Media Books

I loved this book. It's very well written and very informative - definitely not "dry" and "stuffy".

The book is interesting as well as fascinating with much information. Just what was needed to add to her Elizabeth Peters novels about Egypt.

A few years ago I visited these areas and the tour guide spoke with great certainty about everything. Come to find out almost everything is subject to question. Mertz is clear on what has been established, and what is theory. The time, energy and research put into Egyptian archeaology opens new avenues of doubt and make facts more and more elusive.

Mertz warns at the beginning that this is not a text nor a complete history. She says it is an collection material that she finds interesting. The first part was a little TOO informal for me. Mertz hits her stride with Hatshepsut and keeps the narrative strong through the end.

For anyone who has an interest in Egypt or ever wondered exactly who the ancient Egyptians were and why their dynasties lasted for thousands of years, Barbara Mertz's "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs" is the perfect introduction. More commonly known to readers as Elizabeth Peters, Mertz is the author of the popular Amelia Peabody mystery series.

Long before she started her career as a best-selling writer, however, Barbara Mertz began as a trained Egyptologist, with a PhD from the famed Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, the launching pad for many successful Egyptologists. These credentials make her the perfect person to write this history, as she is able to translate the rich Egyptian history of the pharaohs into something more easily understood by readers with no archaeological background, except an interest in Egypt.

This is not to say that the book is always easy reading, although Mertz tackles her subject with a passion and humor readers are unlikely to find in any other, more typical history tome. She manages to bring the Egyptians of old to life, translating ancient hieroglyphs into fascinating stories of individuals, each with their own purpose, strengths and weaknesses exposed.

She opens up the fascinating world of tomb robbers and archaeologists (which some claim are not so far apart in purpose or behavior at times). She demonstrates how information is extrapolated from archaeological findings and illustrates how history is revised over time as new facts and theories come to light.

Despite the injection of personality Mertz brings, this can be dense material at times. For anyone uninitiated in the world of the Egyptians, there are more than 30 dynasties, each with several rulers, falling into 10 eras, dating from the Stone Age Archaic Period to the time of Cleopatra and the Roman invasion. The sheer length of time and individuals and events covered is staggering.

With repeating pharaohnic names, unfamiliar landscapes and place names, conflicting historical research and theories, the book can be overwhelming at times. Yet the reward for sticking it out (dare I even say, re-reading parts) is worth the time and effort expended. Frankly, I read this book twice, cover to cover, and the second time around, I finally began to get a real sense for the overall arc of historical time period covered. And I would hazard to say that it seems even more likely that dipping in again would yield even more historical treasure and understanding.

The richest gift that Mertz offers in her overview of Egypt can be found in the simple stories of the rulers described here, in illuminating for the novice the archaeological tricks of the trade (and weaknesses of such methods) used to determine exactly (or to the best of anyone's knowledge) what happened so many years ago. Mertz's infectious passion for all things Egyptian (well, except possibly pottery shards) can't help but influence her readers to want to learn more. Through her book, she has opened the door to her own exciting world, and readers can't help but want to share in that magic.

Christine Zibas, Book Pleasures

Writing under the pen name Elizabeth Peters, Barbara Mertz started the Amelia Peabody series of tongue-in-cheek Victorian archaeological thrillers in 1975. But 11 years before then this trained Egyptologist published the first edition of "Temples, Tombs & Hieroglyphs".

Like many other books this traces of the history of ancient Egypt from the pre-dynastic to the Ptolemies. But Mertz brings her sense of humor to lighten what can be a dry series of lists of kings. She brings to life highpoints in the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, as well as the chaotic periods in between. Moreover, she lifts the veil and lets the reader in on many of the scholarly disputes, like those over the woman pharaoh Hatshepsut and the role of Nefertiti in the succession to her heretical husband Akhenaton.

It's also nice to see someone reveal the egomaniac Ramses II for what he was, a poor leader who lost the second Battle of Kadesh, and who covered his weaknesses by pasting his image everywhere.

For anyone who has read the Peabody books, including the depiction there of Sir William Flinders Petrie (and his approach to feeding his staff), Mertz' homage here to the founder of modern Egyptology is interesting.

