Amazon.com's Best of 2001
"Suddenly," writes Michael Hammer in the opening to his confidently but aptly named new book The Agenda, "business is not so easy anymore." He then sets out an ambitious plan for righting what many businesses are doing wrong, much as he did a decade ago in his bestselling Reengineering the Corporation. This time, however, he retreats from the overarching "big idea" promulgated in his earlier book to present a system that incorporates nine ideas geared for an environment where customers really do rule. Hammer unveils these aligned-but-individual ideas, which relate to process and customer orientation, along with measurement, management, connecting via the Net, and eventual positioning as "components of virtually extended enterprises" rather than "self-contained wholes." He goes on to explain why they represent improvements over past procedures and cites examples of them in practice. (While discussing measurement, for instance, he shows why most companies use their carefully compiled statistics for little more than affirming what has already happened; he then tells how one firm matched fixed goals in customer retention, employee retention, and product distribution with actual performance requirements that could be tracked and changed.) The final two chapters offer specific implementation suggestions, all filtered through the eyes of an engineer who never went to business school and peppers his writing with references to the Grateful Dead and the Jack Palance character in City Slickers. In all, another provocative and practical tract that will surely attract old fans as well as new believers. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
New rules for the new game:
the ideas that every business needs to win in the customer economy
In
The Agenda, Michael Hammer shows companies how to prosper in today’s world of slow growth, fierce competition, and enormously powerful customers. The winners in this extraordinarily difficult environment—companies like IBM, Duke Power, Progressive Insurance, and GE—succeed through superior operations. Their costs are lower and their quality higher than their competitors’; they get new products to market faster and they provide better customer service. How do they do it? Through near-fanatical attention to the basics of business, and by managing these basics in new and creative ways.
The Agenda teaches the ideas and techniques that any company—large or small, service firm or manufacturer—can use to out-execute and out-innovate its competitors. Businesses that follow these principles will grow by taking market share away from those that do not. While others decline, your company can thrive.
The Agenda will show you how.
Customer Reviews:
The Agenda.......2007-01-12
The same with this book. The shipping, packaging, and timely delivery could not have been better.
A hard dry read but good content!.......2006-06-10
This book has been of a great influence in at least one company in moving towards process management. I have tried to read it, and even though the ideas and content is excellent, and gives a very good perspective on process management, it is unfortunately a very dry read, and may be best read in sections or specific parts for emphasis. I am giving it 3 stars for content and usefulness towards ideas in process management.
The customer economy requires more than reenginering.......2004-10-21
Michael Hammer became a guru by coining the term reengineering and writing bestsellers on business processes. Reengineering was a revolutionary "big idea" that took businesses with storm in the early 1990s. A decade after his first publications, Hammer's book, "The Agenda", acknowledge that reengineering is no "silver bullet" ... it cannot stand alone. Modern management needs to use several business concepts simultaneously to thrive in the new customer economy, i.e. where supply exceeds demand (overcapacity), customers are sophisticated and informed buyers, and many products are becoming commoditised. With long-term trends like globalization and technology, there's no foreseeable end to the customer power that flows from it. So we better be prepared.
The nine building blocks of Hammer's "Agenda" address the ways in which firms are managed, organized, and operated:
1. MAKE YOURSELF EASY TO DO BUSINESS WITH (ETDBW). Take a long hard look at yourself ... from your customers' point of view...!, and then redesign how to work to save them time, money, and frustration.
2. ADD MORE VALUE FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS (MVA). To avoid the trap of commoditization, in which you fight for a minuscule margin against a horde of look-alike, you need to do more for your customers.
3. OBSESS ABOUT YOUR PROCESSES. Customers care only about results, and results come only from end-to-end processes. Manage them, improve them, appoint owners for them, and make everyone aware of them.
4. TURN CREATIVE WORK INTO PROCESS WORK. Innovation doesn't have to be chaotic. Bring the power of discipline and structure to sales, product development, and other creative work. Make success in these areas the result of design and management, not luck...
5. USE MEASUREMENT FOR IMPROVING, NOT ACCOUNTING. Most of your measurements are worthless; they tell you what has happened (sort of) but give you no clue as to what to do for the future. Create a model of your business that ties overall goals to things you control; measure the items that really make a difference; and embed measurement in a serious program of managed improvement.
