The Ant and the Elephant: Leadership For the Self
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Humor and learning all in one!
  • Vince Poscente really gets "it!"
  • kings of the wild frontier
  • Improving Yourself and Your Leadership Skills
  • A Parable for Future Leaders
The Ant and the Elephant: Leadership For the Self
Vince Poscente
Manufacturer: Be Invinceable Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1893430146

Book Description

A renowned speaker, business consultant, record-setting speed skier and Olympian, Vince Poscente believes in the enormous potential of the unconscious mind. Poscente likens the dynamic between the conscious and subconscious minds to an ant and an elephant: "Our minds are separated into two distinct functions - the conscious and subconscious elements. Our ant is the intentional part of the brain, but our elephant is the instinctual, impulsive part of the brain that houses emotions and memories and even guides the body to perform vital functions. While we tend to know our conscious minds - our ants - rather well, we often overlook the power of our elephantine subconscious minds. When we do, unfortunately, we squander a wellspring of human potential." Having seen too many books focused on what a problem or solution is and too few focused on how to solve the problem, Poscente, with his trademark wit, wisdom and steely resolve, created The Ant and the Elephant - Leadership for the Self: A Parable and Five-Step Action Plan to Transform Workplace Performance.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Humor and learning all in one!.......2007-07-19

Absolutely love it! It's funny and has learning points. An easy read. Feels like I'm watching an animated movie. Perfectly suits the need for which I made the purchase. Would definitely recommend to others!

5 out of 5 stars Vince Poscente really gets "it!".......2007-07-15

The Aunt and The Elephent really drew me in and surprised me with it's simple leadership lessons that have a powerful impact. I highly recommend this and all of Vince Poscente's books.

5 out of 5 stars kings of the wild frontier.......2007-03-05

A simple but illuminating parable that takes the reader into a childlike state of wonderment that leads to learning some valuable lessons about creating and reaching worthwhile goals. Like Kandee G, Bud Bilanich, Laura Lewis, and Tony Beshara, this guy has a knack, in the realm of motivational books, for sensitizing the reader's mind before inserting real humor and practical advice that works.

One may be disarmed by the fantasy orientation of this book and its ability to stay out of "scenes from the boardroom." I found it refreshing and edifying. Open Your Mind!

5 out of 5 stars Improving Yourself and Your Leadership Skills.......2006-11-29

Author Vince Poscente's book is an interesting concept that works to bring the conscious (that of the ant) and subconscious (that of the elephant) minds together. This book is relatable in that it utilizes familiar accounts to help you discover your inner fears and redirect your efforts toward a more positive and worthwhile outlook. Because this book is in the form of a parable story, it is easy to follow as it does not contain a large amount of business jargon.

5 out of 5 stars A Parable for Future Leaders.......2006-11-21

This book is a five-step approach to leadership and improvement within both the business and personal aspects of life. It is an easy and short read that opens readers' eyes to discovering their true potential and ability to perform. Using characters such as an ant and an elephant to relay the story, it teaches the reader some valuable lessons that can be put to use in many areas of one's life.
Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Impressive beginnings
  • Silly Short Stuff
  • Is this funny or not?
  • Not Funny
  • Not Funny
Ant Farm: And Other Desperate Situations
Simon Rich
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

EssaysEssays | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1400065887
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Book Description

In Ant Farm, former Harvard Lampoon president Simon Rich finds humor in some very surprising places. Armed with a sharp eye for the absurd and an overwhelming sense of doom, Rich explores the ridiculousness of our everyday lives. The world, he concludes, is a hopelessly terrifying place–with endless comic potential.

–If your girlfriend gives you some “love coupons” and then breaks up with you, are the coupons still valid?

–What kind of performance pressure does an endangered male panda feel when his captors bring the last remaining female panda to his cage?

–If murderers can get into heaven by accepting Jesus, just how awkward is it when they run into their victims?

Join Simon Rich as he explores the extraordinary and hilarious desperation that resides in ordinary life, from cradle to grave.

"Hilarious." –Jon Stewart

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Impressive beginnings.......2007-09-22

Ant Farm is a promising seminal work by Simon Rich, recent graduate of Harvard University and former president of The Harvard Lampoon. It weighs in at a fighting trim 139 pages. Although, if one were to remove all the blank pages and Roman numeral chapter pages, it would be lighter than Kate Moss after Lent. The majority of the short, one to four page, bits are creative and funny leaving one wanting more. Unfortunately, there are several that seem uninspired, such as a one page piece titled 'If Life Were Like Hockey' which probably took less than a minute to write and has a lame punchline. The bits called 'Rebellion' and 'Jesus' just seem weak.

Overall the book is solid, but it doesn't have the absurd feel that I remember in National Lampoon many years ago or more recently in The Onion. It frequently makes one smile, but rarely laugh out loud. However, I do predict a great future for 22 year old Simon Rich based on this impressive start. He's currently a good lightweight who might someday develop into a great heavyweight.

4 out of 5 stars Silly Short Stuff.......2007-08-28


These stories are very very short which is good. If they were any longer they might well result in emotional damage to the reader. Mr. Rich's imagination takes us where few have gone before.

I mean what would you do if an angry murderer threatened you with death if you didn't come up with the correct answer to a trigonometry problem (sin2x=2cosinxsinx)? Have you ever thought how difficult it would be to wage war using Swiss army knives? Is it really true that God intervenes to help Orel Hershiser pitch his way to victory? Is it a fact that scientist Stephen Hawking is really a time traveler? Is it possible for ants to dig to freedom from a glass walled ant farm?

Do these story topics pique your interest? If so cough up 10 bucks and buy the book. If they leave you cold, well, hey spend the money on a six pack, and have fun that way.

