Models Books

This book is the most comprehensive literature I have seen for credit risk modeling. It covers from the basic BIS regulatory capital framework to the state-of-the-art credit risk models. Numerous worked examples demonstrate the calculation for different risk weighted capitals with or without netting clearly. Well-known credit models such as KMV, CreditMetric and CreditRisk+ are rigorously explained. Advanced issues like default correlation, joint credit migration and loss tail events are also addressed appropriately. With the general framework, economic capital and risk adjusted performance measurement can be quantified. This book is full of concise but descriptive flow charts and diagrams for implementation purpose. I strongly recommend this book to those who want to understand and implement an internal credit model for capital regulatory and allocation purpose.

Detailed, but not overly mathematic.

Good coverage of all the main points required of any good credit risk measurement, management, and reporting system. Would recommend this book to anyone who might be using KMV's Portfolio Manager product, or for someone who's creating/programming a new credit risk management/reporting system and needs a good framework from which to copy from.

It provides a coherent framework for thinking about and modeling bank credit risk. It describes how to model default probabilities, expected and unexpected losses, time effects, default correlation, loss distribution and RAROC measures. The writer is a practioner and makes simple and important observations about the important issues. The text is clear and mathematics is used as example, not as explanation.

i recommend this book, because it gave me all the information i needed to get started in a modeling career.

The fact that the majority of today's sucessful black models started at black agencies, and there's a listing of them in this book. It was helpful, but if you're already established as a model, it may seem redundant.

I am just starting out as a model and I had so many questions. Is modeling for you? was the perfect find. It gave me insight into the modeling business and helped me to understand the steps that are necessary to succeed. I feel much more conffident now that I have read this book. Every aspiring model should read it.

Being a self-admitted tightwad, I hesitated when first buying this book. Even though Amazon.com had the best price I found, I was still wondering if I needed to spend this much money on a book I thought I would probably never use. Upon receiving the book, many of my initial reactions were proved unjustified, for a number of reasons.

This is at first glance an impressive book, measuring almost two inches thick. Upon delving into the myriad of information in the many chapters, the true worth of this publication was quickly revealed. This is 603 pages of highly detailed and instructive material. There are literally hundreds of photographs and detail drawings, giving even a first time mechanic a chance to see exactly how each part of the machine works, is disasembled, repaired and then reassembled. Step-by-step instructions are clearly listed, in a easy to read and interesting fashion. Numerous hints and how to tips make most of the jobs easier and further enhance the value of this publication.

Another nice feature are the areas that warn the reader about possibly dangerous repair procedures and how to avoid potential injury to mechanic or motorcycle. The book also lists any problems previous models have had and what the owner can do about them. For instance, upon first reading the book there was a warning in a side bar in the chapter on valves and valve adjustments. It informed the reader that certain ZX-900 Ninja owners could have bikes that had a factory recall. Specifically, certin bikes had valve spring retainers that could fail at high engine speeds, causing what the book termed, 'catastrophic engine failure.' The book listed the serial numbers on the motor of the bikes that were affected. Unfortunately, mine was included and I'll have to pay for new retainers when the valves are adjusted. But, it's a small price to pay for something I had not know about that could of caused a loss of my life or someone elses. It was another perfect example of just how valuable this book is to those that buy, read and use it.

Overall, I don't see much that can be improved upon in this book. The text is easy to read, the pictures and diagrams are perfectly executed and the tips, how-to hints and reader warnings offer a wealth of assistance. There is a complex index and even a section in the back of the book with blank pages headed 'notes' at the top of each page. For those owners that want to perform their own service, repair and maintenance on their older Ninjas, this book is damn near as important as any other accessory you could buy and was worth every penny. It earns five stars from me.

Jonathan Gerhard

Being a self-admitted tightwad, I hesitated when first buying this book. Even though Amazon.com had the best price I found, I was still wondering if I needed to spend this much money on a book I thought I would probably never use. Upon receiving the book, many of my initial reactions were proved unjustified, for a number of reasons.

This is at first glance an impressive book, measuring almost two inches thick. Upon delving into the myriad of information in the many chapters, the true worth of this publication was quickly revealed. This is 603 pages of highly detailed and instructive material. There are literally hundreds of photographs and detail drawings, giving even a first time mechanic a chance to see exactly how each part of the machine works, is disasembled, repaired and then reassembled. Step-by-step instructions are clearly listed, in a easy to read and interesting fashion. Numerous hints and how to tips make most of the jobs easier and further enhance the value of this publication.

