Security Books

The author explains vendor independent concepts of load balancers and discusses their (dis)advantages.

He is dividing them into four major applications:

* Server Load Balancing (63p)
* Global Server Load Balancing (19p)
* Firewall Load Balancing and (15p)
* Transparent cache Switching (8p)

additions:

* application examples (4p)
* future outlook (2p)

What makes the book so enjoyable to read is the authors love to the details. The story just flows very smooth.

Especially the thorough explanation, screenshots and technical details deserve the mark "distinction" (Very good). While I read the book it was like puzzle peaces suddenly falling all together to show me the bigger picture.

I did like the follow up of technical issues like session persistency (server affinity), URL switching, system design vs. functionality considerations and the limitations that come with the chosen solutions. The described issues are exactly those that system designers will face in real life and it doesnt stop there of course. The book is laying a good groundwork for development of advanced concepts.

The part of the book that I enjoyed most was the chapter about firewall solution concepts. As the author points out correctly the traffic flow in both directions must be managed. This is also why the setup from a redundant firewall to a load balanced redundant firewall must justify multiple complex issues.

In this case the author went through the analysis of the traffic flow, a stateful vs. stateless discussion, a layer2 vs. layer3 discussion, proxy firewalls, synchronized firewalls, multizone firewalls, VPN load balancing, active-active vs. active-standby discussion and the interaction between routers, load balancers and firewalls. While some topics could only be scratched on the surface the concepts and ideas behind it are explained very clear.

There is no doubt for me that a 2nd edition can easily just pickup where this edition left off. The author clearly shows that there are more scenarios to be discovered and discussed.

On the one side I would love to see a updated 2nd edition from the same author, on the other side I guess it's been hold back to keep the competitions products in a distance ;-)

Also the book was published 6+ years ago I felt that the concepts did not loose any of its value. Which leads me to the point that this must have been " THE Technical Book of the Year 2002"

This book still receives well deserved full marks.

Bravo !!

if you are new to load balancing, get this book. Clear concept explanation, with diagrams. Highly recommend.

With his background in server products and networking products, this author is uniquely qualified with the product experience to present these topics.

From the simple beginnings of DNS server load balancing Kopparapu explains the driving forces behind and solutions presented to load balancing. The majority of the book is an introduction to the concepts and solutions available for server load balancing suitable for everyone from business casual to advanced technical users.

In addition to detailed explanations, the author demonstrates load balancing techniques through a number of illustrations. The illustrations are detailed enough to explain the concepts, but occasionally lack enough practical detail to go out and bulid in a lab or on a network without further understanding.

In combination with a good manual from a load balancing product, any reader would have enough information to implement sophisticated load balancing configurations.

In addition to server load balancing, the text covers caching techniques available through the use of some layer 4-7 devices. Of all the topics this one is the least detailed in the text. The author understandably covers only that part of cache technology related to layer 4-7 devices. A great deal of the technology required to put together an entire cache system resides in other parts of the system outside of the scope of this book. The implications for the architecture of a network are far reaching and worthy of at one more dedicated book on the topic.

Finally, the author presents the topic of firewall load balancing. Like caching, this is a complex topic. A complete understanding of network security and firewalls would require at least a few other books.

For those that already understand caches or firewalls though, this book provides detailed information on how to scale those systems with layer 4-7 technology.

This is certainly the most comprehensive and easy to read text on the topic. Anyone who reads this will also look forward to future texts from the author on emergning challenges in layer 4-7 network security and streaming content and distribution.

Compared with Tony Bourke's book, this one depicts more on technical details such as how packets flow, how health check is done and etc.. On the other hand, Bourke's book mentions more about the basic concept and the introduction to current available products.

If you are interested in how load balancers are designed, this is the right book for you. However, if you are just shopping around and only want to know what load balancers are, get Brouke's one.

Btw, I was a bit disappointed at chapter 9. I expected to see more opinions on the future development of load balancers but it was not mentioned too much.

This book is a very well written and nicely organised introduction to server load balancing. The author describes the basics of load balancing, including NAT, session persistence, and network architectures. A discussion on application-layer parsing was quite good. There is also a chapter on global server load balancing (including incorporating load-balancing into the authoritative DNS server) which I found to be very detailed and interesting.

