Bates Books

Bates offers valuable assistance in using dictation effectively to write. We are trying to "tell" our story, and in this way, our natural language and style can be captured as the first draft toward the finished written product.

The book was true to description- Never used. It still had the CDs in it. The price was excellent ($10.00 for a book that cost $100+) and delivery was fast.

I am taking BSN courses and this text is required. The book includes a CD which I have not had the time to review.

The text is very good. It has a great flow from system to system. There are many color photos to explain the various findings. The book is through and I especially love the red text in the borders that explains the criticial thinking of the assessment coupled with the finding.

I own a Mosby's guide from my previous Nursing classes. I thought it was good until I purchased Bates. This is my new favorite examination text and one I will keep in my personal library for years to come.

Good book and a geat resource. This particular work places the patient History and exam in a logical and systematic approach with illustrations and study helps - a keeper.

I am a Physician Assistant Student and i have to admit that every semester we are required to buy books and at the end of every semester i sell my books buy. This was the only one i did not sell back. Its great for a person who is beginning the medical field and is great for someone who just wants to brush up on technique. The CD located in the back of the books is really not that helpful because it skips critical parts of the physical exam however its good to see how to do certain things. Most of the books chapters are well organized except for the HEENT chapter bc its all over the place. However i LOVE my Bates and i still use it on clinical rotations.

Great book on physical examination and history taking. Will recommend to other healthcare/medical providers.

I recommend these books (Your ONE Year Old, Your TWO Year Old, Your THREE Year Old, Your FOUR Year Old, Your FIVE Year Old, Your SIX Year Old, Your SEVEN Year Old, Your EIGHT Year Old, Your NINE Year Old, Your TEN-to-FOURTEEN Year Old. These books were writtten by Louise Bates Ames, PhD, Fances L. Ilg, MD and Sidney M. Baker MD of the Gesell Institute of Human Development. They are NOT a "how to" book for parents -- but rather provide a perspective of life from the child's various ages. I found the books to be of such value that I purchase the entire series for new parents. Somehow I forgot to purchase these books for my niece when she started her family. She expressed some concerns about her seven year old son's behavior (that I knew from experience to be that typical of seven year olds). I purchased the books from the series that will help my niece from here on. She LOVES them! I have a feeling she will use them and pass them along to other parents. My original set are part of my permanent library. I highly recommend these books for your permanent library as well!

I love this series of books. They are a bit dated in pictures, etc. But the advice is good, and the authors are extremely reputable. They know their stuff. The advice is as good today as it was when they were first written. I love how they are a fast, easy, read.

I ordered this book after seeing it in an article about behavior of three year olds. I was somewhat disappointed that it was written in 1985. Wanted something more up to date.

I keep purchasing these small books full of great information for my daughter, whose little girl is 2 1/2. It is a comfort to my daughter to find confirmation of her intuition and observations about the developement of her child. The suggestions bring, good results, and the whole book makes three generations of us happier. This booklet may be insufficient by itself to raise a well adjusted child, but it contains the essentials. Makes a useful gift as a stocking filler for a parent to be, a little birthday gift etc.

Worthless. Completely outdated and condescending. I was hoping for some practical insight into my relationship with my three year old and instead I was advised that I should leave her with a teenage babysitter as much as possible. The 80s were a good decade for music but apparently not for parenting advice. I thought $11.00 was a value; this book wouldn't be a value at $1.00.

I really enjoyed this book and was so happy the first time I read it that it wasn't filled with the typical sex and drugs alot of books now a days are.

This book was slow and boring. The author attempts humor in the main character, but all I got was irritation. I could not finish it, I didnt even get half way through!

This is such a good book. I read it a couple years ago & just had to buy it. If you want something mysterious, but funny w/plenty of soul, then this here is your book. You'll love the Sista in this book.

Karen Grigsby Bates' Plain Brown Wrapper is great fun to read. As other reviewers noted, the mystery is really a backdrop, but who cares? The characters, while amusing and entertaining, are never silly and are very believable--even the ones that could become cliches or one-noters don't; the dialogue's snappy; and, with the exeception of a few clunky spots, the pace is just right. It's the perfect book to throw in your bag when departing for a short trip or long car ride, or to pick up after reading something more serious and emotionally draining. Upon closing the cover I'm left wondering only one thing: when's Alexa Powell (Bates' intrepid heroine) going to return to a local bookstore near me?

