Directories Books

Learn how to save time and money through a guide which shows how to use the Internet to locate the best travel bargains and save money. Internet Travel Planner goes beyond pinpointing the latest sites: it tells how to join online discussion forums, how to gain access to newspapers and reviews, and how to use online resources to create your very own custom made traveler's guidebook.

For all of you web travel fans, the Second Edition of Internet
Travel Planner has been updated with the best and newest web travel sites. As a former travel industry employee, I find this is the most complete and easy-to-read internet book now that all the large travel suppliers and surviving internet travel businesses have improved their online booking sites.

Using Michael Shapiro's book as a guide, a newcomer to researching travel can click through a website with ease. An interesting new appendix was added on digital photography. Do any of us world travelers leave home without a camera! Of course we love finding a good discount and each chapter lists sites known for the best deals. Travel sales are still down and businesses are reducing prices or adding incentives to get customers. I would highly recommend buying the book for yourself or giving it as a gift for the holidays.

Michael Shapiro's Internet Travel Planner isn't just another listing of Internet sites to be obsolete in a few months time: it provides some important tips linking travel to the Internet, from creating a custom guidebook to using the internet to see pictures of hotel rooms and connect with other travelers through travel chats and forums. And for those worrying about the book's longevity: free updates are offered online!

I found this book to be both informative and useful even though I had already used the internet for travel purposes. My husband found out about free email accounts and signed up for one within a few minutes (Chapter 14). After reading Shapiro's Internet Travel Planner, I realized that by booking airline tickets on line, I had only begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities for travel planning on line. What I found most useful for both `arm chair travel' and trip planning was Shapiro's chapter on discussion forums and bulletin boards. Search engines are great but I find the results to be catch as catch can. In Chapter 13 I got a clear sense of which sites were worth my time. Shapiro covers everything from frequent flyer miles to vacation package sites, from weather to medicine abroad. The book is easy to use-it offers an index and appendices that allow you to find websites quickly. Read this book even if you wouldn't book a flight or make a reservation on line. The web is too great and too vast a resource to skip and you'll be glad you have this guide as you surf.

My favorite thing about this book is this. You've got a specific question on your mind about doing something travel-related on the Net. And then you just look in the table of contents, and I swear, Shapiro has covered it to some extent. Like, a dependable site for car rentals, or where to find opinions and reviews from other travelers, or getting train passes, dealing with frequent flier miles...and lots of other stuff.

This book isn't a list, or directory, of travel Web sites. Shapiro picked Web sites he considers to be the strongest ones for each topic. And he goes into the details of what to expect for each one. This helps you decide which site is best for your particular needs, for instance, whether you're seeking a last minute hotel bargain, a night in a B&B or a homestay.

This also means that he's willing to be critical. For example, right now Priceline is quite the rage. In the budget travel section he describes how to get the most out of it while also going over the unsexy fine print... that you can't pick an exact flight time, tickets are non-refundable and you don't earn frequent flier mileage. I don't know about you, but that's the info that nobody ever tells me.

A bonus is the First Person section of various chapters. Basically, Shapiro includes interviews, emails and other stories from folks who've used specific sites. You get to see what worked, what didn't and why -- all with opinions.

Hey all you AOL users: Shapiro's got you covered. In many sections he includes a blip, customized to you, that goes over how you use certain sites specifically on AOL.

I'd say that Internet Travel Planner is especially friendly for someone new to the Net. However, it's also helpful for folks who already know Web travel. I know a decent amount about various travel Web sites, yet I find that Shapiro highlights certain features I didn't realize existed in sites I thought I knew well. And on top of it all, you get some non-Net travel advice, like seven tips for finding cheap airline flights. The stuff you'd otherwise have to find out the hard way.

On top of it all, if you have questions or comments, he leaves his email in the introduction for you to contact him. Now that's service.

In the last decade, the performance of J2EE applications has become of monumental importance in enterprise industries that use these applications. With the complexity of J2EE applications increasing every year, it is crucial that users of these applications be presented with a level of performance that is acceptable to them, this performance usually codified in the ubiquitous "response time." The authors of this book have given a good introduction of how to deal with performance issues in WebLogic applications and have discussed a freely available tool, called Grinder, which allows load-generating and data collection. The book though can be read with respect to any load-generating tool, such as Mercury LoadRunner, etc. Even though Grinder is free, it may take time for enterprise users to trust it in testing and modeling.

