Why Not? How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small
by Barry J. Nalebuff, Ian Ayres
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Hardcover (24 October, 2003)
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Editorial Review

Yale professors Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres engage readers in an intriguing oxymoron. They believe invention can be automated. Why Not? outlines a populist high-octane approach to creative problem solving. "We aspire for this book to change the way people think about their own ability to change the world." The authors' ideas and examples--from adopting British water conserving toilets to having telemarketers pay you to listen--bristle with energy, conviction, and occasional loopiness. Their approach upends cliched problem solving models by asking, "What would Croseus (the ancient rich king) do?" They take Edward de Bono'slateral thinking out for a spin, suggesting pay for view television might include a fee for eliminating commercials.

Nalebuff and Ayres are at their best in exploring "Idea Arbitrage," a tool for applying one solution to a host of other problems and yielding day care at IKEA, corporate vanity stamps, and library coffee houses. Some promising concepts, such as the technique of leveraging mistakes to create new solutions, are not as clear as others. Overall, the authors make an entertaining case for the idea that innovators are made and not born. --Barbara Mackoff ... Read more

Reviews (12)

I'll tell you Why Not - People in China want your job / comp
For those of in the United States, there's a real threat looming on the horizon - it's called the World! The rest of the world is quickly catching up and in several cases has already passed us. Just this month I wrote about Japan's creating a Wi-Max Broadband network to blanket all of Tokyo (12 million people) by March 2006.

America's saving grace is, and will continue to be - the Entrepreneur.

Aspiring entrepreneurs need to be constantly asking "Why Not?" Innovation is one of the few remaining ways of competing in today's world.

Nalebuff and Ayres"... aspire for this book to change the way people think about their own ability to change the world." For entrepreneurs this is absolutely essential because the vast majority of people blindly accept the status quo along with all sorts of rules, regulations, customs, and traditions without so much as a challenge.

Open your mind to the ideas in Why Not? and you'll go very far in creating differentiated, and maybe even world-changing, products. Some of the examples the authors use are simply timeless in their wisdom. In "What Would Croesus Do?" you start with a solution (and there always is a solution) and work to create an affordable version.

Other tools include asking pivotal questions such as:

* "Why don't you feel my pain?" This question stimulates your thinking on exactly how your decisions affect the value chain of which your product is only one part., then to look for better solutions for allconcerned.

* Another key question is "Where else would it work?" In many cases, the solution to one problem may be readily applied to other problems.

* Finally, you might ask "Would flipping it work?" Point of View is a powerful tool. Sometimes just flipping things around offers a powerful new solution.

Be sure to check out the author's website for additional information on Why Not? http://whynot.net/

-----------------
Michael Davis - Editor, Byvation

Good topic but not enough contents to support it
First, I appreciate the author's effort to persuade people challenging status quo and solve problems on their own. Second, I like some of the examples in the book like property insurance, pay as you go insurance, etc.

However, I found most of the book not very interesting and exciting. Why? Because I have been solving problems and trying to be creative in everyday life. I am sure there are many people out there that are a lot more creative than I am. Will this book bore them?

Third, lots of the ideas that were not commercialized, I assume, is due to lack of channel to aggregate and commercialize. I would be interested if this book includes a chapter devoted to this topic. I checked out website www.whynot.net. The question is what do we do with these ideas?

Last thing I have to say is our society is used to accept status quo and all sorts of rules, regulation, customs, and traditions without challenging them enough. We grow up in an environment where everybody accept what is given. This is part of the reason we are not creative in solving problems. What can we do to change this culture?

Great Vacation Reading
As an MBA professor of creativity management, I will use this book in my next semester. It is a delightful read and I heartily recommend it for readers seeking to expand their minds and the application of their creativity. ... Read more

Isbn: 1591391539
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Decision Making & Problem Solving    5. Management - General    6. Problem solving   

Swarm Intelligence (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Evolutionary Computation)
by Russell C. Eberhart, Yuhui Shi, James Kennedy
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (23 March, 2001)
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Reviews (12)

Good science; not metaphysics : know the difference; win big
You are most likely familiar with the story. In summary form, it is about a group of blind men standing around an elephant each declaring "what an elephant is like" based upon which part of the elephant they are touching -- and elephant is like: a wall (side); a tree trunk (leg); a hose (trunk); a fan (ear); and so on.

What is wrong with this story, nothing...

The elephant is wisdom not knowledge -- Brahma told me when I was stoned once.You have to walk your path alone but "friends" share information with a select few; not because they're snobs but because they aren't -- a friend in this sense is likewise then someone who might be willing to value what may be told.The seekers of truth lie (no pun here)in the middle; the ignorant take stories out of context needlessly and pervert them to justify positions that are essentially ancilliary to the essentials of their own ancestry, which is what the original story is really directed at.The wise don't listen or write these kinds of reviews.But I heard some other fool talk about there being only the social mind at the expense of the individual mind.Question: perhaps this social mind can correct the job situation in Illinois for example?Or maybe it's too involved in the same obsessions that cripple the individual mind.Question: who provides the therapy for a such a stupid, ineffective, globally small minded polyglot that already assumes the vast majority of people want to hold the piss buckets for those few "bodies" working on important "swarm" thinking projects ("bodies": I don't know what else to call these now reduced appendages) in this love fest -- except love is profitable or it's a crack substitute, and there's no need to sell the science that way; it just makes you cheap.Question: if no one does provide some form of sanity check, what have you already said about me (and you)?

Answer: none of the questions apply, because the story is better than either this review or the other one.Give it some thought while your reading the book and find a place where no one is at -- there you are.

Good, but could have been more concise.
Swarm intelligence is burdened with an awful lot of material that is not core to PSO.A great deal of the book consists of the philosophical ramblings of the authors, rather than technical treatment of the topic at hand.An even larger chunk of the book was devoted to what was essentially a survey of AI: neural nets, evolutionary programming, heuristics, etc.Much too much space was devoted to grounding the reader in AI before proceeding.I must admit, however, that, while I found it out of place, the 'AI primer' part of the book is one of the most useful and lucid I have seen;I just think that it should have been a separate book (and this one should have been much thinner).The material that is specific to PSO is a very small fraction of the book, but is thorough and accessible;there really are few alternatives if one is particularly interested in PSO.However, if you are just interested in emergent behavior, and its applications to AI, take a look at Ant Colony Optimization (Dorigo).It covers ACO, rather than PSO, but is more more readable, and provides a much better technical treatment of the topic, if you want to avoid the philosophy and primer.

Interesting Paradigm
It's an immersive and powerful piece of scientific metrics and theoretical paradigm presentation. It shows that life can be a much deeper form of existence. The book presents the complexities of PSO in its network relativity but can be created using simple algorithms. The basis comes from the behavioural science andsocial patterns of insects such as bees and ants. Their process of colonial interaction and food foraging can be applied as a strong mathematical structure to computational science, robotics, and network technology. At the same time, you can take the exact principles -- in its raw idea -- and apply it to economic structure and business dynamics. I love how this book harks back to the parable of the blind men trying to explain what an elephant is like. ... Read more

Isbn: 1558605959
Sales Rank: 249257
Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence    2. Artificial Intelligence - General    3. Computer Bks - General Information    4. Computer Books: Languages    5. Computers    6. Distributed artificial intelli    7. Distributed artificial intelligence    8. Engineering - General    9. General    10. Swarm intelligence    11. Systems engineering    12. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design   

The Blind Men and the Elephant: Mastering Project Work
by David Schmaltz
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Paperback (March, 2003)
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Reviews (6)

Incomprehensible and Rambling
I don't want to detract from what others got from reading this book.Judging from the other reviews, it was obviously well-received by many.However, I found this book to be almost incomprehensible and pointless.The author rambles around from meaningless subject to meaningless subject, all propped up by a cute but clever theme of blind men and an elephant.I finished the book and went off scratching my head as to what I'd learned.Perhaps I'm too left-brained.I loaned it to someone else and they brought the book back half-read and said they thought the author needed counseling.

