Programs Books

A very nice throughly researched book on the early days of live televised science fiction. Throughout the book the author compares Space Patrol with Star Trek although the series has much more in comon with Irwin Allen's Lost In Space tv series of the mid 1960s since Star Trek served little more than a political platform for Gene Roddenberry's extreme radical liberal views.

Some might think it's a waste of time to read a book about a television show that one never saw. But, although I never saw an episode of "Space Patrol" (it had gone off the air before I was five years old), this is one of the best books I've read in years. A 20-year labor-of-love, it clearly reflects the author's interest and dedication to the subject. She managed to interview virtually all of the surviving cast and production crew members, and their anecdotes bring the story of this live-action television series from the early 1950s to life. It's packed with details about the characters, the performers, the production challenges, the sets, the special effects and the marketing of spin-off toys. Even better, it examines the positive effects that "Space Patrol" had on children of the time, some of whom, inspired by the show, grew up to be NASA engineers, "rocket scientists" and astronauts. Back in the days of clear-cut moral values and before political correctness reared its ugly head, the "Space Patrol" crew served as excellent role models for the first of the baby-boomers. Reading this book will transport anyone who grew up in that era back to a simpler time when the world was a more pleasant place to live and when there were well-defined good guys and bad guys. It's a great read about a fascinating subject--highly recommended.

This is a very nice book for those of us who grew up watching Space Patrol. Well written - information on the show, its production, the cast as well as the products that you could get by sending in 'box tops', etc.

Wonderful photos of the cast, as well as models of the sets/rockets and props. A chronological listing of the TV shows as well as the Radio ones. Very nice addition to a collection of information on Science Fiction on the airwaves.

Bassior's book is an intimate slice of history. On the surface, it may seem trivial to examine the story of a hit TV show from half a century ago, but in her two decades of unrelenting research, the result of Jean-Noel Bassior's dilligence (while maintaining her career as a top-level journalist) is a book that set out to document an ephemeral pop culture phenomenon, and became a supremely positive inspiration to a generation who went on to live lives by a sincere code of ethics, and some of whom made Neil Armstrong's "small step" possible. Inside the story, the star of the show, Commander Corry turns out to be actor Ed Kemmer, a bona fide World War Two hero.

In short, this book is a unique, intimate look at a pop culture phenomenon, and the remarkable people who made it happen.

At first I thought that the price of the book was excessive, however, upon deciding to spend the money I feel it was well spent. If you, like me, grew up with early television this book will take you back to a time when the world was simplier and TV was a miracle.

The author of "Space Patrol: Missions of Daring in the Name of Early Television" has taken a long and loving look at one of the best Sci Fi programs of the 1950's. The information gathered is informative, refresing, and above all (to my knowledge) never before put in print. The interviews with former cast members is a delight, and the behind the scenes look gives you and idea of how the then infact television industry operated.

I recommend spending the $49.00 and take a trip back in time and re-live your youth with Buzz Corey, Cadet Happy, Carol Carlyle, Major Robinson, and Tonga... its worth it.

A girlfriend gave me this wonderful, informative, inspiring and calming book and I have since given it to others. Dr. Dao, even with his words, inspires confidence. I have read and reread the book, which is simple and thorough. The stories of women who have overcome their own fertility issues are inspiring. Dr. Dao sees and brings the reader into the big picture. Total health and interconnectedness. He assists in gaining a realistic perspective and then provides tools and suggestions to increase overall health and fertility.

Living in Los Angeles, I am fortunate to have become a patient of Dr. Dao. My FSH in three months has dropped by half and is now in single digits. I have incorporated the diet recommendations and qi gong exercises from the book.

This is a book for those seeking an alternative to Western Medicine and also for those seeking to support Western Medicine.

This book has been wonderful from the minute I started reading it. It is very honest and knowledgable information that makes you truly stop and re-evaluate the way you eat, think, rest, pray, sleep, etc. I am about 3/4 of the way through it, and already know that I will read it again once I finish. It has truly changed the way I look at my habits and the choices that I make. It is also well written and easy to understand.

I picked this book up and vowed I would skim through it on vacation. I could not put it down the whole flight to the vacation (it was a 11 hour flight:)) This is an amazing read. I skipped the stories of other women's struggles because I was just trying to conceive and didn't want to worry myself into thinking MORE about other fertility problems that could arise in addition to the ones I already had.

