Clarke Books

I used this book to pass tho of the exams. I am confident I will pass the rest. But this book is boringly lengthy. Again it is tooooo lengthy. He is adding many non-relevant text. Almost 20 percent of the book is unnecessary stuff.

BUT, it is the most accurate book. In other books, you can find a lot of errors. This has few. NO book on CNE is better than this book. Some other books are easy to read and understand. But, they are not enought to pass the exam!

This set is a complete source for everything you need to pass your CNE exams, plus a handy reference later on as well

It is an excellent book!

-Why I bought his book? 1. You can fill up the small room with MS stuff books. It's tough to find any decent one Novell book. I believe this is the only authoritive book on the market.

-Why I bought this book set instead of the CNA guide?

1. This book set comes with the evaluation Novell 5.0 CD. CNA study guide 5.0 does not have evaluation CD. Now he has a CNA 5.1 study guide which comes with evaluation CD. If you are interested in getting CNA like me, you might want to check that out.

-How do I like this book?

1. Overall this is decent. I would say "wordy" instead of "fluff.":) 2. Be patient:). He repeats same stuff MANY times. That might be useful way for study.

-Did I pass the exam?

1. Yes I did. No sweat.

-What else do I need to pass the exam?

1. I read his CNA note. It focus more on the exam with useful notes. Basically it's less wordy CNA study guide.

2. I bought a practice exam from certify.com which seems authoritive Novell practice test like Transcender for MS

3. After all those readings and practice test, I feel I spent too much time for preparation. Don't spend too much time and money.

-What's the deal?

1. You need CNA. --> check out his new CNA 5.1 Study guide. Maybe practice test. Remember not to spend too much. 2. You need CNE. --> I believe this is it.

-Why do I write review?

1. IMHO, this book deserves better review.

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I've only read the first chapter so far, my first impressions of the content are excellent, but I have a complaint for the publisher: the font is painfully small and makes it actually a bit of struggle to read.

The ideas are very dense, so I would tend to make the font and line spacing a bit bigger than usual to reduce the strain in that area of comprehension and save the reader's mental energy for understanding the ideas rather than screwing their eyes up at the type. I'm not exaggerating - it's like the size they usually print footnotes in!

Clarke uses the following Framework for intercultural contact: - Gadamer: hermeneutics of the dialogue: it comes bit by bit, and entails a continuous exchange of meaning between interpreter and interpreted, the goal is 'fusion of conceptual horizons' which requires 'self-awareness of difference' and 'recognition of otherness of the other'. Problem: doesn't take into account underlying discursive power relations (Foucault) - Said: the influence (power) that the west exerted via colonisation, to secure world hegemony, is present in the image that has been created of the East in the West. Everybody involved in orientalism is consciously or not guilty of western imperialism. Clarke says that this image of Said is not complete and shows that interest for the East has often been connected to pragmatic interests, deeply rooted in Europe's own intellectual, cultural and political history. Orientalism often had a countercultural, counterhegemonic rol in the past three centuries and has often been source of energy for radical protest. This way orientalism has often not enforced Europe's established role and identity, but undermined it. Periods of cultural revolution and global expansion in Europe made it possible to create a painful void in the spiritual and intellectual heart of Europe, but also favoured the establishment of certain geopolitical conditions that allowed the transmission of alternative worldviews of the East to the West more easily.

The making of "the Orient"

Both the French Sinophile Enlightenment thinkers and the German Indophile Romantici used orientalism as instrument for the subversion and reconstruction of European civilization, to fight the deeply rooted evils of that time. This way they idealized and romanticized heavily eastern thought and culture. Confucianism gave the French a model for rationalistic, deistic philosophy, but also the Hinduism of the Upanishads gave the Germans an elevated metaphysical system that resonated with their idealist suppositions, as a counterweight to the materialistic and mechanistic philosophy that came to dominate the Enlightenment period.Buddhism: Schopenhauer formulates a radical critique on the Jewish-Christian tradition that searches salvation throught a divine Savior, while buddhism searches it by denial of the will. Wagner and Nietzsche give similar critiques because buddhism, so they claim, offers a psychologically more honest explanation of suffering. Because of the Victorian crisis of faith and belief in progress, and the apparent compatibility of buddhism and science (positivism, Darwinism, evolutionism, materialism, monism), buddhism gains importance. Also the American transcendentalists (Emerson, Thoreau) used buddhism against Lockean materialism and Calvinism, in their belief in the essential unity and spiritual nature of the cosmos, combined with a belief in the goodness of humans, and the domination of intuition over rational thinking.Besides romanticizing voices, also racist and denigrating voices are found in orientalist discourses.

