Exploits Books

What a brilliant idea! How many nights have you sat around with friends, old or new, and shared horrible stories of the embarrassing and/or bizarre things you'd done in college? This book will have you reading the stories over and over in disbelief... the best of the best.

The lessons learned, the nights you don't want to remember or desperately need to forget...the good, the bad, the ugly.

A great, funny read that shares moments everyone can appreciate, because chances are, in one form or another, you've probably been there. Really entertaining.

It's awesome. I miss college yet some of these stories don't see so far away from me now. ouch!

I dare you to take a trip down memory lane
& relive those days of just plain crazy, insane
and stupid fun...

This book is a must for anyone who went to College
and participated in stuff like this; or even if you
just saw or heard of the stuff that went down on campus.

Life does not get better than that.

I got this book for a friend of mine who just went away to college. I figured I'd read it first (very bad habit) and I was hooked immediately. One of my very favorite parts was the letter and response from the addressee, where the anal retentive dorm mate send out his list of rules, and the laid back one basically tells him to eff off. That cracked me up, and sooo reminded me of my time in a dorm!

I liked this book and enjoyed reading it -- it was sad and funny at the same time, and should serve as a strong warning to would-be martial arts students.

My only complaints (why I docked it 1 star):

* It is very poorly edited -- rife with typos and other minor bugaboos. A skilled editor could have improved this book considerably.

* I would have liked to see more names, facts (court dates, etc.) and resources (Web sites, links to articles, etc.) to support the claims and stories. (Not that I don't believe them, but hard evidence would further support the book).

Also, it would be interesting to know how the schools continue to operate today, now that Kim is out of prison.

I have spent thirteen years in this cult. The worst feeling that I have(in post moo) is that I allowed myself to be compromised by the nefarious deeds of a manical sociopath and his underbosses. I denied reality and distanced myself from my family because I "believed". This is a must read for those who are searching for [true] martial arts as well as a warning for parents who are looking for an activity for their children. Stay Away from oom yung doe. Joe Smith unveils the entire charade in his service with the moo; the truth/reality is twisted and a person's life is degraded to the point of unconditional surrender to an evil PIMP. Through Joe Smith's experiences, the only way out is for someone to simultaneously embrace the truth with the conscious mind and the heart.

Chris Carreon-PA

This book provides fascinating insight into the notorious Chung Moo Doe (a.k.a. Chung Moo Quan, Oom Yung Doe, etc.) martial arts cult founded by John C. Kim (a.k.a. Chull Kim, Jack Park, or "Iron" Kim). Although the group was exposed in the CBS investigative report The Cult and the Con in the late 1980s as well as in the article "Cult of the Quan" in Martial Arts Professional magazine, the organization still exists today. Having served time for tax evasion and conspiracy, the founder and thirteen members of his inner circle have already been released from prison. No doubt fearing repercussions, the author writes under the penname Joe Smith.

"Smith" explains how he was taken in by the "True, Right, and Correct" teachings of a narcissistic sociopath. He sold his new Oldsmobile Cutlass, drove away his friends, gave up on his college education, changed jobs, and ultimately spent tens of thousands of dollars to earn a nearly meaningless black belt and become an instructor in the cult's system. Eventually he became disillusioned with the group, developed the fortitude to pull himself away from their teachings, got his life in order, and wrote about his experiences.

While the author's writing is a bit uneven and (understandably) overly vitriolic at times, there is nothing a good editor couldn't fix straightaway. His story is interesting and important. Packed with riveting vignettes of cult life, this cautionary tale is one that all devoted martial artists and aspiring practitioners ought to read.

The book elucidates why otherwise intelligent people would join a cult. Often it's because the group fulfils and/or exploits deep-seated psychological needs that victims may not even be aware of. Aspiring martial artists can become particularly vulnerable to such manipulations, since they often approach the arts with little foreknowledge, save for the ubiquitous Hollywood fantasies they watch on the silver screen. Expecting to find mysterious Asian rituals, eager practitioners hear plausible legends and see bogus displays of fighting prowess. This chicanery reinforces their predispositions. Even legitimate martial artists wear distinctive uniforms, associate with like-minded individuals, and perform activities that are nearly unfathomable to the uninitiated. Cult leaders selfishly twist the conventions and hook victims with the promise of inimitability, status, and power, and the pull to join and stay in the cult becomes very strong indeed.