The book lead me to a total lifestyle change:
I have eliminated bad stresses in my life.
I have my husband and I on a very Dr. Dao diet.
In addition I have become his patient (lucky for me I live in the Los Angeles area).

I recently received blood tests results that show my hormones are at a normal level for the first time in my life since 1993 without the aid of western medication!!!!

I really attribute this change to Dr. Dao and HIGHLY recommend this book to my friends and all!

The Tao of Fertility offers sound health advice that is beneficial for everyone, not just for people who are dealing with fertility. It is beautifully written and provides a good balance between Eastern and Western medicine.

This book is not just about fertility, but about how all of us, especially
those of us trying to get pregnant, can live a healthy life and about how our bodies work. In so many books of this type, I have either been bored or confused by what I've read. Dr. Dao and Ms. Herko not only explain things in simple layman's terms, but the writing itself is interesting, fast-paced and sometimes even funny. Ms. Herko uses metaphors that are right on target in helping to explain what would otherwise be complicated concepts. I actually put down a novel I was reading in order to finish this book!

What pulled me in the most of course, was the testimonials by women(women's voices) and individual stories or journeys of Dr. Dao's patients.
The connection to our lives, the human and emotional side of us, is what
makes this book so compelling, and has motivated me to look into many of the doctor's healthful suggestions. The authors have shown me that it all really is quite simple and sensible.

I highly recommend this book to everyone: buy it, read it and keep it as a reference.

I really like this book. It's very easy to implement. The book is divided into sections: Life Skills, Developing the Senses, Language Development, Numeracy Skills (math), and Science Skills. Each section is filled with easy to implement activities for your 2-5 year old. (My best guess at age appropriateness.)

All of the materials are easy to find at home. She includes a few worksheets in the back (really Parent worksheets) of things to cut out such as number rods, a flower parts puzzle, words for language games, etc.)

I think this book would be great for those who wanted to homeschool their kids for preschool or for those who wished perhaps that their kids could attend Montessori. Using this book plus perhaps "Peak with Books" or just reading some great picture books each day would be more than enough.

Great value. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderfully useful book - teach your child the simple day-to-day skills - things you take for granted that they actually have to learn! Skills include doing up buttons, pouring, sorting, putting on a coat, doing up shoe laces, etc. It is super easy to follow, and has further steps once your child has mastered the basic skill. Chapters include Life Skills, Developng the Senses, Language Development, Numeracy Skills, Science Skills. A great opportunity to quietly teach your child to become confident with every day skills.

I would give this book 6 stars if I could. The format is laid out so that it's easy to flip to and find a specific activity. I love the "you will need" and "other activities to try" tip boxes on the side, too. I would agree that if you only had one book on Montessori activities, this would be the one to buy.

I am very fond of this book. It is a great guide offering almost "duh!" like activities (things that you would never even think of going out of your way to teach your kids) to do with your toddler in order to help them gain a sense of independence and accomplishment. That said, almost all the activities can be done without going out and buying a whole bunch of materials. I particularly like this book as a mom interested in the Montessori method, but not being able to afford to put my children in the pricey Montessori schools in my area. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it's in colour and has plenty of photos. Also, if there is an activity your child really likes, it has suggestions for other activities similar in nature. I like that the book shows you many of the activities they do, but leaves it up to you how you would like to present them to your kids. The book does not specifically tell you what age range the child has to be in order to present an activity, but it does state in the beginning that it presents the activities in order of being the easier concepts to grasp to the more difficult (specifically chapters 1,2, & 5). The author tells you to use your judgement on what you think your child can handle (for instance if they seem to like counting and maths, they will more likely progress faster with the maths activities. I personally would've liked a generic age range per activity, but I understand the point the author is trying to make. I just like that the author gives us the activities the Montessori schools do, but doesn't require the reader to completely apply the Montessori method. I plan on using this as a reference since I would like to educate my children myself until they reach kindergarten.

This is a wonderful book for parents wanting to do basic Montessori activities at home, and it also suggests inexpensive ways to make activities as well. I gave this book one less star because it doesn't tell you what activities are age appropriate. I know all children develop and excel in different ways and times, but a little more guidance would have been helpful.

