EE Books

I've been developing Netbeans plugin for Java EE development for the past eight years, and have knowledge of most part of the tools. When approached for help by Netbeans users, they were either guided to sparse documents in the Netbeans Knowledge base or a blog was written for their benefit. I wished for an one stop book, which I could point Netbeans users to. I'm glad to see that David Heffelfinger has written a book similar to what I wished for and published by Packt Publishing.

The book is written to help Java developers who want to learn Java EE, as well as seasoned Java EE developers who would want to use an IDE for their development. Since Netbeans is an ideal tool for Java EE 5 development, the book explains how to develop end to end Java EE application using Netbeans IDE. Netbeans has numerous Java EE development support tools to develop a full-fledged Java EE application fairly easily. This book is not to teach you all the principles of Java EE, but to put all the Java EE related Netbeans tools into perspective so that a novice user can easily navigate through the maze of tools offered by Netbeans to develop a Java EE application from scratch.

Over all Java EE 5 Development With Netbeans 6 is a good read. With lots of visual aids, the concepts are well explained. Though this book is not a dedicated book for learning Java EE technology, Java EE concepts are clearly explained where ever needed, which makes it an easy read for non Java EE developers. This book has enough information for a novice user to write an end-to-end Java EE application including the front end, back end, business logic, deployment and testing, although it does not cover all the Java EE technologies supported by Netbeans.

A pleasant and useful book to read.

Heffelfinger has written an extensive user manual for NetBeans 6. That's what this book effectively is. The numerous screen captures and accompanying text walks you through the capabilities of NetBeans.

You can see how it uses windows of forms, where you type in various data, and it then makes HTML and XML markup based on that data. Far more robust than you manually writing markup, which is slower and highly error prone.

The text can also be used as a way to understand Java EE 5. This is more than just a way to write HTML. Using JSTL, it integrates to connecting to backend SQL databases. To this ends, NetBeans also is a top-down approach to generating SQL commands, which are then written as tags in markup. Useful if you only have a rudimentary knowledge of SQL. Similar to how NetBeans shields you from most HTML and XML.

Plus, NetBeans is also a front end to using java Servlets, JSP and JavaServer Faces. The first 2 have been around for several years and are quite mature. While JSF is newer, and is meant to be a standard web application framework, as an alternative to Struts or Spring. The book is an easy introduction to JSF, via NetBeans.

There is an awkwardness about many of the book's figures, however. The shading seems a little faded, and the contents of images inside the figures are not as crisply delineated as they could be. I think what happened is that screen captures were made of various NetBeans windows, converted to grayscale and then used as is. Perhaps some image enhancement steps could have been used to improve the renderings.

I have nothing to do with psichology ( I am an MBA with strong business background, yes, some MBAs know squad about business). But after listening to this useless debate (behaviorists, freudians and the like)for so many times in my life I decided to study each one of them. This book has achieved its goal for me. To tell me what the heck Skinner was up to. I liked his ideas, ideals and theories, although some are quite strange and not quite possible to be real. If Skinner was a genious as ALL of his followers claim that's fine with me, but he wasn't perfect, and in many passages of the book readers will be able to pin point some madness.

Great book overall, just go easy with all you read in there.

In Life and Labor in the Old South, Ulrich Phillips outlines the geological, social, and economic history of the America's antebellum South. Beginning with a detailed explanation of the influence of climate and soil, Phillips traces the various elements that collectively imposed the unique conditions of life which shaped and influenced both Southern culture and public policy from the founding of Jamestown in the early 17th century right up to the Civil War. His primary purpose is to shed light onto the economic inevitability of slavery's development, explore the individual and collective relationships between the region's Caucasian and African inhabitants, and immerse the reader in the daily lives and commercial activities of everyone who participated in the region's agrarian economy.

His central argument is that the southern colonies' peculiar institution was not premeditated, but gradually developed in logical response to the lie of the land and water, the limitations of climate, and the requirements of the crops.

Good tobacco, for example, required much painstaking labor because of the complete absence of machine processes and the need for detailed care at nearly every step in its cultivation. Wheat gave still poorer prospect for Southern farmers because its work season occupied a very small part of the year. Rice was therefore initially presented as the best opportunity for profit in America, and the culture of rice was extended to favorable locations all along the coastal regions. Then in the early 1800's cotton ascended to the top of the South's economy following the introduction of the cotton gin, giving rise to the romanticized economy of the classic southern plantation.

Initially, indentured servants comprised the main bulk of immigration -- usually from the lower classes of Europe. From the planter's point of view, this unfree labor had the disadvantage of being paid for in advance. Thus, there was little incentive for these indentured immigrants to vigorously or careful work their assigned farms. Also, planters buying imported indentures to work on their land automatically indoctrinated and educated future competitors. Finally, these indentured servants were prone to "seasoning fever" which carried thousands to early graves because of the new climate, strange food, and disheartening work. The planters' solution to all these problems was the importation of African slaves.

