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Departments Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

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Peterson's MBA Programs: U. S., Canadian, and International Business Schools, 2001 (Peterson's Mba Programs)
Published in Paperback by Petersons (2000-10)
Author:
List price: $29.95
New price: $69.31
Used price: $1.50

Average review score:

Looks better than it is
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-02-15
If you are serioulsy thinking about an MBA, you will not find anything extra in this book that is not already available in the internet.

Talk to people, surf the web and save the bucks!

The must use book before reserching an MBA program
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-11
It's the most difficult phase... Choosing the right program for you. You need any help you can get in order to complete your desicion. This book evaluates all of the schools who gives you a chance to study for an MBA. It covers admissions, financing, placement and all programs availible. A must use book for those seeking out the right program. You won't be disappointed... Trust me.

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Physical Security for IT
Published in Paperback by Digital Press (2004-11-08)
Author: Michael Erbschloe
List price: $59.95
New price: $44.21
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Average review score:

Not what I thought it would be
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-15
A lot of process but not enough insight. Having a procedure to address an issue is fine, but without better information about why and examples, I didn't feel I got all I needed from this book. Sadly there simply aren't too many physical security books from an IT perspective out there. So if you just want a process to follow, and that's all you need - this may be a book for you.

PUTTING "PHYSICAL" BACK INTO PHYSICAL SECURITY!
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-14
The obsession about cyber security has far too often overshadowed the need for improving physical security of IT. Author Michael Erbschloe has done an outstanding job in this book of showing organizations how to design and implement security plans to prevent the physical destruction of, or tampering with computers, network equipment, and telecommunications systems.

Erbschloe begins this book by providing an overview of physical security and the many reasons it is so important. Next, the author covers the process of establishing a physical IT security function in an organization. In addition, the author presents the steps to developing a physical security plan. He also explains the major elements of a physical security plan, including the overview and mission statement, assignment of organizational responsibilities, the use of duty officers, and the management of contact lists. Then, he provides a detailed discussion on how to develop and document methods and procedures for the planning areas. The author then covers the importance of testing and how to test and audit procedures. Next, he covers the steps for managing response to an incident. Then, he presents a model training program for physical IT security. Finally, he takes a look at the future of physical security for IT assets.

With the preceding in mind, the author has done an excellent job of providing the reader with a practical, easy to understand and readily usable advice to help his or her organization improve physical security for IT, network and telecom assets. At the end of the day, you, the reader, will have a clear understanding that the struggle to improve physical security will continue well into thefuture.

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Teaching and Performing: Ideas for Energizing Your Classes
Published in Paperback by Magna Pub (1997-03-01)
Authors: Suzanne Burgoyne, Christine S. Jones, and Waldo Jones
List price: $24.95
Used price: $180.71

Average review score:

Useful for all college instructors
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-10-05
Teachers are performers, by default. Their choice is not whether to perform, but whether to make a conscious choice to do it effectively. "Unfortunately," the authors write (p. 18), "We who teach in higher education rarely receive formal training in the performance aspects of our teaching." Borrowing techniques and insights from the performing arts, the authors provide a variety of tools for correcting that problem. Their book is aimed at college instructors, but much is also appropriate for middle and high school instruction.

Facilitating discussion, engaging students, and creating a dynamic classroom are some of the key goals which the book covers. I found especially helpful the specific examples given, examples reaching far across the disciplines. The many examples of dynamic teaching in nursing, chemistry, biology, and so on, demonstrate that these techniques can and should be used in the sciences and other fields as well.

Among much else, the authors discuss nonverbal cues, audience awareness techniques, roles the instructor can play, and suggestions for breaking through normal routines. Still, the book as a whole is not as much method as it is theory. For example, I came away with a better understanding of why and when I should consider using role plays than how to actually do it. I would have liked to see some discussion of the actual dynamics, such as Bill Bigelow outlines in the book "Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice."

Along the same lines, the specific examples given are usually summarized in a sentence or two. I wanted more: more details, more discussion of how those examples worked and why. The authors suggest, for instance, using role plays to talk through tough situations like a student dominating discussion (p. 145). But I'd think most instructors wouldn't have the time or the self-confidence to actually carry that out. A short case study taking me through an implementation of that strategy might have changed my mind.

