Ross Books

TO THE DIGITAL AGE: RESEARCH LABS, START-UP COMPANIES, AND THE RISE OF MOS TECHNOLOGY provides college-level collections strong in science history with a survey of the rise of the transistor and its affects on both business and scientific pursuits. The achievements and discoveries of individual scientists and the participation of private industries in breakthrough discoveries alike are charted in a survey which is perfect for both business and science libraries at the college level, offering students an excellent opportunity to understand and discuss how technological advancements both affect and are fostered by business pursuits.

This a truly great book documenting history of MOS technology. Even though it focuses on MOS, it is a must read for anyone who is interested in the development of semiconductor industry in the United States and Silicon Valley in perticular.

The Author takes us from Bell labs where first transistor was invented to its progress over there and then shows how Bell labs was left behind and the cutting edge moved to places like Fairchild, IBM, RCA, Texas Instruments, General Instruments. It tracks how IBM made it big and then lost the initiative to Intel and about how the great minds moved from East coast to west coast. It focuses on numerous personalities including William shockley, Gordon Moore and Andy Grove.

It is very well researched. The author had extensive access to records from above mentioned companies and he makes good use of those.

Perhaps my only criticism will be that this book is too detailed and scientifically oriented. People not familar with MOS technology may find it little overwhelming. But it is a treat for any student or researcher of this area.

Three enthusiastic thumbs up for this one.

This is the only trading book you need in your library. If I was going to do it all over again as a trader I would buy this book and Mark Douglas' The Disciplined Trader. Better than most of the seminars being touted today and in my opinion better than software that predicts with almost XX% accuracy for 50 times the cost of this book. I have all of Joe Ross's books and this is by far the best one.

Joe Ross has written the best strategy guide for trading options I have ever seen. This book shows you how to blend the best features of option trading together with the best of futures trading. The book is a classic, and with each reading, I gained more and more understanding of how the markets really work, and how to take advantage of combining options and futures.

If you are an option trader, you need the understanding of the underlying futures as presented by Joe. If you are a futures trader, Joe shows you the simple and most straightforward way to bolster your futures trading by adding to it the world of options.

To say that this book is outstanding is to vastly underrate its contents. A bargain at any price and worth far more than its cost.

I spent a week with Julian Ross and his wonderful staff in Romania riding through the mountains, and enjoying all that this country has to offer. The book reflects Julian's perceptive outlook on life, and his travels, and I would recommend this book, along with taking a riding holiday at his farm.

Kathy Glockner

A brilliant book written by an amazing man who had the ability to step out of the box and explore his dreams. A must read for those of us who are afraid to step into adventure and try something new.

I loved this book! As a mother of twins myself I found this book to be a great book to read to the kids and also entertaining for me as well. It's fun, and entertaining, and it rhymes. Great book.

I love this book! Andrea Butler (the early literacy guru) read it aloud at a seminar I went to. I was devasted to discover it was out of print - but no longer!

The story is highly repetitive, contains superb language, has a silly plot, and great illustrations - just what every Kindergartner wants. I can't wait to read it to them. It will be a "read it again" book, I am sure.

The authors really tried to be bipartisan and came up with a TON of dirty laundry from pols on both sides of the fence. The book is hilarious but it will make you more than a little mad at the fact that we pay these people to be in power. You need to read it to believe it. Very funny, indeed!

This is thought provoking,evenhanded book that not only is EXTREMELY FUNNY but also tells you what goes with the people that are running this country. Kind of scary! Hope they write a sequel and soon.

The Virginian was the inspiration for The Shopkeeper. The inspiration didn't come from the main character of the novel, but from the life of Owen Wister, the author of this classic. Originally published in 1902, Wister visited the Old West in the late nineteenth century and wrote from personal experience.

Although the Virginian can be a somewhat difficult read today, I liked it because Wister wrote from the personal experiences he recorded in his journal. I've never seen the journal, but I've read editor's excerpts that refer to incidents in the book, like the baby-swapping episode. I also read that his editors made him revise the final gunfight because it might offend the squeamish. Too bad. For someone reared on Louis L'Amour, the ending comes across as anticlimactic.

