Bond Reviews

If you follow the directions for loading the software "included" you will have problems. I hope the content is better.

1. The J2EE SDK is not included on the CD. The J2SE SDK is. Why?

2. The installation instructions are for three different OSs. They are jumbled, rather than covering one OS and going to the next. It's a mess.

3. Path length limitations for Windows 2000 are not addressed. Follow their directions for the JAVA_HOME path and you get nothing, unless you are very lucky. Granted the book is not about windows but the installation instructions should be correct and complete.

Maybe the content will get better but if you can't get there then what good is it. Just get a reference manual.

This book does not offer much more than the Sun J2EE Tutorial online does and that is free. I have worked through the first two weeks, and I have decided to shelve it. The book starts strong with the JNDI. There are plenty of code listings for you to type in and try with good explanations on naming, binding, and lookup. After this the book is nothing more than a rehash of the Sun Online tutorial with a different larger example application. The application is complete. You don't do anything but read about the design and pertinent Java technologies that are being used for that particular part of the application. Then you are given instructions on how to deploy the current working piece of the application on the J2EE RI, and run sample clients against it - chapter after chapter of the same thing. Though this type of learning by reading some one else code with explanations seems to be enjoyed by some. I side with Ivor Horton. Programming is not a spectator sport. You learn by doing. Having the reader build the application and participate in the process would have made for a better learning experience of a complex topic.

If you are new to J2EE, and if you are not always online, you should use this book to get the big picture of J2EE. Go through it, skip details you may not need, focus on understanding concepts, use the online-documentation later on during your coding. I was testing the examples with the J2EE RI, with BEA, and with JBOSS. Every platform has had its own problems, but at the end, the examples were running each time. During my career I was reading lots of docs, but this one is well-written, clear and concise, it covers the most important aspects, I think, and let you the freedom to skip, what you think you may not need the first time.

I find the content of this book has already been written hundreds of times..not only in other financial books but also in scores of academic papers...true, it has been written by outstanding market participants, but that price !! ouch , that price !!

the book "fixed income and credit management" analyzes the interacting impact of different risk parameters and exposures on a fixed income portfolio, with special applications for euro and dollar investors.

This is an excellent book for those in the fixed income asset management world to get to grips with what managing credit risk is all about.

As the market becomes more transparenet and increasingly liquid, more asset managers will need book slike this to provide them the initial knowledge on how to make and manage the right bets in their portfolios.

I look forward to the next release which whould have more quantitative details around the credit markets.

Short stories about the darker side of investing. Nice if you can read in the investment colums of your local newspaper, but there are better books on the market worth buying.

This book covers many myths regarding the stock market in a readable, interesting way. However, the book overly focused on the bad side. Although the book is suitable for beginners in investing, long time value investors might not get the same portion of benefit. Most of the advise are the view of value investors. What I like most is the book contains a great deal of financial history, dated back to 16th century.

A very readable book -- intelligently illustrates pitfalls & illusions of financial market investing. More anecdotal in approach, but certainly a classic of the "Where are the customer's yacht's" genre. Cuts through many of the falsehoods spread on the street. Well written and extensively researched.

Hallie Bond has written a masterful account rich with history and funky details about one of America's most unusual boating regions. Her grasp of boating, the North Country woods, the life of Adirondack guides, and the evolution of boat designs provides an entertaining yet immensely informative tapestry. Bond is a scholar and curator of boats at the Adirondack Museum, but she writes with a journalist's ease. Her eye for detail, her control of narrative, her insights into countless eccentric characters, and her love for the North woods all contribute to a compelling story about a changing, evolving culture.

This book is also about ingenuity in boat building and the special attributes of design that produced world famous boats. The Adirondack Guideboat, the St. Lawrence River Skiff, and the vast assortment of canoes designed by Henry Rushton not only filled special needs but also changed how people perceived and enjoyed the Adirondacks. She traces the evolution of canoes, the co-mingling of canoes and kayaks, the emergence of Guideboats and assorted craft, each used for pragmatic purposes, then changed as people changed. In many ways this is a cultural history,as much about people as about boats. Yet it includes innumerable photos and illustrations that suggest these builders were also artists and surely supperb craftsmen.

She takes advantage of the Museum's remarkable collection of boats and boating art, and provides a fun and engrossing pictorial narrative. Her book is as fun to browse as it is to read, and it's all handsomely put together. I've read a lot of books about boats, but this may be the best I've ever read.

Hallie Bond has written a masterful account rich with history and funky details about one of America's
most unusual boating regions. Her grasp of boating, the North Country woods, the life of Adirondack
guides, and the evolution of boat designs provides an entertaining yet immensely informative tapestry.
Bond is a scholar and curator of boats at the Adirondack Museum, but she writes with a journalist's
ease. Her eye for detail, her control of narrative, her insights into countless eccentric characters, and
her love for the North woods all contribute to a compelling story about a changing, evolving culture.