Nonetheless, the book's suggestions are quite helpful (though at times repetitive) and turn the reader's attention to critical aspects of the teaching process most teachers rarely consider. Though it's uneven, I recommend the book to all instructors; you will find something in here which will improve your teaching.

All the world's a stage,including the classroom
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2000-11-27
The authors do an excellent job of connecting "performing" to the teaching philosophy of active learning. If you are already sold on active learning, you will find some of their material a bit repetitive. However, the authors' target seems to be people who use a one-way talk or "sage on the stage" style of teaching. For them, this book could be eye-opening, with its call for abandoning the "content provider role" and moving toward more interaction-oriented teaching.

Every chapter contains suggestions for exercises, many requiring physical movement and the cooperation of others. Many chapters also offer checklists for self-assessment, although I question whether untutored instructors will have the self-awareness to make good use of them.

Two things could be improved in the next edition of the book. First, the authors should eliminate the many very positive references & short vignettes concerning their colleagues' teaching. I'm sure most of the people named are exemplary teachers, but the snippets of material are much too short to serve a pedagogical function. Second, for a book by people apparently heavily involved in dramatic arts, there are surprisingly few in-depth lessons on how to take specific learning objectives & apply tips from the stage to achieve them. Many short references are made to popular plays and films, but they don't really add value to the book.

I would certainly recommend that instructors interested in active learning read this book. I'm not sure I would recommend its purchase. I should note, however, that with my purchase I received a bonus: pages 117-148 appeared twice in the book!

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U.S. Army Intelligence and Interrogation Handbook: The Official Guide on Prisoner Interrogation (U.S. Army)
Published in Paperback by The Lyons Press (2005-05-01)
Author: Department of the Army
List price: $18.95
New price: $3.99
Used price: $2.44

Average review score:

review
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-28
this book is a standard military text book. dry data. would be useful in a classroom setting but is vitual useless for personal reading. not reccomended.

The Rules, The Real Rules
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 43 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-27
One time in the Army I was being sent from here to there. I was put on a bus at some ridiculous hour like 3 or 4 in the morning. After a few hours on the bus we were let off in front of huge building with the words, "Go find the sign that says where you are going and wait under the sign."

There was no sign for where I was going. With great trepidation I went to find a sargeant and asked, "Where's my sign."

"You're not supposed to be here for another twelve hours, what are you doing here so early?"

What I wanted to say was that I was calmly asleep when some sargeant started yelling at me to get up, get dressed and get on this stupid bus that took me to here.

But I didn't think that that was wise, I don't remember just what I said. Anyway I was told to come back in twelve hours. I left there quickly.

In World War II German prisoners were taken to a large room and told to go stand under the sign of the unit to which they were assigned. If they couldn't find a sign they eventually went to a sargeant and asked. The sargeant would make a new sign for his unit. And the Army would then know that a new unit had been moved onto the battlefield. Something important for the Army to know, and something the soldiers had been told not to tell -- name, rank and serial number remember.

Here are the rules, and no, they do not include flushing the Qur'an down the toilet.

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When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle-Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store
Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press, USA (1990-02-22)
Author: Elaine S. Abelson
List price: $35.00
New price: $30.59
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Average review score:

interesting text, but it could have gone further
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2000-03-16
Having read this book for a seminar course in gender and consumerism, I found it very useful. Abelson spends a good amount of time (the first five chapters, in fact) focusing on the development of the department store and setting up the class dichotomy between the shop girls and the shoppers. She then spends the last two discussing the various ways shoplifting was diagnosed (such as by the creation of kleptomania). My issues with the book, however, were that Abelson never really discusses the issue of race (EVER), and also does not mention ethnicity. She also makes some very good arguements, such as when discussing the class dichotomy, but I feel that she could have gone further than she did with her arguements. However, I found it to be a useful and interesting read.

A Well-Conceived Book
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-04-13
Elaine S. Abelson's When Ladies Go A-Thieving is a remarkably ambitious book that seeks to examine numerous aspects of social history from roughly 1870-1914. While her primary area of investigation is the middle-class female shoplifter in the department store, her book undertakes serious examination of such varied concerns as class identity and class conflict, the rise of consumer culture, and the changing roles of women in society (and society's attempts to reconcile these new roles with existing gender stereotypes).

