If you truly are a complete idiot, then this is the book for you. Half the book is dedicated to things that you should already know if you have decided to start your own business: "What kind of business do I want?" Wouldn't you already have that in mind before buying the book? There is little or no information regarding important matters like scouting locations, government regulations, advertising strategies, etc.

If you don't know whether or not you want to start your own business, then this book might help, but if you need a guide on how to get started, look elsewhere.

I've had the seed of an idea for years on starting my own business, but I didn't have the first clue about where to begin. This "Idiot's" guide was very helpful, though ignorance to a topic does not necessarily brand you an idiot. It guided me through the right questions, the possible pitfalls, the little in's and out's of what it takes to start out on my own. Whether or not I choose to take the plunge is still undecided, but at least I have a broad idea thanks to this book. Of course seasoned entrepeneurs will find the contents boring and irrelevant, (then again, they're not the ones who should be reading it!) but to someone who has never explored the area, this guide is a good starting point of reference.

Overall this book is quite helpful. Not every chapter will be applicable to every person or every type of business. Most of the information is general, and you will need more information from other sources to really get started (like other references, an attorney, an accountant, etc.) But if don't know anything about corporations, taxes, payroll, business plans, or marketing, this is a good place to start.

Unfortunately, this Yale edition leaves out about half of what Newman himself published in 1873 as the definitive edition of THE IDEA OF A UNIVERSITY. Published here are only the nine "Dublin Discourses" from Part I on "University Teaching" and but four of the ten chapters of Part II, "University Subjects Discussed in Occasional Lectures and Essays." For the hundred-page displacement of Newman's essays, the editor substitutes five interpretive essays supposedly inquiring into the relevance of Newman's book for today's higher education debates. These interpretive essays have major inconsistencies and repetitions among themselves and are of mixed quality, with inaccuracies and serious misunderstandings of some of Newman's central ideas. As accurate forays of the Newmanian mind into the twentieth- and twenty-first century university, only the engaging and intellectually challenging essays by George Marsden and George Landow succeed. (COMPLETE paperback editions of Newman's IDEA are available from Loyola University Press, 1987, and University of Notre Dame Press, 1982).

A wonderful work, too bad that this edition by Regnery is chock full of glaring typographical errors. Detracts from Newman's otherwise brilliant prose.

Newman's work is not only an eloquent, erudite, and careful defense of the virtue of knowledge and the value of a liberal education; it is also a brilliantly reasoned and felt argument for the prevention of hubris on the part of any particular branch of knowledge.

Newman's sound warnings against the overreaching of scientific fields and the triumph of smug materialism and positivism are still urgent, of course. Newman is also careful to point out that the liberal arts and even theology may attempt to establish a single, inadequate framework for the discovery of truth.

Newman's complex epistemology does not fall prey to the heresy that truth is not one, but reminds us that in our present state, truth present various aspects and that the tyranny of any particular branch of knowledge is the victory of ignorance.

I purchased this book after enjoying an exhibit of Hudson River School paintings. While the premise of the book is an interesting one, I couldn't get past the conservative politics! It was Newt Gingrich's quote & the mention of Lynne Cheney as a harbinger of moral change that pushed me over the edge. I was hoping to gain a further appreciation of the genre, but found myself too iritated by the modern day political commentary to keep reading. If you have BOTH an appreciation of the school & a conservative political outlook--this is probably the book for you. However, if you find conservative definitions of morality and cultural standards off-putting, don't bother with this one!

"Knights of the Brush" is a fascinating book on the Hudson River School landscape painters, but it is not (repeat not) by the novelist James Fenimore Cooper! The author, a distinguished art historian, is James F. Cooper and unlike the novelist is very much alive! That said, I find the book a little strange. Mr. Cooper analyses and discusses a wide range of Hudson River landscape paintings by painters such as Thomas Cole, Frederick Church, and Jasper Cropsey -- stressing their moral and religious intent and content in a way that should increase appreciation of their merit. The book is filled with attractive color reproductions of their works. But this is coupled with a sometimes repetitious jeremiad against current "post-modern" culture and ethics and apparently everything else to do with contemporary American culture. Somehow the art history and appreciation and the political pamphlet do not live happily with each other. Readers and art lovers can enjoy and appreciate "Knights of the Brush," and the author's passion for art, without necessarily accepting all his passion for turning back the cultural clock.

Anyone alarmed by the loss of cultural standards in America today will find this book fascinating. Mr. Cooper clearly demonstrates the relationship between culture and art. We are reminded of a time in our nations youth when the arts served to lift up and inspire, when truth, virtue and beauty were not doubted but sought after because they represented the very best of what we could be. Today much of our art points in the opposite direction, not celebrating what we aspire to be but pointing out the worst of what we are. As an artist in todays culture I can attest to the accuracy of Mr.Coopers observations concerning the role modern art has played in our cultural decline.I can also confirm the great hunger for art that lifts the spirit and inspires our hopes and dreams. I highly recommend this book for its insight into the importance of our creative endeavors and how we direct them. I hope it serves as an inspiration to all artists seeking to better the world through their gifts.

