Systems Books

I won't go into all the details of the book since the other reviews describe it very well. All I have to say is that I was a bit hesitant to purchase it at first since I was afraid it wood be too dry of a read. I recently purchased another science/health relatad book and it was a terrible read.
I'm about halfway done and find myself not being able to put it down. A friend of mine even commented that a book about germs could not be that interesting. Well this one is! It is very well researched and lays out the facts without being (in my opinion) alarmist.
I would hope everyone has a chance to read this book. I only wish our media networks would present this information the way Jessica Snyder does.

As opposed to all the lengthy ones, let me just say this book is absolutely FASCINATING. I thought the detail level was just right, not too much, but enough to be convincing. READ THIS BOOK.

I purchased this book because I heard an interview with the author on a Scientific American podcast and was intrigued. I've known a few people who contracted MRSA not too long ago and so I was interested in learning more about the topic. When I read the book, it did not disappoint and I found myself not wanting to put it down.

The book covers a number of topics that have been puzzling us recently: Where are these super-aggressive MRSA infections coming from and how did they become resistant to antibiotics? Why are so many children developing extreme allergies to certain foods? The answers are more complex that I originally thought and many go against conventionally held beliefs regarding germs.

Many people I know have the impression that all germs are bad and therefore we should eliminate them through the use of antibacterial agents (soaps, disinfectants, etc). However, research shows that we need these "microflora" as much as they need us and we would be unable to survive without them. There are, in fact, "good germs" and "bad germs" and in our quest to eliminate all germs, we often wipe out those who keep the bad guys at bay.

The book begins with a history of what we know about bacteria and how we've tried to combat disease. The next section presents the idea that we are, in fact, an ecosystem for millions of bacteria. The author explains how we become colonized with microflora from birth and beyond. The main parts of the book explain why our sanitation methods and over-use of broad-spectrum antibiotics may be causing us more harm than good and how we can change our methods to be more successful at combating the bad bacteria.

I found the information in the book entirely fascinating. I had no idea that two distinctly different bacteria could swap their antibiotic-resistant genes so that a bacteria strain that had never been exposed to a certain antibiotic could suddenly become immune to it. Also interesting is that children who grow up exposed to animals (through farm-life or pets) are less likely to develop serious allergies or auto-immune diseases such as Type-II diabetes.

The book provides a wealth on information from hundreds of studies to help the reader understand what we know about germs, how they work, and how they can outsmart us. I walked away with a completely different perspective on germs and their role in our lives. This is a book that everyone should read!

Lastly, I should mention that the author did an excellent job of presenting factual information gathered from hundreds of studies in a manner that was very interesting rather than dull. Also, I don't think a reader has to have a medical background to gain insight from this text.

Starting at birth, the new, innocent body becomes home to a host of microscopic invaders. These days, at that same instant, forces are brought to bear to stop or repel that horde. As Jessica Sachs explains in this comprehensive account, we are only learning the first lessons in what microbes mean in our lives.

Perhaps the first thing readers should take from this book is that "antibiotics" don't contend with viruses. Those costly drugs only fight bacteria, a more complex and elusive critter. Another difference between bacteria and viruses is that we generally need the former, but not the latter. Which means we'd best be cautious about trying to ravage them with chemicals. The number and variations of bacteria in our bodies seems countless as you follow Sachs' account of who they are and what they do. Or fail to do. Most of us grew up with the "bad germs" litany drummed into us. "Wash your hands before dinner!" and "Don't play in the mud!" still echo in our minds after many years. The point was to "prevent" germs from entering our bodies. It turns out that Mum's cautions weren't always on the mark - Mummy didn't know best after all. We needed those bugs - they help us stay healthy.

Jessica Sachs guides us through the findings of scores of scientists' work that has revised the approach we were taught about "germs" in our childhood. Eating mud, something many of us were at least verbally chastised for, turns out to be a good thing, even a necessity. From birth, the introduction of certain microbes initiate processes the body needs to keep going. For most people today, it's well known that microbes in our tummies are part of the process of digestion. Escherichia coli is known to be a true friend - in controlled numbers and certain strains. What's less known is how many other bacteria the body relies on to get certain jobs done. One of those jobs is keeping the immune system properly tuned. A lazy immune system is unresponsive or unable to react to invasion. An overly ambitious one can turn on its own body and destroy it.

