Burke Reviews

Kidnapped (An Irene Kelly Novel)

Published in Hardcover by Thorndike Press (2007-01-09)

Author: Jan Burke

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It's all about family

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-11

This novel was a nominee for the 2007 Anthony Award. It is an Irene Kelly mystery

It is a story about murders and missing children. Children can go missing for a number of reasons including parental kidnapping in custody disputes. Then there are people who want children at any price, particularly children with good abiliities.

There are a number of psychotic and dysfunctional people in this story, which starts with the discovery of a human hand. DNA testing comes up with a surprising result. In fact, DNA testing plays a major role in the story, including help in identifying children.

Irene Kelly is drawn into the case when her articles on missing children bring some surprising responses from readers. When she goes on the track of missing children, they are some major surprises. The thing about intelligent children is that some of them are able to fend for themselves, both to protect themselves and to help others. Events take some surprising twists and turns.

Gripping Tale

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-29

Jan Burke's stories are well paced, with characters you care about. This tale was a nail biter that I missed a lot of sleep to finish. It was well worth it.

Keeps you on your toes

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-12

I'm a Jan Burke/Irene Kelly fan, and I readily admit to a willingness to overlook some things that are a bit of a stretch - like the fact that the benevolent founder of this incredibly wealthy and intelligent family was unaware of its dark underside. In spite of that, Ms. Burke does her usual great job of developing characters and keeping you on the edge of your seat. There is plenty of substance, a tight plot, good investigating, and lots of human frailty. Jan Burke is a great story teller.

Very Enjoyable, quick read

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-29

Kidnapped is my first Jan Burke novel, but it probably won't be my last. I found this one to be very easy to read and thorougly engrossing. The cast of characters is long & at times a bit difficult to keep up with, however I found that kept things interesting, adding to the suspense. And it must be said that Burke's Irene Kelly is at once likeable & entertaining. RECOMMENDED!

Kidnapped

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-18

I find the story line improbable. Here is this cluster of Mensa caliber folks, with numerous birth and adoptive children among them and no one questions what the Fletcher family is all about? No Dateline, Good Morning America interviews of this group of families? And these highly intelligent folks, Nelson, Dexter, Roy do not question Giles' agenda? Is grandpa Graydon so senile he does not see what is going on? I just have to keep shaking my head as I read through the book. Improbable!

Making Sense of Church: Eavesdropping on Emerging Conversations About God, Community, and Culture

Published in Paperback by Zondervan/Youth Specialties (2003-09-01)

Author: Spencer Burke

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Spinning the wheels.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-07

This book had more posts from anonymous bloggers than from Burke. You may be okay with just random people and their blog posts. I personally wasn't impressed. If you know much about the emerging church, you can steer clear of this book. It's the same old thing. If you're unfamiliar, take a look. There was a lot of spinning of the wheels, but I'm not sure it went anywhere.

Nice story, bad book

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-08

This book would have been a good online article, but it wasnt a good book. Spencer Burke has a great story and is doing some great things with the ooze.com. I even like the idea of putting the conversations from the ooze into the form of a book, but somehow the book ended up being a cynical approach to most people's forms of Christianity. I am all for the postmodern movement of living the gospel in the context of our culture, but I do not appreciate when the church starts criticizing the church. I felt like this book did that and didnt provide any solutions to what we can do.
However, if you want to get a pulse for what the emerging church is doing, this might be a good book for you.

Reconstructing Church

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-12

This book is excellent. Spencer Burke and theooze.com makes me want to quit going to church and be Church. I guess this book could potentially make some people mad. I loved it. It is really a forward moving book. The world has changed. Spencer and his theooze-logians have given us new metaphors in which to engage the world. All this and you get to glimpse a little bit of Spencer Burke. He's a guy who has lived what he speaks of. He has struggled through modernity models of church life and he is reaching for something new, compelling and challenging. If you don't read this book...nevermind, just read the book.

A Conversation for the Puzzle

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-03

If you want to really have an effect on a person's life change their metaphor.

Spencer sees clearly the emerging metaphors. From his perspective (peering in on a conversation at theOoze.com), he has synthesized the story of many on the journey.

Are you trying to help your congregation, family, or yourself live in the changing culture? This is the essential primer!

Different metaphors to guide your church

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-01

Spencer Burke offers an insighful view into the metaphors which have been guiding the established evangelical church here in the West. Rather than just a stinging critique of the established church, Spencer offers different metaphors which will help guide the church in this postmodern age.

The contributions by many who post on theooze offer a variety of perspectives and paints an interesting picture of the church in today's age. Spencer brings these conversations from theooze in to each chapter showing this isn't just one man's vision for the church, this is what God is inspiring in the body of Christ.

