Scott Books

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the ($) printed version, or the ($) CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the $ printed version, or the $ CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the $395.00 printed version, or the $49.95 CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.

I first heard of this book in a review in Sports Car International magazine. As a dedicated Alfisti, I had to check it out. I was debating between the ($) printed version, or the ($) CD version. Needless to say, the CD version won. I was a little apprehensive about a "book on computer", but the authors did an amazing job. Basically, the navigation is through Powerpoint, so it's really easy to learn, once you figure out where exactly to click. Besides that, the sound and video clips make the CD worth it 10 times over. I couldn't believe some of the video, the blueprints, and such that were on the multimedia presentation. I would highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in pre-war GP racing, or pre-war Italian autos.

Scott and Shannon Peck are sincere in sharing their love tips in this informative 6 tape set. Although some of the info is commom knowledge, they are so sincere in trying to communicate the info, that I enjoyed hearing it. However, the important tips were new and novel and that is what I needed to move me to a new place in my ability to both give and receive love.

Stop! Don't date without listening to these tapes! A friend once told me that the potentially singlemost important decision you could make in your lifetime is who you decide to marry. I am single, never been married and I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be able to be exposed to "All the Love You Could Ever Want" prior to embarking on my marriage journey. Listening to them has literally reshaped my experience in how I approach dating as a result. I used to be so disillusioned about relationships, having been disappointed time after time. The deeply sincere and uplifting content of the Peck's tapes has rescued me from harmful patterns and quite possibly years of repeat history. They lay down their experience with such openly original and fresh inspiration it can melt the most cynical and wounded of hearts. What both an incredible ally and invaluable resource companion "All the Love You Could Ever Want" will become for you.

No really, I am not a needy, self-help junkie. I am a successful, dynamic, and strong professional who really benefited from the kind and true words spoken here. There is real value in what the authors are saying here. There is genuine focus and strength in developing your mission statement in relation to love, career, and life. I would highly recommend reading "Liberating Your Magnifigance", and "The Love You Deserve" to get the most out of this experience with the Pecks. Listening to the tapes is like listening to very close friends. The Pecks talk about relationships; transcending gender, spirituality, and common roles that we are all forced into, and much more! These two speakers are honest and bold. They address issues in clear, concise language (and not too much fru-fru) that are not always spoken about in self-help books, and really demonstrate a path to helping others realize their highest sense of purpose and love for themselves and others. It's no wonder that these books and tapes have done so well. I myself have loaned out the tapes to various friends who swap them around amongst themselves. As for the books, I have given copies to friends who are skeptical at first, but afterwards tell me how enriching and wonderful it was to them. I keep my copies on my bookshelf for myself, and occasionally read my favorite chapters when I feel that I need it in my personal as well as professional life. So why do I give the tapes a "four"? Because, as wonderful as each book and tape set is, only altogether, do they synergize to a "five"!

For weeks, every time I got in my car, All the Love You Could Ever Want! spoke to me from my stereo. Love went with me everywhere. To see how powerful Love can be in facing any life challenge was revealing and healing. I'm grateful to the Pecks for sharing their gift -- the understanding and application of living love!

I found this book very helpful after our 3 year old was diagnosed with a life threatening illness, PH+ALL. We were able to identify with many of the same experiences as Amanda's family, from middle of the night fevers, failed IV attempts, neglected siblings, friends and coworkers offers of help, and many bills. This book taught us to never turn down help when it is offered. Family, friends, and coworkers want to help and need to. We know that we would feel the same. "Amanda's Gift" reminded us to take care of our marriage and our other children. So we kept date night, and made time to relax, or go out for ice cream with our other children.
The author talks about his personal relationship with God, how he was able to put his trust for his daughters future in God's hands.

