The cover photo of the atomic bomb (out of focus)spitting the earth is very amateurish. The End title shows a presumed prophecy of the earth coming to an end. So well and good for a doom's day cult, but the contents of the very well documented book does not reflect the cover. Did someone forget to put a large question mark after the title? The entire book certainly poses this question. If the title is meant to catch the eye of the "doom and gloom sayers" then it accomplished the task. But the wise adgage; "you can't tell a book from the cover" is never so indicative of this book. There are scores of The End titles on the Web. This makes this one just another drop in the bucket. However, the back cover tells the entire story. Almost. Eighteen months? From what date? History has always nearly proven date-setters to be wrong! But the well written book has copius documentation to prove the facts that answer all the questions posed within. The book should scare the hell out of those in the Middle East and Washington, D.C. If the Catholic church and the Pope get hold of this book, it certainly will "be banned in Boston!" It gives much food and vitamins for thought! It is truly today's documented history in the making, or the un-making. There is plenty of Scriptural references to keep the GOD worshiping people scratching their heads.

The cover astounded my senses.And it is remarkable how the nuclear bomb cover did not only catch my attention, but it really blew my mind(no pun intended)! What blew my senses was the bible references that the author Yisrayl Hawkins wrote in his 'doomsday' book. They justified the agenda of the book which the author is showing throughout this book: "The Pope and the Catholic Church plans to bring upon mankind 'The Mark of the Beastly System and will cause the mighty and holy people not to buy or sell if they do not accept the desires of the Pope and the Catholic Church (the fourth beast in the book of Daniel) and will cause complete destruction of the whole world. Yisrayl Hawkins also says that traditions of men and religions hinder or rather cause an enmity between mankind and Yahweh(whom he says is not a God, hard to believe at first, but I guess I'm convinced). The point of my review is I LOVE THE BOOK! And, I highly recommend this 'doomsday' book of biblical proportions.

If you love baseball and appreciate the richness of its history and, just as importantly, its characters, this book is a treat. Filled with black & white photos, this book recounts the exploits of the Israelite House of David baseball team, a group of bearded barnstormers originally from a devout religious sect in Michigan. Interestingly enough, the House of David played against many of the great Negro League teams such as the Kansas City Monarchs and Pittsburg Crawfords long before Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby broke baseball's color barrier. The House of David even had a couple of female pitchers on their team -- most notably the famed Olympian and championship golfer, Babe Didrickson. Love baseball? Treat yourself to one of the more fascinating stories you'll find woven in the rich fabric of the game.

This is a great book that explains the history, and removes the myths of the House of David Baseball Team. It is loaded with photos, many which have never been seen by the public. It also gives a listing of all of the players that have played with the team. The chapters are set up by time periods, and in the middle of the book the authors have put together an extensive chapter of biographies of some of the more well known, and some not so well known, players. It's an easy to read book, with a easy to follow story.

Jane Hawkins' book is an easy read. It is packed with a lot of science-fiction ideas and concepts. I reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in science-fiction.

This book presents the plot behind the PC games Quantum Gate and Vortex. I had played both games and enjoyed them very much. The story starts with new soldiers being prepared for battle in a planet so deadly that they have to use VR helmets during battle. They shoot at what they think are nasty alien bugs but one of them finally discovers what are they REALLY shooting at. Then he has to make some very tough choices and battle the people who want to keep all secrets buried.

Picking up some years after The Prisoner of Zenda leaves off, this one brings our hero back to Ruritania to set to rights a blunder which has arisen from the damage he inadvertently did the last time he sojourned in that mythical Balkan state. Then the dashing Englishman, and royal look-alike, Rudolf Rassyndyll, played the king to save a life and a kingdom.

But, in so doing, he also won the love of the king's future wife. Now a Queen, the lovely Flavia cannot forego one final good-bye to her beloved Rudolf but this, through the machinations of the nefarious Rupert of Hentzau, promises to be her downfall. To rescue the name and honor of the woman he loves, Rudolf Rassyndyll sneaks back to Ruritania with the help of the comrades of his earlier adventure.

But this tale, though full of intrigue and marvelously paced, suffers from the fact that the narrator this time (unlike what was seen in The Prisoner of Zenda) is not privy to all of the action and so must recount and reconstruct as he goes along. So there is an odd distance from the fun this time out and the dashing hero, Rudolf, is seen only from afar. He is, in fact, something of a shadow player here and only slightly more real to us than the almost ghostly villain, Rupert of Hentzau, after whom this book is named. This Rupert, himself, was the henchman of Black Michael, who drove the plot in "Zenda." Rupert fled at the end of that tale with Rudolf Rassyndyll and his colleague, Fritz Tarlenheim, in hot pursuit. Now the dashing and scheming Rupert returns to re-claim his property in Ruritania, which he means to do at the expense of the Queen who loves Rassyndyll. And so the plot is set in motion.

