Wallace Books

Brian has taken us on a real rollercoaster ride - only you never drop - just keep going up and up - Totally awesome read. Wallace takes one on a trip like no other!!! I always say who needs drugs when reading a Brian Wallace book. Alan is awesome, would love to be his "French Girl" - what a trip! I can feel the power in Alan. This book has everything but the mundane!
Read this book & take a journey to Wallaces's version of "Never Land"!

Labyrinth of Chaos is a strong read, full of rich, descriptive depth. Alan's character is thought provoking but balances a sense of understanding and with a probing nature. the narrative precipitously unravels our sense of history, in both a conscious and an unconscious manner simultaneously. I read Labyrinth of Chaos twice and came away with a feeling of understanding of Alan's need to understand the insights of humanity. Yes, I strongly suggest buying this thought provoking and intriguing novel.

A friend of mine tipped me off to this book and I must say I was quite impressed. This book was an enjoyable mix of a tour of the history, landscape and landmarks of England and Scotland, a lust affair, a story of coming of age, and an eye opening experience to the world of mind altering substances to those of us who depend on Keystone to alter their mindset. I've already recommended this book to friends and have passed on my copy a couple of times.

As I began to read the pages of this book, I immediately began to draw comparisons to Umberto Eco, due to the intellectual flow of the prose. I have much respect for Umberto's work, and Brian's hit me with the same feeling. The only knock I would give to it is the excessive use of "ten cent" words. I have an extensive vocabulary, and Brian had me reaching for the dictionary with every chapter. Purpose and flow are intriguing, and it is a satisfying read. The subject matter is approached very well. This is definately a book that begs to be evaluated by each reader. I would say it is a challenge to complete, one worth noting.

Having come to this book through reading some of the author's own reviews here on Amazon.com, I had high hopes for an intelligent read that would cut deep beyond the shallow flash that many of today's contemporary authors offer.

What did I get? No shallow flash, but shallow wankery instead. This is the sort of novel many lonely boys begin to scrawl in their private notebooks sometime in high school, imagining the journey before they've actually set out upon it. Convinced that every word is magical, inspired - usually these notebooks end up boxed away, an embarassing reminder of the author's overly idealistic, underly talented youth. I should know. I had plenty of those notebooks myself. The difference is, I knew better than to try to pass my garbage off as the "mysticism" I once thought it was. Sadly, this author didn't use such good judgement.

Labyrinth of Chaos (the title should have tipped me off) is a plotless, meandering book. This works sometimes. For Celine. For Henry Miller. For William Burroughs. Not for Brian Wallace. The reader follows egomaniac Alan Agrippa through flatly-told tales of his life's adventures. Likely a thinly veiled soapbox for the author's own borrowed philosophies, the prose rapidly becomes as tedious as the guy in your college dorm who droned on and on about these same notions. You remember him - he wore a lot of black, listened to Dead Can Dance and never really gave up Dungeons and Dragons.

I have a bad habit. Once I begin reading a book, I force myself to finish it no matter how terrible it is. After Labyrinth of Chaos I may just have to quit cold turkey.

I saw the movie "dead presidents" before i read this book. After i read one of the stories in the book, i realized the hughes brothers basically stole there idea for there movie from this book. Don't get me wrong, i love the movie and this book is an amazing read. I'm feeling the hughes brothers should have given credit where it is due though. If you liked the movie, this book is a must read and vice versa.

I finished this remarkable book several hours ago and I am afraid that it will stay with me forever; there are memories of events that will never leave me and I have no idea how the people actively involved in those events will ever outlive their memory.

Vietnam was my war; I was supposed to participate in it's patriotic overview but instead I grew enough between finishing high school in '65 and scoring a high number in the draft lottery in January of '71 (I think that date is right) to become 4F and miss the mental carnage of that terrible conflict.

How can any person forget the horror of the incidents chronicled in these 291 ages? And when you think you have read about the worst, along comes Arthur Woodley's story on page 236 and you enter a whole new world of actions you had tangetially read about in the main-stream media decades ago and here it is presented as a memoir of one of the guys who carried out some of those actions. I fully admit that I am not mature enough at 60 to read that these things happened to people so I have the Fates to thank for denying me the right to be a participant--the VC I could probably handle, breaking bread with these guys would been suicidal.

