Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum Novels)

Book Description

Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, where bounty hunter Stephanie Plums life is about to implode. FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her. THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso....street name, Ranger. NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer. SOON, THE CHASE IS ON Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in. Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve, or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum....forever? Filled with Janet Evanovichs trademark action, nonstop adventure, and sharp humor, Twelve Sharp is Janet Evanovich's wildest, hottest novel yet!

Customer Reviews:

Loving the Plum series.......2007-09-28

Go get this series and start reading it. These are the best. No really they are. I'm looking forward to number 14.

Good read for fun junkies.......2007-09-10

I loved loved loved number twelve! Hadn't laughed that hard since eight and nine and was beginning to worry that Evanovich had run out of soap. NOT SO. I read her books strictly for the laughs and no-brainer entertainment. Made the mistake of reading it on a cross country flight and frightened fellow passangers with my hysterical laughter and tears. They must have thought I was off my medication. Will read thirteen with avid anticipation. Plum fans that whine about plot tedium are missing the point of this Jersey girl. She is NOT Scarlet O'Hara. She is just plan old fun and what's wrong with that? If you want War and Peace, then read it and leave the Plum novels for the rest of us fun junkies.

Stephanie at her full blossom.......2007-09-10

Tremendous fun, interesting plot and some amazing details - Stephanie among two men and a few sex toys:)
Apart from the fun part, what's good about this book is that we are allowed to go deeper into Ranger's character. Characters in general are no longer static but evolving.
Good work, Ms. Evanovich, I had great time with it. Hope you are planning to write at least 12 more:)

Still my favorite series........2007-09-08

I resisted reading Janet Evanovich's books for years despite all the encouragement of friends, co-workers, and family. I was really missing out. Her humor and writing style are absolutely wonderful and I picked up the first book in this series expecting to be only mildly entertained. I couldn't have been more wrong! I was laughing so hard at the hilarious events that I never wanted to put that first book down. I quickly devoured the rest of the series. I know the lines are fairly well defined between Evanovich's readers. You're either a Morelli fan or a Ranger fan. Morelli is good, but Ranger can't be beat. There's no competition between a playboy New Jersey cop and a dark and mysterious Cuban bounty hunter. Sorry. Cuban bounty hunter trumps playboy cop.
Sure the stories are getting a little wackier with time. And exactly how many cars has Stephanie destroyed? So it's predictable in some ways, but still highly enjoyable.

The story is going in circle.......2007-09-06

Same old same old stuff. This time we get to know Ranger a bit more.

Someone has stolen his identity and kidnapped his daughter. However, he still has the present of mind to feel Stephanie up? What the heck is that? I like Ranger in books 1-7, but not so much after that. I think JE is forcing me to have a preference for him over Morelli.
With books 1-7, Morelli was written as a sexy, hot-tempered Italian cop. Now, he is so mellow, I don't know what happened to him. JE is not keeping him consistent. If it was the old Morelli, he would have told Stephanie (and Ranger) to take a hike together. Which self-respecting man would be okay with his gf sleeping with another man?
At the beginning of the series, I liked Stephanie but now she needs to grow up. The series started when she was 30 years old. If JE doesn't age her characters, Stephanie has to be at least 35 by now. Can't play the airhead bimbo forever!

Finally, she told Morelli that she loved him. However, she also told herself that she loved Ranger in the next second. It took the sincerity of her feelings away. I am so fed up with her.

Ohh.. someone has mentioned that Morelli molested her when she was 6 by playing "choo choo" with her. He is just 2 years older, which made him 8 years old at the time. I would not call it molesting, more like kids' play.

I am not going to read #13 because based on the review, it is not much different from #12, so why bother?

Painting Sharp Focus Still Lifes: Trompe L'Oeil Oil Techniques

Average customer rating:

Painting Sharp Focus Still Lifes: Trompe L'Oeil Oil Techniques
Ken Davies , and Ellye Bloom
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0823038564

The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next

Average customer rating:

physics from many angles
A mixed bag
The Endless Quest Continues
Outstanding piece of writing, A must-read for any science enthusiast.
There is hope

The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next
Lee Smolin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

History of Science | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0618551050

Book Description

In this groundbreaking book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that physics—the basis for all other science—has lost its way. The problem is string theory, an ambitious attempt to formulate "a theory of everything" that explains all the forces and particles of nature and how the universe came to be. With its exotic new particles and parallel universes, string theory has captured the public"s imagination and seduced many physicists. But as Smolin reveals, there"s a deep flaw in the theory: no part of it has been proven, and no one knows how to prove it. As a scientific theory, it has been a colossal failure. And because it has soaked up the lion's share of funding, attracted some of the best minds, and penalized young physicists for pursuing other avenues, it is dragging the rest of physics down with it. With clarity, passion, and authority, Smolin charts the rise and fall of string theory and takes a fascinating look at what will replace it. A group of young theorists has begun to develop exciting new ideas that are, unlike string theory, testable. Smolin tells us who and what to watch for in the coming years and how we can find the next Einstein. This is a wake-up call, and Lee Smolin—a former string theorist himself— is the perfect person to deliver it.

