Chung Books

This is the second edition of a very popular book on sample size estimation that is a valuable reference for any statistician in the industry. we all need to go through such expercises at the beginning of a trial as part of the protocol development.

One disappointment I have with the book is that it does not delineate new topics and other changes/additions from the first edition. Often this is covered by having two Prefaces, the original one from the first edition and a new one from the second edition. The authors unfortunately did not choose to do that. So an owner of the first edition would have to scan through both books to identify the changes.

Another disappointment is the lack of reference to any existing software to do sample size estimation and these days there are a lot of products available. The programs nQuery Advisor and Power and Precision handle equivalence, superiority and noninferiority problems for continuous data. They also provide approximate and exact methods for binomial data. Other packages such as StatXact handle sample size estimation for exact binomial tests as well as for Fisher's Exact test. PASS, S+SeqTrial and East are packages that provide the designs and sample size stopping rules for group sequential procedures and in some cases adaptive designs. Also with the development of version 9 of SAS comes the new procedures power and glmpower that do everything that nQuery can handle.

The value of the book is that it develops the methodology and therefore helps with the understanding of how and when to use the various procedures. Traditional tables that use to be important for sample size calculations are now obsolete given the availability of good software tools. Although the book goes to great lengths to cover almost any application. Most of these applications can be handled these days through the available software packages.

I can definitely recommend this book as a fine reference on sample size estimation for the wide range of trial applications. I would only try to encourage the authors to drop the use of tables and get up to date by recommending the appropriate software for the various applications.

I found the errors in the book absolutely infuriating! Many typos in the text from the first edition are maintained in the second edition. The typos in both text and formulas in the expanded information in the second edition together with gaps in the development of the information made it necessary to consult other sources to figure out what's going on.

The author addressed the principles of simulation and related techniques well. Discussion on the phases of model building were very interesting, esp. the discussion of the psychology of people management related to modeling projects. The book is well clarified for beginners with limited experience or exposure to simulation modeling. It covers the basic concepts in sufficient details, but yet not to overload the reader with advance abstract concepts, or hard mathematic discussions. Basic understanding of statistics is really all one needs to work through this book.

Substantial sections of the book is dedicated to ARENA, SIMPAK, AutoMOD and AutoStat which I do not personally use, thus was not helpful for me. I felt that these section should have been eliminated.

I was totally lost on Appendix 2. It was not very relevant for the reader. It is a recap of the Table of Contents. It should be removed.

The simulation examples were superb, and were very insightful. More discussions could have been made to these examples, particularly around the model building sections, and the analytics of the results. Unfortunatly, the author simply summarized the process, which I was disappointed.

Overall, I concluded that this book is intended for beginners into simulation modeling. Experienced modelers may not find this book as helpful, particularly for the price paid.

Does a very good job of popularizing simulation among the non statistically, non engineeriing and the non OR oriented.

This is a great book. I loved it. Perfect ending to a wonderful series

Take the chance and embark on a long journey with David Wingrove.
You will not be let down. Problem is, you will see nothing of your friends or family for the next three months.

I'm always hoping for new titles from D.Wingrove (and Barry Hughart of course.)

I must disagree with many of the reviewers here. Certainly the book glosses over many important parts that were worthy of more development. In fact, I am pretty sure that whole chapters of Chung Kuo are sitting in a box in Mr. Wingrove basement because it looks like the editor decided to put an end to this series instead of the author choosing so. Let me tell you that the "suits" makes weird decisions sometimes, whatever the reasons.
Of course, twenty more books could have been written, with more wars and wars. Always more of the same.
I salute the courage of the author to take this direction for the ending of the series. After I have finished the story, I saw the previous books in a new light, thinking back over details that didn't seem important then but were giving hints at Devore and Tuan real signification.
I hope that you will pick up this book (if you find it) and conclude a great sci-fi epic.

I loved this book. Read it in one night. Totally great ending for my favorite series.

