Software Books

Not only does the author write well and explain concepts expertly, but from the effort she expended in putting together the instructional materials that readers can download to follow her along for the "hands on" parts of the book, one could tell she understands very well what readers need from a tech book writer!!

Great tutorials and help on author's website. Definately a book for someone who needs to start from the beginning!

I am very happy with this book: it's easy to read, the structure is very intuitive and logical, and everything you need to know is covered. If you're just starting with WCF and you're looking for an excellent resource on the subject, look no further.

I purchased this and Lowy's book on WCF. Of the two, I'd say this is the one that will make WCF real to blue collar developers. More technical books need to be written this way. The author does an outstanding job of describing the pieces and parts of WCF from a functional standpoint before leading the reader through simple step-by-step exercises. These do a solid job of reinforcing the theory. I normally blow off working through sample code in technical works, but with WCF, it really helps to explore some of the nuances to things like serialization, callbacks and security. These are best appreciated by doing hands-on walkthroughs and fortunately, the author has provided very good examples in the companion download.

Lowy's book is good for different reasons, but I feel far more conversant in the WCF area having read and re-read Bustamente's book. Lowy's is a nice companion and it goes deep into stuff that, unless your current project really needs it, you'll brain dump in two weeks. Quote Lowy at swank cocktail parties with the hoi poloi, but use this book when you want to gain a solid understanding of this thing we call WCF.

Bustamente writes clearly and to the point. Git r' done types like me who are interested in exploring the functional without getting lost in the minutiae will appreciate Learning WCF.

This book is not about SOA although the author does touch on some basic premises governing what it does for the enterprise. Unlike Lowy, there weren't any real groaners about how SOA is going to replace OO and end world poverty. OO maybe got 30% penetration among software developers in formal polls. (As an informal measure, go into any MS shop and check out how many OO diagrams are created by devs in their work and you'll see what I mean. Most MS shops won't even spend money on third party modeling tools.) SOA isn't going to do any better and it addresses a different set of problems than does OO. Bustamente gives developers a solid grounding in appreciating what WCF can do while leaving all the fluff about "paradigm shifts" and what-not for others.

This is a very good book to get started quickly with WCF. Specially useful are the setup instructions and the section on hosting, which can be big gotchas with new technologies like this one. The section on security is a nice touch.

Here is the table of contents in case you are wondering:

Chapter 1. Hello Indigo
Section 1.1. Service Oriented Architecture
Section 1.2. WCF Services
Section 1.3. Fundamental WCF Concepts
Section 1.4. Creating a New Service from Scratch
Section 1.5. Generating a Service and Client Proxy
Section 1.6. Hosting a Service in IIS
Section 1.7. Exposing Multiple Service Endpoints
Section 1.8. Summary
Chapter 2. Contracts
Section 2.1. Messaging Protocols
Section 2.2. Service Description
Section 2.3. WCF Contracts and Serialization
Section 2.4. Service Contracts
Section 2.5. Data Contracts
Section 2.6. Message Contracts
Section 2.7. Approaches to Serialization
Section 2.8. The Message Type
Section 2.9. Summary
Chapter 3. Bindings
Section 3.1. How Bindings Work
Section 3.2. Web Service Bindings
Section 3.3. Connection-Oriented Bindings
Section 3.4. One-Way and Duplex Communication
Section 3.5. Large Message Transfers
Section 3.6. Custom Bindings
Section 3.7. Summary
Chapter 4. Hosting
Section 4.1. Hosting Features
Section 4.2. ServiceHost
Section 4.3. Self-Hosting
Section 4.4. Hosting on the UI Thread
Section 4.5. Hosting in a Windows Service
Section 4.6. Hosting in IIS 6.0
Section 4.7. IIS 7.0 and Windows Activation Service
Section 4.8. Choosing the Right Hosting Environment
Section 4.9. Summary
Chapter 5. Instancing and Concurrency
Section 5.1. OperationContext
Section 5.2. Instancing
Section 5.3. Concurrency
Section 5.4. Instance Throttling
Section 5.5. Load Balancing and Failover
Section 5.6. Summary
Chapter 6. Reliability
Section 6.1. Reliable Sessions
Section 6.2. Transactions
Section 6.3. Queued Calls
Section 6.4. Summary
Chapter 7. Security
Section 7.1. WCF Security Overview
Section 7.2. Securing Intranet Services
Section 7.3. Securing Internet Services
Section 7.4. Working with Certificates
Section 7.5. Building a Claims-Based Security Model
Section 7.6. Exploring Federated Security
Section 7.7. Summary
Chapter 8. Exceptions and Faults
Section 8.1. SOAP Faults
Section 8.2. WCF Exception Handling
Section 8.3. Exceptions and Debugging
Section 8.4. Fault Contracts
Section 8.5. IErrorHandler
Section 8.6. Summary
Appendix A. Setup Instructions
Section A.1. Database Setup
Section A.2. ASP.NET Provider Model Setup
Section A.3. Certificate Setup
Section A.4. IIS Application Directories
Appendix B. ASP.NET Meets CardSpace
Section B.1. Information Cards and CardSpace: A Brief Tour
Section B.2. Identity Metasystem Participants and Browser Flow
Section B.3. Let's Log In with CardSpace!
Section B.4. Processing the Token
Section B.5. Associating Cards with User Accounts
Section B.6. Creating a Dual Purpose Login Page
Section B.7. Conclusion