Find the Juicy Part of Every Project You Do
Here's a new way to look at complex development work:

Your project is an invisible elephant.It's standing in a room, waiting to be revealed by a group of groping teammates.

Like the six blind men from Indostan in John Godfrey Saxe's famous poem, "The Blind Men and the Elephant," we encounter pieces of projects, rarely the whole elephant.We grasp whatever we can -- an ear, a tail, a trunk, a leg, a tusk, a broad, flat side.

Based on what we grasp -- our piece of the project -- we extrapolate an understanding of the whole: a fan, a rope, a snake, a tree, a spear, a wall.

Author David A. Schmaltz, in his book named after the poem, develops these analogies in terms of project experience.

We encounter a fan that brings us fresh air, a rope that binds us together, a snake that abuses our trust, a tree that evolves in structure above and beneath the surface, a spear that puts us on the defensive, a wall that challenges our personal progress.A chapter is devoted to each analogy.

This isn't a storybook, though.These simple metaphors are touchstones for Schmaltz's broad exploration of what makes projects meaningful.Schmaltz sheds light on the dark matter of project management -- the stuff that blocks us from succeeding on projects as individuals and as teams.He even leads us through the panicked self-talk that runs through a manager's head at the start of a project.

With rich writing that's rare in management books, Schmaltz gives us a 360 view of project management itself -- project management is this book's invisible elephant.The elephant emerges.

You won't find any worksheets, diagrams, flow charts, procedures, instructions, or textbook problems in this book.Schmaltz gives us something more valuable and memorable: fresh ways to think about how we approach and manage projects.

For example, managers should encourage each person to find a personal project within each project, something personally "juicy" to sustain interest and make the effort valuable.Going beyond the stated objectives of a project, each of us needs to ask ourselves, "What do you want?" -- and to keep asking that until our personal goals emerge.These goals don't compete with the team's purpose -- they bind us to the project's success.This is the process of what Schmaltz calls "finding your wall."

Just as managers should encourage this kind of buy-in rather than trying to externally motivate a team, managers should not impose a prefabricated structure onto a team.Schmaltz argues that when people find a personally juicy goal within a project, they will strive to structure their efforts in an efficient, organic manner -- without taking that twenty-volume project methodology off the shelf.

On a person-to-person level, Schmaltz asserts that despite the risk of getting cheated by snake-like deceivers, project members are most wise to interpret people's actions generously, assuming the best and freely offering trust and help.Using the results of a computer programming competition in which the Prisoner's Dilemma was solved by having the imprisoned conspirators refuse to implicate each other, Schmaltz shows that offering trust as a first principle can lead to bigger win-wins, more often.

Schmaltz consults through his firm, True North project guidance strategies, based in Walla Walla, Washington (see http://www.projectcommunity.com).He hosts the Heretic's Forum at http://pc.wiki.net, a Web space designed to "capture dangerously sane ideas."In addition to his periodic newsletter, Compass, he has published one previous book, This Isn't a Cookbook.

That invisible elephant, the powerful analogy at the center of this book, will enrich the way you approach new projects and reconsider problems -- especially the parts of problems that remain invisible to you on current projects.As Schmaltz wishes in a sort of benediction, "May this elephant emerge whenever you engage."

"People and Collaboration" Over "Process and Controls"
This is a book you have to read, by this I mean it is both an important text that should be read and a book you can not dip-into or skim. You have to read it carefully to absorb the concepts that build upon each other to provide great insights into how projects actually work. The descriptions are rich and complex but because the book is small (under 130 pages) it never feels overwhelming and the topics are well covered but not repeated or over stated.

Recognition is growing around the fact that successful projects are more about people, collaboration and communications than creating plans and following processes. The success and growth of agile methodologies in software development is testimony to this shift in priorities and through this book, David Schmaltz explains why this is the case and offers suggestions for improving project outcomes.

The clever use of the "Blind Men" poem ties the main concepts of the book together in an engaging manner and provides an uncomfortably apt analogy for many of the classic project management struggles. This book provides valuable guidance for project managers and highlights the key areas to focus on to achieve better project outcomes. ... Read more

Isbn: 1576752534
Sales Rank: 148256
Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Management - General    6. Project Management   

Surviving Object-Oriented Projects (Agile Software Development Series)
by Alistair Cockburn
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (22 December, 1997)
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Editorial Review

While books on software engineering and project management abound, Alistair Cockburn's Surviving Object-Oriented Projects stands out as a lively view from the trenches of project management. It provides plenty of tips and tricks that will help you avoid the most common hazards of working with objects, especially for the first time.

The first part of the book concentrates on the common myths of object-oriented development. (For example, he clearly prefers Smalltalk and Java to C++ as a development language and he is not enthusiastic about today's computer-aided software engineering [CASE] tools.) He also cuts through the mire of software-engineering methodologies for development by stressing an incremental approach to creating software and gives many useful and practical suggestions for setting up and managing projects of varying sizes.

Throughout this lively and well-written text, the author mixes in anecdotes from actual managers and developers. He also presents actual case histories for projects (both small and large) and analyzes what was done correctly and what went wrong. The author develops 12 strategies for creating successful, on-time software using objects, which are collated in a handy appendix--there is even a detachable "crib sheet."

With its mix of common sense and real-world savvy, Surviving Object-Oriented Projects offers a refreshing take on the realities of developing object-oriented software. This concise and engaging title can improve the odds of success for your next programming project. --Richard Dragan ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Sound advice for the first steps in moving to OOT
Even though it was written in 1998, the advice in this book has not diminished with age. There are many claims made about the advantages of moving to object-oriented technologies (OOTs), and while most are true, the difficulties are almost always understated. Not in this book. Cockburn is very explicit in his descriptions of how complex the move is and how valuable training can be, as well as the many inherent limitations that it has.
As the title explains, this is not for developers, but for the manager who is either contemplating the use of OOTs or is faced with the tasks of implementing them after the decision has been made. Several projects are examined, some of which were successes, others which were simply survived by the participants and a few that crashed and burned. In my experience with working with developer teams, the hardest task of all in moving to OOTs is not making the decision to make the move or in getting the initial training. The fact that there are benefits is clear and trainers are relatively easy to find.
The hardest part is choosing where to begin the transfer of their legacy systems to an object-oriented form. This is something that is difficult even for those experienced in the transfer and for someone still unfamiliar with OOTs it can be intimidating. It is this group of people who will obtain the most benefit from the book. Cockburn clearly has a great deal of consulting experience in helping people make the transition and he passes that on using a very readable style. He also is very explicit in pointing out potential problems with the move.
Moving to any new technology is difficult, and nearly everyone needs help to make it successful. While reading this book will not guarantee that your move to OOTs is successful, it will make it more likely.

