Open

Many of the stories in this book are distasteful. I would not recomend this book to anyone.

This is a wonderful book. Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. I love a format of vignettes (short essays or stories). If you aren't a Christian, you may think these stories are too churchy or just can't be real. But if you ARE a Christian, you know exactly how the power of God carries us through everyday life. The theme of this book touches the soul of Christian women. Stories are either told by a woman of faith, or are about a woman of faith. Both men and women share real incidences from their life, covering nearly every scenario imaginable. The horrible: death, cancer, physical disfigurements, abuse, divorce. And the glorious: miraculous healings, new love, the wonder of children, God's protective hand. Though quite varied in content, each story testifies to God's grace, strength, and abundant love. The Chicken Soup people have outdone themselves with this uplifting collection to warm and heal the soul of the Christian woman. Blessings to them. And blessings to you from the MenopauseLady. Donna Rogers, author The Menopause Survival Guide.

We are blessed to have yet another collection of amazing stories to read and to share. Also of note is the tone of the book which is gentle and lovingly points the reader to draw their own conclusions - there is absolutely no offensive preachyness here! I would highly recommend this as a great gift or to read yourself! Thanks again to the Chicken Soup Team - you have done it again!

The Cisco OSPF Command and Configuration Handbook (ISBN 1-58705-071-4) by Dr. William Parkhurst is a must read for any network professional who is currently using, or may use, OSPF in their network. The book delivers exactly what the title promises. While most other books deal with the theory and the mechanics behind OSPF, this book is purely a command and configuration reference, as used on Cisco routers. Dr Parkhurst presents each OSPF command with a syntax description, an explanation as to the purpose of the command (which I found really helpful), which Cisco IOS version it was initially released in, configuration examples and a troubleshooting section.

The material is very well presented and extremely easy to read and comprehend. The configuration examples are easy to follow and implement. The troubleshooting section steps are clear, concise and easy to follow. Each chapter is concerned with different areas of OSPF configuration. There are chapters outlining show, debug and clear commands along with chapters on route filtering and route redistribution. There is even a chapter on the type 6 LSA (MOSPF). I found this informative, because I couldn't find other documentation on type 6 LSAs.

Another aspect of the book I really liked was in how the configuration examples were presented. Each example had a network scenario and gave a step by step process on how to utilize the command. A network diagram was included along with outputs from the routers used in the configuration scenario. The configuration examples start with a verification phase where the correct operation is determined. Then the command is applied and the changes are outlined and displayed. The troubleshooting section outlines steps where the most common failures may occur. While you can get a lot of information from the configuration examples, it helps if you have access to routers where you can apply the commands.

While I found the book easy to comprehend, I believe it was written primarily for network professionals pursuing higher level certification or who operate a network using OSPF. At least a basic knowledge of OSPF and link state routing protocols is needed to understand the majority of the commands; specifically the OSPF area commands, timer commands, route filtering and route redistribution. It is also very important to know OSPF terminology when reading this book, as there is no glossary that defines the terminology used in the book. If you plan to use this book for certification preparation, it is more suited towards the CCIE Routing and Switching Lab Exam rather than the written exam. It also makes a great desk reference for network professional currently using OSPF.

I would highly recommend this book to all network professionals, whether studying for Cisco certification or wanting to implement OSPF in their networks. It has helped me to understand OSPF a lot better and I am more confident in using it in my network. I am also looking forward to reading the CISCO BGP-4 Command and Configuration Handbook by Dr. Parkhurst.

After reading other Cisco Press OSPF documentation, which was often drier than RFCs and all over the place, this was a welcomed addition to my CCIE Prep Library. Not only does Bill provide the commands and what they do, but many hands on practical scenarios that you can apply in your own home or work lab. I found that even reading through them provided a greater understanding of how the commands are used in real life situations. This is a great supplement to Jeff Doyles Routing TCP/IP Vol 1, which is the ONLY other OSPF refrence in the Cisco Press I would recommend. For those who really want to know the inner guts of OSPF, I would recommend either of John Moy's book on OSPF or Radia Perlmans Interconnections 2nd Eddition.