Anyone living through the Fifties and Sixties and even into the Seventies probably, could not avoid the heavy veneer of racism glued, seemingly permanently, to American society. It was a cancer that sapped the society of the very goodness that it so desired to demonstrate to the rest of the "uneducated and undemocratic" world. Any reader must, as I was, be struck by the horrendous racial slurs, both words and activities, in that "Christian" society; a scratch, regardless of how minute, would immediately open to view the putrefaction of this racism. I am reminded, again of Woodley's emotionally draining description of the American guy he had to shoot because the guy begged him to end his misery: there was no hope of medical treatment, he had already been suffering for several days before he was found and the maggots were eating his flesh while he was still alive. These maggots are a metaphor for the racism eating American society; at least however, the soldier knew what was happening but many, many Americans did not. This race question is a companion to the terrible story of war within these pages; it is the canvas upon which Terry has painted the tasles of these men fighting for "freedom."

In short, even after 23 years since publication, Bloods is a massively difficult read--attempt it only after a strong whiskey and the
fore-knowledge of what is to come as nthe book unfolds..

This fascinating collection of concise, first person accounts of fighting in Vietnam provides many surprises and more sighs. Focusing on the struggles of "Bloods", the African-American soldiers, these personal stories reflect the entire gamut of reactions to racism, war, and poverty. Some found solace, meaning, and purpose in the war effort; others felt crushed, betrayed, and lose limbs. All convey their passions, insights, and experiences in a compelling manner.

As America fights yet another unpopular war abroad and minorities once again shoulder an exceptional burden, this powerful book should find new audiences. School libraries, American history teachers, ROTC members, and African Americans will want to read, or should read, this classic oral history. So should any American interested in making sure that Dr. Martin Luther King's dream comes true - for all Americans!
Wallace Terry, by the way, has written a masterpiece!

I would love to respond to all of the comments and customer reviews. My name is Traci Daniels, and my father Robert L. Daniels, one of the soldiers profiled in this book, just passed away on January 3rd, 2008. I was in the picture with him in the book and am now a 27 year old successful businesswoman. My father and I were fiercely close, and the pain, mental and physical anguish that he suffered due to Vietnam still lives on with the current conflict in Iraq. I, too, would also love to know what happened to some of the other participants in the book. Please respond if you are out there, and God bless you.

The book's title comes from the name black soldiers used to describe themselves - blood brothers - during the Viet Nam War.

Wallace Terry, who covered the war for Time magazine, interviewed 20 veterans of various backgrounds & ranks and let their experiences present to the reader a real history of the war. The individuals include a son of migrant farm workers to the son of an Army recruiter.

The powerful and moving interviews show the variety of emotions that drove each person; the injustices suffered on the battlefield and homefront, coupled with the emerging black power movement that was demanding permanent solutions to the institutionalized racism in this country.

The war was fought disproportiantely on the shoulders of those who did not have the political influence/savvy to use to their advantage the loopholes in the select service regulations. Sadly, the heroism of black soldiers continues to be skirted in "mainstream" history books and more than 20 years after Bloods was originally published.

No war - and especially the Viet Nam War - can be adequately described by someone simply researching documents many years later or from talking with politicos who sat behind desks that were thousands of miles away from battle. It is the living history from those who were casualties in so many ways - from the battlefield of war to the scars of racism - that loudly speaks the truth.

What an incrediable book. I have read it twice. Once for the story and again for all the history. Even if you aren't from "The City" you will will be completely surprized and amazed at how this tradgedy unfolded

As others before me have stated, this is a well-written, engaging book, but dear me. His editor was out to lunch and his fact checker was just plain out of it. I cite four examples on pp. 30-32. Reference to "Thomas Sutter" of Sutter's Mill, when a fourth-grader could tell you the gentleman's name: John (Johann) Sutter. Next graf: Collis "B." Huntington should, of course, be Collis "P." (for Potter) Huntington. An extra "c" is added to the San Francisco pioneer family Fleishhacker. But the most bizarre is Smith's claim that Mark Hopkins had "nothing to do with San Francisco's famous Mark Hopkins Hotel." While the hotel was built after Hopkins' death, it was built upon the land that Hopkins' mansion had formerly occupied and was named for Mark Hopkins. It's a shame a book this well-researched was sabotaged in this way.