This book covers most everything the wanna be Mac tech needs to know to be able to get into their system intelligently, without making expensive mistakes. It's not preachy or over technical from my standpoint, and it makes a great reference for when you need to tackle a problem yourself, rather than spending a lot of money for someone like me to come out and fix your computer.

I like the bredth and depth of the information given so much, that I am going to use it as the class text in my free Mac Troubleshooting class at Santa Ana College

This book is very good. It is one of the few books that is comprehesive of the entire Mac line (from the original mono-MAC to the iMAC). So many Mac books now only focus on the current models forgetting the earlier ones.

It is arranged by topic (memory, hd, input devices, etc.) and very easy to use. It is also suprisingly accurate. Twice I have found the information in the book's spec tables to be accurate where Apple's own ServiceSource specs were incorrect. (If only I had access to where they get their info!) :-)

Want to work on Macs? Get this book!

This book has really help me. It contains information about troubleshoting, installation, upgrade and more. Good graphics, easy to understand tables and easy to follow instructions.

Tremendous Trememndous. This book helped me upgrade my old SE-30 for use as a networked print server in my apartment. It got me set for networking 7 computers together on a LAN, including the fun ways that Macs talk with Windoze boxes and a Read Hat machine. I love this book!

Shortcuts, ways to speed up the machine, preemptive troubleshooting tips and more interesting info than you could ever retain.

If your Mac's out of warranty, you have nothing to lose by trying to fix it yourself. Stauffer's the man when it comes to clear explanations of needed repairs. I replaced the hard drive and CD-ROM drive following his book's advice. The book paid for itself.

There have been a couple of other books on message passing, but most of them have been anchored to a particular operating system or language. This book is the first to offer a general treatment of messaging, as a way to merge disparate middleware installations.

At the end of the day, messaging technology is just another way to allow distributed code to interact. Blunden takes the time to compare and contrast messaging against other distributing computing techniques. The result is that the reader can understands the relative advantages and limitations of messaging, so that they can use the right tool for the right job.

At every turn, Blunden grounds his explanations using concrete examples, so that the reader has a solid frame of reference (I can appreciate the author's humorous 10-page implementation of a DCOM server, basically to demonstrate how awkward a distributed technology can be... it's no wonder DCOM faded away).

The author of this book has obviously seen combat in the trenches. The fact that he would discuss deployment requirements like auto-update and secure network communication is proof enough.

I particularly enjoyed the bits of storytelling that Blunden hides in between technical discussions. In one part, he talks about working at a company in the throes of Y2K conniptions: "Like a 15-year-old kid studying for an algebra test, the company that hired me had waited until the last minute to do its homework. In September of 1999, the CIO put down his copy of Fortune Magazine long enough to realize that something needed to be done. Angry customers might file lawsuits, which would ruin the CIO's plans for a weekend cottage in Bermuda."

This book does an impressive job of looking at a "niche" of computer science and analyzing it in the backdrop of contemporary production requirements. The book provides an extensive presentation of background theory, a 10,000+ line working system, lucid documentation, and a discussion of alternative improvements and approaches.