This book is also about ingenuity in boat building and the special attributes of design that produced
world famous boats. The Adirondack Guideboat, the St. Lawrence River Skiff, and the vast
assortment of canoes designed by Henry Rushton not only filled special needs but also changed how
people perceived and enjoyed the Adirondacks. She traces the evolution of canoes, the co-mingling of
canoes and kayaks, the emergence of Guideboats and assorted craft, each used for pragmatic
purposes, then changed as people changed. In many ways this is a cultural history,as much about
people as about boats. Yet it includes innumerable photos and illustrations that suggest these builders
were also artists and surely supperb craftsmen.

She takes advantage of the Museum's remarkable collection of boats and boating art, and provides a
fun and engrossing pictorial narrative. Her book is as fun to browse as it is to read, and it's all
handsomely put together. I've read a lot of books about boats, but this may be the best I've ever read.

At first Bond Films, co-authored by Jim Smith and Stephen Lavington, looks simply like a brief outline of each of the James Bond films. However, delving deeper reveals that compiled within the Bond Films is actually quite a wealth of information from a variety of sources.

Each film has a standard set of sections devoted to it, which are all discussed in the books introduction. Some of these sections include information on fashion decisions in the films, the advancements of particular continuing characters including M and Miss Moneypenny, the box office returns for the films, award nominations and film trivia. The most interesting sections, and those which make this a successful book, are those which discuss scenes cut from the film, source to screen information, real world influences and parallels, product placement details, critics responses to the film and social references in the film. It is the latter which may prove to be the most interesting to Bond fans as they summarise information which hasn't previously been made readily available.

Despite some 'gem' sections there are two which could easily have been left out. The first is 'quotes', everyone enjoys particular quotes for varying reasons and it seems unnecessary for the authors to attempt to define which are the best of a particular film. Also unnecessary is a section called 'The One With'; a section that informs you how to remind a friend which film you mean. For instance, The Living Daylights is given as "The One With: the rock of Gibraltar, the milkman and the cello". Some may find the section interesting, the 'hardcore' Bond fan will find it a statement of the obvious.

It is obvious that a lot of work has gone into summarising material to include in the book, particularly for some of the aforementioned sections.

It's good to see areas dedicated to the majority of Bond films, Never Say Never Again included. While 1967's Casino Royale is included in the book it is disappointing to see that the 1954 version of the book is not. While, admittedly, it was only a telemovie it is undoubtedly an important part in the history of the cinematic James Bond.

Bond Films, co-authored by Jim Smith and Stephen Lavington, isn't the best Bond book ever, but it's obvious that the authors never intended for it to be. They had an intention from the start, stuck to it and in doing so successful created an interesting source of information.

An above-average book on the Bond series. In my opinion, the book's major lapses are when it tries to put the Bond films in historical context. The most notable howler here is a lengthy discussion of the effect of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo on the UK (page 139). This whole analysis is flawed because the UK was exempted from the OPEC embargo! The book also stumbles when it discusses the Thatcher government. For one thing, it claims (page 177) that the Thatcher government was elected in September 1979 (it was actually May 1979). Secondly, the book makes much of the fact that the same Defence Minister appears in the Bond films pre- and post-1979. The book claims (page 169) that for the character Frederick Gray still to be Defence Minister after the 1979 change of government, he "has pulled off the biggest party political defection in British history." In fact, it was not unheard for a minister to serve in both the late 1970s Callaghan Labour government and in the Thatcher government--for proof, see page 546 of Kenneth Morgan's book CALLAGHAN: A LIFE.

Another flawed discussion occurs when the authors claim that DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER "was very much ahead of its time" because "the idea of space-based lasers was not seriously mooted until US President Ronald Reagan's 'star wars' program of the 1980s" (p. 114). In fact, space-based weaponry was the subject of international diplomacy well before the 1980s--it was even covered by a 1972 arms treaty. Another space-related error occurs when the authors give the wrong year for the first space shuttle mission.

The book takes a decidedly rose-tinted view of Timothy Dalton's box office performance. You would not know from this book, for example, that all of Roger Moore's 1980s Bond pictures scored higher US admissions than either of Dalton's films. More generally, the authors take a scattergun approach to the reporting of box-office results, sometimes reporting world grosses, sometimes only US grosses. Moreover, for both OCTOPUSSY and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, box office rentals are incorrectly given as box office grosses. Many of the other box office comparisons in the book are misleading because of the failure to adjust for inflation.

As far as the reviews themselves are concerned, I was pleasantly surprised to see some kind words said about A VIEW TO A KILL and some reservations about GOLDFINGER. Otherwise, the reviews report quite conventional views about the films; indeed, the opinions expressed here about the first eleven movies are virtually interchangeable with those in John Brosnan's classic book on the Bond series. Sometimes the influence of previous books, while understandable, is TOO intrusive. For example, Barnes and Hearn's judgement on THE SPY WHO LOVED ME in their book KISS KISS BANG BANG was that it was "a slick...'greatest-hits' package" (page 129 of 1997 edition); Smith and Lavington's judgement on the same film is: "A slick, pacy 'greatest hits' package" (page 154).