I bought this book to begin reading on the way back from a trip. I actually started reading while sitting under a hair dryer. This book is a real page turner and I had to read it. I couldn't wait to finish the book to find out who was the murderer (which I would have never guessed!) and now I'm saddened because I finished the book.

Just finished James Brady's A Warning of War. It is fabulous read. I could not put this book down, in the end I found myself in trance as the book unfolded. I highly reccomend this book and hope it is one day made into a movie

This was a decent book. I gave it three stars because even
though I enjoyed it, I would not read it again or heartily recommend it.

The setting:

Captain Billy Port USMC is stationed in Shanghai China just prior to the outbreak of WW2. A Warning Of War is issued a week or so before Pearl Harbor is attacked, and the 4th Marines are withdrawn from diplomatic assignment in China. There is some difficulty though. Due to the vast size of China, and the short time period involved, detachments of Marines in North China cannot be quickly evacuated. So Capt. Port is assigned the almost impossible task of recovering these Marines.

Capt. Port assembles his team of Marines and a few civilian hangers on and heads north as war with the japanese is declared. Now Capt. Port must locate and recover these detached Marines while evading the Japanese, mongol bandits and hostile warlords all the while surviving in an extremely cold and barren climate.

Lots of good potential here!

First off, the things I thought were really well done:

I very much enjoyed James Brady's writing style. He was able to accurately potray Marines in violent decadent China without graphically overdoing the salacious details. This is a novel I would feel comfortable letting my early teenaged kids read. Mr. Brady also really imparts the feel of Mongolia and Northern China. The climate, terrain and people. The combat depictions were very well done also. All in all, excellent crafting of the written word.

Historical time period. Being a former Marine who spent time in asia, I have been keenly interested in the China Marines. I was excited to find a novel using china as a backdrop for a story about Marines. There are few books that deal with pre war China. The only ones I have found are the first book of W.E.B. Griffin's The Corps series and McKenna's The Sand Pebbles. Unfortunatly, I was slightly disappointed. It seems Mr. Brady picked a few character pieces and plot lines from both works. A minor detail overall, but still detracts some from what could have been.

Now to the stuff I wasn't crazy about:

Characters. The main characters specifically. They were too formulaic and some really lacked developement. In some spots the author tries to develope other characters other than the main character Capt. Billy Port, but doesn't go far enough with it. My feeling is either develope them all, make a deeper story or just don't bother with it. Doing a halfway job of it just annoyed me.

The role of a Top Sergeant....ughh. Mr.Brady flogged us about the head and shoulders with the duties and responsibilities of a First Sergeant. Nuff said on that...

The story line. The story was very predictable. From the beginning it is apparent who is going to be pitted against who in the final ultimate showdown. Also, I thought the author missed out on some real potential for a great adventure type story because half of the book seemed to just be a lead up to the Marine's trek across China.

Finally the ending. It was.....odd, I thought. I won't disclose any spoilers but it was not in character of the main character. I was disappointed by it. Left me with a "what the???" feeling.

Overall, "Warning of War: A Novel of the North China Marines" was a good fun read that missed a chance at being a great read.

That's my review, worth every penny you paid for it.

A novel, which challenges the reader to sift military fact from pure fiction. For instance, Captain Billy Port's "relentless pursuer" Colonel Jessie Irabu of the Imperial Japanese Marines lifted a .50 caliber machine gun from a downed Zero fighter, and mounted the gun on the hood of his scout car. The problem with that is the Japanese A6M Zero was not armed with .50 caliber machine guns, but two 20 MM cannons and two 7.7 MM machine guns. In contrast, the authors description of the 4th Marines marching out of Shanghai to leave China was well done.

I really liked this novel as it covered another gray zone of our Military History. I.E. The "China" Marines who had been stationed over in the Middle Kingdom from the Boxer Rebellion to the start of the Second World War to protect our commerical interests and citizenry over there. It also gives the feeling & process about how a peacetime unit has to quickly convert to a war time mentality in order to survive & get the mission done. I just wish the Army would produce someone that could write as well.
(With apologies to WEBB Griffin)

The premise for this WWII novel is excellent, however the execution is awful. This is just about the worst written historical novel I've ever read, and I've read a bunch. The story is based on a Marine Corps myth, which the author notes there is absolutely no record of, or any of the participants, in any USMC records. A number of readers seem to have totally missed this distinction, and think it really happened! Oh well... the story starts by establishing wartime Shanghai, the far eastern city of spies, where American soldiers mix with British administrators, exiled White Russians, and diplomats of all shades and stripes. When a warning of imminent war with Japan is sent out to all American forces in the weeks prior to Pearl Harbor, it becomes clear that the American units will need to retreat from China, which is largely under Japanese occupation. Although most of these troops are concentrated in various bases, there are a few isolated outposts. This is where Cpt. Billy Port, USMC comes in.

