Stuart Books

You don't have to be specific here are just a few thoughts - I had an opportunity to read the book and found it both interesting and helpful. After reading the book and applying the standards, I was able to feel more confident and pretty than I ever had before. The standards are simple, yet so true. The book showed me how to be the best I can be. As to the sexual parts, I know I am a better lover and better understand what it takes to please a man. My man is certainly happy with what I have learned. He highly recommends it.

You don't have to be specific here are just a I had an opportunity to read the book and found it both interesting and helpful. After reading the book and applying the standards, I was able to feel more confident and pretty than I ever had before. The standards are simple, yet so true. The book showed me how to be the best I can be. As to the sexual parts, I know I am a better lover and better understand what it takes to please a man. My man is certainly happy with what I have learned. He highly recommends it.

Many books have been written on the subject of hot and sexy women, but this one works...I shared the book with a friend and it turned a 2 into a "10" WITHIN WEEKS of reading it. Worth the time and money to own a copy AND even buy one for a friend- but make sure you read it first or you will be left behind!

I was a seasoned HTML programmer a few years ago. Since then, I fell out of the craft and needed a book to start from the beginning so I wouldn't miss anything. This was that book. Examples, references, and meaningful information pertaining to the language. Recommended to anyone looking for a place to start on their own webspace.

Honestly, I just got the book today. But guess what, I've been glued to my desk for 5 hours by now... First of all, if you know what it feels like to have ALL of your questions answered regarding the webpage you're working on then you know how I feel right now. This book is every bit competent as it was written to be - an html "reference." I am no newbie in html but still, I like how the book organize and explain the syntax and methodology of this language. My favorite section of the book was on style sheets, not only did I learn quite a few new tricks (or maybe they were simply not listed in my other reference) but I also found the cross-browser reference very useful. This is a fantastic reference that's full of examples and thoughtful materials. Just so you know, my other reference is the well-know "html 4 for the world wide web" by Elizabeth Castro. I must say it is well deserved the praise and hypes because nothing I've seen can topper this champ for for it's purpose -- it'll get you started in no time. But trust me, after you start programming in html for a while, you'll need a more in-depth reference. well, look no further, this is IT. At first I was hesitated to buy this book because there's no review on it......now I'm just a happy reader.

This is the only book for HTML 4.01 needed. Written and arranged so that information is easily found and understood. An excellent, comprehensive resource for both novice and experienced alike as it touches on everything one would need to know, forms-tables-style sheets-deprecated's, etc.

Winky has Kittens, and she is not as featured in this one as the others, but the nanny and Jane make up for it. Jane is up to her snooping again and it almost gets her killed. Her friend Ivy is back and has a motive for renewing the friendship. Believable charactors, and motives really make this series intriging and fun.

As this novel opens, it has been just a couple of weeks since the events depicted in the last novel, Stabbing Stephanie. But more important that that or that it is almost Christmas is the fact that it has been a little over two years since the events in Missing Marlene, the first Jane Stuart cozy mystery. Having not heard from her since, Ivy (Marlene's mother) is back for a short time.

As this is a series, I am going to be forced to reveal some details but as always will try to limit the damage for those who have not read the earlier books. In Missing Marlene, Ivy and Jane Stuart had a terrible falling out. Ivy and Jane had been roommates in College and still considered themselves best friends these many years later. Though separated and going through many life changes, they still kept in contact. Marlene was Ivy's daughter and soon after arriving in town to be a nanny to Nick, Jane's son, Marlene vanished and was later found dead. Despite the fact that Marlene was responsible for what happened to her by dealing with some unsavory types, Ivy blamed Jane for her death as well as a laundry list of other issues and ended the friendship.

Truth be told, Jane was somewhat relieved that the friendship ended as she had slowly come to the realization that Ivy was using their friendship as leverage against Jane for whatever she wanted at the moment. But guilt and a deep sense of wanting people in her life to be happy drives Jane and when Ivy suddenly arrives in town, Jane goes once again against her gut feelings. She allows Ivy to shoulder her way back into her life and her home. Soon she learns that Ivy now lives in New York City, a short distance away and has stared a new job and new career. She also has a new boyfriend in her life, John Baglieri. But, as expected, John is not at all what he says he is and neither is their relationship.

