C Books

This is a great book for your managers. We are using it as a trainig tool through our entire dealership. It's a good read.

This is 3 books in book. A Leadership Book, A Daily Hands On Template of required tasks, and above all a long term Step by Step Program of how to turn a business around. If anything it is a Roadmap To Success.

Unlike most business books I have read this one is a clear step by step instruction manual of what needs to be done,how it needs be done, and why it should be done. Written in a down to earth style with a no nonsense approach it reinforces clarity of action which gets positive results. Dave has starts at ground zero and work outwards - an area of business activity ignored by most writers who are more interested in the theory of business rather then the nuts and bolts of running and holding a business together.

Thank you Dave

In a recent Maximum Impact message by John Maxwell on "How to Overcome the Six Temptations of Successful Organizations" he acknowledged the source of his message as coming from Dave Anderson's most recent book, "Up Your Business".

I wanted to see what other pearls of wisdom Dave had to share so I bought his book. I was not disappointed! Congratualtions to Dave on a great leadership book!! It is the best thing since sliced bread!!

I especially enjoyed Dave's direct, no nonsense, no-holds-barred style that identifies the entitlement culture that much of our society has bought into and his get-tough advice on how to replace it with a merit culture.

Dave's insights and pearls of wisdom were huge for me as I have more than 38 references penciled in the front of the book that I am taking to the bank.

It's about time someone cut through the pablum surrounding sales strategies, tactics, and all the rest and got to the heart of the matter. We have truly met the enemy...and it is US. In 'Up Your Business' Dave Anderson takes the blinders and the gloves off and offers a practical, honest, straightforward guide for effective management in the automotive industry (or any other people/sales/customer endeavor).

In his usual 'tell it like it is' style Anderson has created the BEST management book I've read in over 15 years of directing sales departments in dealerships. Whether your store sells 50 or 1500 cars a month you'll gain some new insights from the book - and you'll walk away with a new and honest appraisal of your own abilities and efforts.

I couldn't recommend the book more. The best part is...Not only will 'Up Your Business' fulfill its title's promise in your business, it's just a flat-out great read!

I'm in the car business and this is the best book that I have ever read about running my business. I bought a copy for each of my managers and have used the principles discussed in the book to make significant changes in my operation. I highly recommend this book for any retail business owner or manager!

Nothing mattered anymore, my grades went down, i didn't care about life, i wanted to die. so i attempted suicide, my wrist is scarred and mutated, everyone said i was insane. then i heard from the family circle magazine about this book, and i swear this has helped me, and i'm so glad that not everyone thinks depressed teens are insane or stupid. and i'm glad there are people like lisa hurka covington that are talking to teens how valuable life is, and helping them sort out their problems.

This book combines compassion and empowerment with accurate information.

The author, a cousin of singer Curt Cobain, wrote this book to help make sense of her cousin's suicide. It is readable, knowledgeable and thorough. It helps adolescents understand what they might be feeling when they are depressed. It discusses how to interrupt the downward spiral and find a way out. The book covers both social and biological aspects of depression.

I felt that the author had a good intuitive grasp for how an adolescent might feel when he was in the depths of a depression. She reflects back the sense of isolation and hopelessness so that a depressed person feels understood. She provides information on how to get help when you don't feel that anyone out there is trustworthy.

She empowers teens by providing good information about the causes of depression and well as the treatments. For those who want more detailed information, she provides a resource list. I especially liked her section on how to stay healthy once you have recovered from the initial depression.

I have recommended this book to several teens. They felt that it made sense and was helpful

This tome is organized extremely well; one can start at the beginning or jump directly into any chapter. The background information is helpful and lucid for parents and the stories from the teens themselves tells it like it is but at the same time gives hope and tells of "the light at the end of the tunnel" for depressed teens, that things do get better. Highly recommended!

In When Nothing Matters Anymore, Bev Cobain offers a teen-friendly reference guide to adolescent depression, complete with self-help suggestions, counseling resources, and case studies of teens who sought help for their illness and now lead "normal" adolescent lives. Cobain is a credentialed author: a certified registered nurse, a mental health professional, and a recipient of the National Mental Health Association's Green Ribbon Award for efforts on behalf of teen depression awareness; however, the book reads like Cliff's Notes of a more comprehensive text - as if Cobain simply compiled the bullet-point lists, sidebars, and quick-reference statistics from an American Psychiatric Association web listing for teen depression. When Nothing Matters Anymore relies little on Cobain's personal observations and extensive experience, and too much on peppy, inspirational messages from its case study teens.

