This is the first in the series of three CSI stories written by Max Collins. I read Sin City (the second in the series) first and wanted to wait for summer reruns to read the Double Dealer and Cold Burn. But as I said in my review of Sin City, I just can't get enough of CSI on TV or (now) in book form. The Las Vegas forensic team is investigating two similar murders separated by fifteen years. A lot of evidence is processed and the mood is frequently lightened by the dry wit of the characters. I especially enjoy Gil Grissom's puns. Grissom and his team put in many hours of overtime on these cases. Will they get their man? I had my doubts. But, well, I won't give away the ending. It's a very good one.

Gil Grissom, the nightshift supervisor of the Las Vegas Criminalistics Bureau, and two of his Crime Scene Investigation team members, Warrick Brown and Sara Sidle, are called to a murder scene at a hotel casino. The victim turns out to be an attorney from Chicago who had a few mobsters as clients. Yet was this killing a mob hit? At the same time, a mummified body is found at the construction site of a new theme hotel. Nick Stokes and Catherine Willow, two more members of the C.S.I. team, work on that case. Soon the team wonders if they have two cases or just one -- both victims were murdered with two shots in the head, leaving the same pattern. When FBI agent Rick Culpepper signals his interest in this case, Gil Grissom is even more alert, as that man has proven to be a synonym for trouble.

Max Allan Collins' novel is based on the CBS TV series "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation." The plot of "Double Dealer" is well-researched and will interest not only fans of the TV drama. The known characters come alive in the book -- the reader almost sees another episode of the show.

CSI: Double Dealer is a book based on the hit television series C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation). Things are turned upside down in the Forensics section when the team has to investigate two very similar murders...fifteen years apart.

Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, Nick and Sara are split up to investigate a couple of murders. One of the bodies is a fifteen-year-old mummy. The other is a lawyer found dead at the door of his casino hotel room. The cases are too much alike for it to be normal.

Twists and turns are everywhere in this book. Pesky F.B.I. agents, lack of evidence, and dead end leads test the CSI's ability. CSI: Double Dealer is a "mild" murder mystery that is written very well. It's hard to put this book down.

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There are hundreds of thousands of medical facts existing in this field. Memorizing all of them seems impossible to medical students. The only way to turn out this dead end is to understand fundamental mechanisms of diseases. Robbins illustrates those mechanisms with easy-to-understand ways. No confusion, no frustration. I also wannna criticize the "Basic Pathology". Although it's written by the same authors, it's too simple. With not much corcern to mechanisms. This book leads ambitious readers to hell!

This is THE textbook of pathology for students of medicine and dentistry!
Pros? Well, it has all the 4 C's...
1) Clear language... minimal verbosity, straight to the point
2) Comprehensive ... it has all the facts the student needs to know for exams as well as future clinical practice
3) Colour pictures ... not the black and white stuff but full colours to add more morphological meaning to the texts
4) Cast ... I'm sure everyone wants to read a book written by authoritative pathologists?

Cons?
1) Cumbersome ... students just initiated into the world of pathology may find it tough to plough through the thousand over pages of text (like I did while in med school), but believe me, if you stick by it, you'll enjoy the fruits of your labour in due time.
2) Some of the facts and tumour classifications may be a little out of date (latest edition published in 1999) but if you're a student, don't brood over it. Tutors would probably highlight major updates during your pathology course.

This book is excellent. I used the 4th edition as a medical student and am currently reading this edition in preparation for my pathology boards. The book is much improved in terms of readibility, great tables, diagrams, and color photographs. It is a must have for medical students interested in pathology as well as pathologists.

A few months ago I started working for a company that develops Corporate portals. With an IT background, but no concept of a "portal", I needed a source that was easily understood, yet technically savvy. Ms. Collins' book is just what I needed. She clearly explains the concept of a user-friendly, one-stop-shopping type of interface that allows a group of users to access customized information appropriate to their e-needs!

This author clearly explains the technology behind portals, looks at the benefits of using portal technology in a corporate environment, as well as determining how to "sell" the idea of a portal as a company-wide business solution. She also goes into detail about Knowledge Sharing and design customization.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about this immportant technology.

This book is a one-of-a-kind in that it provides equal coverage ofo the business and technical aspects of corporate portals. Further, it gives a very succinct description of what a portal is, and how portals can provide measurable benefits to a business.

With respect to what value a portal brings the author sums it up with an illustration early in the book that shows the many different types of portals, and the sub-categories of corporate portals. As a consultant who needs to be able to explain what a portal is in the clearest possible terms I found this one graphic worth the price of the book.

