Becker Books

This is a rare, great book, one of the few works in ethics in who knows how long that actually takes ethics in the right direction. Becker is committed to a fully naturalistic account of ethics that takes full advantage of all scientific info he can pull together (in psychology, biology, etc.) -- this is how he construes the stoic maxim to 'follow nature', and I could not agree with him more. Though he does go off track in a few places, and though his arguments can be a little weak sometimes (ie, for the importance of reciprocity and benevolence), those criticisms can be made of just about anything. Overall, an exciting, fascinating read that had me, for the first time since I can remember, actually believing that ethics was being pointed in the right direction and being placed, finally, on a solid footing. This work deserves a great deal more praise and fame than it has received.
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Becker guides willing readers on a journey through a re-vitalized stoic philosophy that takes into account the post-Enlightenment turn in philosophy. He makes a good case for why philosophers should return to the idea and practice of telling people how to live, a task they abandoned early in the history of modernity. The one drawback in Becker's investigation is his academic philosopher's prose style, which while better than most of its ilk, still gets bogged down now and then in an unnecessary density that one usually finds at dry academic conferences. Beyond that quibble though, it is refreshing to see a trained academic philosopher take on such issues as virtue and happiness without apology and apply the noble stoic tradition to them in contemporary terms. As a stoic myself, I hope that Becker's effort lends itself to a serious revival of our cause.

I was very disappointed with this book. From our extant sources, the Stoics' holistic conception of life was backed up with a rich web of interdependent propositions and rigorous argumentation. In Becker's book, I was stunned to find the school's most influential thinker (Chrysippus of Soli) reduced to a total of eleven references.

I seriously doubt Stoicism can be practiced without a naturalistic ontology. Immediately, Becker divorces Stoicism from the very core of its set of beliefs: the organic "hegemonikon" which the Stoics posited ruled the universe. Rejecting the inherent teleology of this view leads one right into a suspension of interdependent "meaning" for events (lekta, as the Stoics called it), which in turn leads one to a type of skepticism.

As the founder Zeno himself likened it, the Stoic practice was a threefold whole, and one could not separate them without collapsing the structure--their logic, which underpinned the spoken proposition, was meant to be isomorphic with the causal nexus of the physical world; their ethics for the most part hinged upon aligning ones' own "hegemonikon" with the "hegemonikon" of the universe; and their physics, with its Herclitean concept of the "guiding fire" tied the individual subject, who was in possession of a single spark of the same, to the guiding fire of the whole. Our reason, our possession of the logos, allows us to choose to align ourselves or not to the "greater will" which called us into existence in the first place. Virtue can result, in a physical way, from the very perception of this continuum (this is another Stoic innovation--that a physical change occurs...We may liken this today to a change in brain chemistry, or activity in the central nervous system, a "Stoic calm" which results from "receiving the will of God").