Autism and the Myth of the Person Alone (Qualitative Studies in Psychology)

Published in Hardcover by NYU Press (2005-08-01)

Authors: Douglas Biklen, Richard Attfield, Larry Bissonnette, Lucy Blackman, Alberto Frugone, Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, and Sue Rubin, Jamie Burke, Richard Attfield, Larry Bissonnette, Lucy Blackman, Jamie Burke, Alberto Frugone, Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay, and Sue Rubin

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Must Read

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-06

In the plethora of works on ASDs, Biklen's edited volume is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding autistic experience with an eye to theory or therapy.

Learn from many voices of autism

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-28

This is a beautiful book, an important book, a book that should be required reading for everyone who has any dealings whatsoever with persons with autism. It is awe-inspiring to read about how seven individuals, each of whom experiences autism in unique ways, have learned to move beyond the ongoing challenges they face daily to live full lives with the assistance of a communication method known as Facilitated Communication.
This book offers not only an intriguing look at some of the many faces of autism, but also at how the use of Facilitated Communication has allowed them to express their thoughts, expose their intelligence, and to be an active member of the world community.

It's About Time!

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-09

It's about time we had a book that debunks and confronts head on the fallacies about autism. I am sick of the fallacy that people with autism are alone and choose solitude. Bull manure! People with autism love and crave social interaction, but have difficulty in navigating on tricky social grounds.

It's about time we retired that tired fallacy about "fixing" people with autism altogther. I am sick of people with autism being regarded as being in need of repair - how about we "repair" the neurotypical (NT) myth once and for all? If you want to know more about autism, then talk to somebody who has it. Not all people with autism are nonverbal. Many is the time when people with autism have asked NT people how to pass for NT and other tips in surviving in a world that tilts in favor of the NT population.

It's about time adults with autism living full, productive lives were given a turn at bat. Kudos to Biklen for introducing several people with autism living rich, full lives replete with socialization to us all. If you want a glimpse behind the Autistic Curtain, then this book is for you.

It's about time to read this!

One of the best autism books out there.

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-05

When I recommend that people buy just one book about autistic people, this is usually it. It powerfully destroys stereotypes about autistic people whose primary mode of communication is not speech, including the idea that we all have the same experience of the world or that we all came to our current method of communication in the same way (or even that we all use the same method of communication). It also deals with the routine underestimation of autistic people that happens as a matter of course, and the folly of the ongoing automatic classification of some autistic people as 'low-functioning'.

Relaying previously unknown information ;-)

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-06

This is an outstanding book, one of the landmark publications to date from the literature of autistic people speaking for themselves.

Of course autistic people can and do communicate. Scientists have defined the category of autism by an impairment of communication, not its absence. Nor do the criteria say anything about intelligence (however that concept may be defined).

Readers will discover that Douglas Biklen, the book's co-author and editor, addresses these issues in the introductory chapter:

"In light of the controversy, this book includes [with one exception] individuals who can type without physical support or who can speak the words that they type, before and as they type them and after they have typed them."

It's interesting that the present controversy echoes similar debates that have occurred in the last century regarding the capabilities of deaf people, people with cerebral palsy, people of non-European descent, and so on. Those debates included assertions from the existing power structure that the dis-empowered class of people (whoever they happened to be) couldn't/didn't/shouldn't speak for themselves. Sound familiar?

A bit more on the science and how this book addresses it. Why, and among whom, is FC (facilitated communication, or typing with the help of another person) controversial? The primary reason is that peer-reviewed publications, including controlled studies, show mixed (not only negative) results. On page 9, Biklen elaborates:

"Controversy has swirled around the method of facilitated communication because it has been shown that a facilitator's physical touch of the typist's hand or arm could influence the person's pointing, and because a number of studies failed to validate authorship ([13 references cited]). Each of the above studies used one basic type as assessment, namely, message-passing; the person being assessed was asked to convey information that could not be known to the facilitator. Other studies, using a range of test situations as well as linguistic analysis and documentation of physical, independent-of-facilitator typing, have successfully demonstrated authorship ([11 references cited])."

So the controversy is in fact not a matter of scientists vs. nonscientists, but of debate based on evidence and reason (with some emotion thrown in from all sides; the parties involved are only human, after all). From the scientific literaure, here's an example from researchers at Harvard and MIT:

"The case of a 13-year-old boy with autism, severe mental retardation, and a seizure disorder who was able to demonstrate valid facilitated communication was described. ... This case study adds to the small, but growing number of demonstrations that facilitated communication can sometimes be a valid method for at least some individuals with developmental disabilities." (Weiss MJ, Wagner SH, Bauman ML. Mental Retardation. 1996 August.)

Since that study, scientists have published further work suggesting that autistic people are capable of more than has been previously assumed. According to a recent review on IQ testing of autistic people:

"There are frequent claims in the literature that a majority of children with autism are mentally retarded (MR). The present study examined the evidence used as the basis for these claims, reviewing 215 articles published between 1937 and 2003. ... Overall, the findings indicate that more empirical evidence is needed before conclusions can be made about the percentages of children with autism who are mentally retarded." (Edelson, M.G. (2006). Are the majority of children with autism mentally retarded?: A systematic evaluation of the data. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 21, 66-83.)