Another nice feature are the areas that warn the reader about possibly dangerous repair procedures and how to avoid potential injury to mechanic or motorcycle. The book also lists any problems previous models have had and what the owner can do about them. For instance, upon first reading the book there was a warning in a side bar in the chapter on valves and valve adjustments. It informed the reader that certain ZX-900 Ninja owners could have bikes that had a factory recall. Specifically, certain bikes had valve spring retainers that could fail at high engine speeds, causing what the book termed 'catastrophic engine failure.' The book listed the serial numbers on the motor of the bikes that were affected. Unfortunately, mine was included and I'll have to pay for new retainers when the valves are adjusted. But, it's a small price to pay for something I had not known about that could of caused a loss of my life or someone elses. It was another perfect example of just how valuable this book is to those that buy, read and use it.

Overall, I don't see much that can be improved upon in this book. The text is easy to read, the pictures and diagrams are perfectly executed and the tips, how-to hints and reader warnings offer a wealth of assistance. There is a complex index and even a section in the back of the book with blank pages headed 'notes' at the top of each page. For those owners that want to perform their own service, repair and maintenance on their older Ninjas, this book is as important as any other accessory you could buy and was worth every penny. It earns five stars from me.

It's quite useful manual , especailly lots of "Cautions" tell good tips. If you buy this manual, no need to get service manual.

What strikes me each time I open this book is Mr Kecman's sense of pedagogy: it is a lesson in the matter. Not only his book delivers the - sometimes complex - techniques in a highly readable manner, but the concepts behind each of the main tools (SVM, NN & FL) he chose to highlight are always brilliantly put in context. One comes out of the reading with more than a set of equations but rather with a clearer picture of the field.
Mr Kecman is - without a doubt - a great teacher.

This effort to deliver a clear message is furthermore underlined through the numerous original figures: if you are like me and feel that a (good) picture speaks more than a thousand words, you will sure appreciate the way the illustrations complement the text and truly help the understanding.

I have read several other books on the subject but if I had to chose one for teaching purposes, this would be the one. I you want to build a better understanding of the field, get this book: it will pay on the long term.

This is a very good book. Another reviewer has commented on Vojislav Kecman being an excellent teacher. I whole-heartedly second that opinion. Often times, while reading this book, you will pause with a doubt or question. What you will find surprising is that almost certainly the author has answered that question in the next paragraph. Many times, the author's answers will tally your own answers.

The first chapter of the book (entitled: Learning and Soft Computing: Rationale, Motivations, Needs, Basics) is 119 pages long. It is an essential reading. By the time you finish reading this chapter the things will start falling into place and you will be more motivated and ready to read the remaining chapters. Until you are highly aware of this topic, do not skip this chapter.

A book is made up of a lot of things other than the text that it covers. Does it contain many/any stupid jokes? Is it printed on the highest quality paper? Is the font size good? Is it printed too dense? Is the cover page inviting enough? Are the dimensions/weight of the book correct? On all these counts the book scores high.

Consistent with the subject matter that it covers, this is not an easy book. You will perhaps like to read it with paper and pencil. But if you are willing to spend time with this book, this book will do a lot of good to you. This is a very good book.

This book is a nice and, I would say, a successful attempt to provide a unified survey of important theoretical and practical machine learning tools: neural networks (NN), support vector machines (SVM) and fuzzy systems (FS).

Book consists of nine chapters, covering SVMs, one- and multi-layer perceptrons and radial-basis function networks, as variants of neural networks, and basics of fuzzy theory. This is followed by interesting case-studies (in financial, control and computer graphic applications) and concluded by basics of optimization theory and an overview of necessary mathematical tools. All the MATLAB programs needed for the simulated experiments are available on the book web site.

Authored by Vojislav Kecman, a prominent researcher in the field of soft computing and previous MIT visiting professor, this book is an excellent material for advanced undergraduate and introductory graduate courses in machine learning applications and soft computing....

Drew Stevens pursues Mallory Robbins' mustang through the streets of Hollywood. He wants to meet Mallory, a model whose legs have been insured for ten million dollars, before he figures out what to do about the distasteful assignment placed on him. He manages to make Mallory's acquaintance, and they explore each other in all ways. Later that night, Mallory finds handcuffs and a gun. Angry and afraid he'd intended to hurt her, she uses the paraphernalia on him. Police detective Drew doesn't have time to explain his motives when a thug comes up behind her and grabs the gun. Mallory is forced to breathe into a chemically drenched cloth and passes out.

