I read and enjoyed this book, and agree with the comments of other reviewers who have rated it much higher. However, the book had three failings that caused me to rate it lower. 1) Is it a techno-thriller, or a fantasy? One of the characters has the ability to slow time, somewhat like a superhero in a comic book. This is inappropriate and unnecessary, and detracted from the believability of the story.

2) The author develops some interesting characters, and does it quite well, but doesn't take them far enough. Is there someone like Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's thrillers that is the main character in this book? No. Instead, there are several minor, but interesting people, but I have no idea who might be included in a sequel.

3) The novel concerns a conflict between the West and a resurrected Soviet Union. The Russians have two surprises for the West; one is a bio-warfare virus, while the other is a new weapons technology. One, it seems, is merely a feint to distract the West's attention from the real attack. But why? There's no reason why one surprise alone wouldn't be sufficient to destroy the West, so why is there unexplained redundance?

Perhaps I'm too picky. The book is well written, and contains more than it's share of surprises for the reader. I would've liked for some of the characters to be developed a bit more, and it seemed very discordant to me when supposedly normal people had comic book hero superpowers. I don't like this mixing of genres.

Even so, the author's next book may be much better, with just a little more discipline in his story telling. If he writes another, I'll probably read it.

I haven't read a lot of techno-thriller fiction, but if Tom Clancy is even half as good as this I might give it a try. Engels Extension is not only a convincing 'what if' scenario, but a pretty good story in general. This is a must read for anyone who thinks the Cold War is over and the United States can now relax its vigilance.
Bottom line is: I'll be buying Ross' next book as soon as it's available...

Tom Clancy, move over! E. G. Ross' ENGELS EXTENSION is as fast moving and exciting a techno-thriller as it is thoughtful and disturbingly prophetic in its political commentary. Hidden among the antimatter weapons, lasers and cloaking devices of the next century, a refreshing commentary on the dangers of today's politically-correct "feelgood" philosophy runs throughout the book. The danger of losing our freedom is ever-present; and it is the power of the independent mind and the unlimited abilities of man, unfettered by guilt-ridden rhetoric, that ultimately saves America from total destruction. There are lessons on many levels, and Engles Extension is an exciting and action-filled way to learn them. It's a must read---be sure to schedule some time, because you won't be able to put it down.

My wonderful brother built a beautiful fireplace mantel and surround for me. I got my inspiration from this great book. I also use it for ideas for decorating the mantel - I love to change the look often.

To say that I was pleased with this book would be the understatement of the year! When I first looked through it, I was pleased by the 150 color photographs, but thought I liked some of them and not others. However, when I read the easy-to-read text, I have to say that I actually LEARNED something important from each and every illustration, of which each is well discussed in the text. Most imortantly, the book covers all the important questions to ask yourself when trying to choose which kind of fireplace, as well as all the pertinent information about each type. It also talks about fireplace care and maintenance, and how to prevent dangerous creosote buildup in your chimney. Lastly, the book covers decorating rooms with fireplaces and various types of mantle, discussing imortant design and decorating principles throughout. In addition, this paperback book is printed on lovely paper--it was a pleasure to read in every way. One of the most "well-worth-the-money" books I have ever seen.

FIRST, THIS IS A VALUE... IT'S THE BOOK I'VE LOOKED FOR AND NEVER FOUND BEFORE BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT DECORATING INSTEAD OF BUILDING OR REMODELING. THERE'S GREAT INFORMATION HERE ON "FACE-LIFTING" OR MAKING OVER AN OLD FIREPLACE AND ON CHOOSING THE STYLE AND TRIM FOR A NEW FIREPLACE THAT YOU PLAN TO ADD. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. IN THIS BOOK, I FINALLY GOT WHAT I NEEDED ON ROOM ARRANGING AROUND A FIREPLACE... I ALSO LIKED THE DECORATING IDEAS FOR MANTLES. NOW WE WANT TO ADD A FIREPLACE TO THE MASTER BEDROOM, AND I WILL USE THIS BOOK AS A GUIDE IN DECIDING WHERE TO PUT THE FIREPLACE, HOW TO TRIM IT OUT AND HOW TO ARRANGE OUR FURNISHINGS AROUND IT.

