Fourth-market Books

I've read many futures trading books and I think this is "the" best book for beginners. The language is easy to understand and the author explained things step by step in a very organized matter. If you ever consider learning about futures, this is the book you have to read. I still use it as reference and it's one of my favorite books.

Todd Lofton is affilliated with Futures Magazine and has written an excellent book for beginning traders. I picked this book up at a Chapters location in Canada, and, if you can find it, get it for your library for future reference on futures trading.

The book is really basic in nature and tries to cover what the title conveys. I am disappointed that the math involved in most futures and options is not even touched upon (it could have been even without calculus). There are plenty of other books out there that do a much better job in introducing futures with math.

I am a laid back reader and I prefer to read a book like a novel. Especially when I do nto know anything about a subject.

This is a book for me . I would like to thank the author for his helpful samples with the bottomline (clearly visible) --- it really helps .

Great Job. I will watch out for other books coming from Mr. Todd now.

:)

Thank you Todd Lofton. I cannot tell you how relieved I was when I read your book. Having to learn an awful lot about futures trading for a new job fairly quickly, this book was a godsend. I first learned about it from a "strong buy" recommendation at tradingmarkets.com. Between the two, I have made my boss a very happy camper.

First Sentence: By now he knows he is going to die.

Chicago forensic pathologist is anxious to leave Beijing and the Chinese policeman with whom she fell in love but hasn't heard from since their return to the city when she is asked by the American Ambassador to perform an autopsy on an American state department employee found beheaded. Detective Li Yan has been ordered not to contact Margaret or he could lose his job and is investigating the beheading death of two Chinese when he is thrown in contact with Margaret. In spite of he friction between them they need to find the killer before more people die.

May's first book "The Firemaker," was plot-driven and very suspenseful. This book, is character-driven and doesn't work as well. The relationship problems are based on the cliché "big misunderstanding' that five minutes of conversation could have resolved. There are rather large holes in the plot of information it's hard to believe the protagonists wouldn't have known. The villain was apparent very early in the story. What I did really enjoy about the book, and made it worth reading, is the incredible sense of place May provides the reader, cultural look at present day China and fascinating information on its history. In spite of its flaws, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in China.

In Beijing, the police are baffled by the serial killing with the fourth beheading having just occurred. Forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell is tired of China especially her hotel room so she asks the American Ambassador to help her leave immediately. Her plans to go home to the states change when the American Embassy asks her to help the cops with the latest murder, an employee, Yuan Tao. Reluctantly she agrees as she knows her skills might help prevent another beheading.

To her dismay, Margaret is teamed up with Chinese police detective Li Yan. They met during an investigation into a murder in nearby Ritan Park and fell in love, but he ended their relationship abruptly. She is unaware why he did that as he has not told her that his superiors warned him to do so or face termination of his career. Angering Li is that renowned archeologist Michael Zimmerman, whom Margaret met at a party in his honor, seems to want her as he shows her the exciting terra-cotta figures found at nearby Xi'an. A jealous Li and upset Margaret argue over Michael's attention even as they begin to find clues that prove THE FOURTH SACRIFICE was done by a different person than the previous three and the tie between the four is the death of the last victim's father during the Cultural Revolution. Michael proposes while he, Margaret and Li rendezvous in a hidden chamber where death waits for them from a friendly source.

This is an excellent Chinese police procedural starring a strong American protagonist and a powerful support cast. The story line is fast-paced yet enables the reader to understand the emotions especially of the heroine and the cop, who return from the terrific FIREMAKER tale. However, the star of this exciting thriller is China as Peter May brings to life the rich heritage and present of a wide awake giant.

Harriet Klausner

A clever mystery set in Beijing and X'ian, China, that takes place in all the spots tourists would go on their first trip there. The reason for the decapitations, the starting point, becomes clear quite early, although the reason for the fourth one does not reveal itself until the end. May's plotting is clever but his handling of Chinese history is clumsy. Can one believe that the clever protagonist, the forensic scientist who has lived in China for three months, would not know who Ch'iang Kai Shek is or would not have seen the Terracotta Soldiers and known their history?

In Beijing, China, the police are investigating a series of heinous murders. Four men have died in what appears to be ritual sacrifices. Margaret Campbell is a forensic pathologist and wants to return to the Unites States. Her plans are put on hold when she is asked to help the police with the murder of Yuan Toa. She agrees to help, only because she wants to prevent another murder.

Margaret learns she is to team up with detective Li Yan and she isn't happy about the prospect of working with him. They met during a previous investigation and began a relationship with each other that was cut short by Li Yan. Margaret is unaware of the reason behind Li Yan's termination of their relationship.

When Margaret meets an American archaeologist, Li Yan becomes jealous of the budding relationship. The tension between Margaret and Li Yan builds as they follow the clues and the truth of the murders.

