Brandt Books

This is a must read for anyone wishing to seriously begin a journey into the exciting field of railway signalling. Although old, not much has changed in terms of basic concepts.

I loved this Angela Anaconda book, and I think all fans of the show will! It is an adaptation of two episodes of the series, each dealing with Angela's life at school. This book also has A LOT of photos. A must for anyone!

A reference book for all doctors or scientists interested in vertigo. Many clinical and functional aspects are treated. This book may constitute a good reference of the state of the Art, as well as a source for an extended bibliography.

The Way of Music is one of your typical music history survey course text books. I've picked up a number of them over the years, tossing many, but Brandt's is useful for his analytical charts. He is rather heavy on musical analysis, which I enjoy.

Erich Kempka was Hitler' chauffeur from 1936 until his death. He was never as close to Hitler as were his two previous chauffeurs, Maurice and Schreck, but he still knew the Fuehrer quite well. Unfortunately, this book has very little about Hitler's early days in it. The bulk of the narrative consists of his last days in the Berlin Bunker. The book was also entirely ghostwritten and contains errors both large and small. Kempka claims he carried up Eva Braun's body to burn it, but shortly before his death, he admitted he had not done this at all. Also absent is that Kempka hid from the Russians in Berlin in a brothel for several weeks and escaped their detection.

So don't expect true history, but the book is still fascinating nonetheless. Kempka was an eyewitness to the scenes in the bunker and the book contains some interesting and new information on those last months in Berlin.

This book provides a glimpse of upper class life in 1942 through the lens of a mystery. Two nurses who journey to a remote mansion to care for a man suffering from a gunshot wound discover a poisonous atmosphere among their hosts and other guests. After the host is killed, suspicion falls on one of the nurses. Clues, some of them false leads, are dropped into the story at intervals. Unsuspected relationships become known. Our narrator, nurse Keate, discovers connections to the German-American Bund. The early phases of World War Two are off screen but contribute to the atmosphere of suspicion. Innuendo plays as big a role as action. The resolution of the mystery is reasonably satisfactory, with a climax that is notably less violent than modern Americans have come to expect.

This book is one of a series in which Nurse Keate gets involved in mysteries. The writing is competent, though not brilliant. The biggest problem is the large number of characters; readers may need a list of dramatis personae to keep track.

I used this book and Transcenders, studied a total of 5 days and took the exam and passed on my first try! I took it on July 22, 2003. Other reviews for this book led me away from using any other book. I found it to be easy to read, especially if you've passed at least one other MCSD exam. The book presents important information and insight as to the testing methods of Microsoft for this test. Although this information is helpful to read, you'll still want to run through some exam simulation software in addition to this reading. Reading alone cannot prepare you for the types of interaction you'll face in the exam environment... so get Transcenders too.

Hey...if you're stuck on finding a great book as a major StudyGuide, then pick this one for help on MS 70-100!

Worked like a charm for me...AND...I keep the book close-at-hand when I plan a new app for a client!

Great work and writing by Donald Brandt! Congrats! And if I tell you what exam I'm sitting for next, will you write me one for that one too!

Jim

Have the Transcender test exams at hand, because this book is *not* enough. Other than that, this book is quite good, organized, lists lots of topics and has good examples.

I used a number of materials in preparing for the 70-100 exam, and found this to be the single most important book. The only thing this really lacked was practice on the "scenario-based" questions in the test, specifically the data-flow diagrams. But there was no other single book that came as close as this one to a complete working knowlege necessary for the test. Rather than buying multiple study guides, I would recommend purchasing this book and a practice test from either transcender or measureup.
Either way, if you don't have experience at defining requirements, nothing will help you.

I passed the real exam on January 8, 2001 with an hour to spare and a comfortable passing margin. I used this and the Ezzel book, combined with the Transcender practice exam (which is your best friend here), as my study aids.

Although it doesn't have scenario-type questions in the form of those found on the real exam, this book still has plenty of condensed, easy-to-read, very pertinent material that will be of assistance in passing the real exam.