Both friendly and destructive bacteria live in our mouths, eyes, skin and elsewhere. Over millions of years, the body has come to an accommodation with those creatures, generally striking a balance ensuring survival. This balance has been severely offset in recent years, due to a "cleanliness" obsession that arose when it became clear that some germs were responsible for diseases. This idea was effectively demonstrated by UK researcher David Strachan, whose research led to what is now called the "hygiene hypothesis" - respiratory illnesses result from lack of cross-microbe activity to build immunities. In short, rich, small families were more prone to allergies than large, poorer ones. As Sachs points out, humans in our society overreacted to the new knowledge about disease-causing germs and sought to eliminate them all. The imbalance has led to many tragic situations, and initiated a guarantee that more, perhaps worse, situations are in the offing. What are we to do about it?

At the end of a superb compendium of case histories, research investigations and depictions of the scientists themselves, Sachs arrives at glancing into the future. The path is vague and unclear, chiefly because we have changed the past so drastically in our present - particularly in North America. European research has offered some pointers, but the microbe population here has already been distorted beyond restoration to past conditions. This situation indicates drastic new approaches must be tried. Perhaps the most disturbing for many will be the development of bio-engineered treatments. The realisation that bacteria can not only pass antibiotic-resistant genes among their kin, but provide them to other species means "scatter-gun" forms of vaccines must be developed. We will likely have to imitate Nature, applying the gene transfer process to counter what human-produced "superbugs" are doing to us. Clearly, the suffering public must be kept fully informed about the options and their implications. The education process begins with this book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I've read a number of books on microbes in recent years, including

Bakalar, Nicholas. Where the Germs Are: A Scientific Safari (2003)
Biddle, Wayne. A Field Guide to Germs, 2nd ed. (1995, 2002)
Ewald, Paul W. Plague Time: How Stealth Infections Cause Cancers, Heart Disease, and other Deadly Ailments (2000)
Heritage, J., and E. G. V. Evans, R. A. Killington Microbiology in Action (1999)
Karlen, Arno. Biography of a Germ (2000)
Murray, Patrick R., et al. Medical Microbiology (2002)
Oldstone, Michael B. Viruses, Plagues, and History (1998)
Shnayerson, Michael and Mark J. Plotkin. The Killers Within: The Deadly Rise of Drug-Resistant Bacteria (2002)
Tierno, Philip M. Jr. The Secret Life of Germs: Observations and Lessons from a Microbe Hunter (2001)

What sets science journalist Jessica Snyder Sachs' book apart from these fine books is the intense detail and focus that she brings to the work and the fact that her book is up to date with reports from the latest research. Written for a general educated readership, it gets a little dense at times and there's a lot to keep in mind and to understand. But I think the time and effort are worth it. I must warn you however, it does get a little scary. If you are prone to hypochondria or to paranoia, I would suggest you skip reading this since it appears that we are teetering on the edge of any number of possible microbial disasters.

At the same time there is also the promise of a level of understanding of how drugs, bacteria and our immune systems work together, or are at odds, that will lead to healthier lives for all of us.

Some of the topics covered:

--A bit of the history of medicine before the germ theory of disease rose with Pasteur to the balmy times circa 1960 when some authorities were predicting the end of infectious disease, to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria that characterizes today's world.

--The interaction between bacteria in our intestinal tract and the fact that we could not digest our food or even live without the benign bacteria that help us. Sachs quotes Nobel laureate Joshua Lederberg in this regard: "'It would broaden our horizons if we started thinking of a human as more than a single organism. It is a superorganism that includes much more than our human cells.' Lederberg calls this cohabitation of human and microbial cells the 'microbiome...'" (p. 238)

--The "hygiene hypothesis," in which certain diseases such as allergies, asthma and immune system disorders are thought to arise because we keep our homes too clean, and our children do not have the exposure to common germs early and often enough to build up a proper immune response. In the case of allergies and autoimmune diseases, apparently exposure when very young to would-be allergens "teaches" the immune system to regard them as harmless. Without this exposure the immune system may go wild. Sachs' treatment of this murky subject is the best I have read.

--Bacterial mutations, including the exchange of drug resistant genes between species within our intestinal tract. (Bacteria do have sex on occasion!) This rather sobering part of the book explains how bacteria manage to elude our best defenses and prescriptions. Implicit is the fact that we do indeed live in a bacterial world that has in toto a greater grasp of biochemistry than perhaps we will ever have. They've had two or three billion years to perfect their defenses, so we have our work cut out for us.

