Departments Books

The U.S Department of Defense has put out the handbook for U.S. Army Rangers, and this is the book to get on the subject. You can find out information Troop Leading Procedures, Waterborne Operations, Combat Patrols, pretty much anything you would ever want to know about army procedures, is in this book.

Just recently purchased this book and have gone through it a few times already. The print is kinda small and it is definitely not something you would want to take out on the field, but overall I consider it to be a great supplement to FM 7-8. This may be a harder book to read if you are not familiar with basic U.S. military terms.

I ordered this product to help me brush up on my Army knowledge after I was called back to active duty. It is comprable to the Ranger handbooks that you get on an Army post, except this book is significantly larger and seems to be an older version than what I was used to carrying. Not a bad thing to purchase, but much too large to carry in your cargo pocket.

I have read the reviews above and I have read this book, in many formats and many times, this book is a stellar reference when it comes to the principles of Patrolling, TLP, MDMP, various other things that not only Rangers but every Soldier should know.

This is NOT the version that the army issues. It is identical in every way except it is in a bigger version. The Army Version is in fact pocket sized, this is not. This is still a great desktop version/version for dudes that want to learn about military matters.

One warning, this book is dry, and only exciting if you are familiar with military terms, and graphics. Like I said, this one is identicle to the Army issued one except for its size.

This is definitely one of those books that is a must read for every Soldier, and anyone curious to learn about how Soldiers operate.

Sorry man, your wrong this is not the the Army Ranger Handbook. I just received the latest Army Ranger Manual from the cadre at 4th RTB, Fort Benning. The manual I received from this seller is NOT the latest version / not any version the army would give to a Ranger.

I'm a big fan of Are you Being Served, the long running British sit com set in a London Department store, so when I saw this title "Camping in and Other Fiascos" by the show's long time producer, I Thought it would be a behind the scenes peek at a show that in 12 seasons must have had some very interesting tales to tell.

The forward, with comments by some of the surviving cast members seemed to support this. Then I got to the meat of the book. Each chapter is in fact a novelization of an episode, but with other, well known vignettes from other episodes worked in.

While this might make funny reading if you've never seen the show, long time fans can almost repeat the scripts themselves. Without any bonus materials THIS is in effect, a re-run of well known episodes.

I'm a fan of the show. I'd love a chance to tell the cast members how much I've enjoyed their work, but this tome? Not worth the price of postage.

I haven't seen this in over seven years. It doesn't matter. If you U.S. citizens can pick up PBS on your tele, get on over there at about 11PM. Don't watch the news. It'll just repeat what you saw during dinner and read in the newspaper and/or on the Internet, and depress you besides. And, since I mentioned meals, give you indigestion. I lived in the U.S. for 36 years, and the last newsperson I watched was probably Walter Cronkite. So, blow off the news and watch this show instead.

I have no idea why I'm writing this. It's been ages. But, I stand by it. Unless, that is, Dubya lobbed a few smart bombs at PBS under the Patriot Act. One can never be sure.

(Bombs smarter than the president, I might add.)

Besides an eleven-page introduction ("AYBS? Then and Now") and two pages on "The Birth of AYBS?," this book only contains scripts in story form from seven early episodes of the long-running Brit comedy. The stories include: "Camping In," "Up Captain Peacock," "Wedding Bells," "His and Hers," "Coffee Break," "The Hand of Fate," and "The Clock." There is also two sets of full color photos from the episodes. Some of the screen shots are not even from the episodes in this book as a couple of the photos have Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Harman whereas the stories have Mr. Grainger and Mr. Mash. There is nothing new or exciting for the fan who already has a few books about the show. If you want to curl up and read these episodes as stories, this is the book for you. I, however, would rather pop in the video.

This book is not a good introduction to Grace Brothers for the uninitiated. I enjoyed the stories very much, but I had long ago memorized every episode of the BBC series on which they were based. The stories differed in dialogue and small plot points with the episodes on which they were based, and it was those differences that kept me reading.

