Ferguson Books

While the novel starts out well it sorta fizzles. The hero seems to be a bit to remote for the story. It was also easy to determine who the bad guy was (I had it figured out way to early) and when that happens it sorta looses it's hold on you.

But if you are just looking for a quick enjoyable read it is not a bad book.

"His Unexpected Bride" by Jo Ann Ferguson is a rather well written novel that makes full use of the marriage of inconvenience plot. Lord Cameron Hawksmoor drunkenly stumbles into Miss Tess Masterson's bedroom, mistaking it for his own. But before he can rectify his error, Tess's father turns up. Apparently Cameron has married Tess (by proxy) with her father's blessing. Both Tess and Cameron are appalled: Tess, because her father has married her off so summarily without giving any thought as to her wishes and feelings; and Cameron because he's so drunk, he cannot remember having even obtained a special license in order to marry Tess. However married the two irrevocably are unless there is some legal way out of this bumblebroth. Unhappy, both Cameron and Tess leave for London in order to get some legal advice about their predicament. The trouble however is that while Tess feels quite resentful towards Cameron for the part he played in this mess, and while Cameron cannot help but feel that there is something terribly wrong about the manner in which he came to be married, both Tess and Cameron are powerfully attracted towards each other. The question then is if both Tess and Cameron should give up their hopes of putting and end to their marriage and give into their feelings for each other or not?

The novel unfolds a little slowly for the first half of the book. Jo Ann Ferguson spent a lot of time circling around the frustrations that both Cameron and Tess feel about the state they find themselves in -- being married and yet not wanting to remain so because of the manner in which their marriage was contracted; stir in the powerful attraction that they feel for each other and the fact that neither party really trusts the other completely, and you have a royal mess in the making! On Tess's side of grievances lies also the unpalatable truth that she doesn't know what to make of Cameron's tendency to blow hot and cold towards her, of his ability to suppress all his emotions, to say one thing but mean the other, and his tendency to blame her and throw tantrums whenever things go wrong. (I mentally cheered when she finally tells him to grow up and face things like an adult.) However, halfway through the novel, there is a major plot development (and I'm not saying what so as not to spoil things for everyone). From this point on, the novel unwinds at a faster and at a more interesting pace, as Cameron finally begins to take a hard look at who is trying to harm and manipulate his family.

All in all, I'd say that "His Unexpected Bride" is a pretty good read. I did think that Cameron's and Tess's obsession with putting a quiet end to their marriage was unrealistic. This was early 19th century England afterall: no such thing (save an annulment) existed. Also, I wished that Jo Ann Ferguson had developed Cameron's character more -- what had turned him into such a control freak? And why he felt the need to suppress all his emotions? As it is we're left with a frequently grumpy and short tempered grouse, albeit an intelligent one. I also thought that introducing Cameron's good hearted ex-mistress into the mix was unnecessary, as she served no real purpose except to advise Tess to stick out her unconventional marriage and to trust in Cameron. She only added to the mess of there being (at times) too many characters for such a plot. A good read however in spite of my caveats.

The plot has promise--a man who wakes up beside his host's daughter and is told he married her in a drunken stupor with a proxy standing in for the bride--but the 'twases, 'tises, and a mayhap every other page certainly ruined the flow of the narrative. Those expressions are Georgian and even if they were not, it is not necessary to use them to write a good Regency. The main characters have promise but they are sort of dragged from page to page, vascillating about their attraction to each other as they try to undo the marriage. That some of the other characters do not ring true to the period is a common problem with American writers trying to "do" Regency England. There was nothing democratic about it--rank was everything. Also,Cameron's brother would never bring his doxy to his brother's house to meet the bride nor would Cameron have a picture of his mistress in his house. Some behaviors were beyond the pale and to pretend otherwise wastes a good plot opportunity. Definitely not of the caliber of "Lord Radcliffe's Season" but I'm trying to finish it anyway.

This book would be better and a lot shorter if all the political polemics were removed. They get in the way of some good (but old) statistical info. If the authors want to send a message they should use Email or Western Union, if it hasn't been pensioned off.

Right from the foreword that talks of "crisis" in American pensions we get nothing but whining. The authors see the Federal government as big Daddy who must put right every bad choice you make in your life. Their examples of people who lost their pensions because their employers went bust never seem to have considered putting something aside for a rainy day themselves.

