Publishing Books

I NEVER write reviews; however Mr. Troelsen for this effort has earned it. He has written by far one of the best written tech books on C programming I've ever read, and for COM/ATL this book makes writing interfaces for VB both understandable and accessible. Coverage and background is sufficient, and equally important for those who don't do this every day for a living, the depth in setting up projects in Visual Studio is also there so one unfamiliar with technical setup issues involved in setting up an ATL COM project are enabled to create their own. All I can say is well done, please keep up the good work, very much appreciated. Looking forward to your next releases.

Sincerely,
Dr. Mathew G. Pelletier, Research Engineer

This book is the perfect example of a good "Computer" book: It teaches what it needs to teach in a way you understand.
It covers all the important stuf like BSTRs, Smart Pointers, DCOM, TLBs, IDLs and other buzz-like acronyms.
I used it as an only reference for learning COM and I was doing complex COM projects within weeks. Andrew Troelsen is 'the man'!

Best regards,

Describe low level COM and then ATL internals and interfaces which can let reader easily understand such complex mechanism. Though the book is a little bit old, it can still be served as a good reference.

Apart from the fact that so many customers gave 5 stars to this book, there's another indicator of its value: it looks like nobody wants to resell it after they are done reading it. I, for one, intend to keep it for reference...

I've been programming in C# for a few years, and now I needed to learn COM. This book was the best tech manual I've ever read.

My recommendation is: if you need to learn COM, do not waste your money on any other book until you've read this one.

My current project at work required me to learn COM. I purchased several books to assist in the learning, and I must say that this book is absolutely indispensible, both as an instructional medium and as a reference. I highly recommend this book to anyone needing to learn about COM.

What's inside? It starts with a basic intro to COM, useful (dare I say it) for managers as well as the developer to get the big picture. Then it goes into a discussion of ATL and design patterns. This second section is incredibly important since ATL is for COM as STL is for C++. It finishes off with some of the more advanced areas of study in COM. Only a few advanced topics are not covered (custom marshalling for one), but considering it starts from an assumed ignorance of COM, it does reach a good level of detail.

Who am I? I studied computer science in University. However, I had never previously developped on Windows. I am primarily a C++ programmer, with some experience with Java. Knowledge of C++ (I would say more than just a familiarity) should be a prereq. to reading, but that's about it. It introduces most OO topics you need in the first chapters that most experienced developers can probably skip.

This has to be one of the most spectualar books written and would make an excellent Christmas present (any time of the year).
Well researched and presented with the imagine of Jesus the Christ's teachings, this should be a all-around Christmas favorite.

In the Hollywoood extravanganza, 'The Passion,' it is to bad Mel Gibson didn't read this book. There would not have been the sarfical drama and there would have been more reality to what was and what is -- but that is Hollywood 'hype,' and not true historical research.

After reading the massive and extensive research, compiled so secretively, and significantly, I can see the value of this book being the best seller it will become. There's no doubt in my mind that Mr. Christensen of Cordes Junction is profound in metaphysics, spiritual at-one-ment, and hisotrical knowledge and counters any and all Hollywood extravangas. How about airing this one on a special documentary made for television? The ratings would be as high as five stars on this website!

Whatever one believes about historical research of the Star of Bethleham the 'Star Prophecy' outlined reached by Christensen dictates this should be distributed throughout the entire Midest!

Whatever one believes about historical research of the Star of Bethleham the 'Star Prophecy' outlined reached by Christensen dictates this should be distributed throughout the entire Midest!

Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this collection of C&H comics. These witty comics about the 6-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, named after the famous philosophers, will amuse people of all ages. The perceptiveness and humor of Watterson deserve the highest of cartoon awards, while his artistic creations exude hilarity. This cartoon is perhaps one of the most piercing yet funny critiques of modern society.

More daydreams and more weird inventions from the wide imagination of Calvin. Contains all the usual characters, but more elaborate and more philosophical strips.

Note that there are two series of C&H collections: individual wide-format albums, each covering an entire year of strips (will call it âaeregularâ), and the vertical aspect ratio âaetreasury seriesâ which covers selected comics from two regular C&H books. Note that C&H ran for a year in newspapers, so thereâ(tm)s 10 regular books and 5 treasury books. Though the cartoons are slightly smaller in the treasury collection, each treasury book is far thicker and contains more strips than a regular book, and is furthermore less expensive, so treasury books are a real bargain. âaeThereâ(tm)s Treasure Everywhereâ belongs to the regular series and was published in 1996.

