A lukewarm early offering by a gifted novelist. The story concerns a young man trying to leave behind his home of six sisters, but I suggest you skip it altogether in favor of one of Tyler's later, and much better, offerings.

Anne Tyler wrote this novel with circumstantial details of the Hawkes. Specificity is always her strong point and her ability to depict the genuineness of human's emotions and actions. This novel shines in breaking down relationships between people,love,kinship and friendship. Ben Joe Hawkes,her protagonist is a chronic worrier who left home to study law in New York. He proclaimed himself as reversible and his bizzare habit of reading up-side-down.

One day he made a phone call home and found out that one of his 6 sisters whom he haven't seen in 7 years returned home with a child. Apparently she left her husband...

Being the sole male member (after his dad passed away)in the family of 8 women including his eccentric mother and grandmother,he felt responsible when such 'crisis' occurred. Ben Joe decided to make the trip back home to look into this matter plus he also have an unfinished business to attend to. Things began to unfold,he also learnt a few valuable lessons and even caught up with his old flame,Shelley from this fruitful trip home. Ben Joe eventually realised that his family are independent and each have a life of their own and he should to.

I always admire Anne Tyler's conscientious writing style.This time she created a engaging and compelling family drama that illustrated the importance of family bonding, sharing,love and care,also finding your true self and the significance of what is leaving your family spread your wings and get your own life and not forgetting your root.

Ben Joe Hawkes has been surrounded by women his entire life. With his grandmother, mother,and all his sisters he has always felt like an outsider his life, plus he's a worrier. Ben Joe has come home after law school and surprisingly enough, this crazy visit to his childhood home send Ben Joe into an exhilarating battle with his own heart-where unforeseen love demands his surrender...

Only a rarely talented novelist could have written this fine book! It's funny, serious, touching, zany, delightful, revealing and more!

This book presents a nice overview of the primary components of J2EE architecture. If you're looking for gory details on J2EE technologies this isn't your text.

As with any multi-author book the writing style varies wildly. All the examples are extremely trivial. The important part is you get explanation about how all the fundamental pieces of J2EE work together and what they do. Everything from Java Server Pages, to EJBs, JNDI, JMS, Web Servers (no real coverage on Web Services), different app servers, JAAS, JTA, etc.

Nice reference book for high level or simple questions when you're trying to learn the ropes. Basically useless for any hard core implementation efforts.

This book is its complete but contains a concise compendium of all J2EE fundamentals and technologies. The material is easy to read and code is easy to follow. I have not seen any other book that covers all J2EE-based technologies in detail that this book covers. I have also put this book as a textbook for my J2EE course at UTA. This book gives a comprehensive coverage of all J2EE technologies, concepts, APIs and components. Each chapter in the book can be independently studied and read in any order which is one of the best selling points of this book. This book is an excellent introduction book to J2EE which also makes it a highly seeked textbook for J2EE courses. This is also an excellent hand-on book.

This book has it all. It talks about all the different Java technologies and provides enough detail to learn them thoroughly. Although there are some differences in the presentation due to different authors, every chapter is explained well. This book is a good reference due to its in depth discussions. Very ideal for java architects and senior developers who do design and architecture.

My family and I are planning a sailing trip for a few years and I wanted another perspective on family sailing. After reading this book I honestly did not know whether anyone had a good time on this 9 month adventure. The positive part of the trip was that the children came out of this adventure more experienced with life, etc. However it appeared the trip was a psychological challenge for all. I felt bad for the kids. I cringed everytime their love making came up and not because I am a prude - it was so non-errotic. The author should of left their sex lives out. Similar to having children, sailing for a length of time on a small vessel with four people does not necessarily bring people together unless the relationships are in tact prior. As part of my summer reads, this one was not pleasurable, but painful.

I found this book to be a great example of what "not" to do when desiring to form a bond of sailing friendship and fun with your spouse or significant other. This is not a "look at the great time we had sailing" book, but rather a true to life story of how the pressures of an already rocky marriage mixed with the stresses of becoming a cruising family influenced this family looking for relief. In some ways, I am not sure they found it.