Customer Reviews:

physics from many angles.......2007-10-05

This book provided several discussions pf physics and quantum theory. its good because the author speaks of the history the the originators of physics theory and the current champions of thought.

A mixed bag.......2007-10-04

At the moment, string theory appears to have many (possibly an infinite number) of "metastable vacua", each of which would allow for a universe with its own laws of physics. (For a brief, comic, yet essentially correct summary of the history of this idea, see Peter Shor's review here. For those who don't know, Shor is a celebrated quantum-information theorist.) According to the (far from established) inflationary model of cosmology, there is a vast collection of universes (the "multiverse") with diverse laws of physics. Which universe we find ourselves in is a matter of random selection, but of course we must be in a "biofriendly" universe, one whose laws of physics allow for the appearance of intelligent life.

The core argument of this book is presented on page 164-165 (US hardcover edition), where Smolin writes, "when it comes to the biofriendliness of our universe, we have at least three possibilities:

"1. Ours is one of a vast collection of universes with random laws.

"2. There was an intelligent designer.

"3. There is a so-far-unknown mechanism that will both explain the biofriendliness of our universe and make testable predictions by which it can be confirmed or falsified.

"Given that the first two possibilities are untestable in principle, it is most rational to hold out for the third possibility. Indeed, that is the only possibility we should consider as scientists, because accepting either of the first two would mean the end of our field."

I find this to be an astonishing argument. First of all, I don't know what "most rational" is supposed to mean. More importantly, to reject a scientific hypothesis for purely personal reasons (it "would mean the end of our field") is at best novel, and at worst absurd.

Very few string theorists are happy that #1 seems, at this point, to be the most likely outcome of string theory, and many hope that #3 will somehow eventually emerge. But to throw out the whole framework, simply because we don't like the result, cannot be said to be a scientific attitude.

One thing you won't learn in this book (unless you read it very carefully, and between the lines) is that the other approaches to quantum gravity advocated by Smolin have not come any closer to predicting specific experimental results than string theory has. Smolin talks about possible violations of special relativity, but these are not (as he admits on page 237) a definite prediction of loop quantum gravity. He has said (again, on Woit's blog) that any quantum field theory in any number of dimensions is compatible with loop quantum gravity. If true, this would make loop quantum gravity even less capable than string theory of picking out our particular laws of physics.

Smolin also discusses issues of sociology in physics. On page 335-336, he asserts that the all the truly negative characterizations of job candidates that he has ever heard have had a component of racism and/or sexism. I am on the faculty of the physics department of a research university, and I can only say that my experience has been entirely different. I have simply never heard a racist or sexist denigration of one scientist by another, nor have I ever felt that anyone was being evaluated by criteria other than merit. I think that there are definitely issues of culture and how we can construct scientific communities that have broader appeal, and that there are physicists who are not as sensitive to these issues as they might be, but I cannot accept Smolin's claim that the relatively small percentage of women and blacks in physics is due to "blatant prejudice".

Finally, Smolin discusses the issues of "seers" vs "craftspeople" in science, and argues that we should be supporting more "seers". Among the existing seers, he lists some (such as Roger Penrose and Gerard 't Hooft) who made their reputations primarily as craftspeople ('t Hooft received the Nobel Prize for his work on the renormalization of gauge theories, and Penrose did celebrated work on the singularity theorems of general relativity). Their record as seers has been less successful; none of their recent ideas on modifications of quantum mechanics have panned out as yet. Smolin laments the fact that more attention is not paid to these forays into alternatives to quantum mechanics. But 't Hooft and Penrose do not agree on what modifications are needed. Other seers identified by Smolin propose violations of special relativity, rather than (or in addition to) violations of quantum mechanics. Perhaps this is all deep thought, but there is little to decide, at this point, which if any of these avenues should be pursued. Most physicists have therefore sensibly adopted a "wait and see" attitude.

Even if we accept Smolin's argument that we need new seers, how are we to find them? Smolin writes (page 353) that in order to discover "the visionaries who ignore the mainstream and follow their own ambitious programs", we should "find at least one accomplished person in the candidate's field who is deeply excited about what the candidate is trying to do". So, the candidate's program had better not be *too* far off the mainstream; there has to be at least one "accomplished person" who is "deeply excited" about it. But if one deeply excited professional is good, wouldn't more be better? Wouldn't that up the odds that the program was, indeed, worthwhile? Oh wait, that would be just what we have now ... a system where there is constant debate, emergent consensus on the most promising approaches, and distribution of research funds primarily (but by no means exclusively!) to those approaches that appear, in the consensus view, to be most promising. To paraphrase Winston Churchill on democracy, this system for distributing funds for science may be the worst ever devised, except for all the others.