This book has truly helped me, go through the illness and death of my 4 1/2 yr old special needs son. What is so neat is that while this family lived in IL, Amanda and her sister attended the preschool and school where I worked. I met Amanda in person , and watched her in the "green room" many times. I always remember holding her and "Bunnylove" little did I know that when I became a mother I would go down the long road of having a sick child who now lives with the angel's. I hope and pray Amanda is alive and well, but if she too has gone home with the Angel's I know she and my little boy are together

This author has provided the public at large with several real gifts. The first is the gift of his beautiful daughter, Amanda. The second was his unflinchingly honest assessment of Amanda's illness and the tragic impact it had on her family. The third gift was making his (and Amanda's) story public. This man has done an invaluable service and one can't help but hope for peace in their lives. This book is very inspirational.

This book, to be quite honest, at times is hard to read. Not because it doesn't flow or make sense, but because it is so easy to relate to what Scott has written. There were many times when I found myself thinking how I have expressed many of the same emotions and frustrations that Scott wrote about. It brought tears on more than one occassion. However, I am very glad I read the book. It is very helpful. Both with practical advice and in dealing with your emotions as you battle serious childhood illness. Thank you Scott, your book has been a gift to countless families.

America Unraveling is a study in American cultural history and the influence on religion in the making of both public policy and cultural norms and it basically presents an argument in favor of many ideas often promoted and accepted by social conservatives and their ilk. Starting with the chapters on the public faith and the U.S. Constitution, the author makes a case for a more open use of religion in public and he points out the religious overtones in different speeches made by U.S. presidents and other prominent U.S. politicians as proof that the public faith was once alive and well. The book also makes the case that the U.S. Constitution was never intended as a secular document. Even though there is no promotion of religion in the Constitution, this book argues that it was the full intention of the founding fathers that religion should play a central role in American policy. The book then argues that the acceptance of so many immigrants from so many countries with religions different from our own has led to a fractured culture that doesn't feel at one with each other and that has an entirely different view of what the public faith should be like, how religion should interact with government, and what the role is for each citizen in assuring that morality remains on solid footing.

This book makes many strong statements and it scores a few hits from time to time. For example, one topic discussed in the book is the idea of moral relativism. The author does make some good sense here and the book is correct that this idea has been taken too far in many instances. But the book is incorrect in saying that all morality is absolute. Yes, most everyone would agree that killing and stealing are morally objectionable. But what about a practice like homosexuality? For someone who is homosexual, there is nothing inherently immoral about what he/she is doing because (among other reasons) they are entering into an agreement with another consenting adult. According to the book, there would still have to be a label of immorality attached to the act of homosexuality because, in the minds of the religious, homosexuality is sinful, and that makes it so. Never mind that others may not agree with these and other religious proclamations. If the majority agrees that certain acts are immoral, then according to this book, they are therefore immoral and should be restricted and/or outlawed.

America Unraveling seems to be preoccupied with two main issues: Religion and its practice in the public square, along with immigration/multiculturalism. The book continuously stresses again and again that America was founded as an "Anglo- Protestant" nation, that this foundation is the reason for our success as a people, and that the United States should remain this way. Of course, the religious and social composition of the population has been changing for quite some time and today, I wouldn't be surprised if less than half of the nation's citizens belong to one of the hundreds of different Protestant sects. But the book takes the position that it should remain the way it is or, better yet, to return to the days when Protestant religions ruled the land. It is fine that the author wants to feel this way, but his proposed methods to change America back are certainly going to offend a good number of readers. First, he feels that what is legal or illegal should be determined by community standards and he takes a strong stand against many individual rights. One argument the author tries to make is that allowing freedom in certain areas has to be outlawed because it leads to negative actions against others. This idea might sound okay at first, but imagine the Pandora's Box that would be opened if we criminalized behaviors and actions based on the probability that they would lead to negative actions against others in the future. Imagine a community panel trying to sort this out. How would any group of people possibly determine what freedoms are likely to lead to problems in the future? What criteria would they use? What percentage threshold would apply? If an action results in ten percent of the practitioners of that action doing deviant things at a later time, would that be sufficient to outlaw the action? What about twenty percent? This communtarian approach would likely never work and it would lead to great reductions in liberty because these restrictions on personal freedom could be expanded to include all sorts of things. The only feasible solution is the libertarian approach: allow the people freedom to do what they like provided it doesn't' directly infringe on the rights of others and hold them completely accountable for their actions.