Abelson's thesis defies quick encapsulation, as it relies on several assumptions and takes form through multiple, equally important conclusions. As women's functions moved increasingly out of the home, and into the public sphere, one of her primary responsibilities was the acquisition of goods. That shopping was women's work (and leisure) was a widely understood stereotype. To address this demand, the department store developed as a place where a woman could see and acquire a large array of consumer goods. It also served to instill a "calculated arousal of desire" (11) and, according to Abelson, for many women the lure proved irresistible. They sought to acquire the coveted goods by any means necessary, and so they shoplifted them. Lower-class women, when caught, were dealt with as criminals.

Yet many middle-class women, who could ostensibly afford the items they stole, were also caught in the act. This reflected poorly on the department store's model of mass consumption, if not mass consumption in general, and it also upset contemporary stereotypical notions of female moral superiority and incorruptibility. Thus these middle-class crimes were swept under the rug with a diagnosis of kleptomania. A woman was seen as weak-willed, ill equipped by her very nature - her gender itself - to control her desire for consumption. The store thus could not be held accountable for its "successful stimulation of consumer desire" and the respectable woman could not be held personally responsible for her regrettable actions (196). Consumerist ideology would remain unscathed, as womanhood itself could be depicted as the ultimate culprit.

Abelson's book was particularly well received by critics, who found it very well written and full of interesting ideas, and found that the research carried implications across wide-ranging historic disciplines. A few questioned whether the evidence was sufficient for Abelson's broad conclusions. Specifically, Mark C. Carnes, writing for The Business History Review, questions Abelson's almost exclusive use of trade journals in her analysis of the extent of the shoplifting phenomenon, and wonders whether the "dire pronouncements of merchants ... accurately reflect the magnitude of shoplifting."8 Perhaps, he suggests, shoplifting wasn't so common as Abelson supposes. Carnes' perceptive review also calls into question Abelson's complete dismissal of kleptomania as a legitimate medical pathology, a point also made by several other reviewers. For Abelson, the only pathology is the pathology of consumption, and Carnes sees this as an "over-broad indictment." Shifting at least some of the blame back onto the women themselves, Carnes writes "To the Victorian men and women who placed so high a premium on self control, shoplifting was almost by definition symptomatic of psychological infirmity."

Anita Clair Fellman, in The American Historical Review, finds Abelson's book "well put together and suggestive" but faults her for failing to "elaborate the implications of her findings" and poses some questions to this end: "Is it significant that the stores' first pitch should have been toward women ... by no means the most powerful members of society? Does this tell us something about the ways in which middle-class women as a subordinate group were essential to the development of consumer capitalism? Might the acceptance of women's tendencies to kleptomania have contributed to the gradual demise ... of the notion of women's moral superiority?" Fellman is troubled that Abelson depicts women as being so susceptible to the "manipulation of merchandisers" and points out that this conclusion is at odds with that reached by Susan Porter Benson, whose Counter Cultures (1986) "assesses women customers as giving as good as they got in the ongoing struggle with department stores."

These qualms hardly detract from the ultimate achievement of Abelson's work. Indeed, it could be argued that many of Fellman's criticisms fall completely outside the scope of the book. Abelson's endnotes and annotated bibliography show that she has made exhaustive use of those sources that are available, from diaries, trade journals, and court records to contemporary parodies of shopping culture. She convincingly demonstrates that the shoplifting phenomenon, whatever its extent, was exacerbated by the deliberate enticement of the department store set-up and that it was dealt with, among the middle class, by shifting blame to a nebulous (though gender-specific) pathology. Along the way, she is able to illustrate numerous interesting aspects of consumer culture, such as its inherent class-conflicts and the redefining of women's roles and expectations. As such, the book is a well-conceived examination of numerous aspects of history.

Departments
The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud
Published in Audio Download by audible.com ()
Author: Julia Navarro
List price: $29.95
New price: $15.73

Average review score:

Not bad, Not great
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-25
This is an "international thriller" about events surrounding the fabled Shroud of Turin, the cloth with an image purported to be the image of Christ. Focussing mainly on the Italian Art Crimes division, the investigation of a fire in the cathedral takes on major international and historical dimensions the further the detectives delve. With two (or was it three?) groups opperating in opposition to each other, the art crimes people, and a free-lance journalist all thrown into the mix, this is a book that has some serious potential for action.

And there is quite a bit of good stuff in this book. All the conflicting arguments about the provenance of the Shroud are brought forward and discussed, which was interesting. And the secret societies, standard fare in this sort of book, are done fairly well.