So, should you buy the book? I feel that it gives a distorted picture, by emphasizing the weak points of string theory while ignoring the (many more, in my view) weak points of the alternatives. It seems to me that the essence of the book's argument against string theory is captured by the excerpts above, and by Shor's review. Then there is a lot of discussion of groupthink in scientific culture. For me, it doesn't add up to an appealing package, but your mileage may vary.

The Endless Quest Continues .......2007-10-04

I like Lee Smolin and this is a good exposition of the current quandary in Physics. When the mathematicians "hijacked" physics in the 1920's, they created ever-so elegant formulas and abstraction upon abstraction upon abstraction. "Just give me a formula!" was their mantra, and what it all really "means" was not their concern. This is the essence of Bohr's position (no pun intended), and Einstein was not able to answer, even though he knew something was missing.

String theory has many intriguing ideas, and it's supporters should not be easily dismissed. Again and again, we come back to the basic question...particle or wave? Wavicle? Partiwave? String?

Outstanding piece of writing, A must-read for any science enthusiast........2007-09-22

I found this book to be superbly written and full of fascinating insights. I really loved reading it. Many of the longer reviews here do a great job of reviewing the content of the book, so I'll stick to offering my opinion.

I will no doubt read this book again in the future as much of the content was way over my head. However, as with any great book on any subject, this did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying it and learning a lot. What makes it so great is that each time I read it I will learn more.

I want to thank Lee Smolin for putting the current state of his field in some perspective. I highly, highly recommend this book!

There is hope.......2007-08-30

What can I say? Like Lee Smolin, I too am a recovering mathematician, and this book helped me out the trap. I love mathematics and majored in it at university, but soon fell prey to the seductive sense of omnipotence comes with thinking that one can manipulate reality with equations. I give this book my highest recommendation, especially for those who have become demotivated by the crisis in science. One condition though - don't read it in isolation. Essential companions are Peter Woit's "Not Even Wrong", and my own book "The Virtue of Heresy - Confessions of a Dissident Astronomer". The Virtue of Heresy: Confessions of a Dissident Astronomer

Hilton Ratcliffe
Astrophysicist

Average customer rating:

addictively disturbing
Disappointing
Good for a first novel
Hated it
3-1/2 Stars For Scandalous Mystery

Sharp Objects: A Novel
Gillian Flynn
Manufacturer: Shaye Areheart Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0307341542
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com

As loyal Entertainment Weekly subscribers, we have been fans of Gillian Flynn for her smart, funny, and spot-on reviews of books, movies, and TV, but we were not prepared for her stunning debut novel Sharp Objects, a wickedly dark thriller that Stephen King calls a "relentlessly creepy family saga" and an "admirably nasty piece of work." We're calling it a cross between Twin Peaks and Secretary--sinister, sexy, and stylish. Perfect fall reading. --Daphne Durham

10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Gillian Flynn

Q: Do you prefer writing novels or reviewing?
A: I think writing is more pure--and actually a bit easier for me. It's just me and my laptop, not me and my laptop and a TV show that 30 people have worked on. Reviewing keeps you sharp--I can hardly watch or read anything without taking notes now--but plain old writing I find actually relaxing.

Q: Do think your writing is influenced more by books that you have read, or shows/movies that you have seen?
A: My mom spent her career as a reading teacher and my dad is a retired film professor, so I was really steeped in both books and movies growing up. To this day, when I get my dad on the phone, pretty much his first sentence is "Seen anything good lately?" I love putting words together (I've never met a simile I didn't like), but when I write I often think in "scenes"--I want these two people, in a dirty bar, with this song playing in the background.

Q: I hear you are working on your second book...is it is too early to ask what it's about?
A: I'm still playing around with the whole plot--when I wrote Sharp Objects, I wasn't even sure who the killer was for a bit. But I can say [the new book] has to do with family loyalty, false memories, a wrenching murder trial, and a dash of good 'ole 1980s hair metal and devil worship.

Q: What is your writing process like? Have you changed anything about how you work since your first book?
A: My writing process is incredibly inefficient, and hasn't changed between books. I really don't outline: I know basically how I want the story to start, and vaguely how I want it to end (though like I said, with Sharp Objects even that changed!). Then I just write: Some characters I start finding more interesting, some less. I write entire swaths that I pretty much know I'll cut. I have an entire file of "deleted scenes." I guess the one thing that has physically changed is I moved into a new place since my first book--it has a great bathtub, and I'll prop my laptop up and write in the bath for hours. Which is, admittedly, weird.

Book Description

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

Customer Reviews:

addictively disturbing.......2007-09-18

This was an amazing debut novel that can only be described as addictively disturbing, with one of a kind characters and a plot twist that makes it nearly impossible to stop reading.

Disappointing.......2007-09-18

I decided not to finish this book because it is full of unsympathetic and rather boring characters, because the author obviously has not had any experience with a small town in the bootheel of Missouri (or any other small town), and it was overhyped. It is neither chilling or suspenseful. Camille has no compelling reason to stay in town. She is an inept reporter because she doesn't know how to interview and get a story. The hotshot detective from KC has been there for months and doesn't have a clue. Literally. Which reminds me. The book is full of incomplete sentences. Once in a while is okay but all the time is irritating. We deserve better than this.