As the author so aptly states, it's a slow process, like the boiled frog analogy. Put a frog in warm water and he's happy. Increase the temperature slowly and he'll stay in, trying to continually adapt. Turn up the heat too high, throw too much cultness at him at once, however, and he'll hop out and leave, maybe telling other frogs not to go near the cult's pot. So the smart, effective cult leader slowly raises the temperature and waits until his victims have adjusted. Then, after the new norm has been established, he further refines the cognitive dissonance so it doesn't seem all that bad. What was once intolerable now becomes acceptable. Victims reinforce their new beliefs while the cult insidiously takes over their lives.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults and Martial Arts Instruction; co-author of The Way of Kata and The Way to Black Belt

Note: Originally reviewed for Clarion Reviews

I was a member of the inner circle of the Chung Moo Quan organization in the late 70's and early 80's. I found Herding the Moo to be an accurate account of the dynamics that exist at the top levels of the John C. Kim organization. These pages reveal the inner workings of the cult that are veiled from the public eye in a very calculated way. Former cult members will easily recognize the pattern of lies, deceit, and betrayal, as well as the subtle techniques of grooming that we fell prey to as loyal followers of John C. Kim.

I laughed at Joe Smith's antics which typify the ridiculous missions we were assigned. I wept when I discovered that women other than me had been sexually abused in this cult. I raged when I learned that this charismatic charlatan has continued to masquerade as a martial arts master for over 30 years.

For those currently involved in Oom Yung Doe, Herding the Moo will provide you with information to ponder. I hope that it will generate questions. Do not hesitate to pose those questions to your instructors. For parents with children in OYD, Herding the Moo is an essential read.

Kim Rieser; Helena, MT (formerly Naperville, IL)

I read this book cover to cover, and then read it again. I have to say it is a very accurate account of how the cult of Oom Yung Doe (Formerly Chung Moo Quan/Chung moo Doe), operates. It clearly shows step by step how a young beginner is slowly indoctrinated and brainwashed into the cult, and how their lives slowly decay a little at time until they have been totally swolloed up. You can see how bank accounts are drained step by step, and how lives are ruined, marriages destroyed, and ultimately how ones soul is blackend by the experience.

This is a good book not only for those who are in the cult of John C Kim, but also for those who have family members, or friends involved. Every martial arts school that is anywhere near an Oom Yung Doe school should have one as well.

It is a well written, and well chronicled book. I found it to be an enjoyable read, and the writer's sense of humor complements the all too real events that occurred in the story.

These gems of action storytelling will make you laugh out loud-- they have the best of Doyle's plotting and some very witty characterization. Etienne Gerard is first-cousin to GM Fraser's Flashman: he finds himself in the thick of every battle, often playing a pivotal role that only now can be told...

Of course, Flashy is cowardly where Gerard is brave, but they both think themselves irresistable to women and are master horsemen. Bright, fast, and funny, these short stories belong on the shelf next to all the Flashman novels. Fraser himself calls Doyle a "genius" in the introduction, and they belong in the same league of inspired storytelling. Too bad Gerard and Flashy never met-- Flash would have called him a bloody crapaud and Gerard would have said Flashy was a British beef....

I knew Arthur Conan Doyle from his Sherlock Holmes series although I have not read any title from that. The "Exploits and Adventures of Birgadier Gerard" is surely one of the finest novels about the Napoleonic era and I highly recommend it to any fan of the Grand Armee and its battle hardened soldiers. The story begins with the long retired Brigadier starting to recall his war memories for the shake of his audience, over a glass of wine. And what a fascinating carreer did he have! He was a romantic lover, a proud Frenchman, an honest man, a terrific swordsman, a dashing cavalryman, and a soldier absolutely faithful to his duty: the real epitome of the French hussar who according to Colonel Lassale "should not live beyond the age of 30"! The old Brigadier explains with graphic detail and an amusing dose of egotism and pride how he lost his ear for the love of a girl in Venice, how he helped French troops to storm the spanish fortress of Saragossa, how he saved a whole army in the Peninsula, how he extricated himself from a grevious tactical mistake in Russia, how he beat the Englishmen in their national sport of fox-hunting and how Destiny prevented him from taking part in the climactic battle of Waterloo, a fact that Gerard honestly believes that doomed Napoleon! To build his story Doyle took many interesting facts and legends from real biographies of the period, like that of Baron de Marbot, but he made his story so enjoyable and colourful that is incomperable in terms of advenures and amusement.