In her forward to this Second Edition, Mertz says she thought she wouldn't have to do much to revise the earlier work. But then, she adds, taking into account four decades of new discoveries proved to be a challenge. There are places in this book where she discusses post-1964 work, but the addition of the new material is seamless, with no sense of things just stuck in.

This is a delightful introduction to the fascinating history of ancient Egypt.

My 14 month old has been choosing this one over other bedtime books since at least 9 months. The rhythm is soothing to me too, even on the 3rd reading in a row. That really helps by the end of the day!

I have bought many copies of Ten, Nine, Eight to give as baby gifts. I love this book. I have been a librarian for over thirty years. I am so glad that this one has stayed in print.

The more I read this book to my 2-year-old son, the more I like it. He liked it right away. It really is a peaceful "goodnight" book.

My children have this book memorized, and so do I. We recite it sometimes without the book as a going to bed poem.

It is a wonderful addition to any parent's repertoire. If you have a friend expecting, be the one to buy this book.

It's better than "Good Night, Moon" by about 78%, at least.

Not quite a board book, but smaller than most picture books, "Ten, Nine, Eight" fills a nice gap in the middle. Molly Bang's exquisite colors illustrate this counting (from 10-to-1) book that culminates with the protagonist fast asleep.

The context is as warm and familiar as the counted objects: A little girl (it's difficult to tell how old she is, sometimes her face looks a liitle more mature than at other time) climbs up onto her daddy's lap. The dad is obviously smitten with his daughter, but in an unforced manner that seems to come from deep inside. The gentle pictures of their affectionate interactions provide the countable objects. These include 10 toes, 7 shoes (later we see the cat with the missing one), six "pale" seashells (each with its own shape), four "sleepy eyes which open and close," two "strong arms around a fuzzy bear's head (actually, you can see three arms, but you can always exclaim, "you're right, there are three arms!)," and "one big girl all ready for bed."

Ms. Bang's varied palette uses both bold primary colors and some more "sophisticated" hues not always found in a book for crawlers and toddlers. Overall, the tone is pleasant and warm, and the rhymes unforced and natural.

Based on the same-titled movie released in 2001, Mel Odom's novelization of the Angelina Jolie flick is top-notch, enveloping every quality that made the archaeologist one of the most popular icons of the video game franchise.
Lara Croft observes the first third of a complete planet alignment - an event that happens once every five thousand years - through the high-tech telescope at her home, Croft Manor. Little did she know, only hours later, she would become an integral part in protecting the alignment's omnipotent power from ill-intended hands.

Through her deceased father's gift of a planetary clock, she travels from one exotic location to another to locate the pieces of the power's medium, a triangle emblazoned with the All-Seeing Eye, the Masonic symbol of omniscience. But an internal desire to see her father again brings her motives to locate the triangle halves into question. If she finds the pieces, will she use the power it contains for herself? Or will she snatch the godly control away from her foes and bury its abilities for another five thousand years?

Odom's literary portrayal is accurate and engrossing, detailing the emotional impact of each event and discovery, someting that may be lacked in the film version. Rather than drooling over Angelina Jolie, Raider fans can envision the described settings and locales in the book with relative ease, with every exotic touch in place. There are only very slight changes in the book, such as Croft enemy (or perhaps not) Alex West's naked romp from the shower to the bedroom in response to mysteriously lurking shadows (provided by Croft, of course); that differs from the movie's ending locale of the dining room and its strategically placed dining table.

But the story proceeds with the same heart-pounding action and romantic passion that's found in the box-office seller. Though short, it makes the reader feel as though they are in Croft's military-booted shoes, even as much as the video games do.

- T.C. Robson

This book is great. It is just like the movie, only with a little more dialouge. There are even parts before Lara's dad died telling how he tried to stop the evil. The deleted scenes only able to watch on the DVD are in this book, and I thought that was great! The action level seems a little less than the movie. The book seems to just speed by the action and to the point. I didn't really like that factor. If you liked the movie, read the novel, it is GREAT!

Very good in fact. It adds alot to the movie. More fleshed out characters and such. It's only 6 bucks, so what do you have to ose? Another plus is the 8 pages of pictures featuring the amazingly beautiful Angelina Jolie.

