Programs Books

Ed Robertson's book is definitely the best. I also own "The Fugitive - A complete Episode Guide" by John Cooper and "My Fugitive" by David Janssen's former wife Ellie Janssen which is worth a read!
Another amazon.com reader mentioned the Twilight Zone Companion. But where is the Peyton Place Companion? I'm missing a book on the TV series "Peyton Place" for several decades and wonder why there is still no book out there.

"The Fugitive Recaptured" was published in 1993, thirty years after the TV series, "The Fugitive", premiered on network television in 1963.

This volume, by Ed Robertson, is just about all a "Fuge" fan could want in order to find out everything you'd need (or want) to know about this excellent TV drama, which was on the air for 4 complete seasons (120 episodes from 1963 to 1967).

The book features an "Introduction" by horror author Stephen King, plus a "Foreword" by Fugitive co-star Barry Morse, who portrayed police Lieutenant "Philip Gerard", star David Janssen's chief rival and nemesis during the course of the series. A chapter detailing the origins and conception of the series is also, of course, included here. Interesting stuff too.

Within these 208 pages, each and every episode of "The Fugitive" is dissected and examined in detail -- including cast lists, writing and directing credits, episode numbers, original air dates, episode descriptions, and verbatim "Prologue" and "Epilogue" text (the exact words spoken by series' narrator William Conrad at the beginning and end of each episode).

Many fun "Fuge Facts" are also revealed for many of the 120 episodes. These "Facts" are bits of little-known trivia that make this volume an even more enjoyable read.

In addition -- This book includes extended chapters on the series' Pilot episode ("Fear In A Desert City") and the two-part final episode ("The Judgment"), which remains to this day one of the highest-rated TV programs in the history of the medium.

There is also an "Appendix" area of the publication, with "Appendix 2" consisting of some very interesting trivial facts and data concerning every Fugitive episode -- including every single "alias" that was used by "Dr. Richard Kimble" during the whole run of the series. This appendix is useful to mega-fans of the series, as it also contains information about the "Location" (City/State) of each episode, as well as Kimble's "Occupation" on each show. Example --- Episode 31 had Kimble pretending to be "Frank Borden"; Occupation: "Dishwasher"; Location: "Harrisburg, Pennsylvania".

Many top-notch black-and-white photos are also scattered throughout this paperback publication, mainly publicity stills.

"The Fugitive" (1963-1967) is one of the best TV dramas ever put on the boob-tube. The long-running cat-and-mouse game between Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) and the police officer who let him get away, Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), provided some of the finest tension-filled moments ever aired on television.

"The Fugitive Recaptured" does, indeed, "recapture" the magic that surrounded this first-class piece of television entertainment.

Very Highly Recommended.

Certain television shows were so enormously popular during their original runs that they have been reincarnated more than once. THE FUGITIVE is one such drama. When Dr. Kimble began to run in 1963 in a three partnered minuet with Lt. Gerard and Fred Johnson, the American viewing public was so enamored of the chase that they refused to accept the judgment of THE JUDGMENT (the series finale) that the running had indeed stopped. Ed Robertson in his THE FUGITIVE RECAPTURED analyzes just what it was that made millions of Americans tune in every Tuesday night to watch Kimble run from one man only to pursue another. Robertson captures the essense of the spirit not just of the show but also of the social subtext of the show. In his Fuge Facts and plot synopses, Robertson well delineates the motivation of a doctor who, in his forced travels, became a collective Keroukian ON THE ROAD, with every watching viewer able to tap into the flip side of the American Dream, that out there in every dusty small town and bustling big city lay adventures that we could not aspire to but Kimble could. Roberston reviews every episode, judges its intrinsic worth, provides the needed Kimble trivia of both character and actor, and adds a handy list of names that Kimble used over a four year run. This list resembles a phone directory of a small town that Kimble must have passed through more than once. Reading THE FUGITIVE RECAPTURED made me think of the follow up success of the filmed version with Harrison Ford and the less succeessful small screen run of Tim Daly. It is not likely that the latter two will ever be considered worthy contenders for a pantheon of running heroes, but Robertson's literary paean to David Janssen serves as a perpetual reminder that for a spirit of a character or of an age to be recaptured, then that spirit must have been worthwhile in the first place. Robertson's book will not let Kimble ever run far enough or fast enough to escape our notice.