For those who only know Conan Doyle via his Sherlock Holmes tales, his second most popular fictional creation may come as quite a revelation. With the eighteen "Brigadier Gerard" tales collected here, he created an affectionately mocking portrait of a swashbuckling French cavalry officer of the Napoleonic era. Gerard is a wonderful comic character, in his own not so humble opinion the foremost rider and swordsmen in all the Grand Armeé, he's also a favorite of the ladies, a stickler on points of honor, first volunteer for hazardous missions-and unbeknownst to him, marvelously thickheaded.

His "exploits and adventures" are presented as reminisces by the old grizzled officer, long into his dotage. Since he doesn't tell these in chronological order, this can be momentarily disconcerting, but only momentarily. Each episode runs approximately 20 to 30 pages and generally concerns some individual adventure he's assigned to or stumbles into. These are uniformly entertaining old-fashioned adventures in which Gerard sometimes triumphs, sometimes fails, but always upholds the honor and glory of the Emperor. He makes an interesting counterpart to Bernard Cornwell's gritty and equally heroic fictional British veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Richard Sharpe.

This new edition is to be commended, but it could have been further improved with the addition of a few maps, a general chronology of the Napoleonic era, and a glossary of the frequently used military terms of the era. Still, these are quibbles, and anyone with more than a passing familiarity with Napoleonic history will have no problems enjoying Gerard's tales.

Brigadier Gerard is everything that a Briton of Conan Doyle's time thought was an exemplar of the Napoleonic officer - and to a certain extent a charicature of the French themselves. Hopelessly and ridiculously brave, completely lacking in appreciation of the fine British virtues of sportsmanship, a devotion to L'Empereur, rather dim, obsessed with his honor and the honor of La France, and yet rather admirable too in his prickly way.

In this fine book the Brigadier regales us with stories of his youth, when most of Europe was part of the French Empire and opportunities abounded for young men who looked good in cavalry uniform. Gerard tells the story with no irony, but the reader laughs a good deal at the absurdities of the hero. When attempting to shoot the ash off a cigar he destroys the whole cigar instead to the dismay of its smoker who is smoking it at the time. Clearly, Gerard maintains, the pistol is at fault. On a few occasions he succeeds when all expect him to fail and as a result his success is actually a failure. The stories encompass many of the great events of the Napoleonic wars: the horrors of partisan fighting in Spain, the invasion of Russia, war in the German states and Prussia, even capture by the British. Always the stories are superbly told with a very fine eye for realistic detail and they are often quite gripping. Again this is one of those books I am amazed has never been made into a film or a TV series.

George MacDonald Fraser has taken a good deal of the Gerard style for his Flashman series, although of course the two characters are poles apart in morality.

I recommend this book to all lovers of history novels and also to anyone who just likes to read superb stories in the grand old manner, where manly men are engaged in "honest" combat, and where evil enemies, treacherous peasants, and duplicitous politicos usually meet their doom under Gerard's cavalry saber.

The success of the Sherlock Holmes stories has overshadowed the fact that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote many other stories of entirely different character. The New York Review of Books Classics has brought the `Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard' back to life. The Gerard character is said to be Conan Doyle's second best fictional invention.

The eight `Exploits' stories were published between 1894 and 1895 while the ten `Adventures' were published after a five year hiatus between 1900 and 1903. Like the Holmes tales, these pieces were published as serials in The Strand Magazine. Once again we owe a debt of happy gratitude to the NYRB for reviving this quirky, funny, heroic series of adventure tales.

The eponymous Gerard is one Etienne Gerard, a Hussar (a light cavalryman) in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars. In other words, a character about as far removed from the dyspeptic intellectual detective of Baker Street as one can imagine. In the excellent introduction (one of the hallmarks of the NYRB Classics series), George Macdonald Fraser remarks on the courage Conan Doyle showed in showcasing a French hero fighting against the British less than 80 years after Napoleon was finally defeated (As Fraser notes "even today [the French ] are not notably popular north of the Channel"). Quite a feat of imagination.

