H Books

This book should be very interesting for those who find mental disorders to be intriguing and mysterious. The author offers us some insight on the life of someone who must overcome tremendous internal conflict, and not only learn from his experiences, but embrace the realities of his life. It can be described as a puzzling, yet, thoughtful human story of a lost soul searching to find knowledge, clarity, and trust.

Powerful! A very gripping story that is both enchanting and mysterious. It invites the reader to be a part of the story, feeling the love that Canon Carter has for his wife Mahsa and his feelings of spirituality, leaves the reader fulfulled. I look forward to reading his future novels.

The author, Cameron Chambers, deals with a very extraordinary set of factors. Canon Carter, the main character, is part mystic, part loving husband, and part faithful member of a very tragic family. He sorts through the difficulties in his life and emerges triumphant in the end. His is a story of spiritual and familial duty, a life of good serving others, and the story of a brave man and how he became who he is. The author's style is very engrossing. I felt compelled to read this book from the first paragraph.

A magician in a garden of words, the author depicts a troubled life in a difficult set of circumstances. It is easy to get wrapped up in this novel. The storyline pulls you in right from the beginning. I immediately felt like the events were happening to me. I highly recommend this book; it is a thought provoking novel and very unusual.

I started to read this book one evening and had a hard time putting it down. The author really has an interesting take on life and successfully draws you into the storyline. If you'd like to have a thought-provoking book in your collection, I'd recommend this one.

This is a great book. Only until you work with it will you find how good it is. My favorite thing in this book is what the author calls contraction mirroring and is discussed in chapters 4,5,6,8.

If you want to read this book, there are a couple of recommendations from me:

First, review your math: number systems, mods, logarithms, trigonometry, functions.
Second, prepare yourself for a book that is packed with information in each line. Don't expect even a line skip unnecessary.
Third, if you want to make a full use of book, don't read it and put it aside. You have to bear with the author and work out the examples. These two facts, combined with your willing to analyze the code algorithms will make you learn the fractals -relatively- deeply.

The bonus fact is that the authour explains how to create your own fractals in the last chapter.

As "the cons" I can say that the turbo basic programs are outdated. They need a good revision, possibly a port to C, Java (or maybe Ruby for the fans). In my opinion, a clean C code would do the trick.

Finally here is the chapter list:

i. Preface
ii. Acknowledgements
iii. Introduction

1. Counting and Number Systems
2. Numbers and Points
3. Meanders and Fractals
4. Spirals, Trees and Stars
5. The Analysis of a Fractal
6. Chance in Fractals
7. Poincare, Julia, Mandelbrot
8. Making Your Own Fractals

Appendix A. Complex Numbers
Appendix B. Programs
Bibliography
Index

In all my library of fractal books this one stands out as the most enlightening and the most useful. Hans Lauwerier is a master of Chaos and fractal theory. His method of analysis of IFS fractals is the best. He is just publishing a new book that should be rewarding as well.

This book is nicely written, well-organized and beautifully illustrated. It introduces most of the standard topics with a minimum of math, for example, iterated function systems, chaos, Mandelbrot and Julia sets, and random fractals. Among introductory semi-formal treatments of fractals I have seen, it strikes the best balance between concision, simplicity, and mathematical detail.

However, this somewhat dated volume needs a revision to upgrade the code from Basic to, say, Java. When the book was first published, microcomputers were relatively weak. Consequently, the book makes a few digressions into some rather involved algorithms designed to minimize memory use. Of course, today's machines are much more powerful. It is a lot simpler to use recursion (although this uses up memory liberally) in the fractal programs.

Finally, I think that the geometry could be made conceptually cleaner by mentioning that a general similitude (of which a contraction mapping is one example) on the plane can be written as a composition of rotations, translations, reflections, and scalings.

For more substantial treatments of fractals that don't demand too much math background, see "Fractals Everywhere" by M. Barnsley and "Introduction to Fractals and Chaos" by R. Crownover. However, one should read Lauwerier's slim and elegant volume before and after studying these more advanced works--before, as an introduction, and after, as a delightful summary and "bird's eye view" of the subject.

This is a nice book that will start you on the wonderful world of fractals. Contains BASIC source code for you to try. Very informative, you'll learn about the history of fractals and shows you the many different ideas and mathematical insights about fractals. This is really a good starter book (though you need background in algebra and trigonometry to follow the math equations).

Dont buy Haykin please. Its gone old and flimsy. This is a culmination of two decades of relentless addition to adaptibe filtering. I have read from original Widrow Hopf titles to Haykin bleating. but this is the culmination.