To demonstrate the cross-platform/cross-language feasibility of his distribution, the author offers three different client pieces (C, Java, and Perl). This is a round-trip explanation of messaging passing that does a conscientious job of covering all the bases.

This is a very instructive learning-by-implementing book, in the tradition of Tanenbaum's MINIX. Blunden walks one through an in-depth analysis and implementation of a real message passing server.

I'm a little put off, though, by the fact that I find 10 5-Star ratings for this book, all posted on the same date by the same reviewer. C'mon.

I bought this book with the expectation that the Bluebox message server would be a token implementation.

Whoa! Was I wrong; this book shows the full monty! It includes a message server engine, a log server, a database interface, a license server, and auto update engine, recovery facilities, and a heartbeat monitor. Fortunately, the 100 or so classes that make up the distribution are well documented and a user manual is included in the book. The last few sections of the book also have some interesting anecdotes that are worth reading.

The MicroStation CAD Manager book is loaded with practical examples and exercises that really allow you learn by doing. This book is an excellent by for anyone who is trying to navigate their way through MicroStation's workspace!

This Rowse Company publication, the companion piece to the Rowse 4-day training class, is an excellent resource for any MicroStation CAD manager. It's a comprehensive approach to building all the necessary components that constitute the MicroStation "workspace", the backbone of any good MicroStation environment. This manual provides instruction on creation of such key elements as cell libraries, color tables, font libraries and seed files. It then demonstrates how to pull all these important ingedients together into a server-based, corporate space that is the vehicle for implementing and maintaing CAD standards. This book has been invaluable to me as a guide to truly efficient CAD administration.

The most complete guide to managing MicroStation I've seen yet. I would highly recommend this book for any CAD manager.

Footnote : This book is the courseware for the "MicroStation CAD Manager" class offered by Rowse Company.

I have taken this course at their site and have recieved the book, which is an astounding composite of insite and skill in regards to management of Microstation (A CAD Software program)
the company "Rowse Company" is bar none being the most company/family oreinted company that, continues to drive towards the future of design and production, I continue to deal with the software/reference material and they are the "Most professional people" I have ever met............ the bottom line is they are there for
the professional to design and empletment their product or expertise ... morning, noon, and night ... and actually care
my hats off to them..............
GODSPEED

This book is a Bible for Microstation Cad Managers. It covers everything from installation to cad standards and details each aspect of developing a custom workspace for your office. I am constantly refering back to it. I took the course that this book was created for and it was worth the money to just walk out with the book. At the current price, it is a steal!
If you are a Microstation Cad Manager or just want to customize Microstation to it's fullest, you need this book.

This book lives up to all its good reviews. Guarantee yourself a better grade by buying and reading it. It is exactly what it says, a "Study Guide". Although you can pass the exam with just this book, I recommend learning the material in a lengthier manner. Either take the instructor-led courses or buy the Microsoft training kits (I bought the kits), and then read this book just before you take the exam, using it as a "Study Guide". With the help of this book, I passed by a wide margin on my first attempt. There were a couple items covered in the book that were not covered in the MS training kit, but which did appear on the exam. (I won't be specific because of the NDA).

I share all the opinions above. Though the book is rather thin, the content is a real treasure. It covers all one needs not only to pass the NetEss exam but also to get a real knowledge of the subject. I used it together with the Exam Cram and scored 900+ points. It's written very professionally. And it's amazingly cheap! I would strongly recommend the book to everybody learning networking and working towards MSCE.

This book was very easy to read and gives most of the important details needed for the exam. Since it does not include example questions, I used transcender exam questions as a supplement. When I first took the transcender tests after reading the book I knew enough to BARELY pass if the transcender had been the real exam. After doing transcender over and over until I scored 100% then taking the real exam, I passed with a 900/1000 (766 required to pass).

A friend recommended that I purchase a Kinnaman MCSE study guide for my first exam. I have since passed two tests, currently studying for my third. These books are all you need to pass.

This is a concise book which will get you passed on the 70-058 exam and teach you something along the way. You could pass the exam with just this, but I would recommend pairing it with the Microsoft Press study guide as Kinnaman's networking essentials book has no test questions.

