Carey Books

This book was fabulous. I wish she'd make an auto-biography. I love Mariah Carey soooooooo much [as in a role modle type way]. Mariah has such a beautiful voice; and it could blow anyone away, she is a great person, and she is so beautiful. I am so determined to become a diva, just like her, but with my own style.~*

THIS BOOK WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT TO ME,IT HAD HARDLY ANY INFO,ALTHOUGH IT DID A GOOD PICTURES THEY WERE IN BLACK AND WHITE,I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE.

This book was so great! I love Mariah and I loved reading her life story in this book. After I picked it up and started reading it, I didn't want to put it down! Definitely the book for anyone who wants to know more about Mariah Carey!

I have read the book and I have come to realize that she's one EXTRAORDINARY woman, gifted with a golden voice and heart. Now, that's what you call a TRUE DIVA!

This is a very important book.

My previous reading experience on patterns has included the Design Patterns book (by the Gang of Four) and Analysis Patterns by Martin Fowler. I found this book to be more than just a fascinating fusion of the two. The creators of the IBM SanFrancisco framework have done an invaluable service for patterns users in general by providing a concrete and reusable reference implementation that demonstrates both the patterns and the interactions between patterns.

Make no mistake, there are definitely new patterns in this book. With some, it's easy to trace their origins to certain GoF patterns, but they still stand alone. Others are complex, sophisticated, and utterly new to mainstream patterns literature. This book is the essential patterns book of the year for anyone involved in the patterns community.

I found the book very readable. Each pattern is presented in the style of the GoF book. Also, each comes with a sample implementation in Java. A pity is that these implementations are not found on the CD that comes with the book.

This book is definitely more readable then the GoF book. However, it is definitely not a book for beginners without prior understanding of the design patterns found in the GoF book. While the GoF is geared towards design patterns for O-O development, this book is aimed at design patterns for the development of business applications.

This book is good insights for developers even if they are not using the San Franciso product.

This is a book for any developer wishing to learn state of the art ways to cope with increasing features, flexibility, and dynamism in modern business systems. You don't need to touch SanFrancisco to get tremendous value from these authors.

The real benefit, I think, is that this book exposes a whole lot of what some would term "techniques that are deep down in the bag of tricks". Many of these patterns are definitely tried and tested. I have some of these patterns (Property Container, Policy, and Extensible Item, in particular) from past systems that I've built or studied. Some patterns are newer and more complex (such as Business Entity Lifecycle and Decoupled Processes), which are definitely worthy of further study.

I've read the book several times, and learn something new with each pass. It comes with my highest recommendation.

I was really looking forward to reading a book that offered a look at real-world implementations of design patterns. What I discovered in reading this book, however, was a bastardization of the seminal work by the GoF.

Bottom line, chapter after chapter of SFDP presents most of the basic design patterns, but implemented using non-type-safe code. It teaches the reader you can make extremely dynamic, reusable, and extensible software by using the Java Reflection API. For example, the Extensible Item design pattern shows you how to put method names in a config file so you can choose what operations you want to perform at runtime. Everything is configurable using String and Property objects. But at what cost?

This book often sights the "drawbacks" to using their implementations. But these aren't drawbacks. They are the reasons that most knowledgeable Java programmers cite when suggesting that reflection be only used as a last resort. Debugging, code maintenance, compile-time verification, ability to understand the application architecture, etc., not to mention performance, are all things that are compromised using reflection. And this book bases many of its conclusions on this flimsy platform.

SFDP does an injustice to object oriented design.

This book is huge. Its filled with tons of data and while the collection is impressive, what the data shows is that the majority of Christians today are falling far from what we see in the bible (IOW being obedient & good stewards of what God has given us). Check out some of these findings...

1. Annual church embezzlements by top custodians exceed the entire cost of all foreign missions worldwide. Emboldened by lax procedures, trusted church treasurers are embezzling from the Church $5,500,000 PER DAY. That's $16,000,000,000 per YEAR!

2. Less than 1% of Christian revenue is spent on evangelism to the most unreached.

3. 40% of the church's entire global foreign mission resources are being deployed to just 10 oversaturated countries already possessing strong citizen-run home ministries.

4. Some 250 of the 300 largest international Christian organizations regularly mislead the Christian public by publishing demonstrably incorrect or falsified progress statistics.

5. Percent of Christian resources in countries that are already more than 60% Christian - 91%. Percent spent in countries where less than half the people have EVER heard of Jesus - 0.03%.

6. It is estimated that Christians worldwide spend around $8 BILLION dollars PER YEAR going to the more than 500 conferences to TALK about missions. That's more than HALF the total spent DOING missions.