There are numerous misquotations from the films as well as misspellings of names of characters, cast members, and historical figures. Most of these errors are minor but avoidable. On other issues, such as the running time of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and how many of the Bond films are solo-scripted, the book's errors are more serious.

The Moore films are repeatedly criticised for making the James Bond character well-known throughout the world rather than a secret agent, ignoring the precedent for this in two Connery Bonds--Bond made the papers in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and was world-famous in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. (Barnes and Hearn's book on the Bond films was also guilty of this double standard.) Other inconsistencies appear to be a by-product of the book being written over a long period. For example, page 33 claims that "throughout" the Bond film series, Soviets were never Bond's main enemy--ignoring FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, which is acknowledged on page 176 as a film where the main villains are Soviet-backed. And the statement on page 177 that "politicians had been either anonymous or not obviously based on any one person" in the films before FOR YOUR EYES ONLY seems at odds with the authors' own account of the conclusion of GOLDFINGER: "[the] plane Bond is taking to meet President Johnson..." (page 41).

If anyone is looking for a scholarly book on covenant theology should not look here. The book really is NOT about covenant theology, but a systematic theology from a Reformed perspective. Look elsewhere for something more indepth and useful on covenant theology.

"Could anything be more beautiful than the gracious covenant which the Lord makes with saved sinners?"

With that incentive, Prof. McKay invites us to join him on a journey from before time began, through history, and into eternity, tracing the outworkings of God's love for mankind as it is expressed in his gracious promise to save sinners.

This book is like a mini library on a vast array of topics. It starts with delving into the nature of God himself and moves through to a conclusion with the triumph of Christ's Kingdom and a look at the new heavens and earth. Throughout, the practical usefulness of covenant theology (or how we relate to God, and He to us) is brought to bear on a huge range of issues, from biblical issues like election, sanctification and the sacraments, to current issues such as feminism, New Age Movement and evolution. In doing so, Prof. McKay provides readers with the biblical tools to understand these many topics.

But this book is no cold academic exercise in some obscure area of Christian thinking. This is the very heart of our relationship with God. And it is a warm, living, beating, pulsating heart - the unfathomable mystery of God's love for unworthy sinners. Such a topic will inevitably stretch our finite minds. But if you are prepared to have your mind stretched, you will be greatly rewarded as you delve into this great subject.

Prof. McKay combines clarity, incisive thinking and warm practical application. As well as coming to a clearer understanding of many topics, I found myself with much material to deepen and enrich my own devotional times. He has a gift not only for anticipating and answering your questions or objections, but doing so in such a way as to fit it all into the whole framework of scripture.

This is a book to be read and studied carefully. A great reference tool and an essential part of the Christian's library.

I thought I was getting a book on franchises that was a ratings of franchises. This might as well have been condensed into a 5 page booklet on franchise cost. It did however, contain some good contact numbers for someone who has no idea of where to start their franchise search.

Bonds is by far one of the best franchise books on the market. As a consultant to many franchisors, I have constantly referred back to Bonds. The contact information is very accurate. It is very easy to follow. I used mine so many times, I had to order a new one. When you want to explore the top franchise and business opportunities on line, visit us at FranchiseAmerica.com-America's Franchise and Business Opportunity Portal.

Although I had Madsen as a professor at the University of Iowa and thouroughly enjoyed the class, Political Behavior, the man can not write! The piece is very dry and moves very slowly. Although it is easy to understand, except when he gets to chapter 3 and starts to talk about the derivations and math stuff. I know that case studies are not interesting most of the time, but he could have tried a little bit harder to make it so. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I have read dozens of books on political behavior, and have been disenchanted by most of them. This however was not the case with The Charismatic Bond. The story of Juan Peron itself is magnificent, but Madsen and Snow seem to help us understand the story of the people that made Peron legendary, as well as, circumstances that surrounded his rise and subsequent fall. Despite all of this you still must have a taste for politics to enjoy this book.

If you're an adoptee or birthmother, don't waste your money on this narrow-minded view of adoption. Bartholet has little to say about birthmothers! When she does mention birthmothers, she seems to view them as inconsequential baby machines. No empathy in this book!

I found Elizabeth Bartholet's view of parenting to be thoughtful, intelligent and compassionate. As the birth mother of one, this book made me want to consider adoption as a compassionate way to expand my family -- even without fertility problems as the motivation.

I found the title misleading (to say the least). This book is filled with stories about dysfunctional families. If you enjoy watching daytime talk shows you will enjoy this book; but if you want to enrich your mother-daughter bond; this one is not for you.

I found the book to provide useful insights into the mother daughter relationships that apply to my own life with my mother AND with my daughter. Life with daughter (especially teens) is sometimes like a soap opera, but understanding more, gives me the ability to keep it from being so.