Twentieth century

Because of the quick progress and economic and social transformation of traditional to modern, Europe experienced an atmosphere of malcontentment with the promises of Western civilization, which made it search for more meaningful and satisfying alternatives. There are two types of associations of the turbulent twentieth century with orientalism: on the one hand the creative involvement in philosophy, theology, psychology, science and ecology, and on the other hand associations with occultism, and mystical undercurrents of fascism. In a period of growing imperialist expansion (which enhanced communication with the East), there was a possibility to begin to see the East really as other (with a different culture), but there was also a sense of being afraid, mixed with feelings of guilt toward the East. This had a different intellectual response: on the one hand there were big speculations about a universal philosophy or global religion, on the other hand there were more modest propositions for the encouragement of a hermeneutical dialogue. There was a tremendous spread of orientalism in the twentieth century, buddhist monasteries arised in the West, poets, writers, hippies and Beat movement, and also New Agers made use of Eastern thought, though not all of them seriously. Academic institutions were built, and eastern scholars came to Europe. Important European thinkers were influenced by the East. This accelerated the understanding of Eastern thought.

Philosophy

- Universalism (Leibniz, Moore) - Comparative philosophy (Nagarjuna compared with Nietzsche, Heidegger and Derrida, Madhyamaka with Wittgenstein) - Hermeneutics (Rorty: "the conversation of mankind", Larson: "from talking to one another, to talking with one another") - Diversity, otherness, difference, but a sharp awareness of the danger of cultural imperialism

Religion

- Exclusivism - Inclusivism - Pluralism

Psychology

- Psychotherapy and mental health: holistic contextual approach of the individual, more emphasis on experiential knowledge than on intellectual knowledge - Fromm, Jung, Maslow, Naranjo, Ornstein - Transpersonal, humanistic, cognitive psychology - Meditation

Science and ecology

- Sovjet Marxism and buddhism - Capra, Jung, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schroedinger, Prigogine, Bohm - Schumacher, Naess, Macy - Wholeness (holistic medicine, ecology)

Reflections

Besides the problem of interpretation of different cultures, there 's also a problem of projection: Eastern ideas are appropriated by simply projecting them to categories and presuppositions of the West, and the West has become a sort of all-eating monster, usurping all cultures. Clarke claims the aim is not to avoid use of a vocabulary that is derived from the own culture, but that the crucial point is that one does so with critical self-awareness. He emphasizes the importance of mutuality in the hermeneutical process: interpretation begins with pre-conceptions that are replaced by more appropriate conceptions. Example: the wrong understanding the West had (and still has) throughout buddhist history doesn't have to be considered as a failure, but as a necessary and wholesome "turning of the hermeneutical wheel". Orientalism contributed, so says Clarke, to a growth in mutuality, dialogue, knowledge and sympathy, and this while the East has now on the one hand enhanced grip to its own tradition (partly as a result of the encounter with the West) and on the other hand can formulate a solid critique to fundamental aspects of western culture. Also Said believed in a postcolonial era, where an increasingly sophisticated study and criticical self-awareness would make possible a post-orientalist epoch where westerners could approach the East without disturbing presuppositions.

This book is principally an examination and explanation of how the West has seen the philosophies, religions and cultures of the Far East - chiefly of China and India. To this interest in the East Clarke gives the name Orientalism. That word since 1985 has carried the connotation that Edward Said gave to it in his book of that name. Though that work concerned itself chiefly with the Arab Middle East, other scholars have applied Said's characterization to the western study of cultures further East. That school of thought saw Orientalism as permeated with condescending, exploitative and colonialist attitudes, and scarcely allowed any other factors to play a role. Clarke admits that colonial attitudes were one aspect of Orientalism, but his study demonstrates that there were many others. True, students of Orientalism, like students of all other subjects, cannot help having agendas, and agendas are liable to lead to distortions. So the West's interpretations of the Orient (the word `hermeneutic' turns up with rather tiresome frequency in this text) generally fulfil some need felt by the West; but this is often not at all a need to exploit the East, but rather to gain through Oriental studies a new and enriching perspective on Western culture and frequently to provide a remedy for what are perceived to be its flaws or discontents.