I can certainly add my kudos to Ed Robertson for his labor of love in this book commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the famous television program. This work brings to life the entire four years that the series ran on network television, and gives the reader the feeling that he was actually "on location" with the cast and crew as they produced this first-rate series. Each episode is fully documented with full credits for the director and all principal actors in the series. The episode synopsis give the reader a feeling of being on the run with the Fugitive. The opening and closing narration for each episode certainly sets the tone for each nights program.

If you are a fan of this great television series, then this book is certainly for you. I highly recommend it.

Mr. Robertson has written a book that was done with an obvious love of the subject matter. Though he admits he discovered David Janssen via his post-Fugitive "Harry-O" series, his thorough research makes this a "must read" for Fugophiles. I was truly impressed by the celebrity interviews. Barry Morse and Stephen King were excellent frontline introductions that certainly legitimized this meticulous account of this classic Television series. Insights from the guest cast ranging from Richard Anderson to Carol Rosser as well as show creator Mr. Huggins were truly informative. However, it is Mr. Robertson who has set the tone of this labor of love by concentrating on what fans of "The Fugitive" want and should remember. This is not a tell all scandal written anthology, rather it is a reminder that this was and is a classic that will endure.

The text is designed to meet the specific needs of engineering students who needs adanced math to complete their degree.The text is written for self-study and is completely self-contained.I think that the Advanced Engineering Mathematics text definitely has all of the math you could expect to use in electrical engineering.The nicest part of the text is the fact that the authors use bite-sized chunks of information.You will not get fancy derivations or cute stories at the beginning of the chapter.If you want all types of physical insight or mathematical modeling,this is not your book. If you are like most engineers and need to make it past this material,then the "cookbook" like feel of the text is exactly what you need.

This book is the sequel to Stroud's excellent "Engineering Mathematics", which focused on the undergraduate engineer and the math that he/she should know by graduation. This book continues on with crystal-clear discussions of numerical methods, linear algebra including the singular value decomposition and its uses, linear programming methods, multiple integration, and partial differential equations, to name a few of the topics covered. Just because the mathematics is more advanced in this book does not mean that it is any less clear than its less advanced predecessor. Stroud continues his tradition of holding your hand and leading you through every question you might have about working various types of math problems. I particularly liked his coverage of partial differential equations and numerical linear algebra topics. That is because it is hard to find advanced math books on these topics that are not written by pure mathematicians. Thus most of those books have a tendency to go overboard on proofs and not focus on the practical matters engineers must know in order to solve problems. The only negative thing I can say about the book is that it references Stroud's other book on engineering math, "Engineering Mathematics", during some of the explanations, possibly putting you at a disadvantage if you don't have it handy. I highly recommend this book as a reference every engineer should own.
NOTE: For some strange reason this review of "Advanced Engineering Mathematics" is appearing under that book and also "Vector Analysis" by the same authors. This is NOT a review of "Vector Analysis", just to clear up any confusion!

The programmed instruction approach is used very effectively by Stroud to make sure the student fully understands exactly what is being taught.

Brilliant!

Useful for Engineering math. If you have to use step functions, second order differenital equations , Get this book. I used it and i got great marks for math. I think any book by K.A. Stroud is fantastic. This book has sets of questions and fully worked out answers. As with most math,theres lots of short cuts in math. Laplace transforms show you that theres a quick solution to second order or higher ,differiential equations. Being fast at this allows you to solve control theory questions quickly.

