Tyrone Adams' and Norman Clark's new book, The Internet: Effective Online Communication, provides a comprehensive and insightful view of the Internet from a communication perspective. Although there are other texts on the Internet, this is the first to focus on communication competence in the online environment. The text integrates theory and practice to help readers become critical Internet consumers and producers.

I found Chapter 1 on the Internet's history the most intriguing. That background information provides a context for understanding the Internet's structure and current uses. In Chapter 2, the authors distinguish the Internet from other communication mediums, and at the same time observe that the boundaries between communication contexts are blurring.

Chapters 3-5 cover the nuts and bolts of communicating online: email, listservs, newsgroups, chat rooms, MUDs, MOOs, and net conferencing. Although most students are quite familiar with email, listservs, and chat rooms, they are often less familiar with newsgroups, MUDs, MOOs, and net conferencing. With more and more organizations using net conferencing for work group and team meetings, the latter topic is especially useful.

Chapters 6 and 7 address gathering information on the Internet. These invaluable chapters move readers out of the traditional search engine to other search strategies such as topic rings and bibliographic databases. In addition, the authors provide specific criteria for evaluating online information and how to cite the information found.

Chapters 8-10 shift the reader from an Internet consumer to an Internet producer. With the help of the CD-ROM included with the book, students can design a fairly sophisticated webpage. Although the authors stress the utility of learning HTML, the web editor on the CD-ROM allows students to produce their first webpage with ease.

Students found Part 5, "Exiting Cyberspace: Implications of the Internet," particularly informative and sometimes surprising. For example, Chapter 12, "The Internet and U.S. Law," led several students to investigate computer use policies in the workplace.

My students gave the book high marks for readability, current examples, and thorough explanations. The authors' familiarity with effective online communication is plainly evident: Adams and Clark don't just write about the Internet; they are cybertravelers, clearly comfortable with and truly knowledgeable about Internet communication. We've become so immersed in online communication that we seldom give it a second thought. Adams and Clark include provocative information that will spark much debate in any classroom. Students learn practical online communication skills, as well as the theoretical background they need to adjust to an ever-changing and increasingly globalized Internet.

It allows one to think deeply about interpersonal and communication skills both at work and in our daily life. The most interesting part about this book is that it gives a few exerices for each topic that can be use in training or class room situation.

Clear, simple and highly idiomatic, this book, written with the assistance of Puskar Shamsher gives an accurate grammatical account of Nepali and, if used with the tapes recorded by Kh B Bista, trains efficiently the student in Nepali as it is really spoken by Nepalese people, even if Nepali changed a lot these last twenty years. It is a shame it is now out of print.

This book provides with a clear explanation of the field being of Phonetics and its different features. It also provides clear examples of the different elements it covers.

This book is unmatched for its wealth of information in a concise format. It is not a "popular" narrative, but a reference work that provides an excellent summary of the best research on the New Testament. It examines each book from the perspectives of content, literary character, theology, date written, and author. Kuemmel (following his predecessors, Feine and Behm) briefly notes the significant conclusions drawn by previous scholars, drawing together a synthesis of their thought (or indicating who has had the better argument when they cannot be reconciled). The briefly stated conclusions are generally clear, and the citations allow the reader to pursue any further research.

This textbook is a thorough , well-written, and well-organized study of the basics of American democracy. The authors are brutally honest in their overview of the American democratic system. The irony of democracy?: "Elites-not masses-govern the United States" and, my favorite, "that democratic ideals survive because the masses are generally apathetic and inactive" (the masses breed intolerance, you see). Among the fifteen chapters is one entitled "Elite-Mass Communication: Television, the Press, and the Pollsters," which I found to be very interesting.

