Beck Books

The book uses a lot of examples, this is both a blessing and a curse. It allows you to see applications in more domains which is a good. The down side is I find I had to keep flipping to previous chapters to keep reminding myself of exactly what each example dealt with.

This book is aimed at university curriculum, but I found that it is also beneficial to those working in IT field like me.

I have read several books about UML and Object-Orient Technology. They were able to explain what was UML and how to do OO modelling and development, but without solid examples. After reading, I still could not master the idea and skill to apply UML successfully.

Contrarily, this book uses teach-by-example approach to explain and guide me through the necessary steps in applying UML to real-life project from requirements determination, analysis to database/program design. It also emphasises the importance of iterative and incremental process.

I would like to recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to apply UML, especially in requirements analysis and system design.

Honestly, I only endured this book to its middle. Superficial is the first characteristic that comes to mind. The author gives a brief description of object technology (which turnes out to be rather a list of UML concepts). A very short overview of requirement analysis follows - only "what", little of "why", almost nothing about "how". The requirements document template is here too, but you could really find better examples on the net, including real standards.

But only in chapter 4 the book starts to blossom. You quickly find out, that the author has little if any real world design experience. Yes, the case-studies are a bit strained, still they are tolerable. But the author does poor modeling: his models are, well, arguable. Some classes 'follow' from the requirements without real explanation. And the naming is just plain ugly: consider a 'areYouOpen' method on a Course class and an 'areYouValid' method on a Student class.

UML is covered, again, superficially. The short Fowler's book, UML Distilled, goes to greater depths on almost any topic (not to say Fowler *does* cover some experience in software process).

If you need anything better, than a one term undergraduate learn-and-forget coursebook, don't bother.

Here is another excellent book on UML and system development using UML. I found this book highly practical, amusing, and instructive to read. Among the many excellent features of this book, I found the following five main strengths of the book. First, the book is rich with five case studies. Many books are rich in discussion, but weak in examples and case studies. This book uses five case studies. Some case studies are detailed while other case studies are short. Second, the book covers many advanced concepts, not usually covered by many other popular UML books in one volume. Those advanced features include reified classes, interface inheritance, implementation inheritance, extension inheritance, delegation, four types of aggregations, etc. Fourth, the book integrates other important parts of the system development activities such as user interface design, window navigation diagrams, database design for OO, OR, and relational databases. Fifth, therefore, the book covers all the life cycle of OO system developments, beginning from requirements modeling to user interface design, database design and testing. All these features make this book as an excellent choice for learning how to use UML to develop a complete system. One of several minor drawbacks is that some discussions appear in several different sections. This is due to a fairly long guided tutorial in Chapter 2.

Honestly, I only endured this book to its middle. Superficial is the first characteristic that comes to mind. The author gives a brief description of object technology (which turnes out to be rather a list of UML concepts). A very short overview of requirement analysis follows - only "what", little of "why", almost nothing about "how". The requirements document template is here too, but you could really find better examples on the net, including real standards.

But only in chapter 4 the book starts to blossom. You quickly find out, that the author has little if any real world design experience. Yes, the case-studies are a bit strained, still they are tolerable. But the author does poor modeling: his models are, well, arguable. Some classes 'follow' from the requirements without real explanation. And the naming is just plain ugly: consider a 'areYouOpen' method on a Course class and an 'areYouValid' method on a Student class.

UML is covered, again, superficially. The short Fowler's book, UML Distilled, goes to greater depths on almost any topic (not to say Fowler *does* cover some experience in software process).

If you need anything better, than a one term undergraduate learn-and-forget coursebook, don't bother.

This book is filled about 500 pages of such incredible verbosity that it is wonderous that anyone can come away having learned anything. The material is hopelessly outdated. This book definitely is not worth the nearly $... I wasted on it. I hate myself for the ... dollar I will receive at the college bookstore when I return it.

This is a wonderful book help me clear a lot of idea.
Most of people study these tools,that is compiler,assembler,OS...and so forth, indenpendently.
But L. Beck tell you the relationship between them systematically.It is really worthy of buying the book.
It seems that there is hardly books talk about topic such as the content of the book.

