Pitt Books

Cormac McCarthy is undoubtedly one of the best American writers alive today. This is precisely why I purchased one of his works for my first venture into the "books on tape" world. I feared that hearing his works read to me my a Hollywood actor would diminish its impact, but I am happy to report that Brad Pitt does a good job of keeping the spirit and humor of his writing up to par. There are, however, times when he seems bored with the task as his voice takes on a particularly lullaby-like quality, so be sure to keep a cup of coffee handy if listening while driving!

I have read all of these novels before so I was familiar with the stories. The abridgement did cut out some of my favorite passages (especially in the Crossing) where McCarthy embarks on a style parade worthy of Fitzgerald's or Faulkner's attention.

My wife and I listened to the stories while traveling through the Southwest, and it was a delight to experience the landscape through the eyes of the stories. If you are planning a cross country drive or a long drive through the New Mexico-Arizona-West Texas area, I cannot recommend enough these books on tape as travel companions!

Buy the other, the All The Pretty Horses alone, with reader Muller (sp?) Frank. Brad Pitt does a very poor job, and I was amazed how poor. He hardly seems like a trained actor. He badly mispronounces Spanish (pronounces 'jefe' as 'jeffy')and his reading is like something a grade-school child would produce. He carries the question tone over to the 'he said' in interrogative sentences and does not change voice tone from one speaker to another. He sounds like a slacker who has been forced to read a high-school composition. This guy is an actor?

And the abridgement ruins the stories in all three novels.

Now I have to go back and buy the other because I love ATPH very much and want to hear it read by someone who has had voice training and a good voice.

This is not a coherent account of the campaign in North Africa. There is no maps to indicate the movement of the armies. The author does not do an adaquete job of combining the mitlitary strategy of the North African campaign with the personal narratives. I would reccomend the Desert Generals by Corelli Barnett and the biography of Rommel by David Fraser to understand the North African campaign but defnitely not this book!

"Wavell's Command" is the first volume of a three-volume set by Barrie Pitt published by Cassell & Co. in London. Pitt is no stranger to war or the theater about which he writes, having served in both the European and Middle East theaters in World War II.

Pitt has done a through job of research and presents his findings in a clear, measured and very readable style. The reader is helped along through the use of numerous maps, descriptive sketches and photographs. An ample bibliography (notes for each chapter) and appendices (orders of battle for Operation Compass and Operation Battleaxe) tie things neatly together at the conclusion. At 332 pages, "Wavell's Command" has sufficient space for Pitt to explore the breadth and depth of the opening moves and initial battles of the North African campaigns.

In sum, throughout the first half of World War II, control of North Africa was strategically vital to the Allies, and after the fall of France it was the only theater in which the fight could be taken to the Axis powers. Pitt chronicles the events that lead up to and the successful routing of Italian forces. Then, in early 1941, General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps entered the conflict, and the smashing victory of the British against the Italians was overtaken by disaster.

In the end, one has to give credit to Cassell & Co. for introducing all three volumes of their "Crucible of War" series on North African fighting-you won't want to buy one without purchasing the other two.

With the introduction of the Microsoft and Netscape 4.0 series Web browsers new and exciting Web development design options have arrived on the scene. Touted as a method of quickly designing and updating HTML documents, Style Sheets programming promises an easier and quicker way to produce cutting-edge results!

The authors demonstrate throughout this book some really innovative approaches to designing Websites. Readers will learn how to creatively add color to their Web pages, how to set margins as never before, how to prescisely control element positioning. how to indent text, how to manage font properties, and more. Readers will learn how to graduate from basic HTML to this higher level of programming challenge! Actual Websites and sample Web pages are provided to demonstrate this latest concept in Web design.

The book features plenty of sample exercises readers can work through. They provide a variety of layout options and illustrations of style and structure. The CD that accompanies the book is loaded with all of the sample style sheets source code from the book as well as software programs allowing immediate implementation of Style Sheets programming.

Coriolis rates this book for intermediate through advanced users. I concur. Beginners will have a difficult finding their way through this book but the rewards can be great for those who can master this Web development programming tool!

Don't be seduced by this book's lavish cover or large-format, its 60-page color section or the considerable writing experience of the three authors. This book's potentially timely and valuable information is crippled by the publisher's decision to get this book on the shelves without benefit of the least editorial proofing.

Page after page of obvious problems completely undermine your confidence in the technical content. Statements like "The Times font is probably the most commonly used font written in languages using Arabic letters." (p114) surely won't convince you that the authors have something to teach you in the way of fontfaces.