--Various new methods of dealing with microbes including new drugs, infecting bacteria with viruses, inculcating ourselves with good bacteria to keep the bad out, bioengineering new benign strains to replace the dangerous ones. This approach is called "probiotic," that is, "proactively replacing the body's trouble-prone bacteria with strains and species of our choosing, even of our own making." (p. 193)

--Enhancing the immune system so that it better fights harmful microbes while at the same time leaving its own tissues alone, checking inflammation and autoimmune disease.

Some interesting info:

Our intestine when empty of food harbors about 15 trillion microbes; when full, perhaps 100 trillion! (p. 44)

Babies typically get their first intestinal bacteria by riding face down out of the womb, picking up a bit of the inhabitants of mother's stool. (p. 53) Babies delivered by caesarian section have more allergies than vaginal birth babies and may have a tougher time setting up a stable flora in their digestive systems. (pp. 99-100)

It is now clear that healthy tissues in our bodies are not necessarily microbe-free. In fact, I learned here that the way the immune system works sometimes is to ignore resident bacteria that are not causing any trouble. Furthermore, our immune systems can get used to some pathogens and just leave them alone after awhile. In fact sometimes real trouble starts when the immune system goes into high gear and tries to rid the body of every last germ. A case in point is the plaque build up in the arteries of some people in reaction to the presence of harmless bacteria. In other people the immune system doesn't respond and there is no plaque build up leading to heart attacks.

The fact that "it's not bacteria that wreak the deadly damage of sepsis, at least not directly." Instead, it is "a person's own immune system...." (p. 221)

This is an outstanding book, engagingly written, meticulously edited and proofed, with a plethora of endnotes and an excellent index.

What a great book. It's purpose is to prepare you just in case there is a problem, not to tell you there will be a problem. Simple, clear information on what you can do to be prepared and remove any stress that you may have in regards to Y2K. It explains how easy it is to be prepared, demonstrating that there is no downside. It compels you to take some action, a step that will be beneficial to you and your family if something does go wrong on Jan 1, 2000.

A last, a Y2K book for the family home, written by a family orientated person. This easy to read book is just what every family needs to prepare their home for the possibility that Y2K does deprive us of services we normally take for granted. Read the book, heed the book, be prepared, and have a Happy New Year!

I found the common-sense solutions and suggestions to get ready for 2000 easy to read, understand, and implement. This "ounce of prevention" book is a "must read NOW" for anyone concerned with possible Y2K problems!

This is a practical book that provides important information to prepare you and your family not only for Y2K but for ANY potential natural disaster! This is a must read so that you have the basic necessities on hand for you and your loved ones! Every home should have a copy!!!

This brilliantly-written bible of preparedness is a must for every family. It is written with heart and love for her fellow man, wanting everyone to be ready for possible emergencies.

Raymond Aaron

I am a graduate student in the field of behavior analysis. I used this book as it is intended to be used from start to finish. I successfully designed an educational teaching program that taught students a lesson in geography. I was very excited about the results. The students learned the material very quickly and became extremely fluent. Even though I used the book to guide me through designing an educational program, I could certainly see how this book could be used in an organizational setting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning a technology of teaching that is extremely effective.

This book is a good example of a text that actually helps the reader get something done- namely, create and refine an instructional program for any setting or audience. Dr Bruce takes you from a blank page to a well designed, efficient training course in a step-by-step manner. What impressed me most was the skill with which Dr Bruce not only presents the critical ID concepts, but also shows in great detail how they can be applied.

Instructional Design Made Easy provides an insightful look into instructional design. After careful consideration of the material in this book, I considered using the concepts in an educational setting. A better use of this book would be in a business related setting, in which I have had some experience. The Efficient Design Checklists in each section is a great help in keeping users on track toward their objectives. I particularly like Exercise 2 which helps one to identify measureable results. The Performance Objective Template on page 53 of section 1 really helps translate ideas into action. This book is valuable to those who prefer a step by step approach, yet it is flexible enough to be useful to those who have experience in the fild of instructional design.

There isn't an easier way to learn about instructional design than by picking up a copy of Dr. Bruce's book. This book offers a step-by-step process for designing any training need whether it is business or education oriented. Each task within the design process is broken down and explained with clarity, allowing the reader to view specific examples and nonexamples for each component within this process. I have repeatedly used this book to improve the content and design of material for a distance learning course in behavior analysis. I have also used this book to design activities for business projects and education workshops. I highly recommend this book to those who are new to instructional design as well as to those who wish to improve their current practices.