Clarke argues, along with other scholars whom he cites, that in the West the Renaissance and the Reformation ushered in a philosophical restlessness and uncertainty which made Europeans be more inquisitive and open to other ways of thinking. This uncertainty was generated from within European culture, whereas in Asia it was only when Western technology and power irrupted into the area that the interest of Asians in European culture began, in response to a challenge from outside rather than from within their own culture. Clarke acknowledges this interest, but devotes only a small part of the book to the impact of Western thought on Asia.

He documents how in the 18th century the philosophes set up their rosy view of Confucian China in opposition to the religious and social criticisms they made of their own society; how, when this interest faded, it was replaced in the 19th century by the interest of the Romantics in Indian thought. We learn of Anquetil Duperron (1723 to 1805) who first translated the Upanishads (into French) and of William Jones (1746 to 1794), who showed that most European languages have an affinity with Sanskrit, which suggested that many of the peoples of Europe came originally from Asia. German nationalists, resenting French cultural hegemony, preferred the idea that their culture was rooted in the Aryan languages (and later, by a perversion of the word, in the Aryan race). Philosophically also, the most profound impact of Indian thought was on a line of German philosophers: Hegel, Schelling, Schlegel and Schopenhauer saw an affinity between the monism of the Absolute and that of Brahman, between their own metaphysical ideas that the world as we know it through our senses is not the real world and the Indian notion that we see the world only through the veil of maya. Both Confucianism and Buddhism were seen by many Europeans as a system of ethics which was independent of a belief in God, and was therefore espoused by many western thinkers in reaction to the claims that religion was the essential basis of ethics.

Towards the end of the 19th century and into the twentieth, at the very time when the West's cultural imperialism emphasized by Edward Said was at its height, there was also the countervailing current that the West's cultural hegemony was increasingly questioned in the West itself; and the interest in Eastern ideas became a broad stream with wide diffusion. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 to 1882) and Henry David Thoreau (1817 to 1862) popularized Eastern thought in America on a scale that earlier thinkers had not been able to achieve. Edwin Arnold's poem The Light of Asia (1879), disseminated the Buddhist message and sold nearly a million copies. The Theosophical Society, founded by Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Alcott in 1875, had over 45,000 members in 1920. It was strongly infused with oriental ideas, and even played a part in the revival of Hindu and Buddhist self-awareness and self-respect in Asia itself. Some Western actually thought that western civilization, with its frenetic materialism and its spiritual life eroded by rationalism, was worn out and needed to draw on Eastern thought to renew itself. Eastern influences have moved out of the academic and literary world to permeate the very life-style of many westerners.

So Zen and Tibetan Buddhism have found many followers in the West; there are now many practitioners of t'ai chi, yoga and transcendental meditation; the young have gone on the hippy trail to visited ashrams in India. From this point onwards, about half way through the book, Clarke produces so many examples of the interaction between East and West - on literature, on the arts, on religion, on psychotherapy, on holistic medicine, on ecological thinking, on non-violence, even on the philosophy of modern physics (though, curiously, only marginally on the mainstreams of western academic philosophy) - that a short review like this cannot do justice to them. There was even a strand in fascism which claimed an Oriental heritage. Clarke's range is truly encyclopaedic, and in this second half of the book that there will be found much detailed material and many names that are likely to be unfamiliar to the educated non-specialist.

The mainly narrative chapters are followed by two final superb reflective ones. In the first of these Clarke reflects on the philosophical traps into which Orientalism can fall and sometimes has fallen, but his defence of the value of Orientalism is eloquent and persuasive. In the second (more difficult) one he shows how deconstructive Post-Modernism challenges Orientalism but can also find an ally in it.

I'll like to write this review partly in relation to the last one written for this book, which, I think, many people will find quite daunting. While I'd agree with the author of that review about the excellence of the book I'd like to give a more accessible view, hoepfully just as Clarke's book provides an accessible approach to very difficult ideas.