Its no wonder this book is not well known, because its a damning portrait of how poorly christianity is actually doing. This book is a full of scary statistics which need to be addressed - IOW instead of wasting our money on programs and feel good systems that spend 95% of the money we give to God actually ends up going to creature comforts with no lasting fruit (true evangelism and discipleship with evidence of radically changed lives). If the "church" was doing what it is actually supposed to be doing then these stats would reflect it.

I highly recommend it, but the cost is prohibitive. With that said, find a big library and check out a copy. Then get on you knees, tell God your sorry for being such a lousy steward & start doing what He wants you to do (check His word to make sure).

I rate this book 4 stars because its not a user friendly book, but then again it is a book of collected data, so take it at face value.

If you are a closed-minded member of Christendom's juggernaut, this book is for you! If you want unbiased truth about smaller groups, you'll have better results from other publications.

World Christian Trends is an excellent resource for any individual or agency looking for complete information on the state of Christendom in a particular geographic location. The author uses longitudinal and futures analysis (generated from accepted and reliable global census data) to create a compelling picture of the obstacles, as well as the variables which contribute to the growth of Christianity throughout the world. I highly recommend it as one of the best resources for missiological statistics and analysis I've encountered.

Originally, the World Christian Encyclopedia (WCE) was intended to be a 3-volume set. It eventually became a 2-volume set, however, and this is the text that was to be in the 3rd volume. This text interprets the data that is present in the WCE, and presents much of the background material that makes the WCE really useful. WCT has enough of its own data to stand on its own, but it doesn't have the country-by-country data present in the WCE. Likewise, WCT contains many of the code tables and methodologies that are not enumerated in the WCE.

Coningsby is an interesting political-romantic novel set in early nineteenth century England. In much of the first part of the book, Disreali introduces the main characters and the political and social background against which the action in the later parts of the book will be played. In this book Disraeli covers several topics. He explains the state of parliamentary politics of the day and the changing social and political situations of the nobility and the rising manufacturing class. As the title character, Coningsby, develops his political philosophy, Disraeli gives an insight into his own core political beliefs. Through Sidonia, one of his main characters, Disreali makes a pitch for the rights of Jews, a group to which Disraeli is linked by consangunity, though not be religion. To make it all entertaining, Disraeli takes Coningsby and his lover through a long and chaste romantic quest, in which they finally overcome the obstacles placed in their way by their families. The book, ultimately, provides a triumph of love over hatred and pettiness. The strong points of this book are its pleasant story line and the ability to tell a romantic and political tale without including the moral failings, without which so many modern authors seem incapable of expressing themselves. The weak points are found in its age and storybook ending. The repeated references to so many details of political life of his day and the simililarities of characters to prominent people, which may have been amusing to the readers of his day, are lost on most contemporary readers. The ending, in which all the injustices inflicted on Coningsby by petty people around him are reversed through acts of self-sacrifice which set the world right, introduces a sense of fantasy which makes the book seem just a bit too much to believe. Overall this book is a worthwhile read

I normally don't care for fiction,but this book is an exception.
It may be fiction,but it is based on fact and real people.
This book offers a view of the politics of Disraeli's time and where political power really exists.
Well written and recommended book!

One caveat:
I have the Penguin Classic paperback and I don't recommend this edition as the print is very small.Thomas Braun edited it with notes for each chapter.It would have been great if not for the print.

This book caused a stir in its day if only because some famous political figures were actually very thinly disguised in the novel. It also was a book that clearly stated to the English aristocracy that if England was to be saved from imminent obscurity, the aristocracy had to change their ways. The book presents a very interesting picture of British politics during the twelve years following the Reform Bill of 1832 told by a crafty and sage politician who could also write a good story. Certainly one of Disraeli's most entertaining works.

Mike Carey, Lucifer: Mansions of the Silence (Vertigo, 2004)

Lucifer sets a crew to Naglfar to journey to the Mansions of the Silence, where Elaine and Mona's spirits are in torment. No, it seems Elaine's storyline is not yet finished, though a good number of loose ends get tied up in this volume. What really impresses me about Carey's series, as impressed me about Gaiman's before this, is how many surprises can be packed into each volume; this is heavy stuff, it is, and Carey always seems to strike on just the right plot twist to pull a few more surprises out of his hat. Great stuff. ****

This is the first part of the story that Carey probably had not yet completely planned when he started the Lucifer epic (The Basano's prophecy has run its course.)

One major theme in 'Naglfar' is revenge: Lucifer took revenge on Izanami for what she tried in 'The House of Windowless Rooms'. He made sure, that the souls of their sons he had killed were no longer within her reach. Tsuki-Yomi was just an innocent bystander who surely did not deserve his fate. That explains why he is devoting his whole afterlife to get even with Lucifer. And in contrast to David Easterman (who had a similar hatred for Lucifer in his heart, see his final words in 'Childeren and Monsters') he can actually make Lucifer understand that superior firepower does not protect against painful revenge.