This book practices what it preaches -- a rare commodity in the instructional design literature, indeed! It begins, early on, with presenting a pre-test to the reader (don't worry, you can check your answers!). Then, rather than concentrating on prose and commentary, which many instructional design books do, this book emphasizes practical exercises. You learn the "rules" of good instructional design by working through many examples, and importantly, nonexamples of design practices. While the book focuses on instructional design for computer-based instruction (the example illustrations are mainly of screen captures using the Precision Learning System), the principles you learn can be applied to any instructional system. Dr. Bruce has written an easy-to-follow, easy-to-use first-rate book on instructional design.

For several years I co-taught a series of workshops on Instructional Design with Dr. Bruce at the Association for Behavior Analysis conventions. The materials in these workshops, which were well-attended and highly rated, became some of what was used by Dr. Bruce in the development of his book. There is nothing like having a live audience to help shape development of your materials, and with this book Guy has produced a valuable tool whether you are in education, business, or otherwise interested in designing good instructional materials of your own! -- JE

Excellent resource!!! I found it useful at work the first day I
received it.

The item was just as described. Very fast shipping. Would do business with again. Thank you!

This book is a great refrences book for medical staff professionals. I work in a hospital and when ever I need to find out dosing, stability ,or even description of a intravenous medication it's in this book. Also this book tells you all about how to store IV medication properly. This book really helps me alot. It's also a great resources for pharmacy school as well.

I am a pharmacist with the Cleveland Clinic and need to have a reliable, thorough, and handy reference available at all times. This book is one of the best resources I have come by thus far in my career. It is a must have! Quick and easy look up to a wealth of organized information. All hospital pharmacists should not go without it!

As a hospital pharmacist, this is the book I have at my side at all times. Gives important information on infusion rates, stability, and usual dosages and concentrations. This information can be found elsewhere of course but I have been accustomed to looking here first.

After reading Let's Get Financial Savvy! I now have started to fund my work retirement account, started a balanced budget, written and working a plan for getting out of debt. This book gives you such clear step-by-step instructions for getting your financial life in order. After reading Lois' book no one should be in the dark about money and it's potential.

I have ordered and have read quite a wide variety of personal finance books and investment books over the last 6-8 months. I am pleased to say that Let's get Financial Savvy is not just a neat title. The book blends the topics of personal finance and investment in an easy to read personal style. Your real life experience makes for inspirational reading too. It covers the fundamentals of both topics very well and is not overly lengthy. Since it was written relatively recently is also very up to date. Well written.

Those new to personal finance concepts, such as young adults newly out of college, (as will many an adult in need of a financial mangement refresher) will find Let's Get Financial Savvy! by Lois Center-Shabazz to be an important and effective guide. The author persevered through a financial crisis and here imparts personal experienced based tips on how to invest, handle money, and protect against risky ventures. From online investments to mortgages, as will many an adult comes packed with charts and calculations.

Let's Get Financial SavvyDr. Lois Center-Shabazz, founder of MsFinancialSavvy.com, was born and raised in San Diego, Ca. After graduating from The University of California at San Diego, then dental school at Loma Linda University, she began her successful career as a dentist while pursuing her interest in investment and financial research. Such a life would seem comfortable and rewarding; for Dr. Center-Shabazz this was merely a prologue.


After 18 years as a dentist she made the decision to sell her practice and move to Virginia with her husband. This new freedom gave her the opportunity to fully develop her investment education program she started in her early years as a practicing dentist; she now devotes her full time to studying and teaching investments and personal finances. In her first phase of her financial education, Dr. Center-Shabazz was angered to find that the "professionals" who had been handling her money were misleading and uninformed. This revelation was the driving force for her to learn all she could and become "financial savvy." This culminated in the founding of www.MsFinancialSavvy.com, the most comprehensive and user-friendly personal finance website in use today. Dr. Center-Shabazz did not leave her quest there. With the release of her new book, Let''s Get Financial Savvy, Dr. Center-Shabazz offers a groundbreaking new way for everyone to take control of their money, and understand the complex world of finance. Drawing from her experience with debt, and the uphill battle to expunge that debt Dr. Center-Shabazz has quickly become the valedictorian in the new school of the financially independent.Since founding MsFinancialSavvy.com, Dr. Center-Shabazz has been featured on numerous talk shows and spotlighted in newspapers and magazines across the country. The content of her book is so fascinating, it has garnered her the 2002 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for Self-Help, given by The North American Book Dealers Exchange. Today, she continues to spread her message speaking to the "financial enlightened" and to help people from all walks of life to become financially savvy.