Good choice
The most pragmatic book on developing the software I have read yet. Brilliant. If you want to gather some experience collected by these who really done some OO projects, both successful and failing, if you want to hear very helpful comments on how to manage with the people- and organization-side of the software development - buy it!

A pragmatic approach to iterative developpement transition
First of all, the book is short and always go directly to the essential. It saves time and make the reading very efficient. The very goal of the book is to explain how to go to iterative developpement and what may cause success or failure. Everything is well illustrated by real cases, met by the author. You don't need courage to survive to this book, because the reading is pleasant. Very good. ... Read more

Isbn: 0201498340
Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Computer Books: Database    3. Computer software    4. Computers    5. Development    6. Management - General    7. Object-Oriented Programming    8. Object-oriented methods (Compu    9. Object-oriented methods (Computer science)    10. Programming - Object Oriented Programming    11. Programming - Software Development    12. Computers / Programming / Object Oriented   

Professional Software Development: Shorter Schedules, Higher Quality Products, More Successful Projects, Enhanced Careers
by Steve McConnell
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (30 June, 2003)
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Reviews (16)

It succeeds as a "vision" book
It is clear the author cares very deeply about his profession. He is searching for a way to increase software development professionalism. I did not view this book as a how to cook book. I viewed it as a vision book that offers suggestions on what needs to happen for future software development. Viewed in that light the book succeeds well. Unfortunately some of his analogies to other professions show lack of understanding for those professions, but otherwise the book is good food for thought.

If you are looking for a more concrete books on how to develop software now, he has a good reading list in his book Code Complete, second edition chapter 35. Also check his web site: http://www.construx.com/professionaldev/

Excellent Diagnosis, Questionable Solution.
As the author of the software's industry's classic tomes, "Code Complete" and "Rapid Development", anything by Steve McConnell is required reading.However, I believe that "Professional Software Development" along with its parent text, "After The Goldrush" is highly unlikely to have the impact of his earlier work.

McConnell remains at his best when detailing the problems of the industry and few will argue with his call for the adoption of established best practices and the creation of a better-qualified, structured and more accountable profession.The contentious area is his attempt to base this profession on engineering; a discipline that many feel is not an appropriate metaphor for the distinct and unique task of producing software.

Other industry authorities, in particular, Alan Cooper, have eloquently and convincingly denounced this view of software design and construction as engineering, and it seems to lead the author into some increasingly strange territory, for example his bizarre proposal that prospective software practitioners should study traditional engineering topics!

In swimming against the tide of movements such as Cooper's Interaction Design, Fowler's Agile Development and Beck's Extreme Programming, I would suggest that McConnell's ideas on creating an engineering-based Profession, are unlikely to see widspread adoption outside of the large-scale developers of in-house, scientific applications.

For all this, the book is still an interesting and stimulating read, but I suspect that many are still hoping that McConnell will return to his area of true expertise - the software construction process - and revise Code Complete to incorporate the latest methodologies and environments.

A Roadmap for Software Professionals
This is a book written for the software engineer/developer/programmer/analyst (collectively called "developers" in my review). The book basically acts as a roadmap for improving yourself as a developer, making yourself more valuable to your current and future employers (whether they realize it or not).

This book introduced me to Steve McConnell's Professional Development Ladder, a way of evaluating your current level of professionalism and learning what areas of knowledge you need in order to progress. It also talks about software engineer licensing (Texas does it), the newly accredited Software Engineering degree program (this replaces Computer Science in many respects), and the Software Engineering Institute's Code of Ethics and Professional Practice.

Many of these resources can be found around the Net, but this book neatly consolidates a lot of information. It also includes a lot of information (mainly statistics) I would not have found elsewhere, such as ROI's for specific software engineering practices (simply measuring productivity can return 150% in 12 months or 600% over 36 months, page 116), the exact makeup of the huge productivity gap between different developers (communicationfactors alone account for a 53% productivity difference, page 137), and an interesting and realistic diagram showing how professional licensing affects the pool of good and bad developers.

The roadmap extends all the way from the entry-level developer or new high-school graduate all the way up to industry leadership.

I give this book 5 stars not for the book alone but for it combined with the resources at McConnell's web site. If you want to excel in your field as a developer, these two taken together give a lot of great advice. ... Read more

Isbn: 0321193679
Sales Rank: 16008
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer software    4. Computers    5. Development    6. Entrepreneurship    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Software Engineering    9. Computers / Programming / Software Development   

Emergence: From Chaos to Order (Helix Books)
by John H. Holland
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 April, 1999)
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Editorial Review

"Emergence" is the notion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. John Holland, a MacArthur Fellow known as the "father of genetic algorithms," says this seemingly simple notion will be at the heart of the development of machines that can think for themselves. And while he claims that he'd rather do science than write about it, this is his second scientific philosophy book intended to increase public understanding of difficult concepts (his first was Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity). One of the questions that Holland says emergence theory can help answer is: can we build systems from which more comes out than was put in? Think of the food replicators in the imaginary future of Star Trek--with some basic chemical building blocks and simple rules, those machines can produce everything from Klingon delicacies to Earl Grey tea. If scientists can understand and apply the knowledge they gather from studying emergent systems, we may soon witness the development of artificial intelligence, nanotech, biological machines, and other creations heretofore confined to science fiction. Using games, molecules, maps, and scientific theories as examples, Holland outlines how emergence works, emphasizing the interrelationships of simple rules and parts in generating a complex whole. Because of the theoretical depth, this book probably won't appeal to the casual reader of popular science, but those interested in delving a little deeper into the future of science and engineering will be fascinated. Holland's writing, while sometimes self-consciously precise, is clear, and he links his theoretical arguments to examples in the real world whenever possible. Emergence offers insight not just to scientific advancement, but across many areas of human endeavor--business, the arts, even the evolution of society and the generation of new ideas. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Above the General Interest and Disoganized
While the intended audience is the general interest reader, this book will be a bit complicated for most people who are unfamilar with Turning Machines, i.e., stack machines, etc.

Toss Up
Parts of this book were interesting, but overall it was much ado about not much, and what was done was often overdone (I agree with another reviewer on this point). I see that Amazon has coupled this book with Hidden Order. I can't see why. It would be like buying the same book twice. Anyway, so much of this has been warmed over so many times now that it's frankly a bit dry. I'd like to see a book that really breaks new ground in complexity without overusing buzz words or talking down to me, holding my hand through simple things. Here, the topic is more attractive than the content I'm afraid. Anyone really interested in complexity and emergence will need to go into technical details well beyond this book. Others, like me, will likely find the details that are here to be a bit tedious.

Science Fiction
The review says "Think of the food replicators in the imaginary future of Star Trek--with some basic chemical building blocks and simple rules, those machines can produce everything from Klingon delicacies to Earl Grey tea. If scientists can understand and apply the knowledge they gather from studying emergent systems, we may soon witness the development of artificial intelligence, nanotech, biological machines, and other creations heretofore confined to science fiction." -- What?? Like we are about to make food replicators because of the "deep understanding" that we now have of emergent systems??

I agree with the other reviewer who says the book is characteristically weak. The cover is prettier than Hidden Order. But so what.

There have to be better books on complexity than this for the average popular science reader. ... Read more

Isbn: 0738201421
Subjects:  1. Artificial intelligence    2. Chaotic Behavior in Systems    3. Game Theory    4. Interactive & Multimedia    5. Mathematical models    6. Mathematics    7. Philosophy & Social Aspects    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. System Theory   

An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms for Scientists and Engineers
by David A. Coley
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 November, 1997)
list price: $28.00 -- our price: $28.00
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Reviews (5)

Excellent practical introduction to GAs
Well rounded and importantly, practical introduction to the subject.Gives a rapid basic understanding of the elements required, and provides all the information needed for further reading to expand knowledge in timely and appropriate places in the text.