Best book I have seen for both an OSPF "How To" reference and CCIE lab preparation. Every command and OSPF scenario is covered
and the book is virtually error free. I configured every exercise
in the book using my home lab and the OSPF section of the CCIE
lab exam was absolutely no problem. If you want to learn how to
configure every scenario using OSPF, this is the only book I have
seen that will show you how to do it.

This book starts off by defining the Open Source Movement and the General Public License. It then moves on to everything else...
As a newbie (2 months of using the free download of Mandrake 8.1 after doing the free online course...and 5 months of basic networking skills), I found this book an excellent read. It covered almost everything I needed to know to secure my network at home (I don't use windows anymore), and gave me confidence enough to want to apply for Network Administration somewhere.
CD included, you get tricks for locking down your system, or your whole network even, and the apps to help you do it (the entire book is in HTML on the CD, too!) I recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn linux, or anyone wanting to learn linux security.
I took half a star because it mainly refers to Red Hat Linux over others, and another half because I could see how a college professor might want a much more technical manual over this textbook style guide. Great book!

Follow simple step by step procedures to hardening your linux system, i was able to read the meat of this book in a 4 hour airplane flight. Easily install and configure Linux, firewalls, etc.

Hack Proofing Linux does the following very accurately:

1. It shows you how to deploy IPsec using FreeSWAN.
2. Readers learn detailed information about how to configure packet filters and proxy servers.
3. Although many theoretical references exist, few resources have practical advice concerning how to implement Kerberos. Before publication of this book, no authors had the common sense to show all of the steps necessary for a practical implementation. Other references either omitted steps or simply remained on a general level. I've never seen a book that does such as good job on this, in such a handy way.
4. After reading this book, you will have more than enough accurate information to scan systems for vulnerabilities, and you will also be able to accurately map and manage networks. For those who need more explanation, all they have to do is implement the tools as described, and they can then actually learn by doing. Seeing as how most of these people can't even buy or read the book all the way through, no matter they are impatient with a practical approach.
5. The book focuses on the pliability of Linux. Do you want to use a Linux server as a firewall? Read this book. Do you want to use it to audit systems? Read this book. Do you want to use Linux to securely centralize authentication? Read this book. Even though this book doesn't appear to be popular to people in Texas who don't understand that a mount point can be any directory on a Linux system, or who don't realize that Xinetd is a defacto standard, this California professor thinks it does an
excellent job.

This is the first in the series about Joe Guther, a police lieutenant in Brattleboro, Vermont. The story does very well in portraying life in Vermont and the politics in a small city in which everyone has to answer to someone.

The character development is well done and the love interest aspect is satisfying. There are a plenty of subplots, maybe too many, but the overall story is inventive without being too complicated. However the various successful developments of solving the mystery do seem to be very conveniently available.

The solution is more of following the dots than putting the pieces of the puzzle together to get the big picture, the way most police solve crimes.

Better than the average crime novel but if you read 1-3 a week, you might have trouble remembering much about the book 2 weeks after finishing it.

I read this book because one of the characters is modeled after someone I know. Although the part pertaining to that person spans a few pages, I am glad I read the story. Obviously, it takes a stretch of the imagination to make Vermont that exciting, but it is credible and enjoyable. I have read all of Ridley Pearson, Patricia Cornwell, John Sandford, and several others. I will now begin the task of completing Mayor's series. His research is thorough, and it is easy to visualize the story as you read along.

All of Archer Mayor's books have a gripping story line. Although the stories are first class, the pictures drawn with words as the story unfolds are the best that I have ever encountered. The magnificent metaphors can create, in less than one sentence, images that may take other authors pages. Although each book is independent in and of itself, I enjoy reading the stories in sequence. There is a steady progression in character development and interpersonal relationships as we go from story to story.