The younger son of a prominent and somewhat notorious Boston family, Port is highly regarded in the Marine Corps for his works with Gen. "Chesty" Puller in Central America. The first part of the book establishes the lush life of Shanghai and his comfortable living, including an "arrangement" with a beautiful young White Russian exile woman, and weekly tennis matches with an American-born, UCLA educated, Japanese officer. No points for guessing that the latter part of the book will pit friend against friend... When the warning of war comes, Port is tasked with traveling across China to gather up the far-flung American units, and lead them to safety. To do so, he handpicks a small unit and sets up a convoy of four trucks and his Bentley convertible for the mission.

The unit he assembles is part central casting, part improbable fancy. There's a Mexican sergeant who's gimmick is that he served with Pershing against Pancho Villa and talks about it incessently. Somehow this manages to be as equally irritating to the reader (because it's not funny), as it's meant to be to the other characters. There's "Sparky" the radio guy, the grease-monkey/mechanic, a big brave lummox carrying the heavy gun, a bunch of anonymous BAR grunts, a college-boy Naval reserve lieutenant, and (I'm not making this up!), his Chinese butler, a world-famous French race-car driver, and a White Russian alternately referred to as "General", "Count", and "Prince" Yusopov. Along the way, they pick up a female Chinese doctor, and a British Catholic priest/paleontologist. Now, an able writer (such as George MacDonald Fraser) could have had a lot of fun with this wild and wacky cast, but Brady just isn't up to it. These characters either seem to serve no discernable purpose (such as the Naval officer), or are very convenient devices (the Russian teaches the Marines how to make a Molotov cocktail and just happens to have a brother at a monastery where sanctuary is available at a critical time, the English priest just happens to know the whole country like the back of his hand and speaks the dialects, etc.).

The bulk of the book is one extended chase scene, as this motley band of brothers makes its way across the Chinese country, skirmishing with bandits, ducking Japanese Zeros, suffering in the elements, and ultimately, racing for the Soviet border. The action sequences are far and away the strongest parts, from ambushing a pursing patrol, to facing down huge bandit hordes, it's good stuff (if somewhat predictable). Alas, the bulk of the book is riddled with cliche, repetition (for example, the term "top sergeant" is explained several times), and awkwardness (for example, every time Port meets with his "staff", Brady feels compelled to run through the roll call of who is present). It's the kind of story that might work better as a film, where one is a little more forgiving of hokiness and the dialogue would be much tighter. In any event, Port's race across China is a promising idea for a story, but this book just doesn't deliver the goods.

I adored this book. Each woman had their own divaness to share but it was Maureen who captured my fancy. That woman has got it going on, loved her authenticity.

Mary Jane Hurley Brant
www.wheneverydaymatters.com

If "wear a tiara to the grocery store" is the type of advice you're looking for- you'll love this.

This book was a serious waste of time for any woman who has half a brain and half an ounce of self confidence. The authors actually suggest that wearing a tiara, taking luxurious baths, keeping dairies and cleaning out your closet is the key to becoming a "Diva," and the key to "rediscovering the passion, joy and fun in their lives." I am really amazed at how many women gave this book a good review. I would love to take a poll on the age group of women that read this book. This book was passed on to me from a friend who also thought it was a waste of time to read. My friend and I are both in agreement that there are far better "real" self help books out there for women than this one. The best part of the book were the illustrations so that is why it gets one star. Ladies, don't waste your time. If you need a self help book buy something written by a doctor or an expert - not four middle aged women who just underwent a mid-life crisis.

TOTAL waste of time. I got this as a gift and didn't have to waste my own money on it, but only an extraordinarily clueless woman who has never watched television or read a magazine in her life would benefit. The suggestions are ridiculous (seriously, wear a tiara, call your girlfriends, fingerpaint with your feet) and some even borderline offensive. There's a section about being "cosmopolitan" that suggests things you can do to be French, Italian, etc. On the French page, one of the suggestions is to "skip the shower." On the Spanish one, it is "skip the underwear." These women have got to be NUTS.

If anyone ever calls me a diva again, so help me...