After a brief introduction to what the book is all about, the authors begin in chapter 1 with discussion on a testing methodology for doing performance studies of J2EE applications, which they hope will be generic enough for all readers. Their methodology boils down to first defining the performance metrics for the application, and then setting a target for the metrics. Test scripts that accurately simulate the application usage must then be obtained, and the statistical sampling method and metrics must then be defined. The authors emphasize the need for a realistic `usage profile' for the application, and they recommend strongly a fixed number of users per test run, with subsequent runs changing the number of users. They do not give quantitative reasons for not varying the number of users, but merely say that such an approach is "statistically incorrect."

They also point out the need for including "think times" between the executions of each request in a script, asserting that the think times will have a very dramatic effect on the observed response times and throughput for a given user load. They are correct in this claim, as testing and modeling studies will show, and they give examples of this in chapter 4 of the book. In addition, they remark that the attempt to simulate more users by decreasing the think time, with the assumption that the resulting data can be then extrapolated to obtain the performance at real think times. They point out, correctly, that applications do not scale linearly over different time scales, and that the application and Web servers, the database server, and the operating system do not interact the same way with different user loads. Performance testers and modelers have verified them time and time again, and so it is beneficial for a reader who might be new to the field to see the case studies illustrating this included in the book.

The authors discuss two sampling methods in the book, namely the `cycle' method, and the `snapshot' method. Defining a cycle as a complete execution of a test script by a simulated user, each user will thus execute every request in the script once. Increasing the number of cycles will result in more meaningful statistics, but the time to run a large number of cycles might be too prohibitive. The snapshot method involves capturing the data for a specified period of time.

It is rare to see in books at this level a statement that acknowledges the difficulty in the mathematical or simulation modeling of Internet traffic. The authors though are cognizant of this difficulty, and give some brief suggestions on how to simulate the Internet in a test environment.

The authors also devote a fair amount of time discussing how to assess the accuracy of the test results. The authors report that variability of up to 50% on the performance testing of applications has been observed, and so they propose a measurement of "quality" for the sample data. This is defined as the standard deviation divided by the arithmetic mean, and when close to zero indicates high quality in the sample data. A value above 0.25 for the quality they take as a sign that the tests are not reproducible, and they therefore encourage the running of more cycles of the test in order to pin down the origins of this non-reproducibility. They define a "load factor" to better quantify this, which they define in terms of an "aggregate" average response time. Plotting this quantity versus the number of cycles gives some information on a bad quality indicator.

Frequently, application development using J2EE requires that the impact of design changes or proposals on application performance must be understood. The authors address how performance can be impacted in the context of building servlet applications. The dynamic nature of servlet applications entails that special measures be taken to maximize the performance of the application. The authors discuss how to choose a session mechanism that will preserve the session in user requests, and how to manage the servlet thread pool. Other helpful hints are given on how to increase performance, such as making sure that the auto-reload feature of servlets is disabled in a production environment. In testing the servlet API, the authors choose the snapshot method of data collection, and used zero think times as a baseline, since the real think times are unknown. They use WebLogic Server 6.1 in this discussion however, which makes their presentation somewhat dated, since WebLogic is now in version 8.1. The authors also test the performance when the WebLogic performance pack is activated, for both the average response time and the transactional rate. Also studied is the cost of maintaining HTTP logs, an issue that is very important for those businesses who must keep these logs, either for advertising purposes or other reasons. By running tests, the authors conclude, as expected for those readers who have managed Web servers, that the keeping of log files can have a considerable impact on performance, for a high number of users. The effects of the size of the response generated by the test servlet is also studied, along with the effects of using HTTP 1.0 versus HTTP 1.1.

This is the best book yet about J2EE performance tuning. I hope 'Expert Press' (which looks like a Wrox imprint) continues as they have started.

The authors lay out a practical method for performance tuning of Web Applications and EJB's on BEA Weblogic, but there is no reason why the approach (and the 'Grinder' tool) cannot be used to evaluate different approaches on any other Web and Application server.