If you remember your childhood, you will understand the aptness of the title. Many things, such as rocks, snake skins and twigs are some of the most valuable items you can ever possess. Calvin, being the inquisitive and imaginative boy that he is, can find treasure and adventure in places where other children cannot. That is demonstrated once again in this collection of captions from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.
Calvin is my all time favorite fictional child because he is so imaginative, even though that trait gets him into deep trouble with every adult he encounters. He is also the type of child that will grow up to be an historic nonconformist, someone who will see things so differently that he will change the world.
Down through history, many of the people who actively changed the world were problem children. Let us hope that Calvin is a virtual inspiration to many children in that it will help them to understand that sometimes being different is being best.

There's Treasure Everywhere--A Calvin and Hobbes Collection. Great going Internationalbooks!!!!
The book I received was in VERY good shape.
Thanks,
garyR

I bought all of this series as used books. I love to read Calvin and Hobbes. The price and deliver were both excellent.

i bought this book for my husband and he loves it. instead of reading like an itty bitty comic strip he has a whole book to himself and all the strips flow much like a story. these characters should be in a cartoon series!

Warriors is a great addition to the fantasy roleplaying game genre and a boon to anyone seeking resources that can be used to realistically and compellingly expand the capabilities of combatant classes. I ahve used this one in my own game and been very pleased with it.

This is a great book to add that 'extra' realism to D & D. Varhola's history and writing background, added to the obvious expertise of the other authors, lets the players add a level of realism and history that makes a good game far better //

This book is full of intriguing ways to flesh out warriors, fighters, and even paladins, rangers, and barbarians. Suddenly, you have a huge number of options to help breathe life into your medieval or fantasy army, or even the local thugs in the streets. The book has a definite historical flavor, which I like quite a bit. I enjoy the references to ancient times, as well as African and Asian history. The prestige classes and the concept of subtypes gives the normally rigid warrior sudden flexibility. Skirmisher has done a great job of turning out a book that I will actually use, instead of something that will collect dust on my bookcase.

As a DM, I am always looking for new material to make my games more 'realistic' and different. This book is an excellent resource to spice up the warrior class. I am looking forward to purchasing more material from this company.

This book is great for any DM. Both amateurs and veterans will find this book able to help them create quests and their DMing ability.

A great handbook showcasing common CSS uses. Will definitely keep this by my side when developing.

This book was not exactly what I expected when I purchased it. I've been working with XHTML for 2 years professionally, but I still hadn't bothered to read up on web standards.

The book is well organized and goes over the basics of HTML elements (ol, ul, em, strong, p, etc...) and does a nice job explaining the benefits of using the most recent standards when selecting an appropriate tag.

Being that I have had experience coding, I'd recommend this book to those will little on hands practice or knowledge of markup. It's an excellent tutorial on the functionality of common HTML tags as well as some of the more obscure ones (code, samp, var, abbr, dl, etc...)

The most beneficial lessons learned in this book, however, is something the novice and experienced coder will appreciate: accessibility. W3C has been pushing the development of accessibility development for awhile. Screen readers and browsers are finally coming of age where such code considerations will set your website above others. Additionally, in professional arenas, accessibility can be a money-maker.

The author does an excellent job of explaining how screen readers and those with disabilities can benefit from more advanced and considerate markup. After all, how it looks matters little when your user cannot see the screen.

With only a casual tinker in Dreamweaver split view under my belt starting out, I learned how to hand code XHTML and CSS with this book alone (well, and some web research here and there and CSS Mastery is an excellent follow up). It's written clearly and gives multiple solutions for each case, while explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each. I cannot recommend this book enough, as even after I finished it, it remains close by as an invaluable desk reference that I refer to here and there.

This is an excellent book that all web designers should own. When I look at people's sites, I often validate them just out of curiosity, and it is so rare that I ever find a valid site. I always pay attention to validation, and this book just validates (for lack of a better term) my opinions on the importance of following web standards. This book is good for helping with workarounds for certain browsers (cough, IE) that don't support standards that most others do.

Web Standards Solutions is reasonably solid title that discusses the benefits and approaches of using web standards in the design of (X)HTML markup. CSS is also covered as a means to remove presentational elements from web page markup. Lists, tables, headings, hyperlinks, forms, quotations and layouts are all covered to a foundational level.

The information covered in the book is especially suited to new web site designers who are yet to understand these concepts. Web application developers - who might not focus their craft on the quality of their markup, would also benefit greatly. For others already possessing an basic understanding of semantic markup and presentation through CSS, the book might contain a few useful tips only.