This book was just.. WOW!! It was way better then the movie, b/c the movie can only put a certain amount of scenes, but the book you get it all! i loved all the stuff between lara and alex, if you are a lara/alex fan this book is definatly for you!!

Long ago a meteor fell onto Earth with a magical, metallic form within it. Witnessing its power, it was forged into the (thought of) holy form of a triangle and a temple was formed to protect it. A city grew around the temple, The People of the Light were there. During an invasion, the nine planets aligned and the power of the Triangle was shown. Realizing no mortal should possess such power, the High Priest ordered it cut into two smaller triangles. One stayed at the temple. The other was hidden at the end of the Earth. However, the Craftsman who cut the Triangle in half secretly made a highly advanced device. It could serve as a guide to find the hidden piece, and preserve the Triangle's powers for future generations. It was a magic clock.

Lady Lara Croft was much like her father had been. Beginning with a clock he had hidden for her to find someday and tales he had told her as a child, she must set out to save the world. The Illuminati, a secret group of powerful people, were out to find the two triangle pieces before the planets aligned (which happened only once every 5,000 years). At her side was Mr. Hillary, her butler, and Bryce, her technician. Two tombs must be entered and survived or the world would belong to Manfred Powell.

***** I made that brief as possible, but left out much to do it. Even though the movie, as of now, has not been released, I can already tell that the book gives much more insight to Lara and the adventure in which she finds herself. However, many scenes have the potential to be much more vivid and exciting on the big screens! I found it to be a wonderful book! I plan to be in the theater, with a huge group of friends, on its first night out! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is the first of the O'Reilly books I have been disappointed in. I bought the book for one reason-- to find out how to restore a / and /usr file system off a remote tape drive. Unfortunately the book does not answer this question, all of its examples assume the server has a local tape drive attached. The authors spend their time touting freebie utilities at the expense of a thourough discussion of the backup and restore capabilities that come with the operating system.

This book is important for System Administrators and DBAs. The book is well-written and have discussed all the major UNIX flavors back and recovery. The author went further by discussing the Backup and Recovery of major databases on these UNIX operating systems.
I give 5 stars.

As a former Unix system administrator, this book proved invaluable to me. Backups are a dreaded responsibility for most as they are not glamorous, but when a backup is needed, the administrator can become a hero or out of a job very quickly depending on thier backups. The author provides some deep insight into the art of backups, drawing upon real world examples that provide insight into the recommendations. The authors quips on real world backup stories is worth the price alone as there is great knowledge to be gained from someone else's mistakes and failures. Truly a gem that should be on EVERY system administrators bookshelf.

Even though I was still very new to Linux/UNIX, this book was able to help me create a fully automated backup routine as well as how to restore from those backups. I found the book very easy to read and not at all dry.

This is *THE* Computer System backup book. It contains all the basics of why you want to backup computer systems, plus many of the real world experience details. It is written from a Unix perspective, but is still applicable to Windows and other non-Unix environments.

I've been using this book as a general guide for several years now. It was a book I watched work it's way through the O'Reilly system from first announcement to general release. I bought it when it first came out. I have not been disappointed in it.

Many people think of computer system backups as a dry old musty topic of interest to nobody in particular. But 9/11 showed how important good disaster recovery planning and procedures could be to a business.

Some of the specifics are now a little out of date, but not by leaps and bounds. It is still very good for its core reason for being - Backups. It is very much less out of date than other computer books on the market today.

I have been dealing with large-scale computer system backups and disaster recovery for large employers for years... and I still consult this book regularly to make sure have not missed anything important. It covers all the topics you need.

This book is a quick way to get up to speed on C# 2.0. Highly recommended for developers new to 2.0. My only complaint is that it neglected to mention the new SqlBulkCopy class, an important addition to ADO.Net.

I've had this book for almost two years now, and I consider it (along with Liberty's classic "Programming C#" [I have both first and second editions]) one of the most useful books for helping me move from "beginner level" C# to "journeyman" mastery of what has become my favorite language and daily working tool of choice.

Liberty's books join with my books by Sells, Petzold, Gunnerson, Archer on that small shelf ... within arms reach ... which I consider essential tools to have as I work in Visual Studio.

