Clayton Books

This is almost a programming book. Inasmuch as it is aimed at someone who doesn't know anything at all being able to start making and putting together very simple programs to let them do bits and pieces. Maybe useful as a very quick look at the interface for those unfamiliar with gui programming or the language.

This is a great book for beginners as well as programmers with some experience. The book is easy to understand, contains almost no typos and the code examples are very reliable in terms of not containing errors. More knowledgeable programmers can spice up the sample code with more functionality, and even beginners can too as they progress through out the book. Since the code examples are unrealistically easy, juicing up the code helps one mirror more real world situations to some extent. One small draw back, and an example of juicing up the code, is that the book does not cover the With/ End With construct, which comes in handy in many of the examples. After reading this book the programmer can move on to more advanced books. Happy Visual Basic 6 programming!

Please, if you want to learn Visual Basic, buy this with an advanced book. If you have little or no programming experience, this book is ideal. If you do, you will go through it quite quickly having learned all the grounding in a very enjoyable way. He is a talented teacher, and although this particular book is verbose to cater for absolute beginners, it would be interesting to see how he would write an advanced book.

If you decided that just the sound of the word 'programming' sounds fun and you want to see what it's all about, or if you are just completely new to programming, this book may not be the right one.

When I first read this book, I had no previous programming experience whatsoever. At first, the author amused me a bit and convinced me to read on and that it's a piece of cake.

One problem with this book, although this is only an introduction, is that it does not provide any exercises to drill the basics into your head. It merely demonstrates the code with several examples, and after that the chapter is over. Even though some examples may be explicit, there is still not enough there to facilitate your remembering of previous chapters. I found myself constantly flipping back when I did not recognize certain code.

The other major problem is that the examples that are provided are too complex. Even when he breaks the it down piece by piece, the concept of the code is still hard to grasp. I frequently struggled trying to understand what was happening in the code itself, even after it was explained.

I strongly recommend beginners to purchase another book. After you have learned all the basics of the langauge, this book is very helpful for re-enforcing what you already know and finding more advanced ways to approach certain problems.

I was scared of .net,liked QBASIC and wanted to learn Visual Basic. I actually picked this book more because of the free software but found the concepts very clearly explained and with a detailed explanation of basics that would keep the beginner interested and induce thinking ahead of the pace of the book.

I really liked this book and it was written in great detail about the events that lead to the Battle of Britain. I guess I'm a little partial to the RAF and thought that the story could have been more about the airmen who served in the Royal Air Force. The only reason I didn't like the book is that it jumped around too much and never really focused on the Royal Air Force's other squadrons such as the Eagle Squadron. Don't get me wrong it's a great book, like I said earlier I'm a little partial to the RAF and would've like to hear more about the airmen because when people think about the Battle of Britain, that's the first thing that comes to mind.

This book covers the period May - November 1940 when Britain was in its most precarious position, struggling for its very survival.

Through diary extracts and personal interviews (from the survivors) by both authors, you get a really tangible sense of the urgency, fear, hope and danger that the British lived with during that time. Among the people profiled in this book were:

i) a British tank commander who fought against Rommel's "Ghost Division" (the 7th Panzer Division) during the spring fighting in Northern France, barely escaping capture, and later managing to escape to England

ii) an RAF fighter pilot who flew Hurricanes in France and later over England

iii) a WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) fighter controller

iv) an American journalist with connections to both Roosevelt and Churchill

v) a young sailor in the Royal Navy, who assisted in the evacuation of Allied military personnel from Dunkirk and later served in a naval task force Churchill sent to Oran to attack the surface vessels of the French Navy stationed there, so as not to allow those ships to come under German control following the French surrender.

If you are one of those readers who seeks to find a "real and human" connection with what the Second World War was like, you can't go wrong with "THE FINEST HOUR".

Very well written, very exciting. I could not put this book down. I did not know to much about World War II except what the US did. This tells me a whole new story that I never knew.

First of all, I wish to state that this book is good reading. But, it's not really about "The Finest Hour" as one would expect. Rather, it is the story of several people up to and including the Battle of Britain. It interweaves the experiences of Churchill and his secrataries, Roosevelt, newspaper columnists from New York, a sailor, a few fighter pilots and the women plotters who plotted the courses of the planes. The book describes their collective experiences during the invasion of France; the evacuation from Dunkirk; the child evacuations from England and so forth. Their stories are told as a series of vignettes. (If you were watching this on television, you could see each story fade to black and then a new story developing). It does make for good reading.