I'll begin with the one problem I've found in this book (the only reason it doesn't get five stars): in the working of some of the example problems, the author leaves out numerous steps, does some odd algebraic manipulation, and some of the example answers are flat-out wrong (there are a couple in the section on Fourier Transforms). Now to all the great aspects...this book covers an extremely wide array of topics, assuming only an elementary knowledge of calculus and differential equations, addressing (in detail) many techniques frequently utilized by engineers with almost no rigor (great if you're an engineering student wanting to learn applied mathematics, not so good for pure mathematics students). The topics include numerical methods for solving algebraic equations, the Laplace Transform, the Z-Transform, Fourier Series and the Fourier Transform, power series solutions of ODE's, numerical methods for ODE's and PDE's, partial differentiation, analytic solution of PDE's, integral functions, matrix algebra, multiple integration, vector calculus, complex analysis, and linear optimization. The author's pedagogical approach is perfectly-suited to self-instruction, and I have been able to work through the book and most of its problems (for which all answers are provided) relatively quickly. My only problem with the content of the book (other than the aforementioned occassional errors) is in the coverage of multiple integration, where a large amount of work is devoted to line and surface integrals of scalar fields (including determining whether the line integral of a differential in x, y, and z is conservative without any discussion of curl). I just personally think this is the wrong approach for line and surface integrals, which are easiest to understand (IMHO) in the context of vector fields and vector calculus. Overall, I feel this is an excellent book for engineering students, and could even serve as a good starting point for mathematics students as an intro to the methods of harmonic analysis, PDE's, and complex analysis, before jumping into the theory of these fields. I whole-heartedly recommend this book.

I have used Pimsleur German I, II and II and about to finish Pimsleur German Plus. The courses are great and I reccommend using them all. When followed seriously I found the courses better than private tutors and immersion classes (which I have also tried with limited success) Although I am not yet fully fluent in German I am able to communicate in general. Prior to using Pimsleur I had no background in German at all. However with Pimsleur, I learned only to speak and no grammar or reading whatsoever even when using the reading material. Therefore for those wanting to learn to read and write German I would also reccommed a good grammar book. The Themen Neu 1 and 2 workbooks seem to do the job but make sure you get the version with the English vocabulary and Grammer already in them. There also have a seperate computer based exercises which are also good. Amazon should carry these products also.

I have also tried Pimsleur for French and Mandarin Chinese and they are equally good. I just wish Pimsleur would add more advance courses as they have done for German in these two languages.

I wish Pimsleur would publish the transcripts for the audio lessons. These would be very helpful for review when not being able to repeat outloud (e.g. on a train full of people)It would also be great if Pimsleur had its own grammar and vocabulary books to accompany the audio.

I also wish Pimsleur would publish the courses on minidisc to make them lighter and more portable for travel and walking.

I have found that learning each lesson once is not sufficient. Two times is probably ideal: once in the morning and once at night. I found the pulisher's insturctions of doing only one lesson per day to be useful. However repeating the same lesson on the same day works great. Only when I have finished an entire course have I found it usefull to repeat several lessons in a row (for example on a long drive).

Overall I think Pimsluer has the best German audio learning tools. Anyone who wants to save a lot of time learning should try them. I am greatful they are available.

I generally agree that the Pimsleur series is the best audio course around, but I had to knock off a star. Here are the shortcomings: 1)You don't get very far with the language for the considerable money. Too little return for your investment. 2)Too much time is wasted on repetition of simple pronunciations. I believe much of II is too easy for someone with even one days' previous exposure to German conversation and grammar. 3)It's aggrevating to not have the spelling or conjugation of the verbs with this course. I recommend buying not only buy a bilingual dictionary to supplement this course, but also a grammar book, and 501 German Verbs by Henry Strutz. 4)Most of the voices are easily understood, but the "trainer" has an annoying nasal voice which is difficult to understand. You need speakers with golden voices for maximum comprehension. 5) When you want to review your trouble spots at the end of the course, there is not even the simplest table of contents or index to refer to for figuring out where to return! This is a serious handicap.
I recommend starting with Pimsleur II or even III if you are at all self-taught, so great is the volume-to-volume overlap between lessons. And, as I found on my recent trip to Germany, these tapes only expose you to the ideal hochdeutsch. You can't learn it all here.