What I find unique about "A Developer's Notebook" is :

1. Content : the sheer amount of immediately useful information and code samples. This is a book, imho, for people who've already reached initial mastery of .NET, and are ready for intermediate-advanced topics. There's more technical content, more information, "per square page" in this book than in many books on .NET and C# that are 800+ page "whoppers" :) And I do have the sense that every bit of code in this book has been "refined" to the efficient minimum without losing its "educational punch."

2. Book Design : imho the design and structure of the book are a "tour de force" of technical book design : it's in the form ... almost ... of a laboratory workbook; the "asides," or comments, in italic script font in the margin of the pages add a very useful commentary that evokes and provokes thought.

3. Immediacy : I get the feeling that Jesse is right there talking to me as he takes me through the intricacies of IEnumerable, Generic Interfaces, Delegate Covariance. Very good terse introductions to technologies like ClickOnce.

4. Technical Format : the book has a format of presenting a concept concisely, outlining the structure of the classes or methods involved, describing a practical usage scenario, and then, in a section titled "How Can I Do That ?," presenting a key code example that demonstrates the technique in use. I find this similar to what I perceive as the "experimental" method in Petzold's books, and, for me, this is a compelling way to learn.

4. Writing Style : As in JL's other books, I personally experience him as one of the clearest writers of technical expository prose I have ever read. In sections typically titled "What About," or "How Can I Learn More," for each major topic, he succinctly addresses questions that imho any intelligent developer might be asking about the limits or side-effects ... or the "gotchas" ... of the techniques presented.

I like to compare learning a programming language with learning a musical instrument. It seems to me that initial mastery of C#, like learning to play the guitar, involves a required period of just learning the general way you use the tools (the Visual Studio environment, the .NET compiler, assemblies, WinForms, Classes, Interfaces, UserControls) : until you have that initial "vocabulary," imho, you can't really "play a tune." But once you do have the initial comfort level and mastery of the tools, you are ready to start with studying simple "Etudes" which are designed to be musically satisfying in themeselves and, at the same time, help you progress in mastery. Using that analogy, I consider "A Developer's Notebook" a book of "Etudes," an excellent one !

In summary : this is one of the best technical books I've ever read. I do hope that at some point JL will do another book in this format, and structure, probing, in the same "experimental method" other topics in .NET 3.0 and 3.5 like LINQ, sophisticated uses of AppDomains and Contexts, the ability in WPF to get WinForms controls across domains, etc.

best, Bill Woodruff
dotScience

I purchased this book to get prepped for 2.0 development. As usual , Jesse delivered with additional benifits. He is a great, clear speaking, author. I needed the facts and he delivered.

Well worth owning for those of you transitioning from 1.1 to 2.0.

This is a very good "delta" book for moving to 2.0. It doesn't spend a lot of time with "object oriented programming began in 19..."-type gibberish. Instead it moves directly to some of the new features and talks to you like you know what your talking about.

Easy read.

However, the introduction says something to the effect of "this series skips the 'hello world' applications and is instead the often frantic scribblings of real developers performing real tasks" or something like that. In reality, none of the examples was terribly realistic. It was the same type of examples and 'hello world' demonstrations you would find in any other book. And the "scribblings" in the margins were often just pullouts from the text--just like any other book.

Overall - good book. But the marketing hype for the series is just that--hype.

I just borrowed this book from the library as I'm trying to cut down and only buy true reference books. I didn't have a whole lot of expectations, but this book was exactly what the doctor ordered. I knew C# for VS.NET 1.1 and am gradually migrating to 2.0 and all of it's extra features. I just wanted a book that covered the new stuff... and could come as close to just injecting the information into my brain without all of the extra fluff. This book does exactly that. If you're new to .NET don't get this book... but if you're looking for an incremental upgrade book (as I was) that is concise, full of examples, and covers the whole spectrum of VS.NET 2.0 then this is IT! That said, the title is just a bit misleading... the first chapter is about the new C# keywords and constructs, but this book covers changes with Forms, ASP.NET (Themes, Master Pages, ...) and so forth. This books has been hard to put down and I'm seriously considering buying this one to add to my reference collection. I've learned a lot from it in just the past 24 hours.