The book is structured in two parts: What's Wrong? and Getting Help and Staying Well. What's Wrong? is primarily diagnostic, providing a checklist for the reader to determine whether he or she is depressed, explaining the varieties and causes of depression, and outlining the correlations between depression and chronic illness, sexual abuse, sexual identity, drug use and addiction, eating disorders, and "perceived differences" from peers. Getting Help and Staying Well highlights treatment options, suggests ways to seek help from family or trusted adults, and lists self-help activities for readers undergoing treatment. Both sections include "Survival Tips" that a health professional might suggest to any teen: Get Exercise, Have Fun, Eat Good Food, etc. There are some practical suggestions, like journaling and creating mood charts, and there is a chapter dedicated to the important topic of teen suicide, but the book as a whole rarely digs below the surface of the illness and underestimates its audience's desire (and perhaps ability?) to understand depression more fully.

One aspect of the book that seems borderline inappropriate is Cobain's ad nauseam referencing of her cousin Kurt, the popular lead singer of grunge band Nirvana, whose suicide shocked the MTV youth culture in 1994. Perhaps this approach is an effective way of securing "street cred" amongst teen readers, but this hook feels opportunistic at times, particularly in "A Letter to Kurt Cobain," a three-page, sappy, metaphor-heavy eulogy in which Cobain rues that Kurt's handlers wouldn't give her the access that could have prevented his suicide. I understand the intent is to show the readers that she cared for someone they cared about and saw the beauty of his music and the tragedy of his death as they did, but to a non-teen reader, it rings hollow. Had Cobain been close with Kurt, a reader might not bawk at this inclusion, but she mentions that she did not know Kurt "personally," a fact that makes the multiple, casual mentions feel like name-dropping.

For the last year or so I had a few questions for myself. Why am I here? Whats my pourpose in life? Cant I just be dead? Dang do I wish I could give my life for some one else. This is really good book for any teen...

Not only is the author a good writer, it has a lot of good examples of other peoples life situations so you can auctly say "wow someone can really relate to my struggle".
Anyways, again its a good book and if you have any questions about it my hotmail address is [...]

Dr. Norton is a caring and committed practitioner who has the long-term well being of his patients at the forefront of his practice. I am a patient of his, and I can attest to this from my personal experience. This book articulates for a wider audience the guiding philosophy of his practice: to take care of structural problems (skeletal, neurological) now - before they manifest as pain. Flowing from this is the truth that absence of perceived pain does not mean there are not any underlying problems -indeed there often are. His approach makes perfect sense to me - to allow your neurological system to operate at maximum efficiency -- and I have benefited greatly from his work. So don't wait until you are in pain to take action - do so now, and you can augment your life.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I was turned on to Dr. Norton and his book, "where does it hurt?" I was certainly in a lot of pain and willing to try anything to get relief. Dr. Norton 's approach is gentle, unique and PERMANENT! I am forever grateful for my lack of pain, and the new habits I am trying to form in order to preserve my health. Prevention is certainly key, but there is hope for those of us with years of ignored injuries and bad habits leading to pain. I highly recommend this book and Dr. Norton's holistic approach to healthy living.. physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I suffered from chronic back pain for about five years. It wasn't until I started to see Dr. Norton last March that there was hope. After a few weeks of treatments, one day I realized "I'm not in pain." I had actually forgotten about my pain, something which is rather difficult after it has been a part of my life for so long.

Now that I have been reading Dr. Norton's book, I have the additional information needed to complete the healing process and restore "whole body health."

My favorite thing about the book: it's interactive which makes me feel like I'm in control, not the pain.

Even if you don't live near Central California, you can still benefit from Dr. Norton's expertise by reading this book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone, even if they don't think they're suffering.

Kudos to Dr. Norton and his team!

