Language Arts Books

great book regarding the history of cryptography. The only way to truly understand anything is c the history of it's introduction

For a book on cryptology from a historical perspective it's really hard to believe it would be as entertaining as Singh makes it. Using his skill as an author he weaves history, technology, and methods of encryption together to explain topics that normally would leave many of us in the blind.

The most interesting thing about the whole book is that as you begin to read up on forms of encryption and decryption you begin to absorb yourself into the whole culture. One chapter describes the Beale Ciphers, a set of ciphers that gained popularity especially in the early 1900s and still are significant today linking to a fabulous treasure and yet still remaining unbroken. I remember spending the day after reading up on it thinking of ways I'd try to break the cipher. Not many books fill your mind with such rich images and excitement as this book seems to.

Generally, the book is wonderful and has enough to keep you hooked until the very end despite its historical nature.

Simon Singh does a very clever thing. He takes comlex topics and makes them understandable without dumming down the science or math.

If you have never read a Simon Singh book, it's time to begin now! While most Singh books can seem a bit boring when you read the synopsis (can a book about codes really be interesting??), this is not the case. He has a wonderfull way of explaining complicated things in an understandable way. I will also highly recommend "Fermat's enigma" and "Big bang".

As a mathematician in the early 1970s, I saw many advertisements recruiting mathematicians for the CIA. I knew that it had to do with cryptography and number theory but it was all very mysterious and since I never got a job with them I didn't see precisely how the disciplines fit together. As Singh describes the discover of the RSA coding system it all becomes very clear.
The story he tells is particularly interesting because it starts with the ancient Romans and the decoding of the conspiracy messages of Mary Queen of Scots in Elizabethian England.

Singh also wrote an very interesting account in layman's terms of the discoveries that led to the proof of Fermat's last theorem. That skill is also demonstrated in this book where the key concepts of cryptgraphy are discussed as they were developed through history. The uses of cryptography in World War I and World War II are brought out. We learn of the men in England at Bletchley Park who were able to decypher the German Enigma Machine and play a major role in the latter success of the allies. The gain of information from the U boats enabled the Americans to transport supplies and soldiers to Europe to fight the war. The U boats were very successful at destroying American ships prior to the breaking of the code.

It is interesting that after the war the academic community in the United States solved the problem of key passing for computer networks and developed the RSA code. These discovery were developed earlier and independently in England at their secret agency the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) based on the unheralded ideas of James Ellis. Their work was kept secret until the late 1990s when their achievements were finally brought to light.

The book also discusses the archaeological work on the Rosetta Stone and Linear B. This work uncovered the meaning of the hieroglyphics and showed that the Minoans language was a form of Greek. The techniques were very much akin to deciphering code.

Also of interest is the Navajo code talkers who used their language as an unbreakable code during the war in the Pacific in World War II.

Recent developments and conjectures about future breakthroughs are discussed in the last few chapters. The book provides very useful information about other books and interesting web sites including one that allows you to download Zimmerman's Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) which provides RSA level security.

I expected some key steps for the auther, especially a new author, to follow, once he/she has chosen to self publish. Instead this book is a manual on "publishing": the pre-print and print cycles of the standard print production cycle. As a practioner of advertising and promotion for over 40 years, I probably published thousands of publications: annual reports; data sheets; brochures. The process I knew; the insights as it related to the world of publishing fiction I did not.

If you are ignorant of the steps in the publishing process (novel, neighborhood flyer, brochure) and really want to know, this book can give you an idea of how it is done. It's an easy read for the layman, clear, and straightforward.

If you are like me, then self-publishing is an exciting opportunity. This book will give you a good overview in how the game of self-publishing is played. Without this knowledge, you are like the "Mark" who sits down at the Texas Hold 'Em table with no real clue. You can get taken to the cleaners very quickly.

Poynter covers everything from how to organize and write your manuscript, to editing, typesetting, printing, publishing, distributing and promoting.

My one criticism of the book is that it is still steeped in the traditional self-publishing model. There are many new opportunities occurring to get in print and leverage the power of the Internet to simplify distribution, reduce costs, and target your marketplace.

Highly Recommended!

