Resources Books


Books-Under-Review-->Society-->Activism-->Resources
Related Subjects: United States United Kingdom
More Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250
Resources Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Resources
Dealing With Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
Published in Library Binding by Sagebrush Education Resources (1999-10)
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
List price: $12.70
Used price: $6.47

Average review score:

ENTERTAINING
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-30
The book is extremely entertaining. Cimorene is certainly the kind of princess you don't often see in fantasy. And Kazul is not the typical dragon either. The book is really funny and is guaranteed to make you laugh

Dealing with Dragons
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-23
In the book"Dealing with Dragons"there are lots of enjoyment you can get. For example:during the story, a princess who thinks being a pringess is dull, runs away to become a dragin's princess for a very powerful female dragon. Somehow she finds cooking and cleaning facinating. While reading this book you can find alot of adventure. Some adventures you can find are challenging a Death-Dealing Bird, a Witch, A Stone Prince,a Jinn, lots of Wizards and alot of Dragons, both good and bad. Read this book and dive into adventure with Cimerene and her new best friend Alianora on her journey to complete a very important mission to save the Dragons. The thing i liked about this book is when Kazul became a King because i think Kazul was one of the most powerful Dragons. The thing i didn't like about this book is when a dragon betrayed his own kind just to help out some evil wizards.

Dealing with Dragons
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-23
In the book"Dealing with Dragons"there are lots of enjoyment you can get. For example:during the story, a princess who thinks being a pringess is dull, runs away to become a dragin's princess for a very powerful female dragon. Somehow she finds cooking and cleaning facinating. While reading this book you can find alot of adventure. Some adventures you can find are challenging a Death-Dealing Bird, a Witch, A Stone Prince,a Jinn, lots of Wizards and alot of Dragons, both good and bad. Read this book and dive into adventure with Cimerene and her new best friend Alianora on her journey to complete a very important mission to save the Dragons. The thing i liked about this book is when Kazul became a King because i think Kazul was one of the most powerful Dragons. The thing i didn't like about this book is when a dragon betrayed his own kind just to help out some evil wizards.

Morgan from Creston
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-07
The book Dealing with Dragons is one of the most fantastic books I have ever read. It held my interest and made me feel good. Between adventure and happiness, Patricia C. Wrede catches your attention and makes you want to read it over and over again.
In the book, the characters were really willing to go and figure out why wizards have been snooping around the Mountains of Morning. That's one of the reasons I liked this book so much. My favorite characters are Cimorene and Kazul. As Cimorene runs away from the castle she meets a kind dragon named Kazul, who lets Cimorene live with her. Later in the book wizards secretly working with a dragon named Worag, who wants to be the king of dragons and is trying to get rid of Cimorene and her friends. In this it was a wild adventure for princess Cimorene.
The book Dealing with Dragons was not a boring book. The author Patricia C. Wrede was able to hold the interest of the reader throughout the story. The description of scenes was really descriptive and you could picture them in your head. There were sad and funny parts throughout the book. One of my favorite parts was when Cimorene and Kazul visited Morwen the witch. Cimorene rode on Kazuls back while she was flying over the tall trees. I was imagining that I was on Kazul too.
After reading this book, I learned many different things. I also couldn't believe how good this book was. The major situation was trying to figure out what the wizards were up to. This book will leave you wanting to read it over and over again.

One bored Princess is about to have a ball!
Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-04-11
Princess Cimorene is the daughter to the king of Linderwall...where the knights keep their armor polished for show considering nobody's seen a dragon there in years...

Cimorene HATES it at Linderwall. And she wants to do things, not learn exactly how and when she's supposed to scream if someone decides to come and kidnap her. Cimorene takes classes behind her fathers back for extreme fun. She tries fencing...until her father makes her stop. She tries cooking...until her father stops her. She tries magic...until her father stops her. You get the pattern. If things aren't already bad enough her parents are making her marry Prince Therandil. YUCK!

