Publications Books

I have purchased 6 books and 2 cd sets to get started in hand binding. This book by far will get you going with simple, straight forward instruction.

Less "flashy" than some titles out there but extremely substantive. A comprehensive guide that explains and explores its subject matter from every angle.

Even for a 50+ year old, third generation publisher and printer, this publication enlightened even myself on the lost art of handmaking and restoring books. Very helpful for the novice, or for the collector of fine books - to be learned and unes as a reference.

This book doesn't have flashy pictures, but it teaches you how to bind your own books. The instructions are detailed, the process is well explained and it worked great for me.

I have also bought another book on bookbinding (or so I thought) - Book Arts: Beautiful Bindings for Handmade Books by Mary Kaye Seckler. This one is the exact opposite of the previous - flashy pictures, but absolutely useless.

After reading this book I was able to complete my first ever sewn multiple signature hardbound book with little to no problems. Watson's numbered and illustrated instructions were simple and easy to follow and his techniques - especially on proper folding, measuring, squaring, mitering the corners and attaching bookcloth - proved very helpful. He even provides a section in the end of the book on how to make your own bindery tools, which is great because equipment such as sewing frames and press tubs can be quite expensive these days.

Watson assumes that you have already collated the signatures for your text block. This is important because there are some things you'll have to consider when assembling the text block in the first place (such as squaring off the fore edge for a finished look) But overall, this is a useful reference for serious home bookbinders.

I highly recommend it!

If you're looking for a light read, Trotsky's History of Russian Revolution is not the way to go by any means. But, despite its length, and despite the enormity of its topic, this is an amazingly accessible and engrossing account of one of the modern world's most important political and historical events, written by one of its main players. There are certainly some parts that are more difficult than others, and some where clearly Trotsky assumes an understanding of what happened in Russia during 1917 - an expectation of his readers that would have been utterly reasonable for the audience he was writing for, at the time he was writing, but which at times can be a bit confusing for a Westerner reading it almost 100 years later. But this is only occasionally frustrating and there is, in any event, a very helpful set of appendices and glossaris at the back that help you know who's who and what's what. It is, undoubtedly in my view, well worth the effort that it will take you to get through it. I don't think any other history of the revolution is as detailed, as comprehensive, and as engaging as this. There are times when it really has you on the edge of your seat - and that, no doubt, is largely because it is written by someone who was actually there.

Max Eastman, who was a friend of Trotsky, gives us a translation that feels tremendously fresh and was enthusiastically endorsed by Trotsky himself.

Leon Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution is partisan history at its best. One does not and should not, at least in this day in age, ask historians to be `objective'. One simply asks that the historian present his or her narrative and analysis and get out of the way. Trotsky meets that criterion. Furthermore, in Trotsky's case there is nothing like having a central actor in that drama, who can also write brilliantly and wittily, give his interpretation of the important events and undercurrents swirling around Russia in 1917. If you are looking for a general history of the revolution or want an analysis of what the revolution meant for the fate of various nations after World War I or its affect on world geopolitics look elsewhere. E.H. Carr's History of the Russian Revolution offers an excellent multi-volume set that tells that story through the 1920's. Or if you want to know what the various parliamentary leaders, both bourgeois and Soviet, were thinking and doing from a moderately leftist viewpoint read Sukhanov's Notes on the Russian Revolution. For a more journalistic account John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World is invaluable. Trotsky covers some of this material as well. However, if additionally, you want to get a feel for the molecular process of the Russian Revolution in its ebbs and flows down at the base in the masses where the revolution was made Trotsky's is the book for you.

