Brian Books

Colvin is now referring to the review 'above' when in fact he's actually referring to the review 'below'. Just to reiterate that the review 'above' is about the actual book advertised and the review 'below' is about an issue of New Worlds edited by David Garnett (good, but not the same NW)!

This book contains science fiction short stories, and a lesser amount of essays and reviews, from a remarkable British science fiction publication called New Worlds. It also has an interesting introduction by the former editor of New Worlds, Michael Moorcock.
New Worlds is in a sense 'before my time' for it ceased publication as a magazine when I was a child. It must have been wonderful to be part of a avante garde literary movement! You will not find the sort of "alien fires ray gun at human--human fires ray gun back at alien" stories here. New Worlds aspired to intelligent and literary science fiction. It brought opposition from some quarters, which Moorcock writes about in his introduction. It wrote about sex and drugs. It engaged in literary experimentation; for example, the story The Tank Trapeze by Michael Moorcock uses quotes from a newspaper. The story The Four-Color Problem by Barrington Bayley has a technical mathematical section. The anthology also includes stories from other masters of the genre such as Brian Aldiss and J.G. Ballard. The science fiction genre was indeed reshaped by these coterie of authors which have been called "the new wave." I am not aprori opposed to it experimentation. Sometimes it doesn't not work. But sometimes it can serve the author's purposes. And the literature of the fantastic has not always had "typical" narrative anyway. Take, for example, two novels, Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, and Dracula by Bam Stroker. The Journal of the Plague Year, written before the 20th Century--I forget which century, sorry--is a fiction story based on a real plague which killed around 100,000 people in London. That story is written in the form of a journal which includes facts. Dracula is told in the form of more than one journal.
The idea behind the story should be interesting, and the form and content of the story is to be of service to the idea; this was achieved in the pages of New Worlds.

With stories like "Ferryman" (Eric Brown), "The White Stuff" (Peter F. Hamilton & Graham Joyce), and "A Night on Bare Mountain" (Graham Charnock), anthologies don't get any better than this. My only quibble is with the experimental narrative "Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City"(William Gibson) which rounds out the volume with a whimper, not a bang. Otherwise, this is Hugo & Nebula territory.

The above review isn't for this recently published anthology, but for one of the David Garnett edited New Worlds anthologies done through the 1990s.
This new US anthology is a representational collection of stories and features drawn from the magazine New Worlds which flourished from 1965 and saw its last issue in 1995. It was closely associated with a development of sf which became known as the UK 'New Wave' movement and nowadays is probably best known as 'slipstream'. The British movement was a conscious break with modernism and attempted to find a literary form which reconnected with the general reading public as well as to develop new conventions which, as far as the writers were concerned, better described their contemporary experience.

It is very useful to study the Bayesian optimal filtering.

This book is already a classics in signal processing. If you are serious in optimal control, linear estimation or general signal processing, get this book to have a look, you might be benefited from it. I am glad to see Dover reprint this out of print classics at reasonable price.

This is an excellent book. I often see it referenced, in the old edition from Prentice Hall, in IEEE papers written by "old important guys" (and gals of course) indicating that it carries some weight amongst people in the know.

It treats aspects of filtering, from the ground up, in a mathematically correct way. You do need to be comfortable with matrix analysis, calculus, certainly random processes, and have some level of "mathematical sophistication" (that elusively defined quality.) As a supplement to a course in Statistical Signal Processing where you use the book by, say, Kay, it would be very good (and much cheaper than Kay.) I'm not sure how Dover selects their catalogue of books, but they certainly do a good job of picking up the lagged copyright from big publishers, of very good older books.

The book is written by a couple of Aussies who begin each chapter with the salutation "G'day Mate!" (**) and end each chapter with "Good on yer Cobber," and also, confusingly, refer to each other as "Bruce" throughout the book. The book is good enough for you to be able to overlook these nationalistic quirks. They also use tracking problems, in the section on Kalman filtering, taken from Aussie Rules football, as a player tracks the ball through the air, before he is clobbered by an opponent. This is a good example of tracking, whether you are a Raytheon missile engineer, or an Aussie rules footballer. They even use a more complicated example where the player tracks both the ball and the other player (the clobberer). This example could probably be generalized to missile defense.

In summary, this really is a good book on filtering, especially the core material of Wiener filtering and Kalman filtering. Highly recommended. Good on yer Cobbers!! (Bruce and Bruce, that is.)

