M Books

This is a lovely book with simple, thoughtful passages for the days leading up to Christmas. The passages evoke feelings of centeredness, peace and calm similar to awakening to a beautiful, fresh snowfall.

Good reading from a variety of excellent, trusted writers...Nouwen, Bonhoeffer, Manning, etc. all offer reflections on the Advent/Christmas season that will make you go deeper...

Personally, I struggle with reading during this time of year due to busy schedule but I have found this daily digest a perfect way to enhance my Advent season of waiting...

This book features a wide array of Christmas messages--old and new. This book will inspire you and make you think about the true meaning of Christmas. This book also makes a GREAT gift.

Also recommended:
Christmas Gifts, Christmas Voices--heartbreaking yet inspiring
A Stranger for Christmas--a warm and cosy story for the holidays

Like a kid counting down the days until Christmas, I took a spiritual journey by reading the days until Christmas. My guide, Watch for the
light. Cheaper than a real journey...no stops for gas , no waiting in line. Pop open the book's cover and begin to read. Some funny stories, some poetry, some known authors and some not so well known, all leading the way to Christmas. When Christmas comes, you will be ready.

I love that this series, including "Bread and Wine:Readings for Lent and Easter," because it challeneges our complacent culture-dictated experience of Advent and Easter. This is not a feel-good book, it is a faith-building book. Be prepared to be shaken up and for God to meet you in a new way.

I bought copies for my friends and family. Everyone loved it!

The diversity of authors come together in surprising unity. This broadened my perspective and made me want to find books written by the individual authors. I also loved that the authors are from all points in history and geography. An experience like this is what all of us in the US need.

I haven't read this book for about thirteen or fourteen years, since right after my father passed away (which occurred when I was ten). I found that it described my own emotions perfectly...except I tried to shut mine down. I remember after reading it, I hadn't cried for my father at all...but it made me cry, and that's when the healing began.
The main character, Liza, lost her father around the same age I lost mine. He apparently passed away of heart failure, same as mine. We also had to move...but not just to a different neighborhood; we moved out of state. Many of the same struggles were present: guilt, anger, sorrow beyond description...and of course the feeling that other than my siblings, I was the only one with that kind of pain. Liza experiences the same things.
I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially for those between the ages of 8-13 who have lost a parent. At that age, children are so tender, and it's a horrible age to lose a parent; especially when everyone else seems to still have theirs.
The book is, as one other reviewer said, a bit sugar-coated...but mostly truthful and realistic.

We had to read it in Elementary School, and I want you all to know, that is an awesome book, but yet so sad. It made a lot of us cry, a lot of us, but it is so worth the tears because it makes you realize that people can die soon and tragically, and especially those with family. So cherish your family while you can, and please, if you can not think of anything to read, please pick up a copy of this book. It really does not matter the age for this book, I think it is a book for all ages.

Liza lives with her mom, dad, two sisters, and brother. Thier names are Hope, Carrie, and Brent. They live on 25 Bayberry street, that is where most of this story takes place. They're house has had O'harras living in it since it was built. The school was having a pagent and Liza didn't like the sound of that. Liza was worried about her dad because he had been really sick lately. They were in for a hard winter and they found out this Christmas would be their dad's last. They're dad passed away that christmas and they had to move out of thier good-size house, because they're mom wasn't making enough money alone to support her house and family. Later Liza met mark and they began to date, but I don't want to give the end away so audious.

the first time i read this book, i was 8, and my father had just recently been diagnosed with cancer. i rediscovered it at 10 (just after his death) and in 7th grade (the age of the book's protagonist); after that i never lost track of it again. i treasured the book like a secret diary because it so perfectly fit every emotion i'd ever felt, every struggle i'd ever faced. the parallels were so great to my own story that i refused to let a close friend borrow the book because of how much about me it would reveal. this book is well-written and deserves to be back in print. my struggles would have been a thousand times harder without this book to show me just how normal all of my fears were, and it's a book that any child or preteen who has lost a parent should consider reading.

I am putting together the materials for my Ph.D. dissertation on adolescent authors. I read this book and immediately found room for it in my work. I read the story twice and found new and exciting parts that I had missed the first time. This is certainly a book that needs to be put near the top of the list of classic young adult literature. There is a small part of the reader, any reader, that is felt in the story, and what a great feeling it is to see Liza rise above her sorrow and engage in a world that her father adored, a world of happiness and laughter.