Becker, a professor of philosophy at the College of William and Mary, seeks to sever quaint naturalist assumptions from the ethical propositions at the heart of the stoic philosophy. The ancient stoics were persuaded that each person should live in contentment whatever their circumstances because in so doing each contributes to nature's unknowable purpose. In repudiating the grounding of stoic ethics on this metaphysical assumption that nowadays is embarrassed by the non-teleogical findings of modern science, Becker asks how else the elements of its ethical propositions may be legitimated. By way of partial answer, he holds that it is in this same modern science that an endorsement for the exercise of virtue is to be found. He finds persuasive support for stoic ethics in contemporary psychological and neurophysiologic perspectives. Becker, who takes the position that the often thin thread of stoic tradition has coursed continuously through the ages since Zeno of Citium, and who counts himself an adherent, states the credo of stoic ethics has remained unchanged to the present despite the rejection of its naturalist roots: [T]he final end of all rational activity is virtue, not happiness; that virtue does not admit of degrees, and among people who fall short of it, none is any more virtuous than another; that sages are happy just because they are virtuous, and can be happy even on the rack; that they must be able to say of everything other than their virtue (friends, loves, emotions, reputation, wealth, pleasant mental states, suffering,disease, death, and so on) that it is nothing to them. (p. 8) Strong stuff. But perhaps we should give it mind, although we already are preparing a major objection to this all-or-nothing regard for virtue. As psychoanalysts, we care deeply about ethics but strain beneath Freud's general disapprobation for philosophers. Karen Horney's psychoanalytic vision, by contrast, is largely configured around ethical precepts. Her "Morality of Evolution" (Horney, 1950, p. 13-16) while perfectly useable gives her work a treackily, inspirational tone. Yet there is nothing in either Freud's or Horney's corpus at odds with the stoic project. The purpose of ethics is normative in its endeavor to assert how people should be and act--yet it must avoid the excesses through which legitimate ethical "should's" acquire the dimensions of compulsivity, indiscriminateness, arbitrariness and rigidity that constitute the "tyranny of should's" of which Horney speaks. In this same connection, Becker disputes Chrysippus's assertions that the result of virtuous living is the harmonization of desire and reason and the elimination of conflict. Instead, following Posidonius, he asserts that healthy agency is to be found in the courageous willingness and capacity to endure conflict, discover its origins, appreciate its consequences, and follow where such analysis will lead--a position entirely agreeable with psychoanalysis. Stoicism, as Becker presents it, is not justification for masochistic endurance of suffering--which is to be avoided determinedly when doing so is consistent with virtue. Nor is stoicism to provide justification for passive acceptance of misery when futility of action remains unproved. Nor, again, is stoicism a bleak asceticism or intellectual detachment. There are a variety of "nonagency" pleasures or goods that are largely irrelevant to the exercise of virtuosity-no reason to avoid a good time and enjoy what money can buy. Additionally, stoicism is entirely congenial with hot-bloodedness and passionate engagement: "[b]eing overcome by emotion is no more problematic for a stoic than being overcome by sleep" (p. 145). Becker points out that the perfection of agency through the exercise of virtue leads neither to a contemplative or philosophical life nor to a predictable uniformity. The stoicism that Becker serves up is congenial to the spirit of psychoanalysis with its privileging of personal idiom and appreciation for unique aspects of personal agency. Furthermore, in its high regard for grounding gratification in constructive behavior and sublimation of primitive impulses, though differently stated, stoicism is entirely in line with psychoanalytic premises. Psychoanalytic theory does not frame its goals through the discourse of stoic ethics, but it could and not suffer a whit. Perfection of agency by which Becker means the progressive integration of received and constructed elements available to the person is comparable to the stated Horneyan purpose of therapy. The struggle that we may have with Becker's thesis to which I alluded above, and the one I suspect he shares with us, is the proposition that anything less than ideal agency--the absolute practice of virtuousity--is as good as nothing at all. Nevertheless, and in this we endorse Becker's position, "[t]he traits we construct by exercising [healthy agency], under a very wide range of circumstances, are enough to keep us persistently attracted to its improvement, both in ourselves and others." (p. 120) Unless we accept this less-than-hard-as-nails interpretation of the stoic system, we risk falling prey to the idealization of virtuosity and perfect agency with the pathological defensive structures entailed by such idealization. Although we can value virtue and recognize how much its exercise enhances personal agency and strengthens the capacity to successfully encounter all manner of adversity, we also know from our psychoanalytic experience in the consulting room just how dreadful in its consequences the self-righteous, uncritical affirmation of virtue can be. We know too well how what is wonderful and good goes by the same name as that which is destructive and evil. What is called virtue is not exempted. Still, we do not reject Becker's neo-stoicism. On the contrary, we embrace his formulation and gratefully acknowledge his renascent interpretation of an ancient tradition. Many of us as practicing psychoanalysts have been stoics and promote in our patients a vision of stoicism, unwittingly laying a psychical foundwork for them of an ethical vision the name for which we had no idea-rather like Moliere's M. Jourdain who realized that it was prose he had been speaking all along.

I spent much time considering why I would ever want to undertake the maximally arduous task of perfecting (improving) my agency, which Becker advocates. Why improve my agency when I could be lying on the couch watching reruns?

Here is Becker's best argument why I might want to try to perfect my agency: "Further reflection reveals that even if my most comprehensive and controlling endeavor is solely to perfect the exercise of my agency based upon the sort of practical reasoning that I ought to do, and if I succeed in that endeavor, then I will by definition succeed in optimizing the success of all my endeavors - over my whole life" (116).