Alex McNeill's "Total Television" is one of those reference works which is useful both for settling trivia arguments at parties and for helping those engaged in serious scholarly study of television programs and their impact upon popular culture. As of this review, "Total Television" is in its fourth edition.

The book is basically an alphabetical encyclopedia of thousands of television programs in every possible genre: dramas, sitcoms, game shows, cartoons, and more. Each entry lists the series' air dates, principal performers, and other relevant data.

In addition to the main body of encyclopedic entries, the book includes a wealth of supplemental features: lists of Emmy winners, a chronological gathering of one-shot specials, and more. Particularly interesting are the programming grids, which show the nightly lineups on each network for each night of the week. You can turn to a season (say, 1951-52) and see what choices the American TV viewer had each night! This feature is great for historians.

Although most of the entries on each series are brief, McNeill spends more time and space on certain series of outstanding impact. These extended articles on "All in the Family," "CBS Evening News," "Dallas," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and more are truly fascinating.

TV has been derided by many with such epithets as "the Boob Tube" and "The Idiot Box." On the other hand, it was praised in an episode of "The Simpsons" as "teacher, mother. . . secret lover." McNeill captures TV in all of its facets: from the depths of inanity to the heights of cultural significance. This book is a great achievement whose reputation, I believe, will increase with future editions.

This reference is superb in it's completeness. Anything you want to know about any program broadcast from 1948-1996 is in this 1251 page book. The 88 page index of names of performers appearing during those years is unbelievable. It includes specials, miniseries and the top 20 rated shows for each of those years. I use this reference at least 2 to 3 times a week.

Where this book is not as easy to use as Brooks and Marsh's "Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows"(see my review for this one), it offers more-as far as the addition of daytime shows and more explanation of the entries. I like the other guide mainly because it's a good quick reference for prime time. However, if I'm really interested in detail or, again, a daytime program-like some Saturday morning cartoon of my childhood-then this is the one to get. I have both books, actually-for reasons specified here.

First, we might note that "... To the Present," in the book's title, means through late 1995. So nothing in the last ten years is included. For years, I have enjoyed "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present" by Brooks and Marsh. I prefer the format of the Brooks and Marsh book to that of the NcNeil book--e.g., the cast is in list form, which makes for easier and quicker reading; the showing time is also included. The chief advantage of the McNeil book is that it includes daytime TV, which the Brooks and Marsh book does not.

Alex McNeil's "Total Television" is the Mother of all TV reference volumes. If you can't find it here, it ain't worth knowin' about. How he was able to compile all this information covering 50+ years of TV is beyond me. Crack open this book at any page and you will be reading for hours, probably days.

I feel like I am in a Master Class and teacher's pet! Ellen Sandler provides a friendly and in-the-know work guide in how to write TV scripts. She offers exercises that had me laughing hysterically at my OWN details/specifics that will be used for my characters. The 7 deadly sins became that evening's "dinner topic" with a group of journalists that not only livened up the night but provided MORE embarrassing, sensitive and humiliating inspiration. I have more to read and to study but I knew I was in wise and experienced hands from the first few pages. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This book was in excellent condition and arrived quickly. What more is there to say.

I rarely make a recommendation, but this book is the most helpful I have ever read on TV writing. It offers a very practical process that is like a key opening a door to your own creativity.

This is by far the BEST TV writing book I've ever read and I have nearly all of them. Sandler doesn't just tell you the steps necessary to write a fantastic spec script, like all these kinds of books do, she guides you through the creative process of mining story material for it. And she tells you how to fashion subject matter that has the most emotional meaning for you, the author--which is the benchmark of great writing. It was a concept that until now, that no matter how many books I read, or how many harsh notes from execs I received on all my previous specs (or so I thought, now I FULLY understand their notes!) that I didn't grasp until now. TV Writer's Workbook, has provided the creative lightbulb I needed to get me out of my sucky spec script darkness. Highly recommended!

I've been using Ellen Sandler's book as a guide for the last few weeks, and I feel I've done much better work in that short time than I did all last year. The book is mainly geared towards sitcom writers, and for those interested in writing a comedy spec, this book is the one to get!

