Well, this is the fourth book by Dunnett that I've read (the three earlier books in the Lymond series being the others). Quite simply, Dunnett gets better with each book! Her style continually reminds me of Dumas. History, adventure, great characters - all mix together to form a gripping story. I couldn't put it down last night as I finished it. Most impressive to me is the way she is "realistic" (within, of course, the fictional world she created). By that, I mean that her characters, good and evil, make tough choices. Good sometimes doesn't triumph completely, bad people sometimes come out on top, and loyal friends sometimes pay the price for our heros adventures. This is no fairy tale. A few times, I was actually shocked by the story as it progressed (especially at the end of this book). All in all, a great read if you like historical/fictional mixes. I especially enjoyed being introduced to a world I knew nothing about (ancient Turkey and its empire).

What can I say that everyone else has not? This book and this series is the best I have ever read. I am just finishing my fifth time reading this book and still find it to be my favorite. I always hesitate to read this book because of the Chess game at the end, but by the time I get to that part of the book I can't skip it because it is such an intrigal part. A friend of mine who has read the books and I have debated over who found Lymond's son, Lymond or Philipa. Each of us has our own opinion and reasons for it. This is the main reason why I like this series so much, Ms. Dunnett doesn't explain everything, she makes the reader work at it and come to their own conclusions. For example, when, in Pawn a character in the Game of Kings is mentioned, Ms. Dunnett doesn't stop the flow of the book to remind everyone who this person is but lets the reader either figure it out from the context of the discussion or go back to the prior book to look it up. This is definately not an easy read, but these books are the only ones I read every few years and each time I read them I get more out of them. Thank you Dorothy Dunnett!

A friend lent me her much loved copies of "The Disorderly Knights" and then "Queen's Play" and I've been hooked on this series ever since. It has a richness of prose and depth of character that set it apart from the average hero story. It also has an intriguing plot line and an interesting view of Renaissance politics. All six books fit smoothly together with a tasteful use of foreshadowing. "Pawn in Frankincense" is my favorite book of the series. The secondary characters are developed to a level unsurpassed in any of Dunnett's other books. The locations feel realistic and the emotional draw of this book is incredible. I would recommend starting at the beginning (with A Game of Kings) instead of in the middle and out of order, as I did. While each book is self-contained, there are enough references to previous incidents to make following the series order worthwhile. This is the series I always recommend when a meet someone who TRULY loves to read. I can't say enough good things about it.

This is probably the best overall book you will find about guitars. It covers quite a bit of material. The details about how a guitar works and how to maintain a guitar are the best I have ever personally read. For example, setting the scale length of a guitar, a very important part of getting a guitar to sound good, is covered in easy to understand terms. It helped me fix some minor tuning issues on my Stratocaster.

This is also an effective book if you are interested in buying a guitar. You will be able to identify problems with most guitars because you will know what to look for. For example, checking for a warped neck. There is a great two page section that gives you the basics about how to look for that kind of defect.

And don't let any of these other reviews convince you that there is not enough theory in here. Granted, if you are brand new to playing or music in general it probably won't make much sense and you will struggle. But if you understand some basic scale and chord structures this book will help you gain a better understanding of how it all works. Odds are that those who do not like the theory in this book either do not like the approach or didn't actually read the entire book.

This book will NOT make you sound like your favorite guitarist. All the great players are great because they practice and the greatest players just have the gift. So do not expect that out of any book or instructor.

Lastly, do not buy the hard cover edition. Get the soft cover/paperback edition. You will want to have this book in front of you when you are working on your guitar or playing it. The only thing that would make this book a 5 star is if you could get it in spiral bound format.

When I first started playing the guitar 2 decades ago, a friend had a copy of an earlier edition of this guide and he gave me the book to use while I was getting started. Using the book, and I mean really reading the book thru thoroughly, I learned a whole lot about the instrument itself and the music that could be produced from the guitar and that really helped my performance as I developed on the instrument.

The book begins with guitar innovators, those guitar players who have had a serious impact on the way the instrument is played, etc. This section was actually fun to read and was quite informative about several guitar players who had influenced my own playing.