At all times in the South about half of the slaves were owned or hired in units of twenty or less, and half of this half were on small farms or in town employment. Thus many small planters' sons and virtually all the small farm planters personally worked alongside their slave hands; and indoor tasks were parceled among the women and girls both white and black.

In contrast, plantation life was much different. On the plantation, the slaves were a virtual conscript army, living in barracks. Husbands and wives were comrades in service under an authority as complete as any Marine company -- they had no choice but to obey.

State regulatory statutes were equally repressive. They forbade slaves from possessing weapons, striking any white person even in self-defense, being out of quarters after curfew, traveling without a white escort or assembling at night unless a white person was present; and rural citizens in their capacity as militia were frequently organized into squads to patrol designated areas and discipline any slaves caught in transgression of these rules. Moreover, laws forbade the teaching of slaves to read and write, and restricted their opportunities for personal development and self-improvement at every turn.

Phillips also outlines the economic underpinnings of the slave trade and shows how slave purchases could bankrupt a careless planter because of unpredictable market fluctuations. Mindful of these risks, thousands of employers avoided this exposure by hiring slaves instead of buying them. This was especially feasible in older districts because many proprietors had more slaves than they needed and preferred to hire out rather than sell them.

The first half of the book is organized chronologically as Phillips takes the reader through the geologic and cultural evolution of the South. He begins with a discussion of the region's climate and topography before launching into a history of its exploration, conquest, and commercial exploitation. The book's second half delves into the specific economic challenges of running a profitable farm. This section reads as a primer for ambitious planters in its breakdown of the labor costs, the acquisition and maintenance of slaves, the effective employment of plantation overseers, the selection/cultivation/ harvesting/sale of profitable crops, and a portrayal of planter life; all neatly broken down by specific regional differences throughout the antebellum South.

To this end, the author utilizes of a wide variety of source material. In addition to the usual array of historical books, periodicals and scholarly reports, Phillips makes liberal use of original source material like newspaper articles, business records, municipal journals, town meeting minutes, and first-hand observations contained in personal correspondence, diaries, and other personal first-hand accounts by the populace.

Beyond his contention that slavery was an inevitable commercial necessity, Phillips neither endorses nor condemns the South's culture or practices; instead, he "goes native" and immerses himself in the culture in order to reveal how the antebellum South "got that way."

Well, having finished my masters I decided on some light reading until I found a decent job in London. I soon took an interest in Sociology and read in great depth on criminology. This book was one of the best when it came to offering what sociologist would called the 'Anomic Apprach'- and yes that is as in Durkheim's theory. This book is generally considered as one of the best if you are looking for something realtd to the theory of anoie, in the context of differential association (Sutherland's main theory). I would also draw comparisons with Cloward and Ohlin who, in the 60's wrote 'Delinquenct and Opportunity'- a masterpeice in the peicing together of these very difficult concepts.

I always find it a shame that more people do not read book such as these aqs they really con offer a valued insight to the way society works, and more importantly, how it can go wrong.

I woudl be interested if anyone else should have any thoughts on this subject. Please feel free to email me on olie_sharp@hotmail.com

"Henry Cabot Lodge was a gentleman, a scholar, and an elegant and persuasive figure in the United States Senate--slender, graceful, gray-haired, gray-bearded, the embodiment of all that was patrician--he caught and held the eye as might William Gillette on a crowded stage" writes Allen. It such thoroughly descriptive insights of the characters of this era that transform the reader to that epoch. A taste of this generation is creatively offered in this glimpse of history.

We're told about the scandously spread of rouge and lipstick, which reached even remote villages at this time. Media usage changed the culture. "First of all was the radio, which was destined ultimately to alter the daily habits of Americans as profoundly as anything that the decade produced," we're told. The articles on radio found in periodicals of the period skyrocketed as popularity of the medium exploded.

This book is holistic in looking at the various categories of human activity. Sports, entertainment, politics, journalism, religion, are all included.

I have read some of Kurzman's latter writings, so I was surprised by this old book about the politics of the Dominican Republic. Kurzman details the fall of the first democratically elected President of the Dominican Republic Juan Bosch and the American military intervention in 1965. Kurzman goes into great detail about the political situation in the Dominican Republic, so this is perhaps not the best book for the novice reader.
One can get an idea on the difficulty in imposing a free election system into a land which never knew this form of government (similar to Iraq today). The United States faced this difficulty in the Dominican Republic in the early sixties, as now it faces it in Iraq. The transition was not easy in the Dominican Republic, as I am sure it will be difficult in the Iraq.
The Americans intervened in the Dominican Republic because it feared the Communists were taking over the government. Kurzman details in this book that very few Communists were in the revolt. People supported Juan Bosch and not the Communists. The Communists had been corrupted by the Trujillo dictatorship.
Altogether a good book about the DR and the difficult politics of this country during its crisis years.

Sharks may be thin, but it covers a lot of territory. In clear, unassuming language, Sharks provides an overview of the many species of sharks, their evolution, their remarkable anatomies and their sometimes troubled relationship with those of us who thought it safe enough to go back into the water.