When I bought this I was hoping for some form of indexing of the characters and plots of the novels. What I got was a compendium of author comments on the creation of their novels. Interesting, worth reading, I'm glad I bought it, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping I would get.

Hi all, if you read the star trek novels and have plenty of them this is THE STARTING POINT to figure out what books are placed where in the star trek chronology. Thuis one shows the books covers and gives a synopsis of each book - simply amazing. And its a thick book too, so perfect fot that rainy day to sort through your star trek novels = ) And the price if great too, so click that mouse and get it sent you - highly recomended!!!

Every serious Star Trek fan should have this book. It's interesting and fun.

I cannot imagine all the research that Ayers did to assemble this book. The book is far from complete, but still to track down all the various Star Trek book covers, get interviews, write up summaries is a phenomenal achievement that should help all ST fan writers track down the best in ST fiction.

The factoids concerning the various books are fun and interesting. I, myself would have loved to have heard more on Barbara Hambley's Ishmael where she combined two television shows into one novel.

Another missing fact. That there were major differences in the hard cover and paperback version to the Star Trek:Generations novelization due to the alterations in the last moment on how our beloved Kirk was killed.

Someone at Pocket Books should consider doing a similar type text for all the Star Trek comic books that have been written. Now, that would be a great book. In a few years, I do hope that there will be a second edition to this text, with some of the non-contributing authors telling their side of the story on getting their books out.

Excellent read.

JThree
[...]

Yes, this book indeed contains each and every volume of officially released StarTrek fiction and not only sketches their plots, but also presents b/w pictures of each cover. What makes "Voyages of the Imagination" more than just a simple bibliography is the stories behind the novels, that Jeff Ayers collected in many interviews with the authors. Just the job of conducting these must have been immense. Still more incredible is the time arrow that places every chapter of the fictional world created by the StarTrek novels in the right year since 5 billion years b.c. until 1 012 260. Compared to that, the presumably giant task of finding a nearly practical structure for the bibliography consisting of miniseries which are part of other miniseries that also correspond to tv series, seems small.

But I could think of many other features that I would have expected from this book:
* The plot summary of every novel or short story never tells the ending and usually isn't more detailed than the back covers. I don't like that since I really was interested in the whole story archs.
* There is never a critique of any of the fiction. "Voyages of the Imagination" doesn't tell the readers whether any of the books is worth reading or not so much.
* I would have liked summarizing articles on which characters from the TV and movie productions appear in print fiction and how they develop; who was newly invented by the authors; where are overlaps between the novels that exclude each other etc.

On my rating: Apart from a complete bibliography and some fun with reading the stories behind the stories, this book doesn't offer me anything of what I had expected. But it gets a big bonus from me for the incredible task done and for the fact that it's the first of its kind. Therefore, three stars.

Martin Jost


I originally wrote my review in German:
Ja, dieses Buch enthält wirklich ausnahmslos jeden Band von offiziell veröffentlichter StarTrek-Fiction und umreißt nicht nur kurz dessen Handlung, sondern präsentiert auch s/w-Bilder vom jeweiligen Cover. Mehr als nur eine bloße Bibliografie ist Voyages of Imagination durch die Hintergrundgeschichten der Entstehung, die Jeff Ayers zu vielen Romanen in Interviews mit den Autoren recherchiert hat. Die Arbeit, die allein dahinter steckt, muss unglaublich gewesen sein. Noch unglaublicher wirkt aber der Zeitstrahl, der in jedes beschriebene Jahr von 5 Milliarden Jahren v. u. Zt. bis 1 012 260 unserer Zeitrechnung kapitelgenau den Ausschnitt aus der fiktionalen Welt der StarTrek-Romane einordnet, in dem darüber erzählt wird. Daneben scheint die ebenfalls nicht hoch genug einzuschätzende Leistung gering, eine halbwegs übersichtliche Struktur für die Bibliografie zu finden, in der Miniserien mit anderen Miniserien verschachtelt sind und dabei noch einer der Fernsehserien zugeordnet werden müssen.
Mir fallen aber auch noch zahlreiche Features ein, die ich mir von diesem Buch gewünscht hätte und die bei so viel Vorbereitungszeit doch hätten machbar sein müssen:
-Die Zusammenfassungen der Handlung jedes einzelnen Romans bzw. jeder anthologisierten Kurzgeschichte verrät nie die Auflösung und geht selten mehr ins Detail als die Umschlag-Rückseite. Ich finde das schade, denn mich hätten die vollständigen Handlungsbögen interessiert, die in der Roman-Welt ablaufen.
- Eine Kritik der Bücher fehlt völlig. Mit dem Handbuch "Voyages of Imagination" lässt sich nicht entscheiden, ob irgendeines der Bücher lesenswert ist oder nicht.
- Zusammenfassungen wären interessant gewesen, aus denen hervor geht, welche Charaktere aus den TV- und Kinoproduktionen mitspielen und sich weiterentwickeln; welche Charaktere neu eingeführt werden; wo es sich ausschließende Überschneidungen zwischen den Romanen gibt u. s. w. Diese hätten am Ende jedes Kapitels in tabellarischer Form oder am Ende der Beschreibung jedes Plots hervorgehoben Platz gefunden.