Poorly thought-out and unimaginative illustrations have only a tenuous relation to text. Sometimes they have no relation. On p105, the authors "illustrate" the block nature of a list-item with a picture of Felix the Cat in a non-browser window labelled "Animated Gifs". Another example shows us Lotus Notes instead of Netscape.

It is clear that technical facts have not been thoroughly checked. This is very important in an area where published standards are not completely implemented and there are wide variations in the type of implementation across browsers and platforms. We are told that "font size (sic) and font weight (tsk tsk) are abbreviated using the slash (12pt/14pt)." No, font-size and line-height are abbreviated that way.

The book is poorly indexed, but that is normal for computer books. What is abnormal is that the color section, about one-third of the book, has not been indexed at all! Especially amusing was the 5 full-color pages gushing about Time Magazine's exemplary use of style sheets *without one line* of code to back up the authors' esteem.

No, this is one beautiful book best admired from afar.

Fiona Pitt-Kethley paints herself as a modern-day, feminist Don Juan, making a carnal tour of Italy's antiquities in the company of beautiful young boy-toys. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Sleazebags take her on trips miles out of her way to places she never wanted to go, "force" her to eat repulsive feasts she never wanted to touch, paw and claw and maul her, demand sex, beg sex, wheedle for sex in return for their attentions. Sometimes she gives in, and the two times she enjoyed herself, she discreetly draws a veil over the scene; the rest of the time, we get accounts of hideous sex in nauseous detail. Never once does she try to speak up for herself or object to what the man is doing unless he's actually trying to rape her. After a while, the accounts of lecherous guides and macho men run into one another, until the book turns into a dreary grey litany of all the ways men can harass women who are too polite to say, "Stop."

Supposedly there's some useful information in here about Classical antiquities, but Pitt-Kethley doesn't consider herself prepared to see the sights until she's picked up a new guide. By the time she reaches anything interesting, she's usually too busy trying to pry his hands off her to notice anything worthwhile. A definite must-miss.

Fiona Pitt-Kethley has a rare talent for bringing the ruins of antiquity to life, allowing us to see them in a completely new light. Moreover, she is endowed with a superior sense of humour, that includes the most difficult one to achieve, self-addressed humour. Someone might be turned off by her declared interest in casual sex (and probably many people cannot yet accept a woman speaking in such terms), but her adventures are always painted with light and humorous brush strokes. And everybody that has been in the scene, knows that, before you meet a prince, you must kiss many frogs. I have greatly appreciated both her descriptions of antiquities, the classical world and of the few things that are known about the Sibyls, as well as her descriptions of many typical italian males (which, being italian myself, I can certify are very much to the point). A highly recommended book, provided you can read between the lines

The title of this book is Mariah Loves Rock. Mariah is 11 yrs old. She has alot of interest. She is good at sports , and one big fan of a rock star named Sheik Bashara. Mariah tries all her best,either she is playing volleyball or creating Shiek Bashara earings or throwing a party for her friends. I liked this story because , I love to listen to music and write songs just like Mariah. Anyone who likes to do any of these things , you should read this book.

Mariah can go to the mall, spike a volleyball, change her hairstyle as quickly as she changes her mood, and dream of kissing Sheik Bashara, but her happy world is threatened by her half-sister Denise's pending arrival. Mariah's shallow character makes it difficult for the reader to feel any real empathy for her insecurity. From the novel's beginning, Mariah competes with her mother and her older sister Lynn(Lynn is a very cool character.) for her father's attention: "Mariah had her daddy to herself...Mariah believed she was her daddy's favorite." When Denise arrives, will she still be her daddy's favorite? Though for any young reader, Mariah's worries about having to share her room and Sheik Bashara music with Denise would be real concerns, she appears entirely self-absorbed. Episode following episode, Mariah and Lynn spar, adding molasses to the drawn out plot. It is not until the novel's final five pages that the crucial question, of why Mariah's mother would not allow Denise to live with them, is addressed. In a melodramatic scene, while waiting for Denise at the airport gate, Mariah's mother wrings her hands and confesses her veiled insecurity about her husband's child from his first marriage. Upon her arrival, Denise gives Mariah a Sheik Bashara poster, and the future of Mariah and her family concludes with superficial brightness. The suggested reading level for this book is grades four to six.

This textbook is the required text for a graduate level business course in which I am currently enrolled. My opinion, as well as nearly all of my classmates, is that this book offers very little for those in business wanting to learn about strategic management.

