Languages Books

I bought this book a year ago because:
1. I was promoted to be an architect role and wanted an extra advice
2. The reviews for this book were exciting

Actually I was very disappointed with this book. This book will not teach you how improve your architecture but rather deal with techniques to review existing architectures.
The techniques themselves seem to be rather archaic and heavy and serve a little in practice, since the different work environment and organizations are not taken into account.

I can assume this book can be useful for an IT dept. architect that mainly focusing on evaluating 3rd party architectures and has full freedom to set the methodology.

If you want to learn some more real world practice, check Release It!: Design and Deploy Production-Ready Software (Pragmatic Programmers) (Pragmatic Programmers) which does not pretends to, but is actually one of the best architecture books I've read both for IT dept. architect, solution architect or development architect.

I bought this book for my husband. He uses it to help him with work. He is a Senior Software Engineer.

At the risk of adding one more gushing review to this excellent book - let me say that this book is very good for relatively non-technical folks also. I am working as a manager of a technical team and I used this book to come up on speed on the basics of software architecture. The material layout is very clear and consistent - it helped me to get through the basic concepts quickly and come back for a more detailed reading. The book helped me to ask the relevant questions and focus the team on the right sense of issues.

Only suggestion I have for a subsequent edition is to include one full blown case study.

Having been in the IT world for more than 25 years and studying this topic for many of those years I have found this book to be extremely accessible. I reference it often. I like the way it deals with real business world issues as opposed to on board jet navigation systems etc. I rate it right along with Craig Larman "Applying UML and Patterns".

It is a very thorough and well written book. Authors have introduced idea of perspectives (viewpoints related to cross-cutting concerns) and I totally agree with authors on benefits of using perspectives rather than treating them as viewpoints. My AD of new project is based on viewpoints and perspectives separation suggested by authors.

As an author, teacher, and concerned world citizen, I am awed by the depth and compassion woven into this highly-readable anecdotal book. Don't let the stories fool you, though. This book will enhance your interactions with others. If we practiced Storycatching, Christina-style, there would be so much more joy and justice in our world.

I've always believed that each life has a very important story, even those that at first glance don't seem glamorous or adventurous. In fact, my favorite memoirs, biographies, and oral histories tend to be more about real people who never consciously realized the importance of their lives.

Perhaps that is why I have always kept a journal. I am ever writing and editing the story that is my life. Trying to figure out how my experiences have made me the way I am. Looking to create the story that I want to be told to my grandchildren.

For those who haven't yet found the power of personal story, Storycatcher is the answer. In each chapter the author shares accounts of individual and family experiences. Then, at the end of these sections, she includes a number of questions to get the reader started on his or her story.

"We are the story-making creatures," says Christina Baldwin, and she goes on to inspire readers to locate, articulate, and celebrate their story-making process. Storycatcher is deeply informed by her rich experience as a writer and a teacher of writing. She weaves personal story into collective story seamlessly and beautifully--pointing the way for writers of all stripes. Whether your interest is essay, memoir, novel, genealogy, short story or poetry, there are prompts a plenty. Above all, this book is a companion--the best kind--wise, kind, honest and fun. What a gift to all readers and writers!

I learned of this book through a professor's suggestion and thought that I would put it on a reading list for a later time. Having always been drawn to the power of story, I found myself ordering it and opening the pages earlier than planned. Baldwin's genuine storytelling ability left me smiling throughout the day and hopeful about the benefits story can create in connecting strangers, friends, and enemies alike.

If you've ever sat down at a kitchen table in awe of the stories that are told around it- this book is for you. You will see that storycatching is more than just a pleasurable experience, it has potential to change hearts and minds.

In one section, Baldwin talks about her experience with posing a question about an individual's first memory of coffee while standing in a long line at a coffee shop. The discussion this created was wonderful- so next time you are standing in a long line trying to pass the time, I would encourage you to take her suggestion. Pose a question and you will be amazed at the results.

This is one of the best reads of the year- prepare to be inspired.

"Every person is born into life as a blank page - and every person leaves life as a full book" (p. xi). This sentiment from the preface of Christina Baldwin's new book sums up the overall theme of this wonderful look at the power, creativity, and uses of story.

Broken into ten chapters, this book is chock-full of amazing insights. Nearly every page contains at least one nugget of wisdom. Baldwin focuses on how story connects us, the art of storycatching, why we make stories, creating a story of the self, and finding our place in the order of things. Along the way, she addresses healing, the spiritual, power in organizations, personal growth and power, and ever so much more.

