Book Description
Written by the authors of the immensely popular Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out, this book packs hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips, and workarounds for using the latest version of the Microsoft Windows operating systemall in concise, fast-answer format. Dig into the work-ready tools and resources that help you take your Windows Vista experience to the next level. Get the answers you need to use the new features of Windows Vista, including the sidebar and gadgets, and the Windows slideshow. Youll also discover how to use new features in Microsoft Windows Media Player and Microsoft Internet Explorer 7. Get up-to-date information on how to configure and customize your desktop, how to use new security-enhanced features, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Vista Inside Out.......2007-10-05
Windows Vista Inside Out
I am in my early 70s and can still remember that a farmer whom I worked for at the time would not buy a tractor, because it would be less cost effective than the horses he used. I found this book very useful, practical and easy to understand. It tells you more than you will ever want to know, however, where is the glossary? With the overwhelming quantity of acronyms, though well explained it would from time to time be handy to be able to just look the meaning up in a list rather then to have to back track in the text. Great book nevertheless.
Great Refererence.......2007-09-26
New Vista users here is a great Reference and help with the little problems..A bit bulky but covers it all.
A Great Follow-Up to Windows XP Inside Out.......2007-09-12
If you enjoyed Windows XP Inside Out, you'll also enjoy this book. Its full of helpful hints.
If you're a beginner, I wouldn't suggest this book. If you're an advanced user you probably will learn a few new things. But if you're an intermediate user this is right up your alley.
Great Tool.......2007-09-10
Perfect Condition. CD is a great help too. Great tool for intermediate users.
Advantage: Comes with eBook version.......2007-08-28
Vista isn't very hard to use, but there are little things that I need to look up on occasion. I love the fact that I can install the eBook on my computer so I always have it with me. (I use a TabletPC and carry it to home and work and on trips.) Having all this information available to me at all times is great. People ask me a question (I do tech support), I search for the answer, tell them what they need to know, and they think I know everything. Having it on the computer makes all the difference to me.
Book Description
An unprecedented account of life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of towering plants, posh villas, and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq.
The Washington Post’s former Baghdad bureau chief Rajiv Chandrasekaran takes us with him into the Zone: into a bubble, cut off from wartime realities, where the task of reconstructing a devastated nation competed with the distractions of a Little America—a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a disco where women showed up in hot pants, a movie theater that screened shoot-’em-up films, an all-you-could-eat buffet piled high with pork, a shopping mall that sold pornographic movies, a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs, and a snappy dry-cleaning service—much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.
Drawing on hundreds of interviews and internal documents, Chandrasekaran tells the story of the people and ideas that inhabited the Green Zone during the occupation, from the imperial viceroy L. Paul Bremer III to the fleet of twentysomethings hired to implement the idea that Americans could build a Jeffersonian democracy in an embattled Middle Eastern country.
In the vacuum of postwar planning, Bremer ignores what Iraqis tell him they want or need and instead pursues irrelevant neoconservative solutions—a flat tax, a sell-off of Iraqi government assets, and an end to food rationing. His underlings spend their days drawing up pie-in-the-sky policies, among them a new traffic code and a law protecting microchip designs, instead of rebuilding looted buildings and restoring electricity production. His almost comic initiatives anger the locals and help fuel the insurgency.
Chandrasekaran details Bernard Kerik’s ludicrous attempt to train the Iraqi police and brings to light lesser known but typical travesties: the case of the twenty-four-year-old who had never worked in finance put in charge of reestablishing Baghdad’s stock exchange; a contractor with no previous experience paid millions to guard a closed airport; a State Department employee forced to bribe Americans to enlist their help in preventing Iraqi weapons scientists from defecting to Iran; Americans willing to serve in Iraq screened by White House officials for their views on Roe v. Wade; people with prior expertise in the Middle East excluded in favor of lesser-qualified Republican Party loyalists. Finally, he describes Bremer’s ignominious departure in 2004, fleeing secretly in a helicopter two days ahead of schedule.