Are You Being Served was genius because of its writing and the talents of the actors and actresses. In the written medium, only the former comes through, and without the timing of actors' execution, it seems a little wooden. Still, if you can supply their voices in your head, you'll probably enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this book but I do think this could have been more... More insider tid-bits for the die-hard fan...For people who are very familiar with this show it might be nice to have had a more gossip-y book (more like the show public tv puts on about mrs. slocumb)...

It reminds me a bit of the iron chef book. Fun to get but nothing really that the true fan wouldn't already know.

I can see this being an adorable addition to a theme basket with a *tea* theme... teas. tea ball, tea pot, scones and this book. It might be a nice way to intoduce someone to the show or a good book for a very new fan.

I bought this book while searching for a distance graduate degree in Biology. The book indicated that there was one University that offered such. However after contacting that University, I found that there was no such offering, nor had there ever been.

Though it seems that there are plenty of other schools to choose from in other subject areas.

This book appeared to review a random sample of programs. It did not even include two programs from leading Universitites that I already knew about. The book was worse than worthless.

Did the authors realize that over 80% of the Colleges they put in this book require some "on-campus" requirements? Suppose I live in New Jersey and attend a school in California,and I'm required to be on-campus 2 times a year for a week each time, HOW is that considered "Without leaving home" ? Some Schools in THIS VERY BOOK require students to attend weekend seminars 3 to 4 times a year!!! Can Somebody do us all a favor and recommend a book that has Distance Education with "100% NO ON-CAMPUS requirements" ? Please Change the TITLE of the Book. Going from Maine to Arizona DOES indeed require travel.

I was led to this book as a subscriber of the free Virtual University Gazette. The Gazette is published online each month by Vicky Phillips, and lists new distance learning programs as they come online each month. By combining this book and the free listings in the Gazette I got the most accurate idea of where to attend graduate school online. See the Gazette at http://www.geteducated.com. The book and the Gazette are a god-send. Unlike other guides this one only lists a) accredited degree programs; b) programs that truly can be completed from the comfort of your home.

I was going crazy with all the hype I'd read online about distance learning. Bought 3 books to determine where and how I could earn a master's in human services. Best Distance Learning Graduate Schools is the book I found the most useful and accurate. Returned Peterson's Guide and Bear's book. I especially liked the introductory chapters on how to design your own degree and accreditation. Phillips and Yager are real pros.

ok... don't even bother studying for GRE's. waste of time. really. when you register to take the test, they send you a cd with sample test. look at that to get an idea of the format and type of questions. that is good enough. don't even bother studying the vocabulary either. hardly any of the words will appear and you will forget all of them by the test day anyways and none of them will be remembered later on in life. Also, the words they ask in the exam- noone even uses! so it's not even a useful life skill. and if you do end up using the words you learn in the GRE book, nooone will understand you, which defeats the whole purpose of communication. ok that's it. just be well rested, sharp and awake. you'll do better that way:) there are better ways to spend time.

Don't buy this book!

I have the 2nd edition (the edition prior to the 2005), and it is full of obvious errors, in both the study section and the answer key! If you use this as your study aid, you will learn to do things incorrectly. The Princeton Review needs to proofread their study guides before publishing them. This study guide is a disservice to chemistry applicants everywhere.

I love this book, It is the answer to my prays. It presents the material in a way that is very easy to understanding. It gives an example of a problem and then shows the steps to solve the problem.

This book is very informative on how the test is going to be set up, tips on how to prepare with many different types of practice exams, and it also gives you 2 types of studying plans that breaks down things you should accomplish and study each week.

I am not a native speaker and started to study with Barrons and was overwhelmed by the 5000 word-list and the huge amount of information they are trying to get across. The Princeton Review helped me to get the strategies to use on the GRE. It is probably true that the practice examples (even the hard ones) are a bit too easy. After working with the Princeton Review I therefore returned to Barrons to practice. A combination of both seems to be a good strategy.