Like Harry Flashman (Flashman: A Novel (Flashman)) and the lesser known Otto Prohaska (A Sailor of Austria: In Which, Without Really Intending to, Otto Prohaska Becomes Official War Hero No. 27 of the Habsburg Empire (The Otto Prohaska Novels)), Gerard is in his old age when he spins his stories to the reader. Gerard boasts that he is the greatest swordsman, horseman, and lover as well as the most loyal servant of Napoleon in the entire French army. And Conan Doyle permits Gerard to excel in all these measures and yet his excessive pride makes him obtuse. As Fraser put it Gerard is "vain, touchy, obstinate, reckless, boastful, and none too bright." He is entirely ingenuous, which repeatedly leads him to trouble and then he must slash his sword and dash away on his horse to escape. Gerard is charmingly unaware that he is a strutting French peacock; he assumes that others should and do recognize his exceptional qualities. Coming from a more self-aware man such cocksureness would be intolerable conceit.

I titled this review "What Would Harry Flashman Make of Etienne Gerard?" That's a fun question to speculate about. It would take a new Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Sir George MacDonald Fraser to do it justice. My guess is Harry would laugh up his sleeve at Gerard until he saw Etienne's sword swinging dangerously toward his head. For his part, I expect Gerard would be blissfully unaware of Flashman's disdain, but might he also detect Harry's certain 'shyness'?

The `Exploits and Adventures of Brigadier Gerard' are wonderful entertainments. Like the Sherlock Holmes stories, the pity is there are so few of them. Highest recommendation.

Pupil of Aristotle, ruler at 16, commander at 20 of armies when modern men are only just legally eligible to drink in America, and conqueror of half of the entire known world by age 26 .... the historical accounts of Alexander the Great's imperial military campaigns ... and its enduring legacy centuries later. A man who truly belongs to history.

Not even Napoleon, Douglas MacArthur, or General Patton could match the military legacy of Alexander the Great. Both Alexander's youth and his zeal created a legend that is unrivaled.

As with all history, one never knows all, one can only assume, because, one was never there, or so we think.

Or watch the movies and read this as well. This is a great little book that contains excerted translations of the three ancient biographies of Alexander, written by Plutarch, Arrian and Quintus Curtius Rufus, all Roman writers. The book is edited so that it forms a continuous narrative throughout Alexander's life. Aside from archeological finds, these three ancient writers are the sole sources of reliable information on the historical Alexander. The introduction by Wood is useful.

I do have to note that I find it odd that on the Amazon page under "Language Notes" it says "Latin, English," since there is no Latin here. The original texts were in Latin, but they are not reproduced here.

Alexander the Great, was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C.E., and is my favorite personality to read about in history. To me he is the whole package general, statesman, conqueror, and philosopher. The smartest man who ever lived, Aristotle, tutored him. Alexander conquered more of the known world than any other figure in history, accomplishing all this before he dies at the ripe old age of 33. Some people called him conqueror and violent overlord. Some other called him civilizer and even God! All of them yet, called him "The Great". He was the first man in modern history that took this name, "The Great"! Even as a young boy, he shows great promise.

Curtius' work is the oldest extant work available and based on eyewitness accounts. He does a better job than most in explaining the battle scenes, and seems to be more balanced in his admiration and criticism of Alexander then any of the other early biographers. I love his Bucephalus Story, and I recount it here so you get a flavor of the promise this young Alexander shows.

The legend begins with Philoneicus, a Thessalian, bringing a wild horse to Philip for him to buy. None of the hands was able to handle it, and Philip grew upset at Philoneicus for bringing such an unstable horse to him. Alexander, however, publicly defied his father and claimed that he could handle the horse. The bet between Philip and Alexander was that if Alexander could ride the horse, Philip would buy it, if not, Alexander would have to pay the price of the horse, which was 13 talents, an enormous sum for a boy of Alexander's age to have.

Alexander apparently noticed that the horse had been shying away from its own shadow, and so he led it gently into the sun, so that its shadow was behind it, all the while stroking it gently and whispering into its ear, (Alexander seems to be the original horse whisperer). Eventually the horse let Alexander mount him, and Alexander was able to show his equestrian skill to his father and all who were watching. The incident so impressed Alexander's father, King Philip that he told the boy "Look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of you, for Macedonia is too little for thee". He named the horse Bucephalus, which means Ox head, and rode it across Asia, founding a city in its honor in India after its death. This story gives you an inkling about the man.

This book is a must read for students of Alexander, I also recommend Plutarch's and Arrian's work. Contemporary writers, J.F. C. Fuller and Tarn. Most of Alexander's greatest military traits are in the area of military logistics and to understand his genius in this area I highly recommend reading, "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army," by Donald W. Engels.