6. LOOSEN UP YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. The days of the proudly independent manager running a sharply defined unit are over. Collaboration and teamwork are now as necessary in the executive suite as on the front lines. Teach your managers how to work together for the good of the enterprise rather than the stab each other in the back for narrow gain.
7. SELL THROUGH, NOT TO, YOUR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS. Don't let your distribution channels blind you to your final customer, the one who pays everyone's salaries. Change distribution from a series of resellers into a community that works together to serve that final customer. Be ready to redefine the roles of everyone involved in order to achieve that end.
8. PUSH PAST YOUR BOUNDARIES IN PURSUIT OF EFFICIENCY. The last vestiges of overhead lurk, not deep in your company, but at its edges. Exploit the real power of the Internet to streamline the processes that connect you with customers and suppliers. Collaborate with everyone you can to drive out cost and overhead.
9. LOSE YOUR IDENTITY IN AN EXTENDED ENTERPRISE. Get past the idea of being a self-contained company that delivers a complete product. Get used to the notion that you can achieve something only when you virtually integrate with others. Focus on what you do best, get rid of the rest, and encourage others to do the same.
The first two agenda elements are concerned with customer management (ETDBW and MVA)- i.e. how to distinguish firms from look-alike rivals and how to create loyal customers. The third and fourth are about business processes - Hammer's old theme of reengineering. The fifth is about measurement systems and the sixth about the teamplayer role of the manager. The last three are about using modern technology such as the Internet to create value by linking firms with one another - instead of trying to optimize only within own your company's legal boundaries.
Hammer is concentrating on HOW not what. If you're focused on executing, then I think you'll like Hammer's agenda.
Peter Leerskov,
MSc in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-business
Business management at its best (or, the Anti-Dilbert).......2004-07-18
For those of us who are new to management, missed out on the reenginering and total quality management revolutions of the 90s, and are wondering how new trends like business process management fit into the picture, there could hardly be a better book than this one. Centered on the premise that we have come to a point where the customer really is king, the author derives a set of principles, which start with simple ones that no one could argue with like "be easy to do business with" or "add more value", but then gradually lead to more provocative, less intuitive ones that end up putting over a century of management practice on its head, going so far as showing that the days of the enterprise as a self-contained, independent entity are numbered.
On a personal note, having spent the formative years of my professional career on small, software consulting companies during the boom decade of the 90s, I have been as skeptical as people come on new management trends and buzzwords. There was no one better than Dilbert to give voice to my (and many colleagues) cynicism, and this put many of us in a "management can do no right" attitude towards our superiors. But after living through a long economic slump, gaining experience in larger projects in bigger and more established companies participating in mature markets, being anti-management is no longer an appealing or even a responsible position. Most of us have experienced bad management first hand, but have also seen what good management can accomplish and realized that ultimately it's what makes companies great. Afer that experience, this book has made clear to me what those principles of good management are in today's economy, but more than that, it has restored my confidence in it and given sense to what previously seemed to be empty buzzwords.
While very well-written, I think this book could be much easier to read and understand if the chapters were broken down into sections instead of having 20 to 30 pages without break or pause, and illustrations and graphs would be very helpful, especially when talking about organizational structures and other abstract concepts. Other than that, this is as good as business books come.
Prayers for Preserving the Past.......2002-11-17
Unfortunately, I found nothing new in the book. His work with Champy was far better and gave enough treatment on process orientation to make this book superfluous. With this book, he merely provides notions based on his previous works then extended to religious levels. At times, the reading was encumbered by the excessive use of the word "process". I felt like I was reading prayers - prayers to the process gods. After a few chapters of lecturing that bordered on fire and brimstone speeches, I felt like the whole work was tainted with a shrillness.
There are a few gems in here. The ones that struck me most seemed to discount the (now aged) process view of organizational theory. This book would have been a five star classic if he would have been more balanced and talked about the great process failures and the limitations inherent to process oriented organizations.
I'll sum it up: every manager needs to know Hammer & Champy. To know Hammer and Champy, read Re-engineering the Corporation and Re-engineering Management - read them both. If you find that Process Orientation is the defining strategic management implement for your organization, don't read this book, because it will not challenge your belief. This book tends to justify, justify, justify. If you don't think your organization should become process oriented, read this book: it will give you some food for thought.
It was not worth what I paid, but it was worth the time it took to read. I'd wait 'til it reaches your local library. In the mean time, check out "Execution" and "It's the Fast that Eat the Slow".
Product Description
This third edition of this very successful book includes chapters written by experts in the methods of manual treatment and provides step-by-step instructions on how to examine your patient using a logical sequence of passive, contractile, and special tests, and how to relate findings to biomechanical problems and lesions. Included are hundreds of diagrams, photographs, illustrations, and summary charts.
Book Description
This revised text provides readers with the most current information available on a wide range of topics. Topics covered include workers' compensation, fault tree analysis, hearing protection, environmental protection, fire protection, workers with disabilities, ergonomics, OSHA violation policy, and much more. For anyone interested in industrial safety.
Average customer rating:
- Meh! So, where's this big space rock???
- Best ever!
- Boring
- Not Free SF Reader
- I'm on my 5th time through now.
|
Lucifer's Hammer
Larry Niven , and
Jerry Pournelle
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Niven, Larry
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ASIN: 0449208133
Release Date: 1985-05-12 |
Book Description
The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....
"Massively entertaining."
CLEVELAND PLAIN-DEALER
Customer Reviews:
Meh! So, where's this big space rock???.......2007-10-08
Ok, so this book is pretty "ok" overall. It's about a giant rock hitting the earth and the Armageddon aftereffects that follow this catastrophe. I have no problem with that. Good premise. And the author does a decent job setting up the action, characters, conflict, etc. Therein lies the problem; by halfway through the book, the rock has still not hit the Earth. It's like Niven was terrified of being faced with the prospect of actually writing about what happens once the asteroid hits. So, he prolongs the extinction event to a point past which I could honestly read. I hit mid-book (and this is not a thin book), and I had to put the book down. Now, had the characters or action taking place before the impact event been especially compelling, I definitely would have kept reading. But honestly the writing up until page 200+ is just so-so.
Read this book if you have a predilection to extinction event nihilism and a high tolerance for mediocre writing. Otherwise, your time is better spent elsewhere.
Best ever!.......2007-10-04
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I can't believe it hasn't been made into a movie.
Boring.......2007-09-29
65 pages into this book and nothing has happened. The author has included WAY too many characters, many of whom have similar names, not to mention their long, tedious back stories. This is one book that, despite my sincere effort to finish, forced me to abandon it due to extreme boredom.
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Meteors, asteroids, what else can you hit the earth with and write a book about it? How about a comet? Yep, that is what has been done here. Apart from sounding cooler, you get the usual nastiness and struggles as those alive in the aftermath have to deal with trying to stay alive.
New power structures, violence and eating take up a lot of the time.
I'm on my 5th time through now. .......2007-08-26
Yes, it is "another" end of the world scenario books.
But it is one, that so many other authors should have taken notes on.
Excellent premise, strong/HUGE cast of characters.
Several different viewpoints from characters who come from multiple walks of life.
Book Description
Creating next-generation software and applications is now easier than ever with the release of Visual C# 2005. This accessible book guides you through all aspects of C# programming and the capabilities of Visual Studio 2005 so that you can begin developing customized applications.
You'll first learn all aspects of the C# language, from the fundamentals to object-oriented techniques. You'll then quickly progress through Windows(r) and Web programming to making use of data sources, and finally to some advanced techniques such as XML documentation and graphics programming with GDI+. Throughout the book, you'll also find helpful hints, tips, exercises, and full-fledged example code that will enhance your programming skills.
This book covers everything you need to know about Visual C# 2005 and the .NET Framework to create powerful, secure applications for mobile devices, Web applications, Windows applications, and Web services.
What you will learn from this book
- Ways to add functionality to your Visual C# applications
- How to publish applications to the Web with the click of a button
- Techniques for assembling advanced Windows applications with a minimum of effort and time
- Tips for using Web services to add complex data and functionality to Web applications
- How to improve your C# applications using object-oriented programming
- Steps for using ADO.NET to interact with databases and deal with XML
Who this book is for
This book is for anyone who wants to learn how to program in C# using the .NET Framework. It is also for programmers who know .NET 1.0 and want to find out about the latest features of .NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005.
Wrox Beginning guides are crafted to make learning programming languages and technologies easier than you think, providing a structured, tutorial format that will guide you through all the techniques involved.
Customer Reviews:
Bettter than the Pro version.......2007-06-17
Even though this is the beginning book it's better than the Pro C# 2005 book written by some of the same authors. I read this book first and the Pro version second. I found that it explains many of the concepts in a more effective way with less words.
Very good book!.......2007-05-13
This book provided the support I was looking for. Topic very well presented.
Beginning Visual C# 2005, good book..........2007-03-13
good book with nice presentation.. for beginner to understand the next advance topics..
Covers Not Only C# but Also .NET.......2006-03-16
This is a beginning, or perhaps intermediate level book on Microsoft's C# (C-Sharp) programming language used with the Microsoft .NET framework. It covers both the C# language and .NET at a beginner level. It is intended to be usable to everyone from people who have never programmed before to C++ programmers who want to learn the differences Microsoft has put into C#, and as an introduction to the .NET library of code.
As a beginning book, the examples can be programmed using the simpler (and FREE) 'Express' versions of both C# and Visual Studio. The book begins with a discussion of Visual Studio and how to use it. From there it goes on to a very simple console application that simply writes one line of text to the screen. And as you might guess, by the end of the 778 page book, the programs have gotten somewhat more complex.
This kind of programming book covers almost exactly the same material of other beginning books on C#. I find that I like the tone, the style of writing, and the completeness of this book better than a lot of others.
Poor book.......2006-03-02
This book will stuff you with many rules of the C# 2.0, but lamentably it does not teach how to use them. The programs are short and poor. Definitively this is not the form to teach a beginner how a programming language must be used. And the book doesn't explain the differences between C# 1.0 and C# 2.0, except a short chapter about generics.
Book Description
The most successful business book of the last decade, Reengineering the Corporation is the pioneering work on the most important topic in business today: achieving dramatic performance improvements. This book leads readers through the radical redesign of a company's processes, organization, and culture to achieve a quantum leap in performance.
Michael Hammer and James Champy have updated and revised their milestone work for the New Economy they helped to create -- promising to help corporations save hundreds of millions of dollars more, raise their customer satisfaction still higher, and grow ever more nimble in the years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Reengineering the Corporation.......2007-01-12
Very satified with book, shipping, packaging, and timely fachion sent and received.
Burn this Book.......2006-11-21
There is NO EXCUSE for this book to still be in print. "Reengineering" was a trite meaningless buzzword of the early nineties, that when adopted by hack middle managers incapable of thinking anything through, or imagining unexpected results, cost tens of thousands of people their jobs. The authors of this book have already issued their mea culpa for getting so much, so wrong, in the Wall Street Journal. Management fads come and go. Your job is to figure out if the hot new book sweeping through management circles has any merit, or if it's garbage.
I am horrified that this book is even available. If ever there was a book that deserved zero stars, this is it. Stop paying these two moron authors for their incompetent advice.
Collins Busines ESSSENTIALS? Give me a break.
Text on Reengineering.......2006-11-14
Hammer and Champy do a great job of detailing through the reengineering concept and process. They use understandable examples, and communicate benefits, challenges, and necessities well. A bit dry to read and get into, once I got past the beginning, this book moved along nicely.
Reengineering the Corporation .......2006-06-02
The book is written by management consultants who suggest re-engineering the organizations as the most effective way for companies to remain competitive. This entails starting afresh to devise innovative ways to carry out business processes and serve customers more effectively. Managers, employees, business processes, among other things in the entire organization have to radically change so as to save costs, increase revenue, improve quality and serve customers better.
Business process reengineering requires visionary and competent leaders who exploit the vast opportunities availed by the latest information communication technologies, reorganizing employees into cohesive and productive working teams.
This is a well written book with clear explanations reinforced by case studies making it easily understandable to a diverse readership that may wish to understand the concept of business process reengineering and how they can implement it in the organization. They also make a good attempt to rescue business process reengineering from being just another fad of the 1990s and from the appalling image it had acquired for itself as a pretext to indiscriminately retrench people.
One major flaw I see is the perception that business process reengineering is the answers to all problems that an organization may be experiencing and that it is relatively simple and straightforward to implement. That is not always the case and one needs to analyze to see if reengineering is the optimal solution to the challenges of inertia and lack of customer focus and other ills that an organization may be experiencing.
A great book........2005-09-10
I thought this book was very informative and interesting. The writing style used was also good. It was especially nice to read specific stories of successful reengineering.
Book Description
Beginning C# 2005 Databases: From Novice to Professional teaches you everything you need to know about relational databases, the SQL database language, and ADO.NET 2.0. You'll also get a sound start in developing console, Windows Forms, ASP.NET, and even XML database applications.
This book also teaches you database basics and how to use SQL to communicate with databases. You'll get detailed and code-practical techniques to access data in C# across a wide range of specific coding situations. Fully revised and upgraded for .NET 2.0, this book offers you the best contemporary practice in this core programming area, and you'll find yourself using it in nearly all your .NET projects. This book systematically
- Provides step-by-step instructions on installing and configuring Visual C# and SQL Server Express editions
- Presents all essential SQL query and update concepts and syntax, so you don't need prior familiarity with relational databases or SQL
- Describes how to use ADO.NET transactions, exceptions, and events
- Covers ADO.NET features for handling XML, text, and binary data
- Explains all concepts through straightforward code examples
Customer Reviews:
Very good book for both DB Novices and Professionals.......2007-06-28
Is has been awhile since I programmed with databases, so I was looking for a book to help me both refresh and advance my skill set. James Huddleston's "Beginning C# 2005 Databases, From Novice to Professional" is such a book. Having some former experience with DBs, the first 9 chapters are both a quick read and refresher. The "How It Works" were useful and very clear. The later chapters, especially 13 (Exceptions), 15 (Events), and 17 (XML) in relation to C#, were helpful. The last chapter offers a look into the future with LINQ. I would like to thank Mr. Huddleston for writing this book.
From novice to somewhat less novice.......2007-06-09
[...]In fact it gives a very clear and simple introduction to the very basics of database structure and querying with C#, but it doesn't go beyond that. It seems strange for a 500+ pages text , but most of the space is devoted to long explanations and especially to reprinting the same code over and over. What irritates me is also code formatting. In a mixed attempt to both produce more filler and to indulge on his love for encient poetry and verses the author uses this kind of formatting for basically any string he uses:
// Set up connection string
string connString = @"
server = (local)\MYSERVER;
integrated security = true;
database = northwind
";
// Set up query string
string sql = @"
select
*
from
employees
";
Now, is it really necessary to take 6 or 7 lines for a simple select query or a connection string? No if you are not writing the odissey I think.
Compare for example the extremey compact style of David Sceppa in "[...]Core Reference" where he ha sthe opposite problems of crunching a lot of material in a single book.
In conclusion, if you are really, really an absolute beginner who has no idea of what a table or a query is, and has never used any programming language to query a database, this book can still be useful notwithstanding the misleading title. [...]
Good Job.......2007-05-04
I got this book a few weeks ago. I try to jump start my leaning process of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005.
In fact, this book is a really good one. This book begins with step-by-step how to set up C# programming and database environment. I like this installation guide since I want to experiment with the exercises in this book and I want to do it right the first time. This book covers fundamental concepts of databases and related data access ADO.Net technology. The author explains very well the following concepts, connections, commands, data readers, data adapters, and data sets, etc. The diagrams in the book really help to understand the relationship between the concepts mentioned above. In addition, the author also includes topics such as transaction, xml, working with text and binary data, and LINQ.
I do think the author should include the topic of CLR integration with SQL Server 2005. CLR integration allows you to create database objects including stored procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, UDTs, and aggregates, in ANY .Net languages. CLR provides much more power and flexibility than T-SQL. In addition, CLR integration has other great benefits too.
Bottom line. It is a very good introductory book about ADO.Net, SQL, and C#. It is a good reference book for experienced professionals.
Great book on using C# and VS to Access Database.......2007-03-23
The author really explains in detail the in's and out's of dealing with databases from the C# perpective. Not only those he provides the same code which many books do, But he explains in detail what is happening behind the scene. He provides excellent examples of parallel access to the same data source through ADO.net, OleDB, and the old ODBC connections.
Best book of its kind!.......2007-01-04
Beginning C# 2005 Databases is a superb introduction to SQL database programming. The book operates effectively on three levels: as a conceptual overview of SQL relational databases, as an introduction to Microsoft's ADO.NET architecture, and as a "hands-on" guide to database programming with C#. The structure of the book is exceptionally well thought out and admirably facilitates Huddleston's economical, attention sustaining writing style. The book operates as a tightly organized, multi-pass tour through some world-class database programming scenery. Huddleston picks out the major landmarks, provides the reader with an opportunity to gain some interesting first hand experience, and then revisits each landmark later after the reader is in a position to appreciate how the details fit into the big picture. Chapters 1 and 2 get the reader over the hump of installing Microsoft Visual C# 2005 Express (VCSE)and Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SSE), two very powerful, freely available products that provide the platform for all of the examples. Chapters 3, 10, 11 and 12 show off the high ground of SQL architecture. Huddleston reveals himself to be an experienced guide with strong opinions about what's worth looking at. His calling attention, if only briefly, to the relational calculus and normalization show a concern for providing the reader with a sophisticated viewpoint and plan for follow-up reading. Chapters 4, 7, 8 and 15 introduce and describe Microsoft's ADO.NET as a platform supporting database applications. To my mind, these are the most difficult sections of the book. Huddleston picks an intelligible path through some very challenging terrain, neither avoiding the hard climbs nor losing the reader in the wasteland of detail. Chapters 5,6, 9, 14 and 16 provide an extended excursion into database programming. Huddleston makes it look easy. With his simple, but well chosen examples, and his streamlined, unadorned code he provides the reader with the templates and tools to set out on her own off road experience. The last two chapters of the book provide tutorials on XML and LINQ, Microsoft's general-purpose query capability.
Beginning C# 2005 Databases clearly sets the standard for this class of book. With an expert command of the subject, good judgment about what is important, well-crafted code and a devotion to clarity Huddleston has written a book that should appeal to both novice and professional alike.
Book Description
This much-awaited new edition of Hammer's German Grammar and Usage--the pre-eminent, most authoritative German grammar reference in the English language--has been extensively revised with new German spelling changes and new usage examples. Instead of getting bogged down in idealized rules, Professor Durrell focuses on how Germans really speak. Included are clear and concise explanations, many examples from everyday life, and comprehensive cross-referencing and indexing.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent German grammar reference.......2007-07-07
This is the best and most comprehensive english language German grammar reference you can buy. It is definately not for Beginners. If you are an Intermediate to Advanced German student, it is perfect. You should also seriously consider the companion workbook Practicing German Grammar. For beginners to intermediate level learners, I highly recommend Schaum's Outline of German Grammar. Its easier to follow and doesn't cover all the minor nuances of German grammar that you won't need to know at the beginner to intermediate levels.
Die Hammer ist ja der Hammer!.......2006-12-02
I'm a grad student who teaches elementary German. Born and raised in the U.S., I learned German as a second language. I've exhausted the grammars I own, but I know that there are still many constructions and subtleties I've never learned. This has become more apparent as I've worked in a department filled with Muttersprachler.
The reviews for Hammer's grammar made it sound perfect for my needs. They were right on! This grammar is 550 pages of DETAILED explanations illustrated by many helpful examples. I've only just begun the first chapter (less than ten pages) and I've already learned invaluable information.
Did you know, for example, that the gender of 80% of all German nouns can be determined just by looking at the form and/or meaning of the noun? I knew of a dozen or so clues, but after working through these first pages I have learned many, many more and am much more confident with using nouns I know for which I've never memorized the article. Only 20% of nouns actually need to have their gender memorized. I'm now working through similar tips for determining the plurals, which are equally easy to determine just by looking at the noun - once you know how.
There is also a small section tucked away in a corner that explains how to determine whether one uses an, auf, in, zu, or nach as a preposition to indicate going "to" a location. I thought these also just had to each be memorized for each possible case. Nope, it's very logical and this book will explain it to you along with countless other details that will bring your German much closer to a native level (like whether to use genitive, "von", or apposition in measurement phrases).
Now, if this is nothing new to you, Hammer might still be helpful (though if your German is really great and you only have problems that natives have, you probably just need to work through the various volumes put out by Duden). I know I've never learned this stuff, and I certainly don't teach it in my college courses. Hammer's grammar is likely too much for beginners (a bit like drinking out of a fire hydrant), but its perfect for intermediate and advanced learners who have questions that have just never been answered by their textbooks or by the grad students who teach them.
Also, the workbook is the newest edition, matching the grammar, even though the image here on Amazon is from the older edition. It has excellent exercises, and I do recommend it. For rounding out your vocab, I recommend Cambridge UP's "Using German Vocabulary." It is far more exhaustive than the vocab books by Baron and others.
Your first and last German grammar reference.......2006-09-26
I've been using Hammer's Grammar (3rd Ed. and now 4th) since I first began learning German and have never been disappointed. It's extremely thorough and provides crystal clear explanations of all points, though most beginners would probably find it to be a bit of information overload if they were trying to use this as their sole instructional text for grammar.
If you're studying German, you have to purchase this book; there's no debate. Even if you're a beginner and some of it might seem a little "too" detailed, you'll find yourself more and more glad that you have it there as your German improves.
Dies ist DAS Buch!.......2006-07-11
I'm not the most knowledgeable person about other German grammar books in the market, but I can tell you that Hammer's German Grammar and Usage is all what it says it is, and still manages to exceed one's expectations.
If you are serious about commanding German Grammar and fascinated by its complexity, then you must get this book. It comprehends all the topics of grammar, including lots of nuances, as well as usage advice that will help you better communicate with German native speakers. Particularly useful are the chapters on the subjunctive, the word order and the cases.
I've read many not recommending this book to beginners, but I digress. If you begin learning a language from a reliable source, you will spare yourself from getting into bad habits and unwanted learning.
Wenn man Deutsch lernt, dann muss man es gut lernen wollen!
Hammer's Outclasses all German grammar books!.......2006-07-08
I have been a student of German ever since I was a young boy. It
was my grandmother's native tongue, and my father taught me some
at home. I was in the U.S. Army, stationed in different areas of Germany during different European tours of duty throughout my military career.
I have always had problems with German grammar. I would now like to state that Hammer's German Grammar & Usage is by far the very best book anyone could possibly need for improving their German language skills.
It outclasses and outstrips books such as Routledge's "Modern German Grammar", and also "Handbuch zur Deutschen Grammatik" by miles. I found the Routledge grammar book to be way too technical
in many aspects. The Handbuch zur Deutschen Grammatik did not give quite enough information on usage in my opinion.
Hammers is the very best bet when it comes to quality of information, quantity of examples, and most importantly EASE of use! I give this book 5 stars, and if I could personally shake hands with and personally thank the aurthors, I would!
In conclusion, I regard Hammers as the Summa Cum Laude of affordable German Grammar books.
Book Description
Led Zeppelin was the hottest, hardest, horniest, most hedonistic group in rock history. Their parties defined 60s and 70s excess, their concerts were long, loud and thrilling. Based on interviews and behind-the-scenes stories, here is the truth behind the genius of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and the late John Bonham.
Customer Reviews:
a look into the power and magic of Led Zepplin.......2007-07-28
This is a well researched book that is also well chronicled. The personalities of the band are captured descriptively, especially the chemistry between them. The details of the business strategies of Led Zepplin manager Peter Grant, along with the episodes of the 11 American tours, are well documented.
This band produced 9 albums and changed the dynamics of the rock music business by dint of their power and uniqueness.
The book starts out recounting Jimmy Page's time with the Yardbirds (Grant was the manager), the groups dissolution, and the formation of a new group called The New Yardbirds. That name wasn't going to fly; so, as the new group started to tour, they adopted the Led Zepplin name.
The genius of Jimmy Page is given due attention by Davis. Page really was the mastermind of the group; some have made the claim that it was Page's group, as if the others were just backing him up. Not even close to the truth.
Although Robert Plant wrote many of the lyrics and was the flashy front man; and John Paul Jones was the musical anchor of the group; and Bonham had his uniqueness as the drummer - it was Jimmy Page who conceived most of the songs and produced each album as if he was the group's midwife, which he was.
Those of us who remember seeing Page playing his double necked Gibson with the flourishes of his bow . . . well, we had our minds permanently blown. Led Zepplin was an experiment in rock history that surpassed anyone's notions of power and magic. The four band members had such a rare chemistry that held the whole thing together and moved it all forward. And "Stairway to Heaven" was the creative pinnacle of their 12 years together.
This book is not without its blemishes however. Davis spends too much time with the debauchery and the party scences - the chicks, drugs, and booze go with the territory for most rock groups; so what. The chronicling of the 11 American tours gets uneven and sloppy at points, especially by overfocusing on incidentals and tour manager Richard Cole's role as the bands' den mother. Cole's role was vital; but his tendencies towards barbarism deflect alot from the positive aspects of Led Zepplin's history.
And since this was an unauthorized narrative, the sensational and sleazy are promoted too much is some of the chapters. Yet, in spite of the defects, this is a pretty decent read about one of the most remarkable chapers in rock history.
Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
Must read for Zeppelin fans..........2007-07-05
I don't understand the criticisms of this book. Sure, there are some lurid details of Zeppelin's hooligan antics. Yes, they were surrounded (manipulated?) by opportunistic thugs who were major contributors to the mayhem and excess that filled the wake of their road shows. True, one of these thugs (Richard Cole) is quoted more frequently than any other source in the book. But, taken with a grain of salt, this book tells the story and gives more insight into its principals than any other book I've read. It's very readable and even adds a chapter which follows the surviving members through the 90's.
If you want a book that focuses on Zep's music, influences, and musical context (and skips the antics), try Keith Shadwick's excellent 2005 book. It's well researched and more cerebral but a much more difficult read and gives much less insight into the people that made up the band.
THE book on Led Zep.......2007-06-01
This is absolutely THE book about Led Zeppelin. It fills in the cracks and digs for more.
It never gets tired or old. EVER!
great rock n' roll story.......2007-02-17
I am a huge Led Zepp fan; that aside I really enjoyed this book. It gives you all the details about the band, their triumphs, and tragedies. It describes Rock and Roll excess like no other. It is never dull or dry, and is very well written. Probably the best book on Led Zeppelin. If you are a Led Zepp fan, then this is the book for you.
Good read.......2007-02-01
Davis did his research and wrote a workmanlike book. Nothing wrong, but no literary "fireworks" thus 4 of 5 stars.
Book Description
This three volume set presents for the first time the genre-defining Slammers series in a uniform hardcover set. This volume features the first four Hammer Novels: At Any Price (1985), Counting the Cost (1987), Rolling Hot (1989) and The Warrior (1991), as well as new artwork, and new interstitial material. Volume 2 will also feature an introduction by David Hartwell, and cover art by John Berkey. Also included is an original Slammers story, "A Day of Glory".
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Drake.......2007-03-25
Good batch of titles, enjoyed them all. My set is complete (so far).
Outstanding .... Again!.......2007-03-10
What can I say? David Drake and his publishers did what every Hammer's Slammers fan ever wanted. Every book combined together in only 3 volumes!? AWESOME!! Having been several years since I have read these and was immediately drooling when I saw the announcement. And they do not leave you wanting. Bound in hardcover black with the title gold-embossed on the spine and a dust cover with cool classic Slammers style artwork ... A TRUE MASTERPIECE!! Any Hammer's Slammers fan must own these!!!
Books:
- The Artist's Way at Work: Riding the Dragon
- The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
- The Crossroad (Amish Country Crossroads #2)
- The Crucible (Penguin Classics)
- The Dark Highlander
- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
- The Fall (The Seventh Tower, Book 1)
- The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book)
- The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
- The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life's Dreams
Books Index
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