After reading the first chapter, it became so clear as to how to improve my health. The language is easy to comprehend and the stories shared were so relevent to my own experiences. I wear a medic alert bracelet because I am allergic to seven types of meds. All but one of the meds are painkillers. Dr. Norton's book has the answers I've been seeking in finding my way to improved health and pain relief. I recommend it to anyone who seeks wellness without having to rely on medication.

I have been fortunate to have access to Dr. Norton's care for many years. I did NOT make it into the book as one of his stories of healing and rejuvenated health. Why? Because I am a great example of someone whose belief in the principles that Dr. Norton espouses has helped to keep me in excellent health into my 50's. I am fortunate that subscibing to a healthy lifestyle, including Dr. Norton's Chiropractic care, has prevented me from entering a degenerative state needing "rescue". Being boringly healthy does not make for interesting reading, but I will gladly remain a part of the unfeatured, healthy majority of patients who understand that Chiropractic adjustments are as essential a part of health as good food, exercise, good supplements and a good attitude.
Dr. Norton once posed a question to my husband and I..."Do you want to feel better, or do you want to get well?" Feeling better (temporarily) by treating/masking symptoms was not what we wanted for our lives. We wanted to get well, be well and stay well.
This book will help you if that is also your journey of choice. It will give you information that traditional medicine won't and can't, and start you on the road to wellness that can only be achieved by waking up and taking charge of your health and your body's ability to heal itself.
I encourage you to read this book. It can and will make the difference between just feeling better, and truly being well.

Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb is an unusual combination of travel guide and presidential biography. The authors discuss the American Presidents by describing how they are memorialized. By exploring each Presidential gravesite, the Authors also describe the lives of the Presidents. The book is far from morbid and quite enlightening and entertaining.

Although this book is about the deaths & funerals of this nations chief executives, it brings history alive for folks like myself who enjoy all things presidential. Focusing on the events that led to the end for each of our late presidents, this book is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I have visited many of the gravesites mentioned here & intend to endeavor to visit the the ones I haven't yet. This book is an indespensible guidebook for my future travels. Lots of great photos, too.

This book does not immediately give one the impression that it would be as good as it is. My first impression from the cover was that it would be just a compilation of unknown facts and surprises about famous people ,things and places.Then, after noting the sub-title "A Tour of Presidential Gravesites";I thumbed through it and immediately saw it was a very good summary of all the Presidents,their time in office,their wives,what they did after leaving office,the cause of their death,funeral arrangements,interm and final resting places and detailed information for anyone who would like to visit any or all of them. From this book you will learn what to expect at the sites as well as what else exists as 'museums'
there,hours open and any admission costs.It also details other final resting places of other known personalities nearby.
Lamb does an excellent job of showing that in the American system of Government, the President is one of the people and remains so; even after his term of serving in the world's greatest office; he returns to being just another American Citizen;a point often made by President Harry S Truman.
One of the things I liked about this book was that the author didn't just put together a bunch of readily information to fill a few pages on each President.He provided all the same information for each President, and in doing that;he makes it very evident that these were highly different people and comparisons are clearly brought out.A guide of this type where things are given about one President ,but not another, would be a lazy approach and frustrating to the reader.
In a very thumbnail manner the author shows that all these Presidents put the privilige of holding the office above all the politics involved in their lives.
I have to admit,that the answer to the title,s question,left me wondering until I saw the answer in another Cusromer,s Review.
If I may,here is something to entice you;
What President was the sole mourner at the committal of a politician,who had gone to jail for tax evasion; and when asked by the pastor; "Mr. President,why are you here?, he asked. "It's cold and bitter. Did you know this gentleman?" The President replied; "Pastor,I never forget a friend."
Anyone interested in American History or Politics will find this a great source of information and a readily available reference source. While a super guide to the Presidents' graves ;it is also a good reference.

This unique book is full of surprises, plenty of clear pictures, and short evaluations of each president. From Washington to the present George Bush, the reader visits the final resting places of our American presidents and learns how and when they died and their final words, in many cases.

Altho this book was published before the death of Ronald Reagan, pictures of his library and of the other living presidents are discussed.

In back of the book are names and places of the presidential libraries, the presidential and vice presidential gravesites listed by state, the burial places of president's wives and a host of other relevant material. Websites are even included.

Reading this book is an armchair traveller's delight. The traveller will appreciate the excellent directions. The research is phenomenal. Students of American history may want to add this to their book list.

