Open-book

I realize that Morand is considered one of the most brilliant French writers during the high modern period, but this is really pretty thin stuff. I don't know if Gide will ever be taken so seriously again (as he was a couple of decades ago), but his reputation will come to no harm when read alongside Morand. Oh well, there's still some Genet I haven't looked at yet

Other reviewers have accurately described this: it's a relatively slight, though densely written, series of vignettes, each dedicated to a different idealized woman. It's tough, however, from the English translation to tell how much of this is the work of Morand. Ezra Pound took incredible liberties with his translation, sometimes to quite interesting and idiosyncratic effects, and Proust's introduction is a valuable essay on its own. This isn't the sort of book that will keep you wildly captivated; but it is an excellent piece for any library.

the brief stories in this work, translated by ezra pound, are lovely and tender descriptions of individuals and nights of activities. i'm not sure if it's morand's work, or pound's translation, but they are exquisitely beautiful.

I like Feinstein's work but this book is a bore. The first 100 pages are mini-biographies of USGA staff. Someone out there must find interesting which college basketball team is the favorite of the USGA publicity director, but I am at loss to understand whom.

Those who buy this book thinking they are going to get the inside story of the US Open golf tournament held at Bethpage Black in 2002 are going to be disappointed. The tournament doesn't even start until page 262.

What this book is about is how the United States Golf Association decided to bring it's prestigious Open Championship to a municipal golf course on Long Island, rather than the famed country clubs which have hosted this event since it's inception and what goes in to putting on such an event. The title says" Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black." What you really get is inside the workings of the USGA, what goes on behind the scenes, how decisions are made (or not),how catastrophes were avoided (or not)and in the end you may have learned more about what was involved in bringing this tournament to this course than you really wanted to know.

To those of us who follow golf closely and have attended a US Open, this is a very interesting read. Feinstein researches his subject exhastively and tells the story in an interesting manner, but at the end of the book I don't believe the reader has gotten a full measure of what has been promised. So, be aware of what the book is about and what it is not about, and if it is your cup of tea, read on.

If you're looking for a fascinating book whose main purpose is not simply to provide a narration and analysis of the competition at Bethpage this book is for you. Mr. Feinstein describes the transformation of the Black course for the 2002 US Open Championship with the entusiasm of a devoted fan and the broad perspective and clarity of a truly talented golf writer and reporter. For those of us fortunate enough to participate directly at Bethpage as fans, volunteers or interested onlookers this book completes the first chapter on the use of a truly public (State owned) facility as a worthy venue for our national golf championship. Seldom, if ever, have we been allowed to glimpse the preparation for and staging of a major sporting event from start to finish. This work is as much about golf as golf is about life.

Credited with being one of the earliest and most influential examples of noir gone British, this first of the "Factory Series" didn't work for me. The nameless policeman who works in the "Department of Unexplained Deaths" is a loner who lives for his work in the classic sense of the fictional detective. His investigation into the brutal murder of a apparently poor man is given depth and resonance when he finds the dead man's rambling audio journals. The tapes slowly reveal a series of clues and serve to help the detective identify with and empathize with the victim. It's not particularly convincing, nor is his method of getting close to the murderer, and the ending is totally weird and over-the-top. This did not encourage me to sample further books in the series.

This is one classic slice of British noir. One reviewer compared the writing to Ellroy and I would agree. If the writing is like Ellroy, I would would compare Raymond's nameless Factory detective to Danny Upshaw, the sheriff's deputy from The Big Nowhere -- doggedly chasing down a case that no one seems to care about too much. There's also some Philip Marlowe in the empathy that the detective has and the way he finds something worthwhile about what was apparently a very sad and lonely man whose murder he's investigating.

If the ending seems over-the-top to you, then you haven't read many of the best crime novels! High drama and the dueling sides of everyone's personality are what makes much of the best noir tick. Check this one out for some honest appraisal of the darker side of life and how you can always glean some beauty out of the ugliness if you dig deep enough.

If you enjoy the stylings of James Ellroy, Iain Banks, or even Raymond Chandler, anything by Derek Raymond is a sure bet. "He Died With His Eyes Open" is a stunning read. It follows the narrator, a nameless English detective, during his pursuit/descent while trying to find those guilty of a violent murder. Through writings and tape-recorded thoughts recovered from the victim, the detective becomes increasingly attached to the persona of the deceased. The prose is stark, elegant, incredibly philsophical, and yields a wealth of great quotes.