Much of the book is centered on how to load balance TCP (and to a lesser extent UDP), and the author uses HTTP and FTP as his primary driving examples. Throughout the book, the author provides some insight regarding what approaches real companies use (e.g. "this method is what Foundry and Cisco uses."), which I liked very much. Also, the illustrations were plentiful (although a bit primitive-looking).

There are only a few negatives about this book. The english writing is a bit stilted at times, and the chapters on firewalls and caches were basically rehashes of earlier chapters. Finally, I was hoping the author would have provided more detail on the load-distribution heuristics (which server to choose) with more metrics and actual real-world results.

I found the book to be extremely well organised. You will not get lost while reading this book, but you will need a university-level understanding of TCP/IP (and probably the link layer as well to get the NAT material) and networks in general to fully appreciate the matieral. Overall, a great book.

This book presents you with a step by step marketing plan template and clearly defines and explains what is the concept and the importance of each step in the plan. This is a great book for anyone in the public sector who has no marketing experience or background and is a great review for someone who does.

"Marketing in the Public Sector" by Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee provides ideas and advice on proven techniques for those in the public sector that reach and benefit the common good of the public.

There are three parts and 13 chapters. There are very specific and detailed sub-chapters within the main chapters, and they are listed in the table of contents.

1. Improving Public Sector Performance by Seizing Opportunities....
2. Understanding the Marketing Mindset
3. Developing and Enhancing Popular Programs and Services
4. Setting Motivating Prices, Incentives, and Disincentives
5. Optimizing Distribution Channels
6. Creating and Maintaining Desired Brand Identity
7. Communicating Effectively with Key Public
8. Improving Customer Service and Satisfaction
9. Influencing Positive Public Behaviors: Social Marketing
10 Forming Strategic Partnerships
11 Gathering Citizen Data, Input, and Feedback
12 Monitoring and Evaluating Performance
13 Developing a Compelling Marketing Plan

There are numerous real-life examples presented as case studies, basically.

One example in implementing information messages to the public is the Ad Council. The Ad Council is a private, nonprofit organization that taps volunteers from the communication and advertising industries to deliver governmental agency messages to the American public (p. 232). Not only must these messages be crafted well, but they do need to reach the targeted audience. There also has to be response. Response that can be statistically verified. The message is distinguished and emphasized so the target market audience knows about the campaign, believes they will experience the benefits promised, and thus are inspired to act upon it, or stop deleterious acts (p. 161). Like the private corporate media with its experience and sophistication, the government media is organized, tested, and methodical.

For the most part the term "methodical" is used in a good way. If there is a public message to be conveyed, it needs to be disseminated in the most optimum way. Many public messages are positive and conducive for the collective good of our communities. One example from many are the mascots such as Smokey the Bear for fire awareness, Mr. Yuck for poison labels, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Eddy Eagle for Gun Safety. These ad campaigns of course, are specifically targeted for children, yet also influence and remind parents to educate their kids on such potentially dangerous matters.

One doesn't need to be in the public sector to benefit from the information, case studies, and strategies in this book. The ideas can be used by many. There are dozens of pictures of ad samples and tables, and the index is comprehensive. Very good. Excellent for public administrators and students of Public Policy and Administration (PPA programs).

Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee encourage governments to learn from private sector marketing principles and techniques. It's a great idea, and they make a persuasive case that "social marketing" can change society, or at least certain aspects of it. The book is full of practical tips. Using examples from social marketing campaigns around the world, Kotler and Lee demonstrate how to apply basic marketing ideas in the public sector. Creative approaches have injected new life into many social programs, ranging from environmental awareness to customer service. We recommend this book to public officials and leaders of nonprofit organizations who are looking for new ways to educate their constituents.

The target audience for this particular book is government agencies. Inside you will find tools to get citizens involved with and supporting your agency, using your products and services, and how to influence public behaviors. The authors also include specific roadmaps to creating brand identity, gathering citizen input, and evaluating the results of your efforts. One of the better sections includes a how-to model for building an organization that is both high-tech and high-touch.