Firstly, ,any readers are likely to be put off by all the references to those very difficult postmodern (etc) philosophers who are mentioned, either because they'll think, a) I won't understand that, or b) I'm not into postmodernism. To set your minds at rest, Clarke doesn't engage in the lingusitic exercises of using almost indecipherable language to say very little that is typical of many of this school, also, he sets the postmodern agenda (or, at least parts of it) firmly in his sights and demolishes many of their empty stances based on ideology not fact or reason.

As such we can recommend this book to a)anyone who either doesn't know much about orientalism - he provides an excellent introduction as well as analysis; b) anyone who doesn't know much about postmodernism, as you'll be treated to a critical survey of certain aspects of it; c) supporters of postmodernism, as you'll find an able voice against whom you need to defend your ideas; d) a whole range of people not at all interested in orientalism and postmodernism but who have interests in such things as cross-cultural encounter, especially between Europe and Asia, religion, modern European thought, etc.

As to the contents of this book, Clarke surveys the history of the encounter between East and West (Asia and Europe) to show that claims that the two stand as polar opposites which have no connection is untenable. with lucid commentary, clarke deals with the views of orientalists and postmodernists and presnts a more balanced and less Euro-centric approach. for more details, using technical terms which Clarke aptly leads the uninitiated through with subtlety and clarity, whilst providing new insights which will give food for thought for even those well read within this area.

Reginald Hill has the English detective genre locked up, and that is apparent with this, the third book in the Dalziel and Pascoe sereis. This is a complex book, and it has a lot of characters, so it's sometimes hard to keep them straight as well as all the plots and counterplots. The book is an example of two separate plot strings that come, ineveitably together. Make no mistake. Hill is a clever writer, and his books need to be read a little differently than a lot of others in this genre. Otherwise, you will get lost in the complexity. This book gives us an up-close and personal look at Peter Pascoe as murder touches him and the ones he cares about. I highly recommend this book.

Having renewed his relationship with college girlfriend Ellie Soper, Detective Peter Pascoe re-establishes contact with other school friends, who invite Ellie and Peter to spend a long weekend in the country with them. Work detains Peter, so that when Ellie and Peter arrive at the cottage, they find all their frinds brutally murdered, except for their host, who is missing.
Peter is out of his jurisdiction and on the other side of the witness table, trying desperately to convince his colleagues that his friend can't be the murderer.
Meanwhile Ellie does some investigating of her own, in which she finds an unexpected ally, the cop she detests, Superintendent Andy Dalziel.
If you have enjoyed later Dalziel and Pascoe books, don't miss this earlier effort. There are some great character developing scenes in this book, especially for Ellie and Dalziel.

Reginald Hill's detective stories are always an enjoyable combination of complex plots, well-developed characters, and lots of gossipy details of contemporary English village life. The only thing that keeps this from being a 5-star rating is that Pascoe is so closely linked to the victims and suspects that it is darker and lacks some of the humor of other books in this series. It's probably not the best of Hill's books for someone new to his detectives. Read another Reginald Hill first (you can't go wrong with any of them), then come back to this one when you know the main characters a little better.

Pascoe and Ellie arrive in Thorton Lacey for a reunion with four old friends. They discover three of their friends brutally murdered and the fourth gone missing. Is he dead also, or a suspect in the murders? Hill's descriptive powers are exceptional and they put you squarely into each scene. One of my favorites was, "Above the thatched roof a flock of television aerials parted the morning breeze and serenely sang their triumph over charm and Tudory". Intelligence and subtle humor infuse the whole story. The mystery spins irresistibly to the final pages and the ending leaves you with a smile.

This is wonderful,simple book for kids age 1-7.Pictures are in bright colors so they are a delight to your childerns eyes. Learning the basics for being responsable at a early age,cleaning up after themselves,letting them know where things belong,and a simply way of telling them that they have a place in the universe as a child of God. It has a cd for young childern not yet ready to read and a great way to teach your childern to read, in english and spanish.

This is a well written book and an excellent tool for young children who are in their early stages of reading. The illustrations are colorful and bright. This book not only focuses on learning; it provides a simple lesson of life that all children can learn. I highly recommend this book. Great Job!

This book is excellent for those parents who are trying to develop their child's reading skills. The book will keep your child's attention and it is a fun, easy, yet challenging read for the child. The parent also has the option to read with the child or the child can read with an audio CD. I would like to purchase more books from this author.

I like Tidy up Tommy. Young children respond well to the words and the illustrations. The read-along CD is great for children who can't read. I would love for the author to create more books like this.