I was introduced to this series several years ago and eagerly read each sucessive novel. The series was so imaginitive and fresh, not to mention complex and intriguing... I couldn't wait any longer for the publication of each US edition - I ordered this edition from the U.K. - excited to see where this series would end.

Well, it didn't end the way i thought it would... that is not a bad thing in and of itself. What is a bad thing is the apparent lack of direction and drift this novel displays. It was as if the author grew tired of the series and wrapped it up in a fit.

Conclusions should come logically from the story that proceeded it, but this seemed to take the hard sci-fi underpinnings of the series and devolve it into metaphysical fantasy. I felt betrayed not only by this denouncement, but by a complete lack of respect for characters that I had been following for books and years...

A truly brillant idea, stained by an internally illogical ending.

Now we study the 1st edition in the school.All of us think it is a little difficult for beginners.Some examples are not familar with everyone,so we cannot konw these cases well.

Please, if you have a choice of textbooks, do NOT buy this one. I have a feeling the author knows nothing of eCommerce, yet was given 80 references, told to mash them together as non-sensically as possible and fire the result off to the publisher.
I've worked in eCommerce for a number of years and this book is a total waste of time and money. Many "industry terms" used do not exist. The author contradicts himself on a number of occasions. Many of the charts and illustrations are good for a laugh. I truly feel sorry for people who have this book as their introduction to eCommerce. You're going to come away with a lot of mangled/antiquated theories, and a bunch of "facts" that are just plain wrong. I'm sorry to say I had to memorize all of this junk in order to get an A in my course. As soon as I handed that exam in, I made a concerted effort to forget everything I read in this text.

The only book you need if you are intersted in E-Commerce.

How on earth is it possible to make even the simplest of theories so complicated? The book is absolutely stuffed with useless words and figures. If the authors did not get paid per word, I am sure they could have written a splendid book with one third of the pages. The price is exorbitant, and what you get for more than a hundred dollars is close to nothing. Do NOT buy this book!

I am a full time student in a computing program which believe me, requires reading some boring books, but this one takes the cake. The way it was written simply does not flow. It was the only textbook I have read so far that literally put me to sleep. The content is very repetetive, and features graphs that are truley unintelligable. Skip this book unless you absolutely must purchase it for school.

The grammar explanation can be very very obscure sometimes. And more than once my teacher have to say that the text is not gramatically correct (he's a Chinese).

Learning the voca is fine but the fact that most chapters are not related makes it almost impossible for learners to review and relate between subjects.

The dialogues are very hard, very daunting in the sense that they are ways too long. I am an English learners and I am comparing between some best English textbook and this. Not to mention, the Chinese characters make it even more difficult.

I like the book because it has the two different versions of character. It gives one the benefit to learn both and can compare the difference. The content is quite practical and good for those who plan to study abroad in an Asian country.

This was a good and cheap book. I paid a used book rate for a new book.

This textbook series is used for Mandarin classes by the Seattle Language Academy, where I am taking Chinese. It is broadly used for teaching Mandarin, which means there are many online supplemental materials - very helpful! The Level 2 textbook builds nicely on the Level 1 books, providing useful examples of modern usage and vocabulary for common, daily life scenarios. The drills in the accompanying workbook are especially helpful. Now if Amazon would just carry the right edition of that workbook, it would have been great. At the time of my purchase for the Spring 2007 class, Amazon only carried the first edition of the Level 2 workbook, while selling the 2nd edition of the Level 2 textbook - just a bit of a disconnect.

The description states that this has both traditional and simplified characters, but this is only true for the reading passages, not for the workbook exercises. I also expected the 2nd edition which is about twice as long as this edition and easier to read.

It is a study guide! Not the book!
It is a study guide! Not the book!
It is a study guide! Not the book!
It is a study guide! Not the book!
It is a study guide! Not the book!
I made a order in Jan and the book came 2 months later. Most importantly, this is not the book, it was a study guide but the seller never mentioned this in the link of the book.