If you are a mystery fan, I am sure that you will enjoy the entire series as much as I have. If you are a student taking a course in creative writing, I don't think that you will find a better word artist than Archer Mayor.

In a macabre permutation of the children's game "Button, Button, Who's got the Button," a murder-for-hire contract is let out and then flung around like the ball in the old Chicago Cub field. Or a warped version of the Kevin Bacon game - anyone can find a hit man within 3 degrees of acquaintance? Very sad social commentary indeed. That's all I'm saying - I won't give away the entire scheme & scams. This is a well-paced true crime saga. I read the hard cover edition and am disappointed that it was rushed to print before the "rest of the story" was concluded. (The trials of some of the major players had not yet occurred.) Does the later paperback have an "update?"
reviewed by mbmlaw

My goodness I am going to have to stop reading true crime. True crimes that keeps me so engrossed and inhibit me from getting other things done. I started this book and could not put it down for too long. Even when I was doing other stuff my thoughts were fixated on this novel.

Set in Texas, this novel haunts you until the very last page. When Roxanne Gailunas is found murdered in the bedroom of her Dallas, Richardson house, her husband Dr. Peter Gailunas, and her lover Larry Aylor are the prime suspects. However it is not as simple as it looks, as Detective McGowan goes far beyond the call of duty trying with all his nerve and sinew to make some sense of this obscure and complicated occurrence. There are so many characters involved in this case, it takes over five years before the absolute truth is brought to light. Drug addicts, sociopaths, greedy persons who will do anything including murder for a bit of money are all associated with this case.

With all it's exciting twists and turns, this should be a ral page turner for all of you out there who truly enjoy true crime.You will be kept on your toes with this well written Carton Stowers novel.

This is the most engaging book that I have read this year. I picked it up with very low expectations, and couldn't put the book down. Stowers writing style is very engaging. The twists and turns are remarkable. A very nice piece of research and writing.

What a good book this might have been. It isn't an awful book but it could have been so much better. The premise of the book is to take the "Pet Store" and improve it by using several open source tools. The first part of the book discusses each of the tools with brief explanations and sample code. The second part takes us through the development process showing how to use the tools that were discussed earlier.

The good parts of the book are mostly in the second half. The authors apply each of the tools, explain test-driven development, demonstrate how and when to refactor code, etc. The integration of the different tools is made naturally so that it doesn't seem that the authors are trying to squeeze a tool in just to demonstrate it. The bad parts: this book desperately needs editing, both technical and for grammar. It is very distracting to see so much improper English usage including run on sentences, sentence fragments, and noun-verb disagreement. On the technical side, there are so many errors in the code that I doubt very much will actually compile, let alone run. Typical errors include methods declaring to return a value and not returning anything, closing files before they are used, and using variables that are not declared.

If you are interested in the technologies discussed and can debug the code in the book, there is a good amount of value. But it could have been so much better.

The other reviewers cover the editing and content of the book fairly well. I would like to add that at the end, the chapter on securing the application is very weak. They basically say we didn't do it very well for this app try OSuser. OSuser is not documented for version pre 1.0 and it seems 1.0 will not be released (you can get it from the CVS), OSuser 2.0 work has been started but the page has not been changed for 4 months (since about Nov. 2003). Also the publisher's (Wiley) site does have the complete download of the PetSoar which works, but the mailing list for discussing the book does not work, nor is there any errata after 4 months(2004/03)

For me the best thing about this book is that it shows you how experienced developers produce a well crafted, easy to test, web application. It walks you through using interfaces to separate the database from the code. It provides oooodles of examples of using mock objects to make testing easier. It shows how experts use Test Driven Development (TDD) on a real world (web) application.

Oh, and it uses some nice open source libraries along the way. One of the best ways to learn something new is to pair with an expert. The next best thing is to read a book like this!

