Professional Books

A great read. Much more practical and easier reading than some of the classics in the code inspection theme.

Practical is a key element of this book. Like Wiegers' other books, this one is well written and researched; it provides a concise guide to peer reviews along with a set of useful tools for the practitioner, or "assets" -- documents, procedures, and spreadsheets that you can implement right away to put reviews into practice.

It's amazing, but peer reviews are not a regular practice in many software organizations. Peer reviews are proven to save time, money and promote learning and understanding among project team members. Perhaps one reason for their lack of practice is that there has been, up until now, little in the literature that we can read and put into practice right away. Well, here it is!

One of the nice things about this book is that the author shows you how you can tweak peer reviews to make them work for your team or organization. He give due diligence, the psychological aspects of peer reviews. Wiegers explains all the roles involved, target work products to review, how to prepare for a review, what to record, what to measure, and even how to train on peer reviews.

The book includes a useful glossary, a set of troubleshooting review problems with symptoms and possible solutions, and those very useful assets on the author's web site(...). Example assets include: peer review process description, inspection checklist, spreadsheets for code and document inspection and a set of defect checklists.

Used in the context of careful reading of this book, teams can really do a lot to improve their products and relationships. This is a book to be read by analysts, developers, architects, project leaders and managers who care about the quality and cost of software.

I have attempted over the years to get various organizations to buy into peer reviews. We have lots of evidence why these reviews are highly worthwhile, but their implementation has not been anything to write home about. There's always many reasons why organizations don't buy in or give peer reviews half-hearted support.

In my opinion, this book is an important contribution to the field. I'm sufficiently impressed that I've passed copies of the book to a few busy software development managers, software engineers and business managers so far. They've taken the time to look at it, and they find the book talks to them -- it is clear, addresses their issues, offers practical solutions which they may not have considered before, and is persuasive. I believe the book will have a postive influence in their organizations.

I hope to see copies in lots more people's bookshelves.

Excellent up to date survey of the literature, excellent survey of the many methods and analysis of their differences. A rich insight into the area of peer reviews in general, including Inspections and their variations. Practical for the industrial user. Highly recommended.

Every developer I have known has experienced the phenomena of spending an inordinate amount of time searching for a bug only to have a colleague look at the code and find it almost immediately. Study after study has indicated that the worst review process for software is self-criticism and the best is to have other coders take a good look at it. Therefore, it is logical that a formal process for developers reviewing each others code be implemented. The problem is that the former is informal, making it "off the books" and not subject to review by decision makers. Being human, developers react differently when their livelihood is potentially at stake, which can cause problems and prevent adequate reviews of the code.
Creating a stable, scalable and structured peer review system is not something that can be done by fiat or in a short time. It requires clear managerial direction that inspires confidence and builds a sense of security for both the evaluator and evaluated. Creating such an environment is the key and that is the main point of value in this book.
Wiegers lays out in great detail how to create a culture where all involved are peers in the real sense. It is absolutely necessary that everyone in the review process understand that creating quality software is the only thing that matters. Therefore, posturing, ego tripping, ego inflating, ego protection and all related activities must be suppressed. These are the most difficult tasks for professional humans to engage in, and it requires a combination of carrying a big stick to move the process as well as a soft pillow for the necessary falls from perfection. Wiegers shows you how to do this with the skill of a counselor.
In my reading of the trade press, the recent rise in the concern for computer security has led to a great deal of coverage about errors in software. Responding to this pressure, Bill Gates has sent out a public memo noting that quality is now the number one priority at Microsoft. The best way to achieve this quality is to have an effective peer review process and in this book you can learn how to do that. In the new world order of software, your very survival may be at stake, so your plan of action should include a rendezvous with this book.

Just like there are styles for organzing, procrastination, behavior and thinking, there is a style for selling--by gender! What a great heads up this author gives us for recognizing and more effectively interacting with someone in a business and sales situation. The exercises in the book were easy and usefuil because they helped gain some clarity around my own style. An easy and informative read.

Ronna Lichtenberg's Pitch Like a Girl reached the top of my reading stack just in time! I was literally in the midst of sending out promotional packets for my new business when I realized I needed to hold the mail until I finished her book. Ronna's practical advice was like a slap to the forehead - of course I should frame it that way, of course that's what potential clients will need to hear! Even my therapist agreed with Ronna's idea of selling my business as Me, Inc. instead of "just" . . . me. This is a great tool for women who struggle to sell themselves. Gini Hamilton, Communications Consultant.