But Rassyndyll never comes fully to life this time around and the tale ends on a sad and tragic note. Rudolf is the noble hero par excellence, and no less noble are his many companions in the adventure. All are fine folk, torn by their sensitivities and loyalties. As a result there is something rather unreal about it all which detracts from the sense of satisfaction of the telling. But then it is a fairy tale of sorts, isn't it, one that is certainly well-paced and fun to read. Still, I wish Anthony Hope had fleshed his players out a bit more, especially the villains, as Rupert of Hentzau seems almost a non-entity this time out (he was so much more interesting in "Zenda") and Rudolf a mere shadow of what he was before. Tarlenheim, the narrator this go-round, seems rather more of a bumbler than a doer and Sapt far less capable than before. Flavia, herself, is certainly more foolish. In sum, while this was a fun read, I think they'd all have been better off if Hope had stopped after Rudolf rescued the king from Zenda.

Anthony Hope continues his gripping saga of the Prisoner of Zenda in this adventureous sequel. Rupert of Hentzau is well written and keeps the reader in constant suspense. Hope follows his traditional writing style of unexpected twists in the end. The book builds the reader up full of emotion and then concludes by purging the reader of all emotions. Rupert of Hentzau is full of deuls, escapes, conspiracies, and love. At the start one might be inclined to pause and stop reading, but as the book continues this is no longer an option. This is truly a worthy sequel and only makes you respect Rudolf Rassendel more for his quick wit, ability to overcome obstacles and continous love for Queen Flavia. Our hero ends the book the same manner that he finished Prisoner of Zenda, as a gentleman worthy to be a king.

One of the skimpiest of the books dedicated to SQL Server sprocs, it's also among the most lightweight in terms of its content, unfortunately. There are numerous minor digressions in coverage -- like using SQL's mail sending functionality -- that really belong in a more general purpose SQL book than this one. It also doesn't delve into a whole lot of detail on any one aspect of its coverage.

That said, it does covers all the basics you need to get up-to-speed on stored procedures. It's also well written and easy to read, without too much technospeak (which is not always true of other similar titles). But like most Wrox books, its index is thin and barely usable. (When, oh when, will Wrox learn how to index a book?)

This is definitely not my favorite SQL Server sproc book, but for someone new to the subject, it still deserves the four stars I gave it.

This is an excellent book! It points you in the right direction and lets you go for it. I found the advice given in book invaluable. It was to the point - clear and consise. Often the larger 1000 page books tend to waffle but at 260 pages this is an easy read. It provides a great foundation to build a solid SQL Server application using Stored Procedures. I recommend it to anyone who is wanting to get an birdseye view of SQL Server Stored Procedures, and at the same time, learn about the intracacies of the feature rich application.

I liked the book and found it very accurate, based on my own life, and easy to read. If you are looking for a very good story full of truths about step-families and how one such family worked through the bumps, this is for you. It, however is not a "how to" book so if you are looking for worksheets or questions and answers to guide your own dilemmas, this doesn't provide that.

This book is short and sweet and offers some great advice that you don't have to wade through chapters and chapters to find. I recommend this book for EVERYONE who is in a step-family situation.

I bought my Palm IIIx last summer and recently received this book from a girlfriend as a Christmas gift. This book changed my life (even if I still has not read all of 600 pages). I thought Palm Pilot is just an personal organizer containing Address Book, To Do, Date Book and Memo, but Palm Pilot: Ultimate Guide showed me all possibilities of my Palm. With this book my Palm IIIx worth at least twice. I read about many great capabilities of Palm devices I never dreamed about. I checked the CD provided with the book and found many useful programs among 3100 contained on it. Now I use my Palm with spreadsheet utility, music database organizer, remote controller, scientific programmable calculator, e-book, beloved images collection... It also told me how useful Palm modem is so I bought it, too, and now I can surf the web, read news and do e-mail wherever I go. Buy this book and you won't be sorry any cent you spent on your Palm.

A must buy for any serious user who wants to do more than store phone numbers and keep track of appointments! The native software that comes with the palm organizers is only the beginning. David Pogue explains in practical and enjoyable terms ways to enhance the capabilities of every aspect of your organizer. The CD ROM that accompanies the book is an invaluble source of add on software(freeware, shareware and 3rd party). The book is an excellent resource for troubleshooting and expanding the hardware capabilities as well. I purchased the 1st edition and jumped at the opportunity to get the 2nd edition as the updated information was current and allowed me to take full advantage of new opportunities with my Palm III(with 8Mb of memory thanks to this book). This book has opened my eyes to the full power and potential of the Palm OS. Buying this book is a no brainer!