But the style is plodding in many places. This may be an artifact of the translation of the work from Spanish, but it didn't help. The characters never really reached out to me, seeming to be pre-formed to fit certain expectations as opposed to being real people. The modern action is inturrupted by flashbacks of the Shroud's history. These interludes were interesting, but did little to advance the plot except to presage discoveries that the characters are going to make later on anyway. And the conclusion, while exciting, proved a disappointment to me in several ways.

A decent book, but not a great read. The history and debates about the Shroud were well done, but the characters and overall plot were a bit stale.

Badly Written
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-13
I can't believe I stuck to this book through the end. I started skipping the "historical" flashback chapters about half way through the book. The last 25 pages were not clearly written, it was up to your imagination to fill in the gaps. The reporter is off doing her thing but we have no idea how that relates in time to what the main character and his entourage are doing until the very end. The writing about Jean (a very minor character) and the reporter read like a story from someone in junior high. I, also, will not be grabbing a book off the shelf with this author's name on it.

Very good and accurate.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-10
This is a great book, for those of us who are fans of historic novels; this book will definitely be very satisfying. It contains a very accurate history of the shroud and it is very well mixed with fiction (not something absurd). I didn't give the whole five starts since the ending wasn't that good, but at least it wasn't something totally unbelievable.
I would definitely recommend it, especially to those interested in very good historic novels.

No thrills in this thriller
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-31
I have no doubt that the author researched her subject, but I think she would have been better off by presenting it as nonfiction since this novel certainly fails as fiction. There are a lot of conversations and very little action and even less description. The tale is interrupted repeatedly for flashbacks to the history of the shroud and for some bizarre reason, they are done in a style that is geared toward the limited comprehension of 9-year olds and indeed sounds as though it were written by a 10-year-old. Way too many characters muddy up a simple-minded plot and because the author fails to give us good in-depth portrayals, I certainly do not care what happens to any of them. I think (not sure) that the main character was supposed to be the lead investigator for the Art Crimes Dept., but he is not very bright so accomplishes little. It takes half the novel for him to decide to turn a prisoner loose and follow him (hopefully to learn more), and the rest of the novel for this to take place. When the prisoner is turned loose, there is a Keystone Kops farce where crowds of different people with different agendas follow the prisoner. I will be reading no more novels by this author.

Good, but Disappointing in the End
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-26
Overall, I enjoyed this book. At least until the end. The conclusion of this story was totally disappointing and anti-climatic. For a story written in such detail and intrigue, the lack of same at the end was a big letdown.

If you enjoy "christian" / Templar related mysteries, you will probably like this book. Just don't expect much from the ending. Kind of a "and that was it" finish.

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Death in Paradise: An Illustrated History of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner
Published in Hardcover by Stoddart (1998-07)
Authors: Tony Blanche and Brad Schreiber
List price: $24.95
New price: $8.22
Used price: $2.24
Collectible price: $30.95

Average review score:

Superficial and semi-literate
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-27
Published in 1998, "Death in Paradise" is a sort of prehistoric attempt at the popularization of gore that has become a craze thanks to "CSI" and similar schlock-shock efforts.

To call it superficial would be kind. It is so thin that it is kind of, well, film-y.

The early history of L.A. slaughter and retribution has some interest, since most retellings of L.A. murder start much later -- with the bombing of the Times offices, or later. After that, it's a retelling of well-known cases (like the world needs a few more paragraphs about O.J.) combined with what appear to be rewritten press releases from the coroner's office.

There was a story to be told, and it peeks out of "Death in Paradise" here and there.

The authors are semi-literate.


Gruesom pictures? What gruesome pictures?
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-11
Nothing in this book would be inappropriate for a 6-year-old to see. All the pictures were in black and white and NONE of them were gory. This book is just recycled stories we've all heard about dead celebs with a portrait of them included. It should be called "My First Mystery Book". Very disappointing.

highly interesting, but too short
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2003-06-07
Los Angeles County Department of Coroner: 19000 cases a year, 10 percent of these cases homicides. 20 autopsies per day. 180 embloyees. The second largest department of coroner in the USA and the only one world wide with a gift shop (aptly named Skeletons in the Closet).