Mr. Alton does a commendable job of combining Eastern and Western medicinal philosophies, with easy-to-understand chapters and diagrams. I've been fortunate to live in Charlottesville and study with Mr. Alton. This book gives everyone not located in the Charlottesville area the opportunity to take advantage of "Unified Fitness". The system is easy to follow and well laid out in the book. The ultimate result does depend on the individual. "Unified Fitness" has to be incorporated into your life to obtain the most benefit.

"Unified Fitness" combines mind and body exercises that really work. Alton also touches on diet and coping with stress in the modern world in addition to examining the micro-biology of his program's effects. Mr. Alton has an extensive background in Qigong, Martial Arts, and Eastern/Western medicine. For someone who is looking for peace of mind and body, I couldn't recommend a better book for your overall health.

Mr. Alton does a commendable job of combining Eastern and Western medicinal philosophies, with easy-to-understand chapters and diagrams. I've been fortunate to live in Charlottesville and study with Mr. Alton. This book gives everyone not located in the Charlottesville area the opportunity to take advantage of "Unified Fitness". The system is easy to follow and well laid out in the book. The ultimate result does depend on the individual. "Unified Fitness" has to be incorporated into your life to obtain the most benefit.

"Unified Fitness" combines mind and body exercises that really work. Alton also touches on diet and coping with stress in the modern world in addition to examining the micro-biology of his program's effects. Mr. Alton has an extensive background in Qigong, Martial Arts, and Eastern/Western medicine. For someone who is looking for peace of mind and body, I couldn't recommend a better book for your overall health.

I have read all the gushing glowing reviews and thought I would add my 2 cents, as a nonchalant reader of this book. If you take the "35 days" in the title seriously, you should be prepared to spend most of your waking hours with this book during those days.

I have been less dedicated, and more attached to my normal life habits, and therefore haven't persued the whole program. I'm also not sick, just slightly out of shape. I used to practice tai chi daily for several years, but have fallen out of practice.

That being said, I have benefited from the stretching routine that John recommends in the beginning of the book. I haven't ever seen any other regimented stretching program which does a good job for the shoulders and trunk of the body. There are also a lot of good ideas for stretching the legs and lower back. So I have found a lot of value from just the first ten pages of the book.

Be careful. Anybody reading this book should trust their own body before trusting John's authoritative writing style. If you follow his suggestions mindlessly, you will probably hurt yourself.

I deducted a star from the rating because of the poor quality of the binding of my copy of the book. Pages were falling out. I had to take it to a print shop and get it rebound with a spiral. Now it is much easier to lay it flat and refer to it while stretching.

Unified Fitness is awesome! As a high stress, type "A" person, I've tried every mind-body practice out there: biofeedback, mindfulness-based meditation, yoga, etc. Unified Fitness is the only practice that has provided tangible results and real, lasting benefits. By combining traditional exercise with mind-body techniques that actually work, John Alton has created a program that resonates with those of us who are not completely comfortable with many of the new age or purely spirituality-based practices that one typically finds. It takes some effort and time, but the results are nothing short of astounding! Buy it, read it, practice it and you just might change your life.

John Alton's Unified Fitness presents a powerful new practical vision of traditional Asian healing and contemplative practices. Working with an intimate knowledge of traditional Chinese practices, he has reformulated the entire system from the ground up based on its core principles to create a new process designed to suit contemporary lifestyles and realities. The book cuts through the difficulties of traditional presentations, as well as the superficiality of so many contemporary "manuals", to achieve a rare and powerful synthesis with potent results for personal physical and mental health. Despite being an associate Professor at the University of Virginia in Tibetan Buddhist Studies specializing in contemplative systems with many years of research in Tibet itself, I have seen few contemporary models so deeply based in Asian healing-contemplative traditions, and yet so precisely and powerfully reorganized for a contemporary audience. I highly recommend Unified Fitness.

This book has short chapters and a lot of examples. It is a good "second" book for an Introductory SQL course.

This is a GREAT book for foundation skills in SQL.

I used this book to teach myself SQL when I was "elected" to implement an Oracle database system at a former job and have since gone on to become an Oracle developer and DBA. The concepts and techniques learned in this book have served me well along the way. I have taught Oracle development in a technical school, and insisted that they use this book in the classroom. The diagrammatic approach to learning about tables, columns, joins and SQL functions seems to "click" with everyone who encounters it.