Let me cut to the chase: this book is valuable and has many strengths. It also has some shortcomings. I'll address its strengths first.

The first four chapters were gold mines. They start with a business problem statement, define portal types and their fit to specific business goals, and step you through building a business case for a portal. This is excellent information that is not only well written, but shows Ms. Collins as a seasoned expert who has done this many times before. Some of the final chapters were equally as valuable - in particular chapter 13 that addresses financial metrics analysis, and chapter 15, which is an example business case that nicely augments chapter 4.

Of great value are the checklists that are sprinkled throughout the book. They reflect the author's experience and will make your life simpler if you use them during the business analysis and implementation phases of a portal project.

I liked the author's treatment of knowledge management, which is one of the main business reasons to implement a portal. Ms. Collins demonstrates a deep understanding of this subject and it is one of the key strengths of the book. If you want to go deeper into knowledge management I recommend building upon the excellent foundation that Ms. Collins provides with Knowledge Management Toolkit by Amrit Tiwana.

There are a few weaknesses as well.

Ms. Collin's approach to making direct links to reports, analysis and queries is "brute force" in my opinion and misses one of the key features all portal software provides: the ability to interface with data using SQL queries to stuff an XML defined document type (in correct terms, "Document Type Definition") template and displaying the result using XSL (extended stylesheet language) for presentation. All or the major portals come with mechanisms called "portlets", "gadgets" and other catchy names depending on the vendor, that facilitate this method. XML and XSL are each mentioned once in the book and only in passing. I strongly use readers who are developing a portal solution that will draw from data sources to read Building Corporate Portals With XML by Finkelstein, Aiken and Zachman.

Another potential shortcoming, depending on your industry and objectives, is the treatment of identity management. While identity management is an extremely important consideration, the entity-relationship approach proposed in the book will not be effective in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, the author did not offer alternative methods. For example, if you are in health care your identification requirements are going to be governed by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which means that you need to consider role-based access controls (RBAC) as a key component of your identification and access strategy. Determining to whom to grant rights to what is a lot more complex than relatively simple E-R modeling. The design of an effective and provable RBAC strategy is through set theory. Energy is another industry that requires identification and access methods that are a lot more stringent that those recommended in this book because of the requirement to keep all regulated and unregulated business functions and data separate. Another key element of RBAC-schemes is directory-enabled identification and authentication that are independent of applications and services. The modeling for directory-based controls is object based and also cannot be done using the E-R approach. If you fall into any of these categories I strongly recommend augmenting this book with All About Network Directories by Kevin, Tina and Christina Kampman.

The above shortcomings do not detract from the value of this book as long as you take them into account. I think the author broke new ground when she wrote this book by tackling some important issues. First, she defines the real business value of a portal, then steps you through building a strategy for enabling business processes using portal technology. She also leads you through building a sound business case for implementing this technology using objective factors and measures. I have recommended this book to numerous colleagues and will continue to do so. It earns a solid five stars.

I've read Corporate Portals twice and think it's a thorough overview of the subject of centralizing a knowledge desktop for employees. The book shows the different features and software functions that need to be included in the final Web solution to help give their business a competitive advantage -- as opposed to simply finding out what the weather is outside. Many technology books today take a single view of the organization and talk only about one part of a company -- doing supply chain, customer relationship management, sales force automation, etc. What I like about this book is that it is well rounded. It shows how us of these pieces fit together. I specifically like the last chapter that presents a complete business case for implementing a corporate portal.

The case studies are not highly detailed, but they do provide enough detail to illustrate each example, and they do stimulate the reader into thinking of new ways that can be used to exploit the information that is currently available in their information systems.

I think it's a must-read for business executives who are trying to get a handle on what is possible with today's technology and for information technology staff trying to get the business perspective on the corporate portal.

I stumbled upon Joe Lansdale's Mucho Mojo on a bargain table. The cover grabbed me and the preview was interesting so I paid the four bucks and went home. That's when it all began. I have read many books and I must say that the Hap and Leonard stories are the best ever. Joe Lansdale doesn't mess around. If you aren't engrossed, laughing or wanting more after the first page then you should check your pulse. Joe Lansdale is a true storyteller with his own unique crop of adjectives and the most hilarious group of metaphors I've ever read. I can't tell you how many times I have suggested this book to someone. Even non-readers get hooked. Since that first introduction I read everything I can find. He has other stories that are equally entertaining. But Hap and Leonard are two characters that come alive and will hopefully live forever.