The book focuses on all levels of government agencies from the public servant trying to allocate scarce resources to governmental units trying to create social consensus to get things done. Loaded with lots of examples, Marketing in the Public Sector is required reading for governmental agencies.

At first glance you might think that this is a book on selling to the government. It isn't. This book is basically a primer, or a series of anecdotes or case studies where a governmental agency is attempting to sell their products or services to the public.

While we don't think of the government doing marketing, visit any Post Office and look at the ads plastered all over the place for everything from mailing supplies, to passports, to stamp collecting (where you buy a stamp from them and then don't use it for mailing - a lot of profit in that).

In addition to these actual products, there are a lot of stories about how the government wanted to influence behavior on the part of the citizens from litter campaigns (Don't Mess With Texas) to reducing drunk driving.

The intended audiance for this book seems to be organizations within the government who now need to communicate what they do, how well they do it, and influence behavior among the population. And that's the world population, not just the US.

Marketopoly is an excellent primer to real estate investing. Consider it an antidote to the ubiquitous information out there in the form of books and seminars on real estate speculation, dependant on unrealistic appreciation. Mr. Mackenzie has provided in an easy to read and understand form, the basic metrics for analyzing a piece of investment real estate. For this he should be applauded. Will this turn the masses into successful real estate investors? No, but it will give the reader a leg up on the competition. Read this if you are considering becoming a real estate investor instead of a real estate speculator.

Mark hit's it right on with MARKETOPOLY!
Mark will help you invest in today's markets to win! Is it the right or wrong time to invest in Real Estate? Mark book will show you it is the right time in many areas. So start making money in today Real Estate Market after you read MARKETOPOLY!

In today's shifting and confusing markets, you can't walk in blind and expect to make money. This truly is the Holy Grail of investing in real estate. Concise, powerful and easy for even the novice to grasp. A must have.

Cap rates, net operating income, cash on cash, absorption, rental surveys, internal rate of return, job trends & demographics, etc. -- all important measures. However, in this book Mark simplifies WHERE YOU SHOULD START and enables you to quickly determine the "temperature" of the market before wasting unnecessary time on the other formulas.

"Marketopoly" shares what should be a fundamental of real estate investing: All real estate markets are local. Even though the overall, so-called national market may be in a downturn, that does not mean that the ALL of the markets are bad places to invest. Mark shows a formula to determine which way individual local markets are trending. That way investors know where to put their money. I truly enjoyed this book and the no-nonsense perspective.

excellent reference material has been invaluable to me in the last week and has steered me into making some difficult choices easily

This book, especially if used in conjunction with the author's web site (see ASIN B0000C7RBX), is one of the most valuable additions to the IT security profession that I've read. My reasons for making this bold statement include:

- The book provides a coherent and focused approach to developing and implementing a security plan. You can find numerous books on writing and implementing policies and procedures, or establishing a security posture, but this is the first book I've read that steps you through the process of conceiving, implementing and keeping alive a viable security plan.

- By separating the process into three distinct domains (referred to as 'stacks') you ensure that your plan encompasses and integrates the technology, process and business elements into a coherent strategy.

- Artifacts in the form of a complete set of worksheets provide a set of tools that give a framework and speed up the planning process.

The planning approach set forth in the book is straightforward and realistic - you're led through the preliminaries, which includes conceiving a plan that matches your needs, and selling the plan to sponsors (an often overlooked, but essential activity when fighting for budget). The next step is to perform an impact analysis, and this is where the book shines, because the author focuses on business issues instead of technology. This promotes awareness and goes a long way towards getting buy-in and funding, as well as laying a solid foundation for a long-term security plan. Next the author shows how to select the correct security model and avoid common pitfalls. These lead to building organizational consensus - buy-in from all stakeholders. The difference between this step and the preliminary step of selling to a sponsor and obtaining funding, which is vertical, you need to promote the plan horizontally as well. The final steps are to implement and continuously refine the plan.

Of course, the overview above only describes the approach contained within the book. There is much more to commend it, such as clear writing, superb page design that portrays information in graphs, illustrations and tables, and the details the author provides. There is not a single statement or recommendation that is unsupported, and the material is both sensible and accurate.