I'm writing this review after buying my ?10th? copy of this book - don't loan it out if you need to keep your copy.

I used this book when I needed to pick up SQL fast. I worked in an organization where I had to build Teradata Data Bases and used SQL to select and move the data. The illustrations really help visualize every aspect of assembling an SQL program and how it interfaces with the data base. I still use it today when I need to be reminded of a particular syntax. Don't loan this book out if you ever want to see it again. I did and now I'm buying another book!

This book doesn't assume that you are familiar with databases or the SQL programming language. It teaches you the programming language step-by-step using a graphic approach. A great way to learn SQL.

I am currently enrolled in a Database Management (Oracle/SQL) class at Boston College. Right off the bat, I knew I was in trouble when we were told the professor would be unavailable for help and most of students in class were computer science majors. (I was taking the class to broaden my computer skills above and beyond front-end web design.)

The textbook in class was the heinously monstrous 1200+ page Oracle 9i The Complete Reference by Kevin Loney. After struggling through many chapters and finding our professor's teaching style very unhelpful, I decided it was time for another resource.

I checked on Amazon ... and found Sam's Teach Yourself SQL in 10 minutes to be semi-helpful. Then at the Harvard Coop, I stumbled upon it - - A VISUAL INTRODUCTION TO SQL. The problem, I realized, was that I am a visual learner and need to see all the schema tables and step-by step actions to describe what happens as I develop queries. This books is key for any layman, like myself. It walks you through very basic (and more complex) problems in an easy-to-read visual approach. While using SQL on the PC, viewing the tables is difficult and this book helps you map out the problems to figure them out. I was especially impressed after emailing the author about a table question and getting a personalized response.

If you are in a bind to learn SQL on your own, this book is great and won't kill you lugging it around either.

P.S. A great addition I found to this book was a Mac client software (that can access Oracle Databases) called SQL Grinder. Like the book, this program is also very visual and the GUI (MAC) clearly reigns over any PC. Sorry Windows users! Thanks for your help, David Chappell! ;-)

I agree completely with the other reviewers. This book is has an amazing wealth of information about VRML and will have you making some amazing worlds by the time you are finished. Many important subjects are covered, from beginning to advanced topics. I do agree that there isn't NEARLY enough information about scripting with VRML, just a brief talk of how to do it. Some more examples with this would have been a huge help, but otherwise, I'd recommend this book to anyone who uses VRML, no matter your expertise.

This book is perfect for beginners and those that already now the basics and want to advance further. It has many examples and is written in a intelligent manor. If you are advanced in VRML you may still benefit from this book however when it comes to scripting and adding Java to your 3d worlds you will need to invest in other books.

Even nearly nine years after it was first written, this book continues to be valuable for more reasons than when it was published. If you are still involved in VRML and have some need to learn this language, this book is a complete guide that starts from the beginning with the simplest concepts and shape definitions and then builds to advanced concepts such as textures, lighting, and fog. Throughout the book there are figures of the resulting images and plenty of sample VRML files for all examples. I do agree with the other reviewers that chapter 30, the one on scripting, is really the only chapter that is no longer worthwhile since so many changes have been made to the scripting part of VRML. Other than that, this is truly one of the best written and most instructive tech books I have ever bought. If you are going to study VRML, there is no longer any other book in existence but this one that is worth owning.
The second reason to own this book has only popped up over the last two or three years. Since Xj3D began to come on the scene several years ago as the XML-based open-source replacement for VRML, this book has become invaluable for evaluating that tool's ability to build virtual worlds. In fact, the Web3D consortium's "test files" for Xj3D, which continues to be a work in progress, are VRML files from this book that have been translated into Xj3D. Since the base tags are the same in Xj3D as they are in VRML, if you are able to understand VRML you should be able to understand what's going on in an Xj3D file with just a little investigation into the basic differences. This will allow you to intelligently evaluate Xj3D and determine if you can find any weaknesses or discrepancies in that tool's implementation.

Doesn't take you through the subject in the conventional manner. After the first couple of intro chapters, you can then easily delve into any other chapter for what you need. Very useful as a reference once you understand the basics. A bit weak on using scripts to control and interact with VRML worlds. Other than this minor gripe, a great book.