Note that this is a specialized book. It will not teach you how to do Java or EJBs. What it will do is help you evaluate how to deploy them in the real world to get the performance you need, and also to help you evaluate different approaches.

I was looking for a book to help me understand how regular performance testing is performed so that I could construct a plan to do Denial of Service security testing. I knew nothing about performance testing at all. The books really well laid out, structured, has great examples and is really methodical. It was perfect !

It was a great book! Had lots of information about Performance Testing. When coupled with the power of Panorama(TM) by Altaworks.com, it is incredible.

Thanks for making such a good book avaliable. I think the chapter on testing EJB design patterns is very well written. I would recommend this book as it is one of the best I've gotten my hands on.

This is a great book for the lay person who desires more detailed information on aircraft. The book gives brief histories on all types of aircraft, cross sections of each aircraft, plus information on how jet engines function. A history of flight is given as well. A wonderful book for anyone interested in flight!

This is what I dream about commercial aviation book! I have detaild deskription of each aircraft, technical data (although it's not a complete as I expected but it's okay), cutaway and three-view drawing. The articles are well written and very usefull and quite up to date on the date it published.
Sadly, there's a minor but signifiant error on page 126, the article on that page was cut out half and wasn't finished. There's also some errors on the airlines section, which some photos and the caption are not correct. Despite of those mistakes, it was not reduce the value of this book.

I also have the successor of this book (ISBN 0760311250), but it was quite dissapointing. I hope that the next edition will reverted into this format again.

This is an illustrated book with substance and very informative. Full of pictures and info about the fascinating aircrafts of the world, and has also the history of the foundation of the different airlines of the world and fleet data of every country which are covered in combination with pictures and section on orders, deliveries, numbers in service makes this book a must buy for any aircraft enthusiast.

This is an incredible reference to just about every commercial aircraft in the world. With superb color photographs, cut-out drawings of the major planes, and a great amount of info on the planes this is just about the best you can get in this subject. This jam-packed commercial aircraft encyclopedia even has special sections on the anatomy of a flight, the flight deck, the cabin and accomodation, design and manufacture, engine technology, future developments, and the major airlines. The reason why I feel that this book is so fantastic is the cut-out drawings that are so incredibly detailed and that show almost every tiny feature right down to the overhead compartments. I recommend this book to any airplane enthusiast and anyone who just wants to research airplanes and see the technology and details of them.

Endres' beautiful work includes just about every aircraft, from the smallest commuter to the largest airliner with excellent photos, overviews of development, specs, and detailed internal diagrams (2 full pages for most aircraft). It also includes very interesting sections on flight operations, aircraft and engine design, and the future of commercial flight. The book does suffer so many chronic typos and technical errors that you're left wondering if the manuscript was proofread at all. It also tends to slant towards British-produced aircraft, but that's sort of a nice change. The breadth of information and the excellent diagrams are this book's strengths.

Someone gave me New York: Architects 01-02 as a gift. What a great gift! I really enjoyed this book even though I am far from artistic and know nothing about architecture and design.

The book has a stylish cover that features a pattern of geometric, almost-three-dimensional boxes that are in different shades of blue. The internal layout is easy to follow and provides a way to compare architects and their styles virtually side-by-side.

At least one reason I personally liked the book so much is that I've lived in NY for many years, and a decent number of the pictures in this book were of buildings and interior spaces I've walked by or through, admired or have always meant to see. It was interesting to focus on the art, design and structure of these buildings and spaces that are a part of my daily life and nice to realize how much New York architects have contributed to the character of New York.

Architect buffs, people getting ready to build or design a home or office or urbanites planning to design or restructure an apartment anywhere in the world will all love this book, will appreciate the easy access to information about a large number of architects and will find it incredibly useful as a source of design ideas.

What a great idea! Organized as a directory of modern architectural firms based in the New York area, this book allowed me to really get an in-depth perspective on each firm. I particularly enjoyed the section in each architectural profile where the architects themselves talk about their personal design philosophy. And of course, all those wonderful photographs of spaces and buildings! This would be a great gift book both for the serious lover of modern architecture or for someone who just likes to dream about beautiful spaces.

You don't have to be an architect to really enjoy this book.