The following two sections of the book cover acoustic and electric guitars. These sections detail how each instrument (acoustic and electric) are put together, how to set the action, the various types of each style of guitar, how pick-ups are put together, etc. This is a helpful and technical section which instructs the reader on the ins and outs of the make-up of his instrument.

From here, the book moves into actually playing the instrument. It begins with the beginner, teaching good practicing habits, what to practice, improving fingering, chord progressions, reading tablature, tuning, action, right and left-handed techniques, etc. Then this section moves into chords (with photos), three-chord theory, flatpicking and strumming and other various fingerstyles, barre chords, and even how to transpose songs. Inside this section there is also a sub-section on rhythm guitar, setting tempo, time signatures, using chord charts, time values, etc. Essentially everything you would need to know to be a well rounded guitar player is included (including slide guitar).

The final section deals with the maintenance of the guitar. This section teaches the reader/player all the things that are needed to know about the most difficult maintenance aspects such as how to customize an instrument, to the easiest such as changing your strings. For the electric guitarist, there is a guide to guitar electronics which includes pictures and lists of all the tools you will need, instructions on reading wiring diagrams, actual charts and photos of how an electric guitar is wired, pick-up circuits, etc.

Finally, at the back of the book is a fairly extensive chord dictionary with pictures of how each chord is fingered. This dictionary is very helpful to the player when trying to find the same chord but to know where it is elsewhere on the fret board. Overall, what can I say but that no guitar player, regardless of your experience should be without this definitive guidebook.

While refurbishing a used electric guitar (a Gibson Flying V), I needed circuit diagrams and a friend lent me his copy of The Guitar Handbook. After reading a few pages, I didn't want to give it back! The book's brilliance lies in its economical use of language, diagrams and photos. It's as though Ralph Denyer and his editors are telepathic; knowing exactly what the reader needs and wants to know about guitars and guitar playing. Every page is a gold mine, illuminating topics I thought would be boring -- for example, complex music theory. Truly inspirational, the book unveils the once-daunting mysteries of music, including technical vocabulary, and still manages to stay down to earth. Listen to this quote: "Many guitarists--especially those that are self-taught--are suspicious of scales and regard them as an unattractive and unnecessary discipline. This is untrue." I've been rocking for 20 years and now my 16-year-old daughter is teaching me to sight-read music! One word of advice: if you expect to keep your copy of The Guitar Handbook, don't lend it to a guitar player.

I received Caught in the Crossfire as a gift, and I must admit I was skeptical at first. The ominous black cover featuring SRV's silouette seemed to serve as a warning of its content. I feared that the book would only undermine what every fan, indeed everyone who has ever heard of Stevie Ray Vaughan, already knows. That he was, for so long "caught" in a world of reckless drug abuse and alcoholism, but somehow managed to make it to the top. What I found was a biography, mostly matter-of-fact, which left no stone unturned in its research. Every friend, colleague, artist; famous or infamous, who impacted Stevie's career and tragically short life finds their way onto the pages of this work. The bibliography of interviews, while not necessarily reading as a "who's who" in the world of blues, includes individuals who were closest to the guitar legend throughout his life. Paramount of these is his own brother Jimmy. Though not mentioned in the list of exclusive interviews conducted for the book, Jimmy Lee Vaughan's influential guidance in the life of his younger brother is well documented by Patosky. As SRV's hero and kin, we learn where much of Stevie's love for blues music and guitar is rooted. Stevie's mentors in music, from blues legends Albert King and Albert Collins, to Jimi Hendrix and Bonnie Rait are uniquely enveloped in the carnival of ups and downs, triumphs and tragedys of his life. Though at times it tries to unnecessarily re-enact moments in an almost movie script-like format, Caught in the Crossfire is without question the most in depth biography to date of the life of one of the greatest guitar players of our time. It is very well written, and a must for any fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan's music.

