Hall Books

I just got this book for my new baby. He doesn't understand a word yet, but I read it to him almost every night because it's so touching and sweet. I'm really reading it for me right now.

I received "Because You Are My Baby" as a gift and my three-year-old son LOVES it! He picks it for me to read to him almost every night. He loves the beautiful illustrations and the whimsical, sweet scenes of just what a mom will do for her child when the sky's the limit.

I can't wait for the next book from Sherry North!

I gave this book as a gift to a new baby to share with his two-year old sister. The little girl wanted it read over and over and adored the illustrations. Because You Are My Baby was such a huge success, I will now add it to my list of books to give to new babies.

E. Suzanne

What I loved most about this beautifully written and illustrated book is the fact that the mother is a woman who seeks adventure and partakes in non-traditional female activities, while still including her child. Book shelves everywhere need more tales about women who inspire their children through love and actions!

"Because You Are My Baby" is the perfect book for any child. My son adores this book! The writing is fresh, intelligent and fun. The illustrations are fabulous! It is sure to become a classic. We are looking forward to the next Sherry North book!!!

I have read it at least 6 times since it was originally published.

It speaks to the current world scene each time and probably will for the next 50 years.

Hall is one of the 20th century's great geniuses.

I read this book for the first time over 20 years ago after I graduated from college with an unrelated science major which I found loathesome and never used. I had already read "The Hidden Dimension" when working with an architect. I am not about to read this one again due to its complexity and the fact it "sunk in" then. Here are some of Hall's highlights:

Ch. 1 (The Paradox of Culture): "One wonders how many individuals who have been forced to adjust to eight-hour, nine-to-five schedules have sacrificed their creativity, and what the social and human cost of this sacrifice has been."

Ch. 3 (Consistency and Life): "He is forced into the position of thinking and feeling that anyone whose behavior is not predictable or is peculiar in any way is slightly out of his mind, improperly brought up, irresponsible, psychopathic, politically motivated to a point beyond all redemption, or just plain inferior."

Ch. 7 (Contexts, High and Low): "... in high context systems, people in places of authority are personally and truly (not just in theory) responsible for the actions of subordinates down to the lowest man. In low context systems, responsibility is diffused throughout the system and difficult to pin down ..."

Ch. 11 (Covert Culture and Action Chains): "The investigation of out-of-awareness culture can be accomplished only by actual observation of real events in normal settings and contexts. ... Culture is therefore very closely related to if not synonymous with what has been defined as "mind".

Ch. 12 (Imagery and Memory): "Our problems in education are exacerbated by eductional systems and philosophies that stress verbal facility at the expense of other important parts of man's mind ..."

Ch. 13 (Cultural and Primate Bases of Education): "One reason psychotherapy is so slow is that in order to change one thing it is necessary to alter the entire psyche, because the different parts of the psyche are functionally interrelated."

Ch. 13: Over bureaucratization: "The problem with bureaucracies is that they have to work hard and long to keep from substituting self-serving survival and growth for their original primary objective. ... Bureaucracies have no soul, no memory and no conscience."

Ch. 14 (Culture as an Irrational Force): "Since the men and women responsible for these [anthropological] studies for the most part are both well trained in Anglo-American social science methodology and well motivated, one can only assume that there is something basically wrong with the way in which social science research is often conducted."

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE READ THE BOOK. THE LAST TIME WAS A 110 YEARS AGO IN COLLEGE. MR. HALL MAKES US THINK ABOUT OTHER CULTURES AND ESPECIALLY OUR OWN CULTURE. IN THESE AWFUL TIMES IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND OURSELVES AND ONE ANOTHER. MR HALL'S BOOKS HELP WITH THIS. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND A CULTURE'S LANGUAGE AND DRESS. TIME, SPACE, AND OTHER CONTINGENTS ARE JUST OR MORE IMPORTANT.

