Robertson Books

Howard Roughan balances reasonable well written suspense with a nearly plausable plot. What he does better than most of this rather sordid genre, is to develop characters that are real, true and believable Dr. David Rembler and Terry Garrett are among them here and their attraction is both palpable and natural. Roughan writings are way above James Patterson (to whom he seemingly owes his career and I don't particulary care for) but not in the Connelly, Coben, Crais or Lehane camp. But don't let that stop you from taking it to the beach or on a plane. It is simply good fun.

One of the best mysteries I have read in a long time. I read it in one day. Where has this author been hiding? Write more soon. Highly recommend. lalagee

It's worse than implausible.

The setup is okay. Widowed psychologist David Remler falls for a married patient who wants to kill her husband and herself. A late-night phone call convinces him that the worst has happened.

Cops find him covered in blood in a stranger's house with a murdered man upstairs. His mystery patient has disappeared, and she is not who she claimed to be. At that point, Remler should have found himself in the web of a tightly constructed frame.

Instead, he finds himself the centerpiece of a preposterous, hole-ridden plot with police who can't do basic police work and world-class legal experts who don't appear to have gone to law school.

The frame-up depends on coincidence and luck. His alleged motive is ridiculous. So-called twists are obvious fifty pages in advance. Intelligent people make conveniently absurd decisions and cell phones conveniently don't work. Manhattan professionals conveniently don't have receptionists, secretaries, associates, or colleagues.

It's like a bad TV show. Skip it.

Howard Roughan's The Promise of Lie is a sensational thriller that once it gets going you cannot put down until the end. It is a lot more unpredictable than his former novel The Up and Comer although this book does spend a bit long at the beginning of the novel setting up the scene for the plot and the main character David Remler. If it were any slower I probably would have stopped reading, but when Conrad is murdered the pace quickens to an exceptional pace for the remainder of the novel.

In the Promise of a Lie famous author and psychologist David Remler has a patient who no longer requires his services so a gap opens in his hectic schedule. A Sam Grant is on the waiting list so Dr Remler books him in only to discover he is a she. She is the husband of the wealthy Conrad Kent who has told her she will not get to see their child if she divorces him. He is quickly seduced by her beauty and after spending the night in his apartment the next morning rings him and tells him she has murdered Conrad and is about to kill herself. Remler races to her house where he finds Conrad dead in bed but no sign of Samantha. Two police officers however do find him there and it is not long before he discovers Samantha Kent had no son, claims she has never heard of him and doesn't look a thing like the Samantha Kent he was falling in love with, and of course did not murder her husband. With no evidence to support his story Remler is soon on trial for murder.

This is a great book. David Remler does do some stupid things that you would have imagined someone intelligent enough to become a psychologist would know not to, such as roll over a dead body. Also what would have happened if the slot never opened up for Samantha in his schedule or someone else had got it. Apart from this though, The Promise of Lie is a sensation thriller which I would highly recommend to anyone.

This psychological drama starts with the death of Rebecca in a head-on car collision. In time, David could deal with talking about her death. As he said, it was the thinking about it he couldn't handle. As time went by, he discovered tucked in the page of a baby book a piece of paper on which she had written across the top "Things we will teach our child." Ten important ways to live: to love, laugh, laugh some more, listen and learn, say 'please' and 'thank you,' have opinions, respect those of others, be honest, be a friend, and most of all to be yourself. He placed the book in a safe-deposit box.

To overcome his grief, he gets involved with one of his clients. Samantha who kills her husband. A courtroom scene ensues at which another 'mystery' client appears, and is subsequently murdered. "Every perfect murder starts with a perfect lie." S. Kent got life without the possibility of parole.

Three years later, with his new wife, Terry, he discovers that "life, in all its wonders, has a nasty habit of reminding you that you're never really in control." She'd found the safe-deposit key and reclaimed the list which she put in a frame and hung on the nursery wall. A little prosaic, but hey! that's life, the continuation of the species.

