Buck Books

i kick-started this book with high hopes and expectations, if only to reconnect with the original zamm which i read as a college freshman at the university of michigan in 1976. but disappointment soon came over me, as i realized that the author was more intent on making "time" than "seeing" america as he attempted to retrace pirsig's original route. didn't he know that you can't step in the same river twice? and why was he so intent on making it to sf by his 42nd birthday? to his credit, the good parts of the book are like scenic overlooks into the biography of pirsig himself, and the tortuous psychological journey that became his life. pirsig gave the world a great book, and like prometheus, suffered for it. you need to be a real zamm devotee to want to buy and read this shallow retread. i am sure that it made a nifty and clever book proposal, but too much of the book is dull and lacks genuine introspection by not searching for higher, deeper philosophical truths. instead, the author is more concerned about writing in too much detail about all the various motels he stayed in. for that, one can buy an aaa motel guide.

It was enjoyable reading up on some of the characters behind the ZAMM story. But there's too much fluff here.

I like the style very much, how it mirrors ZATAOMM. I found Richardson's journey and story to be equally compelling as Pirsigs. The author mixed these stories together in three threads: his journey across the country, Pirsig's original journey, and the biographical facts of Pirsig's life. I enjoyed all three.

This book does not dwell on the philoshical part of ZATAOMM. That is ok. Any attempt to re-create or deeply evaluate Pirsig's concepts would likely pale in comparison.

I still think that this book is excellent, and I recommend it.

Mike

Hello,
I really enjoyed this book, in fact it exceeded my expectations. I had been looking for some back story to ZMM that would include more information about the original trip and characters. With this book I found all that I was looking for and it's own story. Which I feel does a good job of adding to the original work. (Not the philosophy portions so much but more the narrative story.)

I have been a fan of ZMM for 13 years and longed to take this trip myself. After reading this book much of the draw from the original has dissipated. It is not that I don't like ZMM anymore. But my view of the original ZMM is less romanticized in my mind. Furthermore the volume of research put into it's creation answers a lot of the questions that lingered in my mind.

The author is a skilled writer and the book flows along well.

If you enjoyed the original you will enjoy this too.

Thanks,

J

P.S. In the end I might not want to take the same trip as Mark but it makes me want to take my own trip again.

Like Mr. Richardson I'm a huge fan of Pirsig and motorcycling and bought this book when I saw a review of it in the WSJ. I was deeply disappointed. Zen and the Art ... works because of the explorations into various facets of philosophy and identity. It's not really about a motorcycle trip, it's about exploration. Richardson's book explores nothing. There are a few random stabs into his family relationships and past experiences but they are far from profound and seem tacked on. All you learn about the author from this book is that he's whiny and prone to making spurious correlations. He never comes across as understanding Zen and the Art ... You'd think from reading Richardson that having to camp was high on the list of human miseries. That, and having to drive with the sun in your eyes. Real hardships, those.

As a travel narrative writer he fails badly. I had to force myself not the skip the sections where he's describing which way the creek he was driving next to turned or how the water in this creek made a gurgling sound. In Pirsig's book such descriptions served as launching points for something else. Here there's no context for this, it's just bland, the-sky-was-deep-blue type, description. And there's a lot of it.

I did not know much about Pirsig's history or the story surrounding the writing and aftermath of Zen and the Art ... and those parts were interesting and seemingly well-researched. Those parts were less than half the book, unfortunately. I may have expected too much from Zen and Now as writing anything even close to Zen and the Art... is a high bar indeed.

...I will buy a copy of this for everyone whose online personal profile has made me cringe. But then maybe not, because I'd go broke. If you have posted a shirtless photo, ever mentioned your ex in your ad, overthought your username, or wondered if you really should have mentioned that psychotropic drug you're taking the moment someone "winked" at you, YOU NEED THIS.

If you have been trying to encourage your son or daughter to explore the possibilities of on-line dating, this is the perfect book to recommend. Ms. Wodtke charts a course through on-line dating sites with an eye for cost-effectiveness and good advice for safe meetings. This is a great guide for getting their feet wet ...

Not getting a lot of hits to your online personals ad, Ms. Wodtke? The final page cleverly named "About the Author", uncovers the book's real purpose: another way for the author to get her own online personals ad seen. Other than that, most of what's here is obvious, common-sense stuff, that you should be aware of if not before you even venture into online dating then certainly by the time you're in the registration process of any personals site. Most tell you extensively how to navigate their services, which includes information that is in this book. The upside here is that you don't pay more than $5. Yet another downside is being foolish enough (I'm putting myself in this category) to actually pay for it at all.