If you are a fan of the American presidency and appreciate the valuable information that Brian Lamb and C-Span staff give us every day on the cable channels, you will absolutely enjoy this lively and well written book. Chapters are short, to the point, and contribute a wealth of information .

Brian Lamb and his C-SPAN team have written a number of wonderful and extremely-informative essay-filled booknotes on American History and Characters. "Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb" is no exception.

With contributions from Douglas Brinkley, Richard Norton Smith, and other noted Historians, this compact, easy-to-read volume is filled with vignettes and facts about all of the deceased Presidents, their last days, presumably their last words, and where they are buried. Admission prices to their libraries and museums (and this includes living Presidents and Jefferson Davis too) is also included.

Brinkley's insightful essay at the end of the book, in which he writes with great eloquence of the attachment of Springfield Illinois to Abraham Lincoln, and of his visits to other Presidential gravesites and museums is almost worth half of the price of this bargain edition.

Note: This book was published prior to the passing of President Reagan, yet it does note where he wished to be buried, and has information about the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.

The book shows the human and humorous side of the Presidents, including Calvin Coolidge's funny comment to a woman who said she'd bet him if he would say two words ("You Lose", was Silent Cal's response), or how William Howard Taft, a Unitarian, deftly fought back against religious prejudice.

A solid and fun read, especially around the July 4th holiday, and at 4.99 is a much better buy, and totally devoid of political commentary ala Sarah Vowell's weak-at-the-knees "Assassination Vacation".

It is a very good book, the reading is really good!!! I loved reading the letters between Jefferson and Adams!!!! The letters are very good!!!!

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall and to be able to share in the thoughts and happenings of important places and people? Well, if your desires in that regard include the office of the Presidency of the United States and the early days following the American Revolution, that is exactly what this book provides.

As was typical of statesmen of that day, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams maintained a lengthy personal and professional correspondance the subjects of which were both mundane and highly intellectual. This book takes that correspondance, chronologically arranges it and then groups it according the characteristics of the time and the themes of their correspondance. As an additional bonus, John's wife Abigail Adams is included as well.

My attraction to this volume was to seek clarity and focus on several questions that are quite relevant to today. What was meant and intended by the concept of Separation of Church and State and what was the philisophic and religious thinking of there two important figures? There's no shortage of resources out there to tell you what these men thought, the context of their society and usually as an added bonus how these matters in one way or another support the agenda or perspective of the one putting the source together.

At some point however, if you really want to grapple with these issues or just understand the times and importance of these two men, there is no substitute for simply reading and allowing them to speak for themselves.

The added benefit of reading it through in its entirity is that you are not subjected to the judgement of another as to what is significant, what isn't and you aren't relying upon snippets and quotes that may or may not be in context and may or may not be representative of all that either man had to say upon a certain matter.

Certainly, this is just a small cross-section of all that these two men wrote and by itself there is much more that should be added. However, more than any other correspondance preserved from that day that these men engaged in, this was an exchange between men who considered the other his equal and for whom, with exceptions in time periods that are noted, mutual respect and a desire to explain themselves to one another motivated a candor and depth of intimacy that is difficult to find in other sectors.

Certainly, any student of American History needs this resource as a reference and as such it affords a ready means to add information and topically flip through the pages to see what each man had to say on a particular subject.

Every such student though, in my opinion, owes it to themselves, at least once, to just sit down and read the entire volume. Do this, and you'll have a handle upon the style of communication of the day, a feeling for many of the issues of the day and how they were viewed by the participants who did not have the advantage of knowing at the time how something would resolve. Idiosyncrasies in language and social custom will become more self-evident and the chances of being mislead by a quote isolated from its context will diminish considerably.

In short, for anyone who loves History, this is an experience not to be missed.

The footnotes and introductory passages to the different sections in my opinion do a remarkably good job of providing the reader with just enough context and outside information so that the letters themselves make sense and are not misunderstood. The reader is not told what to think about the letters per se, but rather equipped to make a better informed evaluation and come to their own conclusions. Those elements make the book valuable as well.

5 stars if ever there was a book worthy of 5 stars; again, this IS history.