I liked this book! After reading other anthropological works that mainly concentrate on the male aspect of tribal living, this book shows the other side of the coin.

This lengthy narrative, rich in detail and allegory, will benefit anyone with an interest in cross cultural thought. If we can trust Biocca's telling of Helena Valero's "displaced" life among the Yanomami, then we have with "Yanoama" something truly unparalleled. But it's virtues may pass unnoticed among the "professionally trained" in cross-cultural studies. Many anthropological texts, these days, navel-gaze through interpersonal thickets of this or that "other" modernity, extending a Western "cosmopolitanism" upon peoples who often do not share our sensibilities. Biocca's book by contrast offers a refreshingly descriptive account of the intercultural life of a young girl, age 11, who was captured by Yanomami indians, only to live with them and learn their customs, differences, and political tensions before returning to "the West" some twenty years later. Although her story is by now quite old (she was kidnapped in the 1930's), and the Yanomami now live an entirely different way of life, the reader will find Valero's "ethnographic" upbringing an essential supplement to any anthropological or philosophical understanding of Yanomami life. If you doubt the descriptive quality of this book, look no further than N. Chagnon's contemporaneous (1968) but still-celebrated "Yanomamo" to see a real straw-man depiction of these particular Brazilan and Venezualan peoples.

Yanoama tells the story of a young girls coming of age in a world apart from civilization as we know it. Helena Valero was taken from her parents by the native Yanoama Indians of Venezuela while a preteen girl. She struggled to learn their language and strongly gave her own opinions to those who whished to keep her as their property. Helena lived on her own in the tropical rainforest, was bitten and chased by large snakes, survived poisoned arrows, beatings, and starvation. Her will to survive above all else kept her alive. The Yanoama are what we would call primitive peoples who practice indocanibalism, take more than one wife, wear no clothes and practice rituals that seem unreal to people of the "civilized world". This is the true story of Helenas capture and eventual escape. Life in the rainforest was not east for Helena along the Rio Negro, but as she grew older and had children her resolve strengthened to survive and escape with those whom she loved into a better life where the Yanoaman tribes would not constantly be threatening to kill them. While this is an excellent source for anthropology it is more important as the documentation of the human will to survive.

There is certainly a need for secondary literature to describe a complex standard such as the CMMI. This book does a reasonable job to accomplish this. As it has been stated there are certainly weaknesses. For example the ratio between actual content and number of pages is in some areas pretty bad. One citation an the start of a chapter is nice, two is an over load. In order to gain a fair understanding of the CMMI standard is not sufficient and neither is this book. However, "CMMI Distilled" gets you a step closer.

. . .

Why?

Rehash of process improvement. That belongs in a PI book. Folks reading about CMMI know PI and should know CMM -- they need to know how to move to CMMI.

Work of the CMMI Project. Who needs the history of CMMI? These folks may want to rehash the past but we need how to do cmmi for the future.

Authors guidance. Are these the top experts you should listen to? You can get better info from SPC or by reading the various SEI web documents. Everyone know how to choose a model. The only model rational folks will use is the continuous in spite of the SEI preference for staged. Tailoring the cmmi might be useful *IF* any of teh assessors would allow it. Too many CMM assessors demanded you do the whole nine yards or you wouldn't pass. Will the cmmi assessors be more realistic?

Thoughts on the future. Totally irrelevant. This may stroke the authors egos but we do not need this

This book should have concentrated on how to do a continuous cmmi level 3,4,5 from a cmm level 3 (4,5) and left out all the padding.

Download the CMMI from SEI and read the other documents there. Then wait for a good book on doing cmmi to come out.

. .

This is the best book I have found todate on CMMI. The book covers both models and goes into some history of the whole process improvement process.

If you know CMM and want to move to CMMI or if you do not know anything about CMM, this book is a great starter.

I have purchased several copies for my company and everyone that I have given a copy to loves the book.

We recently traveled through Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia and found this guidebook practically useless and certainly frustrating--definitely not worth its weight. We have used other LPs in the past and found them to be at least adequate but this one doesn't even rate that well. It lacked many important details--such as the time/distances between many points, availability of various transportation options and routes, decent maps--the list goes on and on. Even though prices change often and currencies fluctuate, even a vague idea of prices (is it $10 or $100??) would have been quite useful to help us plan better. Although we ran into many people all 'armed' with the LP, they all had the same complaints.