Trust is everything in therapy, but he had wondered "what if the doctor could be trusted but not the patient?" The trial takes up the majority of the story and is primitive in the specifics. He had previously written THE UP AND COMER, and plans to keep writing.

In much the same way that the classic "The Mythical Man Month" by Frederick P. Brooks (see my review) has repeatedly been sighted across two decades by numerous publications, this work by Ross, Weill, and Robertson has been referenced so many times in industry periodicals over the last couple years that it needs to be read at least once by everyone in the business world involved in this space. A cursory review of the texts currently available on enterprise architecture shows quite simply that this subject is still rather new. And experience has shown that the topic of enterprise architecture itself can at times cause confusion, misunderstanding, and even divisiveness within a firm, with reasons ranging from difficulty of definition to business or IT politics. The authors of this book tackle the subject well, and provide many examples throughout the discussion. In fact, the quantity of text associated with examples far outweighs the overall discussion in a majority of the chapters. Given that the reader audience here is primarily the executive, and especially executives who are unfamiliar with enterprise architecture, it makes sense that this is the case, but for readers who are already rather familiar with enterprise architecture strategy the heavy weight toward examples can be a bit much. Unlike some of the other books available on this subject, the tables and figures dispersed throughout are presented very simply so that anyone following the text can grasp their meaning, although occasionally these are reminiscent of what one might find in Computerworld magazine (especially those involving surveys of CIOs, where the survey sample is very low, leading one to wonder whether the implications drawn truly reflect the industry). According to the authors, this book is "a call to action for those companies that have not yet started on this journey [building a foundation for execution] and a handbook for those who are in the midst of building their foundation", and the following main steps are discussed: defining an operating model, designing and implementing an enterprise architecture, and adopting an IT engagement model. The discussion of the first step is a strong area of the book, in which diversification, coordination, replication, and unification are presented to help the reader decide in which quadrant their company or business unit belongs. According to the authors, assessing one's business in this manner is important since these operating models position companies for different types of growth. In the mind of this reviewer, another strength of this book is a discussion on the stages of enterprise architecture maturity: business silos, standardized technology, optimized core, and business modularity. While the engagement model and level of enterprise architecture maturity can and should evolve in many cases to achieve corporate success, the authors stress that stages should not be skipped due to the high risk involved with such a strategy. The third strength of this book is the discussion on benefits of enterprise architecture. Successful implementation of each stage of an enterprise architecture, the authors demonstrate, generates new or expanded technology and business benefits: reduced IT costs, increased IT responsiveness, improved risk management, increased management satisfaction, and enhanced strategic business outcomes. One of the best quotes included in "Enterprise Architecture as Strategy" is the following, by Doreen Wright, the first corporate CIO of Campbell Soup Co.: "Looking at the IT function is like having the company look at itself in the mirror: Whatever's wrong with the company will show up in the IT function." Another, by Albert Einstein, might already be familiar to you: "The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them." One premise behind enterprise architecture is that business and IT need to work together, and the ability of this book to drive home this concept is what makes it required reading.

Was very please with the text book I bought. I will buy from seller again.

It was highly prized by a co-worker.
Therefore, I assume that it's just not my type of reading:
barely dragged myself to the midstream and drowned there.

Try to sample it first.
Hope that helps.

The book is really great and deserves 5 stars.

I am an Application Architect working for one of the biggest financial companies in the world and we are using this book as a starting point for improving our Enterprise Architecture.

I whish this book was thicker or maybe had a second volume.

Our company is big on this book. our IT CIO has distributed several copies of it to several key people in the organisation.

Mary Robertson tells of a Diana that could have been one of our daughters or the girl next door who babysat for us. She explained several incidents, such as Diana eating out of their refridgerator that were so human. One wanted to reach inside the book, pull out Diana, and hug her. The way she opened up to the Robertsons is detailed and the pictures are so special. Mary Robertson writes as she knew Diana; she doesn't brag about knowing the Princess, but truly explains "The Diana She Knew." Highly recommended-definately one of my most favorite Diana books because the author is not intending to capitalize or sensationalize.