An honest book
A fine introduction. Well written, very, very clear... And the codes are pretty easy to understand even for beginners. I would recommend it as a first course on GAs.

Too little information, even for beginners
This is an introductory (undergraduate level) book targeted towards practitioners. The content is far from being satisfactory, even for beginners. However, if you have only a couple of hours and you want to get some information about GAs, this book is for you. If you're looking for comprehensive coverage on the topic, I'd recommend Eiben & Smith's "Introduction to Evolutionary Computing". ... Read more

Isbn: 9810236026
Sales Rank: 286154
Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Computer Bks - General Information    3. Discrete Mathematics    4. Mathematics    5. Science/Mathematics   

Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Machine Learning
by DavidE. Goldberg
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 January, 1989)
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Editorial Review

David Goldberg's Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization and Machine Learning is by far the bestselling introduction to genetic algorithms. Goldberg is one of the preeminent researchers in the field--he has published over 100 research articles on genetic algorithms and is a student of John Holland, the father of genetic algorithms--and his deep understanding of the material shines through. The book contains a complete listing of a simple genetic algorithm in Pascal, which C programmers can easily understand. The book covers all of the important topics in the field, including crossover, mutation, classifier systems, and fitness scaling, giving a novice with a computer science background enough information to implement a genetic algorithm and describe genetic algorithms to a friend. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Read a review article instead!
I agree with another reviewer who said the book was unnecessarily long.Genetic Algorithms are a great programming tool, and there are some tips and tricks that can help your programs converge faster and more accurately, but this book had a lot of redundant information.

If you are interested in using GA for solution-finding, I doubt you'll find much useful in this book beyond the first chapter or so.Many of the examples later in the book were so specific that I couldn't see how they could be usefully generalized.Really optimizing a GA approach for a specific problem domain takes a fair amount of tuning, and this book won't help much with that.

I think time spent surfing siteseer or other publication sites would be better spent than reading this book.

Needs updating
OK, I agree with the previous reviewers: it's the classical textbook for GAs. But it definitely needs updating, as it's a 15-year old book and much has been done in the area. Niching methods, for example, are just outlined. I'd recommend Melanie Mitchell's book instead of this one.

The Best Book in AI so far
This book got me so excited that I was not able to continue reading. I had to put it down and walk about. The power of the learning classifier system (SCS) has yet to be fully explored. A system that organizes data (classifies) and learns new rules (generate new rules via the genetic algorithm) is a combination that still takes my breath away. The only negative to this book are the trivial problems the algorithms solve. There is none for the "bucket brigade" version of the SCS. Overall though it is an awesome book presenting a very powerful algorithm that has yet to be fully explored. ... Read more

Isbn: 0201157675
Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Combinatorics    3. Computer Bks - General Information    4. Computer Books: Operating Systems    5. Discrete Mathematics    6. Genetic algorithms    7. Machine learning    8. Optimization (Mathematical Theory)   

Programming Microsoft .NET
by Jeff Prosise
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (15 May, 2002)
list price: $59.99 -- our price: $37.79
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Reviews (22)

Great books save you precious time
And this is one of them. There are classic books in every area. This book is the one for .NET. If you are an experienced developer and want to jump start with .NET, this is definitely the book for you. I love it! Thank you Jeff Prosise for your great work.

Not as good as I expected
I was somewhat disappointed with this book. I felt it could have been a bit more in-depth and maybe more focused by removing the section on windows forms and concentrating purely on ASP.Net (and renaming it ASP.Net). One feature that really annoys me and is commonplace in ASP.Net books is how the author states the obvious that codebehind is a great feature and should be utilised, and nesting code in aspx pages avoided if at all possible. Then all the examples are shown as aspx pages containing nested code blocks. Arrgghh!
On the good side Jeff Prosise has a good clear writing style, his description of 'background info' is good, and the book is really well presented in choice of fonts, layout etc. Also it's good that the examples are in C# only.

Best "Programming" Book on .NET
This is much more than an okay book. It's simply the very best "programming" book on .NET. Once you've learned your .NET language of choice, which really should be C#, then you need a book like this one to explore and understand the .NET Framework. Trust me, you will not find a better one. I know, I've tried at least 6 other books of this scope. Yes, it does concentrate much more ASP.NET, so much so that I consider it also the best ASP.NET book out there. It's obviously not an advanced-level book, so you'll need to explore the subject further.

The main reason I like this book is because the writing is just so crystal clear and well organized. This author knows how to teach. Concepts flow from general to details superfluously. And the examples are so well chosen that it's a pleasure to read.

After having bought, and read or reviewed a good number of books on .NET, I feel I have a good sense as to which are the very best. The following four books are what I consider to be the creme de la creme of .NET publications:

1) C# Primer Plus, should be your first read;
2) This one, should be your second read;
3) Microsoft .NET for Programmers, read this after you've explored the framework further;
4) Programming .NET Components, the deepest clearest book on .NET I've seen by far - intermediate-advanced.

There are other excellent .NET books. I could name at least 8 others that deserve 4 to 5 stars. The above 4 deserve 5 star ratings more any other, or at least I've not found any others that use C#. ... Read more

Isbn: 0735613761
Sales Rank: 28418
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computers    4. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    5. Interactive & Multimedia    6. Internet programming    7. Microcomputer Application Software    8. Microsoft software    9. Microsoft.net framework    10. Operating Systems - Windows    11. Programming - Software Development    12. Computers / General   

Pragmatic ADO.NET: Data Access for the Internet World
by Shawn Wildermuth
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (05 November, 2002)
list price: $49.99 -- our price: $31.55
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Reviews (18)

Good, but could use more depth
While this is an excellently written book and a very easy read, I find that it doesn't really have the depth for the really sticky problems. It's a great overview, but not a reference work.

Great KJob Shawn
Shawn has given me a lot of good advise on different LISTSERVS.So, I figured it was time I purchased his book and read it.
I guess you could call me the ADO.NET guru at our shop.We all try to specialize in something and this is what I chose 3 years ago.I have read a lot of books and white papers on ADO.NET.
That said, Shawn's book was a quick read for me (about a week, 1-2 hours a night).The book's content is invaluable though if you are learning ADO.NET.
Shawn writes with personality and a little humor.It makes the book fun to read and it flows well.He does not regurgitate the SDK.He introduces a topic, explains it well with a sample or two and a small amount of code (C#) and then moves on.He does not throw volumes of code samples or flow chart\grids at you.One of my pet peeves with tech books is too much code and too many fluffy pictures.There is nothing worst than reading and coming to 10-15 pages of copied\pasted code or 2-3 pages of pretty\fluffy flow charts.Boring IMHO.Stick it on a cd or web site and refer me to it.
Shawn does a nice job covering the things you will need to know and most likely use everyday.He does not waste time covering some cool and neat, that, though it's cool and neat, has little daily value to you as a developer.He covers design techniques very well to.
I did not read the chapter 6, as I am not a fan of typed datasets.
I can honestly state I learned something from every chapter.Most was review, some was "oh yeah, I forgot about that".I especially like the Best Practices section in chapter 11.
My only complaint: he is obviously an Atlanta Braves fan;-(
I would give the book at least a 4, maybe a 4.5 on a 5 scale. Nice job Shawn and thanks for all the tips.