Soon after Ivy's arrival, Rhoda Kagan and Adam Forrest visit Jane at her literary agency. Adam is the new owner of Mt. Munsee Lodge located at the top of Mt. Munsee. Adam is trying something different in that he is trying to keep the lodge open during the winter off-season. He is doing it by offering weeklong stays on different themes. But he is in a bind as he has had a sudden cancellation and now has an idea to pitch to Jane. He wants her to organize a sort of writer's retreat for the week between Christmas and New Years using the local writers group and her publishing contacts. While Jane had planned to relax, she soon agrees and with her contacts it does not take long to get things organized.

She also agrees because it will give her a break from Ivy who has already obliviously worn out her welcome. But, Ivy insists that she be allowed to come and after Jane agrees, manages to get her boyfriend John invited along as well. Within minutes of arriving at the retreat the couple soon makes their influence felt by all participants. Almost from the start, the conference disintegrates in literary snobbishness and innuendo and before long, Ivy is dead and the conference is disbanded.

Jane begins to nose around and discovers that amidst all the authors and publishing types, the usual themes of greed and jealousy have taken their toll with more than one perched on the thin edge of madness. This forth novel in the series is another enjoyable read featuring Jane Stuart and the various expected characters, both human and feline. After four books, these characters are like old friends and with no new real ground plowed here in terms of character development, a few dangling problems and themes are cleared up.

As noted in the earlier books, with his personal experience as a novelist, writing teacher and running his own literary agency, Mr. Marshall interweaves a secondary message for those interested in writing as a career. The series is worth reading, if not for anything else, for those literary authors that Jane represents and comes into contact with and how she handles their demands. Those short segments often provide laugh out loud reader reaction and are a key component of the series. This book as the others in the series is a fun, lightweight mystery.

Jane and Ivy were roommates in college as well as best friends. When Jane needed a nanny, she employed Ivy's daughter Marlene. When Marlene died, through no fault of Jane's, the friendship was broken until two years later when Ivy visited accompanied by her boyfriend Johnny.

When Ivy lets it slip that she has no place to go for the holidays, Jane invites her former best friend to spend them with her and then go out with her to a writer's treat at Mt. Munsee Lodge. Johnny shows up at the retreat but seems more interested in another guest then he is with Ivy. The last anyone sees of Johnny is a man with a gun chasing him into the nearby woods. Shortly after that Ivy's frozen body is found in the snow, knifed to death. Knowing she won't be able to live with herself if the killer isn't found, Jane starts her own investigation not realizing that if she gets too close to the truth, the perpetrator will have no qualms about killing her too.

Fans of Winky the cat will be delighted to know that she is pregnant and gives birth to six kittens during the course of this book. The childish wonder Jane's son exhibits at this miracle of birth is a joy to behold. The mystery itself is well drawn with so many suspects that Jane, once Johnny is eliminated, doesn't have a clue who did it. She has to go to motive and none of the possible perpetrators have one. Evan Marshall has written a fiendishly clever who-done-it, one that the heroine and the audience will work hard to figure out.

Harriet Klausner

Rodney Whitacre succeeds in writing a thorough, scholarly commentary on the Gospel of John that serves readers in a devotional manner also. Whitacre combines top notch insights with eloquent, simple writing based on extensive research on the topic.

This is a book that will prove a satisfactory resource for research, and you will find you will not want to put it down. I think it works great for academics and/or a personal devotional guide to complement Bible reading no matter what your background or familiarity with the Gospel of John.

Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays

I am presently on page 456 of this book and don't want it to come to an end. It is a thoroughly fascinating review of this Gospel. It has given me new and exciting insights into John's words and descriptions of Jesus Christ and the people who surrounded Him, especially His relationship wioth "The Father".

Outstanding book with both intellectual and pastoral care insights. Very effective and useful for bible studies on the Gospel of John.
Very detailed exposition of each verse while keeping the whole of the Gospel message intact. Recommend highly. If you can only have one commentary on the Gospel of John, this is the one to get.