But Lucifer has now truly succeeded in his initial quest. He is finally free to do whatever he wants. And he does ...

Parallells to the the foreign policy of the world's last remaining superpower are certainly hidden in the deeper layers of this amazing fantasy epic. (Sadly they may be too subtle for some readers.)

I thought this was an all-around good Lucifer book, but it was a nowhere near perfect one. First of all, I think I missed something: either Mike Carey skipped an issue or didn't write one at the very beginning. the last Lucifer tp ended with Lucifer gaining the Naglfar and preparing to assemble a crew, this one begins with the crew already assembled. Where's the part where he actually persuades the crew to join?
Most of the antagonists in this story I found hard to understand. iT's possible their motives were explained in another volume, but if they were I have forgotten what they are. Tsuki-Yomi merely seems to turn up to make those of us who know our Japanese mythology go " oooooh!" and then be a pain in the bum.
This volume also seems to suffer under the "heros acting like complete and utter [...] problem that affects stories where the writer wants the heros to not be goody two shoes. In this instance, it's manifested when the heros seem to forget about two of their number (who I thought were the most sympathetic) and intentionally maroon a third ( who saved the life of the very character that marooned him). As a consequence, all three are left behind when the others depart. I realy hate this kind of thing.
Now, as for the things I liked. I like d the concept behind the story ( Finally, they rescue Elaine!).I also liked how Mike Carey was able to mix together characters from many storylines in Lucifer in one storyline. I also liked how most of the story was spent with the various characters fighting and bickering on the ship. I really like that kind of thing.

The text is a bit vague on some topics. I found myself using supplemental information for my introductory class on the subject.

Pretty good book that was mandated to be used with our program evaluation course. Fairly easy to follow overall.

This is really one of the very best books for people in the Health-related fields. It helps in a very good understanding of the fundamental basics of Evaluation which will help in a good understanding, evaluation, and application of Programs at large and Health Programs in particular. Note: You need to have a good basis of Statistics to read this book. Watch out!

Entertaining and insightful! It validates the apprenhension a child often feels when starting school then shows the child that things will be ok after all! Adults will be able to relate as well - as the book also addresses the apprehension parents often have about "letting go," and shows parents that things will be ok after all! Well written and well illustrated ... a "read over and over again" book for my grand-daughter!

Silly (and not in a good way!)

I read this to my daughter to start preparing her for to begin school and found the storyline silly and nonsensical. The story seemed too contrived and over-done. The pictures were nice, but that is about it.

Even my daughter was bored, and she likes silly books...

Carey Armstrong-Ellis' Seymour Slug Starts School packs in the author's zany drawings which help kids with visual subplots. Good reading skills will lend to this story of a slug who still believes in the Fairy Slugmother and who learns to feel good about starting school. But Slugmother is proving more of a problem than school itself.

I haven't gotten that far into the book yet, but so far it's worth every penny. Great details and beautifully presented.

I bought the French B&B's title from this series for my belle-mere as we are both Francophiles and dream of a long saunter together through this beautiful country. She let me spend about five minutes with it, but I could tell she was desperate to get it back, so I purchased Italy, and French Holiday Homes for myself. I'm planning a holiday in Italy next year and this book is wonderful. And I say this as someone who works in a Travel Agency which specialises in Italy and France. The photographs and descriptions make you want to stay at each place. The little details make it easier to choose your accommodation. I just wish there were as many Italian books in the series as there are French. I know that I shall be collecting the whole series as guides, and just for dreaming.

I wish I had known that the hotels pay to be featured in this volume. Had I known I would not have purchased it. The author discloses that properties pay to be included, and the company does check them out; however, most of the properties are between $150 and $200 or higher per night. The book is well written and organized, buy only if you have lots of money to spend.

This book explores the thoughts of the Founding Fathers as they worked to establish our political system. One of the unique facets of the founding of this nation is the rich historical perspective of those who examined human and cultural history and then made various determinations and choices in the founding of this civilization - why were certain forms of government included and others excluded, what was the intent and understanding of law, government and the nature of man in making these determinations? Carey, a government professor at Georgetown, examines the writings of the founders and explores their thoughts, motives and desires.

Carey concludes several very fascinating things about our founders and their desired intent for this nation. First, many of the founders had a great distain for the concentration of power, considering the concentration itself to be tyranny, not waiting to see if the power were abused or not. Second, there is overwhelming evidence to support the concept that many of the founders believed that religion and virtue were absolute essentials in the fabric of this new society - to preserve and protect good government and to promote an orderly and decent society. Carey examines the influence of the Christian church on the foundation of this nation.