Pitch Like a Girl is a book that at first glance gives the impression of simply being a primer for females in the modern workplace. As a male reader, my initial reaction was there wouldn't be much in it for me. I was wrong! The author has done an excellent job of revealing the clear and significant differences between men and woman in the workplace. Modern culture perpetuates a silly myth that men and woman are equal in every way... they just have a few parts different in anatomical design. The plain truth as Ronnie Lichtenberg explains is that we are "wired differently". This does not make one sex better or superior than another. We are unique by design and react differently in various situations. Men and woman also approach problems and challenges from different perspectives. This is as it should be, and trying to be something you are not, or conforming to others' expectations only leads to frustration.

Pitch Like a Girl is a refreshing book because the author believes women in the workplace don't have to change who and what they really are to succeed. She believes the real secret to success is to tap "more fully and consciously into the woman you already are". Litchenberg proposes that the key to fulfillment is to bring more of yourself to work, and to receive more back from it. To promote this she encourages the reader to discover their own "pitch". The "pitch" may be different for each individual, but as a powerful tool it will help you to exercise your natural skills of persuasion to influence others toward your point of view. This is accomplished by developing the skill set most women have acquired by nurturing and building personal relationships.

I enjoyed reading Pitch Like a Girl and it reminded me of the many barriers that still exist in the workplace for women. It also highlights the problems created when talented females feel forced to think and react just like their male counterparts. This fine publication is a pleasure to read and many parts are Lichtenberg's own autobiography which helps explain her philosophy and passion. The book is broken down into five chapters and each is seasoned with checklists, sidebars and thought-provoking questions. Pitch Like a Girl also includes some self-analysis testing and even has one appendix for guys to read.

Overcoming cultural expectations can be difficult. But, to be successful and fulfilled at the same time means being who and what you are intended to be on the inside and outside. This book will appeal to both female and male readers because it teaches us to respect each other for our mutual differences. When you understand and appreciate these differences, and view them as genuine strengths, you know that what the French mean when they say, "viva la difference".

Pitch Like A Girl is a book for both genders. Although this book is addressed to women, if you are a man, you'll find most of it applies to you, too. Because, as Lichtenberg amply illustrates, there may be fixed tendencies arising from "hard-wiring" in the different male and female brains and hormonal systems, but tendencies are subject to manipulation by socialization, by learning and by choice. So, we all end up with both blue (traditionally male) and pink (traditionally female) characteristics.

Ronna Lichtenberg provides her readers with three exceptional tools to improve communication and transactions across the styles that divide us:

1) She simplifies relevant scientific literature on the roles played by physical, psychological and sociological gender differences and makes it easy to understand and interesting to read.

2) She provides handy set of color-coded categories for how those differences work. That set is very useful for accurately interpreting other people's words, behaviors, expectations and intentions.

3) She gives exact, specific instructions on how to use your new understanding to get ahead in business -- and get what you want elsewhere.

In Pitch Like A Girl, you will learn to how to recognize and value both blue and pink characteristics (and your own particular blend) and use your tendencies for your highest benefit. You'll appreciate that the so-called "gender gap" in communicating is really a "pink" and "blue" gap that occurs within genders as well. So you'll be better able to talk to, negotiate with and make presentations to anyone by identifying his or her overall tendencies. In that, this excellent book adds substantially to the literature on male-style and female-style communication (such as Deborah Tannen's books You Just Don't Understand and That's Not What I Meant).

Of course, the book is about more than communications. The author's expression of the need for assertiveness and self-promotion in what she calls the "Me, Inc." approach is of interest to both "pinks" and "blues". As the saying goes, if I had a nickel for every time I explained the concept to both male and female clients, well...I'd have a whole lot of nickels. Let me just say, if you only get this one concept out of this and apply it, you'll be much more effective as an employee, an entrepreneur, a boss or whatever else you are. It is golden.

For women in particular, though, Lichtenberg addresses in depth issues all women face, pink, blue or evenly-striped. Issues that men are unlikely to face for many physical and cultural reasons. Best of all, she doesn't just help you understand them, she has ideas for exactly what to do about them. Men can just skip on to the generically useful parts.