Table of Contents
England after the Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution and the Revolution Constitution

The Facts of Life

A Bloody Progress

The Political World of William III

Wars of Words and the Battle of the Books

Faith and Fervour

England, Britain, Empire

The Political World of Queen Anne

Profits, Progress and Projects

The Wealth of the Country

The Political World of George I

Urban and Urbane

An Ordered Society

Epilogue

Chronology

Bibliography

Index

Writes Professor Roger Hainsworth, formerly of Adelaide University, South Australia: Students of English history will welcome this new volume in the New Oxford History of England series.1689-1727 is a very significant period for the history of the British people and indeed it proved important to many European people also for this reason: during it Britain became a great power and in the process the growing hegemony of France over western Europe was first confronted, fought against and finally halted. More of this later. Dr. Hoppit, although his eye is undimmed by romantic illusions about past eras, has a positive tale to tell. He writes that in late seventeen and early eighteenth century England "political discord was contained and then undermined. Warfare was endured and survived. Britain's empire was extended and its value increased. Population began slowly to grow. Many towns flourished. Agriculture, industry and commerce all showed signs of expansion .... society was not stagnant, it was on the move." This favourable assessment might have astonished contemporaries both at home and abroad. They still perceived England as politically unstable, riven by party ("faction"), and menaced by the apparently unbridgeable dynastic dispute between the Jacobite supporters of the exiled James II and then of his son (the Old Pretender) and the Whig and Orange Tory supporters of William III, Anne and the Protestant Succession (the Hanoverians). Meanwhile the British state was menaced by growing poor rates, menacing numbers of unemployed, seemingly endless foreign wars, and a growing mountain of debt: all presided over by a government which appeared more powerful and uncheckable every year and was backed by that worst of all English nightmares: a permanent army. Dr. Hoppit explores these fears and traumas incisively and expertly and makes it clearer than it perhaps has ever been made before why the positive developments prevailed and the worst fears ebbed away. The fundamental problem for historians of the period is to explain how England become a great power during the reigns of William III and Anne. Cromwell's disciplined army and a powerful navy had made England a great power fleetingly during the 1650s. However, there was no way to finance these prodigies on a long term basis. The restored Charles II almost went broke disbanding these extravagant instruments of power. England's resurgence in the two decades following the Glorious Revolution of 1689 astonished foreign observers who had believed, reasonably enough, that England's small population doomed it to the side-lines of European politics. In a long contest between Britain and France surely there could be only one result? England with Wales had only about 5.25 million in 1700. Scotland had 1.23 million and Ireland about 2 million. France, the most populous country in Europe (including Russia) had 22 million. These bare statistics proved deceptive. Although eighty per cent of England's population were rural dwellers, almost thirty per cent of the population were engaged in some form of industry. Manchester was then only a large village but Defoe estimated it provided "outside" employment to 40,000 weavers and allied trades. In fact England was the most urbanised country in Europe and if this was partly because ten per cent of the people lived in London her urbanisation was to increase hugely during the eighteenth century while London's population stagnated. Industrial strength and a powerful navy were gradually joined by a formidable army. During Anne's reign it would be led by one of history's greatest commanders who was also a remarkable diplomat and builder of alliances: the Duke of Marlborough. The financial problems of the mid seventeenth century were resolved by taxation passed freely if grumpily by the House of Commons which had now become a permanent institution of state rather than an irregular occurrence. The taxes funded that unusual novelty the National Debt which was partly managed by an enlarged Treasury assisted by an inspired creation, the Bank of England. The two great European wars of the period weakened the Continental powers, especially France, but left Britain stronger than when she entered them. Many speculated about this paradox but no great power seemed able to copy the method even supposing they understood it. All these matters receive due attention in this volume. So also does a range of other important topics: the remarkable growth of parliamentary government which in time would make possible the political peace of Sir Robert Walpole's long prime ministership during the 1720s; the decline into impotence of the Jacobites; the astonishing efflorescence of a print culture of books, newspapers and pamphlets; the slow decline of the Anglican hegemony in the face of stubborn Dissenters and ideas of religious tolerance; the extraordinarily rich burst of public and private building ranging from Wren's St Paul's to Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor's masterpieces (Castle Howard and Blenheim the best known of many); and the steady advance of pragmatic, experimental science. This last owed much to one man and in a fine passage Hoppit writes that the year his period ends is better defined not by the death of George I but by the death aged 84 of one of his subjects. Interred like a prince in Westminster Abbey with the Lord Chancellor, two dukes and three earls among his pall-bearers, he was Sir Isaac Newton. That indeed was the end of an era. This is a worthy addition to a very collectable series. There are the minor flaws often found when the author has to shoehorn a complex discourse into a confined space. Stylistic faults occasionally jar and infelicities of sentence structure ("there were those (such as Locke had done) who strongly argued ...") often require the reader to turn back to disentangle the sense. However, Dr. Hoppit's text is informative, interesting, thought-provoking and engrossing. He has explored the diverse facets of his subject with care and sensitivity to their nuances. All students of this significant period will be in his debt for decades to come. Had it been put in my hands when I was studying this period as an undergraduate I would have gnawed on it like a famished wolf.