Good for a first novel.......2007-09-10

I preface this review with: This was a book I would have never have read had I not been part of a book club.
Although I did enjoy this book, and read it in about two days, I cannot give it any more than 3 stars. It was well written and the story was sound however I kept feeling like the author was trying to parallel too many aspects of the main characters' life into the murders. Even though they panned out in the end (don't worry, I won't spoil it) it wasn't fulfilling for me. There was no "ah ha" moment at the end. It was more of a, "oh, well that makes sense."

Hated it.......2007-09-06

A well-written fake.
None of the characters (or the crimes, for that matter) are believable, especially Amma, protagonist's 13-yr old half-sister. The teen culture described by Flynn is especially laughable. Kids don't feel like that, don't behave like that, and don't talk like that.
Camille, the seriously messed-up narrator, is tremendously irritating and unpleasant. I have little sympathy for psychotics, and her character, the way it was developed by Flynn, does not have a lot of depth. Camille is tediously dull, monotone, and inept as a reporter. Basically, she takes baths, drinks burbon, throws up and cries A LOT throughout the story. It is unclear to me why she keeps staying at her monster-of-a-mother's house, while her Chicago boss keeps reminding her that she could go home at any time if she feels uncomfortable. But no - Camille passively chooses to wallow in self-pity and misery. She is clearly a masochist.
It is equally unclear what exactly makes her so attractive to the "chicklet-toothed" detective Richard (another unlikable character who has no substance).
Camille's sexual promiscuity does not make me like her more, though I am no prude. I guess that has to do with how cold and detached she is. Maybe she is supposed to be "tough" in the face of evil, and I am supposed to feel sorry for her, but somehow I just don't. IMHO, Camille is simply morose.
The story comes to this: a freak girl comes to freak town and deals with a lot of freaks, headed by her freak immediate family members.
I am not debating that the novel is well-written. It is rich in detail, very visual, and has better parts. However, upon reading it, I was left with sort of a bad taste in my mouth. The book is really nasty and revolting, and when a female writer comes up with something like this, I think that there is something really wrong with her.
This view of life is depressing and dark, and I really don't appreciate writers whose flair comes to naturalistically describing their character's vomit and other bodily secretions in detail. The beauty of storytelling evaporates, leaving the reader slightly nauseous.
Perhaps one would argue that it's the whole point of a crime novel - to make it as dark, naturalistic, and disturbing as possible - but take Harris's "Silence of the Lambs", for example. Yes, it is very dark, but brilliant, and I could re-read it again and again.
"Sharp Objects" somehow resembles "In the Cut" by Susanna Moore. I threw it out of my house immediately upon reading it, I disliked it so much.
Something is missing in Flynn's novel. It is too cold and unpleasant on every level - if you enjoy these emotions, read it.

3-1/2 Stars For Scandalous Mystery.......2007-08-30

Gill Flynn has written a great small-town book. In other words, she writes of a pretty little town with very unpretty people. Every character in this novel is psychologically scarred or trying to scar someone else. Are people really this bad?

Two fourth-grade girls have disappeard from this area where everyone knows everyone. No mysterious strangers off their psych meds have wandered through the neighborhood, so the denizens of the town have to admit the perpetrator must be one of their own. A 30-year-old who got out in time to make a life (of sorts) for herself in Chicago comes back to town to investigate the crimes for her paper. She gets involved and manages to dredge up a solution.

The story is fairly compelling; and even if you already have an idea who the bad guy(s) is/are by the end of the story, the payoff is palpable and satisfying. Ms. Flynn writes simply, straightforwardly, and well. I would definitely consider reading her next work of fiction.

Workflow Modeling: Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development

Average customer rating:

Finally a How-To!
Very good for newbies in process improvement field
Good Book for a Foundation
Excellent Business Process Modeling Book
Workflow Modeling - This Book Flows...

Workflow Modeling: Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development
Alec Sharp , and Patrick McDermott
Manufacturer: Artech House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

MIS | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Industrial | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Entrepreneurship | Small Business & Entrepreneurship | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1580530214

Customer Reviews:

Finally a How-To!.......2007-09-15

Good overall analysis and methodology for approaching process re-design projects. Very practical and well written. Includes strategies for avoiding common pitfalls.

Very good for newbies in process improvement field.......2007-08-16

I enjoyed this book because of:
1) clear, coherent logic
2) it's very practical from cover to cover - everything you need to know before modeling processes you can find here and use it in your work on the very next day
3) the language - it's plain and definitely supports better adoption of the tools described. I also like the authors' delicate humor :)

As a whole - two thumbs up, 5 stars.

Good Book for a Foundation.......2007-08-09

I was recommended this book from BPMN Essentials course I recently took and just finished the book. It has a great deal of examples and suggestions for how to perform process modelling, which I like.