I came across this book quite by accident, but once I picked it up I could not put it down.

New and experienced sailors will smile and sometimes wince with recognition at the challenges the Hitchcock family faces. Intensely honest and beautifully written, the author confronts us with the challenges of our voyages - whether it be through the Carribean, our marriages, or our time as parents and teachers. I have recommended this book to friends and family, sailors and landlubbers alike. There is so much truth packed in these pages, that I am sure each time I read it - and there is no doubt I will read it many times - I will glean fresh insights from its pages.

Thank you, Susan Tyler Hitchcock, for this unexpected delight!

The content in this book is a little dated. For a current book on Web Services check out either the Wiley book (Developing Java Web Services) or my favorite Java Web Services Architecture.

This book is a nice overview of Web Servcies and a high level descirption of the technologies involved. It does, however, lack the details of the inner workings of a Web Service. There is little or nothing mentioned on the rpcrouter servlet, deployment descriptors, the soap admin council and the scope of a web service. It is a good book for the developer who is looking for basics when starting out looking into web services, but not a real good book for developers at the next level.

Once again, authors David A. Chappell and Tyler Jewell produce a masterpiece of technical genius. Just when we thought they couldn't top their opus maxum, we find yet another fine jewell in their collection.

Personally, I read Java Web Services in about 20 minutes, which is an amazing accomplishment considering I was asleep at the time.

This book gives object oriented programming a boost of adreline and steroids and allows them to all run on the same platform.

I first bought this book because I was looking for a compiler that I could run in AIX and EBCIDC, but then I just ported it to my Windows 98 machine because that was too complicated for me.

My favorite chapter was where Chappell illustrates the parable of the bicycle and the Java programmer. I wont tell too much or I'll give it away. You'll need to buy the book to find out more about the parable.

Needless to say that Larry King can't be wrong about this book. He's read it and is now programming CNN's mainframe computers.

They said it could not be done, but I drank enough Java cola to read this sucker in 20 minutes. I'm reading it again right now as I type this review. I loved this book. I'm going to buy copies of it for my entire family. I gave one to my wife as an anniversary gift.

Buy it, you can't go wrong, if for nothing else, buy it for the cool goat design on the cover.

A beautiful, historical account of a great naturalist's work. It is important to keep in mind that the book was written 129 years ago, though, since the use of the language would not be considered "politically correct" nowadays.

Darwin was someone "who viewed life on earth in terms of an evolutionary framework grounded in science and reason" (taken from the Introduction by H. James Birx). It is difficult to believe that an educated person would misinterpret his ideas as being sexist or racist. Only the ignorant (or a creationist in disguise) would attempt to discredit the work of one of the greatest minds of all times by giving it the wrong label. Reading Daniel C. Dennett's "Darwin Dangerous Idea" (highly recommended) might help to put it in the right context.

This book contains a wealth of facts, compiled during Darwin's life on matters which were highly controversial at the time. His prior book, Origin of Species, provided the scientific framework for thinking that mankind might, in some way, be a descent from the animal kingdom. For personal reasons, there was some doubt, at the time, whether it would ever be diplomatic to admit such a thing to the human beings themselves, right in their very faces. The title which Darwin placed on this book showed how easy it would be to imagine that the fundamental distinction was closely linked to the question of whom an individual might choose to have sex with, given the great parallels to a wide range of behavior in the animal kingdom. I have looked in this book for evidence that philosophy is a set of ideas adopted mainly in relation to sex, but the philosophy of the fittest for that kind of activity seems to be a bit more modern than Darwin. On a scale of stillborn to born with a brain, Darwin was definitely born with a brain, but it didn't make him crazy enough to suggest that which we may imply ourselves. There are a lot of facts in this book, compared to the number of suggestions, but it shows a considerable amount of thought.