"I'd rather get eaten by a dragon," Cimorene muttered.
"That can be arranged."

With the advice of a "not" enchanted frog she ends up at a dragons cave and before you know it she's the dragon Kazul's princess. And also before ya know it she's on an adventure.

What happens on that adventure? Well...

She meets a powerful witch, a stone prince, snotty princesses, a kind princess, annoying wizards, mean dragons, and a talking frog.

She finds plants that hurt dragons, a dragons magical stone, and a fire proof spell...she's found A LOT of adventure!

Resources
The Laws of Thinking: 20 Secrets to Using the Divine Power of Your Mind to Manifest Prosperity
Published in Hardcover by Hay House (2007-02-01)
Author: Bishop E. Bernard Jordan
List price: $24.95
New price: $12.12
Used price: $6.85
Collectible price: $24.95

Average review score:

The Law of Blessing!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-06
I'm 48, and about 20 years ago, I first read "I AM GOD" in a book by Shirley MacLaine. It was revolutionary then - and NO ONE talked about it. Now, when Bishop Jordan writes it -I KNOW IT. I AM GOD. YOU ARE GOD. WE ARE GOD. Imagine if the whole world finally came to that realization. Whether your God is black, white, Hindu, Catholic, whatever. That God put you here for a reason - and Bishop Jordan helps you remember that. I HIGHLY recommend this book. Thank you Bishop Jordan. Blessings everyone.

BRILLIANT AND POWERFUL - A MUST READ
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-11
Bishop E. Bernard Jordan's book brings three words immediately to mind: BRILLIANT, POWERFUL, AND INSPIRING. This wonderful book is all three of those things and I should actually add, eye opening and insightful, to that list of adjectives. This book is a MUST READ for anyone wanting to manifest prosperity into his or her life. I can't urge you enough to read this book AND to seek out other books/videos by Bishop E. Bernard Jordan. His teachings are influencing huge corporations and world leaders and after you read this book I'm sure you will understand why. Stop wasting time reading the reviews and get the book. Your return on investment from absorbing the principles in this book will pay for itself many, many times over! In "The Laws of Thinking" Bishop Jordan teaches 20 secrets to manifest prosperity in your life. If you're a Christian the book will renew your spirit and bring you closer to God as well. If you're not a Christian then this book will give you some valuable deeper insights and may open your eyes to some important things that you hadn't considered or experienced before. Really, it doesn't cost much and what you will surely gain from absorbing the principles taught in "The Laws of Thinking" make it an easy choice - GET THE BOOK AND READ IT TWICE!

The Laws Of Tthinking
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-29
This book is AWESOME !!! If you have the courage to change your circumstances, then this is the book for YOU! Master Prophet Jordan has the keys in this book to literally change your life! I just wish that I had read the whole book sooner. The wisdom that is in this book is PRICELESS!!!
Richard O. White
Cocoa, Florida

Very Far Out!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-26
This book really causes you to think outside the box of what you been taught in traditional churches. It teaches you to use mind power to possess the desires of your heart and the things that seem so out of reach!

Lanesa Stubbs

A Must Read!!!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-09
This is a wonderful publication! I couldn't put it down when I started it. This is a must have!

Resources
In the Time of Dinosaurs (Animorphs Megamorphs Number 2)
Published in Library Binding by Sagebrush Education Resources (1999-10)
Author: Katherine Applegate
List price: $13.00
New price: $89.28
Used price: $114.79

Average review score:

Pointless perspectives
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-11
I never did truly see the point of this novel, but hey, it was fun and everyone loves dinosaurs. I think it's a good project for writing, and I like the admittely contrived concept of looking at everyone's thoughts. But aside from that, why?

Just two stars
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-08-14
While the bonus installments of Animorphs are K.A. Applegate's chance to shine (a.k.a. Visser, Megamorphs #1) they can also spell disaster. And this book spells every letter. It's as though Applegate rubbed her hands and said, "Here's my chance to put in every random idea I've ever had along with ten hours of research on dinosaurs. No, make that five hours." And she does.

