Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS

Amazon.com

Book Description
No matter how visually appealing or content-packed a Web site may be, if it's not adaptable to a variety of situations and reaching the widest possible audience, it isn't really succeeding. In Bulletproof Web Desing, author and Web designer extraordinaire, Dan Cederholm outlines standards-based strategies for building designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control--key components of every sucessful site. Each chapter starts out with an example of an unbulletproof site one that employs a traditional HTML-based approach which Dan then deconstructs, pointing out its limitations. He then gives the site a make-over using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), so you can see how to replace bloated code with lean markup and CSS for fast-loading sites that are accessible to all users. Finally, he covers several popular fluid and elastic-width layout techniques and pieces together all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single-page template.

Guest Reviewer: Jeffrey Zeldman

Modern web design is user-centered, accessible, and standards-based. In other words, it's completely different from the stuff we did in the 1990s. There are two vital aspects to designing with web standards:

(1) understanding why
(2) knowing how

Know-how is what Dan Cederholm has in spades, and in this updated edition of his essential text, he shares that knowledge with humor and clarity.

Dan's is one of the smartest minds in CSS and HTML. He is internationally known as a deep and innovative coder. But his background is in design and production, working on real-world sites for no-nonsense businesses like Google, ESPN, and Fast Company, Inc.

This grounding in practical user interface design and daily production issues makes Dan a great teacher of CSS, because he never loses sight of the things designers want to do (not to mention the things designers' clients and bosses demand of them).

From multi-column layouts that stay crispy in milk, to maintaining fine control of web fonts and sizes without alienating users: just about every problem a modern web designer faces is examined, with solutions ranging from good to better to best.

This second edition includes everything you need to know about taking Internet Explorer 7 into account. Little else has changed. And that's as it should be, for this book is a classic. It belongs on every web designer's shelf.

-- Jeffrey Zeldman, author, Designing With Web Standards 2nd Edition

About the Author
Dan Cederholm is a Web designer and author living in Massachusetts. He's the founder of SimpleBits, a tiny design studio. A recognized expert in the field of standards-based Web design, Dan has worked with Google, MTV, ESPN, Fast Company, Blogger, Odeo, and others. He embraces flexible, adaptable design using Web standards through his design work, writing, and speaking. Dan is the author of two best-selling books: Bulletproof Web Design (New Riders) and Web Standards Solutions (Friends of ED). Dan also runs the popular weblog SimpleBits, where he writes articles and commentary on the Web, technology, and life. He also plays a mean ukulele and occasionally wears a baseball cap.

Book Description

No matter how visually appealing or packed with content your Web site is, it isn’t succeeding if it’s not reaching the widest possible audience. If you get this guide, you can be assured it will! By deconstructing a series of real-world Web sites, author and Web designer extraordinaire Dan Cederholm outlines 10 strategies for creating standards-based designs that provide flexibility, readability, and user control—key components of every successful Web site. Each chapter starts out with an example of what Dan refers to as an “unbulletproof” concept—an existing site that employs a traditional approach and its associated pitfalls. Dan then deconstructs that approach, noting its downsides and then making the site over using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). By the end of each chapter, you’ll have replaced traditional, bloated, inaccessible page components with lean markup and CSS. The guide culminates with a chapter that pieces together all of the page components discussed in prior chapters into a single page template.

Customer Reviews:

For web standards professionals to improve their skills........2007-09-23

If you're a frontend engineer who's already skilled in web standards (semantic markup, CSS presentation, unobtrusive javascript), this book may help you to the next level. If you're new to that stuff, then I recommend Head First HTML With CSS and XHTML.

Bulletproof - no bull.......2007-09-07

This book is simply essential for the serious web developer who cares about standards and web sites that just work. It is well presented and thorough. The knowledge it imparts is readily extended to new design challenges. Well done!

No brainer. Definite MUST-HAVE........2007-09-06

I hope knocking down to 4 stars doesnt hinder people from buying this book, it is fantastic and should be in every web designer's library. Its concise, filled with well-explained and well-illustrated CSS strategies. The author's writing is one of the best I've ever seen in a technical book. Fun to follow and a great sense of humor, but very clear about what he's teaching.

I knock it down a star for two reasons, one it does focus a bit too much on people with screen readers. I know this sounds awful to say, but before I get crucified let me explain: as a designer my medium is mainly visual. While I do think it is important to keep your audience in mind for general public sites, I think for a design book the visual should be a bigger focus only because as designers we are trying to "wow" clients visually.