The concept of the book, to present a number of incredibly diverse NY architects in once space, is fantastic and one I haven't seen before. And the book itself, while functional, is also great to look through and easy to read and follow. The pictures of the architectural works beautifully illustrate the diversity, style and capabilities of each architect, while the written information accesses the entire world of the particular architect by showing the scope of that architect's experience and the works for which each is responsible.

What a great book to have on your shelf or coffee table, both for the architectural of mind and the architectural lay person.

I found this book quite helpful to get to know some of the top architects in New York. You can see what the various offices are doing, what projects they've completed and which awards they got. The wealth of beautiful pictures is very inspiring.

I found this book quite helpful to get to know some of the top architects in New York. You can see what the various offices are doing, what projects they've completed and which awards they got. The wealth of beautiful pictures is very inspiring.

ONE HELL OF ALOT OF INFORMATION BUT NOW IN 2007 A LITTLE DATED BUT WHEN I GOT IT NEW YOU COULDN'T BEET IT FOR A REFERENCE BOOK AND CHOOSING A SHORT WAVE RADIO WHEN I AM READY TO UPGRADE AGAIN IT WILL BE MY SOURCE AGAIN

Yes, shortwave radio still exists. Hundreds of millions of people across the globe rely on it daily for their news and information. Any well rounded news freak, travel junkie or culture hound should own one. Maybe for use occasionally, maybe for use while travelling, or maybe, like many of us, you listen daily. If you own a shortwave (world band) radio and want to make the most use out of it, you must own this book. Whether at home with your radio, or travelling, it is the key to unlocking the potential of shortwave. The schedule information for stations worldwide is as complete and current as you can find anywhere. The reviews of shortwave radios are thorough and will make sense to the beginner or the advanced listener, and infused with enough humor to keep the material interesting, even if you aren't shopping for a new one. Lastly, the theme for each yearly edition changes and while the 2004 edition isn't quite as in-depth, topically, as last year's (2003), the book is an interesting read even if you don't yet own a shortwave radio. It will probably inspire you to buy one.

This is the best book to get if you are into SW. reviews of radios, addresses, guides to what to listen to according to time, country, language, and frequency (for when you find a station but have no idea what you are listening to). This is the best money you will spend if you want to explore SW.
Shortwave is great for listening to news. BBC, Radio Canada, Voice of America (paid by your tax dollars) all are worth listening to. I am less interested in the overwhelming amount of propaganda and religious programming (just how many world wide gospel broadcasts do we need?) that is on Shortwave. SHortwave radios are also great because they usually are well made an d will pull in more FM and AM stations.

Since the early days of radio, shortwave radio has been a mystery to many potential listeners. There are many factors in getting involved in this fascinating hobby. You will need a receiver, an antenna, a list of broadcasting stations, their frequencies and time schedules and an understanding of how radio signals move through and bounce off of the atmosphere and earth. Quite a daunting task for the shortwave radio novice. Becoming a shortwave radio listener (SWL) has become much easier and more pleasurable with Lawrence Magne's "Passport to World Band Radio" (I'm not sure if Magne's group coined the phrase "World Band Radio" or not but the phrase is used interchangeably with "shortwave radio").

Just after the end of World War II "The World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) began publishing. It has evolved into a huge reference of world radio. Nearly every broadcasting station around the globe is listed with their schedules. It is a required reference work for hard core enthusiasts (DX'ers) who cherish pulling in weak and low powered stations. The WRTH is a bit much for the casual to hobbyist-level SWL. In 1985 the first "Passport to World Band Radio" was printed. As an active SWL (already with a 1985 WRTH) I decided that I had to check it out. I realized then (just as much as now) that the "Passport" isn't as a thorough reference as the WRTH. That isn't a bad thing - in fact it's a great thing. Most articles are aimed solely at the casual SWL and not at the professional DX'er with his or her antenna farms and ten radios. If you are new to the hobby (or are returning to it like I am) this is probably the first place to study. I will not compare "Passport" to the WRTH anymore. They both have their niche in the hobby.

New receiver reviews are included each year. They run the gamut from the cheaper $50 portables to the $1000+ professional models. Other articles differ from year to year one was on Internet Radio, one on propagation - how the atmosphere reflects some signals, cancels some signals out and twists others and one on World Time stations which can help keep all of your clocks accurate. There are few advertisements - all relating to the SWL hobby.