The idea that (nonverbal) autistic people can't/don't/shouldn't speak for themselves cannot be defended, except, echoing Oliver Sacks, by an appeal to the notion that "the alternative is unthinkable". (In other words, we've assumed it to be so, and the consequences of acknowledging our errors are so vast that it's safer to deny evidence to the contrary.) I say it's about time to think outside the box, or really, to expand the umbrella to include autistic people (along with everyone else) such that their basic needs for self-expression are met. If you're into that, you will like this book. If you're not, you really ought to read it and reconsider.

Granny D: Walking Across America in My Ninetieth Year

Published in Kindle Edition by Villard (2001-06-12)

Authors: Doris Haddock and Dennis Burke

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Average review score:

Interesting catch, poor execution

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-11

I read this book as a recommendation from my school freshmen year in college. To be honest, this book could have been 10 pages long. The story was interesting for the first few pages but it became extremely repetitive. This book basically had two elements: stories about the people/cultures she encountered on her walk, and complaints about politics. The book never became specific with its politics, just general statements. If you're going to be political, then be political; don't be general. Second, the people she encountered were described the same throughout the book.

Let me summarize the whole story with one short paragraph:
"I met some amazing people today that let me into their home warmly. It always amazes me how trusting people can be. I also hate corporations and greedy politicians. We need change. Let's go walking again."

A Journey for Truth

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-14

Granny D. is a great writer and I offten enjoyed her stories in this book. This is a classic and any one who wants to learn more about the political process, campaigne finance reform, or just want a great read this book is for you.

Granny D, we love you

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-09-03

This book is about 90 year old Doris Haddock walking from Los Angeles to Wshington to call attention to the need for campaign finance reform. Regardless of your politial persuasion, I think you'll find Granny D's book a fun and inspiring read. She intersperses
stories from her life with her pitches to run the money changers out of the Capitol. Her charm is reflected near the end of the book where she says, " Well, I am finished with this book, but I am not finished with my life or with my passion for campaign finance reform. There is almost always time to find another victory, another happy ending. I hope that is your feeling about life, too. I thank you for the time spent with me between these covers. I apologize for preaching far more than I intended, but I 'm sure you skipped through the worst of it"

Oh that we should all be able to pursue such adventure in our life, let along in our 90th year.

GREY-HAIRED ACTIVIST VOICES A CAUSE & MEANING OF HER LIFE

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2001-07-29

This is an inspiring story on two levels: as a chronicle of an elder woman's courageous effort to mobilize attention and action to the cause of campaign finance reform, which she considers a step in the redemocratizing of America; and as her spiritual autobiography, the summation of her life experience and perspective.

Granny D speaks to me when she says that "people have a great, unmet need that expresses their passions and values . . . they think they are being cheated out of that life--that they will die and it will have passed them by. They see an old woman doing something she believes in, and she somehow carries this ineffable something for them. Our shallow culture makes us people of great longing, for we are not always provided with opportunities to live out our most meaningful beliefs."

What begins as a journal of her remarkable trek, walking along roadsides at the pace of ten miles a day from California to Washington DC, transforms into another kind of account, the inner journey that brought her to this enterprise, the singular incidents and loving relationships that shaped and fostered her through her long life. By the end of this book, she can examine both her triumphs and trials and ask, "Do we see who we are, finally? Do we see, behind the curtain, the scars and insecurities that have controlled us? And when we see them and look them squarely in the eye, do they lose their power over us, backing down from their bullying bluster? Indeed they do. We become free to take our life in whatever shape it has become, and find a good and enjoyable use for it, serving others and ourselves."

Granny D shows that old age doesn't have to be synonymous with dotage, with being passive and indifferent to our world, to what goes on around us--to what the future may hold. She shows that age and accompanying infirmities are, at worst, inconvenience, not an excuse to block or ignore the desires of the heart and the active mind. She demonstrates, no matter the immediate outcome, the power of one. And she reminds me of a remark attributed to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that if one does not have a cause to live for, then one has no reason to die.

Granny D is real!

Helpful Votes: 8 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2001-08-24

Granny D is real. That's the highest praise I can bestow. You feel you've met the real person and that she's presented herself, warts and all. I actually read this book with pen in hand, marking points to write down to form a synopsis of her wit and wisdom for later reference. This is certainly not something I do more than once in a decade. I'd expected more of a description of the walk itself, and less of a memoir, but I was delighted with what I got. I loved her and the people she met along the way. Though she and I have differing viewpoints on several issues, I thoroughly respected her and was nearly overwhelmed with the magnitude of her undertaking and her optimism.

Hard Candy

Published in Hardcover by Knopf (1989-06-11)

Author: Andrew Vachss

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Hard, tough crime thriller

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-06

This is a Burke novel with plenty of turns and surprises. Burke, the ex-con, criminal, gambler, scam artist, private eye gets approached to find the missing daughter of a high class call girl. The trail takes him to a martial artist, Train, who runs a cult full of runaway children. In the mean time, Burke must assist a contract killing to resolve an old debt to a friend and a old gangster. While he tracks down the missing teenager, he has to avoid becoming a target himself. Typical Burke, though always has plans and backup plans to protect himself and his adopted family. It is an insightful story of child use and abuse, cults and molestation, assassination, prostitution, loyal friendship and Burke's known ability to deal out righteous revenge.