The life story of Stevie Ray is one of the most interesting I have had the opportunity to read. The book starts years before his birth until after his passing, and this book really clues you in to how he became such and intense player. His story is about a man following in his brothers foot steps who decided the only direction in his life was to play guitar wheather he lived in the gutter or lived rich and famous. It opens your eyes into the musician's life styles and how they got there.
The only drawback to the book was that sometimes the authors get side tracked into too much detail (history of Dallas, Austin, his Mother and Father...), and the language is pretty rough throughout the book. The story of Stevie Ray's life is written well enough that I read the book a second time as soon as I finished. Stevie Ray Vaughn had a unique life.

I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan in concert when I was 13 and did not fully realize his genius and/or his talent. I read this book and learned where he got it from and his never-dying passion and spirit for his craft. I remember reading another review that stated the book was complete bull, but I do not think so. Stevie Ray Vaughan played the blues, and he lived the blues. Plain and simple. He has achieved status as one of the Gods of blues guitar and has majorly influenced the playing styles of such people/groups as Indigenous, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang and many others. For those who consider themselves fans of Stevie Ray Vaughan, if you want to know his life story, this book is it.

This book should be kept in the server room by every win2k server administrator. (Then carry the "windows 2000 pocket consultant" with you when you move around.) Everything you want to know about the workings of Windows 2000 Server is in here. The coverage on Active Directory is the best I've seen so far. The sections on Internet setup is also excellent and easy to follow. Although I think the index can be improved, information is quite easy to find.

If you work with win2k server, this is definitely worth getting. If only Microsoft includes this with the software package...

A very comprehensive, in depth book. So far, covers everything I've needed to find. Well written, and a very easy read. It is thick, and not the type of book you would just sit down and read in a few hours, but it's great reference.

This is the book to get to learn about all of the new features for Windows 2000 Server. The writer is very well spoken and explains concepts in an easy to understand manner. It is one mother of a thick book.... but for a subject like this you need it. With this book I got my Windows 2000 network up and running as well as implementing many of the advanced options that the product offers. This should prove to be a very usefull book for those of us looking to upgrade our MCSE's coming up later this year.

I picked up this book not even knowing what Cold Fusion was capable of doing and within days I was writting code that could be used within our organization. The size may intimidate, but it covers every topic you need to know. My only complaint is the brief (and confusing) manner in which session variables are explained - an important topic if you need to develop secure web sites.

While I've been very impressed with the clear writing and highly practical instruction in this book, I've noted dozens of syntax, grammatical, spelling, and factual errors, on the order of one every ten pages or so. And this is a very long book. Be prepared to spend a few hours wondering why certain queries just won't work, until your programming buddies tell you that parameter passing to a web page is always done with a "?" and not a "&" as the book occasionally--and erroneously--asserts. If you can make it through the minefields, you'll learn quite a bit about relational databases, Cold Fusion Studio, and data-driven web sites, but not without a few battle scars...

I have had this book for about a year and a half and I still find myself returning to it again and again (Probably because my memory isn't what it used to be). Introduces web designers to database creation for dynamic web page generation. Great examples that show how easy it is to create web to database integration. Shows uses of javascript with Cold Fusion. If you can't wait for Cold Fusion 4.0 to come out, get this one!

This is a great book because it shows you exactly what you need to know. They get to the point effectively with every topic. I like the real world questions being answered. Like client side or server side cursors. And topics on how to write the more efficient rs object. The only problem I have with this book is the writers lack of expertise with other databases. Like MS SQL server, and Sybase SQL server. Getting information on pitfalls with other database platforms would be invaluable. They kind of tickled us with the Oracle info, I want more now.

I am an Internet Engineer for a Fortune 500 company. I recently designed and implemented an enterprise-level customer service Intranet application. This book provided many thorough explanations and examples of advanced ADO features.

I made heavy use of disconnected recordsets and data shapes, both of which I did not know how to use before reading this text. These methods allowed me to store recordset objects in session variables (remember, this was an Intranet application so I could dictate the client browser) and thus greatly reduce the load on the back-end database.

Criticisms are few and far between. I found a few nit-picky errors, nothing major. I also would have appreciated a chapter with tips on creating MTS COM objects, but I realize that topic can span an entire book (and it has).

I appreciated this book so much that after I had purchased and expensed a copy for my department's reference library, I went back and bought another copy for my personal collection. It definitely earns a five star rating.