Nash-Marshall offers a quickly read, introductory book on Joan of Arc in the same history-and-meditation format at Mary Gordon's for Penguin. Most of the meditation is in the last two chapters, some of it a bit weird. The author believes that the source of Joan's power must have been God, because if Joan had been the source of her own power she would have found a way to escape from prison in Rouen. Nash-Marshall's Joan is a "doer" and an "energetic warrior," in seeming disagreement with the Chapu marble Joan in repose on the book jacket (see p. 168). Typos ("Crepy" for the big battle at "Crecy") and curious sentences like the one in which Joan convinced soldiers to "live without the female attachments to which medieval armies were assuaged" suggest some of the difficulties with this book.

Finally,a story teller opf depth...one whose clarity and understanding are the equal of her poetry. Certainly the entertaiment value of Ms Nash Marshall's "Spiritual Biography" of Joan of Arc will have its place,and won't leave anything of the bitter after taste of one who spends his time passing his time... but the life and case of Maid Joan, as told here, brings us something lasting. The author reveasls the master hand of the historian as she tells of the times and situation of the pulcelle of Domremy. Her tale leaves us with an exquisite background to our own age... how much more easily is the utopianism of our days to be seen as the dismal failure that it is... as well as the catastrophic attempts of the collectivists, with their socialism and communism and whatever... in the light of the idea brought to us today by a 17 years old farmer girl who knew, similarly in an age of little faith, that her nation might have a sacred cause, if it would only accept it, and be able to live the human, the holy life by it.

We live without the light of a maid who believed and was sure of the fact.

Congratulations, and thank you, Ms. Nash-Marshall. Our world, we hope, will be a less vague and frightening place for your recalling the work of Joan.

Sonia, Gaia & Sophie

A relatively short biography -"Joan of Arc: A Spiritual Biography" by Siobhan Nash-Marshall is a marvelous first book for someone wanting to read about Joan of Arc. It is not as intimidating as some of the larger tomes. While reverential, it is not, as the title might suggest, unquestioning in its acceptance of a divine origin of Joan's mission. It is intelligent, entertaining and easy to read.

I am not a scholar but the book looks solidly researched and no errors jumped out at me. Ms. Nash-Marshall's theme is that Joan is a "questor". Her success was due to the extraordinarily intense focus she had on her mission to the exclusion of all else. Joan believed down to the very core of her being that her mission was from God and that her voices were of divine origin. The book is a good solid well-written account of what we know of Joan. The last chapter offers an intriguing premise I had not seen before. It first dealt with the question why it might be important to God for France to be a nation and to reinforce the divine origin of the French crown. This assumes Joan's mission was a success and God's plans for France and Europe generally came to pass.

As we all know Joan was betrayed. Perhaps small shortsighted men thwarted God's real plans. I think the book offers another interpretation of what God's plan might have been. The Hundred Years war drained much of the energy of Western Christendom to aid Constantinople. The author states: "The Hundred Years' War ended in the very same year that Constantinople fell. In 1453, one nation was saved and one perished." What if a France under Joan's banner had been victorious and ended the war in France and against England. In the early 1440s, John VIII, emperor of Constantinople tried to bring about an end to the Great Schism. He went to Florence and at the end of a council there decreed that the Eastern Church give its oath of obedience to Rome. The author writes: "He had, he felt, done his part. The West would have to fight to protect its own kindred in faith. And what ensued is one of the most tragic episodes in our history. The West did virtually nothing." If The Hundred Years' war had ended between these two great powers of the West in the 1430s, could they not have saved Byzantium from the Turks, ended the Great Schism, resulting in an invigorated and more diverse Church? A stronger more diverse church might not have been so insecure and frightened of heretics and both the horrors of the Inquisition and the Christian civil wars of the Reformation might not have been. Nash-Marshall points out that two years before she died; Joan invited the English to participate in a crusade:

"You, Duke of Bedford, the Maid begs and requires of you that you discontinue the destruction. If you grant her right, you may still come into her company where the French shall do the greatest feat of arms that was ever done for Christianity . . . "

As if the tragedy for that young girl was not enough, Ms. Nash-Marshal implies that the implications to Christianity of what they did to that child of God in Rouen are enormous. Her mission had just begun . . . " . . . the French shall do the greatest feat of arms that was ever done for Christianity . . . "

Read the book!

leon

The advent of the mass-produced computer-designed truss roof has made the true roof-cutter a dying breed. There is a dearth of information on this complex subject, and this text is a welcome entry for that void. Unfortunately, while Mr. Gross is himself a talented roof-cutter and carpenter, he is less talented as a teacher and writer. I found his explanations lacking, although well-supported with drawings and diagrams. He introduces some very useful concepts, such as theoretical lengths and height-above-plate, and he encourages the solution to roof calculation problems by means of a trig calculator, rather than obsolete math tables. I found this book very useful, although weakly bound for the rigors of an oft-consulted text. In conjunction with Gross's book, I also recommend "A Roof Cutter's Secrets to Framing the Custom Home" by Will Holladay.