The meat of "Passport to World Band Radio" is the guide to the individual stations and their schedules. The guide to the stations is arranged alphabetically by country. It even lists the stations' addresses. This is important as hobbyists often contact the stations to verify their reception. The station usually returns a letter or a "QSL" card to verify the reception. Stations often include pennants, stickers and other neat souvenirs. The schedules list at least 90% of the SW schedules. With seasonal changes, the schedules themselves may change over time. With a current year Passport on hand you will always find something of interest to listen to. Most English language broadcasts aimed at North America are transmitted in our evening hours. However, you will generally find some English broadcasts around the clock. Many European broadcasters transmit in their native language to North America for former residents.

You will find being a SWL a great hobby and this book will help you out a great deal.

Using your shortwave radio without this book would be like trying to use the Internet without a search engine. Passport is cross linked so many ways. By time, frequency and station. If you don't already have a SW receiver, it's a good place to read-up on what's hot and what's not before you choose.

I have taught astrology for over 36 years and had the original edition. I bought a newer one for a student and myself. This delineates many items and what they are ruled by. Great for the beginner and professional alike. What a great addition to your metaphysical library.

I have been a consulting astrologer for over 25 years and The Rulership Book was one of the first books on the subject I acquired. I have used it again and again over the years and it has proved to be an invaluable resource. The book begins with a list of words for which planetary rulerships are ascribed. The list is quite comprehensive. Then, Bills gives us rulerships by planets and houses, including an appendix of anatomical attributions.

While it is a little bit dated now, it is still a wonderful learning tool and I particularly recommend it to beginning students who want to progress quickly in understanding the interaction of the planets with daily affairs.

If you need this information it is invaluable. There is no fluff or interpretation in here. Not for the casual astrologer - you have to know your stuff already.

This book is an extensive collection of planetary, sign and house rulerships that you will wish you had had long before your purchase. Want to know what planet/sign rules a Foundation? a Charitable Trust? Radio Broadcasters? Satellites? You'll find them in this book along with many more rulerships some well known, but many more obscure but never-the-less useful in your astrology work. I bought it as a result of a recomendation by a well known astroger - and they were right on target as I would have suspected!

Rex Bills' Rulership Book is basically a collection of 4 lists:
The first one is an alphabetical list of all kinds of nouns, objects, concepts, etc., right next to which is a reference to the planet, sign or house that rules that particular thing. The second one is a listing by planets. It goes through each planet and lists alphabetically all things ruled by that particular planet. The third and fourth lists follow the same line, with listings by signs and houses. In the end of the book, there is also an appendix with special listings, such as bones of the body, muscles, flavors, etc.

This is a thorough and excellent compilation of rulerships. If you are a beginner, it may not make much sense to buy such a book, since it doesn't mean that much to know that "isolation" is ruled by Saturn for example, if you can't comfortably read a chart yet. You wouldn't know what to do with information like this. I think it's better suited for advanced learners. If one studies astrology seriously, sooner or later they will definitely need a book with rulership listings, and believe me, currently there are no better books on the subject than this one, even though it was first published in 1971... I use it mostly in special astrological topics, such as vocational and business astrology and I find that it is especially useful in horary and electional astrology.

This book is the best! It answered so many of my questions that I had about traveling. This is such a great resource for traveling. It also give tons of useful websites.

The book "Sams Teach Yorself e-Travel Today" was a great way for me to search the web for travel tips. I was able to take what the author has suggested and use it to plan a great vacation. I was a novice about online travel until I read this guide book. I suggest anyone be they novice or seasoned web user to read this before they use the web for Travel tips.

I loved this book! Mr. Orwoll took something which could have been dreadfully boring and made it so interesting I went online immediately after reading it and booked myself a trip! This is a great introduction for those who don't really know anything about the internet and travel, but also serves as an excellent resource for those who think they know everything. Funny anecdotes and comprehensive examples are found in abundance. This is my new resource for internet travel!