Doug Setter
Bachelor of Human Ecology
Author of Stomach Flattening and One Less Victim

Grim and good

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-17

If you want to read a feel-good story filled with light humor and zany problems, Andrew Vachss is not the way to go. His series of novels featuring tough guy Burke are, to say the least, grimly hard-boiled, but sometimes it's good to see the dark side of things. Hard Candy, the fourth novel in the series, is as sordid as Vachss's previous books and is, for those who like this sort of stuff, it is quite entertaining.

Hard Candy is clearly a sequel to the previous novel, Blue Belle, and I would not suggest going into this book without having read its predecessor (if you haven't read Blue Belle, don't continue reading this review, as it will have spoilers). The events of Blue Belle have thrown Burke into a state of depression; all his usual pleasures - sex, gambling, ripping off "freaks" - are unappealing to him. Revenge, however, still drives him.

In Blue Belle, Burke killed the vicious Mortay, but he was unaware that Mortay was also targeted for a hit by the Mob. The local don had hired an assassin named Wesley to do the job, but since it was Burke who did the kill, the don refused to pay. This had led Wesley on a vendetta against the Mob, and Wesley is very good at what he does. Burke gets caught in the middle and is also targeted by the Mob. This leads to an alliance of sorts with Wesley, a man Burke has known since childhood and who was for a time, Burke's idol.

Meanwhile, another childhood acquaintance, a cold-as-ice hooker named Candy, has recruited Burke to retrieve her daughter Elvira from the custody of Train. Train seems to be a force of good, taking in runaways and becoming a sort of cult leader to them. Burke senses something else, however, and Train is also a target for Wesley.

Unlike earlier novels, the other members of Burke's "family" have relatively limited appearances with the exception of his "brother", Silent Max. For as much as anything, this book deals with the bond between the two, a bond that was hurt because of the events of Blue Belle. Burke's attempts to fix things with Max and fix his own soul in the process are the real focus of this book.

When depicting his dark version of New York and its denizens, Vachss often walks a fine line between grimness and absurdity. There is something rather surreal about Burke's world, and at times I think this is a weakness in the series. Nonetheless, overall, Hard Candy continues Vachss's string of good books and should please readers of his earlier novels.

Gritty but great

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-12-26

Hard Candy is gritty but great like the rest of Andrew Vachss' novels. It is sometimes grim and sad, but also sexy and funny. Like the rest of his books, it's difficult to put down once started.

the best burke yet

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-23

I started reading these books long ago, actually when Strega came out and fell instantly in love with them. While personally I feel that vacchs has lost his way and should consider developing a new character, Hard candy is one of my favorite novels ever. Hard enough to make Chandler wince, it is a fascinating study in sociopathology, from many points of view. It is a walk down the dark streets that few know exist, much less contemplate examinig, full of double crosses, dialogue to make one weep with joy, it kept me on the edge of my chair the whole night long. The story of a hard man caught in a triple cross betweem the mob, a hooker and a hit man, trying to find his path.It is a blessing to know that men can still write like vacchs could,i applaud this effort wholeheartedly

A Gritty Noir Novel With A Message

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-08

"Hard Candy" is Andrew Vachss' fourth Burke novel, a sequel of sorts to "Blue Belle," book three. Tackle "Blue Belle" first, if you're interested, for a richer, more comprehensive read.

Burke, is in a deep funk after losing his woman. Before Belle died, she asked Burke to pay her debts. He does what she would have wanted. But he is still cold, empty, locked in an inner jail he can't walk out of. "Once I could always find something on the sweet side of the edge I lived on. It was gone. Even in prison, there were some things you could laugh at. That was then." Vachss continues to reveal more of Burke's character, his grim inner world and his past in "Hard Candy." He is one of the most complex protagonists I have encountered in popular fiction - edgy, dark, an outcast, as hard-boiled as they come, a scam artist who is a standup guy, a righteous man, and above all, a survivor. Burke, the man, and the strange folks who people his world and call him" friend," are what make me a faithful fan and keep me hooked on the series.

Word is out on the street that Burke, a sting artist, is now a gun for hire. There is heavy fallout from the rumor. The police hassle him and old friends, the kind he never wanted to see again, come out of the woodwork looking for him. First, Candy, an old flame from his reform school days, gives him a call - after all these years. "Little Candy. A whore in her heart, even then. Just what I needed to cheer me up." Candy is still a working girl - we should all be so successful - with mega-upscale digs and a fortune invested in her face and body - silicon implants, face lift, collagen injections, electrolysis, colored contact lenses, a wig in every color, a department store's worth of clothes, make-up, furs - more Neiman Marcus than Macy's. Can she be funding herself? What's her scam? Her teenage daughter, Elvira, dropped out of school and is with a so-called cult in Brooklyn. Candy wants Burke to bring her girl home. He agrees to check things out. In Brooklyn he meets the charismatic, soft-spoken Train, who maintains a safe-house for kids. Elvira is a member of his tribe. But is Train the real deal? Are the teens safer with him than on the streets? Burke has his own suspicions.