Dennis Smith's well-researched account of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and ensuing fires delivers a level of fine detail on a disaster that is all too relevant 100 years later. It is a story of predictable disaster, inadequate preparation, government incompetence and corruption, fear, power, and greed.

But, most of all, it is a story of heroism. Smith, a former New York City firefighter, effectively tells the story of the San Francisco earthquake and fires from street level. He tells us about homeowners - who, despite being ordered out of the city at the point of a gun - tried to save their property (and how, if they'd been allowed to do so, perhaps could have prevented many of the fires from spreading). He tells us about the San Francisco firefighters who left their own homes and families to work for days on end, without rest, relying on an inadequate, low-pressure, underfunded and damaged water system. He tells us about Navy lieutenant Frederick N. Freeman, who, through his own initiative, took heroic action to aid the firefighting and rescue efforts.

Among those who died as a result of the earthquake was San Francisco's most experienced fire chief, Dennis Sullivan. He plunged 40 feet through an unseen hole in his apartment above the firehouse in the minutes after the quake struck, landing in the basement next to a boiler spewing scalding water and steam. He died four days later.

The fires burned for three days. More than 28,000 structures were lost as a result of the twin catastrophes. More than 3,000 people died and 225,000 were left homeless. Property damage has been estimated at $400 million in 1906 dollars.

Although Smith's book is made choppy by an over-reliance on chapter breaks - there are 95 chapters in 277 pages - "San Francisco Is Burning" reminds us, sadly, that we have learned too little in the last hundred years about disaster prevention, control or relief. I recommend it to every first responder, every disaster management official, and to every citizen.

My grandparents,their first child (who died of meningitis two months after the quake at age 13 month) great grand parents 2 aunts,and a grand uncle lived in SF during the earthquake, this book gives me some background of what they saw and lived through. My mother was born in 1907 and lived in SF for two years. She just died Sept 6th, 2007 age 100. Anyone wanting to know what it was like day to day would enjoy the pages of this book.

Firefighter Smith (FDNY, Ret) is one of my personal heroes and he has not let me down with this book. I now feel I have an intimate and personal connection with the tragedy of 1906. I was unable to put this book down. FF Smith's unique ability to weave the facts among the personal accounts of real people draw you in and grip you with their honesty, bravery and desperation.

I rarely read a technical book from cover to cover. This book rocks. This is like an instruction manual on Hibernate. Just stuff with no fluff that needs to get the job done. I am not a friend of the author nor a Java programmer to begin with. I am a C#, VB, and SQL Server DBA who got a new position to do Java and Hibernate. Freaked out! So I was trying to find something that would get me going for the new job.

This book has not disappointed me except one bit. OK. Just one bit. That's chapter 16 on Mapping Inheritance when the author gave no complete code listings on Ancestor, Parent, and Child like he did to other codes. Also he failed to mention that Hibernate won't know how clean the database tables correctly when index is involved. It took me three days and numerous googl searches. No answer from anywhere. I couldn't get pass the InheritanceType.TABLE_PER_CLASS. I thought I was up to grab that $[...] challenge from the author.

I woke up the 4th day and I finally figured out that I had to manually delete those tables (or the entire schema) for Hibernate Configuration to recreate tables correctly. Had the author mention the possible cause of failing the drop of tables, I could have saved the past 3 struggling days.

Am I still entitle for that $[...] bill?

Really. This is not the RTFM type of book. It worked for me and helped me with a good start at my new job. I felt a little violated after spending $[...] bucks on a book from a no name publisher. But that little bit of investment for a .NET programmer proves everybit worthy.

Can you write a book on Spring just like what you have done with Hibernate, please?

The book is true to its title, it does make learning Hibernate easy. The book walks you through the process of installing Hibernate and the prerequisite software (JDK, database and JDBC drivers) and then very quickly gets you going on example programs. (I used Derby as the database, the book recommends MySQL.) Each chapter is very short and to the point. The book can be read cover-to-cover in one week, including doing the example programs.