The adventure in the book starts with some of the Animorphs stuck in a dinosaur. Yep, that's right. Inside a dinosaur. It is as ridiculous as it sounds. From there, they venture into the land of dinosaurs trying to find one another. The dinosaurs range from huge deadly raptors who are conveniently acquired, to Stegasaurus who are being zapped by evil ant aliens.

To try to divert attention from the convenient ways all six Animorphs can come away unscratched by a massive T-Rex, Applegate puts in big crabs with about twenty eyes. Oh, and they invented broccoli. They're named Mercora. Their enemies are lots and lots of evil ants called the Nesk, which are the pitifully two dimensional race who tries and fails to be as interesting as Yeerks.

Are these elements not ridiculous enough for you? There's more. They make dinosaur sandals. They steal nuclear weapons that happen to be invented back in that time. And somehow they all survive when a massive meteor hits the world and kills everything.

Sometimes Applegate goes a step too far in the absurd (though occassionally enjoyable) ideas throughout her Animorph series. Time of the Dinosaurs goes an entire staircase. Only die hard Animorphs fans should read this. And even then, remember that this is a bonus installment not part of the main series essential to understand the plot line... thankfully.

Jordan at Richview Middle school
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-11
This book starts out with a kid seeing a submarine crashing at the bottom of the ocean. His name is Marco and he is the prankster of this group of special humans. They are Andalites,which have the power
to gather animal d.n.a. and they change into animals.Jake is the leader
then there is Cassie,Ax,and Rachel. Well they go to save the people in
the sub,While they are saving the day nuclear sub blows up and they get blown back to in time with the dinosaurs.While they are there they

encounter two alien species one friendly one not so friendly. So they create another explosion and they go home

megamorphs
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-03-09
megamorphs
the book i read was the animorphs: megamoarphs in the time of the
dinosaurs. the book starts out with Marco on of the five animorphs
talking about a nuclear sub that sank in the ocean. so he talks to his
friends and they go to the sunken sub and boom it happens if you
want to find out what happened read the book . but they wake up
and there in the time of the dinosaurs and all of their morphs are to
weak for them to use in that world so they have to get new morphs
but how. when they wake up tobias and Rachel were eaten by a
dinosaur and the rest of them are being chased by another dino.
they reach land and demorph and they relies that this is real and
that they might not go home. But they knew that tobias and werenýt
going no matter what because they were eaten as you now know.
Now the remaining animorphs decide that they need to get a fire
going to survive and keep other animals away. but what they dont
know is that tobias and rachel are still alive and are trying to get out
of the dinosaurs stomach. And back at camp a t-rex shows up and
they run they thought that the fire would keep the dinosaurs away .
to find out what happens in the rest of the book youýll have to read
the book but on my opinion the book was one of the best iýve ever
read on a scale of one to ten it was definetly a nine.

What were you thinking Applegate??
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-08-25
Sorry, but this book is definately only three stars. It all starts out when Marco hears about a sunk sub and the Animmorphs go to investigate. Something goes wrong and suddenly they find themselves in preostoric times!

I don't like this book because: a)It has the whole Sario Rip thing that was already put in another book. b)When they find themselves stuck in the Creostastes(sorry, don't know how to spell it) Period, there's another alien speices. I don't like that whole thing, along with The Mutation #36, and c)How it ended was very, very predictable. I don't know about you, but I knew that the comet was going to blow them back to their own time sooner or later.

Sorry Applegate, but you couldn't give us another winner like THe Andalite Chronicles (I have a review there, too)

Resources
A Guide for Using The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in the Classroom
Published in Paperback by Teacher Created Resources (1994-10-01)
Author: LAURIE SWINWOOD
List price: $8.99
New price: $4.71
Used price: $5.46

Average review score:

Best Christmas Pagaent Ever
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-18
I purchased this book simply to replace my original copy, which I loaned out and which was never returned. Reading this book has been a favorite part of my Christmas for many years. While I regret losing my old copy, I am thankful I will now be able to carry on this tradition.