This book introduces you to the tasks, history and famous cases of LA department of coroner. DEATH IN PARADISE opens with an overview of the coroner's tasks and a brief history of the department, which both were interesting for me. The next chapter concerns early coroner cases from the days, when the west was wild (You think today's crime rates are extremely high? Well, you'll be surprised to read that in 1850, when California joined the union, Los Angeles with its population of about 4000, had one homicide per day!!!)
The early coroner cases chapter is followed by the most interesting part of the whole book, a lengthy account of coroner's cases involving the rich and famous, from suicides of now long forgotten movie stars of the silent film era to celebrity death of today. Did you know that in 1932 successful actress Peg ENTWISTLE jumped to her death from the big "H" in the famous HOLLYWOOD sign (which read HOLLYWOODLAND by then)? Lots and lots of celebrity deaths are covered: the shooting of mobster Bugsy SIEGEL. The assassination of presidential candidate Robert KENNEDY in 1968. An escalating domestic violence incident, which cost the live of movie star Lana TURNER`s lover Johnny STOMPANATO, when TURNER`s teenage daughter stabbed him. The demise of folk legend Janis JOPLIN due to an overdose. Marilyn MONROE's suicide. The terrifying slaughter of the "black dahlia", later the subject of a bestselling novel (this part of the book is especially gruesome). The death of journalist Ruben SALAZAR, who died during a 1970 riot when a police man accidentially fired a tear gas projectile in his face. And many, many more...
It goes without saying that book features the horrifying deaths of Sharon TATE and Nicole BROWN SIMPSON - would a LA true crime book be complete without these infamous cases?
There are many enlightning black and white photos in the book, which nicely accompany the interesting text. Believe me, this book is very compelling reading and will appeal to every true crime buff, Los Angeles citizen or fan of the QUINCY TV series. It is a real page turner.
My main complaint is that the book is really short. It has about 190 pages, but please consider that the authors use double spacing, so you likely finish the book in one evening or two. I was also sometimes disappointed, because I had prefered to be informed about some celebrity deaths in greater detail (most cases are told in two or three pages).
P.S.: Do NOT believe the promotional blurb on the back cover (a quote from HUSTLER magazine publisher Larry FLYNT: "Blanche and Schreiber have finally done the impossible - that even I could not achieve - publish a book with photographs that should be censored.") There are not that many horrifying pictures in the book. If you want to see really shocking true crime photos better buy SHOTS IN THE DARK or the even more disturbing DEATH SCENES.

Fascinating book
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-11
This book takes readers behind the scenes with the L.A. County Coroner's Office, revealing the details of some of the most notorious deaths of the twentieth century.
Beginning with Wild West-era lynchings and turn-of-the-century mass-homicides in Chinatown, the authors demonstrate how the coroner's job has evolved into a state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar operation responsible for cleaning up the 200 deaths that occur in L.A. every day. In addition to the science of death, Death in Paradise also examines the cultural and political atmospheres surrounding L.A.'s most infamous murders, suicides, and overdoses: from Barbara La Marr to Bugsy Siegel, the Black Dahlia to Marilyn Monroe, Janis Joplin to Bobby Kennedy.
Interesting book but not enough decent picures.

Very Nice, to the Point LA Crime History!
Helpful Votes: 5 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-11
Granted, the history of LA crime may be about the nice overwritten subject out there! Still, this is a fine, right to the point,breezy (even on such a gruesome subject) book, though it does have a few gruesome photos, most notably the 12 year old girl abducted from school in 1927, and dismembered. The early history of the big city is also fine, including some shootouts I was not aware of. If you want to learn about the struggling actress who jumped off the "Hollywood" Sign, a woman who survived being thrown off a bridge at three, and is still living in the area, the Thelma Todd suicide (?),and the Black Dahlia case, here's where to look. Not to mention other better known examples of the coroner at work.

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Cracking the GRE with CD-ROM, 2006 (Graduate Test Prep)
Published in Paperback by Princeton Review (2005-06-14)
Author: Princeton Review
List price: $31.95
New price: $11.00
Used price: $0.46

Average review score:

Good for general review, not for scoring extremely high...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-24
I feel that Princeton Review books are best for people that want a simple and easy to understand review of the most important concepts and strategies useful for the GRE.

The math review is easy to understand. The strategies for the verbal section are clear.

The Princeton Review books ARE NOT enough for high scorers. The math problems are far too easy for someone that wants to get an 800 in math.