**Disclaimer: Some of this review is a fictionalised account of a review.

Originally published in 1979, this is a graduate level text book on signal processing. Filtering out the unwanted data is a major part of signal processing. A returning radar image, for instance, contains an awful lot of data, while all you really want is the blip that identifies where the airplane is in the sky. The remaining static has to be filtered out.

This book is rigerous mathematical treatment of filtering. It is not a cookbook on how to build filters, but instead describing the basic fundamental background of the concepts behine filtering.

As stated, this is intended for use at graduate school level. It goes well beyond what would be expected at the undergraduate engineering level. The mathematics are basically calculus, natrix definition and manipulation, and probability.

Mr. Amster sure knows his stuff! I learned plenty of life lessons from his book. It's a must read.

Mr. Amster sure knows his stuff! I learned plenty of life lessons from his book. It's a must read.

I found the book to be very informative and also provided simple anecdotes to akward situations that occur on and around a golf course

Like a blistering drive bisecting the fairway, Brian Amster's first book goes to the very heart of every golfer's vision for the game. The authors take what for most is merely a passtime and make it something truly beneficial. What insight. What charisma. Truly, a must read for every golfer and person interested in developing their inner self.

This is a great story for anyone that is into imagination! Let Earl take you on an adventurous journey! The Trees have them down and out Blues and to resuce is no other than Outer Space Earl.

This book was exciting from the start! Earl and Grandpa are out to help save the tress because of their "Blues!" For my younger child the book was a great tool for helping her learn how to read, and most importantly she had enjoyed it!

This book is very well written and so much fun. Grandpa and Earl really keep you entertained with their silly tactics, and we cannot wait for the next adventure that Outer Space Earl takes us on! Love this book and these characters!

Exciting story line with great illistrations that entertain along with the story. CD read along allows my kids to follow the story and with the sound of chimes knows when to turn the page. Great book for kids starting to read. I will get other books in the Long Hill series.

If you've got a question about Outlook whether you are a beginner or advanced this is the book for you. Curious about the array of features available to you in Outlook or have a specific question about Journals then this book will cover both needs.

This book is well written and logically structured. Personally I really like the FAQ style format and Useful tips. Invaluable tippets of information that Microsft never seem to bother telling you about.

I found the chapters on data security, archiving and backups an invaluable source of information. Areas that I had always questions about but could never get clear and concise explainations. An excellent refernce book on Outlook.

Think of a question about Outlook and this book truly has the answer! The book is logically structured and covers everything from starting with Outlook all the way up to designing forms and creating macro's. It not only covers HOW you should use a certain functionality but also WHY and WHEN you want to use it.

Make sure you don't skip the last 2 chapters as they cover security and backups. Although these topics sound dull and complicated it is not something where you want to go wrong on. Both get covered in the easy step-wise approach like the rest of the book and you'll find it no more difficult than creating a new contact.

I was a bit surprised to see Outlook Express and Outlook Web Access (OWA) being covered as well but then I realized that they both have "Outlook" in their name as well (I guess I'm just too much Microsoft Office Outlook minded :-D).

The book is targetted to the end-user (both home and corporate) so don't expect too much admin stuff in it. I still really recommend having a copy available on your Service Desk especially if your Service Desk more or less only has time to deal with technical instead of functional issues. The addition of Outlook Express and OWA makes sense here again because that is most likely how they deal with the company e-mail at home.

To be honest with you, I had always hated Outlook. Hated it.

So it was with some scepticism that I opened this book to see if I could glean some tips and tricks to improve my Outlook experience. And boy, am I glad I did. This book takes the inherent complexity of Microsoft's propriety email client and turns it into a simple to use and feature packed email and organisation package.

If you only use Outlook purely for its email capabilities, chances are that a lot of this book will be lost on you initially. However the more you read this book, the more impressed you will grow with Outlook's features. I can't tell you the number of times I had "I didn't know Outlook could do that!" moments!

The language used in the book, is clear, concise and to the point. It emphasises the important aspects of the software, but still gives information about the smaller, almost forgotten features. The vast gulf left by Microsoft's refusal to package an Outlook instruction book with its software has left many users with gaps in their knowledge of the software. This book fills that gap admirably, causing this reviewer to wish that all Microsoft software came with such clear and well written instructions.

Whether you are a casual home user or an over-worked professional, you will find something of value in this book. Highly recommended.