By the time you're ready for this (Vol II), you should have a pretty good idea of the Pimsleur format. This CD set compliments the prior set with further practice using the informal ("Du") form and related conjugations and continues usage, comprehension, and vocabulary expansion. There are very few sets of this type available, so the competition is slim, but the Pimsleur German II set is excellent. If you've completed set I, this set is the logical next step. (If you've completed another introductory course, you may wish to purchase the Pimsleur I course, just to make sure that you have the requisite vocabulary and grammar.)

Ok. Pimsleur II won't get you very far, is expensive ..., and is somewhat cumbersome to work with. So the rest of this review will be about how in [the world] did I get to giving it five stars. There are several ways to go about when wanting to learn a language in an audio-only manner. You can get the "Learn in your car" from Penton Overseas. You can get the audio-only course from Living Language. Or you can take Pimsleur. From the lot, Pimsleur would be the ONLY decent answer for the utter beginner, and Pimsleur II will advance you to an intermediate level in the best way. You'll simply remember everything you learned. With the other options, you will find yourself replaying the tapes a couple of times. Does any language course that is a self learning course worth this kind of money? No. That's why we have the next paragraph.

Money. First of all, by all means get it used. It is an audio course that I recommend going through only once. ... . As for used audio cassettes, well, as much as we want to hear the correct pronounciation, we have to remember - this is not Mozart, it is only recorded speech. However even if you don't find it used, you can buy it, and after completing the course, sell it ... As this is suitable for first time learning, and is too much for review purposes (perhaps the other audio-only courses will be better for review). ...

I used the complete Pimsleur course: I - III and German Plus. It gave me exactly what I needed--practice and confidence in conversation. It was all review for me, as I'd studied German before, a considerable amount of study on my own. I found that the cassettes were perfect for my long daily commute. I would listen to two lessons in the morning and listen to the same two in the evening. Although the course didn't really add a lot to my vocabulary and very little to my knowledge of grammar, the conversation practice was great. Especially for those like me, who have studied a lot on their own, conversation can be difficult. Practice is invaluable in breaking down what I call the brain-tongue barrier. (So many times listening to the tapes, I had the answer in my head but just couldn't get it out of my mouth in time!)

Having said that, I would hate for this course to be my introduction to German. I would hate to do this course without knowing some grammar and the principles of German pronunciation. In addition, I find that the words and phrases chosen for special help with pronunciation were not consistent. In effect, some of the simpler words were emphasized like this, but more complex words like "Dolmetscher" were breezed over in conversations. And some of the basics in vocabulary were not covered--for instance, I don't think the complete list of months was covered, and learning all seven days took quite a few lessons!

I loved Get on TV! It's entertaining, yet practical, detailed and has so much heart. Even though I've been on Oprah and Good Morning America and have years of experience, I still learned a lot. Jacquie Jordan gives us a tremendous gift: not only insider knowledge we can get nowhere else, but also the experience of having a personal relationship with a top-notch TV producer. Go for it!

`Oprah', `The Today Show', your local talk shows and even reality TV all offer unprecedented opportunities for personal and professional promotion. Position yourself to reap the rewards by targeting the right shows and applying a few insider rules for getting on the air. Author Jacquie Jordan, an Emmy-nominated TV pro, knows just what producers seek in the perfect "TV guestpert." She delivers the goods in this thorough guide to promoting yourself, your company or your product on the air. When you read this, you'll want to get right to work. Getting TV air time will no longer seem like an impossible goal, although you will notice in Jordan's case studies that truth is often stranger than fiction in TV Land. We recommend this book to professionals who want to polish their presentations, understand talk show production behind the scenes and become TV guests. Go get your 15 minutes of fame.

I have worked in media for over 25 years and Jacquie even taught me things! She takes you from wanting to promote your idea to becoming a "guestpert" that television producers want to call back...over and over again. She gives you the lay of the land and who all the players are in the field...easily and simply. It's a great resource for those who want to be in the "biz" or need the "biz" to promote their product or services.