Easily the best book ever written on managing complex software projects. Even more relevant today than when it was written, it has been my project management companion for years.

I read many object oriented and agile books published recently. In a Mymocks book store near Townhall, this book is wrapped. It raised my curiosity since it is such an old book. I ordered a used book from Amazon.com and it is still cheaper than the discount book seller in Australia.

Half way through, I realized that Agile process is not a new thing, it exists before it was called Agile, just like AJAX exists before it was called AJAX. Do you know how Martin Fowler called Java POJO? Martin learnt from a joke in this book.

It is book on Agile practice even it never mentioned Agile in the book.

Half-way through this book I decided I wanted to burn every copy of the book. If other people read this book, then they'll all know how to manage object-oriented software projects too!

I swear that Booch was spying on several of the so called "projects" that I was a developer on. It is simply amazing to me how many times the so-called "Harvard School of Business" techniques are used to manage an OO project! I have learned through the school of hard knocks what Booch has written about in this book (wish I had discovered it sooner, a couple of pointy haired bosses could have used it!). Anyway, Booch breaks OO management into seven chapters: First Principles, Products and Process, The Macro Process, The Micro Process, The Development Team, Management and Planning, and Special Topics. I especially found interesting his descriptions on how NOT to run an OO project (oh, and he gives plenty of examples on HOW to run one too!). Booch covers OOA, artifacts, OOD, methodolgies (a biggy with me even on a one person project), evolution (gosh! who would have thought you could have cyclical development???). Identification of classes, objects, symantecs, relationships, etc. He then tackles the team environment: roles and responsibilities (especially the manager's responsibilities!), resource allocation, and tools (this book is not a plug for Rational Rose BTW). Finally: managing risk, planning and scheduling, staffing, costing (a tough one), Quality Assurance (this is not testing!), and he talks some about projects in crisis and what to do. The last chapter is kind of a catch-all containing: User-centric, Data-centric, and Computation-centric systems discussions, along with Distributed, Legacy, Information Management, and Real Time Systems. The appendicies contain: a summary of recommended practices (for those wanting to create a methodology), and rules of thumb. There is a great index, bibliography and glossary to tie up the package nicely. Booch has a terrific writing style presenting what would normally be a dry subject! Definitely for the computer Project Manager's shelf!

I had no hesitation to give 5 stars here. The book is really very good. Honestly, what do you expect with such a book ? To learn valable advices, to understand them, and to have fun while reading. Such a book exists : this one ! How many time I asked to myself "Yes ! What a good idea ... and so simple" or "Of course ! That's it". I really read it like a novel. You can bring it with you for your hollidays (like me), without the feeling to get boring with professional stuff !

Hi,

This book is great for DBA and Developper alike. I would recommend it to anyone working with Oracle, even if you're not working to solve performance issues. With all those tips at hand never your application will suffer from poor programming.

Guillaume

I highly recommend this book as a handy reference to keep at your desk. It is full of handy tips and a great assessment for reviewing your own environnment.

I love reading this book. I typically read a few pages before bed. It's filled with lots of practical examples and suggestions. Very thorough explanations. Some of the examples could do with a little more explaining but overall it's still very useful.

This book manages all concepts, basical and advanced, and the reader can review and fortify concepts. The OCM Author with explains in an easy mode Oracle Products. Excellent book.

A "must have" Oracle book for anyone who works with Oracle on a day-to-day basis. The database efficiencies I have been able to obtain for my clients by simply using Rich's book as a point of reference are well worth the cost in purchasing it.

Adam Suber, Event Chairperson, Southeastern Michigan Oracle Professionals (SEMOP) Group.

Most books go over all the essentials. Even Deke McClelland's find ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS2 ONE-ON-ONE is great at introducing the NEW features and changes. But Ben's book is a quickie, one-day overview of what's new and improved and changed. For the price, there is no better book for someone buying PSCS2 to upgrade from any older version (like I did, from quaint old Photoshop 5.5). Full color pictures and clear typography -- making it easy to go back and review -- just make this book a steal at Amazon's discounted price. Get it!

Ben Wilmore is one of the foremost Photoshop trainers in the world. When he has time, he writes articles he sends to his photoshop mailing list (well worth joining). His tips are always on target and have provided me with extremely valuable insights into using Photoshop.