This is not Hall's best known book but it incorporates many of the ideas that were originally presented in the Silent Language and applies them to culture. The idea of monochronic (M-Time) and polychronic time (P-Time) are briefly summarised as well. The underlying concept of Beyond Culture is that man is an evolutionary being and although we cannot evolve to adapt to our environment at the rate of insects we can continue to evolve through extensions. These extensions are the things we create such as fire and tools at the basic level and cars, computers, and mobile phones at the more complex level. In this way we have continued to evolve beyond the limits of our biology.

In a similar sense, culture is an extension of our personal being and is used to prevent us from having to explain every little detail. Regardless of whether a culture is "high" or "low" it contains a body of knowledge that provides for ease of communication among members. He develops this idea in the concept of action chains which is a sequence in which several people participate. Culture is by its nature participatory and understanding action chains within a culture can help us to understand how to prevent ourselves from running aground in a culture different from our own.

He also looks at culture and education and lampoons the current state of higher education in the western context. I find this somewhat unwarranted. He concludes with chapters on the irrationality of culture and our identification with culture. However irrational a culture may be to those who identify with it it makes perfect sense.

I do not always agree with the interpretation of cultural examples that he cites but his ideas are interesting and can be helpful in understanding cross/intercultural experiences. I would recommend this book to those who are, at least in passing, with his overall concepts of culture.

Since other reviewers have summarized this book, my suggestion is to read it with present-day work environments in mind. There is an increasing emphasis of Diversity and Globalization in the workplace. This book can be difficult to wade through, but the concepts stick with you. It was very easy to take the concepts and compare them to the daily situations of working in a multi-cultural corporate environment. Sometimes the best information, is from an original source or work. I would suggest reading this, just because Hall's premises still bear the brunt of time and provide that "ah-ha" awareness to an experience.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

As a New Yorker, I remember Judge Bruce Wright well. He was dubbed: "Cut 'em loose Bruce", because he often released arrested citizens without their having to post bail money. Mr. Wright upheld the law that bail is not to be used as a punishment, but only as a guarantee that the accused party return to court to face the charges against he/she. This infuriated the "powers-that-be". The fact that Judge Wright is a Black man, and many of those who came before him were also Black people, swayed the media to portray his actions as racially motivated, as opposed to his acknowledgement of the law. His book superbly reflects the blatant inequitableness of the criminal justice system and how it is purposely designed to work against Blacks and other people of color. His personal experiences, as a sitting judge, lend great credence to his analogy and conclusions concerning the legal system. Wright fearlessly gives names and elaborates on instances wherein he witnessed and experienced bias in the system. This book is not written in "textbook" fashion, provides some humorous irony and is very informative. Add it to your library.

I'm still reading this book. First time reading a book like this.This is one of the greatest. I recommend this book to be added to your library. It's gives truthful information of the legal system concerning the racism of blacks in the court system.

This book is an eye opener. It give you the truth behind the justice system from the perpective of a Sumpreme Court Judge who exposed the racism in the court system in New York. I never heard of Bruce Wright and happen I purchased this book. I have a lot of respect for the author.

somebody told it like it is...The judicial system is not balanced and it never will be. Thanks judge for telling the truth!

After appearing to die on its feet the series had gone through a re-birth thanks to fresh blood. Barry Sadler passed away in 1989 and the Casca series could have died with it but someone kept it going. The problem was they hired the worst writer in the world to carry on and we got two terrible books in the Liberator and Defiant.

Now thankfully someone pushed the right buttons and along comes someone who knows the series and character and how to return the series back on track. The other reviews that came before mine all agree, and for that we are grateful. This is what we've been missing all these years, an action Casca, a man who fights instead of thinks, a man aware of his weaknesses and strengths, not some cliche-ridden cut-out.

I hope this is the start of a renewal of the series as I'd hate it to die off in a whimper. If this is any indication of what's to come we're in for a great revival. More, please!

I loved the early Sadler stories and felt he lost something of his originality later in the series. When another author took over some time back he made a real mess of it. Thankfully now the Casca guys have gotten someone who knows Casca and can write much in the style Sadler did early on. There are some spelling mistakes and an editor should tighten things up a bit but you can see a future here for this series after the garbage that came before.

