I have found out that this book has been rewritten and only 2 out of 3 software packages are now in the CD-ROM. It is now titled "Data Mining: Building Competitive Advantage" (you can find it listed here at Amazon). The treatment is now even better. I just wonder why the same book received a new name instead of a 2nd edition. Hopefully the same mistakes will not be repeated with the CD-ROM (software which does not work properly). .............

This book is an excellent one for gaining an understanding data mining technology without getting mired in the mathematics of the topic. It not only gives you insight into what data mining is, but how it may be useful to your business. The reference sections, web site referrals and case studies are very helpful. Unfortunately, the CD-ROM is out of date, however, the author is in the process of an update that would fix that problem. Once the author completes the update of this book with a web site rather than a CD-ROM, I would have no qualms about rating this as a 5 star book.

Enjoyed the scope of data mining topics covered by this book. One gets a good understanding of how today's popular data mining technology works without getting bogged down in the mathematical detail. Also, found the reference sections, web site referrals and case studies very helpful. Unfortunately, most of the demos included on the attached CDROM did not work for a variety reasons. Spoke with the author about this problem and he is working on providing up to date product demos via a central web site rather than relying on the attached CDROM. In summary it's still a solid introductory text for anyone interested in data mining.

If you run out of sleeping pills, read this! Delatre is the King of run on sentences. For proof, check out the 1st sentence on page 76. It's on the Hypothesis of Structural Deviance and contains whopping 143 words!!!! Wow, Edwin! Your English teacher is turning over in her grave! If she is still alive, don't let her read this. It may cause her to stroke out!

This book is for academics looking for research to quote, but certainly not for anyone who wants a practical guide on ethics in policing. Delatre presents a lot of information in an unclear and vague manner. We would be best suited with the Cliff Notes. We would probably have them, too, but Cliff is probably still in a trance over this one!

Delatre offers both sides of several arguments, but at times, fails to take a side. How annoying!

In another book I read recently on Policing, its author says that the best way to relay information is to "be clear, be concise, be gone!" Delatre is not clear, he is not concise and he is not gone! Why, because I am still try to burrow through the last couple chapters of this book.

The only way this book could maintain a respectable, steady volume of sales is if it were required reading, i.e. for a college course.

Seriously, this book could lose half its pages and be much closer to readable. Make your points, give your examples, take a stand, then wrap it up.

This book appears to be used by police academies in training police. It seems to be more of a textbook rather than a book for the general reader.

Police forces throughout the world are at risk of having certain problems. There is always some pressure for police to accept bribes. Police can also slide into habits of using excess force and some times other problems can occur such as simple laziness. One of the problems for any police command is thus to ensure that these problems are either eliminated or minimized.

This book talks about the sorts of reasons why police become corrupt and urges police to develop morale character. One of the chapters for instance looks in part at the question of whether police should accept free cups of coffee from restaurants. On the face of it such an offer would seem a simple measure of gratitude from a member of the public to underpaid officers. The author however indicates that often in such situations the offer of even a coffee may lead to an expectation of something in return. To warn customers of the restaurant instead of giving them parking tickets. To be around if the restaurant has problems. Such a process can lead to police accepting the idea of quid pro quo's and entering into other arrangements. This chapter goes on to explain the mechanics of corruption and why even non-corrupt officers will remain silent in the face of corruption. The police force is a cohesive unit whose members will from time to time face situations of real danger. The need to depend on others can lead to officers falling into the habit of not rating so that they will have support in any dangerous confrontations with criminals.

One of the strengths of the book is that it is filled with thousands of examples in which police can face pressure to do the wrong thing. These examples are carefully chosen and no doubt would in a class setting be valuable for trainee officers.

Other chapters, obviously again intended for class discussion rather than being definitive in themselves are disappointing. One chapter looks at the question of drug enforcement and examines arguments for changing the current policy of prohibition. Although the author presents both sides of the argument with fairness there is no real discussion of the empirical reality and the costs of the policies. His approach is one based on morality and rights rather than looking at the operational problems of policing drugs and the cost of imprisonment. In addition he puts the dilemma as an either or choice between legalization and probation. He seems to be unaware of harm minimization strategies. Another chapter that touches on positive discrimination is also disappointing.

These criticisms are perhaps churlish, as the book does not seem to have aimed at being one read by the general public. No doubt a reasonable text book but not something which would contribute to the debate on how to structure police forces to deal with problems and violence.

This book appears to be used by police academies in training police. It seems to be more of a textbook rather than a book for the general reader.

Police forces throughout the world are at risk of having certain problems. There is always some pressure for police to accept bribes. Police can also slide into habits of using excess force and some times other problems can occur such as simple laziness. One of the problems for any police command is thus to ensure that these problems are either eliminated or minimized.