However, the book really does not cover the logistics, the aerial fighting during the Battle of Britain, or the tactics of battle. In that respect, I was disappointed. I think the book should have been called "Behind the Scenes of the Battle of Britain". Nevertheless, be prepared that you are not going to read about the history of the battle, but about a few peoples' experiences during the battle.

Without a doubt, this is an excellent book. Therein, the reader will receive a view into the lives British fliers, sailors, soldiers, and civilians as well as "detached" observers, such as American journalists from the Battle of France through the Blitz.

What made this book special to me, was that I had the opportunity to learn more about the fellows of 17 Sqn. Some years ago, I had the privilege to correspond with one of the characters - Harold Arthur Cooper Bird-Wilson (known in the book as "Birdy" Bird-Wilson), DFC DSO; this book gave me a better insight to not only to his experiences, but also to those across the spectrum of British society during that time.

Though he interviewed many people and has done conciderable research, it is clear he has little understanding of the Middle East.
He has a score to settle, maybe with himself, but too many people seem prone to this on this topic...alas. There seems to be quite a mistery surrounding the author. He was not part of the negotiating team, nor present in any respect to the negotiations. He seems to have lied to many of the people he interviewed as to the intent of his work. And the whole issue of Gabe Ross working covertly for his father on capital hill while 18 and a mail clerk seems just plain stupid.
It is a worth while read for some of the facts and opinions, not all groundless, but over all one should not attempt to 'understand' the process of Final Status Negotiations through this book

Great, well researched and well thought out
A deeper account of the conflict and the specific time period and events. The author also puts the conflict and time period into the greater context of world politics and world history.
This version had a few spelling and language (names and holidays) errors, but that mostly did not detract from the content. Perhaps I just have an older version and it's since been edited more.

This book presents detailed, eye-witness accounts from all sides of the US/Israeli peace negotiations with the Syrians and Palestinians during the latter part of the Clinton administration. This is not a particularly well written book, it is clear that Mr. Swisher is still developing his craft, but it is invaluable to learn what really took place in these discussions. The text is repetitive at times, and could probably have been cut by 20%. There are other areas where detail is oddly lacking. This is a five star book for content, but only a three star book in terms of language/grammar. I've given it five to balance out some of the negative reviews. This is an important and timely book that will shatter some of the myths associated with the US role in the `peace process'.

The conventional wisdom in the US is that the US and Israel offered the Palestinians 90% of what they wanted, and were rejected. The conclusion is that since this offer was rejected, they have no partner for peace. The reality is considerably more complex. This book examines in detail, with accounts taken from participants on all sides, what was in fact offered to the Palestinians and why they rejected this offer. I challenge any reader who believes this conventional wisdom to read this book. Some of the negative reviewers below make very good points vis-a-vis Palestinian terrorism, Arafat's role in the second intifada, right of return, etc., but they miss the key issue of this book. To understand why the negociations failed and why the offer was rejected by Arafat, one must understand EXACTLY what was offered to the Palestinians. As described in great detail in this book, the Palestinians were offered far less than true statehood by the US and Israelis. They would have had a state in name (with a flag, an anthem, etc.), but the Palestinian state would be economically and politically subservient to Israel. They would not control their borders or their economy, their country would be divided by Israeli-only roads, and they would have a capital in a suburb of Jerusalem. This was not a process from which (from a US/Israeli perspective) a viable, independent, free Palestinian state would be formed, but one in which the Palestinians would accept Israeli political, economic, and military domination. Arafat quite rightly rejected this.

The second, and perhaps more chilling, aspect of this book is how the line dividing US and Israeli interests among the highest levels of the US government has almost totally disappeared. Why is Dennis Ross, a man described as more pro-Israel than the Israeli delegation and a servant of AIPAC, representing the US in these negociations? Surely there must have been someone who was slightly less one-sided in the State Department to take the role that Dennis Ross was thrust into?

A significant fraction (roughly 1/3) of the book deals with the Syrian/Israeli peace process, the return of the Golan Heights to Syria, and the death of President Assad. The main point of interest in these discussions is that Israel could have peace tomorrow with Syria if the Golan Height were returned in toto.

Overall, this is a detailed, factual, balanced account of the US/Israeli peace negociations with the Palestinians and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in this issue. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Swisher.

Swisher's book is a unique resource based on extensive interviews with first-hand participants in the Camp David meetings of 2000, written up by someone who is willing to change his mind when he hears the evidence. The book illustrates how the American summits with Syria early in 2000 led to Camp David, and it goes on to show how the Camp David process led to the violence that followed the Wailing Wall provocation.

As regards Camp David itself, the information presented to Swisher detailed the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israeli positions on the issues as well as the Americans' management of the summit.