This book speaks to the heart and soul of what makes us human: the ability to tell stories, both orally and in writing, and to share wisdom, make sense of our lives, and move through our time on earth with meaning. "Story is a search for community that allows us to share, build, and learn from each other... We choose whether we want to live in hopefulness or despair. Storycatchers choose hopefulness, knowing that story has the power to change our lives" (p. 236).

The writing here is lyrical and sure, her prose evocative. She's annotated it and included a reading group guide. Baldwin writes with a deep knowledge and wisdom most of us can only dream of being able to describe, and she does it with the grace of an angel. This is a book that should become a classic. Highly recommended to readers, writers, thinkers, and dreamers everywhere. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

In the case of Jane Anne Staw's Unstuck, what matters most, is that the author has written the bible for writers who are blocked. I appreciate her lack of usage of the "B" word, but at the end of the day--Blocked is blocked and sometimes we all need a bit of fiber to get things moving! Make this gem a part of your writing resource library. You simply can't go wrong.

I've had a serious three year block and have tried desperately to get out of it. I had looked at several books about writer's block and all of them were feel-good garbage or throwaway 101 Tips to...

Staw's book is the best I found dealing with the subject. As one reviewer noted, it's difficult to even take time to read a self-help book, because you tend to feel that it's one more case of avoidance or procrastination and the hour it took to read could have been spent writing. But Staw has some salient, psychotherapy-based points about those feelings--guilt and avoidance. She emphasizes kindness to oneself instead of listening to the inner hypercritic, and while this might sound like feel-good nonsense, the way she writes about it makes sense and this technique pretty common in counseling. Her examples of patients experiencing writer's block range from mild to extreme--which made me feel better. This guide by no means got rid of my block, but in some ways it gave me (or allowed me to give myself) permission to write sloppily. There's no way I can write as well as I'd like to, certainly not while experiencing a block, and I feel that Staw really nails it when she points out how counterproductive this drive for perfection can be. I've since loosened up enough to start writing small things without caring so much about the outcome (these reviews for instance)--and it's been a pleasurable step in the right direction.

I'm using this book right now and it's a healing and compassionate book for writers. I was already writing again, but the book is helping me to go back and heal the gaps from decades ago when I quit writing. I hadn't realized that I needed to be healed as a writer. The need to write never went away even though I tried not to write. This book is helping me to understand many things. I can't say enough. It's a valuable book if you have ever felt hurt or discouraged as a writer. The author is perceptive and knows of what she speaks.

I am posting this review for a long-time friend and exceptional writer: "UNSTUCK offers us a mother lode of authorial insight, inspiration, and encouragement. Dr. Staw, the ultimate writer's empathist, speaks with the authority of an unblocked writer herself, making this handbook of discovery and recovery both an indispensable road map for overcoming writer's block and a trusty guide for avoiding its recurrence."

As a near-life-long collector of books on the art/craft of writing, I treasure them not just because of their professional wisdom but also because, well: they're so well written. I've placed UNSTUCK within the top part of that latter characteristic. Thank you for writing it. -- Larry W. Bryant

Unlike most books for writers, this one assumes that you are already a writer of some kind, and treats you intelligently and sympathetically, exploring the various fears that are common among writers and are at the root of writer's block, and ways to work through them. The book assumes that all writers have their own backgrounds, their own way of working, and their own individual quirks, so it does not prescribe a set program that everybody should follow. Instead, it talks about how to use your own personality and techniques to get you past the block and put your butt back in the chair.

Some of the examples seem pretty extreme. There are successful writers out there, apparently, who develop such a strong block that they have panic attacks when they sit down to write, or even just look at their computers. I figure if Dr. Staw's approach can help them, it can help me. I don't really fear writing (or do I? the book made me think about that), I just have trouble getting to it. Several times I read what she writes and thought, that's not me, then realized hours or even days later that the writers she describes aren't as different from me as I wanted to think they were. It gave me a lot of insight into the way I approach my writing, how I think about it, how I think of myself as a writer (a not-quite-real writer--there's a whole chapter about that).

The funny thing is, I realized early in the book that I was actually using the book as an avoidance technique to help justify not writing. After all, if I was reading about writer's block, then obviously I was doing something about it, so that's almost as good as writing. Of course, the best thing I could have done was put my butt in my chair and my fingers on the keyboard, even if only for a few minutes, rather than keeping my nose in a book. But I'm glad I read it anyway.

If you want to understand your writing mind, your fears about writing, how to get past that inner critic, and so on, the book is worth the time it takes to read it, and the time it takes to digest what you've read.

This book has some great tips as responses have noted. My one issue - at least a quarter of the book -- possibly more -- are tips that apply only to PCs. While often there will be a separate entry for PCs (usually longer) and Macs, there are a good number of suggested tools/tricks that only apply to PCs. I would have like to be able to read through only relevant ones.