This was a basic read, for thse already into the methodology explained throught the book. Would be a useful tool for someone just starting out. I would recommend expanding on the disaster recovery portion, and possibly adding a section on managing in the non-profit arena.

This is something for a new manager with little experience in not only systems administration but supervision. This book may give a clue to someone who has just stepped into such a position but provides little depth and direction. Unfortunately, there isn't any one book out there as management is a very complex role that encompasses many disciplines, any one of which would be a volume in itself. I was very dissappointed and I find the other reviews misleading.

Technology can change all it wants but the fundamentals of being a good IT Manager have changed very little. This book hits all the major areas of focus from staffing and budgeting to infrastructure and disaster recovery.

The section entitled "Certification: How Do I Know Its Worth" applied 10 years ago, and still applies today. Right on the money and a good brief for an IT Manager building a team. Also, small but extremently important policy issues like email and security are included.

I do think that the book included slightly heavy doses of technical information such as a full page table of different memory technologies as well as an entire section entitled "How Do I Configure a Server". These would service a Network Administrator or Engineer just fine but an IT Manager ? Not so much. Don't let this detract you from the overall picture though. Too much information is certainly better than not enough.

I have to be honest, I didn't read this cover to cover. But for someone who has spent time as an IT Manager in the past and one who is looking at doing it again, I was able to re-establish concepts and draw on new tools that, no doubt, provided benefits.

This book is written only for the very basic beginner in IT. If you have been around an IT department for any length of time, you will find it difficult to pick up any new management thoughts in this book. For example, the entire topic of ERP systems is covered in 2 pages.

This book is full of practical examples. It is useful to people who have in-depth programming knowledge but no idea how to do a budget or interview job candidates. I found this book specially timely, given that my team is composed of several technical professionals who are now considering a move into management. The information in the book is well layed out and quite accessible.

This is a DoD publication that assumes you have access to military munitions. If you don't have access to C-4, RDX, Claymores, satchel charges and the like, it will be hard to make full use of this book. If you don't have mil-grade explosives, study some chemestry and buy a book like "Improvised Munitions".

That said, it gives ideas on how to make use of various situations, e.g in buildings, roads, forests, etc. to slow and demoralize an enemy.

It was what I expected but a little dated 1969 but a good basic book on IEDs, things that went Boom in 1969 still go Boom in 2008. Good basic cookbook for teaching the basics of IEDs to a novice audience concerned with basic detecting, deterrence, and bomb searches. It was worth the price.

Halloween's usually such a drag every year, with all those little monsters ringing the doorbell and playing pranks. Ever find yourself wishing they'd just stay out of your damn yard? Oh, sure, I've got a BB gun, but it's so hard to hit their piggy little eyes in the darkness. Stronger measures are called for.

I'll have some surprises waiting for 'em this year, boy! Oh, yeah.

This is a must for anyone begining to look at secuirty for remote places as well as trigger devises for urban implacements

I bought this book solely because I am the curious type. I found it interesting in its presentation of so many ways to hurt people, but not necessarily useful in actually duplicating the traps. This is probably one of those books used to back up whatever an instructor is trying to convey, but without the instructor some of the language is vague and some of the illustrations are less than clear. I don't think there is much danger of an untrained person actually building most of those contraptions, so fear not America. You're still safe from me.

While I can appreciate the need for a grounding in the basics of computer security the author goes about it poorly. The book layout on first pass seems passable with gratuitous usage of charts and visuals, but as the reader goes through the actual information you begin to realize that much of the information is rehashed in various forms. If you were to cut out the added redundancy, the book would be two-thirds it current size.

I also agree with a previous reviewer that some of the information seems a bit contrived or made-up in terms of modern day lingo use. The "drive by hacking" descrip the author uses in chapter two is accurate, but is more prevalently known as wardriving but the author does not identify that to the reader.

One thing the author does do well is reinforce concepts through questions that are interspersed throughout each chapter as well as "Thought questions" at the end of them. This being a first edition, I hope that subsequent editions are improved especially considering the price of the text. As book alternatives, Network Security Bible (basic level) and Security Warrior (intermediate) are good reads at a more palatable price.

