For those of you who have short attention spans, this book contains easily the most complete, detailed, researched, and clearly expounded history of Linux, the Free Software Foundation, the open source movement, the hacker ethic, and most everything else that has been going on with computer geeks since the 1950s. If you're at all interested by what's happening in the "free as in speech" technology sector, this book is a dramatic must-read. Go and pick it up now.

If you're still with me, however, this book is absolutely plagued by the disease known as "technical writing". It's long been known that those who deal with computers and electronics on a day-to-day (hour-to-hour?) basis are not often the most linguistically inclined individuals. This "urban legend" is manifested predominantly in the work, taking its form through constant usage errors, many spelling errors, excruciatingly awkward prose (at times), and, although this is more of a non-issue considering the subject matter, just a little too much bias in one direction.

Just to show that I'm not making this up, Glyn Moody frequently refers to "X Window", rather than "X Windows" (even though that's technically incorrect), "XFree86", "X11", or the "X Windowing System". Other similar, subtle annoyances occur throughout the book, but make no mistake: they don't obscure Moody's points indecipherably, they just annoy. One of the sentences that forced me to question Moody's bias was from Chapter 11: "If the history of Microsoft shows anything, it is a dogged determination to improve its often inadequate first attempts at writing software, and Internet Explorer is no exception." This sentence, inserted just after describing Microsoft's assertions to the U.S. Department of Justice as "shameless", leaves the reader no choice but to second-guess Moody's intentions.

Is the book complete? Yes (at least, you won't find a more complete book around). Is the book perfect? No, and due to the frequency of grammatical and otherwise editorial errors, I have to reduce my would-be 5-star rating to 4. Do yourself a favor and read this (but if Perseus would release a corrected second edition, that'd be just fine with me :D).

As a side note, I'm a user of Linux and a supporter of the open source model. When you do read this book, you'll be forced to form an opinion of your own on software patents and the whole lot. I encourage you not to take the RMS standpoint of "free [open] is better, always", nor do I encourage you to take the Bill Gates standpoint of "protected code is better, always". Draw a useful parallel between the two opinions.

Glyn Moody's book is an admirably complete history of Linux and the open source movement. It also manages to keep the pace going well, despite having to deal with a comparitively dry subject matter. The trouble is, because the movement is so disparate, the book has to jump from point to point and person to person rapidly. By trying to cover the people, the products and the philosophy behind open source, Rebel Code stretches itself a bit too thinly. It is thorough though, with historically correct-to-the-second Linux launches and loads of annotated email from the important parties.

However, it doesn't explain itself thoroughly enough for a mainstream book. Someone with even a sketchy knowledge of computing will have no problems with the terminology, but those who don't even know that Windows is an operating system (or for that matter what an operating system is) may be left out in the cold. Then again, those who don't know what a web server is probably will not be drawn to the book (and are highly unlikely to read this critique on-line). There is also an underlying implication that Linux is only server-sided. This could inadvertently undermine today's open source movement - the next move for Linux must be to break into the small office/home desktop as successfully as it has into the web server world, as soon as more people discover there is 'no-cost' life beyond the Windows desktop.

Finally, despite praising the Open Source movement, Rebel Code doesn't fall into the trap of simply becoming a 'Microsoft is evil' rant. Instead it remains balanced which means anyone interested in the state of the computer world (now and for the next few years, at least) could find something of interest here.

From the cover and the initial descriptions I've read about this book, I thought it was going to be centered around Linux. In reality, it covers most of the major open source projects. This book describes the beginnings of free software and many of the most innovative projects including: Linux, Perl, Xfree86, Apache, Emacs, Hurd, and many others.

"Rebel Code" is well researched and goes in to just enough detail. Mr. Moody is careful not inundate the reader with too many details. Besides giving a history of Linux and open source, the book examines the motivating force behind the hacker ethic and the fruits of free software.

This book uses a rather peculiar method of dividing flowers into sections by color. It has sections for Orange-Red flowers, Pink flowers, Purple-Blue flowers, White flowers, and Yellow flowers, with each section sub-divided into Annuals, Bulbs, Climbers, Perennials, Shrubs, and Trees. Each flower has a photo and about a paragraph of description, with hardly more information than you would find on the average seed packet. This might be a good resource for the professional landscaper or garden designer, but it's a little confusing for this casual backyard gardener.

This book is loaded with lots of pictures and information on various plants. They are even broken down into color groups. Has both common and scientic name, along with a color picture for easy identification of flowers.