With multiculturalism, the author seems to think the blending of different cultures will only lead to great problems and he is convinced that America will eventually unravel if this trend continues because supposedly no sense of community is possible if the community includes members with different religious and moral values. The book's solution?- Stop immigration from countries that have non- Christian populations. Make religious affiliation a determinant for who is allowed to immigrate and who is not. The author feels that this type of discrimination is necessary to stop the nation from becoming more pluralistic and to prevent the nation from turning further and further away from its protestant roots- As if these WASP roots somehow define a superior culture!

America Unraveling is equally intolerant of those who want to keep church and state separate and the book is convinced that separation is a myth and distortion of history. It is interesting to note here that the author fully admits that religion is not stated directly in the Constitution as a basis for the law of the land. However, the book still defends the idea of intermingling church and state and it claims that the only reason religion isn't directly stated in the U.S. Constitution as part of the common law is because- get this- it was assumed that Christianity would form the basis of American law because such a large proportion of the population at the time of the nation's founding was Christian. So, the U.S. Constitution says nothing about religion forming the basis of law, but I am supposed to believe that it was intended that way and was only excluded when the Constitution was drafted because it was assumed that it would be this way. I'm not buying an argument like this one iota. If the Founding Fathers were as intelligent and wise as the author claims they were, then there is no way they would have excluded a foundation of religion in the U.S. Constitution if this was their true intention. The founders knew well how the combining of church and state was detrimental to both institutions based on the experiences of other nations and they did not want to see the same thing happen in their newly founded country. If they wanted it to be that way, they most certainly would have included direct language in the U.S. Constitution.

Overall, America Unraveling is an interesting book and it does offer an intelligent, articulate discussion of American culture, public faith, multiculturalism, and the changing landscape of the American population. I don't agree with the book's assessment of religion and the U.S. Constitution and I certainly don't like the idea of discrimination in immigration in order to maintain a religious plurality. However, American Unraveling does offer some good, intellectual discussion and I did like reading and debating its many concerns about the future of the nation and its splintering into several different cultural groups. Again, I disagree with much of what this book says. But its intelligent angle makes it worthy of a read nonetheless.

Many people believe that since America is the "melting pot", America has no true identity. These people couldn't be more wrong. Through the years, many others have argued that America is not a "Christian nation" nor was it ever intended to be. These people also could not be more wrong. There are countless documents, books and other resources (some of which I will mention later in this review) that prove just how wrong they are.

AMERICA UNRAVELING, by L. Scott Smith, pulls much of this information together and makes a strong case. I only found one flaw in this book, and that is that Smith is "preaching to the choir" to a large degree. By that I mean, people who understand that we are in fact a Christian nation, founded on Christian principles and with a true and unique identity, will cherish every word of this fine book, but people who are on the fence (or on the other side of the fence) on any of these truisms, will probably not be persuaded by what the find here.

For example, Smith briefly mentions Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptists, which ultimately gave us the "wall of separation" metaphor so freely used today. The problem is, there is a reliance on the public school system to have accurately taught the history of that storied letter and we all know in that realm, as in so many others, the public school systems misses the mark by light years. To truly benefit from this wonderful work, one must first become somewhat of a student of the First Amendment and how it has been perverted from its original intention.

What I am trying to say here is, this is a valuable book not to be overlooked, but it requires some pre-requisite study for a better degree of understanding. One of my favorite authors on the subject is Daniel Dreisbach, who has written extensively on First Amendment matters. Some of his works I would recommend are "Real Threat and Mere Shadow" and "Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State". Add to that list, David Barton's magnificent book, "Original Intent" and you would then have a solid foundation with which to build on and absorb this fine volume.

I believe also that a great opportunity is missed here to exegete the phraseology of the First Amendment. That alone would eliminate immeasurable misunderstanding. What I mean here is this: the first word is "Congress". It is used as a noun and is the subject of both the sentence and the verb "shall make". One need go no further than that to understand how the establishment clause has been misconstrued. Congress made no law about posting the Ten Commandments in a courthouse. Congress made no law about a high school football coach leading his team in prayer. We also find the gerund phrase, "respecting the establishment". I find it quite interesting that in my 1844 dictionary, Webster found it necessary to add the entry of "established church", which he defines as, "a church officially recognized by the government and supported as a national institution; specifically the Church of England". Does having the Ten Commandments outside a courthouse mean a specific church has been officially recognized by the government and supported as a national institution? I think not.

