Jaguar Reviews

I recommend the reading of the interview of Gell-Mann with J. Horgan published in the book: "The End of Science". The Quark and The Jaguar replicate the "excellence" of its author (GM). Following the "profile" of GM, we can say that the book is pretentious, very "ignorant", archaic, wrong and partial. PRETENTIOUS because present the world as completely known. For example, he says that a quantum physicist could solve anything problem on chemistry! This is stupid! "IGNORANT" because he recites about some aspects of science and philosophy that he does not know. My search-tool ONLY found 40 significant works of GM on scientific databases! ARCHAIC because some aspects of GM discourse were discarded 50 years ago! WRONG since he ignores works published in scientific journals. PARTIAL because he only shows own unusual ideas or others imported as if they were originated on Santa Fe Institute (The "revolutionary" SFI idea of studying the simple and the complex is well known in usual physical chemistry and statistical physics. One studies the "simple" (the particle) and the "complex" (collections of molecules and aggregates). The book has some good points (see others reviews) but I don't recommend it. I suggest other books by Prigogine, Weinberg, Wolfram, Hawking, etc.

Really, there is only one great contribution and knowledge of GM: quarks theory (QCD). The contributions on biology, geology, neurology, physiology, chemistry, philosophy, linguistic and others are easily summarized: none. Moreover, some aspects of GM dissertation are completely wrong for the expertise. What are the contribution and knowledge on chaos, thermodynamics, cosmology, atomic theory and chemical physics, fluctuations and critical phenomena or on dissipative structures? The response is none, and all this is well observed in the book!

I'm sorry, but the supposed "Polymath" is not an expertise on quantum physics. He WAS a great expertise on quarks theory but his contribution and knowledge of electronic and nuclear structure theory, GUT's, and others are in fact nulls. In no doubt, the ideas of the book on quantum chemistry are completely wrong. For instance, chemistry has not been reduced to QED. See the chapter on electroweak chemistry of the book "Chemistry for the 21st century". I know that the quantum chemist Brändas develops (since 1971!) more advances theories than standard QM. The book reflect the ignorance of GM on crucial aspects of standard or generalized quantum mechanics as CSM, Austin-Brussels theory, AIM, TFD, etc. The contribution and knowledge of the author on non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics (ESSENTIAL for our knowledge of nature) and its presence on the book is zero.

In the limits of my knowledge, nobody in elementary particle physics use his "genial" ideas or "seminal" theories, except the excellent quark model. For example, I do not find references to GM work on superstrings in my copies of CERN seminars. Already in 90's, particle physicists disbelieve of the questionable point of view of GM on the "last formulation" of physics and they began the "M-theory". Even in particle physics the book is incomplete and/or wrong!

The contribution and knowledge on mathematical-physics or foundations of physics are very deficient and it is reflected on the book. The "multiple-histories" formalism (a basis for "trivial" quantum, ecological, cosmological and biological deliberation of GM on the book) is NOT used by scientific community. The most of his supposed "rationalization" of evolution, of life's origin and self-organization are useless in scientific "serious" literature. His irrelevant insights to the dynamical sources of the second law or to cosmology are completely wrong (See the excellent Prigogine's criticism on his last book "The end of certainty").

Some of the philosophical points of view appointed in the book about the ontological structure of science are invalid! The knowledge of the author in epistemology is also shocking for us. For example, elementary courses of physical chemistry show that theories never are "correct" or "incorrect". Philosophers like to say that theories are "applicable" or "inapplicable".

The value of the book on "hot" topics of information theory is very questionable and here GM deliberate about strange and vague concepts as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) no well accepted in current scientific literature. For a scientific criticism of the very wrong ideas of the book on information theory and entropy, I recommended the article "Science of Chaos or Chaos in Science?" (In: The Flight from Science and Reason, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 775, 1996, pp.131-175) by J. Bricmont (the coauthor of the book "Intellectual impostures"). CAS is only a "sound" name without physical or biological signification outside of the Santa Fe Institute (In chemistry, CAS signifies Chemical Abstract Service!).

Moreover, the book fails in the scientific details and then it is internally INCONSISTENT in several points. It is impossible sustain the standard model (dynamical groups) of QM in one hand and natural selection in the other (See "The End of certainty"). It is impossible sustain in one hand "archaic" quantum wave theory and quantum chaos in the other, or CPT symmetries of particle physics in one hand and the arrow of time in the other (see the book "The Direction of Time" by Zeh). It is inconsistent the standard view of quantum postulates and the old unresolved problems of measure theory (still today, there are investigations about the "Schrödinger cat problem" and the "parallel universes" in the more prestigious journals of physics), etc. However, the Polymath ("The Polymath Who Knows Everything") must ignore all this.