This is an excellent book -- really gives you a security mindset. Informative, yet still an easy read. The only think I didn't like is the price of the book -- but I bought it using a coupon from UnderTag.com, so it ended up being a bargain for me!

Dear Mr. Panko,

If you are going to write a book this bad and irritating to read, the least you can do is sell it cheap, so that when a poor undergraduate student is forced to use it as a textbook, he will at least have some money left over for food.

Good luck with the second edition,
Wils

I just finished reading this one and I found it to be very helpful for a person trying to find management level understanding of security, I have been working with networking and security for the last 10 years of my life and it has been very helpful to pinpoint several management aspects that technology savvy people (I prefer that over geek) usually don't follow or look at. I enjoyed the explanations, everything was very easy to read and understand, the introduction to cryptography is simply one of the best I have found out there. Again, if you are a technical guru looking for technical advice there is no much use to it in this book, OS, Networks and other practitioner level stuff are not well defined, simply mentioned for reference or examples. Another part I liked about it was the level of detail that the author had to reference the attacks and statistics, which a lot of us love to read and know about. Finally, make sure to get edition 5 of the book, I am referring to edition 4, I am sure that there is a lot to cover in a couple years regarding security and the way to go about it. I got the book from the university package so I wont be getting the new one, it's simply overpriced in my opinion.

I purchased a copy of this book for a network security class. In a way it has been a great read, for humor. The terms and programs are dated at best, made up at worst. An example, 'drive-by hacking,'I have NEVER seen this anywhere. It is commonly refered to as 'war driving,' showing its lineage to 'war dialing' or 'Snooping'. I have worked in IT security for the past 3 years and I find this book insulting. But, for a plus, it is a convenent size to use as a clip board, and it does hold papers down on my desk well.

The Encyclopedia of wood is a good reference text for forestry students or those wishing to learn about the scientific aspects of many wood species. For those wanting reference material for wood working it is too technical. There are many other books available better suited for crafts people.

The USDA Encyclopedia of Wood has a tremendous amount of information on wood, and is a very good buy for the price.

I got this book for my dad, because he is constantly building and working with various types of wood. He loves it, and constantly will use it on every single project he tackles. This was a great buy!

Warning: this is not an encyclopedia of boners. The title is misleading. I was sorely disappointed.

For anyone interested in wood, in its ability to withstand stress, its bark, shrinkage, moisture content, fastening it to things, or even its preservation this is a wonderful book. A work of the U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service's Forest Product laboratory it is not strictly an encyclopedia but a collection of essays, pictures and descriptions of various aspects of wood.

The first sections detail types of wood, structure of wood and physical properties of wood. Later sections examine more obscure mathematical concepts regarding wood such as stress grades and structural analysis equations. Important chapters detail types of fastenings, drying and control of moisture as well as protection and preservation. An important chapter examines the use of wood in buildings and bridges. This is not a book that is a `how to' regarding wood. It is also not a book about all the types of wood in the world or how to identify all of them necessarily. It is rather a collection of sometimes seemingly unsystematically collected material on wood and many aspects of it.

An interesting book.

Seth J. Frantzman

The work is pooly researched and based on an unauthentic manuscript, which the author refers to as the Goindval Pothis. Before selecting and basing one's thesis on a primary source, it behooves a scholar to ensure that it is authentic. Gurinder Mann has failed to do so. Scholarly analysis, _Early Sikh Scriptural Tradition: Myth and Reality_, by Balwant Singh Dhillon (Amritsar: Singh Brothers, 1999) shows that Gurinder Mann's _The Goindval Pothis_ and subsequent works are highly problematic. They are based on his pooly written PhD thesis. Dhillon's aforementioned work is a definitive refutation of all of Gurinder Mann's research. Save your money and purchase Dhillon's work which provides a much better understanding of the Sikh cannon and also gives insight into work by fading scholars such as Gurinder Mann.