Although I am a professional programmer with Java experience, I had no experience with Hibernate. This book served as great introduction, but like a good comedian, left me wanting more. If you already have some experience with Hibernate, then you are probably beyond this book. If, like me, you wanted an easy introduction, then the book is well suited. When the time comes that I have to use Hibernate for work assignments, there is a good chance that I'll purchase a more in depth Hibernate book.

I'm giving 4 stars for a book that is true to its title, but somewhat pricey for an intro-type book. Also, don't be surprised to find a few typos, but they don't detract from the message.

The concepts in the book are so simple that it could be written on 50 pages or less, instead of on 420 pages. As I read it I skipped over repetitive snippets and descriptions.
I really don't know who could give this book 5 stars? Maybe the friends of the author ?

A book that really makes learning hibernate easy and funny.
It tells you what you really have to know to start developing without being
annoyed by technical not important stuff.
One of the best books for beginners I've ever read.

Highly recommended for getting started with hibernate. Takes you through all of the basic without swamping with too much detail. It has a tight focus on Hibernate, it doesn't have chapters on using ANT, Maven or obscure databases.

I would also recommend getting Java Persistence with Hibernate for a more detailed discussion on many of the topics presented in the book. However do start with Hibernate Made Easy. I tried to read JPWH first and it has an overwhelming amount of information, covering all the nooks and crannies. After reading HME it is much easier to know what you are looking for and hunt down the appropriate information.

Cameron also readily answers emails sent to him regarding questions about the book.

There were a couple of points that I wasn't too sure on, such as if the HibernateUtil class presented in the book is thread safe, but on the whole very good introduction.

Of course, it only covers using annotations, if you are interested in using mapping files, look at Harnessing Hibernate.

This book is full of Star Wars information for the die-hard fan. Covers most material right up into The New Jedi Order. I only gave this book a three because the artwork in it is simply awful. The graphics resemble really bad digital watercolor paintings.

This is a great book for the Star Wars fan! The information fills in the inevitable gaps between the movies and the books. Well written and illustrated.

This latest addition to the "Essential Guide" series for the Star Wars universe is very well-done! It covers an immense amount of Star Wars history, touching not only on the six movies but also on the extraneous books and video-games of the greater Star Wars world. Granted, this broad-sweep does require a compromise in that the amount of information on any one subject is probably not going to satisfy a die-hard fan. Personally, however, I like that the book covers as much as possible of all Star Wars history, since it is always a pain to try to keep up with every novel or comic book with the Star Wars imprint on it (and there are a myriad!); instead, this book presents everything in one unified, complete package!
Now, a special word about the illustrations - they are simply amazing! They are lots of them, and each one is well-done and stands out somehow. The artists devoted a lot of hard work into bringing the Star Wars universe alive visually. It is as they say - a picture is worth a thousand words. And that seems to apply just as well to a galaxy far, far away!

I purchased this book for a Star Wars class this semester and I must say it is a satisfactory guide to the history of Star Wars. There is a lot of content but they all lack in detail. The pictures are fine but some of them look too Lord-of-the-Ringsish. But overall, easy, fast read.

I almost never give a 100% review to anything. Movies, Games, books, whatever. THIS is THE essential chronology for Star Wars. Its written like a history book for star wars which I find completely fascinating. As well it has a galaxy map which brings so much insight to events surrounding the lore of star wars. There is nothing I don't like about this book and if there is a more complete chronology out there I would like to know about it.

Kevin Wallace, CCIE's AUTHORIZED SELF-STUDY GUIDE TO CISCO VOICE OVER IP (CVOICE), 3RD EDITION offers a college-level student's guide for the CVOICE exam 642-436, and is a pick for advanced colleges offering study in this area. Software programmers and students receive a manual covering all the elements of VoIP calls, dial plans, and implementation of gateways and Cisco systems. Both are highly recommended specialty acquisitions.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Well I originally bought this book to help study for the CVOICE exam. I certainly used it for that and then some. It covered all of the exam topics pretty well and for me was an easy read. I passed the exam easily. What I didnt realize was that I would use it even more after the fact for a reference. Definitely worth the money for this book.