So that's it then. The key to maximizing success in life is the perfection of one's agency. That would be remarkable if it were true.

This book would be better as over-the-top Tony Robbins style self-help: "be the best you can be: perfect your agency now!" As it is, the very real insight is lost somewhere in the forest of verbosity. That's too bad, because Becker might have hit upon the secret of maximizing the success of all our endeavors over our whole lives after all - and that secret can be yours for just [$$]

I was a major Becker fan back in my teens, so it was great to hear his story in his words. I tend to read autobiographies as opposed to biographies. I think it's usually more fun to read what a person has to say about themselves as opposed to what others have to say about them. A person writing about their own life has an agenda, of course, just like any biographer but this just tells you even more about them, and that's what I wanted to read. If you are a fan, you should definitely take a look.

It's much more about his personal life and business pursuits than tennis. The extent to which he has burned out on the game really comes through in the lack of interest he seems to have in writing about it. Few matches get any more than a sentence or two. Pretty disappointing.

I found the book pretty interesting. I was a major Becker fan back in my teens & as such I've heard so many stories about him over the years. Problem was none of the stories involved his side or his view of the events. So I enjoyed learning about the events from the major player's point of view. He is a gentlemen about his relationships with women, including the mother of his daughter out of wedlock. I respect that, in today's "Jerry Spring" environment it would have been easy for him to get too personal or [...] to try & increase sales & he refrained from that. I hope Becker finds the happiness that seems to have eluded him all these years. (But if your looking for pictures the only ones in the book are on the front & back cover)Good book overall.

I would imagine that most of the autobiographies of sports personalities (and perhaps movie stars) in todays day and age are ghost-written. This book doesn't seem to be an exception.

Being a great fan of Becker, I picked up the book as soon as I saw it in a bookshop. However, I was reasonably disappointed. The book talks very little about his tennis (which is what a fan would like to read about). I wanted to read about his epic matches, and his wimbledon wins.

Instead of writing about tennis in this book, Becker writes more about the off-the-court aspects of his life (his misunderstandings with his coaches, with other players on the circuit). He seems to be making a point that he was never in the wrong but that he was misunderstood. The book seems to be his attempt to set the record straight.

This is an excellent autobiography about one of my favorite tennis stars of the Open era. His book compares favorably to Mac's "You Can't Be Serious." Although both personalities are equally intriguing, Becker opens up more. Mac remains more focused on the tennis. Becker engages in depth into all his demons, the tax evasion scandal, the wrenching divorce, and the sleeping pill addiction.

With Becker you feel the heights and lows of fame. It is an extremely charged bipolar life. You also feel that Becker found it physically and emotionally exhausting. His body was crippled with tendon injuries resulting in several surgeries. His lingering tax evasion case lasting years took a heavy toll on his tennis career. His marriage to Barbara was a casualty of fame.

Many relationships he experienced have gone through Faustian dramas. This is true with his coaches and his women. He always seems to share a very strong bond and trust at the onset. Invariably, they don't meet expectations (his or theirs). Then, things fall apart. But, somehow they often recover and end up as mature friends. This was the case with both Ion Tiriac and Barbara (his former wife).

Becker is full of contradictions. For instance, when he is in court to fight over the terms of a bitter divorce he states that he lived all his life in Germany. This was in an effort to transfer the divorce case from the U.S. where his wife filed the divorce paper to Germany where he would benefit from more lenient financial disclosure. But, when the German government goes after him for back taxes. All of a sudden, he has supposedly not set foot in Germany for decades. What gives?

The description of life on the tour and the limelight seems really existential at best. Becker suffered from the inability to make genuine friends with fellow tennis players. He found the resulting social isolation difficult. But, how could you be close friends when your livelihood depended on your killer instinct ability to beat your fellow pros.

The richness of the book is generated by all the chapters dedicated to other stars than Becker. One of them is by Ion Tiriac who describes his side of the story, including the fall out with Becker, and the eventual reconciliation. Another chapter is about Ali, another one consists of a fascinating interview with McEnroe, another one is an ode to Steffi Graf, finally another is an ode to Mandela. So, this biography is not just about Becker or tennis.

