Reviews (4)

Insightful for serious fan; fully informative for new-comers
Let's face it.The story of the meteoric rise of Oasis and the sibbling drama surrounding the brothers Gallagher is both complicated and simple.Complicated, because how do you sift throught the tabloid haze, the drug hysteria, the fights, the break-ups and make-ups and make sense of it all?Simple, because this is what happens when the right band comes along with the perfect songs and the charasmatic force to make people desperately intrigued... yeah, it's a big explosion.This book follows just that logic and takes you along for the perfect ride through the Oasis universe.A little humour and a crisp narrative help as well. The hilarious photo captions are a bonus.Be here now...

The Latest From the Sharpest Wit in Print
A real laugh and look at the absurdity of pop star life as only the Brits can do it.Documents the rise and rise of the the Gallagher boys and their infamous antics. Nice "behind the scenes" and tales of the mono-brow brothers' very entertaining bickering.One of my favorite authors. If you don't know his book "Generation Eccch" yet, read it for more sharp-witted criticism of pop icons of the '90s.

Give this guy 160 pages, he'll give you a great story.
If you really wanna find out HOW Oasis became so big, this is the book for you. It tells it all, from the Gallagher's impressions on America, the world, and everything, to personal experiences. Provides a good laugh and is a great eye-opening-mouth-exploding-drooling experience. Only for devoted Oasis fans. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Composers & Musicians - General    6. Composers & Musicians - Rock    7. England    8. Genres & Styles - Rock    9. History & Criticism - General    10. Oasis (Musical group)    11. Rock music    12. Rock musicians    13. Computers / Entertainment & Games / General   

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Antiquities    3. Archaeology    4. Archaeology / Anthropology    5. Computer simulation    6. Congresses    7. History    8. History: World    9. Imaging Systems    10. Methodology    11. Archaeological methodology & techniques    12. Classical Studies | Ancient History    13. History / Ancient / General   

Reviews (6)

Great book on the history of scientific thinking
I enjoyed this book very much.I takes us on a trip down the path of human intellectual development that begins before we were human, when we were apes, through prehistory, ancient history, and up to the present day. I strongly recommend the book.However, the author says some things that I think are extremely unlikely, such as his idea that if the Greeks had not made certain mathematical discoveries they would probably never have been made.He makes some scientific errors, such as his idea about the maximum speed of a space ship which I am almost Why you will NEVER see an Extraterrestrial
Read this book! Best short book about what science really is
I wasdelighted with this wonderful book. The author gives an all aroundexplanantion about the origins of science and its nature, pointing out themisconceptions that are distorting science education. A great book for theprofessional scientist that usually never has time to ponder how science isdistinct from the intuitive creativity of common sense and the educatedperson that wants to understand this activity that permeates our societybut is basically not understood. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Engineering    3. Computers    4. History    5. History Of Science    6. Philosophy    7. Philosophy & Social Aspects    8. Philosophy Of Science    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Thought and thinking    12. Physics    13. Science / History   

Subjects:  1. Computer music    2. Electronic music    3. Genres & Styles - Electronic    4. History and criticism    5. Music    6. Music/Songbooks    7. Musical Instruments - Keyboard    8. Electronic musical instruments    9. Music / Electronic & Computer    10. Music | Music Theory, Analysis, & Composition    11. Rock & pop   

Reviews (2)

A dry look at the history of computers
Herman Goldstine was there when modern computers were born, that is at Princeton's IAS working under the great John von Neumann, who he had met while working on the development of another computer for Aberdeen Proving Ground.
The Computer from Pascal to Von Neumann - review by F.A.Ware
The Computer from Pascal to Von NeumannHerman H. GoldstineRead more

Subjects:  1. Computer Science    2. Computers    3. Computers - General Information    4. Digital Computer Design    5. History    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Computers / Computer Science    9. General Theory of Computing    10. History of Science and Medicine, Philosophy of Science    11. Mathematics    12. Modern period, c 1500 onwards    13. Science / History    14. Science-History    15. Storage media & peripherals   

Subjects:  1. Computer crimes    2. Criminology    3. Cyberterrorism    4. History    5. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Security - General    9. Sociology    10. Computing and Information Technology    11. Crime & criminology    12. Current Events / General    13. History of specific subjects   

Reviews (3)