The other knock is that it is fairly small for a list price of $39.99 but price is an issue I have with most computer books. I would've maybe also like to see a chapter or two of random Tips & Tricks. Stuff like making text look weather-beaten by putting a GIF of "splotches" over it that I recently saw online. Maybe that's too gimmicky for this book, but you get the idea.

Despite the knocks this is a must-have CSS book and should be a definite purchase for all web designers out there. One of those you will come back to over and over.

Heads up on quality of the book cover.......2007-08-30

Book content is excellent, but be prepared for disappointment with the paperback cover. It is not glossy and unlikely to hold up to regular handling. Plan on covering it with something reinforcing. In fact, the cover on my book also started curling within hours of unpacking it, before I even did more than flip through it.

New Riders is not the only publisher who seems unable to put a good cover on a paperback, but it mystifies me as to why that is, since so many publishers have no trouble with that aspect of book design.

A must for every serious web designer.......2007-07-24

I don't use to thoroughly read professional books from start to end. I rather browse them for solutions to specific problems I encounter.

Well, in this case I've broken my habits, because from the very moment that "Bulletproof Web Design" reached my hands, I made it my bedside (or better, my "bus-seat") book and I'm about to finish it already.

Dan Cederholm just covers 8 (+1) aspects of designing with web standards, but he does it so well and so easy to read and understand, that you learn much more about the foundations of CSS than what the chapters announce.

Congratulations, Dan. And thanks a lot.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Technical Communication 8e & Document Based Cases for Technical Communication

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Technical Communication by Mike Markel
text book
Best Technical Writing Textbook I Have Seen
An excellenct book to technical writting
Fastest shipping ever. Book in great/ like new condition.

Technical Communication 8e & Document Based Cases for Technical Communication
Mike Markel , and Roger Munger
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312455674

Customer Reviews:

Technical Communication by Mike Markel.......2007-10-10

I think the book is good , specially for the beginners , but certainly the price is more.

text book.......2007-08-05

won't know till it's used in class, is a hard and expensive text to find

Best Technical Writing Textbook I Have Seen.......2007-07-26

Being very nervous about my first semester as a technical writing instructor, I pored over about half-a-dozen different books to get ideas and to see which textbook would be best to teach in the future. In spite of its shocking price, this book won hands-down.

This book (even more than the 7th edition) does an excellent job of taking students through the process of creating documents, helping students to understand the parts of the document and what each part does, and also gives some helpful sample documents. Unlike many technical writing texts which I have seen, both ethical and rhetorical issues are treated effectively and simply, while a good balance is struck between nuts-and-bolts grammar and formatting advice and discussions of audience awareness, credibility, and tone.

This book also has a number of helpful "Guidelines" boxes, wherein specific, concrete advice for particular writing tasks is given in a straightforward bulleted list. There is also some useful material on the companion website.

Overall, aside from the high price and the sometimes too-intense use of color and formatting features to draw attention to every little thing, this book is extremely useful for aspiring technical communicators.

An excellenct book to technical writting.......2007-02-07

I used this book for a junior composition class I took. I am terrible at writting and this book made it a lot easier the examples are well laid out and the material is as well. A good technical book. It helped me write a resume that worked.

Fastest shipping ever. Book in great/ like new condition........2007-01-12

Fastest shipping ever. Book in great/ like new condition.

The Sacco and Vanzetti Case: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)

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The Sacco and Vanzetti Case: A Brief History with Documents (The Bedford Series in History and Culture)
Michael M. Topp
Manufacturer: Bedford/St. Martin's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Legal History | Perspectives on Law | Law | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0312400888

Book Description

In 1920 Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants and devout anarchists, were accused of robbery and murder. Their subsequent trial and execution captivated the world and exposed many of the cultural and political tensions of 1920s America. Sacco and Vanzetti’s supporters claimed the two anarchists had been persecuted for their beliefs and not their actions, while their detractors saw proof of the country’s ability to protect itself from dangerous foreign elements. Michael Topp’s unique collection of documents examines both sides and provides a clear presentation of the trial while emphasizing the broad historical context in which it was conducted. An interpretive introductory essay, document headnotes, a chronology, and questions for consideration provide further pedagogical support. A bibliographic essay and a brief discussion of artistic productions based on the trial are also included.

Son of Sam: Based on the Authorized Transcription of the Tapes, Official Documents and Diaries of David Berkowitz

Average customer rating:

Excellent
David Berkowitz and the angry lone nut theory
Straightforward, believable and breathless...read this one!
Perhaps some are'nt ready for the truth!!
If you are interested in the criminal mind, read this book.