If you are a novice with Photoshop, or have never used a version before CS2, this isn't the best book for you. Willmore assumes you have substantial experience with Photoshop CS. However, if you are a CS user who is moving up to CS2, this book is an invaluable guide to the many new features in CS2. I have found this book extremely helpful and very readable. As usual, Wilmore's style is clear, easy-to-read, and the color illustrations very helpful. No, I don't get a cut of his royalties, I just love it when I find a reference that is truly worth the price!

Title: Photoshop CS2 : Up to Speed
Author: Ben Willmore
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Number of pages: 171
ISBN: ISBN: 0321330501
List Price: $24.99

Photoshop CS2 - Up to Speed was written for users of Photoshop CS (v8.0)who plan to or have just upgraded to CS2. The longer you have been using CS the more you will appreciate and benefit from this book. Expert Photoshop user/author/teacher Ben Willmore had access to the Adobe Photoshop design team to review chapters and technical issues which resulted in an in-depth
and accurate detailed description of the changes made in CS2(v9.0).

Each chapter starts out by providing an overview, and a section called "Where's My Stuff". From there each topic in the overview is explained in detail. Visually the book is well written and easy to read - using bold colored text, and colored screen
captures (with additional descriptions below each screen capture). Occasionally the small screen captures can be difficult to read. There is an overwhelming amount of information contained within each chapter. Ben covers all types -what's new, what's changed, what's been removed, changes to menus and keyboard shortcuts.

The 1st chapter provides lots of details on Bridge but may be better served from a DVD based video explanation. Bridge is a very visual application. The 2nd chapter on General Tweaks covers numerous miscellaneous tweaks that is a must read for
CS2 upgrade users. Chapter 3 covers the new Layers palette in fine detail. Chapters 4 and 5 on Smart Objects and Variables respectively are worth the price of the book alone - well done Ben. Chapter 6 covers small gems (WYSIWYG Font Menu, Smart Guides, Animation Palette, Swatches, PDF-X, Adobe Stock Photos) sufficiently. From here the next chapters cover photographic related topics (Camera Raw 3, - High Dynamic Range imaging, Retouching & Filter Enahancements, Small Gems). These chapters are clearly explained through a thorough use of screen captures and photos.

Summary: If you are a long time photoshop CS user then this is the 1st book you should buy and read. Ben covers every area (except ImageReady which had esssential no changes and Version Cue) in great detail and leaves no area untouched. Since there is an overwhelming amount of information (changes) described in this book (that's a good thing) I would suggest while and or after reading each chapter to bring up CS2 and go over the information just covered. Also, you do not need to read the book in the order in which it was written. Choose the areas you are interested in most first then come back to the other chapters. Finally, if there is one suggestion I would make to the author for the next version of "Up to Speed" consider creating a DVD based visual guide to describe the changes going from CS2 to CS3 to accompany/supplement the written book.
Overall I highly recommend this book for the target audience just described and the price of the book with an online discount is a bargain.

This book does exactly what it says on the cover, and it does it extremely well. It has been my constant source of reference for the past three weeks as even the often neglegted Index is well thought out.
I was always a big fan of the File Browser and was sorry to see it replaced in CS2 by the Bridge, which I must admit it took me some time to get my head round (where has the Desktop gone?) until this book came along. Ben goes through it in great detail, as he does with everything, and I now find it a breeze.
Everything new, and everything moved or hidden, is covered in a very well explained and simplistic style accompanied by detailed illustrations. The presentation and layout of the book is absolutely superb, and for anyone with a knowledge of Photoshop, moving up from CS to CS2 this book must be at the top of the shopping list.
It is not for anyone coming straight into Photoshop at CS2 level

The biggest challenge to anyone upgrading to a new version of an application is figuring out what's new. Willmore makes this easy. In a clear, concise format, he lays out exactly what's new in CS2, from the relatively mundane to the great new hidden features that you wouldn't likely find without a tour guide like this.
It's important to note that this is not a beginner's guide. The very format of the book should make this clear, but this isn't a starting point for someone looking to learn Photoshop - it's a book for people that are already familiar and comfortable with Photoshop who, as the title says, just need to get "up to speed" with the latest release of Photoshop.