Although there are many racist and sexist ideas, this was the climate in which Darwin wrote this book. Many of the details are grossly in error, but the book was written over 100 years ago. Many advances in knowledge have been made since then. The basic premise, and the fact that Darwin looked to the African apes as a point of origin for humans is the real beauty of the book. Darwin is many times falsely blamed for "Social Darwinism" which he never proposed nor advocated. Just because someone uses Darwin as a justification for negative ideas and or actions, does not mean that Darwin should be vilified for it. Descent was not a social commentary, but a scientific treatise, and should be treated as such.

Author J.E.A. Tyler's goal in this book is unclear. As a book to read for fun, it's not bad: it is mostly written in a flowery historical style somewhat similar to Tolkien's own histories. However, as a source of information on Tolkien's Middle-earth, it is downright bad; almost every Tolkien "expert" I've seen agrees on that.

Tyler's book has two real problems. First, he does a very poor job of distinguishing between facts from Tolkien's writings and his own extrapolations. Second, his research itself is rather poor, as can be seen even from the sample pages provided here. A classic example is the entry for "Adan, Edain": his translation "Father-of-Man" is wrong ("Edain" literally means "The Second People"), his discussion of the Three Houses says nothing of the Haladin (who in any case did not have "much to do with Dwarves"), and many of his other statements in the entry are incorrect or misleading as well.

A far better reference for information on Tolkien's world is Robert Foster's _Complete Guide to Middle-earth_. It's not as fun to read, but it's very reliable and includes page references to the source material. Better still, read Tolkien's own books, such as _Unfinished Tales_.

...I am a really big Lord of the Rings fan. I have read all the books! And the Tokien companion just caught my eye. Well I bought it and this book is like a dictonary of the whole Lord of the rings. It is great, it has almost everything, all except a few elvish words, which are hard to get. But other than that it is a great book!

Wow! I just got this book, and I'd have to say it's pretty amazing. I have hardly found anything to be missing, and have enjoyed reading the articles. The entries are detailed, but no so much that you can't find important information. The only thing I haven't found in this book is translation of some Elvish words, but that can often be difficult, and I see why some terms aren't translated - but many are, that's very handy. Several maps and illustrations are scattered throughout the book. It's also a good read, just for flipping through the pages and poking around.

If you're into Tolkien even a little, and you know how confusing come parts of the books can be, with references to obscure places (e.g. the Tower of Pearl mentioned in another review), you should definitely take a look at this reference.

This book looks down on Commision E in Germany as though it were a third world county, disregards all their careful research and conclusions. Also states that since we do not have standardize herbs in the U.S he couldn't recommend an effictive amount to be used. Don't throw away your money on this book.

Dr. Tyler is a reputable scientist who has once again discussed and presented scientific data on herbs. Unlike many "herbalists", Dr. Tyler is not biased. Though rather technical, this book is the PERFECT reference for herbalists. In a time of extreme herbalist "quackery" it is refreshing to have such a wonderful reference which is based on scientific evidence. Bravo!

YES I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR SOME ERBS TO HELP ME FIGHT THIS NERO THING THAT I HAVE. I AM 39 YEARS OF AGE AND UP UNTIL A LITTLE OVER 2 YEARS AGO I COULD DO ALMOST ANYTHING! I FELT THAT I WAS BULLIT PROOF!!! I BOXED WATER SKIED LIFTED WEIGHTS RAN 3 TO 5 MILES A DAY PLAYED BASKETBALL FOOTBALL RACED DIRT BIKES ALMOST ANY SPORT THAT U CAN THINK OF EXCEPT POLO CRICKET AND BULLFIGHTING. THANK U SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT . SINCERELY DANIEL R CLARK

My friend Ed and I bought this book after a fine purchase of the game itself. After being PKed and loosing everything we work so hard to get in the adventurous game of UO, we decided this book may be are one and only answer. Well it was! It told us everything we needed to know! We read and read our brains out until school was long forgotten. Even good old Mr. N couldn't save us. My friend and I were feeling like UO masters until... a new client patch came and changed everthing around in the game, so the book had all wrong and old dated information. That is why I gave this book 3 stars. It is a well developed book to give you help in the game but since Ultima Online constanly uses patches to change everything (in there view for the better), the book becomes a useless puchase. Right now the book has only map use that is acurate with the game.