Finally, a pension and retirement income book by someone not trying to sell you anything! Karen Ferguson and Kate Blackwell have crafted a remarkable book that combines a thoughtful analysis of what ails the current retirement income system with some "how to" advice on how to get your own retirement income and pension questions answered and disputes resolved. This is as it should be for, as a collective citizenry, we are appalling ignorant about the structure of retirement income in the United States. In the same way, it is rare to meet a person (of any level of education) who fully understands their own retirement income plan. We, as responsible citizens and as tomorrow's retirees, need to learn a whole lot more. This book is the place to start.

This book belongs on the shelf next to Silent Spring and The Sand County Almanac. Ferguson writes with elegance and ease of his experiences in wild country in the Yellowstone area. It is a perfect companion for anyone planning a trip to that marvelous part of the nation. His vivid descriptions of his 500-mile trek through the area are always fascinating. He artfully weaves personal observations into the human history of the area and then into natural history as he argues eleoquently against the commercial interests intent on squeezing the last buck out of our country's vanishing wilderness.

This is simply a disjointed journal of a series of short hikes with portions deteriorating to a lame account of car camping. This ranks as one of the worst books ever published. Don't waste your time.

Nature enthusiast Gary Ferguson takes us on his extensive backpacking experiences through Yellowstone National Park. He introduces us to the people he meets and his companions, notes the spectacular wildlife and visages that he encounters, discusses some of the ecological issues facing Yellowstone, and gives us a look into the nuts and bolts of making decisions when hiking through the wild.
The Good and the Bad:
I enjoyed some of this book, but generally I found more to complain about than to praise. This book, while lacking in major faults, just seemed to have no spark of its own that would make reading it a requirement. I felt as if I'd heard each environmental discussion before, read similar descriptions of the park in other books, and was frankly skeptically annoyed at Ferguson's claims that encountering a moose bore spiritual meaning, one proof of which was the mystical departure of a cold after seeing a moose.
Ferguson displays an impressive knowledge of the species that he encounters, and I appreciated his willingness to note the wildlife, and to share interesting tidbits of information about everything from wildflowers to otters. For me, these areas were where the book was most successful.
But the overall tone gave me the impression that Ferguson perceives a world in which nature can only be truly understood by those in a special club who are willing to pay homage to the spirit of the land. Ferguson's desire to read meaning into ordinary encounters just rubbed me the wrong way, I suppose, and even now I'm struggling to put my finger on exactly what bothered me so much.

I'm no expert in happiness or being, but I must admit I enjoyed the book. It made me think. I don't know if I was any happier but certainly enlightened.

From the brother of the assistant chair person of the Federal Reserve Board ... warmed over freshman level philosophy from someone who really doesn't get it. Don't waste your time on it. Not worth reading.

if you have ordered one of these books before, chances are you already have the info contained in this book. don't waist the money

Congratulations Harlow Unger! Competent, kind, insightful. Strategic guide,and yet,a completely thorough and indispensable book showing readers and students how to research and implement all alternatives to standard college courses. I heartily recommend this book.

This is the only Journalism textbook approved for high school use in my state. Unfortunately, it is not a dependable book. I have had to tell my students to ignore things the book says. For example, it spends a whole page telling students that a Zine is a webpage. Some misinformed person was allowed to write that page and nobody thought to check their sources. The organization of the book leaves much to be desired, and many lessons are unclear. I wish I had the option to use another book but bureaucracy rules.

Journalism Today is a fascinating text for use in a beginning journalism class. Being a new high school journalism instructor, I've found the information as enlightening as my students. It provides many great suggestions for stories and wonderful insights into the field of journalism. A must have for young journalists!

As a physicist, I immediately turned to the parts that incorporate physics. Like the friction of a billiard ball on a pool table. I grew up on Pong, and the rich texturing here is so amazingly removed from that! The discussions on how to collide two balls may not be fully correct to someone who had to deal with impact parameters in classical and quantum mechanics. But it suffices well in the book's simulations.

Another chapter deals with using gravity, and will be useful to some of you. Takes the mystery out of incorporating at least a simple gravity in your games. Maybe it is nothing profound, but the results are very slick. And achieved with relatively little source code, which is thoroughly explained in the narrative.

The level of detail of the physical simulations here does not approach that of some games by Activision and Electronic Arts, of course. But those are games developed with multimillion dollar budgets and teams of programmers. This book is suitable for you to develop a game by yourself.

