I read this book after I had joined one of the nation's top PR firms. Had I read it earlier, I could have avoided some early mistakes since I did not have an extensive PR background. This book has plenty of practical advice that is on track to help you succeed in the PR world.

Do your press releases result in news coverage? Do reporters return your phone calls? If not,"On Deadline" is THE book you need to be successful in building relationships with the media.

The fundamentals I learned in ON DEADLINE helped me create a successful media relations program. I liked this book because it helped me organize my efforts and target the appropriate audiences. Media Relations is a challenging job, and ON DEADLINE breaks it down into easy steps.

Whether you are new to this field or are on old pro, you can take away valuable tips from this book. From getting started to building trusting relationships with reporters to ethics to media events and through crisis planning, Mathews and Howard walk the reader through the challenges and rewards faced by media relations professionals.

Being on a journalist's "A" List is no accident...if you want to have a solid relationship with the media, you have to work at it. ON DEADLINE speaks to the virtues all media relations professionals must have to get the desired results for their companies. An effective media relations plan is more than a mound of newspaper clippings, and ON DEADLINE details the significance of strategic media relations planning. In Chapter 3, "Tools of the Trade," ON DEADLINE provides a no-nonsense approach to writing effective press releases that are worthy of news coverage. In addition, the main ideas from Chapter 6, entitled "Ethics - The Golden Rules of Media Relations," should be posted in the office of every media relations professional. Of course, what good is a media relations program without measuring the results? Chapter 10, "Evaluation," details methods that can be implemented to measure the effectiveness of any media relations effort.

If you want to be a successful media relations professional, ON DEADLINE is the only book you will need to succeed in this business.

Founded in late 1960 in France, at a colloquium on the work of Raymond Queneau, in order to research new writing by combining mathematics and literature (and also to just horse around) the Oulipo (The Ouvrior de LittÈrature Potentielle or Oulipo (The Workshop of Potential Literature)) expanded to include all writing using self-imposed restrictive systems.

Potential Literature, to me, seems an extension of Surrealism, which used the methods of literary production to critique modernism's obsession with the literary artifact; instead of the myth of the artist alone in some garret painstakingly crafting a Work of Art, literature is automatically generated by timed writing, or mechanically generated by multiple authors with games like the Exquisite Corpse or pieced together in a collage of found text. The Oulipo extends this the critique of modernism by exploring ways that literature can be produced as a result of mathematical formulas, or by building complex rules that limit writer's potential choices, or by the construction of new literary forms.

This book serves as a short introduction to the methods of potential literature several reprints from the groups pamphlet series, including François Le Lionnais's Manifestos and Italo Calvino's essay "How I Wrote One of My Books," which served as the blue print for If On a Winter's Nigh a Traveler.

Oulipo is a body of generative ideas rather than a critical or analytical method. It does away with philosophical underpinning in favor of just generating writing. Raymond Queneau regretted that writer's didn't use tools like other craftsmen. With word-processors, they do and this text supplies a range of techniques for extending mechanical writing beyond spell check. The muse has had her hard drive reformatted.

This book is a riot! I highly recommend it. All of the texts are funny but Fornel's Suburbia is the funniest produced yet by the Oulipians. In addition, this book is a good introduction to the aesthetics of Oulipo, a group of writers who are underappreciated by the American audience.

It seems unnecessary to point out that this book is only for the true political junkie, since it's unlikely that anyone else would pick up a 700-page book with Clinton, Bush, and Perot on the cover in the first place. But for diehard politicos like myself, this book is a terrific account of the '92 campaign. The lengthy passages on political strategy may be trying for some, but the behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the three major campaigns (not to mention those of Jerry Brown, Pat Buchannan, et al) are fantastic.

I found this book to be extremely interesting and full of insight about the candidates and their campaigns. It also effectively represents the overall mood of the campaign and the issues facing the US at the time. Fascinating for anyone who is interested in presidential elections, and politics generally.

