Following in the terrific legacy of the benchmark Architectural Graphic Standards book, this edition clearly makes building for residences an easier task. I've found innumerable details that I've used in my residential practice on a daily basis, details not found in other reference books. Of particular help are the pages that give an overview of how parts of a house interconnect with each other, such as foundation-to-framing. Also, there is a wealth of info on HVAC, new window technology and other things I've found very, very helpful.

As one of the members of the Arsenal Ship Government team, I was pleased to see the comprehensive and frank insights to the program provided by the book. Rand Corp was hired by the program office at the beginning to document what was a ground-breaking experiment in Navy ship acquisition and they did an outstanding job of capturing the complete story. They pull no punches in describing the program's development, with views from both industry and Government, and the reasons for its ultimate demise. Everyone interested in Naval history will find this a fascinating read.

This inexpensive softcover guide is nicely printed and contains an excellent selection of 256 masterpieces from the AIC. The color reproductions are quite good for a book this modestly sized. Each entry is accompanied by a generous amount of illuminating text. All in all, it's perfect for your next visit to the AIC, or simply for home browsing.

this is a fantastic collection of some of the best works of art. the quality of the book, and the clarity of the images are sensational. a must for all who appreciate great works of art.

If you want to have a collection of some of the best calligraphic works in one book, this is the book for you!

...Author David Korn reveals a compelling tale of how Arafat and his PLO organization kidnapped and assasinated two American diplomats. In the minutes before 7 p.m. on March 1, 1973, a routine diplomatic reception was breaking up at the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. But as the ambassadors left the party and disbursed to find their drivers, a volley of machine-gun bullets suddenly interrupted the quiet scene. Eight masked gunmen of "Black September", a covert Palestinian organization, burst into the embassy's main reception room. There, the diplomats were forced to sit on the floor and identify themselves by nationality. The masked men then proceeded to release most of the reception attendeed, keeping just five: two Americans (Ambassador Cleo Allen Noel, Jr. and Chargé d'Affaires George Curtis Moore), a Belgian, a Jordanian, and a Saudi. The gunmen then sent out a list of their demands, which included the freeing of jailed Palestinian terrorists, including Abu Daoud, a leader of the "Black September" organization; the freeing of Sirhan Sirhan, Robert Kennedy's killer, from jail in California; and the freeing of "Palestinian women in prison in Israel."

Twenty-six hours of feverish negotiations then went by. On the evening of the 2nd, the Beirut headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) sent an order of execution to the terrorists via radio broadcast: "Why are you waiting? The people's blood in the Cold River cries for vengeance" ("Cold River" was the code word for executing the captives). Yasir Arafat, chairman of the PLO then as now, personally delivered this order to murder. Soon after he did, the two Americans and the Belgian were bound, lined up against a basement wall, and executed in gangland fashion -- all eight gunmen simultaneously pulling on their triggers.

A decade earlier, the author David Korn, had worked Moore, one of the two dead Americans. During the siege at the Khartoum embassy, Korn worked at the Department of State's Operations Center, doing what little he could to save the lives of his two colleagues. Unsuccessful in that effort, he kept the story in mind and now, twenty years later, has published a study which suitably remembers the victims and honors their memory.

But Assassination in Khartoum does more: it has a current significance the author could not possibly have anticipated. Korn's meticulous inquiry into the killings at Khartoum raises important questions about the PLO as an institution, the character of its chairman Arafat, and American policy towards them.

Bringing the murder of Noel and Moore back to public attention highlights the unpleasant fact that the PLO has on a number of occasions attacked American citizens. Probably the best-known of these attacks took place in October 1985 when Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly invalid, was shot in the chest, and the other passengers were forced to throw his body and wheelchair over the side of the cruise ship Achille Lauro. In contrast, the most costly incident in terms of American lives is also one of the most completely forgotten: the bombing of TWA flight 707 in September 1974 en route from Tel Aviv to New York. A high-explosive bomb went off in a rear cargo compartment, sending the plane into the Ionian Sea and killing all eighty-eight persons aboard.

Korn's work clearly reveals that Americans have their own, serious problem with the PLO quite independent of Israel's.

When I was young, I used to dream in Assyrian. I never understood what it was all about. Then sometimes my parents would ask me: what did you dream about? I would turn all red and then run into the closet and cry. Little did I know I was dreaming in a language that has not been understood for over 4000 years. Well now I am older and know better. Thanks to the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. Way to go boyz!

The Astroanalysis are simply the best books to learn of your own astrology. They are easy to read, easier to understand, and written for practical application. Whether you have been studying for years or this is a first, this book was written for you.

The breakdown of the individual effects that each planet has on a person's personality is extremely well done and offers very good descriptions of personality traits. I own several of these books and recommend trying any of them.

Why bother with the CD when the book is such a pleasure to use?

The BOOK rates SIX STARS. The CD rates NO STARS. Get the book for half or a third the price of the CD. It's worth it.

The cd contains many raster scans of tables from the book and links to commentary that you can find elsewhere in greater detail. The links to industry aren't anything special, considering you can find them many other places for free. The interface is clunky, and hard to read. Access to the data is read-only off the CD rather than allowing you to load it and access it from the hard drive. The vector CAD drawings are simplified and generic - suitable for instruction, but certainly not for real work. You won't save any time trying to use them for anything but reference, so why bother? This CD is worth 1% of its list price and should just come with the book at no cost. Don't be taken in by the hype.

The figures of this book are very useful for details in professional drawings. On the other hand, it gives simple ideas to solve common problems on construction.