The previous reviews cover just about everything I wanted to say about Dermo. I am very pleased with this book and do NOT agree with the negative reviews.

In regards to the missing stress marks, I have another small book called "Dictionary of Russian Obscenities" (available from Amazon), which lists all the same words and DOES have stress marks. However, it is not nearly as entertaining as Dermo.

I highly recommend this book!

This review is for those who want to learn Russian language with respect to people who speak this language, to the literature which is written in this language and to the language itself. Those who want extremes and adore to savour ambiguity of criminal world language would not benefit from this review.
Imagine a book contains all the words you turn red of when you hear them, which consists of the worst slang words, a book which is full of scabrous, indecent and improper phrases. Now imagine you bought this book, you got to learn all the words and phrases from it and went to Russia happily picturing yourself talking "real Russian". The least thing you will meet on the Russian streets talking such a "real Russian" would be misunderstanding and aversion. The worst thing - you can be arrested or even beaten up by some aggrieved citizens.
That is not a language we teach our children, it is not the one which is used in good literature, it is not the one which was growing with the country and interlaced with its many-centuries history.

This is an entertaining, well-written little book, and it covers a wide range of colloquialisms, vulgarity, and obscenities. Much of the language is extremely crude and...vivid, but you shouldn't expect anything different if you're buying a book focused on everything you won't learn in a Western classroom. And to briefly address the negative reviews: Some of you guys are really insane; it's not that the book presents things that are inaccurate or untrue, but apparently several people here are in denial that Russia has some nasty insults and slang. In English, there are plenty of nasty, rude, disgusting, vulgar, etc. words and phrases. They aren't used in all situations, and some people don't use such words at all, but all English speakers KNOW these words. If you want to be fluent in Russian, one aspect is knowing what bad words and insults are. The author never suggests going around insulting people...he just gives you the information.

Anyways, the book has quite a large number of words and phrases, and also gives short but interesting introductions/backgrounds to the various topics. The only problem I have with the book is the poor transliteration and the lack of stress marks. For instance, the Russian o is an "ah" sound if it's unstressed, and although the book will give a transliteration, it doesn't show a stress mark, nor does it account for the change in pronunciation of the unstressed/stressed o's. I also noticed that sometimes e is written instead of , which can be confusing for a learner.

Overall, the content is great (assuming you don't want to shelter yourself from anything that isn't polite and proper), but the book comes up short as far as pronunciation tools.

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart! Vulgar or not, Topol exposes Mother Russia. Speaking proper Russian will only get a mediocre "C" in a Russian University ... maybe pre-k teaching job . Topol's Russian will get you the presidecency! - This book might explain Rasputin's appeal. One must realize that Russians do not hold much back in the way of expressing one's emotion as opposed to American counterparts...True, foreign speakers have to be mindful of what is said, but that applies to Americans, since we are notoriously personas non-gratas in practically every country we invade. In typical Russian conversation, an adult granddaughter would ask her grandmother " how were 'girls' and if they were getting any bigger (chest) and if her nether was region getting any hairier." Shocking as it might seem, this type of exchange is embedded in the Russian culture, both beautiful and lurid. To take the good, you'll have to swallow the bad...it wouldn't hurt to know a few good words on your next business trip!!The only down side to the book was the lack of accent marks, which my Russian friend had to keep correcting.

Somewhat reluctant to buy this book, I let my curiosity get the best of me and am I ever glad! I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my sofa. Will these words ever be used? Maybe not by me, but at least I will know what the taxi driver is grumbling under his breath next time I'm over there. This book contains a few idiomatic expressions that can be used in polite company, and quite a few more that you will need if you end up in a bar, - it covers everything from how to toast to how to "hook-up". More importantly, if you know what insults people, you'll better understand how not to insult people.

It is a good way to undestand the italian daily, in a rough way. Differently from the romantic and ideal side...the other way to understand how italians are in their daily and how they may behave under non-normal situation. This spontaneity is more likely the daily than the "il libro è sopra la tàvola", which is tought in school.