This large, beautiful, hardcover book makes me happy just looking at it! It is bright and pretty on the outside and full of lovely photographs and helpful information on the inside. At the time of this review, it is at a great price, too! It has many features which make it user-friendly, such as a breakdown of flowers by color, type of plant (tree, shrub, perennial, etc.), and a common names index. Mary Moody has done a nice job!

In the past I always assigned "Soul of a New Machine" to show my students what it's really like to work in a small project team with unrealistic deadlines (i.e. normal high tech). But the technology there is too out of date - 4.77Mhz, single boards for single functions, etc. So I have shifted to "I Sing," with generally good results. The book is 2x the length I would like so I assign selected chapters, but it reads easily enough that most students read the whole thing. They are always amazed by the level of chaos and conflict; in fact it makes them feel better about their own team design projects. The sequence of events is not easy to follow, there are too many characters, etc. so I provide some supplemental information on my web page. This is the best book I know of for a class on high tech development culture. There are plenty of case studies of the auto industry, but most of them are puff pieces and they are all about giant projects. Ditto for books about Boeing. The e-commerce stories are polluted by money and novelty issues (though I keep hoping to find one.)

"I Sing the Body Electronic" is a success story. Fred Moody entertainingly describes the lifecycle of a product created by Microsoft. The mystifying part is how the success described in the story came to be. Moody vividly explains the socio-political inner workings of Microsoft by tailing a development team from the start of a product until its eventual completion. The team members come to life on the page, and the observations made by Moody add an intellectual quality to what would otherwise be a soap opera.

The book is gripping until the very end. The dialogue and writing are easily read, and well chosen. The chronological layout of the book, while necessary, is unfettering. All together the book is well written. Fred Moody ends the book with a provocative suggestion as to how a doomed project became a success. I wont spoil it by telling you what it is, but trust me its insightful.

I can't help but believe that Bill Gates traded in his families only possessions for some magic beans. Well it has certainly paid off for him, and Mr. Moody as well.

So many of the books about software development I have read are about an organized, heroic march from conception to delivery. This book is a much more realistic depiction of the chaos and mess that most people actually live with in real world software development. Moody did a good job of just telling the story and not judging the messiness or trying to clean it up to create the typical late night, pizza boxes and Jolt Cola heroic story. He does a good job of discussing the complex human issues surrounding the project and their importance relative to the actually technical issues. Creating the technology turns out to be relatively simple compared to the challenge of getting a group of people from very diverse backgrounds to function effectively as a team. This challenge is particularly strong in consumer technology products because the range of backgrounds required is so broad. The communications and collaboration skills needed to allow artist and programmers to work together are insightfully revealed in this book

In her book, Dr. Barbara Rommer shares with readers Another Side of the Near - Death Experience, i.e. the "less-than-Positive" experiences. This thought provoking book speaks through the words of the experiences themselves to those often frightening or unsettling experiences that have taken them on their journeys to the brink of death. Often for them, we find in the pages of this book their experiences, through unpleasant, become the entrance to positive and meaningful changes in their lives.

The ten chapters in this book take the reader from a revisit with peaceful near-death experiences to some conclusions, which is titled "A Plea to the Medical Community". In between, we find well-documented chapters, which deal with, and overview of Less Than Positive Experiences. While Dr. Rommer, like many of us, cannot absolutely say that there is an afterlife, she is able to present anecdotal evidence of the probability of the continuity of life beyond bodily death.

In the book, Dr. Rommer has interviewed over 300 patients and shares their experiences in their own words. As explained in the book, she has experienced first hand how often her patients, who fear the dying process, are really fearful of what happens after dying and therefore sometime fail to live life to the fullest. Therefore she, in this book, fulfills her goal "to allay people's fears by reporting the experiences of those who had died and been resuscitated".

In this book you will not only find the convictions of experiences shared in openness and with honesty, but you will also find the convictions of the author openly shared regarding her life's journey of her own soul's spiritual transformation. I found the book extremely informative of her research and extremely thought provoking on the question most people ask about life and death. It makes you stop and think about each and every day we live and how we must strive to make the very most of every moment. Worth reading and re-reading.