Casca is in the States and protects some Irish girls from a brothel owner, but gets in over his head with the Brotherhood on his tail and the bad guys from the brothel wanting revenge. So he joins the US army and when war with Mexico comes he gets involved with the war. I like the battle descriptions as it showed me what happened in a war I knew little about, and its sure better choice of subject first time for this writer than it was for the last one.

I want to see these coming out at a pace of at least 4 a year. I want a movie and a TV series. This is one of my favorite titles of all time. It is an idea worthy of quality pursuit. It is a wonderful mix of action, supernatural intrigue and, above all else...history. You can enjoy a fun, action packed, thought provoking read and walk away smarter for it. This has got to continue. Let's get this ball rolling again!

After leaving the Casca series for many years. I have recently purchased this latest in the saga by Tony Roberts. While the editor/publisher seemed clueless as to the dismal cover art, Tonys' writing was not diminished. It was a solid book and reminiscent of the stories that first brought me to Casca. From the first paragraph of the prologue to the last page, Tony packed as much action and drama as could be packed in the 240 pages without becoming unbelievable. His use of history did not bore the reader but gave him a better understanding of the story and helped to define a brief period in time.
I bought two of the books and would highly recommend the same for everyone. One to keep and one to give to a friend. Your friends will not be disappointed and they will look forward to Johny Reb, the next in the series. Halls of Montezuma gets 5 stars as a story and 4 overall for the book though, no fault of the author
Greg Brantley, Texas.

While not quite as good as the original series by Barry Sadler it was pretty close and I could see Tony Roberts growing into the role of Casca author. At any rate it was significantly better than the Paul Dengelegi versions (I couldn't even finish reading those). But both the Dengelegi and Roberts books suffer from the same ailment, lack of editing. Note to the publisher: Hire a good editor. Using the spell-check tool does not qualify as editing. The book is rife with grammatical errors and other passages that a good editor would be able to eliminate or smooth out. With that said I'm glad to see that someone competent has picked up the torch and the Casca series will continue to live.

This book will be equally useful for an individual ambitious to improve, or for a chess trainer looking for stimulating course material. There is a tremendous depth to the program of instruction here, with sections on openings, middlegame concepts (closed center, open center, isolated pawns) and endgames (queen endings, pawn endings, knight endings). Computers and databases are covered (2 pages), with the emphasis in that section (as indeed with the whole book) being as much on HOW to study as on the study itself.
A beginner might enjoy this book, but the most benefit will be obtained by players who have some experience but feel they have reached a plateau - a quite common situation in my experience. Gambit is well known for only publishing quality chess books, so this is a self-improvement work you can rely on to improve your game and rating.

What I really like about this book is how it caters for the student who seriously wants to improve. There is a lot more to it than you might think from seeing the cover, and I learned a lot about strategy and endgames. There are four things I found especially helpful:
1. the book covers a big range of topics, like how to make a plan or the important of pawn structures.
2. the diagram examples feature many famous games and famous players.
3. endgames are covered in detail (I have found that other books of this type ignore them).
4. there is lots of advice on how to improve

If you are an intermediate player (say rated 800 to 1900 USCF) this book will greatly benefit you.

What I really like about this book is how it caters for the student who seriously wants to improve. There is a lot more to it than you might think from seeing the cover, and I learned a lot about strategy and endgames. There are four things I found especially helpful:
1. the book covers a big range of topics, like how to make a plan or the important of pawn structures.
2. the diagram examples feature many famous games and famous players.
3. endgames are covered in detail (I have found that other books of this type ignore them).
4. there is lots of advice on how to improve

If you are an intermediate player (say rated 800 to 1900 USCF) this book will greatly benefit you.

why has no-one told me about this fantastic book before? There are sections on the endgame, analyzing your own games, how to study position-types and so on. Hall clearly writes from personal experience, and the method worked for him: he is a strong international master. The title is a little misleading in that it might imply the book is aimed at novice players, when the book could be useful for even club players. My chess library consists of around 300 books. This is one of the best self-improvement works in it.