The life of Leon Trotsky is intimately intertwined with the rise and decline of the Russian Revolution in the first part of the 20th century. As a young man, like an extraordinary number of talented Russian youth, he entered the revolutionary struggle against Czarism in the late 1890's. Shortly thereafter he embraced what became a lifelong devotion to a Marxist political perspective. However, except for the period of the 1905 Revolution when Trotsky was chairman of the Petrograd Soviet and later in 1912 when he tried to unite all the Russian Social Democratic forces in an ill-fated unity conference, which goes down in history as the `August Bloc', he was essentially a free lancer in the international socialist movement. At that time Trotsky saw the Bolsheviks as "sectarians" as it was not clear to him at that time that for socialist revolution to be successful the reformist and revolutionary wings of the movement had to be organizationally split. With the coming of World War I Trotsky drew closer to Bolshevik positions but did not actually join the party until the summer of 1917 when he entered the Central Committee after the fusion of his organization, the Inter-District Organization, and the Bolsheviks. This act represented an important and decisive switch in his understanding of the necessity of a revolutionary workers party to lead the revolution.

As Trotsky himself noted, although he was a late comer to the concept of a Bolshevik Party that delay only instilled in him a greater understanding of the need for a vanguard revolutionary workers party to lead the revolutionary struggles. This understanding underscored his political analysis throughout the rest of his career as a Soviet official and as the leader of the struggle of the Left Opposition against the Stalinist degeneration of the Russian Revolution. After his defeat at the hands of Stalin and his henchmen Trotsky wrote these three volumes in exile in Turkey from 1930 to 1932. At that time Trotsky was not only trying to draw the lessons of the Revolution from an historian's perspective but to teach new cadre the necessary lessons of that struggle as he tried first reform the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International and then later, after that position became politically untenable , to form a new, revolutionary Fourth International. Trotsky was still fighting from this perspective in defense of the gains of the Russian Revolution when a Stalinist agent cut him down. Thus, without doubt, beyond a keen historian's eye for detail and antidote, Trotsky's political insights developed over long experience give his volumes an invaluable added dimension not found in other sources on the Russian Revolution.

As a result of the Bolshevik seizure of power the so-called Russian Question was the central question for world politics throughout most of the 20th century. That central question ended practically with the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's. However, there are still lessons, not all negative, to be learned from the experience of the Russian Revolution. Today, an understanding of this experience is the task for the natural audience for this book, the young alienated radicals of Western society.

The central preoccupation of Trotsky's volumes reviewed here and of his later political career concerns the problem of the crisis of revolutionary leadership of the international labor movement and its national components. That problem can be stated as the gap between the already existing objective conditions necessary for beginning socialist construction based on the current level of capitalist development and the immaturity or lack of revolutionary leadership to overthrow the old order. From the European Revolutions of 1848 on, not excepting the heroic Paris Commune, until his time the only successful working class revolution had been in led by the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1917. Why? Anarchists may look back to the Paris Commune or forward to the Spanish Civil War in 1936 for solace but the plain fact is that absent a revolutionary party those struggles were defeated without establishing the prerequisites for socialism. History has indicated that a revolutionary party that has assimilated the lessons of the past and is rooted in the working class allied with and leading the plebian masses in its wake is the only way to bring the socialist program to fruition. That hard truth shines through Trotsky's three volumes. Unfortunately, this is still the central problem confronting the international labor movement today. Read this book many times.

This is one of the most exciting books I've ever read. It tells the amazing story of the Russian revolution of 1917, from the overthrow of the Czar to the Bolshevik Revolution of October. What makes it an incredible read is that the author, Leon Trotsky, was at the middle of it all, as one of the central planners of the insurrection that took power. Trotsky was a great revolutionary and great writer. But one thing I especially like about the book is that Trotsky uses excerpts from many other accounts, including those who hated him with a passion, to tell the story accurately. It is an inspiring story, especially for new generations of young people, workers and farmers who need to learn about an example showing that the dog-eat-dog system of capitalism we live in can be overthrown. For the definitive account of how this great revolution was later derailed, see Trotsky's Revolution Betrayed.

In spite of its length, I've read this book several times. It isn't just a widely acclaimed historic and literary masterpiece, written by a leading participant in the events he describes. It isn't just vividly written and thoroughly researched.

More importantly, it's one of the best books ever written about revolution, as relevant today as ever.