This is a captivating children's story that will make you looking forward to the next book of the series. I think it is smart on the part of the author to finish this Book 1 just after Kate follows Matt into Abadazad. This is exactly why the readers will wait for Book 2. My problem, however, is that the story was not long enough. I wish the book contained 280 pages, instead of 140. It would also make me feel that my money was well spend... Otherwise the book is great, nicely designed, with vibrant colors. Overall I rate it for 4.5 stars.

This book deserves more than five stars! Its compelling, exciting, intriguing etc. Loooooooooooooove it! I've never read such a fantastic novel! This is a book for all kids to enjoy. A classic and a masterpeice! Its appropriate for all ages. The plot is about a young girl, Kate, who finds herself in a enchanted land. You feel as if you're there yourself and experience the exciting events right with Kate. I highly recomend this fantastic novel.

This is an amazingly good book. The moment I picked it up I knew I was in for a treat. The charactors are fantastic and the plot is compelling and engrossing. The illistrations do wonders for the eye and once you star reading you can't stop. 5 stars!!!!!

Take the graphic novel format, add full color, and add more text to get a vivid enchanting diary/journal of magic, adventure, and a friendless child whose life changes. A journey to another world makes for vivid adventure.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Cross Gen Comics was a noble failure. The publisher tried to expand Comics by publishing stories in as many far-thinking formats as possible. They also tried to create tales for all age groups and interests by pushing into as many genres as possible, eschewing for the most part the capes and tights superheroics that still dominate this dusk of the comic industry. Alas, the financial side of the equation did not match the creative and Cross Gen was in the end unsuccessful.

However, one of the last enterprises of the company was the launching of Abadazad. It lasted a mere 3 issues, but fortunately showed enough of it's promise (and generated good word-of-mouth) to be picked up by Disney.

Abadazad is clearly the Wizard of Oz for the generations that have grown up demanding more depth even for Children's entertainment.

Abadazad is a dynamite mix of prose, traditional illustrations and pure comics. The prose adds so much more to the story than could ever be portrayed in traditional panel comics and the comic pages add so much more illustrative depth than could otherwise be conveyed.

The story is strong. While it concerns a more or less standard quest of fantasy ( a young girl must travel to a strange and enchanted land to rescue her little brother), the main character's persona is so much richer (and just a little edgier) thanks to the circumstances of her rather difficult life and family relations perceeding the jump to pure fantasy.

And what a fantasy world she jumps into! With all the depth and colour of Oz or Narnia, but with just a slightly harder edge that should be acceptable to both parent and child. Mike Ploog brings the fantastic world of Abadazad to life and proves the axiom that a picture is worth a thousand words!

A wonderful start for a series that should be immensely enjoyed by anyone 8 or older (or even MUCH older).

Absolutely outstanding book on the complicated second American revolution that occured as a result of the American Civil War and the startling reversals that took place not ten years later. McPherson's essays are masterful.

First rate.

This thin book which contains series of essays on how Abraham Lincoln revolutionized our nation during one of the most important periods of our nation proves to be well written and amazingly easy to understand. James McPherson writes clearly how the American Civil War was truly a revolutionary moment in our nation's history and how Lincoln took steps to ensure these changes. How we lived, our political/racial/social norms that are part of our society today took form during the Civil War. Even the way we waged war, have it roots in the Civil War, all have Lincoln's fingerprints all over it.

The book proves to be easy to follow and read. But in its simple prose, lies amazing insights and perception of Lincoln's influence during the war and his abilities to effect changes in our nation. I would say that this book is a "must read" for anyone interested in American history.

This well-argued collection of James McPherson's occasional pieces focuses primarily on what the author sees as the fundamental changes that the Civil War brought to America's polity, economics, culture, and self-identity. The first, second, third, and seventh of the essays deal especially with this theme. The middle fourth, fifth, and sixth essays are less directly related to it, but nonetheless offer fascinating explorations of Lincoln the total war president, Lincoln the wordsmith, and Lincoln the "hedgehog."

Many of the people who lived through the Civil War thought of it as a revolution. Many historians since have agreed, although for varying reasons. McPherson's main project in this book is to figure out whether and how the Civil War can be considered the "second American Revolution."
He believes that the war was in fact revolutionary on several counts.