I adore this book! It is one of those books that I just pick up and flip to a random page, and absorb the wisdom. It is full of tiny little things you can do to make your work look more professional. This guy is amazing.

One-Minute Designer Revised edition Roger C. Parker MIS:Press, 1997

Like it or not, if you use a computer you are a typographer, and that's anyone who arranges words within a given space: letter, report, bulletin, brochure, ad, billboard, book, sign etc. You don't have to be a graphic designer to create good typography because Roger Parker makes it easy to communicate clearly. The book is methodically organized. Each page is devoted to one subject, i.e. column width, placement, type sizes, word and letter spacing, font choice-all 204 of them. Parker writes easily, clearly, succinctly, and is always on the side of the reader, and the absence of verbiage and posturing is refreshing. Each page has direct, easy-to-understand two color illustrations that unambiguously define the text. Unlike program manuals that have incomplete or misnamed subjects, I'm impressed with Parker's contents page and glossary, which makes it easy for the reader to find information quickly. The soft cover book is a comfortable, easy to hold 7" x 9" portrait format. For quick review, the italic captions are printed in red. Text is set in one of my favorite fonts Minion, designed by Robert Slimbach one of the world's great type designers. The generous 11-point size makes is easy to read. This is a book that makes it easy to produce good looking, well organized layouts that communicate, a rarity in manuals. Parker's book should be within arm's length at a workstation, and [for the money], it's money in the bank.

Doyald Young, teacher and author: Logotypes & Letterforms and Fonts & Logos

This book is amazing. It lists 200 examples of good and bad design in a text/title/image/graphic perspective for business documents (which is just like a website). This book is a bible for begining or intermediate graphic designers who want to make the perfectly organized data (newsletters, website, newspaper, etc). Instead of long chapters of boring theory and idealism, it points out common design mistakes and shows a better way to do it and throws in a couple sentences of theory to it. In my opinion this is a must in anyone's library of books.

I bought this masterpiece after I read 'The Non-Designers Design Book' by Robin Williams. The content is much the same, but explored much more thoroughly, with clear examples and well-thought layouts.

If you want to get only one book on Desktop Publishing, THIS IS THE ONE! Don't waste your time with other books.

A paper design is self-explanatory and self-maintaining. This is why Roger Parker was able to write this superb book on design for paper. Web publishing involves collaborative maintenance of a collection of material. So one can never achieve such clarity. Anyway, this is a great book if you want to design some paper stuff and it is also good to think about why you'll never have it this easy in the Web world.

Here is the clarion call to a true life that
glorifies God. Put the lies of culture aside
and learn the real truth.. and live it!!

The fact Pastor John Piper in some of his books, "Don't Waste Your Life" and "A Hunger for God" quoted Law in this book several times intrigued me to read it personally. As I went through the chapters, however, it is clear to me and will become clear to the readers as well that Law sounds eerily close to a Roman Catholic minus the devotions to the rituals. Despite many deep, excellent, stinging, uncomfortable, soul-searching reflections and illustrations on the Christian life contrasted against the futility of a self-centered life that I believe are profitable for Christians, particularly to defy the preaching of prosperity gospel that seems to "prosper" more than the true gospel, sadly Law embraces the fatally erroneous doctrine of justification by works. In his view, Christians need to practice the principles of piety, self-denial, generosity, meekness, simplicity of life and all the Bible, particularly the New Testament teaches, the best they can in order to be saved that sounds all too familiarly popish. What he mostly brings up from the Bible is the wonderful teachings of Christ. There is no mention of poverty of spirit, dependence on God's grace to live a sanctified life or to desire to live for him to begin with, let alone the cross, justification by faith, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, and perseverance of the saints.