In summary, by all means, add this book to your reading list, but unless you have a good degree of knowledge on the First Amendment, you have some studying to do first.

L. Scott Smith has written "America Unraveling" to alert American's about the impending dangers resulting from the loss of the nation's public faith, a faith evident in America's history, culture, and foundational documents.

Smith begins by looking at the historical and philosophical connection between our public faith and national solidarity. He explodes the myth of a "Godless" constitution, warns of the dangers of secularism, and questions the motives of liberalism.

The material dealing with the current state of immigration was a wake up call that clearly illustrates another result of the unraveling of our country's public faith. The final chapter entitled "Swimming Against the Current" gives a challenge and a plan for the future.

The format of the book with title headings within the chapters help in assimilating the material as it is read and as quick ready reminders for later study and research. The extensive end notes at the end of the book provide an excellent resource list.

Dr. Smith's writing is bold with a strong message. His work well researched and documented, and his premises are clearly articulated. "America's Unraveling" is an important book and should be read by every concerned American.

America Unraveling is a truly brilliant discussion of our nation's present situation. Unfortunately, most people do not see or understand it. And the question is: Will they in time? Most reviewers don't post their background, but I would like to begin there. I was educated in philosophy and theology with degrees in mathematics and engineering. I am a part time writer as well. I was a Special Forces trooper (Green Beret) during Vietnam. I am a fourth generation Danish immigrant ... and an agnostic.

I believe strongly in the traditional Christian-Judaic values of our founding fathers, the constitution, and the bill of rights. My dismay over the changes made in America since returning from Southeast Asia has become acute. The decisions handed down by state judges and the Supreme Court have left me speechless and shocked. The attempt to dismantle our religious heritage and icons puts fear in my heart, not for myself but for my children and grandchildren. I could go on, but I need not. Scott Smith has hit these problems squarely in the face with unprecedented political incorrectness.

The author has exhaustively researched the reasons for the decisions made by our founding fathers and the meaning and indelible character of their direction. He has researched the many Supreme Court cases that have changed the fabric of our nation, our culture, and the unity that has made America so strong for so long. Further, he has shown how this fabric is coming apart, thus unraveling.

As a lawyer, the author's arguments are strongly put. But as a concerned citizen, he is also clear and relevant. That his arguments might be overcome is a sure sign of the desolate character of the great experiment that was meant to be America gone wrong. He clearly examines the recent movements seen in immigration policies, the liberal bent of many in our universities and elsewhere, the problems manifest in hailing multiculturalism, and the problems inherent in relativism.

America Unraveling is a must read. Brilliantly offered, it is a review of present day America for the ages. One can only hope that the author's salient solutions are taken to heart.

Si vis pacem, para bellum!
De Oppresso Liber.

