John Books

Did you know that in 1859 Americans consumed about eight pounds of coffee per year, per capita? Or that by 1939 it was fourteen pounds? If this is your cup of tea, then I think you will like this book. This is not a criticism, I liked the book because it looks at the growth in demand which was supplied by the entrepreneurs who formed the brands described in the book. Indeed this demand-side view is part of the book that made the biggest impact on me.
Some of this is obvious, but somewhat in the backround of our knowledge - "between 1860 and 1920 the population of the US grew from 31.5 to 107 million" - and some of this is well extracted in this book - e.g. "in 1844 (when Henry J. Heinz was born)less than 10% of American's lived in towns of greater than 2,500 population, 75 years later (when he died) 50% were urban dwellers and 20% lived in cities of greater than 250,000 people". Koehn builds up this demand side very well in each of the six cases she uses to illustrate who entrepreneurs build up branded business - Wedgwood , Heinz, Marshall-Fields, Estee Lauder, Starbucks and Dell.
Koehn, a Harvard business historian, is also quite good at showing how developing technology is put to use to serve this demand (or does it create it?) - "In 1830 it took three weeks to get calico from New York to Chicago, in 1860 it took three days, by 1880 ... less than 24 hours"
Again we all knew the importance of the railroad, but here its phrased in a way that makes sense of the dynamic growth and gentrification of the Mid West. She illustrates well the need that urbanisation created for prepared food that could be trusted and describes very well the increasing sophistication of industrial level food preparation - " by the 1860;s the introduction of calcium chloride to boiling water cut sterilization times from five hours to 25 minutes". She can even make innovations in canning technology sound exciting.

So much for the good stuff, I did find the tone of the descriptions of each entrepreneurs a bit fawning. Each had the feel of a business case, with the usual tone of awe and deference to the wit and wisdom of the main characters. With the exception of the Starbucks case - where Howard Shultz openly tells of his mistakes and wrong turnings - each case seems to highlight the wisdom of the main character, whereas it seems to me its their determination that marks them out, more than anything else. Henry Heinz went bankrupt three times in food products, before he became successful, Michael Dell was still seen as a cloner into the late 1980's.
Koehn makes no judgements about the more unpleasant side of this determination - Estee Lauder staged a meeting with the Duke of Windsor, which she had photographed and publicised, in order to make it appear she had high-society connections, Josiah Wedgwood supplied free gifts to royalty in the certain knowledge that the aspirations of the middle classes to emulate royalty would drive demand for this his products.
There are good insights into how these individuals drove modern marketing techniques - Wedgwood emphasized showrooms, Estee Lauder the free gift. And all had tremendous energy for customer service and production detail. However in each of the early cases we are told that 20th Century techniques were unknown to the industry " Brand marketing was virtually unheard of in the 18th Century" [ Wedgwood]; " Between 1869 and 1899, real per capita income increased at an annual compound rate of 2.1%. Henry Heinz had no access to these statistics. These numbers are based on economic concepts developed in the 20th Century". This kind of clumsiness crops up in each case, ok we get the point that these pioneers instinctively did something which is now solidified into great theory, but surely this point could be illustrated with more deftness.

This apart, a very useful and interesting book, a book for anyone interested in the general history of business. Some excellent details, too much fawning and praise too little criticism of the central characters who built the brands. A fascinating story.
If you liked this book, check out books by Arthur Chandler and John Drewer.

One final fact, Charles Darwin had the time and money to devote to his famous voyage on the Beagle - which laid the basis for the theory of Evolution - because his wife's grandfather was Joshua Wedgwood. Was this financial evolution at work?

Koehn has produced a weighty and informative look at the way successful entrepreneurs have used brands to achieve a number of goals. These goals include long-term differentiation from competitors, internal quality control, profit margin protection, and facilitation of additional product introduciton.

To make her case, she chose three cases from the past (Wedgwood, Heinz, and Marshall Field) and three cases from the present (Estee Lauder, Starbucks, and Dell Computers). Finally, she concludes the book with a chapter which addresses the issue of historical forces and entrepreneurial agency.