I bought the 2nd edition the week it came out, and although I am on my second Palm (a IIIx), the first being a III, and consider myself to be a Palm guru of sorts, David's book is invaluable. For the novice, you won't find a better or more enjoyable tour through the Palm and it's features. For the accomplished user, you are sure to find many secret undocumented features that will enhance your Palm usage. The nicest prize, in addition to the book, is the new CD, which has over 3100 programs on it, just for the Palm. Yes, all the programs are available from PalmCentral, and individually from other places on the internet, but David includes a screenshot of almost all the programs, as well as a description of the program, and just by clicking an "Install" button, most of the programs are automatically placed in your Install folder. Finally, there is a link to the web site of each program developer's web site, so even months down the road, if you like a program, you can shoot directly to the internet, making sure you have the latest version of each program. This CD will be valuable for a long time, not to mention the ease and speed of browsing, which even my DSL connection cannot match.

I read this book in school and in my opinion the story may be good but the vocabulary was very difficult. You can't read without a dictionary. I had to read like five times a line because I didn't understand a word. It's a very dramatic and romantic play. I like tragedies but this play is very detailed and has a lot of scenes. I would like some day to read the same story but in actual English. If it weren't because of the literature teacher didn't help us understand I think nobody would have understood a thing. It's a very good story. I would recommend to read it but not in old English. Shakespeare's words are weird but romantic and may be too nice for his time. He is very creative and plays a lot with the characters.
It's funny how two different teenagers and from families who hated each other could have love one another. At the end they would have died if instead they had had hated each other because of the quarrel. This tragedy is weird and something different from all of the other plays, and I think that may be that's why It's still famous now a days.

I went throughout high school never reading this book. It's so well-known; everyone knows what it is about and how it ends. Movie after movie has come out depicting the events. However, I will honestly say that it is definitely worth the read. It's a beautiful story of two lovers who suffer from forbidden love. I hate sappy books. I despise them. But this one was different. I don't know if it was because it was fast paced or if it's the fact that people were always dueling, or what. However, I will say that Shakepeare is brillant. This, along with so many of his other stories are great. ROMEO AND JULIET is a brillant tale, and after reading it, I am more able to appreciate everything I have seen and heard about it. If nothing else, it's a wonderful play about honor, devotion, independence, and unification. And this edition is really helpful in understanding Shakespeare's language, for on each page, there are notations that tell what his words and phrases mean today...which is REALLY helpful.

I have seen all movie versions about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and still love the book everytime I revisit the story. Every word captivates the reader into truly feeling the passion and tragedy of these two lovers. Even a character such as Tybalt Capulet won me over as far as description goes. Shakespearian writing is very much complex and confusing but it has a touch romance and anger which adds to the emotion of the story. Read this classic tragedy!

I have a feeling that one day Ms. Hawkins will write something that I will appreciate, but unfortunately, that day has not come. And actually, I would really rate this 2 1/2 stars, because it is bettern than other books I have read by her. While "The Seduction of Sara" was much better than "The Abduction of Julia", it still felt extremely forced. Nothing flowed together very well, and while the characters themselves were fine, it felt like something was off the entire time. The end seemed to be put together very rapidly, and the entire book read awkwardly.

Sara, the heroine, is a widow. She has started behaving and dressing scandlously. Her over-protective brothers send her to Bath, where they basically intend to force her to marry, even though they love her, and it's her best interests they have at heart. Nick, the hero, is the Earl of Bridgeton, and the earlier "bad guy" from "The Abduction of Julia". Apparently he has been reformed by his stay on the Continent. He wants her as his mistress, but she needs a husband, preferably one of her own choosing before her brothers come and force her to marry. They end up compromised by her two eldest brothers, there's a shocker, and are forced to marry. Nick has an "illness" he doesn't want to tell Sara about, and one that he does not want to pass on to his children, which limits the intercourse. He drives her away, but at the very end she comes back. Phew. Like Julia Quinn, I still do think that Karen Hawkins has potential, but unlike Julia Quinn, there is nothing thus far to make reading her attempts worthwhile.

The Seduction Of Sara by talented writer Karen Hawkins is an amusing tale of a cat chasing a mouse until the mouse catches the cat (smile)... Nicholas (who has a reputation of a scandlous nature) and a beautiful young widow by the name of Sara (whose marriage was a total disaster) wants to choose her next husband against her (5) older brothers wishes-- enter the hard to resist ladies man extraordinare 'Nicholas' creating an unwanted attraction for the beautiful young widow, Sara-- An entertaining story slowly unfolds as Sara falls for Nicholas the scandalous hunk! A romance story well worth reading!