This book examines a topic that is on the mind of just about every person in America (and Canada )today.It is a subject that is as fundamental to the future, as any other concept since the founding of America. Although there is very little mention of Canada in the book,the result of liberalism,secularism and multiculturalism ,since the 1960's ,has been just as influencial in changing the nature ,culture and values of Canada;if not more so.
One of the great differences between the United States and Canada is that here, there was no Revolution of the colonies against Great Britian and formation of a Republic with self formed Constitution and Laws.Canada continued to be governed by The British North American Act written in Britain "to govern the Colonies".
This book explains how little realization ,by most people,there was of the 1965 Immigration Reform Act;passed during the very liberal term of President Lyndon Johnson and the impact it would have.And that included the Democrats themselves.This is clearly shown by the words of Senator Edward M.Kennedy who said at the time "In the final analysis,the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think." or as stated by the late Senator Hiram L.Fong of Hawaii,who stated ,"Our cultural pattern will never be changed as far as America is concerned". Again,even though the US Constitution and Laws do dot apply to Canada,the Liberals under Prime Minister Trudeau pushed through legislation ,as a majority government,and installed Bilingualism and Biculturalism (French & English)and later Multiculturalism as the "law of the land".
The same,and probably to even a greater extent,the results have been equally disasterous and the country has moved from one of harmony and unity to one of division and disunity.
As the author points out,America (and Canada) were founded on the faith of a Supreme Being,God,with its expression in the Jewish and Christian faiths ;and not other Religions such as Hindu,Islam,Budhism,Paganism,Shinto ,Athiesm or any other of the worlds religions ;and particularly not Anti-Religion.
(As an aside, Barack Obama,just yesterday ,expressed that misguided liberal thinking that "America is not a Christian country...."
This is an excellently researched book,with copious notes and references;that details how the faith of the nation was purposely enshrined in its foundation,and how these principles guided it so successfuly through its 400 year history,is now under extreme assult from
leftist,liberal,secularist forces and largely responsible for the disintegration of values and resulting in division and lack of patriotism,morality and loyality that is taking place.
Whether or not you have bought into the concept of multiculturalism,not seen what it has resulted in in Europe,the Mid-East,or any number of places throughout history;this book is a very worthwhile read. After all,the only way one can see through the fog is to be informed;and by being so,form your own conclusions.
While both the US and Canada have been countries built on immigrants,the overiding motives of these people has been to become Americans and Canadians and to adopt the culture of these new lands and not to come here and attempt to change what they find to suit their past. The concept of Multiculturism encourages the total opposite as this book so aptly demonstrates.

Mr. O'Connor has a witty, offbeat take on life and relationships. His first novel is a freewheelin' ride down the fine line that separates childhood obsession from disturbing reality. This is a heartwrenching story of the struggle to find oneself and one's place in the world. Not since The Outsiders have I read such a gripping coming-of-age tale. Kudos!

This book never ceases to amaze me. I have read it countless times, always trying to find new meanings. It has really made me think about my life and the people in it and how much I should appreciate having them in my life.

This book was like some kind of addicting habit, like chocolate, I could not put it down. It was just amazing and funny!

I recommend it to everyone who enjoys reading absolutely great books!

I could not put this book down! The author has a great story line & writing style..this paired with his sense of humor that shines through makes me eager for his next book.

This writer has the ability to write down on paper what I've always thought. A great short story that had me from the first page and that's not easy to do.

The first edition of this book was a major success as for the first time advanced methods for the use of longitudinal data were introduced. Longitudinal data (sometimes also referred to as repeated measures data) is very important in the analysis of clinical trial data. This is because many important trial endpoints are collected for each patient at several visits over the course of the trial and the study sponsor (usually the manufacturer of a drug or a device)will want to see how the measures change over time with usually the baseline measurement and the last measurement being the most important. Often they want to see in a randomized trial whether the treatment over inerest tends to perform better for the subjects taking the test treatment versus those who take the active control and/or placebo. An issue is the presence of correlation between measurements from one time point to another.

So this type of analysis is similar to time series analysis. The difference is that time series are usually studied in the situation where a single series is observed for a long time and the analyst wants to determine future behavior based on an model constructed to fit this one observed series very well. The model is intended in the time series setting to describe a stochastic process (usually a stationary process or one transformed to stationarity by removal of trends). On the other hand in longitudinal analysis each patients profile over time is usually a very short series and the collection of these series over several patients in a particular treatment group are view to come from the same stochastic process. So the data represent several short partial realizations of the stochastic process while a time series is a long, single partial realization.

Since the data differ the methods of analyses differ also. For time seies analysis the autoregressive integrated moving average models of Box and Jenkins are often employed while for longitudinal data the mixed effect linear models are often the class of models chosen. The common theme is the structure of the covariance matrix for the observations in time series and the model noise terms in the case of the linear mixed models.

