Charles Winecoff's Split Image answers successfully the two main questions posed by Anthony Perkins' life: why, despite talent and opportunity, he never became a major, enduring star; and why, despite his homosexuality, he spent the last third of his life married to a woman. For the general reader, Perkins' biography also serves as a moving example of the poisonous effects of gay closeting.

While I heartily agree with my fellow reviewers' favorable assessment of Split Image, the book does have its flaws. The documentation is wanting: Winecoff's bibliography cites only books, not articles. He provides no footnotes or endnotes, and no appendix with Perkins' filmography and other work. Furthermore, Winecoff dwells too often on supposed parallels between Perkins' movies and events in his real life, particularly homosexual "double meanings" that the filmmakers obviously never intended. At times Winecoff also tells us more than we need to know about the specifics of Perkins' sexual habits.

These defects, however, do little to detract from the biography's main achievement: its compelling portrait of an elusive, contradictory personality, particularly during his early years. (Perkins' private life after marriage emerges less clearly, as some of those closest to him at that time -- most notably, his widow and children -- apparently declined to be interviewed.) Unlike the typical celebrity biographer, Winecoff pays due attention to the professional aspect of his subject's life and offers thoughtful assessments of Perkins' work, both good and bad. The narrative is well paced and filled with surprising anecdotes. Winecoff's prose, though no threat to the reputation of Virginia Woolf, is still superior to the pedestrian phrasings of most Hollywood journalists.

I recommend Split Image not only to fans of "TP," who surely have read it by now, but also to anyone who wishes to learn more about film history or gay issues - or who simply enjoys a well-written biography.

"Split Image" was very well written and focused equally on Tony's private life and career. The book should also be seen as an important doucment in the booming, emerging area of gay history works that are leading the movement to piece together gay history - which, despite what many Americans think - did not begin with Stonewall. Having read other information and books on Perkin's life, I found few inaccuracies and I think the author did a good job of refraining from sensationalism, but did paint a picture of a tortured gay existence that many of us can relate to. I would recommend the book to anyone interested in Perkin's life and career and anyone currently caught up in the gay history literary movement. If you're into the later, you may also want to read "Subterranean Kerouac," about the hidden life of America's most important author, Jack Kerouac. If you'd like to discuss, email me.

Too often Hollywood biographies rely on the glossy, fabricated images of their subjects for inspiration. Not SPLIT IMAGE. This remarkable biography meticulously weaves together the very personal story of gay actor Anthony Perkins with the changing social climate of America from the 1950s right up to his death from AIDS in 1992; the book is rich in gossip and scandal (a requirement for any successful star bio) but also full of insights on the effect of the times on Perkins's own troubled psyche. Author Winecoff relentlessly probes the dark side of Perkins's self-made boy-next-door image, which was not only his calling card in surly Method-acting-inundated Hollywood, but also his own private survival mechanism as a young man leading a very severe double life. Nothing here is taken at face value. The author's research, which is vast, covers everything from Perkins's (single) mother's lesbianism and the actor's terrifying experiences at college where he endured a gay witchhunt (along with the older brother of actor George Hamilton) to his love affair with hunky Warner Bros contract player Tab Hunter - violently hushed up by Perkins's studio, Paramount (the two men were given strict orders not to be seen in public together) - to his reliance on homophobic psychoanalysis for confidence, and his eventual marriage (at age 43) to socialite Berry Berenson, with whom he had two sons. It is to Winecoff's credit that the Perkins-Berenson marriage is treated just as fairly as the actor's numerous gay love affairs. Perkins literally brainwashed himself into becoming a heterosexual, so hard was the pressure to conform not only in Hollywood but in America. One of the book's strengths is in subtly showing how one man's story is in fact the story of a nation, the psychiatric community, the gay community. etc. Add to all this fascinating stuff a tearful ending, and you've got what is without a doubt the most intelligent, passionate star biography in years.

The ultimate hypocrisy. Here's a book full of ideas lifted from analysts and magazines, written solely to cash in on a trend. Perkins thinks so little of his advice that he did not follow his own suggestions. His magazine, The Red Herring, is a textbook example of dotcom excesses, bloat and "what goes up must always go up" thinking. Long after publication of the first edition, he was blithely making the same foolish mistakes he warns against in his book. As a result, the magazine went through a series of layoffs and downsizings and continues to teeter on the brink of insolvency.