I found this book to be easy-to-read, informative, and interesting.

The author tells you the what, the why, and the how of specific elements of "pitching" and she includes colorful examples to make her point.

She clearly breaks down the process of "pitching" into key elements and describes how to maximize the effectiveness of each element while including the major concerns of the other party.

(If anyone has seen the movie "Working Girl" with Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver, you know how much work Melanie puts into her "pitch" and about the conflict between the "pink" woman, Melanie, and the "blue" woman, Sigourney.
This book describes certain elements of that movie to a T!)

The book hit the nail on the head when it said that as a woman you could jeopardize your chances of success if you are too feminine or too masculine. (This is not immediately obvious in most professions, and I have found that this is quite a fine line to walk in and out of the workplace.) Adjusting your style to suit the comfort level of your audience and being able to attend to the verbal and nonverbal behaviors of your audience are also discussed in this book.

Anyone that has tried not to pitch like a girl, female or male, has learned that what may seem like a simple natural motion into a complicated series of motions of from a specific grip on the ball, flex the wrist, position the arm, rotating the shoulder, twisting at the waist, leaning back, and moving my weight to the front foot for the throw.

What women might think is an innate ability to throw a baseball, or "pitch", is a very specific sequence of motions carefully learned over and made to look effortless through practice and refinement.

Thank goodness that someone could break down the motions of promoting the best of my skills and qualities to another person, for explaining how we are "pitching" all the time in our lives and the importance being able to do it effectively, and for explaining how "blue" people, "pink" people, and people with "stripes" are different.

This book helped me assess my audience more accurately, make adjustments to my "pitch" to increase my effectiveness, and decrease my level of stress while "pitching"!

Having been a professional magician for the past 17 years, I've read many books on magic. In my opionion, "Pockets Full of Miracles" is the best on the subject. It is beautiful, well-written, and has great photographs. It will help the beginner or the advanced magician by giving them clear-cut explanations to some of the many amazing effects in the professional repetoire of Diamond Jim.

If you read only one magic book this year, make it "Pockets Full of Miracles." You, and your audiences, will be glad you did.

This is truly the book for all magicians of any caliber. I have personally read and performed every trick in this book. Diamond Jim has tweeked every description so that it is written for beginners and not belittling to professionals. I would most definately recommend this to every magician to add to their catalogues.

P.F.M.is a wonderfuly written book on the art of Magic.This book has a lot of useful pictures and a glossary.The explaination are clear and vivid,Iwas able to understand it with out having to ask my 11 year old for help.I purchaced two of these books,one for me,and one for my 11 year old step-son.Some of the tricks you will be doing the same day, and others you will need to practice some.We have had lots of fun doing these tricks for our family and friends.

Diamond Jim's book is an incredible book for all magicians. Whether you're just starting out or have been doing it for years, this book gives insight and, step by step, teaches you what you need to know to master the magic. It's a must read!

This book not only has great tricks, but killer routines, with all the details. Most magic books have sketchy instructions with lots of bugs and mistakes, but Diamond Jim is a detail-oriented author, and I appreciate that. There is a difference, of course, between great tricks and killer tricks, and this book is a serial killer. I still have several of the tricks contained herein on my to-learn list.

Pros:

1. Excellent for the first semester of precalculus, especially the study of different families of functions.
2. Does a good job of explaining topics in detail and providing examples of problems.
3. Provides plenty of problems for practice of concepts.
4. Provides excellent end of chapter tests for review and feedback.

Cons:

1. Trignometry section is lacking. Needs more detail on trignometric identities.
2. Lacks information in the second semester of precalculus. Does not have anything on vectors, parametric equations, polar equations, statistics, or limits.
3. Does not have anything on rotating conic sections.

It was a great book, gave me what I needed at the pace I found acceptable. I also jumped into the middle of the book once to give a friend a hand and it was on polynomial functions. In ten minutes flat I was already calculating them! Amazing! If I continue at this rate, I can slack off in my Pre-Calculus college class and still pass! No, but seriously though, it's an awesome book and have recommended it to all my friends.

I applaud Rhonda Huettenmueller and whole heartedly agree with the R. Orchanian review (the New York teacher). The very best available that absolutely takes the mystery out of this area of mathematics. The sequence of the chapters is superb, clear, concise and very, very accurate. It includes process steps that are left out of many *so called* self-teaching guides which leaves many students scratching their head. Just quite simply the very best book written on the subjct, hands down. I hope Ms. Huettenmueller doesn't stop here.

