Active Books

I have mixed feelings about this book -- there are sections which are extraordinarily helpful, and then he spoils it. The most useful sections, and ones which other touring books would be wise to emulate, are his selections of helpful letters to various people (hotels, cycling shops, etc.) written in French for the linguistically challenged (like me). However, contrary to the remarks of the previous reviewer, my wife and I found that the selection of roads was not small country lanes -- even when they paralleled the route selected by Mr. Simpson.

We toured through the Dordogne and Mr. Simpson's route both out of Bordeaux, and then later in the trip the section from Cahors back towards Bordeaux were on major roads when wonderful alternatives were at hand. We found this inexplicable. For the first part of the book I rate it at 5 stars -- but as the route selection is so marginal (at least where we tried to use it) I have to downgrade to 3. The best of both worlds was to use this book for preparation, and then another for actual route planning. For that I highly recommend the Whitehill's book, 14 Tours Geared for Discovery.

I have mixed feelings about this book -- there are sections which are extraordinarily helpful, and then he spoils it. The most useful sections, and ones which other touring books would be wise to emulate, are his selections of helpful letters to various people (hotels, cycling shops, etc.) written in French for the linguistically challenged (like me). However, contrary to the remarks of the previous reviewer, my wife and I found that the selection of roads was not small country lanes -- even when they paralleled the route selected by Mr. Simpson.

We toured through the Dordogne and Mr. Simpson's route both out of Bordeaux, and then later in the trip the section from Cahors back towards Bordeaux were on major roads when wonderful alternatives were at hand. We found this inexplicable. For the first part of the book I rate it at 5 stars -- but as the route selection is so marginal (at least where we tried to use it) I have to downgrade to 3. The best of both worlds was to use this book for preparation, and then another for actual route planning. For that I highly recommend the Whitehill's book, 14 Tours Geared for Discovery.

Jerry H. Simpson Jr. became interested in bicycling in France when he started touring France while part of the American Army stationed in France after WWII. While the book lacks glitz, the routes he has picked are extraodinarily good. Most of them utilize small, rural, lightly trafficed farm road (tertiary roads) in excellent condition. While this was published in 1992, and Simpson does not plan a new edition, it, still, is simply the best

I used to geocache and so I read this book with interest. The information is misleading ("GPSr: Slang of a GPS receiver." An initialism is hardly "slang") to slightly dangerous (the author recommends turning off the GPS for most of your trek to "save batteries." Instead of losing your breadcrumb trail back to your camp or car, why not just carry spare batteries?).

It appeared to me that the author had never really spent much time geocaching. Take his advice with a grain of salt.

I'd never heard of geocaching before so when I saw this interesting title I had to find out what it was about.

The idea is simple and sounds like a lot of fun, though, because basically, it's a game where people leave secret stashes of goodies hidden in places all over the world that you use your GPS system to find. The stashes typically contain things like CDs, DVDs, books, non-perishable food items, maps, inexpensive gifts and trinkets, and so on. Enthusiasts sometimes follow a trail of clues like an old treasure hunt to find the cache, in addition to using their GPS system. They can be buried in the ground in remote wilderness areas or left under a park bench in a city. There are caches in every U.S. state and many countries around the world, from England to Estonia. The book gives the GPS coordinates of each cache.

Since the game was invented a few years ago, it has rapidly evolved and many new variations have been invented, including geodashing, garmin games, geoteaming, hide and seek, just 4 openers, letterboxing, microcaching, minute war, multicaches, orienteering, poker run, project ape, tag, virtual caches, webcam caches, volksmarching, story cache, and something called the "stampin' fools game."

The book covers GPS basics as well as the history of the technology, and the chapters include GPS units, Creating Caches, Geo Games (which I just listed the names of above), Backcountry Safety and Etiquette, Geo Happenings, Clubs and Websites, and Cachinary 1.0.

The book has a forward by Dave Ulmer, the inventer of the sport, including the dramatic story of his snowmobile crash on Mt. St. Helens back in the days when the civilian GPS system accuracy was only 1/10 of what it is now--which was the reason for his crash. Because of that positioning error, he'd gotten into the chute right next to the one he was supposed to be in, which led to his crash.