In Mission-Critical Security Planner, Greenberg lays out all the security elements that should concern you and what questions you should ask about them. With this book, half the battle is won because you at least know how to do the planning. You still have to do the planning, but with the worksheets and tips provided in the book, that will be much easier than it used to be.

I read the book twice: once to get an idea of what all the worksheets were about and once to really read them with all the technical and practical details provided by Greenberg.

Greenberg identifies 28 security elements, including 15 fundamental elements, (six of which are core elements), and 13 wrap-up elements. Core elements include things like authorization and access control, authentication, encryption, integrity, nonrepudiation, and privacy. Those may seem obvious, but Greenberg has a lot of useful things to say about them that others haven't said.

Perhaps the most valuable part of the book is all the other elements, which we tend to forget, including addressing and routing (with tips on how to get those right from a security point of view), configuration management, directory services, time services, staff management, legal issues, and so on.

I'd be interested to see some projects get implemented with Greenberg's methods. I think it should work quite well, although due to entropy, laziness, over-worked engineers, and other such factors, I would guess that some of the numerous worksheets will fall by the wayside. But I think Greenberg would be OK with that as long as most of the worksheets are maintained and the company adopts security as a way of thinking.

In summary, this book is definitely worth reading, probably numerous times!

The truth is, hackers and other attackers won't take no for an answer, and while there is absolutely no way to stop attackers from trying; there are ways to stop them in their tracks.

With that, Mission-Critical Security Planner is a surprisingly good book, aimed at someone looking to start developing their information security infrastructure. Rather than having to reinvent the wheel, the book provides planners with the framework and tools they need to create their information security infrastructure.

One good feature of the book it is large collection of templates and worksheets on various security elements. .../

The book is not overly technical and is quite good for those who need to get their security group up and running in a short timeframe.

For those that are serious about security, they will find that Mission-Critical Security Planner is like a cookbook. They can use it to prepare their security as needed.

Overall, Mission-Critical Security Planner is a very readable and useful book. Those who have an imperative to get their security groups up and running will find huge value in the book immediately.

It is very rarely, that you'd see a good high-level security book nowadays. There are lots of great "worm-eye view" books with nice detailed descriptions of attacks, defenses, secure configuration options, tools and tricks. However, many of the high-level books resolve to quoting some outdated CSI/FBI survey, blabbering about security policy and giving out piles of outworldly advice on how to "mitigate risks".

This visionary book proves the opposite: you can have a high-level security book, which is not just practical, but actionable. "Mission Critical Security Planner" delivers a portion of the security process, packed into one toolkit. Make no mistake - this book is about planning how to do security, not how to tweak your scanner or configure a firewall. However, planning is indeed a critical (and, as the author points out, often missing) piece of security conundrum, and the book delivers on that.

An awesome component of the book is a large collection of templates and worksheets on "selling" security measures, planning the implementations, organizing security team, dealing with various business people and many other occasions. The book has the printed versions while its companion website criticalsecurity.com has the download.

The main part of the book is organized around "security fundamentals", large domains of security (such as authentication, encryption, integrity, privacy, etc), which are used to structure the security planning process, described by the author. For each of the fundamentals, the content is organized in sections: summary, security stack (covering various aspects from physical to application level), life-cycle management (from technology selection to response), business (on dealing with various categories of business people, such as suppliers and customers) and selling security (to execs, managers and staff). All of the above contain various templates.

Among the more fun parts, the section on negotiating with hackers is just exclusive and of the never-seen-before kind. Section in hacker profiling is also of interest, since it seems to originate from author's experiences (and not in just reading about it on the news). The book also demystifies such elusive notions as "impact analysis", "security ROI". PKI also has a prominent role in the book. While PKI (as it is defined today) might or might not fly, the book gives a great example of large-scale production implementation, running for many years. Another great feature of the book is author's "future 10 attacks list" with his predictions on threat landscape.

Overall, the book seems indispensable to those responsible for securing networks. Security managers and CSOs will likely gain maximum benefits from using it (due to the book targeting), but other security professionals will benefit as well. Notice, that the benefits can be derived from "using" it as opposed to just "reading" it, although even the latter will prove highly enlightening. The "selling security" templates alone are likely worth their weigh in gold. The book is well-written and, while not possessing the lively style of some recent security books, will beat some of them hands down in real-world applicability. After all, even if you very well know that IDS is valuable, who will help you to "sell" it to the CIO? This book just might!