There are hundreds of books on the subject of Near Death Experience (or NDE). Most of them are filled with positive experiences such as meeting loved ones, angels, and beautiful landscapes. I bought this book because it covered the darker aspects of NDE, which Rommer calls LTP (or Less Than Positive) experiences. One statement made in the book stands out very clearly. If you expect hellfire and brimstone, that's what you're going to get.There were a wide variety of individual accounts, some of them typical of the NDE. But she also covers those who have misinterpreted their experiences as bad. Such as those who had relived all the horrible aspects of their lives before being resucitated. Those she labeled Type II LTPs. The type IIIs, I found disturbing. Many of these people suffered from depression and/or drug abuse of varying degrees, or they were brought up to believe that their soul would go to Hell for all the sins they committed during their lifetime. Some of these people had attempted suicide, either overtly or covertly. Every account was distinctly different from the next, but every one of these people were given the same message. They could face up to their misgivings or misperceptions and change their own destinies. Many of them have.Blessing in Disguise is the most informative book I've read on Near Death Experiences. It isn't clinical or watered-down, like some of the books by Moody and Ring. Another good book is "Beyond the Darkness, My Near-Death Journey to the Edge of Hell and Back," by Angie Fenimore.

I happen to know Dr. Barbara Rommer. I was also one of the many people whom she interviewed for this book. This book delves into the near death experience in a way no other book has ever done. It covers the near death experience that was less than perfect. It explains the less than perfect NDE's in a way that anyone can understand. If you have ever heard Dr. Rommer speak about her book as I have several times you would absolutley want to read this book. I am actually one of the subjects listed in the book. If you fear death, read this book. Dr Rommer has been featured on many television programs such as Montel Williams.

Okay, the premise of a dedicated jazz fan killing Kenny G clones is funny. But that's about all that's worthwhile here. Just as Kenny G shouldn't have insulted the memory of the great Louis Armstrong by releasing a duet with him, Bill Moody shouldn't drag Charlie Parker into this book. The characters are wooden, the dialog is awkward and unnatural, the holes in the plot are impossible to overlook. This is my first Bill Moody book, and it will surely be my last.

I'm not a big book reader because my time is limited so I have to pick and choose. I definitely picked the right one! I have a music background and this one was right on the money. Great characters and compelling story lines kept me wanting to read more and more. Am looking forward to his new book.

As a mystery writer with my first novel in initial release, I genuinely enjoyed Bill Moody's BIRD LIVES. In this novel, Evan Horne would like to concentrate on his musical comeback, but the Feds have different plans. The FBI convinces Horne to solve a strange series of murders. Someone is killing off "smooth" jazz musicians. All right, so those folks perhaps ought to die, but Horne needs to catch the killer anyway. BIRD LIVES is a great book about the jazz community, and it is also a well-written mystery. It is most enjoyable.

Having studied Irish history in grad school, I found myself coming back to this book over and over for a quick, easily readable general overview of irish history, written (well) by scholars but in a fashion accessible to all readers. It sounds trite to say, but if you only read one general book on the history of Ireland, this should be the one!

The book delivers what it's title implies, in a few hundred pages. The different perspectives of the various authors help to reinforce the truth that there are many ways of understanding and interpreting events, even when the facts are agreed upon. After having read the book, the reader knows himself not to be an expert, but has a sense of " the course of Irish history."

This is the first book I've read which gives a concise and yet broad view of Irish history. It gives a short essay on every major time period and event since the beginning of Irish History. I liked the format of the book with several different authors contributing. I also liked the detail timeline at the back of the book that covered everything even those events/people which did not get mentioned in any other part of the book. A good starting point for anyone interested in Irish History or the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain.

Yes, disappointing is the word. More of an encyclopedic book that one that provides an interesting naarative on the fish or even better, information useful for catching them (habitat, preferred bait).

Houston Chronicle writers raved about this. I disagreed. Would have returned it if it wasn't so much trouble to ship it back. Wish I'd have bought it from a local store, could have returned it right away!

Good text book for classifing any fish found in the Gulf of Mexico by families, but not a quick picture reference book for identifying your catch. ... If the pictures had been better in "Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico". I would have given it a five stars rateing.

This book is literaly THE FISH BIBLE. It is not for a novice but for fishing it is the BEST money can by. I know alot of marine biologist that swear by it. IT IS GREAT FOR TEXAS COAST.

Did NOT help us run Kaizen events. An overview and story.
Author has never implemented Kaizen, only told about others' successes.
Not a "how to do it" book.

Three contributers, three more "experts" trying to tell us how to do something that they have never done themselves.
A lot of references and notable people and companies are mentioned, but where is the real hands-on "How to do it?"
This book is a story book and should be classified as FICTION.
This trio are writers, not "Lean Manufacturing" implementers.