Honestly this book is a steer clear. Sure it has some examples that are usefull but the explanation of the code is horrible. For someone like myself who has experience in Java, C++, PHP, VB.NET, HTML and more i found this book very difficult to follow and understand.

I have since got FlashMX game design Demystified by Jobe Makar and would have to say 5 stars for that book. That explains everything properly and even teaches you the basics in mathematics and physics which was a good brush up for myself. I also like his use of OO programming so that code is resuable and he also goes lightly into using xml for building objects such as levels.

This book is just advertising for her own herb business. Try Herbal Horsekeeping by Robert McDowell and Di Rowling for an informative guide to feeding your horse herbs. My 22 year old TB/QH has never looked so good.

I really enjoyed the information in this book. It's the first of its type that I read, and the rationale for using herbs was wonderfully stated. The only problem I have with it is that she doesn't include doses clearly, making me feel like she's trying to drum up business instead of freely sharing information. I understand some things should be monitored, but other books freely offer dosages.

If you are looking for a book to reinforce your prejudices, without your mind having to be challenged at all, this is a great book. It offers standardized drivel for the masses.

If, however, you are looking for a book to challenge your views with compelling argument and convincing logic, save you money and buy some other book. This one is bereft of logic or new ideas.

I try to read books that will help me understand the thinking that drives both ends of the spectrum of political viewpoints. This helps me gain real understanding of the issues and empathy with the viewpoints of the other side. It also helps me think "outside the box" of my natural inclinations. We can't, you see, really be sure we are thinking carefully until we can respond to contrary viewpoints with cogent rebuttal -- which does not include "that's dumb," or "you're stupid" as the rebuttals. Real rebuttal requires responses that logically answer the ideas instead of attacking the individual's intelligence.

On the right end of the political spectrum, I've read Sean Hannity's book, "Deliver Us From Evil" and this book, by Ben Ferguson, "It's My America Too".

On the left end of the spectrum, I have read Arianna Huffington's book, "Fanatics and Fools", and Alan Colmes' book, "Red, White and Liberal."

From three of these four books I learned something new; ways of thinking about issues that I had not considered before. This is not to say all these books are great books. Two of the four books are pretty bad. I'll deal with the other three first, and Ben Ferguson's book last.

-- Arianna Huffington's book "Fanatics and Fools" is mostly a left-wing rant -- loud yelling that there is only one way to see a situation; her way. But it does have occasional flashes of inspired thought, made all the more precious by their rarity.

-- Sean Hannity's book, "Deliver Us From Evil" clearly and compellingly articulates why he is a right winger, and makes some excellent points I had not considered before. He changed my mind on a couple of issues. He is bright and compelling. It would have been an excellent book, but it has one major fault. He lies about history to make some of his points. It gives me pause when someone is passionate about their political position, but has to lie to make their case. (There are reasonable differences in how persons interpret history. Hannity, however, goes beyond the reasonable, and dissembles.)

-- Alan Colmes' book, "Red, White and Liberal" is logical, brings new insights, and makes many good points. Besides being compelling, Colmes is truly funny, even charming. He neither rants nor lies, and displays immense tolerance for those who bitterly oppose his viewpoints. Like or dislike his very liberal politics, you can't help but respect him as a thoroughly tolerant, compassionate American. I enjoyed his book even though he doesn't convince me on many points. He did force me to think more thoroughly.

Not so with Ben Ferguson's book,"It's My America Too," the real subject of this review. It has no precious moments, no new insight, no flashes of inspiration. It is all old drivel, a regurgitation of the shallow, illogical, one-sided platitudes so familiar to all those who have red neck acquaintances. It presents no new arguments, nothing that might cause you to rethink your own natural political leanings. The most complex of social issues are "analyzed" in one dimension; Ben Ferguson sees the world only one way, and refuses to acknowledge that there are other ways of thinking about any issue except his way. This means he does not have to challenge his mind (or the readers) to refute the alternative ways of thinking. Just insist that there is only one way to see the issue. And he resorts to ridicule by postulating so-called logical ends of certain actions; and his postulates are utterly fantastic in their extremes. Using his methods of ridicule, it would easily be possible to "show" that careful thinking is the very thing that will undo our society. He knows no bounds in his ridicule. He and Arianna are birds of a feather -- the fanatic right and the fanatic left -- they see the world through the distorted lens of radical idealism that will not allow their minds to admit that rational people can come to contradictory conclusions as to what is best for America. Their only difference is that Arianna is a bright fanatic. Ben is a mediocre thinker and apologist at best. If you want to know why you should be right wing in your politics, read Sean Hannity's book. Sean is a good apologist, and will make you think.