3 out of 5 stars Is this funny or not?.......2007-08-28

In the interest of total objectivity I attached myself to the Universal Laugh-O-Meter (available from the Harvard Lampoon for more money than you've got) as I read this. But first I had to calibrate the meter. I showed myself the clip of George W. Bush strutting across an aircraft carrier with the banner "Mission Accomplished" overhead wearing the cod piece and carrying the helmet under his arm, looking like he just got back from a swell bombing mission over Baghdad.

Laugh-O-Meter: 10! Very funny!

I watched a clip of Bill Clinton solemnly weighing the meaning of certain words before coming up with "That depends on what the meaning of 'is' is."

Laugh-O-Meter 9! Very funny, but not quite hilarious.

Then I watched some old "Laugh In" skits...

Laugh-O-Meter 3 to 4. Moderately unfunny!

...some early Saturday Night Live...

Laugh-O-Meter 7. Funny for sure!

...and finally I studied shots of Alberto Gonzalez pondering...pondering...not recalling...not recalling...lying under oath...furling his brow...pondering...not recalling...

Laugh-O-Meter 6.5. Just plain funny!

So armed, I started reading Simon Rich's book. Wow. There's a lot of air in the book, two nearly blank pages every chapter break, plenty of spacing between lines, etc., and even so the book's only 139 pages long. I was done in twenty minutes! I got a print out of the Laugh-O-Meter's ratings. Here are some highlights:

"the ride back to beersheba" (titles are in lowercase so you don't have to hit the shift key--got to love the efficiency of the text messaging crowd) in which a modern day Abraham is returning from the mountain having almost killed his son in the name of The Father and is now working hard to keep Isaac from telling mom about it. He says to his son, just tell Mom what we did was "pretty normal." (p. 4)

Laugh-O-Meter 5. Mildly amusing but deep!

"a conversation at the grown-ups' table as imagined at the kids' table" (p. 5)

Laugh-O-Meter 8. Very funny! But more than that, slyly true! ("MOM: Pass the wine, please. I want to become crazy." Later: "MOM: I had a lot of wine, and now I'm crazy!")

But then things started to get unfunny. I recorded a couple of 2's and a 3 and then there was "math problems" which peaked at 4.5, in which a math teacher's Unit 4 Test (with word problems) inadvertently projects onto his students his marital and drinking difficulties, including a geometric calculous of how far he must stay away from his ex-wife by court order amid calculations about the price of rum.

After that there were a few sparklers, e.g., "what goes through my mind when I'm home alone (from my mom's perspective)." "Hmm...Better go through the medicine cabinet and drink all the medicine for no reason. Wait, what's this? A note telling me not to 'drink any medicines'? Thank God! I was about to do that. I was about to drink all the medicines and kill myself because I'm retarded." Notice that this is actually from the kid's perspective imagining his mom's rationale.

Laugh-O-Meter 7! Funny!

But that was about it. Rich is best when he uses the something-seen-as-happening-from-another-person's-perspective comedic technique, especially kids looking at adults. He is at his worst when at the end of the book he gives us some army/war type of humor. Never been there. Never done that. Laugh-O-Meter 0.1. Kind of like a Harvard undergrad trying to imagine combat. Huh? My mom would NEVER let me go! Be serious.

Consequently, although this is not what you might call laugh out loud funny, it does perhaps somewhat inadvertently probe beneath the flimsy veneer of a certain world view that I might call prep school ennui (I have to go to school because I am going to inherit the world because my dad says so, but my mom still hasn't picked up the wash, and anyway I've got some serious pimples to pop, etc., etc., and so on, give me a total break and no I will not loan you my blue blazer cause you barfed on the last thing I lent you and besides it doesn't fit because you've still got CHILDHOOD OBESITY, dumbfart.)

By the way, the title piece is about ants trying to tunnel their way out of the glass enclosure of the "ant farm" as seen from the ants' point of view. Laugh-O-Meter 5. But good at describing symbolically the human predicament as seen from a kid's perspective.

1 out of 5 stars Not Funny.......2007-08-25

This book was not in the least funny. I am sorry I spent the money on it. I have a good sense of humor and I didn't even as much as crack a smile.

1 out of 5 stars Not Funny.......2007-08-13

I feel cheated. Not only did I find this book not funny, but it was hardly enough non humour to warrant writing a book.
Groovy in Action
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • You can't live without Groovy. You just can't.
  • Cracking stuff
  • Mostly as good as everyone says
  • Programming literature
  • An amazing journey
Groovy in Action
Dierk Koenig , Andrew Glover , Paul King , Guillaume Laforge , and Jon Skeet
Manufacturer: Manning Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1932394842

Book Description

Groovy, the brand-new language for the Java platform, brings to Java many of the features that have made Ruby popular. Groovy in Action is a comprehensive guide to Groovy programming, introducing Java developers to the new dynamic features that Groovy provides. To bring you Groovy in Action, Manning again went to the source by working with a team of expert authors including both members and the Manager of the Groovy Project team. The result is the true definitive guide to the new Groovy language.

Groovy in Action introduces Groovy by example, presenting lots of reusable code while explaining the underlying concepts. Java developers new to Groovy find a smooth transition into the dynamic programming world. Groovy experts gain a solid reference that challenges them to explore Groovy deeply and creatively.

Because Groovy is so new, most readers will be learning it from scratch. Groovy in Action quickly moves through the Groovy basics, including:

  • Simple and collective Groovy data types
  • Working with Closures and Groovy Control Structures
  • Dynamic Object Orientation, Groovy style

    Readers are presented with rich and detailed examples illustrating Groovy's enhancements to Java, including

  • How to Work with Builders and the GDK
  • Database programming with Groovy

    Groovy in Action then demonstrates how to Integrate Groovy with XML, and provides,

  • Tips and Tricks
  • Unit Testing and Build Support
  • Groovy on Windows

    An additional bonus is a chapter dedicated to Grails, the Groovy Web Application Framework.