In examining the writings of the founders, Carey determines that James Madison's Federalist #10 lays out the fundamental argument for a constitutional government and is essential for any student of American political thought to read and understand. The battle over states rights versus a centralized national government as well as the protection of minority rights from the majority are put forth in Federalist #10. From that foundation, further discussions of the founders addressed their thoughts about the separation of powers and the role of each branch - one interesting note was their concept and distain for judicial activism, a problem we are obviously facing in today's culture!

I found that the author used many pejorative terms whenever he referenced liberal or progressive interpretations of the Constitution. He spent a good deal of his book trying to debunk the work of most constitutional scholars of the 20th century, instead relying on 19th century sources. In particular, he argues for a very narrow interpretation of the first amendment and ascribes religious motives to many of the founders which I think most historians would find unsubstantiated. It is particularly galling that the group which funded the work and has been most responsible for disseminating it is not clearly identified in either a forward or postscript, since such attribution would alert most readers to the fact that the book is geared to support a particular point of view, instead of being an objective survey of American political thought.
On the positive side, the author writes well, and his exposition of his own belief about the Constitution is clear.

Carey may be peerless in the ample insight he supplies concerning our Founder's intent. This short historical survey of American political thought processes and their conclusions provides a first-rate foundation for the neophyte, or the advanced pigeonholed in some specific corner of law or politics - quite suitable for the harried American. Though Carey holds a position (and after all what is education if not a search for the right answers?) he is remarkably adept at presenting other sides without torpedoing their thesis. But he doesn't need to, as that is done by carefully reading The Federalist. However, were it not for books like this, revision - conservative or liberal - would have a free hand, putting words in the Founder's mouth or obfuscating what can be complex Founding issues, not so much through the inertia of these concepts but by their subtleties. Unlike science where erroneous understandings are usually emphatically rejected by nature or refined analysis, this is what makes the Founding intent a minefield, more open to alteration. Unfortunately, English has not the precision of mathematics, but Carey points us to clarification from the Founders and they're reasonably clear, most often crystal.

Right from the beginning Carey sets the table: "On what principles is the government based? How is authority allocated within it? What is its primary purpose? Are there limitations to its powers? How can it be altered? On what assumptions about human nature is it based?" Past civilizations were "ordained by the gods" or "given by a mythical lawgiver", but America's Founding was a reasoned struggle, not only at the Convention but over decades of debate and State testing, resulting in the "will of the people", not a god. The Federalist as defense of the proposed Constitution addressed these matters. It is, though, a "nuts and bolts" approach, writes Carey, not an extensive theoretical or philosophical treatise - practical vs. idealistic. And this is where much political thought separates from The Federalist, attempting to redraft its meaning to satisfy "the way things ought to be" regardless of what works, Right or Left - though both miss the truth according to Carey through their selective spin, serving agendas. An example follows fifty years after our most lethal war with resulting elevation of that Lincoln era, retroactively recasting the Constitution in light of our Declaration through Lincoln's moving speeches ("...a new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal"). Jefferson did say there that we "hold these truths to be self evident", that all "are created equal" with "certain unalienable Rights". So, rights and equality became paramount. For such interpretations, writes Carey "...democracy is primarily government 'for the people' not necessarily 'by the people'", bearing "a close relationship to those [ideals] that inspired the French Revolution". The Constitution is then judged by how well it lives up to that Declaration. But Carey argues it does live up to central themes expressed there and is a continuation of the same political thought - once again by reference to The Federalist - just not the way revisionists want it to be.

Reading the Constitution cold is likely to leave one under-whelmed, but Carey transforms it. Like lifeless equations as abstract markings on paper, grasping their meaning and implications converts them to revelation, lifting them from the page to fly. Carey does this for the Founding, through him our Founders nearly live again. But based on our mutilation of their intent they'd probably rather be dead.

The story is quiet a simple one , in it , there is a collector whose friend is an artist , who dies and leaves behind a crystal dog which is stolen and it has a connection with another robbery . In the end the thief turns out to be some- one in the neighbour-hood ,for a simple reason

The Three Investigators come to the aid of a retiree who fears he is being haunted. This M. V. Carey installment of the Alfred Hitchcock series has dogged detective work, ingenious gadgetry, supernatural tension, and entertaining characters. It takes place mostly in a sparsley-populated apartment complex in which all the tenants are suspects, and the boys must eliminate one after another in their search for the guilty party or parties. Burglary, fire, poison, sabotage, and mysticism abound in this exciting book. From the black cat in the opening chapter to the astral speculations in the last, The Mystery of the Invisible Dog will enthrall any young reader. Buy it now!