The most important conclusion that emerges is the crucial role of a revolutionary party with an overwhelmingly working class membership, leadership and political orientation: a party that has trained itself in the many years of partial struggles that precede a revolutionary crisis; studied together the lessons of past revolutionary struggles throughout the world; and done everything possible to educate broader layers of workers in those lessons.

(The point is illustrated both positively and negatively. More than once, Lenin had to turn to the Bolshevik's working class rank and file against wavering intellectuals in the party leadership.)

Please don't be put off by the first chapter, the driest and most difficult in the book. The basic idea is that capitalism arrived late in Russia, imported from abroad in the form of huge factories, which laid the basis for the rapid development of a strong, militant labor movement. As a result, the emerging capitalist class was reluctant to mobilize the masses against the feudal nobles and landlords that stood in their way, for fear that the aroused workers might turn on the capitalists themselves.

Under the impact of war and economic crisis, the resulting mixture of different forms of class oppression exploded in a combined revolt of workers, farmers, and oppressed nationalities, destroying both feudalism and capitalism by the time it was through.

Several postcripts:

(1) If you're wondering what went wrong in the Soviet Union after such a promising start, I recommend "The Revolution Betrayed" by Trotsky; also "Lenin's Final Fight" by Lenin.

(2) I disagree with Trotsky's assessment of the pre-1917 differences between himself and Lenin concerning the role of working farmers, the relationship between democratic (anti-feudal) revolution and socialist revolution, and Lenin's formula, "the democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry". I think Trotsky's discussion of this is confusing. I recommend "Their Trotsky and Ours" by Jack Barnes. There is also a good debate in "Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution" by Doug Jenness, Ernest Mandel, and V.I. Lenin.

(3) Another reviewer pointed out that this book is available online. However, the printed version has glossaries of people, places, organizations and unfamiliar terms; a more complete chronology; and a thorough index. I relied very heavily on all of these, so much so that I used color-coded post-its to turn to them easily. Also, parts of the online version are full of obvious typos; books from Pathfinder Press are proofread very thoroughly.

(4) Finally, I recommend the ads in the back of the book. Pathfinder Press is defined by a political goal, not commercial success. It aims to provide a platform for revolutionary leaders speaking in their own words. If you like one book, you will probably like others.

This is a huge and wonderful book-- three volumes in one book, some 1200 pages in all. The story Trotsky lays out is most inspiring and encouraging: how revolutionary-minded workers and peasants in Russia, led by the Bolshevik party, overthrew the centuries-old Czarist monarchy, defeated the attempts to impose a capitalist dictatorship and went on to establish a worker and peasant revolutionary government, opening the road to the possibility of building a socialist society. It's a book you can read repeatedly, getting more out of it each time.

Trotsky explains with rich detail the growing social crisis that wracked Russia, the devastating impact of World War I, the economic collapse, and the incapacity of the old regime to offer any way out. He takes up political developments amongst workers and peasants and the oppressed nationalities of the Russian Empire, including the many millions forced into the Russian army. You understand their growing conviction that the old society had to be and could be overturned and a new order established. And Trotsky gives real insight into the leadership that made possible an actual revolution under these conditions-- the development of the Bolshevik party led by V.I. Lenin and it's successful fight to win the allegiance of the struggling millions.

Trotsky was, along with Lenin, a central leader of the 1917 revolution and of the government it established. After Lenin's death in 1924, he led the international fight to defend the Bolshevik's revolutionary course against the conservative and reactionary bureaucracy headed by Joseph Stalin that came to power later in the Soviet Union. This work was a key part of Trotsky's efforts to make the real facts and lessons 1917 available to future generations of workers, farmers and radicalizing young people. Read it along with some of his many other important works, including The Transitional Program for Socialist Revolution, In Defense of Marxism, The Revolution Betrayed, and The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany.

Within the first few pages of this novel, I was hooked. Christa Faust's heroine was a REAL woman, not perfect but still highly sexual and interesting. What I liked best though was the dialogue. Faust's use of a new "slang" that was a mix of spanish and Japanese is genuis as the "slang" used in A Clockwork Orange. It made me feel even more transported into the rich fantasy world that is Hoodtown.