First, the war shifted the economic and political power balance in the United States. The war's devastation of southern property and demographics, especially after it evolved from a limited to a total conflict, shifted economic superiority to northern industry and agriculture. Moreover, the southern states' virtual antebellum monopoly of the White House, as well as their immense congressional power, was broken for the next half century. This is what McPherson (and others) refer to as the "external" revolution.

But there was an "internal" revolution too in the realm of legal rights and national self-identity. Four million slaves were freed and granted civil and political rights, and the southern aristocracy, along with the entire way of life and set of values it maintained, disappeared (or at least went underground). Moreover, argues McPherson, the war brought about a shift from early Republic concentration on liberty as "freedom from" (negative liberty), which distrusted strong central government, to liberty as "freedom to" (positive liberty), which emphasized the responsibility of the federal government to guarantee civil rights. This shift helped create a new sense of national identity that focused on the nation rather than the region: hence McPherson's claim that the Civil War moved the country from a "union" to a "nation."

The influence of the political philosopher Isaiah Berlin is present throughout much of McPherson's thinking about liberty, and McPherson also draws on one of Berlin's most famous essays in designating Lincoln (Chapter VI) as a hedgehog in his single-minded devotion to preserving the union. McPherson might be drawing on the work of philosophers of language in his fascinating discussion (Chapter V) of Lincoln's influential talent for creating and manipulating "live" as opposed to "dead" metaphors in expressing his opinions and seeking support for his policies. In both these cases, McPherson nicely weaves some philosophical analysis into his historical interpretations.

Where I find McPherson less helpful is his rather uncritical discussion of Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus (Chapter III). He rehearses the well-worn argument that the suspension was simply necessary from a pragmatic perspective--end of discussion. As Lincoln said in another context, "often a limb must be sacrificed to save a life." But this interpretation begs for a discussion of the moral and political short- and longterm trauma that the amputation inflicted on the body politic. How far can one go in suspending liberties in order to preserve liberty?

Nonetheless, the essays collected in Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution are exactly what readers have come to expect from McPherson: illuminating, gracefully written, well-researched. They aren't the final word, and I suspect McPherson doesn't expect them to be. But they wonderfully enrich the on-going conversation.

James McPherson (Battle Cry of Freedom) is the preeminent Civil War author and scholar of our time. The Princeton University professor provides fresh insight into A. Lincoln in these seven essays.

McPherson demonstrates conclusively that the Civil War was indeed the Second American Revolution - it abolished slavery and smashed the political, economic, and social status quo. Before the War, southerners dominated American politics - after the war it was decades before a son of the south could be elected President. The absence of the south from the national legislature during the war allowed the passage of the great progressive and modernizing legislation; the Homestead Act, enabled a continental railroad, and land-grant colleges. After the war, blacks made great (if far from complete) progress in education, politics, and economics.

Unfortunately, the reactionary forces led a counter-revolution that attempted to turn back the massive changes in society with much success. That counter-revolution eventually yielded to a Second Reconstruction in the mid-20th century.

McPherson repeatedly returns to Lincoln's political evolution as the War changed from a limited war for limited ends to a total war for revolutionary ends. In the end Lincoln insisted on unconditional surrender.

I particularly enjoyed the essays entitled 'How Lincoln Won the War with Metaphors', which contrasts the communication abilities of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, and 'The Hedgehog and the Foxes', in which McPherson favors us with a description of Lincoln as the single-minded hedgehog outlasting the multifarious foxes such as Horace Greeley and William Seward.

My only small quibble is that similar points are made using the same quotes in multiple essays (perhaps unavoidable in a collection of previously published essays), but the quotes are so evocative of Lincoln's thinking that the repetition is not only forgiven, but enjoyed.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in US history, Lincoln, or the Civil War era.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION by James M. McPherson is a thin juicy volume. You feel energized as you read and absorb its deep insights. Each of six essays shows that it was Lincoln's reality anchored character and powerful intellect that transformed the United States to the country it is today. One essay shows how Lincoln's use of metaphor, culled from Aesop's Fables, the works of Shakespeare, and the Bible made him a consummate communicator. His metaphors resonated to the deepest layers of mind of the average American in way that instilled motivation and purpose to a war that seemed impossible to manage or win. Compared to Jefferson Davis who was so highly educated and abstract but was unable to connect with ordinary folk. But it is McPherson who too is able to convey to us this president's great powers with his own metaphors i.e. "barnyard philosophy," and his essay, "The hedgehog and the fox," which compares and contrasts Lincoln's abilities with the "smartest contemporaries." ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION is a great distillate of the voluminous Civil War Literature. You must have it for your library.