Overall, this is an interesting, entertaining, and detailed introduction to the sport of geocaching that should be of interest to beginning and seasoned geocachers alike.

This is a good book for someone that is interested in or brand new to Geocaching. If you have found a couple of geocaches you will probably not find much of interest here.

One of the worst technical books I read recently. Among plenty of stupid, badly written sentences just one thing: I never found in the book a well wrriten definition - the author tends to define "unknown by unknown" from the first page of the book. If you are new to the subject the book will frustrate you. If you are already familiar with AD poor organization and style will frustrate you as well.

This is an excellent book and exceptionally useful! I've read it from over to cover and found countless nuggets that helped me out. Overall, this book is well organized. It's content flows well and subject matter is very well written. This book serves as a reference on the topic of Active Server Directory administration.

This is exactly what I was looking for to understand Active Directory. It is very concise on the abilities of the product. Very Useful.

It was a helpful and informative book, but it didn't contain as many lodges as I thought it would have and the info wasn't as extensive on the lodges it had.

This book offers an excellent and large selection of destinations and provides ample information about them. I would wish for a greater number of unusual entries, however, those uncovered with more depth of searching. As destination ideas, these entries are not difficult to obtain on one's own.

This is a guide for the fun loving, adventurous traveler who is looking for a comfy place to crash. I have already been to 3 of the places listed in California and the guide was accurate, honest and easy to use.

If you need this book, you shouldn't be in the program. It provides less information than you'll find on a school's website. The information is so basic (yes! you will NEED A PLAN!) that anyone with five minutes and a pad of paper will come up with most of the items listed out of simple common sense. In addition, it deals only with one program design, and there are a myriad of them out there. There's also virtually no help if you're a liberal arts major, and few specifics, other than the most rudimentary materials, like a sample letter asking for a recommendation.

Don't waste the money. Look at a few websites and you'll have a wider view of what you need to do / what you should consider before enrolling than this provides.

The Assessment Of Prior Learning program is a great opportunity to earn college credits for your life and work experience. As a "mature" student, working during the day and attending classes at night, I was able to earn 30 general education credits through the APL process.

Roslyn Snow was my APL counseler and the input I received from her was invaluable. I remember one exchange in particular when I submitted my paperwork to Roslyn for her input and she responded that I appeared to be trying to talk them out of granting me credits for this class. When I reviewed my paperwork it was abundantly clear that her help was crucial to my success in the program.

Roslyn Snow's text "Preparing the Portfolio for an Assessment of Prior Learning" was an excellent tool for assembling the portfolio. It is written in a step-by-step format that is easily understood and very helpful for the APL student. With her experience and knowledge of the APL process, Roslyn Snow is definitely the go-to person for help and information.

As a mid-lifer, looking back over a 25 year span and trying to remember all of the situations in which prior learning had occurred, at first seemed impossible. Yet, broken down into bite-sized pieces, Roslyn Snow made it a piece of cake! Although the process was time-consuming, what could have been an overwhelming task became a simple one. This easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide shows how to earn the maximum college credits in an Assessment for Prior Learning Program. I couldn't have done it without this invaluable resource!

Worthless for the Kindle. No table of contents - no way to navigate other than searching or progressing through the book a page at a time. Complete waste of money.

In response to an earlier review, the publisher has added a table of contents that gets one to each of the plays. There is no further subdivision in the TOC, but it seems to be a reasonably formatted version of the First Folio.