Easily the most useful technical book I've read in years.
I have been a data application developer for over ten years. I've read, on average, two technical books per year on theory or practical application. This book has been my favorite for a number of reasons:

1) It covers the topics that are necessary to develop data applications in a .NET environment.
2) It gets to the point and doesn't waste your time needlessly.
3) It has concrete examples that are applicable to many situations with detailed descriptions.
4) It fully addresses the .NET focus on disconnected data centering around the Dataset. Making the paradigm switch from ADO to ADO.NET can be a daunting task. The sequence and examples of the book put all of the pieces of the puzzle together and allow you to start thinking in terms of disconnected data and not just DataReaders.

Data is the foundation of most every business application and it's essential to have a full understanding of the database/application interaction. Taking ADO.NET for granted is a common mistake, but spending time understanding to movement and manipulation of your data will result in a more stable and successful overall data application.

Mr. Wildermuth has done a great job. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Isbn: 0201745682
Sales Rank: 91422
Subjects:  1. ActiveX    2. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Database Management - General    6. Database design    7. Electronic Commerce    8. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    9. Microcomputer Application Software    10. Microsoft .NET    11. Object-Oriented Programming    12. Object-oriented programming (C    13. Object-oriented programming (Computer science)    14. Programming - General    15. Programming - Object Oriented Programming    16. Web databases    17. Computers / Database Management / General   

The Complete Visual C# Programmer's Guide from the Authors of C# Corner
by Bulent Ozkir, John Schofield, Mahesh Chand, Mike Gold, Srinivasa Sivakumar, Shivani Maheshwari, Saurabh Nandu, Levent Camlibel
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (08 November, 2002)
list price: $59.95 -- our price: $59.95
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Reviews (12)

This book is rubbish
After reading all the reviews on amazon I decided to buy this book as a book I would use to transition from VB6 to C#. This book sounded perfectly pitched for this. With excellent reviews I decided to buy this book.
I have now decided that the reviews on amazon are rigged. Either the publisher or author is paying people to write excellent reviews. There is no way this is due to the value of this book.

Jason Christensen, mailto:jasonc@goenm.com
Reviewed: January, 2003
Reviewer: Jason Christensen

I am usually very pragmatic in my opinions about books on programming. After saying that, this book is excellent. I have been working in Java/Unix for the last couple of years, and I am now in a position where I must work in C# as well. This book is well targeted for the experienced programmer who needs to come up to speed quickly on the vast and powerful Object Model associated with C# with no prior exposure to C# or .NET.

I have already made this book a standard reference at the company at which I work. I also have recommended it to a number of friends. It has a very impressive balance between level of detail and breadth. A number of subjects are covered thoroughly enough for the experienced programmer to quickly come up to speed with C#. It also is detailed enough to keep around as a valuable desk side reference.

The one thing I don' like is the user level rating on the book. It says that this book is rated for beginning to intermediate developers. While it does start at with some overview material on using the compiler and debugger with a .NET overview, I think that rating must apply to being new to C#/.NET but I don't necessarily believe that this book is adequate for a beginning programmer.

Jason Christensen is a principal at Evergreen New Media, and heads up the Business Integration Services division. Jason has over 10 years of experience in distributed systems, and 3 years working with web-services on both Microsoft and Unix platforms. Based on that experience, Jason and Evergreen New Media's Business Integration Services team focus on advanced platform neutral solutions to web-service architectures.

Susanne Peterson, Director at Microsoft
"This is a thorough reference book with many useful Microsoft(r) Visual C# (tm) .NET programming examples. A programmer would be well advised to have this on his bookshelf," Susanne Peterson, Director for the Developer and Platform Evangelism Division at Microsoft corp. ... Read more

Isbn: 0971683603
Sales Rank: 271889
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Information Technology    5. Programming - General    6. Programming Languages - C#    7. Programming Languages - Visual C++   

ASP.NET Cookbook
by Geoffrey T. LeBlond, Michael A. Kittel
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (August, 2004)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $26.37
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Reviews (5)

Good common sense flow
ASP.NET Cookbook
Authors: Michael A Kittel and Geoffrey T. Leblond
Published by O'Reilly Books ISBN 0596003781
Reviewed by Steven Mullins, HuNTUG member

This was a hot book for me, I really get the feeling after reading this book that I can comfortably start to write my own code and see some success instead of just errors and copying open source.

If you want to see some of the basics of what the book is actually doing you can go to the website and see a host of examples. www.dominiondigital.com/aspnetcookbook/errata.aspx and you can find the controls and how they work and what the end result looks like by chapter and example. This book is well laid out in its basic approach to teaching going from the first look to the more custom data controls. The highlight for me that I had not seen anywhere else was the section on displaying user friendly-error messages. The one thing I disagree with is instead of including the information in the book there are a lot of references to other O'Reilly books. I am aware that is the livelihood of some but not all of us want to buy twelve books for reference.

I enjoyed the common sense way the book flowed, the Problem, Solution, and Discussion format added to the ease of explanation of the coding and why things are done in a certain manner. There are huge amounts of code and examples in both VB and C#. The chapters are well covered from user controls through tracing and debugging. The chapter on configuration was well covered and even covered adding personal tweaks to the web.config. The book then leads into the area of real time for all users and that's getting the info out on the web, to include the aspects of imaging and caching information. I really appreciate the way the hints and tips were covered as well as the cautions. Overall there were many areas of the book that were just what the coder ordered and serve's the average beginner to intermediate user. Those in the community that have the skill set already down may not be as impressed with the information. As a beginner myself I thought the book was well worth the read and I plan on using the information on my first web based application I am starting to write.

This is how to learn ASP.NET
When I picked up a copy of the ASP.NET Cookbook, I was expecting to find a couple of very simple "recipes" and a couple of more complex ones.What I found was a book that goes through everything you need to know to go from a beginning ASP.NET developer to a really advanced developer.I was very surprised with how complete and thorough this book is in helping developers become advanced ASP.NET developers.

This book assumes that you have some knowledge of ASP.NET.The first chapter takes off immediately with a discussion on datagrids.If you pick up this book without a basic knowledge of how to even create an ASPX page, you'll be lost.If that is the case, go for one of O'Reilly's other ASP.NET books like Programming ASP.NET or ASP.NET In A Nutshell.If you already have that groundwork, then you'll find this book to be a natural picking-up point.

After a very thorough discussion on tabular data (nearly 180 pages), the authors take the reader through data validation (with server validation controls), forms (which include tasks like getting the Enter key to work like the submit button), and user controls.At this point, the book really starts to shine.The authors begin a discussion of custom controls, which is both very interesting and very useful for the growing ASP.NET programmer.The remainder of the book (which is still quite a bit of content), goes over such useful (and slightly more advanced) concepts like maintaining state, how and why to modify web.config, error handling, performance tuning, web services, and caching.

Like I mentioned, I was surprised at both the depth and breath of content covered in this book.O'Reilly does list this book in their "cookbook" series and can certainly be used in that way.However, I think many readers will find it quite easy and useful to read this book from cover to cover.I would highly recommend this book for all levels of ASP.NET developers. The authors have done a very good job of including content that all levels of developer will benefit from.