I agree with the three previous reviewers that this book had covered the majority of questions one can think of about Outlook and gave easy and direct answers through its FAQ format. The chapters on security and backup might even delight many. However, I am obliged to suggest to the authors, if there will be an updated version, to add some notes on the usage of some specific functions on the Tool Bar, say, the "Rules Wizard" under "Tools", which can be used to set the criteria of forwarding specific email(s) to specific persons. The administrators may find it too simple. IMHO, it's very helpful for any workstation user. Recommended!

The multidisciplinary study of archaeology requires a broad database of knowledge, and the Oxford Companion offers itself as an excellent resource. Alphabetical entries are provided in subject areas, and especially helpful is a variety of timelines and graphical data as well as a comprehensive index. Fagan's compilation of entries from renowned social scientists in the Oxford Companion is an essential in my personal library, and is referred to consistently.

"The Oxford Companion to Archaeology" is a fitting friend to the recently published "Eyewitness to Discovery," an anthology of first-person archaeological writings, also edited by Brian Fagan.

Given the space and range of the subject matter, it seems that any kind of judgmental review would be superfluous. No topic is missed, and everything is written with a depth and clarity that one expects from a book in the Oxford Companion series. There are only two regrets. I would have liked to see illustrations, photos and maps of certain sites, but that is more wishful thinking than constructive criticism.

The other problem is that the 29 maps in the back of the book are inadequate. Some sites are listed, some are not. They lack a note indicating what time period they apply to What date does "Early China" map refer to? Or the "Late China?" The sole map of the Roman Empire shows it at its largest, but omits the date of when that was. One might as well review a dictionary.

These are just a few of the idle facts and notions gleaned from these pages:

* A long-term study of what people throw away has been going on out in Tucson, Arizona, since 1973. It has found that the average U.S. household throws away 10 to 15 percent of its edible solid food, that curbside recycling has conserved about 20 percent of landfill space since it began in 1982, and that paper takes up 40 to 50 percent of landfill space.

* Although the wheel was in use in Mesopotamia from about 4,000 B.C., it was not in the Americas, nor in Africa south of the Sahara.

* Diseases brought by European explorers may have reduced North American population, estimated at 18 million, (roughly the current population of South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina combined) by up to 80 percent.

* Silk was such a lucrative export from China that from the second century on, persons caught attempting to export the technology of silk production could be executed.

*That the Great Wall of China is not a continuous wall, but a series of walls, built and rebuilt at different times. The section outside Beijing was reconstructed recently as a tourist attraction. (This account also perpetuates the popular error that the wall is the only human product visible from the moon. Astronaut Alan Bean has written that "the only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white (clouds), some blue (ocean), patches of yellow (deserts), and every once in a while some green vegetation.")

* Last but not least, after reading accounts of civilizations that have lasted thousands of years, only to collapse into a heap of dusty ruins and sometimes indecipherable records, it's hard to feel smug about a country with a mere 200 years of history.

Truly a remarkable work and an excellent source for students and arm-chair archaeologists alike. Short on the hoped-for graphics and illustrations but long on information, the Oxford Companion proves its worth when one is looking for an appropriate overview of various archaeological topics. Just enough cross-referencing to excite one's imagination and more than enough to whet one's appetite to dig even deeper into archaeology and all that is has to teach us.

Brian Fagan's 'Oxford Companion to Archaeology' is a wonderful encyclopedic dictionary of archaeology worldwide. In the past century and a half, archaeology has graduated from being the hobby of pith-helmeted explorers in search of the unknown cities and treasure to the scientific and research-oriented study of ancient civilisations. Archaeology takes as its province the entire world, and the history goes back in some parts of the world as far as 15,000 to 20,000 years of human civilisation, and back several million years to the earliest human ancestors.

Fagan marshalled a huge team of contributors -- literally hundreds of contributors and dozens of editors worked together to make this a text majestic in scope. Useful for specialists and non-specialists alike, it draws on background resources from the natural and physical sciences, social sciences and humanities. Fagan and co. have include among the entries here articles on archaeological method, general interpretation, history and discovery. This includes coverage of the history and development of archaeology itself, how archaeology attempts to interpret and explain the past, and how this comes together into a coherent discipline.