Zeger and Liang were among the leaders in developing successful modelling for these data. In a series of articles they develop a restricted maximum likelihood approach to the problem of estimating the model parameters and introduce a method called GEE an acronym for generalized estimating equations. The first edition of this book was very popular in the statistical community, particularly for statisticians working in the pharmaceutical industry. Along with Peter Diggle these three authors presented in the first edition this research organized into a single book for the first time. Now there is a plethora of books some prinarily theoretical and others primarily applied. The issue of missing data is very common to this type of data particularly when the data come from a clinical trial. The research of Molenberghs and Verbeke, covered by them in some repeated measures books, has shown these models to be among the most useful for handling missing data in realistic ways.

This second edition of this book has even greater coverage of topics and includes a fourth author Patrick Heagerty. Each of the four authors are skill research statisticians who specialize in biostatistics and particularly longitudinal data. While today there are many books to choose, this text continues ot be among the best.

The second edition is much like the first and is at least a year behind the original schedule. See my review of the first edition to understand why this is a classical. The promised advances in missing data are included and a new author Haegerty has been added. The missing data chapter is three times longer than in the first edition. They cover what they promised. They also mention some of the econometrics literature including the work of Nobel Laureate James Heckman but admit in the preface that they do not know that literature very well and hence do not cover it in depth.

In the past two years Verbeke and Molenberghs have produced a highly competitive book that deals in detail with pattern mixture models and other missing data methodology but curiously Diggle et al. do not reference it even though they do cite some of Molenberghs work.

When this book came out in 1994 there was a great need to look differently at clinical data on subjects. Typically such data would have repeated measurements over time for many subjects but for only a few time points (say three to five). Standard analysis of variance methods do not properly account for within patient correlation between measurements. Time series analysis generally is good for treating long series (but usually only one or a few). In the clinical setting we often are considering hundreds of patients over short time intervals. This book is clearly written for intermediate level statistics students.

The field is important and rapidly developing. Though slightly dated the book is still an excellent introduction to the subject and a very good reference. However, a second edition is in the works and should be out in about one year. I recently took a short course from the authors and I know that the second edition will have some nice features including the latest advances for dealing with missing data and ways to combined the information from time to event data with the repeated measures data. It may be that if longitudinal data analysis is important to you, read the first edition at your favorite university library and save your money for the second edition.

The book includes some nice treatment of the important but often neglected topic of sample size determination.

This book was written by three very prestigious authors, two of which work at The Johns Hopkins University(Dr. Liang and Dr. Zeger), and Dr. Diggle, who is working in England. These three are very well known and respected characters in their field of work, and this book is an excellent reflection upon the research and work they have done over the years. Watch out! the key word is: GEE

The definitely guide to Derby. This offers much more explanation and information than the online documentation provided by Apache. But what do you expect... it comes from the minds at IBM themselves.

However, unlike most of IBM's publications and documentation, this is actually readable and informative. You don't have to wade through a series of unknowns and missing pieces of the puzzle in order to figure out what IBM was trying to actually get at.

This will not only help you define and work with Apache Derby, but also make your applications lighter, faster and easier to deploy.

Apache Derby is a very promising package that is being freely offered, as both source code and binaries. This book is an aggressive promotion of its virtues. The authors stress many things about Derby, or its IBM sidekick, Cloudscape.

Derby addresses a persistent need amongst many Java programmers for an easy to use SQL database. Often, a Java programmer has only cursory expertise in coding for a full database like IBM's DB2 or Oracle. Best usage of these often requires you to be a DBA.

By contrast, Derby comes as a Java JAR file, and can be plonked into your programming environment just as any other JAR file. The book explains in depth how to then interact with Derby, at the level of your Java source code. You can see that you get a pretty powerful engine. Including features like stored procedures and user defined functions, that let you optimise for speed.

Speaking of speed, that is perhaps the biggest possible drawback of Derby. It is run as Java bytecode in a jvm, which is not quite as fast as a package compiled into native binaries. The book seems to deprecate this aspect, but you should be aware of it.

You might find Derby useful enough that you don't have to migrate to a full database like DB2. The book stresses that the code you write to interface with Derby will also do for DB2. There is a potential problem here for IBM, if it loses DB2 business to Derby. But maybe it feels that if it never promoted Derby, then sooner or later, an equivalent product would come along.

Obviously, to use Derby, you still need to know basic SQL statements. And some understanding of how to develop related tables to hold your data. The text is not meant to teach you these skills.