Peter May's novels are always exciting and The Fourth Sacrifice is no exception. His characters are richly drawn, the plot sizzles and the tension between Margaret and Li Yan is delicious. From the beginning, the reader is propelled into the action and when the book reaches its conclusion, it is a letdown because you just don't want the story to end.

Armchair Interviews says: The Fourth Sacrifice is a must read, and you'll want to check out his previous novels. You won't be disappointed.

This is one of those good stories that makes you wonder why you didn't come up with the idea yourself. 20 years after a religious cult commited mass suicide, some survivors are preparing a new mass suicide, and a woman who was rescued from the cult twenty years ago is in danger again.

The story is well structured and the characters likeable. It does lose its pace for a while in the last third of the book but it picks up again. Overall a good quick read.

I liked this book a lot. I liked the characters and how the plot developed. The reason for four stars instead of five, towards the end it did get a little slow. I hope these characters show up in another book.

Not as good as the last book - these characters were good but the premise was alittle strange. The whole "Luna-K" thing was not my cup of tea. I guess if you buy into the whole cult theme you would find this story enjoyable. Get this one at the library or the used bookstore!!

In New Mexico, young police officer Ian Campbell and other cops work the fatal car accident in which four people survive. Since the vehicle came from the Butler Divinity Mission, Ian and a veteran cop drive there to inform Reverend Michael Butler about the accident. However, no dogs or people are anywhere in what seems like a ghost town until they enter the chapel. They find a mass of dead people including Ian's newlywed wife social worker Anne, who worked closely with Reverend Michael.

Twenty-two years later, Ian takes a room in New Hampshire's Tranquillity Inn owned and managed by Kelly Stone, one of the four survivors of the Butler massacre. Ian fears for Kelly's life, as an unknown assailant is completing the mission of Reverend Butler by killing the survivors. Ian plans to insure this widow with a brilliant three-year-old daughter Jade lives. As he and Kelly fall in love, neither realizes that the serpent has entered Eden and will use Jade if necessary to complete the quest that includes Butler's daughter Luna-K better known to Ian as his beloved Kelly.

FOURTH VICTIM is an exhilarating romantic suspense that starts off with horrific Jones like suicides and murders, slows down to enable a relationship to form between the lead duo, and then goes full speed until the climatic confrontation. Ian is a terrific champion seeking revenge for the murder of his beloved Anne and feeling guilty as he falls in love again. Kelly is a fascinating protagonist hiding her tainted ancestry to protect Jade. Fans of taut thrillers will want to read Ian's efforts to keep the two females who have reawakened long thought comatose feelings safe.

Harriet Klausner

This book is a direct descendant of the Hampdenshire Wonder, although in this case the enhanced intelligence is controlled and deliberate.

When a very young James Holden's parents are killed, he is left in a different situation to most children in this situation. His clever scientist olds had invented an education machine that leaves him at five with the intellectual development and education of someone in high school, and beyond.

Much as Tim does in Children of the Atom he realises he can support himself by writing, and makes a living doing so when eight years old. This is a profession where you do not need to be seen.

Eventually he needs an adult front for economic reasons, and he approaches his landlord.

However, he can't stay hidden forever, no matter how clever, and unscrupulous types, as well as the government and the judiciary with ambition decide to put his invention to use, while shielding him from harassment, spies, and other such annoyances.

Terrifically suspenseful and readable tale of a small boy artificially made super-intelligent by scientists. He escapes his keepers and uses his superior brain to evade authorities and get along in the adult controlled world. If you liked James Patterson's "When the Wind Blows" and sequels, you'll like this original, tightly written suspense novel even better.

It seems that 18-year-old Daphne, the fourth daughter of the Reverend Charles Armitage, is the most beautiful of "The Six Sisters" that Marion Chesney has been writing about in these romance novels of Regency England, so of course that means trouble. No one is more aware of Daphne's dazzling beauty than Daphne herself, who is also painfully aware of her father's track record when it comes to finding wealthy noblemen to marry his daughters. As we all know, the vicar likes to hunt, and he requires the financial support of his three sons-in-law to do so. But Daphne has other ideas, namely to marry Cyril Archer. At face value (and I do mean at face value), they are a perfect match, because he is as vain and empty-headed as Daphne herself. Once married, she can continue to present the pretty picture of herself to the world without having to reveal there is an empty shell of a woman behind the beautiful face.