As a retired U. S. Army Major, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ancient warfare, and history.

Born in Macedonia in 356BC Alexander The Great changed the political face of the Middle East to such an extent that the present age is affected. He only lived 32 years but created an Empire that spanned 1000's of miles and included many cultures. He was tutored by Aristotle and raised to be a king. He toppled Darius of Persia, conquered the surrounding areas and invaded India. When he took on a task, he stayed with it with dogged determination. He was a brilliant battlefield tactition and motivator of men.

The story of his life was recorded by the classic biographers, Arrian, Plutarch and Curtius. In this book, Michael Wood presents Alexander's story by compiling the different accounts in chronological order. There is very little additional text, editorial, background, etc. Sometimes, he interjects comments where the original accounts vary (due to the biases of the biograhpers). This is a simple book to read and understand. It is an excellent resource for someone who wants an introduction to Alexander.

The map, list of sources and gloassary of main characters are quite helpful.

Faustroll is a Hallucinogenic cross between Lewis Carroll & Jules Verne. Magnificently dense style of a prose poem, images as strange as Lautremont's. It also reminded me of Flann O'Brien's Third Policeman, the only book that has done that.

...with your host Alfred Jarry. The text is astonishing and Roger Shattuck's (author of the incredible "The Banquet Years", which is partially about Jarry) introductory essay alone is worth the cover price.

In the words of the Butt-faced Baboon, "Ha Ha!"

Reading this book again, as I usually do on New Years Day, I started having an ether image of Doctor Faustroll, Poet and 'Pataphysician, meeting Dr. Norem, Personality Psychologist. Not to debate, but to discuss. I feel that Alfred Jarry and the good Dr. Faustroll would both understand and find etherially amusing the absurd title of her book -- the positive power of negative thinking. And they could help explain to the rest of us how psychology works. That would be nice. Or perhaps we need 'Patapsychology to stand above Freud's Metapsychological Papers. In any case, we need Dr. Faustroll to be perceptive.

Pardon that Narcissus' who wrote my Review Title...

This is a fantastic book!

I bought it here from amazon.com a number of years ago, 97 or 98 and I finally read it this past week. I don't want to give anything away, because it is so utterly unique and enjoyable....However, I will say: Track down this book! Demand it!

If you are a lover of the works or just plain amazing style of one of the 20th century's greatest literary artists... William Burroughs(!), then you will LOVE THIS BOOK! Heck, You'll ADORE it.

This is a trip by boat, on land... an adventure far more exciting than the Odyssey, but perhaps among similiar lines...

A journey from a middle point in life, to the extents of certain existences... and, to death... and beyond.. Finally, you will see why it started in the middle of life!

The climax is amazing, and every scene comes across like the greatest film never made.

Dali was definately influenced, as a number of scenes in here look like what Dali was to later paint!

In the end though I found myself saying only,

"Ha, ha."

And I did not lose myself in further considerations.

Except that, I would like to close by saying something I found very important, and dare I say, Life Changing:

This is a very great book, but I could hardly recommend it. Would you enjoy it? I think it is skies above the Ubu books in its range of vision, and I certainly didn't see any baboons with gluteal musculature grafted to their cheeks starring as commentator in those more famous works . . . well, I don't know what to say this "sort of thing" is exactly . . . if you are unfamiliar with this man (a drinker in the line of Rabelais, except I would say he was much more sincerely dedicated, a scholar, a scientist, a metaphysical swine, a bicycler, an eccentric above the heavyweights of French nincompoops, a novelist, -- also he did decent woodcuts, too) and his work then I would recommend the Supermale as a better beginning. If that is indeed your brand of entertainment, than hoist this flag up on the mast of your soft and sticky palm that never picked an axe to chop a block or made a fist to fight for your principles nor did anything else in all your life except to pick up another foreign book we can all be grateful for to have been translated, and sail it gently down the seas of your eyes until you land where you were looking for . . . this is a traveler's book.