This being said, this is not a text book or an introduction (or even more advanced) narrative, but rather is a collection of pieces alphabetically arranged. In addition to the main text, there is an extensive index that includes topics, persons, places, key discoveries, and more, with blind references and cross-references. These cross-references are also listed at the end of entries throughout the text. Many major entries also include suggestions for further readings. At the conclusion of the text, there are dozens of pages of maps and timelines. The maps are not as detailed as one might hope, giving only general features and major sites. The timelines are very good at placing the various developments and cultures side-by-side; for example, the developments of culture in the Indus Valley, the Fertile Crescent, the Nile and the Mayan Yucatan arose independently of each other, but not at the same times (there were thousands of years separating the initial rise of Egyptian cultures and Mayan cultures, for example).

While there are many fascinating entries in the book, perhaps the most unique article (and perhaps unexpected) is 'Popular Culture, the Portrayal of Archaeology in...' -- this discusses archaeology in film (for many, the only exposure to archaeology comes in Indiana Jones films), in fiction, and in science fiction. The article, written by editor Brian Fagan and contributors John Pohl, Shelly Lowenkopf, and Edward James, talks about these developments in interesting methodological and interpretative ways -- Pohl, for example, demonstrates that Indiana Jones' adventures in fact represent 'dismal project planning'. The popular image of archaeology as simply digging something up causes some concern and consternation among professional archaeologists.

Despite the small print (the text is 850 pages long as it is, and a larger font, while desirable, would have likely required the book to be a two-volume edition), the writing is generally lively and interesting, concentrating on accessibility over jargon. Those with strong interest in archaeology will find this very useful; for those with interest in history, cultural studies, religious studies, art history and more will also find this a very helpful guide for background and peripheral development of their subjects. Every continent and every time period is covered -- from the statues at Easter Island to the statue-menhirs of the French Mediterranean; from the Pyramids of Egypt to the pyramids of the Central Americas, from burial mounds in North America to burial finds in China and India, this book covers it all.

A great text!

A partly whimsical excursion into the nooks and crannies of computing, as offered by the editors of PC Magazine. Ostensibly, for each day in 2004, they offer 2 things. The first is a brief retrospective of a significant event in computing history on that day. Some of these recollections may leave you queasy. Was it really THAT long ago that this [event] happened? Strewth, it feels like yesterday!

But the bulk of the discussion for each day is some recent article from the magazine. There is really little correlation, if any, between it and the nominal day entry under which it appears in this book.

It is really best to treat this book as a stapling of recent articles spanning many computing topics. The quality of the essays is consistently high. There will be an element of serendipity here. Some essays might be spot on to your needs.

My sister gave me the book yesterday, and I'm hooked. Like the other reviewers, I'm finding myself reading way ahead (I'm up to Valentine's Day already!).

My favorite stuff so far has been the digital camera articles, and the online searching information. I've been a PC Magazine reader for years, and the book totally captures the PC Magazine style - smart, helpful, and exactly what I need.

The biggest surprise when I got the book was that it comes with a free year's subscription to PC Magazine. Very cool!

I've had this book for about 3 days, and I've been able to gain more useful and helpful information about my computer than you could possibly believe! I know I'm supposed to read it day by by, but I can't help myself - I want more information on improving my digital photos, connecting new peripherals to my system and configuring my personal firewalls and this book has it. I've been reading PC Magazine for years (who hasn't?) and I really trust these folks to provide me the best and most up to date information. Another plus - the "page a day" thing makes it a great holiday gift for anyone in your life - from the friend starting out with a new computers, to the geek you love. This book will allow them to have fun while learning new things - who could ask for more?

I bought the last 2 versions of Leo Laporte's TechTV book (I even have the one where they misspelled "Almanac" on the cover!) and have been a big fan. But, I have been reading PC Magazine longer than I have Leo's books, and when I discovered this little gem I was very excited.

The PC Magazine Technology Almanac is jam-packed with tips, tricks, and insider information that I can actually use. And I know I am supposed to read it a day at a time, but I find I am already up to March of next year!

And the best part is that is comes with a free subscription to the magazine, so I was able to renew for free! How can you loose?

If you, like me, have been buying Leo's book, take a look at this one from PC Magazine. It is absolutely the better of the 2, and is full of stuff you can really use.

Sorry Leo, but I switched!

This guy might be on the nerdy side, but he gives you the sources for what he says is fact, not his opinion. I have been reading alternative health books from many different authors for 40 years and none have done the research this guy has. The info has made me healthier and slimmer in the last 9 months without trying. When you eat the right foods, you don't get cravings for binges, so it's not about dieting, it's about getting healthy. I'm convinced!