I received this book 2 weeks before my college entrance exam to smooth over what I momentarily learned in high school--I Do not want to end up in a lower than Calculus math class, paying for a class that does not give me any college credit.

So far I have been getting through a chapter each day, in about hour and a half of on and off study.

It is continuing to get me more comfortable with my math skills in a very short time. I Recommend it to anyone who fears there college entrance exam, or interested in learning Precalc on their own.

I am one of those pathetic cases who should have been a math major, but could not stay awake during the freshman pre-calc lectures conducted by bored and boring grad students. Now, nearly 40 years later I am determined to self-educate my way through calculus.

At first I took a crack at the Wiley "Precalculus A Self Teaching Guide". Holy cripes, what a disaster! Unnerving to find such an improbable number of errors, especially for student picking up after decades of non-study.

Then, I grabbed Rhonda Huettenmeuller's fine work, and am doing the practice at the end of chapter four. I actually remembered some of my advanced algebra and managed to work my way through the problems.

Well written and clear, she provides enough dimensions on problems to give you insight, then gives you room enough to have to think a bit. The answers are all provided, and are *correct*. Well, at least we agree, so that is certainly a good sign.

I especially appreciate how she teaches this from the perspective of tackling calculus as the next step, pointing out issues that particularly apply, and how, to more advanced mathematics.

Now, if we can just get her to write more books...

Professional BizTalk Server 2006 is one of those books which really goes over and above what you can find on online documentation . There are only few BizTalk books and thank god we have one like this . The books has a lot of hidden gems that will make you go 'aha '.

Absolute Must read if you love the Product. A great Chapter on Testing which I have not seen in any other BizTalk book .

Great book for all who want to know HOW BT really works and WHY it works like that. Very valuable purchase.

It took a long time for decent BizTalk Server books to start appearing, and those of us who have been committed to the product for some time know the pain (and fun) of having to work out, for ourselves, how this product works, how best to apply it to real-life scenarios and how to exploit its rich functionality.

I was really impressed with this book. It has two characteristics which I think are particularly noteworthy. The first is that it offers a huge breadth of coverage, but also manages to combine this with reasonable depth. This is hard to achieve when writing about BizTalk Server because it is such a rich an extensive product. The second characteristic is that it reads like a book written by practitioners - people with real-life experience of using the product, and the scars to prove it. Indeed, that it very much the case, and it means that the book provides far more than just rehashed information. It provides guidance, advice and best practice which is rooted in reality.

I like to think I know a thing or two about BizTalk Server (though it still manages to spring surprises on me quite regularly). I am not greatly addicted to computer books, because so many fail to be of any very practical use. However, I can report that this is the first BizTalk book (and one of very few books, generally) that I've carried with me into engagements to use as a reference. Warmly commended and highly recommended, especially for those who have done enough with BizTalk Server to realise the extent of the mountain they must climb.

I've been on a couple of BizTalk projects, all of them for Fortune 50 clients. We did a lot of things wrong, hence a lot of lessons learned. This book is good...REALLY good. How good? Well, let's just say that I never, repeat NEVER write book reviews, even if a book was the greatest thing since the bread slicer. (I guess because I'm too busy building Orchestrations and Custom Pipeline Components.) That alone should convince you that this book is a must-have for anyone wanting to know anything about BizTalk.

DISCLAIMER: Allow me to contradict that last statement... This isn't for everyone, however. It is really in-depth and explains more than the minimum required. The book also targets those of use that continue to ask the question "Why?" and it quenches our curious thirst. If I were to pick this book up when I was first learning BizTalk, I would throw it down and stomp on it. But now that I've been around the block a few times and I know the difference between a best practice and a "you're on your own" practice, I am able to get a lot from reading this material.

With BizTalk, there's so many ways to skin the proverbial cat. This books explains all of them (from what I've read), but then it points out the preferred approaches that one should take when implementing an integration solution via BizTalk Server...lots of Notes & Caveats sections, things that I crave.

This book will give you very objective insights into BizTalk. And you don't need to worry about reading it with your rose-colored glasses, either. It's neither half-empty nor half-full, it just is, you know?