As a professional sprouter I have plenty of experience - and - have read every book under the sun on sprouts. Mark's book is full of terrible puns but when it comes to information on a wide variety of seeds is better than any other I have seen. It still suffers from the same problem as all the others - it states THE WAY to sprout. I have found that there are many ways to sprout and very few hard and fast rules. The result is that newbies follow the written advice and refrain from experimenting - thus limiting their sprouting experience and, I fear - the joy of that experience. It seems to me that everyone who writes books on sprouting must have read a book before they ever sprouted and that they eventually pass on the same misinformation they originally took as fact. I on the other hand didn't read a book until I'd sprouted for a year or more, and when I did I read that things that worked well for me couldn't possibly work at all. So, take what you read with a grain of salt and know this: seeds want to germinate (sprout). If you expose them to moisture they will do it, so sprouting is nothing more than making the the conditions good. Experiment freely. Happy Sprouting :-)

Mark did a great job of updating this book! It is packed with a whole lot more info (not that the 1st edition wasn't packed as well) and is layed out beautifully. All I said in my review of the 1st edition still goes, but I now kinda enjoy the puns and the additional info makes this book even more indispensable. This is the BEST BOOK ON SPROUTING that currently exists! When all is said and done this is what remains: We (The Sproutpeople) have grown over 180 tons of sprouts (by hand) - from over 70 types of seed - since 1993, and when we have a question that we don't know the answer to, we pick up THIS BOOK!

Book readers looking for a fast moving intriguing scenario with mixed multiple plots will enjoy this "fast read."

How the small South Dakota community copes with the invasion of so many bikers in a rally mood is well handled by the author. It speaks well for the adaptability of community spirit that is so lacking in other writings these days. Some of the several conflicts that arise are dealt with in a balanced manner. The author allows the reader to come to some of their own conclusions. Readers should be able to participate as the author has so well sculptured her characters and their coping with the real world.

Looking forward to more in the near future!

If you want a terrific vacation in a wonderful place you have to read this book. You may hate motor cycles, but you will love this South Dakota story. People who live on the coasts think that the Midwest is fly over country, this is the real America with real people. The author has a wonderful way of describing the people who live in and visit South Dakota. The reason so many people of every description return to South Dakota to take a vacation is that it's just like the author tells it. The locals are just plain great to visitors. The Black Hills are one of the world's great treasures. Get this book and plan a vacation in one of the last great places...Sweet Thunder. If you want to be with 500,000 bikers make it the lst full week of August each year. If you don't like Harleys skip this week and and more of the interesting locals will be in Sweet Thunder to greet you. Every town in the Black Hills is fun to visit.

There is something funny about saying Haktak. It makes the book enjoyable to read. A very fun folktale that I had never heard before. My daughter got it as a library book and I am considering buying it for her.

Lily Toy Hong's book is a delight for both children and adults alike. Her colorful and comical illustrations please the soul, and both the text and the pictures keep the attention of all school-aged children.

In the state of Utah, the children in the schools and public libraries selected her book as The Best Picturebook of the Year in conjunction with nominees presented by the Utah Librarian's Association.

Lily's book shows Chinese characters and artifacts depicted in authentic dress and style. How do I know? I am one of her sisters raised in a loving home of parents and grandparents who immigrated from China and who preserved many of the ways of their roots.

Any classroom teacher (which I am) who is looking for a book to raise the spirits and share a fun Chinese folktale with need look no further than Two of Everything! (Math teachers can use it to introduce the concept of doubling, and expand it to tripling, etc.)

Respectfully, Kim Hong Wu

"Oh, first we siphoned off the blood from a careful tiny slash in a vein, put it into gobs of gallon jars we'd ripped off from the A&W and the caterers, trying not to spill a drop. It would be used as part of a ritual when we returned home." If this kind of dark, scary literature appeals to you then JAY'S JOURNAL is the read for you. In this book, written in 1979 by Dr. Beatrice Sparks, a young teenage boy, "Jay", deals with the problems of drugs, sex, and most of all the Occult. While "Jay" is put through rehab and constantly tormented by his parents to get out, he is never able to shake the witchcraft and satanic practices of the Occult. Throughout the story Jay participates in acts of mutilation, torture, death, and orgy all climaxing when he and his two friends sell their "auwa's (soul's)" to the devil. This non-fiction book is hauntingly written in the author,"Jay's", own cryptic style. The text is filled with vivid images of occurrences from day to day."He's always growing a pretty good mustache; I'm trying but it looks like the moths have been in it. Like a dirty, fuzzy, little, barely visible caterpillar on my lip." The piece is written by a teenage boy, not a professional author, which definitely helps to make his problems seem more real. "Jay" is always talking in the first person, so we as readers are able to experience the events with him. Another strong point for the book is in the preface when the editor, Dr. Beatrice Sparks is describing "Jay's" life prior to the occult. "Jay was an exceptionally intelligent and articulate boy, with an I.Q. of 149+...He often worried that his friends weren't able to handle things the way he could because of his detached, intellectual approach." As this book was written without the author knowing it was going to be published, there was a lack of an ending to the story. This is impossible to correct because the author killed himself (assumedly) at the end of the story and couldn't write about that because he was dead. Along with the main character in this story, "Jay", is also a host of other individuals with cameos in the story. Brad and Dell are "Jay's" best friends also become entrapped in the occult. "Two stars over the left breast represented his 'eternal and forever' buddies, Dell and Brad." Debbie and Tina are also two characters that have a part in the story. Debbie is the crush Jay is trying to get over when Tina(with the occult) sweeps him off his feet. This book is geared towards young adults however much of the content is mature, and may be disturbing to some of the audience. It is a very similar read to GO ASK ALICE also written by Beatrice Sparks. That story is also a diary about a young persons life and the problems they had. Although the details are gory and explicit, this is an excellent choice of reading material. It incorporates all the elements of a suspense thriller along with those of a mystery horror novel.