The first chapter also makes various cogent points about the advantages of using Derby. With sometimes unintentional hilarity. A passage says the intent is not to besmirch Microsoft. But despite this pious protestation, it proceeds immediately to do just that. By opining that Microsoft's SQL Server has a 5 year lag between upgrades - Server 2000 and Server 2005. While Derby has source code available, and a much faster cycle for introducing new capabilities.

Apache Derby is the only open source, pure Java RDBMS database and APACHE DERBY-OFF TO THE RACES comes from IBM's own database experts and tells how to make the most of Derby and its commercial counterpart IBM Cloudscape. Learn how to support development efforts, install Derby on both Windows and Linux systems, how to understand how programming languages interact with them, and build sample applications step-by-step: everything is here to learn the fundamentals and troubleshoot virtually any problem.

If you've ever been curious about using or integrating Apache Derby (or IBM Cloudscape) into your project, here's the book you'll need... Apache Derby - Off to the Races by Paul C. Zikopoulos, Dan Scott, and George Baklarz. Very well done...

Contents: On Your Marks... Get Set... Go!!! - An Introduction to the Apache Derby and IBM Cloudscape Community; Deployment Options for Apache Derby Databases; Apache Derby Databases; Installing Apache Derby and IBM Cloudscape on Windows; Installing Apache Derby and IBM Cloudscape on Linux; Managing an Apache Derby Database; Security; SQL; Developing Apache Derby Applications with JDBC; Developing Apache Derby Applications with Perl, PHP, Python, and ODBC; "Your Momma Loves Drama" in JDBC; "Your Momma Loves Drama" in Windows; "Your Momma Loves Drama" in PHP; "Your Momma Loves Drama" in Perl; "Your Momma Loves Drama" In Python; Web Site Contents; Apache Derby and IBM Cloudscape Resources; Troubleshooting Hints and Tips; Index

Derby is one of those technologies that has remained "under the radar" for awhile. The Cloudscape database from IBM was released to the open source community under the name Derby, and basically those two packages are the same core code. Cloudscape has a few more add-ons and support from IBM, but if you learn one you learn them both. The authors do a very good job here in helping the reader to understand the architecture and benefits of having a small-footprint embedded relational database system in your application. The start of the book lays the groundwork very well, and establishes the "why" of Derby. But rather than remaining a high-level overview, they dive into the core of the software, showing how to install it, work with it, and how to secure your data. The real value comes when they take a sample ticket application ("Your Momma Loves Drama") and shows how Derby can be integrated the application in a number of different languages. Even if you don't necessarily know Perl, PHP, or Python, you should be able to follow along enough to extrapolate how the concepts can be applied to your platform of choice. After reviewing this book, I've got some ideas on how I'd like to play around with this...

A very solid addition to your programming bookshelf. Between this book and the online resources, you should have everything you need to master the Derby/Cloudscape software.

My mother had bought all nine volumns of The Saga for a person we knew who was struggling with peer pressure and drugs. She used these Christian comics as a tool to reach him and save him. The day she brought them home I sat down to read volumn 1. After that I couldn't stop until I read them all. I spend the entire evening reading them to my daughter as well. Soon I was at the book store buying all nine volumns for myself to keep as a collection. Some of the pictures are graphic and scary but the reality is that it's TRUE, not only are we at war in the Middle East but there is a closer war right here among us all. It's a spiritual WarFare. These comics explain in scripture and how we have a choice not to be victimized by evil. These comics are an excellent tool to express how much you care about someone by sharing this colorful illustrations and true to life story line with them. Highly recommended.

really enjoyed these comic books. Would love to see more!!!! Great for teenagers and adults alike. Hurry with the next issues!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think archangels is great. It show the lives of many teenagers who have difficult times in their lives and they usually turn away from everything even God! Then angels come in from god to help them. I recommend this book to teenagers.

These comic books have good Messages and morals for teenagers,and adults alike.A great comic series!