I wish I had read the reviews before I purchased this book. I bought it as a gift for an associate that was moving to Rome. Unfortunately, this book goes way beyond slang - it's simply vulgar. Most of what is in the book wouldn't be allowed on the Amazon website.
Give this a pass!

More X - rated then I thought.
Great for laughs from those who really know italian.
Wonder about those who don;t :-)

I am an Italian-American who discovered this book on the bookshelf of one of my older cousins. It is very amusing; you will finally learn what to say to obnoxious taxi drivers! "Merda" will also teach you some exceedingly crude phrases to use in the throes of passion (although I'm not sure that you should tell your ladylove that she has "the body of a goddess"; she may become alarmed).

"Merda" contains some very common universal and regional profanities. Anywhere you go in Italy, they will probably understand what you are saying to them. (No, I am not telling you to go around calling total strangers vulgar names, but at least you'll know what to say if you get a bad waiter.) My family vouches for this; with a Southern Italian grandpa, a Northern Nonna, and a Central mom all living in the same house, one gets exposed to some very colorful language.


"Merda" is not a terrible book, but it has its fair share of errors. There are numerous article and noun disagreements (there are 6 ways to say "the" in Italian, and this book managed to confuse these articles at least 8 times). The book is not very sturdy at all and I am surprised at the high price. In short, "Merda!" is good for a laugh and to learn some rudimental curses. My advice: borrow it from your older cousin.

A woman that is passionately in love with Italy and all things Italian writes this review. This is one of those books that is not necessary but is very entertaining. My darling husband bought this many years ago. However, I have been much more amused with the book than he ever was.

The book is subdivided as follows (I have intentionally omitted the titles of the subsections since they are very colorful, which is putting it mildly):
1. Basics and Naughty Nuances
2. The Four Essentials
3. Let's be Creative
4. Love and Libido
5. Versatile Suffixes
6. Anger in Public Places
7. Let's Keep it Clean
8. For Ladies Only
9. Sexual Odds and Ends
10. The End (a test)

The book covers many different arenas where profanity is useful. Ever wondered how to say "hooker" or that "someone is well endowed" in Italian? These are the sorts of things that are covered in this book. There is even an Italian equivalent of "road hard and put away wet", go figure. I think the most creative insult I saw in this book was "you are a hooker without clients." That one really just made me giggle. Not that I can imagine a situation where I would use that phrase. Another excellent one is "the flesh of an older hooker is more tender than this steak". Only in Italy can they come up with phrases like these. The book also uses many of these words in sentences, for the overachievers in the group.

Not everything in this book is rude; some of it is actually useful. They give the Italian for the following phrases that are fit for public consumption:

I want you! ********************** Ti amo!
I need you! ********************** Ti voglio!
I am crazy about you! ************** Sono pazzo per te!
You are the only one! ************** Sei l'unico!
Without you everything will end! ****** Senza di te tutto finira!

If you are looking for a book that has Italian phrases and is entertaining this is the book for you. It won't teach you how to communicate with many people in Italy, but it certainly is enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Now all I need is a good looking red blooded Italian male to practice my new skills with. On second thought never mind, my husband probably wouldn't approve.

Amid the expanding shelves of business biographies and dot com tell-alls, this portrait of Silicon Valley investment banker Thomas Weisel stands almost mythically taller than the others. It's not just that Weisel survived and thrived despite first the disastrous sale of his company to NationsBank and then the tech downturn. Nor is it just that Weisel is a bold and canny business thinker and a charismatic leader who inspires loyalty and near-reverence among employees and clients alike. More than anything, what fascinates is the feedback loop between Weisel's workaholic style and his consuming passion for skiing and cycling--a passion that led him first to successfully reconfigure the U.S. Olympic ski team organization, and then to put together the winning U.S. Postal Service cycling team led by Lance Armstrong. One only wonders how such an obviously brilliant man could have such simpleminded and even incoherent libertarian politics.