I particularly found the cases from the past persuasive in their argumentation for a long-term differentiating factor in brand. The newer cases are obviously harder to make in that (particularly with Starbucks and Dell) how long-term the success will be remains to be seen. One of the best features of the book is the depth with which she treats each case-- she provides enough information to build her thesis (and often entertain with the anecdotes) but not so much that the book becomes bogged down. The excellent footnotes provide whatever's necessary to someone looking for further information.

One minor quarrel is that I would have liked to see the further reading pulled out into a better organized bibliography. There were obviously quite a few good sources scattered amongst the footnotes and if you were interested in a particular subject matter it required some patience to pull all of the citations out.

professor koehn presents the subject of branding in a fascinating historical perspective; a interesting, insightful and sometimes surprising read. a very useful book for anyone who is managing a brand, trying to understand the value of brands, or wants to understand how branding fits into the lore of business.

an excellent reference and clearly meticulously researched

It's probably a result of less-than-fully applying myself during my college years, but I tend to pre-judge any book by an academic as boring. I'm glad that didn't stop me from reading Nancy Koehn's book, "Brand New: How Entrepreneurs Earned Consumers Trust From Wedgwood to Dell."

Koehn is a professor at no less than the Harvard Business School. She is also an excellent writer, and she understands that the essence of getting good information across is stories. Brand New is a book of stories about branding. It is anything but boring.

Koehn divides the book into two giant sections, The Past and The Present.

In The Past, she includes the stories of Josiah Wedgwood, H. J. Heinz and Marshall Field. All the stories are told in detail enriched by facts, insights, and quotes. All of them contain lessons for today's businessperson. Most of the lessons are about branding, but there's a lot more.

Read this book and you will find out all about how Josiah Wedgwood changed the common practice by impressing his own name in the unfired clay of his works. That's impressive. But you will also learn how his partnership with Thomas Bentley took Wedgwood's strengths and his insight about branding and turned them into a highly profitable business.

You'll learn about why H. J. Heinz packed his product in glass jars and how he kept control of his distribution. You'll hear about the 1902 giant opening at Marshall Field's and you'll learn about Field's varying relationships with his partners.

In the section on The Present, you will get the story of Estee Lauder and how she changed not only her name and image but also the face of cosmetic marketing through magnetism and incredible persistence. You'll hear how Howard Schultz wound up at Starbucks Coffee and why it bears his imprint, and you'll hear about Michael Dell without overmuch mention of the legendary dorm room.

The stories themselves make delightful reading, but the learning is probably even more important than the enjoyment. These stories illustrate how specific, successful entrepreneurs took a look around at things that were happening in society and developed products and brands and marketing and distribution systems to take advantage of them. These insightful and inspiring stories will help you understand your own business and find ways to make it more profitable.

As she completed her research and then began to write this book, Nancy Koehn made several important decisions. First, she placed her primary objective in clear focus: to explain "how entrepreneurs earned customers' trust." Next, she limited her attention to only six. Finally, she then examined them within an historical context from the late-18th century until the present time. As Koehn observes, "Before 1750,...most Britons ate off wood or pewter plates. Then came Josiah Wedgwood. In antebellum America, the majority of women made their own pickles. Then came Henry Heinz. Until the Civil War, urban retailing was a specialized activity with a wide variety of small shops offering particular kinds of goods. Then came department store entrepreneurs such as Marshall Field." It is important to stress that Koehn is a biographer and cultural historian only to the extent that the material she provides helps to advance the narrative of her core themes: how six individual entrepreneurs dealt with the "imperatives" to quality goods at reasonable prices, communicate the virtues of her or his products to potential buyers in effective ways and thereby maintain and grow a viable customer base, and, how to develop organizational capabilities to learn about their respective customers and then earn their trust.