This book is an adequate guide but it needs improvement in several areas. I used this book during Janurary and February of 2000 when I traveled through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Last year I used the Lonley Planet-India and found it was much better than Southeast Asia. Here are the weaknesses. 1. The numbers of the locations on the maps should be used in the text describing the location. This would grealy improve you ability to plan your day or route. 2. Maps should be improved. I would be willing to spend a few dollars more for better maps. 3. Hotel, restaurant, etc. names are not printed in bold type. This makes it more difficult to use. 4. It would be very helpful to grade the sites with a priority to reduce the time one spends reading fine print and get on with seeing the country. When I return to this part of the world next winter I will try to find additional books to correct these weaknesses.

I travelled through Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong using this book. I initially bought this book with weight in mind. I did not want to carry three more LPs along with the other country books (LP Taiwan, Japan). Although much of the information needed to survive was written in the book, it certainly did lack the detailed maps and background information needed to have a care-free journey. SOmetime it certainly was a struggle , especially in Thailand. The Thailand Section prices were extremely outdated. Even in the height on the "asian economic flu", I had to triple the prices listed. The Hong Kong section was adequate, but HK is an efficient and easily travelled city. Of the three, I found the Philippine section the best, but some of the hotel quality ratings are out dated. Please do not stay at the Hotel Mercedes in Cebu!

I did not relish in Zubro's gay mystery, nor did I of any of his novels. I wanted to share this novel with my eldest son who is gay; I thought it would be helpful and comforting for him to see that gays or any groups in which society deems and stereotypes "different". He was quite upset with the entire book, claiming "Gays don't act like that!" I had no idea how affended he was until he burned the book in the fireplace. I, myself, felt that the book was quite choppy too often. I can comprehend the extra information was pertinent to the story at times, but he completely "over did it" with the whole "gay plot". I am also offended by the book and I'm not gay! I am sorry for wasting my money on buying that senseless book.

This was the first "gay" mystery I've read, and I now want to eventually obtain and read all of Zubro's mysteries. The pace is fast and smooth for the most part in this book, but at times becomes choppy. Nonetheless, Zubro's intimate knowledge of police procedure and activity is plain, as well as his knowledge of the streets of Chicago. Zubro also weaves well into the story Paul Turner's (he's the protagonist) personal life in a meaningful way that in this book is actually part of the main plot. The characters become three dimentional, taking on lives of their own. The only criticism I have for Zubro is he spends too much time telling things to the reader, rather than letting the plot reveal what is going on. Such as little asides to explain why a character did something. These asides slow down the pace and can be condescending to readers already familiar with how police work. The best aspect of this book is how Zubro portray's a gay character as a human being rather than an icon. It is my hope that Mr. Zubro will provide us with many such mysteries in the future, and I look forward to reading those he has already published.

This is a step up from your average gay murder mystery. Most of the characters are regular guys who just happen to be gay -- no hairdressers or drag queens here. Parts are funny, and nothing sticks out as being particularly bad. Perfect beach reading material.

After using this book for a class, we all agreed that this book was not the best for those of us who are just learning the concepts in analyzing variance. The author tends to assume the basics are "hard-coded" into the students head. Fair enough. His next step, however, is not to discuss the theory/concept. Rather, it is to give an example of what he is talking about, hoping you will grasp the concept. It would very helpful to have the concepts explained and then the examples given. In addition, the notation (subscripts) are not always explained, nor are the formulas obvious/straightforward. Finally, the book has editing problems.

A better editor and supplementary manuals (step-by-step explanation of concepts and formulas, SPSS instruction, etc.) would be a big help.

My recommendation would be to find another book from which you will learn statistics.

This book is very valuable for those actively engaged in the conduct of experiments, either operational or developmental in nature. It does require someone with a background in statistical methods using analysis of variance. The user needs to have a good understanding of statistical inference. There are many good working models of various analytic procedures provided.

This book is written for people who already know the theory of statistics and want to do statistic consulting.

The author begins with the basics of design of experiments: experiment, design and analysis. Then a brief (lovely) review of statistical inference follows; including: Estimation, test of hypothesis, power function and some easy applications.

In the following chapters almost all statistical methods are presented; among others: single factor experiments, randomized block and latin square, factorial experiments, nested, experiments of two or more factors, 2^f -, 3^f factorials, split plot design, Taguchi, regression and finally miscellaneous topics including covariance analysis, response-surface experimentation and more.

After each chapter there are problems and answers to odd-numbered problems can be found at the end of the book. Included is a practical summery with all methods presented in one table. Additionally you find a glossary of terms used in statisics, statistical tables and an index.

The examples in the book are analysed using SAS. Knowing that S-Plus is much easier to handle (and knowing that SAS is frequently used in the industry), this is very useful.

The mathematics used is easy, but - as mentioned in the preface - the fundamental concepts of statistical inference must be known.