Excellent Business Process Modeling Book.......2006-11-29

Everything started with the creation of a two days workshop: Workflow Process Modeling. The authors have continually improved the workshop with participants' feedback and ideas based on their own hands-on consulting work with many organizations. The book is very well structured and it is based on real world experience. The structure is simple with no unnecessary parts that usually fill other books with redundant content. The content is not a mere recount of personal experiences: there are plenty of references to other publications. Plus, you will find good humor in the book that makes it even more readable.

Although the authors declared their work aimed at application development work as a final outcome, the book is focused very much on the business side with emphasis on process workflow. Nowadays the specialization pushes further and further apart the role of a business analyst from the system analyst, while in the past some would refer to these roles as one. This book might not be very useful for a system analyst because it is not very technically oriented. You will not find yourself drown under zillions of diagrams created with a specific software package, but you will get instead a method of how to approach business analysis from a broad, yet practical, perspective. The book does not bother even to talk too much about UML. I found that refreshing and extremely useful. I have been searching for a book that is more like a thought provoking companion rather than a software tool manual and this book fits that description.

Workflow Modeling is a comprehensive book. It does not focus on a particular stage of business analysis. It provides an inventory of areas the professional business process consultant would have to consider and the rationale for each one of them. Some readers might not agree with the little amount of space dedicated to class modeling which is almost inexistent. On the plus side, the authors talk about approach in dealing with project stakeholders, pitfalls, team building and difficulties and what questions to ask in various situations. The authors appreciate the importance of the final delivery, how to map the road between the as-is process to to-be process and understand the structure of the organization. I found many things that were said here very realistic and valuable; I could relate them to my own experience. The book does not say much about class modeling, but it talks a lot about swimlane diagrams and use cases analysis.

You can use Workflow Modeling to design your own work template that suits your style and formation. You can come back , re-read some parts or the whole book (I have done that) and still get something out of it. I recommend the book as a good investment that will not go out of fashion very soon.

Workflow Modeling - This Book Flows..........2006-09-16

Workflow Modeling serves both as a primer to a process approach to management, and a step-by-step guide for modeling the workflow required to achieve the process goals. The skills it teaches are critical as modeling is often the first step within larger improvement projects of all kinds.

Beyond modelling itself, the authors provide the context for process issues by considering organisational mission, strategy, goals and culture within which design and improvement projects usually occur.

Readers will find lots of case studies and vignettes that clearly illustrate the points and enliven the book in no small way.

Microsoft® Visual C#® 2005 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

Average customer rating:

Good book that covers alot with decent quick examples.
Excellent Tutorial For C# Beginners
Excellent explanations
excellent introduction to C#
Visual C# Step by Step

Microsoft® Visual C#® 2005 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))
John Sharp
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0735621292

Book Description

Visual C#, a feature of Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005, is a modern programming language designed to deliver a productive environment for creating business frameworks and reusable object-oriented components. Now you can teach yourself essential techniques with Visual C#—and start building components and Microsoft Windows®-based applications—one step at a time. With STEP BY STEP, you work at your own pace through hands-on, learn-by-doing exercises. Whether you're a beginning programmer or new to this particular language, you'll learn how, when, and why to use specific features of Visual C# 2005. Each chapter puts you to work, building your knowledge of core capabilities and guiding you as create your first C#-based applications for Windows, data management, and the Web.

Customer Reviews:

Good book that covers alot with decent quick examples........2007-09-28

This book is good for both the novice as well as for people who want a better overall understanding of C#.

Excellent Tutorial For C# Beginners.......2007-08-31

This is one of the best start up books for people that are new to C#, Visual Studio 2005 and the .Net Frameworks, and/or are coming from a VB 6 background, with little or no experience with true object oriented programming concepts.

All the C# fundementals are covered, in a clear and easy to understand presentation.

Basic object oriented concepts are presented in an early chapter with simple examples, and then are later expanded upon with more detailed examples showing the real power of inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, and interfaces.

The book also includes useful introductions to the Visual Studio 2005 IDE, Winforms, ASP.Net, ADO.Net, and Web Services, with accompanying labs for each.

Perhaps this book scores it's highest points with it's simplified discussion of delegates and events, a topic which is unfortunately usually made needlessly obtuse by most C# books.

I wish I could have started with a great beginners book like this when I entered the .Net world back in 2002.

I'd recommend this book to anybody new to C# and object oriented programming. After finishing this book, add to your object oriented skill set with the indespensible 'Head First Design Patterns' and you'll have a solid foundation for advancing to the next level of C# and .Net programming.

Excellent explanations.......2007-08-22

Extremely good explanations, I really liked the way the author explained the delegates and events, it just helps you picture it. Really easy to follow for begginers or Visual Basic developers.