I would highly recomend this book to any one who is interested in the Sikh History, particularly the history of Sikh Scriptures.

An earlier critique of "The Goindval Pothis" described Dr. Mann's work as "poorly researched and based on an unauthentic manuscript." As an avid student of Sikh History, this could not be farther from the truth.

The authenticity of the Goindval Pothis is supported by numerous references to them throughout Sikh historical literature and can also be affirmed by the direct descendants of the fourth Sikh Prophet, Guru Amardas, who have preserved the manuscripts (the Bhalla families in Jalandhar and Pinjore). If these two principles are correct i.e. a firm tradition in Sikh literature acknowledging the Goindval Pothis, and the traditions of the Bhalla family who are descended from Guru Amardas, then according to Professor Mann, "they [the Goindval Pothis] can play a crucial role in our understanding of the evolution of the text of Sikh scripture, and are thus a rare and important item in the Sikh religious inheritance."

Professor Mann's work provided an exceptional insight to the evolution of Sikh Scripture into the form that millions of Sikhs revere today, the Adi Granth Sahib.

Furthermore, what really stands out to the reader is the depth, analysis and extent of the research Mann has conducted to undertake this study. A work such as this is priceless because it will only serve to benefit future generations of Sikhs (and non-Sikhs alike who wish to study the origin and development of Sikh Scripture).

The book has also taken a fundamental step to eliminate any confusion that may exist in Sikh thought regarding any "differences" between the Goindval and Kartarpur Pothis and the Adi Granth Sahib. This has been done with a clear yet detailed analysis that leads Professor Mann to a resounding conclusion, "with the help of these foundational manuscripts [Goindval Pothis and Kartarpur Pothi], we can draw a detailed picture of the expansion of the Sikh sacred corpus and its canonization. They do not challenge the central position of the Adi Granth in the belief system of the Sikh community. To the contrary, they reaffirm it."

As a young member of the Sikh-American community, Professor Mann's research and analysis is deeply appreciated and will serve as a gift for generations to come.

Mann, along with several other scholars (including W H McLeod and Harjot Oberoi), has been the recipient of much unfair criticism for authoring scholarship that dares to run counter to Sikh tradition.

Sikhs desperately need to realize that scholarship is of little value unless it is free to disagree with tradition.

The hostility with which scholars of Sikh studies have been greeted every time they deviate from tradition threatens to repel scholars of repute from the area of Sikh studies. Sadly, such a trend is already visible today.

Amazon's synopsis/review refers to "G M Singh" and appears to confuse the author's name (G S Mann) with that of another author (G B Singh) who wrote on similar topics.

To the best of my knowledge, Bachittar Singh Giani's work (referenced in another reader's review appearing on this page) is primarily a critique of Pashaura Singh's and McLeod's works and does not mention Mann (the author of the book under review) by name.

It is difficult, however, to verify this since Giani's book does not contain an index.

While I have not yet read Mann's book, I am aware of the general theme of its contents from other publications that have discussed Mann's work.

I feel that both Sikhs (especially future generations) and the area of Sikh studies can only benefit from scholarly critique, investigation, and treatment of Sikh scripture and related documents.

Mann is a respected emerging scholar in the field of Sikh studies (he has a post-graduate degree from Harvard and a doctorate from Columbia) and deserves to be read.

Gurinder Singh Mann's work is by far the most detailed study of the Goindval Pothis, two sixteenth-century Sikh manuscripts, to appear in print. It is divided into three sections. In the opening section, Mann introduces the history and textual issues related to these manuscripts. The second section gives a detailed table of contents of these texts. The third section presents the compositions that are available here but did not make it to the Adi Granth, the Sikh sacred text. Given the fact that only a handful of scholars, less than six as Mann claims, have been permitted access to these early manuscripts, Mann has done great service to the field by telling the world what is contained in these texts. His research fully supports the Sikh traditional understanding regarding the role of the Goindval Pothis in the compilation of the Adi Granth, but does it with hard textual evidence. Mann is a rare breed of scholars who brings a very high degree of scholarly rogor to his work without losing a deep sympathy for the traditional beliefs. I would strongly recommend this book to any one who is interested in early Sikh history or more specifically the history of Sikh Scripture.