In this book, the ideas and formulas are well presented to the readers. Notations are very consistent throughout the entire book. I have enjoyed reading this book.

I work on 802.11b and 802.11a/OFDM modems and was looking for some kind of coherent text on decision feedback equalization and other tracking schemes when I stumbled upon this book. I'm deep into chapter three and I can already draw the following conclusions.

There are two things that make this book really great.
1) The teaching style. Besides having a wonderful way with words, the author uses plenty of subtle teaching principles that help in the understanding of the material like frequent repetition of the main concepts and slowly building up examples over different sections inside each chapter.

2) Content !!!! Its hard to assimilate abstract material like estimation theory without at the end having some type of useful application or algorithm to show for. The author's examples and computer projects on channel estimation, channel equalization, maximum ratio combining and Rake receivers are very popular building blocks for a variety of modems. It is very motivating to know that after labouring through the chapter the authors feels that you are now ready to understand decision feedback equalizers and so he presents you with a nice DFE computer project.

Difficult topics require competent teaching approaches and that is exactly what you will find in this book.

The only thing that would make this book even better would be a very brief introductory chapter on statistics and linear algebra. So if you are going through the book and you want to quickly revisit the definition of covariance or hermetian transpose there is one centralized section that has all the useful mathematical tools nicely listed.

As a practising engineer, I highly recommend this book.
Andreas S.

This is the best textbook I've ever read. The mix of theory and practice, examples and math, and the ordered introduction of concepts flows so well it reads like a treasure quest. Everything has its place, and the place is known - you just have to follow the signs and keep an eye out for those which are subtler than others, just to keep things alive and interesting. It's indicative of the clarity of thinking and broad sweep of this work that you would refer to it (I do and other students I know as well), for other subject matter such as communications, linear algebra, digital filters, probability and control theory. The homework problems are not just a series of one-liners as in most graduate level text books, but well-marked road maps addressing points discussed in the text and opening up new possibilities. The computer projects are very well commented and the results analysed. The language is concise yet fluid, and there are extremely few typos of any kind. This is a very, very high quality work.

This book is a true masterpiece. It contains the most complete treatment, theoretical and practical, of adaptive filtering that I've ever seen and I've seen just about every book on this topic on the market. In addition to the detialed theoretical derivations, this book is rich with numerous design examples and computer projects with provided matlab code. This equips the reader with proper tools to quickly understand the concepts and put them to practice with relative ease. I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about understanding adaptive filters.

The Joker is, and has always been, my favorite fictional character of all time. If you are a fan of the Killing Joke, and are a fan of the dark, psychotic portrayal of the Joker, then this book will definitely please you. I first read the book when I was in fourth grade. The story "On a Beautiful Summers day, he was" disturbed me then and still does now. It was the one story from this book that has stuck with me for all the years since I first read it (about 11 years ago). Check this book out; it's a real treat for Batman fans.

I find The Joker to be a fascinating fictional character, and this collection of short stories definitely manages (at least for the most part) to get at what I feel is the true character of The Clown Prince of Crime. This little overlooked book is probably the best portrayal of The Joker this side of Alan Moore's The Killing Joke.

The quality of the stories is uneven, ranging from brilliant to forgettable. Unfortunately, the very best stories are all weighted toward the first part of the book and sets you up thinking that ALL of the stories will be that good. My favorites are "The Man Who Laughs" and "On a Beautiful Summer's Day, He Was." The latter, while being the least "Joker"-y of the lot, is also the most disturbing. "On the Wire" is also excellent, and although "Jangletown" falls into the average group, it's memorable for its description of the Joker (which brought shadows of Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum) and the hints at pederasty. Most of the others are average but still entertaining and full of dark, disturbing moments (Bruce Wayne's punchline in "Dying is Easy, Comedy is Hard," the opening of "Bone," and the patricide in "Best of All"). The only story I flat out didn't like was "The Joker's Christmas."

I thought it was an excellent decision to use horror writers for the most part to bring The Joker to life...I can't imagine a genre he more belongs at home in.

Do yourself a favor a grab a copy of this book. It's truly unsettling.

This book consists of several short stories, each written by a different author, and all of them about the Joker. The stories are too short for me to tell you much about them, and besides, part of what makes this book great is the different angles taken on the Joker. Each story focus on the Joker, but each shows a different part of the whole Joker.
I would recomend this to any Batman fan, any comic fan, or anyone looking for good short stories.