His involvement with Train reunites him with another acquaintance from his adolescence - Wesley, a killing machine, a robot with a resume of death to show for his life. Burke always wanted to be just like him, totally cold, emotional as ice. Wes warns Burke off his turf - he stepped over the line once, without knowing it, when he killed Mortay in "Blue Belle." Now Burke's life is on the line if he messes with Wesley's work again. Just to make things interesting, the Mafia is also on his case. And Strega, the witch he wanted to forget, contacts him with a request.

The usual suspects are all present, including: Max the Silent, a Mongolian warrior who calls Burke brother; Pansy is a warrior of another species - she's a Neapolitan mastiff and Burke's roommate; the Mole, a pasty-faced genius who lives in a bunker beneath a high-tech junkyard; the Prophet, a scam artist who speaks in rhyme; Mama Wong, group doyenne - a Chinese Jewish mother and restaurateur. She cares for the gang, takes Burke's messages, holds his stash and feeds him hot and sour soup; Michelle, a gorgeous transvestite who is about ready to go to Denmark for a life-changing operation; and the now famous souped-up Plymouth. "The Mole makes sure to change the car's color after it is used on a job."

As always Vachss narrative hits hard. His street tough dialogue and staccato-like prose lend authenticity to this raw, darker than noir world - a world where unspeakable horrors are perpetrated upon innocent children. The author, a leader in the child protective movement, calls it "a war," and considers his writing as powerful a weapon as his litigation. He openly admits that he writes about the abuse of children because he wants to raise people's awareness of what's going on, and he'll reach a wider audience with fiction.

This is a powerful novel - part of a superb series. Kudos to Andrew Vachss!
JANA

Java Extreme Programming Cookbook

Published in Paperback by O'Reilly Media, Inc. (2003-03-01)

Authors: Eric M. Burke and Brian M. Coyner

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Average review score:

All around great book!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-26

I'll keep this short, since I don't think I can say anything not already said. But I just felt like sharing that I loved this book.

More about the tools you need for Extreme Programming...

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-08

If you are starting out in the Extreme Programming (XP) methodology, you will quickly learn the importance of running continual builds and unit tests of your code. And if that process isn't easy and automated, realistically it won't get done. Fortunately, there are a number of open source tools out there that are commonly used to take care of this. The Java Extreme Programming Cookbook will help you understand what those tools are, how they are used, and how to solve some of your common problems with those tools.

This isn't a tutorial on XP. Instead, it concentrates on the tools you need to make XP work for you and become part of your normal development process. In some ways, a more accurate title for this book would be the Java Extreme Programming Tools Cookbook. The format provides a nice basic introduction to each tool, where you can download it from (as well as where to find the complete documentation), and then a number of problem/solution scenarios from basic install to more complex automation tools.

For instance, let's take one of the tools; JUnit. JUnit is a tool that does unit testing on your code. You define a test class as well as test cases that should either pass or fail. Once you have your test class and test cases set up, you can quickly test your code after making changes to make sure that all the results are still accurate. In XP methodology, you actually write your test cases first, and then write the code to make them pass. In that way, your testing drives your coding. This book will give you the overall information on what JUnit is, how to install it, and how to run it. You then run into a number of situations, such as running tests concurrently, repeating tests, testing naming conventions, and organizing tests into test suites. Using the problem/solution layout of the Cookbook series, it's very easy to get the base information you need to stay productive.

If you are brand new to XP or the tool set, you might be a little lost since it's not a "step-by-step" how-to of each tool. It assumes you either have a small amount of working knowledge, or that you'll supplement your knowledge with the tool's documentation. Still, you can't look up what you don't know, and this book made me aware of some tools I didn't know existed. An experienced user of these tools might also gain a few tricks that they didn't know about, and it might be worth it for those tricks alone.

For Websphere developers, you might find that a couple of these tools aren't necessary. For instance, Websphere Studio does your build for you, so Ant isn't as critical as it would be if you were running a J2EE server such as Tomcat. Also, JUnit integrates directly into Websphere Studio, so it's very easy to run that tool in your environment. Even so, having this book will help you expand your horizons.

Conclusion
If you are a Java developer using the XP methodology, get this book to learn the tools you need to make your build and testing process flow correctly. Even if you don't practice XP, the automated build and testing tools will help you to write better code.

Immediately Useful

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-28

I found this book immediately useful. I say immediately because the recipes presented in this book are succinct and to the point. It has already helped me in several consulting assignments.

You don't have to be a die hard believer in all aspects of XP to find this book useful either. If you're a Java developer and you believe in unit testing, this book is worthwhile. It will help you sort through the various tools out there and find the best one for your situation. It will also give you clear explanations and examples of good techniques.