Before 1945, Koehn observes, "few American women wore premium lipstick or facial creams, and those who did [when they could] bought them in beauty shops along with elaborate treatments administered by trained cosmeticians. Then came Estee Lauder. Prior to the late 1970s, Americans bought ground coffee mostly in one-pound cans sold in supermarkets and supplied by large food processors. Then came [Howard Schultz and] Starbucks. Before 1980, most businesses used only typewriters and copy machines for paperwork. Large companies relied on mainframe and midsize computers to handle extensive calculations and data processing. Only a small number of households owned a personal computer or printer. Few if any of these users expected to be able to specify a particular computer's configuration. Then came Apple, IBM, Compaq, and Michael Dell." It is also important to stress that each of the six entrepreneurs whom Koehn discusses fully understood what rapid social and economic change in their respective era meant for consumers' needs and desires. Moreover, as she carefully explains, all six used their knowledge of both the supply and demand sides of the prevailing economy to create high-quality goods,, meaningful brands, and other connections with customers..." and they built elite organizations that worked to [in italics] satisfy and then [in italics] anticipate buyers' changing preferences."

In Chapter 1, Koehn provides a brilliant overview on "Entrepreneurs and Consumers," then devotes an entire chapter to each of the six entrepreneurs. In her final chapter, she shifts her attention to "Historical Forces and Entrepreneurial Agency," followed by 104 pages of notes. In that final chapter, Koehn points out that the six entrepreneurs "lived and worked in different contexts. Yet they all shared a powerful gift: the ability to discern how economic and social change affected consumer needs and wants. They also understood that these demand-side shifts presented critical business opportunities -- opportunities that each exploited by creating new, best-of-class goods and strong brands." She goes on to suggest that they were "institution builders who were not interested in riding the wave of a short-lived trend or forcing their young brands on buyers. They wanted to [in italics] earn consumers' trust and keep it."

It remains to seen which entrepreneurs emerge during the next few years but it seems certain that they will also encounter "economic and social change affected consumer needs and wants" and in a global marketplace yet to be developed. There is much that they -- and we -- can learn from Josiah Wedgwood, H.J. Heinz, Marshall Field, Estee Lauder, Howard Schultz, and Michael Dell. Thanks to Nancy Koehn, those "lessons" are provided in a single volume, one which will continue to be of interest and value for decades to come.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to read Wolf's The Entertainment Economy, Schmitt's Experiential Marketing, Gobe's Emotional Branding, Gilmore and Pine's The Experience Economy, and Brands: The New Wealth Creators co-edited by Hart and Murphy.

this book follows the lives of teenagers in the middle of a war, there is a lot less emotions in this novel, but a lot more action, and violence. more action then violence i think. it follows their new lives and nver lets you down.

Part five of the Tomorrow series keeps the action going. Ellie and company pull off their most daring attack and escape yet. Marsden keeps doing a masterful job of writing from Ellie's point of view, letting the reader experience the weariness and drive she's going through at this point in her life. Now, it's time to seek out the next volume.

The Tomorrow series of books by John Marsden got me through High School (as a lucky New Zealander, I have had the books since the 1990's). I awaited every new instalment with excitement and trepidation. `Burning for Revenge' was no exception and it delivered everything I was hoping for and more. `Burning for Revenge' is a nice return to the action, gunfire and explosive situations after a more sober `Darkness Be My Friend'. One book from the Tomorrow series features a warning quote: "do not start at night". This is completely true in `Burning for Revenge' - the reader is urged on to continue reading until the last page is turned, and is left gasping for breath and reaching urgently for the next instalment.

If you have enjoyed the Tomorrow Series, be sure to catch the Ellie Chronicles ( While I Live (The Ellie Chronicles) )that continue the story of Elle after the peace settlement.

Burning For Revenge will keep you up all night, that's for sure. There is a lot of non-stop action packed in this book, more than any of the previous books. Marsden makes you visualize the fear felt by the characters while escaping constant pursuit. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

this is the best series i have ever read. i am currently reading the other side of dawn and i am sad that i am almost finished. i have not found any books that are as great as these so i might as well just read them over and over again. i just hope there are other books as mesmerizing as these out there...

This is a must have referance/gangster/outlaw book. If this subject or even this era of history intrests you at all this book is a goldmine.