I got my Kindle 2 weeks ago and am still learning its uses and limitations. I'm in the process of building my e-library. For me, getting all these Shakespeare plays for 99 cents is fantastic. I read the prior negative review and publisher's comment. My thoughts:
* The active table of contents does help - so the review was correct but now that this has an active TOC, the review is obsolete. FYI, Kindle functions (such as bookmarking) can also help you navigate the great but lengthy content here.
* I'm surprised/ impressed that the publisher responded to the request - either it's a true mom and pop publisher or the publisher really cares/ reads reviews and responds for even 99 cent products.
* Some of the line breaks appear to come in odd places, but I've found that to be the case for other Kindle books I got which had active TOC. For me, this was not a problem.
Overall, I rate this at 5 stars because of the value for dollar. Can you get the content free elsewhere? Sure - at any public library. But the chance to have all of these plays at my fingertips for 99 cents - great convenience and fantastic value. More broadly, this is an example of the value of the Kindle and ebooks - it allows great works to be accessible and convenient at ridiculously cheap prices (avoiding the physical costs of paper, printing, distribution). Of course, the Kindle remains pricey, but that's another story.

This is a very thorough, extensive book, covering nearly all aspects of Native American Living and Skills, I have yet to come across another book that is filled with such PRACTICAL information relating to wilderness survival skills as practiced by the Indian tribes of North America. I find that the author goes as in-depth as possible to explain how to apply the skills practically and efficiently, and easily. Peter Goodchild includes well-drawn sketches in most of the chapters, to go along with the written information on exactly how the skills are and were performed. This is the kind of book that I would recommend for someone serious about wilderness living, and/or someone wanting to easily learn the most practical native skills that were used for everyday life in the bush. In conclusion, this book is highly reccomended!

this book includes some very interesting things. a very good book.

This book fails to provide any details that are worth while.
Each food resource consists of a list of tribes that used that genus (species not differentiated). No details provided on method of harvesting nor required processing.
Another major section provids drawing of traditional clothing such as mocasins. Many different styles of mocasins are prepresented, but no discussion is made about the pros and cons of various designs. While interesting from a historical aspect, this is not a reference for survival skills. The details of any skills are iced over in favor of descriptioin of that was.

In "Tricks of the Active Trader" Neal Weintraub has done it again. He has provided an insightful book that any trader will benefit from. A combination resource directory and trading guide, Neal's latest work will add value to any trader's library. Using just one tip will more than pay for the book and the information in the chapter "Lisa Loves Russell" will pay for the book many, many, times over.

I.B.
Professional Trader
California

There is a reason why this book has two reviews after two years in publication--smart people have NOT bought this book. The book is filled with the author's attempt at light humor mixed with his "prestidigitations" and believe me, not a bit of the first 89 pages are worth a dime unless you want to know how zebras become prey if they lurk on the edges of the herd?? Pages 90 through 174 are about personal computers, avoiding spam, backing up your data, how to send emails, you get the picture. The type of info a sixth grader has already mastered...why so many pages are devoted to absolute grammar school level is beyond me. Oh, the meat you ask...what is it. Well, jump to part three where you can find out what radio stations to listen to, what web sites carry financial information and trading software you could find by doing a very simple Google search. The "Tricks for the Active Trader" is use your time more wisely, read one issue of Investor Business Daily and you are ahead of this book's curve.

When I first picked up "Tricks of the Active Trader", I was pretty certain it was written with people like me in mind. After all, I reasoned, I spend much of the day at least following the markets, and trade (stock and index options) on average once a day. In addition, I write an online options advisory newsletter. I felt that these two criteria qualified me as an "Active Trader", so I was more than ready for some of those "Tricks".

However, I quickly read into the title a second and even deeper meaning. When he discussed "active traders", I do believe Neal Weintraub includes "frequent" traders such as me in his definition. However, I also believe he is targeting traders at all levels who take active responsibility for their own trades and risk management, as well as those who should take active responsibility but prefer to hold someone else responsible for converting their trading capital into a fortune. So in short, Weintraub is directing his "tricks" to all of us, whether we trade once a month or once an hour.

Although the title suggests only "tricks", it actually contains tricks, tips, and traps. It's broken down nicely into three major sections: Tricks, Tips, and Traps; Computers, Software, and the Internet; and the Trader's Notebook. Weintraub, a former floor trader, currently an "active trader" and teacher of various trading-related topics, brings a great deal of personal expertise to bear in the various sections. Additionally, various sections were written by a broad range of experts such as hedge fund managers, trading software system developers, and analysts.