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA, GCIH is a Senior Security Analyst with a major information security company. His areas of infosec expertise include intrusion detection, UNIX security, forensics, honeypots, etc. In his spare time, he maintains his security portal info-secure.org

This book is easily the best book I've read on personal finance. It is simple and yet very effective. It covers a broad range of money topics:
-Real Estate
-Credit
-Budget
-Insurance
-Road Blocks to Millions
-Investing in YOURSELF
-Passing it on to your kids
Each sectiuon is filled with advice and examples to help you become a millionaire. I see now how she can make the claim and live up to it. The techniques here will ensure that you stay smart about your finances. She teaches you how to save millions and earn millions. It's easy to save your way to millions. A little goes a long way. Khalfani says to invest in yourself. One way is to finish college. Statistics show that those who finished college earned a million dollars more over their lifetime than those who didn't. She also shows you how to save on college expenses. College expenses can top $100,000 at a private four year university. She suggest going to a community college for two years then finishing the rest at the university of choice. This little tip will save thousands and help you earn thousands more.
I love even more the story of the two best friends who lived nearly identical lives. The only difference is that one had bad credit, while the other had good credit. Over their lifetime the one with bad credit constantly paid more for the same items(car, tv, insurance, mortgage) then the one with good credit. Over their lifetime, Bad Credit cost the guy over $1,000,000, while good credit SAVED $1 million dollars for the guy with good credit.

I just finished reading Lynnette Khalfani's "Money Coach's Guide to Your First Million" book and will definately be recommending it as a must read to my friends. Now, it's not like Khalfani has any new words of wisdom on how to make it happen but she has a great writing style, lots of facts, and is highly motivational. Would you like to be a millionaire??? Others are. Others will be. Why not ME? Why not YOU??? Khalfani stresses the importance of goals, using integrity, and turning positive habits into positive results. Of all the advice in the book, the most important one is to start TODAY. Do something. List your goals. Brainstorm your talents. Shop for insurance. Yes, you CAN be a millionaire ... 25,000 people become millionaires every day. You'll come out with a whole new attitude with the phrase, "what's in your wallet?"

I enjoyed the book and plan on applying the principles in it (especially dealing with credit card debt). When I got to the investing part dealing with stocks, I got bored and it was hard to follow. Maybe it's just me and I need to review it again.

Get a pen and paper ready when you read this book. I took numerous pages of notes because all the information is needed at your fingertips to remember everything she discusses in order to succeed. The book gets you motivated from the beginning by doing exercises about debt and future goals. It becomes a valuable tool since you pick one short, medium and long term goal, and begin some sort of savings account for each one.

The most unique thing about this book is it speaks to the very common investor. You don't have to earn a lot or have tons of start up money to invest. There are options discussed on how to invest in real estate that are very valuable.

My only issue with the book was how effortless Khalfani seemed to erase her debt. Most of us don't make six figures, so it takes longer than she did to get out of the hole. The book does describe how to eliminate debt, and not the typical things every other author has written "Don't spend more than you make." But realistically you're probably not going to do it in the time Khalfani did. She had debt around $100,000 and paid it off in a year or so.

This is a great book for those looking to get control of debt and slowly jumping into the world of investing. You will be excited and ready to reach the goals you set in the exercises early in the book. Heck, you may even start setting up the spreadsheets recommended to track debt and monthly expenses. I use the spreadsheets and it has helped me keep track of my spending and given me the ability to make changes where I excessively spent in the past. The debt is slowly being erased at a rate that was my goal to reach, so it has also helped build stronger morale since the debt is finally going away.

I am not good with finances, but am determined to learn how to manage our money better. This book was a terrific place to start and everything was explained in simple language so that it made sense to me. I bought this book for both of my children in college and told them to read it cover to cover to help them set up a personal financial management plan. The book covers the basics, such as how to develop a budget that works, and also provides more details about things like how to make money in real estate and other investments. There are some excellent pieces of advice about how to get out of debt and prepare for unforeseen events that affect financial stability. Khalfani has really covered all the bases. I recommend it to anyone just starting to get their finances in order.