If there's a bible to crime, this is it. There are hundreds of books out there that deal with Depression Era crime. You can buy them all and plow through them for information, but seldom know how accurate that information is. On the other hand, you can get this one volume and have it all at your fingertips. Researched in detail and written with a light finger, this well-laid out book is easy to read. You get the dates, times, details, photos and personnel that made America's Golden Age of Crime what it was. Get it; read it; refer to it. It's a winner on all levels.

Not much can be added to previous reviews. This updated edition has given my earlier dog-eared copy a rest. For anyone who does any kind of Prohibition era crime research, this book is a must have by two of the masters in this field. The most complete compendium of crime information from that period available today. Whether you research or just enjoy reading about crime, this book is tops.

For those of us interested in true-crime, particularly the Roaring Twenties and the Depression era, this is THE reference book. This hugely informative and significantly expanded version of the earlier Public Enemies Almanac by Helmer and Mattix has photos, timelines, biographies and lists galore. Not a book that is intended to be read cover-to-cover, this is a crime browser's dream. The bibliography, which is fully annotated,is worth the price.
Writer, researcher, crime aficionado, or whatever, this book should be at the top of your list.

Respected authors William Helmer and Rick Mattix have provided us with a reference book of nearly 900 pages relating to "the gangster and outlaw era: 1920--1940." The book is divided into seven sections dealing with all facets of crime during this turbulent era. Parts of this book can be read like any other book while criminal incidents from various years are listed chronologically. I feel this part of the book can be best used as a reference. The book contains numerous photos, several of which I have never seen before. The big shots of both Chicago and New York are all here as are the depression-era desperadoes. Depending on your interest level you may feel you are being told more than you care to know. However, as I said, much of this book can be used as a useful reference book to your crime library. If you do have such a library this book would be a worthy addition. Co-author Rick Mattix has reviewed numerous crime books on Amazon, and his opinion carries considerable weight with me in whether or not I decide to purchase a book.

I'm not much of a meat eater, but wanted to be able to cook really good meat when I grill. This book may make me a meat lover! Each recipe is very educational as they explain many of the methods they tried before determining the best method for grilling a particular item. I've tried four recipes so far and they have all been absolutely perfect. I grilled burgers for a crowd on the 4th of July and throughout the meal everyone kept commenting on how good the burgers were. Seems that burgers should be simple, but now I know how to make a perfectly cooked juicy burger! The pork tenderloin recipe was also superb; tender and juicy. I won't be looking for any other grilling or barbeque cookbook.

This is a very good book if you want to learn how to grill. I don't think that this is the best recipes book, but if you're looking to learn the techniques to grill to perfection beef, chicken, etc. this is the right guide.

Everything you ever wanted to know about grilling is in this book. It is fantastic.

I purchased this book after reading a review and sample recipe in a local newspaper - this is one of the best cookbooks I've purchased. I am an avid CHARCOAL griller and this book has all the best tips (they do include separate instructions for gas grillers). I've made several of the recipes in the book and they have all received rave reviews - especially the brisket. The best part of this book (and other Cooks Illustrated books) is that they don't just hand you a bunch of recipes - they actually walk you through their testing methodology and explain how they came up with the final prep and cooking methods. Highly recommended!

I love this book! I received it as a Christmas gift, but I had checked it out at the library multiple times before. In addition to the excellent recipes, it also includes explanations as to why you should buy a certain cut of meat over another, why you should let meat rest after you take it off the grill, etc. The filet mignon and pulled pork were especially good. Highly recommended!

First, Best or Different is an absolutely excellent book. I first read this book just over a year ago and its helpful insights continue to help me develop great marketing ideas of my own. The topics that are covered are vast and the knowledge provided is in depth but not overwhelming. The structure of the book and short chapters allow for the book to be quickly read and for its knowledge to be passed on quickly. This book is an asset to the thought process of any business person and should be an essential tool in the toolbox of all marketers, from professionals to students. In summary, BUY THIS BOOK! It will make you a better business person.

John Bradley Jackson is the real deal. I've implemented his advice and created a successful niche product. I'll never look at marketing the same way again.

Whether you are an entrepreneur of a small company or an intrapreneur in a big corporation, this book will add value to your pursuits. It provides an extensive coverage of the field of marketing--from the fundamental paradigms to the author's experiences as a marketer.