Dr. Shabazz, has mastered the art of "money!" She has focused on very important money issues but has explained retirement, ira's, cd and mutual funds in a way that a beginning investor can begin to invest and an experienced investor can take tips from her to make their portfolio larger. This was an excellent and informative book.

This book is outstanding in every sense. Everything - from science to science fiction and much, much more - you possibly wanted to know about Mars is in here. And Morton's prose is so good, so enthralling and so exuberant you'll find it impossible to stop reading. Especially his musings on the sublime martian landscapes are, well, sublime, conveying a monumental grandeur that we may sometime be able to behold ourselves, somewhere in the future. Without any doubt the best book on Mars available at the moment. Thank you Oliver Morton!

This book would be a perfect acquisition for the student or
scientist in the house. A spectacular Martian volcanic eruption
is depicted by Hartmann. There is an interesting Elysium shaded
relief map. The Olympus Mons scene is perhaps one of the most
famous depicted in the early 1970s. The book discusses the
possibility of water on Mars from inferences of historic flood
activity. There is a scientific hypothesis and presentation of
how some local Martian bacteria use hydrogen to reduce sulphates.
The USGS Viking pictures depict imagery of Valles Marineris.
Overall, this acquisition is worth the price charged for a wide
constituency of academicians and scientists everywhere.

I highly recommend Oliver Morton's Mapping Mars. Not only does it frame the debate about the likelihood of life on Mars, but also does a great job of explaning our changing understanding of the planet.

It also conveys a sense of Mars as a real place, and discusses how the meaning of Mars changes depending on our sense of whether or not we think there is life there.

Finally, it asks a crucial question: what do we mean by "nature" and how tied up is that notion with "life"?

And it has cool pictures.

First of all, if you have the slightest interest in the geology of Mars, or in maps, or in planetary science (and, if not, why are you here?) you *need* to read this book.

"This is a splendid book and a major achievement in the study of Mars.... A number of authors might fairly claim to have written the best Mars novel, but this is the best factual book on Mars that money can buy."
-- New Scientist, Google for online review

"When the investigator, having under consideration a fact or group of facts whose origin or cause is unknown, seeks to discover their origin, his first step is to make a guess." --GK Gilbert, Science 3(53), 1896 (which codified the method of multiple working hypotheses). Gilbert, of course, was "one of the happy generation of American geologists who...took their impressive beards and intellects to every corner of the American West."

Tidbits: Gene Shoemaker's first map of Meteor Crater, in 1957, was done for the old AEC, as part of a truly crackbrained scheme to manufacture plutonium by detonating uranium-wrapped A-bombs underground. Which, thank heavens, never got very far. Gene didn't like the idea, either, but who's to turn down funding?

No map of exotic lands is complete without exotic names, and the map of Mars is well-stocked: Noctis Labyrinthus, the Labyrinth of Night. Tithonium Chasma, Albe Patera --a volcano that occupies an area about equal to that of India --Claritas Fossae, Utopia Planita... Olympus Mons! Formerly Nix Olympica, the Snows of Olympus --and the highest mountain known to humanity. Mauna Kea, Earth's biggest volcano, would fit comfortably inside Olympus' summit caldera. OM contains some 3.5 million cubic km of rock--or the area of Texas, if excavated 8 km deep. This is one *humongous* mountain. And Vastitas Borealis, the northern lowlands, is arguably the flattest place in the solar system.

I like the respectful attention Morton pays to science fiction about Mars -- which echoes the attention and affection paid to SF writers by working planetary scientists. Of course, sometimes these are the same people, as with UofA planetologist, novelist (Mars Underground, recommended), photographer, artist and all-around Renaissance man Bill Hartmann (who we really should invite as an AGS guest speaker); and Geoffrey Landis, a NASA space scientist and parttime novelist (Mars Crossing, recommended) who helped to develop the Mars Pathfinder.

About the only place that Mapping Mars fails us is in the illustrations. The publisher made a valiant effort, but an octavo-format book just doesn't have the page size for drama. Fortunately, you can Google for suitably-impressive maps and photos of Mars.