Lee Silber is a flat-out genius when it comes to teaching the business side of life to artists (right-brainers) who may have a block about such key issues as money management, promotion, and career choices. For everyone who has a starving artist in your family, do them and yourself a favor and get them a copy of this book. These books are well-written, funny, entertaining, and are taught by a man who has learned how to combine practicality with great creativity. This is a must read.

This book was an excellent read, helpful, and gets you brainstorming. It gives advice that motivates one to look for opportunities and to use one's strengths, which is to find creative ways to make more money and save more money.

It is definitely a great book to get you started and thinking about how to be smart about money and an artist. Lee Silber adds comedy and fun facts to the information making one's efforts to handle finances a little more approachable. This book opens your eyes and gets you thinking, the rest just takes action and more learning about investing, budgeting, cutting back on costs, and creating more opportunities to increase income.

I just finished this book and it's amazing! With most books I just read it then put it away forever. With Money Management for the Creative Person I am already putting Mr. Silber's valuable advice to work. What is so great about this book is that you not only get a ton of financial advice, but inspiration to keep creating in the face of adversity. The book it packed with real life stories from himself, celebrities and real-life people. It's very motivating. I highly recommend this book even if you feel like your finances are in order and you don't need help.

...and reading Mr. Silbers book has convinced me of this. Mr. Silber shows you how to set goals for money management and artistic endeavors without putting your life on hold. You can pay your bills and still pursue your art. This book shows you the way and explains how it is all about choices. The choices we make. The author's writing style makes the book fun to read and his easy to understand philosophy makes it believable.

Little did I know that AFTER I thought I'd never see the "light of day" concerning my finances, that this book would come into my life. It's informative, funny, well written, and just a great book for everyone. I've given it out to a couple of friends and then I thought, "Hey, GO BUY YOUR OWN!" Lee Silber is an author that makes it easy for someone, like me, that doesn't read a great deal, to flash those pages quicker than the remote on my TV. Thanks Lee! I can now go to sleep feeling like I can use your guides and NOT have to worry about what the Hell is going to take place tomorrow!

Wonderful workings of writing the whole truth. A must have, must read, must distribute widely!

This book is about the relationship between the United States and the Sioux Nation from the signing of the 1851 Ft. Laramie treaty up to the present. The book centers around the efforts of the Wounded Knee Survivors Assoc. and their attorney Mario Gonzalez to obtain a formal apology from the U.S. government for the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre and the establishment of a National Tribal park at the massacre site. This book includes:

*Gonzalez' diary entries from 1989-1992--an excellent window to see firsthand how contemporary tribal governments work and how Native Americans on reservations interact with each other on a daily basis.

*Commentary (called chronicles)by Elizabeth Cooke-Lynn explaining events described in the diary entries including Gonzalez' efforts in stopping the payment of $100 million claims commission for the Black Hills in 1980, and his efforst in Europe from 1981 to 1984 to get the World Court to issue an advisory opinion on the illegal confiscation of the Black Hills.

*Appendices that include a complete chronology of Sioux land claims from the signing of the 1851 treaty up to the present--a must for anyone interested in Indian land claims.

*Excellent footnotes with valuable information found no where else including information about Chief Crazy Horse's family members contained in the probate records of Chief Crazy Horse's father.

This book is FASCINATING and should appeal to everyone! IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN EVERY NATIVE AMERICAN STUDIES CLASS!

what elizabeth and mario have done is to create a work that will stand for the test of time! my favorite part of the whole book was when Elizabeth proudly states THAT NATIVE AMERICAN, ABORGIONAL, AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ARE NOT CITIZENS OF THE WHITE MAN'S NATION ! FOR EXAMPLE A PERSON WHO LIVES IN THE DINE NATION IS NOT A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THEY NEVER ASKED FOR NOR DID WANT TO BE CITZENS OF THIS PATHETIC NATION! THEY ARE CITIZENS IN THEIR TRIBE AND NATION NOT OF THE PATHETIC UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THE WORLD FOR THAT MATTER! READ THIS BOOK TO LEARN THE REAL HISTORY OF WOUNDED KNEE AND ABOUT A PEOPLE WHO ARE CHANGING HISTORY EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Wonderful workings of writing the whole truth. A must have, must read, must distribute widely!