True meaning of Christmas in an untraditional presentation
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-18
It's a fun story about an untraditional Christmas play. It shows how good can come of seemingly negative changes and find some unexpected, meaningful outcomes.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Very Well Written!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-14
I like books and I don't know if this is my favorite book but it is excellent. We read it as a family every year at Christmas. It never fails to touch me. It is fun with a redeeming message.

love it
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-13
I have read this book at least once a year for 15yrs and now I'm reading it to my kids. It's a quick read, I can't put it down.

Perfect Holiday Read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-07
This is a great, easy way to get into the holiday spirit. Even though the intended audience is kids, I enjoyed it as well!

Resources
Advanced Water Distribution Modeling and Management
Published in Hardcover by Haestead Press (2003-01-24)
Author:
List price: $145.00
Used price: $145.00

Average review score:

An excellent textbook !!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-17
Advanced Water Distribution Modeling and Management is not only a complete and current reference for professionals involved in water distribution systems but also an essential textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses. In fact, what makes this book different is that it contains from basic hydraulic concepts up to the most recent researches and experiences in a comprehensive language.

Advanced Water Distribution Modeling and Management
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-05
Thank-You Haestad Mdthods for developing such a wonderful program. I use this book as a guide almost everyday.

Great reference for the professionals of water distribution
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-04
This texttbook, that I recently reviewed, was for me a great experience. This is a must have book for any Civil consultant involved in hydraulics. It is both a guide to water modeling and a practical reference to water distribution operation and management. Thanks Haestad Methods.

The Best "How To" Book on Modeling
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-03
This reference has given us an edge in satisfying client needs from the simplest capacity study to the most complex model. It has helped make our competent modelers more efficient and the up-and coming modeler function like a pro. Many common questions and problems are anticipated and clearly answered. Because the book so thoroughly covers system management issues, I believe many parts should be required reading for water resources engineers.

Great to have everything under one roof
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-03
I wish I knew of this book's existence years ago. For too many years, I have been using several other reference books to "answer" my never ending questions and doubts on modeling and related subjects.

It even has reference on non-concontinuous flow condition. A great book with lots of "weight." The price was right, too, I received this gem free as a bonus for signing up to attend a wwebcast sponsored by Haestad.

Resources
Go, Dog. Go! (I Can Read It All by Myself Beginner Books)
Published in Library Binding by Sagebrush Education Resources (1999-10)
Author: P. D. Eastman
List price: $17.60
New price: $3.68
Used price: $3.72

Average review score:

The best book ever!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-19
Can recite the whole book. I always buy this for baby showers!. It is a fun and happy book and I always loved reading it to children.

Great book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-28
My grandson loves this book. He's only 18 months but loves to cuddle up w/this book.

go dog go
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-27

i enjoyed this book as a child, so
i got it for my grandson[17 months old]. I hope he will be happy with it as well.

for kids from 1-100, a timeless classic
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-18
this was one of my favorite books as a child, and when i picked it up after 35 years, i remembered and recognized the illustrations and scenes as if i had read it yesterday. this is a pleasure to read with its simple verse-like writing, its wonderful drawings, its bright colors, and its loveable characters. i couldn't reocmmend a book more highly, especially good for young dog lovers, like our son. don't bother with the board book version, which takes down 76 pages to about 6. this original is easy to read and a joy.

buy dog buy!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-12
Is there a better childrens book than Go Dog Go? Great colors, simple but satisfying pictures, and of course, lots of dogs. Finally just wore the cover off the original with the third kid. If your child age 3 to 8 doesn't like GDG perhaps you should make an appointment. With a lot of Barney/Pooh Bear/TV tie in knockoffs out there, get an original. Also good are: the Bernstein Bears, the Olivia series, Roosevelt and the magic pebble, Ten apples up on top, Are you my Mother?,and for girls the Madeline books to name just a few.