I will begin with the good things. This book contains a LOT of information. The tables are very extensive, and the subject matter is very broad. The derivations are generally easy to follow and I found the text itself even enjoyable to read at times. These things upped my opinion of the book from one star to two. However, the example problems are generally not sufficient to help with the far more complex problems in the back of the chapters. As a further frustration, only about a sixth of the problems include the solutions. The end result is that for a homework one is left leafing through the book in a futile search for more extensive guidance on the very extensive problems, all the while not knowing if you didn't mess up the problem already in the first calculation you made. For example, I have this textbook for my second course in fluid dynamics. For my first homework, I had a three day weekend to complete 3 problems. 30+ work hours later (and one shot weekend) I have no idea if I'm right on the first one and I'm still stuck on the last one. I dislike having to go to reciation, so it's not unusual for me to spend lots of time on problems and reading the book in order to figure out the homeworks on my own. But this book is quite frankly kicking my arse. Considering that this is my second fluids course (I'm an aerospace eng student) you would think I would be better at fluids. However, my first fluids textbook was also a Cengel book, and that book was next to useless as well. My overall conclusion: A great book for reading and catching derivations with lots of good tables and a wide array of topics. But it's a huge frustration waiting to happen if you plan on working the problems/preparing for an exam.

I am currently taking an introductory course in thermodynamics. I find this book to be a very interesting read. The book uses both SI units and Imperial units, which at times seem very confusing. There is a lot of information on this book, thus this book is a good starting point to learn about thermodynamics.

I thought this was a very well written, organized book. The concepts were explained very clearly. It was great to finally find an understandable book on this subject; other thermo/fluids books that I have read haven't been as informative and comprehendable.

One of the drawbacks, however, was the fact that the examples presented within the book were very simple and didn't cover the concepts in as much depth as I had hoped. Many complex topics that were in the questions at the end of the chapter hadn't been covered well enough in the preceding text to allow them to be both solved AND understood. Furthermore, there were some thermo/fluid topics that weren't covered in the book at all that I thought should have been (compressible flow, for example). As a result, when I took the course in college, my professor had to print out pages from other thermo books to compensate for this.

Despite this, however, there were many pictures that accompanied the examples and again, as stated above, it was easy to understand. I was very impressed with that, given the abstractness of the subject, and the difficulty that other authors have had explaining it effectively.

The bottom line: It was a great book to learn about the fundamentals. I suppose, according to the title, it has served its purpose. However, if you want to go into depth with this subject, go elsewhere.

With a book title like Marketing Minds - you would think you would get some keen insight - but that is not what you get from Marcia Layton Turner's brief, unsubstantial book. Surprisingly she does not seek out these marketing minds to speak to them and only offers us a short bio and some quotes from third sources. It really reads like a high school book report and offers zero insight. There is one passage which stands out. She writes, "Remember the Tylenol tampering scare? In contrast to executives in that situation, Nike made all the right moves (with sweat shop negative PR)" - are you kidding me - that is completely backwards. Unbelievable - a published book with this kind of a factual error! Don't waste your time.

First of all, I am really appreciated the good job the author has done. This book is very suitable for marketing student like me. It gives me many insights and I have learnt so much from the book. Let discuss them in detail.

1.Well-organized structure
The book is divided into 2 parts: Doers and Thinkers. In the Doers part, the author tells me the action the Doers have done in order to success. In the Thinkers part, the author explained clearly the concepts of each Thinker. Besides, with the heading in each chapter, it is really easy for me to catch the main point.

2.Famous example
The people and the companies involved in the 11 cases are very famous, for example, Nike, Coca-Cola etc. These topics really draw my attention and arise my interest. Moreover, as I am quite familiar with the parties involved, it is much easier for me to understand each case.

3.Future trend of the marketing
The book informs me with the latest theories of Marketing such as CRM, High-Tech Marketing. I think it is very useful for me (marketing student) to understand the future trend of marketing.

However, there is a major drawback of the book, the author didn¡¦t link up each chapter, it would be much better for us to remember if there is connection between each case. For example, the author should tell us the common points of Guru Doers.
Thus, a summary should be provided.

Marcia Layton Turner presents a compelling compilation of ideas from well-known marketing gurus. Some have been the heads or marketing directors of major companies; others are primarily known as consultants, speakers or academics. Even Madonna, successful marketer of herself as a product, is included in the mix, along with Martha Stewart. After a brief introduction of those profiled, Turner focuses on how they succeeded. She offers their main ideas for marketing effectiveness, followed by a summary listing the main marketing principles derived from each profile. The book is clearly organized, so that even those who are already familiar with the individuals profiled will find helpful, interesting highlights. Those who are not familiar with these luminaries will enjoy this excellent introduction. We ... recommend this book not only to executives, managers and company owners, but also to worshippers of Madonna and Martha.