Aaron Clark is admirably unwilling to speculate as so many much earlier biographies of Albeniz have been about the more hazy periods in his life. He is particularly good on understanding the hyperbole and publicity-friendly porkies Albeniz was given to in the context of his character. Where he is at his best is in the analysis and history of the music/forms it uses. I wish he would write a work which concentrates on analysis of the music itself as well - I'd buy that too. It is also a very entertaining read, and has many very sensible conclusions especially about Albeniz's earlier life, which is surrounded by myth! This is an essential book for anyone interested in Spanish Nationalist Romantic Music. Does this man have an email address? Ben Coulthard

there are not enough words for this book. enticing and mesmerizing, Neruda remains to me one of the greatest lovers of life. An acute observer of surroundings, a revolutionary, a lover, a man of the world and of the senses. this book is a whirlwind of poetical autobiographical moments and what a wonder it is. recommended to be read quietly and in an atmosphere undisturbed.

a masterpiece.

This book in the Religion of the World series on Islam was published in December of 2001, so I was rather surprised that in the last chapter a caption for a wanted poster for Usama Bin Laden for the 1998 bombings in Africa was updated to refer to the 2001 terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and that a sidebar would be devoted to September 11. While events in the news involving the actions of militant fundamentalist Muslims have doubtlessly raised many questions with young students regarding the Islamic faith, it is certainly not the responsibility of this book, or any other in the Religions of the World series, to explain such events. So while Charles Clark's introduction specifically looks at the misconceptions most Americans have about Islam, his emphasis is on the roots of this misunderstanding rather than current conflicts.

Clark's book discusses the history, beliefs, popularity, practices, politics, and challenges of Islam as one of the world's major religions. "Islam" is organized into six distinct chapters: (1) The Origins of Islam covers the history of the faith, focusing on the life of Muhammad and ending with the problem of succession following his death. (2) The Essence of Islam is devoted to the key elements of the faith, including the Five Pillars of Islam, Muhammad as the Messenger of Allah, the Qur'an as the Word of Allah, and the Holy Law of Islam. This is the chapter that covers the Islamic notion of jurisprudence, the status of women in Islam, the great division between the Sunni and Shii branches of Islam, and the concept of jihad. (3) The Spread of Islam continues the history lesson from the time of Muhammad to the recent formation of new Islamic nations. (4) The Practice of Islam focuses on the Five Pillars, the observance of Ramadan, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and the recitation of the Qur'an. Most of these are things many young readers will have seen, whether it be from personal experience or by watching television and movies, and Clark does a nice job of explaining the importance of these activities to the practice of Islam. (5) The Politics of Islam is devoted primarily to events of the 20th century, from the political turmoil that followed World War I that eventually led to the founding of the first modern Islamic state in Pakistan, to the Persian Gulf War. Clark also devotes a large section to discussing the role of Islamic women in politics. (6) The Challenges of Islam broaches the topic of terrorism and how events in the late 1990s have fueled controversy and suspicion among non-Muslims. But the focus is as much on the prejudice faced by Muslims in the West and the growing culture clash between the two as it is about terrorism.

Charles Clark provides more than a basic introduction to the Islamic faith in this 128-page book. He explores both the history and the practice of Islam is more detail than I would have expected, but I am rarely going to accuse any author of providing too much information. However, because of the way Clark breaks down these chapters it is possible that young students could be fighting over this book as a research aide because it can be used as the basis for so many possible reports. "Islam" is illustrated with both historic art and contemporary photographs. Each chapter contains several informative sidebars on topics such as the Islamic Year, Muslim military strategy, and the question of traditional dress. Clark quotes from religious scholars and practitioners to help young readers better understand the beliefs of Islam's adherents. Other titles in the Religions of the World series look at Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Shinto. Hopefully, they are as good as this volume.

This book is an extraordinarily well crafted historical teen fantasy/drama. It has excellent plot development, and the main characters are well developed along with the rest of the story. Having previously read a less than glowing review of this book, I did not have the most positive expectations when I was presented this book for consideration by a colleague. I was reading it with an extremely critical viewpoint and wondering when it was going to fall apart. What I got was a story that kept me wondering what the following pages were going to bring, and I was compelled to read on. I found the author's ability to end a chapter in such a way that leaves the reader with questions that can only be answered in the pages that followed exceptional. This book is a page turner, and I couln't wait. I finished this book in one day. I not only own this book, I cherish it. Hattie Clark may not be a household name, but she will get my endorsement for this work. This book is absolutely on my "gift to give" list.