Son of Sam: Based on the Authorized Transcription of the Tapes, Official Documents and Diaries of David Berkowitz
Lawrence D. Klausner
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0070350272

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-04-15

This is an excellent account of the Son of Sam murders. The author writes from the point of view of the detectives, victim and Berkowitz. The reader will feel at times as if they are part of the investigation. Very well written and factual account. Please don't believe the garbage in Maury Terrys' book. Berkowitz acted alone and was not part of a world wide cult. He was, in reality, just an anti-social, fat, loser who held a city in fear for a few months in the late 1970s.

David Berkowitz and the angry lone nut theory.......1999-09-08

Did David act alone? After hearing a number of different things about the Son of Sam crimes, I decided to do my own research. I read many articles and accounts of "what really happened", including this book.

Now, after all this research...I'm more confused than ever.

The author of 'Son of Sam' is obviously bent on the fact that David was, as the theory says, another "angry lone nut". I have a hard time believing this theory in any case, so of course I had a hard time believing it here.

Was David really part of a Satanic cult? (Namely the Process - Church of the Final Judgement, a name that, curiously, has come up in a few criminal investigations, including the Manson murders. Though generally described as "non-violent", a number of newspaper and internet articles have associated David Berkowitz and the Son of Sam murders with this cult.) If so, why doesn't Klausner mention this? Surely he seemed to focus on David's spirituality, but even in the exerpts from the diaries at the back of the book, I'm pretty sure I read something about a "church group". If it wasn't there, I'm sure I read comments David made in a number of other articles.

In defense of the book, David's psychosis definately suggests that he was capable of committing these crimes alone. He did know the specific details, and nothing directly implies that anyone else was involved.

Yes, David is given to exagerration, childish bragging and self-empowering lies. He reminds you of a confused child in a man's body. In other words, he's a paranoid schizophrenic. He has often blamed unseen forces, specifically demons and the devil, for his actions. He thought he was a victim of demonic possession, that he and the "Son of Sam" were different people. As anyone who has read the book will remember, David considered himself to be a "good" person. Could he have lied about the church group, consciously of unconsciously, to shift blame from himself? It's definately possible. But did he?

Also, was there new evidence, after the book written, that Klausner didn't know about? I've heard a bit about this, though I don't know the specifics.

After what I've read, I'm not sure what to believe, except that Berkowitz committed the actual crimes alone. However, all we get from that conclusion is that he deserves life imprisonment. (365 years, whatever.) It doesn't offer us any guidance as to the actual motive, which, in my opinion, is the most important part of any crime, so we can ensure that something this horrible wouldn't happen again. There are no reasons for crimes like this, just contributing factors. Like I said, I'm still confused.

As for the book itself, it's quite good, though at times it reminded me of a novel based on a movie, adding melodramatic little touches and outstanding, supposedly "shocking" statements. Recently having read Helter Skelter, I probably would have appreciated Klausner to include more facts and make this less "entertaining". Entertainment is good, but to see a story that carefully introduces characters, charts their progress with small yet memorable details, and ends in emotional payoff...well, that's why I go to the movies. The reason I read true crime is to know the little things: the details of the crimes, the investigation, lie detector tests, complete interviews... I greatly appreciated the pages from David's diary at the back, though I wonder about the author's intent on including it.

I realize that I'm the first person to give this book any less than five stars, but I'm not going to lie; that's simply how I feel about it.

Anyone with any comments about David Berkowitz, his involvement in this crime, any theories (however outlandish they may be, I keep an open mind)...any comments about my review, or anything related to this book can e-mail me at

guelph@canada.com

Thank you to anyone who actually read all of this. Lisa.

Straightforward, believable and breathless...read this one!.......1999-07-29

You want to learn the real NON-exploitative story of the Summer of 1977 and how David Berkowitz terrorized us here in NYC?

Then read this book: It's straightforward, painstakingly researched, fast-paced, and provides extremely sympathetic portraits of the police, the politicians, the victims, and even the killer himself.

As the True Crime genre goes, this book is up there with the best of them: Helter-Skelter and Fatal Vision.

My only quibble: I wanted to know more about the legal process after Sam's arrest...Mr Klausner is there an unedited version of the book?

NOTE TO CONSPIRACY THEORISTS: I tried reading the updated version of "The Ultimate Evil." After a terrific opening about the Arlis Perry murder and summarizing the earlier events of the "Sam" terror, the author goes into some far-out detail about the Stacey Moskowitz murder...the story lost me there it was so convoluted and complicated. I felt as if alternate events were "fitted" into the real time-frame to make the event more interesting.