Great technology how-to, but not a cookbook

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2004-02-27

This is an interesting work because while it does have the cookbook format it isn't really a cookbook. The book starts with an introduction to the XP methodology (which is concise and great), and then has chapters on a number of tools (Ant, JUnit, HTTPUnit, XDoclet, Tomcat, etc.). Each of these technology chapters has a number of 'recipes' which are in fact how-to segments about commonly used tasks around these technologies. Now these sections are great and I think anyone looking at these technologies should consider this book a quick and concise way to learn the fundamentals.

That being said the book fails somewhat, and thus the four stars, because it isn't organized in the problem/solution manner of the cookbooks. Most of the chapters are about testing but these are organized around the tool and not the problem. I would have preferred a section on web development that combined information on Tomcat and Ant, and one on web testing that talked about HTTPUnit, JUnit and Ant. In that way the book addresses problem areas without relying on the reader to understand the tool that would address his problem in addition to understanding his problem at hand.

My gripe is not so critical. The content in the book still remains very valuable and if you are looking for a concise how-to in these Java technologies you should have a look at this book.

Great book if you remember to use it

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-22

This book covers a very similar selection of tools and techniques to "Java Tools for Extreme Programming" by Hightower and Lesiecki, and in a broadly similar way. Both use the currently fashionable idea of Extreme Programming (XP) to attract readers to a collection of short pieces about a bunch of useful tools for Java programming.

The XP stuff is covered quickly at the start, the meat of the book is in the "recipes", which walk you through configuring and using tools such as Ant, JUnit, Cactus etc. to build, unit-test and manage the development of a Java project.

The tools and tips the authors have chosen to include are a good representation of current practice, but I have a few reservations about the organization and structure of the book. My biggest worry is whether the target reader is actually likely to find many solutions. The authors seem to assume that everyone will pore over the several pages of "contents" at the front of the book every time they hit an obstacle, but in my experience they are just as likely to flip through pages or head for the index at the back, neither of which works particularly well. Worse than that, they may never think to look in the book in the first place - the "Extreme Programming" in the title may help it sell, but it's not something that jumps to mind when you are struggling to get Ant to deploy a web application to Tomcat.

That said, I'm glad I've got it, and some of the recipes now have little sticky notes to try and remind me that it's often an unexpectedly good place to look for Java development tips.

Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form (Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State M)

Published in Paperback by University of Washington Press (1965-06)

Author: Bill Holm

List price: $18.95

New price: $10.59
Used price: $7.49
Collectible price: $15.25

Average review score:

A must to

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-11-05

Hello from Barcelona!

That's the book to understand formally the Northwest Coast Indian Art. A true classic. Have it!

Good, but not enough images, not as good as Hilary Stewart

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-28

This is a very good book on NW art. However, if you are looking for examples of native art to emulate, there is not enough here.

Northwest Coast Indian Art - An Analysis of Form

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-18

This is the "bible" on the principles of all of the forms used in Northwest Coast art. The forms are well documented and illustrated. This is an excellent book.

Another misleading title

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-30

I wish I had read Bruce Hallman's review before buying this book. All the other reviews repeat the underlying error of the title and hail it as a great book about "Northwest Coast Indian Art." But turning to the map on page 3 reveals the truth: This book is about a subset of Northwest Coast Indian Art: the Northern Northwest Coast. Like I said in my cranky review of Hilary Stewart's "Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast," ever since J. E. Standley flooded the Seattle tourist market with fake Kwakiutl artwork, fake totem poles, and other hybrids of art forms from the northern coast Salish tribes, the art forms that are indigenous to our tribes here in western Washington have been all but forgotten, brushed aside by authors who chase the market with books that pretend to deal with all "of the Northwest Coast" but in reality ignore anything south of the 49th Parallel. For anybody who wants to learn about the Coast Salish art of the western Washington tribes, these books are not for you. But if you know of any books that do deal with the western Washington Coast Salish art forms, please let me know.

Excellent first choice for the serious student

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-10

This book is simply the best resource for learning this art form. It does not describe the cultural roots of the art in any great detail, but if you want to really learn how to construct NW coast designs on your own, while staying within the tradition, this is your best choice. What I liked best about it was that it manages to be a scholarly and artistic, and the "analysis of form" both records the past and inspires the future. As others reviewers have stated, this is a book for the serious student, but even less serious ones will get more out of here than they will from the "Learning by Designing" series.

The Slangman Guide to STREET FRENCH 1 (2 Audio CD Set) (Street French)

Published in Audio CD by Slangman Publishing (2005-11-16)

Author: "Slangman" David Burke

List price: $35.00

New price: $24.02
Used price: $16.00

Average review score:

Very Well Written

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-09

This book is a very well considered review of colloquial French as it is spoken. It's broken down into easy to digest lessons with insightful advice for those who want to speak and understand French as it is commonly spoken.

Street French -- put to the test!