I wanted to read this book for the longest but it was unavailable. I finally bought it used through Amazon.
I was not disappointed! A truly readable and enjoyable book. Diana often was dismissed by critics as a shallow, self-serving woman who only "cared" about people when the cameras and press were recording an event.
Mrs. Robertson refuted this often repeated attack of Diana's character by showing us that behind the scenes and away from the press, Diana continued a warm friendship with this American woman and her family. A common family who could in no way further Diana's reportedly selfish agenda.
Why?
The only explanation is that Diana truly was a very warm and caring person. The book captures that simple quality of Diana.
Many books have been written to show the world what the real Diana was supposedly like.
These books deride fans for believing in a media image of Diana and have attacked Diana's every move.
Mrs. Robertson knew the "real" Diana and her memories are refreshing, honest and much in tune with Diana's worldwide image.
Mrs. Robertson's friendship with the Princess of Wales was not based on a phony media image.
Thank you Mrs. Robertson for writing this book and showing us the lovely "inner" Diana.
Diana proved it was possible to be warm, unpretentious, radiant AND royal.

I bought this book as soon as it came into the shops and have read it so many times. It is good to read Mary's account of her relationship with Diana. One of the most readable books I have ever read. I wonder if Mary has written other books?

I guess that I'd have to give this book about 3 1/2 stars if I could do that, it's an interesting little book to read. Written by Mary Robertson, the American woman who once employed Diana as a nanny, it isn't nearly as bad as some critics would suggest.The book starts with an Aug 31-Sept 6th recap of learning about Diana's death and attending the funeral, in the next chapter and for most of the book details Robertson's experiences over the years with the Princess. While Mrs. Robertson does talk about herself (not particularly boastfully)she tells a lot of harmless little details about Diana, various meetings & so on, that you just don't see elsewhere. I wouldn't put it at the top of your list of books to accquire but it makes a nice little addition.

I've read most of the Diana books on the market, and this one is my all time favorite. The warmth, candor, and respect that Mrs. Robertson uses in describing her ongoing relationship with the late former Princess of Wales is refreshing (who else treats Diana with dignity anymore, anyway?), well paced (I can stay into it, even on the treadmill), and wholly respectable (staying exclusively in the realm of what Mrs. Robertson herself saw, learned, or experienced, and not crossing the line into lurid speculation, armchair psychology, or maudlin reflection). This is an idea purchase or gift with anyone having an interest in Diana, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly as a sweet (I know it's an overused word, but it's the RIGHT word) tribute to the relationship from one mother to another and their friendship which spanned 17 years.

I think that I must be one of the few people who has read all of Mark Twain's non-fiction and practically none of his classic works of fiction. I think that Mark Twain is one of the cleaverst philosophers who has ever lived. There is more to be learned in reading Mark Twain than in reading Plato or Aristotle as far as I am concerned.
I think that this was the second Twain travelogue that I read. It is a laugh a minute. I just love this guy. When they say the "wit and wisdom" of Mark Twain they are not kidding. He is really too much ... and he is fun! How can you beat it.

If you don't know the person for whom you're buying a gift, well get them this. It's laugh-out loud funny even for someone who doesn't read much or who has never heard of Twain.

Journey to the east in 1860's with the best travel writer ever, Mark Twain.
Colorful descriptions of people, places and events abroad with Twain humor. If you love travel stories, this will delight you.

Twain is not only timeless but his observations may seem all the more timely. This excellent read follows him on a journey to Europe and then the Middle East in the 1860s. We learn much about the time period and his observations are helpful in learning about the past, we see the brutality od the slave market in Istanbul where European slaves are sold, we see the arrogance of the europeans and we see the true view of the 'Holy Land' as Twain puts to shame former romantic accounts of the land of the Bible and brings it to life in its brutal squalor. Twain is ever cynical and whitty and in this the read sheds light on a nascent quinitsential Americanism. The American culture of Twain is not taken in with old europe, he is not impressed by luxory and he is not easily taken in with romance, there is no Lawrence of Arabia in Twain, there is skepticism about religion, about the Catholic church. People are not inherently good or evil, but jaded, Twain has a sense of justice but he dares to challenge his contemporaries and ironically the way his contemporaries viewed say the European or the Arab beoduin, has not changed in 140 years. Twain dared to challenge popular thought and in that he was one of the first Americans.