"Bone" by Will Murray is worth the price of the book alone. "Oh, I'm collecting kitties and puttin' 'em in bags," sings our emerald-topped antagonist. What he does with them is, well, horrific. Throw in F. Paul Wilson's "Definitive Therapy," a chilling look at The Joker through a psychiatrist's eyes, and Robert Sheckley's "Joker's War," with The Joker somehow caught up in the second World War, and you've got a must-read for fans of this mythos. The rest of the stories are hit and miss, but you won't care. This collection of stories will keep you up late.

To me, this book defines The Joker; A mean-spirited, incredibly intelligent, completely psychotic mass murderer with a way beyond warped sense of humor. I first read this book in High School. Once I picked it up, it was so amazing/disturbing I couldn't put it down until I'd read the whole thing. I wrote a paper on it that got me into AP English. Now 10+ years later, it was so good I'm searching for it again. This book is a KEEPER. Be careful who you loan it to, they might think so too.

This was a very informative book, written in plain English for those who are depressed and their families. There are many good exercises besides the profound text it provides. It covers the many forms and facets of depression in a very user-friendly way and I will not hesitate to use it and pass it one to others who may need it. It contains all the keys plus suggestions on how to put them into action and if that alone is not enough, how to talk to your doctor about medications. It gives life coping strategies that anyone can use. I couldn't put this book down.

As a person with long-standing problems and treatment of depression, I found this by far the most thorough and useful discussion of depression ever. It is excellent writing from warm, caring, down-to-earth-sounding professionals who do not seem to feel that they are All-Powerful. The authors certainly give the readers all the tools needed to help themselves and to seek and follow professional help when needed. In my opinion, this book should be a textbook for all medical students, whatever their specialty, as well as psychology students, seminary students, and anyone in the "helping" professions.

This is an excellent book, honoring the WHOLE person (body, mind and spirit), down-to-earth and very respectful of the different ways people deal with their personal distress. I am very surprised at the Publisher's Weekly review, as I found the book to be just the opposite of that assessment. In fact, this is the only book I've read whose authors, in fact, DID seem like they knew from experience the dark maze of depression. I have shared the book with others and will continue to recommend it. I discovered the book by accident at a bookstore one lonely gray day and read it three times. It truly is a life-changer.

A very nice book.

I am quite grateful for this book, which actually helped me organize my thoughts, get them down on paper, and turn them into a plan for action for working on my depression. The book's focus on taking action was really the key for me, as I imagine it could be for other people experiencing depression. For many years, I was mired in thoughts of my depression and loneliness and felt completely stuck. Within a few days of reading the book and completing the exercises in the opening chapters, I was able to accomplish a few small things that had been really worrying me, and I gradually started to make progress in getting my life back together again.

Like another reviewer, I was also surprised by the Publisher's Weekly review posted above and disagree with much of the author's assessment of the book. If you are depressed and feel like you've been going around in circles about daily issues like paying the bills or larger issues about finding meaning in the life you lead, this book might also help you find a way to assess your situation and begin to relieve symptoms of depression. While no book is a cure and any approach to addressing depression requires a strong personal commitment, the authors of this book have really helped me, someone who has suffered from depression for more than 10 years. I thank them very much.

I got a copy of this in a second-hand store when I was a kid and I've practically read the covers off. Absolutely magical. I have never read a better imagining of the Cinderella story.

you can not give this book enough stars. this book brings cinderella to the next level very tastefully. thank you to the author for this teenage level.

The book is very good story. The author has done a very good job of telling the story. I have readed this book since 6th grade and now I'm first year in college. I have enjoy this book every time I read it. I recommend it to every one.

I found it! Like one of the other reviewers, I read this book, and re-read it and re-read it, in Elementary school and loved it! The internet and places like Amazon.com have been a god-send for finding those treasures of childhood I thought I'd never see again. This remains to this day my very favorite version of the Cinderella story. Well worth the read no matter how old you are!

Like Robin Grunder's (New York, New York March 1999) review I just saw on this page, I had read this book (from my church library, no less!) when I was about 10-12 years old. I fell in love with it, and it left a marked impression upon me. Sort of "Cinderella at a whole 'nother level." But as a teenager I could not find the book anywhere. As a young adult, I would revert back to childhood books in times of stress (Madeleine L'Engle, Carolyne Keene) and looked for Eleanor's "Glass Slipper" many times to no avail. Then, in my late 30's, when Internet searching became all the rage, I one evening put the title in a search engine and VIOLA! There were several used (collectible) hardback copies available through Amazon.com! ... but I have my used 'library' copy and I'm ecstatic. I'll pass this on to my child's children, who will hopefully love reading as much as I do.