What I like most about the book is it stays current, especially within the realm of the internet. John's book will be able to elevate or even recreate some of the ideas you currently have.

used as course material in a marketing course, this book has continued my education with the ever changing market today, as i constantly find new ways to apply the learnings into my job as a marketing coordinator.
if you are looking into understanding the complex minds of today's information savvy customers, this book is definitely worth the time to read.
its written in a very direct and easy to read format that most should be able just pick up, and read any specific part that applies to whatever the occasion calls for.

First Best or Different is a book that will enable you to further you and your business, if your business is selling advertising or an off-road manufacturing business. First best or different is easy reading that gets to the point and full of useful information for small, medium, and large businesses. I highly recommend First Best or Different if you are looking for a book that will give you vital information for your business or future business. "Make it Happen"

This book was awesome! It was purchased as a gift for my 13-year-old son who loved it. It was full of interesting pictures, facts, and stories about the great white shark. He considers it one of the best books in his "shark library".

This is an excellent work about the most feared creature in the ocean. I've always had an interest in marine biology, and sharks in particular, and this book embodies both biological and cultural information about one of my favorite animals. McCosker and Ellis give the great white a fair shake, and while they acknowledge "Jaws" as an excellent film, they also debunk the fallacies of it (i.e. great whites are not 30 feet long, and only very rarely do they attack humans). I appreciated the considerable section of the book that discusses "Jaws"; I feel as though it was necessary to include this information in a book about great whites since that film is the only source of information about sharks that some individuals have been exposed to. Great book, great read...and well worth the price!

A wonderful, excellent, magnificent look at the natural history of the Great White. Written from a scientific perspective but easily accessible to everyone, this book covers biology, feeding, fishing, filming, attacks, and the exploitation of great whites. Nearly every page has superb photos and/or illustrations, and the authors do an excellent job of making the sharks an animal to be respected but neither irrationally feared nor glorified. The text covers all aspects of the shark's natural history, but never gets so in-depth as to be boring. Highly recommended.

I'm not sure why, but I'm a bit of a shark freak. I got this book for Christmas, and I read it all the way through without putting it down. Granted, a lot of this information wasn't new, but it was presented very nicely. The pictures are fantastic, and I enjoyed the extras about other sharks.

I think children as well as adults would enjoy this book. I wound up getting other people (who don't much care for the subject) interested in the pictures and short articles in this book.

Subjects treated include biology, geography, behavior, history, and interaction with man.

The book is great with its info. I could not believe the horror of the picture of the beautiful woman Shirley Anne Durdin and when they describe her being eaten alive...what it must have felt like. The people who watched the shark swim away from their boat said they could see tattered wads of her once-beautiful flesh dangling from its teeth and her arm sticking out. Worse than any scene in "Jaws."

This novel is terrifying from beginning to end. Any time your villain is a child possessed by malevolence it makes for a very scary read. If you can get your hands on this, (I personally had a hard time finding a copy), buy it! I promise you that you will not regret it.

I do not read vampire books AND this is not Vampire book. But the book is so GOOD that I will read this author's other books- which are Vampire books!
This is grand scale,small town, multi characters,bloody,atmospheric horror with lots of action,twist, ancient mythology and very GORE,graphic scene. If you like ANY type of horror then this is a must. My rule of thumb is- if ALL reviews of the books on Amazon are good then that book is GOOD... and was I right!

"Greely's Cove" in the baseball parlance is a slugger who hits a long drive to Center field in the old Yankee Stadium of about 455 feet. Unfortunately, the fence is 457 feet back so while a tremendous drive, it is merely a long out. In a literary sense, "Greely's Cove" just misses being a horror classic for the ages due to the lack of further character exposition that is sorely needed to explain the character's actions.