Seth J. Frantzman

In what must have been the first organized tour by Americans of the Old World, Mark Twain tells of his experiences as a member of a party of 150 taking a cruise steamer to tour the European mainland, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.

The "innocents" of the title applies to Twain and his comrades. It shows partly in their naivete such as being flattered by a French shopkeeper into buying a tawdry piece of apparel, and in their assumption that every native guide must be telling the truth. It shows partly in their attempting behavior that seasoned travelers would not attempt, such as riding a donkey all day, or making an evening foray to the shore of Athens--in violation of the quarantine--to observe the Parthenon under the moonlight. It shows mainly in Twain's sense of wonder at the monuments of civilization which tower over him in what seems the first confrontation of American culture with Europe and the East.

There are some memorable moments: Twain's audience with the Czar in the Caucasus; his arduous trek through the Syrian desert to the Holy Land; his measuring the blocks of the Baalbek temples and deciding they were as big as railroad cars; his being harassed by beggars in every town in the Middle East; his being made a virtual prisoner by his guide as he labors up the great pyramid in Egypt. And we realize that throughout this tour of the antiquities, some things remain as they were in 1867. Tour groups are still largely made up of the gray-haired, the Louvre with its miles of art galleries is still overwhelming, the sphinx remains inscrutable, and Arabs still hate Christians.

INNOCENTS ABROAD is typical Mark Twain, full of his humor, irony, and exaggeration. Brevity is not its virtue, however.

I found this non-fiction work useful for its travel information, but even more readable for its digressions: those anecdotes, legends, spoofs, and mini-essays that liberally infuse the book. Twain's reproduction of a fancied playbill for the Coliseum of 2,000 years ago is hilarious. His well-evidenced argument that Egypt is the wellspring of western culture is a startling one. His portrayal of his experience in the Tomb of the Holy Sepulcher shows a devoutness that we do not associate with this American iconoclast. In fact, he marshals a fund of knowledge of the Bible and Christian history in demonstrating that Ephesus, now largely in ruins, is really the most important city in Christendom.

I purchased INNOCENTS ABROAD after I read it. It is the only book of Twain's that I own, because I will want to read its passages again and again, to myself and to others.

The item was exactly as described and sent in a an expeditious manner. Would do business with this source again.

Wonderful play, great translation. Collier really makes ancient Greek understandable and enjoyable. Great edition.

This book is an absolute bargain at this price and the shipping was super fast. This translation is great for younger readers and speaks to them in an easily understandable tongue.

The book was in excellent condition and it was a joy to read! It was a quick and easy read. If you enjoy scandal, murder, and women overpowering men, then this is the book for you!

Honestly reading this story overwhelmed me. Considering how short the play is, at the end I found myself mentally and emotionally exhausted. "Medea" explores many different themes that are still present in life today. Although I found her undying attachment to Jason annoying, I understood after reading the play how love and revenge can overpower ones mind. I felt as if Euripides toyed with the fact that women are both the weakest and the strongest in relationships. Medea's passion was overwhelming as a reader because I felt like it was a cry for attention rather than a true plea of lost love.

Euripides' "Medea" although short, is very intense and filled with many emotions. I was lucky enough to see an amazing performance of this play. If done thoughtfully, it can engage you to the point where you sympathize with Medea and are annoyed by her at the same time.

It shows a dark side of the "super-heroic" world. Sometime it is a bit plus violent than necessary.
A obrigatory reading for Ennis fans.