    Early PDF chapters of Groovy in Action are available from the Manning Early Access Program (MEAP) at http://www.manning.com/koenig. As part of this program, readers can also discuss the early manuscript with the author and help shape the manuscript as it's being developed by joining the Author Forum.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars You can't live without Groovy. You just can't........2007-08-18

    I am going to make this short, because I want to get ONE message across to you, loud and clear. If you are working with Java, you MUST take a look at Groovy.

    I cannot overemphasize the coming importance of Groovy on the Java platform, not just in web development, but everywhere. Just try it already. You'll "get it." Just trust me and do it!

    Groovy in Action is a first rate introduction and reference, and you really do need a book for this language. I don't recommend trying to go it alone with online reference material, though there is plenty there to give you a taste of why Groovy is about to become your new favorite language.

    Read the other reviews. I'm not going to repeat a bunch of stuff here. But whatever you do, TRY GROOVY. You will quickly come to wonder how you ever got along without it.

    5 out of 5 stars Cracking stuff.......2007-07-20

    Whatever you think about the merits of Groovy as a language, a serious contender on the JVM, or a complete mess, you couldn't hope to find a better advocate for Groovy than this book.

    One of the secrets of GinA's success is that it assumes the reader is already proficient with Java development, including Swing, Ant and JUnit. It would also help to know about XML, SQL, HTML, JSP and a vague idea of how MVC applies to web apps. You don't need to be an expert in these areas, though. If you've sufficient knowledge to decode the preceeding alphabet soup of initialisations, you'll be ok.

    The reward for possessing this background knowledge is that GinA doesn't waste time with trivial examples, and barrels through Groovy the language in the first part, leveraging your existing knowledge of Java to highlight the important differences in Groovy. In particular, the advantages of interpolating strings, simple hash and array construction syntax, optional typing and metaprogramming are stressed. The big win in Groovy over Java is the use of closures and their used in a block-based approach to iteration, which is as well motivated here as the material in, say, The Pickaxe is for Ruby.

    The second part of the book provides examples of the Groovy library. It begins with an excellent chapter on Groovy's Builders, which provide a very neat, uncluttered syntax for putting together hierarchical structures. An obvious application is XML, and by extension Ant scripts, which appears to have some major advantages compared to the challenging readability of vanilla Ant. Even more impressive is the SwingBuilder example, which builds a GUI with the minimum of fuss and a complete lack of anonymous inner classes.

    Beyond the Builders, there are also compelling chapters on templating HTML and server side Groovy (Groovlets), writing DAOs and DTOs in Groovy to simplify database programming, and a chapter on XML, which even manages to find the space to introduce Groovy for SOAP, XML-RPC and REST web services.

    The final part of the book describes some non-core libraries and other applications of Groovy. The chapter on Groovy extensions to JUnit is interesting, although perhaps this is one place where it assumes too little on behalf of the reader. I would have assumed that the average developer sufficiently motivated to pick up a book on Groovy knows enough about unit testing and JUnit that more space could have been given to the advanced topics. Particularly appealing is the idea of testing Java code with dynamically typed Groovy unit tests, which would make mocking and stubbing more palatable; I would have liked more on that subject.

    Another noteworthy chapter is the last one, which introduces the web app framework Grails. This has a different style to the other chapters, being a dialogue between two of the authors as they build a simple app. This reader admits to finding it a little bit naff, but it does usefully demonstrate the grails way (which is a lot like Rails).

    If you have the slightest interest in Groovy, alternatives to Java on the JVM, or dynamic languages, GinA makes the perfect case for Groovy as a first class integration language for all the bits of Java where you really wish you were working with something like Perl, Ruby or Python. It's well-written, with good examples, clear explanations, and it's relentlessly practical, never forgetting its target audience. It's all the more impressive given lead author Dierk Konig's comment in the preface that English is not his first language. Kudos to him and his co-authors for what they've delivered.

    One can only wish that every language had its GinA. Outstanding.

    4 out of 5 stars Mostly as good as everyone says.......2007-06-22

    What more can be said of a book extolled by dozens of reviewers, a book that seems to have matched its subject in ubiquity, a book that will likely become to Groovy what the "pickaxe book" is to Ruby? As much as I would love to be a lone voice (or rather a lone whisper) of dissent, the clarity, simplicity, and accuracy of most of Groovy in Action cannot be overlooked. Let no one be fooled by the size of the book - to learn the gist of Groovy, all you really need is a leisurely stroll through chapters 2 through 7 (chapter 1 is the mandatory introduction/history chapter which, in the frustrating tech book tradition, doubles as the "free sample" chapter). Of course, most of its clarity and concision GIA inherits from the language it describes. Still, it is encouraging to have a book that is as valuable a reference as it is a tutorial, and GIA shines in both capacities.

    With all its accolades, GIA does have two caveats. First, it is getting closer and closer to being out of date. Groovy 1.1 is already in Beta, and it has an impressive list of features not covered in this Groovy 1.0 book: EJB3 support, JUnit4 and TestNG integration and annotations, just to name a few. I am reminded of Pragmatic Programmers' Agile Web Development with Rails, whose second edition shipped a year after its first. I sincerely hope GIA 1.0 buyers will not be similarly cheated.

    The second caveat is the coverage of Grails. Grails may be the single most attractive Groovy application to date yet its coverage in GIA is flaky at best. The authors decide to abandon their polished, clear, and concise writing style and instead author the entire chapter as a bland conversation amongst themselves. In addition to failing to grasp the humor in such presentation, I find that this style hinders me from following along with the tutorial. It makes scanning back for missed steps or clarifications extremely difficult. Furthermore, vapid attempts at humor occupy space that could be otherwise devoted to some omitted topics, such as mapping domain objects to specific tables or using data sources. Coverage of these topics would have been far more valuable than the authors' purported beer garden conversations with a DBA named Martin.