In a free society there must be respect for all points of view. Although I had never heard of Ben Ferguson,had never listened to his radio program or even seen him on TV,I was interested in what a young man thought of the way things were going in his country. He is remarkably adept in presenting his point of view on both people and things.There is no doubt that he is a Concervative and he makes no bones about it. Although he is young,his views are not cast in stone and despite his political leanings;he clearly shows that the Republican Party is far from perfect and in fact he dtails several areas where reform and getting back to their true values is essential if they hope to retain voter support. He shows respect for those of opposing views and this is particularly demonstrated in what he has to say about James Carvell. His comments must leave people in awe who can see only one point of view and have utter contempt for anyone with opposing thoughts.
Putting politics aside,just look at what this man has accomplished. His family values,his faith in both his God and fellow man is amazing. He is accomplished is virtually everything he has attempted.
He certainly is not one to blame someone else when things don't go his way.All he ever asks for is to be given the opportunity to try anything and to take responsibility for his actions. This is a concept that John F Kennedy,Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan professed and are not the exclusive belief of Liberal or Conservative people.
I particularly like his statement;" We have become a society where people feel there are no consequences to their actions." He understands this and it doesn't make any difference if one is a Democrat or a Republican.
There is no doubt that Ferguson has an amazing hold on himself and his country and understands what values are important.
I am sure this young man is going to lead a highly successful life and I wish him the best. Although he is a conservative,there are others of liberal persuesion that would be just as interesting to hear about.
People of dedication,concern, commitment,and values like this must be admired,regardless of their political affiliations,and they don't deserve some of the things being said about them.
Can't you just imagine how both the Democrats and the Republicand and the whole country would benefit if there were more like him among the elected officials.

I dun cant figger out how to read moste of dem werds he rote becuss, they iz spelled defferntally. But he dun iz currect, and mabee he dun might lern me how to werk dis tiperiter thingy wiff de TV on top. YEE HAW! I dun like diz book, derefor, I dun givv it 1 star for beeing number 1 in ma book! Yee Haw! Fredtowntards ma name, relocated from de Ozarcs to Shicogo, Illanoy, and now dat I got une of dem tiperiter Commador 64 tiperiter thing with de TV on top. I can giv faverable revews to books like dese, and Rite Bruther albims! Yee Haw! Ben Fugussun iz de anti-libberal kommy fashist terrerist liberal hoo dun rites books, cant thenke uf une rite now, but gotta to watch reel jernalizm on de fox news! Yee Haw!
Fredtowntard out!

...ok maybe he wrote a few paragraphs here and there, but surely this clown did not write this book as any real author would. This book was written by the Machine that writes about 80% of all right wing books. This kid is just paid a mint so they can put his cutsie staged photo on the cover. They think that by saying that these are his words, that somehow the youth of America will follow his "lead". Who says that this kid is "The Voice of America's Youth"? Oh yeah...that's right, the GOP machine does. This book would be better put to use as lining for my grandfathers birdcage. What a waste of time, inc, paper, and money. All this book does is just parrot what other brainless right wing books say: (Conservatives Good, Liberals Bah-ah-ah-ah-ad). To Ben Ferguson: When are you going to stop being a chickenhawk and sign up and do a tour (or two, or three, or four) in Iraq. Then lets see how you feel about this war. No wonder your are destined to be a 40 year old virgin. Hope your hand is ready.

Unlike many people on both side of the political fence, I actually read this book. And reread it. At least the parts that I found so appalling I initially thought I had misread them. My mom got me this book one day. Her intentions were very kind, after all, like the author, I was a young individual with an interest in politics.

Unfortunately, the simularities between Ben and I stop there.

Admittedly, the process of recieving and reading this book was an interesting one. Being a younger individual at the time with a basic grasp on modern politics, I was eager to learn more about the viewpoints of popular Conservatives. Despite being a moderate on most political issues, I gave it a shot. One look at the book and it certainly reels you in. Mr. Ferguson's priceless pose on the cover of the book is only topped by his hair, which immediately brings to mind the hard, glistening carapace of an exotic beatle.