Well, the immediate questions that arise are of course, aren't Christians saved already, and that they are saved by grace on the basis of the finished atoning death and resurrection of Christ on the cross, and not by works? How does one know that he has done his best? What is the standard? Whose standard is it to use to determine whether one has done his best, man's or God's? If it is man's standard, which one? The Pope's? How can we be so sure if it is his standard to be used, not someone else's? If it is God's, where is it in the Bible that says God commands us to do the best we can and not rely on him for everything without excluding our responsibilities? Where is it in the Bible that God's standard says we are saved as long as we do the best we can? This is unquestionably deadly because in the end, it points to the perfectionist demand of the law where no one can meet, which is warned against by the Apostle Paul in his epistles, particularly to the Romans and Galatians. The meat of what Law talks about is all about doing and there is no mention of child-like dependence and trusting on God's grace in Christ through the Holy Spirit to enable us to follow what Law, in some cases, biblically and exquisitely exhorts to embrace and practice. To properly describe what Law offers here is a mixture of rich food and poison. The rich food is his biblical heart-piercing warnings, rebukes, reflections, illustrations and encouragements, specifically about prayer, fasting, simplicity, modesty, generosity, humility and self-denial that I must admit are too good, too important, and too bitter-sweet, eye-opening of an exposure and remedy to my own weaknesses to be overlooked as well as too precious to be neglected in practice. The poison is his constant insistence of justification by works. For the fullest benefit to be reaped, enjoy the rich food. Let it purify our souls and reform our lives, but spit the poison out. Instead, embrace and enjoy the even richer food of justification in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, and to the glory of God alone for these are the fountain that enables all true piety.

If you're looking for a challenge in your spiritual walk - this is the book for you. Law's classic book was the transforming resource in the lives of the Wesley brothers as well as abolitionist William Wilberforce - just as it changed their lives, this book will not leave you the same!

I've read an abridged and edited version for the modern reader by John Meister (158 pages) - but it wasn't enough - I had to order the small type 317 page version! This is not an easy read - on the difficulty scale of 1 - 10, this would be a solid 9. I wouldn't suggest this book to anyone in high school or even college - Law deals with real world issues and a little seasoning in life is necessary to get the full effect of his challenge. This is a perfect book for the Christian man who wants more than a Purpose Driven Life, the man looking for a profound, insightful, and challenging read that will deeply impact the core of his being!

You can find these books online. The longer version is a Vintage Spiritual Classics edition and retails for around $13.00. Rare will be the person that will want this book - but if you're the one, don't pass this one up! I give this my highest endorsement and recommendation.

Law deals directly with the concept of devotion to God - and asks some difficult questions about where man places his true devotion in life - in the things of this world, or in the Kingdom of Heaven? Law argues that a wise and reasonable man will wholly devote himself to the things of the Lord for they are far superior to the temporal and worthless things of this world. In fact, Law says that a lack of this devotion is a clear indicator of gross ignorance! The book gives several practical elements necessary for a devoted life including prayer, study, humility and confession. But it is not the elements about which Law writes, it is the manner in which he presents them to the reader that makes this book so exceptional - Law raises the bar and challenges the follower of Christ to live an exemplary life, a life worthy of their calling, a life comparable to the great saints who have walked before us or even to angels who minister above us!

wow - what an inspirational, hard-hitting, right on read this has been. I'm still in the process of reading it but I already love it. This should be required reading for all Christians. Then perhaps the church would live differently than the world and perhaps we'd have less scandal.

So far I can see that there needs to be a balance. One could easily tend towards legalism and a justification by self-works type of mentality. Perhaps he'll cover in later chapters how it's the Spirit of God that now creates the will to do differently and also empowers us to do so as we allow him to lead us in all areas of our lives.

But as long as one is aware of this work of the Spirit in a believer's life, then this book can do nothing but stimulate one to self-reflection and love and good works.

This book should be read by every Christian that can get it. It was a tremendously insightful and humbling book that opened my eyes to the hypocrisy in my own life as well as the church in general. The Christian church in America and I am guessing much of the Industrialized and wealthy west[yes, I am a member of that group] have fallen so far from the devotion and holiness that God requires that it is a shock to see what was the actual New Testament norm just 270+ years ago, let alone at the time of the writing of the New Testament. This was a very easy to read book, compared to say Spurgeon or Calvin. Extremely convicting personally. Would recc. to anyone who see themselves as sinners and wants to know what they should do. Includes excellent examples and is written as a practical guide, though not a how-to book[remember, was written over 270+ yrs. ago, before self-help books where invented;)]Found out about this book from a Word Pictures Program on the subject at their video's are also highly recc. for those seeking to glorify God and enjoy him for eternity[mans chief end]
Sincerely,
Wayne Borngesser