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-27

I bought this book before I trotted off to Paris a couple years ago. I'd taken French in high school and college, and I bought this book to refresh my French a bit. I'm so glad I did! This book teaches you the way that the French really speak, dropping letters and words just the way we do when we speak English. None of my French teachers prepared me for Paris. I would've thought I'd learned the wrong language.

This book will help you take the French that you were taught and turn it into the language that the French actually speak. I'd recommend that most people have had at least a year of high school French to make the most use of this book. If you haven't had any French, or at least a Romance language, and you're going to France in a hurry, you might want to get a phrase book and memorize it. This isn't the right book for an emergency.

TK Kenyon
Author of Rabid: A Novel and Callous: A Novel

Great for Slang, Great for Study

Helpful Votes: 19 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-13

This is a really good book, I must say. It's not the book that I originally wanted to like, thinking that it was just going to teach me basic vocabulary, but it goes much deeper than that. Mr. Burke teaches you many important things such as the contractions that the French commonly use and also the way Fench ask questions, etc. These ideas are what seperate this book from just a basic slang vocabulary book.

Mr. Burke will teach you how to sound like a native French speaker. The contractions section is a great example of how this works. He teaches you that instead of saying something like 'Je ne peux pas' (the English equivalent of "I am not able to") you should say something more along the lines of 'Je'n peux'pa' (sounds more like "I can't.") These are the essentials that will keep you from sounding just like a French student (and speaking Scholarly French) to sounding like a native speaker who has lived in France for years (something much better).

If you are interested in learning French beyond what a typical academic setting can bring to you, this is definitely a book and a series I recommend. For anyone who wishes to go to France and speak a more natural and believable French, this is the book for you. I would recommend this to anyone and would even be willin to buy it as a gift for any one of my friends.

The French you won't learn at University

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-18

This book and this author's book 3 (Naughty French) are 2 of the funniest books I have ever owned. I studied French at University for 7 years and believe me the French in these books is not what I learned. I cannot tell you how refreshing these two books were to me after having studied French formally at the University. These books teach you how people in the street talk, how the people engage informally with each other in every day interactions. I can remember when I first went to France and could barely survive for the first 2 weeks I was there because I could understand next to nothing---because the natives were all speaking in slang. I wondered if I had really been taught French or Greek---but after 2 weeks I began to figure out that the French I had been taught was proper French and the natives could all understand me---but they had their own lingo of slang just like we have here. Slowly, but surely I began to pick up the slang expressions from them, but having been exposed to these 2 books would have made my transition period infinitely easier and smoother. I strongly recommend this book and his other books to anyone planning on going to France and to those who want to have a good laugh---this book is extremely funny as well as useful. I wish I had known about this book a long time ago. I think a book like this should be used in French classes in conjunction with a formal French language grammar because this book to me is just as important as the formal grammar boook---you need to know how the people actually talk in every day circumstances---not just formal conversations.

Recommendation from a native French teacher from Paris, Fran

Helpful Votes: 32 out of 32 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-06

From Paris, France, and a teacher of French at at all levels, (including adult courses),I think I am qualified to grade this book.
This is exactly the pronounciation that I try to have my students understand. Even if they cannot pronounce correctly, at least they are able to understand the French when they speak!

Many of the non-native teachers of French can, more or less, speak academic French (some can't!), but faced with a native French speaking person, they can't understand most of the conversation.
I am definitely going to use this booklet as part of my teaching material,along with some other ones.

The Slangman Guide to STREET SPANISH 3 (2 Audio CD Set) (Street Spanish)

Published in Audio CD by SLANGMAN PUBLISHING (2005-11-16)

Author: "Slangman" David Burke

List price: $35.00

New price: $35.00
Used price: $26.99

Average review score:

good for a laugh or two

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-10

If you're intent on sharpening your street Spanish..this fun-filled volume does a nice job.
I'm glad I bought it.
Easy to read and reasonably priced.

Way too many mistakes!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2001-06-26

THe author's literal translation of, "echar los perros" is, "to throw dogs".The book even has a picture of a man with a sack full of dogs that he is throwing at a girl.He tells us that it means to flirt.The literal translation is, "to sick the dogs on...(a girl,guy,etc.)"It means to court,woo...(a girl,guy, etc.) He sais that conejo,rabbit, is a bad word in Mexico.It may be a bad word in another country,not in Mexico.I found a bit too many mistakes when it comes to Mexican slang that it makes me question the entire book.

Street Spanish 3

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-13

I was somewhat disappointed to find out that this book is remarkably similar (nearly identical) to Street Spanish 2. Had I known this, I certainly would not have purchased 3.

Street Spanish 3: The Best of Naughty Spanish

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-23

What to interpret the street words from patients? They are all here and designated by country.

Street Spanish

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 17 total.
Review Date: 2002-05-23

Although I honestly do not have this book, I just wanted to put to rest those who may find a few mistakes here and there in textbooks. Get over it! This is life, sweetheart. Having worked in a newspaper (two of them), mistakes such as these are common. More common than we'd like to admit.