This book has information in it that you simply will not find anywhere else. Its written by people who have worked with the product on some of the largest and most important projects where BizTalk has been the platform of choice, and the knowledge that thay pass on is exceptional.

While I wouldn't recommend this book to beginning programmers, it's great for people who already know another language (preferably C/C++) and a little about object-oriented programming. It touches on many subjects, so you won't need a whole bookshelf of Java books ("Let's see...one for language reference...one for graphics and the AWT...one for networking..."). I take this book back and forth every day between work and home. What would I do without it?

This is one of the first books I bought to get an understanding of Java and how it is comprable to what I already know of C/C++. This book is the perfect starting point, giving every comprable declaration to C/C++. Kudos to the authors, can't wait for a more up-to-date version though.

Excellent book, but now that Swing is moving ahead of AWT, this book is useless for GUI. But as for the basics, it's an complete book. Good for someone who already knows a programming language

Fantastic book. Pithy style, very readable, no fluff, excellent as a reference. Anyone coming to Java from C++ should get this book. About the only thing I would do to improve it would be to have at least a short chapter on database access.

Even though this is one of my oldest Java books I keep going back to it. I wish it would be updated for the new Event model and swing however. The coverage of the 1.0 JDK is very good and I still go back to the gridbag description and examples when I get confused.

This book covers every aspect of starting your own personal chef business. It even helps with the type of products needed to store the food in the freezer and reheating instructions. I used many of her templates to set up my business with my clients.

Anyone who is considering the profession of a Personal Chef should buy this book! An excellent source for the information you need to start a sucessful business!

I was a little disappointed to see that the first 100 pages or so is a basic primer on starting a business. There are better books for that, my favorite is Small Time Operator. The rest of the text is more of what you would expect, but I think it could go much more in depth. I would like to see the author leave the basic business info, such as whether to incorporate, run as a sole proprietor, etc., to other books and expound on the daily issues of a personal chef. All in all a good basic primer, but I think something more is needed for someone really considering starting a business in this field.

What a well written book! I wish this textbook had been available when I took the personal chef course at my local community college. It would have made a tremendous difference.

The book is perfectly organized, easy to read and understand. Kudos to Ms. Wallace and Mr. Forte. They did an excellent job!

I wanted to start my own personal chef business, and I had a TON of questions about both the process of cooking in clients homes and also of the business and legal stuff. I was probably going to pay a professional to help me start my business, but now I am a lot more confident with start-up and I know this business confidence translates to self-confidence when I'm selling my service to potential clients. Worth every penny

Unlike most open souce projects, PHP has been blessed with many good books. Professional PHP4 is another fine book aimed for the serious PHP developer venturing to add multimedia.

There is a short refresher on PHP followed by PHP Multimedia installation. Then it gets into the nitty-gritty stuff of making it work.

I found the case studies towards the end of the book particularly helpful in mapping out a solution action plan.

Please let me know if you find this review helpful. Thanks.

This book is a great tutorial/reference for programming with PHP's multimedia libraries. It covers topics such as GD(image manipulation) ming (dynamic flash generation) and pdflib(dynamic PDF generation).

The book was written very well and I only noticed one small type error. There is lots of information and a function reference in the appendix.

I bought this book a fortnight back and i have
amazingly learned more than i expected.The 4 case
studies in the book are amazing - I esp enjoyed working
on the coffee shop finder app and got everything working
in a zap.I recommend this book to the developer
fraternity that wants to realise the true power
behind PHPs extension libraries (multimedia).
And oh! yeah this is my first WROX read that had
color pages in it:)

Professional PHP4 Multimedia Programming is an extremely handy book to have on your bookshelf, even if (and possibly especially if) you don't design and implement multimedia applications with PHP all the time. Within hours of getting the book, I realized that I could use PHP as a commandline scripting language to solve several problems. I've used it as a reference several times since, even though I do NOT consider myself a PHP Multimedia Applications developer.

The book is organized nicely. As a "Professional" book, it assumes a decent understanding of PHP. This assumption saves you lots of time and unnecessary hand holding. There is a brief PHP refresher chapter for those who aren't quite as familiar with PHP as necessary, but after that refresher chapter, you're expected to understand things. You bought this book (or will, anyway) because you already know how to program in PHP but are not familiar with the various multimedia extensions.