I've found another author to read regularly. This novel is my introduction to Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, two friends who happen to have one of the most original and realistic relationships I've read. Hap travels to La Borde, Texas with Leonard, who has been left his recently deceased uncle's old house. As they are fixing up the house they discover a small skeleton and several kiddie porn magazines buried under the floor. Leonard cannot accept that Uncle Chester was a ...child murderer so he persuades Hap to help him clear Chester's name. That decision opens the door to an expertly plotted and neatly tied together mystery. Lansdale gives pieces of information that are not contrived but flow into the story and add interest and color. He introduced characters and relationships that I became interested in and wanted to learn more about. The sarcasm and repartee between Hap and Leonard is reason enough to read the book. Put that clever and realistic dialogue in a mystery full of colorful characters that also has some very suspenseful moments and you have a few hours of rich, first-rate entertainment. I highly recommend MUCHO MOJO.

When I recently started getting into mystery novels, a friend recommended Joe Lansdale's Hap & Leonard books....I've read three novels in the series so far, and I love them. I'm from Texas, and though Lansdale never pretties up East Texas, showing it warts and all, I still feel a warm, at-home feeling.

I've known people very much like Hap and Leonard, and while these characters feel real, they also serve as cultural icons--like some other detective-novel protagonists (such as Spenser and Hawk, Elvis Cole and Pike, Phil Marlowe, and others), they represent what is best in people. They show how people ought to treat each other. And like the best of those, they have their flaws. We can take them as heroes, but also relate to them.

The book is difficult but not tedious. It's a pity that Tim Coogan didn't supply a little background on Irish History, just to put the events he describes in context. Without that, it becomes a little difficult if you have no idea who or what he is referring to. When he gets into the main subject of this history, one tends to get lost in a maze of characters, and their various alliegences. Nevertheless it offers a very complete treatment of the Anglo-Irish War, the negotiation of the Treaty, and the subsequent Irish Civil War. The ugliness and brutality of the war with the British is upsetting, and may well leave you feeling very angry. Finally let me say that Michael Collins emerges from this story as an extrordinary young man of enormous ability in so many ways, who with a little help from his friends did manage to get the British out of Ireland, or at least out of the twenty-six counties. The absurdity of it all, is that he was killed by his own people when he was little more than thirty years old.

I was never clear on the part Michael Collins played in Irish history, so I picked this book up. I got a much wider story, for Tim Pat Coogan does a great job of documenting the historic and social forces present during the time of the Irish Revolution and war for independance in the early 1920's. Coogan does a deft job of weaving a picture of Michael Collins' life, charged with the intensity of the times it describes, and fascinating in the depth of Colins' character. Read this book to learn the story of the Irish struggle early in this century for the right to be recognized as a country.

Tim Pat Coogan's Michael Collins is an excellent biography of the man who ran the day to day war for Irish independence. Collins orchestrated the "direct force" strategy against British rule, that, after several years of bloodshed, led to a settlement that rendered most of Ireland free. For his efforts in achieving more than any Irishman had achieved in 500 years, including legendary figures such as O'Connell and Parnell, Collins was assassinated by his allies, who felt that the peace treaty with Britain and freedom for the south were just not good enough.

Coogan does an excellent job detailing the man as well as his accomplishments; he has a host of anecdotes about Collins's youth and the years he lived under constant risk of death while carrying out the guerilla war. The book, despite its rather grim subject matter, is also not without its moments of humor -- the stories of many of Collins's narrow escapes from his British pursuers and his incredible luck also lighten the story.

Coogan does an excellent job outlining the divisions that formed within the IRA, the IRB, Sinn Fein, and the Catholic church throughout the struggle, and explains clearly the politics behind Collins's assassination. He makes clear what other historians with a lesser grasp of the subject only manage to make a muddle of.

Highly recommended.

I really enjoy Ms. Nesbit's written works. It is quite a shame that she can't write anymore. Although I liked this one a lot, I was a little disappointed by it because it lacked the charming fairy tale sort of feel that many of her children's books have. However, the story was quite wonderful, and I particularly loved the realistic scene of the children that the reader is given. I highly recommend this book to Edith Nesbit's fans, as well as people that enjoy a touch of mystery, mixed with a child's view of life.

I like the Railway Children a lot,especially how the author told the story. I liked Bobbie because there is something different about her,she was helpful and sweet at the same time. I am wondering where the dog James went? Other than that, the story was great!