"In the Saddle" is an interesting blend of letters, diary excerpts and reminescences of a Confederate cavalry unit - the 5th Georgia Cavalry. The book is informative and well documented, although it has -- even though the author admits it -- a pro-southern bias. The most enthralling part of the book is its coverage of the constant battling and skirmishing of the 5th Georgia and the Confederate cav. with the hugh Union army under Gen. William T. Sherman as he cuts and burns his way through Georgia and the Carolinas. Though out numbered, the Rebel troopers are superior to their Union cavalry counterparts. Not until after Atlanta falls and the breadbasket of the Confederacy is spent does the Federal cavalry compare to the Confederate horsemen. By then, however, the Rebel army is ragged, hungry and ill equipped -- often out numbered three, four or five to one. It is amazing that they accomplished what they did. In all the book is an enjoyable read -- even for a Yankee!

I read this book in one evening, eventhough I am not a Civil War buff. My husband left this in our den and I picked it up and was enthralled. Many of the soldier's stories were touching and interesting, particularly since they fought in and around where I live -- Atlanta. Some of these men and boys suffered horribly for their beliefs (whether right or wrong) you have to admire them. In addition, foot notes are given to help explain military terminology. I recommend this book; it is an excellent window into those horrible days of war that shaped our nation, healed its wounds, opened other wounds, and brought us into the 20th century

I picked this up recently for several reasons. I am researching my own Confederate cavalry ancestors and was interested in the author's approach of using first person accounts to tell this unit's story. The author states in the Introduction that this book should not be considered a full history of the unit but as "a primer." He accomplishes this perfectly. Through his use of letters, I was able to "see" through the eyes of the brave men of the 5th GA Cavalry. I now feel even closer to my ancestors who fought on both sides of the War Between the States. This work should be read by anyone seeking to better understand what it was like to ride "in the saddle" for extended periods and under situations that would try the bravest soul. I found his chapter on the Union prison camp, Camp Chase Ohio, especially poignant.

I had the opportunity to read this work - before its official release. I highly recommend this book if you are a Civil War buff, even if you aren't! The first hand accounts of what is was like to be a young cavalryman during the American Civil War are engaging for any reader, particular those who like adventure and history. But be prepared, this book takes a no-apologies approach to its subject matter: it is decidedly Southern. In this lies a certain charm, if you want to call it that. It is supplemented with numerous period photos and drawings that enhance the reading experience. In addition, it covers the often forgotten war in the western theater and the subsequent fighting in and around that doomed little town called Atlanta. Over all, it is recommended reading...

Excellent book with an overall superb overview on how XSS attacks are delivered. Covered by known blackhat speakers, the content goes from the simple definition of XSS to advanced man in the middle hijacks. Some minor typos in the code and text exist, but on the overall a truly outstanding [...].

I've been through most of this book and found it to be an excellent source of information on cross site scripting (XSS). It starts off with a good introduction of the subject, covers the tools to help you evaluate your site for issues with XSS, and then goes through XSS non-stop to the end. I really liked the discussion of XSS theory in chapter 3. Instead of just covering how to look up and try different exploit methods, the authors spend a lot of time trying to convey the knowledge needed to really understand how XSS takes advantage of web apps and your browser's willingness to try and render as much as possible. This is extremely helpful when trying to craft your defenses, since you will have a more complete understanding of the problem.

The book is a lot to absorb and I'm still wrapping my mind around it, but it has really given me a new perspective on the scope of the issue. The authors are the experts on XSS and they've done a really good job on the book. If you want to get information straight from the guys doing the research on XSS, then this is the book you want.

XSS Attacks earns 4 stars for being the first book devoted to Cross Site Scripting and for rounding up multiple experts on the topic. The authors are synonymous with attacking Web applications and regularly share their vast expertise via their blogs and tools. However, XSS Attacks suffers the same problems found whenever Syngress rushes a book to print -- nonexistent editing and uneven content. I found XSS Attacks to be highly enlightening, but I expect a few other books on the topic arriving later this year could be better.

First, as Tadaka mentioned, ch 3 is the best written part of the book. In fact, the author of ch 3 should have written the entire book. There is a difference between an author of a tool, an author of a blog, and an author of a book. The author of ch 3 clearly knows how to make a clear argument over the course of a long stretch of pages (over 90) and carry the reader. Lucky for non-book-buyers, Syngress posted ch 3 for free on their Web site. You'll get a great foundation on XSS, and learn about CSRF and backdooring Flash and Quicktime.

In terms of readability, ch 2 wasn't bad. I liked trying out various Firefox extensions and the author's examples were good. I think ch 1 should be completely dropped. It mentions terms not defined until ch 2. The language is exceptionally rough, indicating zero editing was done. The DNS pinning examples in ch 5 were confusing; it doesn't help novice readers to discuss [...] and then use [...]. (I think that's an error.) I really didn't get as much from the book past ch 3 as I did from ch 3.