Throughout each chapter the book doggedly follows a pattern that can become tedious. For each chapter, non-standards approaches are considered before the 'correct' standards based approach is shown. After this the 'extra credit' portion of the chapter provides practical applications of the given solution. Whereas the correct solution and extra credit sections are useful, the repetition of the defective non-standard approaches for in every chapter is sometimes repetitive and slightly contrived, and could be discussed more casually as required without dominating the format of every chapter.

Having said that, the book is easily read, has examples and practical applications, covers the breadth of the topic well and could certainly be used to bring anyone up to speed on the basics of standards-based approaches to the web page markup development.

Due to the amazing reviews (49 positive ones mainly at 5 starts) I thought this might be an interesting and useful work. What I didn't spot from the reviews is that this book is really aimed at the New Age market and not at healers. Despite the small size of the book, not all of the pages have text on both sides and a number of pages only have one or two paragraphs on each. Yet it still makes space for charms, divination and wands.

I knew it wasn't going to be what I had hoped for, when I opened it at random and discovered that there was an entry for baldness for which the recommended herb was Don (sic) Quai. The author then noted you could get this mix of herbs (ingredients unspecified) at an internet site. Whether this is just a commercial mixture that has taken it's name as a play on the name of the herb Dong/Dang quai, I have no idea. One listed herbal strategy, to stop anxiety or fear, was to "carry" a mixture of nettle and yarrow! She talks of gumplant and I have no idea which plant she might mean - I suspect you won't be surprised at this point that there are no latin binomials used. There weren't even any usage notes on any of the plants (except relating to pregnancy) - such as hops being contraindicated for people with depressive tendencies or that St. John's Wort (author: please note it is not "worth" but "wort" which is an Anglo-Saxon word for plant I believe) is likely to interact with many of the pharmaceutical medications which people may take. Hypericum is a fantastic herb but you need to know when it's OK to take it.

The most disturbing page for me was one on 'flying ointment'. The author notes it should only be used by the experienced herbalists/witches and was for external use but people may consider themselves experienced witches and have no idea about the ingredients. The two ingredients in this receipe that concerned me were the foxglove and aconite. Aconite (or Monkshood/Wolfsbane) is a restricted herb in the UK and can only be used externally. Even then I was taught that this herb, Aconitum napellus, should only be used in a 1:10 strength tincture and only comprise a maximum 1.3% of any final ointment. It is well absorbed and should not be used on unbroken skin. But that page lists no quantities, proportions, strengths or caveats (apart from the one about experience) for this mixture. Aconite was even listed first! One of the active alkaloids in this plant is known to first stimulate then paralyse the central nervous system. Medicinally it was used for neuralgia. Other physiological effects include tachycardia and hypertension. I was taught that just 3mg of the active alkaloid, found within this plant, was enough to kill a horse. Even if digitalis does act as an antidote to aconite poisoning, I have no idea what the absorption rate through the skin is as foxglove is banned in the UK (not even a Schedule III herb) so there's not a lot of modern information available for herbalist's use. That receipe left me absolutely speechless.

I would suggest for interested witches that they ensure they get a better primary reference to work from if they love herbs. I would personally suggest, as user-friendly, accessible and reliable works though not restricted to just these, are works like the Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman, anything by Jekka McVicar (good for growing tips), Rosemary Gladstar, Michael or Lesley Tierra or Susun Weed. The last author may well have a sympathetic world view with the pagan community too. Mrs Grieve is good but is almost a hundred years old and is missing modern research (her style suggests she would have included such information if it had been available to her at the time).

I can't comment on the wiccan or essential oil aspects but, purely from the material on herbs, I think this is awful. Don't get caught like I did!

This is a "meaning of" and "how to" book for those who have questions concerning essential oils & herbs and their folklore, secrets, meanings, and effects . There are precise directions and warnings concerning specific oils and herbs. This wouldn't necessarily be the best starter book for someone who is new to oils and herbs, but it certainly is a good addition to any herbalist library. It is easy to read and makes a great reference book.

Rochelle Moore's work is so different and so exact. I found this book great to work with and use it regularly. It is the type of book that you can refer back to over and over again. Wonderful author and so original

This is a fantastic introduction to the ancient art of Aromatherapy & Herbalism:

Essential oils are so powerful and the author shows (with great ease) how to treat everyday illness from dandruff, flu - to anxiety, insomnia and panic attacks.

The alphabetical listing is excellent and user-friendly.

Herbs: Not many people are comfortable using herbs as they are not sure on how to use them to ulitize their power. Once again, Rochelle Moore shows how to use herbs to treat physical and mental illness with great ease.