This is a startling portrait of an Oz-like place where a vital aspect of our government’s folly in Iraq played out. It is a book certain to be talked about for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
An outstanding book about the incompetence we have shown in Iraq.......2007-10-11
Any book has bias and I do not doubt that Rajiv Chandrasekaran, a journalist for the Washington Post, saw some things in Iraq in a bias way. Still, this book is a MUST read for anyone to better understand just where we went wrong in Iraq. At times, I felt I was reading a PJ O'Rourke or Carl Hiaasen book about government bureaucrats ruining yet another program. At other times, I just shook my head in disbelief and some of the arrogance and absurdity of the people put in positions of power in Baghdad. As I read the book I realized that it is no wonder that the Iraqi people are tired of us.
The author points out that many Americans were put in positions of power and authority with no real expertise or understanding of Iraqi culture or Islamic culture. Resumes from neoconservatives were all that was needed to head up programs so loyalty meant everything. The drawback, of course, was that people with no real idea of what the heck they were doing ended up bungling up everything they touched.
This book reminds me that our nation needs to stop and think of what our role is supposed to be. George Marshall, creator of the genius Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, is spinning around in his grave right now as the incompetence in Iraq makes me wonder what happened to real leaders in our nation. Bremer? Rumsfeld? Cheney? Clueless. This book points that out with the evidence and it's a chilling reality of the mistakes we are making on an hourly basis in that nation.
Pretty close to the truth...sorry to say.......2007-10-09
I was working at the CPA during the time the author covers in his book. I think I may have been at some of the meetings he describes. He captures the sense of the CPA, a bunch of well-intentioned, hard-working people without much of a clue about how to run an occupation in an Arab country. These were heady times and we believed we were birthing a new democracy. Few of us were equipped to pull it off and the split between DoD and the rest of the US and coalition governments doomed us from the start.
I was there!.......2007-10-06
I did a tour at the American Embassy in 2006, after the events recorded in "Imperial Life." It was fun being able to read about details of the Republican Palace, then go to that particular feature and see it for myself. More importantly, I could put what I read into context, both in the Embassy and in Iraq itself. Even though the CPA no longer occupies the Green Zone, the isolation of the military and state department staff from events occurring around us was similar to what happened to the CPA in "Imperial Life." Most staff (military included) rarely leave the the Green Zone making the average non-Iraqi resident unaware of what goes on beyond the walls. If you want to understand what living in the Green Zone is like, and why progress is slow in Iraq read this book.
Timely information.......2007-09-23
"Imperial Life" is honest, first hand, information. The author has a good grasp of the subject, of the surroundings and above all, of reality. He is able to pick up the essentials and deal with them without exaggerating his importance or his role. He is a well informed man, as he should be. The book is very well put together, and a pleasure to read. It is above all, timely. This means, regretably, that its importance shall pass, as the events he decribe will give in time place to "new improved" versions. The importance for historians to come and to serious readers will not be diminished.
Worse than a civil war; because most civil wars include some ethics........2007-09-18
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about the reasons we are involved in Iraq. It is a personal account from a journalist who travels out of the green zone to get an inside look. The critical message I got from this book is that we shouldn't dictate how the people of Iraq should run their government. Rajiv Chandrasekaran with the Washington Post reports on the life of people involved with the CPA and their attempts to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure. His book outlines a critical perspective and helps to answer many questions. "Iraqi's needed help (good advice and ample resources) from a support of corps of well meaning foreigners, not a full scale occupation with imperial Americans cloistered in a palace of the tyrant, eating bacon and drinking beer, surrounded by Gurkhas and blast walls." Why should Americans be so concerned about Iraq being a democracy? Where the officials are debating over western ideas to propegate the policies of modernizing Iraq; In the shadow of a war torn country without the bare necessities for survival. The CPA who (couldn't produce anything) poisoned Iraq's politics and had big ideas of rebuilding Iraq, but couldn't provide essentials like: Safety for the Iraqi people, electricity, water, and adequate health care. You could argue both sides of this issue, but I think this book paints a very good portrait of life in the green zone.