Cheers!

This book is called a "manual" for self-publishing.

It isn't.

Lots of pages, but it never tells you how to take your manuscript and publish it yourself, from start to finish.

I started with this book, because of its title, its hype, and the reviews. But the books that actually HELPED me figure out HOW to self publish, were ones that I had to find elsewhere. The few actually useful books on this subject are not as slick and glossy or well promoted as Poynter's, but they have real step-by-step INFORMATION that will help you on your way.

I'd "pass" on this one.

I was one of the featured authors in Blog Talk Radio's Black Author Network. Although a great experience, I kept hearing literary consultants, publishers, and even some authors and the host talk about print-on-demand books not being "real self-publishing." Because both of my books are PODs and so far, I've been having a really good turnout, I started to wonder if some of the speakers on this radio show had such strong opinions on PODs, how do the publishers, libraries, and bookstores feel. Originally, I got a copy of this book to write an article to evaluate and clarify the myths about PODs, vanity press companies, and new publishing companies/authors. I took various notes to correct the myths that PODs like LuLu actually DO let you purchase your own ISBN, books CAN be bought through Ingram, and so forth, but the more I read this book, the less interested I was in defending LuLu, especially when LuLu Press's Public Relations team never bothered to respond to my Q&A trying to let them get their opinions out.

I kept on reading this book and learned so much more than I expected. Ella D. Curry of Sankofa Literary Society has repeatedly recommended this book on her show and makes it mandatory for start-up authors to get it because of the extensive information that Poynter brings to the table. I couldn't be more thrilled that I picked it up. When Poynter commented on PODs being the worst choice to use if a book is selling less than 40 copies, I put on my armor ready to do digital battle, but he explains his argument so well that you can't help but agree. In future, I will be going about self-publishing the traditional way. Regardless of having pretty good success with LuLu and not spending a gazillion dollars on books the way so many LuLu authors that I'm friends/associates/or have met, I still believe that I could do a better job by knowing what PODs do. This is partially the reason why PODs make so much money. The author avoids doing what PODs know how to do, but with books like these, there's really no good reason not to learn.

For almost 40 years, Dan Poynter has been a successful publisher. Also he's been active in the publishing community and knows the straight story about results from authors who have followed the traditional publishing path. This book provides step-by-step counsel to produce an excellent self-published title. The basis of any book--whether self-published or through the traditional system--is an excellent and targeted manuscript.

With careful attention to detail, Poynter provides every reader the necessary steps to successfully produce a quality book but this book guides readers to even more about promotion, distribution, advertising and fulfillment. He reveals a key secret on page 23-24: "Another success secret is to cut out the intermediaries who are the commercial publishers and produce and sell the book yourself. You can take the author's royalty and the publisher's profit. You get all the rewards because you are both the author and the publisher." What isn't said in this section is that you are also taking the risk of possible failure. Successful self-publishing will involve using every aspect of this well-crafted book and following the additional resources in the book.

Poynter is to be commended for producing such a thorough reference book loaded with such resources that writers will refer to it over and over.

this is the book the nice man on the cover gave to me after he touched me in a bad place.

If you are a fan of Jimmy Norton and would like to learn a little more about him and laugh a lot more, then buy this book. It is a good read and not for anyone that get offended easily.

This is a fun book to read for a man, but I wouldn't recommend it to a woman.

The book is pretty explicit. Coarse language is used, so definitely not recommended for kids.

I started reading the book but quit half way through. I did enjoy it at first, and did laugh out loud, but it just got too much at the end. I found the book too repetitious, sick at times and overly perverted. I did not like it when he talked of kids and sex. I know he is trying to be funny, but one should draw the line somewhere. There are some sick people out there who might just take him seriously. Words are mightier than the sword, so we should really be careful about what we say.

I would prefer seeing the book performed in a comedy club than actually reading it. I think the jokes and stories would sound better in a club with other people participating and laughing. Sometimes you find yourself laughing at mediocre jokes or stories when you hear others laugh. After all, that's why TV programs sometimes have a live audience or recorded laughter in the background.

You might also want to check out the audio version of this book, which is read by the author.

