James Gregory Books

Description from the book back cover:

So what if everyone thought Bryce Richards would make the perfect husband? Angela Hewitt had fought enough childhood battles with him to know better. But when her sexy nemesis came to her rescue, she suddenly felt like a damsel in distress - heart palpitations and all! Now she was dreaming of forever with the last man she'd ever marry! Bryce wondered what had come over him - kissing Angela of all people! He wasn't even sure why he was trying to help out this reckless, exasperating, irresistible woman. Falling in love with her was out of the question! Bryce wouldn't marry her if ... if ... Well, okay, maybe he would ...

[Review: digested version]


--- DISCLAIMER: This is a requested review by PTR, however any opinions expressed within the review are my personal ones. ---


The book Linux Troubleshooting for System Administrators and Power Users from Kirkland,
Carmichael and the Tinker brothers tackles many issues a typcial system admin / level one
or two support staff will face at the daily work.

As such it does provide many solutions and method overviews on how to troubleshoot well
reoccuring problems. It differs from other troubleshooting books in that it delivers solutions which
help you maintain sound, smooth running system configurations within your company network
and allows you to see the bigger picture rather than just offering fix "A" for problem "A" etc....

Each chapter is self contained and explains first a general overview and background about
the technologies used and the related OS processes. It then deepens into the most common
problems and makes suggestions how to troubleshoot those issues.
Finally each chapter follows up with typically 3-4 troubleshoot hunting scenarios, where
the reader can exercise and extend the learned knowledge.

The authors do provide distinct scenarios and extensions to the most useful commands and
system tweaks. Basically the value of the book is that Kirkland, Carmichael and the
Tinker brothers deliver proven troubleshooting methods to cut the chase and maintain a
coherent system. And here is where the book really lives.


>> A more detailed (very long) review can be found by deploying my profile. <<

Having read a book by Edward Said, I wanted to read a book written by an Israeli about the Palestinian problem. Surprisingly, the views weren't that much different. I would appreciate comments from others clarifying whether the views of this author are representative of most moderate Israelis.

This book features the interiors of some of Manhattan's most luxurious apartments decorated by some of the city's most notable designers and architects. The text by Jamee Gregory is informative, usually giving the owners' requirements and the designers' inspirations, sometimes along with the history of the apartment. The photos by Mick Hales are good, but sometimes the views cropped to an oval image are tiresome, no doubt one of the less-than-appreciated contributions of book designer Charles Davey. There is neither a Table of Contents nor an Index in my 2004 (first) edition. But the apartments themselves are first rate, all of them seemingly renovated and decorated to the nth degree. While there are certainly lessons to be learned, it is not a "how to" book by any stretch of the imagination. The majority are in the traditional style, although there are some contemporary ones, but they are not up to the same quality of design. Interior designers include Albert Hadley (for Louise Melhado), Tony Ingrao (for Marty Richards), Jed Johnson (for Beth Rudin DeWoody), Ellie Cullman (for herself and husband), David Netto (for himself), Charles Gwathmey (for himself and wife), David Easton and John Christensen (for Carroll and Milton Petrie), Friederike Kemp Biggs (for herself and husband), and Pamela Banker (for director emeritus of the Whitney Museum Tom Armstrong and his wife). Mario Buatta, Bunny Williams, the late Mark Hampton and the late Henri Samuel are among the designers whose work appears with the clients' identity kept private. Also represented is the work of architects Thierry Despont, Oscar Shamamian, John Murray, Alan Wanzenberg among others. For those who enjoy seeing the lifestyles of the rich and famous of Manhattan as well as quality interior design, this book will be appreciated.

That is what Resonation makes you think. Resonation is a very motivating and compelling read that makes you ready to make a difference. But will you?

I really, really wanted to like this book. When I saw it on the shelf and read its back cover, and I was very interested and immediately set about reading it. The idea of a romantic fiction story involving Queen Catherine and set against the backdrop of pre-Reformation England was quite intriguing. Further, I noticed that its end date was in 1529 (five years before the break between Henry VIII and Rome) so it promised to be free from the controversy surrounding the 1534 Act of Supremacy.