This is a great book especially for those folks that know nothing about the TV/entertainment industry. Ms. Jordan does an excellent job of detailing the different job descriptions and provides invaluable insider information that one outside the industry would never have access to.

OK. I admit it. When I agreed to review "Get on TV" by Jacquie Jordan it was for my own selfish reasons. My new novel had just been released, and I was looking for a way to get on TV for added exposure. So naturally, I chose the book with the perfect title, and man am I glad I did.

In "Get on TV" veteran TV producer and insider Jacquie Jordan (who has worked with folks like Donny Osmond and Maury Povich) reveals valuable information on what it takes to get on television. The books gives detailed information on topics such as how to assemble a press kit, how to speak the language of TV producers and how to set realistic expectations on appearing on your favorite (and not so favorite) news and talk shows.

"Get on TV" works on multiple levels, mainly because the reader can feel the author's genuine authenticity when reading between the lines. It's not one of those books that was written solely to promote the author's business. In fact, Jordan even shares ways to circumvent the need to hire an agency like hers. You gotta love and respect that.

Though the book is packed with outstanding information, including a sample release form, contact information for all of the major networks and Jordan's insider info, some of the material (like definitions and learning the lingo) seemed to be overkill. But don't let this minor distraction fool you. Jacquie Jordan knows her stuff, and if you follow the advice in this book it wouldn't surprise me at all if I saw you on TV soon after. Buy this book and follow the advice given and I know I'll see you on the small screen.

Emanuel Carpenter
Author of "Where is the Love?"
emanuelcarpenter dot com

There's not much to say about this book other than it is the best GWT book out there. It is prior to 1.5 but the generics really don't change any principles or techniques covered on this text.

It does have a very practical approach, with a lot of coding and it mixes several other technologies to solve the covered project issues, so, if you are not familiar with recent (not so recent anymore) web tech you will probably need a bit of research to fully enjoy the reading.

This Book contain a real utilities Drag and Drop, Windows, conecting with logic in other lenguages by HTTP GET/POST and more, ideal for an understanding of the potential for rapid GWT Technology.

I was thoroughly impressed with this book. Not only does it provide a great introduction to GWT, it provides the right background information on AJAX, patterns of AJAX usage, and other tools to use alongside GWT. I was just expecting another dry reference book for yet another framework. The examples were well thought out and interesting - not just more Hello World apps.

I think you may need a good background in both Java and JavaScript for this to be easily consumed, but for me it hit the spot.

When I first checked out Google Web Toolkit, I was hooked. Finally, being able to write AJAX-based applications without being mired in cobbled-on Javascript code.

The docs on [...] are fairly good, but with few examples. This book has a good mix of theory and background of GWT, along with many examples. I'm learning a great deal from it, and it has become invaluable to picking up GWT.

I have done GWT development and book came into market recently. I must say it has cover lot of ground with working examples. You will get some practical tips on development of GUI and deployment on Tomcat. I am giving 5 star because no other GWT book cover ground like Ryan has done.

I used this book with my middle school social studies classes. It was the state testing week,and I wanted to continue the curriculum but not ruffle any feathers with more concepts. We were in the middle of our World War II unit. I selected some of the projects that we did in small groups, individually or with the whole class as an extension of our regular curriculum. We made silly putty, folded origami cranes, made WWII airplanes, and THE BEST was the individual recreations of the Rosie the Riveter propaganda poster. Each student posed as Rosie,and now I have a great set of things to display for our spring open house. The information in the book is entertaining to read, and the projects are simple, doable, and beneficial. I would highly suggest any social studies teacher of any level (elementary-high school) take a look at this book.

The author has synthesized the history of WWII into an informative and fun easy-to-read activity book. I highly recommend this resource for children and adults.

What a great way to spend an afternoon teaching and learning with your child. We enjoyed the historical lessons and thought provoking perspectives. I would highly recommend it. T. Kearney - parent

Loaded with interesting and fun activities. Perfect for budding historian.