However, while Daphne is in London with Lady Godolphin the malaprop-prone cousin whose home all of the Armitage girls seem to end up with when they visit London town, Reverend Armitage's affairs suffer a catastrophic misfortune. You see, a jealous bishop is after the vicar's hunting pack, and when Mr. Simon Garfield comes to the rescue, and proves himself to be as rich as he is noble, Reverend Armitage offers up Daphne as a bride. This means daughter number four is going to have to drop the facade and demand the right to find her own husband (like that is going to happen). Meanwhile, Annabelle, the second oldest sister, is having troubles with her own marriage because the new baby in the house tends to scream all of the time. Annabelle might be more maternal if the boy was actually her own, but that, of course, is part of the problem.

"Daphne" would not be a Chesney romance if the title character was not put into a compromising position, and we have one of those as well in this book. But by now Chesney's readers fully understand and appreciate her formula as one forced marriage after another leads to true love and romance. There are plenty of period touches for those who pay attention to such details, and while the characters are all familiar types from such tales, Chesney clearly takes great pleasure in putting them through their paces. Besides, all of the twists and turns in the plot add to the general sense of merriment, as does her sense of humor. But in the end love will prevail, Mr. Archer will be forced to flee the field, and the vicar will get to keep his hunt. Next up is "Diana the Huntress," which should give you plenty of indications as to what sort of handful she will prove to be and if you have gotten two-thirds of the way through the series there is no reason to stop now.

I've bought the six sisters' series in the wrong order with Daphne being the last one in the series that I got. The book is good and typical Marion Chesney. Daphne, who knows she is a beauty, finds another beauty in the handsome Cyril Archer, but in typical Marion Chesney style, there is more to meet the eye. The Vicar is indebeted to a Mr. Simon Garfield, who is able to read Daphne like a book. He knows she knows she's a beauty and putting up a front because it's easier that way. The way Marion Chesney gets these two finally together is delightful.

This is not the best of the six sisters' series, that's why I gave only four stars. I was somewhat handicapped since I had the read all the other in the series before I read Daphne. I would recommend you read the series in the correct order, but even if you don't, this book is still wonderful to read.

I purchased Vol I (not on amazon right now) of this two volume series. This series is done very well. When a 12 string, 6 string and mandolin are all playing simultaneously, this series will give you all the notes (mandolin transcribed for guitar) along with the vocals. The accuracy will leave you wondering if Page really intended each of the tabulated notes, or is the guitar scribe showing off his tabulation talent. Very well done for the songs included in the series, but where are the other acoustic classics like Traveling Riverside Blues, Bron Y Aur, Hey Hey What Can I Do...? Surely the discriminating artists who prepared this series are not just going to quit their talent before tabulating all of Zeppelin's acoustic songs. And the electric tunes should be included in a sister series.

Good book if your a Led Zepellin fan and want 2 learn the songs that are in this book I own both volumes but your gonna need the c.d.s 2 very important .& a Whole Lotta Practice lol get it!

Nourse was an MD as well as a science-fiction writer. This book is well grounded in medical and historical fact.

A new, antibiotic-resistant form of the Black Death arises in North American and kills many around the world. Nourse, correctly, describes the direct deaths from disease as being only a small part of the harm done.

Although I first read this book many years ago I have never forgotten its cast of characters and genuinely shocking but satisfyingly believable denouement. The theatre world of New York is rocked when a number of prominient professionals become the victims of viciously personal attacks. A stage manager loses his hand-an actress is disfigured when her face cream is laced with acid... Gradually the link emerges; many years in the past all of them were members of a one theatre group-but why are they being targetted now? Who wants revenge so badly and why? None of them can imagine who holds this grudge. While being a real page-turner this is a genuinely profound character study and the central characters are well-rounded and complex. The plot turns are credible as well as fascinating and the finale is truly explosive. I strongly recommend this to any-one with an interest in detective stories, whodunnits, strong female leads or just fresh and insightful writing.

i received the book in lightning speed but it was a copy not in color! still serves the same purpose just was not aware.

Even though this is a textbook, it is quite readable and I think it organized in a very clear and helpful way. The book is divided into three parts:

1) Intro & Early Phases of Marketing Research (2 chapters)
2) Research Design Formulation (10 chapters)
3) Data Collection, Preparation, Analysis, and Reporting (11 chapters)

Each chapter not only has explanatory text, there are also many helpful pictures, diagrams, additional resources, cases, key terms & concepts, exercises, internet and computer exercises, and activities. The back has necessary statistical tables (if you don't have a calculator or spreadsheet handy, notes, an index, and credits.

The author is very practical in his approach. While he provides the necessary technical background and formulas to understand and get the work done, he does not wander off into the theoretical underpinnings of topics such as conjoint analysis. He wants the student to grasp the implications so far as being able to understand the topic, its implications, and how to implement and make use of the various marketing research concepts and tools.

The book also comes with a student version of SPSS 11.0. This is VERY handy for student project work at home and in developing skills with a popular and serious statistical tool. The book refers to SPSS many times and explains how it is used in implementing this or that topic under discussion.