Most people are unaware that The Virginian was a runaway bestseller in its day. The book not only set the parameters for the Western genre, it's still considered a literary work that shows that tales of the Old West can be art.

If you'd like a great companion book, try Mark Twain's Roughing It (Mark Twain Library). If you want to get a feel for the comraderiship and ethos of the Old West, these books will not disappoint you.
The Shut Mouth Society

VIRGINIAN -by Owen Wister ( first reviewed 30 April 2006)

Though "The Virginian" has a standing as a Western novel, it is philosophically rich, and Owen Wister used this novel to articulate certain fundamental truths. (I always find great clarification from older books, books written before TV, before Computers, and even before Radio. In these, one can still find clarification of values, that is not easily found in modern literature, when those who write books don't know the difference between "Come!" and "Go sic'em!" ) Wister's book is not just a "shoot'em-up". The reader needs to be aware of the depth of the philosophical arguments offered by his characters

(1)
the definition of a "gentleman" (in Chapter Two)

(2)
the conflict between GOOD (the Virginian) & EVIL (Trampas, the cowhand turned rustler and worse, corrupter of men, resulting in their destruction

(3)
the definition of "love" ; NOT the romantic love between the school teacher and the cowboy. Rather, it was the love the Virginian showed to his fellow cowhand, vulnerable to manipulation and deceit, in trying to shepherd the man's soul along the lines of the soul's deepest strengths (the Judge's hired hand who loved horses).

(4)
the definition of "spirituality"; Wister draws a stark contrast between the traveling preacher, who wears his religious "act" like a cheap black suit and poorly conceals his contempt of common men in his arrogance and superiority complex.
Moreover, Chapter Two demonstrates the essential requirement of HUMILITY that the Virginion manifests (a character trait utterly lacking in the minister).

(5)
the definition of "conflict": indeed, the entire book is about the very human fight at the very core of life. The Virginian demonstrates the singular truth, clear to anyone who actually engages life, that you cannot find an answer to life's conflict by simply turning away and riding out of town. There is no answer to life's problems in mere "conflict-avoidance", nor in folding our hands and practicing some NAMBY-PAMBY sentiment passing under the guise of LOVE.

When The Virginian beats the stuffing out of one of the most despicable of human beings (the abuser of horses) he demonstrates the timelessness of the truth, that good people must stand for something. Even today, deceit and lies have been popularized so that one often hears admonitions, suggesting that we should all practice, "NON-JUDGEMENT." That only bears out, if you choose to embrace ideological horse-flop as life's dearest treasure.

Some fights must be fought, though we do not enjoy them. The EVIL that Trampas represents, will not back down, in its mindlessness. Riding away simply turns over the reins of power to the embodiment of EVIL.

(6)
the definition of "humor": (I cannot spoil the story but...the CHICKEN, the DRUMMERS, the railroad ride after the cattle sale)
There are numerous accounts demonstrating how good people find humor at every chance, and who use humor and imagination to fight evil in everyday circumstances.

(7) DUTY: As Foreman of the Judge's ranch, the Virginian endures many slights and insults to his authority by a "top hand" or two. Not once does he inform the Judge of these difficulties. Why? Because performing his duty includes these things. It is his job; and the Virginian performs his duty as a worthy hand.


The Virginian was written by Wister to a deep purpose, so deep in fact, that I believe it was largely lost on the world. True, it was made into many movies, but even in these, even the great ones, the TRUTHS Wister elaborate in the book are vastly watered down. You cannot acquire Wister's purpose merely by watching a movie. You can only find them in the book.

The book, in the wording of an older era, may seem awkward, perhaps ...slow; but I suggest you think of it as a foray into another place, the Wyoming of a hundred years ago, with vast prairies of open sky, only rarely interrupted by a human dwelling, and more rarely still, by a town. Words then, were a relief from the prairie, which alternates from being vastness of eerie silence, punctuated by violence.