Gideon, a pseudonym for Lonn Hoklin, Oregon Governor Kulongoski's press secretary (a democrat, shame on him)starts the novel off strong with the suicide of a woman apparently under torment from her son. Her son, a formerly autistic empty shell of a human is miraculously transformed into a fully reasoning, talking and mature teenage boy with a slight british accent. Gideon's decription of the boy Jeremy, leads us to imagine a young James Mason complete with red smoking jacket, martini glass and cigarette holder. This breakthrough came under noted psychologist Hadrian Craslowe who lives in a gloomy threatening manse in a remote part of the village. At the same time, the village is experiencing a rash of residents disappearances of approximately one a month. The boy's father returns from Washington DC to look after him and gets drawn up into the creepy and sometimes outright terrifying events that occur as a result of the boy's transformation.

This is all great horror fun! Greely's Cove is an outright homage to King's "Salem's Lot in the outstanding decription of smalltown life and the people who live there. Characters such as Mich Nistler, Stu Bromton, Renzi Dawkins, the unfortunate victims, Corey "the Cannibal" Strecker and Lindsay Moreland will remain in the reader's memory long after the book is completed.

However, the lack of full exposition of main character's Carl Trosper, Hannaford Hazelwood and Robinson Sparhawk deny this novel classic status. Carl Trosper is an unlikeable character despite the author's best efforts, leading us to believe whether Gideon wanted to make him hero or anti-hero. The mystical duo of Hazelwood and Sparhawk are better defined characters whose limitations and history are not fully described by the author. Ms. Hazelwood is presented as an ancient (good) witch of a mystical order capable of awesome power. Mr. Gideon should have delved further into this order and the history the order has with the evil represented by Mr. Craslowe. Mr. Sparhawk is a forensic psychic who has met pure evil twice before and ran from the challenge. Why was this? What was he so afraid of, besides death? All three characters seem incomplete which makes the ending of the novel less satisfying then it could have been.

A very fine novel, but approximately 25 pages short of being a classic one.

Being a very big fan of the horror genre, I was at first reluctant to pick this up but then succumbed to it. And boy was I glad I did! This guy is completely underrated and deserves some recognition from the Bram Stoker Award. Sadly though, all of Gideon's books are out of print but are worth searching for. Well, anyway I'll try to describe the plot without mentioning any spoilers. In the small town of Greely's Cove, a woman's body is found at the house at the edge of town. Suddenly, that house becomes the place of fear and terror for the town. With dead bodies, a vampire, and a evil entity trying to break through the other side to the real world. This book is extremely gory and gruesome, and not for the squeamish. If you like your horror bloody and gory, then this is it but don't say I didn't warn you.

It is refreshing to find a book that can give me the creeps. Greely's Cove showed me that there are still stories out there that can push the right buttons for me. Right from the beginning I knew this would be a special story. Some of the ideas presented in this book were simply outstanding moments of horror.

A mother is driven to suicide after the miraculous recovery of her autistic son (don't even try to imagine what happens to her body). The estranged father returns with big ideas about having a son, but he doesn't find what he expects. Mysterious disappearances around town are adding up, and the police chief is forced to seek out the assistance of a "forensice psychic" to help with the case... one that has encountered this type of evil only a couple of times in his life - each time he retreats, fearing for his life and sanity. What does the once-autistic boy and his doctor have to do with the case?

There was a lot going on in this story, but the plot was never confusing and none of it ever felt forced. My aversion to psychics was a non-issue in this book, as the character was likeable and believeable right from his introduction. Pacing was good, and the story progressed with a very natural flow. At just over 400 pages, the length was perfect. There are many stories that feel hundreds of pages too long, but this is one that I would not have minded reading for another hundred pages (not that it needed it). Another positive is that even though this novel is from the late eighties, it didn't really feel dated - with passing references to salaries and cars being the only indication of the time period.

I highly recommend this book to all fans of the genre.

In this book, Dr Lust provides a quick reference on every possible herb you could need. The book is very useful as an encyclopedia of herbs and their medicinal uses.

This great resourceful paperback on herbs,is still the best one around.It's packed with useful herbal information and history.Anyone interested in herbs should read this book.Anyone also studying and practicing Wicca can learn a lot from this little book.For the cost of this book,its well worth it.When first published ,in 1974,it was well ahead of its time.Nowadays,everybody knows the health benefits of 'Green Tea',Ginko Biloba and Hoodia.Green Tea burns body fat,aids digestion,surpresses appetite,flushes out free-radicals,and kills bacteria around your teeth.I was glad to have read it years ago and it got me thinking about better,healthier living.It also got me interested in the environment and gardening.When you hurt the environment,you hurt others and it will come back to haunt you too.