Translated by J.R. González-Álvarez.

I decided to write this review because I thought none of the reviews really mentioned the main focus of this book. This is not a book about Quantum Mechanics, nor molecular biology, nor neurobiology. In this book, the great Gell-Mann exposes his ideas of why all subjects of science (from physics, to chemistry, to biology, to psychology) must be studied together, why they are related and also he shows models of how to do this unified study. He defends that reductionism is not the only way of doing science, in opposition of the philosophical ideas of Steven Weinberg and Richard Feynman. This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, because there aren't many books that are against pure reductionism written by reductionism defenders. Gell-Mann is not against reductionism, but against PURE reductionism; he think its nice to explain a complex phenomenon based on the theory of its contents but its also important to study the phenomenon in his actual level, studying the way that the complex works. Not only the simple. Thats the origin of the name: Quark, the simple, and the Jaguar, the complex.

At the beginning of our knowledge of a nature of things there was a philosophy. Many years after from philosophy have passed the physics - science which wholly was allocated and completely should be checked by the facts of experience.

However it is impossible sometimes to do check up only by facts. It is possible to make of the facts sometimes such conclusions, that is simple to mind is not conceivable. Let us admit that it so. But it is impossible, and to reject, and all received by human conclusions. We want it or we do not want - in the beginning there was a business, and then word. I think it is patience do necessary!

Take the book and read it. The book - source of knowledge!

vavivlad-rvc@mtu-net.ru

I didn't like this book . I disliked it because it was not a good book for a fifth grader. It's a good book for a first or second grader. The illustrations were my favorite part. They almost looked like cartoons, though they were a lot better looking. The illustrations were very suitable for the story. As you read it, you can tell it's fantasy.

Im nine and this book is the best A-Z mystery ever. If you want to read a good book read A-Z mystery and the Jaguars Jewel. I loved it because I love mysterys and I licked the name Dr pitts [...].

Once again Ron Roy managed to keep my 7 year old in suspense. The plot was a little more predictable than usual, but this did not detract at all from the fun and mystery! WE highly recommend this book for all young readers. We can't wait for "The Kidnapped King"!

I had recently rec'd the OS 10.2.2 "Visual Quick Start Guide" and BOTH of these books kind of gloss over the real meat of the OS.

I would have liked to see something on the Windows file connectivity, my office has both mac's and (ugh) PC's that need to share files, and NEITHER of these books even touched on that subject.

Teach Yourself Visually: Mac OSX v.10.2 Jaguar; Maran, Ruth; Illustrations by Russ Marini & Steven Schaerer; Screen Artist and Illustrator Darryl Grossi; Copyright 2003; Maran Graphics. Publ Wiley Publishing, Inc. NY, NY; Softback; ISBN 0-7645-1802-X

This book of slightly more than 300 pages is visually very attractive. It would make a nice gift. The author recognizes that some people do much better when instructed with visual images. Toward this end she has created a well illustrated book that takes the beginner by the eye and introduces operating a computer equipped with Mac OSX v.10.2.

This book will definitely get a neophyte started and probably productive using OSX at the beginner level. Basic operations and concepts are illustrated and explained. Included applications are explained. The author has taken simplification too far perhaps though. There is no hint that there are alternate ways to achieve the results mentioned in the book. This approach can be misleading unfortunately. One example of the pitfalls of over simplification is on page 182 where the author states "You need to ... have a .Mac membership to publish photos to the web." As you know, there are several alternates to this approach.

The most glaring oversimplification is the assumption that the computer will always function properly and will not need disk or file maintenance. "Troubleshooting" and "Maintenance" are not indexed terms. There is no guidance for malfunction, no mention of caution around renaming or moving files and folders, etc.

This book is clearly for the person who is new and simply wants to get going. Toward this simple end the book is excellent. The user will be in need of another text or a knowledgeable friend to assist the first time a program hangs, crashes or there is any need for an application outside the suite provided with MacOSX. "Classic" is another term completely absent from the index.

Pros: Excellent introductory book for someone who is both a computer novice and primarily a visual learner.

Cons: Very little information on dealing with the inevitable problems that occur. Simplistic introduction which does not suggest to the reader a path to advanced exploration and learning, nor even that one exists.