I had developed 2 projects using ADO and ASP before, now I have a third. This time I decieded to get more information about this matter and bought this book which I found of great help. If you really are an experienced user you don't need this book, but if you are new or intermediate get this book, you wont't be dissappointed. It is worth the money I spent. BUY IT. I am getting all I need to build my third project.

It's official-I've lost my mind! I'm in love with a man who's been dead for 60 years. Michael Romanov was everything, apparently, a high-born nobelman was born to be; handsome, loyal, intelligent and completely besotted and in love with his bride. Unfortunately, she was a twice-divorced commoner. Therein the problems lay.

This wonderful and tragic story is so intriguing and meticulously researched that it reads like a novel rather than a biography. Donald and Rosemary Crawford play off each other's experience in journalism writing (she wrote about society, he is a hard-nosed newspaper man) to bring about an intriguing story of love and politics that takes us back to this gilded age where the rich, beautiful and tragic central figures play at being the second Russian court in exile. They have so much material (personal letters, telegrams, pictures, etc.) to use that you feel like you're a part of Michael and Natasha's lives. It's a pleasure to read and will definately be read again by me.

Rosemary and Donald Crawford present a little known adenda to the story of the Romanov Tsars. Their research and sympathetic presentation offers entrance for the reader into the great love story of Michael and Natasha. It quickly catches you up in a pace, all too fast, racing to a tragic finalle. The reader is plundged into the confusion and multiple currants of the Russian experience of the First World War and then, the following Revolution. You shout helplessly at the book, "flee for your lives!" during the short window that they had that opportunity. You pour over and over the wonderful pictures as you become more and more familiar with the characters. I was supprised at a new and revealing discription of Nicholas and Alexandra, showing them with all their weaknesses, bumps and warts. It was interesting that the brothers, Nicholas and Michael shared the trait of complete love and devotion to one woman. One wonders about the family dynamics that produced such a shared commitment. The book is another opportunity to examine the Russian capacity for ineptitude that still goes on today. In the sum, it is the account of a great love story, doomed by it's time.

As an avid fan of Russian history and letters, I was delighted by the publication of Michael and Natasha: The Life and Love of Michael II, the Last of the Romanov Tsars, by Rosemary and Donald Crawford. I was first intrigued by Michael Romanov and Natasha Wulfert through Kyril FitzLyon and Tatiana Browning's superb pictorial volume, Before the Revolution: Russia and Its People Under the Czar, where the couple appears photographed together on the occasion of Natasha's birthday. Somehow, and despite the grandeur of their surroundings and attire -- the epitome of that majestic and romantic age -- they came across as very appealing and almost modern individuals. Their story is the moving saga of a love that was doomed, not merely due to differences in pedigree and status, but because of historic forces they (particularly Michael, with his unswerving belief in human kindness) unfortunately underestimated. Throughout this engaging work, the quality that most vividly comes across is the couple's deep and abiding love for one another -- a love that survived ostracism, political cataclysms, and, one is convinced, even the alleged finality of death. The lifestyle they exemplified, spent amid the grandeur of vast country estates, brilliant St. Petersburg salons, and the intrigues of the Romanov court, has been faithfully preserved by Russia's leading authors in enduring works of fiction, and, in fact, striking parallels exist between Natasha and Tolstoi's immortal Anna Karenina. That Natasha herself may have examined the similarities, with perhaps a mixture of dread and amusement, is a clear possibility, as she was a cultivated woman who, moreoever, moved in artistic circles. Status, rank, and privileged position notwithstanding, both Michael and Natasha reveal themselves, through letters and contemporary testimonies, as thoroughly decent human beings who found themselves (proverbially) at the wrong place and time in history, and whose love, courage, and integrity alone were no match against a harsh age. Foreknowledge of the events that conspired and ultimately triumphed over their hopes for happiness and, indeed, their very existence, is not a damper to the reader's obstinate hope that, despite history's well known verdict, they and their private world will endure. Natasha, noted for the beauty of her "sad eyes," perhaps always sensed that tragedy would one day overtake her, even when tangible evidence of that fact was still far in the future. Michael, an avid photographer, left behind a rich pictorial record of their brief time together, so as to capture and preserve moments that, in their poignancy, he perhaps sensed were too lovely and fragile to endure. Reading this excellent work of biography, one is again moved to sorrow by the fate of the Romanovs who, despite their political blindness, did not deserve the cruel and bloody end which, with rare exceptions, befell most of their lineage. If there is a flaw to the biography at all, it is that a story that was so consistently rich in intimate detail for nearly 400 pages is abruptly cut off with Natasha's acceptance of Michael's tragic fate six years after his disappearance in 1918. Her own later life, which encompassed nearly three decades, is quickly summarized in a few terse paragraphs that leave the curious reader somewhat disoriented. Though her own ending in poverty, loneliness, and illness is almost too disturbing to absorb after all she has had to endure, I believe Natasha (and those interested in her fate) deserved a more gradual and gentle farewell.