An example of what I mean is the following sentence taken from the book: "Firms that have built substantial sources of competitive advantage often enjoy high levels of profitability." Really? The text continues to state obvious points such as this.

This book contains about 10 % of material and 90 % filler. It could probably have been condensed to about 20 pages of bullet points without losing any of the content. Many textbooks have a problem with lack of brevity, however this book is the worst that I can remember since my days in high school.

As a business professional who values his time, I do not have time to waste reading filler. This book is so poor that if it wasn't being used to teach the final course in my program I would have dropped the course.

Pitts & Lei's (revised) 2nd edition is a solid, well-written strategic management textbook. Topical coverage is both traditional and well informed. The only exception to the foregoing is Chapter 11 that seems to be slightly "muddy" and confusing. From my perspective, as an instructor who has taught strategic management for the last fifteen years and actually practiced strategic management for fifteen years in industry, the only "missing element" is a chapter on "network" or virtual organizations. Chapter 12 (Managing Strategic Change) and Chapter 13 (Redefining Advantage) are excellent, both in terms of content and exposition.

The book includes cases (suitable for classroom discussion) and review questions in each chapter. Each chapter also has an excellent set of references. The ancillaries are complete with the exception that no test bank is provided for an instructor's use. I recommend this text to anyone teaching undergraduate strategic management and also to any reader interested in learning what strategic management is all about.

This book compares quite favorably to several of the much more expensive strategy texts like David, Thompson and Strickland and Pearce and Robinson. The book is good value for the money.

The eagerly awaited final volume to the colossal trilogy on the youngest and arguably most charismatic of Prime ministers of Britain. Ehrman has created a volume of detail and immense interest. He has weaved together the knowledge of the period and created a mini world where Pitt inhabits. Relationships with all the major characters of the period are dealt with and brought together in this impressive refernce work. Pitt, as in the second volume does seem to flit in and out of the text too much and no real new information is brought to light. Why did he resign? What did he do during the Peace of 1801? Why did he respond as he did to the Addington administration in 1804? What was his real relationship to that government? What sort of admin did he attempt to establish in 1804 and 1805? All these questions are answered in the traditional manner- no new insights are provided. This is rather disappointing considering the huge number of manuscript sources examined. A bibliography given the size of the project would have itself have taken up a small book! However, if you would like a detailed and thorough work on the early 19th century then this is your book.

The eagerly awaited final volume to the colossal trilogy on the youngest and arguably most charismatic of Prime ministers of Britain. Ehrman has created a volume of detail and immense interest. He has weaved together the knowledge of the period and created a mini world where Pitt inhabits. Relationships with all the major characters of the period are dealt with and brought together in this impressive refernce work. Pitt, as in the second volume does seem to flit in and out of the text too much and no real new information is brought to light. Why did he resign? What did he do during the Peace of 1801? Why did he respond as he did to the Addington administration in 1804? What was his real relationship to that government? What sort of admin did he attempt to establish in 1804 and 1805? All these questions are answered in the traditional manner- no new insights are provided. This is rather disappointing considering the huge number of manuscript sources examined. A bibliography given the size of the project would have itself have taken up a small book! However, if you would like a detailed and thorough work on the early 19th century then this is your book.

I review and found the book is extremely useful for experienced programmer. The structure is confused but when I get used to, it became handful reference.

This was the first XML book I bought, I new less after trying to plogh through he book that I knew before. Misses the target.

Cheryl Kirk, aka, Lou K., wrote a review entitled, "I agree with the bad reviews - and I'm one of the authors!" on March 12, 2002.
Her review was more of a slam against her co-author, Natanya Pitts.
Read all of the editorial reviews and customer reviews before making your decision on whether or not to purchase this book.

This is not a good learning book or a good book to use as a reference. Each chapter was very disjointed and hard to follow. The examples and explaination were extremly lacking. The only reason I was able to put the parts together was by finding a web based tutorial that explained the concept better. I would not waste your money on this one.

This book is out of print, and it should be. It's an awful book, and I should know - I helped write it! If you are looking for a good book on XML, you could either try the second printing of this book, or a ton of others that are out now. I'm writing this review to tell everyone and anyone to save their money. (If you look at the other books I've written, you'll realize I write great books, and this was just a blip in the continum.)

So why was it so bad? Let me tell you the truth, without making excuses.