You will find this book outlines a wonderful program on how to study, and gives a deep insight into openings, middlegame strategy and endgames. As well as teaching chess I play in local tournaments, and I can say with confidence that this well-rounded approach is exactly what will benefit the intermediate level player most. The chapters on the middlegame will help every junior solve some of the most common problems, and there is a lot of great study material on strategic themes. The section on the endgame alone is worth five stars, as it extensively covers topics you rarely see mentioned in other books.
There is no doubt that after reading this book your general strength will improve, and there is so much material packed in, that it is like having the contents of several books put together. That is my one complaint - there is almost too much material, and it could take several months to do it justice.
The author is an experienced chess teacher, and he shares his methods with a passionate enthusiasm. I found his methods to be valid, and quite insightful in some cases. I would highly recommend this book for both kids and adults to study and enjoy.

Anyone in love with and charmed by the beauty of France (as I am) will love this book. The illustrations are absolutely lovely.

Already in love with Margaret Hall Hoybach's painting style, I should have known that once I opened her book, both the words and the brush strokes would carry me, faster and faster, through to the very last page. Margaret enables the reader to see, hear, smell, taste, and experience her weeks traveling and painting across France.

It's 10:30 P.M. and I just finished Colors of France: A Painting Pilgrimage. I couldn't put it down---the book is a phenomenal experience. The reader journeys with Margaret while Joan's text flows from Margaret's perceptions. Both women are exceptionally talented. This is a wonderful book.

Feasting and fasting, reflection and spontaneity, fellowship and solitude - all the elements of a pilgrimage are contained in this intimate account of Margaret Hall Hoybach's journey to paint Monet's gardens. Her sketches and paintings convey the wonder of her journey. Joan Brown captures the creative spark that propels an artist forward and the moments of conversion that await those willing to embrace their dreams. Colors of France is filled with rich, inviting textures arrayed for any traveler, regardless of destination. Hoybach's willingness to share her experience leads me to examine my own path. A good book to share with a friend.

I very much enjoyed this delightfully personal and emotional journey through the backroads of a France not previously known. The beautiful illustrations by one of my favorite artists gave the reader vivid images of this gorgeous landscape. For a non-artist, it was especially interesting to experience the journey through an artist's eye...an artist very worthy of the invitation to paint Monet's gardens. The book is a wonderful collaboration by a gifted painter and a talented writer.

If M.M. Kaye had written more books like her "Death" series, she might have had a place almost as exalted as that of Agatha Christie. Best known for "The Far Pavilions," Kaye also wrote other stories set in the exotic locations that she had visited in the past. Though it may be politically incorrect to reminisce for times when the British were a strong presence around the world, it's hard not to wish oneself into one of these exotic mysteries.

Twenty-one-year-old Amanda Derington is newly freed from her strict, oppressive uncle, and is travelling to Cyprus with a tour group that includes her uncle and aunt, a cynical romance novelist, a faux invalid and her doting husband, and an oddly attractive young artist. But after her aunt Julia enters a state of jealous hysteria and then dies mysteriously, Amanda finds a bottle of poison in her room. The artist, Steve, urges her not to reveal where she found it.

Amanda comes to Cyprus, with the incident seemingly behind her. But her host, the kindly Glenn Barton, has to relocate her to the eccentric Miss Moon's. His wife Anita has left him and is now living with an artist, claiming that her husband is cheating on her with several women. And as Amanda tries to find out who killed Julia, she finds that more murders may be in store -- including her own.

As always, M.M. Kaye evokes a bygone time of muted glamor, rugged Army officers, lots of flowers and atmospheric settings in exotic locales. Descriptions are good, not too flowery but help to bring images to mind. The dialogue is sprightly and realistic, very different for each person, and often hiding subtle clues as to the person's inner thoughts. Her characterizations are multilayered; characters like Anita Barton are not as simple as they seem, and may not be fully explained until the last pages.

Amanda is much like Kaye's other mystery heroines -- young, pretty, bright, observant, brave, a little naive, and essentially kindhearted. Love interest Steve is attractively insolent and brainy, while the mild-mannered Glenn Barton hides unusual secrets; his wife Anita also hides secrets, behind a facade of alcohol and scandal. Monica Ford, Glenn's secretary, inspires either indifference or pity, depending on the part of the book one is reading. Miss Moon is the truly unique character, an effervescent old lady who dresses on opulent clothing and jewelry according to the day of the week.