I expected it to cover Generic Collections though, I was surprised the author left it out.

excellent introduction to C#.......2007-08-21

I'm on Chapter 17 of this book (only 11 to go!) and have felt compelled to let other potential readers know what an excellent book this is. Each chapter is well organized and incremental in its approach. The exercises are relevant and purely optional. The book has been organized so that it flows smoothly even if you skip over the practice sections within each chapter. Another aspect of this book that appeals to me is that it presents a number of different ways of achieving the same result and suggesting why one coding strategy might be more clear or efficient than another.

Most of the examples are straightforward, although there are times when the author chooses a code sample that is unnecessarily confusing and obfuscates the purpose of the lesson. But a careful read and re-read of these is all that is required. Another comment I would make is that in his code samples, he places variable declarations at the botttom of the class rather than at the top. As such, when you start reading a class example, be sure to jump to the bottom first so that you know where certain variables come from.

Visual C# Step by Step.......2007-08-16

This book is informative, and easy to read. The file examples are excellent ways learn from a "hands on appraoch." The first three chapters are built for new programmers, the next three for inexperienced C or C++ programmers, the next four for programmers transitioning from C, C++, or Java, and the rest is for finer details. I am an exprienced, professional C and C++ programmer. Without this book some of the concepts for C# "unsafe" code and other concepts would have been difficult to grasp.

Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction

Average customer rating:

Desining Interaction Design
An essential introduction to HCI
I barely spent time on this textbook.
Disappointed
One of the Groundbreaking Books on HCI...

Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction
Helen Sharp , Yvonne Rogers , and Jenny Preece
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Website Architecture & Usability | Web Development | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Accessories:

ASIN: 0470018666

Book Description

The classic text, Interaction Design by Sharp, Preece and Rogers is back in a fantastic new 2 ^nd Edition!

New to this edition:

Completely updated to include new chapters on Interfaces, Data Gathering and Data Analysis and Interpretation, the latest information from recent research findings and new examples
Now in full colour
A lively and highly interactive Web site that will enable students to collaborate on experiments, compete in design competitions, collaborate on designs, find resources and communicate with others
A new practical and process-oriented approach showing not just what principals ought to apply, but crucially how they can be applied

"The best basis around for user-centered interaction design, both as a primer for students as an introduction to the field, and as a resource for research practitioners to fall back on. It should be labelled 'start here'."
—Pieter Jan Stappers, ID-StudioLab, Delft University of Technology

Customer Reviews:

Desining Interaction Design.......2007-09-23

So, I bought this book "Interaction Design, 2nd Edition" by Sharp, Rogers and Preece, and I thought maybe the world is interested in my two cents. So here it goes ;-)

Despite the fact that the authors use a lot of words in order to explain even the simplest facts, the book is written concisely and presents a clearly understandable train of thought that leads from the very first introductory page to the very last reference page. The authors start out by giving small introductions to every chapter, explaining what is covered on the following pages. A large amount of boxes with extra information and "comments" help to deepen the insight of the covered material. Many pictures, drawings and graphs visualize very abstract sections and a (very) short summary after each chapter is of great value when you would like to freshen up what you have read earlier. The book's layout clearly is geared towards students, as it incorporates many colored boxes and pictures, without, however, being inconsistent. This makes it possible to skim through the book and look up some information without reading through entire sections. Experts in Human-Computer Interaction might wish for a lower amount of examples to bring a point across and would like the authors to have focused on the details a little more. Also, the fact that the authors make a lot of inline citations gives rise to the impression that they only repeat other's ideas. Yet, in fact, the book incorporates a fair amount of the authors' research (as one can easily see in the references), which is presented most modestly.

The book is literally on interaction design, NOT usability testing and NOT on other HCI methodology. If one is interested in that, I would strongly recommend Kuniavsky (2003) and Rubin (1994). If you are interested in interaction design and the principles that lead to a good user experience, this book is for you. Especially novices in ID will appreciate the level of detail, the amount of examples and extra information and the thorough explanations. Experts will find this book helpful and invaluable, yet sometimes a little wordy.

An essential introduction to HCI.......2007-05-16

I think this book is a must-read, essential of the introduction to HCI.
It covers all the important aspects of interaction design with an important and coherent message--user-centeredness for design. It is not a mere collection of the elements that need to be learned in HCI. The authors emphasize the importance of user-centeredness in interaction design, and exhaustively and thoughtfully integrate all the knowledge that is essential to this approach in the field of HCI.
I would strongly recommend this book to any serious instructors for HCI who like to teach the state-of-art directions and approaches in user-centered interaction design in HCI with covering all the important concepts founded in cognitive psychology, software development and design methods, and various user study techniques to be used in interaction design.

I barely spent time on this textbook........2006-12-23

It was somehow helpful to understand on some topics.
However, Interaction Design is kind of subjective topic.
Hence, I think this book is quite good on giving some examples to make a clear point.

Disappointed.......2006-11-11

there were almost 20 pages missing
on both chapters 8 and 9
this is very disappointing...

One of the Groundbreaking Books on HCI..........2006-11-06

If you work in application design or development, software, or web design... READ THIS BOOK! It will take your work to the next level.