Took the test a while back using solely this book and the mail-in study guide that comes with registration for the exam. Ended up with a 97 on the test. Definetly worth the money.

I initially ordered a book from a course online, and wound up spending over $200 for that book. To be safe, I had ordered this book as well, and found this book to be superior - providing more depth of information than the other course that cost > 5x as much. It gave practice exams, on different topics, and is very good for the money. The test wound up being much easier than the tests oulined in this book (always a good thing.) Notwithstanding the merits of this book, the next Suffolk test won't be for another 4 years or so.

I just recently took the Suffolk County Exam last Saturday on the 9th of June, and this book was not at all helpful. The images are not clear among other things. FYI, the Suffolk County PD sends you test prep information prior to the exam (about 1 month ahead). Trust me this is all the help you will need. This book was a waste of my money!

I guess for a test that comes out every 4 years or so their can't be to much updating. Atleast have clear pictures, several pics are hard to exam.
I can barely answer questions made for the pictures.

Now that I have taken the Suffolk County (NY) police exam, I can write a true review of how useful this study book was. The next exam may be more than 4 years away, but at least those taking that will have some help to go by!

First off, the book is broken down into sections, and offers dozens upon dozens of partial practice exams, presumably from old police exams. There are some good things about the book and some not as good, but now you'll know.

First off, the Suffolk exam, as of 2007, contains 3 parts: cognitive abilities, work styles, and life & experiences. The good part is that this book has plenty of all of those things, and if you do all the practice exams, you WILL be quite familiar with typical scenarios in all 3 sections.

The downside is that Rudman (the publisher) includes sections from what I'm presuming are other police exams. NOW HEAR THIS: the Suffolk exam DOES NOT contain the following: word analogies (SAT style), spelling, grammar, knowledge of police procedure, mathematics, or cultural/sociological info. For some reason however, this book DOES include most of those. Here's my tip: ignore them, skip over them, etc., etc. Trust me, I'm not trying to trick you. (You won't be competing against me in the next exam, god willing!)

Basically, the cognitive abilities section contains exactly what this book says it does, so trust it and do all of those parts. There's PLENTY of matching pictures of suspects, getaway cars and weapons that you have to very meticulously match. There's plenty of lists of procedures for responding to a call, where you analyze or put them in order. There are maps where you follow road routes. There are descriptions of suspects where you pick out the one who's not the same guy. Note: if you've taken NYPD, this part of Suffolk is the same as the entirety of NYPD.

Another thing there is NOT is memorization, you will not be asked to memorize a picture and answer questions based on what was in it. NYPD does that, not Suffolk.

The second part, work styles, asks you on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) how you feel or how you'd think about something. Examples include how your bosses would describe you, how much extra work you like taking on, how successful you were in school (HS only, Suffolk as of 2007 doesn't require college, unfortunately). Basically, if you do all the practice exams in this book, they will also serve you very well. Carefully analyze which answers in the 1-5 scale are considered the most points, and you'll begin to get a picture of how Suffolk wants a police officer to think and behave (the caveat being, don't lie...hopefully you truthfully do feel the "right" way).

Finally, the life & experiences section will ask about ethics, opinions and flirtation with both good and bad activities. Be careful and try to think like a police officer would...I can't really say more...or I'd have to charge you $400 for the Suffolk Police Study Course! Just to give one example from this section, you might see a question about seeing your best friend commit a crime. Hint: always say you'd turn so-and-so in right away.

I really hope that this review will help some people do well on the Suffolk exam next time. Now that this book is out and around, you can even get it used and save a chunk (though make sure it's not written in).

The reason I even out my review at 3 stars is that there's great content for the 3 sections of the exam, but you need to filter out the stuff that's NOT tested on this exam. Pretty much follow my advice, hopefully some others will leave some reviews here as well. Best of luck!