I built the 3' by 5' roof model according to the plans for my kids' playhouse.
My neighbor said, "Wow, you're talented!"
My friend said, "This is really a sturdy playhouse!"
My wife said, "It adds a realistic touch."
My kids just love it and they spend endless hours playing Yu-Gi-Oh card games in it.

Thanks Marshall Gross! You made it plain enough for even a beginner like me to build a roof.

...I have always been fond of the REAL carpenters that could cut roofs that would make you want to cry. It is also my personal belief that the roof makes the house. What I mean is, if you stand back and look at any house with a piece of paper covering the roof all you see is just a big box with windows and doors ! But, add a really nice roof and plain Jane becomes a castle ! I taught myself and I have used this book to teach several kids and adults that I have met through Habitat for Humanity. The best part is the Mr. Gross, he tells you first thing he wanted to be a good teacher and he has gone far beyond that ! First he takes you right into a project and you can easily teach anyone how to cut roofs (and teach yourself)by going along. I love the way he has the knack of explaining complicated math. He has done more for my ability to understand complex math than any of the college professors I have taken math classes from...I wish that one day I could met Mr. Gross, such a craftsman and such a good teacher...Good luck and remember, Jesus was a carpenter !!!!!

Not to bad.... Great back ground story to the Vlad books. (I hope he writes more of those.)

Ghost Wolf

GENRE: Fantasy (mystery and meandering style)

OVERALL FEELING: Four brothers fight one another, as well as other magical antagonists, in a fantastic kingdom at the borders of a Faerie world.

MARKETING APPEAL: I'm not surprised this didn't sell particularly well; it was offbeat with good characters and some interesting ideas; good but not great; no high concept; mostly a slice of life or meandering story line.

SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)

DIALOGUE: B STRUCTURE: B- HISTORY SETTING: A- CHARACTERS: B EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: B EMOTIONAL IMPACT: B+ SURPRISES: B- FANTASTIC/MYTHOLOGICAL ELEMENTS: A PACING: B+ THE LITTLE THINGS: B+ OVERALL STYLE: A FLOW OF WORDS: A- CHOICE OF FOCUS: A TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: A COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: B+

OVERALL GRADE: B+

SYNOPSIS: Hungarian Folklore style fantasy story; breaks in between with legends of the lands which gives it texture; squabbling princes fight with each other and magical opponents of various sorts.

CONCEPT: This tale is interesting but not really high concept; there's no great goal for the hero to pursue; it's more of a meandering style and one has to get into it for the characters and settings.

PACING: It moved well in the first 2/3 of the story; lots of little conflicts; learning about the lands and the legends in between. But, at the end, certain parts with the whole plan began to gnaw at me. Not enough was happening and that may have been the problem. More time was spent as characters started to slight one another, but there was too much of a lull. At times, the story meandered so rising conflict was an issue. Of course, I liked the story so much and side stories that it wasn't really a problem. However, at the end, I wasn't as impressed so I began to feel that the story lagged too much.

OVERALL STRUCTURE: The structure of this story meanders . . . taking a slice of life here and a slice of life there. As I mentioned, there really isn't some great epic goal as one usually expects in fantasy stories. This is one of the reasons I liked it even though such things are hard to pull off. The narrator's voice into this story is great; it comes into the legends but is also used at certain points.

The palace is a symbol of the relationship between the brothers . . . as it crumbles so do the relationships between Miklos and Laszlo.

WHY IT WORKED FOR ME: For reasons stated above: this is the type of story that isn't heavy on pacing but is great on side steps and legends. Other reasons listed above. FLAWS: (1) Lack of a focused epic scope or some big goal which hurt the pacing; (2) not enough time on most characters which made empathy difficult, making them good but not great; (3) OVERALL STYLE: His narrative element is superb and catchy. Focus is weak in some ways as listed under flaws. No character is mainly evil or good; all are gray.

FAVORITE METAPHOR: Think of the Cellars as feet, and the sandstone pillars emerging from them as legs. The east and west wings (the latter of which collapsed many years ago) are arms. The hallways are veins and arteries; the Great Hall on the third story is the heart. The high, central tower, where only the King is permitted, is the head. Can we stretch our analogy even further? The kitchen on the second story is the belly, and the dining room below it is the digestive system. Nestled among these organs is the room that, only two years ago, was occuped by Miklos, the missing prince of Fenario.