Happy reading! -- Pete Tillman
Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)

When I first saw this book I was fascinated, but I held off till it came out in paperback. Mapping Mars is a very different book than Hartmann's Traveler's Guide. Morton is concerned with helping us understand the process we have gone through in the understanding of the face of Mars. As such, he interviewed many key players in the space-age study of Mars and paints his portrait of Mars through their work.

Mapping Mars is concerned more with the "big picture" of Mars than the Traveler's Guide. As such its illustrations are more concerned with showing the evolution of our maps and our mental images of Mars. Part of that "big picture" is our cultural view of Mars through our science fiction, art and exploration plans. He spends quite a bit of time on these topics - but does not sacrifice the science content.

The book reads like a series of personal vignettes of the people involved in the illumination of Mars - people like Hartmann, Michael Carr, Michael Malin and Bob Zubrin.

Mapping Mars reads well and draws the reader into the personal and scientific journey of understanding Mars.

Highly recommended.

This book is the origin of information theory (then called "communication theory"). Explaining measurement of information in both discrete and continuous variables, this historic work defined one of the most important watershed moments in science, and serves as an excellent introduction to the subject.

This book doesn't need any presentation: it is well known by all the scientific community as the "start point" of Information Theory. Roughly speaking, today we would not have cell phones or internet without Shannon's work.
With his fundamental theorem, in 1948, Shannon prooved that it was possible, under some conditions, to have reliable communication. Since that moment, the research on Information Theory has become more and more important and has continued to develop in many different ways.
So, this book is historically fundamental for all those people interested in Communications.

Typically, a paper which defines a new field of science is not the best introduction to new researchers in the field. This is not the case with The Mathematical Theory of Communication. If you are interested in information theory, this is the one and only place to start.

This book is the best technical book i've ever read. It's clear, concise and logic. It explains all the fundamentals of communication theory, a basic for telecom and electronic engineers. All technical universities of everywhere must explain their communication theory subject following exactly this text. Above any other technical book. A gem.

The origin of this book lies in the Bell Telephone Laboratories initiative in researching how wireless and telecommunications can be improved. The problem it deals with is a classic one for electronics, telecommunications and computing - noise vs. fidelity of data transmitted. The solution it propounds is simple and yet so revolutionary that it charted the course of these fields since it was published.

The basic premise of the book is that 'redundancy' or elimination of noise occurs at infinite time. 'Entropy' or shuffledness allows for some noise and produces more information because it requires reconstruction at the receiving end.

The authors support their arguments with simple statistical formulae which explain how entropy and redundancy are inverse of each other.

This book has been highly debated by both the people involved in the fields concerned and the people outside the field.

Most of the debate surrounds the controversial aspect of Shannon and Weaver's definition of information in engineering terms, which excludes issues like relevance, meaning etc.

A great deal of debate also got carried into social sciences and humanities where a new celebration of 'entropy' occured.

Comprehensive. A good resource to have in the collection of books.

Andre Van Staden - Senior Developer
Marco Giani - Group IT Back end Developer

This is a great book. I have recommended it to coworkers who also purchased the book and they were equally impressed. This helped me have a much greater understanding of both Access and SQL Server and how they work together.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone using Access with SQL Server. It is easy to understand and has plenty of useful code examples. I use this as a reference on a regular basis.

This answers a lot of programmer level questions about using MS-Access with SQL Server. It describes the limits and penalties when going the various routes. The book is quite clear in its descriptions. It would make a good addition to any Access programmer's collection.

I have been an Access developer since 1.1 (1993). I have bought many a book over the years. Some good, some bad. This book, however, is super! It is designed totally with the Access developer in mind. All of the questions that popped into my head seemed to be answered in practical terms chapter by chapter. The organization is terrific and the flow is second to none. The topics that are worth repeating are repeated while others are left for a one-time only view. The writing is easy to digest, powerful and very explanatory. The pictures are all also very helpful. You can tell the writers paid attention to every line they wrote. But they also inject a human kind of writing style which keeps things interesting throughout.

In addition to a thorough discussion on SQL Server security vs. Access security, data conversion, upsizing, etc., the book covers the differences among MDWs, MDEs, ADPs and ADEs beautifully and it addresses scenarios for when to use stored procedures, server functions, views, etc and with great attention to detail. The chapters ADO vs. DAO and on T-SQL are well written too. Later the book even goes into simplifying building multi-tier apps with Access as front end, VB-based COM+ components in the middle and of course, SQL Server sitting in the back. And just when you think the last chapter will be a letdown as many last chapters are, it wows you with an incredible amount of insight into how to optimize, backup and perform other settings in SQL Server.