This books walks one effortlessly through the steps of online dating . Who knew it could be so easy! The book is extremely helpful and easy to read. I met and started dating a fantastic man within a few weeks after reading and implementing the suggestions in the book. Well worth $5!

I saw this book in a bookstore recently and had to write a review. Thumbing through it left me with that same feeling I had the day after the recent presidential election - you know, sick to one's stomach. Ok, it's not just that the premise for the book is idiotic (really if you can't figure out online dating, then you probably need to keep your DNA out of the gene pool), but really, this book is such a waste of paper that I am suprised Sierra Club hasn't protested it. The writing is puerile and the attempts at humor akin to the jokes my preschool children tell. What were the "Learn...for 5 Bucks" people thinking? Save your money and spend the night tweezing your eyebrows, it'll be less painful and is more likely to improve your chances in the dating world.

SAP has recently been pushing hard its mySAP, in part to reach a larger market. Here, we see the buildout of its CRM version 4. Replete with many use cases [examples] to help the reader gain expertise. One case is to generate a repair order. The screen capture for this example depicts a GUI that is rich in many options that the reader might need for her situation.

Another big feature is the mySAP CRM Interaction Centre. Think of this as souped up help desks. With advanced searching of the data base of previous help queries and replies. So that the help desk personnel can productively make use of accumulated experience, and more quickly solve a user's problem.

The book also stresses efficient channel management, and that partners should be integrated into CRM for competitive advantages.

Much to read about.

good condition and received in short time. i suggest this seller to by from

This is the best book i have found , which goes deep into the CRM Subject.

If you are looking for an overview into CRM in general, this is a good book. If you want to learn anything in depth about SAP CRM this will not help you. There is nothing specific here about SAP CRM, no how to's, transactions, not even a detail explanation or example of a BDoc.

This book is good if you want an overview of what SAP CRM has to offer. However, if you are looking for technical information, I wouldn't purchase this book.

Whether you will like Mr. Foster's work or not depends on the style of historical writing you enjoy. If you like writing in the style of Stephen Sears you will enjoy this book. If you like writing in the style of Joseph Marsh you probably will not. It all hinges on how much opinion you are willing to tolerate in and the degree of historicity you demand out of works of history.

The book presents a little known campaign and shows the importance of western campaign experience in developing the "Hard War" doctrine that destroyed the Southern will to fight. The book captured my interest but was not the easiest book to read consisting of a long narrative of a campaign that had little action other than the destruction of Southern property. Units were mentioned and their movements described but it would have been nice to have an order of battle to know who served in which unit. Fortunately the there were a lot of maps. The narrative would have been very hard to follow or understand without them. The maps served to show the roads and towns mentioned, but little information on troop movements were shown, only the location of Sherman's main force. A good account of an under appreciated campaign that was overshadowed by events before and after to the east and west. I would recommend this book to serious students of the western campaign or Sherman's generalship. The average reader would probably find it too boring to hold their interest.

Sherman's Mississippi Campaign by Buck T. Foster, 2006, 215 pages, maps.

Overall opinion: Very good work. Lots of referenced data, with a great collection of the details of Sherman's winter march through Mississippi. The names and places of what Sherman's army destroyed during this campaign is the most I've seen in any work. Detailed stories of what the Union soldiers saw and what they did is a very refreshing plus to this book's coverage. The style keeps you on the edge of your seat as you follow Sherman's men march deeper and deeper into Confederate held territory not knowing where his lost cavalry column was or what happened to it (even when I knew the answer).

Negitive Criticism: The writer is irritatingly repetative in his opinions. I disagree with some of his assertions about General Sherman character. Sherman did not control his men and many civilians suffered due to his inability to do so. The act of creating orders with threats of harsh punishment -not to harm private property- occured mainly after the destruction, not before. The months after this raid the Union forces continued to burn and destroy private property in Mississippi. Sherman did not change Mississippi back into a Unionist state by this tactic of 'Hard War'. The reports of cavalry columns that traveled through this same area from April-March 1865 showed a open hostility towards the Union troops, more so than earlier reports through this same region.

Corrections: The soldier identified as member of 16th Mississippi was from the 43rd Mississippi (a typo).

The Civil War was more than Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Atlanta and the Overland Campaign. The war was a number of smaller campaigns, none of which should be dismissed as unimportant. Each of these campaigns contributed something to the development of the war and can tell us something about the history of the war. This campaign is an important step in the evolution of Sherman's thinking on how to fight the war and how to support his army in the field.