I'm one of those people who abhors women's/girl's magazines as they usually tend to be superficial. Also, I seem to be out of the target audience as I'm merely 18. I saw this book while on holiday in the US and found it really intriguing. I was immediately HOOKED.

It's humourous, witty, and full of fun. Sure, some of the advice isn't for everyone (I didn't pay much attention to the fashion bit) but a lot of it is just great common sense and good tips to cheer us up when we get too serious. I bought this as a gift for my closest friend, and she loved it. We now have a Diva thing between us.

This book ROCKS! :D

From the back cover:

The phone rings. She picks up, but no one is there. She hears music and the sound of thunder. She hangs up in a trance. Minutes later, she is dead.

Ginny Shapiro stares at the photograph of seven smiling schoolgirls from the exclusive Montgomery Academy. Six of them are dead. She is the only one still alive.

The phone rings. Ginny gets in her car and speeds away. Anywhere. Fast.

FBI agent Sullivan Dean has the photo, too--as well as information that came too late to save the others. Tracking Ginny down to an isolated cabin in Mississippi, he's hell-bent on stopping her from becoming the final victim. What happened to those girls twenty years ago? The answer is locked deep in Ginny's memory; the key is somewhere in the dangerous world of mind control, where a sound, a word, a voice, can trigger death. For Ginny and Sully, the world is closing in--and passion between them is exploding. But time is running out, and death is within arm's reach...every time the phone rings.

And my review:

Dinah McCall (who also writes as Sharon Sala) is a hit-or-miss author. For me, I often find her more often a miss than a hit. But this one was a hit for me.

I had a few complaints (things that would normally make me stop reading, but this book was interesting enough that I kept going). For instance, we have to wait a long time before the hero and heroine meet. Almost a third of the book goes by before that happens. Also, we don't get to meet either the hero or the heroine for much of the beginning of the book. Normally, I'd stop reading, but the suspense storyline was original and interesting enough to keep me going.

I agree with other reviewers, the whole subplot involving the fishing cabin was rather unnecessary, and I think the book would have been better off if that part had been cut. It came across as filler, and didn't do much to move the story along. The romance was a bit rushed, and it felt more like they were together because of convenience and great sex and not much else.

And my last complaint: there's a part where a man is having to raise his voice to be heard over loud music. It's written that he raises his voice a couple of octaves to be heard. Well, anyone who's studied music knows that octaves refer to the pitch of a note, not the volume of it. So if the man had raised his voice two octaves, he would have sounded like a character from Alvin and the Chipmunks, all high-pitched in falsetto. He should have raised his voice a few DECIBELS, not octaves. I know I'm nitpicking, but that really bothered me (kind of like when people misuse the words "lay" and "lie"). But that's really the fault of poor editing--they're supposed to catch these things.

After reading all that, you'd think I hate this book, but I didn't. I really liked the idea of someone being able to use hypnosis to commit murder. I felt that this was a really original idea, and it was this plot that kept me reading. Yes, it requires some suspension of belief, but this is fiction. While this wasn't a "couldn't put it down" book, it was worth my time to read it. It doesn't really hit the mark as a romance novel, but for suspense, it delivered. However, I recommend trying to borrow this one, as it's not a keeper or a book to keep you up reading all night.

Book arrived in good shape. Story was engaging and well written. I love Dinah Mccall. She combines romance and intrigue well.

It is like playing hooky from work; watching soap opera all afternoon long. The characters are so emotional especially the two main ones that the story which has a good plot ends up being non-believable. Sullivan seems to be written with split personality; so is Ginny. The path of the tale is interesting but the narration in regards to each role lacks conviction. And, for an FBI agent, Sullivan is very soft-hearted - with tears in his eyes and all - that sometimes his dialogues appear to be spoken from a female's point of view. The person behind all the killing is not hard to determine even though the writer tries her best to sway her readers from the real killer a few times; that part is fun.

St. Louis reported Ginny Shapiro finds that she is the only member of an exclusive study left alive. The other six have either died in an accident or were murdered, including her good friend Georgia, a nun who started to put the pieces together before dying under mysterious circumstances. The only common thread in the deaths is the fact that each received a mysterious phone call prior to doing the deed.

Georgia shared this information with her childhood friend, Sullivan Dean, an FBI agent, but he receives the info too late. He tracks down Ginny, determined to keep her alive since he was not there for Georgia. Soon he and Ginny are embroiled in a passionate relationship, while he and his FBI pals try to protect her in a safe house.