Christa Faust really takes the time to set up this bizarre mix of lucha libre culture and crime noir. She really knows her stuff and stays true to the unspoken tenets of both. The story starts off slow, with hints of back story and well thought-out character development. We get pulled in as this dark mystery unfolds. The violence escalates; the questions lead to stark realizations; the plot twists and writhes like a snake on hot sand. The pay-off is classic. All the elements are here. The story is logical, believable, and captivating. Faust has created a world that could easily become a franchise. It's a quick read due to the way it hooks the reader. Once you start, you just don't want to put this book down. Don't just think about buying it, kid...just do it. You can't go wrong with Hoodtown.

Where has this novel been my whole life? It's got everything I like: Female Masked Wrestlers,Noir and stilletto sharp dialogue that gets you like a knife to the ribs. The cover by Rafael Navarro is really eye catching too. All in all I give Hoodtown five masks,two thumbs up and all my love too.

Let me preface this by saying that I really don't follow the lucha world. I've never seen a Santo film, and my only familiarity with wrestling is from my early adolescence, when Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was king.
That said: this was an amazing novel. I didn't want it to end. You do not need to be a lucha fan to love this, so don't let that aspect turn you away. I highly recommend this (and Faust's novel Control Freak, which also blew me away, and also dealt with a world with which I am unfamiliar). Faust does an excellent job making you feel a kinship with these characters and this world.

I loved this book - every dark, well-turned, beautifully plotted word. Although its byline is "a Lucha-Noir Novel" you don't have to be a fan of Latin American pro wrestling to enjoy this pulp wonder. Hoodtown is a ghetto where "Hoods" (a society where everyone from birth to death wear the lucha libre hoods as their identity) try to live their everyday lives among gangsters, drugs, and crime, just minutes from Angel City where "Skins" live a life of order and plenty. The heart of this book is "X" a retired, 40ish, luchadora (lady wrestler) who is thrown into the investigation of the murders of Hoodtown prostitutes. The women are not only brutalized but their mascaras (masks) are stolen, a crime as heinous as the murders themselves. Although this novel is allegorical, the character of X is beautifully realistic from her frustration that her life isn't how she planned it, to her inability to commit to the passionate trumpet player who adores her. This book is dark, sensuous, and wicked at every turn, and I take my hood off to the very talented Christa Faust who is in a league all her own.

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 first read Hunter's book as a teenage boy and was transported by his stories of hunting dangerous game in the African bush. Hunter's influence was one of the reasons that I became a big game hunter, myself, hunting all over the world including much of Southern Africa and Ethiopia. Still, it is with regret that I couldn't see Africa in a more pristine age as did John Hunter.

It is pitiful that Kenya, the site of many of Hunter's adventures, subsequently banned big game hunting and the traditions of one of the greatest of all hunting nations have largely been lost. I keep hearing rumors that Kenya is "opening up", again. Let's hope so.

Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Conquest of Mexico

This is the best book on African Dangerous Game Hunting that I have read to date. John Hunter (coincidence of name and profession) hunted in Africa (mostly Kenya) in the first half of the 20th century and with his 'cropping' activities for the Kenya Game Department shot staggering numbers of the 'big five'. His unassuming old world style is engaging and I found the book difficult to put down and was disappointed when I reached the end - I was left craving more. That he survived to write his books is testimony to his skill as a hunter.

A great book, one of the best on African hunting I have ever read. Hunter is right up there with Pondoro Taylor as knowledgeable yet entertaining as well.

This book is a timeless classic and definitely, definitely worth reading. If you are a big game hunter (or an aspiring big game hunter), this book is an essential addition to your library. This is quite possibly the best hunting book ever written. Better than Hemingway's accounts, in my opinion.

I first read "Hunter" when I was in college more than 40 years ago, and I can still remember J.A. Hunter's sadness and lament when he described his feelings upon the loss of his dog. In that instance he said "that you grow too fond of a dog. I sometimes wonder whether the pleasure in owning a dog is worth the misery caused by his death." An excellent book that I would recommend to all readers, but especially teenagers and young adults.