Wole Soyinka is one of the foremost African literary giant of modern times. He has an intellectual stature that seems to diminish his critiques. To Wole's credit this book ranks among one of his best work- this is simply because it is readable. The reduction of noisy elements by its simplicity of expression makes it one of his finest piece to date, at least I was spared the pain of reading the Kongi King without a dictionary by my side. The book- understandably like his later work to date- The Burden of Memory, The Muse of Forgiveness- is the prooduct of lectures put together, hence one can forgive its lack of structural cohesion. Nonetheless, Soyinka brings to the fore the African crises of leadership and the dearth of critical appraisal of existential situation by African leaders. In as much as the text depicts examples it preoccupied itself with the Nigerian situation. Unfortunately, therefore, Soyinka risks tying the African destiny with the Nigerian fate- the totality of the African situation is much more multilateral than the unilateral reference to a singular polity Nigeria. As if this is a a new pattern for the Kongi King he keeps limiting himself to the extent that even the Nigerian situation was tied to the fate of his Yoruba nationality- ethnic group. This is not surprising since the Kongi Warrior has been sliding narrower from that of being an international figure to one preoccupied with being a national hero( a national road safety marshall) and now a nationality figurine. Our marshall therefore has taken a course that simplistically narrows the whole issues that affects Africa to particular issues that affects him. Unfortunately, the Kongi hero is still speaking and relating factual mattter, and so should not be taken lightly. The problem with Africa is one of political and economic leadership-a bedevilled breed of satanic monster that do not want to see smiles on the face of the citizenry. It is in this domain that the Kongi Chief should be better understood. Yes! His limitation of African issues to Nigerian examples and ordered toward his Yoruba nationality cause is also theatrical. As a dramaturgist he understands that the whole world can be a theatre but that an effective drama has to be limited to a spatial confine to produce impact. It is on such note that the Kongi chief points to the negative imagery of defective political machinery in Africa as gross and in critical need of resolution. It is this fact that makes this work- The Open Sore of a Continent- very fascinating for herein Soyinka combines facts with his dramatic humour for the sake of effect. While one may not totally agree with some of Soyinka's reasoning or conclusions one cannot but wave his thoughts aside.His vision is deep and profound. This work is a must for all who want to understand the critical dearth of development- political, economic and social- that affects and afflicts the soul of most- if not all- African nations today. It is a must to read this book, yet the judgement remains with the reader. But we must see how much we can pull out from the mustache of this singular revolutionary- the Poetic and dramatic democratic soldier. Happy Reading!

I read the book with the goal of learning more about Nigeria and its people. Obviously this book is from a very biased source, however, in reading of the horrors in his native land his bias is understandble and only logical. There is a lot of pathos, intense emotions in his description of the crisis in Nigeria. As a scholar/journalist I like to hear all sides of a complex issue so I feel like I've heard one perspective from a first-hand witness after having read this book.

As some of the other reviewers have pointed out, unless one is familiar with the key players in Nigerian politics it is difficult to grasp totally what is being discussed. Also, since the book is composed of various presentations given elsewhere it lacks a certain amount of cohesion.

With that aside, I feel like I know a little more about the country after having read it. The book isn't long. As I read more I hope to understand more of what is taking place in that country. I want to be part of an informed public that can help do something about the plight of victims of dictators.

Soyinka wastes no words. In this book, based on a series of lectures, he argues that the ruthlessness of the military dictatorships that have ruled Nigeria for the past twenty years have deprived her of her very nationhood. At the very beginning, Soyinka asks the key question: "When is a nation?" He argues that Nigeria may be "a nation on the verge of extinction" - or rather a nation that was serverly stabbed with the annulment of the June 12 presidential elections, and is now slowly bleeding to death. This annulment by Babangida, dictator from 1985 - 1993, is the focal point for Soyinka's rage. Soyinka is a very strong proponent of democracy in Africa - especially in Nigeria, which he still believes could be a leader of the continent - and he views this annulment as a profound betrayal of national trust and of Nigeria's future. However, despite his anger and his bitterness at the injustices that have been Nigeria's fate since independence, Soyinka retains hope and faith in the people of Nigeria. He believes that repression and corruption cannot last forever - democracy and true nationhood, while difficult to attain, have not been forever lost to history.