Considering the reputation of the primary author, I found the book to be ponderous to read and seemingly focused more on what the authors wanted to discuss than what might be really useful to students and those practicing M&A. The authors should have sought a more appropriate balance between theory and practice. This tome is weighted in favor of theory. It seems to spend more time addressing societal issues and issues of government policy than addressing the mechanics of how to plan for and implement transactions. In fact, only the last few pages of the book deal superficially with an approach to doing M&A.

The book also assumes substantial knowledge of accounting, finance and economics on the part of the reader. The dearth of examples also hinders the readers ability to readily understand how to apply complex concepts explained in torturous paragraphs of prose. It would have been helpful to use more illustrations to communicate concepts that are difficult for those of us that don't have Phds to understand.

Thankfully, there are other books that are far more helpful in explaining both theory and application of M&A. I have found Mckinsey's book on Measuring and Managing Valuation to be a much better guide to understanding how to apply complex valuation techniques. Integration methodology is well explained in Marks and Clemente's Winning at Mergers. For an excellent detailed overview of M&A, see Depamphlis Mergers Acquisitions and Other Restructuring or Weston's other, more recent book on M&A.

The fourth edition came out in 2003 and I am not familiar with earlier editions. In my view, this is a very good text. In its nearly 700 pages, it provides a solid and comprehensive overview of this interesting and important topic. Obviously, no textbook can be both a survey of the topic and provide complete coverage of every topic. This book goes deep enough that students being introduced to this topic will find plenty to work on and get enough information to develop a feel for all that is involved in changing corporate control and ownership structure for any number of reasons.

The book has 22 chapters in six parts. The six parts are:

1)Takeovers and Mergers in Practice
2)M&As - Theories and Empirical Tests
3)Valuation - The Strategic Perspective
4)Restructuring
5)M&A Strategies
6)Strategies for Creating Value

There are many end of chapter questions and dozens of mini-cases in the book. Plus, there are online resources for students available.

The book provides references at the end of each chapter for more in depth study, a glossary at the end, and an index.

This is a solid text that can also be read by the general reader interested in this topic.

The subject of this book is quite interesting and the knowledgable authors add many insights into the field of Mergers and Aquisitions. However, the book is poorly written and designed. Simply opening the book will show colorless pages and bland figures that perfectly reflect the tone and content within. There is also a surprising number of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors (something I should not expect if I'm paying over $100 for a book).

The book is really only useful for those interested in a literature survey, discussion of public policy, and somewhat tedious discussion of theoretical concepts.

just don't bother with this. Save your money and get Duk Son Sung's book Korean Karate. There are better books on martial arts and on Taekwondo in general.

Looking like an attempt to follow in Son Duk Sung's works, the author wastes a little bit of paper. If you have never read Son's text, this book may be worth more to you. Some forms are detailed (Pyong An's) but it looks like the author has changed Pyong An 1. For the price, I guess it is okay, but not the best contribution to Chung Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do / Korean Karate.

This is a good work of one of the most respected "styles" of Taekwondo out there. It is a great companion to both Korean Karate and Black Belt Korean Karate both by the 2nd Head of the Chung Do Kwan GM Son, DukSung. I would recommend this book to anybody that studies "traditional" "Korean Karate" I think the authors did a good job in describing the art of Chung Do Kwan well.

I have always been interested in martial arts but never could get going on it. I found this book and couldn't put it down. It was very easy to follow and gave me a complete workout with straightforward instructions on how to do all the techniques. Now I am an avid martial artist who continues to use this book as a reference for improving my techniques as I advance. For example, the chapter on three-step gave me new ideas to add to my three-steps and sparring. The part about sparring showed me how to use all the things I practice in basics and forms in my sparring. The forms chapter made me think beyond the obvious about forms. I really enjoyed reading this book and so did my instructor! I would say, go for this book if you are interested in martial arts.