Bart Breen

What an incredible feeling reading the words of two of our country's founding fathers. To feel the respect and affection , as well as irritation, of these men is astounding. I am grateful that they have been made available to us to have and hold in our own hands and libraries and to pass on to our children.

This is a very intersting book. The letters are all preceeded by an introduction that gives the reader historical context as well as a description of the relationship at the time between the writers of the letter.

Out second and third presidents began their political career as friends, fell out, and then fortunately became friends again. In this wonderful collection of personal letters we see not only the men but the times until their deaths July 4, 1826. One of our most beloved presidents and most mis-understood are brought into reality by this collection. They were after all both remarkable men and human beings.

I am into this book halfway as a part of my personal training program having completed a couple of other books first. This book seems to give the whole package. I consider it superior to a Wrox book I have, but I wish it split apart the coding more like a Wrox book. Lot's of typing! Anyway, this book's a keeper!

Great book. Taking me through all the ins and outs of E-Commerce. It's not perfect with some documented errata on the website. But more than adequate for any coder with a pulse.

Dos ultimos livros que tenho comprado, assim como os da serie Head First da O'Really este livro superou muito as minhas espectativas.

Como um livro de tutorial foi maravilhoso e me trouxe muito conteudo !!!

Realmente vale a pena !!!

It's an excellent book, the book teaches you how to develop a site in three layers (presentation, business and data) in my ishe goal of this book.

'Beginning ASP .NET 2.0 E-Commerce in C# 2005: From Novice to Professional' by Cristian Darie and Karli Watson is one of the most unique and important books out there for anyone that is developing an E-Commerce site with ASP.NET 2.0. Starting from scratch, the authors step by step show you how to get a site running and WORKING well and efficient. Packed with 650+ pages of material, the authors break the steps down in logical parts, show how they go about the work to be done, and then provide the code which does the dirty work. Not only is it helpful, but it's a joy to follow the steps as so much of the curtain is pulled away to show the developer how to get the job done. This is easily one of my favorite Apress books that I have seen. One of the nicest things about the Apress line of books is the fact that they write and publish books that no one else seems to and this is a perfect example of this. I'll close with a chapter overview for your inspection:

01. Starting off
02. Laying Out the Foundation
03. Creating the Product Catalog: Part I
04. Creating the Product Catalog: Part II
05. Searching the Catalog
06. Improving Performance
07. Receiving Payments Using PayPal
08. Catalog Administration
09. Creating a Custom Shopping Cart
10. Custom Orders
11. Making Product Recommendations
12. Adding Customer Accounts
13. Advanced Customer Orders
14. Order Pipeline
15. Implementing the Pipeline
16. Credit Card Transactions
17. Integrating with Amazon

Tack on 2 appendixes to the end and you have a MUST-HAVE book for anyone that is looking to achieve the same goals that this books does!!

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is an exhaustive account of the role of intelligence leading to the eventual success of the Normandy invasion which opened the last chapter of the Third Reich. It is a dramatic story, with a wealth of plots and counter plots featuring the most guarded secret of the war: Ultra, the machine which solved the Nazi's codes .
It is also an excellent account of the most massive invasion in history, complete with all of the attendant peculiarities of the key participants. Although exhaustive in content, its interest never flags, for it deals with the "make or break" nature of D Day. Highly recommended.

An accumulation of some of the most stimulating and exhaustively-researched details on the intel and counter-intel during WWII, particualrly surrounding D-Day. Truly amazing events chronicled extremely well; even after these many years since the book was first published, Cove-Brown's work stands out.