Mallory awakens with her long blonde hair covered by a red hijab, and her body is draped with an abaya. She speaks through a veil to an Arabian teenage girl, Morina, the daughter of Saudi Prince Ali. When Morina tells Mallory that she will become Ali's forth wife, Mallory runs from the Middle Eastern decorated room. Immediately a behemoth drags Mallory back, and the teenage girl tells her Drew is also a prisoner there but will be transported to the homeland for his beheading. Mallory is intent on saving him as well as herself.

Teenage Morina, Ali's daughter, brings Mallory to the women's section. Along the way, Mallory looks out a window and realizes they are near the top of a high-rise. When Mallory finds the view eerily familiar, Morina confesses that the prince occupies the three top floors of the Babylon Hotel in Las Vegas. Nonetheless, her confinement is terrifying among Ali's other wives and harem. Can Mallory convince any of them to help her save Drew? Will Morina be her ally or enemy?

Author Dee Dawning combines erotica with adventure, making LEGS twice the ride. I laughed heartily at Dawning's outrageous scenes and tacky Vegas descriptions. I adored Mallory's display of spunk when she told Ali's daughter to mind her because she's soon to be her wicked stepmother. A match to Mallory's spirit, Drew captivated my heart when he protected her with guts and determination. I had to keep ice water handy from beginning to end. I recommend LEGS by Dee Dawning to friends who enjoy madcap, ultra hot eroticism.

By Romance Junkies Reviewer: Kathleen R

This Review is courtesy of Red Roses Reviews for authors. Posted by Dee Dawning.

Dee Dawning/Legs/Amir Press/ ebook/126pgs

Drew Stevens followed Mallory (a beautiful and up and coming movie star) in a frantic car chase in West Hollywood. He had to meet her, get to know her, because he was on an assignment - and one he didn't particularly like. Shadowing her these past weeks he had come to like Mallory and now he wanted to protect her from the people he was working for.

Mallory was meeting a girl friend in a rowdy bar. After one drink she starts to leave but is accosted by a drunk. Naturally, Drew is the first to rescue her. This leads to a naughty interlude between two strangers. But Drew was sent for a purpose and by making love to her he has betrayed a powerful man. For this he could lose his life. The story hots up in more ways than one as an exciting chase/adventure story unfolds. This book is erotic but it has more than a few sexy scenes and from the way it ends, which is surprising, would probably make a compelling series. I think this writer tells a good story and I would like to read more from her. I give 4.5 red roses to this particular book. Morna.
POSTED BY REDROSESFOR AUTHORS.REVIEWS AT 00:47

Mallory Robbins is a super star, an up and coming movie star, and one of L.A.'s most beautiful women. She heads to JoJo's Bar and Grill to meet her friend, Paige. After sharing a few drinks, Paige and her main squeeze, leave. Mallory stays and finish her drink only to have a rude, drunken man try to push his attentions on her. Enter Drew Khalid Stevens, a sexy man, who sends wonderful heated sensations all over her body. Drew is smitten by her long legs and shapely body. They leave together where he delights her most deliciously, and then afterwards they unite again for an encore of love. Just when she is about to learn why he carries a gun, and a card that says Steven Investigations, a chemical treated rag is slapped over her mouth. Mallory awakes to see she is dressed like an Arab woman and has a mind-blowing headache. She learns she has been kidnapped and personally selected to be the fourth wife of Prince Ali, a Saudi Prince. As a U.S. citizen, she demands to be returned to America. Unfortunately, no one escapes. To make matters worse, Drew is in a locked room, waiting execution for soiling Mallory, the fiancé of Ali. Since Ali is royally upset, Drew must pay for his actions.

I was blown away with Legs. From the moment Drew and Mallory connect in the bar, to the hair-raising kidnapping, I was hypnotized with the charisma of the storyline and the characters. Dee Dawning knows how to create an action-packed story that explodes. With intrigue, sensual passion, and a bit of mystery, all blended together, not to mention, just the right spots to include some witty little remarks, he crafts a most splendid read. Mallory and Drew are absolutely captivating together. The in-depth secondary characters add great appeal to the movement of the story. I really hope he plans a sequel or a series. Legs is definitely a recommended read in my book.