Resources
More-With-Less Cookbook : Suggestions By Mennonites on How to Eat Better and Consume Less of the World's Limited Food Resources
Published in Spiral-bound by Herald Press (1976-04)
Author: Doris Janzen Longacre
List price: $17.99
New price: $36.44
Used price: $2.98

Average review score:

Saves me money !
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-01
This book was given to me by a friend , i haven't gone day without using the recipes! they are so easy to make ! usually 5 ingredients or less.

Great, great book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-28
A friend at work suggested this to me and said that it was her favorite and most used cookbook. Now I know why. Interesting reading material in addition to great recipes.

ETHNIC
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-21
I HAVE FOUND NUMEROUS RECIPES AND LOOK FOR NEW EACH WEEK. I LIKE TO SHARE WITH MY GROWN CHILDREN WHO DID NOT KNOW THEY EVEN LIKED SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS.

favorite cookbook
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-19
I have been very pleased with this cookbook. It is one of my favorites. The recipes are simple and it teaches a lot about cooking basic foods that are great. This book has great recipes but is also an excellent tool for teaching you how to cook for your family.

Love this book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-29
I love all of the text and tips in this book. The recipes are simple and nutritious as well as thrifty. I also like the fact that many of the recipes are from or influenced by other cultures, but don't have a mulitude of expensive ingredients. The only downside is that the recipes don't focus on whole grains, but I substitute whole wheat flour for 1/2 of the white flour in some of the recipes. I just made the Dutch Apple Bread yesterday for a snack for the kids and it disappeared!

Resources
The Great Brain (Yearling)
Published in Library Binding by Sagebrush Education Resources (1999-10)
Author: John D. Fitzgerald
List price: $12.70
Used price: $29.99

Average review score:

Not too shabby...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-06
The is a wonderfully, great, terrific book! They need to re-release the Great Brain movie from 1978 starring little Jimmy Osmond! Also, if I may suggest, try reading the Adventures With Boys book series-- Just as good!!!;)

Reliving my childhood through my daughter.
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-12
I poured through these books continuously in my youth. I would beg for a trip to the library so I could find just one more I hadn't read.

I had all but forgotten about them until my oldest showed a keenness for reading. Now I'm ordering them for her for Christmas. I hope she gleans as much joy as I did from them! I used to love to pretend that Papa was handing out his sage advice directly to me.

This is such a wonderfully written series for young readers. You really can't go wrong with them, and hopefully my daughter will review this for you some time after Christmas!

Hilarious book for kids of all ages!!!!!!!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-03
This is a wonderful book for all ages. Its about a 10 year old boy that is always thinking of money making schemes!!!

Reading Level
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-24
I hope AMAZON reads this, but the ages of 4 to 8 years is not correct. I think they mean 4th-8th grade, not years. My son is in 5th grade and is just getting where he can read it. I read it when I was young, one of my favorite books...but not for K-2nd grade!! Amazon, if you read this, you may want to change the Reading Level! Thanks!!

Witty and wonderful!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-11
This book reminded me of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. It is so well
written. It is full of wit and heartwarming understanding of the workings
of young boys. I enjoyed it as much as any book I have read all year and
would highly recommend it to any age group.

Resources
The Only Alien on the Planet (Point Hardcover)
Published in Library Binding by Sagebrush Education Resources (1999-10)
Author: Kristen D. Randle
List price: $13.00
Used price: $16.25

Average review score:

Will make you think...
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-07
A total ten!! A truly thought-provoking, intense & emotional book. I am having my dtr (11) read this book and the discussions will be endless. It opens up dialogue between parents & kids about common misconceptions and snap judgements that we ALL make on a daily basis, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes on purpose. I would say this is more geared to a 6th grader or older unless you judge your child otherwise. Fine for younger, but read it as a parent first. I came across this book years ago and was thrilled to find it on Amazon! I don't want to give away any of the story, I will just leave it as a must read for everyone!