For instance, I scored 800 on the Princeton Review CD tests with tons of extra time left and while I was watching TV, playing with the dog and using half a sheet of scratch paper. I'm not THAT talented in math.

Kaplan's, Barron's and other books have much more challenging CAT software. They are better for high scorers.

So use Princeton if you want a painless review and need to score between 600 and at most the low 700s in math. The verbal section is better, but if you want to score over 700 in verbal you need more practice material. Kaplan's verbal tests are relatively challenging, in my opinion. This is especially true when it comes to reading comprehension passages.

Solid -- especially helpful for the writing section
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-11
This is a pretty solid all-around GRE prep. Especially helpful, though, is the part about creating templates to deal with the analytical writing session. This advice in itself makes the book worthwhile.

Decent, But Not the Best
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-07
This GRE prep book has a fairly decent Math review and Verbal review, but the practice tests both in the book and on the CD aren't very difficult compared to the actual GRE. It has some good points on how to write the Issue and Argument essays, but the Baron's prep book is much better in all areas. It's good to use this book along with other guides like the Baron's simply because they have a few different points, and getting all the practice possible is what will ultimately help you in the end.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY OR STUDY TIME
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-23
Please do yourself a favor and buy the Kaplan review book, as well as the book ETS publishes. This book has AWFUL advice and wildly unrealistic practice tests. The tests on the CD rom often repeat questions already answered in the book and have produced a range of scores which in no way reflect my scores on the tests ETS provides in their book (which are the real deal). The only saving grace of the Princeton Review book is the fact that they provide 4 or 8-week study schedules combining work from this book and the ETS book. My advice -- just make your own schedule and try to stick to it.

good for review, but tests on CD repeat a lot of questions
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-11
the math review in PR was, i thought, the best amongst the main players (barron's, kaplan) - though i am very good at math, so i didn't need a lot of explanations regarding some of the shortcuts, etc., they have in this book. verbal was pretty solid in terms of instruction as well. you want to supplement the vocab here w/ kaplan's word list and barron's top 300 words. vocab is key to the verbal part of the exam, but you don't need to go overboard and learn 3,500 words (in barron's) unless you have time to prep that much...it's overkill. 600-800 is about right, which is what you'll get if you combine all sources. the one major negative - PR's tests are really easy. well, moreso because they repeat a lot of questions from the book. not to say the real exam is much harder than PR's, but it would probably be a good idea to try a few different books for more realistic tests (kaplan and barron's are pretty good). again, it's not so much that the questions here are very easy, it's that a lot of them are repeats.

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The Gourman Report: A Rating of Undergaduate Programs in American and International Universities
Published in Paperback by Natl Education Standards (1996)
Author: Jack Gourman
List price: $19.95
Used price: $0.51

Average review score:

Unbiased and authoritative!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-06
I love this book! It is so accurate and fair. Some individuals might be bitter ...because it rightfully ranks the medical school at Queen's University (Canada) well under the University of Manitoba... but you can't argue with the facts. Thank you Dr. Gourman for your unbiased report.

So what does the Market say about the Quality of Gourman's w
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-21
You've read the critical reviews that dismiss Dr. Gourman's research and publications. But what does the MARKET say about his work. Last published in 1997 for $21.95 and today, eight years later, the LOWEST priced used copy here on Amazon is NINE (9) times that original retail price.

Go figure .... and who do you believe?

Useful but biased
Helpful Votes: 11 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2000-10-20
As mentioned in the previous review, Jack Gourman (who taught at the University of Michigan at one point) heavily favors large state universities over private insitutions, which leads him into making such howlers as declaring Michigan to be one of the three top undergraduate institutions in the country.

Michigan is a fine institution, but like any state university, its mission is to provide an education to the youth of the home state, which means that it is not going to be able to recruit and accept the best students nationwide.

State institutions also offer courses of study (e.g., Home Economics, Agriculture and the like) essential to the well-being of the home state but generally not among the course offerings of the best private schools. Unlike US News, Gourman is vague about how he weights the various factors he considers, but it appears that he weights these programs on a par with Mathematics and Physics.

Having said all of that, I found his lists useful as a cross-check against other rankings. For instance, Gourman lists the University of Delaware as one of the top 10 institutions in the country in Chemical Engineering. That's obvious once you think about it (Dupont is headquartered in Delaware), but I hadn't thought about it until I read his book.