This first volume of "The Boys" collects the first story arc originally released by DC's Wildstorm imprint. It's easy to see why the book was dropped by DC: The characters are crude, the humor is dark, and the superheroes (clearly parodies of DC's characters) are just plain filthy. The first and second volumes are carried by their shock value alone. Ennis has said that he intends the series to go 60 issues... I'm not sure if the characters here are strong enough to stay interesting that long, as the one-dimensionality of the shock tactics wears off after repeat readings. But if you want to see superheroes doing awful things with gerbils, then you need to read at least the first two volumes of "The Boys."

I ordered this book because I'm a big fan of Preacher, but I was a bit disapointed. The artwork is good but the characters are a bit cliche and the story doesn't go anywhere (at least in this volume). I didn't like it enough to order the next in the series.

This is some demented and filthy stuff. And I love it!! But for some reason I didn't like the main character "Butcher". Maybe I'll like him better in the second TP.... Definitely not for kids, though....

This was a fun read. Ennis skewers the whole JLA/Avengers super hero concept. While it is not as witty as some of his other works, he does have an interesting story that is just beginning. For those afraid to get into a series for fear that it will go on and on, there will be an end to the series. Ennis has said it will run approximately 60 issues give or take some. So there will be a payoff for those of you who want a complete story. The art is very good. I found the writing good as well, though often very violent and vulgar. I was reminded of the Lobo Christmas special when I first read that many, many years ago. The over the top graphic violence may turn some people off, but it seemed to fit the story, so it didn't bother me. I will continue with the series.

The late Mr. Robertson did an excellent job of conveying the thoughts of a nine-year-old boy, Morris Bird III, as well as covering a horrific disaster which occurred in Cleveland during October of 1944. Critics comparing this book to legendary stories such as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Catcher in the Rye" are very apt. A wonderfully written, mostly male-driven adventure. The one problem I had with the book was the incorporation of some breathtakingly long paragraphs. One of these suckers goes on for 12 pages! It was quite taxing on my eyes. Despite this one drawback, I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Robertson's book. Hopefully, HarperCollins will make the effort of republishing the two sequels. Without hesitation, I'll read them.

I first read this book when it was published in the 60s. I'd always remembered it, and was thrilled to see it again. I was afraid that it would not hold up, but it certainly did.
It is still a joy to read.

A re-issue of this 1965 book centers around Morris Bird III, a nine year old in Cleveland who lives through the horrible East Ohio Gas explosion of 1944. As a Clevelander myself, I was enchanted by the immediacy of Robertson's writing. Robertson does a wonderful job of recreating the era, and Morris' voice is consistently funny and childish - we the adults can easily see what Morris misses in the sometimes confusing adult world around him. From his crush on Veronica Lake to Morris' school problems with "that Pill," the class suck-up, to his friendship with Stanley Chaloupka, Morris Bird III is as real as a character gets.

When the fateful day of disaster arrives and Morris cuts school, we know he's heading for danger, but also that Morris will end up OK and a bit of hero too. Robertson weaves in several new characters and their fates as Morris' long journey of that day moves along - I really liked that aspect of the storytelling and found it suspenseful and a bit heartbreaking as well. What a horrible day in Cleveland, and yet how brave people can be, even in extremis.

I feel as though I must not be intellectual enough to appreciate this one. I got stuck around page 40 in the midst of some train of thought paragraph when I realized that this same paragraph had started several pages back and would continue on for 11 pages. The book rambles, and goes no where. I thought I might find this midly intriguing since I grew up near Cleveland and at least know the areas the novel is refering to, but that is not the case either. I guess I just can't appreciate the author's genius. I'm not losing sleep over it.

"The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread" (GTSSB) was published in 1965 at the beginning of a chaotic time in my life (college, war) and I missed it completely. I'm ashamed to say I had never even heard of it until recently. It has long been out of print and was only recently re-published by the estate of Don Robertson, who died in 1999. GTSSB jumps into the mundane life of nine year old Morris Byrd III in 1944 as America is beginning to look toward the end of World War II. Although the war touches young Morris only slightly, it wraps itself around his world in ways young children would notice. (Having a "C" gas ration sticker for your automobile conferred special status.)