Appreciative Inquiry Handbook offers a rich, navigational guide for industries across the spectrum. Appreciative Inquiry Handbook reflects a new paradigm in American and global industry; a must-read for industry leaders!

I think this book is an essential first book on the theory and practical application of the positve appreciative process.It defines the terms, provides the research and background of the process and gives first hand stories of its application in the real world.

Excellent, I was very satisfied with the theoretical explanation as well as the practical guides for solving the change management issues.

The handbook is clearly written and introduces not only a new paradigm in thinking about orgaisational change work it also supports change agents in their endeavour to create sustainable and learning organisations. Great practical materials and tools across the spectrum of AI are designed with a lot of ideas how to apply any AI initiative.
This book is well organized and readable and a must for every OD practicioner and change agent.

This handbook guides you in applying appreciative inquiry methods in a variety of settings. We have had good results conducting two facilitation assignments with "Appreciative Intent".

In our most recent assignment, our client was impressed with the quality and quantity of the information gathered. Additionally, members of the client's leadership were also impressed with the level of participation from some of the more "quiet" people in the organization. The one-on-one questionnaire technique levels the playing field for people with a more introverted personality. Also, if you like applying a "Theory of Constraints" approach to operations you will observe that using the interview/questionnaire approach creates a multi-channel process when brain storming. (i.e. more conversations can be carried on simultaneously, thereby creating a larger stream of information or ideas in less time)

The CD alone is worth the investment!

I had a good time reading through this reprint of Morris Morgan's 1893 translation of Xenophon's "The Art of Horsemanship" (350 BC). Unlike many of the other ancient Greek translations and authors, this one is very easy to read.

The text itself is fairly short and reads quickly, sprinkled with wisdom. After the text is another short portion from 1893, which talks about "The Greek Riding-Horse", based on Xenophon and all the other available sources. Additionally, the footnotes to the text are quite interesting--I read them, for the most part, en block after reading the text.

As the title implies, the text is a very hands-on, practical guide to "everything you need to know" about how to take care of and look good riding a horse, reading like a "Horsemanship for Dummies" book. If you're interested in Ancient Greece and horses, you've got to read this short "instruction manual", though if you're only interested in the ancients, it's still fun to breeze through this text, nevertheless.

If more people took the time to educate themselves about horses and horsemanship in general and Xenophone's book in particular, perhaps we not see so many "show horses" of various popular breeds so physically manipulated by in breeding for only one or two specific traits rather than breeding for the whole horse. What was true in Ancient Greece is truer still today - without good feet, balance in the body and common sense a horse is worthless. Bravo to Amazon for bringing us this excellent book dirt cheap!

The material in this book is thousands of years old but amazing in how modern the approach is to horsemanship. Most of Xenophon's advice is timely even today. It shows how little has changed over the centuries.

This is a must if you are passionate about horses. It is so clear and to the essential point that it is a pleasure to read.

Xenophon covers several aspects of horsemanship, from grooming, leading, and choosing a horse, to mounting, riding, and training a war mount. Very, very interesting to see what is still applicable today. While this isn't a "training" or even a "horse care book," its a great historical reference from those interested in how horses we cared for and trained 2000 years ago. However, for those looking for a story or a book to teach riding skills, I suggest you look elsewhere. Those interested in dressage will find this worth-while, as it is considered the oldest text on the subject.

Eye-opening read that explains very clearly why and how the political "system" either co-opts or sidelines the Congressmen you hoped and expected could be the honest ones who would effect "change..." This gives the reader a very good understanding of the problem we face today.

Dr. Coburn is one of only a few congressmen who "gets it". Future generations of Americans will look back with anger at how the baby boomers ate their seed corn and saddled them with trillions of dollars of debt. Hopefully, they may appreciate the efforts of Dr. Coburn, who was one of the few who argued against all of the fiscal insanity going on in Washington today.