Babbage as a man of extraordinary breadth
While Babbage is rightly mentioned in any book covering the history of the computer, he is often wrongly presented as somewhat of a crank. His life is generally described as that of a genius whose ideas were far ahead of the times and as a person who spent enormous amounts of personal and public funds in single-minded attempts to build machines that never worked. In fact, he was a man of extraordinary breadth and depth of interest, and his original difference engine worked very well. Furthermore, it can be strongly argued that the economic gains due to the fast and precise computations performed by his difference engine and the improvements in machining accuracy more than returned the public investment in the project. A Superb Read; Not What I Expected
I read this book last year (2000) after reading a book of Ada Lovelace's letters (mostly to Babbage). I had purchased my hardcover copy at the Computer Museum in Boston MA back in the late 80's or early 90's, but had not read it because it looked daunting and dry. Was I wrong! This book is very readable and utterly fascinating; in fact a page turner that I could hardly put down. I've been looking for a softcover (or even another hardcover) for some time, so I could loan to friends. How delighted I am to find one! Babbage was a fascinating character and this book not only illuminates the man but also the times and the politics and the other fascinating technological events and efforts of the day. The discussion of the "great gauge wars" (the fight for the "ideal" width for railroad tracks) and Babbage's involvement was delightful. It appears he may have invented the first working strip chart recorder. This book was delightful and I got so involved with Babbage that I cried when his death occurred and the book ended. He was a giant among scientists and yet was frustrated all his life, by petty politics and short-sighted politicians, in the effort to build his stupendous and wondrous machines. A wonderful story, full of technological history. Other highlights: descriptions and pictures of the machines (of course); description of the effort to build a tunnel under the Thames river (by the the Jr and Sr Brunels); Babbage's methods (at times he did all phases of the work for his projects) and his workshop; his notes on working out the operation of the machines; family life; involvement in the technical societies of the day. (The book of Ada Lovelace's letters is also highly recommended if this is an interesting area for you.)...

The Computer was Invented well before Reticulated Electricit
In the early 19th century, a moderately well-off and very well educated Englishman dreams up an elaborate calculating machine for doing log and trig tables. When he begins this project, the railroad and the telegraph do not yet exist. The machine tools and manufacturing methods of the day are not up to the task, so the Englishman pushes out the envelope. He more or less succeeds in building his machine, but the British government is not interested.
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Subjects:  1. 1791-1871    2. Babbage, Charles,    3. Biography    4. Computer Science (General)    5. Great Britain    6. Mathematicians    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Babbage, Charles    9. History of mathematics   

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - General Information    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Design    4. Computer Science    5. Computers    6. History    7. IBM computers    8. Questions & Answers    9. Computers / Computer Science   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (5)

Gripping, insightful
It's a rare book that has the academic rigor to explore our electronic culture and the ways in which it rewires our own brains and perceptions. It's an even rarer one that is free of jargon and cant, with gripping prose that makes you turn the pages as if you were under a beach umbrella. This is that book.

Connected to the Computer-Culture and Change

Electric Dreams: Accessible and Insightful
Electric Dreams bridges the too-often-wide gap between the academy and the community with a readable and informative style that presents ideas and arguments in a refeshingly clear and concise manner. Computers have impacted U.S culture as profoundly as any technology in our history and, equally important, as Friedman suggests, we cannot separate computers from visions of our future -- utopian or not. This reader offers only one recommendation: Updated versions of the book might include a glossary and chronology to further enhance accessiblity for non-experts. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computers    2. Computers - General Information    3. Computers and civilization    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Social Aspects    9. Social Aspects - General    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Computers / General    13. Cultural studies    14. Impact of computing & IT on society    15. Media studies    16. USA   

Reviews (2)

depends on what you are looking for
If you are looking for a book to teach you how to render HIGHEST ARTISTIC STANDARDS
QUALITY ARTISTIC RENDERINGS IN A VARIETY OF MEDIA AND STYLES - A JOY TO SEE - HOWEVER NO DESIGN INFORMATION OR TIPS ON RENDERING - GREAT INSPIRATION FOR DESIGN PRESENTATIONS ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Drawing Of Specific Subjects    4. History    5. Interior Design    6. Interior Design - General    7. Interior Design - Professional Reference    8. Interior decoration    9. Interior decoration rendering    10. Techniques - Drawing    11. Applications of Computing   