The author tells us at the start the story will climax with the greatest industrial disaster in Cleveland history, the October 20, 1944 East Ohio Gas Co. explosion and fire. The actual fire takes up very little of the end of the story, which seems to have disappointed some of the reviewers here. GTSSB is not a story about a fire any more than "Huckleberry Finn" is a story about a river. It's a story about a nine-year old boy who commits an act of minor cowardice and decides, after hearing stories of historical courage from his teacher, to challenge himself to a personal journey of discovery. As Morris makes his way through unfamiliar streets to find his best friend whose family has moved, we meet other characters, some noble, some not, whose lives will touch one another on this grim Friday afternoon.

I got so caught up in the story that I pulled up a map of Cleveland on my computer and followed Morris' journey. The streets are still there exactly as described and the story is so plausible I felt it might have been a work of history rather than fiction. The characters are fictional but the rest of the story and tragedy, unfortunately, is not. GTSSB reminds me a lot of another favorite, "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving. Robertson's writing is not as fluid as Irving, but Robertson was a newspaper writer and tends toward more spare writing, not always a bad thing.

If you are inclined to episodic fiction this may not be the book for you. If you like character studies set against the backdrop of history, you owe it to yourself to discover this forgotton gem.

The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook is really versatile and has many tasty recipes. The cookbook covers appetizers, salads, soups, stews, sandwiches, entrees and desserts. Even though it has the word vegetarian in the title, vegans will find that the recipes include tips on using substitutions to make them vegan, such as using ground flax seeds instead of eggs. Another good aspect of the cookbook is that a lot of the recipes aren't extremely complicated and they don't require lots of exotic ingredients. Finally, the cookbook really covers a range of flavors and cuisines. Some of my favorites from the book right now are the Bronzed Tempeh with Broccoli and Spicy Peanut Sauce, the Soy Stroganoff, and the African Sweet Potato Stew. I'll definitely be trying more recipes from this cookbook.

I own this book, Vegan Planet, Carb Conscious Vegetarian, and Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. They are all worth every penny. I am an uninspired cook who has purchased many, many, many cookbooks over the years thinking with each purchase, that this will be the book that turns me into a real cook. It hasn't happened yet, but when I cook from any of Robin Robertson's cookbooks I would fool you. I have yet to make anything from any of her books that hasn't drawn praise. Meat & Potatoes and Vegan Planet are my hands-down favorite cookbooks. I turn to them first before Joy of Cooking or Cook's Illustrated or Julia Child (yes, even before Julia!) because I know whatever I make will be a success, and when I am the one wielding the spoon, that is no small feat.

I began taking the vegetarian diet in 1970 after 22 years of the meat diet. I've been on all the health and taste adventures of this fun and benevolent cuisine and I grow ever more grateful as I grow older that I had the privilege and blessing of taking the natural diet of Mankind. "Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes" is the first cookbook I've found where every recipe is a tasty, and healthful success. And every recipe is familiar, like the non-vegetarian "comfort foods" of my youth, only better -time has proven those foods were an approximation of the vegetarian version, the real food. Robin has taken American Cuisine, which includes the cuisine of our European Heritage, and converted it to the enlightened diet that everyone in the future of Sustainable Living and Earth Stewardship will embrace and enjoy in the Age of Love. Food is the basis of the body and the mind, and affects our spiritual awareness, how we feel, our physical strength, how we think, and what we can envision. Meat-eaters, get this cookbook and prove these vegetarian benefits by firsthand experience! Vegetarians, get this cookbook and your meat-eating brothers and sisters will enjoy its recipes as much as you and it will ease their transition to right diet, good health and the spiritual blessings of benign, benevolent living as Stewards of the Earth. You have done a great service, Robin Robertson, thank you! (PS, I wish a hardcopy version were available)

Every recipe that I have tried is FABULOUS! Rich, tasty, great textures, variety, etc. All recipes are either VEGAN, or can easily be converted to vegan. Meat eaters love the recipes too! Easy, no obscure ingredients, and pretty fast to prepare. I recommend this book before all others (and I have most of the others!)

Since I received this book I have tried 6 different recipes and they were all keepers.