What first strikes this reader is the very frank and engrossing personal narrative, as well as the description of the on-going political struggle of the Sioux in their battle for the return of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The diary entries of lawyer Mario Gonzales and the commentaries of Elizabeth Cook-Lynn gave me an opportunity to re-think important events in Sioux and American history over the past century (including Custer and the Little Big Horn, the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, and others). The authors also show very clearly how these linked histories continue to influence the actions of individuals (white or Indian) and governments today. Cook-Lynn is especially deft at evaluating the political, economic,and racial motivations of the various stakeholders, from the factions within different Sioux tribes, the governors and congressmen, federal agencies, to the white landowners. The centerpiece of the book is the fight by the Sioux for the return of the Black Hills (preserved for the tribes by treaty in 1868), as well as the related fight for a monument to the Sioux massacred by government troups at Wounded Knee. But as the story unfolds, it became a means for me to understand the treaty rights and sovereign rights of not just the Sioux but other Indian nations in this country. Gonzales relates details of the legal battles and community struggles, and shows an amazing persistence and courage in his pursuit of justice for the Sioux. I hope that other readers come away from this book with as strong a sense as I did: of our need to resolve these ethical and legal dilemmas by recognition of Indian treaty rights and sovereignty. I'm grateful to the authors for their frank discussions of the real difficulties inherent in this task, and for outlining the rewards to all of us if they succeed.

All the information you need in one place to quickly and efficently secure your networks and computers . Easy to read and understand but yet very technical in nature. Highly recommended for all levels of users from students to professionals.

This is a very comprehensive Internet security book that details the nuts and bolts of the problems and solutions in elbow-deep detail. It also addresses specific causes of the issues we face; from government interventions and plans to terrorism and crime motivations. Great book, I highly recommend it.

Internet security is critical to most modern organizations--which have systems links across enterprisewide networks and VPNs, as well as exposure to customers, competitors, browsers, and hackers. This practical guide to Internet security provides the means for such organizations to effectively protect their sites from internal and external threats. It provides real-life scenarios and examples, as well as hands-on instruction for securing Internet communications.

So many Internet security books focus on theory and concepts but miss the practical aspects of security. This book gives it all to you, theory, concepts and practical steps you can take to deal with Internet security. I highly recommend it.

John Vacca has done it again. He has not only made a complex technology easy to understand, he also identifies the pitfalls and solutions that one has to be aware of in order to survive in this ever increasing world of network hacking, terrorism and identify theft. The book is extremely well organized and very consistent in the way it describes the various Internet and Intranet technologies, and the security issues and solutions associated with them. This book is a must for operating system and network managers, as well as information technology specialists that must develop and maintain distributed data management applications that operate in secure environments.

This is an excellent first book on the subject of private mortgage lending.

If you have no idea if what private mortgage lending is about, it has enough detail for you to understand what the business is about and how to get started.

In my opinion, it does not spend enough time explaining the "Gotchas". It has plenty of information to get you started but not enough to keep you out of trouble.

If you are interested in engaging in this business as a lender, by all means buy this book first, but when you have read it two or three times, be aware that you need to know a lot more about troubled borrowers, real estate inspections and appraisals, real estate title problems, bankruptcy, and local forclosure laws and procedures before you start lending your own money.

This is a very helpful book on the topic of hard money loans. It also touches on investing in discount notes. Even an experienced investor will find some helpful nuggets of information in this book. This book not only showed me the way to safely invest & build personal wealth, but it gave me insight as a mortgage broker looking to place my clients with hard money loans. I called and spoke with co-author Matt Tabacchi recently, and he is still in business with 4 branch offices...I may even place some of my money with him to lend in Florida.

Clark's book covers the basics that any investor will need to know, including why to choose private mortgage investing (and what your other options are) and how to go about doing it. It covers all of the different aspects of mortgages such as fees, interest rates, and even has handy tables to help you out. The appendices are the best feature as they have all the forms you will need as well as a comprehensive glossary (very useful!). This book covers everything you need to know to succeed, but were too scared to ask about. It even has case studies and examples explained with real numbers that help tie the whole thing together. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to start earning money with private mortgage investments.