Another reviewer on Amazon mentioned that the methods of detection were not convincing, and the ending was "over-the-top".
Well...it's certainly not in the vein of an Agatha Christie mystery; It is a rare, brilliant look at the primal underpinnings of "civilized" society. It is classic noir, in the sense that it is a stylistic meditation on the nature of man/good vs. evil, as seen through the eyes of someone who makes a life out of being on the front lines of misery.

"He Died With His Eyes Open" compares more than favorably to Ellroy's "The Black Dahlia", with proper British style.

Just received this book...all it contains is pictures and descriptions..NO mention of value! How will I know if $25 is too much OR too little to spend on a certain salt if I have no guideline??!! USELESS. Am sending it back in the morning. I'm very disappointed..wish I had a better idea of what I was ordering...

This and the other nine books by Helen and Allan Smith are excellent sources of photos and information on open salts. These were the only sources for many years. They still show salts that are not shown in any other books. There are no prices listed in these books because often small leaflets of prices were included that might have been lost. There is a price guide that can be obtained seperately and which was written by an expert dealer in open salts. This was written in l987 by the dealer who has since died. Many of the prices are still relevant, but it is hard to update the guide as many of the salts in the books can not be seen first hand. This is especially true of the silver ones. The books are still of great value to all serious collectors.

Even though I am a co-author of a new book on open salts, I still value these books greatly. There was no way we could include all the salts found in these books in our new one even if we had wished to.

The immediate sequel to Eclipse of the Kai, The Dark Door Opens builds onto the storyline of its predecessor. The writing cannot compare too well against the later books in the series, when John Grant has a firmer foothold with this line, but there are some memorable moments. The tension-charged confrontation between Vonotar the Traitor and the Guildmaster, the firestorm attack upon the city of Toran, and the flight to Holmgard are highlights of this book.

The Dark Door Opens take place immediately after the first Legends book, Eclipse of the Kai. It begins with the young hero, Silent Wolf, who has just changed his name to Lone Wolf, fleeing the desetruction of the Monastery where those of his order had trained for centuries. Lone Wolf is now the last of his order, the Kai, and must make his way to the capital of Sommerlund to warn the king that the Darklords have destroyed the Kai. And so, he makes a treacherous journey on foot and horse, through forest and stream, hills and ancient hallowed grounds before the spires of Holmgard are visible. But he is not alone, another young man, Banedon of the Magician's Guild at Toran has also learnt of the destruction of the Kai and becomea spiritual brother to Lone Wolf. Banedon must return to his guild and convince those present to take action. Meanwhile, the forces of darkness await the two would-be heroes around every corner, plotting their destruction and a fall of Sommerlund. Vonotar the Traitor's treachery and betrayal of his homeland has caused the downfall and almost complete extermination of the Kai, and only Lone Wolf has the abilities to stop him...before it is too late.

If you are building your experts in Delphi 3 or 4 this book is a must-have. Using Delphi 5 and later, you have to consider that Borland made some rather big changes to the OTA interfaces.

If you are starting out writing experts for Delphi 3, or even looking to fill gaps in your Open tools API knowledge, then this book is the one. Check my site http://www.burn-rubber.demon.co.uk for a full (copyrighted) review.

I purchased this book as the topic seemed innovative. But
as it turned out, neither the technology that addressed the subject nor the book was quite up there. I couldn't find anything interesting beyond the fact that it was just another Web Services book. Each chapter in the book read like incomplete articles.The only chapter that caught my eye was the one dealing with SOAP::Lite
For anyone serious about web services, i would recommend Java web Serices from ORA.

I bought this book for our library, as our guys usually like Wrox books.
(+) This book would be a quick tip help for those who would like to know about creating Web services using Python and PERL.
(-) Most implementations are obsolete ! Probable we bought this book little late.

This is a great read. Unlike so many computer books, its not filled with unnecessary introductory chapters for every topic. It is very practical as well as explaining the underlying technologies at a level you can understand them without getting bogged down on detail you only really need to know when you are actually coding.

As a member of the Open Web Application Security Project. I was especially interested in web services security and the practical examples were very well explained and well written.

This book sits high on my large pile of books so I can get to it easily!

If you want to find quickly how to perform a task in unix or if you DON'T LOVE unix, this IS NOT the book for you. The author loves unix and thinks anyone who doesn't is stupid. Good if you are trying to understand unix's folks mind.