I am a herbalist and have practiced since birth as both my parents lived an alternative lifestyle. I do not often buy books and must say, this book is so easy for even the discerning.

In this introduction to the ancient ways Rochelle can and DOES teach her readers how to tap into our ancient knowledge and achieve success.

Not only A HANDY GUIDE (Aromatherapy & Herbalism) is a breakthrough for those who want to start to help themselves during everyday illnesses.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and, even as a herb user on a regular basis, I learned so much about essential oils and their strength.

I really enjoyed and actively partook in these ancient remedies and had a great time using them. it is a book that will use over and over and I cant quite place it (its unique) in the sense that it is a great step for beginners AND for those who have only tried one or the other (essential oils or herbs) - recommended

I am learning so much about how essential oils and herbs can help to alleviate everyday aches and pains and also how to use them for headaches, stress, anxiety and so much more.
Very easy to use book and I am enjoying trying out the different recipies

A friend loaned me her copies of this series. I enjoyed them so much I wanted my children to be able to read them, but I was apprehensive about having them read her autographed copies, and they weren't available at our local library. I was so delighted to find them at amazon.com and at such a great price I just couldn't pass them up. This is one of those true classics, great for both kids and adults. Enjoy!

The third book in Alexander's Prydain Chronicles is certainly the most romantic of the five books--Taran practically admits to being attracted to Eilonwy and shows jealousy when he learns that she's being sent to the Isle of Mona not just for "princess training" but, rather, because a prince (Rhun, providing the book's comic relief) is her intended husband.

This book takes the form of a standard rescue-the-damsel-in-distress story but Alexander keeps the pace brisk and introduces new characters that will return in future books: Llyan, a giant mountain cat, and Glew, a giant. Dallben and Coll only appear in the opening chapters, but returning characters include wandering bard Fflewddur Fflam, Prince Gwydion, and evil Queen Achren.

I woouldn't say that this is the best book in the series (that would be The High King, in my opinion) but it's a close second.

The princess needs a bit of deportment apparently.


When you decide you need to work on the aristocratic side of a girl, of course you would send her off with a pig keeper and a beast man, wouldn't you?

Because of this, and a bit of a princess triangle, they all end up in a Land of the Giants type scenario, or at least in part.

Here, along with a bit of magic, is a fantasy book where a crow actually comes in useful as a good thing.

This is a great series. One of my favorites and my husband's favorites.

All of Alexander's main characters are back in this book (besides Doli I think), and once again Alexander does a wonderful job of portraying the battle of good vs. evil in the fun garb of a fictional adventure. This book highlights self-sacrafice, as Taran has to choose whether or not to help the man competing for the same things that he wants. It also highlights the immorality of selfishness, as Glew is pretty much selfishness incarnate and ends up stuck in a cave with no way to get out, until Taran and co. decide to be merciful to him even though he tried to kill them.

This books is lots of fun, definitely a recommended read, along with the rest of the series.

Overall grade: A-

This book was hilarious from front to back! Most would consider this insightful, funny, and one could quickly forget that the author is speaking about a preppy cult! I can say that because I am southern belle, and people stereotype us southern's as well. I love the fact we all live in American and from East to West each culture is different! God Bless American.

I ran into this book in 1982, when I transferred from a small college to a major university-not because I wanted to be Preppy, but because how it had absolutely consumed the majority of the student body to BE as Prep as possible-and it couldn't be avoided, no matter how hard one tried to ignore it. While the book was meant to be somewhat satirical, the impact it had was huge at that time, increasing and encouraging an already present 'us VS them' mindset that I think persists to this day. It's a good book nonetheless, and I'm surprised that a updated/revised version hasn't come out by now. But I shudder at the possible impact that would have.

For those of us raised slightly below true "prep" status--good public schools, went to country club with friends (family too poor for own membership), prep clothes from consignment stores...this book helped us to fake it well. Everything in this book still holds...if one wants to fit into "good" society. Parts are good for a laugh, though, because in our thankfully diverse modern society, it seems antiquated to suggest that one needs to be either White, Anglo-Saxon, or Protestant (i.e., a WASP)to partake of the casually elegant prep lifestyle.

What an unexpected sum-up - I had a blast comparing all the parallels - its very true to preppy life - almost eerily so. from the moment I started this book I could not put it down - I ended up reading it in two sittings (it got late - 2am - and I had to get to sleep for squash).

This book is timeless. It was written before I was even born and much of it still holds true. Some of the references are dated, but most of the material is relevant and funny. It's a nice book to have out on your coffee table for guests to browse through for some light amusement.