Be warned, though... it is terribly boring! You'll think you're in college again. Don't put it down though, it's important knowledge.

Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation Step by Step (Step By Step Developer Series)

Average customer rating:

Great book among others
Waste of Time
Review In progress
Outstanding resource
Nice book for WCF

Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation Step by Step (Step By Step Developer Series)
John Sharp
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Operating Systems | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0735623368

Book Description

Microsoft Windows Communication Foundation is your hands-on, step by step guide to learning how to use WCF to create interoperable Web Services. Teach yourself the essentials of using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)a key component of the new WinFX development environment for Windowswith this practical, hands-on tutorial. Includes practice exercises and code samples on CD.

Customer Reviews:

Great book among others.......2007-09-28

I bought 2 other books on WCF and have scanned through a number of others and this one is, by far, the most useful and practical of the ones I have seen.

I especially liked the chapter on making your WCF service robust, providing what I felt was very practical advice for a production level service.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is going to be building a production service and is just ramping up on WCF.

Waste of Time.......2007-09-14

Book appears not to have had a technical review -- numerous configuration details required to get the code working on Vista are missing. After 40+ hours of troubleshooting gave up in Chapter 2.

Review In progress.......2007-08-18

The book itself is flimsy. Already my table of contents is falling out of the book and the binding is coming apart.. this happened within a day of reading..

I am currently on chapter 3. The exercises are okay, I had some issues with permissions, but that was my fault.. I found most of the exercises to involved... Too much going to the AdventureWorks DB,when all I want to do is HelloWorld to understand the basic concept. I typed it from scratch (and I am a VB.NET developer) for the C# experience, I could have used the disk. I will change the rating when I finish the book!

Outstanding resource.......2007-07-09

Normally I'm not thrilled with the "Step by Step" books from MS Press, this one is definately the exception. Though not every practice project worked "out of the box" the book details the "how to" create a WCF service in great detail with applicable examples in code. Very informative and I highly recommend it to anyone who needs to know how to get their WCF services up and running.

Things I liked about the book were the straight forward examples and explanations of how to setup and run a WCF service using many different hosting methods (IIS, Windows Service, and a Windows Host Application). The clear and concise explanations made a tough job a heck of alot easier.

Things I did not like about the book were the lack of explanation of "unexpected errors" you might encounter if you setup a test case incorrectly. The book could come a long way by including some of the common errors you're likely to encounter if you miss a step or your PC isn't setup properly for the example you're running.

Still, lacking that, this is a great book for getting started with WCF, I highly recommend it.

Nice book for WCF.......2007-06-08

It is a very nice step by step for WCF. Although it is an introductory book for WCF, the concepts supporting WCF are very advanced. Do not be frustrated either. Just keep reading and doing exercises.

I agree with some reviewers that the first 5 chapters are the foundation of this book while the rest of chapters can be read while having real world projects going on.

I strongly recommend it should be the first book you read about Windows Communication Foundation. Buy it!

Average customer rating:

Deffinitely a beginner book
Wretched
Great coursebook, but heavy for the beginner
A huge over written mass of book
Very confusing and technical

C# How to Program
Harvey M. Deitel , Paul J. Dietel , Jeffrey A. Listfield , Tem R. Nieto , Cheryl H. Yaeger , and Marina Zlatkina
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Web Services | Web Development | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Computer Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Computers & Internet | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0130622214

Customer Reviews:

Deffinitely a beginner book.......2007-03-29

This book is solidly aimed at beginners. It almost as if it's written for a reasonably intelligent person who somehow hasn't had much computer experience. These "How to Program" books in their previous editions for C and C++ were always held up as a sort of gold standard for learning a programming language. That is not the case with this C# edition.

The book is verbose to a fault. I've read several intro C# books now, and this is easily the worst one. For all it's pages, How to Program, offers so little to the reader. Yes it covers all the basic information you need to know, but it's so verbose you can't help but feel like the author is wasting your time as you read it.

To give you examples, most books of this sort assume the reader knows what a computer and the internet are, and at least can name a few programming languages. Other books will give you maybe a few pages of introduction to the history of C# and .NET and make comparisons to other common languages. How to Program starts with a 35 page chapter explaining computers, how they work, the internet, and a history of programming leading up to C#.

From there, every chapter begins with a smattering of historical quotes that have the most tenuous relationship to the material being presented in the chapter. Every basic feature is then covered in agonizing detail in a writing style capable of putting Bam Margera into a coma.

Your money and time would be much better spent on any of the following 5 books, Programing C# (O'reilly), Learning C# 2005 (O'reilly), Programming Microsoft Visual C# 2005: The Language, Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Step by Step, or C# for Dummies (I'm not kidding). Get any of those 5 books and Programming .NET Components (O'reilly), and you will learn much more in fewer pages and have a much greater grasp of working with C# and .NET.

Wretched.......2006-04-20

The text and examples in this book are too bogged-down in Visual Studio-isms for it to be a good introductory programming text, but the material is also too basic for experienced programmers.