I found this book to be a pretty decent guide to understanding basic compilers structures. The reason I give it a four is because it's verbiage was a bit difficult to understand at times. The author begins by using a very novel example of a simple CPU and explains how to write an assembler for it and then a compiler. When you are done reading it you should be able to go off an write a pretty simple assembler, compiler and interpreter. (I did!)

To my opinion, the merit of this book is that it gives good basic knowledge about assembler and loader. Especially, the chapter about loader is very clearly written. I think that it's better than Levin's book (Linkers and Loaders).
However, the level of information is too low. If you are under-graduate student and don't have many experience about the assembly programming, this book is helpful to raise your level in system programming. But to experienced engineer, I think it will be a disappointing book.
I'd like to recommend this book as the introductory book or the summary of assembler, link and loader, compiler, os, software engineering, and so forth.

After working on C, C++ and a little bit of Assembly languages, you feel excited about the knowledge & underlying mechanisms of assemblers, loaders and linkers etc. I have gone through this book and found it extremely helpful in getting the complex concepts of system softwares. I agree with the idea of author to give the concepts on the basis of a hypothetical machine, rather than going into the complex details of any real system. This provides a big scope of the subject, giving

you the ability to feel at ease with any system.

What I like most in this book is that, its not so big and with just eight chapters, you feel comfortable about the idea of reading the book.

I think, its a must to read book for computer science students.

Fluff. Very quick read. You already know what to do. Listen to your child. Give them some space and respect. Be there for them. It was not a step by step book. I feel as though it was written by a Mom who had done a good job with here children. No real meat to the book.

This book received a new cover and has been re-published. New ISBN 0-9788465-0-8.

Christina Botto
Author

If you are the parent of a teenager you may have had some challenging moments...you also may have run screaming to a friend begging for advice. Some teens are the type you need an instruction manual for, while others are perfectly understandable. Christina Botto offers a guide for parents of teens, that she says "works." "Help Me With My Teenager!" is a step-by-step guide, that instruction manual parents sometimes wish for.
Botto shares her own experiences, being the mom of two young women who made it through teenhood. Once she has you at ease that she has been there and done that, she explains that the best approach to having a better relationship with your young adult is to understand what it means to be a teen. You probably remember but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. Botto then goes on to give advice on connecting with your teen, giving them room to grow, dealing with their friends, setting limits, and enjoying your relationship with your teenager. You can do it!

This guide is a no nonsense "how-to" that is likely to save many relationships. Being reminded to be careful of what we say, how to act, and react, is worth its weight in gold. Some of the tips are so slap-upside-the-head simple that you'll feel a Homer Simpson moment of "Doh!" Others are full of insight that you just may have never thought of.

If you need a little guidance, a friendly whisper in the ear about what works and what doesn't, Christina Botto is here for you.
Review by Heather Froeschl.

I've been searching for a book that actually has specific examples of teenage problems and what to do. This book is right on target. I have tried some of the suggestions in this book and am thrilled with the results. I highly recommend this book for any parent struggling with any type of negative teenage behavior.

If you are the parent of a teenager you may have had some challenging moments...you also may have run screaming to a friend begging for advice. Some teens are the type you need an instruction manual for, while others are perfectly understandable. Christina Botto offers a guide for parents of teens, that she says "works." "Help Me With My Teenager!" is a step-by-step guide, that instruction manual parents sometimes wish for.
Botto shares her own experiences, being the mom of two young women who made it through teenhood. Once she has you at ease that she has been there and done that, she explains that the best approach to having a better relationship with your young adult is to understand what it means to be a teen. You probably remember but it doesn't hurt to be reminded. Botto then goes on to give advice on connecting with your teen, giving them room to grow, dealing with their friends, setting limits, and enjoying your relationship with your teenager. You can do it!

This guide is a no nonsense "how-to" that is likely to save many relationships. Being reminded to be careful of what we say, how to act, and react, is worth its weight in gold. Some of the tips are so slap-upside-the-head simple that you'll feel a Homer Simpson moment of "Doh!" Others are full of insight that you just may have never thought of.