Catcher in the Rye protagonist Holden Caulfield was a classic example of an introverted child who showed no enthusiasm for his schoolwork. "If Holden Caulfield Were in my Classroom: Inspiring Love, Creativity, and Intelligence in Middle School Kids" is a guide for teachers who want to reach out for these children who are trapped in their own shells. With plenty of tips to approach these children carefully so that they don't retreat further, "If Holden Caulfield Were in my Classroom" grants everything educators need to reach the hardest to reach kids, enthusiastically recommended.

Don't think this book is just for teachers or others in education, this book can benefit anyone. As a student in Bernie's class, he provided me the 2 years of my life that still have taught me more about myself than the other 27 combined. I have always wished that there was some way people in my life, who never had the opportunity to be transformed by Bernie, could in some way. I believe with this book, there is finally a way for those not as lucky as myself, at least in some small way, to as Conroy states in the introduction to the book, "encounter ... a man on fire."

Do yourself a favor. Read this book.

It isn't that I identify personally with this book from my experience in Bernie's classroom; it is that my experience in his classroom was profoundly life changing. I was forced to look at my self and be responsible for my actions and the choices that I made.This was hard, exciting and life changing. I wish more people had had the opportunity to experience Bernie's teaching, love, patience and creativity. Oh, now you do! This book is a phenomenal recount of the experience of the child and the teacher as they move each other forward creatively and personally.
Buy it, read it, implement it!

As a parent I find this book simply eye opening, compasionate,wise and tender.It is a great read that is impossible to put down.

Another mother told me about this book and now I'm sending it to all of my friends who have kids entering middle school.

Bernie Schein's book is amazing not so much for what he tells us about his teaching methods as it is for the quality of the kids he has taught. The writing he pries out of pent up, isolated, bored, and anguishing teenagers (many of whom have learing disabilities)is unbelievable.

Bernie Schein shows us how to drag intelligence and creativity out of young teenagers by breaking down the barriers that block intimacy. His book demonstrates a unique ability to cut through BS and see people for who they really are. Kids trust him because he loves them and he doesn't judge.

This book had me crying shamelessly in a crowded airport but it was also instructive. It helped me to see how I can hang onto a good relationship with my kids. I have 11-year-old boy/girl twins who slip back and forth between youth and childhood and I'm scared of the teenage years, but Schein shows how to get through, how to keep them close by understanding them.

His book is both heart breaking and useful. I recommend it to parents.

Havnt quite finished reading but this is an interesting journal of the events experienced, people encountered and travels of Mr. Stephens as he visits Central America.

This is a Must read for anyone with even a passing interest in the mayan culture. Still easy to read even though it was written over 150 years ago! Imagine you are one of the first explores to adventure into the the jungles of the Yucatan and vist the ancient cities hidden in the jungle. I wish I had read this book before My trip to the Yucatan, would have made my trip that much more enjoyable! The Catherwood engravings are spectacular!

I realize that not everyone shares my taste in literature, but if you are an armchair adventurer (or a real adventurer) with a refined sense of humor, I guarantee you will thoroughly enjoy this book, as well as Volume II. Many evenings, after a grueling day in the office, John L. Stephens transported me to another place and time with his excellent gift for writing, eye for detail and sense of humor that frequently had me waking my poor spouse with irrepressible laughter. As an author, explorer and humorist with the subtlest of wits, I place Stephens in the ranks with Mark Twain, and that is the ultimate compliment. Enjoy.

I think this book is fascinating for two types of people:
- Those who are interested in the history of Central America, who will see in Stephens a witness of time
- Those very familiar with Central America's geography (specially Guatemala's), who will enjoy reading Stephens' descriptions of many places that (in their majority) still exist

In 1839, at 34, John L. Stephens was appointed as "United States Minister" - a sort of US envoy - for Central America (which at the time was still one country). Stephens was a serial traveler: 5 years ago, he had visited Eastern Europe (Greece, Turkey, Russia and Poland) and the Middle East (Egypt and Syria), and had already published a couple of books about these trips.