The next several chapters each dedicate themselves to a specific extension concept: Ming, Ming with ActionScript, GD, ImageMagick, PDFLib, and FDF.

Each chapter gives an overview of the library, it's uses and limitations, and gives lots of example source code giving examples of all the functions in an extension and how they are used together.

The next few chapters are full-fledged application case studies. Though you may not agree with the authors' coding styles, these case studies walk you through (from start to finish) several different applications to show you how the libraries can be used within the scope of a larger PHP application, not just example toy scripts.

Following the case studies are several appendices. Each appendix is a language reference for a multimedia extension. Most of the information in the appendices is found online in the PHP manual, and I, for one, find it more convenient to look it up there, but having it in the book is a nice bonus.

Another wonderful addition is a full-color screenshots gallery index, which shows you what various scripts from within the chapters should look like when run. This is great for two reasons: 1) You can "check your work" as you write the applications and sample code in the book, and 2) You can see the results of functions in the book while reading it away from the computer.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about writing even just ONE application in PHP that will manipulate any supported multimedia (Shockwave, images, PDF/FDF, etc.) The time you save by having this book as a companion will more than pay for the cost of the book.

Professional PHP4 Multimedia Programming is a unique book in the midst of all other PHP books. No other book aims to cover the topics that this one does. If you are a PHP developer looking to expand you knowledge and integrate the multimedia capabilities of PHP into your applications, then this is the book for you.

The goal of this book is to introduce the concepts and techniques needed to produce dynamic multimedia content. The extensions covered are Ming, GD, ImageMagick, PDF, and FDF. Each technology is thoroughly explained from installation through example use. A case study is then given to go into further detail on the use of each extension.

I especially enjoyed the fact that they provided installation instructions for these extensions. One of the biggest hurdles people have with using Ming, GD, and the others is the installation process. Once someone gets past that stage they can at least experiment with how the extension works. It can be very frustrating when you can't even get something installed. Hopefully this book will help ease some of that frustration.

The case studies used by the authors are superb. These are real would applications that people want to create every day! They include a headline grabber with Ming, a mobile web coffee shop finder with GD, an image gallery using ImageMagick, and a PDF template system. Each one of these case studies is designed to get you thinking. Sure, they you the code needed for the application, but they also show you how the design process works and detail possible enhancements.

The one thing I found lacking in this text was some type of common problems section. Invariably, people are going to have difficulties when it comes to installation or use of these extensions. A simple google search will show the abundance of problems related to these technologies. A small chapter, or a section in each chapter, detailing some of the most common problems encountered, with their fixes, would have been great.

Overall, this book is great. If you are looking to develop multimedia applications in PHP, it is a must have.

This is not your typical "don't do" this, or "do" that kind of book. The author spends the time in layman's terms to explain the ins and outs of the modeling business. Whether your intent is to become the next supermodel or you are just a casual participant (or considering), Mr. Talley explains the ups and downs to the different avenues of modeling. This is an excellent read for models, aspiring models, parents, and photographers. You will find yourself reading again and again and recommending to others.

This book sits out in a place of honor dead center on the big coffee table in the waiting area of my studio. I refer young models and their moms to it constantly. It is a one hundred percent bona fide guide to the industry, no song and dance, no smoke and mirrors just the facts of life in one of the toughest and most mis-understood and mis-represented businessess on the planet.

If you want to model, buy this book and read it cover to cover. Then read it again.

If you have a kid or loved one who wants to model, casually or professionally, buy this book and give it to them.

I am a professional photographer in Nasvhille Tennessee. My wife and I operate our own studio and this book is now my number one recommendation for anyone even thinking about getting into the wild and woolly business of modeling.

Just finished reading it and I highly recommend it. Wish it had been out when my daughter started modeling 5 or 6 years ago. It would have saved us much time and money and wasted energy. Two thumbs up!!

This book is truly THE BEST book currently available for people who want an informed and in depth view of the modeling industry. It's eloquently written, yet in a simple enough manner that ANYONE can understand it. The beauty of it is that most books target fashion models or another specific subset of people in the modeling industry. Roger's book is for everyone. Whether you're a curious aspiring model, a relatively new model to the industry, or a seasoned professional, this book can help you. Whether you're a fashionista, a commercial model, the face of a beauty campaign, a child model, older model, glamour model, art model, internet model--this book can help YOU. Also parents and significant others that form the support network for a model, this can give you a very honest glimpse into the industry that your child or significant other works in.