Summary: Think of this book as an update of The Discipline of Market Leaders as applied to consumer products and services companies. The conclusions are based on a suvey of 5000 consumers and reveal deep discontent with the many manipulative practices that companies use. The authors identify the key dimensions of any consumer products or services company as being defined by price, product, access, service, and experience. The key lesson is to pick one area to outperform everyone else, one area to be a strength, and not to fall below industry par everywhere else. Almost all consumer companies will benefit from reexamining their business models and execution in light of this book's content.

Review: Seldom is a new way of thinking about business models tied to end-user research. That rare linking adds both depth and breadth to the content of The Myth of Excellence.

The methodology was a powerful one. Find out from consumers who they like, and why they like them. Take the results, and analyze them for their potential business model choice implications and to spot weaknesses in implementation.

If you are like me, you will find some of these dimensions to be a little different than the way you usually think about business models. That's good, because it will stretch your thinking. In particular, the concept of access will be new. The idea is to make it easier to get a broader range of offerings. Think of this as being like a concierge who gets things for you at a fine hotel. You don't know the area, or where the best choices are. The concierge shares that knowledge, and your stay is improved.

What hit me most powerfully in this book were the quotes about how angry consumers are about mixed messages out there. For example, many stores say you can take things back . . . but most make the experience of returning items so unpleasant that no one would go back. Or a company may advertise how friendly its stores are, and have large signs about writing personal checks that make it clear that they think the customers are potential fraud artists. A company may promote having low prices, and then raise them by 20 percent connected to giving away something for free that is less valuable. Those examples show hypocritical behavior as well as lack of respect for customers. They think we are very stupid and subservient. Well, your purchases may just go to someone else.

These observations were tied to the concept of there being three levels of business relationship: acceptable, preferred, and trusted. The book's point is that the most successful will be trusted based on their outstanding performance in one dimension, strength in another, and dependable performance in everything else. We are all busy and distracted. We need trusted companies who will look out for our interests, so we can spend the time we would normally use checking up on them doing something more urgent and important . . . like be with our children.

These examples are also helpfully tied down by many examples of businesses that you know, and new examples from Europe and small companies in the United States that you will not know. I thought the examples were very interesting, and look forward to trying the services and products of these new companies to me like Superquinn in Ireland and Circles in Boston.

There is a sort of half science fiction, half tongue-in-cheek section at the end of the book that projects where these levels of performance could be many years in the future. You'll have a good laugh here.

The only weakness I saw in the book is the lack of a serious take on how rapidly new elements of consumer business models might emerge, and how rapidly competition will require companies to be excellent in outperforming others in more business model elements. My own research suggests that the standard described in this book will probably be obsolete in the near future. For those who fall well below this standard now, the book will be a superb resource. For those who are at the top of their industry's game, the book will not be as helpful.

After you finish thinking about this fine work, I suggest that you spend time every week being an anonymous customer of your own company. Buy and use the competitors' products and services as well. Then ask yourself: How are you doing today?

Extend effectively beyond the best . . . always!