Book Description
This fascinating book gives you the tools to help tap into one of the most powerful forces in the Universe -YOUR SOUL. This is a step by step guide to help you reconnect with your natural spiritual abilities. You’ll develop a conscious awareness of the spiritual laws that exists in each and every person. “Power of the Soul” will help you to dismantle some of the barriers created by your outer-self, to unveil your true inner-self and enable you to break free from some of the psychological restrictions that have prevented you from identifying and realizing your full potential.
Within these pages you’ll learn how to:
· Discover and access your spiritual faculties
· Open yourself to a guiding higher consciousness
· Tap in to your own intuitive abilities
· Remove psychological and spiritual blocks
· Find your true self as you understand the nature, function, and purpose of the soul
· Create and control your own path
· Use spiritual energy to heal yourself and others
· Enhance your body, mind, and soul to live a life of harmony
This transformational book is more than just a guide. It is also a way back to a life lived from the inside out. No matter what your walk of life, this book will help you to follow your own spiritual journey. “When you tap into the incredible force and power of your soul, and once your spiritual gifts are recognized, opened and used,” says John, “you’ll see yourself and the world in a way you never thought possible.”
Customer Reviews:
Power of the Soul.......2007-09-23
This is a very informative, easily read book. I would recommend it those people interested or involved in mediumship
Power of the soul.......2007-08-09
I loved this book! I love John Holland! He explains step by step how to be in touch with your soul and so much more!
spirit within .......2007-07-04
this will open your eyes to who we really are it will help you connect to the spirit within it is well written and a must to read if you want to learn about spirit world and were our own power comes from another great read is the calling of your true self elizabeth anne bell mixed together they are speaking a lot of truths both will help you with answers to the spirit and soul within
Looking inside is the first step.......2007-04-26
How do you know what's right for you if you don't know who you are? This book will help you take the steps you need to find your inner self -- your soul. It's very non-airy fairy -- it's a very well-grounded, practical book about how to get there. As Holland points out when telling a story about an artist friend, you probably already *are* in the flow and connecting with your soul more than you know. The book is filled with straight-forward yet highly effective ways to reach out to your soul...through gratitude, through love, through keeping a dream journal. The author also share snippets from his own life and his own path, allowing the reader to experience how he found *his* path.
Power of the Soul: Inside Wisdom for an Outside World.......2007-04-11
This is the best book I have read from John Holland. John has a beautiful mature way of describing and educating people to a world that is not visible to many humans today. This book is one I will keep for my spiritual resource Library. I enjoyed especially hearing his positive life experiences with the spirit world.
Product Description
Get deep insights into Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with this hands-on guide. This book focuses on developing Windows SharePoint Services applications for the enterprise with Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 and the Collaborative Application Markup Language (CAML). A Windows SharePoint Services expert provides technical explanations of the platform architecture and how the technology works, including concise information on key topics including Web Parts, pages, workflow, and security. With this bottom-up view of the platform architecture and task-oriented guidance, Microsoft Windows developers will learn how to embrace Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 as a first-class development platform. Experienced developers will learn how to build robust, feature-rich applications, including enterprise content management (ECM) systems. In addition, this guide includes C# and XML code samples to help developers get up and running as quickly as possible.
Delivers concise information on Web Parts, pages, workflow, security, and other key topics
Provides deep architectural insights, practical advice, and solutions for Windows developers
Features extensive code samples in Visual C# and XML; assumes prior knowledge of Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed!! (No CD/DVD).......2007-10-07
The major thing that disappoints me is that there is no CD/DVD with the book. There are lots of code snippets (rather than complete listings) and it is hard to understand if you can't see everything. An E-book version would also be nice (like every other MS Press book).
Other than that, it is excellent.
This is my manifesto for SharePoint *Development* (as opposed to customization).......2007-09-24
In what I think of as my "pre-Pattison" era I was beating my head against SharePoint. The projects I'd inherited seemed unmanageable and deployment was a nightmare. For the project I was going to be starting from scratch, I was frantically coming up with excuses to not use SharePoint, although there was external pressure to use it.
Ted's book explains the key difference between SharePoint customization and SharePoint development, and focuses on best practices for the later. After reading it, I had a game plan for future development using SharePoint and also for bringing my two legacy apps under control.