While I found this book excellent, I would not recommend it to someone who was not already somewhat familiar with Nigerian political and cultural history over the last thirty years. Also, it is helpful if the reader is familiar either with Soyinka's work or with somewhat convoluted writing. Soyinka's ideas are well worth reading and stem from remarkable personal experiences, but, from point A to point B - he will not usually choose to draw a straight line. Reflective of Nigerian politics, and Nigeria as a whole, nothing is simple!

I hope other readers will learn as much from this book as I have. It has opened my eyes to what the newspaper articles simply leave out and has given me both more to be concerned and more to be hopeful about Nigeria.

This book is by adoptive parents who treat their new family in a humane way--without the secrets and lies of closed adoption. I wouldn't recommend it as the first book prospective adoptive parents read on the topic, because the extreme openness of the Howells' adoption might make them think they had to achieve such closeness right away, but I do recommend it be read. I cannot fathom the comments of the reviewer above. Is she even a triad member?

In short, a good book on an important topic.

I completly disagree with the review that Kirkus Reviews has posted. This book changed my life after I read it. Like Nancy, I became pregnant in high school with the only reasonable alternative to be adoption. After speaking with a number of agencies, I decided that I wouldn't be able to place my child in the traditional, closed adoption. I loved the idea of open adoption because I could continue to see my son and keep in contact with him while continuing on with my own life. When he comes of age and understands what the situation is, I will be able to tell him why I made my decision and why I placed him. He won't question my love for him since I have played such an active role in his life. I understand that some people, birth parents as well as adoptive parents, may not agree or feel they could be a part of this type of relationship, but we think it works just fine for us.

WE WERE GOING THROUGH AN OPEN ADOPTION THAT HAD IT'S MOMENTS. I HEARD OF THIS BOOK BECAUSE THE SUBJECTS WERE ON A TALK SHOW AND I THEN PURCHASED THE BOOK. IT KEPT ME GOING AND I WAS AMAZED AT HOW SIMILAR THE HOWELLS' CONCERNS WERE WITH OUR OWN. IT WAS NICE TO SEE HOW IT IS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CHILD INVOLVED. FOR THE REST OF THE CHILD'S LIFE THEY WILL NEVER QUESTION WHO THE ARE OR WHERE THEY CAME FROM. I ONLY HOPE THAT OUR STORY TURNS OUT AS WONDERFULLY AS THIS ONE DID.

You could visit St. Andrews for years and not see scenes like the amazing color photographs done by Iain MacFarlane Lowe. They are a treasure. The book also contains many good black and white photographs of historic golfing events at St. Andrews. The essays are about as modest as they could be and still be competent. They read like the warm-up of some network newscast background during a rain delay in the British Open. I graded the otherwise fine book down one star for this relative weakness.

This book will make a worthy momento of a trip to St. Andrews or an inspiring encouragement to travel to there.

St. Andrews was originally called "Muck ross" by the Picts, a name which meant "headland of swine." The history of the town's founding is covered here as well as the start of the course, originally 11 holes. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club was founded in 1839.

The book is organized around each of the 24 Opens contested at St. Andrews since the competitions began in 1873 through 1995, when John Daley was the winner with his incredible shot on the 17th (road) hole. There is also a section with a photograph of each of the Old Course's 18 holes. Interspaced through the book are views of famous bunkers and scenary.

The written part of the book is at its best in describing the early dominance by Tom Morris, father and son, who each won four Opens at St. Andrews.

The one fact that surprised me was that Jock Hutchinson, the first American to win the Open at St. Andrews in 1921, was born and bred there before moving to the United States. His "ribbed" iron was controversial for its ability to stop the ball on the very hard greens.

From 1921, the Open there belonged to the Americans more often than not, undoubtedly because the openness of the Old Course favors the long-hitting American game.