The major take-away from XSS Attacks is that one should never trust clients. Furthermore, far too many vulnerable capabilities exist in applications most people would never dream of fearing, like those that render .pdf or .swf. I really liked the point that browsers constantly interpret and "fix" broken HTML, sometimes to the detriment of the security world. I also liked reading how users can be duped by attacks against the integrity of data, such as adding or removing details of Web sites.

Right now, if you want to learn more about recent XSS attacks in printed form, this book is your main option. Last year I favorably reviewed Lance James' book, Phishing Exposed, which includes some of these techniques. Later this year one of the other book reviewers, Dafydd Stuttard, should be publishing The Web Application Hackers Handbook: Discovering and Exploiting Security Flaws. Syngress claims to be publishing Web Application Vulnerabilities: Detect, Exploit, Prevent by Steven Palmer in the fall. Hacking Exposed Web 2.0 by Himanshu Dwivedi is another option, but I find his security books to be poorly written. I highly recommend visiting the authors' blogs, since they cover a lot of the information in XSS Attacks.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of XSS and related vulnerabilities, and covers everything from a beginner's introduction to XSS through to advanced exploitation and the latest attack techniques.

Overall, the book is well-organised, technically accurate, and full of pertinent examples and code extracts to illustrate the different vulnerabilities and attacks being described. There are plenty of tricks that will benefit even experienced web app hackers, including a wealth of filter bypasses, and coverage of offbeat topics such as injection into style sheets and use of non-standard content encoding.

There is strong coverage of recent research including JavaScript-based port scanning, history stealing and JSON hijacking, as you would expect given that these techniques were largely poineered by some of the authors. All of their explanations are clear and precise, and contain sufficient detail for you to fully understand each issue, and put together working code to exploit it. The book also includes the use of non-standard vehicles such as Flash and PDF for delivery of XSS attacks.

Here and there, the book displays the effects of multiple authorship, notably in the discussion of the best tools for finding XSS flaws. I know that some of the authors have rather opposing views on that question, but it is always good to get different people's perspectives on the tools they find most useful. There are also a few typos and editorial glitches, but that is the price you pay for being quick to market, as they evidently are.

Overall, this is a great book that will benefit a wide range of people, from novices to seasoned hackers. It is fun to read, with plenty of lighter moments punctuating the technical meat. Nothing else currently available is hitting this target - get it while it's hot!

I bought this book after reading "...Brigadier Gerard," by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which was based upon the life of this
man, Baron de Marbot. I'll have you know that I found it every bit as entertaining and fascinating as the "...Brigadier Gerard" book...even moreso for knowing that this fellow de Marbot really existed. When I read "...Brigadier Gerard," I was thinking how amazing some of the adventures were, or how fortunate he had been in this situation or in that one, but when I read about de Marbot, and of his incredible exploits, I was truly mesmerized. The coincidences..the simple twists of fate, the turns of fortune, the moments of chance...Hard to believe that this fellow experienced such awesome adventures... And all the while, amidst these adventures, we are kept abreast of the latest military tactics, the conditions of the land, the townsfolk and the soldiers, of all ranks during a period that seemed not to rest from battle... I tell you it is just a breathtaking piece of work (and for a female to say that is something indeed! )

When I read this book I swear it felt so real that I could easily imagine the sounds of voices or of artillery fire, or of horses hooves pounding or sabres clashing...Even scents came alive..The scent of a grassy knoll, or of a smoldering fire, or even that of the decaying flesh of men and animals...I could see the uniforms becoming more and mroe soiled and tattered with wear and with time...I could see troops moving silently through shallow streams in the dead of night; the moonlight spread across the ground like a sheet...I could see men's breaths when the air turned cold, and I could feel their struggle within when they knew that the end was near, but dared to keep the field.

This book simply pulls you in and doesn't let go. But that is quite alright. You won't WANT it to let go. It is every bit as much of a page-turner as "...Brigadier Gerard" was, and it gave me a sense of history that I failed to find in any of the books
I studied in college. Marbot so intimately describes his friends, enemies, family, and fellow soldiers, that they became not only real to me, but almost familiar to me.