As an aquarium curator, the author understands what attracts people to these creatures and delivers it up nicely. It's got a fantastic selection of photos and good use is made of diagrams and sidebars (e.g., How to Avoid a Shark Attack).

The organization is well thought out, with text broken up into approachable, subheaded sections. A few are quite clever, such as those based on "Little Red Riding Hood."

Sharks even tackles some of the more difficult aspects of the subject and manages a fairly good job without dumbing the material down. Shark attacks are dealt with as frankly as the need for the enforcement of conservation measures. Thankfully, the author avoids preaching and presents a balanced point of view.

All in all, Sharks is a great reference for its intended age group.

You may find the prose a little bit too much like a Bible story, and the black and white moral clarity a little out of kilter with our present-day tendency to equivalency and pandering. But this book hits the mark in its ability to depict a great man triumphing after going through some really tough times. George Washinginton is the man, and the time is the summer and fall of 1776 - not a good stretch for the Revolution. Mr. Fast gives us an inside look at what Washington might have been thinking as he literally drags his army in retreat from one disaster after another, from Brooklyn Heights, to Manhattan, to New Jersey - with the British army and Hessian mercenaries breathing down his neck, soldiers deserting on a grand scale, fellow generals looking for ways to stab him in the back, and all the while not getting much support from the Continental Congress. The truthfulness of the portrait is striking, we see Washington is not necessarily the demi-God we have grown up to believe in, but a simple man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, grasping for a way out, as he watches his army disintegrating like "grains of sand falling through his hands." Fast also gives us facinating insights into characters, such as Nathan Hale, Gen. Henry Knox, Alexander Hamilton, and others. Mr. Fast wrote this historical novel in the early dark days of WWII to rally his countryman by illustrating that tough times weren't new to America. If you think you're having a bad day, or that you live in tough times, or that America is in a jam it can't get out of, this book is a jolt and a tonic. Washington retreated, but believed he would ultimately win. As the British, Japanese, and Germans learned - don't ever count us out.

"The Iron Woman" is the only authoritative attempt at a biographical sketch of Baroness Moura Budberg, a controversial figure in the history of Russian female emigres. The life of the Baroness was connected with the famous literary figures of the twentieth century: Maxim Gorky and H. G. Wells, as well as with that of a British diplomat Robert Bruce Lockhart. These men have shaped Moura's life and they had a tremendous impact on the contemporary intellectual societies. Berberova's book is aimed at dissipating the myths surrounding the life of the Baroness-myths that she herself has created and that have enveloped her life and legacy. Even though the author succedes in proving that many of the stories that Moura told about herself were simply untrue, the image of the Baroness nevertheless does not lose its enigmatic aura that fascinated her contemporaries and the reader. Contemporary scholars hypothesize that Moura was an intelligence operator for not only Russia, but Great Britain, Germany, France and/or Italy. Berberova carefully avoids the subject due to lack of evidence. This is the only shortcoming of the book, since the subject of spying is practically ignored. Nevertheless,the book is the only complete biographical record of the amazing woman that shared the lives of the famous figures and lived through the turbulent times and events of European history of the twentieth century. Berberova's narration style is very personal, the book flows through people, times and places--the author's intimate knowledge of the subject makes the book a great joy to read. The story has inspired me to study the life of the Baroness further.

i saw this in borders and was tired of reading cliche fantasy and i saw this novel by iris johansen. i was so happy i did, this a great thriller it never lets up. johansen does a great job with character growth on megan blair. great and fast read, but no fantasy.

Review:
This book is really good for readers who enjoy and look for the expense, thrill ride, and also a mystery. In a rate from 1-10 the book deserves a 8. This book was really challenging and had the feel of being turned into reality. When reading this book you can actually see yourself inside the book or viewing it into a movie. Pandora's Daughter has a great story and I recommend others to read it as well. Become drawn into the box of Pandora.

The sweet and independent Dr. Megan Blair has her life under control. Or she did until she is nearly murdered. And it just gets worse...could the same monster that killed her mother years ago be after her? When a sexy stranger appears out of the blue to save her, Megan isn't sure who she can trust. Then there's the new physic ability she's discovered and can't yet control--only her life depends on it. Soon the stakes get direr still as the fates of the only people she loves are thrown into the mix. Megan sets out on an international chase deeper into her past to try and determine her future.

At times the plot veers a little predictable and formulaic, but it's hard not to enjoy this fast paced suspense novel. Iris Johansen has delivered a nice amount of steam and intrigue that doesn't disappoint.

I recently purchased the book Pandora's Daughter after reading the review on Amazonbooks.com and was very pleased with my purchase. The book arrived in excellent condition as stated and I am confident I will purchase more books in the future because of this experience off the internet with Amazon.com. Thank you W F Kerns

I love this book! I loved the paranormal aspects of the story. I hope the author creates more books along this line.