For me, Petrosian was (is) the best ever. This book is a unique masterpiece. Strategy, steel nerves, beauty, its all there! A must-have book!

This is by far the best chess book written on the chess approach of Petrosian. The price of the book is certainly low for the value of its information. While many people strive to reach chess mastery through the tactical approach, Petrosian was content to achieve his aims through strategy, building his position carefully and avoiding unnecessary complications. In the Deep Blue era, this may well be the best approach to chess. Petrosian had never shied away from unpopular moves; his basic approach being to do what the position requires, in the simplest way possible. There are no tactical bluffs in his games(unlike Kasparov's whom he trounced heavily in 1981-see first pages- showing how easily as well as the way he can be beaten). Before Karpov, there was no other positional player like Petrosian. Lets not forget, only two players ever beat Petrosian in a match: Spassky and Fischer, the two best players of all times. Even today Petrosian Wouldn't lose a match t! o any other players(Karpov included) So the book seems to be the best guide for the 21 century against computers. Since none can come close to Spassky and Fischer the best way to meet computers is to adopt the Petrosian approach of prophylaxy and perpetual improvement of one's position. Incidently in this way future challengers could make short work of Kasparov and other chess bluffers. In the end, soundness of play is the best way to play chess. Studying this book closely, is sure to improve the chess strenght and deepen the understanding of the game for players of all strengths. Once again the book is a must read for all serious chess players. Among the players of the world only Fischer beat Petrosian in a match using strictly positional means.

Until the recent appearance of Crouch's How to DEFEND IN CHESS, this was the best work re the 1963-1969 champ. Petrosian was never exactly the absolute best player in the world he was the toughest to beat, with the deepest strategic mind. The book covers 60 games with thorough notes relying heavily on Clarke's willingness to search out the Russian sources of the time. He paints a portrait of Georgian kid with talent gores to Moscow, improves,succeeds, stumbles, learns and finally gets the shot at the title and wins = nice biographic notes and career coverage which really covers best part of Petrosians career. It does leave out what later years are the odd thrown game by his opponet and the inside deal with Geller and Keres to draw with each other and thus freeze Korchnoi and Fischer out of their chances in the final qualifier for the title shot, yes there was sometimes corruption in the Moscow chess scene in the 50-70's and Tigran was in on it. But this is still a great book, which i have read regularly since i bought it 30 years ago - combined with the Crouch book a player can learn a lot, but this book is best read by 1600 ratedplayers and above and best understood by 2000 and above players as these games strech your knowledge in all phases of the games and the great notes are critical to understanding the play. I recomend the Crouch book to futher your knowledge and to better appreciate how deep his combinational vision was and be aware that Petrosian is basically a follower of Nimzovich. Final warning do not try to copy the Petrosian style of play - as it will harm your creative growth = e.g. try to be too defensive and a risk of too many draws (the book does not fully explain how at first Petrosian learned to attack as a young player and his style was partly a way to cope with the really aggressive play of Tolush, Spassky, Geller, Tal, etc, just learn the ideas and incorporate these defensive tricks, opening tactics, strategic sacrifices like the exchange of rook for bishop or knight, play on black or white square complexes, and endgame power into your game. If you want an easy chess book stay away from this one, but for thinking value for money, some history of the great period of Soviet chess this is a great book.

I kind of stumbled on this book, while looking for anything on Petrosian. I took a chance on this when I found it somehwere on the 'net for six bucks. I now consider it the best six bucks I ever spent. Clarke is an astonishingly good chess writer. He lays out plans and ideas behind moves better than anyone else I have read. I had no idea he was so good. After going through about four of the games in this book, I quickly bought his book on Tal. I figured if anyone could make sense of Tal's games to me, it was Clarke. I was right! Anyway, this book on Petrosian is such a joy to go through and study, that I cannot believe it is out of print and relatively unknown. To the mass of club players who enjoy reading Silman, Nunn, Purdy, Stean, Harding, etc., this book should be on your shelf, even though you probably don't know it. In my 400+ book collection, I rank this one among the top five, along with Edward Lasker: Chess self-tutor; Kasparov's The Test of Time; Stohl's Modern Instructive Masterpieces, and SIlman's Amateur's Mind.