I bought the book based on a Norton interview that he gave to Maxim magazine. Based on the interview I expected more down in the dirt sex depravity out of this character and I found it sparse in that department. I expected more 'monster rain' events in his life but instead it was more random journals from his days on the comedy circuit junket. He tends to have the same problem a lot of comics do, which is their comedy doesn't translate well to the printed page... given how perverted he looks with his bug eyes, the physical comedy plays a lot better [especially on Lucky Louie in that stained bathrobe].

As far as shocks go, Dave Attell's new material is exactly what this book should have been.

I like Jimmy and O&A, but this book was a chore to finish. I was expecting a book of interesting stories of his sexual tastes, but instead it is mostly a bunch of random entries from an uninteresting diary. 3 chapters (if you can call them chapters) devoted to silly TV show ideas? Let's spread them out in the book so no one will notice they are essentially the same thing. When the book sticks to the the topic matter of hookers it wasn't bad, but the rest of the chapters should have been titled,"Who Cares", which is what I found myself repeatedly saying out loud.

I did laugh a few times, hence the 2 stars instead of 1.

I started off hi-liting as I read, in green no less, the color of money, but I colored every page. I decided to sticki important hi-lited pages. Now every page has a green sticki. I am not exaggerating, well maybe a little, but the book is that good. I didn't realize how much I don't know about web marketing until I read Plug Your Book.

Now, I am off to the races taking one idea at a time to plug my novels, Standup Comedian: The Secret and Beyond, Beyond the Shadow of Death: Book One of the Adam Eden Series, and Return to Zero: Book Two of the Adam Eden Series. Thanks Steve Weber.

Kenneth Ray Taylor author of Standup Comedian: The Secret and Beyond

When I wrote my books (2000 and 2002), the marketing strategies that Weber describes largely didn't exist. Meanwhile time has passed, and it turns out these strategies don't just sell books -- they're a GREAT way of meeting interesting people and finding ideas and info you'd never have found otherwise. Weber got me excited about reading blogs (I had always assumed they were just a bunch of boring, misspelled rants -- who knew??), and then he gave me clear, concise directions for setting up blogs and communicating with other bloggers. The acid test: I've always hated marketing, but if this is "marketing," BRING IT ON! Great job, Mr. Weber!

Doni Tamblyn is author of Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (Big Book of Business Games Series)

This books is a real gem!

Before I read this book, I barely knew a thing about blogging, let alone how to get started. The chapter on "Blogging for Authors" is a great, concise guide on how to do it. My chapter is marked, highlighted and flagged all over.

The author tells you how to set up a blog, get raw materials for posts, spin information into blog posts, set up links, get artwork, set up a system for your readers to subscribe by e-mail, and more. All for free! I followed all the steps and am happily up and running.

When I get to actually publishing and promoting my book, I'm sure the other chapters, especially the ones re: Amazon, will be equally marked up, highlighted, and dog-eared.

Thanks for this excellent resource!

Readable, practical, encouraging, and chockful of new ideas: "Plug Your Book" is amazing. Buy it.

In this age of the internet, mastering this world of marketing is complex. Steve Weber's book was a great help. In addition to the many important leads it alerted me to a valuable one I had not seen in other books. I had difficulty tracking it down and sent the author an email for help and received an immediate answer that solved my problem.
David Comings Author Did Man Create God?

Hahahha I actually read this online because its so short... if you want to take a break from the stress of life for 10 minutes its great fun. The illustrations are very well done and the rhymes are genuis! i think my favorite kid is Basil who was assaulted by bears.. \hahhahhahha... that makes me burst into laughter again! seriously, if you like macabre hilarity, take a few minutes off and ENJOY THIS BOOK! (There is no graphic or adult images but the ideas would be very frightening for young children. I say 11+ because theres a girl with an axe in her head and some blood thats cartoonish but gross.)

This book is great! No matter how many people tell you how horribly sick it is. Read this book.They only say that because they dont have a sense of humor. So any way read this book! Its both sickining,funny, and tasteful.