Author Richard Brandt, a veteran technology journalist from Business Week and the now-defunct Upside Magazine, makes use of his long intimacy with the tech sector business world to situate Weisel's career within the historical context of Silicon Valley's rise, hysterical boom and return to reality.

I am in a unique position to comment on this book as I was the copyeditor on it. Previous to this I could not reveal my opinions, but I am no longer employed by the company I worked for at that time, and ever since I read this piece of puke, I've wanted to tell somebody--anybody!--how horrific it is. Thom Weisel is a royal b**tard with an equally king-sized ego, and about 99% of the book is him bragging on himself. Don't think Brandt is the author--Thommy boy had his hands firmly on the reins the whole way through, BELIEVE ME BECAUSE HE MADE FIFTY THOUSAND CHANGES AT EVERY STAGE OF THE PUBLICATION PROCESS!!! Note also that almost every one of these changes was to make the book even more self-aggrandizing than it started out. If you love reading the inflated-headed ramblings of a narcissistic egotist, this one is for you, but if bloated self-smooching turns you off the least bit, prepare to never stop throwing up.

And now, for my final question: Why doesn't he just sleep with Lance Armstrong and get it over with?

I feel so much better now!

I'm an I-Banker and enjoy reading biographies of exceptional businessmen. Sandy Weill's recent biography comes to mind as a personal favorite. Since Tom Weisel is an exceptional athlete with many interests similar to mine, I thought I would enjoy this read. Frankly, it's very painful.

First of all, the two-page summary at the end of each chapter written by Weisel would have been a great framework around which to write a biography. But the actual chapters read like a paid self-promotion or someone in the throes of hero-worship. The author consistently talks of what a great athlete Weisel is while making sure he mentions that Weisel never brags about his athletic prowess. No need to given that the writer will glorify the results. Even concerning business the writer manages to find a positive in every event. For example, the original partners split up and start a competing firm but there is no attempt to mention if Weisel's faults could have had any impact. Of course, per this book, he has no faults.

Weisel eventually merges the successful but controversial Montgomery Securities into Nationsbank but after trumpeting this as a great deal, it merges poorly so blame is completely placed on Nationsbank. Now, of course anyone living this large competitive life must trade-in for a 24-year-old trophy wife when he is 49. Unfortunately there is never a significant mention of the break-up of his first marriage other than what a great father he is and how involved he is with all his kids.

This book is so filled with braggadocio that if Weisel were really interested in keeping the profile of a respected businessman, he would have done his best to limit his exposure to this book. Tom Weisel may very well be a great man but great men do not need to have this much said about them in this forum. I'm shocked he agreed to allow his name to be included in this work, as it is not becoming.

I loved "Capitol Instincts" and you will, too. It is a quick, enjoyable and often very funny read. For those of us who know far too little about the world of investment banking (and for that matter, art investing and high level sports) it is an easy way to gain insight and important knowledge.
I enjoyed the way Brandt took you from the history up to hot off the press issues changing the face of banking today, as well as very intriguing backroom dealmaking. He reveals a master dealmaker at work.
Weisel's sections keep the info coming, with his pointed valuable advice to entrepreneurs and investors.
The sections on sports and art were fascinating. Again, Brandt delivers depth with fascinating details and insight on his subjects. And it is fast and fun all the way.
Buy it, read it, send copies to all your friends. This book is hot, fast, easy and fun to read!
I can't wait to see what this hot author will tackle next!

This is a well-written, informative book, surprisingly so considering it's an authorized biography of an investment banker. Wiesel is a legend, and this book let's me see what makes him tick, revealing a bitmore I think than he might actualy want us to see. I found it fascinating to see the link between investment bankers and atheletes until I realized both are among the most competitive activities in our society. I was astounded at what this hard-boiled wheeler and dealer did for Lance Armstrong when no one else would go near him. Maybe he has a heart of gold, or may he just saw a good investment where others didn't. It's well written and never lags. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see the insider of investment banking, from an unsentimental and informative perspective.