Crawford (executive vice president, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young) and Mathews (futurist, FirstMatter) suggest that companies that strive for excellence in everything they do often fail to achieve success in anything that is important to their market success. Instead, based on their study of more than 10,000 consumers and interviews with major international executives, they argue that organizations should rank their goals and select one transaction component (price, product, service, access, experience) in which to excel and one in which to differentiate; in the remaining three they should strive to meet the industry standard. The authors also discuss the importance of respect, trust, fairness, and honesty to business success. They illustrate their consumer relevancy model in discussing the success of various companies, e.g., McDonald's, Best Buy, Krispy Kreme, and Southwest Airlines. The following chapter titles reflect coverage: "The New Model for Consumer Relevancy;" "Would I Lie to You?: The Overrated Importance of Lowest Price;" and "Why Good is Good Enough: Choice and the Issue of Product Bandwidth." A succinct writing style and excellent contemporary examples enhance the presentation. Although written for business practitioners, the book should be required reading for upper-division undergraduate business majors. An excellent Internet site supplements the volume. Recommended for academic and professional collections

A very good book, not only easy to read but enjoyable and motivating as well. I believe these guys are right on the money with their research and analysis. I agree with the interrpretations of the research data and found myself saying "Yes, that's just how I feel." in response to many of the stories of customer interactions.

I believe that this book addresses the most important areas of business today and identifies what consumers are "screaming" for - SERVICE, RESPECT, etc. Most of this book is common sence - it's amazing how uncommon it is that these principles are put into practice. We are at a transition in the business world where product quality is easily duplicated by many competitors. Customer service and the customer "experience" will be the deciding factor in the decades to come. I would hope that all businesses would buy this book and work towards being the kind of companies used in the case studies here. What a pleasure it would be if all of our day to day dealings were with companies of this caliber!

The authors recognition of the end of the Information age and movement into a new age where "appreciation and reverence for life" become the motivating factors for those who wish to succeed, shows just how in-tune they are with the world around us. This recognition will be invaluable to all businesses as time goes on - now, who will take advantage of it and use it wisely?

I highly reccommend this book for everyone from the CEO to the consumer. People are asking (demanding) for RESPECT, as they should, and the businesses that understand this and embrace this will be the future winners.

This is a good book. Unfortunately, it's a follow-on to an EXCELLENT book ("The Not So Big House"), and fares poorly by comparison. As this later volume is sold as a companion book in collection with the original, it's entirely fair to take this comparison into account.

So what's wrong with "Creating the Not So Big House"? It comes down to the writing, the photos, the editing, and the content. To be clear, none of these four areas are terrible -- but the first book hit high marks in all respects. So I'll go through each in turn.

Sarah Susanka is by training an architect rather than an author. The text shows the lack of a professional writer, for example, in excessive use of commas, separating both dependent and independent clauses, resulting in choppy sentences, just like this one. (A real quote: "By adding the new area as a separate structure, connected to the old house by a flat-roofed section, the existing roof could remain untouched, which was a major money saver.") It is clear that freelance writer Kira Obolensky made valuable contributions to the original "The Not So Big House".

This volume and "The Not So Big House" have the same format: 10" x 10" square, with photographs pushing to all four page edges at times. Most photos in the first book are at least 1/4 page in size (25 square inches); about 20% (or over 40 of the 200+) in "Creating the Not So Big House" are under 6 square inches, and in many cases they're just too small to be worthwhile. An example from page 129: "A spacious pantry serves the same function as cupboards" -- but the size of the photo renders this "spacious" pantry only 5/32" across.

Their size apart, the photographs by Grey Crawford are well composed, with excellent contrast and color depth. It's unfortunate that Susanka had to rely on photos from other architects for some projects. "Photo courtesy Jacobson Silverstein Winslow" generally labels the disappointments.

Moving along to the editing: I REALLY miss the first book's use of orientation arrows matching the photos to the plans. With the frequent small size, as noted above, it's often difficult to match the two. Also, the layout editing is weak. The book features numerous oversized box quotes in the margins. These sentences are all in the text anyway, and repeating them just takes away from space that would be MUCH better used for larger photographs. This technique of spotlighting key sentences is an editorial gimmick to get people to read an article as they're flipping through a magazine. In a book rather than a periodical it's purely annoying. Naturally, the original "The Not So Big House" doesn't have this fault; it reserves large margin text for quotes from the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright.