What a great book to teach children about WWII while having fun at the same time! I highly recommend this book to parents (and teachers!)who want to involve their children in entertaining, stimulating activities that engage the mind as well as the hands. Extremely well written, with easy to perform projects. Excellent job!
K.S. Barone, teacher and parent

Which book was Dr. Heller & wife promoting on Oprah's show? (so I'll know which one to order) I didn't see entire show , but what I did see was informative & INTERESTING.

I picked up this book while browsing in a bookstore and it changed my life. I started at 153 pounds and my goal weight was 118. I weighed 116 this morning. And I have more energy, am more mentally alert and upbeat than I ever have been. The book is very motivational. The rules and guidelines for the diet are spread throughout the book so you must read all before starting. Only criticisms are that it's wordy and most of the recipes are bland, but I believe it's the best of all the books the Heller's have written.

I picked up this book while browsing in a bookstore and it changed my life. I started at 153 pounds and my goal weight was 118. I weighed 116 this morning. And I have more energy, am more mentally alert and upbeat than I ever have been. The book is very motivational. The rules and guidelines for the diet are spread throughout the book so you must read all before starting. Only criticisms are that it's wordy and most of the recipes are bland, but I believe it's the best of all the books the Hellers have written.

When I began driving a truck I gained 30 pounds in the 1st month. Fortunately I found this book and re-learned how to eat. Doing this diet right is not the easiest thing, breaking food addiction is seldom easy, but if you read this book it will be easier to make happen. I've lost those 30 pounds and more, landing at an ideal wieght that I've never imagined being at again. Good luck, use this book - it's a great resource. Follow where it leads.

This is an excellent, simply written, but well researched, book on the dangers of bad carbs. I found it extremely enlightening and wondered if it was more than coincidental that Dr. Barry Sears, writes in an amazingly similar vein, in his book "Enter The Zone". It seems that more and more scientists, and doctors, are discovering that we suffer from an overabundance of bad carbs in our eating, and it's also imbalanced versus protein and fat intake.I would heartily recommend this book, and for more scientific corroborative data read "Enter the Zone". Combine this with the sensible exercise program outlined in "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips of EAS Inc., and you will do yourself a very large favour.

This was a gift for my husband. He loves it! It is about more than just football. It has heart.

"Hurricane Season" is a true story about triumph through hardship for a private Christian school's football team in New Orleans overcoming the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and Rita. This book takes a personal look at the devastation that Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita caused within six weeks. It's about a High School football coach's and his players' commitment to their school and team in midst of chaos and turmoil. It's about how football can pull a community together. I particularly liked reading how the coach motivated his players and how he taught them to be men. It was heartwarming to see how much the coach loved his players and cared about their personal lives and not just how they played football.

Another aspect that really touched me was J.T.'s close relationship and admiration for his father. His father built the school and was a big part of the football team. After the father died, J.T. still thinks of him often and wishes he could still run things past him. He feels a real sense of responsibility to make his dad proud and run the school well.

The ending of the book is very moving and emotional when the team finally gets to play football after it looked like they wouldn't even have a season. As I read about the games, it felt like I was right there in the stands watching and cheering for them. This book started out slow and was pretty sad, but is definitely worth reading to get an inside look at what the people of New Orleans went through during Katrina and how a football team really jelled. It certainly made my few problems look totally insignificant in comparison.

Karen Zemek, author of My Funny Dad, Harry

I can't say enough good things about this book!! This book is remarkable!! It tells the story about how people dealt with Hurrican Katrina and the aftermath and a remarkable man, J. T. Curtis, Head football coach and principal of the John Curtis Christian School. How he and his family brought together a school and the football team is an unbelievable story. Their story will make you cry, laugh and cheer!! I really enjoyed this book A LOT!!!