In certain ways, Wister eclipses Melville's "Moby Dick". He was not credited with being the literary giant that Melville enjoys in literary history, but in my opinion, he arrived at a deeper point, and quicker. Melville's characters are melodramatic and driven, often as not, by superstition and wild, incomprehensible urges. Wister's characters are driven by a more familiar greed, a more familiar goodness, a more familiar treachery, an everyday ordinariness, if you will.

When Melville gives his characters something to contend with, they must contend with the ultimate superwhale, Moby Dick, or, it is the strange obsessive madness of the captain. These are less often encountered by people generally, in any age. Wister's evil is not, like Melville's, the Arch-Evil of some cartoonish melodrama. Wister's evil is the cattle rustler, driven by personal selfishness, and a contempt for common values. In my opinion, there is more of a lesson for us in Wister's presentation of evil as more of an everyday, and an ordinary thing, in an ordinary humanity.

There is a foreshadowing in Wister's novel, of a theme exploited to great success by Louis L'Amour half a century later: the notion of a cowhand, who has vaguely ridden on the wrong side of the law. From the start, we become aware that the Virginian is not a "saint". He is a man molded by hard living in the American West. Somewhere on Life's road, a choice was made to care for people, and not merely to steal from others to advance self. Wister's rejection of EGO-CENTRISM as a basis for living is clear. Duty to principle is the honorable alternative.

****** The ACADEMICS and their perspectives on the Virginian*********


There have been some academics who have written prefaces, introductions, and essays about the Virginian, and their natty-brained intellectualizations frequently seem to dominate the public's understanding of the Western, and Wister's tale.

Here's where they go wrong. Writing from the concrete castles of academia, these academics are far removed from the realities of life, especially from the world Wister showed us. Academics operate in an abstract realm of ideas, where they assure themselves that human conflict (and even violence) are all a thing of the past, and that their wordy perambulations have encompassed all that is known of man. After all, they tell us with great bluster and probity that the cowboy and his myth have vanished. That may be so; but what has never changed in life is CONFLICT. It was not removed when TV was invented.

There are those who afford themselves the privilege of scoffing at defining good and evil. These are people who are not engaged in the struggle. They are the spectators in life, and that is why we must guard carefully to never let such tell us how we ought to think and act. Invariably, they will discourage all action.
by this philosophy, a cynical and skeptical view is proper, and inaction is the order of the day.

Wister's Virginian, shows where a man's duty lies, and how he ought to go about conducting himself in facing conflict. The cowboy may be gone, but human conflict is always with us.

Though literary critics advance Mark Twain or Nabokov or Melville or some such as authors of The Great American Novel, for me, it will always be The VIRGINIAN. --Bruce Bain

Its been years since my last trip to Costa Rica and Monteverde's Cloud Forest but this CD puts me back in an instant. It is laid out just as you would experience it. No bogus critters from other continents, just the splendor of sounds you fid there. There is more information about this title at sites like tinkfrog.com, or a web search on the title for availability.

Spent a few days in Costa Rica's Los Angeles Cloud Forest (just North of San Ramon) regretting that I didn't have something to record all the incredible sounds--and violà--here is this CD. Great for learning to identify calls & sounds. If you're really interested, I highly recommend "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" (ISBN: 0-8014-9600-4) to see what these birds look like. I guarantee 1 of 2 things: if you learn to identify the sounds on this CD before your trip to a cloud forest, you'll be the "expert," and if you don't, you'll will repeat these words over and over: "What on earth was that?