If you need a little guidance, a friendly whisper in the ear about what works and what doesn't, Christina Botto is here for you.
Review by Heather Froeschl.

This book explains the mimickers of depression.Also excellent writing and it never left me hanging.(meaning it got to the point and explain everything.)It explains the theories and definent causes of depression.It explains all the treaments such as:antidepressants,shock therapy,psychotherapy.This book relates to the chemicals in your brain instead of the primitive talk therapy,and cognitive therapy. I have read at least ten+ books on depression and this is the greatest book of all. Yet the only problem with this book is that it's not up to date on all the newer antidepressants since it was published in 1995. I wish the author of this book comes out with another book(updated)and I would definatly pay 50 bucks for it. The author of this book is a ausome,great,superb,excellent and blazing hot writer. You should win the Nobel Prize for this book. You got my vote.

This book is generally outdated and written from the perspective of someone who wanted to offer an alternative to psychological interventions which he believed did not work. But, he never proved that they did not work. It was an exploration of new territory in the time that it was written, and does not hold much beyond historical value; as there are other books which explain cognitive theories of emotional disturbance and treatment for such in a more clear and precise manner.
To the previous reviewer, talking is not primitive. Black and white thinking is. Wanting to simply explain and control is entirely primitive and based in fear and anxiety. It is why we have gods, myths, fairy tales and legends. Sitting in a room with someone you trust and talking through your problems is not primitive. Whether it is a friend, a relative, a stranger or a therapist, it is progressive and courageous; even by today's standards. Trusting another human being and making a connection with them is superior human behavior.
Now, lets stop trying to be the one who has it right and start working together to heal people.

This book was so boring. Its too technical and it does not contain enough of real life examples and stories. Its like it was written by a robot. Unless you a psych major I would not get this book because it will put you to sleep.

This book explains the mimickers of depression.Also excellent writing and it never left me hanging.(meaning it got to the point and explain everything.)It explains the theories and definent causes of depression.It explains all the treaments such as:antidepressants,shock therapy,psychotherapy.This book relates to the chemicals in your brain instead of the primitive talk therapy,and cognitive therapy. I have read at least ten+ books on depression and this is the greatest book of all. Yet the only problem with this book is that it's not up to date on all the newer antidepressants since it was published in 1995. I wish the author of this book comes out with another book(updated)and I would definatly pay 50 bucks for it. The author of this book is a ausome,great,superb,excellent and blazing hot writer. You should win the Nobel Prize for this book. You got my vote.

This work by Tolnay & Beck has recieved many awards, but from reading this work I am not as impressed as others. The work begins with a strong review of the history of lynching. The reader is provided with numerous facts and images of lynching and is provided with numerous case examples of the poor soles who where victims of lynching. The book quickly changes from an adequate historical perspective to a neo-marxist critique of American society. It holds merely one "insight", that economic hard times led to higher rates of lynching. The book adheres to all the necessary ingredients for being sucessful in the age of political correctness. These include: a repressed people whose crimes were all "alleged;" the Capitalist system as the oppressor; and an appeal to Afrocentrism. With these influences, One is hard pressed to consider this work as the "science" as it has been exaulted. The book is what the neo-marxist and the political correct community wishes to hear which currently are the dominant force in social science as the 60s free love scholars reach the apex of their power in American society.

All I can say is thank God (literally) for books like this one. They are sorely needed for people with the thoughts and opinions of people like the reviewer below. I am grateful to AMAZON.COM for publishing both positive and negative reviews.

I was forced to read this book for my freshman university seminar on social change. I regret every page. My fellow classmates and I waded through the dense redundancy of this book for two weeks. All that I learned in the 297 pages of this book could be summed up in one paragraph. I understand this book may be excellent for sociology scholars, but undergrad music majors will not be so apreciative of all this book is attempting to say. Professors, I beg you, please do not require this book for freshman reading. Thank you.

An excellent source work for any serious students of lynching. This book was very helpful in my work as a graduate student and comes highly recommended by numerous professors of history in academic institutions. It helps to give insight into a part of American history at times ignored by the general public. Readers of this work may also look into writings of those as Leon Litwack for similar accounts of lynching, anti-black riots and general violence in post-Civil War to mid 20th century America. It is good academic as well as popular history.