The layout is terrible. Practically every third word is bolded, and the prose is interrupted by frequent "asides" that are inserted in the middle of paragraphs and stretch across entire pages. I found one page with *eight* asides on it! If the information was vital enough to be included, it should be integrated with the rest of the text; if it's truly optional/additional info, it should have been placed in the margins where it wouldn't interrupt the flow of the text upon a first reading. I find this book nearly impossible to actually read because of these very poor design decisions.

The few code examples I've tried to run from the book do not compile as printed. I suspect they were copied-and-pasted out of Visual Studio with vital parts omitted. This is an inexcusable oversight for a book aimed at beginners.

There is a second edition of this book out now. I would seriously recommend casting a critical eye on it, after all the problems with the first edition.

I have a few Deitel books that I like a great deal, so this book was a real letdown in every way. Please avoid if you value your sanity.

Great coursebook, but heavy for the beginner.......2005-12-22

Like a few others said, this book is very verbose at 1500 pages, but it's overkill for most people. I like it because it's got lots of coverage on many areas, but the examples are too big and too many and take from showing the meaty theory around each chapters objectives. I still give it 4 stars because others who have looked it over told me it's not too bad

A huge over written mass of book.......2005-12-19

I've been reading technical books for 25 years and this book was recommended to me by someone else - what a let down. First, way too verbose on every subject. I have never seen a book with so much miscellaneous and distracting stuff crammed into one page. The book is 1500 pages of which half don't need to be there. This might work in a class room, but a huge mistake for individual learning. They call there code samples live code, but I call it filling the pages. It's better to explain concepts with simple examples first, then build on them, and this book fails miserably. Many times, only a 2-3 paragraphs explains something, then it goes on for 10 pages dissecting samples. Then briefly concludes before whisking to the next long sample. It's quite the jumble. Also, open any page in this book and you will see 20 bold highlighting of keywords that is very distracting. Also, the pages are thin and have a glare that I find annoying.

The authors appear very knowledge and I'm sure they mean well, but the book is a labor of over analyzing. It's need to be merged with a "dummies" approach to make it more balanced.

I found the subject of basic classes poorly covered in only one brief chapter, and I still haven't found how to make arrays of classes. Also, the index seems to be weak.

However, the breadth of the book is nice if you need to study a few esoteric areas such at TCP/IP, and I have to admit that the chapter on data structures and collections seems to be superb. I would only buy the book for a few of the chapters, but if your trying to learn from the ground up, you will doubt your confidence to learn programming.

Very confusing and technical.......2005-09-16

This book may have some examples that work but the whole context is utterly confusing. I have it because it's what I'm using for my OOP programming class and I wish they didn't use it! It gets me so frustrated just going through it that I was asking the teacher if I should drop programming altogether. In reading another post, I see that a University teacher wrote that they didn't like this book as the students start blaming themselves for not understanding the concepts when it's really the books fault. I was guilty of feeling that way but in talking with other classmates and in reading these reviews from BEGINNERS, this book is definitely not worth it! If you are an experienced C++ or Java programmer you will probably understand the book pretty well as there are experienced people posting their thoughts but for the beginner it's a no no! I'm in a beginner class and it's way too confusing and frustrating!

Average customer rating:

Good introduction to applied economics
Wrong Edition
outstanding introduction to economics

Economics of Social Issues
Ansel M Sharp , Charles A Register , and Paul W Grimes
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Accessories:

ASIN: 007298435X

Book Description

Designed as an introduction to general economics for non-majors, Sharp/Register/Grimes’ Economics of Social Issues presents economic concepts as useful tools to analyze contemporary social issues. Each chapter presents economic concepts then places them within the context of very current issues facing society. The book may also be used to supplement principles courses with lively social issues to add relevance to the economic principles being taught.

Customer Reviews:

Good introduction to applied economics.......2006-12-04

This is an introductory policy economics book. The principal weakness of this book is that it does not give a solid explanation of economic theory, and it will probably be a bit basic for anyone who has taken even separate introductory courses in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. The book appears to be designed to stand alone as introductory economics textbook for non-economics majors. What little (very little) economic theory is needed to understand this book is explained within, but it is not enough to meet even the needs of introductory class economics class for business or economics majors. Political science majors might find this book useful for giving them an introduction to the economic issues at hand in education, unemployment, free trade, government spending, social security, and other areas (such as the business of big sports). Importantly, the authors seem to come out with new editions often, so they are hopefully keeping up to date on the issues.

This book will give someone as solid a foundation as can be achieved wihtout really learning economic theory, which makes me think that it would be best for people studying a political or policy-related field. It could perhaps be used in a serious economics class, provided sources of more in depth information are also used.

Wrong Edition.......2005-07-06

I am supposed to get 16th edition, instead I received 15th edition. The book was completely changed from the previuos edition

outstanding introduction to economics.......1999-03-18

this is an outstanding book for those who want to know more, but not too much more, about economic thinking. modern examples and applications make the book easy to read, for a university text.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books