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This is an amazing book. It's not a tutorial for a building device driver. For device driver developers, it is an essential reference for understanding NT's kernel system. This book is also great for those who are not building device drivers but want to understand the NT kernel. The chapters on virtual memory, I/O architecture and I/O managers are totally worth the price of the book.

If you are writing Windows Device Drivers, this is one of 3 books you absolutely must have. Buy it.

Dear all,

We have an plotter printer HP 7550a and we run NT as operating system. There are no drivers for nt for this printer.

We now are trying to get this printer working under wp 5.1 because there are no printer drivers for NT.

Who can help me get the driver I am looking for. It does not matter if it is an NT driver or an corel wp5.1 driver.

Please help me we would realy appriciate this efford !

with kind regards,

Jeropen van Mourik

ING BANK Netherlands

This book is VERY well written and VERY readable. I needed other sources to get an actual driver written (see Chris Cant's book) but only because this book gives a much more complete picture and I needed something more specific. That's my point...if you want a good, solid understanding of the system and an excellent reference, get this book. It's not often one finds technical-minded people with such writing skill.

I think its a good book and well organized, my only black poing is that I missed a toolkit section like WinDriver-www.jungo.com- or numega that enable easy and quick development.

I think this book gives us fresh access to ourselves as the material for treating the paints that traditional doctors can't find or can't see. I love the question of Matt Budd's mother; "why your are ill?" and use these question with my self very often when I don't feel well without a clear reason.

Thought-provoking book. This book is not a collection of mere conjectures. This book is solidly based on sientific data and experience as a medical doctor. A must-read for people who are mentally healthy as well as people who are not mentally well.

Because conversation is so much a part of our everyday lives, we tend to take it for granted. Dr. Budd's book does a wonderful job teaching how to create win-win interactions with people in all aspects of our lives. I relate it to creating great dialogue as the most effective form of interpersonal communication. We all have a personal communication style that sums up how we behave in everyday conversations and how what we say and feel can effect our health. Dr. Budd made it possible for me to understand through his exercises in the book and the personal stories throughout the book how to get through my own stumbling blocks. I can't wait to see the results! I love and cherish this book. JG

In this book Matt Budd produces the magic of poets, artists of the first rate, and a few others: he gives us fresh access to ourselves as the material for making a life, and contributes to our skills for designing our lives.

Inevitably, and by design, this book appears in the tradition of "self help." It is that, and the combination of experiences, explanation of phenomena, examples, and exercises that the authors use to bring us the help is effective and beautifully done. However, the book is a lot more than that at the same time. For example, I put it alongside the great plays and the great poets as a source of reflection, insight, and inspiration into what I am doing with my life, and alongside meditation and prayer for creating space in my life to consider what is important, be grateful for life, and get ready to take action on what I am not satisfied with.

And there is more: the authors give us access to a group of thinkers who are not accessible to the general public today, because the foundations of their thinking are so recently built that they aren't even taught at most universities. The best examples are the radical new interpretation of language and action of Fernando Flores and the biology of Humberto Maturana. Each has written, but their books are difficult. Budd does a beautiful job of taking us simply and clearly into these new worlds.

A book not to be missed! Thank you, Matthew Budd, and thank you Amazon for making this kind of conversation possible for all of us.

I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS BOOK AND FIND IT VERY INTERESTING AND WELL WRITTEN. WHAT I DO FIND AMAZING IN THIS KIND OF BOOK AND IN SEMINARS SUCH AS EST OR CURRENTLY THE FORUM (LANDMARK EDU.) IS THAT THERE IS NEVER A MENTION OF ALFRED'S KORZYBSKI'S LANDMARK BOOK SCIENCE AND SANITY, ALSO HARRY WEINBERG'S LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXISTENCE AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST S. HAYAKAWAS'S LANGUAGE IN THOUGHT AND ACTION. ALL OF THESE BOOKS DISCUSS THE EFFECTS OF OUR LANGUAGING ON OURSELVES. I CONSIDER THESE PEOPLE TO BE THE REAL PIONNERS IN THIS TYPE OF NON-ARISTOLEAN TYPE OF THINKING.