The idea that became the March to the Sea was not an overnight development but started in 1861 and progressed with the war. Buck Foster spends considerable time on the development of the "hard war", the reasons for the change and how each step logically caused the next step in the process. The second major development was the understanding that an army could "live off the land". By dropping lines of supply and communication, an army becomes all teeth with no tail to attack. The enemy would look for these lines trying to slow or stop the advancing army. Again, the author gives us a good review of this critical development, starting with Grant's 1862 Vicksburg Campaign.

In early 1863, Sherman was determined to advance from Vicksburg into Mississippi and attack the CSA infrastructure. Meridan, with a complex of factories, railroad intersections and supply depots became his objective. Sherman would carry only what could not be secured from the farms and towns on his line of march, the army would destroy the infrastructure as they moved. This is not a campaign to secure territory but to prove how powerless the CSA is.

Polk in charge of the defense of Mississippi and Alabama, is unable to determine Sherman's objective, gives contradictory orders and causes a number of other problems. S.D. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest have a much better idea of the situation but are hampered by Polk's indecision and lack of resources. Sherman is hampered with leadership problems too. These problems result in preventing him from achieving his secondary objectives.

Most of all, this book highlights the importance of leadership and the cost of not having good leaders in critical positions. Additionally, this book shows how resource poor the South was by 1863. Men and materials are not available to meet the challenges. Lack of resources and poor Southern leadership teach Sherman that what becomes the March to the Sea is possible. This is an easy to read book with enough maps to keep up with the campaign. It covers a little known area of the war while providing a good history of the development of Hard War.

Robert Waite conjures up a cleaver story of blacks striving to survive in business in " Daddy Big Bucks".
The story takes place in a New York City Corporation. Daddy Big Bucks is a lowly shoe shine man who shines the CEO's shoes daily. He also happens to be a Real Estate Mongol who owns a fifty-three foot yacht and manages to get much younger women to go out with him. Though no one would accuse him of looking like a stud.
Bert is a bootlicking executive who has sacrificed his soul and his blackness to get points in the corporate world. He learns the hard way that selling out doesn't always guarantee success.
This book is very well written. Mr. Waite a former executive, has his knowledge of corporate America down cold.

Through the characters, Daddy Big Bucks and Bert, Mr.Waite shows the struggle between pre-civil rights blacks who often took the lowly route to success and post civil rights movement blacks, who benefited from their labors and rode their coattails. It's a short book that moves quickly.
Mr.Waite was very thoughtful in developing all the characters.
All aspiring black businessmen should read this just to get a taste of what it's like for a black man in corporate America.

Reviewed by:
Erren Geraud

Mahogany Media Review
Mahogany Book Club
Albany, N.Y.

Bert Davis, Director of Planning at American Instruments, is a proud Black man who has struggled to make it into the top echelons of corporate America: he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, he earned his M.B.A, and he has opened many doors in corporate America for Blacks less fortunate than himself. When American Instruments succumbs to a hostile takeover, the last thing Bert needs is for some old shoe-shine man to tell him how to survive the cuts.

Hiawatha Jackson, better known as Daddy Big Bucks the shoe-shine man, is a proud Black man who struggled to make it through life: his father was lynched, he earned his advance degree from the street of hard knocks, and he believes Blacks will never make it as a group if they continue fighting for acceptance by corporate America instead of owning their own businesses. He built his multi-million dollar company from the ground up and wants to reach back and mentor Bert.

Mr. Waite did an excellent job at laying out the two different approaches to success the main characters took. He showed pros and cons of each side in a balanced manner, and he uncovered a prejudice many of us have toward those in the service industry. My issue with DADDY BIG BUCKS is that Mr. Waite spent the vast majority of the book explaining the two sides. I felt like the story was on hold while the two main characters got to know each other. DADDY BIG BUCKS was a good book, but if the conflict was introduced earlier, this would have been a more exciting read.

Reviewed by Deatri King-Bey
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

I really enjoyed this story; It has potential; and yes, there are plenty Daddy Big Bucks walking around our neighborhoods, but they are not known to mainstream America. I got caught up in the beginning with Bert trying to be the good executive in corporate America; Yet, some focus was placed more on his secretary's private business, which initially lead me to believe that perhaps some corporate piracy was going on but it wasn't; and the relationship that developed with Daddy Big Bucks and Bert; Now, this book could have really been great with some more financial advice and points as well as cut down the weak spots.Another thing, Bert's wife was on point on a lot of things, yet, he continued to ignore her advice. She saw things more so than he; Also, Daddy Big Bucks; You can't help but admire his business acumen, you wonder about his idiocyncracies; like not dating women over age 25; good book

We were hoping this would give some REAL tips on buying/selling a car. The only people that might benefit even slightly from this are those going into a dealership to sell cars. There was nothing more than common sense, no "insider" information as one was lead to believe from the title. It was a complete waste of time and money. Don't bother.