Upgrade Your Life is a great book. I've followed the blog for several years, but it's nice to have an analog version when you want to practice the best techniques available.

Recommended for information or technology workers who need to get more productive to survive and/or avoid insanity.

I'll keep this review short and sweet: I love this book. I loved its predecessor, "Lifehacker", and love this one more.

It taught me things about what Windows, Office, and Firefox can do that I would have had no idea about before - and I thought I was reasonably astute! It also points you in the direction of an enormous number of great downloads, websites, and other resources - most of them free or quite cheap.

I've given this book as a gift a number of times and have always heard raves.

I'm currently running XP Pro and Office 2003 and it offers a lot of ideas for turbocharging those programs, but has even more ideas for Vista and Office 2007. I have tagged several dozen ideas to implement when I get around to upgrading.

This is an outstanding tool. Very eye-opening. You won't regret it.

If there's one book that's provided me with value for money recently, this is it. I've had it for over a week and I look at it every day. The other reviews here do a fine job of telling you the content, so mine is a more personal review.

I have plenty of experience in computers, so I can see the advantage of many of the tips. Since buying the book I have changed my browser from IE and my e-mail from Yahoo to Thunderbird, as well as downloading some of the many freeware programs she recommends. It's improved my life immensely, and often the time spent downloading has been paid back in minutes.

I stop short at some of the suggestions for advanced users, but that's because I don't want to change things for the sake of changing them. Otherwise I have more programs that I know what to do with, but that's because there are so many of them.

What's good is that Gina has covered the recommendations down to the last detail, especially living your life with them. Too many books on software run through the features with no recommendations as to where and how to use them. So if you're a person with any level of computer experience you will be using these programs and tips more or less from when you adopt them.

So thank you Gina (and Terra) for bringing this book about. I would guess it's made me 50 percent more effective in the first week. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't do marvels after reading this.

I remember reading the first edition of Gina Trapani's Upgrade Your Life: The Lifehacker Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, Better and thinking how wonderful it was. Of course, when the second edition came out, I had to get that one too. And as with the first one, I have all sorts of post-it notes scattered throughout the book for reference and "go back and try this" notes. Well worth the time and money you spend here.

Contents:
Control Your Email; Organize Your Data; Trick Yourself into Getting Done; Clear Your Mind; Firewall Your Attention; Streamline Common Tasks; Automate Repetitive Tasks; Get Your Data To Go; Master The Web; Hone Your Computer Survival Skills; Manage Multiple Computers; Index

Over the span of the chapters above, Trapani presents 116 different "hacks" that you can incorporate into your daily computer life to, well... work smarter, faster, and better. As with most books that are a compilation of different tips, some will resonate strongly with your current needs, while others are skimming material that may not be relevant. For instance, the hacks in the first chapter, Organize Your Data, hit home. I'm working towards consolidating multiple email addresses with Gmail, and I'm cutting down the number of folders I have, relying on search to find what I need. Master The Web also had some cool tricks, like having multiple home pages in Firefox and using Google Notebook for web clippings. I wasn't quite into the Managing Multiple Computers as much, as my current setup doesn't call for that. Still, it's good information to have around should you need it at a later time.

I actually found a couple different things occurring as I read through the material. There were hacks where some software was presented that did a certain task, and I'd realize I've been looking for something just like that. Similar to scratching an itch that you couldn't quite reach. Then there were the hacks that opened your eyes to whole areas you didn't even know you needed. Let's call that finding AND scratching the itch you didn't know you had five minutes prior. After going through some of the Automate Repetitive Tasks hacks, I have started to look at a lot of things I do with a view towards eliminating the manual repetitive effort that I just accepted as necessary before.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who spends most of their waking hours in front of a computer, and/or earn their living in front of one. Taking away even a small handful of nuggets can radically change the way you do things.

What can I say? The proof is in the results! This book and Hal Zina Bennett dramatically changed my writing style. And, I had been writing for decades. I had also taken numerous writing courses at a college level. I had even self-published and helped edit other books. But, Hal taught me how to "write from the heart" and shift my writing from an informational to a conversational style! The result? I got published from Hampton Roads Publishers with my first book Beyond the Secret. Want to learn how to REALLY write? Buy this book!

I recently bought and gave this book to a dear friend who has a talent for written expression. It's an excellent, giftable book with many tips, thoughts to ponder and loads of encouragement for aspiring writers. Buy it for yourself if you'd love to put your own experiences or thoughts on paper and you need a bit of direction... or consider tucking it into a holiday gift stash if you know someone who has a way with words. There's a lot of bang for the buck in this book. It's well worth Amazon's affordable price.