This book is the most useful, well-written, easy-to-read book of its type I have ever read. And as the former editor of National Geographic Traveler magazine, I can speak here with a degree of authority. The book is chock full of useful, practical tips on how to get valuable travel planning information via the internet and save money at the same time. A first-rate writer, Mr. Orwoll takes the reader by the hand and navigates through the maze of internet travel information in a way that makes the whole business of electronic travel planning clear and accessible. Not only that, it's also just plain fun to read. This book deserves to make it to the best-seller list. --Richard Busch

The real world is getting smaller but the Internet, we all know, is growing more complex and difficult to navigate. A few years ago we were reading books the size of telephone directories which contained URLs (the addresses of web pages) for the entire Web. Lately a new breed of books has sprouted, which cover one and only one subject in great depth. The difficult part about writing (and reading) many of these books is that the author needs to be a specialist in two fields: not only his own area of expertise, but also his subject in relation to the variegated resources on the Net. Fortunately, Mark Orwoll is a skilled guide in both these realms, and his new book, e-TRAVEL, is as useful and convenient as a credit card. Sams Teach Yourself Today e-Travel: Planning Vacations, Finding Bargains, And Booking Reservations Online is divided into five parts. The first, "Getting Started in e-Travel" is a guided tour of various resources about the Internet, including a savvy section on the essential theme: "Evaluating a Web Site's Accuracy and Validity." Part II, "Planning a Vacation on the Internet", includes a nifty quiz: "What's Your e-Travel type?" Part III explains how to be your own travel agent, and how to use the Internet to find the lowest rates and fares. Part IV discusses your laptop computer, passports, visas, customs, digital photography, organizing your money, and keeping yourself safe. Lastly, you'll find a collection of practical travel-minded websites. Keep in mind, regarding everything related to the Web, that things change quickly. Recently a number of major airlines announced that they would create a super-website for travelers. I couldn't find this site mentioned in the book, but readers who are interested in news like this can keep updated at Orwoll's daily travel advice column. There's an enormous amount of essential information throughout this entertaining guide. Orwoll, the managing editor for "Travel and Leisure Magazine", has been there, done that, and shared the best of his inside tips. And it's all served up in a witty style: Orwoll is as pleasant a traveling companion as you'll encounter anywhere. Sams Teach Yourself Today e-Travel is almost certain to save us time and money, teach us how to explore the world from our computer keyboards, and improve the overall quality and enjoyment of our trips. Paperback, 302 pages,

Michael Pastore, Reviewer

I really enjoy this book. I've checked it out at least five times. Each resort section has alot of helpful information. It makes planning a trip a breeze. David Holyoak really nailed it.

Very informative but dated. The lift ticket prices listed are significantly below the actual rate in some cases (i.e. Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Moutain). They should be updated.

David Holyoak's Ski North America Guide is first class. Nothing like this has been published before. This stocky, well-illustrated guide to all the significant North American ski resorts contains intelligent, un-flowery text and good practical advice. A must for any skier or snowboarder seeking the reality behind the American dream, I wish I'd written it myself.

Arnie Wilson, ski author and editor, Financial Times ski correspondent for 18 years who, in 1994, became the first person to ski for 365 consecutive days (Guinness Book of Records), including more than 100 resorts in North America

This book by far surpasses excellent. If you are planning a ski trip and are interested in going somewhere new this book seems to have it all. It lists every major ski area in the United States. Every ski resort mentioned is chronicaled by state and gives you area and mountain facts and most have their trail map pictured as well. It also lists local airports, directions from most areas to the ski resort as well as lodging suggestions. I could go on and on about the other little tidbits within the publication but you'll just have to read it yourself.

Being new to the States as well as a crazy skier I spent hours on the net trying to collect information about different resorts. This book is the first, and so far the only book, that gives very detailed, professional overview while providing non-biased information about resorts. I visited many resorts in the States in the last 2 years and compared my impressions with the reviews in the book - you can relay on the book! Great advantage of this edition is a an amount of illustrations such as aerial photos, maps of the area, etc. I wish there will be similar book about skiing in Europe.
On the down side I would expect more info about resorts on the NE (for example, my favorite Whiteface is not included).

I read this book before my first trip to Nashville and was miles ahead of others coming to town who had not read this masterpiece. It is by far the most thoroughly researched, informative, complete, concise guide to Nashville's music industry ever published, and should be on the best seller list. If you have ever considered a career as a songwriter or want to be a successful recording artist, you must read this book cover to cover. It's easy reading, packed with useful info, and written by a very nice, successful woman who lives in Nashville and knows the industry because she has worked in it her whole life.