Reviewed by: Linda L.

I expected to like "Lenoir" but not as much as I did. It blew me away. This short novel set in 17th century northern Europe, as seen through the eyes of an African slave is a wonderfully imaginative and equally evocative fictionalization of the model who sat for Ruben's famous "Four Heads of a Negro." Told in the first person, "Lenoir" reads like the journal of person trapped in a world that he neither sought out nor fully understood or even liked. As described by Lenoir, one may come to realize how silly "civilized" society can sometimes appear and are made to see the world through the eyes of someone coming to terms with Western culture and all its trappings, be it religious, social or racial. Lenoir is not a victim but a truly dignified person whose sense of his own beauty and that of his homeland are never diminished by those who wish to dominate him and his circumstances. All the characters, including the larger than life personas of Rembrandt and Rubens, pulse with pure and profound humanity. It is a true testament of Mr. Greenhall's literary talent that such monumental, historical figures can be brought across to the reader with such tactful ease and realism. This is a truly gorgeous book and anyone interested in reading an intelligent and thought provoking novel SHOULD NOT hesitate picking this baby up. I loved every minute of it and I'm sure you will, too.

From the opening words of this gem of a novel, we see with the eyes, react with the mind, and feel and love with the heart of its singular narrator--we almost BECOME him. Lenoir's voice is so honest yet compassionate and so very much his own that the world Ken Greenhall has vividly imagined and compellingly told here takes up residence in the brain like something we ourselves have lived. I think that's what impressed me most, and what makes LENOIR ultimately not "just" a novel about an African in the seventeenth-century Netherlands but one that speaks richly and unforgettably to all of us. Looking forward to many rereadings of LENOIR, I'm grateful to the friend whose advance reading copy I all too briefly borrowed, and especially grateful to Ken Greenhall for this wonderful book.

I think it was the face--or faces--on the front jacket that I noticed first; I wasn't looking for a novel. Then I did my usual on-the-spot skim (beginning, middle, and--I confess--end) and was hooked. Though no review can conceivably convey the cumulative impact of this small novel, which couldn't have been a word longer for its lasting power, some of the words that come to mind to describe the writing are grace, wit, irony, profound understanding, uncommon humanity, unique, and even classic--all of which is centered on the singular character of Lenoir himself, whom I believed--and believed IN--from his first unforgettable words. Another of my iconclastic book-buying habits is never to read the jacket copy until AFTER I've finished the book--we all know they're there to charm the reader. This time they all echoed my assessment. (Coincidentally, the jacket also told me why Ken Greenhall's name sounded familiar: he's also the author BAXTER, which was made into an incredible French flick about a dog who's no better than he should be. BAXTER should be back in print!)

This book is basically an update of their 1997 mongraph. Longitudinal data are important in biostatistics and particularly in the analysis of clinical trials. There are effective methods for handling longitudinal data using linear models with covariance structures that represent the time dependence of the repeated observations. There are many subtle issues in the analysis and many who analyze longitudinal data apply incorrect linear models and are often not aware of the consequences of their decisions. The authors were motivated to provide a reference source to remedy this problem. The book presents the theory and applications and uses SAS Proc Mixed as a vehicle for presenting many of the results in a clear and understandable fashion. An important feature of the book is its emphasis on how best to deal with the problem of missing data. This is covered in chapters 14 - 16. Although SAS is emphasized throughout the book other software tools are also illustrated in Appendix A (including SPlus). SUDAAN is a package produced by the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina that also handles longitudinal data but is overlooked by the authors. Another great book on longitudinal data analysis is Diggle, Liang and Zeger "Analysis of Longitudinal Data" published in 1994. There have been many advances since 1994 and Verbeke and Molenberghs cover a great deal of it. You can find my review of Diggle, Liang and Zeger on Amazon. An updated second edition of their book is in the works and will probably appear in 2001.