Inspiring and delightful!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-05
"The Only Alien on The Planet" is a wonderful novel that will captivate the reader on page one and leave them breathless on the final page. If the mystery of Smitty's antisocial behavior does not keep one turning the pages the love of his friends, who barely know him, will. Smitty's perspective on life having lived only in his mind for fifteen years gives the reader an interesting view of life and makes one re-think their own perspectives, fears and values. Inspiration will come to the reader as he watches Smitty in his weakest moments; overcome the battles in his life. If one thinks growing up was hard, try growing up with Smitty in his silent, unfeeling world, in "The Only Alien on the Planet."

Satisfyingly fluffy, although very untruthful
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-05
The high-school romantic in me loved this book, everything about it, but most especially Smitty. I was in love with him just as Ginny was, and when he put his arm around her in the hospital, I just melted... But looking at this story through a critical eye, one has to admit just how amazingly un-lifelike it really is. Someone who lives completely inside his own head and resists all interaction with the outside world is not going to be as handsome and charming as Michael "Smitty" Gibbs. I've known people with those tendencies, perhaps not as extreme, and they are not at all people at whom I would lunge with a passionate kiss waiting on my lips, as Ginny does to Michael. Admittedly, the passionate kiss was my favorite scene... but as I said, it was the romantic high-schooler inside of me. And as this book was written for romantic high-schoolers, I guess that's just right. But don't read it and then walk away with any romantic ideas of abuse. It's just not really like that at all.

Great read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-05
I found this read on a booklist for a YA lit class. Upon reading the title, I knew it would either be sci-fi adventure or one of teen loneliness and angst. After reading it, I think I got a strange mixture of the two, with no actual aliens involved. The book is about the struggle of discovering a beautiful yet strange boy through the eyes of Ginny, a young girl dealing with a recent family move. Smitty, the boy in question, never speaks, and is a mystery to Ginny. I found myself totally absorbed in the book; it was brooding and romantic. But a lot of the plot devices were forced: getting the parents out of the way, films presented in the novel, and the way family ties are addressed in the end. Despite these, Ginny is a well-written teenager and believable (even if Smitty's behavior in the end is not). He's a fascinating character, though; and this was a fun read. Highly recommended.

Wow!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-02
"The Only Alien on the Planet" was a wonderful book! Do not hesitate to pick this one up. It is about a girl who moves to a new town and becomes friends with someone very unlikely - a boy who does not speak. She and her friend Caulder begin a mission to find out if this 'alien' has emotion and is in fact human. This book was brillantly written and it kept me guessing what Ginny would do, who she would end up with, and if Smitty, the 'alien', would end up speaking at all! I don't want to give away anything but I was kind of surprised by the ending. I picked up this book and didn't put it down! Cute story with very real characters. I could really relate to each one of them. You'll want to read this one - so try it out!

Resources
Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams
Published in Paperback by Dorset House Publishing Company, Incorporated (1999-02-01)
Authors: Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
List price: $33.95
New price: $28.35
Used price: $24.49
Collectible price: $33.95

Average review score:

commentary on team dynamics
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-13
Quick enjoyable read. Some interesting commentary on team dynamics and the social problems teams encounter. I wish more solutions/suggestions were offered.

easy view
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-29
Nice reminder on what should we do during project.
We all know these things, but often we forget on them.

It's supposed to be productive, satisfying fun to work
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-22
This book is a collection of short essays on how real people's productivity in software industry is affected. It is about human aspects of software development. There is a great variety in the material for such a small volume (about 250 pages). For example, it covers this:

1. The key to software development is people. People are not drones nor they are easily replaceable. They work by themselves and require not constant pushing, but careful motivation. If you don't trust your people you are in trouble. People are a capital investment.

2. Mind-intensive jobs require concentration, hence a private and quiet environment. Breaking the worker's flow leads to frustration and dive of effectiveness.

3. Teams require efforts to form and keep running, but the effect could be miraculous. There is nothing that could stop a running team. (Btw, I tend to call this a locomotive force myself).