A very well- rounded introduction to a period of British history that should be better known. The author strikes a good balance between the political narrative and his coverage of the social, economic, cultural, and military developments of the age. This book should be accessible to anyone with a serious interest in this period in European history.

Great book. Funny,intriguing, and sad. I really hate that this is the last one in the series. I will miss the great characters who have become almost like friends. The constant struggle between good and evil and the struggle of the bonds of family and the desire for power made this appeal to me as a reader and feel like I knew what they were feeling. Read and enjoy...

Outstanding book! This along with the other two in its trilogy has easily risen to the top of my favorite books. Amazing ending. Wonderfully ties up all lose strings. A wonderful piece of literature. Highly reccommended.

I love this series they just kept getting better with each book.I just hope Mr. Hill will start a new series like this.I loved the mix of supporters like the king werewolf and snowleopards.They were hilarious in the books.The vampire queen really got to me, so happy for her at the end.

My book came with an insert about the most recent changes in estate tax law. I was really impressed that the publisher would go to the trouble. The book was very helpful and I made a lot of notes, which I used when I checked out several lawyers about estate planning for my family. The lawyers were very surprised that I had such a good background and could ask questions. The book helped me decide which lawyer to choose. Everything worked out very well and I've given the book to my brother. Now he is doing estate planning, also.

Other books on subject were dense, overkill. This one is easy to read and very clear. Removes intimidation and preps you to make choices, talk with lawyer intelligently. Great diagrams and illustrations. Fast read.

It seems like "living trusts" are a fad and I was somewhat cynical, but I also admit I didn't understand what they were. The book gave me the info I needed to work intelligently with a lawyer, which I really needed to do. Before I read the book I thought I might go to one of those do it yourself paralegals, which would have been a HUGE mistake. I took my knowledge and shared it with everyone in my family and now we are all very pleased that we've done estate planning that really takes care of all of our concerns.

What I saw and felt at poker tables has been put into words! Dave Apostolico's "Machiavellian Poker Strategy" shows you how and why some people always seem to have the biggest stacks at their tables! Power is the key to poker, and one read will make YOU more of a threat at your very next game.

great book,couldn't put it down.easy to read and just as easy to apply.
beefed up my game when i needed that something extra.great value too!

As someone who was an English Lit major and an obsessed poker player, I can't think of a better book than Mr. Apostolico's Machiavellian Poker Strategy. I loved it! A real thinking man's approach based on one of the most compelling books of all time. Mr. Apostolico has written many great books, which I implore you to get. But, personally, this is my favorite.

This book is outstanding. It totally took control of me. I culdn't put it down for one minute from beginning to end. I can't believe the imagination of the writer. From one scene to the next I was under it's spell. The book, all in it and I became one. I read this book in 1999 and look forward to reading it again in 2002 and again in 2004.
I was part of an office book club and this book was passed around many, many times....... A MUST

This is a very interesting and entertaining book about how a poor Italian boy made his way in the world of crime and decadence. The dialogue is witty, and the charaters seem almost real. This is a book about loyalty to friends, and 'own people'. The way he conducts his business as a hit man is ingenious, hilarious and intelligent. I have read the book 8 times and I still find it highly entertaining.

The book was captivating when I first read it back in 1986. I thought the book just made very good reading and allowed your imagination to become one with the book. The detail of each scene and act was a credit to the writer's imagination. It had great direction which took you by the hand and led you on a incredible journey. Thanks for a great book!!!