The PLO position had several elements. The PLO had already dropped their demand to recover land from the Israelis' 1948 conquests, but they wanted the associated ethnic cleansing (see Ilan Pappe's "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine," available on Amazon.com) to be recognized in terms of a "right of return," which would be exercised primarily through Israeli reparations rather than Arab population movements. However, the PLO continued to reject the additional loss of land from the conquests of 1967, although minor territorial adjustments were possible in an overall agreement. (This was also the UN Security Council position.)

The Israeli position, led by Netanyahu and Sharansky (although they were not present at Camp David), was to keep all conquests, admit no guilt, and expand colonization. However, since the Israelis were interested in getting the Arabs to reduce their demands, they asked Clinton to hold a summit.

To create the appearance of common ground necessary for holding a summit, Clinton told Arafat untruthfully that he had heard from the Israelis that they would accept something close to the Arab position, at least on the 1967 territorial conquests. This claim lacked credibility, among other reasons because Clinton had said the same thing to the Syrians earlier in 2000 and that had been shown not to be truthful. But the PLO agreed to come to the summit to give Clinton the benefit of the doubt and to see what could be done.

At the summit, Clinton made a variety of offers to the PLO. These offers left any right of return up to Israeli discretion and divided Israel's 1967 territorial conquests into three parts. One part would be annexed by Israel: Jerusalem and western border areas. A second part would be kept by Israel until the Israelis agreed to give it back: the Jordanian border. A third part would be shared: Arabs would administer a large number of bantustans honeycombed by Israeli roads, settlements, and military installations (see Jimmy Carter's "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," available on Amazon.com).

Clinton explored with the PLO how much territory they would give up in the three categories and pressured them to give up more. When he heard any PLO concession, he would relay it to the Israelis. In general, the Israelis said that in principle the concessions weren't sufficient. They also made clear that as a practical matter any ideas about concessions to the Arabs were American trial balloons and not Israeli positions.

When the PLO rejected Clinton's proposals, Clinton accused them of turning down offers that were generous in the sense that they went further than the Netanyahu-Sharansky position of offering nothing. This was how the summit ended.

The descriptions Swisher collected regarding the Americans' role found that they were unprofessional: poorly prepared, biased, wracked by internal dissension, and even administratively inept in terms of note taking and preparing written positions, which prevented issues from being clarified. Swisher describes the contrast between this and President Carter's management of the 1970s' successful Camp David discussions.

Regarding Jerusalem in particular, Clinton's proposals gave the Israelis close military control over Arab access to the city. This elicited emotional responses from the Arabs (mirroring the Netanyahu-Sharansky rejectionism on the Israeli side). Swisher illustrates how Sharon's subsequent visit to the Wailing Wall drew on this emotionalism to initiate more Israeli military action, resulting in the current intifada. (Although Swisher does not note it, this is a good example of the provocation policy described by Israeli Prime Minister Sharett in his diaries: see Livia Rokach's "Israel's Sacred Terrorism," available on Amazon.com.)

I think what happened at Camp David II is somewhere between this book and Dennis Ross' book (missing peace). I liked the interviews and the more neutral narrative tone compared to other books on this topic.

My wife and I have been studying ASL for several years and we have a number of dictionaries, books, videos, etc. The Gallaudet Dictionary (book) is excellent and has a great many signs not found in other dictionaries. The enclosed CD is fabulous. It is worth the price all by itself. I especially love the ability to slow down or stop action the video of the "sign" to catch the nuances. I have already recommended this book to several friends who are also studying ASL. If I had to pick one ASL dictionary to buy, this would definitely be the one.

HI. I got the Dictionary and CD and really love it and the price is excellent. I ordered the same for my daughter also taking ASL in Hawaii. Thank you!

I being new to ASL the book was good because it had many signs. But there was nothing telling you how to make the sign except for the CD that came with the book showing how to make the sign. The CD is very good and it takes time to use it. The book just needs more description of how the sign is done as if you don't have a CD. If i had a look at the book first i would not have bought it.

This dictionary comes with a DVD of people performing the signs - incredibly helpful as sometimes it is hard to figure out how a sign looks by simply looking at a drawing in a book. Be aware that a lot of the signs are East Coast signs (naturally, as Gallaudet is in Washington DC) so you may see some diversity in a lot of the signs if you are not on the East Coast. Overall, a great investment.