In many ways, the book delivered. Its characters were well-developed and the dialog well written. I especially savored the depiction of the final reconquista of Spanish Granada, despite the fact that Ms. Gregory seems unaware that Moslems do revere Jesus and Mary (although they do not respectively acknowledge them as Son of God and Mother of God), and therefore would in all likelihood not knowingly have defiled an Ave Maria prayer in the manner depicted in the first chapter of the book (Granada, 1491).

Unfortunately, this book proved very problematic from that point onward. As the sincerely devout daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabel (the Catholic) - under whose rule Catholic Spain completed its 800-year fight for liberation from the Moors - the Infanta would not have been prone to the repeatedly expressed sense of hyper-predestination that Ms. Gregory's writing ascribes to her. This stood out as a major anachronism pasted onto someone who in reality would have been unable to conceive of such a doctrinal innovation so completely at odds with the Catholic and Apostolic Faith she professed.

Similarly, Ms. Gregory's hamfisted attempt near the end of the book to put the concept of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Moslems into the mind of Queen Catherine is just plain risible. Unlike our era, the 16th Century world believed in doctrinal and objective truth, and so this type of secular Enlightenment mindset is as blatantly out of place in Imperial Spain and Tudor England as atomic warfare. (This, I would assume, is an example of the author simply projecting her own ideology into the past.) Nor, I suspect, would the Infanta have harbored much in the way of positive inclinations toward the Moorish culture that subjugated her people from 711 to 1492, for that matter.

But the biggest sin that this book commits against the historical record (as an earlier reviewer correctly noted) is its unambiguous depiction of the consummation of the marriage between Prince Arthur and Princess Catherine. This is not some minor detail; it is **the** linchpin of what would become the single biggest issue in separating the English realm from loyalty to the Bishop of Rome.

If I am to believe the premise of this book, then I am to assume (against prevaling moral and legal customs, all of recorded history, and evidence to the contrary) that Catherine made an illict vow with her dying husband Prince Arthur in 1502 to effectively deny their marriage, then lied to her confessor for over 30 years (and to the womanizing Henry VIII, who would have certainly discovered the real truth on their wedding night) - and then, come 1534, when merely admitting this truth would have guaranteed Catherine an annulment from Henry and spared England and Rome the chaos of the Reformation (not to mention smoothed relations between England and the powerful German Empire, led at the time by Catherine's uncle Kaiser Charles V), she still chose to cling to falsehood - even to her deathbed, when she could have reconciled herself to God by freely renouncing such errors, although the book doesn't go far enough for us to find out.

Please, Ms. Gregory, considering the well-documented disparity between the personal and moral life of Catherine compared to that of Henry VIII, this strains all credibility. There used to be a time when maligning a woman's reputation in such ways were fighting words. I recognize that this is a work of fiction, but historical accuracy is still supposed to count for something. Even in her grave, the saintly Queen Catherine of Aragon deserves better than such shabby treatment.

One unfortunately comes away from this book with a sense that Ms. Gregory is projecting her own 21st Century beliefs and social mores onto 16th Century characters and settings that cannot possibly support them. This is a well-written, stylized work, but please do not look to it for historical truth or accuracy, because those things are absent within its pages.

I'm a huge fan of the whole Tudor series, and this is one of my favorites! Gregory creates a unique look at young Katherine in a way few other novels have portrayed her (and yes, there is fiction to fill in what we can't know for sure as fact). But the story is intriguing, and the book itself is a shorter read than the rest of the series- a fantastic way to start it off!

I was expecting a lot more from this book. I found it actually kind of boring at times. I love Philippa Gregory but I wasn't impressed by this one. I think Katherine was a great and admirable woman and I hate how her life ended but nothing too much happened in this book. Here's a summary: Katherine came from a powerful kingdom whose parents were great warriors. She married King Henry VIII's brother out of love but he died and married King Henry VIII who was much younger than her and who did have a boy's puppy love for her. They reined side by side for the first few years of their marriage and Henry trusted and honored Katherine. Until he began to come into manhood and became paranoid and had a wondering eye. From there it tells how Henry falls out of love with Katherine and in love with Anne Boleyn and how he tries to denounce their marriage and cast her out which she eventually dies of emotional and physcial neglect. That sums it up.