Well, to be honest, I'm not sure what I expected when I checked this out from the library, but it sounded interesting, so I thought I'd take a look. The story was fairly slow-going at first. In fact, I would say that it wasn't until about 1/2-way through the book that the plot actually got 'moving' so-to-speak. That's not to say that it wasn't interesting, it just seemed like there was lots of information that wasn't really connected to the plot. There were also times where I felt that certain scenes were written just to display the authors' historical knowledge, which isn't something I find particularly appealing in novels.

Also, although touted as a historical fantasy, this book is probably about 80% historical, 15% fantasy and 5% alternate reality. Honestly, if I had known nothing about Elizabethan England when I read this I would have been completely lost and, while reading, I still felt out of the loop occasionally. There were a lot of historical names and places, and it was difficult keeping them straight in my head, especially at the beginning. I can't really recommend this book to anyone who doesn't have at least a little previous knowledge of this time period, but I can say that it would be worth it to do some research for the sole purpose or reading it.

If you don't want to read about the time period, take a look at these two movies: Elizabeth w/ Cate Blanchett and Shakespeare in Love w/ Gwyneth Paltrow. They will give you a historical basis to work off of and both will give you most, if not all, of the names you need to know.

This is the best work of historical fantasy, and one of the best works of historical fiction, which I have ever read. Although the universe (an alternate history Elizabethan England where magic works and where Sydney and Marlow survived the events which killed them in our time line) is fantasy, the approach is basic science fiction "what if", extrapolated on a magical rather than physcial technology. Rather than overlaying modern concepts of magic onto their characters and history, the authors present magic as it was understood by the various classes of Tudor England, and in so doing create a world that feels like reality and avoid the one-dimensionality common to much contemporary fantasy. All this, and a great read, too.

This is a very well-structured, well-written book set in an alternate version of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. The settings are finely drawn, the characters are engaging, and the plot is gripping. I reread this book about once a year just for the pleasure of it, and I snapped up this hardcover when it came out. If you like alternate history and fantasy, and don't mind them mixed together, read this book. If you just want to read about people living in Elizabethan England, read this book. And if you just have to have any book with Shakespeare as a character... you, too, have some reading ahead of you.

I'm the cover illustrator, and I don't always like everything I read. Often, even if I liked a story the first time, I don't like it when I have to read it about the fifth time to check on the color of someone's shirt. Or I start noticing the lapses in historical detail or logic or characterization.

This book I still read for pleasure, even after I finished the cover. I read a lot of alternate history, and this surely ranks among the best.

My husband is Norwegian and I am Irish and Italian. We were at Epcot Center and stopped in Norway and had some lunch. Well, we enjoyed it so much that we purchaed the cookbook. The food in this cookbook brings back memories of his childhood. I would recommend this to anyone.

It's one of my favorite cookbooks. Being a norwegian descendent I love norwegian food. Astrid Karlsen Scott's "Authentic Norwegian Cookbook" made finding good food easy. The book contains lots of pictures so you can compare yours with hers. Her cookbook offers easy to follow recipes so anyone with cooking skills can follow. I thought this was the greatest cookbook for norwegian food I've come across so far!

Dedicated to promoting and preserving Norwegian tradition and cultural heritage, Astrid Karlsen Scott is an emigrant from Oslo, Norway, and president of Nordic Adventures. In Authentic Norwegian Cooking, Astrid has compiled more than three hundred wonderful recipes showcasing Norway's culinary history. Enahanced with 16 pages of color photography, Authentic Norwegian Cooking also features a "Norwegian Table Prayer"; party suggestions, "Special Helps", and a "user friendly" recipe index. From Dyrestek med viltsaus (Reindeer Roast with Game Sauce); Norvegiafylte poteter (Norvegia Filled Potatoes); and Eggedosis (Traditional 17th of May Dessert); to Seterjentas rommebrod (The Dairymaid's Wafers); Gjetost dessertsaus (Goat Cheese Dessert Sauce); and Stekt gds (Roast Goose), Authentic Norwegian Cooking truly lives up to its title and would make a welcome addition to any kitchen multicultural and ethnic cookbook collection!

This is a great book. My grandmother, who came from Norway says it is the best she's seen for authenticity!! Great Great.