I have been taking American Sign Language classes for almost two years now. Many of the "book" dictionaries try to illustrate the proper motions and facial expressions for ASL signs, but trying to show these signs in static two-dimensional images, even with descriptions, left me uncertain in many cases. I did use some online dictionaries that demonstrated ASL signs with video clips, but the online dictionaries I found did not provide an extensive number of signs. The DVD with the Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language is outstanding! By typing in the sign you want to see, you can jump directly to a video demonstration for that sign (for more than 3,000 signs). The DVD, like the written portion of the dictionary, is also more up to date than many other ASL dictionaries. When you cannot practice ASL signs with others, observing video clips is the next best thing. This DVD dictionary is an excellent aid.

Although I haven't finished reading this text, I think I can accurately comment on it. The information comes from an economics perspective. that's a good thing, if you have an economics background, which I do. I like the way this book reads. It offers a good deal of information about commercial real estate using both financial and urban economics. I don't believe this book is appropriate for an undergrad student. This book assumes you have a basic finance background and some understanding of urban economics. In short, if you have an econ degree or even a finance degree, I think you'll find this text very useful in helping you to understand what drives the commercial real estate market, how to predict where this market is going, how to analyze it, and how to valuate it.

Just everything okay, considering it had to be shipped from the US to the UK, arrived even earlier than some of the books I ordered same time from UK suppliers.
Small unsubstantial damage on cover of book though, probably caused by transport.

This is one of the most comprehensive, analytical and thorough texts on topics concerning commercial real estate investment that I have come accross. It would be useful for both advanced students with real estate interests and finance professionals, who seek exposure to fundamental real estate (and real estate securities) analysis. Participants in the real estate industry mishgt find the text useful, but basic. The book is also useful as a reference guide for real estate professionals looking for a particular mathematical formula.

The authors cover a very broad range of topics - from urban economics, to fundamental (supply/demand) real estate analysis, to real estate valuation techniques as well as more specialized topics, such as commercial mortgage backed securities and real estate development. The book really stands out in the breadth of its disourse both on qualitative and quantitative topics.

This book is really serious. It gives you data sets, a massive amount of study questions with solutions and sample programs (Argus & Crystal Ball--which is used for probability). This book is like the bible. It goes from simple real estate i.e buy low & sell high all the way to mortgage backed securities, options and derivatives. After reading the book you will know more than most executives.

It may not be for those that are more into urban planning or construction management, but if you need and want a book that blends real estate with the capital markets this is the one.I highly recommend it.

Commercial real estate is not for the faint of heart. I have been in residential real estate for a while and have on several occasions dealt with commercial real estate folks and issues surrounding it.

On the plus side, if you are looking for an exhaustive source of information on evaluating commercial real estate, you have arrived. This volume is going to give you all the information you need to analyze any situation to death. Perhaps to the point that small bits of brain dribble out your ear.

If your a dabbler... or someone who has thought, "Gee... I wonder if commercial real estate would be interesting to get into?" then this is NOT the place for you to start that journey of self discovery.

There are much smaller, shorter, lighter more digestible books out there on the subject that will give you a feel for what you might be getting into.

So, if you are someone already knee deep in commercial real estate, or someone deadly serious about being able to really analyze commercial properties, then this one is for you.

She was born into a wealthy aristocratic family, grew up in a privileged society, and at the young age of 20, married the Prince of Wales. Her magnetic personality and good looks attracted much attention from the media. She became an instant celebrity and a massive target for tabloid gossip. A few controversies surrounded her, but after her death in 1997, she became a public icon to many people.

But what makes the story of Diana Spencer so special? Is it her rebellious attitude towards the "establishment"? Her committed volunteer work for various charities? Her tragic death in Paris? My answer is: all of the above... and then some. Yet, as the authors point out, Princess Diana played a significant role in society. Aside from being a pretty face who lived lavishly, she was also an admirable spokesperson for humanity, a philanthropist, and a loving mother to her children. At a time when most people (from all levels of society) feared having any contact with AIDS patients, Diana openly embraced them for the world to see, showing what compassion is all about. Such simple gestures had a profound impact on society, as many people began changing their opinions on AIDS patients.

Diana's frequent visits to hospitals and shelter homes combined with her amicable personality easily made her a fan favorite. Her involvement with the Red Cross, and especially her efforts in bringing awareness about landmines, proved to be a huge success. However, Diana - just like everyone else - had her flaws; she had her good days and bad days. During bad days, according to the authors, she was insecure, emotionally unstable, sometimes manipulative, and often a jealous wife. The latter, was mostly due to her husband's affair with his "friend" Camilla Parker Bowles. Speaking of Charles, he too receives a fair amount of attention in this book. Diana's rollercoaster marriage to the prince is closely examined. The authors also write about Diana's own relationships and affairs with other men, most notably, her relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed.