This compact little book is a great read and full of great advice for songwriters and musicians looking to pursue opportunities in country music, specifically Nashville.

Ms. Bond is a music publisher and has worked in the Nashville arena for years. She gives examples on the Nashville number system (for reading/recording music), how to label your CD's and inserts and she gives the addresses and names of some of the best and more affordable recording studios in and around Music City. She also included the contact info for some of the top producers, publishers and A&R in country today! There's also a great section on all of the best open mic spots, restaurants and accommodations in and near Nashville.

In my opinion, this book is for someone that is seriously considering a career as a country musician/songwriter. And if that's you, then it's a great reference book to have in your arsenal.

This is a great book that fills a real need -- practical advice for anyone who aspires to be a songwriter or performer in Nashville. I work in the music industry in Nashville and am often asked for advice from songwriters new in town. I'm not necessarily qualified to give advice, so now I can recommend this book. One of the most interesting features is a chapter that suggests a week's itinerary, including where to eat lunch. Often people will come to town and not have any idea of what to do. They'll try to drop in on busy publishers, get turned away again and again and then go home thinking everyone on Music Row is unfriendly. Bond explains the right way to get your foot in the door. Again, highly recommended.

Sherry Bond's book is an absolute must for anyone who wishes to pursue a career as a songwriter or performer. Her book covers many areas other guide books leave out, such as the importance of networking and where to go to make contacts. For me, it gave me the confidence that I could go out and make a living as a songwriter. I recommend it for everyone interested in the music business as a whole - not just Country.

The fine art of songwriting and marketing it to a music business audience is covered in this title, which provides an examination of the Nashville music industry and how an aspiring songwriter or musician can get heard in the big city. Bond is a songwriter and music publisher who blends interviews with music professionals with details on record companies, producers, recording studios, and others. Chapters cover all the basics, from preparing a product to marketing and avoiding common errors.

This is a great book cover to cover. For the admin who has never participated in an Active Directory roll out this book is a must have. The chapters quickly familiarize you the most powerful aspects of Active Directory without much repetitiveness. This is an excellent book for those wanting an overview or for a beginner with Active Directory. Well worth the purchase price.

Hudson and Fullerton definately come through in their presentation of Active Directory! Their clear and concise approach, drawing from their experience in training and consulting shines through! I am in the process of upgrading the network where I now work from Windows NT and this book is an invaluable resource!

The authors have done a very good jobs of explaining several complex matters. More importantly, the authors have clearly shown that they have trenmendous amount of real-world experiece. It's good to know that we still have some authors like that instead of too many professional writers, who have no real world experience and who just paraphase what M$ says about their product on the online help.

Thanks.

Tam T. Nguyen, MCSE

Special Edition Using Microsoft Active Directory provides the network administrator with complete, authoritative, "user friendly", in-depth coverage of the newest directory service from Microsoft. Sean Fullerton and James Hudson use their extensive previous training and administration experiences to expertly explain how to design, implement, and troubleshoot using the new directory service "Active Directory". Special Edition Using Microsoft Active Directory is very highly recommended for users ranging from Beginner to Advanced levels of experience. 554pp.

This book is very helpful if you are planning a Windows 2000 Active Directory design or already have one and need to get the most out of your AD. The authors have organized the book very well making it easy to find the information you need. The book is very useful as a quick reference. Additionally, material is presented in a logical order making it easily readable cover-to-cover if you need a comprehesive understanding of AD.

The authors stress the importance of a solid DNS design and drive home the point just how critical DNS is for good AD operation. There is a good description of forests, trees, and domains as well as much helpful information on planning sites and site replication. The book also goes into detail on printers and scripting.

I found the book very useful for setting up and administering different features of Windows 2000 such as group policy. There are good chapters on Group Policy Architecture and Managing Group Policy.

As an MCSE+Internet certified analyst assigned to the AD design team for a Fortune 500 company, I highly recommend this book. It makes a good operational reference for your bookshelf. Although not geared specifically for Windows 2000 certification tests, it is worth reading if you are preparing for the exams.