Future Books

The finest book written on the U.S. banking industry in the past 50 years.

Had the authors' recommendations been acted upon, the worldwide banking crisis of 2009 might well have been avoided.

This is THE same book as Financial Reality. If you have one, there's no sense in buying the other. Other than that, this is an excellent, easy to read book explaining how people find themselves in financial trouble and some common sense methods on what you can do about it, or if nothing can be done, how you can deal with the consequences. It could be sub-titled, "Things your parents should have taught you!"

It is an engaging and informative read for someone who doesn't work in the financial community. Fun anecdotes, easy reading, and timely subject. Highly recommend it.

"Becoming an Electronics Technician" contains everything you need to determine if being an electronics technician is for you and how best to go about learning how to be an electronics technician.

The book begins by covering what it means to be an electronics technician. This section describes the wide variety of work electronics technicians do, from medical electronics to industrial electronics and communications electronics to computer electronics and much more. Each of these different fields offer their own challenges and opportunities for excellent careers. The book continues with an overview of today's electronics workplace and look into the future, as well a review of what electronics technicians need to know to succeed. The introductory section closes with profiles of five actual electronics technicians, describing the kinds of challenges each faces.

The second section of the book discusses how to become an electronics technician. The various ways of gaining the required education are reviewed, followed by strategies for making the most of your classroom experience and things you can do beyond the classroom to prepare you to succeed as an electronics technician. There is an excellent discussion of the value of technician certifications and an entire chapter on information technology certifications, with emphasis on the A+ Certification. The section wraps up with advice on finding, getting, and keeping that important first electronics technician position.

The final section of "Becoming an Electronics Technician" introduces the reader to the electronics field. Starting with a discussion of the various methods of 'breadboarding' electronics circuits; a crucial step in learning how the circuits used in electronics devices work. The book continues with tips on troubleshooting circuits, information on how various electronic transducers work, and a short course on solid-state electronic components. There's an excellent chapter on electronics safety, from electrical shock to hazards from electronics tools and chemicals commonly used in electronics. In addition to a short discussion on surface mount technology and a wide range of electronics projects, the book contains an excellent review of circuit simulation software.

The author, Ronald A. Reis, teaches electronics at Los Angeles Valley College. He wrote the first edition of "Becoming an Electronics Technology" in 1993 and has updated it every few years as the electronics industry and economy has changed. The book is written in an engaging and clear style that makes it easy to understand.

Each chapter includes review questions, individual or group activities, and issue for class discussion. This gives the student a quick way to reinforce the material in the book and to delve further into the matters covered. Also, for those considering using this book for an introductory course on electronics, there is an instructor's manual.

All in all, this is an excellent book that does an outstanding job of helping one understand what the electronics technician profession is (and isn't). I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning about the electronics and trying to determine if being an electronics technician might be for them.

Review by Mike Powers, Radideo.com Guide, June 2003

after reading this book only one phrase comes to mind, "the universe finally makes sense"!!!!!!

This guide is easy to read and to the point, yet it is packed with inside information and helpful hints. The author really knows what college is all about and gets you to think about creating a plan for success. He has a knack for pointing out all the trouble spots of college that most students don't realize until they are in trouble.

I highly recommend this book!

This book offers such a wide range of topics. It has so many good ideas and articles written by people who have "been there, done that". Everything I've read has offered great tips, advice and information that I would have to sift through many books to gather.

L. Ron Hubbard is well known in the Science Fiction community as "the world's most prolific dead author," but perhaps his greatest contribution to the genre is the Writers of the Future contest.

This program is open to new writers only, and all work is reviewed by noted SF authors, anonymously (the submissions are numbered & coded.) The best from each quarter are chosen, and there are monetary prizes for the quarterly and annual winners. Part of the prize is that the work is published at the end of the year in that year’s book. Another part is that the winners are flown to LA for the awards ceremony.

Thus, each volume is completely full of new, unpublished work, by new authors chosen by the best writers in the field.

This is great for readers, because it ensures that nearly any fan will find a good proportion of the volume to be of interest to them, and the entire volume is full of well written stories. Interspersed in the book are how-to tips for new authors, so the book functions as a mini-textbook on SF writing, with articles about the business and well-written stories to demonstrate good writing.

But that is not the best part, the best part is that the program encourages new writers in the best possible manner—it pays them well for their work and publicizes it.

Over the 2+ decades that the program has run, it has launched a sizable number of new SF authors into their careers.

Any volume of this series is full of good reads, and they are often very fresh views in a field which has, over the decades, ranged from fresh and experimental to stodgy and hidebound. If you haven’t read a particular volume, you cannot go wrong in reading it.

Algis Budrys, the editor for the past few years, is well known as both a writer and editor in the SF field.

Studies have shown that the very best time to learn a second language is in early childhood. With a lot of programs you have to know how to read well in English before you can use the program. Not this one! My son, age 4, and daughter, age 6, loved the songs, stories and games on this cassette. Kids learn along with Bobby and Maria while they go on a picnic, meet a bear, hear the story of the 3 bears, and sing songs. I use it in conjuction with a more formal book and tape teaching program, and it is a terrific vocabulary builder. The kids won't even know they're learning--they'll just have fun.

A great coloring book, pictures clear and expressive. Each page has a different French word or phrase. Very memorable and enjoyable.