I actually paid a little more for "nice" copy of the book. Perhaps it will be a collector's item someday. It is a perfect snapshot of the yuppie suburban family in the 1980's. Seeing as it was written in the EARLY 80's, the material was certainly ahead of its time. J.Crew is still selling madras today, and Lacoste polos are as ubiquitous as ever. The North Face has somewhat displaced LL Bean (mentioned a lot in the book as the "sporty" attire purchased for ski trips..etc). Also SUVs weren't yet on the scene when this book was published.

In this riveting memoir, Ms. Schilling recounts in detail her spiraling descent into mental illness, which began in adolescence, at camp, when she first heard the voices that she would fight for the rest of her life. Her heartbreaking narrative about this debilitating disease, schizophrenia, gives us all a compassion for these victims that we may not have had before. Her poignant tale reminds all of us who have our mental health intact just how lucky we really are.

The subject is explored from many angles. Her roommate helplessly stands by, knowing something is wrong but not knowing what to do. Her distraught parents are tortured by the worry that they may have caused this. Her distressed brother worries that the disease may strike him next. The story is told through chapters in the first person written by all those touched by Lori's illness, including hospital notes and a long chapter by Dr. Dollar, one of the two doctors who finally broke through to Lori with extensive therapy and the help of a new experimental medication.

Her courageous battle gives hope to all of us, those who have a battle of their own to wage, as well as those in the life of someone who does. I cried when Doctor Fischer left, and I cried when Lori finally put the hospitals behind her to start a new life on her own, a successful life filled with the love of family and friends.

"At last, my life is my own."

This book helps see into the confused world of mental illness like no other. Wonderful & hopeful!

This is a book that not only educates but provides the reader with a new compassion for those who deal with mental illness. Ms. Schiller presents a very complete picture of the sufferings of the mentally ill. From her writing, I gained a new perspective- including greater compassion- for those who are victims of this awful illness. I have only the highest praise for her honesty, her insight and her struggle. She is to be highly commended. A definite read.

This is a unique and beautiful book. Any person with interests in Psychiatry or Mental Health issues must read it. It's the first time I experienced what a schizophrenic felt first hand. A must-read!

Schiller writes grippingly and insightfully of her experience of schizophrenia including the "cold wet packs" of ice water soaked sheets used to restrain and calm her psychotic outbursts and her times in hospital "quiet rooms". The writing style is journalistic and factual when dealing with intense emotions and experiences. She is wonderfully descriptive in explaining the reality of her delusions and hallucinations, the experiences of pychotherapy, suicide attempts, cocaine use, psychiatric hospitals and half way houses. Eventually clozaril helped (with psychotherapy) to bring her back from the abyss of severely disabling schizophrenia. Her full diagnosis is "schizoaffective" disorder as her illness includes a bipolar disorder component. The accounts by Schiller, her family members, doctors and friends lend insight to the course of her disease especially as experienced by her family. I was particularly struck by her parents' progress from denial and resentment of both her diagnosis and her doctors to growing insight into schizophrenia and eventual recognition of the illness in their family history. While the multiple accounts make the narrative more difficult to follow they also add greatly to the story. Highly recommended!

Boynton books have really been hit or miss with my daughter - and us parents who must read them.

Hippos go Berserk is one of the better ones. The rhyming and counting keep the pace moving. It's no "Red Hat Green Hat" in the eyes of my daughter, but much better than some of the alternatives.

This book is fun reading that will entertain you as well as the kid. It's quick, easy reading, but has lots of pages so that the story doesn't end right away. I baby-sat an 18-month old toddler who loves books, and I didn't mind at all reading and re-reading this one. The words flow well, and I didn't feel awkward reading aloud the way I do with some other books. I will definitely buy this one for my niece!

This is one of my family's favorite childrens books ever. It not only completely speaks to our crazy and chaotic, yet incredibly loving extended family, but the last line -- "One hippo alone once more, misses the the other forty-four" -- sums up that poignancy of having to say good-bye. All that, plus it helps teach kids to count. (Both my five- and eight-year-olds still want to make sure that there are 44 actual hippos at the height of it all.) I never tire of reading it and have given it as a gift at nearly every baby shower I've ever been to. If you haven't read Sandra Boynton's childrens books, do so now.

And so do our kids. All of her books are our favorite first books for our kids.

I purchased this charming Sandra Boyton hardbook for an adult psychologist with a penchant for all things hip...po, rather than for a child. She found it laugh-out-loud delightful and insightful and will undoubtedly share the joy of reading it aloud to a growing roster of great-nieces and great-nephews. However, I doubt if she'll part with Hippos Go Berserk!