I read Global Squeeze when it first came out. It's much more realistic than any others I've read since. (Future Perfect, Maestro, Independently Wealthy) I can see no hope for our middle class due to the job exports in all occupational categories. For the latest real world view read Business Week, Feb. 3, 2003, "The Global Job Shift."

We are in real trouble.

The book would better be titled "The First world squeeze", because if we go by the parameters of this book, what we find is a purely First world crisis.This crisis infact looks like a boon for the labour-cheap thirdworld or developing countries. But, combined with the on going hi-tech revolution, it could mean a elite class in the third world also. This is the sort of reality we find, as we observe the yawninig gap in the developing countries also, between its rich and poor. So, it looks like that the world's poor are being pitted agianst the rich and privileged few of the world more and more as the Globalization advances. Going by the present trend in polarisation of the classess world wide it looks-the day is not far off when the working class of the world would rise in unison, to deliver a death blow to the global capitalist system- as predicted by Karl Marx 150 years back.

As an Economics major in college, I found the book captivating. It shows the ways the emerging global market affects the first world nation's prosperity, stability, and confidence. The book also raises social responsibility and personal justice issues that will directly affect everyone within the next 30 years.

This is a very effective piece of economic reporting and must be one of the most acute pictures of 'capital in the raw' that I have read, a desmerizing tonic to the endless litany of neoliberal triumphalism. Neither Marxist, nor doctrinaire, it unwittingly scores a bullseye of indirect marxist analysis of the one-and-the-same process that is the invariant of the capitalist system. This isn't even a radical statement. Slogans one way or the other are stopped in their tracks by facts here, and facts that induce momentary helpless shock, quite short of firebrand indignation. We don't live in a global democratic system. Therefore we don't live in a democratic system. Capital has beaten the pants off sentimentalism here. Democracy so-called is a good front, but otherwise an inconvenience to the predators described herein. The author produces one horrendous
statistic about forty thousand people controlling 81 trillion in assets. Capital.
Not much more needs to be said.
Your move, unless you are powerless, a democratic nobody. Checkmate?

A scary must read for those concerned about the country's future. If you feel the uneasy economic chill in the air, this book will explain why! If your city's industrial base is gone this book will explain why! If you are stuck in a minimum wage "temp" society this book will explain why! This book exposes the neo-con globalist fantasy for what it is...Free trade is not free! and Cheap labor is not cheap! Unfortunately this book does not explain why no one seems to care!!!!

This is a very sweet, very cute story about a little girl trying to put all her stuffed animals and dolls (her "children", I suppose) to bed so she can sleep too.

It has that nice, repetitive structure children adore - she finds a toy, tells it that it's not time to whatever, it's time to go to bed!, and ends nicely with everybody tucked in and "Good Night".

The illustrations are very well done, in a style that looks more classic than it is.

The one concern you might have (I don't, but you might) is that it's one of those books that doesn't show parents. If you're creeped out by Max and Ruby, you might find this book a little odd too - the girl single-handedly takes on the parental role for herself and her toys.

Of course, if you don't overthink it too much, it's just a sweet, short little book.

My two month old son lights up every day when I read him this book. I don't know if it is the sense of fun in my voice as I read the words, or the charismatic characters, but I love it as much as he does. I wish there were real playthings that look as sweet and filled with life as the toys in this book do. There are also lots of wonderful extra things going on in the illustrations to pause for comment and speculation. I was hoping to find more work by this writer and illustrator combo, I will get Christmas is Coming.

Two other books my son loves so far are Baby Cakes by Karma Wilson and Sam Williams, and I am a Bunny by Richard Scarry.

I am looking for more books with friendly beautiful illustrations, and sing song writing that isn't too long or too short. I look through reviews hoping for trails to great books and music, I hope more readers who love this one will include some of their and their children's favorites here too.

Like Goodnight Moon, this book is about winding down and getting ready for bed. My toddler used to do the very same thing: gather up all her buddies, tuck them in, and say goodnight. Helps kids shut down for the night. That said, this book is ideal for bedtime, and would be a great gift for a toddler (AND their parents if it helps everyone get some sleep!)

My daughter got this book for Christmas (she was 3). She and her father read it every night and now she has it memorized. She "reads" it to us each night. The illustrations are very cozy, but the best part is the story. The text has a very soothing rhythm. Each page ends with "Silly ***, it's not time to ***, it's time to go to bed." I think that when my daughter repeats that phrase over and over, it helps to convince her that it's also time for her to go to bed. :-) After hearing it, I feel ready for bed myself! I think this is going to be one of those books that she's going to remember fondly as an adult, much the way I remember "Harold and the Purple Crayon" and "The 5 Chinese Brothers".