Zu meiner Bewertung: Abgesehen von einer vollständigen Bibliografie und einigem Lesevergnügen über die jeweiligen Menschen hinter den Geschichten bietet dieses Buch nichts, was ich mir von ihm gewünscht hätte. Einen dicken Bonus erhält es aber für die gründliche und unvorstellbar umfangreiche Arbeit die drin steckt und dafür, dass es immerhin endlich das erste seiner Art ist. Unterm Strich also 3 Sterne.

Martin Jost

As a publicist who has worked on the journalism side like T.S. Peric, I learned that he "gets it". I devoured this book as a refresher for myself and to learn what others are doing to generate publicity for their clients. I found Peric's tips and advice sensible, simple to understand and applicable to any product or service. It's one of the most thorough and user-friendly books about publicity that I've ever read.

"Wacky Days" is a book that leads you through the many steps you can take to obtain huge amounts of free publicity.
Anyone who has a business, product, or book is sure to find this will become their Bible to return to time and again gleaming nuggets of information from it's pages.
The author uses examples from his own experiences to show how it can be done. The information can be easily adapted to fit your need for publicity.
An interesting and entertaining read that is a definite keeper which will sit on my reference shelf to be used whenever I am doing publicity. In my opinion, Tom Peric does for publicity what Dan Poynter does for self-publishing.

Great book on ideas and practical ways to generate PR for any type of business. From straight-forward tasks to some strategic planning like offering reporters story ideas for future reference or how to get seated on a Board, Peric' has something for everyone in Wacky Days.

Highly recommended.

Wacky Days... explains how to get free publicity and to be recognized as an expert in your chosen field. Mr. Peric' shows you how to approach the media through Tip sheets, professional looking Press releases, and of course the names, dates, and e-mail addresses needed to create your very own holiday!( Mine is going to be "Buy a piece of thrift store art day", 3rd Thursday in June!)his book is a must read if you spend money on advertising your business.
If you are an independent publisher, like me, YOU MUST OWN A COPY!
All fans of Dan Poynter should have this book right next to The Self-Publishing Manual.
Everyone else talks about getting publicity, but Tom holds your hand, and takes baby steps until your goals are reached, 37 small chapters.

His journalism background has really given him a true insiders edge.

At the end of the book there is a section that explains how to affordably hire Mr. Peric' himself by drawing up a plan from Wacky Days..., gathering up media list, writing your press release and allowing T. S. to assess the plan.
This book explains what journalists love to write about,(People and Ideas)

He also explains why stories get written (they were relevant, useful, or interesting!)

I fully recomend you buy this book.

I've never met or spoken with Tom Peric but as I read this book, it felt like I was listening to a trusted friend give me step by step advice on how to publicize my business. I liked his straightforward writing style and how he educates and empowers the reader so that even the most media-shy business owner can read this book and apply its suggestions about how to publicize his or her business. A great book, you'll be glad you read it.

It has been a couple of years since I read this book, but I'm sure most of it is still relevant. It's definitely one of the first books you should get if you're interested in web analytics. It's one of those books you can go back to and use as a reference when you need valuable input.