For a bit of nostalgic escapism, open "Death in Cyprus" and enjoy the exotic places and mind-bending mysteries. Then read the rest of the series, which is every bit as good as this book.

Death in Cyprus was captivating. I'll admit, it has a slow beginning, but once the story gets going in Cyprus you can't put the book down. The unlikely hero and witty, romantic dialogue gives the book a very lovable angle that will make you pick it up again and again. The suprise ending is very much of a suprise and (unless your Sherlock Holmes,) you won't even recognise some of the clues until the end. Death in Cyprus is not the best of M.M. Kaye's mysteries, but it's a romantic thriller that will sweep you off your feet.

30 years ago I improved my knowledge of English reading more than 43 novels by Agatha Christie. Not only was I a fan of mysteries, I loved and still do the light touch of Miss Christie, her lovable characters from Hercule Poirot to Miss Marple. It is therefore a great, great compliment when I say that M.M. Kaye is better than Christie. Why? She is more detailed, there is greater local color, the characters are better developed. I am thrilled to have found someone as wonderful as M.M. Kaye - this is the first novel I read of hers-- and cannot wait to read more. I recommend this book to all mystery lovers, to all Agatha Christie lovers. Flying colors!

M. M. Kaye wrote this most enjoyable mystery novel set in an enchanting Cyprus that Kaye realized was too good to last. Years later when memories of places like Kyrenia had begun to fade, she made the sun shine bright one last time on the Cyprus she had seen and experienced with this marvelous adventure and romance touched with danger. Those who love the scope and beauty of Kaye's grand "The Far Pavillions," Trade Wind," and "Shadow of the Moon" will find much to love in the atmosphere created by the author in this old-fashioned mystery romance set in an exotic locale. Places like Port Said, Fayid, Limassol, Nicosia and Kyrenia are alive and filled with beauty and adventure once again, just as they were when Kaye saw them. M. M. Kaye made sure the sun would never truly set on the exotic place she knew with "Death in Cyprus."

Sunlit garden verandas and dinner tables overlooking a crystal sea of jade and emerald, and the breeze from silver-grey olive trees are described in such a manner you can almost taste them like a fresh purple grape from the vineyards of Nicosia. The setting is ripe for romance, but danger as well, and Kaye brought together both in one of her finest mysteries. While "Death in Zanzibar" will always hold a special place for me as it was the first of Kaye's mysteries I read, it must be said that "Death in Cyprus" is one of her most exciting mystery novels and is a perfect blend of adventure, romance and mystery. You will feel as though you too have enjoyed a vacation fraught with excitement and adventure upon finishing this most charming and old-fashioned style of mystery we will not bear witness to ever again.

Young and lovely twenty-year-old Amanda Derrington will board the S.S. Orantares and meet a group of people who will play an important part in her life in ways she could not have imagined. Before she leaves the ship for a stay in beautiful Cyprus a murder will occur that will reach the white-walled houses of Cyprus, shining bright against the sea. Only Amanda and Stephen Howard, a painter who carries a gun and may be more than he seems to be, know that it was murder, and not a suicide. Only the happenstance of a last minute cabin switch allowed Amanda to find the poison ending Julia Blaine's life. Amanda's knowledge of the crime will put her in danger as the killer is now aware of what Amanda knows.

The romance of Stephen and Amanda, or Amarantha as he calls her, is a very-old fashioned one born of danger and mystery. It is the kind of romance and mystery that recalls the best of Hitchcock's British films, and very much has that feel. Jealousy and romantic strife all come into play as just beneath the surface of smiles much is going on. Amanda will befriend more than one person while having doubts about Stephen and what his real purpose is in all this. A moonlight kiss will complicate matters, as will a second, and unexpected murder. And an attempt will be made on Amanda's life while in Kyrenia which will nearly succeed.