You can finish reading this book in one sitting since it only contains 48 pages. Very straight forward and easy to understand. It answered many of my questions regarding male impotency problems.

The book is a quick and easy read with good general information about erections and impotence, but it doesn't live up to its title. There is very little information on treatments besides injections and pumps.

The prevention that is given in this book is mainly about staying healthy. The prevention methods given could be described for preventing almost every other ailment out there.

I will be donating my copy to the local library to others can save the money. There are several other books out there that for a little more money give a lot more information.

"Impotence Assist" has brought joy back into mylife. Having struggled continually with the shame of impotence andsexual lack of performance for years, Dr. Beck has provided a light at the end of my tunnel vision. Thank you Dr. Beck.

The author seems to have invented a device to make testosterone injections to the penis more effective. He fails to mention less invasive means of delivering testosterone. Nor is Viagra ito be found here.

I'm sure there are some for whom penile injections are appropriate but I want information about all the alternatives before I make a decision. This booklet does not provide information on those alternatives.

You probably know that XML is descended from SGML, and it thus inherited DTDs, which were then the only means of specifying a document model. That proved adequate for SGML, but its limitations soon became clear in XML. Several alternatives were proposed, but XML Schema seems to be winning. Thus Bradley has delivered a timely exposition. He covers all the features clearly. A brief mention is made of its competitors, Relax NG and Schematron. But they do seem to be fading fast.

The most interesting part of Bradley's text are the chapters on namespaces. Other aspects of Schema are lower level and, while useful, are frankly mundane. By contrast, namespaces are the critical feature of Schema. They let you build on pre-existing schemas that have been published on the web. And you can publish your schemas so that others might benefit. You and those in your field or industry can cooperatively derive a net gain by agreeing and publishing standard definitions. A Network effect.

I assume that you are familiar with HTML. In that, the crucial element are the hyperlinks (the href and src attributes in certain tags). It is these that put the "H" in HTML. Without them, HTML just becomes a limited page markup language. It is that ability to link to arbitrary locations on the Internet which produced the Web. Likewise, in the much heralded Web Services, these exchange data via XML. Which in turn depends on XML Schema to build consistent hyperlinked semantics.

You should read Bradley's chapters on namespaces thoroughly.

I purchased this book based upon recommendations listed here on Amazon. I should have looked elsewhere for reviews. This book is absolutely unreadable. The author jumps from topic to topic and then back that it makes my head spin. He refers to future chapters, future concepts, and external resources to distraction.

Specifically, in the midst of discussing simple element constructions, Mr. Bradley includes a paragraph describing television stations in the UK that has no relevance to the examples given. I'm sure he's proud of his heritage and his expertise on television in England, but what does it have to do with XML Schemas or the current example????????

I suspect that Mr. Bradley is a college professor. If he is, he should be forced to sit through recordings of his own lectures. Maybe that would cure him of his unbearable writing style.
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Neil Bradley in his fourth book tells you everything you would ever want to know about XML Schemas or better knows as XSD for XML Schema Definition. With the popularity that various XML technologies are attracting these days, every developer, architect and designer needs to know what XML Schema is and how it used. This topic is covered in many other books, but Bradley's book has by far the most extensive, comprehensive and thorough coverage of the topic. It shows that author truly understand the topic at hand, and can convey the message clearly to the reader. The organization of the book starts with the author explaining how the XML Schema standard defines a template that documents created based on that template must conform to, followed by showing the reader how to define reusable data blocks based on the XML Schema language, and it finishes with XML Schema related topic such as namespaces and a rather complete overview what's out there and where to get more information.