It's gospel that you sell houses at daytime, with all the interior lights turned on. This theme is carried to extreme in "Creating the Not So Big House". Only 5 (out of well over 200) interior photographs are shot without daylight. (The first book had 13 nighttime photos out of a smaller total.) Doesn't Susanka realize that many of us see our houses primarily at night? If she's serious about DESIGNING for the way we really live, how about SHOWING it the way we live?

Finally, there are relatively few new design concepts compared to the first book. In "The Not So Big House" Susanka discussed the value of substantial trim around doors and windows, built-ins, an "away" room, double-duty spaces, varying ceiling heights, acoustical privacy, and at least a dozen other design thoughts that aren't commonly preached to the home-buying public. "Creating the Not So Big House" only adds a smattering of new ideas: a pod of space, themes and variations, spatial layering, and golden mean proportioning.

Now that I've finished with the complaints I'll depart on an upbeat note. Its refreshing breadth of architectural designs adds utility to "Creating the Not So Big House" over the first book's emphasis on Craftsman style. In a book that attempts to teach by illustration it's very helpful to show a variety of forms in the hope that one of them may resonate with the dreams of potential home builders.

I keep buying copies of this book because its a book friends and new acquaintances pick up and fall in love with and I end up saying "Oh take it...let it be my gift"... The fact that it is so popular with all my friend who come from all walks of life tells me that its a book that just about anyone will like and a book that the reader will find something of interest and use in.

Beth

Sarah Susanka's The Not So Big House certainly hit home with me. We downsized our not all-that-big house by moving temporarily to a flat (while on an assignment.) This absolutely sold me on "less is more" But I have no idea how I'd build a smaller house to suit my tastes. That's where this book comes in handy. While many of the houses are over 1,000 square feet (which is large by European standards, by the way), the analysis of WHAT you need in a house is very valuable.

By evaluating what is important to you to feel at home and to do at home, you can come up with ideas to create the ideal and cosy home. For example, we hang out in the office/computer room/den at home and only use the living room for music. So a large living room would be probably not as useful as a well-designed computer center.

There are pictures here of 20 new houses and 5 remodeled houses; plenty of food for thought and ideas. A very useful book.

This is the first O'Reilly-book I'm a bit of disappointed with.

"Java Enterprise in a Nutshell" simply ignores a lot of APIs/packages of the J2EE, like javax.servlet.jsp, javax.naming.event, javax.naming.ldap or the whole javax.mail-API, some of which surely have a great practical relevance. On the other hand it has a quick reference of SQL, something that does not really belong here. It wouldn't have disturbed me, if all relevant APIs had been covered, but they hadn't.

All covered APIs on the other hand are as good dealt with as always.

Because of the given shortcomings: just 3 stars.

Disclaimer: I am an avowed O'Reilly technical series fan, and proud of it. Whenever I want to understand a new technology I head to the O'Reilly shelf in my local Borders before I look anywhere else. So adjust your expectations accordingly.

As the name implies, this massive tome (971 pages stem to stern) covers a mind numbing range of technologies associated with "Enterprise" Java software development. There are 17 sections in all, as well as your standard API reference pages. As you would expect, all of the usual suspects are there - Servlets, JSP's, EJB's, JNDI, RMI, CORBA, etc. In addition there were other enterprise technologies that I found useful as well - Messaging, SQL, Java Mail and so on.

When I sat down with this book my intention was to skim through each section, look to see if there was anything that they missed, and crank out the 'ol review. What I found was enough content in each of the technical sections to draw me into actually reading the whole section. I mean, who would take the time to read a full section on CORBA nowadays unless there were interesting things there (yes, I see all of you CORBA proponents shaking your fists out there - don't you have some IDL to write?).

Once I completed the reference sections I cracked open the latter half of the book to take a peek at the API section. I found it well organized, asthetically pleasing, and about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. Note that this API publishing is NOT unique to O'Reilly - It seems that most of the technical publishing companies still commit arboreal mass murder to publish these API sections. Note to publishers: When the half life of the information you are printing is measured in months, think about a different delivery mechanism. I actually timed how long it took to find a reference using JavaDoc API info and a book. IIRC the JavaDoc lookup was about 3 times faster.