As a published author The Courage To Trust: A Guide To Building Deep And Lasting Relationships I was struggling to find purpose in writing for purely personal reasons,and wondering if I had the focus to delve into another book project. Then I attended a book signing and met Hal Z. Bennett. His love of telling/writing stories that heal and encourage others put me back on the writing path, reminding me of how important it is for each of us to share our truth. This lovely book is filled with quiet inspiration and suggestions that regrounded me and made my journal--and a book proposal--both seem good and necessary efforts. Embracing True Prosperity: Guided Visualizations & Practical Tools To Realize Your Deepest Dreams

Hal Zina Bennett lives what he writes and teaches, from the heart. I was fortunate to study writing with Hal and from this met his book "Write from the Heart." The lessons I learned were essential to me in writing, shaping, and bringing to fruition my first book, "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary."

In Chapter 9, "Higher Creativity and the Essential Wound," Hal's Core Concept is: "The writer, like the shaman storyteller of ancient times, embraces his own life experience, tells stories to the community that gathers in a circle around him, a fire blazing at its center. In the telling of what most deeply touched his life, he helps other to see that they are not alone. And in the process both storyteller and listeners are healed." I didn't know how true this was until after my book came out. I thank Hal for seeing deeply into this truth and sharing it.

"Writing from the Heart" has 13 chapters. Each chapter offers a good reason for buying, reading, using, studying, and treasuring this book.

Janet Grace Riehl, author, Sightlines: A Poet's Diary

This is a good book for writers who already have some experience of the craft, including through personal journaling. Nothing about the techniques of writing or the genres here but rather about the "soul of writing". Hal Zina Bennett shares his development as a writer over the years and his suggestions to reconnect to the being that feeds the act of writing. One writing "exploration" is given after each chapter. The book reads quickly and is motivational in nature. This is a good companion to any book by Julia Cameron.

With this book, Judy Reeves secures her place as the best "writer about writing" we have. In this finely crafted work, as well as in her "A Writer's Book of Days," Ms. Reeves has single-handedly rescued thousands of writers from the fears and insecurities that can cripple even the most talented scribes. If you are serious about writing, wait no longer--BUY THIS BOOK, and write, write, write!

Judy Reeves' latest writer's helper is chock full of supportive hints, tremendous insights and guidelines to forming, participating and getting the most out of a writing group. In her clear, concise and genial manner, Ms. Reeves breaks down the "ins & outs" of what writing groups can offer to either neophyte or established writers. It is apparent that Ms. Reeves has garnered much understanding and is excited to share information on how to participate in a writing group-the pages and margins of this book are brimming with assignments, suggestions, prompts, quotes, checklists, everything a writer might need to get going. This book walks the reader/writer through scenarios and suggestions, offering advice of how to start or find an established group and what to do once you are there. She hits on some of the basics, like how to make time to write in our busy lives, to understanding the "Qualities of a Good Group, all the way to dealing with the dreaded "Bores, Whiners and Thugs." She's masterfully included a "how to" guide for the process of reading and critiquing other's people's work. Her "Guidelines for Writing Practice" are worth the cost of this book alone. As with her previous book, "A Writer's Book of Days," Judy Reeves goes for the bull's eye and gets it.

This is a great resource, whether you are trying to piece together your own writing group, deciding how to choose a group to join, or hoping to reinvigorate your current group. Ms. Reeves offers plenty of practical advice, with true-to-life examples. This is a great follow-up to her collection of writing prompts, A Writer's Book of Days, which I have used almost daily for the past four years!

As a lifetime lone writer, I owe Judy Reeves for pulling me-and other fellow writers-out of our caves. This review is not to undermine other books on the subject, for they all have contributed much. What is different about her book, is that words come from the heart with such a direct and deep understanding, they have no other way but to settle in the reader's heart. It sometimes soundss like she knows-and it matters to her-that we benefit from it. As someone who has worked with many writer's groups, she knows their doubts and confusions. Not only does she address the problems of writing in a group, but reveals solutions to help us deal with what we so affectionately call the "block". Although her second book does talk of "writing alone", it succeeds to open a new door to the pleasures and benefits of "writing together". Not only is the book a master's guide for the lost writer, but she connects with the reader and shows how to stop the distraction before it stops the artist. To me, this is a constant guide to fall back on time and again. It is a pleasure to share it with friends and I'll continue to make a gift of it to other fellow writers.

I found this book very helpful with the nitty gritty stuff about organizing my writing and working with a critique group and classes. It was also quite inspiring and full of ideas about how to write, where to write, who to write with, how to critique, how to revise, etc.