I read this book after I read 'go ask Alice' this book I under stand is fiction, although the author perceives it to be a real diary. It's pretty scary and disturbing. Some parts of the book doesn't make any sense, but it's definitely worth ready. If you liked this book, or even if you never read this book, I recommend Go Ask Alice instead, It's a little less creepy.I still get chills thinking about it (and I read this book like 2 or 3 years ago)

Jay was just a teenager. A 16 year old that had so much potential: a 149 iq, president of the debate club, good grades, a girlfriend, a good friends. But his life went horribly wrong. Even in the beginning of his journal, Jay dabbled curiously in the occult: Oujea boards, auwas, and auras. The tone he was using suggested that he could handle it, that it was just his hobby that can be dropped anytime. But his hobby turned into an obsession, and soon he was playing with the dark forces of evil: animal sacrifices and black witchcraft. Throughout the second half of his journal, he kept saying that HE WOULD GET OUT. And yet, he was trapped in his world. He is trapped with a demon, Raul, that won't stop hovering over him. Right until the end, he makes desperate attempts to break out of his world once and for all, even saying in one of his last entries, "I must, I will call the Bishop." When the journal finally stopped with its tragic ending, I was stunned and disturbed. This book is not just a story that is meant to teach kids about staying away from drugs. It is meant to encourage teenagers to believe in their God (or the spirit that offers them love and forgiveness)without hesitation. There are strange and evil forces out there, waiting to prey upon anyone who seems willing. Perhaps Raul is out there... I would not reccmommend this book to teens under sixteen, and only those teenagers that are truely mature enough to read about Jay's unsuccessful battle with life.

This is the horrifically real tale of people and lost dreams. The story takes place in New York in the 1930's -40's. The main charcter, Nick is a bondsman from Wisconsin who happens to move into a house nextdoor to the mysterious Jay Gatsby who throws extraveagnt parties nightly. Nick's summer in New York was a colorful menagerie of elaborate society where he meets his sweetheart and gets into some mixups with his cousin Daisy and Gatsby. Nick discovers after not too much time there is a reason why Gatsby's past is so elusive and that there is a very real and very powerful agenda on Gatsby's mind. The Great Gatsby was an awesome book. Fitzgerald has a bold voice in his writing and expresses abstrsct ideas in a very tangible form. It gave a tragic look into life and society of the East Coast and the forlorn hopes that people hold to in their minds. Gatsby was a pleasant read and the sentences seemed to contain so much substance that I found myself rereading a lot so I wouldn't miss anything. I read the authorized text, so it was identical to the original publication, so it was wholly preserved. I would reccommend this book as intriguing and enchanting to most.

Although F. Scott Fitzgerald's book "The Great Gatsby" may seem a tad superficial upon the first reading, it really is quite a gem when examined closer. There are many important and significant symbols that are so intricately and subtly woven into the story, that only a careful reader would be able to catch them all. Fitzgerald makes excellent use of colour symbolism in things such as Gatsby's clothing and car, and the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, place symbolism, in regards to East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, and time symbolism, which can be caught when one looks at the timeline that the book follows. Fitzgerald's seemingly shallow depiction of five characters in the roaring twenties is really a symbolic masterpiece and a classic novel of the twentieth century. A must-read for any deep reader, or anyone who wants to become one.