It will tell how to get from point A to point B and meet your goals without taking a bunch of detours or getting sidetracked along the way. This is a TOUGH business to work in, no doubt. But there are a few sources out there that can really tell you exactly what you need to do to meet your goals. This book is one of them. It gives you an honest look into an industry that most sources candycoat and leave important parts out of. If you want a reference tool that truly tells it like it is and will help you, buy this book. I guarantee you won't regret it.


~Big "A"- Larger Than Life Co.

I have recommended this book to agency minded models that I have worked with and also recommend it to anyone who wishes to work in the industry. Modeling is a very rewarding profession but it can also be hard. This book explains in easy to understand terms exactly what kinds of modeling opportunities are out there, the models that work in these fields and the best way to approach agencies. I also appreciated the attention paid to the growing internet modeling field. There is truly something for all types of models in this book.

In my experience, the price of the book is well worth it when you get such a detailed and honest explanation of what to expect when you enter the world of modeling.

This book was a joy to read. It gives a great overview of quality issues within "Web systems" - meaning Web applications and architectures. The book balances a too-specific look with a too-general look and succeeds quite well in a balanced treatment that will make the whole worth the attention of any quality assurance or quality tester professional in the Information Technology industry.

In particular, the second chapter, on the RSI Approach, is a nice addition as this is something that most practitioners of quality subjects will not find elsewhere and the general subject matter is generally that which is avoided in books of this type. Another topic often avoided in these books is that of usability and accessibility concerns and yet these are covered here in good detail chapter six.

In general, I think the book offered a great amount of detail just where it was needed and gave a lot of "mini best-practices" in each chapter with the use of bulleted lists to highlight specific points. The detail of the book extends to various topics, like performance, compatibility, usability, and security - all topics that are of high concern in the current world of making qualitly Web systems that customers and user respond to. The appendices in the book are also excellent. The "Test Tool Evaluations" section will be a welcome addition to those who wish there are more concise evaluation forms for automated tool solutions.

I highly recommend this book to quality assurance/testing professionals, quality assurance managers, and even those who work more in the project management and development spheres. Those latter will get benefit from the book because the book manages to highlight topics of concern to both groups and also gives them insight into the quality aspects of the projects and products that are developed within an organization.

Although the authors of this book are noted experts in software testing this book goes far beyond testing by addressing the full range of quality and design issues for web-based systems.

All of the major elements of web-engineering and quality are addressed, including SECURITY (this is the first test or quality book that fully acknowledges the relationship between quality and security, which is a cornerstone of the Reliability-Availability-Support triad for systems in production), PERFORMANCE (I especially liked this section because it got into the guts of performance and scalability), COMPATIBILITY (essential for ensuring that your system works with the world of users over whom you have no control - web-based systems can and usually do extend into the great unknown), and USABILITY (this will make or break a commercial web site).

Aside for the complete coverage of all of the important topics that need to be considered, and the life cycle approach to quality and testing this book contained a real gem: RSI approach to use cases. RSI (Requirements-Service-Interface) is an interesting and highly useful approach to use cases. Some key strengths of using the RSI paradigm is that you will ensure traceability between requirements and the services and interfaces that are implemented. Moreover, this approach partitions services and interfaces, which allows you to manage the complexities when developing a test strategy and associated test cases. To me the chapter on RSI was worth the price of the book.

Overall, this is a solid book that covers testing, as well as the larger domain of systems quality. It gives some unique insights of issues and factors related to testing, but is not solely about web testing. It should be read by all key team members including requirements analysts, architects, developers, test engineers and project managers *before* a web project is initiated.

This book is excellent for any web systems tester. It covers all areas of functional and non-functional testing related to the Web.
It covers how to most efficiently model a web application using a specific use case approach, in addition it covers how to test for security, performance, usability of a web site. The book has been very useful in our testing efforts.

This book covers quality assurance of web systems beyond merely testing. It offers practical insight for designers, developers, project managers and quality assurance team members. A big bonus is the appendix which details and compares automated test tools.

This is one of the best quality assurance books in a while... Thinner than Automated Software Testing, but as informative! If you are doing any kind of web testing, this one's a must have for your library. Talks about all aspects of software testing on the web. I give it 5 stars hands down!