While it would be all too easy to for the authors to choose sides, they seem to be fairly neutral throughout the book. They stick to the facts and minimize any personal feelings they may have for Diana. Their treatment of the paparazzi also seems well balanced. They write about how reporters constantly chased the Princess and invaded her privacy by snapping pictures of her. However, they do not "bash" the media. As a matter of fact, many reporters are quoted in this book. The authors also explain how the media cold-heartedly "used" Diana to their advantage, and how Diana herself "used" the media to her advantage. It was an odd relationship. They also write about the paparazzi's role in her fatal car crash: are they to be blamed for it? Did they cross the line? What really happened on that night in Paris? This book will give you some answers.

This is an insightful book, well-researched and balanced. If you want to know who Princess Diana was, this book will do just fine. I recommend it.

As autobiographies go this was a rather interesting effort. I must say the authors treated all sides fairly when addressing the various complex issued that made up this woman's world.

This book opens with her childhood and stops on various parts of her life which helped to create the woman she later became. With care and compassion the life of this woman is explained--giving insight to a world few enter or understand. Not every situation puts Diana in a glowing position which is fair as she was at time tempestuous, sassy, sad, and manipulative. In any event this is an entertaining read regarding one of the world's most beloved people. This is truly a book worth reading.

Tireless humanitarian and inspirationally anti-establishment figure? Or beautiful but shallow woman who loved nothing more than a good photo-op and seeing her soap-operaish life grab headlines? Most of us lean heavily toward one of the above perspectives of Princess Diana. Unfortunately, it seems that books dealing with the late princess also tend to be written in this black-and-white way.

Yet in "Diana: Story of a Princess," authors Craig and Clayton offer material that paints a refreshingly different portrait of Diana. It certainly isn't black-and-white; instead, it emphasizes the complex and elusive character of this eternally puzzling person.

The biography begins with Diana's childhood, and although it may initially seem a slightly dry chronicle of Spencer family history and aristocratic titles, it quickly beomces much more compelling. It is obvious that the authors have put a tremendous amount of research into the book-this research translates into well-detailed account of every pivotal moment in her life. "Diana, Story of a Princess" is, if nothing else, a complete "life portrait" that Diana fans won't want to be without.

In my mind, however, this bio is much more than a simple chronicle of events because of the widely varying views and accounts presented about the princess. Everyone knows how Diana was a victim of the Charles-Camilla relationship, but does anyone know the disadvantages Charles faced as he entered the marriage? We all have heard of what a selfless charity worker Diana was, but did we ever know of her supposedly "darker" side during this sort of work? This book explores both "sides" of these issues and others. Through facts, first-person accounts, and their own intelligent, interesting, and balanced commentary, the authors attempt not to trash Diana or transform her into a saint, but simply to raise and explore questions about her true character.

Overall, this biography is certainly a success. It manages to be generally informative and intriguing-while avoiding the pitfalls of being too one-sided or sensational.

I've read lots about Princess Diana. This book like so many others paints Diana as a shrew and Charles as a victim. What no one seems to care about is that Charles entered his marriage with a girlfriend on his arm. Camilla did not appear "sometime after the marriage broke down".
Too many times before the wedding and on the honeymoon Charles failed to reassure Diana regarding his real relationship with Camilla.
He never gave Camilla up.
That alone accounts for 99% of the problems that faced the Wales.
Another sour point in the book is the Tiggy situation. I thought royal nannies stayed in the background. But not Tiggy. Tiggy was everywhere to be seen. Most books support Tiggy as "great" and Diana is horrible. I'm confused as to the Christmas Party where Diana sidles up to Tiggy and whispers "sorry to here about the baby".
Everyone(and I mean everyone in the whole room heard the whispered comment. That seems strange to me. Also I've had people "hit me between the eyes" with an off-the-wall statement like that. And all I say is "beg pardon".
I don't have to be helped from the room nor consult a lawyer.
Seems way over played to me.
The authors seem to dismiss Diana's good deeds as play acting for good press.
If you are a Diana fan. Look elsewhere for a book to read about the princess.

I have never read any of the Diana biographies ~~ but I happened to see a copy of this book on the clearance rack at a bookstore and thought, why not? I was mesmerized from the first page.

I was 11 when Princess Diana exploded on the scene. I watched the wedding that day ~~ and sighed over the fairytale of it all. I was 27 when she died ~~ and watched her funeral. So maybe I wasn't as keen on Diana as some of the others were, but she was an icon of my youth.