If you like this book, I strongly recommend McEnroe's "You Can't Be Serious" and Bill Scanlon's "Bad News for McEnroe." Both those books stick more to tennis. Nevertheless, they are fascinating as they are written by two of the most talented players and incisive minds in tennis.

... but this book is the mistake. If you really look for a comprehensive and solid work in the area of BW3.x performance you better look at "SAP BW Performance Optimization Guide" by Thomas Schroder - $3 more, 10 times better.

In general most of the information from "SAP BW Performance Tuning" is available for free in Internet. But what really disappointed me are mistakes I found in this books. Additionally, it is 3.x specific only, so kind of late on the market. One statement made me laughing: at the beginning of the book authors state they are going to cover BW3.x only, but then mention that BI Accelerator is out of the scope of this book. Of course, it is out of scope - BIA does not work with BW 3.x!

I read this book in two hours, and applied some of the tunings proposed. The gains came very soon (faster loadings, smaller tables, etc). If you don't need to remodel, this book is a perfect guide for quick gains in performance.

I have gone through the book and there is one thing which this book does perfectly...this book bridges the gap between the theory and practical project experience! There are tips & tricks provided where-ever possible and the sections are supported with screenshots making the book easy to read, even for a beginner!
Thanks to the authors for sharing their experience!

I worked over the past 6 months with Shreekant and Bharat on this book. They are both extremely acknowledgeable in the BW field. I gave a pre-release of the book to a BW guru that I am currently working with who read the book cover to cover. His review on it was glowing "Easy to read, very informative, packed with stuff I can use right now". I have new respect for these 2 guys. Thanks Shreekant and Bharat for the opportunity of working with you.

This is a very useful book for the experts as well those who have just started to work in SAP BW. It clearly explains the methods and the concepts in a logical order and hence is very interesting to read.

This book is delightful. It is a counting book. Children learn their numbers while getting lost in rhyme. The illustrations are darling. As a child I remember getting lost in the pictures. It is a treasure. I am buying one for a child and a copy for myself. Don't pass this one up!!!

Delightful, happy, fascinating and captivating. The young child will want to hear it over and over. Grandparents will hum the rhyme right along with the children! It's a classic that we plan to preserve for future generations to enjoy, too.

This book is so repetitive, so repetitive, that I want to take it outside and drop it down in the ground in a hole, built by a mole, down in the ground, down in the ground and never see it again. Then! Shh, don't say peep, my toddler's asleep and I hope he doesn't notice it's gone. Cause he kind of likes it.

My brothers, parents and I fondly remember reading this book to my little sister. The repetitive 7 little rabbits becomes so monotonous that the reader is usually asleep, while the child is still enraptured. Oh, and don't even try to skip a rabbit.

This book is fabulous. I teach kindergarten & preschool and the children want to sing this book all day long. I have found the book on-line, but I have not found the audio tape that goes with it. If you can get a hold of the tape, I am sure you will love the tune. It is very catchy. This is a must have book in your at-home library and your at-school library. Happy Reading!

I have been on the Four Corners diet since August 2002. During that time I have lost 45 lbs. and have experienced no side effects of any sort. I have always battled with my weight and I have personally tried every diet on the market with no success. This book made me realize that I needed to completely change what I eat as well as my eating habits. This diet has changed my life and I have passed it on to friends, family, co-workers, basically anyone who asked me about my significant weight loss. After reading one of the customer reviews posted on Amazon, I was deeply troubled when someone questioned Drs. Goldberg and O'Mara's research and then shamelessly promoted a competing diet. I have known the O'Mara family personally for several years and I know first hand the extensive research and hard work Dr. O'Mara has put into this book. Her entire family follows this diet and her son, who started the diet the same time I did, has lost 85 lbs. and has kept it off to this day and also experienced a significant drop to his high blood pressure. I will continue to recommend this book to anyone who wants to lose weight in a healthy way.

Not only have I lost weight on this diet, I also lowered my cholesteral. I originally took on this low carb lifestyle after my doctor hit me with the high cholesteral news about 5 years ago (which was long before the low carb craze of today). The original "go diet" was recommended at that time and I'm staying with the program with this book. Bottom line, simple reading, simple to implement into your life, simple to maintain. This diet works!