This book is basically an update of their 1997 mongraph. Longitudinal data are important in biostatistics and particularly in the analysis of clinical trials. There are effective methods for handling longitudinal data using linear models with covariance structures that represent the time dependence of the repeated observations. There are many subtle issues in the analysis and many who analyze longitudinal data apply incorrect linear models and are often not aware of the consequences of their decisions. The authors were motivated to provide a reference source to remedy this problem. The book presents the theory and applications and uses SAS Proc Mixed as a vehicle for presenting many of the results in a clear and understandable fashion. An important feature of the book is its emphasis on how best to deal with the problem of missing data. This is covered in chapters 14 - 16. Although SAS is emphasized throughout the book other software tools are also illustrated in Appendix A (including SPlus). SUDAAN is a package produced by the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina that also handles longitudinal data but is overlooked by the authors. Another great book on longitudinal data analysis is Diggle, Liang and Zeger "Analysis of Longitudinal Data" published in 1994. There have been many advances since 1994 and Verbeke and Molenberghs cover a great deal of it. You can find my review of Diggle, Liang and Zeger on Amazon. An updated second edition of their book has now appeared and is more up-to-date. I find this book by Verbeke and Molenberghs one of the best and most innovative on this topic. Another nice addition is the new book on missing data in clinical studies by Molenberghs and Kennard. I have written an amazon trview on that one also.

The book covers many advanced topics of Longitudinal data with many examples and SAS programs. Congatulations to the authors for this outstanding job.

Savas Papadopoulos

I agree with the brief comments of the other Amazon reviewer. However, these authors have updated the material in a book just published in 2000 "Linear Mixed Models for Longitudinal Data". The approach is the same in both books but the new one contains a lot of new advances that have occurred over the last three years. If you want a thorough account with the latest developments buy the other book. I have given a thorough review of the other book for Amazon. On the other hand if you just want to learn longitudinal data analysis this monograph will work for you and may be less expensive since it is in paperback while the other book is only currently in hardcover. Both books illustrate examples using SAS Proc Mixed.

Linear mixed model has been widely used in biomedical reserach, such as longitudinal observational studies and clinical trials. However, the model is theoretically complicated, and is hard to use it. This book not only covers statistical methodologies related to this model, but also gives excellent examples which can teach the readers how to use it.

I agree with the brief comments of the other Amazon reviewer. However, these authors have updated the material in a book just published in 2000 "Linear Mixed Models for Longitudinal Data". The approach is the same in both books but the new one contains a lot of new advances that have occurred over the last three years. If you want a thorough account with the latest developments buy the other book. I have given a thorough review of the other book for Amazon. On the other hand if you just want to learn longitudinal data analysis this monograph will work for you and may be less expensive since it is in paperback while the other book is only currently in hardcover. Both books illustrate examples using SAS Proc Mixed.

If you're building the Monogram/Revell B-17 in 1/48 scale, you need this booklet. The detail shots, both of the exterior and interior, are excellent. They are all in color. The interior shots have multiple shots in each area of the aircraft (nose, cockpit, radio area, waist guns & tail gun). Well worth it.

Having thoroughly enjoyed both Lock On #16 (Mi-24W HIND E Gunship) and #20 (A-6E, KA-6D Intruder/EA-6B Prowler), I decided to check out the rest of the series to see if they had any of my other favorite aircraft. To my delight, Willy Peeters (author of #20) has done one on the B-17 Flying Fortress (my son's all-time favorite). This book is a great 36 page full color tour of the interior and exterior of the B-17G. It's a welcome addition to Larry Davis' B-17 In Action (Squadron/ignal Publication) which is mostly in b&w. Peeters does an excellent job of explaining what it is you're looking at in each of the captions. A solid effort in this impressive series.

Having thoroughly enjoyed both Lock On #16 (Mi-24W HIND E Gunship) and #20 (A-6E, KA-6D Intruder/EA-6B Prowler), I decided to check out the rest of the series to see if they had any of my other favorite aircraft. To my delight, Willy Peeters (author of #20) has done one on the B-17 Flying Fortress (my son's all-time favorite). This book is a great 36 page full color tour of the interior and exterior of the B-17G. It's a welcome addition to Larry Davis' B-17 In Action (Squadron/ignal Publication) which is mostly in b&w. Peeters does an excellent job of explaining what it is you're looking at in each of the captions. A solid effort in this impressive series.

I am having fun building this castle with my son! He actually seems to be enjoying spending time with me away from the computer!

Wow! This was a real fun thing to do! If you like to take your time doing things. This is mainly for 1 person, but you could do it with the whole family! A real drawbridge, flags, and a lot of little people to play in the castle. It was so fun.

Basically a giant keep with walls and towers forming a square, this combines towers and features from all over the early stages of castle building, including partial hordings (castles do have their own jargon). And the drawbridge works! If you want to keep this one around or move it much, glue the groundplates to cardboard or matboard.