It is more than about buying and selling cars though it has everything you need to know to do both sucessfully and without fear and anxiety.

It is two brief books in one. The one on selling cars gives a blueprint on how to be a successfull car salesman. Though it is on the surface tells you how to sell cars it is really a guide for how to treat people and have a peacfull rewarding life. The tips here apply to all endeavors. Show respect to all. Have a servants heart. Interact as with a good friend. Good things will follow.

The buyers guide builds on the information in the Sellers guide. Learn to take the hassle and angst out buying a car and you can do the same with life in general.

Great little book that has message we all can use even if we thought we just wanted to buy a car "right"

Finally there's a book that takes the mystery out of buying a car. For many people, buying a car is an agonizing process filled with anxiety and deception. It's a dance between the buyer and the seller, each one trying to outsmart the other over a few dollars. What should be an enjoyable experience for everyone turns into an adversarial process filled with distrust.

I picked this book up with a healthy dose of skepticism and was pleasantly surprised. The author uses his years of experience in the industry and a straightforward writing style to educate consumers and sales people on how to bring the fun back into buying a car. He covers everything from used car values and interest rates to how much mark up you can expect in a new vehicle. It is unique in that it's really like two books in one; one written for sales people, and the other for buyers. It's an easy read and it's full of some great homespun wisdom garnered from the author's extensive background in the industry. If you're in the market for a car or you're in the business of selling them, this is the book for you.

This is an easy to read book for people interested in being SERIOUS musicians. It's the "insiders" guide. I learned a lot.

I purchased this book with the accompanying CD a couple of years ago, flipped through it, and put it aside for more "interesting" material to work on. Having gone through numerous method books on jazz guitar I felt I was beyond the skills this volume purported to teach. Boy, was I wrong!

After reaching a certain plateau on the learning curve I just wasn't progressing the way I thought I should. On a whim I pulled this slim volume out of my pile and proceeded to leaf through it with a more open mind. After working through specific chapters (in my case fingerboard speed and economy of travel) My playing improved significantly. I was now able to reach fret positions with time to spare. Maybe that's an exageration but the excercises definately helped in arriving "ahead of the music" rather than constantly racing to keep up to tempo. Additionally, the alternate picking excercises should be required reading for anyone. My third and fourth finger strength has improved and the six fret stretches are now comfortable with my fretting hand held solidly in position. And, it didn't take that long to make significant improvment.

My only criticism of this volume is, compared to other teaching materials and given it's size it seems a little overpriced, but that's nitpicking. I would highly recommend this book/cd combo for anyone who wants to improve their technique. There's no theory, no solos and no comping patterns; just sequencing, scales and fingering excercises.

much of this book is devoted to basic finger exercises, none of which are jazz-specific. My philosophy is that exercises should be musical, or at least close .... About 2/3 of this book is mindless permutations. I was disappointed.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The title doesn't do it justice. It should be calld something like Portugal, a cultural and literary companion. It is true, the focus is on Lisbon, but it goes far beyond. Through the sights of Lisbon, it gives the reader an overall view of Portugal's history, literature, cinema, painting, etc.

There is only one negative aspect. Why are there so many misspellings in the Portuguese words? Not even the name of navigator Vasco da Gama escapes. I almost wish I couldn't speak the language so I would not notice the mistakes and could then give this book more than four stars. Still an excellent book.

This book contains a lot of information about Lisbon, both as a city to be visited and as a city which has inspired novels, films, etc., and the educated tourist can find this book very useful. Unfortunately, I found the book boring. Somehow, I failed to relate to it. Maybe if I had heard of Tabucci and these other cultural figures, I might have gotten something more out of it. I visited Lisbon in 1966 and enjoyed it, and I am fluent in Portuguese, so the problem is hardly Lisbon. But the book just seemed to me to never get off the ground.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The title doesn't do it justice. It should be calld something like Portugal, a cultural and literary companion. It is true, the focus is on Lisbon, but it goes far beyond. Through the sights of Lisbon, it gives the reader an overall view of Portugal's history, literature, cinema, painting, etc.

There is only one negative aspect. Why are there so many misspellings in the Portuguese words? Not even the name of navigator Vasco da Gama escapes. I almost wish I couldn't speak the language so I would not notice the mistakes and could then give this book more than four stars. Still an excellent book.