Meanwhile, Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Emile Karnoff is traveling the world using his revolutionary hypnosis technique to cure gravely ill patients. He manages to ignore the problems of his very ill son, and his overly neat wife with disastrous results.

While parts of the book are totally predictable, just when you are convinced you know who the bad guy is, something happens to change your opinion.

Dinah McCall serves up a thriller with a little different beat. STORM WARNING has the reader wondering if this could really happen and lets your imagination take over from there, similar to John Saul's GUARDIAN.

Seven girls who attended a gifted class when they were very young in 1979 are suddenly committing suicide with no warning and under very bizarre circumstances - each receive a phone call and become entranced and kill themselves. When Ginny Shapirio, an investigative reporter, realizes she's the only one left from this class, she begins to wonder. She receives a letter of warning from Sister Mary Theresa (her best friend) warning her not to answer the phone. Sister Mary Theresa has linked their classmates' deaths to a phone call right before their demise. However, Sister Mary Theresa dies before the letter is received and Ginny flees to try to save herself - but from what or whom she's not certain.

FBI agent Sullivan Dean, finds Ginny, and tries to help. It's a convoluted chain of friendships that gets Dean involved, but once you figure that out, you understand his drive. Ginny and Dean strive to figure out why these suicides happened, and what can be done to stop the "trigger" from setting off Ginny.

Character development is excellent. McCall creates a vibrant victim in Ginny - she's smart, attractive, and a strong female. Dean is also robust and the perfect match to compliment Ginny. Thrown in is a Nobel-winning doctor (Emile Karnoff) who is a bit eccentric but believes in his theory of using hypnosis to heal. Emile comes with his crazy son and doting wife (she thrives on keeping everything tidy).

The plot line is a bit farfetched, but fun. To spice up the thriller side of the story, a good dose of romance is tossed in for good measure. STORM WARNING is a perfect blend of thriller and romance. Dinah McCall (AKA Sharon Sala) is definitely an author to peruse. I've enjoyed all of her books that I've read to date and STORM WARNING is at the top of that list!

I've been reading a handful of books around Taiwan and China; relating to their history, business, traveling there, etc.

This was a nice, concise, easy to read (especially skim) account of things. While it's not always on the mark 100%, I think it errs on the side of caution which I appreciate. A nice read.

Compared to the cultural sections in the Lonely Planet for Taiwan, this book was much more up to date (having been revised in 2005 verses LP being revised in 2000). The only drawbacks were the book's heavy focus on Taipei (I moved to southern Taiwan) and the books focuse on MEN in the business world and men's night ctivities like ladies' clubs etc. These sections weren't applicable to women at all. Not being any sort of feminist, I was still rather disappointed that there was not any similar commentary provided specifically for women in business and women's nightime activities!

This book provides an excellent introduction to the different culture in Taiwan. Since our son will soon be marrying a lady from Taiwan, we thought we should learn a little more about her cultural background.

I just want to throw my vote in with several others who have commented on how this book gives an impression that is more harsh than the reality. It tends to give the worst case scenarios regarding how Taiwanese treat foreigners, which I think gives people the wrong impression. In my experience the Taiwanese are mostly curious but friendly, except in Taipei where foreigners aren't a novelty and are pretty much treated like anyone else. Yes, a white person will be stared at quite a bit, and may get some blunt questions that would be considered rude elsewhere, but the types of really blatant disrespect this book describes is pretty unlikely.

Other than that, it is useful and informative as to customs, etc, though I don't think one has to be quite as picky about issues of "face" as the book suggests, especially with the younger generation.

This book was... fair. It might be a great for, say, an American businessman planning on a one or two month stay in Taiwan, although it is doubtful whether what it has to teach will really apply. It barely scratches the surface, but I suppose it was never meant to. In short, it's a good start for those who don't know anything about Taiwan and/or Taiwanese culture and want to lessen the impact, as it were. As a basic guide it works, but don't expect the sun and the moon. Enjoy your travels in Taiwan.

Troy Parfitt, author

I find this book extremely dull because it is mainly made up of statements. But then I realise that, written by government think tanks, this book is for politicians.

If you are a general reader and want to understand how China is affecting the world, I recommend China Shakes the World or China Inc. And if are interested in the recent history of China (pre-1978), read Wild Swans.

If you are a business person and want to understand how to do business in China, I recommend The China Executive by Dr Wei Wang.