"Bodyguard Of Lies" is one of the most compelling and important reads out there. Lovers of Clancy novels should put them away for a year and concentrate on some of the most real bizarre, yet important, machinations of espionage and counter-espionage ever created and implemented. What gives this phenomenal work its incredible allure is the knowledge that these creations of historical intelligence import occored only a little more than a half-decade ago. The book takes its title from Winston Churchill's remark regarding the crucial role of good intelligence, where he stated, "In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Using for his research information that had only been de-classified the previous year (1975), Anthony Cave Brown takes us through the minefield that was "Ultra", the Allies means of reading the secret ciphers of the Third Reich. "Ultra" was of such devastating importance that the entire city of Coventry was sacrificed in order to keep secret the fact that the Allies had, early on in the war, broken the German "Enigma" ciphers. This top secret cipher would time and time again put vital information directly into the hands of the Allies. It is safe to say that "Ultra" may have been the difference between victory and defeat. Brown also details what can only be referred to as the most convoluted espionage and counter-espionage schemes that only the minds of men at war for the highest stakes ever perceived could conceive of. In one instance, a false 'cadaver' was planted in an apparant shipwreck, replete with false identity papers, false obituary, false love letters, fake funeral, and, more importantly, false maps and information intended to persuade the enemy that they had stumbled upon ACTUAL information, and act accordingly. Brown relates other tales - some quite unsavory on both sides - for instance, Allied baiting of French resistance in order to convince the enemy of the plausibility of invasion (or non-invasion, as the case warrented) at a given place or time. Agents were sometimes dropped into situations where their 'handlers' knew that cover had been blown or compromised...all done to keep a certain game afloat or a certain secret intact. Perhaps the most interesting revelations, for me, in the book came from the 'dangling' of certain German Generals and Intelligence officials who were not simply sympathetic to the Allies, but in many cases actually working against Hitler and taking incredible, traitorous risks to help defeat him (the Schwarze Kapelle, or, in English, the Black Orchestra). Abwehr head Wilhelm Canaris is studied in depth, and his behavior, not to mention his persona alone may be one of the deepest level secrets of the Second World War. Churchill is again quoted at the start of the section on 'Special Means', "In the high ranges of Secret Service work the actual facts in many cases were in every respect equal to the most fantastic inventions of romance and melodrama. Tangle within tangle, plot and counter-plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double-cross, true agent, false agent, double agent...were interwoven in many a texture so intricate as to be incredible and yet true. The Chief and the High Officers of the Secret Service revelled in these subterranean labyrinths, and pursued their task with cold and silent passion." This book will leave you relieved that men like Churchill, Sir Stewart Menzies, Alan Turing and the like were on the side of the Allies. The book may also leave some disturbed concerning what deep levels of intregue - double, triple, even quadruple-cross - can be invoked when men, and women, are convinced that they are fighting on the side of right against what they are sure is the side of wrong.

The new and warranted reinterest in World War II, and D-Day specifically has given this book new life. What I am wondering is whether or not the content has been changed, Not an easy read back in 1975 when Anthony Cave Brown first slogged through the newly declassified material which help to make this book fascinating, I am tempted to wager that some things have been re-written. Only a guess of course. This could also be a good thing, as in the case of Pearl Harbor, where after 1995 declassification documents were used to prove ("Day Of Deceit by Mr. Stinnett) that the attack was not, in fact, a complete suprise. Seeing that the original was out-of-print I suppose that this is a welcome development to have a new edition, retitled or no. 30 years is a good long time - and perhaps more information is included while staying true to the "old" edition.

This is an extremely detailed book on Allied (mainly British) deception operations during World War II. While it was written in 1976 it still hold up well, though some new information on the role of GCHQ and signals intelligence has been released since 1976. I am still amazed at the scope of operations the British ran during World War II. A very well written book, though it is by know means a quick read. It took me almost a month to get through it. If you are keenly interested in intelligence operations try to track down this book.

If you're like me, ie you know C# 1.0 very well and are comfortable with C# 2.0, this book is great because it skips all the precursory C# basics stuff that I already know. It does spend a little time to review C# 2.0 (those features crucial to the working of C# 3.0 features) and then focuses on what I believe to be a very insightful explanation of C# 3.0 features including LINQ and what makes LINQ tick. I really didn't want a C# book that wastes 1/3 to 1/2 its pages covering C# basics (what's an interface, yada, yada, yada). My time is valuable and I don't want to waste it plowing through stuff I already know. I read this book cover-to-cover and thoroughly enjoyed it. As far as technical books go, the author's style makes the book easier to read than your typical technical book. I highly recommend it.

In short: This is a well-written, engaging, and in-depth book that will make good C# 2.0 developers into great C# 2.0 and C# 3.0 developers.