I bought this copy and Web Analytics Demystified. This book repeats a lot of information in "demystified" plus it gives you coding tools to build your own metrics. More bang for the buck here.

Companies are looking for more and more business intelligence from their Web sites, both to improve their marketing efforts and determine ROI. This is a good thing. This is an exemplary "how-to" guide for Web Analytics. Extremely useful.

I think that the book is for differente people: programmers and marketers. But I found it quite interesting althought you have to select what hacks are appropriate for your job.

Web Site Measurement Hacks is the best book in the Web Analytics field. The book explains introductory topics as well as the most advanced ones in a chronological natural way. Subjects like what is web analytics, how to choose a vendor, how the technology works, and how to implement a web analytics program in your company are covered extensively.

Besides being well written and almost encompassing, it presents also the point of view of several of the Web Analytics' experts and vendors. Many of the Hacks are co-authored by big names, such as:

* Bob Page (Yahoo!)
* Bryan Eisenberg (Future Now)
* Jim Sterne (Target Marketing!)
* Jim Novo (Drilling Down Project)
* Jim MacIntyre (Visual Sciences)
* Jason Burby (ZAAZ)
* Brett Hurt (Coremetrics)
* Xavier Casanova (Fireclick)
* Jeff Seacrist (WebTrends)
* Akin Arikan (Sane Solutions)
* Jay McCarthy (WebSideStory)
* John Marshall (Clicktracks)
* ... and many more!

The index is very helpful and you find subjects very easily. The book is well organized and I refer back to it every time I have doubts. It works for me as a Web Analytics' Encyclopedia.

This volume is the conclusion of one of the best love stories of all time. You must start with volume one and read the whole set. I've got the books and the TV series, and I re-read/re-view them quite often. It's a funny, silly, heartbreaking, frustrating and ultimately a heartwarming, beautiful story. After all their difficulties, Yusaku and Kyoko finally get together in a perfect final volume. I just wish we could have more (hear that Takahashi?)!

Rumiko Takahashi is known for letting the relationships between her romantic leads drag on for years or even decades without them ever evolving or being consummated (see Inuyasha), but as the last and concluding volume of Maison Ikkoku opens, Godai and Kyoko enter a love hotel. Godai should be in heaven, right? I mean, this is what he's always wished for. But things become a bit awkward when Kyoko says that she is thinking about Soichiro. Godai thinks she's talking about her dead husband, but Kyoko corrects him and says she meant her dog, which happens to have the same name. Is that the truth? Suffice it to say, Godai suffers from impotence at the moment of truth. Things get even more complicated when his ex-girlfriend, Kozue shows up wanting to talk about their relationship. She had already told him a guy proposed to her but she didn't want to say yes because she didn't want to hurt Godai's feelings. On top of all this Godai is going to find out how he did on the teacher certification exams. The only way he can ask Kyoko to marry him is if he passed, so there's a lot riding on the results.

I have been reading this series off and on for a little over two years now and I have to admit I got a little misty eyed when I came to certain sections of this last volume. Simply because you never wish good things to come to an end. I used to have that experience a lot with anime and manga series, but it has become rarer lately, probably because there is so much product coming out that you don't have time to lament the end of one before you start another. Instead of just centering a review on this one volume, I'll just make some comments about the series as a whole because in terms of quality they were all about the same. The central conflict of the manga that lasted through the first to most of the last volume was the lack of courage Godai had to make Kyoko his. He bumbled his way through a relationship with Kozue and some childish competition with Mitaka the tennis coach but he was just never aggressive enough to pursue Kyoko with a single-minded determination. He was too wishy-washy. Kyoko too suffered a lot because she wanted to be pursued, hunted, and caught by an alpha male. While this kind of thing makes for a lot of heartache and tragedy in real-life, in the manga world it's the perfect tried and true setup for comedy. And boy was Maison Ikkoku funny! One of the best comedies I've ever read. I've still never figured out how Takahashi was able to make such a masterpiece from such simple materials and operating mainly with character interaction rather than plot. To me, that's the hardest story to write. Making the lives of everyday people interesting and fun. It's also great to experience a relatively long manga series that has true resolution and ends on an upbeat and happy note. A great manga work.