I have practiced Chung Do Kwan for many years and was very favorably impressed by this book. It gives a good background and philosophical basis. It made me rethink what I do and recognize the depth of Chung Do Kwan. This book is in line with Sung's book, Korean Karate, but extends it in philosophy and clear descriptions of method and the principle behind it. The book gives a good description of techniques which would be helpful to someone new to martial arts. But it also gives tips and insights to help experienced martial artists get more power out of what they already do. This book also gives an interesting analysis of forms showing how to get more out of them. It has good ideas about self defense and sparring, plus it is filled with many useful ways to apply techniques. I highly recommend this book to anyone who does Taekwondo and martial arts in general.

While this book is packaged in some degree of sensationalism, such as mentioning that the most prolific architect in Dongguan city is a gambler, and highlighting the negative externalities of foreign direct investment in the region in question, it is the most stunning and compelling analysis I have seen of the PRD. This book is a fascinating introduction to Chinese economic policy and history, and a recommended read for anyone who doesn't know that 1/3 of everything you own that's "Made in China" came from the factories made possible by the topic of this book.

It's the next best thing to actually visiting the place, which I also recommend.

The previous reviewer was disappointed with this volume after reading Koolhaus' books. While the 3 volumes of the Project of the City are under his (loose?) direction, these are actually all anthologies of writings by individuals connected to the Harvard Design School, each book on a separate theme: metropolis (Mutations) shopping (Guide to Shopping) and the Pearl River Valley, this volume. I knew nothing about this region of the world until reading an article in Mutations about it.

Did you know that just one of the cities in this region went from a population of 30,000 to 3.9 million in 15 years? And this growth was accomplished basically without any city planning department? Or that architectural plans for a 40 floor high rise take less than 2 months to complete?

All of the Project on the City books have many similarities, which you can consider a strength (my opinion) or a weakness (previous review). Take a huge subject (PRV, shopping...) provide millions of factoids about it, present those fact in a cacophony of words, graphs, photos (and with Mutations, there is even a CD of avant electronic music). I liked that about S,M.L.XL and I like it in this series. A treatise on architecture and urban planning in the PRV I never would have read. Just too obscure and potentially boring a subject. But after reading and carefully studying all the photos in this book, I'm left with a large, jumbled set of distinct impressions about the PRV, which raise all sorts of questions about the role of architects and planners in developing countries (or in the US, for that matter).

To me the revolutionary things about S.M.L,XL was its insistence that architecture is not best discussed in articles. Even articles with accompanying photos. That is way too static, too two-dimensional a method of transmitting information, and not well suited to how we absorb information in the 21st century. Rem's recent books gives us a cacophony on information simply jumping off the page. The Project on the City books continue those ideas, and I think do a good job of it.

I subtracted a star because of Rem's highly annoying joke of "copyrighting" words that contain key concepts in his writings. This is particularly annoying since some of the writers in this anthology are clearly puzzled by this requirement and lack even the minimal style and humor with which Rem unfurls this trick in his own writing.

After reading all the reviews, I still decided to buy this book. Surprisingly, I think this is a great book, perhaps, in a different way. Some of the people think this is the book with artless pictures and off-track information. In fact, I have to admit that people who are not familiar with china and its culture may have some difficulties to find connection to the book. In my point of view, this book raised some strong questions about the consequences of China's dramatic economic transformation, that the architecture in China would be so egregiously post-modern is interesting. Beside, it also explains the reason behind the replication culture consequentially occur after the red cultural revolution is valuable.

I looked forward with great anticipation to this book. Koolhaas' "Delirious New York" was a fascinating work, and "S,M,L,XL" was both interesting and a great argument against hard drives. This book was a major disappointment. It doesn't delve very deeply at all into it's subject matter (the Pearl River Delta area of China) and most of it's "important ideas" are sophomoric. I would say the most irritating thing about this book (other than the totally artless and pointless photographs that litter the book) are the code phrases (highlighted in red) that read like a grad student's compendium of inanities. Don't waste your money.