This is the funniest Alphabet book I've ever seen.
Clearly the author is not fond of children, seen by the ways he "does away with them", SO FUNNY !!!

being an avid Ed Gorey fan it was nice to get a new copy of one of my favorites

as expected, this was a sickly-sweet, twisted little gem - i wish there could be more!

As a published author myself who has been left to do the vast majority of the legwork to promote my book, I speak with some authority as to the validity of the ideas outlined in the Frugal Book Promoter. The text is chock full of outstanding suggestions and recommendations for elements all along the book publishing/promotion timeline for both traditional and non-traditional publishing paths. I don't think there's a single page that doesn't offer something extremely useful, and oftentimes multiple nuggets of wisdom to get your book in the public eye. I've got several in mind to help expand my own efforts.

Here's my gripe, though. The formatting of the book is awful. It would have been so much more readable had the author or someone else taken the time to clean up the presentation. I can't help but conclude that the book was just a cut and paste job from a website or ebook. There are long, underlined URLs all over the place. The book employs a great deal of bullet lists, but the lists are crammed together. There are also all kinds of alternate formats used in a less than elegant fashion making for a very clunky looking work.

I give the content a 5, but the formatting a 1. That would average a 3 for a score, but since the material is so useful I'll weight that higher and give it a 4.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson shares rich and practical information about publicity that works, mainly because she has already tested it all herself. Having synthesized her prior work and life experience, she's only too willing to explain its' application to book marketing. Whether you're creating a brand, growing an email list, looking to network or building platform, this book is for you.

Carolyn is the good Mom we'd all like - she's engaging, generous, smart and truly wants you to achieve success, whatever that means to you. Her creative ideas are tucked throughout the book and her energy jumps off the page. No matter what promotional resources or partnering websites she's recommending, her enthusiasm is, indeed, contagious.

When I was sitting in the back row of my high school English class, my teacher old Mrs. Smith (not her real name) told me that a famous publisher would spend $1000000000000 making my book a bestseller. After graduation, I learned that she didn't know what she was talking about.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson does know what she's talking about. "The Frugal Book Promoter" has so many ideas, tips, resources and defining moments that reading it all in one sitting is simply too overpowering. Howard-Johnson begins with a list of stuff you better not do and marches like a conquering hero through 38 chapters of things you should do. At the end of the book, you not only have a heavy toolkit of techniques, you have a PR mindset from contact lists to writers conferences to contracts to book signings. Since your publisher probably won't make you a star, this frugal, do-able, practical approach will show you how to do it yourself.

Howard-Johnson does it again with The Frugal Book Promoter. Who doesn't love getting free publicity? As an editor, I see more and more first time authors write their book, go through the expense of self-publishing their book and then don't know how to sell their book. The Frugal Book Promoter helps guide young authors through the promoting process and gives great tips and advice to get that book sold! I highly recommend it to authors on a budget.
Karen L. Reddick, author of Grammar Done Right!

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's PR background shines through as she shares dozens and dozens tips for preparing media materials and working successfully with the media.

The Frugal Book Promoter also offers advice on the effective use of galleys and ARCs, tips for getting blurbs, information on using Amazon's promotional tools, ideas for book launch announcements and parties, tips for jump-starting sales of books that have been out for a while, and more.

This book is a great tool for both new and experienced authors. New authors will especially benefit from Howard-Johnson's refreshingly realistic look at the not-always-glamorous world of book signings and book fairs.

Dana Lynn Smith, publishing consultant, Texana Publishing

As I wrote in my latest novel,Standup Comedian: The Secret and Beyond "My father is in the baling wire generation, my son is in the digital generation, but I am in the duct tape generation. My point? The guide is written so that even I understand the suggestions and how to implement them. I am in the process of doing that right now as I write this review.

I read the book, and now I am going back through doing the easiest suggestions first and will progress to the more involved marketing efforts as I come to them. If only I had know this information when I published my first novel,Beyond the Shadow of Death: Book One of the Adam Eden Series.

Kenneth Ray Taylor author of Return to Zero: Book Two of the Adam Eden Series and other books.

This is a bit difficult to read, but enlightening on several points; it's not really clear in some areas. Recommended skimming the points that are less than top rated and spending more time with the higher rated items.