I'm reading this to my daughter, who loves the story. Some of the writing is a little complex for a first grader to understand, but this version has a beauty to the poetry of the writing that the DK version, though straightforward and more easily understood, does not.

Highly recommended.

Hello,

We love this book....The artwork is fantastic and the kids really love it when it is time for me to read to them.....They beg me to keep going when we start....I stop every once in a while to reword some of what I have read so they are completely understanding what I am reading....For the most part they get it......Then they illustrate pictures for me and write some written words to go with what they have just heard....Completly enthralled....

I read "Black Ships Before Troy" and "The Wanderings of Odysseus" to my then 8-year-old son, who was enthralled by both. Rosemary Sutcliff's prose is rich and lyrical, and the illustrations in our copies (by Alan Lee) were beautiful.

I have read several versions of The Iliad and after checking this book out from the library, decided this was the one I wanted in my permanent library. The illustrations (in the hardback version) are really beautiful and emotive and the story itself has maintained the integrity of the original with the fluency of language even young children can understand. Highly recommended.

Black Ships Before Troy is a marvelous retelling of the story of the Trojan War. The book goes beyond The Iliad to include the stories leading up to the war and what happens after the Iliad closes with the burial of Hector. Rosemary Sutcliff has managed to capture the feel of the Homeric epics in her retelling of Troy, and Alan Lee's illustrations beautifully illuminate the text. The illustrations include scenes depicting Menelaus and Paris fighting and the battle between Ajax and Hector (when Hector has been knocked down by a huge stone) but also smaller embellishments, such as the stylized lion head that appears at the end of a chapter.

I have a Classical Studies degree and have read the ancient epics from the time I was a teenager; the interest that my initial discovery of the Trojan War instilled in me was recalled when I picked up a copy of this book. The dust cover says that the book is for all ages; I think adults whose only contact with the story of Troy is the film with Brad Pitt would find this book highly interesting and learn much about the story of the war that films cannot portray. Black Ships Before Troy was created with a beautiful feel for the story and I hope that the children who read this book would be inspired to someday read the Iliad and Odyssey. This is the kind of book that one wants to keep and recommend to others.

The first chapter should be read and re-read by every engineer out there. The bood provides a near turn-key requirements elicitation / engineering process.

this book has not only the flaws identified below by F.C.Passavant - in addition it has inconsistencies in terminology, lots of ambiguity. it was difficult to map described precesses to those regarded in the field (i.e. IATF Release 3.1)

I found "Requirements Engineering" by Elizabeth Hull, Kenneth Jackson, and Jeremy Dick a much better choice.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in discovering and documenting requirements whether the target is automation or not. It is comprehensive and very readable, but it is not dogmatic. The ideas it expresses can be used effectively with a wide range of methodologies.

I've been doing requirements for more than 20 years and I learned things from this book. The notion of the "Blast Off" (hate that term, love the concept) as a key political event reinforced and expanded ideas I had before. The extensive checklist for the "Blast Off" is much more thorough than anything I've ever put together myself. The idea of "Trolling for Requirements" also expanded my horizons. The Volare snow card is an excellent starting point for collecting requirements that emphasizes the point that understanding the rational behind a requirement is as important as understanding the requirement itself.

Over the years I've used this book as the basis for a series of brown bag lunches to help junior analysts better appreciate the nature of the requirements process. It has been generally well received. I've probably purchases over a dozen copies of this book to give to others, some of them with my own money. Along with Exploring Requirements: Quality Before Design this is one of the first two books every business or system analyst should read.

I found this book very practical, it's an excellent source of examples and cases. Even I would recommend it as a text book for university students.

The cost of undetected errors in software requirements can be extremely high. To start with, it could happen to build the wrong product.
So, any care must be taken to have strong foundations in place; this is still the case if you plan to go Agile.
If you like Steve McConnell's 'Rapid Development' and 'Code Complete', this book is a perfect complement covering the early phases of the software process.
In a sentence, this book is a must for anyone dealing with software engineering, from the developer to the manager.