In the meantime, Jack, if you want to be taken seriously, disclose your methodology.

Unreliable information
Helpful Votes: 15 out of 21 total.
Review Date: 2001-01-12
It is impossible for me to view this report as credible and reliable without knowing anything about its methodology. For all we know, these rankings may represent nothing more than the author's personal opinions. Every other ranking publication, no matter what the subject, explains its criteria for selection and ranking. It frightens me that high school students are relying upon this misinformation when applying to colleges.

Good for the U of M
Helpful Votes: 8 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-18
The Gourman report is a very good source for the evaluation of undergraduate programs across the country. There is an obvious bias of Professor Gourman that forces him to favor large state institutions instead of smaller liberal arts schools. When he ranks the top 100 schools, he gives Harvard and Princeton the number 1 and 2, at number 3 he lists the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor. Swarthmore College weighs in at 97. A lot of people would disagree with this ranking, but Gourman makes a point I agree with. Gourman argues that the larger state schools (especially schools that draw from all over the country and not just their home state such as Michigan, Wisconsin, California-Berkeley, and Virginia) are the best schools to receive a degree from. I agree with him because the strength of programs he evauluates are obviously better at the larger schools than such schools as Williams, Swarthmore and Amherst. While you may disagree with his rankings, it is hard to argue with the depth of support and statistics he deals with. It is also impossible to argue with his ranking of the U of M. Go Blue!

Departments
Cracking the GRE with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2005 Edition (Graduate Test Prep)
Published in Paperback by Princeton Review (2004-06-15)
Author: Princeton Review
List price: $32.95
New price: $17.85
Used price: $0.45

Average review score:

Good math section, weak vocab.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-07
This book was very helpful in preparing for the quantatative part of GRE if you (like I) have not done math in a long, long time(good strategy advices, just enough practice questions), and had good strategy advice for the verbal and writing parts. However, vocabulary list is NOT enough to adequately prepare for the exam (unless you are satisfied with a lesser score). They operate on the principle of "hit parade," or the most used words on the test, which is not enough in case you get (and you always do) some more "obscure" words. I would still recommend this book for its Math and Writing sections, but would suggest that you also buy Barron's GRE Prep for their extensive vocabulary section. Also, I did not use their CD, since I don't have an Internet access on my laptop, so I can't tell you about that part of the book.

Good introduction to the GRE
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-12
This book is a good buy over all. It has a good vocabulary list with good descriptions of what the words mean. The math section is week at times and should only be used by those who have not done math for a long time and want to brush up on their skills. A beter book for the math section is Barrons. The sample questions in this book are also very week and the test is a lot harder especially the quantitative part.

Decent for beating the test, not the material
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-11
This is the ideal book for those who don't have the time to study the actual material. It is chock full of hints and strategies, but the review of the actual material was pretty good. I found that what I really needed was to review the material, and the test-taking strategies really got in the way. Unlike many others, I did not have trouble with the online tests, though it took me two days to get my computer updated with the proper software. In the end, I ignored the online tests, using them only as a way to practice taking the test, not for evaluating my progress. I then focused on studying the discussion of the material itself, and did really well. My advice? Ignore the test-taking strategies, focus on the review material, and don't use the online tests to evaluate your progress.

Misleading information - website does not work
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-30
This book advertises on the cover that you will get free access to GRE tests online for practice purposed. When I try to login I just get an HTTP/404 error.

When I called tech support they told me that they no longer allow access to the website for my edition of the book (they want me to purchase the new 2006 edition). The book does not state anything about my edition (2004) expiring after a certain time, and nor does the website. What a rip off.

Worthless software
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2005-05-31
As many others have noted the book is passable, but the software attached to it for the computer simulated test is simply a disaster. Not only it sometimes ditches your whole test instead of grading it, it demands a registration (which results in a lot of spam), and the program didn't even adapt itself to my display format (i.e. you have to hold the "appropriate" display mode or part of the screen (including the crucial bottom buttons) will be offscreen. Considering I basically bought the book for the computer tests besides making it REALLY annoying to read the long texts with small font, this is just worthless and the work of complete amateurs. Granted the GRE is a silly test, but I would have expected some level of professionalism from those who describe themselves as experts. The book itself I found nearly worthless since the questions in it are too easy and you are simply not going to learn math and vocab from one single book in a rush.


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