I bought the older edition of Street Spanish (1991), and I was impressed. Not only that, but my SPANISH PROFESSOR FROM ARGENTINA HIGHLY COMMENDED THE BOOK. IN FACT, SHE AND I HAD BROUGHT OUR COPIES TO THE UNI ON THE SAME DAY, UNKNOWINGLY. She saw my copy on my desk and showed me hers. And it obviously was something she carried around a lot, because she had it along with her other items in her briefcase.

Like I said, I haven't seen his latest edition, but that definitely spoke volumes for me when she said it was a very good book.

I love the book. Wish they actually sold tapes along with the books now a days. It is very hard to find any spanish book besides Arriba (and only if you buy it new then), that comes with tapes. They usually sell it separately, or it costs a fortune and a dime.

Toodles

You, Inc. - Discover the C. E. O. Within!

Published in Paperback by International Network Training Institute (INT (1996-10)

Author: Burke Hedges

List price: $12.95

New price: $1.34
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $12.95

Average review score:

What a find

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-13

I was looking for something else when I stumbled on this book. The author Burke Hedges style of telling the story was captivating right from the first chapter. A book on self improvement was not what I thought I needed believing I presented myself well with a positive outlook what I was looking for was marketing tips, I got a lot more and a lift to a whole new level of self-worth. It was a lift I didn't even know I needed. This book has kept me captivated for start to finish.

I strongly recommend this book that like me is constantly looking to better them-selves, just take the time and read it.

Life is like a 10-Speed bike.

Helpful Votes: 14 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2001-11-17

"Life is like a 10-Speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use"

For example, we all know childhood friends who were blessed with great athletic abilities... but who have chosen as adults to let their God-given talents go unused while they willingly turn themselves into overweight couch potatoes.

We all know childhood friends who were so full of adventure and passion in their youth... but who have chosen to become increasingly sullen and bitter as they grow older.

We all know "Whiz Kids" from High School and College who were always heading up class projects and fund-raisers... but who as adults have traded in their entrepreneurial spirits for a "secure" job they hate.

Do you think those people are using all 10 of their gears? Or do you think they're stuck in low gear because it's easier to turn the pedals? Sure, it may be easier to turn the pedals in low gear, but its also easier to spin your wheels and get stuck in a rut!

The purpose of this book is to offer the information that will allow us to have all the things in life that we deserve. But understanding the principles discussed in You Inc. ... and then by incorporating them into our lives, I'm convinced we will improve the quality of our lives beyond our wildest dreams.

Can you look in the mirror and honestly say you're living up to your fullest potential?

Or are you holding back on your potential... and holding out on the quality of your life by not being all you can be?

Sadly, too many of us have "forgotten who we are" ... and too many of us are "more than what we have become".

I challenge you to look inside yourself and discover, once and for all, what you can become.

For I truly believe that once you discover the full value of YOU, INC. you will become not only what you were meant to become... you will also become more than you ever dreamed!

Just Starters

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2001-03-26

It is a good book however not exceptional. Not recommended for advanced thinkers or advanced readers. Good piece to start off and beginners. Gives an insight into the 10 valuable principles.

Thin book, but I keep finding new stuff every time...

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2006-01-30

This is an old favourite of mine. I have two copies, because after I lost one to a "borrower" I grabbed a spare to make sure I never have to do without again.

Sometimes, the shortest books have the deepest impact - consider Shakespeare's line "parting is such sweet sorrow" and think how long it would take you to paraphrase it. This isn't a thick volume, which means I pick it up a lot more, but even so every time I open it I find a new treasure. Usually just when I need it. I consider myself an "advanced thinker" after over 20 years on the Self-Growth path but I wouldn't be without it.

To those who chose to disparage the 'simple' truths within, I would simply ask how far along your own paths you are, that you are still looking for complicated answers. The 'secret' is hidden in plain sight. You've probably read it a million times. The trick, however, is in putting the books down after you've read them, and taking action - something this book always inspires me to do. That's the true value of it. Quick, easy, inspirational and a to-the-point reminder that your results are out there waiting for you to create them, along with details of the things that you need to do, and what could be holding you back if you're still feeling stuck somewhere along the way!

Crystal

Is it just me?

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-25

Is it just me, or does anybody else read this guy and get sick of the "motivational seminar" approach? If this guy suggests motivational tapes and seminars one more time, Im going to throw up. The ideas that he shares are valuable, yet simplistic. This is a great entry level book. However, if you are an advanced thinker, worker and individual, you will find it echoing extremely familiar values with a heavy taint of motivational speaking. I just cant take anymore of this "stop the madness" approach. It's overdone and over commercialized. Unfortunately, the message often can get lost in the "energetic" hype.

Not a bad read. Just not an exceptional piece.

Not to mention that the cheesy, "professional" photo on the back just re-confirms my suspicion that Hedges is just another "motivational speaker" trying to convince you to buy his tapes and his other books.

---Jim

Burke Books