Schemas are in a whole different category all by themselves. Every XML document, standard, protocol - basically anything that has anything to do with XML needs to use or to interact with XML Schema in one or another. XML Schemas are used to model both data and narrative XML documents, which means that if you are ever planning on interacting with XML, you better understand XML schemas. I thought that this topic will be very easy, and there is nothing to it... I was wrong. There is a whole lot to cover and once you read Bradley's book you'll know what I am talking about. The standard for schemas is so extensive, that the first few chapters of his book are spent on what the different terminologies mean and how they interrelate. For example, the difference between narrative data (data where the sequence of events and representation matters greatly) and datacenteric documents (order of presenting the data does not matter), and the difference between the schema definition author (the person who creates the schemas) versus the document instance author (people who create well-formed documents) and many others alike. After talking about the basics, the author spends a great deal of time explaining the various components of the XML schema such as elements, attributes, simple data type, complex data types, etc... Understanding these topics is essential in reading the following chapters of the book.
The author uses the same examples throughout the end, so the reader can follow the text and actually understand the topic while the author is presenting it. The code samples are just great. Since the topic is rather abstract, the author had spent a great deal of time using examples to demonstrate the topic at hand better. There were times that I read the example first, and then I went back to read the text, because the visualization is the key in this topic. As with any programming or technical book, the topic and examples start simple and they get much harder as you read the book. The same goes with this book, but the interesting thing is that if you don't know enough about namespaces, the author sends you off to one of the accompanying chapters to read to get ready. The chances are that you don't know enough about namespaces, and the "reference" topics included towards the end of the book become very valuable as you read this book. I thought that I knew namespaces rather well until I read the following:
"... namespaces do not exist as physical entities. There is no namespace definition markup language and no namespace file, object, or interface. ... namespaces are just a concept. This fact alone has led to much unnecessary confusion..."
In all the books and all the articles and the press and ... that I have read on XML, this little but rather important concept was left out. In one chapter the author has shed more light on a topic of namespaces than an entire book that one would find on the topic. The moral of the story is to read this book cover-to-cover. Even if you think you know it all, still spend the time to read this book. I was amazed at how complicated XML Schemas could get and how powerful they really are.
Some of the advanced topics covered include inheritance and pattern recognition. Both topics are very well explained and covered well. If you know regular expression from Perl, then pattern recognition in schema world would look very familiar to you. The same regular expression rules that are covered in Perl, govern the patterns matching in XML Schemas. What the author adds is concrete examples of how this technique can be used to build powerful schemas. Inheritance is another interesting topic in schemas, as inheritance has made XML schemas very object oriented. Some of your favorite concepts in Java map directly into schemas, and the author actually made table cross referencing the various "key phrases" in Java versus XML Schemas. If you are coming from the OO world of C++ or Java, take a look at this table first. If you are at all familiar with the Eiffel language, you would have a greater appreciation for some of the features of XML Schemas such as the ability to redefine an element or to extend specific parts of a schema.
In closing, if you think you know XML Schema's, think again. This book covers the topic in detail and does so very well. I would recommend this book to be read by any schema designer or a valuable reference for anyone interface with any XML technology.

This is a solid reference work on XML Schema. I wouldn't go looking to it for advice on how to solve particular problems with XML Schema. But if you are looking for a quick reference guide that covers all of the syntax with annotated examples then you have come to the right place. The graphics, which are light-weight and to the point help to illustrate the key points.

Two minor complaints are that the structure of the book is odd (chapters at the end of the book which are clearly appendices are structured as chapters), and the index is also a little short.

On the positive note, XML schema is not a particularly exciting topic and Neil's tone keeps it a light and interesting read.

So far this is the best book I have read on the subject.

Books were received as promised and were in excellent(new) condition. Very pleased with the transaction.

This book is less relevant now that the Canadian government is removing the tax exempt status of these funds in 2011.

The book is written by a Canadian for Canadians and does not include US Tax treatment and differences that should be understood before selecting these instruments for US portfolios.
Still looking for that book.
dah

I have worked in a lot of projects, large and small, but all the ones I personally managed were small and run by the S.O.P.M Methodology (Seat-of-the-Pants). When I signed up for a community-college P.M. class, all they wanted to talk about was "soft skills", team bonding, Kum-Bah-Yah stuff. Necessary, but not the nuts-and-bolts. I got my money back - I wanted meat-and-potatoes Project Managment. To me, this book has a good overview of basics with common sense, then some good specific techniques with more detail. Plus, it goes cradle-to-grave. I have not finished, and I have not run the exercises yet. Maybe I'll come back and add a different rating after that. I wouldn't buy it to learn Microsoft Project software.