Peskin takes the conventional "healthy" high-carbohydrate diet and blows it out of the water. Largely because of its effect on the hormones insulin and glucagon, he convincingly demonstrates how eating too much of this macronutrient has contributed significantly to America's epidemic of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

The author stresses a diet with plenty of high quality protein, essential fatty acids (EFA's), and low in carbohydrates - especially processed.

Peskin's arguments are based on, and well supported with a myriad of references and footnotes to scientific documents. My one big criticism of the book is that he tries much too hard to trademark the science, and repeatedly peddles his own brand of supplements, which gives the book an "infomercial" feel to it.

Still, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about eating healthy and willing to set popular opinion aside.

Exposing the carbohydrate poisoning of America over the last 30 years, this book has allowed me to develop the energy and overall well-being to quit a vitamin program. Very similar to Atkins.
June 2002 Consumer Reports article grudgingly admitted that patients on a high protein diet as recommended here lost more weight without worsening their cholestrol scores, than did patients on a low fat diet (who lost very little weight). This book well worth the effort to get it!

Excellent book - I highly recommend it.

Story catches your imagination with wonderful illustrations and even better narration by Robin Williams. Fun and enjoyable for the whole family, would recommend to anyone interested in reading/hearing a good story.

Story catches your imagination with wonderful illustrations and even better narration by Robin Williams. Fun and enjoyable for the whole family, would recommend to anyone interested in reading/hearing a good story.

Robin Williams does a great job of storytelling. This is truely whole family entertainment. Kids will definately sit still for this one, and adults will find it wonderfully funny. Robin Williams infuses the reading with his tremendous energy, wit, and love of adventure. The illustrations in the book are humorous and kids will laugh when they see them. Adults should be aware that there is one picture where Pecos Bill is nude, but it is not full nudity and it is only one picture. All in all I think this, like all Rabbit Ears Productions, is wonderful. I would especially recommend it for anybody who is looking for a great way to keep the kids entertained while they are in the car.

The photo and barcode for this video are actually for a
RARE CBS PLAYHOUSE presentation from 1988 starring
STEVE GUTTENBERG and my very favorite actress, the beautiful
and very talented REBECCA DE MORNAY; Roy Rogers & Co. are
great, but they had NOTHING AT ALL to do with this video:

so, whoever it was at AMAZON.COM who put these details in
this listing are simply mistaken: this is a great, rare
OOP VIDEO, but as of this writing, the details are wrong:

this one features MARTIN MULL, STEVE GUTTENBERG, AND my favorite actress REBECCA DE MORNAY ( see her in CANNON TALES
BEAUTY & THE BEAST, RUNAWAY TRAIN, BY THE DAWNS EARLY LIGHT
and her most famous performance as the evil nanny in
THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE -- thats what I just love
about Ms. De Mornay: you never know what you're going to
get: she has such a fantastic range & versatility: she can
be the most wonderful heroine you would just die for, or
the most vicious, cold-blooded villian you want to kill!!
Terrific Actress, at this time, in my opinion, there is no
better Actress in Hollywood!!

I took this book on vacation and could not put it down. Brian Huey has created engaging characters and a story with enough plot twists to keep you wanting more. I found myself rereading earlier chapters to find the clues that set-up the twists. Mr. Huey even includes a helpful timeline at the end of the book to assist those who want to search for the clues. The energy related backdrop is extremely relevant and believeable given $130 dollar per barrel oil. This is the first book in a trilogy and I can't wait for book two to be published to find out what happens to Matthew, Maria, Sean, Tremont, and the rest of the memorable characters from this book.

With the ever rising price of oil threatening global economies and the search for alternative energy sources making the news everyday, this exciting story is a wild ride but one which could actually happen. As I read the book I wasn't too sure who the "bad" guys were but as I read the news today I'm also not sure who to blame for our energy problems or what the solution is. Very engaging characters and intriguing plot twists.

This novel is great fun and an enjoyable read. Many details are woven well within the story and you keep asking yourself why you did not see it the first time. Once you are finished with Perpetual, you want part 2 but will have to settle with a re-read. This is a great summer adventure novel as you become members of Mathew's and Maria's family.

Perpetual delivers. From the intricate opening sequence to the cleverly crafted details, the reader is taken on a delicious journey with many memorable characters. The driving force for the journey is as topical as current headlines. There are enough twists to keep even the most ardent reader of high-octane fiction entertained. My key test was that Perpetual left me wanting more. I look forward to the next book in this series.

M.G. Meacher, D.D.S. Irvine, CA