There is a terrific ending filled with both adventure and romance. You will not guess the killer or the motive, although the clues are there. The last few moments will be fraught with danger and excitement, and just when you believe all has been revealed, the true insanity of the real murderer will change what you though you knew. A fine and vivid assortment of characters enliven the story almost as much as the exotic locale. Grand beauty and old-fashioned romance amidst an ever-growing danger do the rest, making this a memorable mystery romance that outshines everyone else who wrote in this genre.

This particular mystery and romance novel was born in 1949 when M. M. Kaye and her husband were staying in Egypt because his regiment was assigned there. A painting holiday in Cyprus she and a friend took would sow all the seeds for "Death in Cyprus." The house described in Kyrenia is the actual one Kaye and her friend stayed in while there. A series of curious incidents witnessed by Kaye on her stay gave birth to the novel she would not have the opportunity to write for another five years.

Originally published in 1956 under the title "Death Walked in Cyprus," Kaye would make revisions that enhanced the story and made it even better. "Death in Cyprus" is a wonderful adventure for all those who like their mysteries on the old-fashioned side, shaded with beauty and touched with romance. You will find none better than "Death in Cyprus" and I highly recommend you take this vacation with M. M. Kaye and rediscover how a good mystery can refresh your soul. Enjoy.

I have read lots of mystery stories, and I must say, this is the one that I can read over and over again. The setting is gorgeous - you can almost feel the sun on your face and the sand at your feet, and you almost feel like visting Cyprus, the beautiful land of Kyrenia, icosia, Huilarion, the Abbey of Belapais, the palace where Queen Berengaria waited for Richards ships. The tone used used is hilarious and the conversations and the hero as well as the heroine and enchanting. It is a must read!!

Terry Anderson's Den of Lions is a den of insights into the radical bi-polar terrorist mentality in which he was trapped for over seven years. His descriptions of the bombings, shootings and random daily violence that permeated around the non-citizens and the citizens of Lebanon, make this a classic Middle East hostage survivor's story. Anderson's poems of his cruel incarceration are filled with searing depth that transport you to the various scummy basement cells which he shared with other Westerners. Den of Lions and Hostage by David Jacobson go hand in hand and are important contributions in the collection of Middle East books that help those of us citizens who were not there or too young to remember, the horror that Beirut was during the eighties and early ninties. Very highly recommended!

Mr. Anderson's book is a lesson on how to maintain sainity in the most horrible situations you could every be in; kidnapped and the lose of personal freedom.

This book is not a pleasant read. It is very important though in that it allows the reader, who is probably very comfortable while reading, to feel the sense of dispair that Mr. Anderson went through.

The political reasons as well as the climate in the Middle East in the 1980's is very interesting and this account allows us to see it from a totally different perspective.

Plus it has a happy ending, I highly recommend it.

Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years by Terry Anderson is one of my favorite books. The book grabbed my attention and kept it. I read the book in one day. Learning of Terry Anderson's ordeal through his eyes and in his words was amazing. Having been only 4 when he was taken hostage, I did not really know much about him until he was released from Lebanon in 1991, when I was 10. I grew up watching the news with my parents and I can remember seeing his return on television.
When I decided to study journalism in college, I chose the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. When I heard that Terry Anderson was going to be joining the faculty at Scripps, I was truly excited. I read his memoirs and then had the opportunity to hear him speak about his ordeal. Having him as a professor at Scripps was a wonderful experience for all journalism students. I have the great privilege of saying that I met one of my role models and I am grateful for that.
Den of Lions: Memoirs of Seven Years is one of the best books I have ever read. It is touching and wonderfully written. It tells Terry Anderson's story in a way that only he could.

I do not want this to sound insensitive, but the one thing I kept thinking as I was reading this book is why was he there? The U.S. government was telling U.S. citizens to leave, the Lebanese government did not care, his employer wanted him to leave, and there were increasing hostage incidents. The book his the story of his capture and the seven years he spent as a captive of this militant group. He does a good job in describing the locations he was in, the people that were his captors, and the other persons that he was with. I thought the most interesting parts of the book detailed his conversations with some of his captors and their views on the situation.