This book talks about the sorts of reasons why police become corrupt and urges police to develop morale character. One of the chapters for instance looks in part at the question of whether police should accept free cups of coffee from restaurants. On the face of it such an offer would seem a simple measure of gratitude from a member of the public to underpaid officers. The author however indicates that often in such situations the offer of even a coffee may lead to an expectation of something in return. To warn customers of the restaurant instead of giving them parking tickets. To be around if the restaurant has problems. Such a process can lead to police accepting the idea of quid pro quo's and entering into other arrangements. This chapter goes on to explain the mechanics of corruption and why even non-corrupt officers will remain silent in the face of corruption. The police force is a cohesive unit whose members will from time to time face situations of real danger. The need to depend on others can lead to officers falling into the habit of not rating so that they will have support in any dangerous confrontations with criminals.

One of the strengths of the book is that it is filled with thousands of examples in which police can face pressure to do the wrong thing. These examples are carefully chosen and no doubt would in a class setting be valuable for trainee officers.

Other chapters, obviously again intended for class discussion rather than being definitive in themselves are disappointing. One chapter looks at the question of drug enforcement and examines arguments for changing the current policy of prohibition. Although the author presents both sides of the argument with fairness there is no real discussion of the empirical reality and the costs of the policies. His approach is one based on morality and rights rather than looking at the operational problems of policing drugs and the cost of imprisonment. In addition he puts the dilemma as an either or choice between legalization and probation. He seems to be unaware of harm minimization strategies. Another chapter that touches on positive discrimination is also disappointing.

These criticisms are perhaps churlish, as the book does not seem to have aimed at being one read by the general public. No doubt a reasonable text book but not something which would contribute to the debate on how to structure police forces to deal with problems and violence.

I have been working this book and workbook over for sometime. It has many typos which upset me greatly because someone should have picked up on it...but the overall concept is a good one.

I am studying to become a professional chef one day and decided to purchase this book. It has a lot of technique and helpful hints, but I notice it does not tell you much about sanitation. I notice there is a new book out called the Study Guide for the Servsafe Exam: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations and that book really covered the subject very well. Now when I finally start my own restaurant I will do well in all areas of culinary.

This is what it claims, a study guide companion to the CIA's Professional Chef 7th Edition, which is a textbook meant not for the home chef, but for the aspiring professional chef.

That said, it's a very good guide to dedicated students of cookery (I'm not a professional chef, myself), and provides structure and sets expectations of what you are expected to learn from the main text. As a home chef dedicated to gourmet and quality cookery, I have been studying the primary text and occasionally seeking some structure to my own experiments and studies. While I don't have the liberty of following the text from Chapter 1 to the end (I can't afford to not cook for my family and that requires some compromise), the study guide does a great job of summarizing the points and lessons in each chapter.

As a study guide, this is not really useful on it's own, so I believe that it should only be purcahsed with The Profesional Chef. If you don't, you will be woefully disappointed. If you are only interested in recipes, than this isn't so useful to you, as it is about summarizing the factual knowledge you are expected to learn and retain in the process of this course.

The monographs lack any sort of scientific references. A true reference manual should list references so the reader can verify the conclusions made.

I had hoped this book could be my benchmark for herbal information. What I found was a book that was hard to use with little useful information. ... Otherwise, Facts and Comparisions' Review of Natural Products is a better choice.

I have worked with herbs for many decades and have shelves and shelves full of works on Herbs and Healing. The German Commission E Monographs is still an often used Reference that in my oppinion belongs on everyone's shelf who works with Herbs. True, it does not cover all that the herbs are capable of and due to lack of proof, many wonderful herbs are not approved, BUT, and this is most important, whatever you find in this book is scientifically proven and you can believe it. I VERY strongly recomend this book, and the CD as well. Whenever you explore a new herb, or need to know facts, check it out in the Commission E Monographs. Then you have a very good outline from where you can start to work with, and together with other herbals get to know and experiment to arrive at your own conclusion. And that is not to mention the inclusion of interaction with other drugs, side effects, mode of administration, active composition for each monograph and different chapters that cover all that is important. A MUST for every practitioner and professional. A MUST for Everyone involved in healing, period. If you can only buy one book on herbs, I would recomend this one. Herbs are gentle and effective healers as a rule. That does not mean that when handeled and prescribed wrong they can't be fatal and dangerous as well. Due to a long time of suppression, there's much information that is doubtful at best, plain wrong and harmful at worst. So even if it's not always approving old favorites, and not mentioning all properties of all herbs, it is an amazing work. Non Nonsense and you can count on everything it says to be true. Five Stars? No way, but that's the maximum available. I would give it many more if I could. But YOU be the judge. Check it out for yourself in a store if in doubt. But don't let this work pass you without giving it a chance. It is truly a treassure.