I remember in The Railway Children that Bobbie, Peter and Phylls had a dog named James. I was wondering, what ever happened to James? In the book Phyllis is the best person to me because she is accident prone. In the story the kids lives change a lot from the city to the country. They make new friends on the railway.It was a great book. I still wonder..."What happened to James...."

Initially, I had to decide if the opening chapter was too far out for even Hap Collins and Leonard Pine, the unique but very real main characters in Joe Lansdale's crime series. However, after Hap left the hospital in the midst of in-patient (for insurance purposes) rabies treatment to look for his friend Leonard, the prime suspect in a biker's murder, I decided that once again, Lansdale had laid the groundwork and set the stage for an entertaining escape into one of his thrillers.

With the setting in East Texas and characters named Horse Dick, Big Man Mountain, Pierre, King Arthur and Jim Bob Lee, Lansdale manages to construct a plot around grease stealling, video gay bashing, possible police corruption, murder, torture, spousal abuse, and love between Hap and the dynamic and feisty Brett. (She's more than a handful and willing to meet every one of Hap's demands, sarcastic comments, and character flaws head-on. She'd be a welcome addition to any future entries into the series).

Obviously, I'm very satisfied with my decision to continue reading. In fact, reflecting back upon the story, even being bitten by a rabid squirrel makes sense. This is another highly rated Joe Lansdale entree.

This novel isn't for prudes or people who can't leave politically correctness behind. For those who appreciate a lot of healthy belly laughs and down-home philosophy ("A Texan's idea of a salad is a few bananas and strawberries inside a mold of lime Jell-O"), then, by all means, read BAD CHILI. Joe R. Lansdale is the male version of Janet Evanovich, and if you've had the pleasure to delight in the humor of Ms. Evanovich, you'll get the message.

Hap Collins, a happy-go-lucky loser, and Leonard Pine, a rowdy, gay Black dude, are buddies who have a penchant for running into trouble. Hap, unlike his pal Leonard, is a gentle sort; but when he or his friends are threatened by chumps who "look like they'd twist the heads off parakeets and suck the neck stumps for entertainment," he forgets his nonviolence creed and goes for blood. They, along with Hap's new girlfriend, Brett, are some of the most likeable, funniest, real-life fictional characters in any modern novel. I won't give the plot away. You'll just have to find out for yourselves why I wanted the book to never end.

I have just completed my search for the rest (3) of the Hap and Leonard novels, all of which are too short. Mr. Lansdale, you are a proficient writer. From an instant fan: I beg you to please devote more of your time to writing more adventures of the likeable duo and, while you're at it if it's not asking too much, please add two or three hundred extra pages to the future books!

After reading BC, I'm reminded of the reviews that some of Carl Hiaasen's fans gave him over his latest book, "Lucky You." Many complained that he didn't deliver the great funny characters and situations as he'd done in his earlier novels -- characters such as Skink, etc. Perhaps some future nitwit might do the same with Joe's "Bad Chili." I certainly hope their front teeth rot and fall off if they do this idiotic deed. BC is right on target, both with suspense, characterization, and great humor.. Maybe Joe decided not to deliver a great funny line at the onset but he can afford to lay back. The novel is first rate when it comes to a gripping plot and outlandish scumbags. Hap and Leonard are funny but are showing realistic signs of internal growth, so their relationship is not nearly as lively as in the past stories -- a change I find refreshing. Cartoon characters are the ones that never if seldom change. Which is why I enjoyed Joe's changes to his characters. I find the addition of Brett good for the character of Hap, and hope Joe keeps her with the series. I also immensely enjoy the private detective pig farmer. That guy should definitely make more appearances, and hey lets have some really good pig and farm animal jokes to tell too! There's lots of good ones out there that Joe can throw into the mix, like how a big mamma sow, lying in the mud with a dozen piglets clinging on her titties, will make you think she's performing a David Copperfield illusion when she makes that chicken that fell into her pen vanish with nothing left but a few white feathers clinging to her snout. Protein!

Great novel, Joey!

I would recommend this book only to those Mummy fans who cannot wait to know what the movie is about. The story is simple, which this novel does a good job of letting you know what it is about. But this book is by no means a replacement for the action-packed, FX scenes. So read this book but WATCH the movie. The novel will satisfy your curiosity but the movie will thrill you!

The part that O'Donnel being the reincarnate of a Knight Templar and Evelyn being the reincarnate of an Egyptian princess is, in my opinion, unnecessary CRAP.