Gayle Buck's novels frequently improve on re-reading. True to the genre, it takes little to destroy Verity's reputation and the destruction was Lord Rathbone's intent as revenge for how she described his character to a friend. What saves the plot at this point is that Rathbone is falling in love with Verity but does not realize it and that is one reason he continues to show her particular attention. Her reputation ruined, Verity is attacked by the very spoiled Miss Pettiforth and literally cast out into the night. Forced to go home to an empty house, Verity's brother finds her there when he returns from the American wars. Rathbone's host Mr. Pettiforth invites him to leave because of his treatment of Verity. In the subplot Mr. Pettiforth reclaims control of his family as a reult of this incident and arranges to send his daughter to a select seminary specializing in spoilt beauties. But wait! The plot is much more complex and Buck fully realizes its promise. Rathbone's mother has nourished a desire for vengeance against her husband's brothers and uses her son as her instrument. Verity's betrothal to Rathbone (she does love him) to prevent her brother from calling him out and killing him puts her in line for foul play by Rathbone's uncles. Buck write so true to the Regency period and she is a joy to read. Her characters are not overdone or underdone but always true to themselves. Her plots and characters have a redemptive quality similar to Mary Balogh's best. Lord Rathbon's Flirt is one of several of Buck's books that I have read 4-5 times and read yet again. Each re-read reveals subtle nuances previously overlooked that add spice and enjoyment. Maybe I'll just re-read it now.

Hmmm. A stylish, popular man about town hears a less than complimentary comment about him. Instead of shrugging it off, he decides to ruin the person who made it - a defenceless woman living as a poor relation.

Hero? Not bloody likely. Just another selfish brat who seems to be so common in books these days.

As for his "remorse"? Yeah, it is easy for him to be remorseful AFTER he has destroyed another person's life. AFTER he has had a mirror held up to his face and seen what a disgrace he is. But that is a little too late for the innocent victim. He was warned several times that he was going too far, but he didn't care. Not until he was called to account. THEN, he was sorry. And how does he attempt to make it up to her? He tells her she has no choice but to marry him. After he has done his best to destroy her, she is supposed to throw herself at his feet.

Then, when her brother challenges the jerk to a duel, she has to marry him to save his worthless hide. She should have let her brother kill the toad.

Well, since she does fall in love with him, I guess it turns out ok. But just once, can't we have a romance where the hero is not a spoiled whiny baby, and the heroine is not a masochist?

Gayle Buck expertly shows modern readers how easily a Regency lady's reputation (and life!) could be ruined by malicious gossip. Lord Rathbone encounters Verity Worth at one of those Regency house parties at a country estate and proceeds to unintentionally ruin her reputation with a bit of flirtation. Her rage -- and his remorse -- are expertly written. It is completely believable that he would fall in love with her and yet come so close to losing her. You really want to see these two come to realize their mutual love. There are many obstacles for these lovers to overcome, but I don't want to give away the surprise ending. This is Gayle Buck's best effort, and I have read at least ten of her books so far. Many Regency authors portray situations that could never have happened with the rigid rules imposed on proper ladies and gentlemen engaged in courtship. Here the entire plot is believable. This book is well worth seeking out. Enjoy!

I needed a good book to learn how to play guitar and this is a great place to start. I have learned scales, chords, the fret board and how to continue in my practicing. It is a good size, so I can take it on the road with me, when I travel and I use it all the time. Good price and great book.

do not waste your time with any of the "idiot guide" books...this one has most of what you need to build your skill if you're a beginner. its easy to read and work through. this book focuses on excercises and theory and not so much songs. if you want a bunch of easy songs to play, check out the jumbo easy guitar song book by hal leanord publishers.

I am a guitar teacher and have reviewed many, many books.
I have "starred" this book based on its claim to be a beginning lesson book. It is not that sort of book, it is a guitar-theory book, and it is unfortunate when anyone buys it thinking that they'll have clear lessons on learning the guitar.

This is a very biased book. Biased toward a particular theoretical jazz/pop approach to music. The "10 lessons" are not really lessons but 10 chapters of pop-guitar theory. As such, the theory is decent, but not any better than you would get if you bought one of the many books that honestly present themselves as guitar theory books. This has no musical content or examples. The diagrams are upside-down from standard, which makes for confusion when relating this to other books.

I'll let you decide for yourself, but consider this quote (which happens early in the book):
"You've [learned] 35 chords... some you will use, others you may never use. Either way you must learn them all..."
If that's the sort of teaching you want, then go ahead I guess. I'm not saying don't learn the chords, but as a teacher, I think it is important to understand why and what the use of things actually is. And I find things like that quote very insulting and stupid.

There are TONS of guitar books out there. If you want a theory one, get one, if you want clear lessons, get something else. There's no reason to ever consider this book.