Enough of that drivel. Back to the review. As you read through the different technical sections of this book the individual styles of the authors become apparent - you can tell that different sections are written by different authors. This is A GOOD THING - you are getting the technical poop from the one that knows the subject best. To rely on a single author for this size of reference would leave a lot of gray area.

There is one specific area that I want to drill into, and that is the technical examples. I consider myself a relatively informed and skilled enterprise software architect (in the J2EE world - don't get me started on that Dot Net [stuff]). When I see a manual entitled Java Enterprise - I am expecting not only an API reference (see API rant above), but some real meat as to best practices in building enterprise level applications using this technology.

So how did this book due in the technical example area? I'd have to give it a B. In most cases the examples were adequate to explain the technology at hand, but not really give deep insight into how best to take advantage of said technology. Now, don't get me wrong - this book has earned a place on the "near" bookshelf (the place where I keep all of my most referenced manuals). My opinion is that when you are trying to serve to very different purposes (desktop reference / enterprise technology primer) something has to give.

Let me give a couple of examples of what I am talking about:

1) In the JDBC section there is a point where the book identifies OODBMS (Object Oriented DBMS) databases as a possible alternative to the rigors of Object/Relational mapping. Yes, the technology exists and does work, but how many companies out there run enterprise systems off of OODBMS's? It's a small market, and with the massive investments that most US companies have in RDB's that equation is not going to change soon. To say that OODB's are an alternative is a good thing in a quick reference, but in my opinion needs a disclaimer if mentioned in an enterprise java book. Along those same lines it wouldn't have hurt to mention some of the available O/R mapping tools out there (go Open Source!).

2) In the Servlets section there is a point where an application implementation is mentioned to illustrate a technical point (binding a java.sql.Connection instance to a HTTP session). Right in the same paragraph the author mentions that this is a "bad idea" (no kidding - unless you are an Oracle sales rep...). Now why go to all of the effort of painting this example, and then telling the reader that they shouldn't ever do it? Guys - take the time to figure out a valid example that illustrates the part of the API that you are explaining, 'kay?

Again, don't get the wrong idea here. I'm definitely not panning this book. It's a valuable resource and worth the $...that you are going to plunk down for it. But if you are going to write a desktop reference for Enterprise Java make sure that the examples are restauraunt quality. After all, there is enough bad code out there in the world, and we can't have our beloved O'Reilly contributing to it, can we?

In Summary (Finally! he's almost done!):

As I mentioned before, this book has earned the right to be within arms reach from my little work pod. Not only is it a comprehensive reference, it makes a handy workout aide as well (971 pages...). And do yourself a favor. If you haven't checked out the O'Reilly line of technical books, head down to the nearest bookstore, grab yourself a double latte (try the Irish Cream and Hazelnut mixed together), find a comfy chair and give the series a once-over. You'll be glad you did.

Jonathan House

This most recent 'in a nutshell' offering from O'Reilly hardly seems like it'll fit into a nutshell, at least not any nutshell I've ever seen. Despite the increase in size (almost double the size of the 1st edition), this book still manages to deliver a concise introduction to Enterprise Java. Part of the increase is the addition of chapters on JSP, XML, JMS, and Java Mail. Many of the chapters carried over from the 1st edition have been updated to the most recent specifications; JDBC 2.0, Servlets 2.2 and 2.3, and JSP 1.2.

The entire book is an excellent reference to Enterprise Java, I would not advise it as the only book you have on the subject because it is very concise and an alternative source with different explanations would be very helpful (you can say that about almost any programming book though, so that is hardly a failing). The condensed API at the end of the book is very helpful and its expanded explanations of the different APIs makes it easier to understand them, as opposed to going straight from the Java Docs.

Packed with both snippets and full length, compilable code, the examples are very helpful and help to illustrate all of the key concepts of Enterprise Java and go along way to improving the readers understanding. Even if you already have the first edition the additional, and updated, content made this second edition a valuable edition to my reference collection. However, if you've already got the first edition and have additional references for some of the added material (JSP, XML, JMS, and Java Mail) then you probably don't need this book, unless you want it all together in one place.