This book is a fair book describing her life before she married Charles and after her divorce. It showed a side to their marriage that brought understanding on their marriage (she was too young, I thought to be married into the Royal family, who I feel is removed from the realities of their country) and how it disintegrated into the public mess that I remember reading about in college. The authors took pains not to point fingers at either one of them in the blame for their marriage's failure ~~ they reminded us that their marriage is just like any other marriage ~~ set out with high hopes and expectations, only neither was equipped to deal with the other or how to fix their problems.

Then reading about how Diana manipulated the media to her advantage as well as to the advantages of her causes ~~ shows a savvy business woman who does understand the consquences of good media coverages. It was an interesting read on that account.

To paint Diana in a black and white picture is not fair to her because this woman, according to the authors, was a paradox. She showed many facets of her personality that kept her interesting to all that knew her, whether they liked her or not. She was portrayed as a caring mother, a compassionate charity worker, a high-strung wife, and so on. In my opinion, she's a refreshing change from the stiff-lipped royalty in England. This book shows her growing up in the 16 years of limelight and it's a fascinating read.

2-1-05

I consider the second edition one of the best introductory textbooks on electromagnetics. (Another favorite of mine is Nathan Ida's textbook.) It is a well-written introduction to the subject. Unfortunately, some of the newer introductory textbooks on electromagnetics have been condensed, since many electrical engineering programs only require one upper-level course in electromagnetics.

"Introduction to Electromagnetics Fields" by Clayton R. Paul, Keith W. Whites and Syed A. Nasar definitively is the best textbook in terms of the mathematical development of electromagnetics introducing students to Electromagnetism and providing balanced coverage of both Static and Dynamic Fields including Transmission Lines, Waveguides and Antennas.

This book has been carefully written and is also well-organized. The chosen examples are designed to impart understanding of electromagnetic principles rather than calculation skills. It is excellent textbook for those who are new to the subject and It is also excellent for those who have already learned some electromagnetism.

The development of a computer-aided learning tool with the use of Mathcad is a significant addition for a textbook of electromagnetism. The electronic book "Visual Electromagnetics for Mathcad" has been written to aid student's learning of introductory electromagnetism. The student will find out this an excellent tool for exploring the universal laws governing electromagnetic waves and for gaining intuition about how various parameters affect the solution to problems. In addition, the educator in physics and engineering will find a comprehensive selection of laboratory and homework exercises in Mathcad, with plenty of room for creativity and expansion.

This textbook contains 431 homework problems, answers to all problems are located at the end of the text for student reference, and gives you completely worked-out examples in order to make the concepts understanable and to demonstrate practical applications of the techniques.

Finally, if you want to prepare effectively for exams and improve your grades, you should combine "Introduction to Electromagnetics Fields" with "2,000 Solved Problems in Electromagnetics". These books form an awesome duet, covering all the bases, and will provide you with a good foundation for advanced studies because these two books have different strengths, for instance: intuitive development; systematic development; practical application; and interactive problem solving.

this is a great book. it is written clearly with abundance of examples and problem sets that will help you to understand this rather gruesome topic.

best thign about this book is its organization. it begins with a review of relevant topics in vector calculus then goes on to electrostatics, magnetics, electromagnetics, then various applications. topics are covered integrally so that you get a growing sense of a coherent whole as you get further into the book. its well suited for undergraduate text and for self-study alike.

this is a great book. it is written clearly with abundance of examples and problem sets that will help you to understand this rather gruesome topic.

best thign about this book is its organization. it begins with a review of relevant topics in vector calculus then goes on to electrostatics, magnetics, electromagnetics, then various applications. topics are covered integrally so that you get a growing sense of a coherent whole as you get further into the book. its well suited for undergraduate text and for self-study alike.

I was looking forward to using this book as a refresher course, but I am extremely disappointed in the way the book is put together. This surprises me as I have the book on Intro. to EMC and it is nothing but excellent. The problems I experienced with this book are 3 fold. 1) The authors consistently lose this reader in each and every example in grueling mathmatical calculations. I understand when studying EM the student must be adept at the mathmatical concepts, but other books seem more adept at not losing the reader in the middle of trying to teach a concept. 2) The end of the chapter problems suffer with the same problem. It seems to me you start with problems that teach the concept and then procede to more difficult ones to establish the theory firmly in the students understanding. But not this book the end of the chapter problems right away lead you into endless mathmatics and by the time you come up with the answer you are more aware of what you learned in previous math classes then the actual concept trying to be taught. 3) Finally, right off the bat some of the problems in the back of the book had the wrong answers. In any event I would suggest a first time EM student look more toward Hayt rather than this book. Once again I have been very pleased with this author in the past, but in my opinion this book fails to accomplish what it sets out to achieve.