Detailed version:

Having been working with .NET/C# since version 1.0 and having written quite a bit of code for 2.0, I planned to skim through the C# 2.0 sections and only dig in for the C# 3 sections of this book. After skimming the first few pages, however, I realized my mistake and started reading. By doing so I discovered that I had missed or misunderstood a variety of nuances along the way -- some of them productivity features that would have helped me out in a few cases. Even for topics I understood well already, Skeet's coverage is clear and interesting enough that I read through those sections anyway.

Moving into the C# 3 sections of the book, I felt refreshed and knew that I finally had a very complete grasp of the C# 2 foundations on which C# 3 was built. The C# 3 sections of this book are a superb introduction to the topic and put the reader in an immediate position to leverage the powerful new feature set.

I have already recommended this book to a few colleagues who have been working with C# 2.0 for quite some time and want to get up to speed with C# 3.0. I think that the decision to cover the advanced C# 2.0 topics as well as C# 3.0 was a great one; every developer, no matter how experienced, has at least some small gaps here or there, and this book will fill them.

Still haven't gotten a chance to really use it yet, but it does appear well written, and in a tone meant for programmers like myself that need to know more about updates to the C# language.

This book is unique, I know no other book that is based on the same concept

If you're familiar with C#1 or C#2 and want to learn more about the more recent releases, this book's made for you

The author knows exactly what he is talking about and explains it in a very clear way

Also if you think that C#1 is good enough and see no reason to upgrade, this book will definitely show you the really nice new features step by step

Ah! This is the C# book I was looking for. Very well done. At the risk of sounding nasty I will say this: I have read both books, and "C# in Depth" is far better than ""Effective C#" by Wagner.

Despite her crazy crassness - Susan Powter has timeless, non-faddish real advice. Read anything of hers you can get your hands on!

Buy this book. It is full of great recipes that will help you eat great food that is better tasting and better for you than its high fat version.

WOW! This is the best low fat cook book ever made. Finally we can have baked beans, mac and cheese, lasagna, and cheesecake!! Thank you Susan for a great book, and please keep them coming!

Havne't tried the cheesecake, but I know that the sloppy joes are one of my family's favorites. In fact, most of our favorite recipes are in this cookbook. I never used a recipe for chili before buying this book. Now I use Susan's recipe. Ok, I deviate from it a little, but we love the black beans in our chili now. My only complaint is that my copy doesn't have an alphabetized index in the back. This makes it kind of a pain to look up favorites. I hope this is fixed in later editions.

If I could meet Susan Powter I would tell her she made one helluva low-fat cookbook!! After being scamed by the low-carb lies I decided to do research and came upon Susan Powters books. Finally some common sense. These recipes along with a juiceman juicer make loseing weight easy. Ladies and Gentlemen as you see here many times the Lemon Cheesecake is to die for!! Real foods, fresh juices, and healthy recipes is the way to lose weight. Thanks Susan for the great book!!

Each time I teach Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy in my Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy course, I'm struck by what a wonderful text it is. There are at least three reasons for this.

First, it's as good an introduction to the worldview of the late antiquity/early medieval periods as one's likely to find. That worldview is likely to strike contemporary ears as foreign--Boethius' conflation, for example, of the good, happiness, and God in Book III--but it's well worth attending to.

Second, reading Boethius is an education in good argumentation. One can disagree with the premises upon which his arguments rest while still admiring and profiting from the rigor of the arguments themselves. Boethius himself tells us that his method is to "unfold" conclusions "without the help of any external aid"--tradition or authority--"but [instead] with one internal proof grafted upon another so that each [draws] its credibility from that which preceded" (p. 82). And he lives up to his word.

Finally, the existential questions Boethius explores in the Consolation are astoundingly vital today. Here's a guy who was once one of the most powerful men in the Roman empire fallen from grace and facing a very messy death. In writing the Consolation, he tries to come to terms with the fickleness of fortune, the problem of evil (why do bad things happen to good people), the secret of happiness, the issue of free will, and the meaning of human existence. Boethius finally concludes that he, like most humans, had been suffering from what might be called philosophical amnesia. He'd allowed his fast-paced lifestyle to induce forgetfulness of who he was and the way he should live his life. In those final months of his life, living in a solitary jail cell and pondering his own mortality, Boethius begins to remember. Reading his wonderful little book can help us, fifteen hundred years later, to awaken from our own amnesias.