Clark and Tabacchi have created a masterpiece of an educational and supportive tool that should become a desk reference for any investor from amateur through industry mogul. By providing the reader with an organized and easy to understand manual on the otherwise opaque investing industry, Clark & Tabacchi display their expertise in this subject matter by guiding the beginning investor through the processes of choice from traditional savings through stocks and bonds on to the lucrative market of Mortgage Investing.
The explanation of the reasoning behind the private mortgage industry that tells you why you would want to find yourself in this industry gets the juices flowing and interests peaked. Your journey includes a thorough exposure to strategies of Mortgage Investing, this resource is a must have companion.

This book is straightforward and gives you a tremendous amount of information about investing in private mortgages. Unlike a lot of books of the investment genre, it does not try to sell you on services provided by the authors. In fact, I wish the book had a bit more reference material for making contacts to get started with this type of investing.

What an amazing book. Marvelously written, highly informative, i was shocked and entertained, page after page.

A compassionate, humorous, meticulous and nothing short of brilliant piece of writing.

One most definitely does NOT have to be transgendered as am i, to marvel at what is in this book. As a matter of fact, since we already know what we are going through, it should be required reading for the part of humanity that needs to know, that is not transgendered.

Bravo Deborah, bravo.

Jamie Antonia Symonanis - author of 'You're Lost Little Girl'

I was most impressed with the information that was included in the book relative to my own identity problems (?). It gave me some insight into the emotional battles that have brewed within my self over the years. I wish that I had this information many years ago. We are really not male or female, rather, we are a blend of human nature.

Thank you,

Herb

This is the best Gender-related book I've read thus far. It delves far beyond the woman-in-man's body metaphor to cover historical and current theories about gender and why, like any other human phenomenon, gender is represented best by a biological diversity not necessarily aligned with one's natal genitalia. It also delves with style into recent history offering a chilling echo from Nazi Germany into what intolerance holds towards gender variance. This is a book that everyone over age of 18 ought to read. The personal accounts were also very telling. Great book.

For the past couple years, I have been devouring every book I can get my hands on about gender variance, and I have read some really good ones. The one I just finished is among the very best yet. It's a recent offering (published 2005) by Deborah Rudacille. It's called The Riddle of Gender: Science, Activism, and Transgender Rights.

It is refreshing in that it has no axes to grind, and it is written by someone who is sensitive to the subject matter (she began the research when I friend chose to transition); knowledgeable of the general body humanistic thought that comes from feminism, postmodernist philosophy, gender studies and queer studies; and who knows reaearch and science (she's a science writer working at Johns Hopkins). What's more, she is uniquely knoweldgeable about the special area of environmental estrogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals like DES. Rudacille is a powerful advocate, and I believe her so proficiently bringing together the science, the history, and the voices of transpeople will have a profound effect.

As a science writer, she is, first and foremost, a talented writer. The book is especially valuable for presenting lots of different perspectives and distinctive forms of information and thought without recourse to jargon or the conventions of speech typical of academic publications.

Each chapter includes an extended interview with a trans person. Most of these subjects are successful professionals and/or activist advocates. They are articulate and experienced voices that manage to say, in their totality and unity, "We are not mentally ill. We are not moral degenerates. We are products of biochemistry, and we are interesting human beings worth getting to know."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I learned a lot I didn't know!

Dan Mouer, Ph.D.

As somebody in the midst of transition myself I have devoured many of the "must read" books on this subject and more besides. At this point I have started to be cautious about my selections since similar information is often duplicated, especially in the non-biographical works.

What a joy then to read this book, which introduced me to so much new information without ever feeling like hard going!

If you think this is purely looking through research for why we (TG's) exist you are grossly underestimating the author. True, she examines that research, but puts it in the context of politics, public opinion, and ethics of the time. She also asks some tough questions that made me re-consider my position on several issues.

Whether you identify as transgendered or are interested in understanding you have to add this to your compulsory reading list!