Tony Perkins is a master of getting invitations to events in Silicon Valley and sucking up to the insiders. But trust me, you do not want to waste your money on this cynical, hypocritical advice from someone who is a business failure.

I have to disagree with the reviewer from Mountain View. Maybe he's in the industry and therefore knows all the inside information that's to be found in this book, but for those of us who are just trying to figure out how best to manage our portfolios, this book is a must.

The Mountain View reviewer says that "much of the book consists of a rehash of familiar and/or obvious information." Well, that information is familiar now precisely because the first edition of Internet Bubble made it so. The Perkins brothers were the first to dissect the financial food chain that
exists between VCs and investment bankers. I read that first edition, and I'm glad I did. It saved me from losing my shirt.

Given their track record, and the fact that I'm still keeping some of my assets in stock, how could I not read the second edition?

As for the Doerr quote, I was frankly amazed to see it, because the Perkins certainly don't treat the guy with kid gloves in the book. Maybe Doerr was just being honest when he called Internet Bubble the best researched book on Silicon Vallley ever. I know I agree.

By Jamis MacNiven, Just the pancake guy
I run the lamest bookstore in the world. We have no books and I haven't necessarily read the one I'm reviewing. So what difference does that make? I'll probably outlast Amazon and no one paid any attention to my review of the Internet Bubble in 1999 (at least I didn't) so this is just perfect for our through-the-looking-glass-world of today. OK, maybe I had a peek at the galleys and I can say that The Revised Edition will be an even bigger success then its predecessor. Michael Perkins and his brother Tony are the ultimate insiders as founders of the Red Herring Magazine (the only magazine we carry). These guys simply ran the math and said, in the first edition, (I paraphrase) that we were living in a house of cards so flimsy that when a slight breeze came by the Internet stock market was going to come tumbling down and all the kings horses...
They provided a long list of stocks with the recommendation to sell immediately. I must admit that I was swept away but the promise of unearned riches so I ignored the warning and I was even all set to move my little gray-haired mother into some pretty snappy startups (I had all the hot tips). She was so old fashioned that she decided to buy certificates of deposit, a piece of a Hollywood movie and a trailer park in Santa Barbara. The CD's barely broke 4% and the trailer park moved up smartly but the movie (an embarrassing teen flick) has returned about 250%. And she hasn't even seen the movie! "Is an average net pretax of 140% good?" she asks with a straight face.
The Revised Edition summarizes our fall from grace but also shines light on many new areas of the business from which the next great thing will hopefully emerge.
In Silicon Valley we continue to demonstrate brilliance, toughness and an unquenchable optimism and this means we will learn from the past and keep on creating the future. You would do well to heed the Bubble books and when in doubt, listen to your mother.

My background is applications programming under Unix, with no Windows NT experience. I took a training class and read this book. I also used Microsoft's Readiness Review book and "MCSE Test Yourself Practice Exams". I could have used more information on various aspects of networking, Netware, and RAS, but I did pass my exam on the first try.

I used this book to pass exam 70-073. I feel it had all the data needed to pass. I also used the exam notes from Sybex. This book I wouldn't try an exam without. I just bought this combo for the server exam also. The exam notes is the key to this set. It realy helped me...

I recommend this book I used it along with the Exam Cram book the two complete each other. You might be able to pass with this book alone but why waste the 100 dollars if you don't. The goal of any test should be to pass on the first try. This book and the exam cram ISBN # 1-57610-193-2 will help you meet that goal. I recommend this book and give it the 5 star seal of approval. I passed this test on the first try with an 833 and I am a MCP. As with most of these study guides it helps to use more than one.

I was saddened by this review. As author of Footprint's Bolivia Handbook, and someone who lived in La Paz for a while, I have a deep affection for the country and its people. The accusation that I "speak in a very bad way" about the country is deeply offensive and shows that the reader hasn't bothered to read the text thoroughly before sharing their views. This guidebook is by no means perfect - no guidebook every can be - but at least it strives to be honest. Sometimes, unfortunately, certain people take exception to this policy.

A top drawer travel guide should not only give you relyable facts and information on the country you are going to, but paint pictures, tell stories and capture your imagination while stimulating your desire to go and explore.

The Bolivia handbook does all of these and more. Murphy's section on Culture is the best anthopological treatment in travel handbooks on the market today. He has a few week areas, but they are minor. His section "Responsible Tourism" (Eco-Tourism) could stand more in depth treatment of the state of ecology.