Perhaps some are'nt ready for the truth!!.......1999-07-06

Maybe you, dear reader, can remember 1977 and all the things that happenned. Perhaps, like some, you get all the info you need from books and film.

Let me say this and I'll leave you to your lattes and precious consumer goods: 1. If Berkowitz did not act alone, why the widely varying descriptions given of "the killer" ? 2. There was a fellow running from the park on one occaision, what of him?? The tall, thin guy, remember??

3. Berkowitz DID belong to an organization(a satanic cult no less) whose members started mysterously dying in the year after Sam was caught. 3 in all.

4. The charter arms .44 special that was used was part of a shipment stolen in 1976 (over 100 just like it). Does this explain the ever-so-subtle differences in ballistics between bullets the F.B.I. pointed out??

People, i won't bore you with forensics, but my last statement is the most important of all because while it does not exonerate Berkowitz, it raises the question of why more than one of the same gun??

These people are things that you and I will never see in the light of day. Killers who don't necessarily stick to one M.O. and call it quits or stop if they get caught. This is something thats been going on since the Manson days and possibly before, the major players move on when the heat comes down and pop up someplace else a few years later.

I highly recommend reading up on the Zodiac killer as well as Manson's "family", I think the similarities speak for themselves.

On that note, I will leave you all to your own devices to educate and enlighten yourselves. Adios!! :-) zipper

If you are interested in the criminal mind, read this book........1998-04-11

This book gives you an incredible view into the mind of a killer. It also is very detailed in the description of the investigation. Many details of the case that the book includes have recently been proved false, but they were unknown when it was written.

Sports Law: Cases, Documents, and Materials (Aspen Elective Series)

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Sports Law: Cases, Documents, and Materials (Aspen Elective Series)
Walter T., Jr. Champion
Manufacturer: Aspen Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0735536597

Gay Rights On Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents

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Gay Rights On Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Laws, and Documents
Lee Walzer
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Civil Rights | Nonfiction | Gay & Lesbian | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0872207404

Book Description

This introductory volume examines the relationship between same-sex legal issues, public opinion, and legislation since the late 1800s and explores the ways in which the American legal system has advanced—and hindered—the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.

Book Description

The grotesquely grinning corpse in the Devonshire shack was a man who died horribly -- with a dish of mushrooms at his side. His body contained enough death-dealing muscarine to kill 30 people. Why would an expert on fungi feast on a large quantity of this particularly poisonous species. A clue to the brilliant murderer, who had baffled the best minds in London, was hidden in a series of letters and documents that no one seemed to care about, except the dead man's son.

Customer Reviews:

Bad Reading Habits.......2007-02-26

I hope I am not holding a grudge against The Documents in the Case for not having Lord Peter Wimsey in it. As in many classic mysteries, the jacket reveals the identity of the victim and his cause of death, in this case a wild mushroom enthusiast who dies from consuming deadly Amanita mushrooms. The murder doesn't take place until more than halfway through, leaving plenty of time to set the scene. Perhaps inspired by Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, the main part of the story is told by letters written by the different characters who are proximate to the murder. Unfortunately all the characters are very self-absorbed and long-winded in a way that I did not find engaging. For social historians, The Documents in the Case highlights 1929 attitudes toward class, feminism, and the new ideas of chemistry, biology, physics, and psychology that were beginning to gain popular currency.

Loyal Dorothy Sayers fans who find this less well-known novel after reading her other books will recognize a proto-Miss Climpson and echoes of the feckless "artistic" set that Harriet Vane ran with before her murder trial.

Hard core Sayers fans will get some pleasure from this book even without His Lordship but its main value is as a period piece and exhibit in the history of detective fiction.

No Wimsey, but plenty of good old-fashioned murder.......2006-05-27

"The Documents in the Case" is a departure from Dorothy Sayers' excellent Lord Peter Wimsey series. In the first half ("Synthesis"), the reader is introduced to the characters (married couple George and Margaret Harrison, roommates Lathom and Munting, and the disturbed Miss Milsom) through a series of letters from and to the characters. The basis for the crime is laid out early in the book, and the murder is solved in the second section ("Analysis").

(This book should be a must-read for organic chemistry students, who will appreciate the solution to the mystery.)

Besides furnishing the method of the murder, then-contemporary science plays a huge part in this book, with characters discussing the works of Einstein, Eddington and others. To the modern reader, this seems quaint and rather naive. "Glands" are discussed multiple times, with the implication that all human behavior would be explained in the near future as a result of "heredity and encrocine secretions, economics and aesthetics and so on." Another character comments that "Nature's only a rather clumsy kind of chemist . . . rather a careless and inaccurate one." This over-confidence was hardly justifies by future developments--1930s scientists could hardly have predicted the immense complication of the interactions of "heredity and endocrine secretions", and their effects on human behavior, nor the immense difficulty in organic sythesis, or the DNA revolution.