I have been on this diet since it was called the GO diet. Not only did I lose all the weight I desired without starving myself to death, I have also managed to keep it all off!! This diet is so simple it's a wonder everyone isn't on it. Easy changes to my eating habits has resulted in a permanent change in not only my weight but also my overall health. The sleepy feeling halfway through the day is no longer there. I do not need to sleep as many hours at night as I used to either. I love this diet!! It's given me more energy and at least a couple more hours a day of "awake" time. To me that is priceless. My 29 year old son went on it and his triglycerides were improved by it. He remains on it to this day as he too believes it is a life style change and not just a weightloss diet. I am wondering if the "reader from Alabama" even read this book or is perhaps confusing the Four Corners diet with another diet, because coffee is a "pharmafood" and is NOT discouraged on this diet. It is, in fact, specifically included in the diet. I should know because I drink at least 3 or 4 cups of coffee a day - a habit I've had for 20 plus years now. I love this diet and I love this book. I will remain on this diet for the rest of my life.

[...] I purchased this. What a disappointment.
There's a chapter that tells you what to do if the diet doesn't work. One suggestion is to count the carbs in black coffee! Because you're probably eating too many carbs. I don't think so! I'm not kidding, it actually says that...I mean are we morons?
I'm going back to Atkins.

This work says virtually nothing new to a seasoned pastor. I have been in ministry for nearly twenty years, most of it pastoral, and as I read this book I found myself saying, "yeah, no kidding!" There are really no new revelations regarding what pastors go through. However, this book has one very relevant purpose; to help congregations understand the realities of pastoring, and further, suggestions as to how they might make their pastor's life better.
The practical worksheet with biblical support at the end of each chapter is what makes this book a worthy publication. I highly recommend using this book with the primary leaders of a congregation-either as preventative medicine or as a tool for reassessing congregational expectations of their pastor.

This book is an exceptional informational tool that should be read by every pastor and church board member. The authors take several difficult and oftentimes complicated areas of pastoral ministry and couch them in a vernacular that is easily read and understood. Rather than leaving a local parish or the ministry in general, any pastor can be enlightened by this book's content and the straightforward, yet tender, way sensitive issues are addressed. Rather than allowing a pastor to leave or contributing to the foci that cause pastors to leave, church lay leaders can be greatly equipped with an honest evaluation of what pastoral ministry entails and how the laity can stem the tide of early pastoral resignations.
As the authors describe, to think that the average tenure of an American Protestant pastor is some two to three years is truly saddening. By definition, a pastor is one who is called to the long-term health and spiritual well-being of a group (flock) of believers. Unfortunately, this spiritual gift is usurped in the interest of what is most expedient, leaving in its wake hurt pastors and pastors' families, and hurt lay people. When the proverbial ship is sinking, it is irrelevant to cry, "Who's responsible? What happened?" It is merely time to help save as many people as is possible. With tools such as It Only Hurts on Monday, our local parishes can better equip pastors and lay leaders to understand what is causing so many pastoral ships to sink.
As the reader works through this book, he or she will notice the very helpful section at the close of each chapter entitled "You Can Help!" There are practical suggestions outlined on how to become involved in the process of pastor-building and of strengthening relationships between pastor and people. These suggestions are also delineated in summary form near the close of the text. I highly recommend this book to anyone directly or indirectly involved in pastoral ministry.

McIntosh, Gary L., and Robert L. Edmondson. It Only Hurts on Monday, Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998, 170 pp.

It Only Hurts on Monday is the product of research, experience and direct contact with pastors and churches by these two authors. With their experience and expertise, they set out to answer the question, "Why are pastors quitting and what can be done about it?" The purpose of this book is to explore nine problems with which pastors struggle: burnout, professional isolation, inadequate education, unrealistic expectations, resistance to change, poor pastoral accountability, tight finances, personal loneliness and spiritual warfare. At the conclusion of each of these nine chapters is a section entitled "You can Help!" The authors offer anywhere from two to five specific steps a church member can take to help his/her pastor with that particular issue.