It helped enormously when three other writers and I formed an online critique group. Any questions we had, the book answered. It also gave invaluable suggestions for improving our group and our writing.

The author, Judy Reeves, has lead all kinds of writing groups and classes and gives concrete examples of what works best. Her book is well-organized, and an enjoyable read to boot.

Roorbach guides you step-by-step with exercises and examples that help you write about your life. He also explains what makes good writing different from not-so-good writing. In other words, he holds you to high standards and helps you meet them. Your eventual readers should be grateful!

Brief Summary: Bill Roorbach understands that memoir writing is not as simple as putting everything you can remember about your life on paper. Memories are no different than any other source - the characters and the plot must be interesting. To that end, he combines instruction and advice with a series of exercises to produce "the bones" of a good memoir. Starting at the beginning, he covers: finding a good place to write, mapping your memories, scene making and exposition, the ethics of writing about real people, method writing and voice, metaphor and adumbration, and texture. You might not do every exercise in this book - there are 94 in all - but most seem worthwhile. Roorback encourages his students to think of the exercise work as "good, clean rocks for an eventual stone wall." Several of the exercises use a process which Roorbach calls "cracking open," which might involve finding a sentence or phrase from something you previously wrote that condenses or skims over a possible scene, and building a scene of at least two pages. (As a writer, I like thinking of myself as a cracker and polisher of stones and a builder of walls.) Other great exercises include: looking at as many books as you can to make a list of your ten favorite first sentences, making a map of the earliest neighborhood you can remember, and making a list of the subjects upon which you are an expert. The final chapter gives some good, practical advice about how to locate appropriate editors and agents, with a final cautionary suggestion: "The only helpful ambition is to write something good, something that will satisfy readers unknown to you in both predictable and unpredictable ways. If your ambition is about the work, the dream of publication won't eat at you and make a fool out of you."

Sample Excerpts: Roorbach doesn't just "tell" us the rules, he "shows" us the rules. In this example, he shows us how a good scene replaces many pages of explaining. "Instead of a passage about your family's socioeconomic status, you show your dad pulling up in the brown Ford wagon, muffler dragging. Or does he pull up in a shiny Mercedes? Or does he walk up the hill with his jacket over his shoulder, car traded for shares in a new invention? Let the reader write the passage about class."

Primary Strength: Writing Life Stories is to memoir what Joy of Cooking is to cooking. If you can follow directions and do what the book tells you to do, you'll have everything you need to create a fine memoir or a tasty meal.

This book is full of insights into the writing process.
It offers lots of assignments ,it helps me with writing my life story.

Good book. Instructs with small easy-to-follow "chunks". Writer has a good sense of humor--evident in his writing. Writing isn't overly academic or political (unlike some of the other "memoir-writing" books out there).

After following Roorbach's lessons, you should be able to competently put out a very nice selection of some of the turning points in your life, special occasions, and those great memories. You'll have enough vivid "word-pictures" that folks will enjoy reading about your experiences rather than fall asleep from extreme boredom.

Overall, this is a good book that will get you started with getting your own story out there. Don't let your part in history be lost--start writing now with this book as a guide.

Regards,
Dave (aka "EditorDave" -- Capture_the_Memories on Squidoo)

This book has lots of exercises for those just beginning to edge near the writing-ledge and will help you dig into your own story. However, this book is only for those wanting to write an auto-biography and those just beginning to venture forth in their writing. If you buy this expecting help on writing someone else's life story you won't find what you're looking for. If you're not a beginning writer and you purchase this, it's likely that you'll be the proud owner of a book full of exercises you've long outgrown.

Mr. Yagoda presents the results of his exhaustive research with clarity and style. It's a compelling story and makes a great companion to the Kunkel books on Ross. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Shawn and the Shawn years at the NYer, since many of my favorite writers were nurtured under his watch. The best one-book history of the NYer I know of.

Disclaimer: I love The New Yorker. I have been a dedicated subscriber for ten years (and I am only twenty-six), and I read the magazine for years before subscribing under my own name.

Given my disclaimer, perhaps my five-star rating is self-evident. But not necessarily: As a lover of the magazine, I approached this text skeptically. I was interested in an unbiased review, yes, but likely I would have been wounded by a wholeheartedly negative portrayal.

Yagoda loves TNY even more than I do, if that's possible, yet he truthfully approaches his biography of the magazine. The ugliest facts are laid bare, but in a sympathetic whole.