I have used this book so much over the years that I am about in need of a new one. This has so many herbs packed into a small, fat book. Excellent!

This is my second copy of this book, I bought my first one when I began to learn about herbs and wore it out from reading it so much. After 15 years of studying and 10 writing about herbs, this is one of my favorite books and I still learn from it. There is an incredible amount of information crammed into this 600+ page book, and its portable.

This is the one, the one book I feel anyone serious about herbs should have in their collection. It has proved invaluable to me in so many ways. It includes cosmetic and medicinal for most any herb you can think of. It is also good for information on traditional uses and background knowledge. It can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get a grasp on how it is organised (it didn't take me long) it proves indespensible.

An excellent step through Cisco networking. This book begins with the definition and ends with future development. All aspects of high speed networks are covered along the way.

John has succeeded in making the whole complicated area of what happens behind the computer seem easy to understand. He has explained how to use technology to one's advantage and understand the value of doing so. A well recommended read.

I gave the book as a gift to a friend who is the CIO of an ISP and I know he went out , bought 10 more copies for all of his managers and thanked me with a note saying the John Vacca book is a God sent for his business. What more can I say

With the rapid advances in technology, upgrading of high speed networks will occur sooner rather than latter. High-Speed Cisco Networks by John Vacca provides experienced networking professionals with a step by step approach to all they will need to know about Cisco's LAN and WAN systems. It is the reference tool to use to understand the Cisco products so that planning, designing and implementing a high performance LAN or WAN system can commence.

I have been working in IT & network support for some years now, and am currntly untaking the Cisco Acadmey programs. This book turned up at the right time, as it explains things with greater clarity than anything else I have found. The presentation is logical and of a linear manner, making this my first choice in reference material, for both my studies and professional undertakings.

This book is nothing short of MAGNIFICENT! Rhodes is an elegant writer who knows and loves his subject as well as history and gets it all right. This is more than the biography of one brilliant man; it is a history of frontier America in its early days and is populated with much more than birds. There are Indians, friends, enemies, 4-legged animals, and yes, loads and loads of American birds. The voyages back and forth from Europe to America are enlightening and amazing to think about. I knew next to nothing about birds when I bought this book; I bought it because of an interesting book review I read a couple of years ago.

There is another Audobon book that came out the same year, Under a Wild Sky by Souder, and I own that book, too. The Souder book was a finalist for the Pulitzer, but I really don't know how it could have been selected over this book by Richard Rhodes. For example, this book goes into all the details of Audubon's personal life right up to his last days on earth, whereas the Souder book covers most of it in a few paragraphs at the end of his book.

I LOVED this book! I had a couple of bird books next to my chair as I was reading (one, a condensed version of Audubon's Birds of America), and referred to them throughout reading, which was fun and very enlightening and educational. Audubon knew and loved his birds so well that he even wrote biographies of individual species, and indeed individual birds themselves! What could be more amazing than that?

This is a truly delicious book that I wish more people would read. Right now there are only 18 individual reviews, which is much less than this book should have. I always blame the publishers for not doing justice to the fabulous books they are entrusted with. Do yourself a favor and read this special book! It is about a great man, yes, but also covers so much more. In these days of being green, Audubon predicted (and saw the beginnings of) the sad ruination and ultimate demise of nature in all its forms, and that was in the early 1800s. He was a pioneer as well as a bright man, and a funny man, and a driven man who loved and adored his family and his birds.

In its own way, this book reveals as much about the early 'natural history' years of the nation's founding as "Roots" does about early 'social history' years of Americans' tangled involvement with its imported slave population. Just as a national audience sat transfixed before TV sets watching a human drama unfold, so too, a reader following Audubon's manic treks back and forth from the East Coast to Louisiana to capture and sketch American birds, and his inspired obsession develop and finance a folio of ornithological plates by selling subscriptions in England, would marvel first at his tenacity, second at his self-awareness, and finally recognize that we live in a much less fecund animal world than the one he captured.