Gerard Zemek
Husband of author of "My Funny Dad, Harry"

Hurricane season is an excellent complement to Douglas Brinkley's " The Great Deluge." While Brinkley provides an excellent analytical and scholarly account of Hurricane Katrina that should set the standard for many years; Hurricane Season captures the powerful emotional dimensions. Though grounded in the story of a high school football team, it transcends normal sportswriting by speaking to the bigger panorama of life, suffering, loss, and inspiring tales of recovery and fortitude.
With so many aspirations and dreams hanging in the balance, the J.T. Curtis School and football team regroup after enduring catastrophe and devastation and become a beacon of hope and solace for many of the victims.
Replete with an abundance of anecdotes and personal accounts, Thompson weaves their stories into a gripping narrative that will find appeal among readers of all genres. This is a stirring and fast paced treatment of those perilous days that is both wrenching and redeeming.

The Patriots are a football team that plays for a Christian school John Curtis. Members of the founder's family, his five children and grandchildren make up part of the faculty members at the school. They aren't just a school; they are more like a family. They have taken football members into their homes for extended periods of time.

The Patriots have a great team due largely to their head coach J.T. Curtis, son of John Curtis. "Hurricane Season," the story, takes place in August 2005. The Patriots are preparing to play their first pre-season game, which they do, and it's a shut out in their favor. Unfortunately, hurricane Katrina is coming through the state. Katrina will drastically change John Curtis School and students' lives dramatically. Readers glimpse the struggles shared by each family during and after the storm.

J.T. is determined to get his football team back together for some normalcy. While many of the players have been relocated, J.T. realizes that getting the guys back on the field will be a big help to them mentally.

Neal Thompson has written a very good book that should be read by everyone. A true story, while reading you feel as if you're actually there in New Orleans and very much apart of the school, their family and face all of their triumphs. After finishing "Hurricane Season" I went to the website just to get information on the school and the players.

Reviewed by: Carmen
Also agree with the one reviewer who says that if you enjoy Friday Night Lights.

I knew the players but I never knew how they played the game. I was truly moved and inspired by the dedication of the forensics students and motivated by their determination. This book isn't uniquely for teachers but for students of all ages because as we go on in life, we can always come to know, as the book states, that "class is never dismissed".

Karen O,lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, gets it: "It's important for kids to feel bigger than they usually do. We're trying to make you feel a little bit cooler than you might actually be." Many American teachers don't get it. A lot of teaching today is either boring [2/3 of classroom time is talk and 2/3 of that is the teacher talking] or painfully judgemental[grades, the red pen, do and don't instructions]. It doesn't take a genius to see kids natural talents and creativity are being stifled.
Enter McCutcheon and Lindsey--Lindsey is a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant recipient--with their Five Truths. These "Truths", explored in a clever anecdotal style,are a summation of what the authors discovered during years in the trenches of high school teaching.
But undergirding all the truths are the authors strong commitment to finding value in each student, understanding each student's interest or problem, and chalenging each student toward full potential by helping each student to feel special. McCutcheon and Lindsey get it and now every teacher and parent can too.

This book is for parents as much as it is for teachers, and it is for students as much as it is for teachers. Heck, it is for any and all people whose lives aren't what they had expected. Or it is for people whose lives are going swimmingly, but want to read a marvelous book.

The fact of the matter is: there is only ONE Tommie Lindsey, there is only ONE Randall McCutcheon, but there are millions of people who could have used a teacher like either of these guys. This encouraging, readable, positive book offers simple advice to many of the seemingly complex questions in life.

Both teachers write well and provide great helpings of How They Did It, and the anecdotes by their students would make a worthy book even if they were published separately.

By the way, teachers should read this book, too. All of them.

While this inspiring book tells us that "it doesn't take a genius" to help students succeed, passage after passage show us how these two dedicated educators manage to bring out the genius in each of the students whose lives they touch. This is powerful testimony to the commitment, passion, wisdom, and strategies of skillful teachers who, first and foremost, believe in their students and honor them as human beings, thereby enabling them to attain excellence, not only in high school but also in life. This is a must-read book for teachers, parents, and others who might be moved by stories of student success against all odds posed by living in an inequitable, race-based society.