If you're in business, you have an obligation to understand the people and trends before you to give you an understanding of the framework in which you currently work. Starting in 1900, Crainer talks about the impacts of Frederick Winslow Taylor's work in scientific management and its impact on such industrial giants as Ford and General Motors. Proceeding along, you'll learn why the work of Mary Follett (one of the first female management gurus) was so important to the rest of the decades and which gurus she has influenced since then. Max and Weber, they are in here, and Ray Kroc is too! The best part about this book is that it will give you a timeline, so you can quickly understand the century at a glance and understand which trends happened when and how they created a new future for managers and employees alike. From this book, you'll also get a list of the top 5 Harvard Business Review articles for each decade, starting from the 1950s on.

Stuart Crainer has written a very good review of management thought for the 20th Century. This is the perfect book for those who want a refresher from their principles of management class in business school or for those who never had one. The opening belongs, as one would expect, to Frederick W. Taylor and surprisingly Elihu Root. From there it is simply the progression of managment thought over the course of the twentieth century. Going by decade Crainer offers up the trend of managment theory and practice with insights from the important thinkers and practitioners of the times. At the end of each chapter there is a brief timeline as well as a sample of the companies on the Dow at that time and various bits of information that provide the opportunity for further study. All in all this is a wonderful book!!

This is one in a series of "Strategy & Business" books from Booz-Allen & Hamilton, published by Jossey-Bass. All are first-rate and well-worth checking out. In this book, Crainer devotes a separate chapter to each of the 20th century's ten decades, concluding each chapter with a timeline. In the final chapter, he provides an insightful analysis of "The State of Management."

In his Preface, Crainer observes that "the historical and theoretical strands that go to make up management are many and varied. The great management thinkers are drawn from a bewildering variety of disciplines and professions." He then explains that his book "aims to gather together many of these gloriously varied strands and provide a concise and insightful guide to the major developments in thinking and practice during the twentieth century." Here in the proverbial "nutshell" is what this book is all about. Given the wealth of rock-solid content contained within a single-volume, presented with a crisp writing style, Crainer's is indeed a brilliant achievement. Here are the ten periods and some of the "great management thinkers and practicioners" discussed in each:

1900-1910: Stopwatch Science [eg Elihu Root, Henri Fayol, and Frederick Winslow Taylor]

1911-1920: Modern Times [eg Henry Ford, Frank & Lilian Gilbreth]

1921-1930: Discovering the Organization [eg Max Weber, Chester Barnard, Billy Durant, and Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr.]

NOTE: Throughout the book, Crainer inserts his comments. For example: "Taylor discovered work. Ford discovered work on a massive scale. Sloan organized work. And no one discovered the people doing the work." That is, until the 1930s....

1931-1940: Discovering People [eg Mary Parker Follett, Bill Hewlett & David Packard]

1941-1950: Lessons in War [eg William S. Knudsen, Walter Shewhart, Akio Morita, Konosuke Matsushita]

NOTE: In 1950, Peter Drucker becomes professor of manager at New York University. "The first person anywhere in the world to have such a title and to teach such a subject," he later said.

1951-1960: Living the Dream [eg Ralph Cordiner, Thomas Watson, Sr. and Jr., Peter Drucker's The Practice of Management, Theodore Leavitt, Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, Douglas McGregor]

1961-1970: Understanding Strategy [eg Drucker, rediscovery of Sun Tzu and von Clausewitz, Alfred Chandler, Igor Ansoff, Henry Mintzberg, Harold Geneen, Robert Townsend]

1971-1980: Organized Paralysis [Alvin Toffler, Thomas J. Peters, Elliott Jaques, Reg Revans, E.F. Schumacher, Meredith Belbin]

1981-1990: An Excellent Adventure [Robert Hayes & Bill Abernathy, rediscovery of W. Edwards Deming, William Ouchi, Kenichi Ohmae, Joseph Juran, Michael Porter, Gary Hamel, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Warren Bennis]

1991-2000: The New Balance of Power [eg Michael Hammer, Percy Barnevik, John Francis Welch Jr., Michael Dell,]

As indicated previously, in the final chapter Crainer provides his own analysis of "The State of Management." It is very well-done.

Obviously, this is more of an overview than a traditional book review. My purpose is to suggest the cope of the material covered, and, to suggest also how valuable I consider that coverage to be. I wish a higher rating were available.