This book rocks. Great value.
Had the book only a day before it paid for itself. The code examples are excellent, and the authors are well aware of best practices. This is not a bunch of hack recipes, but recipes to build durable, production code. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596003781
Sales Rank: 23957
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    2. Computer Books: Languages    3. Computers    4. Internet - General    5. Internet - Web Site Design    6. Microcomputer Application Software    7. Programming - General    8. Programming Languages - General    9. COM060000    10. COM060010    11. COM060040    12. COM060060    13. COM060070    14. COM060080    15. Computer Programming    16. Computers / Programming Languages / HTML, SGML, VRML, XML    17. Microsoft Windows   

Introduction to Evolutionary Computing (Natural Computing Series)
by A. E. Eiben, J. E. Smith, Agoston E. Eiben, J. D. Smith
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 November, 2003)
list price: $49.95 -- our price: $43.09
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Reviews (3)

Excellent introduction
I taught our introduction to evolutionary computation class from this book.It is a well rounded introduction to the topic covering most of the introductorty material you would expect.There is an real dearth of good introductory books for EC.This is probably the bestbecause of its breadth.Its weakness is its lack of detail.It would not hurt if they covered the same material in about 50% more pages.As soon as they start a topic its over and on to the next topic.But if you are new to the field they give plenty of references and touch on most topics in enough detail for students to implement.All in all a good solid job.

An excellent textbook suitable for all levels
This is an excellent textbook which covers most aspects of the Evolutionary Computing. It's suitable for all levels. It's easy to follow, rich in content and has many references (439 to be precise) for further information. The table of contents from the book's web site is as follows:

1. Introduction
2. What is an Evolutionary Algorithm?
3. Genetic Algorithms
4. Evolution Strategies
5. Evolutionary Programming
6. Genetic Programming
7. Learning Classifier Systems
8. Parameter Control in Evolutionary Algorithms
9. Multi-Modal Problems and Spatial Distribution
10. Hybridisation with Other Techniques: Memetic Algorithms
11. Theory
12. Constraint Handling
13. Special Forms of Evolution
14. Working with Evolutionary Algorithms
15. Summary
16. Appendices
17. Index
18. References

Recommended to everyone interested in EC.

an excellent introduction
The book is easy and refreshing to read. Assuming only a minimum of prior knowledge, all the relevant aspects are covered. The focus is on practical applications, with numerous examples, simple equations and plenty of practical advise for the user.

As should be the costum with every scientific introduction, the authors are at great pains to clarify the relationship between the different flavours of EC and to show how they historically developed.

The book does not provide much on the mathematical level, though. Not even a basic graph theoretical analysis of mutation and recombination.

This said, the book is still perfect to get you started. ... Read more

Isbn: 3540401849
Sales Rank: 158793
Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Computer Bks - General Information    3. Computer Science    4. Computers    5. Evolutionary computation    6. Evolutionary programming (Comp    7. Evolutionary programming (Computer science)    8. General    9. Science/Mathematics   

Lapsing Into a Comma : A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print--and How to Avoid Them
by BillWalsh
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 May, 2000)
list price: $14.95 -- our price: $10.17
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Editorial Review

Who knew a stylebook could be so much fun? For lovers of language, Lapsing Into a Comma is a sensible and very funny guide to the technicalities of writing and copy editing. Author Bill Walsh, chief copy editor in the business section of the Washington Post, humorously discusses the changing rules of proper print style in the information age. Is it "e-mail" or "email"? According to established grammatical rules, it should be e-mail, but in common practice, we often use email (which should be pronounced "uhmail," but we all know not to do that). Therefore, email is OK.

Walsh does not advocate tossing your AP Stylebook, but he does encourage using your head and not blindly adhering to formal rules. "A finely tuned ear is at least as important as formal grammar," he says, "and that's not something you can acquire by memorizing a stylebook." What about companies that use punctuation in their logos? Walsh cautions against confusing a logo with a name. You wouldn't use "Tech Stock Surge Boosts Yahoo!" as a headline unless you wrote for a very excitable newspaper. And then there's arbitrary capitalization. "The dot-com era has leveled a wall that Adidas and K.D. Lang and Thirtysomething had already cracked," says Walsh, "and suddenly writers and editors faced with a name are asking, "Is that capitalized?"--a question that's about as appropriate as asking a 5-year-old, 'Do you want that Coke with or without rum?'"

The first half of Lapsing Into a Comma zips along, making you think about the intricacies of grammar and editing--all while trying not to choke on laughter. The second half is Walsh's personally crafted style guide. Remember--Roommate: Two m's, unless you ate a room or mated with a roo. --Dana Van Nest ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Just remember that this is the _author's_ opinion
"Lapsing Into a Comma" is perhaps the most interesting stylebook one will find in print today.Reader's just have to beware that this is the _author's_ stylebook.

You'll find the usual suspects here with clear explanations about how to handle them.Punctuation, grammar and spelling are all covered, from the use of commas to the proper spelling of some famous individuals.The latter is one example of how different this book is.Knowing the proper spelling of Nicolas Cage's name might be entertaining and useful to those working for a newspaper, but I'm not sure it makes for a better reference book.

Some of the "rules" presented here will invariably be treated arbitrarily by the public.Some rules we follow, others just don't sound correct when we speak them so we move on.And sometimes what we think we know is not true at all.

Three examples:

Walsh makes the grammatically correct point that sports teams (or rock bands) with singular names (e.g. The Who, The Orlando Magic, etc.) must be combined with singular verbs.He argues that this is subject-verb agreement.While that is true, people simply don't think this way.The Magic are a team full of individuals.(See, I just made the "mistake" in the previous sentence! I did it without thought.)People don't think of the Magic as a he.They think of the Magic as a them.Just like the Yankees.Walsh dismisses these concerns, but he's ultimately spitting into the wind.People don't talk or think in this manner, subject-verb agreement or no.Fifty years from now someone writing about grammar will lament the fact that no one follows this rule.Get over it.

While Walsh is annoyed by this example, he also states that the current oral tradition of using plural (they, them) instead of singular pronouns (he, she) might trump the grammatical rule.And he's OK with that.I happen to agree with him, but it only weakens his earlier point.If the oral tradition creates the rule in this case then why doesn't it in another?

Then there's at least one example where Walsh is just clearly wrong and, ironically, injects his own political views while accusing others of doing the same.Under the term gender Walsh claims that it came about as a result of the word "sex" being viewed as specific to the sexual act.He gives the example "race and sex preferences" and then says that _he_ thinks "sexual preferences" when he hears this term.Funny, I never thought of that until I read his words!But that's not the most important point.

Walsh criticizes those who would "politicize" the word gender by making it refer to behavior.His example goes something like this: Johnny likes to wear dresses so he's of the female gender.The problem is that the word gender came from the fields of sociology and psychology long before it was in common use today.The very roots of this word are _specific_ to behavior.There are no politics about it.In 1990 when you said the word gender you were talking about behavior, no genitalia.Walsh, who apparently didn't speak with a sociologiy or psychology professor before writing this, makes it appear as if the original meaning is the new "political" definition while at the same time injecting his own current political view - one that rejects the the need for a term which recognizes varying degrees of gendered behavior among the sexes.

Despite these criticisms, I still recommend this book.It's interesting and educational.Just beware of the fact that this is a stylebook and, by definition, expresses the author's viewpoint.

Useful and fun
Bill Walsh, the Washington Post's copy editor for national news, is an unabashed "prescriptivist" -- someone for whom, in writing, there are things that are wrong because they've always been wrong. "Even if you think it's arrogant to condemn a perfectly understandable bit of prose as 'wrong,'" he writes, "you have to answer one big question: Do you want to look stupid?"