Pg. 4: "China's average wage is one-thirtieth of the U.S. and its average productivity level is equally lower (and wages, in any event account for only 20% of the cost of producing textiles and 5% of the cost of producing semiconductors)." If so, manufacturers that offshore in China would be stupid; alternatively, "China: The Balance Sheet" has a serious credibility problem. I go with the latter.

Nonetheless, this is still some value to the book for its statistics. For example, the authors believe China's foreign exchange reserves reached $1 trillion in '06, far more than any other country's, and probably more than enough to make serious improvement in its pollution and poverty problems. By 2050, China's economy is projected to be the world's largest; foreign investment only accounts for 5% of its capital growth - the Chinese savings rate of about 33% is more than enough to handle China's growth with money left over.

As for social services, "The Balance Sheet" asserts a mid-90's adult literacy rate of about 80% (vs. 50% in India) and graduates 800,000 scientists and engineers/year, while spending only 2.8% of GDP on education. Healthcare accounts for about 6% - far less than the U.S.' 16%.

Only 16% of China's land is arable, and most of its population lives on it. China's leaders are pressured to improve employment to absorb those leaving rural China, as well as those 40% released from state-jobs (including 80% from state-owned manufacturers).

Bergsten et al are most concerned about the possibility of conflict between the U.S. and China re Taiwan, and they point out that China uses its political (U.N. Security Council membership) and economic muscle to "encourage" others to support it re Taiwan.

I haven't read this book but have read several others by Nick Lardy and studied with him at Yale. I disagee with several reviewers who characterize Nick and his colleagues as ignorant about China and are simply imposing a western view. Nick was studying China and the economy (in Chinese) long before it was a popular subject and is intimately familiar with the country's economy. In a country where data is often obscured by politics, he has done an excellent job of piecing together disparate facts to achieve a coherent whole. He may be skeptical, but he's often correct.

This book contains an excellent ,overall assessment of China.It shows both the strengths and weaknesses of China.However,it is not the case that China's growth rate over the last 30 yaers has been 10 %.In late 2007,the World Bank,based on a complete reassessment of its estimates of Chinese price equivalents ,in terms of USA prices,based on standard purchasing power parity calculations,estimated China's Gross Domestic Product(gdp) to be no more than $6 trillion and not the $10-$11 trillion estimated in 2005 and 2006.This corrected statistic can be compared to the current gdp of the United States ,which is around $13 trillion.Similarly,the alleged rising middle class of China turns out to be at most 100 million out of a population of 1.4 billion.These facts mean that China is not the unstoppable powerhouse claimed in numerous other currently available books on China.The China threat,in fact,appears to be very similar ,in many respects, to the old Soviet Union threat based on faulty economic growth statistics that had greatly overestimated the Soviet Union's economic growth rate.

This book is the best primer on the rise of China and the consequences to the United States that I have come across. Most other authors on the subject feel the need to have a strong thesis, either "China: House of Cards" or "China: Unstoppable Juggernaut". The team here presents a balanced and clinical view while venturing to conclusions on reccommended US actions as well. Well worth the quick read to cut through all the China hype/noise out there.

Not finish reading yet, but found typing error already, on page 30, put extreme as example twice.

Too much GPRS specific and lacking deep insight in GPRS deployment aspects

Excellent book! Written in easy to understand language but also provides the detail needed to help in understanding this technology. As with all the books written by Mr. Bates, this is a qualty piece of material.

This book has a well structured flow and brings you up to speed quickly on GPRS. Easy to read, yet very informative.

This book would also make a great textbook, it helped me to come up to speed quickly. Great explanation of layers and interfaces. To the point, with plenty of supporting illustrations.

This book "could" have been a great book had Mr. Bates proofread it once before publishing it. Having read GSM and GPRS papers before reading this book, I have to say that this book is replete with technical snafus [a case in point for those who suspect is on pg. 30 third paragraph of the Introduction to GSM chapter "paging message sent over PAGCH"] Now anyone with half a brain knows that
1. PAGCH is a GPRS logical channel NOT GSM.
2. It is an Access Grant channel NOT a paging channel which in case of GSM is PCH and PPCH in GPRS.

Now someone new to GPRS would be confused as hell after reading this [I admit I was confused for a couple of minutes too :-), since I am not supposed to be the expert but Mr. Bates was]

Structure wise the book is okay but needs a stringent review of the rambling grammer and the blatant mistakes. IMO its not worth forking 60 bucks. If Mr. Bates is reading this, I adjure you sir to take some time off from your speaking tours and correct the mistakes in this book.

Am giving it two stars for good layout. Taking away three stars for incorrect content.