This book is a fascinating mix of direct and indirect communication. The book's basic points are made directly
by its coauthors and then exemplified indirectly by the vignettes provided by an interesting assemblage of their
former students. The coauthors' arguments are clear and unlittered with academic jargon. (For example, what
academics would call "intertextuality" is discussed without invoking the guild's current buzzword.) Many of the
brief student contributions are surprisingly moving.

In characterizing one of Tommie Lindey's emphases, a student writer (Joseph Riley Whitfield Jr.) in fact aptly
describes the book: "...a complex message delivered in common language [that] does not lose its sense of
the profound."

My advice to readers would be to read each of the "five truths" sections, breaking off reading after each to ponder
what it means for them. Considered and pondered, the book has practical and uplifting messages that have made, and will make, a difference.

Six hundred ninety-two pages of information. But not for the novice. Web professionals and enthusiasts alike will appreciate a title that's as inclusive as this one. But, as the author points out on page three, you must be, "interested in learning Java". First, determine whether you're interested in Java and second, get your Visa/Mastercard out.

Finally a book that didn't assume I was coming from a C/C++ background. I have between eight and ten different books that looked like "the one" to teach me what I wanted to know in Java. I have little interest in learning applets or SWING based interfaces...my interest is in web based interfaces. This book spoke in terms I could understand easily based on a ColdFusion frame of reference. Eben Hewitt does a great job comparing and contrasting java data structures with ColdFusion ones and letting the CF developer know exactly what the pros and cons the different approaches entail. Th examples are good and applicable to the types of applications I would build. I strongly recommend this book.

I was not so happy to have to search for the code. I tried the website (where the book informs you to go) and discovered it's no longer there. I tried the publisher, who was no help. I performed searches, read forums, and then finally typed the authors name in as the web address and sure enough finally have the code. So, if you purchase this book first make sure you can actaully get your hands on the code. ...

When I began reading "Java for ColdFUsion Developers", I was excited to see how similar writing a Java program is to the syntax used to write CFScript or Action Script. This is an excellent time to learn all three!

The author has organized his information in a logical manner that builds from the basics and moves throught topics that include programming structures and object-oriented application design. Specific to CF developers is the chapter on "Extending ColdFusion with Java" to leverage ColdFusion use in J2EE environments.

Hewitt has an easy tone that makes you feel as though he's talking directly to you. He includes code for creating class files as he moves along to allow you to write and compile as you go. An experienced author with two other CF books behind him, he introduces Java to experienced CF developers who may come from a web background instead of hard-core programming. The book covers the basics thoroughly without breaking your back (unlike other books in my backpack!)

It's not a book for those new to ColdFusion or other types of programming, but it's an excellent resource for those of us who are overwhelmed by the current number of cryptic Java books available. As the introduction to Hal Helms reads, Eben Hewitt achieves his goal by "helping us leverage our ColdFusion knowledge into Java expertise."

Lisa Wilson, Manager, Sacramento ColdFusion User Group

A common experience for someone who wants to learn Java is to end up buying too many books, each covering a different aspect (servlet, JSP, Jakarta Struts, ad nauseum), with overlapping topics, and at times even contradicting one another. Eben Hewitt, who has written extensively about ColdFusion and also authored a ColdFusion training course on CD-ROM, has probably written the only book book on Java that you'll need if you are a ColdFusion developer.

His writing is clear, concise, and he tries everywhere possible to relate Java to some aspect of what a ColdFusion developer does in CFML. His coverage of Java may not be as thorough as a Java purist (or fanatic) would want, but everything you need to know is really there within one book, instead of maybe ten. It is enough to wet your appetite, and if you then are still a glutton for punishment, you should seek more detailed and specific reference for the particular platform that you are working in, be it SUN's, IBM's, BEA's, or whatever vendor software your company happens to be using. But, Java is platform-independent, you say! Well, there is this bridge in Brooklyn...