I met John a few years when he'd just publish "The Annexation of Mexico." To me, this was essential to understand this crazy, amiable gringo who was so interested in Mexico and loved it so much. Now I know. Hats off for John!! Since the Zapatista uprising many lines have been written on Chiapas. Essays, criticisms, pseudo-investigative reports, and many more were produced by Mexican, US, French writers. I dare say that, at least, compared to all non-Mexican recounts of the uprising timeline, Ross' is the best. Plenty of information, witty storytelling, tongue-in- cheek analysis of the corrupt political arena and its US counterpart (accomplices that is). Ross shuts up all potential (cynical) critics of his pro- Zapatista point of view by putting the uprising on a Mexican History perspective. If you want to know more about Chiapas, beyond the mainstream media blackout, this IS the book. You will understand why the antiglobalization protests perhaps have their roots in that Jan. 1, 1994.

John Ross provides an amazingly well researched and extensive recent history of chiapas. An encyclopedia to the Post Uprising History of Chiapas.

Most books about the Roman army tend to skip over the chaotic third century AD; everything seems to stop with emperor Severus (AD 193-211) and only pick up with Diocletian in AD 284. That's because the period is chaotic and confused: the legions lost as many battles as they won; the organisation of the legions was changing and ancient ranks were disappearing; legionaries added to the chaos by their willingness to revolt and engage in civil war. But Cowan paints a picture of resilience rather than decline. He highlights the rise of elite legionary corps, explains concisely the reasons for the decline of the traditional legion and rise of the smaller unit of the late empire, and shows how the legions emerged triumphant from the defeats of the mid-third century under the leadership of soldier-emperors like Aurelian (the book actually covers the period up to AD 285).

This is the most exciting book I've read about the Roman army in a long time. It is an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in the Roman army or military history in general.

This essential Osprey Warrior title examines the Imperial Roman legionary from the ascension of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus in AD 161, to the rise of Emperor Diocletianus and the end of the Third Century Crisis in AD 284. The author takes the history, organization, and experiences of the Second Parthica Legion, founded in AD 194, as the foundation for much of his text. He uses the Sassanid siege of Dura Europos c. AD 251, as well as various late Classical accounts of 3rd Century battles in the Middle East, for examples of the legionary in action.
Since this book is something of a sequel to the previous legionary title by Cowan, it contains similar but even more concise information on the experiences of the soldier in the army, as well as the chain of command.
Overall, Cowan paints the image of the 3rd Century Roman legionary as a soldier perhaps even better than his ancestors of Early Imperial Rome. It was perhaps more the stupidity of their leaders, and the general chaos of the mid 3rd Century that gives these soldiers their undue reputation for lack of quality. These troopers, lighter in arms than their ancestors and still fighting with javelin, long sword, and dagger, faced enemies ranging from seething Gothic hordes to cunning Parthian and Persian horsemen, and often emerged victorious.
The eight full-color plates by Angus McBride are awesome, depicting troopers of various legions and posts in their typical clothing and armor. The main text and the plate commentary both look at the armor and clothing, but not with overmuch detail. The author does not dig into the debate as to whether or not the 3rd Century legionary typically wore armor. According to the idea of the lightly-armed lanciarii skirmishers, it would appear that armor or lack thereof would depend on the individual soldier's place in the battle-order.
The text draws from a variety of sources, from Classical to modern historians' work to legionary gravestones to weapon hoards from northern Europe, to paint a picture of the Roman legionaries from the mid 2nd Century to the late 3rd Century-some of ancient Rome's most skilled, versatile, experienced, and arrogant soldiers.

This book is unsurpassed at covering the problems facing a survivor of childhood sexual abuse from a Christian perspective, especially from the standpoint of what such a survivor is likely to face when she announces to a Christian family that she has been abused.

Foremost in the mix is the pressure from well-meaning Christian friends and family members to "forgive" the abuser and "move forward" before she moves through the healing that must come before "forgiveness" -- the feelings of betrayal, confusion, pain, fear, and yes -- anger. The difference between forgiveness and reconciliation is also explained, and the importance of the choice the survivor must make whether to reconcile with the abuser(s).

This book is excellent reading for both the survivor and the people who care about her.

After reading this book I was able to begin a healing process I had never thought possible. I have recommended it to many women undergoing a need for healing, and am saddened that it is out of print. This book changed me and helped me to get my life back.