This book has project management examples for use with MS Project 4.0 included. The macros don't work in the current version of MS Project. The macros are written in Visual Basic and I was able to debug through them, so I could at least install the material.

The book was not well written, the narrators came across too stuffy. There is good material here, but I am having a hard time forcing myself past the middle of the book.

I enjoyed the AMA Handbook of Project Management much better.

Well developed description of high-level procedures necessary to the process of "planning to plan." CD includes exercises that can be used with MS Project 4.0, but the book is not tied to any particular program and is definitely not a software manual

I met a man who wasn't there.

Summer vacation season is in full swing and Inspector Martin Beck has just arrived in an isolated summer cottage on an island off the Swedish coast. The very next morning a neighbor rows out to advise him that he is wanted on the telephone. He is needed back in Stockholm for a meeting with the Police Chief and the Swedish Foreign office. Beck grudgingly returns for the meeting and is asked to travel to Budapest, Hungary to find a missing journalist. The journalist, Alf Matsson, has gone missing and the tabloid newspaper he works for has pressured the Foreign Office to search for the report. Beck has been asked to `volunteer' for the task. Despite, or perhaps because of, his wife's displeasure (their marriage is not in the best condition) at his departure, Beck accepts the assignment. In short order he is provided with a full set of travel documents, a brief dossier on Matsson, and a ticket for Budapest. The only thing Beck lacks is the first clue as to how to locate Matsson.

As the story progresses we see Beck put together bits and pieces of information as he wanders, seemingly aimlessly, through the picturesque streets of Budapest. Beck is traveling purely as a civilian and soon attracts the attention of the Budapest police force, in particular a detective who may or may not be an ally of Beck. Beck also attracts the attention of what may be either Budapest's underworld or representatives of the Hungarian security forces. For all intents and purposes Beck is a stranger in a strange land.

As with all the other Martin Beck mysteries in this ten-book series (this is the third in the series), "The Man Who Went Up in Smoke" is rich with character-driven narrative. Beck's character and his relationships with his colleagues and his wife are fleshed out as Beck plods along trying to unravel the mystery surrounding Matsson's disappearance. The authors, the husband and wife team of Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall, do a nice job of revealing details in a measured pace along the way. The plot and narrative do fall squarely within the usual police procedural `formula' but that does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of reading the book. Although the reader may find the ending a bit predictable (I didn't) the real enjoyment of the series involves the development of Beck's character. As with many good detective series (Simenon's Maigret comes to mind here) the personality of Beck takes pride of place. He is far from being a super hero, is no Sherlock Holmes (who is?), smokes too much, doesn't eat right, and has some troubles at home. He is appealing because of these flaws not despite them and his dogged determination and his personal involvement in the cases he handles drags the reader right into the story. He works at his job and doesn't and cannot rely on flashes of genius to solve a crime.

The Beck series has been an entertaining one. I recommend starting with the first book in the series (Roseanna) and working your way in chronological order. My only fault with the publisher, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (a division of Random House) is that they do not identify the order of books in the series. Despite that minor quibble any reader who enjoys Simenon, Eric Ambler, or Boris Akunin will enjoy the Martin Beck detective mysteries. Recommended. L. Fleisig.

The third book in the Martin Beck detective series. This one focuses on the mysterious disappearance of a Swedish tabloid journalism in Eastern Europe. Beck is called off his August family holiday to investigate, but is secretly glad to get away from his overbearing wife.

One of the weaker entries in the series. The story never really held my interest. However, I did appeciate the reverse intuition of the plot; though Beck gets involved with criminal underworld and international gun smugglers, things are ultimately much more simple than they first appear.

If this one doesn't capture your interst, keep reading; the series steadily improves from here.

congratulations on stumbling onto one of the best crime/satire series of the 20th century. If you didn't like this one, read some others, especially The Locked Room. Great writing with a moderate slant (they slam liberals and conservatives) makes this a wonderful series.