Audubon was an innovator of the first rank, in devising a systematic methodology (wire-frame supports) for accurately posing the bird in its natural setting, and a keen observer of the world he was both illustrating and helping to eradicate. Throughout his collecting and drafting career, he noted the transformations of habitats and ranges, and recognized that the 'natural' world he knew would look very different after his death. Large-scale conversion of woodlands to other uses, and the relentless pressure of colonization, exerted a profound impact on the distribution and range of avian species, and Audubon watched it happen in real time. His descriptions of the 'bird counts' he conducted tell the story. Repeatedly, he describes flocks that 'blacken the sky' - something we'll never see today.

Rhodes' biography is exhaustive, and a review should note that there is quite a bit of superfluous detail brought into the description of his early years. Furthermore, Rhodes in this effort did not turn out to be a great prose stylist, so some serious editing for length would have helped. Those criticisms aside, the Rhodes biography succeeds in bringing to life a vanished world, one in which colonists, pioneers and settlers were surrounded by 'wild nature,' and most of the people could actually name the animals (and birds) they saw!

If you want to really gain a great deal of insight into the forming of the American Frontier...read this book! It is really far more about that than it is about JJ Audobon although he is a very interesting character all by himself. A fascinating person at a fascinating time in history. I highly recommend it.

John James Audubon (1785-1851) was born illegitimate in what is today the nation of Hati. He grew up in Nantes but his father sent him to Pennsylvania as a way to escape service in the army of Revolutionary France. Audubon came from a prosperous family and lived on a Pennyslvania farm owned by his family. He wed Lucy Bakewell an English girl who had immigrated to the United States from England.
The biography tells how Audubon operated a mill in Henderson,Ky. which went bankrupt. He was a constant traveler in the eastern United States drawing his beloved birds. Audubon traveled widely in Europe seeking to sell his lifework "The Birds of North America." Along the way he became famous meeting President Andrew Jackson; his literary idol Sir Walter Scott and being the second American to become a member of the Royal Society. Audubon was a complex man who loved America becoming a naturalized citizen. He was generally kind but could become volatile. Late in life he enjoyed drinking and profanity.
Audubon's life with Lucy was a great love story. His constant travel did put a strain on the marriage. His two surviving children were John and Victor. Audubon loved his family and was faithful to his wife.
Audubon pioneered painting birds in their natural habitat. His monumental "Birds of North America" shows him to be a supreme artist.
Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Rhodes quotes several journal entries and letters sent by Audubon during his lifetime. The book is well illustrated containing a section of beautiful Audubon prints.
This was a very interesting book for me and for anyone interested in
American history; art; ornithology and pioneer life. Recommended.

In the tradition of the great biographers, Rhodes leaves no stone unturned in his exploration of this remarkable fellow. The author carries us through the journey of the quintessential self-made man as he comes into maturity with his new country, the United States.
This is a study of a man, not an ornithological treatise. We all have seen the beautiful portraits of birds (terrific color plates in the paperback edition I have) and, through Rhodes efforts, discover Audubon's ingenuity in rendering them with the sort of lifelike quality he hoped to achieve. He earned his passage on many early excursions as the boat's hunter and trapper requiring lone forays into the hinterland. He clearly absorbed everything in his environment while he was making his way. His love for wildlife extended beyond avian society to all flora and fauna contained in the natural environment. He painted other animals and plants, as well. In his waning years, he executed a series of North American mammals with his sons. He had hoped to do much more.
Audubon's history is entwined with early America. He surely enjoyed his notoriety in European courts but always longed for his wild territory. In his later years (he died a decade before the Civil War), his assessment of the burgeoning nation was that it was becoming too crowded, overpopulated; ruined. THAT America was gone before Audubon died but Mr. Rhodes allows us an almost palpable glimpse at it as he illuminates one of it's most colorful citizens. Who would be a better guide into the young U.S. than this great naturalist, so skillfully revealed by this delightful writer?