Additionally, It did me well to remember a time when battles were fought in a much different manner than they are today... When words like Honor and Integrity and Duty and Loyalty were of paramount importance, and had substance,...They were not merely breath with sound.

I cannot say enough positive things about this book, and to keep at it here would be like beating a dead horse. Let me just say this: If you are ever at a point where you just can't seem to decide on which direction you would like to go in with your next good read, try this one while you are working it out... More likely than not, when you are done, you will kick yourself for not having gotten it sooner. ( And try "... Brigadier Gerard " too! I have reviewd this as well...!! )

All the history I've read about the Napoleonic Wars was a bird's eye view of grand maneuvers, but it's very difficult for a 21st century person to fathom what life must have been like in the inscrutably proper world of musket lines and lace. In this memoir, we find that the bygone culture of peasants and nobles fighting with sabers, muskets, and horses could still very much be populated by human beings not much unlike ourselves.

Marbot's memoirs consist of two components: one is his own research into the events of the war, and reads much like a normal history book. Of much greater interest to us, however, is his personal recollections and stories, which is much like meeting the man in person over a beer and having him spew his opinions and experiences to you. Unfortunately, this edition does not retain as much of this personal flavor, instead choosing to retain the drier historical stuff that can be "ascertained". This is a pity, as there is a great deal we can learn about the times from Marbot's stories and rumors, inaccurate as some may be.

The proper tone of this book masks from the reader the horrors that we read in today's memoirs, so it is left up to your imagination to grasp the full meaning of what "despair" or a "piteous sight" might refer to.

The original is much less dry and bursts with period detail, although, much like what you might hear in a bar, is more suspect in its accuracy. It was also translated by a deeply biased Englishman, who is so fierce when he "corrects" every mention of English conduct in the footnotes that you begin to wonder just how trustworthy his translation might be. Being from another century, you will also encounter fierce anti-Semitism in a grand total of about 4 of the book's 700 pages, along with a derogatory remark slur on blacks, but this is to be expected reading a book from a less PC century.

I'm a Napoleonic novice,and many things in this book are completely foreign to me, but this narrative gallops right along. This edited version makes me long for the full version. The author appears to write with both candor and a very dry sense of humor (I find myself wincing and laughing-I hope not inappropriately) about incredibly brutal battle exploits as well as about the behind-the-scenes politics. The author's sense of practicality, tempered with his sense of honor makes for a very appealing perspective on the events of the era. Further, it's truly amazing what the soldiers of that era had to deal with, just in terms of physical hardships (at least by today's standards). This book has served to seriously whet my appetite to read and to learn more about this period in history.

Doyle Fans who've read and reread all the Sherlocks should give these fun stories a go. Brig. Gerard is kind of a French Flashman: the hero of every battle (at least by his own lights) when he's not winning the hearts and charms of any beautiful woman in range. Gerard is the ultimate egoist, and we love him for it-- listening to him relating these exploits over a flagon of wine, we can forgive him for perhaps exaggerating a bit here and there....

Thanks to Doyle for creating another memorable character.

I loved reading the book so much, I keep reading it over and over again.

It is surprising how funny Conan Doyle could be sometimes. Brigadier Gerard is a wonderfully conceited, rather dim-witted but brave and generous-hearted cavalry officer in Napoleon's Army. His adventures are a delight to read.

I also own other books by Ray Friesen (Lookit, Yarg, etc..). I read them to my 5 and 7 year old and they enjoy them very much.
What they liked most about this one: "Ptui" when TBird finds out he is treating Cassowary to lunch, and the expression "nincompoop covered in stupidity sauce".

The only thing I didn't like are a few spelling and grammatical errors (like your vs you're), but I point those out to my kids. They are few and don't detract at all from the fun.

I am looking forward to the next book by Ray Friesen!

Feeling a bit peckish? Try Another Dirt Sandwich! It's a graphic novel of the humorous persuasion with all the fixin's: Swindling! Mustard! Birds wearing hats! It's just chock full of cartoony goodness.

This book chronicles the ramblings adventures of inept ostrich con-man Tbyrd Fearlessness, and his gullible rube-turned-sidekick Hopalong Cassowary in their search for fame and fortune, or at least lunch.

A must read for kids and kids at heart. If you like silly, then giggling is guaranteed.

If you eat only one book this year, make it this one. Chomp. Mmm! You can barely taste the gravel.

You may have to take this review with a grain of salt, as it is written by the author. Who better to write an objective review?