspect of taking pictures of people, including selecting subjects to photograph, approaching subjects, effects of different lighting, equipment and even some of the business aspects like model releases and stock photography. And, his images are wonderful. The only negative aspect - and this is present in most of his books - is that Bryan tends to forget that most people who read his book are not as well-travelled or equipped as he is. Many of the photographs were taken in exotic places abroad and he uses an expensive 300 meter lens for many of his shots. He has a reason for the latter, but let him explain. Take it with a grain of salt, and trust that you don't have to have such extreme equipment or go to such exotic places to get the results you want from following his instructions.

I found this book rather interesting, with a nice mix of methods and applications. I intended to use some of the examples in a course that I am teaching. There are many examples given which use data sets to illustrate important concepts. However, I was unable to access several of these data sets. I contacted the author and mentioned that I was particularly interested in accessing two of the data sets that were referenced in the book --- his reply was that data sets for the book were available at a specific URL. Indeed there were several data sets at this location; but, not the data sets that I had mentioned in my inquiry.

I did a lot of searching on my own for these data sets. One of these supposedly came from Sweden; but, after extensive searching through several Swedish databases I found nothing on this particular data set. I contacted the author again and requested at least a reference or link to these data sets --- no reply to my request has been received (after 11 days).

I feel strongly that all data sets referenced in a book of this type should be available to the readers. If not, then they should not be used in examples.

Manly is an excellent writer who has written several excellent texts and is an editor of a biostatistics journal. This is a revision of a very popular text on randomization or permutation methods. Because of the immense popularity of bootstrap methods (a similar resampling procedure), he elected to add some coverage of the bootstrap. All topics are covered in a clear and scholarly style and examples from biology are given. The interested reader might also look at Good (2000), Permutation Methods, 2nd Edition, published by Springer-Verlag and Edgington, Randomization Tests published by Marcel Dekker for other accounts on permutation tests. There are now several good books dedicated to bootstrap methods including Davison and Hinkley (1997), Cambridge University Press, Efron and Tibshirani (1993), CRC-Chapman and Hall and Chernick (1999), John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Statistical analysis based on resampling methods are clearly the way the bulk of statistics should be done, and the trend is towards this. Manly gives an excellent and clear treatment introducing these methods in various settings in population biology. This book is clearly a must for any biologist that has to deal with data, and it should be read by all such biologist. I shamelessly copy from this book when I present resampling methods to my graduate biostatistics class.

Excellent book. I have over 10 years experience in RPG and this was a big help in understanding many of the new functions that are outside our normal RPG thinking. We now use modules and service programs regularly and are very happy with the improvement in code output. Some items could stand to have more explanation but is a very good start to understanding the new functions.

This book does exactly what the title says: it jump starts an experienced RPG programmer into using RPG IV with just the right level of detail. The main changes of the improved language are high-lighted, along with the author's good technique suggestions. I have been using it for six months and still refer to it. I also use Judy Yeager's "RPG IV" for a more complete description.

If you already know RPG II or III then you don't need a book that details RPG IV from start to finish. You need a book that can quickly identify what the differences are between III & IV, so you can get up and running on this version in a heartbeat. This is that kind of book. There are even examples displaying how you did it in RPGIII and how you would do it in RPGIV. Spend and hour or two reading this, and you're done. Besides, it's less expensive than the other books....