With "The Elephants of Style" you'll reduce the chance of sounding stupid, increase the likelihood that your writing will have style -- or, as Walsh puts it, FLAIR! ELAN! PANACHE! -- and have a lot of fun. "The Elephants of Style" is the rare book about writing and style that you may (as I did) read from cover to cover forsheer pleasure -- like the pleasure of learning that "the New York train station is Grand Central Terminal," but "Grand Central Station remains the correct expression for mothers yelling at their kids about running in and out of the kitchen."

I'll admit it: I'm one of those lovers of English who has shelves full of books about writing and the use of our language. I regularly read Walsh's website "The Slot: A Spot for Copy Editors," and I also purchased his first book, "Lapsing Into a Comma," which also was a delight. "Lapsing" was aimed at an audience of more sophisticated word users or, as Walah says, was written for editors and writers. "Elephants of Style," he says, was written for writers and editors. It will benefit everyone, I say, from professional writers and editors to middle-school English students. I recommend it highly.

The next Bill Safire?
Bill Walsh does a great service to the English language by building a potent barricade in the war against imprecision, obfuscation and outright misuse. And he makes it a great read as well. A great gift for your favorite college student or federal official! ... Read more

Isbn: 0809225352
Subjects:  1. Authorship    2. Editing    3. Editing & Proofreading    4. English language    5. Handbooks, manuals, etc    6. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    7. Reference    8. Style    9. Style manuals    10. Writing Skills    11. Language Arts & Disciplines / Editing & Proofreading   

Sin and Syntax : How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose
by CONSTANCE HALE
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (20 March, 2001)
list price: $13.95 -- our price: $11.16
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Editorial Review

You gotta love a grammar guide that calls verbs "moody little suckers" and adverbs "promiscuous." Constance Hale (Wired Style) relishes prose that is deliberate, beautiful, and bold. Go ahead and break the rules, she says; just know the rules first, and know why you are breaking them. In Sin & Syntax, Hale examines the elements of grammar from four angles: the "bones" (the grammar lesson), the "flesh" (the writing lesson), "cardinal sins" (what she calls "true transgressions"), and "carnal pleasures" (the beauty that results from either "hew[ing] exquisitely to the underlying codes of language," or not).

For illustration, Hale hails Walt Whitman and Roger Angell, and rails upon Alexander Haig and the Gump's catalogue. She hauls in Joan Didion to make a case for writing in the first person, Mark Twain to promote the killing of adjectives, C.S. Lewis to advocate showing rather than telling, and Loudon Wainwright III to lament the abuse of the word like. But Hale has no problem making her own points. "Euphemisms," she says, "are for wimps." She dismisses a particularly heinous example of scholarly prose as "a bunch of big words thrown into an Osterizer." Even other grammarians don't escape her derision: "Get a grip," Hale says. "Hopefully as a sentence adverb is here to stay." But what distinguishes Sin and Syntax most is its enthusiasm for prose that takes risks. "Even if you have to check with a lawyer," says Hale, "isn't a kick-ass piece of writing worth the effort?"--Jane Steinberg ... Read more

Reviews (20)

grammar and style humorously demystified
Hale gives us a guide to grammar and style that is as fun to read as it is instructive.Occasionally the mirth is a bit strained and tiresome, but better to err on the side of entertainment ....

Divided into chapters on words (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections), sentences (subject and predicate, simple sentences, phrases and clauses, and sentence variety) and music (voice, lyricism, melody and rhythm), each chapter is divided into four sections: Bones -- the basics of grammatical usage; Flesh -- putting the grammar into context; Cardinal Sins -- highlighting errors; and Carnal Pleasures -- examples of writing that defy the rules.

The organization is mainly successful and the author uses lots of examples to show both good and bad writing.i learned from the book, re-learned a few things I'd forgotten (when's the last time you saw a sentence diagram?!), and enjoyed the book.

A Good Book
This is a good book. I learned a lot. My writing style is better.

A welcome difference
Most grammar books are dry, able to put you to sleep at 20 paces. This one is not. I found it fun to read. I have recently started graduate school. I found that I had to write a number of papers for each class. Since it has been awhile since I had to worry about commas, semi-colons, and the difference between which and that I needed a good reference book. I picked this one and I use it every time I write a paper. ... Read more

Isbn: 0767903099
Subjects:  1. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    2. Reference    3. Rhetoric    4. Writing Skills    5. Reference / Writing Skills   

Chronicle of a Blood Merchant : A Novel
by YU HUA
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (21 October, 2003)
list price: $23.00 -- our price: $15.64
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Reviews (6)

A Moving Story of a Family's Struggles During Mao's Era
Blood is certainly one of the most graphic and potent of literary symbols: a life-sustaining fluid, a product of injury or death, a signal of feminine fertility and virginity, a salable commodity, a gift of life via transfusion, and a genetic and metaphorical bond among children, parents, their extended families, and prospective descendants. Each of these meanings plays a significant role in CHRONICLE OF A BLOOD MERCHANT, Yu Hua's harrowing tale of one father's relentless efforts to survive and provide for his family under the most difficult of circumstances.

Set in a small town in mainland China, CHRONICLE OF A BLOOD MERCHANT follows three decades in the life of Xu Sanguan, a cocoon deliverer in a local silk factory, as he marries Xu Yulan, fathers three children (more of less named One, Two, and Three), learns that he has been cuckolded, is in turn unfaithful to his own wife, and helps his family survive the Cultural Revolution, ruinous famines, the "sending down" of two sons to the countryside, and the critical illness of his oldest son, the one he has long known is not his own. Along the way, Xu Sanguan learns to sell his blood at a local hospital as a way to raise emergency funds. Symbolically, of course, Yu Hua is portraying the burdens and hypocrisies of a system in which the lowly and honest can only barely survive by resorting to the extreme measure of selling their energy, their strength, and in some cases, their very lives.

This novel works for several reasons. First, the language is simple and direct, almost choppy and childish at times, a reflection of its uneducated protagonists. Second, the author has created a small cast of characters whose fates are inextricably linked to one another, and among whom actions both good and bad eventually create unplanned or unintended consequences. In particular, the relationship between Xu Sanguan, Xu Yulan, their son Yile, Yile's blood father He Xiaoyong, and He's wife, creates a series of alternating and humorous interdependencies. Third, Yu Hua has skillfully recreated the peasant atmosphere of Chinese village life, complete with gossiping and public lamentations, traditions and superstitions, the importance of connections (guanxi, as the Chinese call it) with higher-ups, and horrific misinformation about human health and personal care.

Finally, CHRONICLE OF A DEATH MERCHANT is a story of fatherly devotion and filial piety. Xu Sanguan is so devoted to his family that he nearly sacrifices his own life to ensure theirs. The last fifty pages describe Xu Sanguan's horrifying physical descent to the edge of death, slowly yet so inevitably that I wanted to shout at him to stop. I was reminded of the similar, sick to the stomach sense of dread I felt watching Morgan Spurlock's SUPER SIZE ME. Curiously, one is about eating and intake, while Xu Sanguan's danger arises from the blood he is selling to raise money.