FAVORITE ACTION PASSAGE: She made gentle sounds into his ear as she helped him to remove his garments, then they lay together on her cloak. Slowly, she taught him the games of love, and he taught her of an innocence she had never known. The reeds swayed above them, but there was no wind to stir them.

FAVORITE DESCRIPTIVE PASSAGE: First, consider the River.

Now, remembering this, Miklos decided that the River ought to rise from its banks and sweep his wounded, broken body away, out of sight to the east. But it wouldn't. Miklos was twenty-one years old, and dying.

Next, the Palace:

Now, observe the interior:

And the City:

Consider a tiny crack in wood that had once been bright and polished, but was now dull and neglected. Something appeared through the crack. What was it? Maybe a leaf. Maybe the first shooting of a new seed, straining for the light in a lightless room, from the dark of a soil that wasn't fertile before it became dull and neglected. Perhaps a weed that will exist for a time, then sink to death and decay, as the Palace itself foes.

Brokedown Palace fits into the Taltos tales, some how, some way. IT's from the other side of the coin, the mortal rather than faerie side, at least in some ways, and it's written in an offbeat, quietly friendly way that gives even the bad guy an almost benign feeling.

I think it's Brust's second best. (His best would be To Reign in Hell, no doubt.)

Overall this is a good book, filled with all kinds of interesting information. However, I felt that the level of editing polish was poor. Typos and illustration errors are frequent, and the writing style is uneven and awkward at times. It's also clear that the authors of each article did not read the other articles, because the same information is sometimes redundantly discussed in two or three separate articles. What's worst, though, is the number of outright factual errors: a proton does not have neutral charge, the abbreviation for microseconds is not ms, etc. My advice is to wait for the second edition, or buy one of the many similar books from other publishers instead.

This book is a great book for the amateur scientist or anyone who has an inquisitive nature. If you know someone who likes to take things apart to see how the "really" work or is forever asking "how" and "why" things work the way they do, this book is especially for that type of individual.

From airplanes and cell phones to viruses and other areas of interest, the book contains a wealth of informative facts and trivia. A terrific book for the money; it is quite in-depth but easy to read and understand.

Based on the amazing aggregate of information collected upon the famous web site HowStuffWorks.com, How Stuff Works is an exciting reference as suitable for curious adults as it is for inquiring children that explains, in practical terms that any lay reader can easily understand, the functional principle or mechanism behind a vast array of common inventions, tools, and ideas. The casual browser will learn a wealth of information from how four-stroke gasoline engines work to how file compression works, clearly illustrated with detailed diagrams and enhanced with sidebar commentary. The more serious reader will come away from How Stuff Works with a notably higher understanding and appreciation of the technological innovations so many others simply use and take for granted. How Stuff Works is superb for educational leisure reading, and is a highly recommended gift book for any friend or family member who is curious about what makes everything around them tick!

This is a well-written but inconsistent collection of short stories, intended to be read in order and therefore attempting a form somewhere in between an anthology and a novel. But I think other books that have used this form or something like it have executed the concept more successfully, in particular Charles Baxter's The Feast of Love and David Schickler's Kissing in Manhattan. Some of the stories here work quite well by themselves, but the device of connecting them to a book-length narrative adds nothing. Besides featuring the same protagonist, an introspective but unremarkable dud of an everyman named Parker Hayes whose life the book tracks in chronological order, there is no continuity. Parker is given such meager characterization and his adventures synthesize so poorly that each story may as well have given him a different name and been presented independently. Other than Parker, only one character appears in more than one story (and she in only two), and no other common threads link the stories together. Sometimes this just seems careless. In one story, Parker has a pet cat, which subsequently disappears altogether, leaving readers silently to question every so often, "Whatever happened to the cat?" (Maybe this cat is Schroedinger's Cat, dramatically sealed in a box disclosing no certain facts about its fate.)