There a couple of real scientific howlers here, notably where one character describes light as a vibration in the aether, a theory that has been completely de-bunked (the "lumineferous aether" was supposed to be the propagation medium for light). Still, keeping in mind that this book was written in 1930, it's an interesting look into contemporary mindset and theories, and an absorbing mystery.

Lord Peter Wimsey is off the case.......2003-12-13

In a departure from her trademark Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane stories, Dorothy L. Sayers presents what is essentially an epistolary novel with this book. Ostensibly a collection of 40-some letters and 2 long written statements, the book details the events leading up to the murder of George Harrison (not *that* George Harrison), and the efforts of the victim's son and a reluctant ally to get to the truth of matter.

While it's not exactly Rashomon, unreliable narrators abound, and fixing just what's what as letters contradict each other is the reader's challenge in the first half of the book. In the second half, Paul Harrison details his efforts to find his father's killer and pulls in budding author John Munting to assist him. Their investigation proceeds in fits and starts until it hits the brick wall of knowing *who* committed the murder, and even *why* and *how*, but not being able to prove any of it. As the number of pages dwindles, you begin to doubt if Sayers can get out of the corner she's painted herself into. Without answering whether she does or not, I will say the ending doesn't disappoint.

One suspects that Sayers' late-1920's audience got more out of this novel than today's readers. Unless you're well versed in D.H. Lawrence, R.U.R., and other then-current artistic works, you - like me - will miss what I suspect are some rather satirical asides. Nonetheless, this remains a highly enjoyable book by one of England's best mystery writers. (Robert Eustace, Sayers' co-author, is the pseudonym of Dr. Eustace Robert Barton, who likely provided her with much of the scientific material for the story; he also collaborated with several other mystery writers in the first third of the 20th Century.)

One of Sayers Best.......2002-07-15

Documents in the Case is unlike Sayers' other mysteries. It is in the form, first of all, of documents: letters, newspaper clippings, etc. Secondly, it does not feature Lord Peter Wimsey.

It is, however, an intensely interesting book. The characters, with the exception of the femme fatale (who is convincing but entirely unlikable), are portrayed sympathetically and the reader comes away with a sense of the complexity of human nature in general and of the novel's characters specifically. No one is all good or all bad or all anything. The victim--a fussy, middle-class, conservative husband--is drawn with great insight and compassion. Equally so, the murderer, for all the cruelty of the murder, is not unlikable and even pitiable.

The main narrator has many of the same personality quirks as Lord Peter Wimsey--a reluctance to get involved, oversensitivity and feelings of self-doubt--but his motives are, I think, more convincing. His quirks are less mannerisms and more part and parcel of his character (as eventually happens with Wimsey). Like all the other characters, he is flawed but comprehensible.

In fact, the book is a most unpretentious novel. I enjoy Sayers very much and consider myself a Wimsey fan, but Documents in the Case is, to my mind, a far more realistic and thoughtful mystery than some of Sayers' better known works. The mileau is middle-class. The victim's son (who is collecting the documents) is noble-minded but imperfect: hard to like even when you want him to "win". And the characters are truly impacted by the murder.

The murder itself is interesting enough but much more interesting is the theme that runs alongside the murder: the "lop-sidedness" of life in general, the idea that living things can never achieve the cookie-cutter perfection of synthetic creations.

Recommendation: Give it a try if you are interested in Sayers' work beyond Wimsey (and if you don't mind reading books in letter or document form).

Very thrilling! It's a nice book to curl up with.......1998-09-05

This book was the first I have read by Dorothy Sayers, and it was very good. There were times when it was a little slow, but other than that, it was very well-written. I look forward to reading more mysteries by this author!

Medicine On Trial: A Sourcebook With Cases, Laws, And Documents (On Trial)

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Medicine On Trial: A Sourcebook With Cases, Laws, And Documents (On Trial)
Elisabeth A. Cawthon
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Administrative Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Medical Law & Legislation | Family & Health Law | Law | Subjects | Books

General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0872207420

Book Description

Through close examination of legal, historical, and medical sources, this volume sheds light on the evolution of U.S. law as it bears on bio-ethical issues, advances in medical technology, and the changing role of medicine in the American courtroom during the last 150 years. In doing so, it provides a clear, accessible introduction to such major medical and legal controversies as the "right to die," assisted suicide, bioengineering, reproductive rights, and DNA testing.

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