This is truly inspiring. It will open your eyes to the world of Washington and inspire you to make a difference. Please visit the the web site for Americans for Limited Government in which Sen. Coburn was chair

This book, based on the reviews here, is self-righteous pablum with little factual substance. A better, book, one that I've actually read, is Chris Edwards - Downsizing the Federal Government (Cato).

This is one of the most rewarding and enlightening books I ever read. It was a real sleeper as far as publicity goes, but everyone should read this book. Liberals who just scrunge up their faces when they hear Senator Coburns name, should think again and read this book. Senator Coburn is a very conservative republican, but he does not rail against liberals or democrats in this book. He must have rightly figured to do so would tag the book as a typical partisan effort. Instead he exposes what the Republican party establishment does and goes after Republican leaders. He only mentions Democrats when he has to in relaying information about any particular congressional bill. He surely didn't win any friends in congress when he exposed the inner workings of that body. Politicians quickly (if they didn't sart out that way) transform into playing the power game. Everything becomes about power and not what is best for the people. The bribes, strong arm tactics, threats, play along to get along, we'll do the right thing later, gotta secure power now kind of shenanigans. You definately do not have to agree with Tom Coburn politically to appreciate this book. It's great to get a birds eye view on why our government does not work. I can see what congress is doing and not doing now and understand why thanks to having read this book. The establishment doesn't want you to read this book, but do yourself a favor and read Breach of Trust. We need to shake things up in Washington and elect new people. In fact Mr. Coburn talks about the 20-25 in congress who stick to their principles and truley work to do the right thing. It's good to know who they are. Let's get a majority like them. To get a feel as to how to do that it helps to read this book. This is eye opening stuff. Thank you, Senator Coburn.

Although the title of this book is catchy the implication of "trapping" a spouse comes across as a negative. The book really isn't about trapping a spouse and it is indeed a good book. The subtitle is more appropriate "A Street-Smart Dating Strategy for Men Who Have Lost a Love."

This book is written by a Board Certified Trial Lawyer from Newport Beach along "with" a Beverly Hills based psychologist who specializes in couples counseling.

Being myself recently divorced and having lost a love I found this book to be very realistic in terms of describing what losing a love is like and what the recovery process is like.

The chapters are:

1.) Coping with Loss
2.) How Life Goes On
3.) Getting Serious about a Relationship
4.) Into the Future

I found each of the chapters to be intelligent, realistic and honest. I felt that the author really has felt what I am feeling and has a pretty cutting edge approach to his understanding and to his perspective on solutions. He is frank about depression, about not being able to get out of bed etc.

The guts of the book are about forming a dating strategy to find your next spouse. The apporach is very structured, precise and well defined. Although that type of approach may have appeal to a limited number of personality types I found the chapters on Coping and How Life Goes On to be worth the price of the book.

In a nutshell this is the only book I've found that is sort of like having a 40 or 50 year old uncle or father give you very accurate, useful, practical advice on the most intelligent way to find a spouse and not screw up your life and end up in divorce.

Having read "Spouse Trap" out of interest in how men think, I can say this is one excellent book for anyone, male or female, interested in REAL LOVE. No psychobabble here, rather real hands-on tips based on personal experience. The author's sincere and helpful stand that one has to do the work on one's self first is unique from most other books on finding love. Wonderful insights on grieving and getting on, good step by step procedures for personal evaluation on what one really wants in love. Highly recommended by this reader.

I've been divorced for 3 years now and trying to find a way to "get moving". I read the sample pages, (and the reviewers' comments)from this book and I got the impression that it would perfect for me. Like the others I've read, it had a few things that explained feelings I've had that I could not put into better words. The "dealing with the grief" part was good but not the "dating again" chapters. In the book, he makes several referneces to "Chapter 11, (I think thats the right number), that is the most important chapter in the book. I was looking forward to getting to it to see what the big deal was. All it dealt with was giving tips on getting a good counselor and how important it is to get someone with a solid background to help. If you're like me getting over a lost, you probably have or had a counselor to help you cope and get moving on with your life.
At the end, it discusses ideas when relationships get serious and also when they go bad. It also gave warning signs of unstable women and good reasons to get away from them. The last chapter has an example pre-nupital agreement.
Anyway, it had some decent stuff but weak on the dating aspects.