Fortunately, readers who resolve to approach each story as its own individual work will be rewarded by several clever and perceptive pieces. "New Wave" was clearly written by someone who has forgotten none of the salient sociological facts of high-school life. The story is a funny and touching account of the teenage tendency to assert one's individuality by thoughtlessly gravitating towards one or another cliquish movement (often based on musical taste) and the existential angst suffered when these affectations challenge one's authentic personality. (I would be remiss not to note a passage running from page 81-82 that hilariously captures the arbitrary allegiances of rock-and-roll fandom. Read the whole story for this bit, if for nothing else.) The other two highlights in this collection for me were "Grub Worm" and "Between Things." The former is a story of modern heartbreak with the usual accompanying self-pity, but Parker picks up almost enough self-knowledge to soften the blues. "Between Things" chronicles another staple of contemporary romance, the post-relationship relationship with the same person with whom one has ostensibly broken up. Which stories resonate best with any given reader will depend on the nature of his own troubles with girls. Female readers may be irritated by the one-dimensional characterizations of the women in Parker's life, some of whom appear to have been written according to Jack Nicholson's advice from As Good As It Gets: "I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability." But Boswell doesn't breathe much life into characters of either gender, and the one-dimensional supporting women prove far more captivating than the zero-dimensional Parker Hayes. Boswell's insights into human relationships would have succeeded more vividly had he developed a persona to which readers could actually relate.

a delightful,insightful, entertaining coming of age story that will resurrect a ton of memories from your adolescence to young adulthood.You should read/watch this rising young fiction star -- he will eventually fill a whole shelf on your bookcase.

This collection is for all you lovers of Paul Weller, all you readers of Trouser Press. It will make you wonder where all the friends of your youth have gone, those who grew up 'in various and sundry ways' without you. Lovely.

This is a profound gift for anyone willing to re-evaluate his or her assumptions with honesty and courage. The teachings from a Greater Community can help you get in touch with the Truth within if you are willing to do the work. This is definitely not a book to be read, this is a resource to use to test the validity and value of one's beliefs, assumptions and preferences that often go unchallenged but frequently are the source of tremendous confusion, frustration and inner conflict. I give this book my highest and strongest recommendation.

I read it over and over. Lots of wisdom. New perspectives.

Simple, clear and profound! You'll want to read this over and over! This one goes on my "one of the best books I've ever read" list.

I am really satisfied with this book. It makes great reading for beginners in Win32 API, with good examples and variety of topics. Very readable. I recommend it.

This book covers various general practical problems so as to enable a systems programmer to evolve and build good large systems. This book is a excellent reference. I am very happy I bought the book.

I bought the book to learn more about WinRPC but I ended up getting a lot more out of it. This book covers a wide range of topics including Networking, Security, IPC, Multi-Threading and NT Services. It is the perfect reference book for Win32 systems developers.

Marshall Hodgson's work is not necessarily for beginners. Rather than recount a straightforward narrative, he lays out a theoretical framework based on environmental zones and economic factors. In terms of the history of orientalism, this was a major contribution in that is posited a basis for Islamic history other than religion.

Of the three volumes, Volume III is largely out-dated, while Volume II has held up the best since the work's publication. Perhaps the most serious problem is that Hodgson doesn't pay much attention to the development of Islamic societies in Southeast Asia and Africa, though he does include India, a major step for the 1970's. His chapters on Sufism and literary culture are among the work's strengths.

Those interested in a serious understanding of the Islamic world will work through Hodgson at one time or another. Those wishing for a strong, more casual introduction are better off with something like Ira Lapidus's A History of Islamic Societies or The Oxford History of Islam.

Marshall Hodgson, a professor at the University of Chicago, was a major 20th century scholar of Islam. His three volume history of Islamic civilization was published posthumously by the U of C Press. But, even before it came out in book form, xeroxed copies were being used as textbooks in the school's courses in Islamic Civ. That's where I first encountered it (and struggled through it) many years ago.

As other reviewers have pointed out, Hodgson is not always an easy read. His style is dense and ponderous. Nontheless, Hodgson's work was a milestone in Western scholarship about Islam and its history. He provides a wealth of information and a thorough, coherent account of the development of Islamic civilization. Unlike many books, Hodgson pays attention not just to political entities and dynasties, but also to the intellectual and artistic achievements of the societies.

Islam and things Islamic have been sorely neglected in most people's education. Even in our current post-9/11 climate, what most people know about Islam doesn't extend much beyond stereotypical (and largely inaccurate) ideas about jihad. If they're really sophisticated, they may know a little about Sufism and the mystical poetry of Rumi. But there is so much more to Islam and to Islamic civilization (if in fact one can even talk about a single Islamic civilazation). Whatever this books flaws, one could do far worse to start one's education here.

I kept my xeroxed for many years after I finished my coursework. But I finally lost them, and now I'm replacing them with the real books.

This book's chapters are dense. Of the three volumes of The Venture of Islam, however, it is the one that has held up the best under modern scholarship.