    Despite the pour Grails coverage and the looming Groovy 1.1, Groovy in Action is a must-have for anyone who is even mildly interested in Groovy or dynamic languages in Java in general. Coupled with the ease, clarity, and downright beauty of the Groovy language, GIA can turn even a passing interest in Groovy into a burning passion.

    5 out of 5 stars Programming literature.......2007-05-15

    It is a Gordian challenge to write an interesting and readable book about nothing but a programming language. Dierk König and his co-authors actually did succeed in cutting the knot. They even accomplished much more: they added lots of insight about object orientation, programming language design and good software development. As long as I only had the PDF availabe, it served me as THE reference for all my questions about Groovy. Now the printed copy makes my commuting time worthwhile. Cover to cover. 700 pages of computer LITERATURE.

    5 out of 5 stars An amazing journey.......2007-03-29

    The book contains a lot of Groovy interesting features, with samples tested to work,asides the writting style exciting to you to discover the new programming world open in front of your eyes thanks to the exceptional Groovy features.

    I consider it as much as a Groovy bible.
    Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software
    Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
    • Great start; Unresolved ending; Ultimately disappointing
    • finger food for the mind
    • Emergence - a guide for the future
    • Go To the Ant Thou Sluggard!
    • Provides a decent primer to an increasingly important concept
    Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software
    Steven Johnson
    Manufacturer: Scribner
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0684868768

    Amazon.com's Best of 2001

    An individual ant, like an individual neuron, is just about as dumb as can be. Connect enough of them together properly, though, and you get spontaneous intelligence. Web pundit Steven Johnson explains what we know about this phenomenon with a rare lucidity in Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software. Starting with the weird behavior of the semi-colonial organisms we call slime molds, Johnson details the development of increasingly complex and familiar behavior among simple components: cells, insects, and software developers all find their place in greater schemes.

    Most game players, alas, live on something close to day-trader time, at least when they're in the middle of a game--thinking more about their next move than their next meal, and usually blissfully oblivious to the ten- or twenty-year trajectory of software development. No one wants to play with a toy that's going to be fun after a few decades of tinkering--the toys have to be engaging now, or kids will find other toys.

    Johnson has a knack for explaining complicated and counterintuitive ideas cleverly without stealing the scene. Though we're far from fully understanding how complex behavior manifests from simple units and rules, our awareness that such emergence is possible is guiding research across disciplines. Readers unfamiliar with the sciences of complexity will find Emergence an excellent starting point, while those who were chaotic before it was cool will appreciate its updates and wider scope. --Rob Lightner

    Book Description

    A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

    A VOICE LITERARY SUPPLEMENT TOP 25 FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

    AN ESQUIRE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

    In the tradition of Being Digital and The Tipping Point, Steven Johnson, acclaimed as a "cultural critic with a poet's heart" (The Village Voice), takes readers on an eye-opening journey through emergence theory and its applications. Explaining why the whole is sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts, Johnson presents surprising examples of feedback, self-organization, and adaptive learning. How does a lively neighborhood evolve out of a disconnected group of shopkeepers, bartenders, and real estate developers? How does a media event take on a life of its own? How will new software programs create an intelligent World Wide Web?

    In the coming years, the power of self-organization -- coupled with the connective technology of the Internet -- will usher in a revolution every bit as significant as the introduction of electricity. Provocative and engaging, Emergence puts you on the front lines of this exciting upheaval in science and thought.

    Customer Reviews:

    2 out of 5 stars Great start; Unresolved ending; Ultimately disappointing.......2007-08-19

    I purchased this book on something of a whim; it was listed as recommended by Amazon and looked like something worth checking out. This is appropriate because software systems that make recommendations based on history and feedback are one of the topics that get discussed in this book. The concept appealed to me for a number of reasons. First, it seemed like a fascinating study of complex systems and the relationship therein between the components, the system as a whole, and that which may be greater then the sum of its parts - that which is emergent. Which in fact, for a while it was. Second, I appreciate the idea that a city is a complex system that is not dissimilar to other complex systems. And third, I felt like taking a chance on something that just sounded interesting. Sadly, after high expectations brought on by a well developed first half, this book ultimately disappoints.

    Credit where credit is due, this book starts off as well as a book can. In keeping with the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, there is a wonderful illustration at the start of this book featuring a map of Hamburg dated circa 1850 next to a diagram of a human brain. Whether there is ultimately anything to them or not, the similarities are astounding. It really went a long way towards grabbing my attention and making this book one that I looked forward to reading. For half of the book, my expectations were met.

    The first three chapters take the seemingly mundane and unrelated topics of ant colonies, computer programs based on slime mold observations, and city layout, and make an effective comparison. Something I really liked early on about this book was its observation that both ant colonies and cities expand with an order that suggests a central plan, when in fact the main force behind their development is the elemental units just doing the things that they do. Soldier and worker ands don't do their jobs because the queen orders them to, they do them because taking care of the queen keeps the colony alive, thus sustaining their existence. Neighborhoods don't spring up because someone issues a decree to build homes, they spring up because people have wants and needs regarding where they live. And their existence in a certain place creates a continuing cycle, almost fractal in nature, of more people with their own set of wants and needs. The concept of evolution is also thrown in, and quite effectively.

    I think that the strongest point the book makes is that cities are not just clusters of people, they are patterns in time. Human beings wired the way they are seem predestined to create printing presses, newspapers, radios, communications networks, TV's, and internets. But here lies the problem with this book. This is potentially a great point, and I would argue a correct one. It's just that it comes along right at about the halfway point in the book. And after that there not much else other than words. The first half of this book does what the first half of a book should do, it develops an idea. But the development of an idea needs to lead to some sort of conclusion that contains some sense of resolution. Unfortunately, somewhere shortly after the start of chapter 4, this book lets go of all of the cohesion it so nicely developed and spins into seemingly endless and tired commentary about video games and the web. Moreover, the commentary is not very good, and becomes repetitive. By the last couple of chapters it becomes quite clear the only thing concluded will be that the author thinks that in a few more years something really significant is going to come about from recent technological changes. They always do. That in and of itself is not worth very much. In the author's defense, I did read this book in 2007 and it was written in 2000. But still, a book should say considerably more this one does.