I've always been a huge book-fan; and let's face it, if you fall in love with a movie while it's still in theaters, you're going to go fairly crazy waiting for it to be released on video once it *leaves* the theaters so that you can finally see it again (only 24 more days until "The Mummy Returns" will FINALLY be available to own and watch again and again)----so anytime I fall in love with a movie, one of my first steps is to go racing out to get the novelization.

And, to be honest, most of them really disappoint me. "Galaxy Quest" was a simplistic version of the script put into the past tense, as near as I can tell; "X-men" failed to impress me as anything special. "Dungeons & Dragons" was descriptive, but it treated the characters _so_ vastly differently than the movie that it hardly seemed to be telling the same story.

So was I pleasantly surprised by the excellence of the novel of "The Mummy Returns". I absolutely love it. It is descriptive, action-packed, humorous, and fills in some gaps and scenes that the movie either cut or didn't bother with; it filled us in on some loopholes (ie, that mysterious train track in the middle of the desert wasn't far off the base at all). I didn't find it repetitive in the least, nor did I think the character portrayals were off, either. I think it was simply a matter of how Collins interpreted the characters (because, let's face it, they come off differently to everyone); I think he saw O'Connell as a bit more rugged than others do. But I didn't find his portrayal out of sync in the least. That bit of cynicism that Rick has was still there, off-balanced by his good humor. Evy was quite different from how she was in the first one----but the *movie* makes her quite different to begin with! The characters have changed in ten years (what people don't?), and the movie reflects that.

Attention is given to all the characters (I especially like hearing about my two favorites, Jonathan and Ardeth Bay), and the book is over-all well written. If you love "The Mummy Returns" as much as I do, I highly recommend this book. It's not a flaky read----it's a *quick* read if you want it to be, but not a flaky one. This book is actually trying to say something about friendship and the strength of love----if you give it a chance and keep your eyes open, it might actually touch you. Give it a whirl. You won't regret it.

This book is a novelization of the film The Mummy Returns, which is the sequel to The Mummy. It is set in 1933, ten years after the first movie. Rick O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan are now married and have an eight-year-old son named Alex. While in Egypt exploring the ruins of an ancient temple, Rick and Evy find the Bracelet of Anubis. They bring it back home to London. Even though he knows it will anger his parents, Alex plays with the bracelet and accidentally sets off a chain reaction that could lead to the end of the world. When Alex is kidnapped, Rick and Evy must race against time to save their son and prevent the end of the world. I loved the movie The Mummy, and after reading this book I am even more excited about seeing the upcoming sequel, coming to theaters in May.

This book is full of the jazz of every day life. Gorgeous in its word-pictures, imagery, and rhythms, and with a ripe, bursting sense of humor that comes out at all opportunities. It is poetry, "even for musicians."

This is a book for body and soul... for everyone... it's so accessible, it draws the reader in deep, before awareness is present ... it is an exploration ...

Collins is the funniest, wittiest poet of our day, and now the national Poet Laureate. His work is great.

I recommend this book to everybody.

I don't read too much poetry anymore, I'm too short of time to spend it checking an encyclopedia to understand who the poet is talking about. Often today's poetry becomes a contest between the writer and reader as to who knows the most about ancient Greeks or Babylonia. But along comes Billy Collins, a poet who speaks my language. I related immediately with the subject of his poem, "Forgetfulness". The second stanza describes familiar struggles, "as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain to a little fishing village where there are no phones." As I reach the golden years, memories are replaced with a keen awareness of mortality. The author's final stanza in "The Afterlife", reinforces my personal belief that the small pleasures of life are the important ones. Speaking of the hopes of those existing in the state of afterlife; "wishing they could return so they could learn Italian or see the pyramids, or play some golf in a light rain. They wish they could wake in the morning like you and stand at a window examining the winter trees...". My wish, is that Billy Collins keeps us all laughing and enjoying his poetry for many years, and books, to come.

I missed the final guest editor's cut with a batch of poems sent to Alaska Quarterly Review, finding out only later that that editor was Billy Collins. Still, he is one of only a few modern poets that I not only buy for myself, but buy for gifts. People who didn't think they even liked poetry have their little peepers blown wide open by this guy. Simple clear language, luminous imagery, and the generous sort of humor that protects sensitive souls from despair. This is poetry that communicates love of language, love of ideas, and love for the reader. Billy, write me, this is a dinner invitation.