The book is a very interesting view of what happened to the author. The details are rich and he does a good job of painting the scenes for us. He also did a good job of explaining the depression of being a captive and what it is like to loss seven years of your life, although I do not think any author could truly express the emotional pain that he must have gone through. If you are interested in this part of the world or this story, this is a great book. It is also interesting given the current climate in the Middle East to read about what was happening 20 years ago.

I am a Westerner who has lived in Lebanon for many years and yet I gleaned new knowledge of the Middle East from reading "Den of Lions". Terry Anderson is a wonderful writer, and the addition of his fiancee's thoughts and feelings adds depth of insight into the agony of hostage-taking. There are interesting looks into the interaction between hostages and into the daily frustrations of the waste, and yet somehow the not-waste, of almost seven years away from freedom of choice. This is a book that has stayed on my mind.

my mother recieved a copy of this book when she had her open heart surgery. i have read it and have been hooked on it ever since. when i lost my mother my sister got rid of the book before i could get to it. i was extremely glad i found it on amazon,com after my own heart attack. it is a lifesaver.

After my father had an emergency triple-by-pass, our entire family experienced a "wake-up call" and finally decided to start learning about our hearts and how to eat for better heart health. One by one, each of us has bought a copy of this book--it is SO well written and Mr. Piscatella explains everything so well that it makes you excited about eating healthier. He is also very realistic about what it takes to change habits you've developed over many years. The first half of the book is all of the background information you need and the second half is the cookbook portion. The recipes are a helpful way to get started in your new appraoch to cooking and eating! Do yourself a favor and get this book--and get one for others in your life who need to take better care of their heart!

I started using this book for my husband. He as a combination of bad genetics and scant will-power. The dishes are very easy to make, most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen, and best of all, they are delicious. It is very easy to follow and you can't believe you are eating so healthy because it tastes so good.

In this cookbook designed for the heart patient, Piscatella devotes the first half to discussion of heart disease, cholesterol, unhealthy elements of American diet, and a seven-step plan to change eating habits - including reductions of fat, salt, sugar and even restaurant eating.

The second half introduces the recipes, accompanied by nutritional information, variations and serving suggestions. Recipes range from Italian vegetable soup to grilled swordfish steak, chicken curry and barbecued lamb roast. There's even a pie crust recipe. With an emphasis on herbs and judicious use of small amounts of fat, recipes are attractive as well as healthy.

I just bought this book for my husband and me, and I can't put it down. The information in the first half of the book is priceless. It goes in-depth about not only the workings of the heart and the causes of coronary heart disease, but also contains a step-by-step guide for how to change your lifestyle to prevent, control, or even reverse heart disease. The recipes in the second half are delicious and practical, if somewhat pricey. The author's focus is on presenting a practical, "do-able" approach to health, and he certainly achieves that. If you aren't buying it for yourself, buy it for your kids... their future dietary habits are determined by how they eat today. And "traces of the disease are common in American children by age 10" (p. 25). I'm buying another one for a friend.

If you are using the Rational Unified Process, or considering doing so, and worried about applying it to a whole IT department rather than separate projects then this book could well be useful. The book has four parts - From RUP to EUP, Beyond Development, Enterprise Management Disciplines and Putting it all Together. Each section has several chapters and the chapters all start with a nice reader ROI section (showing the payoff for reading that chapter). The writing is clear and there are plenty of diagrams, tables and helpful tips.

The book starts of with some background in the RUP. I particularly liked the description of RUP as serial in the large and iterative in the small. Within the RUP there are also nine disciplines (Business Modeling, Requirements, Analysis and Design, Implementation, Test, Deployment, Configuration and Change Management, Project Management, and Environment). The authors outline 10 best practices they see as core to the EUP (they extend the original 6 in RUP) - Develop iteratively, Manage requirements, Proven architecture, Modeling, Continuously verify quality, Manage change, Collaborative development, Look beyond deployment, Deliver working software regularly and Manage risk. Each is clearly described.