As a student of languages I have found the physical print and form of this book very difficult to follow.....the translation from Greek to English did not follow the script......and requires constant review to enable the student to build a vocabulary that is useful and the follow up conversational aspects lacks discipline......The 1988 edition perhaps is good for 1988...but unlike wine that matures in taste.This book is close to turning to a taste of vinegar.

I would like any recommendations that anyone has as an alternative to this course.....Thanks

I have recently moved to Greece and purchased this book and audio tape set to help me learn Greek.

The main problem is the layout of the book. It looks like each page has been typed on a manual typewriter then photocopied. The print is poor and at times, impossible to read and there are also spelling mistakes.

It is not an easy book to follow and doesn't make learning the language an easy task. The English language used is complex and not in laymans terms for the average indiviual, making learning the language a chore.

The Greek vocabulary lists contain words that are not translated into English alongside and when shown to a native, they weren't even sure of some of the words themselves! The speed of the conversation on the audio tapes is also very fast and difficult to follow with no symbols in the book to advise when the tape should be used

I needed an easy to follow, step by step course in basic Greek, but unfortunatley this package did not suit my needs. Very disappointing.

I learned very quickly with this program and my pronunciation is incredible. I worked at a Greek restaurant and they were thoroughly impressed with my accent and for the fact that I did not speak in a vulgar fashion. I have had no prior experience speaking any Greek and due to this book and the audio cassettes I speak wonderfully.
I only have one negative point to make about this program and that is you need to really pay attention to the alphabet. Relatively early in the book it converts completely to Greek with no English to help you out. I had to stop my constant studying because the alphabet gave me serious problems. I simply could not read Greek, but I could say a ton! But...for what I did study I still know like the back of my hand. The repetitive structure drills it into you where you will not forget it. I give it 4 stars:)

The title of this book is misleading. For over 200 pages I got to read all about his family, his holidays, his pets, inside jokes, and other uneventful detail. Once in a while for a couple of pages he would slip in something about how he armed pre-teen children to fight in the jungles. If his book was his personal reflections, the title shouldn't say it's about CIA operations in Laos.

It is good to see a "down to earth" book like this, coming from a "been there, done that" author. As far as I am concerned, this book should be mandatory reading for all high school history teachers. It would be nice to see the future generations "completly" educated. A 68-69 Udorn RTAFB, Thailand veteran.

I truely enjoyed reading this book. I especially liked the character developments of each person and their envolvement during the Vietnam War. i believe that Mr. Parker has a great understanding of the incidents as relating to the CIAs' involement in the Vietnam War.

This book completely leaves out Calvin's fourth book, his treatment of the church. My suspicion is it was omitted because Calvin's doctrines didn't line up with those of the publisher. This ignoring of the doctrine of the church reinforces the erroneous idea that the body of Christ is insignificant when Calvin himself considered the Church our Mother.

This book completely leaves out Calvin's fourth book, his treatment of the church. My suspicion is it was omitted because Calvin's doctrines didn't line up with those of the publisher.

I bought this little book to help me teach a class on Book IV of the Institutes. But guess what? It only covers Books I-III. Book IV basically deals with Calvin's concept of the Church, so this little book will not be found too helpful if you're in the same position as me. However, the book is an excellent help on Books I-III. Very graphically oriented; it teaches just by means of its formatting! I'd like to know why the editors didn't include Book IV.

...I just wanted to write a short review to share valuable information regarding this book with others that may buy it without realizing the book's limitations.

First of all, the PMP exam has recently gone some significant changes (like the significant number of questions on the Professional Responsibility section) and this book was published way before that. The PMBOK Guide that this book was based on has also been updated and the latest edition is now available. So, this book is clearly outdated.

Second, this book is nothing but a pocket guide that has 170 questions and answers (with some explanations). As a side note, the actual test has 200 questions! So, I don't see why anyone would want a book whose sole purpose is to provide an actual test simulation but only has 85% of the actual test length.

Third, I bought this book for [money] which is too much for what's inside (just 170 questions and their answers). The reason I bought it was that a few years back there wasn't much else available (or I wasn't aware of much else that was available), so I felt that something was better than nothing.

These days, there are other really good books that provide similar content more effectively. Two of them being - PMP Study Guide by Kim Heldman and PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy (the latter is the best book out there to prepare for the PMP). Read my review on the PMP Exam Prep by Rita Mulcahy book for more information on PMP preparation.

By the way, in case you are wondering, I do have my PMP certification. I hope you found this information helpful and good luck with the PMP exam!