    If the second half were as good as the first, this book could have been ground-breaking. I appreciate the first half, so I don't consider it a complete waste. However be prepared for quite a let down - 2 stars.

    3 out of 5 stars finger food for the mind.......2006-12-14

    This is a pretty good read - it moves quickly and doesn't get you bogged down in the dna of the concept of emergence. go to wikipedia, read it. then pick up a copy of this and it will provide more context and usefulness. while this may not be the 'grand slam' of books...and to some degree it may be viewed as a popular fad topic...this book is better written than many that end up in the waste bend after page 47. if highlighter markings and cryptic notes in the margin are an indicator for me then it is safe to say that i got my money's worth...and...it contributed to my ongoing pondering of this and many other esoteric terms from the science realm.

    5 out of 5 stars Emergence - a guide for the future.......2006-11-10

    This book is well written and provides an insight to the science of emerergence and how it can help exlain the fundamental texture of everything from ant colonies to cafe-society. It is one of those rare books that readers will benefit from reading many times. For those with a scientific appreciation it fully satisfies while those readers with a more cultural focus will still find it very readable.

    The subject matter is highly important and may help create models of better societies in the economically and environmentally challenging years ahead. This book undoubtedly helps us to see a way.

    5 out of 5 stars Go To the Ant Thou Sluggard!.......2006-09-24

    Uncommon insights into the origin and development of important things. The author shows us how there are lessons all around us if we are clever enough to be watching when they reveal themselves! Shows us that there are patterns in nature and in the human experience that, when uncovered and examined, can prove to be templates for success in our lives.

    4 out of 5 stars Provides a decent primer to an increasingly important concept.......2006-09-06

    I liked this book. It provides a decent overview of emergent properties in general, and particularly the notion of "intelligence" as an emergent property (e.g., one ant is dumb, many ants togther are smart).

    However, this book will disappoint any reader who expects a rigorous or mathematical explanation of these phenomena. All of the various anecdotes are interesting, but they appear held together by only their loose similarity of concept (i.e., they all somehow or other manifest this notion "emergence").

    Although this book reads like a collection of similarly themed magazine articles, this is part and parcel with its appeal. Although it may have skimped on the "research" into the fascinating field of emergent properties, it was nevertheless well-written, readable, and interesting.

    Although the notion of "Emergent Intelligence" has already been siezed upon by popular culture (e.g., Matrix, video games, internet, and on and on), the diversity and importance of this topic is far from its peak. Therefore, the more people with an understanding of it the better -- even if that understanding falls somewhere short of the Ph.d. level
    The Ant and the Elephant
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • A wonderful resource for charting your destiny
    • okay
    • ant power
    • Powerful and rewarding
    • Elephant training is possible
    The Ant and the Elephant
    Vince Poscente
    Manufacturer: CornerStone Leadership Institute
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0974640352

    Book Description

    A different kind of book for a different kind of leader!

    The Ant and the Elephant is a simple story presented in a powerful metaphor that can have an immediate impact on your life and the life of your organization.

    This book is a practical guide for us on our journey of reaching our full potential. It teaches us that we must first master leadership of the self before we can expect to be an effective leader of others.

    A terrific book!

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars A wonderful resource for charting your destiny.......2007-08-16

    Vince Poscente is an incredibly gifted speaker, and his wisdom shines through in The Ant and the Elephant. The story of Adir's journey to the oasis, and the helpful action steps and "Notes to Self" that are liberally sprinkled throughout this delightful story, can help any reader dream bigger dreams and think more clearly about how to overcome the barriers that stand between them and the realization of those dreams. I plan to highly recommend this book to the readers (all over the world) of my Spark Plug newsletter, and I highly recommend it to the readers of this review. -- Joe Tye, CEO of Values Coach America

    3 out of 5 stars okay.......2007-06-26

    I didn't get a lot out of this book. Yes, it's humor makes for easier reading. I did make me think about a few things. The parable aspect of it just wasn't all that great for me. I am more of a straight forward sort and prefer writing like that of John C. Maxwell.

    5 out of 5 stars ant power.......2007-03-03

    A simple but illuminating parable that takes the reader into a childlike state of wonderment that leads to learning some valuable lessons about creating and reaching worthwhile goals. Like Kandee G, Bud Bilanich, Laura Lewis, and Tony Beshara, this guy has a knack, in the realm of motivational books, for sensitizing the reader's mind before inserting real humor and practical advice that works.

    One may be disarmed by the fantasy orientation of this book and its ability to stay out of "scenes from the boardroom." I found it refreshing and edifying. Open Your Mind!

    5 out of 5 stars Powerful and rewarding.......2006-11-03

    The Ant and the Elephant lays out five simple steps that set you on a journey toward a better professional life and personal life. The parable of the ant and the elephant is interesting and inspiring. This relatively short book, at only 115 pages, is packed with life lessons that will make you appreciate the every day things and lead a more gracious life. It will transform your attitude and your overall state of being. I definitely recommend it to anyone that is looking for deeper meaning and satisfaction in their life.