If you are reading this, then you are incredibly wise, and either, a Mac loyalist or a recent PC convert to Mac, and have reached a point where you have installed (or are about to install) Mac OS 10.2. The current Mac OS 10.2 is wonderful, stable and fun (which is probably the main reason why you are using Mac in the first place). The problem facing us all, is that when we open the box containing the OS 10.2, the manual is missing! As if it were stolen by aliens! The truth is, there are three reasons why Apple didn't give us a manual. They are: 1-It costs money to make, 2-It costs money to make, and 3-they take that saved money and put it into R&D so that we have many new exciting goodies from them in the future. So, what do we do about the missing manual; We buy one or two of the newest books out on OS 10.2 to guide us along in Mac Land. We all got our Macs because they were visually exciting and image based (as opposed to the boring PC OS coding). So, doesn't it stand to reason that a decent MAC OS manual would employ this same philosophy. Happily, there is one that does! "Teach Yourself Visually:Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar"is in living color and presented in a visual step-by-step illustrated approach that is very enlightening and fun to use.It simplifies the concepts of Mac OS 10.2 while speeding you through its paces. It is so good, that you will be soon showing off this book to your die-hard PC friends in order to show them the true path to computer nirvana. Another great companion book is "MAC OSX Killer Tips" by Scott Kelby. Scott lives in Mac Heaven, is publisher and editor of several Mac-based publications, and is very, very smart and very funny besides. "Killer Tips" is also in living color and will save you even more time and make you even more clever than you already are. "Tips"
is filled with those wonderfully simple, slightly more advanced
"Aha" tricks that the Mac team has given us all as a reward for being intelligent enough to want to use Macs in the first place.
Get both books if you want to know the new OS and have a lot of fun in the process.

upon trying to use this manual for a 1986 jaguar xj6 i found that the information i needed was very hard to find if it was even there at all. the troubleshooting section is an absolute joke.

Haynes Manuals have always been the best on the market. I've used them for several vehicles I have owned in the past. However, I was surprised that this one does not measure up to the rest.

For Series I and II XJ6s, this book is very good. It covers all the topics with easy step-by-step instructions and has plenty of pictures and charts to go with it. It's with the Series III cars that the book falls flat. The book was originally written for the first two series with info on the IIIs added in a later revision. It seems the section on the IIIS was more an after thought than a revision. Information is hard to locate, the pictures and charts are not as numerous and some information just isn't there.

Overall, this is a good, cheap starting point for anyone who wants to do-it-yourself info on the the XJ6. However, if you want more substance and detail, stick with the Jaguar Shop Manuals. They're pricey but worth it.

This book covers some things in more detail than the Jaguar Factory Repair Operation Manuals (ROM). But, it is not a substitute for the Jaguar manuals. The sections on Timing and Ignition were particularly useful. It includes photos of key components, as opposed to drawings in the Jaguar manuals. But it does not include much information about tools and jigs specific to these engines.

Collection of articles in turning a "rust bucket" E-Type FHC into a respectable concours car. A lot of gritty details on what had to be done to this particular car and some tips on what to look for in your own restoration. Interesting reading but not everything will apply to your project. Worth having on your bookshelf just to encourage you if your own restoration falters

This is a collection of articles documenting the restoration of an E-Type coupe. Many obscure operations are reported and illustrated. It is a good book for the beginning restorer. However, it does not go into any operation with enough detail to substitute for a shop manual.

Here we go again. In the mid-80s, Nicaragua was full of Internationalists, who were dedicated socialists and communists from wealthy countries with wealthy backgrounds, "sacrificing" by living in houses formerly owned by the upper and upper middle classes and stolen by the Sandinistas. They ran their Air-conditioners full blast, used expensive resources, and never had to pay a penny. All courtesy of the corrupt Sandinista government that was using them to help win the media war in the US, Canada, and Western Europe.

The "treatment", as it was known in Sandinista circles, was also applied to media dignitaries. Although they did not benefit from free housing, they were put up in the best hotel in Managua, chauffered around, and "given-access" to charismatic revolutionaries in exchange for favorable reviews.

Salman Rushdie, while a fantastic writer, is not an expert in Nicaraguan politics, or history. While mildly critical of the Sandinistas, he fell for the charm of some of their leaders. He gathered information that he felt represented reality in Nicaraguan life, and then wrote about it. Unfortunately, this representation is completely skewed, and misses the points of Nicaraguan history.

Canadians, how would you like to have Mr. Rushdie spent 6 weeks in your country, and then tell you how the country should split up?

Americans, how would you like Rushdie to spend 6 weeks in Washington and then tell you that you should not retailiate for the Sept. 11 attacks?

As proposterous as that sounds, that is exactly the point of his book when it came to Nicaraguan politics in the mid 1980s.