I must have read MI a dozen times in Japanese, and I recently bought the whole series in English just for fun. I'm generally pleased with the translation, but a mistake in this volume on one of my favorite lines in the whole series prompted me to comment. "When she laughs, the world is mine" should be "When she smiles, the world is mine." Subtle, but important.
Now that I have that off my chest, ignore the nitpicking and buy the whole series. If you like great stories and superb characterization, you can't go wrong.
I'm dropping a star for some rough editing at the beginning of the series and for a few other productions problems.

Whew!
I laughed until my mouth hurt, I went thirsty while reading this series so I wouldn't wet my pants or spit out my juice. I tried not to read Maison Ikkoku in public because my laughing made people look at me.
I made sure that when I reached the more tender, introspective scenes, that I locked myself in my room so I wouldn't embarrass myself when I began to cry.
I connected with Yusaku because I'm a college student, and with Kyoko when she was in deep thought.
I don't know what powers of telepathy that Ms. Takahashi has that she can pinpoint the exact thoughts that go through a person's mind. Being a creative type, I can understand a little, but her skills are uncanny and her comedic timing plays out as some of the best TV skits.
(Just remember the double-takes of the characters and you know exactly what I'm talking about)
I'm happy to say that I was not only entertained, but also learned a great deal about proper story-telling, pacing, and emotional setting.
This was truly extraordinary. Yusaku's heartfelt plea to Kyoko, Kyoko struggling within herself over moving on, the events and circumstances in life that hinder or help us... I'm getting emotional here.
Bravo Ms Takahashi. I know there is a kind of lifetime achievement award in the comic world that you should receive, or perhaps you already have.
It took me two years to finish the graphic novels. A two years that I rushed through and now wished I had savored more, but I'm not complaining.
All Yusaku's dreams came true as well as Kyoko's.
May all our dreams be just as fruitful.
I'm going to miss these people.
And I mean ALL of them.

There were times I thought the story of Maison Ikkoku would never end--the complications just compiled and continued! But at last, the conclusion arrived, and it left me feeling relieved and satisfied. I was still left to wonder about a couple things, though. For instance, just what does Yotsuya do for a living? Was this something I was supposed to pick up at some point, or are we left to wonder forevermore?
I'm glad I started reading the series, and I'm glad I read it all the way through. All that money was well worth it.

I am a perpetual beginner but I have enjoyed the benefits of yoga for years. Most of my yoga books and manuals show postures and sequences but they don't give me enough context to quickly or easily understand which asanas or sequences I should focus on. Since I am have little time...I don't like to work to hard figuring out what to do. This is the first guide that makes it quick and easy to decide what I want to do. It is smartly organized with its anatomical/chakra color-coding, anatomy reference and super easy fan format for scanning postures and stuffing into a briefcase or pocket.

I am keeping my other books for reading, but this is the guide I always take with me for my active practice...

I absolutely love my yoga fan. As a teacher and student, this book is an excellent guide for sequencing and for referencing any pose. I love how the fan is grouped and broken down into seven sections, which offers an easy and flexible sequence to follow. The sections are even color coded to match the postures with the chakras! I never leave home without this book. At any time, I can flip it open for a quick reference. It's also a great companion when traveling - it's small and easy to pack as a guide for my personal practice!

This is a great little tool for teachers as well as students (like me!).
It's well put together and covers a wide range of poses for all levels
in a very handy format!
Love it!

I've found the Yoga Fan to be a great tool for my individual practice. Developing my home practice is an integral part of my yoga practice, however left to my own devices it's easy enough for me to reinvent poses and confuse or lose sequences; having the Yogi Fan is like having a Yogi in my pocket to guide me.
It's organized in a usable way -- pose for pose; and it's wonderful for creating flow sequences. I'm particularly fond of the Yogi's tips -- I always find something useful there.
Great design, excellent construction, perfect packing size for when I'm out of town. Definitely recommend it.

Convenient, concise and informative. The pictures are great and the format makes it easy to follow and learn at one's own pace. For anyone looking for a good introduction to yoga, I highly recommend this portable and invigorating book.