    5 out of 5 stars Elephant training is possible.......2006-06-26

    The best thing I took away from this book is the idea that life actions are much more powerful and effective when they stem from beliefs that you 'have' things rather than from beliefs that you 'want' things. Reaching nirvana is all about believing you already have it. This book helped me figure out how to spend about 12 hours total over a few days in a heightened state of contented 'having'. It's only fair; the lessons do take commitment from the reader to achieve extended periods of contentedness. Mileage may vary. ;-) I know I can go back to the book and get there again; it's a pretty good roadmap.
    JBoss at Work: A Practical Guide
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Great Developer book for starters to JBOSS
    • Great learning tool
    • Good ground up walkthru
    • Excellent Peer into JBoss and J2EE
    • Great overview of a broad spectrum of products
    JBoss at Work: A Practical Guide
    Tom Marrs , and Scott Davis
    Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0596007345

    Book Description

    Consisting of a number of well-known open source products, JBoss is more a family of interrelated services than a single monolithic application. But, as with any tool that's as feature-rich as JBoss, there are number of pitfalls and complexities, too.

    Most developers struggle with the same issues when deploying J2EE applications on JBoss: they have trouble getting the many J2EE and JBoss deployment descriptors to work together; they have difficulty finding out how to get started; their projects don't have a packaging and deployment strategy that grows with the application; or, they find the Class Loaders confusing and don't know how to use them, which can cause problems.

    JBoss at Work: A Practical Guide helps developers overcome these challenges. As you work through the book, you'll build a project using extensive code examples. You'll delve into all the major facets of J2EE application deployment on JBoss, including JSPs, Servlets, EJBs, JMS, JNDI, web services, JavaMail, JDBC, and Hibernate. With the help of this book, you'll:

    Written for Java developers who want to use JBoss on their projects, the book covers the gamut of deploying J2EE technologies on JBoss, providing a brief survey of each subject aimed at the working professional with limited time.

    If you're one of the legions of developers who have decided to give JBoss a try, then JBoss at Work: A Practical Guide is your next logical purchase. It'll show you in plain language how to use the fastest growing open source tool in the industry today. If you've worked with JBoss before, this book will get you up to speed on JBoss 4, JBoss WS (web services), and Hibernate 3.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Great Developer book for starters to JBOSS.......2007-08-15

    Its a great book if you have just started your development with JBOSS 4. It is easy to read from a developer/deployment perspective and also delves into how to automate the deployment descriptors and deploy into JBOSS. Covers most of the common J2ee/Web applications using hibernate and Ant. Probably needs upgrading to JBOSS 5 but is great if your current development is in JBOSS 4.

    4 out of 5 stars Great learning tool.......2007-06-27

    I am most of the way through this book and so far, it's been extremely helpful and informative. It breaks all the steps down one by one and takes you from a simple Hello-World type app, to a more complicated enterprise application. A great read all-around.

    4 out of 5 stars Good ground up walkthru.......2007-03-23

    I found JBoss at Work to be a great guide that takes you through the basic JBoss setup and configuration. Its perfect for someone who wants to get an overview of the process and understanding of how JBoss works, but doesnt want to take the time to become an expert. It serves well as a guide on understanding J2EE general development and also highlights the JBoss specifics when appropriate.
    The only downside for me was the tedious review of the J2EE XML configs. I would have preferred to see just the XDoclet code and not the additional XML that it generates. Use that time to focus on WHAT config files are necessary opposed to what actually gets generated and goes into them. Its beyond the scope of the book to go into all the XML syntax in the configs so its not worthwhile to try and make the reader understand this. Again, a little extra is not so bad, but it does fill a good portion of the book with something I believe could have been left out or supplemented with a better review of what each config file does and when to use them.

    5 out of 5 stars Excellent Peer into JBoss and J2EE.......2007-03-22

    As many O'Reilly publications, this book provides an excellent, easy read for the topic being covered. Examples are simple enough for a "let's just get it working" for the core technologies (as stated as the goal of the book) while still providing a fairly thorough insight into each of the J2EE technologies/concepts covered.

    Highly recommended for anyone who has a base understanding of JBoss/J2EE and wants to start exposing themselves to new things as well as beginners just starting out with the JBoss/J2EE world.

    5 out of 5 stars Great overview of a broad spectrum of products.......2007-03-19

    "JBoss at Work" is a great overview of a broad spectrum of product technologies. It spends enough time on each to get them working and to provide a feel for their value, customizability, and flexibility. Examples are well-presented and contain discussion about how they work and are configured for multiple populare application environments, where appropriate. It has excellent background and history for each technology, popular alternatives, and a discussion about why the author preferred this particular technology. In other words, the authors provide more than just the bare mention included in many "survey" books. There is enough to get all of them working, and working together as a cohesive set. It does not, however, provide a lot of detail on each one.

    This was perfect for my needs -- to provide a strong enough introduction for me to understand into which technologies I wanted to delve deeper, and enough contact with each of them to allow me to evaluate competing technologies in their space.
    Hey, Little Ant
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • I loved it but...
    • great story
    • Teaches Empathy
    • Hey, Little Ant
    • hey little ant
    Hey, Little Ant
    Phillip M. Hoose , and Hannah Hoose
    Manufacturer: Tricycle Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1883672546

    Book Description

    Hey, little ant down in the crack

    Can you hear me? Can you talk back?

    See my shoe, can you see that?

    Well now it's gonna squish you flat! So begins a conversation between a young boy and the ant trembling in the shadow of his sneaker. This playful story brings up questions about the ethics and peer pressure, encouraging the very youngest citizens to decide for themselves: to squish...or not to squish?!

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars I loved it but..........2007-08-02

    I loved this book and the intention the author had to encourage children to consider the moral of the story. Also for a children's book it is well written with amusing rhymes. The kids also loved hearing this story. The only problem was this - they got absolutely the wrong message from it!

    The book presents two arguments - the ant pleading for its life, and the boy who questions the value of the ant's life. But the author wrote the boy's side of the story so pleasingly that my kids far more enjoyed siding with the boy than with the ant, despite explanation, to my complete despair! My young listeners were quite young, ages 2-3, so perhaps this book would be better for a slightly older child.