This book was written a LONG time ago, so it is VERY out of date. And I was a contract author that came in at the last minute, when the book, I presume, was in jeopardy. Another writer had jumped ship, and frankly I think the book had more problems before I even got involved. Why the lead author Natanya Pitts, didn't complete the book, I'll never know. But she didn't and I was hired and told to write more than 400 pages on the technology that had yet to have to be finalized. There were few if any tools for XML, Microsoft had yet to even release their parser, and the original XML spec hadn't even been finalized.

And I kept telling the lead editor at the time, it was just too soon to write a 'Black Book' on a technology that in essence was still being thought up. With the XML spec not even finalized, and other components like XLINK, XPATH, etc. not even part of the equation at the time, there really wasn't much to write about.

Then I tried to contact the lead author, get copies of the chapters she had written, and confer with her about the book, but to no avail. I never heard from her at all. When I did get her chapters thru the editor, it was only after I had turned the chapters I was assigned. That's why the book repeats itself so much, and is so dijointed. I basically had a list of chapters, and that was it. I didn't even get the TOC until much later! Then the editor kept telling me, write more, regardless of whether there was anything to write about. And there wasn't much to write about at the time, so it was a real stretch. In essence I was told write this many pages, regardless, and to do it within less than 2 months.

I learned a great deal about computer book publishing with this project. It wasn't about quality, it was about quantity. It wasn't about the reader, it was about getting a book out so the publisher could take advantage of the tide of interest in XML. From what I understand, however, things have changed at Coriolis and they realize their missteps.

But I still see other publishers, like Wrox, that seem to take that same approach, and I think it really hurts the computer book industry, but more importantly, hurts the reader.

I wouldn't give up on Coriolis (or any other publisher for that matter), since some of the Black Books are actually very good. But I would take the time to really check out a book before buying it, since series books aren't always written or controlled by the same editors or authors and quality can vary greatly. What I would do, however, is return bad books not only to the bookstore, but also the publisher directly. They need to know WHY a book didn't sell and what readers expect. Oftentimes publishers think a book fails because of other reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the book.

And until readers STOP buying ...thrown-together books, publishers will never learn! I certainly learned NEVER to work on a failing project like this one. My other books all have 5 star ratings and dealing with irate readers on this book (mainly because the lead author failed to even respond to anyone's email) made me realize how important the reader truly is...

This is one of the better mysteries in the series set in 1880s London which feature Inspector Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte (and a growing number of his in-laws, too). Pitt has just been promoted to be Superintendent of the Bow Street station, and he's beginning to discover the difficulties inherent in the increased responsibility. Then a decapitated body turns up in a small boat off the Serpentine and the public, which hasn't forgotten the Ripper killings the previous year, begins to get nervous. And then a second beheading occurs, and then a third, and Pitt can't find anything the three murders have in common. While Pitt struggles with the case, moreover, Charlotte is busy with the new house they've just bought on the strength of his increased salary, and Emily is deeply involved with her new husband's second campaign for a seat in Parliament. The Inner Circle is strongly in the background this time, which is unfortunate -- especially since the description of its activities reminds one of Prof. Moriarty's organization.

What do a wife-beating Captain of the Royal Navy, a sensitive musician, a callous bus-driver and a haughty butler have in common? Their bodies are discovered in Hyde Park - decapitated. Police superviser Thomas Pitt meets two widows: one feels relieved, the other one is cheerful. We learn more details about the "inner circle" of a secret organization that controls key officials under the coat of charity. And Charlotte decorates her new house. At times Perry is in danger of trespassing Patricia Cornwell territory - no ghastly details from the morgue please! -but the scene where the ladies cross their swords with a smug wannabe Member of the Parliament is priceless. (Uttley reminds me of Paul Krendler in Thomas Harris' HANNIBAL). Not my favorite Anne Perry novel, but it will do.

I tried to listen to the taped version. It's 12 two-sided tapes, with an advertised running time of 15 hours and 5 minutes. After about 10 hours into a car trip, we voted unanimously to put in the last tape, just so we could satisfy our "Who dunnit?" curiosity. Alas, even that strategy was frustrated, as only one of the murders is solved on the last tape. The writer's style is both pretentious and repetitious, a deadly combination. After we had heard "lugubrious" for the third time, the groans became audible, even above the traffic noise. The writer's obvious fascination with the styles, manners and customs of London in 1890 have led her to assume that all her readers are similarly inclined. For me, they got in the way of the story... constantly! I got the book/tapes from the local library, so it was free. It still wasn't worth the price. Unless you're fascinated by the trivial aspects of living in London circa 1890, save yourself from a gruesome ordeal.