We own all of this series! Started reading them when my daughter was 4 (she just turned 5 now), and they are age appropriate. Not too scary and always a happy ending. One book only takes us about 4-5 nights worth of reading together. The longer ones are good too "Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg" and "Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand", but they are a little bit scarrier than the short books (more appropriate for ages 5-7 I would think).

In my opinion the best part of this story is the glimpse the author gives us of a dark "Event" in the dimly remembered fairyland past. Who is the Great Enemy that attacked the fairies? What was the destructive power that shattered the ancient tree? Where is this Enemy now? Why do they still fear him/her/it? Why is there still a cloud of pixie dust North of Neverland?

Will we find out more in later novels? I hope so.

In this story Tink is working on a compass while Terrence is hanging right over her he accedentally knocks over her first bowl she ever fixed and she gets so angry at him. Later when it is time for stories Terrence usually sits with her and he didn't. That night she went on a daring quest to find something to make it up to him. She meets up with her old friends Peter and the Lost Boys! She returns home safely and learns a lesson.

Focused on the concept of regret, this lovely story involves Tinker Bell and her friend Terence, the sparrow man. Terence has a crush on the fairy, and Tink likes him, too. But one morning when Terence tries to help Tink, he ends up breaking her favorite bowl. She blows up at him and tells him to leave her alone. Stung, he leaves, vowing to never bother Tinker Bell again.

The water fairy Silvermist cheers Terence up by showing him how to water-skate with special lily-pad-skimmer sandals. Tink sees the couple on the water and waves, but Terence keeps his promise and doesn't respond. All day Tink finds herself missing Terence, and feeling lonely, and angry, when she sees him with the other girls.

To win him back, Tink heads north of Never Land to find him a special gift: some rare pixie dust. She travels in a fairy version of a hot-air balloon. Her adventures include encounters with a possum, mermaids and a tiger.

At the end, Tink tells Terence she regrets yelling at him, and the two make up.

Like the other books in this series, "Tink, North of Never Land" is illustrated with dainty watercolors, and the front cover features a portrait of its heroine sprinkled with sparkly fairy dust.

By the way, the reading level of this book is 2.7.

I completed remodeling my basement to add a bath, office, large family room and even re-located the 20A laundry circuit. This book helped me so much, I can't understate it. Passed my city inspection 1st try. Added 6 or 7 new circuits overall for the house.

Anyone with a screwdriver can change outlets or replace switches, but for more complex tasks, I wanted a reference book.

*Plain, easy to read wiring diagrams for 3-way switches and lights. - which can be tricky to get right.
*Tips on keeping up to code (such as Arc-Fault breakers in sleeping rooms!)
*Clearly explained how to install a 240V line for my bathroom heater.
*How to wire my fire alarms all together for all three levels.

I'm so happy with my addition, and this book was the go-to source. I couldn't believe I was changing Breakers myself! (along with the Creative Homeowner plumbing book-also highly recommend)

Though I feel this book was written for the newbie and the weekend warrior do-it-yourselfer, it has some pretty advanced stuff in it too. But if you think about it, most electrical projects are the same, just with different uses and boxes.

Along with installations, the book covers tests, troubleshooting and upgrades of outlets, fishing cables and wires, drywall cutting, plugs and wires (and much more.) There is way too much stuff in this book to list here, so the highlights are:

GFCI outlets (where to install and why)
Tools, wires, fittings (when, how and where to use them)
Standby generators
Outdoor installations
Telephone wiring and hook-up

Something it doesn't cover: solar power. It would be nice to cover this growing issue.

You should have no trouble finding your particular problem / project in this book. The step-by-step instructions (with many many pictures and diagrams) make it so easy. I highly recommend this book.

I also highly recommend purchasing a Fluke T5 Electrical Tester along with this book. It is absolutely imperative that you have a *dependable* tester when you are working with electricity. The T5 is one of the easiest to use, just turn it on and the voltage, amps and ohms are given automatically.

This book was a real easy to read and well diagram book. I was very please. It also had the 3-way switch wiring that I needed. I would recomend this book to anyone. You want be disappointed.

I haven't really required this book for any real-world projects yet, however I am very impressed with the coverage. The great detailed colored illustrations, as well as the large 8 1/2" X 11" pages ensure that it will be a very useful reference for the future. I was an electrical engineer by trade (now retired), but this book is extremely well-written for the layman, as well.