As a man and as a Marriage and Family therapist I feel "Build a Better Spouse Trap" is an important book. To me there are two underlying themes that Mr. Wentworth is conveying to the men he talks to so clearly. First, Think! My office is full of men who didn't think. They reacted. They are now in trouble, and they are sorry.

The second important point the author makes is to encourage the reader to Feel! Or better yet, identify feelings that are already there. Too many men make serious relationship mistakes because they don't know how to feel the feelings they already have. The author makes this point well when he encourages men to "stop living on automatic."

The result of following the advice in the book is to make the relationship process conscious. He says we should actually become conscious in the process of finding our life partner.
Finally, encouraging men to find a good therapist is great advice. I find that with a straightforward approach that is cognitive and logical, men make great progress in therapy and they really enjoy the process.

Beyond that, they learn about themselves, what makes women tick, and in doing so gain enormous confidence.

The book is honest, fun to read, and practical. But the phrase from the subtitle "Street Smart" says it all. The book hands you exactly what you need to have on those dark nights as you are forcing yourself to get out of the car and nervously walk up to her door. One is tempted to take the book along and feverishly flip through the pages for the right advice when she is in the lady's room. It doesn't get any more real than "Build a Better Spouse Trap."

I think "Build a Better Spouse Trap" in a shot in the arm to those of us who otherwise would be lost and depressed hoping the random forces of the universe will finally make us happy.

Every patient and male friend, to whom I have recommended this book, has found great straightforward advice that tells it like it is. Wentworth doesn't waste a reader's time with fluff and explanations, he gets right to the point of how to get over the loss of love and work a practical plan to bring real connection and relationship back into one's life.

He points out the pitfalls that many men fall into in new relationships. He talks directly about psychological "landmines" of character-disordered women (i.e. beautiful borderlines) and how to fight fair, break up respectfully and when and when not to use the Internet for dating. He uses humor and refers to a great many resources for further research, if readers want to know more about any topic.

The women I have recommended this book to have also truly enjoyed the practical and easy-to-understand suggestions. It seems both men and women are tired of groping blindly in the dark and just hoping that love will find them. Taking a proactive approach is far more appealing.

This is a great gift for any man you care about who is really interested in finding a healthy relationship!

A very interesting and colorful book. I enjoyed reading it and looking at all of the pictures. Lots of good info here. Lots of writing about Horiyoshi III, including photographs of his studio and museum. A great book.

Recommended to me by a well known tattoo artist, this book truly gave me the nuts and bolts info I needed to make the big leap. Especially helpful
to me were the explanations of the different areas of the body that are typically tattooed w/their Japanese names. There was also a stunning picture of a gorgeous girl with a ray of butterflies tattooed in the body suit style. As the art evolves from a badge of the criminal class to pure art, I believe we will see more feminine interpretations
of this masculine art form. Excellent from text to pictures!

I was in the process of researching Japanese tattoos for my own tattoo design and purchased four books. Bushido was the best for telling the story and history of Japanese tattooing and the pictures were equally amazing. Bushido was informative and pictures were beautifully shot. By far the best book on the subject I have seen.

It's a cool book that shows us many curious aspects of the japan tattoo history and tradition.
But, in another way, there's a lack of variety of photos, like koi fish and masks for example.

Horioshi work speaks for itself and this book is an impressive tribute to it. The pictures are fantastic and it's very nice to see that the family business has its heritage assured.

I have to say that this is a true classic. It gives a very nice treatment of what is NP-completeness in a fashion that really defends the topic well. It gives nice illustrations to show different situations and how to deal with it. But after the first couple of chapters it does get a little out there with the proofs it does. It is still approachable, but it assumes that the reader is already familiar with the basics of combinatorial complexity, especially in reductions. I would only recommend this book to readers who has gone through such books as Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen et al. or Combinatorial Complexity by Papadimitriou and Steiglitz. Those two books are more for beginners and this book should be one to help anyone interested in NP-complete problems to get more practice and depth understanding. Overall a great book for anyone interested in the topic. The grand challenge is to reduce everything to at least something within the 150 problems listed on your own.

The book is excellent in explaining NP-completeness problem. Take it as a reference if you would like to do research in this field.

This is a rare example of a textbook where the authors actually go to the trouble of considering the fact that the intended reader is a non-expert. Published in 1979 and still the best.

The book arrived in time, in good condition, and adequate packing.

This is among the most eloquently written books that I have ever read in my life. Highly recommended.