It's great that people are starting to look at this topic, but this book reeks of a quick-hit, let's-publish-a-book-after-a-seminar job. The title itself says it all: the Great Leap Forward was a Maoist economic project in the late 50s that left up to 30 million people dead. How can one use this term, which refers to one of the great human tragedies of the 20th century, as a cute title for a book? The GLF wasn't cute. It has nothing to do with architecture or urban planning. Using it in this cavalier way belies a complete ignorance of the past 50 years of Chinese history. Sorry if this seems like nitpicking, but I can't take a book seriously that doesn't take its topic seriously.

I'm a beginner / intermediate learner and I found this book very useful.

I took 3 terms of a short course (one class per week for 20 weeks) and this was our prescribed textbook. I've since stopped attending the classes but instead I'm learning on my own (I can speak Cantonese but cant write Chinese) and still find this book useful.

In particular I like the way it reuses characters from previous lessons to help reinforce the ability to recognise characters, which I believe is one of the main hurdles to overcome.

Part 2 also cleverly prints the English translation at the back of the lesson so you are "forced" to read in Chinese.

All up, learning Chinese is definitely NOT easy and NOT like learning European languages. But if you put in the time and effort you will get the rewards and this textbook so far has been a great companion.

The grammar is not clearly explained; it's a mess. There's too much vocabulary that's overwhelming. Not useful at all if you want to learn Chinese. The language taught in the book is very artificial, and apparently not what Chinese people use in daily life. The Chinese taught is simply not practical. You won't be able to learn Chinese with this book.

These are great books. I have gone through several approaches to learning; software, audio cds, "bookstore" language learning books. These finally worked, but they are texts designed for use in a classrom. There were type-o's and simple drawings in the first edition of these books, but buyers should note, it is in SECOND edition. I have studied in both the US and China, where my teachers were very impressed with these books.
Their strength is the order in which new vocabulary is introduced and the frequency and intervals at which it re-occurs throughout the series. Compared with other materials I have used, these have the most well thought-out sequence. As a result, I retained more of the material I covered.
A self-motivated learner can employ them for individual study if they have the audio cds, and take time EVERY SINGLE DAY to work among the materials. A full set consists of the Textbook, Workbook, Character Workbook, and Audio CDs. Each "set" is available in three levels: Level 1 Part 1, Level 1 Part 2, and Level 2. However, if you are serious about learning a language like Chinese or Arabic (these are among the most difficult), you should use these materials in a university course where a teacher will guide your progress, coach pronounciation, and provide the discipline and cohesion essential for success.
In summary, this is a great series that makes a difficult language accessible. The order of presentation of the vocabulary is very well thought out, specifically the way the many homonymns in Chinese are dealt with. Do not be discouraged, but make sure you get the second editions! You cannot learn Mandarin by picking it up and setting it down every once in a while. But if you make it part of your day, you WILL be talking and writing in Chinese.

I completed the first volume of this textbook series and am halfway through the Part two volume of Level one. I also use the Workbook as a support for homework assignments, but didn't purchase the Character Workbook. For students who already have had an exposure to spoken Chinese, I also recommend the textbook Making Connections: Enhance Your Listening Comprehension in Chinese, also published by Cheng & Tsui. It is loosely based on Level one of Integrated Chinese and will expose you to real-life conversations. First-time users can also use the multimedia tutorial put online by the Language Center of the University of California at Berkeley.

My experience is that every language textbook has its flaws but that it is very important to stick to a given textbook until you have fully mastered it. How often have I seen learners jump from one method to the next without any coherence or plan in their studies! Above all, the key to a successful language acquisition is motivation. Without a strong focus and discipline, you won't get anywhere. You have to keep a clear picture of where you are heading, and provide for milestones along the way.

So why are you learning Chinese? people ask me. They know that I already speak Japanese and at least for some people it seems that the two languages are mutually exclusive, as if you had to choose between the Middle Kingdom and the Land of the Rising Sun. I tell them that the roots of the Japanese civilization are to be found in ancient China and that in order to know Japan well, you have to know China as well. Most Japanese would agree on this.