4. Methodologies (the big-M ones) don't matter, same for the processes. Technologies and stuff, they never replace people who really understand and love what they are doing.

The book is of most interest to project managers or even upper level managers (may all our managers follow these advises please ?).

What can you do with the book being a software developer ? Not much, just look around and see if you like it where you work now. And take actions.

[quote]
If you've smiled ruefully at any of the characterizations in this book, it's time now to stop smiling anf start taking corrective action. ... It's supposed to be productive, satisfying fun to work.
[/quote]

The second edition differs from the original book in that an all new part VI is added, a few short chapters. Written many years later in a perceivably different tone. It's not just that the authors admit in its preface

[quote]
The first five parts were written by two yongish middle-aged consultants who spent most of their time working at the project level, part VI is written by two gnarled and grizzled old consultants who now spend appreciably more of their time working at organizational levels. ... Part VI is concerned with with the design of entire organizations that include development work.
[/quote]

but it is also that it is written in less confident and undoubted way. I see it as good, after all there is no universal truth, it is all just a food to the reader's thoughts.

And this is a great food too.

Very disappointing
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-03
I expected the book to contain practical advice. The book covered many undesirable situations and business settings. There were no recommendations made on how to improve a bad situation. The book merely reported on the bad environment. If you are in an unpleasant work environment and want to know there may be others worse off then you, you may like this book.

Somewhat disappointing but still worth a read
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-04
Providing an overall rating for this book was extremely difficult, and writing this book review was not an easy task. This difficulty is due to the nature of "Peopleware". This DeMarco work enjoys what appears to be a solid 5-star rating, and to some degree this is a very reasonable collective assessment. Without discussing at length all of the reasons I think this book should instead be assigned less than 5-stars, I think my reasons fall into two categories: (1) the original work was penned in 1987, and due to the industry pervasiveness of many of the ideas presented by the authors, a lot of the material can no longer be considered extraordinary, and (2) the cohesiveness of each chapter and the flow from chapter to chapter is less than optimal - in other words, it is a bit choppy. Now I realize that there exist many in the software industry that can gain great strides in their respective workplaces by reading this book and understanding how best to apply the provided advice, which is why I give this work 4-stars rather than 3-stars, but I must say that I was just disappointed by all the hype about this book, from a year-2007 perspective. And simple math obviously will conclude that 20 years have passed since the original publication. The 8 new chapters added by the authors in 1999 really do not communicate many ground-shaking ideas. In my opinion, Chapter 33 is the only one of these new chapters that personally provided me any insight. And the premise of this lone chapter is simply that "the ultimate management sin is wasting people's time". The simplistic line graphs that accompany this chapter provide some substance to the discussion about project staffing, but again this chapter still seems to be geared toward individuals who do not bother to keep up with the insight shared in industry periodicals. Despite all of these drawbacks, however, there are some strong areas of the book that are worth reading by all software industry professionals. These strong areas are more comparable to the content of timeless classics like "The Mythical Man Month", "Waltzing with Bears" (also by DeMarco and Lister), or "Death March" (see my reviews for all of these books), and are worth reading even if just to provide discussion starters within your organization. These chapters include "Vienna Waits for You" on working smarter and project deadline pressures, "Quality-if Time Permits" where the authors state that "Quality, far beyond that required by the end user, is a means to higher productivity", "Parkinson's Law Revisited" on estimations and productivity, "You Never Get Anything Done Around Here Between 9 and 5", "Brain Time Versus Body Time" on understanding the work day of a technology worker, "The Self-Healing System" on process, and "Teamicide" and "Open Kimono" on team jell. Realize that there are 34 chapters in this book. The bottom line is that this book on productive projects and teams, targeted at a software industry audience - although perhaps not overly impressive from a holistic perspective - is still heartily recommended.


Books-Under-Review-->Society-->Activism-->Resources
Related Subjects: United States United Kingdom
More Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250