Subjects:  1. Architectural design    2. Architecture    3. Computer-aided design    4. Data processing    5. Exhibitions    6. History - Specific Styles   

Reviews (2)

The concepts in this book still applies to Clarion 6.
It's amazing how the concepts of Clarion never change. The fundamentals presented in this book are still highly useful in developing Clarion apps today (2005). Keep it within your arm's reach and it will pay off.
I want to learn to use the Wizatrons
I need a book that help me to learn quikly y easy how to use the wizatrons of Clarion 5.0 or More.Read more

Subjects:  1. Clarion for Windows (Computer program language)    2. Computers - Languages / Programming    3. History: World    4. Microcomputer Operating Environments    5. Operating Systems - General    6. Programming - General    7. Programming Languages - General    8. Microsoft Windows    9. Utilities & tools   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Data processing    4. Electronic spreadsheets    5. Engineering - General    6. General    7. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    8. History    9. Internet - General    10. MATLAB    11. Mathematics    12. Numerical analysis    13. Science/Mathematics    14. Study Guides   

Reviews (3)

a book with lessons for our own day
Grant gives a new perspective about the last century of the (western) Roman Empire.When the average layman thinks of the fall of the Roman Empire, he (or she) thinks of the Rome of the early Caesars: a libertarian, libertine kind of place, full of fun and debauchery.But Grant convincingly shows that late Rome suffered not from decadence but from puritanism, not from too much liberty but from crushing taxes.Late Rome was more like Soviet Russia than like America today: a place suffering from too much government in every sphere of life, from Christian intolerance ...to bureaucratic overregulation of the economy.The perfect gift for your libertarian friends!

Excellent, lucid
The previous reviewer's analysis is correct.I would only add that eerily much of what caused Rome to dry rot and collapse is being mirrored in the USA- high taxation, large bureaucracies, the lack of desire to serve in themilitary, radical racial diversification, growing elements of societaldrop-outs (ie. homeschoolers, Christians, environmentalists), complacency,the growing gulf between social classes.Will the USA fall like Rome? After all, there is no army of barbarians at our doorstep like Rome faced. We have no military coups unlike the dozens which took place in Rome.Butthere are several fits, enough to think that at the very least, America twocenturies from now will be as recognizable to us as modern England would berecognizable to Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror or Richard theLionhearted.

Good read for a beginner, but to limited for much else.
There are many books disecting and explaining the Roman Empire's rise and fall, and many of them may indeed be more detailed than "The Fall of the Roman Empire" by Michael Grant, but none capture the actions of that age and explain it in such a manner that it is comprehensible to someone without a Harvard degree. Mr. Grant writes in a methodical and clear way that keeps the reader interested and excited. He divides his book in to thirteen chapters, each one describing thirteen points that led to the empire's downfall. He addresses issues not only of military importance, but that of the internal and social struggles, such as the slaves, peasants, generals and nobles. He also includes a series of maps one what the empire looked like at various times throughout its decline. The contents of the book are reason enough to buy it, but the introduction is a general overview of the entire empire, and is very well done. That's the positive side. However, I don't think he was quite detailed enough! I realize that the entire book was intended to be a general run over, but some areas he glazed over, and others he ignored completly. For example, he explained the Weastern Empire in depth, but almost completly ignored the Eastern. He only refered to it when it affected the other. The only other nuance I disliked was that every so often he would contradict himself, like in referece to the social impact of the poor against the state being the most important of the internal struggles that brought down the fall, while he later says the credibility gap was the cause of the decline. After weighing the pros against the cons, I believe this is a very worthwhile book to read if you are just begining a study of that era. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Rome    2. Ancient Rome - History    3. Computer Books: Web Programming    4. History - General History    5. History / General   

Reviews (11)