Hard to believe over two years has passed since UO came out. I got UO when it first came out, and this book was a great source of reference and info. Unfortunatly, nothing good lasts, and this is especially true of Ultima Online, where patches make much of the information here obselete. Oh well, a good memoir to keep of of the old times. If anyone has any questions or would like to reply, please send to Renryu@Hotmail.com thx.

This book contains a lot of information to help you get started in Ultima Online and build your character(s). It contains maps of the cities and dungeons of Britania and give you the statics of NPCs within the game.

It appears that a number of the reviewers have, like I did the first time I read the book, missed the point. Morgan is not a hero; he was never meant to be. He's a man going through a mid-life crisis who does some interesting things with his life but ultimately regrets some of the choices he's made. As always, Tyler creates eccentric characters and says an awful lot about life and how difficult it is, tempering her sometimes sad messages with a lot of humor.

Many of the reviews here are harsh with the title character and the choices he makes. I think that actually highlights why I like Anne Tyler's books so much. The people in her books are like people I know - they have many different sides, they are confused, they sometimes believe two totally opposite things simultaneously. Anne Tyler teaches me that life is long, that we often drift into situations over the course of years but that we have years left to change them. There's a timeless quality to her stories that I cherish. Morgan's Passing is an enjoyable book with engaging, eccentric characters who have an underlying core with which many people can identify. It does not offer black and white contrasts, which, in fiction as well as in real life, is a good thing.

Having read other reader's reviews of Ladder of Years, Searching For Caleb, and now this lovely book, I'm beginning to see that strong writing is not enough for some people. Either you like Anne Tyler's writing or you don't (and I certainly do) and you either see her characters as appealing or annoying. I find them both, actually, but as I'm not expecting them to be magnanimous, life-affirming role models I go with the journeys they take and don't carp on their foibles. Morgan may be Tyler's most exasperating character - the sort of person you'd want to smack if you knew him personally. Why he doesn't make me want to scream on the page is a mystery to me - must be that Tyler's writing is so enjoyable that Morgan's eccentricities amuse me. Would I laugh at his decisions if he were an acquaintance in real life? Certainly not, but that's beyond the point - he is a fictional character, and as such springs fully to life, warts and all. The character of Emily is lovely and lively and certainly events that take place in the book are surprising and sad. I enjoy all of Anne Tyler's creations - some more than others - and this is one of her novels I would recommend highly.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, Tyler's attmepts to punch up the book by including details he could not possibly know about(see his blow by blow description of the fighting on the Sino/Soviet as seen from the perspective of a hapless Soviet lieutenant) recalls some of the worst excesses of Bob Woodward. On the other hand, Tyler does a great job of showing how internal forces within the various administrations combined to form China policy. The descriptions of Kissinger Vs Rojers and Vance Vs Berezinski are well worth reading. On the whole, however, I feel that James Mann's About Face is a better book, and covers much of the same material. If you have time read both, if not go with the Mann book.

I heard Patrick Tyler participate in New York at a luncheon discussion and was so impressed that I went out and got his book. Not being a "China hand," I expected to have difficulty with the subject matter. But Tyler writes in a lucid, entertaining style, and his book is filled with revealing anecdotes and cogent analysis. There's meaty historical data as well, and a lot of contemporaneous material not publicly revealed until now. I'm awed by Tyler's research, and by his ability to synthesize the sheer volume and expanse of the subject matter.

One of the most absorbing, well-researched books on contemporary U.S.-China relations that I've read in years. I was surprised as well as disappointed by the book's revelation of our nation's intent to agree to a China-America pact yet use every ruse to circumvent its true intent, particularly in regard to the Taiwan agreement.

To me, one of the most interesting parts was that of Gen. Alex M. Haig, Jrs, participation while Reagan's Secretary of State, and that because of the subterfuge, it eventually led Haig to confront President Reagan with "play the game or I resign." Haig stuck to his word and resigned.

I appreciated Tyler's professionalism, his thorough research and his palatable journalistic style of presentation.