The concern of these authors is that churches and pastors need solutions. The statistics on the attrition rate among pastors is startling, with the average stay being 2.3 years for the protestant pastor. This trend has a negative effect on churches as well as pastors.

These authors arrive at conclusions which are nothing new for those who have been in the pastoral ministry. This book is intended to bring self-awareness of his own needs to the pastor's attention as well as to educate and provide insight for the lay person into the unique calling of the pastor. This book is a must read for pastors, their families and the laity. It is laid out in an easy-to-read format with vital information on every page. It does not run thin on content at any time. Pastors will resonate with its wisdom but the lay person may not fully grasp its urgency. Perhaps this book can bridge the chasm between the two as we seek to understand the negative impact upon the life of the pastor and what can be done about it.

It Only Hurts On Monday is an encouraging book that truly gives voice to the concerns of every pastor who comes face to face with the dark days of ministerial life. Dr. Gary L. McIntosh and Dr. Robert L. Edmondson do a wonderful job of identifying the obstacles that ministers face, and they helpfully provide incredible ideas to preventatively address very real problems.
Most pastors who read this book will affirm and understand exactly what the authors are talking about. If the lay people in congregations would read and follow the suggestions at the end of each chapter, they would truly have an impact upon the lives of a pastoral staff. This book helps bring focus to these issues: burnout, the value of a pastor's job, the value of continuing education and training, understanding unrealistic expectations, accountability, support in the midst of change, money and the pastor's compensation, adequate emotional support, the real temptation from Satan set against the pastor, and the pressures of never being off duty. All these issues help the reader gain a greater appreciation for the high calling of being a pastor in today's culture.
This book, if heeded, can help minimize the negative factors in a pastor's life that work to derail him or her from the ranks of active ministry. People who read this book will become a greater support to their ministers.

In general it is a very good book. I was a little disappointed in some of the flowers that weren't included in the book.

I love this book. I have always enjoyed gardens and have done some gardening in the past - I finally have a little space to start from scratch and this has been a great help. The book lists the perennials by botanical latin but also has a very handy cross reference by common name. While the author's are from the Northwest, most of the plants listed can be used in USDA zones 3-9. I guess I might not buy this book if I gardened in Alaska, Hawaii or the extremely cold areas of the northern states. I like that the photo's are very clear and that each plant has a paragraph plus information regarding: Origin, preferred conditions, Management, propagation, pests and diseases, companion plants and notes.

This book has over 500 pages of great information about over 2700 spiecies and cultivars and has helped me both decide for and against some of them this summer.

Although packed with information, this book is almost too much for the backyard gardener. A couple of specific things I noted were: the plants are listed by their scientific name instead of their common name, and a lot of the focus seems to be on varieties from the northwest instead of the entire country. This should be stated somewhere obvious so purchasers have an idea of exactly what they are getting. Still muddling through the entire book; I was expecting something different.

For all the information there is about plants, this book cuts to the core, and renders mini autobiographies of each plant in wondrous detail. This is no overview, but rather specific traits and needs of specific plants, and how to love them and make them happy. The photos are sensitive and detailed, and the individual plant descriptions are concise, clear and readable. This book has style and substance, and is sure to enrich the expert and instruct the rest of us.

My wife is wonderful, but sometimes I wonder about her. She threw a 40th birthday party for me and told all of our friends that "they were to show no mercy." Needless to say they took her advice. However,it wasn't until I opened up "You're Not Getting Better, You're Getting Older (with the D.O.A. toe tags) that I truly felt the grief that goes along with turning 40. I promised the "friend" who gave me this book that I would be seeking revenge on his 40th.

Imagine a book about a man who, in the midst of eating dinner with his family, suffers a cardiac infarction, is rushed to the hospital for emergency bypass surgery, and dies there as his adult-age children wait outside. Funny, right? Well, not when it happened to a neighbor of mine. He was an executive with an accounting firm and quite a good card player as I recall. Anyway, the world is full enough of things to make fun of without adding "impending death" to the list. It is possible this book was not intended to be funny but rather to be a collection of poignant observations on death and dying; but I don't believe it for a second, Mr. Fulghum. I urge one and all not to buy this most dangerous book.

I can't say I enjoy getting older, but Mr. Fulghum's sometimes whimisical but mostly barbed shots at the experience made me appreciate that I need to laugh about it. Good, easy reading, and good laughs all around!