I tried to listen to the taped version. It's 12 two-sided tapes, with an advertised running time of 15 hours and 5 minutes. After about 10 hours into a car trip, we voted unanimously to put in the last tape, just so we could satisfy our "Who dunnit?" curiosity. Alas, even that strategy was frustrated, as only one of the murders is solved on the last tape. The writer's style is both pretentious and repetitious, a deadly combination. After we had heard "lugubrious" for the third time, the groans became audible, even above the traffic noise. The writer's obvious fascination with the styles, manners and customs of London in 1890 have led her to assume that all her readers are similarly inclined. For me, they got in the way of the story... constantly! I got the book/tapes from the local library, so it was free. It still wasn't worth the price. Unless you're fascinated by the trivial aspects of living in London circa 1890, save yourself from a gruesome ordeal.

While this was not my favorite Perry novel, I enjoyed it far more than some of the other reviewers seemed to. The story centers around a series of beheadings that are discovered in or around the Hyde Park area of London. In addition to trying to solve these mysteries, Thomas Pitt must deal with conflict created by both subordinates and superiors who doubt that he is qualified for the Superintendent position to which he has recently been promoted. His inability to solve the mystery also becomes an issue in his brother-in-law's campaign for a seat in the House of Commons.

In terms of my enjoyment of the novel, I think it makes a difference that I have read all of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels up through this one. Over the course of those 10+ novels, Perry has created an interesting and likable couple that I enjoy following through their various adventures. The new characters introduced in Hyde Park Headsman are not as interesting as those found in some of her other novels, and this work lacks the psychological depth of some of the earlier works. Nonetheless, for those who have gotten to know Thomas and Charlotte through the earlier novels, this is an enjoyable page-turner.

Eh. Ok. Yeah, I guess.

This 18-point type edition is just that. Straight 18-point text; no explanations, no annotations, no background. I wish I had seen a copy before I ordered it. I don't have the copy in front of me, but I don't even remeber any paragraphs. Just page after unremitting page of 18 point type. I took one quick look and put it on the shelf.

I already have a good copy of John Milton's classic work, but I needed a copy I could mark up, and call me old-fashioned, but I wanted a real book, not a printout from the Web.

Somehow that page after page of 18 point type was a real jolt to the eyes.

But all is not lost. I can use the book as a perfect example of the differences different sizes of type can make.

Thank goodness there is a book that no longer refers humankind as mankind, references he for they, and men for human. To the reviewers below-get over it-

As a woman, I appreciate it, this is not some politically sensitive wordage, it's inclusive wordage. I am not a man, mankind does NOT mean humankind, and during John Milton's time women were being burned on stakes, so his outlook especially torwards women was dim, and very well could have been reflected in this book, if it wasn't for the publishers insights regarding this. This is an excellent account of one of the original ideas for free speech in this country. This book will particularly interest those who are in media studies.

Let the buyer beware! I should have recalled this adage and examined my purchase more carefully.

I am now the owner of writings by the new John Milton, a politically correct John Milton, a John Milton that rejects manhood for adulthood and rejects man for person. This new Milton embraces the humanist pronouns hu and hus and hum, non-sexist third person pronouns. He, his and him and she, her and hers are no more.

Milton's quotation of Euripides is likewise changed. Euripides now says' "And hu who can and will, deserves high praise". Euripides stands corrected.

Milton's use of archaic English has also been modernized. Milton has cast aside much of his seventeenth century English. This Bandanna Books version of John Milton is no longer John Milton, but an altered, censored revision.

Ironically, in the essay Areopagitica John Milton is arguing to the Parliament of England for freedom of the press, specifically for the liberty of unlicensed printing. Would John Milton have approved this modern, secular, nonsexist version of his essay?

Milton would have agreed that Bandanna Books had a right to publish, but I suspect that he would have argued that that Bandanna Books had a moral obligation to label the book cover to indicate that Milton's essay had been significantly altered to fit a peculiar nonsexist standard.

Bandanna Books in Santa Barbara, California offers other humanist works including Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, Plato's Apology and Crito, and commentaries by Confucius. Unless you find comfort in hu, hus, and hum, I suggest that the traditional Whitman, Plato, and Confucius might be adequate and that you look elsewhere. Let the buyer beware!

Prospective buyers of this edition should be aware that it is edited; some of Milton's words have been changed, either to modernize or to "humanize" (that is, eliminate sexist usages by the replacement of he/she, him/her, etc. with bizarre "hu", "hum," etc. This is not a worthy edition of Milton's great text!

"Hu", "hus", "hum"? Ho hum.

John Leonar