I thought this book was an academic waste of time. Like sure when we use computers things are going to be disrutive, like in other industries. This book provides little in the way of what is being done well now, and the sub disruction. They use abstract examples from other industries where they sould be focused on education.

Rocket Builders most influential author, Christensen, with his co authors has taken his theory of disruptive innovation and focused on the education sector. The authors do not lay blame but with Christensen's laser sharp analysis, peel back all the root causes of public perception and changing goal posts for education and what it has done to the institution over time. He then goes on to explain how classic disruption theory - which starts with non consumers and then slowly moves up the competency level as the incumbents are forced to retreat to higher value activities is already progressing in education. He predicts that by 2020, disruptive innovation will hit that 50% mark to turn the tables on other methods (monolithic education in this case) . They show how trying to bring the disruption inside present institutions can not succeed due to the constraints that are already in place. His statements ring true as we have seen the impact of disruption on public and private sector already.

Since his team always does their homework, you are exposed to fascinating research on the impact of verbalization on new borns up to 3 years old. They explain how that is an academic headstart any parent can give their child now. He posits that early kindergarten (after 3 yrs old) and other high priced interventions are doomed to a limited success rate. As well he quickly exposes the paucity (weak techniques and theory) of real research in education since it all to often stops short of causality ( I can certainly testify to that) . Then he explains how computer based education methods are already changing and adapting to the needs of a student centric model. He illustrates how Howard Gardners multiple modes of learning could be accomodated in the disruptive model.

Once again there is a second book within the book with copious research notes in every chapter. I am one of those professional educators who packed it in based on what I experienced as the overall futility of real change in education. Now this book has reawakened my interest in change in the education market - moving to a student centric model. If you have children or grandchildren - you need to buy and read this book. If you are in the e-learning market - it is required reading. Thank you McGraw Hill! I really liked it and it is as always an easy read with loads of detail if you want it.

"Disrupting Class" is a very interesting read for people interested in improving education here in the U.S. Dr. Christensen argues that the main problem with traditional schools is that they cannot provide individualized instruction that best meets each student's needs. As a home educator, I couldn't agree with him more. He sees computer-based learning as a "disruptive innovation" that will solve the problem of how to provide this type of "student-centric" learning to the masses (since not everyone can homeschool or hire a tutor for their offspring).

Dr. Christensen revisits the argument from his earlier book "The Innovator's Dilemma" that "disruptive innovations" don't initially compete directly against the current market leader's product but rather against nonconsumption. For example, in the '70's Digital had a very successful market for $200k minicomputers. Apple couldn't directly compete with DEC's minicomputers because their personal computers weren't good enough at the time to solve the problems that DEC's customers had. So Apple marketed its IIe PC as a relatively affordable toy for kids. Kids were nonconsumers so it didn't matter to them that the Apple wasn't as powerful as the existing DEC minicomputers. A few years down the road, however, improvements in PC technology rendered DEC's minicomputers obsolete.

Dr. Christensen argues that the traditional government-run education system will in the near future be "disrupted" by the innovation of computer-based learning. At first, online learning will compete against nonconsumption by offering classes in subjects where there isn't enough demand in any given school to justify offering a traditional course (such as a very advanced math one or an unusual foreign language). But eventually, He believes that the technology will improve such that computer-based learning will render the traditional model of education obsolete.

In "Disrupting Class", he postulates that demand for computer-based high school classes will follow an S-curve that will start to "flip" (significantly accelerate) in the year 2012. In the years between 2012 and 2018, Dr. Christensen projects that the share of online courses will grow from 5% to 50% of all high school courses. That timetable seems a bit ambitious to me personally, but I believe he's got the basic right idea about the growth in the demand for online classes.

The main problem I had with "Disrupting Class" is with the way it is written. It reads like a management consultant's report filled with buzzwords and jargon (not surprisingly Dr. Christensen used to work for BCG). It would've been much better had someone else gone through the authors' draft and re-written it in plain English. I found it very tiresome to have to stop constantly to figure out what exactly the authors actually meant by all their convoluted gobbledygook. Throwing buzzwords and jargon into nearly every sentence doesn't make the authors look smarter, just much less coherent!

The other thing I would've liked to have seen discussed in "Disrupting Class" is the question of whether or not it is good for children's brains for schooling to be mostly computer-based. Dr. Jane Healey wrote a very interesting book about a decade ago called "Failure to Connect" about some worrisome research findings on the negative impact of computer use on children. Has more recent research allayed or deepened those concerns? Before our society makes the shift predicted in "Disruptive Class", shouldn't we be examining this very important question?