Leave it to latter day bard Sam Fulghum to lift me out of my doldrums. I was feeling sorry for myself because I just turned 41 and my impending death was kind of getting me down. Nothing on television, no prospects, beagle needs to see the vet, even my old poker buddies don't call anymore. This book comes with a little value-added set of stick-on toe tags -- wasn't sure if that was funny or if the book was going to be kind of sick and dark, incontinence jokes etcetera. To his credit, Fulghum avoids all the standard humor associated with getting old and presents a series of 70's era teevee variety show cliches that even I can manage to find funny--and I've had two operations and can no longer run the mile. Bless you, Mr.Fulghum. Even his holiness John Paul II would feel young after thumbing through this little collection of timeless geriatric clevernesses. MANOMANOMAN!

This will become a "must have" book for C++ programmers. It is both easy to understand and authoritative at the same time. It will be useful for a long, long time, first as a learning tool and then as a reference.

Implementations of TR1 are now available from Boost (free) and Dinkumware (reasonably priced), so these library components are something that a C++ programmer can start using right away. Most or all of them will also be part of the next standard, so they are sure to become ever more widely used.

I like the fact the book is hard-cover, since it is likely to get a lot of use. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I still think a book like this is the easiest way to study something new, and really learn about it.

I already posted one review, but Amazon seems to have lost it. I'm surprised there haven't been more reviews posted - the book deserves more.

There are many, perhaps too many, books on C++. But Becker breaks new ground. He presents what is coming down the road towards the current C++ programmer. The existing C++ standard library is good but limited. The widespread use of C++ led to recognition of useful classes that should be in this library but are not. After some years of dilly dallying, Technical Report 1 was produced. Work started in 2001. Six years!

This book explains the classes in TR1. While it is not guaranteed that all of TR1 will make it into the next official standard library, most certainly will. The only real question is when that revision will be released. Given the way C++ changes so slowly, don't hold your breath.

In the interim, you can make good professional use of your time by studying TR1 via this book. It's not a simple rendition of the classes. Becker devotes considerable space to explaining the usages of the new classes. Giving you the gist of what they are about. Just as importantly, each chapter has a set of exercises involving its classes. Tackling these is probably the best way to gain experience.

Of the new classes, what interests you most will vary with the reader. Personally, I was most impressed with the Numerics. Huge improvements in dealing with floats and overflows (NaNs). And for physicists or engineers, there are specialised functions that will save some coding. Laguerre polynomials, Legendre functions, gamma functions, Bessel functions and Hermite polynomials, amongst others. A far richer set than what you currently get in the standard library.

The subtitle of this book is "A Tutorial and Reference". As a tutorial, I found this book to be lacking. The explanations are terse, quite unlike the more user-friendly tutorial style of Nicolai Josuttis in "C++ Standard Library".

Second, as a reference, this book is also lacking on two counts. The index is incomplete! In the first month of use, I discovered major omissions in the index! Also, the formatting of the function listings makes it difficult to find a particular function by browsing through the section. Sometimes it takes minutes.

The author knows his material, and the information is accurate. I have not encountered any errors in the text, and it seems to be complete. But this book does not live up to the quality of its predecessor text, mentioned above. And it does not live up to its subtitle.

No doubt this review will be voted down by people trying to sell the book, but there you have it -- details and specifics.

After reading the book, I feel empowered to start a new life that focuses on really becoming the best I can be. Having my dog involved in the process even further fuels my push to get into shape. The book includes personality test and diet tips as well as fitness tips for getting into shape. By working out with my pet, I found not only a greater motivation to work out, but I actually found my fitness routine go from blah to vibrant. I highly recommend this book for any pet lover looking for a life change of fitness and health.

The book I got shows it was a freebie from Hill's, but I assume it's just like the one pictured. I found it to be very basic with not much in the way of new information. This would be fine with someone who needed some ideas about starting a fitness program for him or herself and/or to add the family dog to the fitness program.

This book was informative and easy to follow. There were many helpful ideas and programs for all levels of fitness. It was easy to read and had references that were very useful. An easy and inexpensive way to get in shape.