The book is quick paced, and easy to read and digest. I chose not to skip a word, but it is laid out in such a way that you can easily skip the segments that may not apply to your trading situation.

Weintraub closes the book with three rules for the active trader:

1. The less you do, the less can go wrong.
2. If you are in a financial hole, stop digging.
3. If you want to learn from your financial mistakes, stop making them.

Although these "rules" are a bit "tongue in cheek", they typify the brisk, light writing style of Weintraub and his contributing authors.

If you trade, even a little, and you hold yourself responsible for the outcome of your trading (is there any other real alternative?), Neal Weintraub wrote this book for you.

Kerry O'Hallaron, active trader and author of "The Perfect Play Newsletter" ( www.CheatTheStreet.com )

Buzan's books have always been good. THe skills in this one is extremely powerful. Ten times more powerful if it is read with Master your memory, olso by Tony.I've read this book trice in the library but never got hold of it.

The above rating is given in the context of revising for exams, although no doubt the books application is much wider. In summary the techniques - namely mindmaps - held within revolutionised the way I thought about studying for exams. On the basis of a ratio of time spent absobing the books content compared to benefit derived this book is without doubt the best I have ever read. The importance of learning how to learn as opposed to learing any specific body of knowledge can not be stressed enough. The stories of miraculous transformations from middle of the road students to Oxbridge candidates are not merely sales ploys, I firmly believe they occur. In my case I achieved average grades at GCSE before reading this text on the advice of one of my A Level teachers. I could not believe the transformation in efficeincy in terms of my revision techniques. I subsequently achieved four A grades at A Level and secured a place at one of the country's best universities. I have recommended the book to numerous friends and invariably their responses have matched my own. This said I do know a few who didn't rate the book, although i've no idea why not. If you buy one book this year with the intention of passing a set of exams make sure this is it - obviously if it's available!

A very disappointing book. I found it difficult to apply the techniques described (pp 1-57), including the pretentious Self-Enhancing Memory Matrix, to anything more complex than memorisation of things like shopping lists, historic dates and phone numbers. The rest of the book (pp58-165) is pure padding and comprises annotated lists of top artists, composers, writers, plots of Shakespeare's plays, capital cities, suffixes and prefixes,parts of the body, etc which anyone could cull from an enclyclopaedia or reference book. Very little indication is given as to how the Grid Maxtrix should be applied to these lists. The section on the "100 most basic words" from each of seven languages is laughable and gets no further than suggesting a way of remembering that "grande" in Italian means "big". An entertaining read - but serious students can happily forget it!

I used this book as a basis for a 3 week trip to the Swiss and Austrian Alps and it was invaluable. We stayed in recommended towns, Lauterburnen, Zermatt, and Alpbach and they were perfect jump off spots for hikes. We are day hikers, so it was nice to return to comfortable hotels in the towns. All of the hikes were on the mark for difficulty and scenery. I combined some of the shorter hikes into longer ones and used a couple of other books to find ways to extend some of the hikes in the book. We had a fantastic vacation and owe much of the success to this book.

A great hiking guide for easy walkers...in the picturesque villages of the alps.. these villlages are easy to get to with public transportationand all hotels cater to summer hikers/walkers. Lifts are nearby and trails are described and well signed and maintained... great for families and hikers of all ages... the book describes the details of the walks with many maps and hotel suggestions. A very user fiendly edition... try it

We followed the trails suggested in the Bernese Oberland section. We chose a walk rated as having medium diffiulty for the book. The descent was so steep that my 30-something walks-a-mile-to-work-everyday husband was not able to walk at all the next day because of the extreme pain in his knees. We missed out on all our subsequent hiking. We later learned (from our swiss maps) that the red-white-red trail markings meant "paths for experienced hikers". The yellow markings mean paths for everyone. There was no mention of this distinction in the book. And given the book's title, we would have thought that all of the walks would have been pretty easy. What would we have done if we were older or had our children along? I think hikers should ask their hosts in Switzerland to recommend walks. Our hotel (the Hotel Regina in Wengen) had many easy walks to suggest. I'd get a good map and order something better to read.