TNY writers, editors, and staff members are lovingly recreated; Yagoda writes so well that I felt I knew these people, I understood these people, and I physically missed them after turning the last page. Like others who have reviewed this book, I wanted more--more, more, more. I felt astonished and sad to have finished the book. Were it a novel, I'd beg for a sequel, even knowing that sequels rarely live up to the original. Even a second-best second-tome would be better than missing the people and the institution that this book brings to life.

Admittedly, TNY readers will love this book vastly more than those unacquainted with its pages. However, if you are even beginning to approach the magazine, you must read this book. You will understand the weekly journal better than you do now, and you will appreciate it far more. I certainly do.

Bravo, Yagoda!

There are at least two ways to view Ben Yagoda's book ABOUT TOWN: 1) as the history of The New Yorker Magazine, how it was conceived and developed and changed over time, and 2) as a social document reflecting its times. The subtitle of the book "and the World it Made" does not seem quite as accurate unless one considers that "world" to be the corporate culture created by the staff led by Ross and Shawn, the two longtime editors who built the magazine. The New Yorker certainly has influenced the world within which it existed along with many other magazines.

Harold Ross, the founder and first editor of the magazine, with the help of Katherine and E.B.White, Thurber, Dorothy Parker, and many other fine editors and writers launched the magazine in the 1920s. The sophisticated and literary focus of the magazine soon captured the fancy of New Yorkers. During the hard days of the depression the magazine actually gained subscribers as readers enjoyed the humorous repartee and cartoons that helped them laugh at their troubles. Many new readers learned of the magazine during WWII as it was handed around the barracks. The GI bill produced many educated readers who remembering their wartime contact with the magazine now subscibed to it. Following WWII, the magazine included more and more "social conscience" articles, for example, John Hershey's essay on "Hiroshima."

Ross died in the early 1950s, and during the fifties under the editorship of William Shawn, the magazine became relatively banal according to Yagoda who says it appealed to stay-at-home wives who enjoyed articles that reminded them of their college days (among other pieces, Mary McCarthy's tales of her Italian travels were featured). In the 1960s, the magazine once again became more vocal about social issues and the environment.

Yagoda says the best years of the magazine came in the 1970s when writers like Woody Allen wrote wonderful wacky pieces and investigative journalists covered the scandals in
Washington. Following a downturn in subscriptions in 1980s, the magazine was purchased by a media mogul and William Shawn departed. With Tina Brown's arrival, the magazine metamorphed into a Conde Nast publication. Garrison Keillor's comments about Brown's arrival (as he left) are amusing.

Over the years, I have read John Updike, Alice Munro, Jamaica Kincaid, Katherine White, and many of the writers who once wrote for the New Yorker. When I was a child, my mother used to quote Dorothy Parker regularly ("Rivers are damp..."), but I had no idea Parker wrote for The New Yorker until years later (we lived in a rural area and subscribed to the Progressive Farmer!!). When I read Rachel Carson's SILENT SPRING, it changed my life, but I read it in book form when it was first published as a Book of the Month Club selection. I only became aware of The New Yorker magazine when I was in my thirties and a college writing instructor suggested it. Yagoda says many people discovered the magazine when they were students.

As a social document, The New Yorker articles very much reflect the times, and to some extent, at least under Ross, the magazine seemed to be ahead of the times. In reading this book, I was reminded of National Public Radio, which seems to be the main innovator in broadcast journalism these days--though I am told there are all sorts of happenings on the Internet. The in-depth news stories, the essays by various knowledgeable citizens, the political commentaries and Garrison Keilor are all comparable to The New Yorker magazine.

If you are interested in a snapshot of the 20th Century from an educated New Yorker magazine perspective, or in writing and magazine development in general, you will find much of interest in this book. The tales concerning the origins of many innovative features of the magazine are quite good.

Yagoda suggests the magazine pretty much ended with Shawn's departure in the late 1980s. He devotes eight pages at the end of the book to the three editors who followed Shawn. He says the median age of the readership grows older every year (not replacing subscribers) and most of current readership as such is owing to the retention of loyal readers. He quotes some of these readers who no longer actually read the magazine but have not given up their subscriptions. His book goes a long way toward explaining to me why I dropped my subscription a few years ago.

"About Town", by Ben Yagoda chronicles the majority of the 80+ years, "The New Yorker", has been contributing its unique journalistic culture to everyone, including, "The old lady in Debuque". Mr. Yagoda's book stands out from many books that have been offered to readers about the magazine for while he certainly is aware of the contributions the magazine has made for over 8 decades; he does not seem to be in awe of it or the people to the point it affects his writing. He clearly admires the magazine, but this does not stop his including a wealth of information that documents the eccentric personalities that shaped the magazine. Some may not find the notes flattering, but he objectively shows some of the magazines famous quirks without committing the blasphemy of a young Thomas Wolfe.