In 1986, the seventh year of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, and three years before he got a fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini, Salman Rushdie visited Nicaragua, travelling to Managua, Camaopa, celebrating the seventh anniversary of the revolution, and the Blue Fields area near the Atlantic Coast. I originally bought this book when I was interested in finding any of Salman Rushdie's books. I found it mildly interesting. This past winter, I took an upper division History of Central America at Fort Lewis College and after learning more about the Somozas and the Nicaraguan Revolution, I dug up Rushdie's book and one, it made more sense, two, I was more intrigued than merely interested.

Rushdie introduces the background to the Nicaraguan revolution that forced Anastasio Somoza Debayle's resignation in 1979 and even goes into the background of Augusto Sandino, the nationalist rebel leader executed by Anastasio Somoza Garcia's Guardia Nacional, and the Somoza dynasty that lasted forty years.

Rushdie got to meet some of the big nine Sandinista leaders, including President Daniel Ortega, vice president Sergio Ramirez, and agriculture minister Jaime Wheelock. However, they justify press censorship because they are at war with the Contras and America, and any press sympathetic to the US will undermine the regime. Seems reasonable, as the U.S. funding of Contras and the mining of Managua's harbours were acts of war by the U.S.

Not only are the Contras portrayed as terrorists, but Reagan isn't seen in a favourable light, understandably. Rushdie writes "Scarecrow Ronald Reagans hung--by the neck--from roadside trees." And in Ortega's speech to the people of Esteli, "Quien es culpabile?" the people roar back: "Reagan!" Foreign Minister Miguel d'Escoto even recalls a conversation with a Reagan administration official who tells him "Just do as we (the U.S.) say," serving as a reminder of U.S. hegemony in Central America and its refusal to abide by the Hague judgment, which ruled that the U.S. contra aid and force was a violation of international law.

Rushdie also visits Bluefields, where there are Miskito, Sumo, and Rama indigenes alienated by first the Somozas and the Sandinistas. One tragedy is that there are only 23 Ramas left and any attempt to preserve their language is hampered by the fact that many of them have few teeth, putting the mockers on proper enunciation. One of the people he meets is Mary Ellsberg, daughter of Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers, who is totally sympathetic to the plight of the indigenes there.

Rushdie's interview with Violeta Chamorro, widow of La Prensa editor Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, and later to be elected president, reveals Ms. Chamorro as someone who tries to manipulate a few facts and is biased against Ortega--she claims that Ortega was not elected democratically and yet according to foreign observers and an 80% voter turnout, he was. Rushdie agrees that yes, it was wrong for the Sandinistas to shut down La Prensa, but he questions Chamorro's candour.

As in his books, Rushdie writes with a wry, sometimes humorous style prevalent in his best novels. e.g. "my breakfast of rice and beans--'gayo pinto,' it was called 'painted rooster'--began to crow noisily in my stomach." Or when joining the foreign volunteer workers in singing "we shall overcome," he says "Like so many people who absolutely can't sing, I get sentimental about old tunes; the lump in the throat provides an excuse for the painful fractured noises emerging from the mouth." But his lyrical writing found in Satanic Verses and Midnight's Children also shines through.

This book is definitely critical of the Reagan administration's policies, but it paints an even-handed view of the Sandinistas, listing their ideals while at the same time detailing repressive measures that would not have been implemented had U.S. anti-communist paranoia not led to funding the Contras.

This is a good book with a original perspective of the story of Nicaragua. Even though Rushdie is a notable critic of the Sandinista government, he feels attracted by the Sandinista's fight and ideas. He manages throughout the story to mention thoughts and points of view from other local thinkers and poets.

Heart of a jaguar based on the ancient Maya vividly describes the day to day life of a fourteen-year-old boy. As typically is the case with books from this time period, the characters are seemingly continuously worrying about bad omens and other superstitious things. Extremely accurate, Mark Talbert who is the author carefully demonstrates the Mayan belief in sacrifice.
Living in a small unimportant village in the depth of Mexico,
Balems, the fourteen-year old boys, family lived off the land.
Continuously they grew their own crops, gathered breadnuts and
hunted. When Balem was born, his mother along with his twin died
shortly after. Since his father quickly re-married soon after, balem never really missed his true mother. Living mostly on breadnuts the people craved meat.
While Balem was following the bachelors one-day he miraculously killed a jaguar. Bringing it home as a sacrifice, he was turned down by the priests who said that the gods required one of their own. Balem after being chosen as the best, was decided as sacrifice. Shortly after, Balem
fasted to be clean for the sacrifice, and the story ends with balem on the altar seeing his own beating heart in the priest hands.
As is uncommon with American books Heart of a Jaguar has an
incredibly weird ending. Ending in death is not normally done but finished the story fast. Exceptionally written, true to life, Heart of a Jaguar is a must for all interested in the Maya or any other ancient civilization.