Any prospective reader of this book should first read Hubbard's How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business (for that matter, Christensen would have written a better book if he read Hubbard, too). Christensen rightly disputes some academic measurements, but too quickly dismisses better methods.

Apart from what he could have done better on the measurement issue, he makes a passionate case for getting out of the rut education finds itself in. Some of the recommendations might strike a business person or educator as a little impractical, but I think there is an interesting opportunity in every solution he proposes. True, there is a large genre of books about the need for change in education, but few take this angle. No educator's library should be without it.

Disrupting Class is a must read for educators, politicians, or anyone else who is interested in the field of education. The book provides a summary of Clayton Christensen's work on disruptive technology described in the earlier book the Innovators Dilemma. Horn, Johnson, and Christensen do an outstanding job of applying the theory of disruptive technology to the world of education. The book identifies a are large numbers of students being under served by the current model of education. This point is supported by the large numbers of students dropping out of school. The authors also state that many students are being underserved because a large number of schools do not offer a curriculum that is relevant and rigorous. This point is illustrated by the large number of virtual schools and charter school immerging in America. If you are interested in education you should read the book to see what education may look like in 20 years. If you are a politician trying to figure of how to fund an education system you need to read the book because it offers a more economical way to educate students. Or if you are a school administrator, like I am, trying to find a way to make your AYP goal you need to read the book because it will cause you to view the world in which we work a little differently. In closing, I have read numerous books on leadership, change, and specifically change in the field of education. I would place Disrupting Class in the top five of books I have read.

I must say that I've enjoyed the first four MTG books. Clayton Emery has done an admirable job of bringing the magic of Dominia to the pages of novels, as well as creating a nice story with engaging characters and a pretty exciting plot. However, I am glad that this story has come to an end and more of the world of MTG can now be explored.

In Final Sacrifice, Gull and Greensleeves continue to barely survive fight after fight against a team of wizards that they have thwarted in the past until Greensleeves eventually just snaps and nearly destroys everything around her. The ending of the book comes as somewhat of a surprise, with characters from the past reappearing and the "final sacrifice" not being what you'd expect.

Another quick, easy, and enjoyable read, I'd reccomend it for someone looking for a short and relaxing read.

The book brought to conclusion the stories found in the two previous books. I have to admit, it was tough to read it. Boring at times, character flaws. I gave 3 stars becuase the last chapters made up for it. I must confess that I really felt bad for Greensleves. This proves that after three books, those characters, mostly Greenselves and Gull, really grew on me.

I have not used this one with my students.

it is an awesome book i loved the part where greenseleves cast the gaint storm on the blue barbarians whil protecting her own troops

Greensleeves grows in power and battles the evil wizards who cast gloom upon the land. I loved this book! More wonderful descriptions.

I was looking a long time for some great fantasy book whith the good, beautiful yet extremely powerful sorceress in the main role. This trilogy and especially 'The Final Sacrifice' fulfilled all my demands at 100%. I can only mourn there isn't more books like this.

The idea of lots of examples and some solved problems is an excellent way of learning anything. However, to really teach well a book should have a strong logical underpinning and lots of solved problems to initiate a very gradual and fundamental understanding of the subject. I did not think that this book took that extra step. Consequently, I would recommend it as one of the books you buy to learn Java, but do not rely on it for your full Java education.

I have this book both in Chinese & English Version. I learned Java from this book. It is so simple to follow the basic idea of Java using the example from the book. Clayton Walnum is expert in writing book.

I love this book.

After attepting to grasp Java with two other books I was close to giving up. Then I found this book! It gives the best intro to Object Orientated Programming I have seen yet. I don't know if this book has been updated for the new Java SDK but when I read it, it was VERY good.

I took a programming class in the late 1970s, but never programmed anything outside the classroom. In '97, after being system administrator for 7 years, my employer asked me to take over the administration of our web site. So I picked up 4 different books on JAVA. After reading through 3 of the books, I felt either they were too advanced for my grasp or weren't well written. JAVA By Example took me through the basics in a very short time. After reading this book, I later went through the other 3 books a second time and determined that they were poorly written. Great Job, Clayton Walnum.

Most of the books on Java are either too technical or they are too superficial in their explanations. Unfortunately, although this book does have "live code", complete written out programs for examples, it ultimately falls into the 'too superficial' category. For example, the chapter on classes is very brief and the examples are programs that do practically nothing, so it's difficult to get a grasp for how classes actually work. I recommend instead, "Java How to Program" by Deitel and Deitel.