Hahn has managed to take something that is usually mind-numbingly boring (computer books in general) and add a little interest to it through a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor. Hahn is clearly on favored and familiar ground here, providing clear and readable explanations to the most common tasks in Unix. He does a good job presenting the information in a way that is understandable the neophyte Unix user and manages to avoid the Unix "Holy War" feeling that permeates some books on the subject.

If you are looking for a quick reference guide to common tasks, there are other works available which are probably more suitable to your needs. If your interests or career are taking you in a direction such that Unix is going to figure in your landscape for some time, this book provides an excellent intro the subject, offering a good grounding in the mechanics and philosophy of the OS that will serve as a solid foundation going forward.

9June98 The CD AUDIO called "A Third Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul". by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.

My comments:

I have several normal books of Chicken Soup and I very much enjoy them but this is my first experience of an audio CD with such material. I would definitely make the following suggestions:

1. There should be some way to 'pause' the listening.

2. There should be some way to select particular storys instead of being forced to listen for 70 minutes without any kind of break and being forced to listen to every single story repeated every time you listen to the CD.

3. There should be a 'menu' that initially appears on your screen that allows you to pick the story or storys that you would like to hear again. Included with this menu would be the ability to pause while listening.

In today's world, who can listen for a 70 minute period without interruption? Possibly a hermit only. The phone, the FAX, the toilet etc. all constantly intrude on any 70 minute slice of your life.

Great material but the format of the CD cries out for the above modification. Because of the above omissions, I would highly recommend the book versions far above the CD versions.

Bertrand A. Lang Email - robertl@loxinfo.co.th

Would appreciate if Amazon would replace with the normal book version. It is next to useless in the current CD version.

It is surprising that one could praise this book. Being dated is the least of its shortcomings. It is cluttered with a "parent section" as well as the main text sharing the pages. Naturally the little girl didn't like being in the hospital! It would be stupid and unrealistic to expect that she would!

It was also stupid to try to make staying in the hospital sound like it might be fun when in truth there is nothing fun about hospitals. This book is written in a rather condescending way and is generally not good. It really deserves no stars at all.

There are other books that help prepare children for surgery that are actually good, but this isn't one of them.

Although the book is a bit dated, it provides children and their parents a simple and honest look at one little girl's hospital experience (in this case, tonsillectomy). The book has a very brief story for children and guidelines for parents to help their children express and accept their fears and worries about upcoming procedures. What I like most about this book was that the little girl did not "enjoy" her stay (there is a list of all the things she does not like), but at the end, she is "fine" although the book recognizes the possibility of lasting trauma (her doll continues to have "operations"). I'm not sure just which book the other reviewer read, but my daughter and I have found this book to be very helpful in providing the space for my daughter to verbalize her fears about her upcoming surgery. And given the paucity of children's books about surgery, I wouldn't pass this one up if your child faces an operation.

With this book, my sister taught me to read at age 4. I am 22 now, and never forgot what it taught me, or how it helped me with my fear of hospitals. Within a year of completing the book (and learning to read!) I was attacked by a dog that dragged me through the yard by my face. This led me to a most dreaded place - the Hospital. A place which had terrified me to tears, even with a check-up or regular shot. I was still uneasy as well as terribly unhappy about being there.... But that book helped me realize that the people there intended to help me, not hurt me.... They work to take that pain away. I am dissapointed in the disgruntled reviews... and being that I was a child this book was read to I can speak better than anyone about how it affects a child. It sparked my compassion and concern for other people that have been hurt or handicapped, allowed me the dialogue with my mother and sister to express my fears and reservations, and the parent reading alongside the story in fine print helped my mother better explain to me the stitches on my face and head, and about the scars I would have....what the doctors would do to try and fix it like it was never there. This book is a thing I have cherished throughout my life, and I still have that very book this day - so when I have my own children I may read it with them as well. If your child has a fear of hospitals, doctors, blood, getting shots.... read this book WITH him or her. It will encourage a closer more open relationship with your child, as well as the other wonderful books in this series.... they help children understand handicaps and even death.... by opening the doors to such emotional and curious things at a young age - they will never lose the ability to confide in you, approach you, or express themselves openly and honestly with you... a trusting bond such as this can never be broken. I suggest this book to anyone, regardless if your child is expecting surgery or not, as well as the other books in the series.... the very best books to read with your children, to teach them understanding and compassion for all living things.