Definitive history of a great technologist
This book renders a wonderful service by telling the story of an inspired mathematical physicist and technologist, John Atanasoff, who made splendid contributions to technological advances in computing.With the advent of World War II, Atanasoff was called away from teaching duties at Iowa State University in order to serve the military research needs of his nation, thus his pioneering binary electronic computer did not become contemporaneously well-known.
paranoia
(a) Author could not understand the difference between a computer and components. A computer is an integrated entity ofcomponets arranged properly by the architect. A component, regardless of its importance, is just a part. A component by itself can not be a computer. Wake up Amazon!
Amazon should remove "reviews" based on personal animosity rather than on the merits of the book under review. As for me, I found this book to be well-written and enlightening, adding to the search for truth about the early history of the electronic computer. We all owe a debt of gratitude to John Atanasoff for his vision in helping to bring about the digital age. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer & Internet    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Science    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. History    7. Law    8. Microcomputers    9. Patent suits    10. Patents    11. Patents Law    12. United States    13. General Theory of Computing   

Reviews (1)

a Book every Programmer needs to have on their Desk
Provides not only an explantion of the abend, the book also gives you a detailed background on the possible causes. Potential abend resolutions presented cover both COBOL and JCL specifically as well as general comments, dump analysis and what steps to take to correct the abending application. The book also presents background (limited detail) on printing Dumps, source code degugging and tips and techniques. Definitely a Book to have when tackling Production abends and problems where time is of the essence. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Assembler language (Computer p    2. Assembler language (Computer program language)    3. COBOL (Computer program langua    4. COBOL (Computer program language)    5. Computer Books: General    6. Computer Programming Languages    7. Computer Programs Debugging    8. Debugging in computer science    9. IBM MVS    10. PL/I (Computer program languag    11. Questions & Answers    12. Reference    13. History of ideas, intellectual history   

Reviews (1)

Thorugh and interesting
I really enjoyed this book.It is one of the best of its kind.It thoroughly examines the cultural impact of the Internet as a new technology and democratic force.
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Subjects:  1. Computer - Internet    2. History & Surveys - General    3. Internet    4. Internet - General    5. Philosophy    6. Social Aspects - General    7. Cultural studies    8. Impact of computing & IT on society    9. Media studies    10. Philosophy / General   

Reviews (2)

Excellent Text
This book was really helpful to me and I had the privilege of being taught by Dr Hallman. I usually sell my books at the end of the semester but this one was definitely a keeper. I especially liked the way the author explored different angles and that was able to broaden my mind.

Great addition to your library
I found this text to be a great addition to my library.I admit I wasn't too much into it during the semester while being bombarded with all my classes, but I picked it up a second time and started reading.From then on it's helped me explore my life to find a deeper meaning and has also helped open my eyes to the world around me.This compilation of great writings rock!The only addition I would like to see is perhaps a selection from Jose Ortega y Gasset but, otherthan that the pages are easy to read and the book definitely takes a beating.Nobody should be disappointed by this vast richness of insight.Kudos to Dr. Hallman! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History & Surveys - General    3. Introductions    4. Philosophy    5. Philosophy (General)    6. General Theory of Computing   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (8)

Quite a wonderful cursory overview...
Granted, the articles do not go into belaboring details about each and every possible future development. But that is perfectly acceptable, as this is not designed to be a technical manual. In fact is's simply a speculative set of ideas of what might be coming based upon current trends. Granted it's generalist, and there is perhaps a bit of fluff.
Chris Seibold MyMac.com Book Review
...The future, being what it is, is notoriously hard to predict. Ed Zolli realizes the inherent difficulty of predicting the future but still remains bold enough to edit together some well-informed guesses in "Tech TV's Catalog of Tomorrow"... Looking ahead to a different and better future
While the advancement of computing technology gets most of the major headlines, there are an enormous number of other technical advances that will dramatically change our lives in the next decade. Some, like the development of extremely small machines, are major differences in kind from what we now have. However, many are simply the results of continued advances that have been proceeding at various speeds for decades. One example of this is the generation of electric power from wind. It was given a temporary boost in the late 70's as a consequence of what was then called the "energy crunch", but shortly after, fell out of favor. After two decades of low-velocity progress and rising utility rates, windmills are now economically viable alternatives to other types of power plants.Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied Sciences    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Engineering    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Forecasting    7. General    8. Social aspects    9. Social change    10. Technological forecasting    11. Technological innovations    12. Computers / Input-Output Equipment    13. General Theory of Computing    14. History of engineering & technology   

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Games/Puzzles    3. Media Studies    4. Social Aspects    5. Sociology    6. Video & Electronic - General    7. Video games    8. Computer games    9. Games / Video & Electronic    10. History of specific subjects    11. Human-computer interaction    12. Impact of computing & IT on society