And, a personal area of irritation, especial for a "Yank", is Murphy (who is English) elected to use only the metric system, forgetting that most Americans have yet to grasp metric conversion. Thus, Lake Titicaca covers 8,300 sq. km., rises 5m each season and have temptures that get down to -25C. Hum. Recommended.

I really enjoyed this travel book: Even though my family-in-law is Bolivian, this book still offered new information (to them and me) and really helped me get around. Lots of practical info on banks and restaurants for the seasoned traveller. The best part is all the historical and cultural information which is an interesting read in itself. Very up-to-date with funny descriptions of some of the more adventurous activities in Bolivia. Highly recommended.

This book is nice to have around but its not a must for DMs. The adventure's seem meaningless and it's probably not worth getting if you have a good imagination.

Dungeons of Despair is an anthology of seven scenarios written for low-level PCs and previously published in Dungeon magazine. Three of the scenarios have a strong Celtic/British Isles flavor to them and this may be a plus if they are to be used for the same group of PCs but will require some revision if the campaign culture is markedly different. Be warned that at least one of the scenarios relies heavily on Celtic lore to make the plot work.

The quality of the stories is uneven, but none of the chapters could be described as less than average. "The Moor-Tomb Map", a classic low-level treasure hunt adventure, is probably the best of the lot, but Willie Walsh's "Cauldron of Plenty" and "Caermor" by Nigel D. Findley have much to recommend. The remaining stories could use stronger development, one is really no more than a random encounter in the woods, but two of them manage to deal with unusual monsters in interesting ways and there is an excellent description of the personality and powers of the boggle.

The scenarios are all fairly short and, with the exception of "Moor-Tomb", can probably be completed in a single gaming session. Anyone that DMs for players with low-level PCs will likely find the product useful, assuming that is, that they don't have the originals lying around somewhere in a stack of old Dungeon magazines.

This book is interesting and Small has a number of good ideas on the topic. She has a good writing style which, though at times becomes a little too unprofessional for a scholar, is nevertheless easily readable and understandable. I have no quarrel with her message, granted I don't know enough about the topic to form a logical rebuttal. She puts forth her arguments clearly, and that I have no problems with.

But the grammatical and spelling mistakes that ABOUND through her book are inexcusable and the reason I give it three stars.

Her mistakes are those you'd expect to see in a paper by a high school student. She uses "it's" rather than "its" (page 120), uses an apostrophe for pluralization (page 130), forgets commas (pages 155 and 156), forgets an apostrophe (page 201) and has subject-verb disagreements in number (pages 2 and 156).

Aside from that, she commits spelling atrocities that would have been caught with any spell-check or careful reading: "matruing" (page 60), "menarchy" (page 65), "mht" (presumably for "might," page 124), "twenth-three" (page 141), "squeeking" (page 155) and "renown" (instead of "renowned", page 192).

As a student at her University (Cornell), it was mortifying to read it, knowing that not only did she not bother to do a simple spell-check, but that Cornell didn't either when they published it. Frankly, I expect more from an Ivy League university and the faculty whom it has chosen to employ. Even more ironic is that Cornell prides itself (and was nationally recognized last fall) for its emphasis on writing. I shudder to think how many red marks would be on a Meredith Small paper were she to turn one into a freshman writing seminar.

This is an interesting look at mating habits among non-human primates. Most of the theories and bald statements Small makes sound rather unfounded and I would like the opportunity to talk with her about them since she may mean something entirely different than my interpretation of what she's saying. In any event, she doesn't arrive at a theory that makes any sense (to me) until about page 178 which is pretty much at the end of the book. I enjoyed reading the book nonetheless.

Frances Perkins was a very interesting lady, one of the first female Cabinet members and an innovator of social legislation in America. This book unfornutely doesn't go too far in depth into her character, serving as neither history nor biography. Martin instead focuses on nonimportant anecdotes, which make for a few good moments, but hardly a good book overall.

George Martin has written a deeply intelligent, very well researched, scholarly biography of Perkins. Using Perkins' Papers at Columbia University he offers eloquent antedote as well as well constructed historical context for Perkins' contributions & life. Superbly written, wonderfully scholarly, well worth the read.

From the title, you would believe this is a book about getting a literary agent. In truth, there are just a few paragraphs about getting an agent. The rest of the book is about what agents do. A complete waste -- unless your ambition is to actually become a literary agent.