Well, I must admit that I wish I had found this book before I published my first ten books, but all is not lost since I am in the process of writing twenty (20) more in 2008.

This book and the information contained within are essential reading for any author who sells his or her books on Amazon. Simple easy to follow instructions on how to get the most out of Amazon in regards to making your books a financial and physical success on Amazon by utilizing all the tools that Amazon provides.

I have already started implementing some of the steps in this book and will hopefully be doing all of them by the end of this week.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for absolutely everyone who is selling a book or books on Amazon. This is the best money I have spent in any format on selling more books on Amazon. Pick up this book immediately and start implementing the information provided in it even sooner.

Shawn Kovacich
Martial Artist/Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

The book by Brent Sampson is very helpful and easy to follow. It is sort of like having a coach standing over your shoulder, giving you hints and pointing out little-known Amazon tricks. I dug right in and did some of the easy things he suggested to get more attention from Amazon.com for my own book, "For Widows Only!" I only wish I had had "Sell Your Book on amazon" earlier.

Amazon is where most people familiar with the Internet turn for information about a book and to order it. I have to hope Amazon doesn't get greedy and start limiting access to PODs and self-published books. I find that to be one of their primary assets, the one-stop shop for ALL books. I always know I can find it on amazon.com

I might not have thought to write a review of this book, without "Sell Your Book on amazon" suggesting such a thing. Simple to do, but quite effective. Recently I am beginning to get more reviews for "For Widows Only!" and I can see that this has affected sales. Readers beget readers. Amazon's review process is the old "Word of Mouth" system updated to the electronic age, and instead of influencing one person at a time, we might influence 10, 50 or 100! Who knows?

I suspect Sell Your Book... will be around through several updates. Easy to use and indispensable for authors who are trying to help their book sales.

[...]

I bought this book to help me market my first novel, a sexy, funny mystery. I have to say it's everything it's advertised to be. A great primer on how to create your profile and leverage the social networking and intelligent suggestion algorithms of Amazon to get out the word. I'm doing it just by writing this review (and notice the link at the end - sweeeet!).

This is a short read - not many pages, big type, wide margins. But that also means there's no filler. You can pick up this book, grab a highlighter and a bunch of page markers, and within an hour or two have a great fast plan to get your book noticed.

I'm glad I started my research with this book. Highly recommended.

Scott Sherman, First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery

This book is a great introduction to book publishing. The author really knows the back-end process of book publishing well and provides much insight for beginner and intermediate writers. Another good book to purchase would be: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, 4th Edition. While Terry's book is great, the Complete Idiots guide touches on a few areas in addition. All in all Terry's book is a very good book and worth the money.

Terry Whalin's BOOK PROPOSALS THAT SELL gives aspiring writers a publishing insider's expertise while maintaining a true empathy for outsiders longing to crack the door to the publishing world. The author's longtime industry experience adds a huge portion of credence to his practical, information-packed tips.

The happy ending (and beginning) for my own story came when publishers accepted both nonfiction proposals I wrote using Terry's wise counsel. Thanks, Terry, for all you do to bring those on the outside successfully in!

Just finished reading BOOK PROPOSALS THAT SELL. This book is a MUST READ for anyone who feels called to write a book. You could have a great book already written, but if you don't know how to sell it to a publisher you've just wasted a lot of time and effort.

NOTE TO FIRST TIME WRITERS - this book is everything you didn't know you didn't know.

All considering this book should be aware that it is only for non fiction books. Something not made clear in the advertising, but is revealed by the author in the first page.

A friend recently gave me a copy of Book Proposals That Sell. I've read and own several others on the same topic but this book is much better than the others because of the style. It's so friendly and comfortable and, unlike some, doesn't feel like the author is a mighty and impressive expert deigning to help the humble reader, but simply a normal person offering a friendly hand to another.

The insider information about the publishing process is especially helpful.

This was a gift for my wife and although I cannot offer too many specifics, it appears to have greatly helped her in her Arabic studies. If you have a family member or friend who is studying Arabic, this may be an ideal gift.