The book is an easy read; that much is undeniable; even at a moderate pace the book can be finished in a few days. However, the content is not as desirable as it's pace. The young Ferguson brings to mind a bare-bones, dumbed-down versian of popular Conservative pundits for the most part, while several notable...quirks arise. By quirks I mean certian undeniably ignorant or hippocritical features that are either ignorant or unintended, but it still makes you wonder about how much attention was paid to the writing and editing of this book.

In the beginning, I found myselt admittedly in agreement to Ben's feelings about blanket-statements made towards Republicans and Conservatives. With the thought that perhaps this book actually possessed informative content, I was appalled shortly thereafter, as in the following pages Ben Ferguson made the same blanket-statements and generalizations about Liberals and Democrats, statements he condemned in the previous section. Also, being a self-declared "Southern gentleman," he defends the "New South" and hates generalizations made about his part of the country. Then, in an almost predictable fashion, he goes on to complain about how rude Northerners are. I have no love for such partisan double-standards on either side of the fence. Standing as another gem of uncommon ignorance, Ben declares he wouldn't vote a women into the Presidential office (even if it was his own mother, he notes) because he believes she wouldn't be taken seriously by leaders of foreign nations. I trust I do not have to delve into the rediculous nature of this statement. Ben's book can be likened to a very bland apple with several rotten spots.

However, I do have one positive thing to say about this book. Due to the simplistic and extremely basic nature of both its written style and the author's political viewpoints, it can provide a young person with an interest in politics a basic overview of some Conservative viewpoints, bare-bones as they may be.

...That is, if he or she is mature enough to root out the obvious sexism and almost clockwork hippocracy.

I purchased the first edition of this book nearly two years ago (before the Deluxe Edition) to prepare for the MCDST certification. Unfortunately, I found that many of the 100+ excercises were missing procedural steps or were just flat out wrong (ex. page 360/excercise 9.4). Usually after discovering that a study guide is full of errors and vague explanations I toss the book aside along with anything else ever written by the author. But I have examined other study guide material written by Bill Ferguson and I am convinced he is a competent instructor. I guess the editors of the first edition were in a rush to meet the release date for the 1st edition and did a cursory reading of the manuscript. Hopefully,the errors of the 1st edition have been corrected in the revised Deluxe Edition.

Sybex normally has a reputation of being THE book to study to prepare for your exam of choice. Unfortunately this one falls well below of my expectations. I've been in the IT industry for a few years now, and even I found this book to be a difficult read. Many times, the elements presented dont follow a logical sequence, making it necessary to flip back and forth among chapters to gain the proper perspective. This book often calls reference to items you'll learn in future chapters, which can be confusing when the authors throw acronyms at you that you dont understand.

Also, I find the review questions in this book rely solely on your memorization of the material studied, but not on APPLYING that knowledge to a real-life scenario, which is really what you will be tested on (applied knowledge). The review CD that comes with the book is equally uneffective. It does have a feature where you can re-review all the end-of-chapter questions, along with a "flash card" program of about 300 fill in the blank, and true/false questions, but again; these are strictly memorization, and doesnt really help when presented with a problem thats not in the book.

After finishing the 70-271 section, and answering all the book questions, I downloaded another test resource and was blown away with how much I still did not know. I really cannot recommend this book, I really should start reading reviews before I blow 60 bucks. Try the Microsoft Press books, they're more expensive, but well worth it. At least you'll walk away with a feeling of actually being prepared for the test. But of course, these are just my thoughts. Good luck to all the techies in getting your certs!

The MCDST Study Guide is a good value for the money. I would like to see more questions at the end of the chapters and for them to show more print screens of the topics instead of just telling you that you will need to know this for the exam.

But to get two study guides, in one book, that tells you what you really do need to know for the exams, is worth the price and is a bargain.

Just so you know, this is the old version. The new version came out in 2006. Don't buy this book unless you need to because it costs less than the new version.

I placed an advance order for this book two months prior to release based on past experience with Sybex products. I took 70-271 using only this book (and considerable work experience). I did pass the test (830), but there were several questions on the exam that the book had not addressed at all. I am apprehensive about how well the book will prepare me for 70-272 and I'm considering purchasing additional material. Looking at the reviews on this website, the Timothy L. Warner book appears to be a much better product.