Lady Sara Carrington has since lost her exuberance and spirits when her infidel of a husband, Julius is thrown off the carriage with his pants down during a romp. She becomes fractious and rocks the paragon of the society with her scandalous costumes and untamed manners. That's when her brother Marcus and Lord Greyley, Anthony steps in by banishing her to Bath while hunting for her a suitable conjugal candidate. At the Jefferies' ball, she meets the Earl of Bridgeton, Nick Montrose and his reputation as a rake makes him a love match. Sara seeks a marriage with a handsome husband who is free of emotional attachment. However, the chemistry between them pulls them into a web of desire and an eventual marriage enforced by her brothers, but Nick is haunted by his illness and his sordid past - refusing to share his dark secrets with Sara. His reluctance gives way when Sara is pregnant with his child....

Regency romance writer Karen Hawkins saves the conventional plot of struggle between propriety and desire with luminous secondary characters and witty quips. Sara's aunt Delphi lacks the courage to declare her passion for Henri, a comte who lives under the roofs of Hibberton Hall owned by Nick. Sara is feisty and reckless but manages to tame the profligate Nick with her ways. The comedy of love and manners under Karen Hawkins shines with seductive characterization and grandiose passion. It is marred by the inconsistencies in the plot though where Nick desires a mistress yet he denies sex with Sara. It is only so much later in the book that the condom finally manifests. Shouldn't Nick be more familiar with contraceptive methods than Sara who initiated it? Dspite some minor flaws, THE SEDUCTION OF SARA still manages to captivate.

I'll try to keep this relatively short, because a lot of people have stated the points I want to make.

This book is superb, and is by far the best (perhaps the only viable) combined OpenGL and game programming book I have personally had the pleasure (displeasure on some, I'm sure) to read. I've been programming for about 3.5 years, in various languages (I'm now 16), but, until I got this book, I never really knew anything at all about 3D graphics (and therefore 3D game programming, of course).

The highlights of this book are its section on Win32 programming (though laMothe did it better), special texture effects, and, to an extent, game engine development. OGL matrices are covered in-depth, except for how to render in 2D using Ortho Mode (which is next to impossible to find info about on the 'Net).

The downsides are the 3D math section (could have used some work, not bad overall, and keep in mind that all of this material is online from multiple sources), particles (this irked me pretty badly, but at least they made it flexible to compensate for the total lack of particle theory), and the fact that they rushed on the last couple of chapters (I've read Kevin's design journal, and talked to both authors on several occasions, and I can attest to the fact that, with 3 more months, this book would have owned everyone).

You really have to get hit with this book at the right time for it to stick. If you're eager to learn OGL, or if you've tried before and gotten bogged down in boring tutorials, check this out. If you want to do cross-platform development and you already know the basics of game development and OGL, don't.

Be forewarned that the first printing of CDs has no source code, but it's available at the book's website.

[...]

....well, that's not exactly true, but this is a very good book. Anyone who wants to learn OpenGL can with little difficulty, assuming you have a good background in C++. this book starts with Win32 (only one chapter so that you only have to read what you need) and then explains 3D concepts. Then it goes into OpenGL, and explains all of the state machines and basic functions. After a while, you'll get into the hardcore stuff, like multitexturing, loading quake 2 models, and even creating your own game engine. Of course, it does have its problems (why I didn't give it a 5). If you're not very C++ crazy, you might have a little trouble with this book. After a year of C++ programming, I had a hard time deciphering his operator overloading and inheritance and so forth, but if you're really good at the language, you'll be fine. The DAudio8 coverage is very good, but the DInput coverage lacks joystick support. There is very little non-graphical info about game-programming in this book, besides DirectX and an unnecessarily difficult physics chapter. No AI or data structuring here folks. Overall, though, this is a good book to learn OpenGL with, but it won't be too helpful for OGL experts.

OpenGL Game programming is, in my opinion, the best Game programming book for beginners now availabe on the market. First of all it is the only one based on OpenGL instead of Direct X. The MS API seems to become a standard for professional game developers,but...well, leave it to pro's, if you want to grasp the basic of graphic programming and to achieve some results in a reasonable short time , OpenGL is the only choice, thanks to its intuitive architecture. Apart from it, this book is a perfect balance between theory and practice and I could find every thing I have been looking for. Kevin and Dave are the founders of the the most popular Game developper comunity on the Web. Probably they know the needs and difficulties of beginners much better than professional people. The all book is at high level, but there are two chapters that are really gems. chap 18 - working with 3d models. it explains the architecture of .md2 (Quake 2)animated file, how to load it, how to use it.

None of the 4 game programming I have read went throuh in detail a so important topic. this book dedicates more than 50 pages and it is all meat. Chap 20 - building a game engine It provides a object-oriented game engine to be used to develop simple games quickly and efficiently. Again none of the other books supply a so important tool.