Stephens decided to combine his diplomatic duty with his interest in searching for Mayan ruins in the region. By October, he embarked with his friend Frederick Catherwood (another extensive traveller) in a trip that would take them to what was (already) a politically convulsed region.

At the time, Central America was filled with political turmoil. The largest state of the country, Guatemala, had basically fallen in the hands of Rafael Carrera, a non-educated peasant. Carrera refused to recognize the authority of Francisco Morazán who, based in San Salvador, was at least in theory, the President of the Central American confederation. Rumours, political intrigues and suspicions abounded at the time.

And so, in this setting, Stephens got into a boat, and after a few days in Belize, travelled (by boat again) to the Caribbean shore of Guatemala. He entered the country through Rio Dulce and touched land in a small village in the shores of the Izabal Lake.

Starting there, Stephens made a trip, generally by mule's back, that took him to Zacapa, Chiquimula, Copan (in Honduras), Esquipulas, Guastatoya, Guatemala City (already established by then where it is now), Antigua Guatemala, Escuintla, Iztapa (in the Pacific shores) and Amatitlán. He later took a boat and went to El Salvador, and then to Costa Rica, where he disembarked and returned to Guatemala by land.

Apparently, Stephens was one of the first "adventure tourists" of modern times. He ascended many volcanoes and spent a considerable time in Copan, cleaning up the forrest that was still covering the ruins and helping his friend Catherwood to draw reproductions of the ruins (these drawings are included in the book). In addition, and as part of his diplomatic duties, he met some of the leading political figures of the time, like Carrera himself.

Stephens not only did all the above, but ended up writing a very nice and enjoyable book that describes very well what he saw and thought at the time.

In short, this book is a rare jewel that allows the reader to better imagine how was life and nature in Central America in the middle of the XIX century.

(Note: the review above is based on Volume I - a book that curiously did not exist in Amazon's inventory at the time of my reading in 2005. Being respectful of my own past review, I havent' changed it. The next paragraphs though, are 2007 additions in which I comment on Volume 2)

If the reader enjoyed Vol 1, she/he will surely find Vol 2 a satisfying read. Vol 2 starts in Nicaragua, and continues in El Salvador, where Mr Stephens continues in his search of a Central American government. I will not delve into the details of all of Mr Stephens' adventures. Suffice it to say that he gets to meet the recently defeated Francisco Morazán, meets Rafael Carrera (again), travels through the Guatemalan western highlands, gets to know the story of the Los Altos state, crosses the border to Mexico, visits Palenque and Uxmal, finally returning to the US.

Its particularly interesting to read Stephens' account of Carrera and his young government. The fact that Carrera was even known at the time as the King of the Indians is an interesting point to notice -any reader knowledgeable with Guatemala's history and societal dynamics could extrapolate this to many events of the past 50 years.

Also interesting is Stephens' rebuttal of previous accounts regarding the difficulty of visiting ruins like the ones in Palenque. The more widely known stories at the time created the impression that visiting the ruins was full of dangers. Always the practical and matter-of-factly adventurer, Stephens bluntly says that they are (were) untrue, and that the greatest hardships he and Mr Catherwood endured were due to the unstable revolutionary state of the countries.

If the reader is interested or has knowledge of archaeology, he/she must also know that Vol 2 has plenty detailed descriptions and diagrams prepared by Mr Catherwood (who in my opinion was a very gifted artist, being able to draw the intrincated details of many Mayan ruins).

I strongly recommend Vol 2 to anyone interested in Central American history, archaeology, the mayans, or true old-fashioned adventure travel.

This is a must read for any one with an interest in the ancient Mayan culture an ruin sites. the other reviewers have summed this book up great, but I just wanted to throw in my two cents.

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.

If it is at all possible to teach relatively "hard to grasp" concepts in order to teach how to develop true techniques for developing curricula, Dr. Bruce has hit the nail on the mark! The concepts in this book and the techniques for teaching them are helpful in any situation and can be applied to training in business or in the field of education. The book follows the principles of ID to teach applications of ID. The activities are helpful and fun! I have recommended this book to friends in education and I have it at my desk at the office. 5 Stars!