The list of writers who either became major or occasional contributors, reads like an amalgam of winners of the highest literary awards that have been offered. The list of those names repeatedly rejected expands the list even further. The book contains dozens of examples of the famous rejection letters that often are almost apologetic about turning down a piece of work while always writing in the first person plural. Having a piece selected by, "The New Yorker", was often considered the ultimate indicator that a new writer had arrived, that he or she had entered the pantheon of the magazine's literary legends. This was true even if the work accepted for publication may not have appeared for months, or even several years. The reception of the envelope stating a writer's work had been admitted was all many authors needed to have their work given unique value and cachet, publication was a bonus.

Mr. Yagoda also spends a good amount of his book on the cartoons, their artists, and the painful process that started with an idea only to have to run a gauntlet to be published. As hard as this path may have been, the scrutinizing that a written piece received is almost beyond imagining. It is understandable that first time contributors would have their worked scoured and polished, but when some of the 20th Century's finest writers nearly drew blood over commas the action within the building must have been spectacular. There is a story of one writer who sat outside the editor's office for almost 5 hours over the issue of a single comma. This World War I trench warfare standoff continued until the early hours of the next morning. The editor capitulated, but noted to the writer, "you are still wrong".

The story of this fascinating magazine could fill many volumes. If your starting place for gathering an overview of this institution, its editors, staff and writers, is this book, you will have chosen very well. Mr. Yagoda has written a great tribute to those he has chronicled.

There are two types of writers: those who aspire, no, dream of being published in the "New Yorker", and those who, after several rejections, bitterly deride the very institution they hoped to conquer. I am solidly of the first camp, though give it a few years and I might be a latter-day grouch.

The work of Ben Yagoda brings the magazine alive, from the heyday of such luminaries as Thurber and White to the tough war years, right up through the Shawn era and even right up to (for 1999) the present. Through it all, Yagoda examines the many lives who devoted themselves to this literary exercise in humor and good faith. The most compelling character studies, however, are the two main editors throughout the magazine's history, Harold Ross and William Shawn.

Ross, who founded the magazine in 1925 and managed it through its first twenty-six years, comes across as a gruff, thoroughly Western man who nonetheless saw the need for a magazine like "The New Yorker", and brought it to being through sheer will and fortitude. He also happened to publish significant works by James Thurber, E.B. White, and J.D. Salinger among others. Shawn, taking the reins after Ross's death in 1951, saw the magazine through 30+ years of challange and triumph, only to be forced out in 1987. Throughout the book, Yagoda makes these men the central focus of his tale, but he includes brief looks at literary and other lights of the twentieth century, some who did get published (like Donald Barthleme, Veronica Geng, and John Updike) and some who didn't (Tom Wolfe, whose scandelous expose on the magazine shook it out of its fuddiness).

Overall, the book looks fondly back at the magazine's past, with a hint that it might never reach the same heights of importance it once had. That may very well be, but there's still something to be said for a magazine that is such an institution no one could imagine starting a writing career without considering the possibility of submitting to it.

"The New Yorker" is still the premier magazine in America, and this book explains why, after almost a century, it still carries the weight it does.

When was the last time you picked up a book and couldn't put it down? Markus Egger's "Advanced Object Oriented Programming with Visual FoxPro 6.0" is such a book. He covered everything I needed to know. He covered the fundamentals (a short review of terms), given clear explanations to everyday problems and demonstrated how objects are used in real world designs.

My favorite chapter was "Using Shrink-Wrapped Classes". Until now I have avoided using the available classes distributed with Visual FoxPro because there was a lack of documentation in the original manuals and didn't have the time to open each class and explore. Now that I have read this chapter I ask myself why was I pushing a square wheel up a hill all these years when I could have used these classes immediately and start building on them. Another favorite was needing to know how to hide properties and methods in classes and never being able to figure out how to make these classes work properly. Now I know!

I read this book in two evenings and now I am going back over my classes to re-configure them.

Hentzenwerke Publishing has done a phenomenal job with all it's titles. Not one has been a disappointment. Unlike IDG Books "Bible" series which has been nothing more than fluff and someone wanting to show-off their code.

Almost reads like a novel. I couldn't put the book down. It was immediately relevant, and I can see it being so for years to come. It has permanently changed the way I write code in VFP.

Overall pretty good book, I pretty much read it cover-to-cover over a two day period. However, my expectations were a bit high after reading all the other reviews on this site. First of all, his description of the Component Gallery totally lost me. More importantly, from chapter 12 on, the author elects to assume that everyone has access to a ... piece of software called Rational Rose to design an OOP app. This disappointed me, I would have preferred to have things explained in a way that I could follow along with the tools I have as a VFP developer.