What I don't tell them is that China, not Japan, was my first love. When I was a kid I found in a closet at my grandmother's place a trove of novels by Pearl Buck that had ended up there for some reason (I don't think my grandmother ever went abroad, and she didn't know much about foreign places, but she certainly enjoyed reading, and Pearl Buck novels were quite popular in the fifties). I became fascinated by their depiction of complex family relationships, courage in the face of adversity, and palace politics, and read them all in a row. Later, at age ten or so, I discovered the detective stories of the Dutch diplomat and Chinese scholar Robert Van Gulik, and became a big fan of Judge Dee.

At about the same time, my father purchased as a birthday present to my mother the two hefty volumes of Outlaws of the Marsh that had just been published in a Pleiade edition. I don't think that my mother ever read them in full but I certainly made my honey out of it. Re-reading this wonderful but lengthy Chinese classic once every year became a kind of rite. I still come back to it from time to time.

- But the green Paradise of my childhood love, / Mais le vert paradis des amours enfantines,
That sinless Paradise, full of furtive pleasures, / L'innocent paradis, plein de plaisirs furtifs,
Is it farther off now than India and China? / Est-il deja plus loin que l'Inde et que la Chine ?

When I started studying at the university in Paris, I was determined to return to "the green paradise of my childhood love", to quote Baudelaire, and to complement my major in economics with extracurricular activities such as learning Chinese. Unfortunately the timing of the Chinese lessons didn't fit with my already packed weekly schedule. Japanese classes were compatible with it. Besides, the Japanese economy was booming (that was just before the bubble burst) and I thought knowing the language would certainly be an asset when entering the job market. So I took Japanese. But I kept my longing for China and the Chinese language in a corner of my mind, as something you save for the future. And now, fifteen years later, I am back at it.

And you, why are you learning Chinese?

I purchased Integrated Chinese, Level 1, Part 2: Textbook (Simplified Charaters Edition). The title alone gives a hint at the many problems with this language series. Overly complicated for the information given. The textbook seems to be written without much cohesive planning, just slapped together dialogs with vocabulary lists and grammar "hints". Another very disappointing and frustration aspect of the series (I have ordered every version and "part") is the incredible number of mistakes and typographical errors. I have to rely on my Chinese friends to correct the book! I feel sorry for a student who doesn't have access to a native Chinese person to point out the errors. The English sentence examples are atrocious. Why didn't the author/publisher hire at least one English professor to even glance at this series?
My opinion is, from trying to study and learn from these books, that the authors got together and realized a need for such a text and decided it would be a great way to make money. There doesn't seem to be much of a desire to help students learn a foreign language, just put together a book and hope to sell lots. The illustrations alone prove this. They are terrible, sloppy and unprofessional. A graduate student in the University of Hawaii's art department could have done a job that wouldn't be embarrassing to look at.
I am indeed disappointed but since there is a limited number of Chinese instructional texts at the undergraduate level, I'm "stuck".

I am a moderately liberal Episcopalian. As such, I always considered myself to be open-minded, but these commentaries seem totally radical to me. If you are looking for cutting edge interpretation, look to the New Interpreters commentaries or New Interpreters Study Bible, also published by Abingdon. Abingdon is a publishing arm of the United Methodist Church. I am very surprised they were interested in publishing the Global Bible Commentary -- this book leans so far left it nearly falls off the left side of the chart!! HarperCollins Study Bible and HarperCollins Commentary are also worth looking into.

This is a great commentary on the Bible. You hear from a variety of voices throughout the world. It is very helpful in understanding the Bible in a completely different context than US American Empire. I highly reccomend it--it will preach!

I got the item very soon after placing my order. And the item is in very good condition although it is from the used item list.

I bought this book to review as a potential classroom text.

It is a jumble of ways to misuse the Bible to support modern revisionist theology.

According to this book, inclusiveness, cultural relativism and subjective morality are the primary message of the Bible.

Other topics which pass for biblical commentary include Interclass power struggles, feminist identity and the misogynist patriarchal society, liberation theology, etc

My opinion...

Unless you are really interested in far left apologetics, save your money.