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

Once again John has written a magnificent "how to" book that should be in EVERY serious drummers' library. The examples (and the stories of the great musicians behind them)are wonderful for use in actual performance situations not just in a practice room or private lesson session. It'll keep me and my students quite busy for some time. Wish I'd thought of this one.

BUTCH MILES

John Riley continues to amaze me with his books. He can put a lot of information down on paper that most people can't explain in person. A great thorough study of the great drummers with helpful tips on how to get better in your own playing.

Highly recommended, can't say much more. It's really well explained and doesn't leave you floundering under a dense mass of information, even
though it gets into some advanced concepts. Riley always keeps your mind on the important issues about being a good musician and makes you never lose sight of the point of the excercises.

The transcriptions are excellent, the commentary is well written, his insights are very informative. I have great respect for musicians who love their instruments and put a lot of love in their publications. John meets all the requirements and knows what he is talking about. Buy this book, woodshed the examples and your playing will improve!

There are a lot of usefull advises.

I really have tattered the edges of this book. Normally, I would read a technical book like this, extract all of the information I needed, and then set it back on the book shelf. Not with jQuery in Action! I bring it to work, and then I take it back home in the evening. It is an outstanding book for any programmer who is really serious about keeping all of the user events at the browser level; instead of always going back to the server for something. This book has raised my level of awareness of all of the DOM-level programming available with the use of simple jQuery scripting. Thanks Bear and Yehuda for all of your hard work. Please keep on writing and authoring!!

This book is a great introduction to jQuery... for someone such as myself who had only a rudimentary grasp of javascript this book was a real eye opener. The depth to which 'jQuery in Action' goes in describing how even the freshest web developer can begin extending the capabilities of jQuery, writing plugins and creating well crafted and sensible script, is well worth the time taken to read the book. The writing won't put you to sleep and the sample scripts are extremely helpful... Now if only they had a book about jQuery, PHP, and Ajax...

jQuery is a fantastic JavaScript framework - not unlike Ruby on Rails, it has brought back the fun into building rich web applications. Whether you are a novice (like myself), or a seasoned JavaScript veteran, you'll find the level of detail just right, which in itself is a great sign of a well structured framework.

Yehuda Katz and Bear Bibeault focus on jQuery core and walk the reader through all the basics of working with selectors, manipulating the DOM, working with JavaScript events, simple AJAX with jQuery, as well as, making use of external plugins. By the end, I felt very comfortable with jQuery - I understood the internals and framework decisions, and had enough breadth to start developing a non-trivial web application. Interactive examples sprinkled throughout the book were very helpful.

Highly recommended read if you're looking for a structured introduction to jQuery core.

My introduction to jQuery was working on a web application for a few months a year ago. I learned enough to get along by reading online documentation. Despite that previous experience, however, I learned quite a bit from jQuery in Action.

I found the book's level-of-detail to be just right. The authors neither gloss over important details nor do they belabor the obvious. The book is not an introduction to JavaScript or AJAX, but neither does it assume previous experience with jQuery. One area that did receive extra attention, because it needs it, was the differing event models in Internet Explorer vs. other browsers. I appreciated the fact that jQuery in Action spends half of one chapter explaining these important differences, before moving on to a description of jQuery's event handling mechanism.

I am not a big fan of JavaScript. This book is pretty much perfect for programmers that need to use JavaScript but have not weathered in the trenches with the language. If you have weathered in the trenches, I suspect this book will make your programming that much more productive and enjoyable. The book states on the back cover that you should have some experience with JavaScript and Ajax. True - but I have found that reading through this book actually clarifies many aspects of JavaScript and Ajax via the presentation of the framework. Depends on the reader but I would expect that if you are familiar with another language like Python, have a handy JavaScript reference at hand, and understand the basic concepts of Ajax, then you are good to go. The book is a pleasure to read and the technology is very worthwhile to learn.