Again the author and illustrator has another awesome book, and I am happily looking forward to any others they put out!

This book is the same little girl and her stuffed animals that where in the book " Christmas is Coming". This book is special because it can be read all year around! And because instead of us parents rounding up our children for bed, the little girl in the book takes our place and finds all her stuffed & loved friends to join her in bed! It's just an adorable book, and one that is easy for 1st time or new readers and even children who can't read can look at the pictures and tell you what they see. What a treasure it is to have your child read you " their" version of this book! Also, watch the apple on her nightstand!

Hope you like this review and when you purchase this book you are pleased that you did!

This was the best book! I've read it three times and the ending six! Carrie is the type of person who I would want to be, yet she struggles to find herself and to live up to her family name. Yet, through her path to self discovery, she realizes she hasn't lost the love she thought that she had.

THis was my second favorite book in the Hearts and Dreams series. I loved the character Carrie ! She was strong once she knew her own strenth and she could do anything! I hope that Ms. Cameron will write a new book for this wonderful series!I love reading historical romanaces and hope she will start a new series after she has completed the "Hearts and Dreams" !

This book was one of the most interesting books that I've ever read. I absolutely love it. I have read it 3 times. If you liked the other books in this series, you'll love this book! Buy and read it today! I can't wait until the next book in the series comes out!

This book is really great! I've read all 4 of the books, and this is my favorite. It's about this shy girl,Carrie, who's always scared, sort of like chuckie on the rugrats. She meets this guy, and really likes him. His name is John Stapleton. All of Carrie's family is brave, her mom snuck on a boat, and followed the gold rush, just for the man she loved. This guy, John Stapleton, cares about other people,like the poor. But Carrie's friend, Jessica, who is VERY pretty, also likes John. This is the story of how carrie finds out who she is, and the story tells her life, and what happened to Carrie...
A great book, you have to read it!

Timid sixteen-year-old Carrie Kelly feels as though she lives in the shadows of her brave, independent, and courageous ancestors. She knows she'll never be as brave as her mother Stephanie, who found her true love after travelling to California during the Gold Rush. Carrie does fall in love, with handsome John Stapleton. But when Carrie's outgoing friend Jessica falls for John as well, Carrie knows she doesn't have a chance with him. But when the devestating fire of 1871 rages across Chicago, Carrie is separated from her parents. If she is going to survive and find her family again, she must reach within herself to find untapped depths of courage and strength that she never knew she had. Althought I wish that the Hearts and Dreams series could have continued beyond this book, I have no complaits about the book itself. It showed that you never know your own strength until you are tested, as evident in Carrie. I highly reccomend this to teens who like historical romances.

Harry's Son has it all - History, Intrigue, Romance - transporting you back in time and then, forward to a new, what-if present. It's timely for royal-watchers and, for lovers of the English countryside, its a beautiful visit without the long flight!

The book keeps you spellbound and not wanting to stop reading until finished. Provides enough historical facts to almost make it seem non-fiction. A very well-written and fascinating look into the English Royal Family. Very good.

"Harry's Son" combines a first-rate romance-thriller with enough reality to cause me to wonder if this is just a fiction, or is it a preview of things that may come to pass? Will's clever schemes to outwit the sitting monarchy and his passionate romance with the unsuspecting tavern maid, Emmalisa, provide a rollicking, suspenseful Bondesque adventure. On the other hand, the inclusion of actual places, thinly disguised references to members of the current Royal Family, and references to Anthony William Hall's claim to the English throne in 1931 make me wonder whether there is more to this story than just a very good read. Well, H. Robert Humphrey, what do you say?

This book offers a refreshing look at the validity of the English monarchy through a fun, romantic story. The romance of Emmalissa and Will is a delightful undercurrent as Will tries to establish himself as the rightful heir of the throne. Their romance soon takes center stage, as often happens, in his quest for truth. If, in fact, there is any validity to this tale, it puts to question the premise on which the monarchy is founded -- lineage. At a time when the monarchy has become less popular, it would be interesting to know what the royals have to say about Harry's Son. This delightful, light story would make an interesting movie. A movie clothed in romance and intrigue that could question the roots of a nation's monarchy.

I truly enjoyed reading "Harry's Son"! The author does an exceptional job of weaving historical facts and fiction to create, quite seamlessly, a really good novel. I liked the short, fast-paced chapter format, the political ideas expressed, and the very appropriate tie-in with today's monarchy. I highly recommend it!