If you are a serious Access developer like me, and are timid about moving full force into SQL Server, then this is the book for you! I recommend it highly!

I have a lot of SQL server books. Everything from SQL Server 2000 for Dummies up to SQL Server 2000 Stored Procedure Programming. And many times none of these books had what I needed. Then I would turn to this book. I was using VB.Net, so I figured this book wouldn't apply, but I was wrong. Even if you are not using Access, this book explains SQL Server the right way. Chipman and Baron offer simple but thorough explanations and samples of the things you actually need to know as a developer. They don't spend a lot of time on the things a SQL Server DBA might need to know that a coder would not.

Maybe their approach works so well for me because I came from an Access background, but I am willing to bet anyone coming straight from VB and needing to understand Transact SQL, effective stored procedures, funtions, and triggers would appreciate this book as well.

This book gives you all the goodies about Windows Server 2003, perfect view of what this new version has within, plus a lot more! This book was simple to read and understand, finished it in one weekend, and most of all, it's a great reference unlike some 2,000 Page Bibles...

It is clear, concise, and very well written. I get tired of reading tech books that are hundreds upon hundreds of pages long because they fill them with so much useless information and "fluff". That is not the case with this book. If you just want the plain and simple facts and useful information then this is the book you need.

This is an excellent book for those of us who have extensive experience with previous Windows releases, and need information dealing with just what's new and improved in Windows Server 2003. This book is well-written, well-organized, easy to read, and gives you everything you need, and nothing you don't.

I highly recommend this book to all experienced Windows Server administrators who need just the new info and just the facts, from authors who actually know what they're talking about.

Returned my Mastering Windows Server 2003 (Minasi) book today and bought this one. MUCH better. Short, sweet, and to the point. Now I'm getting a handle on what I should care about in Windows 2003. This is great - I hope they keep up with this series. It's a time saver and I'm betting it will help with my MCSE upgrade exmas too.

Page 78: windows clients DO NOT require a GC server to find a domain controller.
Page 130: stub zones are NOT secondary zones with glue records. They contain read-only SOA, NS and "glue" A records and nothing else.

As I begin my own financial services practice I find this book to be very helpful in two areas.

1. The author gets at motivation first. We need to ask the WHY of what we are doing. We need to answer that question in our own lives if we are to be successful. Set goals and then work to achieve those goals. It begins with the reasons we are in this business.

2. Practical steps. The author takes the reader through very practical steps of time management, and even lays out some very basic marketing plans and ideas.

This is a marked up book that will be a constant reference for me.

David Mullen's main theme is a variation of Thomas Edison's oft-repeated words that "genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration." Although his book is repetitive and circular, he adds a little more information each time he loops back to an idea. Aspiring brokers will find the effort of following Mullen's train of thought worthwhile: He provides scripts and sample letters, and describes helpful techniques for handling rejection, communicating with prospects and closing sales. He includes information about how to work in teams and how to train sales associates. Mullen's advice is not groundbreaking, but it is specific and practical - although, strangely, he never mentions the importance of developing investment expertise. Thus, getAbstract recommends this book to those who already understand the field and want to use what they know to start selling.

Follow these principles and be your own coach! David Mullen combines strategic planning and how-to-do-it with clarity. Topics include market planning and realistic steps to building a million-dollar practice, as well as building blocks necessary to create a firm foundation. This is the #1 book I recommend in coaching FAs.

Dave Mullen Jr. has put together the essential steps to success in the EXTREMELY difficult process of building a financial services practice. I am one of his disciples and the concept of clearly defining your market action plans, understanding that it takes 100 clients that are constantly being upgraded and 100 prospects that are constantly in your pipeline is the key to success.

Reading the book is step one, consulting directly with Dave Mullen should be your next step. Bravo for a process that works if you are willing to commit!

Howard Hissrich, CFP(r)

I am just beginning my career as a financial advisor and I have found that this book has been very useful in providing the basic steps and fundamentals on building your client base. There are no short cuts in this financial services industry but better planning goes a long way to being successful. In general I feel that this book gives you excellent advise on how to go about getting a solid understanding on what you need to do to be successful as a financial advisor.