In addition to the change best practices, EUP adds a Production phase and a Retirement phase. They point out that the Production phase is not just maintenance or just operations and support but both and more. I think that any organization building systems should spend as much time and effort thinking about production and running their application in production (which includes maintaining it over time) as they do in building it and I was glad to see this so strongly proposed. They also added an operations and support discipline, mostly but not entirely in the production phase. This discipline includes running the system and making hot fixes. I think the Retirement phase is overkill for most organizations but some will find it useful.

They also added some "Enterprise Management" disciplines for use outside the context of a project and this too is a good idea. The disciplines are Enterprise business modeling, Enterprise Portfolio Management, Enterprise Architecture (I particularly liked the idea that "modifiability" should be considered as part of an enterprise architecture - far too few organizations do this well and fail to differentiate between stable services and much more changeable ones), Strategic Reuse (Again I liked the called-out focus on this - without a real plan no reuse is going to happen), People management , Enterprise Administration and Software Process Improvement (Another good one and a timely reminder to all that you should keep improving your software processes)

Overall I liked the book, though it was a somewhat dry subject (as methodologies often are). There was a lot of good advice, some nice tips and some clearly hard-won experience being shared!

Many IT organizations still pursue pet projects and develop duplicate applications in isolation, only to address later crises in corporate reporting, portfolio management, IT infrastructure, business objectives, and other areas.

EUP gives a coherent roadmap of how to architect smarter and for the long term. For organizations that don't have a strong enterprise aptitude, this book is a lifesaver. The EUP provides the business case for implementing EUP that will help cut through the politics by addressing the benefits to the bottom line for pursuing an Enterprise Unified Process.

I will be referencing the EUP regularly, and passing it around to others in my organization!

The Enterprise Unified Process (EUP) unites diverse disciplines, including development, enterprise architecture, operations, production and portfolio management, reuse and business process modeling, under an easy to follow framework. It was refreshing to find a book that recognizes the need to accommodate the installed base of existing software as part of the planning, development and deployment process. This is an excellent guide for any manager who wants to ensure that essential IT disciplines are addressed.

The focus of EUP is to enhance the commonly accepted Rational Unified Process (RUP). The authors have added new disciplines to RUP that include business modeling, portfolio management, enterprise administration, reuse, enterprise architecture and process improvement. The introduction of business modeling into the overall process is essential to weave IT processes and disciplines into the most essential driver of any systems initiative - the business. The enterprise architecture discussion was also refreshing given that many organizations have forgone this discipline and have created redundant, stovepipe applications and data structures that significantly stifle business agility.

The "Reuse" chapter raises the rarely deployed reuse strategy. It is critically important to not replicate business processes, models, systems, data structures, source code and interfaces. The costs and risks of trying to keep parallel assets synchronized have been written about extensively. This book promotes the idea that reuse is just another aspect of the enterprise unified process. It is also one of the few discussions about reuse that recognizes the value of harvesting existing assets.

Also of note is the portfolio management discussion that focuses attention on the need to incorporate project management with application management. It should be noted, however, that portfolio management has much less focus on applications than the traditional industry definition as promoted by Gartner, Inc.

Finally, this book makes great use of tips, tool references and citations to books or papers that readers can use to expand on their understanding of a given topic. The last chapter of the book takes a realistic and honest look at deploying the enterprise unified process, including its possible retirement.

This book is must readying for any organization using -- or attempting to use -- the RUP. The EUP's additional disciplines completes the RUP in a necessary and sufficient manner.
The book is written in a straight-forward manner, is easy to read and is well-organized. Each chapter reminds you to be practical (the antipatterns), explains how the additional discipline relates to the others and provides software tools and suggested reading.
Don't RUPture your software development efforts without having the more comprehensive approach of the EUP!

The book provides a very readable coverage of IBM's Rational Unified Process, as well as useful extensions that address important aspects of enterprise systems planning, development, and management. The systematic and disciplined treatment is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of much useful, pragmatic advice that draws from the practical experience of the authors in building real systems.
I quite liked this book. Although it doesn't give enough emphasis to conceptual data analysis (something RUP has always been weak on), it has loads of useful, practical content that make it a worthwhile addition to the literature.