As I did not understand FXS and FXO, I bought this book. But unfortunately it does not explain very clearly all the relevant analogue and digital trunk technologies. The exercises are too simple without any practical use, most figures are copied from Cisco web site, and some sentences are copied word by word. I recommend this book to those light readers only, who just want to understand some basic concepts. In my opinion it is not very useful for network engineers. Hope the new version will change a lot.

Kevin makes very clear and concise explanation of VoIP/IPT applied to Cisco equipment, sample configurations for dial-peers, differences between call processing methods like SIP, H.323 and MGCP, bandwidth usage on different types of media and networks and how to calculate amounts of calls to be provised.

I read this book primarily to pass the CVOICE exam.

First off, this book barely provides adequate coverage of the questions that come up in the exam. I kept seeing questions and thinking, hey, this wasn't in the book!

I don't think I would have passed the exam if I had relied solely on this book. It's got too many niggling errors and some poorly explained sections that look like the author was writing them in the small hours or after a few pints.

You need to check the web site, 3rd party prep guides and course notes to be sure of success.

I Highly recommend the AUDIO MP3 version of this book The Wisdom of Wallace D. Wattles

The science of getting rich is a practical approach to getting whatever you want in life. Philosophize later!

I have been involved in studying material of the general type contained in this book since the mid 1960's, and I've read a lot.Of them all this is absolutely the greatest book because it spells things out clearly and tells you exactly what to do to get t6he results you want in your life. I am recommending it to everyone and buying copies for loved ones. Buy the book and work with it. It could easily be the best purchase you ever make.

I purchased this book because it was the source material for The Secret. I wasn't disappointed with the material. I highly recommend this read for people who want to know more about the law of attraction.

This book can lead you to a whole new way of living. it is a simple and easy read. Buy it!

I started reading this book while on vacation in Mexico and was enthralled from the moment I picked the book up.

The writing style is a tiny bit hard to digest in the beginning, but clears up and gives you a very thorough, easy to follow narrative of the Colorado.

The drawings in the book give you an insight into what they sw along the way, and made the book a truly great read.

Although this one-armed Major from the Civil War has a tendency to marginalize the dangers, turmoil, and strenuous labor that was required to forge the uncharted waters of the Grand Canyon in 1869, you definitely "get it". His descriptions are more of a nuts and bolts account, never waxing poetic nor adding philosophical banter. Through trial and error, they learned how to read the geology and how they could predict what may lie ahead by the types and angles of the strata that formed the river's edge. However, knowing what was ahead only added to the tension and they still had to make crucial last minute decisions, sometimes too late. I was totally enthralled with this adventure and couldn't put the book down.

After I've been down the Colorado through the Canyon 3 times and after having read Stantons "Colorado River Controversies", I had to read the original Diary of Powell. This guy, though daring, did not stick fully to the truth in his diaries, but the descriptions are overwhelming and I loved every word. After all, he was still a youngster in those days - a daredevil. We seem to forget this, as we only know the picture of him in his old days. But I like his guide Sumner better.

How can you rate such a classic?

I got this book to read while I was rafting the Grand Canyon. It was well worth it. John Wesley Powell's description of his unbelivable expedition helped me put into words the spectacular scenes that makes up the Grand Canyon. I recommend this book to anyone who is considering traveling down the Colorado River.

Anyone who is enthralled by the beauty of the Southwest, or as Powell defines it - the Colorado River watershed, should read this book. It's not the same now as it was in his day. For one thing, Glen Canyon, which he named, is now submerged under Lake Powell (could any name be more ironic?). No one today can feel the same kind of wonder and awe as Powell and his companions did as they pushed their boats into the raging rapids of the muddy Colorado without having any idea of what was ahead. Even the part of the Colorado watershed that has not been developed, and there is a considerable extent of land under protective status, today has nothing like the remoteness that Powell experienced. Everything has been mapped and carefully scutinized.