I really enjoyed and would highly recommend reading The Great Gatsby. Overall, it was an easy read, and for the most part, a light-hearted, entertaining story. It had an interesting plot with remarkable characters to support it. Even though it was written almost a century ago, it is still easy to appreciate Fitzgerald's ideas and style of writing.
The book was very well written for many reasons. I liked the fact that it was a first person narrative. I personally enjoy first person novel because I think that the insight of the narrator makes the reader relate to the story more, as opposed to the neutral position of a third person story. The narrative offered details vivid enough to easily imagine the setting. I was not familiar with the setting in New York, but the descriptiveness was clear enough for me to picture the scenes. Also, the writing style was excellent at using setting as a device to convey emotion, and in a few instances, foreshadowing. The plot is fast moving and I really enjoyed the unexpected plot twist towards the end. The small side plots that arose between the supporting characters sustained my interest also. The story was very much to the point, and did not at any time drag on.
The strongest part of the writing was the development, connections, and introduction of the characters. Nick Cattaway fits the role of the narrator perfectly and provides a central connection among all the other characters. It allowed me to feel more sympathetic towards the characters because of Nick's sympathy for his friends. The order in which he introduces the characters and then slowly revealed how their lives were intertwined made for a very interesting story. My favorite of the introductions was the surprisingly low key intro to Gatsby. However, this character was the only one that I wasn't satisfied with, and proved to be the only flaw I found with the book.
The lack of development of the character of Gatsby was very disappointing for me. After such a unique entrance, in addition to the title, I expected much more than the book offered. Although more is revealed about Gatsby as the story progresses, I still didn't feel a connection to the character. Since Gatsby was intended to be a mysterious character, that may be the reason the lack of information about him. However, there seemed to be a true depth missing that was hinted at, but was never fully communicated. This was especially true in the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. The intensity of Gatsby's feelings seemed to be glanced over.
Besides that minor negative point, the book was very good, and as a said before I recommend it to anyone looking for a short but enjoyable book to read.

This book is not at all practical. It has over explained individual topics to the extent that it is even confusing. It is the last book to be used for quick reference. Contents are of absolutely of no practical value. Go elsewhere if you want to learn to apply webservices. This book is quite useless to me and I am a very experienced J2EE architect.

it might be a good beginner's book for understanding the basics of web services. When you start dealing with realworld web services architecture situations, all you get from this book is just how to make a simple hello-world JAXRPC, JAXM example working -- beyond that i had no more use of the book. The chapters on SOA, transactions, practical considerations, security are nothing but theoretical junk with no example proof. After browsing all the pages, I don't find anything which show how to build a working java Web services architecture. The word architecture is abused and does'nt make sense for this title.

This book has a random collection and series of topics, after skimping thru it briefly, it appears to be very terse and I'm not sure if it can be said as a helpful "tutorial" as such for any beginning Java web service learner other than showing what is web services all about and nothing beyond. From an architect perspective, all you get is junk content stretching nowhere.
I absolutely decided to return the book when I found a section discussing specifically on Microsoft UDDI (Pages 183 to 185). I am surprised, why the authors from sun went clueless to pick on using Microsoft UDDI for Java Web services ignoring sun xws, xmethods and ibm. My verdict is this book is not worth its weight and price at the moment.

Hackworth's Newsweek credentials and military experience have given him a unique ability to observe the operations of our armed forces over the past ten years in Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Korea, and Bosnia. His analysis is critical of many of the leaders and decision makers in our military establishment. His critisim centers on the leadership, equipment, and policy decisions which cause soldiers to be killed needlessly. He has a keen eye. Even though I detect some self-serving nature to his narrative, I find myself agreeing with his analysis and most of his conclusions. This book should be required reading for all military officers with a rank of Colonel or above, and any defense industry civilian working in a decision making position, and for government and Congressional leaders dealing with defense issues. Paul J. Kratz, US Army (retired).

When Ike left office, he warned of the emmergence of a military industrial complex. A union forged between high ranking officers in the military, defense contractors, and legislators. Each member of this triangle has a different goal, but a common road that leads to that goal. In this book, Hack documents the toll that the "triangle" is taking, on the soldiers of this country and on its' economy. Hack presents disturbing example after another of how neglected our troops are, from that "gem" of a weapon called the m-16 that cursed our boys in Vietnam, to the cavalier attitude u.n. commanders displayed in mis-using OUR troops in Somalia. When someone tells you that the sky is purple, you don't need to read the detailed report they put together explaining their conclusion, just look out the window and see for yourself. Hack has reported from the front by giving us a first hand look at what no "triangle" spin-doctor can justify, willfull neglect and mis-use of our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. This behaviour does not border on criminal, it goes way beyond that.

Col Hackworth does it again in giving the combat soldier's front line experiences, problems, and on site management of same. Combine this book with his book "About Face" and the Korean/Vietnam tragedies are seen in a much different light than that portrayed in and by the media and many politicians before, during, and after US military involvement in Korea and/or Vietnam.These books by Hackworth are not solely for the military student or professional. They are equally for the civilian politician and taxpaying public that provides for and/or pays the bills for the US (and many foreign) military establishments and similar activities. (Read also Amazon Book Review of "About Face" by Robert W Sheehy)