The Constant Princess tells the story of Katherine of Aragon, King Henry VIII's first wife. Katherine was born "Catalina" to the King and Queen of Spain. Her marriage to Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne of England, was decided when she was an infant. She knew she would be Princess of Wales all of her life. When she turned 15, she was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur. At first she despised Arthur, but she grew to love him very much during the short months that they were married. As Arthur lay dying of a sudden illness, he made Catalina promise that she would marry his brother, Henry, and become Queen of England.

Chronologically, The Constant Princess comes before Gregory's other book, The Other Boleyn Girl. I really wanted to read The Other Boleyn Girl, but when I found out that this book takes place before it, I decided to read them in order. The book switches between telling the story in third person to Katherine's point of view in the first person, indicated by italics. I loved it, because it was like looking into her mind at certain points in her life. Her story is sad, but she is very strong throughout all of her hardships. I am ashamed to say that before reading this book, I had very little knowledge of King Henry VIII and the Tudors. Now I want to read anything I can about the subject. It's so interesting! I know a lot of people say that Gregory's books are not historically accurate, but I like them; she tells a good story.

Very good book. I was entertained throughout. I enjoyed seeing things from Katherine's perspective.

This was the book I needed, the most recent edition, still in the shrinkwrap from the publisher. It was delivered quickly.

The book is a textbook, so I didn't really choose to buy it. But it was delivered timely and in great condition.

The book was lost in the mail and I had to buy a new one from the bookstore here. I was then sent a replacement book which I had to return to Amazon.

This is probably one of the easier to understand case books I have read. It is incredibly dull, but it covers all the concepts well and includes some useful graphics (as well as some pointless ones). It's certainly worth its cost.

After completing my first year of law school, I really wonder why so many professors use this textbook. More than half the people I spoke with in my class thought the casebook's usability was poor or worse.

Property is not a difficult class, aside from future estates and related issues (Rule Against Perpetuities). The hardest thing about property is knowing the jurisdictional views on various aspects of property law, and this casebook does only an OK job highlighting that. It is basically a lot of memorization and the learning of that material could have been substantially aided by organizing the book differently.

Additionally, many of its cases are not sufficiently edited, thereby necessitating that one read through too much irrelevant information to get to the legal issue. My other case books are much more balanced on this issue.

As a last note, the production quality is lower than what I would expect for its price. The paper chosen and the fair reproduction of what photos exist in the book contrast strongly with its price.

I suppose this sounds like a laundry list of complaints, but the book compares poorly to my other casebooks, simply stated.

Colloquial Cantonese: A Complete Language Course (Colloquial Series)

I have ordered quite a few Cantonese language courses; CD's and books, but this has been the best I have found so far. The CD and the book work together well and the spoken Cantonese on the CD is clear and well enunciated, and the kind of language one might actually use as opposed to some of the stilted and contrived discourse I have seen in other sources.

I highly recommend this book and CD together.

Of all the Cantonese books I've seen, I find this one to be clearly the best. No funky pinyin - this one is the same as found in most other Cantonese books - clear focus on spoken language only - don't even think of beginning to learn reading or writing with this ! - but very practical, progressive, pedagogical and clear, modern and even (sometimes) funny !

I bought this system AFTER purchasing and using the Pimsleur language system and practiced both systems at the same time and found that an excellent way to pick up the language. The pace of these lessons goes quickly and the speed is a conversational speed so it is extremely helpful to have a small familiarity with the language to really excel with this course. My family is from Canton and my grandmother was my tutor as well. I would have her listen to both language courses and she as a native speaker felt much more confident with this course than the Pimsleur course, which tends to teach more formal speech. I highly recommend it. Especially a good tool if you live near a Chinatown like I do and want to be able to order food or buy items and use your conversation for everyday tasks.