Of all the translations of the Consolation I've read, Victor Watts' is my favorite. But be forewarned: his Introduction to the book will tell you almost nothing about the contents and issues of Boethius' book.

"Consolation of Philosophy" was on the syllabus for a "History of Philosophy" class I took my senior year in college. To say that I loved it would be an understatement. I still have the copy I read back then (academic year 1980/1981) and I have re-read it several times over the years. I treasure this book like none other.

I looked through my copy to type out a passage that I find particularly inspiring, but found that I couldn't because there are so many. I've recommended it to literally dozens of people, and every one to took me up on my suggestion thanked me for it.

Boethius, in his "Consolation" written in prison shortly before his death, turns to the pre-Christian philosophers and the tradition of Rome and Greece for aid and comfort. The work is one of the most historically important works ever written: it is through Boethius that we had knowledge of Aristotle during the middle ages.

The work takes the form of a Platonic dialogue, mixing prose and poetry as the author slowly convalesces with the aid of Philosophy, his "nurse." This literary style has been imitated many times since.

The work ought to be read not only for its historical and literary appeal, but for its arguments, which are as cogent as they were nearly two thousand years ago.

I don't read a lot of philosophy texts, but I read this one after my father died and was surprised to find it very meaningful and truly consoling.

The Consolation is a philosophical treatise written by Boethius (c. 480-524 A.D.) while awaiting his execution after being imprisoned by the Gothic emperor Theodoric. The first time I heard of Boethius and his most famous composition was, as so often is the case, when I was reading another work. The work in question is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy O'Toole. The main character of O'Toole's novel, one Ignatius J. Reilly, had based his entire life and worldview around the philosophy of Boethius and his assessment of Fortune. A great work in its own right, A Confederacy of Dunces left a lasting impression in my mind and, when by chance I came across a copy of the Consolation in the used bookstore I jumped at the opportunity to see for myself what Boethius had to say.



The work is composed of five books beginning with Boethius struggling to make sense of his imprisonment and pending execution. Confronted with a fate that is seemingly at odds with the virtue and faith with which he has conducted his life, Boethius is about to succumb to the sorrow that is filling his thoughts. Just then he notices the presence of a woman in his cell, the awe-inspiring Philosophy. She bemoans that Boethius, once such an avid student of hers, is now about to abandon all that he had previously gained. Thus begins a journey of reason and contemplation between the two until Boethius in the end finds the consolation that he had almost given up upon. Interspersed between the dialogues of Boethius and Philosophy are a number of poems that range in subject matter and content. More numerous at the beginning of the work, the poems often times serve as transitions between arguments or help to put difficult concepts into a clearer light. Thus a remarkable harmony is reached between prose and poetry that can be appreciated even in an English translation, a rare feat indeed.



It is perhaps significant to understand the time in which Boethius lived a bit better to gain a more accurate reading of his work. Living long after Constantine's conversion to Christianity in the 4th century A.D., it is widely accepted that Boethius was a Christian and believer of the tenants of the Catholic Church (at a time when the Gothic emperor Theodoric, also a Christian but belonging like all Goths to the heretical Arian sect that believed that the father and son were not of one substance). One must find it a bit peculiar than that at no point in Boethius' text is Christianity mentioned in any overt context. To find a believer in his last days before death turning not to theology for comfort, as one might expect, but rather to philosophy has raised many questions about the nature of Boethius' belief. But one only has to look to the title of the work to see that Boethius is choosing philosophy for the subject of his work and could very well indeed have thought theology a better consolation, although one that would be and should be treated in an altogether separate treatise. With this in mind, Boethius draws on the works of the great philosophers and thinkers of antiquity; Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, St. Augustine, the Stoics, and the Neo-Platonists. This feat being all the more remarkable because Boethius apparently relied on his own memory to produce the arguments and passages seeing as he had no access to any literary sources while imprisoned.



Boethius has rightly been called the last classical man. Indeed his thoughts and works can be seen as forming a bridge etween the classical world and the Middle Ages. The Consolation influenced countless numbers of theologians throughout the Middle Ages and direct references are to be found in the works of masters such as Dante and Chaucer. His lonely contemplation of good and evil, fate and free will, fortune and the nature of happiness certainly still have an allure to inquisitive minds to this day.