IF you choose to read this book, take it out of the library. The advice Ms. Perkins offers is the typical, trite fare you'll find in every other book about getting an agent--it's all about first impressions...blah, blah, blah...write a concise, businesslike cover letter...blah, blah, blah...grab their attention with your query...target your queries...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. In essence, if you have half a brain and have spent any time trying to get published, you will know everything she discusses in this book. What she doesn't talk about--like every other agent who writes one of these books--is this: given how difficult it is to get an agent, how one really can break in. Neither she nor any of the agent/authors out there address the Catch-22 issue of you can't get an agent without being published, and you can't get published without an agent. Save your money for mailing out your manuscript; she won't teach you anything worthwhile.

Ms. Perkin's book takes the reader through the stages, pitfalls and triumphs of finding and working with a literary agent. With illustrations drawn from experience on both sides of the publishing business, she uses humor and an understanding of the people to whom she writes. This is a book I will turn to often as a resource and guidebook.

The comments of the last reviewer really says it all. I bought this book expecting to get some good tips on locking down my NT environment. Instead the book is mostly theory. Not a complete waste, but not as useful as I hoped.

This is a really big book (almost 900 pages) so I assumed that it would include a good overall discussion of security (which it does) as well as an in depth series of recommendations on how to configure various parts of NT in order to secure it (which it really doesn't). If this book was titled Network Security, I think it would be worth 5 stars since it does a great job discussing that topic. Unfortunately, the authors chose to call it NT 4 Network Security which would lead the average reader to assume that there are going to be specific security tips for NT in it. The lack of specific instructions is disappointing. For example - the authors spend just two pages discussing the NT audit facility. I was really looking for in depth analysis and discussion on how to configure it based on your security needs. Other areas that are lacking are some of the registry settings one could make to close certain well known holes in NT 4. Bottom line - for a 900 page second edition there should be more specifics for NT if you are going to call it NT 4 Network Security.

I have several Windows NT security related books on my bookshelf. I find most of these lacking in one respect or another; that is why I have several of them. A friend introduced me to NT 4 Network Security. I borrowed her copy to read over the weekend and was so impressed I ordered my own copy before the weekend was out. The book is not only thorough and detailed, but it is fun to read. The authors explained a lot of network security terms that other books did not. They set aside important points in text boxes called "Reality check" and "Policies". They shared a tremendous amount of experience from not only the network administrator's perspective, but also the hacker's perspective. The real-world experiences alone made the book worth twice its price. After my first weekend reading this book, I came away with a 'hitlist' of over 20 items to check and secure on my own network. Even if you have previously read another networking or Windows NT security book, this book will been enlightening and entertaining. I'm glad these guys are on our side.

In his introduction, the author attempts vainly to put Merrill in the same category as Morgan and other great financiers. The problem is that he was not a financier, just a guy riding the trend of retailing in the 1920s. But his gratitude for his own personal pension fund appreciating in the 1990s and attributing it to people like Merrill is extremely embarrassing. This suggests that the author is trying to ingratiate himself to Merrill's company. A little balatant. More to the point, Mr. Perkins did not seem to understand his topic very well. He constantly refers to the backroom at Merrill as "backstage." The backroom and its problems was a big topic on Wall St from the 1950s through the 70s although Perkins seems unaware of the whole problem and constantly refers to it as backstage. Did anyone ever research a topic so poorly? Whether Merrill deserves a full fledged biography still remains unclear after reading this amateurish attempt.

I learned a lot about Wall Street history from this book. The relatively overnight successes of technology driven Wall Streeters should not obscure the more remarkable achievements of Charlie Merrill. The author skillfully describes the times in which Merrill operated and gave me a balanced view of Merrill's strengths and weaknesses. The story moves swiftly along and I gained a real appreciation of the future Merrill saw, the opportunities he capitalized on, and those he inspired along the way.

Charles Merrill is an authentic American genius and today's capital markets bear his distinctive stamp in many ways, as Edwin J. Perkins' book proves in fascinating detail. While the book works as a business history and as a professional portrait, it is less successful as a biography because Perkins deliberately chose to focus on Merrill's professional life. By keeping Merrill's personal life very much in the background, Perkins declines to bring Merrill's personality to life. We learn about his career, but we do not seem to get to know the man himself. Happily, Merrill's achievements and business innovations are well worth examining. His commitment to service, integrity and the good of the common customer - even when that angered the elite customer - made him richer than most of the aristocrats who fought against him. We [...] recommend this worthy portrayal of a riveting role model to entrepreneurs, finance professionals and any business history buff.