Yet, anyone who has spent some time sizing up the immense water-carved rock canyons, can still feel something of the sublimity that Powell felt. It requires more imagination; it is true, but anyone who is determined to make more of a commitment than just standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon can still experience the really sublime features of this landscape. How much more difficult will it be in the future? Will these wilderness wonders become more degraded?

The book describes by daily journal entries the historic river run of 1868 starting at the Flaming Gorge in Wyoming and ending at the Virgin River as well as a follow-up expedition the next year. Powell does not overdo the apprehensions and hardships of himself and companions, nor does he make mention that he accomplished the physical exertion of climbing the canyon walls and navigating the boats with one arm: but largely confines himself to descriptions of the events and the incredible landforms. The extent of the journey and all the spectacular features that he finds and names is impressive. That Powell's group experienced hardships there can be no doubt.

One of the more interesting parts of the book to me was the way Powell approached the Indian tribe that killed his three companions, who decided to abandon the expedition and hike out of the Canyon. In those frontier days, it was the accepted norm to meet violence with violence. But Powell, I thought here, really showed himself to be an exceptional human being. He had a inquiring mind and a sincere desire to learn everything he could without inflicting retribution.

The book covers almost all the topics needed to know what happens in a factory (what to do and what not to do). The Factory Physics part of the book introduces common models that build intuition and help expecting outputs; not all models should be taken at face value, but they do help in understanding how things are going.

The Book was in Excellent shape. It was a good deal too

thank you

Though the two authors are consultants, they are foremost - teachers. What is useful, and kind to a degree, is they put an effort to explain the numbers as pragmatic as possible. That idea made this book very accessible. To the industrial engineers or those who are involved (and passionate) in operations or in understanding systems - next to the Industrial Engineering Handboook, this should be in our library.

I found this book to be very insightful. It helps to explain many of my own observations in my factory. The authors did an excellent job of explaining the key concepts using only average use of mathematics and in simple layman's terms. The readers will only need basic mathematics/beginner calculus, and basic statistics. Reading it was like discovering new ideas to implement in the factory to quickly realize efficiencies and cost savings. It was one of the best books I have laid eyes on in a very long time.

I highly recommend this book for every mfg and production engineers working in assembly or automation-driven factory. This book is not applicable to chemical processing, thus may not bring significant values to chemical or petroleum engineers.

This book provides you with the fundamental insights of manufacturing and assembly. Even though I do not like statistics to much, the book is written in a understandable manner and provides the fundamental knowledge to understand what is going on in manufacturing. Based on this knowledge, the flaw of MRP-systems are even explained as well as the basics of JIT/Lean. The book provides mainly the hardfacts of this science and for practical people, reading first Quick-Response-Manufacturing (from Rajan Suri) might be the easier way for many of us and gives you the motivation to take a deeper look later on - as provided by Factory Physics.

Factory Physics describes not only how to describe a single workstation and the interactions between many of them, than as well the great importance of variability reduction in a production line and how to analyse it. CONWIP-lines, as a mix of push-pull, are a central key in this book and a simple way to analyse the performance of any system is provided by the book. This book, together with Quick-Response-Manufacturing (this book includes important softfactores as well) have changed drastically my way of operational thinking and given me a sense, which system to apply (QRM or JIT/Lean) and why. The insight can even be used for services as well. One central point is the utilisation of a workstation and the knowledge, that the more you reduce variability in arrivals and processing, the higher the utilisation can be - still achieving low lead times. You will find as well important and simple laws helping you out in the daily business (Little's law and queueing theory).

As for JIT/Lean, lead time reduction can use the same japanese tools:

- SMED: setup-time reduction (lot sizes for reduction in lead time and WIP)
- TPM: productive maintenance (higher machine availability and decrease of variability)
- ZQC: fool-proof quality inspection for Zero defects (against capacity lost and to decrease variability)

All the books mentionned above, have a big advantage over traditional SCM-books: they provide you with a framework how to trim a single chain-element of the supply-chain and therefore how to built the whole supply chain. The operational strategy should be derived from the overall company strategy and with this new insights you can tailor a unique production system that fits your company's goals - or even give you an advantage over your competition. Anyway, it will not make obsolet the importance of having a sound and consistant overall business strategy (for your markets) first!

Enjoy reading, Best Regards