This book was not very helpful in my preparations for the PMP exam (which I just passed). The style of the questions is not anything like the exam and the materials focused mainly on the PMBOK rather than a wider view of all PM concepts. I would not recommend spending the money for this book...rather spend you money on the ESI materials and sample tests.

UPDATE:
The ESI materials are:

PMP CHALLENGE by Ward (published by ESI International)
PMP EXAM: PRACTICE TEST by Ward (also published by ESI)

This is a good Question & Answers study guide to the more important companion book (Project Management Institute's PMBOK 2000) guide. I believe it has value to check your understanding of the material in the companion guide. It has a 170 sample questions with corresponding answers. The certification exam however has 200 questions so I am not sure what if anything is missing....

Answer: you reduce the game descriptions to the following formula: Date of game, attendance, weather, records of the two teams, list of opponents beaten, list of opponents lost to or tied, a brief synopsis of scoring drives with a few players' names mentioned, cite the turnovers, and give the final score. Repeat a hundred and six times and then publish. Illustrate these chapters with small black and white photographs of the two teams playing (for the most part) other games on their schedule: here's a picture from '76 Tech-USC; here's one from the '76 Georgia-Vanderbilt game (WHY?). Offer no insights, don't quote players or coaches or fans, just the facts. Griffin barely even mentions the wildly controversial call that decided the 1999 game, a call that got national media attention and resulted in the crew being disciplined! And the huge brawl during the 1993 game, which was front-page news the next day, gets no mention at all. What a disappointment: the author, whose lack of ties to (or interest in) either school is pretty apparent, simply read library microfilm and phoned in this lifeless attempt at a Father's Day gift. And may I add in closing that Tech lies and cheats?

I have not read this book i do not plan to read this book. I'm not one to normally support book burning, but in this case I'll make an exception. I graduated from The University of Georgia back in May, and although I have many fond memories of the University. The football seasons seems to mar the surface pretty severely. I hate the drunks and the alumni who treat the non-football fans like they are not students of the university. i was even asked by one person why did i attend the school if i did not like football. I guess the school having a good department in my field was not a good enough reason.

This book rocks! The old photos are cool, the organization is clear and easy to follow. My dad and I read it together--he started in the 70 and told me about games he went to when he was at school, then whe talked about games we'd been together when when I was a kid, and games I went to when I was a college--the five-year plan. This is a great book, lots of good pics, and easy to follow. Get it for you dad or yourself and you'll have something to read during the commercials during the season.

I wanted this book to drop some science on me about the recent waves of shows that I cared about -- but this book didn't do it. It doesn't seem like she talked to any of the people that really mattered -- maybe she talked to a few people on this show and than, but I didn't know more after reading this book than from reading TV guide. I didn't like this book because it seemed like she had one thing to say and kept saying it over and over again and did not delve into anything with any depth.

Bravo to Kristal! I have had a tremendous interest in the behind-the-scenes events of Black television. I read tv credits with a microscope (figuratively speaking) and it was a joy to read excerpts of Kristal's interviews with the likes of Ralph Farquhar, Robert Townsend and Yvette Lee Bowser. These are my role models and now Kristal Brent Zook is one as well.

We are short on critics with the type of sensibilities Kristal clearly has for the black community, political viewpoints and scholarship.

I look forward to more from Dr. Zook. Color by Fox is a great start. Don't miss out on the first publication from someone from which we are sure to hear more.

This is a seriously important book. Zook makes a strong claim for the appeal of such Black-produced shows like In Living Color, Roc, South Central, The Fresh Prince of Bell Air, Living Single, Martin, and New York Undercover to a largely Black audience. Zook argues and illustrates how these shows were built off a Black autobiographical tradition of Black writers, producers, and actors. As I remember watching the shows, they often dealt with intraracial group issues that though not always easily understood by white viewers were nevertheless both entertaining and culturally important to Black viewers. I'm not sure if there are similiar or better works published that deal with Zook's claims and analysis. Many of the shows listed above delt with complicated issues of race, class, and gender surely not found in mainstream shows. In her analysis, she explores four common traits that reappear in these shows: "these can be summarized as: autobiography, meaning a tendacy toward collective and individual authorship of black experience; improvisation, the practice of inventing and ad-libbing unscripted dialogue or action; aeasthetics, a certain pride in visual signifiers of blackness; and drama, a marked desire for complex characterization and emotionally challenging subject."

An entire media literacy course could be built around this book. Probably at no other time or in the near future will we see Black representation as culturally sensistive as it was during the time these shows were cast on Fox. It's important that we use these shows as case studies for the future of Black representation in the media.

I would love to dialogue with others who choose to read this book. Write me not at the above address, but at BChavanu@excite.com.