This is probably the best book that I have ever purchased for learning the real nuts and bolts on Visual FoxPro's OOP capabilities and the tools available in it. I encourage both new and seasoned programmers in Visual FoxPro to BUY THIS BOOK!!. I don't think you'll find a better one out there. The way Markus covers the FFCs and other advanced topics is great!!! It is hard to describe in 100 words or less how valuable this book is.

In order to benefit the Power of VFP, a developer should understand the power of OOP in software development. This book tells and guides you how OOP is applied in application development using VFP. The explanation of OOP tells it loud and clear that Object Orientation is very important aspect in today's software development. Markus and his associates really deserves commendation of doing it well.

I'm an anesthesiologist who goes to NYC every year for the US Open Tennis. While in NYC we try to suck up a little Kulture and always attend a few theatre offerings. I found the book not only informative but entertaining and it also gave me some new insights into theatre-going and watching films.

Reading "Architecture of Drama" will definately enhance your cultural experience in both the theatre and film.

Whether the information of THE ARCHITECTURE OF DRAMA is new to you as an emerging theatre artist or whether you have spent a lifetime in the theatre forgetting the essentials, this book is invaluable in stating the universals of drama, and stating them in a way that all can comprehend and use in both theoretical and practical ways.

It is impressive in its economy, stylish in its presentation, and entertaining in its prose. The sidebars on artists and productions are fascinating.

An extraordinary amount of information in a very brief and easy read.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF DRAMA is an exceptional resource.

Tom Moore
Director
Broadway: 'night Mother, the original GREASE, MOON OVER BUFFALO, etc., Extensive Regional Theatre.

"The Architecture of Drama" is a terrific book. If you're a student, it will be one of the few books you take with you after graduation and reread. If a teacher, you'll know you have the real deal, something no class will be able to dismiss as just another textbook. The three authors speak with one voice in straightforward language about the dramatic experience -- be it "Jaws" or "Macbeth" or "The Wizard of Oz". The result is an exhilarating celebration of theatrical biodiversity. The book is born from a passion for theatre, not tenure; it talks to you, never lectures. In a discussion of mixing genres, it cites Kazan's feeling that his film "A Face in the Crowd" was unsuccessful due to his mixing satire and drama. But it goes on to cite The Moscow Art's "misinterpretation" of Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" as tragedy when the author saw it as comedy -- but which became the theatre's greatest success. The book's comment on the contradiction? "Go Figure!" When has a textbook dared imply even great theatre is part crap shoot? The authors use specific productions as points of reference. In the Broadway staging of John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt", they question whether Sister Aloysius' final line "I have doubts! I have such doubts!" has been set up properly to make it believable. The timing of Father Flynn's following entrance is offered as a possible explanation of why the line caused confusion for some. Through discussions such as these the reader comes to appreciate theatre as something more than text, to realize a production is indeed an interpretation, and that what "works" can be as fragile as an entrance half a beat too soon. If I had come across a book like this when I was studying theatre in college, it would still be on my bookshelf, underlined and much the worse for wear.
Peter Simon is an actor who worked mainly in daytime serials: Dr. Ed Bauer on "Guiding Light" for many years. Nominated for Daytime Emmy, Best Leading Actor. Worked Off Broadway, Regional, and for The New York Shakespeare Festival

This very approachable book offers a fresh alternative to most of our familiar textbooks on drama, dramatic structure, and the essence of theater experience. With an emphasis on down-to-earth discussion, the book starts with a conversation suited to a more introductory look at the "architecture" of dramatic literature. This develops into discussion of drama as brought to life via acting, directing, design, and audience response which will also have appeal and power for readers with more advanced familiarity with drama and theater production. The three-source authorship and insight is intriguing and, in particular, this chance to capture Joe Stockdale's views and teachings in a text is not to be missed. Over at least the past fifty years, I know of no more brilliant, essential, and passionate voice about the heart and soul of playwriting and the art of the theater than Joe's.

After an MFA in stage design from Yale School of Drama and 50 years of designing for the Stage and Television--starting with ten years for the Ed Sullivan Show--it was interesting to look at the whole theatrical experience as architectural. I've been dealing with the visual architecture of theater my whole life, but there is no question that all the elements fit into an architectural framework. This book is a refreshing study of that total framework. It was fun for me to see it from another perspective. I would recommend "The Architecture of Drama" highly for any one involved, in any capacity, in the production of theater or film.

Bill Bohnert