I didn't know anything cantonese when I picked up this book and tape set, and like another reviewer, after having spent quite some time with it all I remember is the word mango (an English cognate). I eventually gave up in frustration mainly because I couldn't figure out how to pronounce the words; They're book includes a pronunciation key that is frustatingly useless. If you still want to try it, good luck with colloquial cantonese!

This is a good book if you really want to learn the language and have alot of time. It organizes everything by subject (time, shopping, etc.) with a list of vocabulary and dialogues. There are complete translations for any new phrases, plus they explain grammar so you really understand what you are saying and can apply it later on with new words you learn. The exercises are a little difficult until you really have a handle on the new words and phrases. You may not like this if you are going to Hong Kong and want to learn fast. This also teaches Hong Kong dialect, so there are some differences from Mainland Cantonese (my boyfriend's family is from Canton) but there is nothing that won't be understood anyway. It really explains the tones and I have been told by native speakers that my pronounciation is very good.

c'mon outlaw, stop whining...

your marketing machine is impressive, but your fans realize there is more than the fun-but-shallow spin seen on tv.

I just discovered the "write a review" feature on Amazon and have been going through reviews of books I've read in the past year. The reviews of this book are completely mental. It is a great book. If anything, it makes Jesse look too good. I was hoping for a bit more dirt about his marriages and divorces and other stuff. But it is still very interesting, with great photography. For the life of me I can't figure out why Jesse hates it so much.

Maybe this was an "unauthorized" biography, but it's darned good. We get insight into how Jesse learned his craft, who he studied under and where he worked prior to starting his own shop. Jesse dreamt of having his own shop ever since he was a young boy, and this is a decent tale about how it came to be.

There are lots of pictures (the book is about 50% pictures, and 50% text). We gain insight into his parts business, the custom bikes, and Jesse's evolving aesthetic.

There is a section devoted to the recent Monster Garage work, and a section about Jesse's team, and what it's like to work with him.

I gather that "Jesse James Inc." is angry that this book was published without his permission, probably because he doesn't get a cut of the proceeds. Too bad for them. This is an interesting read. I'm sure the style mavens a WCC would want to project pure image, whereas this book is much more honest and human, and gives the reader some real insight into the man and his team.

Highly recommended.

If you are a true fan, you will not support Mike Seate by purchasing this book. Jesse James, himself, has come out and publicly stated that he did not authorize this book. Mike Seate violated and abused a friendship. If you are a decent upstanding person with good morals and high standards, you will not purchase this book.

This book is well written, filled with great photos, and is very fair. Frankly, I don't know what the fuss is about! Did Jesse not get offered a big enough cut? LOL
I respect Jesse a great deal, and have found in him a great role model and inspiration, since I want to become a bike builder myself. This book was cool because it cut through James' public bad-ass persona and showed the side of him that I admire: a perfectionist craftsman, a genius marketer, and a tireless worker. It is fascinating to read how this guy came from meager means to become a world hero of cult proportions. If I was Jesse, I'd be flattered by this book. But as I said before, it probably comes down to money, and who got what.

This book was highly technical and made for very dry and boring classes but I learned a lot from it. The cover was absolutely beautiful.

I think the book does a good job of simplifying finance for those of us who are beginners in the field. They give clear, step-by-step examples so that it is easy to understand

The textbook's price was competitive, it was delivered in a timely manner as promised and in mint condition as promised.
I enjoyed doing business with this supplier.

Corporate Finance is a difficult subject. This book made it extremely difficult. Terms were not explained clearly or covered enough for anyone new to the subject to get an understanding. I used the web along with the text to get examples of what should have been more clearly illustrated in the textbook. I was very disapointed.

I'm an MBA student with quite a number of courses finished. I'm over half way through the finance course that uses this book and have found it to be written very well. The example problems are great, and the explanations are thorough. Our professor did make available the answers to the questions at the back of the book and used the powerpoints developed by the author. All in all the only drawback I could find was cost (as usual with college texts). As a side note, several students did use the 4th edition in our class with the permission of the instructor and did just fine.