While I would not classify this book as one of China's great novels, CHRONICLE OF A DEATH MERCHANT is an engaging story, sometimes sad and sometimes humorous, filled with memorable characters. Perhaps more important, it offers a biting critique of an ineffectual and often capricious government system, told from the viewpoint of those who understood it least and suffered at its unfeeling hands the most. Intentionally or otherwise, Yu Hua traces the roots of a rampant blood-selling practice in China's poorest provinces that has created an epidemic of HIV and AIDS cases. This is a book well worth reading for anyone interested in Mao's era, in China's current day HIV health crisis, or simply in a heroic family saga.

great read
I'm surprised at the negative reviews here.This book was not depressing at all.It was a quick enjoyable read with the subtle humor I find only in Chinese works.

Uncomfortable read
I tried to like this book; however, it was too heartbreaking. Could not finish. ... Read more

Isbn: 037542220X
Sales Rank: 104351
Subjects:  1. 1960-    2. Chinese (Language) Contemporary Fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Literary    6. Literature: Classics    7. Translations into English    8. Yu, Hua,    9. Fiction / Literary   

Tournament Poker for Advanced Players (Advance Player)
by David Sklansky
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 April, 2002)
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $19.77
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Reviews (19)

Good stuff, but not for everyone
If you only buy one poker book, there are many others which would be a better choice. If your main exposure to poker so far has been watching televised final tables, then this should be 7th or 8th on your list of books to buy, and might not even be necessary. However, if you've played ring games for long enough to become experienced, but now want to try your hand at tournaments, this book is the perfect tool to help you morph your skills from poker to tournament poker (They are very different, by the way.)

You've probably heard all the ideas in here before, but Sklansky does a good job of explaining why they're true and applying them to real situations. The discussion of the Gap Concept is what this book is known for, and that chapter alone is probably worth the twenty bucks. (You have to remember, though, that the Gap Concept doesn't apply as much to skilled players pre-flop in NLH tournaments, who will freqently limp with all kinds of speculative hands.)

My only other complaint would be that, for a second edition of a popular book by a smart guy, there were still an some misspellings and instances of weird grammar. But if you're doing what I recommend and reading this after Doyle and TJ, it won't seem as bad compared to their informal style and wacky punctuation.

Not impressed
This is not Sklansky's best work. The books does have 2 or 3 good concepts but the rest of the book is vague. I wish he had combined this useful info in another book. The rest of the book is junk, with some filler quizes and crap advice. I mean geesh...his discussion on final table play is horrible.

Good Book
I enjoyed reading this book and it was my first book on tournaments. I have to say, I thought it was useful and it did have some good concepts that I was able to use in my game. ... Read more

Isbn: 1880685280
Sales Rank: 692
Subjects:  1. Card Games - Poker    2. Gambling - Table    3. Games    4. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    5. Games/Puzzles   

City of God
Director: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
Average Customer Review:
DVD (08 June, 2004)
list price: $29.99 -- our price: $22.49
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Editorial Review

Like cinematic dynamite, City of God lights a fuse under its squalid Brazilian ghetto, and we're a captive audience to its violent explosion. The titular favela is home to a seething army of impoverished children who grow, over the film's ambitious 20-year timeframe, into cutthroat killers, drug lords, and feral survivors. In the vortex of this maelstrom is L'il Z (Leandro Firmino da Hora--like most of the cast, a nonprofessional actor), self-appointed king of the dealers, determined to eliminate all competition at the expense of his corrupted soul. With enough visual vitality and provocative substance to spark heated debate (and box-office gold) in Brazil, codirectors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund tackle their subject head on, creating a portrait of youthful anarchy so appalling--and so authentically immediate--that City of God prompted reforms in socioeconomic policy. It's a bracing feat of stylistic audacity, borrowing from a dozen other films to form its own unique identity. You'll flinch, but you can't look away. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Widescreen
• Dolby

Reviews (215)

City of Crap
one of the worst movies i've ever seen

not because it shocked or disturbed me

but because it bored me to tears, and close to rage

i couldn't believe how utterly stupid it was

ooo, look, poor black kids selling drugs, big surprise.

it was funny when the little kid shot the other little kid, though.

An exhilarating film experience...
It seems that repressed societies and low socio-economic environments provide an excellent backdrop, or impetus, for unique artistic and creative achievement.

This is evident in music i.e. Bob Marley hailed from the ghettos of Trenchtown, and The Beatles came from industrial Liverpool, but the above point is with particular reference to film making.

Films that highlight the detrimental impact of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the mass murder of Tutsis in Rwanda, the election process in Iran, or Eastern European women being sold into prostitution, all have one thing in common:They serve to open our eyes, and very often - hit home hard.These stories of suffering, hardship and turmoil transcend any particular place and region because they all relate to the human condition.

Fernando Meirelles' "City of God" is one such example.Set against the impoverished backdrop of the Brazilian `favelas' or ghettos, it's a vivid and powerful piece of film making that highlights social ills and the struggle of conscience.

Based on a true story, "City of God" provides an insight into the lives of characters that all emerge from similar backgrounds, their resulting attitudes, and the different choices they make.The film culminates on the streets of Rio De Janeiro's slums in the 1970s, where drugs, corruption, and crime are rampant, and the value for human life is practically non-existent.

The movie also importantly demonstrates the cyclical nature of life in such extreme and under-privileged conditions.The children of these slums (or "Runts" as they are referred to in the film) take to crime at an early age and are more concerned with getting hold of guns than going to school.There are exceptions, but for the majority of children born into this particular environment, a life of easy money in dealing drugs and robbing others far outweighs the incentive of an education and working an honest job.

Beautifully made and splendidly acted, this will keep you glued to the screen and prove to be an exhilarating film experience.

Seeking to survive in a brutal environment...
"City of God" ("Cidade de Deus") is the story of a boy, but also the story of a "favela" (Portuguese word with similar meaning to slum or shantytown) on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. That shantytown is called "Cidade de Deus". Throughout this extraordinary movie both the boy and the favela grow, albeit obviously in very different ways:)

The boy is Rocket (Buscapé in Portuguese, played by Alexandre Rodrigues), who is born in Cidade de Deus and grows up before our eyes living in it. He is quiet and easygoing, just a non-violent person seeking a way to survive in a brutal environment. Rocket ends up doing exactly that through his passion, photography, that ends up making him an intermediary between the local gangs and the press. He is also the narrator of this movie, the voice that accompanies us throughout many of the stories that "City of God" has to offer...

The other main character of "City of God" is the "city" itself, that starts merely as a couple of houses, but that grows immensely as years go by. The activities in which its inhabitants are involved also change, from petty robbery to organized crime that involves drug dealing and arms trafficking. We see Li'l Zé (Zé Pequeno in Portuguese, played by Leandro Frimino), one of the boys that used to play soccer with Rocket, grow up to become a murderer and a drug lord, someone that makes his own laws. The same happened with others, but Li'l Zé probably represents to most dangerous kind of sociopath that the favela can produce. Rocket and Li'l Zé, same circumstances, different persons, different choices. Who says that where you lives determinates how you are and what you do?. This is an excellent example that that is not always the case...

Directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund somehow managed to convey in their movie the full strenght of the novel (written by Paulo Lins) on which "City of God" is based. This film is full of colour and energy, carrying the spectator at a dizzying pace through the twenty years it covers, never giving him time to get bored. It is wortwhile to point out that most of the "actors" didn't have any real experience as such, they just happened to live in different slums of Rio de Janeiro (including Cidade de Deus) at the time when the film was being made. I think that is something that shows in the