As you probably know already, the word "kaizen" is a Japanese term meaning "to make better" with the implication that such effort should be continuous, indeed intensive and unrelenting. Since 1994, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME) has developed a series of educational initiatives known as the "Kaizen Blitz." In the Introduction to this volume, Jon Brodeur observes: "We think non-consultant-driven events -- training and on-the-floor work by the experts, the hands-on employees who have experienced the power of the Kaizen Blitz -- will continue to be a welcome addition to any organization's arsenal of improvement approaches. Small- and medium-sized companies can do it as well as larger ones and they may have an advantage if operations are small enough in scope to get their arms around." However, positive and significant results can only be achieved with an appropriate combination of leadership at its highest level, acceptance (indeed enthusiasm) throughout all other levels, and tenacious involvement about attaining 20 percent to 50 percent improvement (or greater) in performance in a short time and in narrowly targeted areas. The effective Kaizen process must be top-down, initiated and sustained by teamwork, and focused entirely on doing "whatever needs to be done" ASAP. The authors of this book explain both how and why.

The material is organized within 11 chapters whose titles correctly suggest the nature and extent of coverage: The Power of AME's Kaizen Blitz: Learning by Doing; The Roots of Kaizen; Improvement Strategy: Implementing the Big Picture; Getting Ready for Kaizen; Time Prints and Takt Times; How to Tell If There Is Improvement: Adding Value, Subtracting Waste: Uncovering the Flows: Establishing and Clarifying Process Flows; Forms, Charts, and Measurements; Sustaining the Gain: Lean Leadership; and finally, Never Look Back. Throughout the book, the authors reiterate the imperative that Kaizen Blitz initiatives must be sharply focused, task oriented, results driven, measurable and -- meanwhile -- FAST. Hence the relevance of the concept of "blitz," which gained worldwide prominence prior to and then during World War II when Fascist and then Allied forces attacked enemy positions with unprecedented velocity. As the AME Kaizen Blitz has demonstrated so convincingly, the same strategy (with obvious modifications) can effectively be implemented within any organization, regardless of size or nature.

Obviously I think highly of this book because it offers a sensitive, flexible, thoughtful and rigorous program to achieve what the subtitle correctly describes as "accelerating breakthroughs in productivity and performance." If these brief comments suggest that this is a program your organization needs, I strongly recommend that all of its decision-makers read it. Then, schedule an offsite meeting during which the book becomes the agenda for collaborative efforts to formulate and implement a Kaizen Blitz appropriate to your organization's specific needs and interests. If there is a need for additional resources, I strongly suggest Breyfogle's two books as well as one written by Pande and his co-authors.

There are artists whose images evoke a sincerity that is missing from most of these images. These photographs seem forced, overly contrived, pretentious, and redundant.
Look at what the photographer George Tice can do with light and the landscape. A photographer, an idea, and a camera. How simple, how sincere.

Crewdson uses elements of documentary photography and cinema to give authority and narrative to intricately and flawlessly constructed, amazingly artificial scenes. To criticize these photographs for being "forced" or lacking sincerity is like criticising a race car driver for driving too fast. The amount of effort and detail that went into constructing these realities is the entire point of this book. A photograph doesn't have to refer to something that is "real" in order to be valuable, compelling, and beautiful in its own right. This is an excellent, highly recomended book.

This book is an incredible documentation of community-based art. The artist, Gregory Crewdson, worked over years to unite a small town in the hills of Massachusetts to create art.
It's inspiring to find out that the people of the town (Lee) not only donate their houses for photo shoots, but they also block off streets and are subjects of the photographs.
The photos in the book are accompanied by text written by Rick Moody. The text is interesting, touching on the psychological forces compelling Crewdson to create art--but the real treat is in the photographs themselves.
The work is produced far away from the mainstream art world of Chelsea, yet it has made a great impression there.

This book is craip! a waste of money.

Don't get this as a beginner's book - you'll be lost in the first example! Instead, think of this as fodder for your next work of art AFTER you have a handle on the basics. I got several great tips that created ideas that I was able to implement on my own. Great complement to the Trish & Chris Meyers AE books.

I have been using After Effects since before Adobe bought it. I thought I knew alot, until I read this book. New ideas and concepts on animation itself and even the new stuff with expressions and 3D. Great book if you are new or old to the program. Some parts are hard to read and I saw a few typing errors in the expressions chapters, but all in all, well worth the money. I highly recommend this book.