I wish I could offer more input on the content, but since I'm not knowledgeable about the alphabet, I can only provide information on how helpful the material was for my spouse.

i really like this book. the writer teaches you some very important basics and he does it in a way that a friend would. the book is thin and lightweight so the thought of getting through it isnt depressing! Basically you read the book and get the basics and all thats left is practice practice practice! Also helpful to buy some audio lessons in arabic to hear exactly how the leeters should be pronounced.

It is an immensely useful book for self study. Here's a professionel linguistic and pedagogical guidance towards surmounting the barrier the Arabic alphabet presents to an English speaking westerner. It's OK there's no sound cd.First priority being reading and possibly writing.
However it would be nice with a little more reading stuff for practice at the end of the book. Thank you for that book.
Inge Balling
Denmark
The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read & Write It by Nicholas Awde, Putros Samano

This quick read does a great job of showing the reader what they need to know about the Arabic alphabet. The method is step by step and builds on what was previously taught. The authors also take a very no pressure approach to writing. The book does not really address grammar or speaking, but a student will definitely be able to write and read Arabic phonetically.

When I first starting learning arabic on my own this was the first book I bought after checking many other titles. If you are going to start out by yourself this is the perfect book to choose and it is cheap. It covers just enough without confusing you too much and introduces the material in an accessible and concise manner. The key to learning how to read and write is practice, practice, and much more practice, and that is why the simplicty of this book is important in my point of view. It gives you the structure to learn and gets out of your way, the rest is up to how dedicated you are.

I know the book well enough and it has a good reputation as a Spanish primer. However, the printer should take care of his work. The last copy I received was missing the first 16 pages and had to be sent back to Amazon.

A must have for anyone wanting to learn the Spanish language! It is as the title says, "a creative and proven approach"!

OK, it's not perfect. It is, however, a good book, better than most textbooks, and way, way ahead of Berlitz, for learning Spanish. Most Americans think they can learn a language in like 2-3 weeks. This is not so. It takes consistent practice to learn a language. This book supports that rather well. I'm sure the author is long gone, however, the book lives on. It is cited in The Next Whole Earth Catalog, by way, which is why I got my first copy of it.

This is an excellent book. Its approach to teaching a language is unique in that it gives fourteen patterns of Spanish words relating to English words. Rather than learning one word at a time, I can learn 50 - 100 words. I don't even have to learn individual words. I just have to remember the pattern, e.g. words ending in "ity" in English usually end in "idad" in Spanish. I also have been able to apply some of these patterns to other Latin-based languages such as French and Italian. This has been a great help to me since I sometimes do research work in Europe. Thank you for making this book available to us at such a reasonable price.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1U3SSUQ9A2PBQ Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is a book from the 1950's that covers a great deal of Spanish. But the vocabulary is dated. You will learn vocabulary about sending telegrams instead of sending faxes. You can forget about learning vocabulary for cellphones, ipods, mp3 players, computers and the Internet with Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish. The exercises are also tedious. But the great thing about Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is that if you can put up with this book's tedious exercises, you will find that you have learned an enormous amount of Spanish after finishing this book.

You will still need to use this book with an audio course to get the most out of this book and to learn proper pronunciation and to learn how to understand spoken Spanish. After using this book if you do not find that the exercises are tedious or boring, then you may want to get Barron's Mastering Spanish : Hear It, Speak It, Write It, Read It (Foreign Service Institute), which by the way, I prefer over the remastered version of FSI Programmatic Spanish, Level 1 (Re-Mastered). Barron's Mastering Spanish is another resource from the 1950s that many of my students have found tedious but I have assured them that they will learn lots of Spanish with if they can just bear through the drudgery and complete the drills and exercises in Barron's Mastering Spanish.

On the other hand, if you are the type of person that likes for the learning process to be fun and entertaining, you may want to stay away from this book as well as Barron's Mastering Spanish self-study course and get a book like Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses and Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set). You will learn about the same amount of Spanish using Spanish Verb Tenses and LSLC as you would with with Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish and Barron's Mastering Spanish, except you will find the learning process a lot more fun and enjoyable wih Spanish Verb Tenses and LSLC. In fact, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses and Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set) are the first learning-Spanish resources that I recommend to my own students when they ask me to recommend products for learning Spanish.