Each Open contains many illustrations from that time, which gives the book an authentic feeling. I felt like I was in the museum in St. Andrews again.

From a pictoral point of view, I was disappointed that the book did not capture the truly foul weather that often exists at St. Andrews, the horrible pot bunker challenges, and the gorse. You end up seeing something more like a park than St. Andrews really is to play.

The magnificent color photographs invariably favor a sunny St. Andrews under unusual lighting conditions that change the color and the character of the course into something almost magical.

After enjoying this book, do remember that if you want to play the Old Course there are handicap maximums (albeit very generous ones). You can write ahead and get a guaranteed tee time, which I heartily recommend. Any tour guide worth their price will tell you what to do while you are planning your trip. You might as well play the New Course while you are there. I don't recommend doing them both in the same day though. Caddies are often not available, and you will probably be carrying or pulling your clubs on one or the other of the two courses.

Practice hitting the low bump and run shot before you go. You'll use it a lot unless the weather is perfect (which seldom happens).

David Joy, chapter by chapter, takes the reader through every British Open hosted by St Andrews. From Tom Kidd in 1873 to the John Daly - Constantino Rocca playoff in 1995, this is a pictoral collection like no other. While the text is lacking in depth and substance, the rich collection of pictures,sketches and memorabilia more than make up for the deficiency. There are pictures of Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris, the triumvirate of Vardon, Taylor and Braid, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and many more. The final chapter includes a memorable picture titled "The Last Farewell" showing Arnold Palmer tipping his visor to the gallery as he pauses on Swilken Bridge. It had been anounced that this would be his final trip to the British Open. This book is a must for everyone who loves golf and its rich history.

This is a fabulous and lavish book on the world's most fabled golf course and the great champions who have played it. The historical data is supported by a wealth of unique old photographs.

Organized with chapters for each year the British Open has been held at St. Andrews, the book takes the reader through a flowing history of the game itself. It is a celebration of the rich history of golf.

A highlight is a section of new color photos of each of the 18 holes, brilliantly capturing the feel of the course. The perils of each hole are described in the captions.

For fans of the greats of the game there is extensive coverage with photos of Bobby Jones, Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Lema, Watson and many others. Historical accounts bring to life the greats of past generations as well.

This book will prevent all but the hardiest of souls from adopting RM-ODP, which is a shame since RM-ODP presents so much that is useful to the architect.

You are much better off learning RM-ODP from the ITU Reccomendations than this book.

If you are already familiar with RM-ODP this book does contain some useful nuggets of information--if you are willing to dig hard enough to find them.

Ms. Putnam's book is disorganized and prolix. It is appalling that she quotes herself in the front matter. "Architechting with RM-ODP" is neither of use to the beginner or valuable as a reference to the practitioner.

There is a lot of good information in this book, and it is much more readable than the specifications. Putman is able to give meaning to a terse and deep standard.

However, there is almost no practical application in her book. The running example is left for a hundred pages at a time. There is little to demonstrate how an architecture affects software design and code.

There is also very little to tie concepts together. When finished with the book, I didn't have an overall view of RM-ODP: just lots of little views.

This is the only book available on RM-ODP, so I recommend this book with that in mind. However, I hope Putman is able to revise this work into a more practicle and cohesive form.

Janis has done a wonderful job of explaining all the key concepts and elements of RM-ODP. Her diagrams are clear, the references are numerous, and you will definitely have a ton of confidence about the RM-ODP once you're finished with the book. I revisited the ISO standards once I finished Putman's book and found the information much more meaningful. Some drawbacks: References to the Zachman Framework (interesting, but that work really didn't move forward appreciably), References to Boehm's Spiral Model (Barry's work is spectacular, but referencing the Rational Unified Process, which is much more mainstream, would have been of great benefit to the reader), and References to some technologies that have disappeared (TINA, for instance). All in all though, don't let that discourage you from getting this book. If you're using RM-ODP, this is THE book to have.