I think that Heart of a Jaguar is a very good novel. There are only a few places that it could be improved. Especially in the fight of the bachelors, it was a bit too gruesome. The violence in the fight could have definitely been removed. Even though that probably happened in the Maya civilization, Marc Talbert did not have to include it in the book.
Heart of a Jaguar was a very vivid book, especially in the dreams of a young boy. Marc Talbert was able to create a very real story that was very clear and plausible (within the Mayan empire). The ending was very detailed also though it was expected.
The author's note in the beginning sets the scene of the story very well. The book takes place two days away from the collapsed Mayan city. The book is written about the 1200s in the Post-Classic Mayan period. It greatly develops the story of the novel and prepares you for this excellent book.

Heart of a Jaguar By Marc Talbert

"It's literally heart stopping"-Lydia

By Lydia
I think that Heart of a Jaguar is a good novel. It tells the tale of a boy, Balam, waiting to become a man. When a drought plagues his village, everyone tries to bring rain. However, the rituals are a bit sordid, so I would recommend this to mature readers.
This book depicts what happened in the Post-Classic period of the Mayas. Rituals in the book are not made up, but quite real. Mark Talbert did a good job of studying and preparing for the book. He was well ready to write the book.
The author's note is helpful because it sets the location, two days away from Chichen Itza. However, the tone buttered you up. This was a good book, but could have had a few lighter points.

Check the previous review and tell me, Is it the auther? or the publisher?

This is in my opinion a must have for any vintage Jag owner who considers rebuilding an XK engine in his own garage/shop instead of giving it away to a specialist. The book will most likely prevent you from making some unneccessary mistakes. However, I recommend this book as an addition to the original Jaguar shop manual and not as a replacement.
The section on the IRS is nice to have and was probably only added because the engine story didn't fill a whole book.
Books like this will give you way more bang for the buck than most of the coffee table books when it comes to restoring your old rust bucket.

Excellent book on rebuilding the classic Jaguar XK engine in it's various permutations. Some history on the development as well. A real inside look at all of the internals of this engine. As a bonus, there is also a quick teardown and rebuild of much of the independent rear suspension unit. Covers everything except the actual rebuild of the differential. Also a bonus section on the SU carburettor. This book is required reading if you plan to do any of your own engine work. The photos are first rate, many in color. This is a collection of articles that previously appeared in Jaguar Quarterly (now Jaguar World) Magazine

Unlike other books about the Jaguar XJ Series, Thorley's goes into detail about colour schemes, changes in options, pricing, and all the other details about the XJ that an enthusiast might want to know. Interested in whether a UK-Spec Sovereign had the same seats as a US-Spec Daimler Vanden Plas? Thorley will tell you. Curious about whether Silver Frost Metallic was offered on 1985 cars? Thorley will tell you. A superb reference for XJ fanatics, and much more detailed than the other XJ books by Skilleter and Robson

The history of a Jaguar model is once again penned by the deft hands of Nigel Thorly. This book describes in detail all three series of the XJ cars, their racing history (yes, they have one), and how to select and restore a car.

This book only covers Jaguar XJ6 and XJ12 cars from the early '70s through the late '80s. Many of the newer Jaguar XJ cars badged with the XJ6 are of the XJ-40 or revised variety. It is easy to spot a model covered by this book. Simply look for the dual-fuel tank fillers, one on each side of the trunk.

The only disappointment in this book was the minimal coverage of the XJ6C and XJ12C models. These two-door coupes were produced in very small numbers, and few of them remain.

Nobody knows more about XJ Jaguars than Nigel Thorley. Avid Jaguarphiles will love the content and the delivery that Thorley gives to this classic marque.

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Very helpful, huh ?

Yes this was a good book. I really liked the authors of writing style, and I did not put the book down until I had almost read 4 chapters. Nicely layed out and well explained. I learned about the basics of distributed computing, then powerbuilder, and then using powerbuilder with easerver. I LOVED the java part since I am quite new to java. The author walked me through learning java and then gave me a very good comparison. Excellent read specially for the powerbuilder folks trying to convert to java... Well Done.

I am quite new to PowerBuilder, Jaguar, and most important of all, JAVA. This book gave me a very good tutorial on JAVA and started my off on my way to using Jaguar. I recommend this book to all.