    5 out of 5 stars great story.......2007-05-16

    This is the best book! I use it in my Kindergarten classroom when we do a thematic unit on bugs. We act out the story then talk about the ending.

    5 out of 5 stars Teaches Empathy.......2006-11-30

    I am a 3rd grade teacher, and I use this book in my classroom to teach about bullying, peer pressure (the boy's friends are encouraging him to squish the ant), and empathy. My students love it! I wish I could find a poster of the page where the ant is looming over the boy and asking "If you were me, and I were you, what would you want me to do?" What an incredible lesson for kids! The best part is that the book ends with the shoe looming over the ant and leaves the ending up to the reader. Kids love writing (or just inventing) their own endings! GREAT BOOK!

    4 out of 5 stars Hey, Little Ant.......2006-01-12

    This is an excellent book about an ant who has to convince a boy why he should not squish him with his shoe. It sends a wonderful message to children that you should treat others how you would want to be treated. This rhyming text is very comical to read and the illustrations are excellent. It is a wonderful book for elementary students!

    5 out of 5 stars hey little ant.......2002-01-12

    This wonderful book gives the reader a great feeling for this poor ant . This little ant has to negotiate for his life!! The only way to make the kid with the big shoe know how it feels to be squished is to turn the tables and make him realize what it feels like to be under an Ants' foot. This book is a must have. It teaches compassion, negotiation, and how to see the world through someonelses eyes.
    One Hundred Hungry Ants
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Great read aloud
    • My number-loving 4 year old can't get enough!
    • They use this book at my child's school to teach math concepts.
    • Elisa- Elementary Ed. Student at U of A and Pima
    • math can be fun
    One Hundred Hungry Ants
    Elinor J Pinczes , and Elinor Pinczes
    Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0395971233

    Product Description

    Horn Book : A rhyming text describes the progress of one hundred ants marching toward a picnic. To travel faster, one ant suggests dividing into two lines of fifty, then four lines of twenty-five, and finally ten lines of ten. Their frantic reorganization takes so long that the picnic is gone by the time they arrive. The illustrations, which look like linoleum cuts, use a pleasing palette and energetic lines to depict ants with highly individual characters. Publishers Weekly : "A first-time author and illustrator are off to an impressive start in this spirited story . . . The unexpected pairing of sophisticated art and light-hearted text lends this book particular distinction."

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Great read aloud.......2007-09-13

    This is a terrific book -- when you get into it, the words are almost automatic. The math just sort of sneaks in. Very fun to read.

    5 out of 5 stars My number-loving 4 year old can't get enough!.......2006-05-14

    My son LOVES this book! It is now one of his favorites, along with The Greedy Triangle. My son is high-functioning autistic and is obsessed with numbers - he loves to play with calculators, adding machines, and cash registers. So this book was right up his alley. He seems to be understanding the math lessons behind the book, as well, so it is both entertaining and educational for him. Highly recommended for math-curious kids.

    4 out of 5 stars They use this book at my child's school to teach math concepts........2006-03-04

    This book was sent home with 100 unifex cubes to use along with the book. We used the cubes as the ants. We started off with one line of 100 cubes (as the ants). Then, in the story, they split into 2 lines of 50, so we split our cubes, too. Then, 4 lines of 25, and so on.... Excellent book to use with the cubes to demonstract how many different ways to make 100.

    4 out of 5 stars Elisa- Elementary Ed. Student at U of A and Pima.......2005-03-11

    I read this book to my two cousins, one who was age eight and the other six. The older one did not like the story very much, she thought she was alittle too old to be listening to a book about ants going to a picnic.However the younger one enjoyed the book, even though she did not understand the division. She enjoyed the way the book flowed, the pictures, the story and most of all the "hey and a hi dee hos". I think for younger readers this book is really fun and instructional.

    4 out of 5 stars math can be fun.......2005-03-11

    I am a current Pima College student. The book was read to a class of second graders. They seemed very receptive of the fact that it rhymed(in fact they loved it). I asked one student named caitlyn, if she understood the math concept it taught. She said she did not realize math was involved. So although the concept is somewhat suttle to children I think this book would be a great introduction to division. So i would recomend this book to anyone with kids or to teachers.
    Ant Colony Optimization (Bradford Books)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • searching for the basic algorithms
    • The intelligence and wisdom of ants
    • A comprehensive and very readable introduction
    • A fine compilation
    Ant Colony Optimization (Bradford Books)
    Marco Dorigo , and Thomas Stützle
    Manufacturer: The MIT Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    1. Swarm Intelligence (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Artificial Intelligence) Swarm Intelligence (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Artificial Intelligence)
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    ASIN: 0262042193

    Book Description

    The complex social behaviors of ants have been much studied by science, and computer scientists are now finding that these behavior patterns can provide models for solving difficult combinatorial optimization problems. The attempt to develop algorithms inspired by one aspect of ant behavior, the ability to find what computer scientists would call shortest paths, has become the field of ant colony optimization (ACO), the most successful and widely recognized algorithmic technique based on ant behavior. This book presents an overview of this rapidly growing field, from its theoretical inception to practical applications, including descriptions of many available ACO algorithms and their uses.

    The book first describes the translation of observed ant behavior into working optimization algorithms. The ant colony metaheuristic is then introduced and viewed in the general context of combinatorial optimization. This is followed by a detailed description and guide to all major ACO algorithms and a report on current theoretical findings. The book surveys ACO applications now in use, including routing, assignment, scheduling, subset, machine learning, and bioinformatics problems. AntNet, an ACO algorithm designed for the network routing problem, is described in detail. The authors conclude by summarizing the progress in the field and outlining future research directions. Each chapter ends with bibliographic material, bullet points setting out important ideas covered in the chapter, and exercises. Ant Colony Optimization will be of interest to academic and industry researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who wish to learn how to implement ACO algorithms.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars searching for the basic algorithms.......2006-01-18

    The central idea in the book is to analyse what evolution has provided us. In the form of ants being able to find the shortest path over terrain. This ability has inspired the research described herein.