This is a fantastic read. It is an extreme ride through an environment that at one level seems ordinary while at another level can only be described as out of this world. The hero is constantly working out ordinary ethical conundrums that eventually rely on the entire spirit world for resolution. The spirit world remains behind the scene, though, even if it seems to be busting through the seams at times. One thing for certain, I never read this book for very long waiting for something to happen. This as one of the best books I have read. Everything is the biggest--the hero inherits the entire world while his salvation lies in the completeness of eternity. All of this in ordinary settings with ordinary dialogue that are both somehow made to sparkle with an otherworldly light.

This is a fantastic read. It is an extreme ride through an environment that at one level seems ordinary while at another level can only be described as out of this world. The hero is constantly working out ordinary ethical conundrums that eventually rely on the entire spirit world for resolution. The spirit world remains behind the scene, though, even if it seems to be busting through the seams at times. One thing for certain, I never read this book for very long waiting for something to happen. This as one of the best books I have read. Everything is the biggest--the hero inherits the entire world while his salvation lies in the completeness of eternity. All of this in ordinary settings with ordinary dialogue that are both somehow made to sparkle with an otherworldly light.

This tale of a soldier of fortune is a roller coaster ride between heaven and hell, good and evil, and what is right and wrong. Mr. Clarke painstakingly paints each scene with words that allows you to taste, feel, smell and touch the soul of the main character and those around him. Your emotions will swing as you cheer and denounce his actions all on the same page. A great, can't put it down read, that will challenge your own values and morality. An incredible discovery of your own and society's ethics and inner self. Be prepared to wish it had no final page!

This tale of a soldier of fortune is a roller coaster ride between heaven and hell, good and evil, and what is right and wrong. Mr. Clarke painstakingly paints each scene with words that allows you to taste, feel, smell and touch the soul of the main character and those around him. Your emotions will swing as you cheer and denounce his actions all on the same page. A great, can't put it down read, that will challenge your own values and morality. An incredible discovery of your own and society's ethics and inner self. Be prepared to wish it had no final page!

I would recommend everyone to buy this book, regarding if you are a "Hondafan" or not.

As a recently new Acura NSX owner the more knowledge generated about this exclusive and unique automobile the better. The Acura-Honda NSX Performance Portfolio has been invaluable in better understanding every aspect of the car, its history, concept development, operation, performance, technical aspects, and much more. For every NSX owner or anyone considering the purchase of this one of a kind supercars, this book is a MUST and also great reading for non-NSX owner automobile enthusiasts as well. Truly a 5 Star book of information.

Lots of professional writeups on the Supercar from Japan. Not a fast read as the information is from many different perspectives. Very intersting for the NSX owner or fan.

Sparta is a biologically enhanced woman who is on a personal mission to find her parents or the man who killed them. In order to do this she takes on a new identity, Ellen Troy, and rises to the rank of investigator in the Board of Space Control. With the help of her childhood friend, Blake Redfield, she begins to unravel the mysteries behind her biological enhancements and the group that calls themselves the Free Spirits.

In this second volume, Preuss does an excellent job of continuing the suspense and drama that made the first book so intriguing. Not only does each book hold a mystery in and of itself, but the series as a whole is a mystery in which the reader picks up clues along the way. Quite an interesting concept that I've not seen in the mystery/suspense genre. However, this technique does seem to lend itself to sci-fi where the reader is used to stories that continue past a single book.

I love that Sparta's intelligence is what we see as her "super power" along with her technological "improvements". She is not a heroine who has "super strength" but rather super character. The plot is fast paced keeps you guessing and defineltly can hold even the video gamers attention. Only complaint; the book describes Sparta with blue eyes not hazel which is on the cover and her body is described not quite as thin and "top heavey" as on the cover.

I found this book to be a really excellent story. There were many places where I did not want to put the book down, so I made time to finish the section I was reading. Several times I exclaimed, "wow" aloud while reading on the Metro. It is easy to image-in what the author was writing, so I felt as though I was right there. I am looking forward to finding and reading venus prime 1 thru 5!

At first I felt put off by two things. First, the picture of the woman on the cover, while appealing, did cause me to refrain from leaving the book lying around for my 8-year old daughter to see. This book does not need sex to sell. Second, I was put off by the fact that Arthur Clarke was not authoring it. But I gave it a shot anyway, and I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised.