Bond Reviews

As of this writing, technology stocks and momentum investing are the craze. Books on stock investing far outsell those on investing in bonds. However, as the net worth of investors increases, their investing methods are likely to shift from 'Maximizing Profit' to 'Minimizing Risk'. By providing diversification, bonds help in reducing risk in a portfolio. The book discusses the basics of different types of bonds (including treasuries, munis, corporates, convertibles & zero coupon bonds) and explores the world of bond funds and explains why for most investors its best to buy bond mutual funds rather than individual bonds. The book is somewhat hard to buy but should be a useful addition to your library.

"Humanism and the Renaissance," (Problems in European Civilization.) by Zachary Sayre Schiffman (Editor) and Michael A. Bond is a wonderful up-to-date collection of essays from top-notch historians on the current historical debates surrounding the Humanism and the Renaissance era.

Books from the PROBLEMS IN EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION SERIES are designed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate level European history courses. That being said, this book is not an introductory text. The authors of the articles go directly into their subjects, without providing any significant background information. Therefore, you need to have an historical base level of knowledge to work from. Nonetheless, it is an excellent tool for students, scholars and general readers of modern European history.

The text is best used in class discussions and debate.

An excellent representation of European historical scholarship.

This is a delightful book full of activities and games that involve touch, with the goal of bringing adult and child closer together in a warm, healthy relationship. It also serves as a terrific reminder that children and the time spent with them are ultimately more important than our busy schedules and to-do lists. The easy-to-read format, with its large print and animated illustrations, makes it inviting.

This handy volume is a pocket catalog of the latest American hardware. It's quite up-to-date, though I'm in no position to assess its accuracy or comprehensiveness.

The contents are as follow: Intro, Strategic Weapons Systems, Combat Aircraft, Support Aircraft, Special Electronic & Reconnaissance Aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Air-to-Air Missiles, Air-to-Surface Weapons, Surface Weapons, Submarines, Naval Weapons Systems, Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Land Warfare-Indirect Fire Weapons, Land Warfare-Direct Fire Weapons, Air Defense Systems, Small Arms.

What this book lacks is an Index, and Sources and Bibilography.

A useful overview of the equipment of the most powerful military in the world. Have it by your side as you watch CNN.

This is a great reference book. The pictures are excelent. Great overview of the uniforms, accoutrements, weapons, and such of the different armies throughout the war. I especially liked the individual Regiment pages with illustrations showing what a soldier might have looked like in a given regiment.

Miller did pretty good, but he loses a star here for his biased writing. In the book, Confederate General Braxton Bragg is touted as a man who, owning a Bible, probably didn't read it, given the shape of his troops, while Sherman's atrocities are overlooked, and he is praised as a man whose "place among American commanders remains secure," and Miller speaks with surprise that he is controversial, since it's been "over a century and a quarter" since he burned and pillaged the South. Anyways, this is a great resource for reenactors and anyone interested in militaria of the War Between the States.

From Russian with Love narrated by an extremely talented voice is well worth the purchase alone. Dr. No didn't quite hold my interest when I tried to listen and I didn't even attempt to listen to Goldfinger but again I highly recommend this for the one tape alone, the Narration is incredible.

The original printing of this book ends with For Your Eyes Only, and the copy I have is an update in the 1983, when Octopussy and Never Say Never Again hit the theaters.

This book is what it claimed to be all right, a behind the scenes of the James Bond films. For James Bond fans, this book is a treasure trove of information. It includes lots of information which at first was previously unavailable. Thanks to this book I finally found out the name of the Japanese girl in the Thunderball teaser and the actress who played her, as well as the two women who played Bambi and Thumper.

Generously filled with candid black and white photographs, the James Bond Films covered each Bond film chronologically in each chapter. For the Sean Connery films, virtually every meticulous fact about how the film was made is detailed in the book.

It is obvious that Steven Jay Rubin have a vendetta against Roger Moore. In his later work, the James Bond Encyclopedia, he would gives a one star rating to three of Moore's Bond films. In the James Bond Films, he pratically skimmed over Moore's films, with the exception of Live and Let Die, possibly because he had the full cooperation of Moore's leading ladies (Seymour and Hendry)from that film, and The Spy Who Loved Me, which is no doubt, one of the best Bond movies ever made, with or without Connery.

In the chapter for Moonraker, we didn't really get a lot of background info on it, rather, Rubin just bitched how the character of Bond have been corrupted into a cartoonish character and how Moonraker sucked. The worse offender is For Your Eyes Only.....which doesn't tell you anything at all.

The update chapter on Octopussy and Never Say Never Again tied up some loose ends from the For Your Eyes Only chapter (like how Carole Bouquet was perfectly casted as Melina Havelock), but since this book was written when the two films are being released, understandably, not much info, other than a preview, was given.

Despite his shabby treatment of the Roger Moore films, The James Bond Films is still a fascinating read.

Here are two of Ian Fleming's lesser known stories, both quite different, but each has the classic elements of Fleming's Bond. (Not to be confused with the movie version of Bond) The Living Daylights is a taunt, compact version of a Fleming thriller. Bond is sent to protect a defector going to the west via Berlin. He falls for a girl that he can only watch from his perch. He dreams of her, only to have the rug pulled from him at the end of the Story. Quantum of solance is a quite different story, in which Bond is not involved. He is a guest of a high ranking official, who, to make conversation, tells him a story of an associate of his. Again, in this story there is a delicious twist at the end.

The reading of these stories give life to them. Quite the change from watching Roger Moore trot around the world shooting out quips rather then lead.

"The James Bond Movie Posters 2004 Calendar" is a nice change of pace in terms of 007 calendars, although I have to admit that none of these original movie posters are classics in and on themselves. Clearly the basic idea is to put "007" in big letters with the picture of the (current) James Bond (holding a gun) and the film's Bond Girl. The proportions for the various Bonds will not surprise anyone. Sean Connery has four posters: "Dr. No," "Goldfinger," "You Only Live Twice," and "Diamonds Are Forever." Roger Moore also has four: "Moonraker," "For Your Eyes Only," "Octopussy," and "View to a Kill." Timothy Dalton, who was much under-appreciated in my book, gets both of his films, "The Living Daylights" and "License to Kill," with the current 007, Pierce Brosnan also getting a pair, "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "Die Another Day." I would rate this calendar higher if the movie posters themselves were better, but for the Bond fan this will be a minor concern, especially those who remember the advertising for "Goldfinger" where the film's title was strategically on the gold covered corpse of the character who must remain nameless (for reasons we all know).

An Action packed bond with all the classic parts and many more. A must have for any bond fan!