    The book can be read as a fascinating deconstructionist approach to observing and manipulating ant colonies. By trying to look under the observations to discern the fundamental algorithms at work. And then to apply these to such longstanding contexts as the Travelling Salesman Problem.

    5 out of 5 stars The intelligence and wisdom of ants.......2005-04-28

    Being an ant isn't very complex, but it's a daily fight for life. The losers in that fight don't count, but the winners get to vote.

    That is the basis of ant colony optimization. There are many parts to the idea, all of them very simple. First, there are many routes to the goal (food, if you're an ant) - some are better, some worse, you don't know which are which in advance, and the answer may change over time. Second, it's a random search. If you find any answer at all, no matter how convoluted, you get to vote on your route. Third, there are many other ants, all voting. Any leg of a trip that is heavily followed must be part of a good route, and gets many votes. There are details, but that's about it.

    Chapters 1-3 are the most readable, and convey the basic spirit of the family of algorithms. Ch. 4-6 will drag a bit, for the general reader, but go into significant detail about the ant algorithm and specific applications.

    Ch. 7 ends the book with a warm, informal discussion of the algorithm's history and some delightful variations. Dorigo, the principal author and founder of the ant school, uses this chapter to express his pure joy at having found such a wonderful thing, and at the similar approaches that others have also found.

    The approach has some real limits. For example, it can solve only problems that look like finding the shortest route. The good news is that a wide range of unlikely problems can all be cast in these terms. The better news is that, given the many variations available, some form of the 'stigmergic' approach will probably solve any problem in that range. Best of all, though, is the sheer cleverness and the sincere appreciation expressed by the authors.

    Nature is economical, but a brilliant problem solver. This is written by someone who as able to listen in on one of the lessons.

    //wiredweird

    5 out of 5 stars A comprehensive and very readable introduction.......2004-10-04

    Fifteen years after the elegant double-bridge experiments by Deneubourg et al. that formed the basis of the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm, Marco Dorigo, the inventor of ACO, and Thomas Stützle, an expert on stochastic local search methods, have pooled their knowledge to summarize the current state of the art.
    This book gives a well paced introduction to ACO, describes its use in various optimization problems and gives interesting examples of its applications in industry. Explanations are clear and concise and, with the exception of a few well defined technical terms, free of scientific jargon. It is a pleasure to read for everyone with an interest in optimization theory. However, if you are looking for a book that celebrates the beauty of nature's problem solving capabilities, you are better of with "Swarm Intelligence" or Flake's "Computational Beauty of Nature". The initial idea of ACO may be bio-inspired, but this book has a crystal clear focus of the computational considerations in optimization theory.

    5 out of 5 stars A fine compilation.......2004-09-03

    This book is a fine compilation of what have been done with the Ant Colony paradigm so far. Highly readable, even for people without previous experience in the field of optimization.
    Southwestern Silver Jewelry
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Recommended reading with minor caveats - 4.75 stars
    • Southwestern silver jewelry
    Southwestern Silver Jewelry
    Paula A. Baxter
    Manufacturer: Schiffer Publishing
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0764312448

    Book Description

    This beautiful book examines the first century of Navajo and Pueblo metal jewelry-making in the American Southwest. Beginning in the late 1860s, the region's native peoples learned metalworking and became accomplished silversmiths. Their work was united with a long-standing native traditon of beads and ornaments made from turquoise and other natural materials. The cross-cultural appeal of this jewelry continued into the mid-1900s, despite competition from tourist jewelry and mass-produced imitations. By the 1950s and 1960s, masters such as innovators Kenneth Begay and Charles Loloma created a legacy of fine art jewelry that is prized today. This development is discussed in the context of social changes and adaptations over the century. A values reference guide is also provided.

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Recommended reading with minor caveats - 4.75 stars.......2005-05-04

    This book is a visual feast and factual whopper! With vintage Indian Jewelry gaining popularity, this 200 page hardback book is a 'must read' if, for no other reason than to enjoy the pictures . . . fabulous! Also, much credit is deservedly given to artisans; it was refreshing to see the old timers names alive once again. The price guide is nice but very wide ranging. I spotted one or two factual errors but in a book of this scope, they are minor. I am always concerned about 'back scratching' when a high volume of the photo credits go to such a limited number of sources (owners/collectors/sellers), which is prevalent in this volume; otherwise, I believe you can rely on the very well written facts and figures. The historical overview is excellent and detailed. But most important, if you have any old Indian jewelry similar to those found in these pages, you have something of significance and value. You can bet online auctions will be replete with references to this beautifully illustrated book. Like I said, must read . . . even more . . . must own!

    5 out of 5 stars Southwestern silver jewelry.......2003-02-06

    I like this book.I have other books by Paula Baxter, and I new that this one was going to be just as good. I make Indian jewelry and I'm always looking for picture books on the old Indian jewelry and this book is "chuck full of pictures of old jewelry and tools that were used to make the jewelry". The pictures are clear,clean,and big. If you like the way the indian jewelry looked back in the early part of the 1900's this is the book for you. Paula, did a vary nice job and I wish to thank her for this book.

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    2. The Double Musky Inn Cookbook: Alaska's Mountain Cajun Cuisine
    3. The Evolutionary Ecology of Ant-Plant Mutualisms (Cambridge Studies in Ecology)
    4. The Feminine Mystique
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    6. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
    7. The Language of Letting Go (Hazelden Meditation Series)
    8. The River Cottage Meat Book
    9. The Secret
    10. The Secret Language of Birthdays (reissue)

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