A hands on book .......2007-07-23
I agree with the other reviewers this is a book that is worth reading if you are working with Sharepoint development...
By far, mandatory for all Sharepoint developers..........2007-07-23
I had a chance to take Ted's class on the subject matter of this book and found him to be extremely knowledgeable, insightful and practical with regard to developing for Sharepoint. Taking the class and having his book really took me to the next level understanding how WSS 3.0 work and can be extended. This book is a must read from cover to cover if you are new or want to get more acquainted with Sharepoint Services development.
This book fills in the gaps in the SDK.......2007-07-11
Finally, there is a book that provides all the basic information that a developer needs to get started with WSS 3.0. Almost all that information that a developer would expect to find in the SDK documentation is finally available. If this trend continues, it seems that in the future, there will be no SDK documentation, only books to purchase, if you needed documentation.
Very well written, like all books in the 'Inside...' series!
Book Description
The dramatic culmination of DK's best-selling Inside the Worlds of Star Wars series, The Complete Locations of Star Wars uses breathtaking illustrations and insightful text to reveal the planets from every movie in the Star Wars saga, including the hotly anticipated Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Customer Reviews:
Where you've always wanted to go.......2007-09-03
This book is great!! I love how it approaches Star Wars as if it where real in the telling of each local or spot. It makes you feel even more apart of what's going on in the Saga and only improves the feeling of the movies for me anyways. If you've always had questions about each place you've seen on screen then this is the book for you!!
A great source for background information.......2007-08-30
The complete locations is a great source that brings all the locations together. One does not have to buy book after book of each movie to see their perspective location. As always, the schematics are detailed and will aid anyone who like to build diorhamas. I do recommend this book.
Great visual drawings!.......2007-05-18
See beyond the locations of the places where all the events take place. You can explore the little sections of what rooms are in the Jedi Temple, the routes from the pod race and more.
Hypnotic Journey into Star Wars.......2007-04-19
Star Wars fans will easily get lost in the fantasy worlds so brilliantly evoked in this book. Thousands of hours have been expended by hugely talented artists and writers to bring to life the small and large details of the Star Wars galaxy.
I'm grateful that someone in the Lucas creative hierarchy gave these artists the go-ahead to add new story exposition and perspective that was never in the movies. Fascinating new detail - did you know that Ben Kenobi had a secret basement in his house on Tatooine? Its shown here, along with what he hides in it. Did you know the Cantina in Mos Eisley was owned by a Wookie who bugs his customer's conversations? Did you know the carbonite freezing chamber in the Cloud City on Bespin was inside the gas processing vane? These and a thousand other details provide the essential Star Wars backstory and immersion craved by true fans.
This a a book to be read and examined slowly, preferably at night before sleeping, because your dreams will be of Star Wars.
awesome buy for Star Wars Fanatics.......2007-01-19
I bought this item for Christmas for my Star Wars fanatic husband. It turned out to be the hit for him and my 2 fanatic boys ages 5 and 8. They haven't stopped looking it over and discovering new trivia.
Amazon.com
If parents, educators, and youth workers were to read only one book about helping adolescence—this would be the one. Chap Clark managed to get inside the world of US teenagers and reveal the depths of angst, pressure and loneliness they feel. Hurt is a illuminates the under layers of teen culture, the places where adolescents are most honest and vulnerable, only to discover that today's youth are indeed a tribe apart—and it is the adults who have isolated them.
Most of Clark's research took place in Crescenta Valley High School in north Los Angeles County. One might wonder how a middle-aged dad could get inside the heads of so many teens from so many walks of life. He did this by doing what most adults are unwilling to do—spending time with teens and asking questions, by showing a genuine curiosity in their world and a willingness to hear their answers without judgment. The results are riveting.
Ultimately this is an indictment of our increasingly adult-centric society that is more invested in adult interests than the individual needs of our youth. By the time adolescents enter high school, most have been subjected to at least a decade of adult-driven agendas. He slams coaches who are so invested in winning at youth sports that they leave mediocre athletes on the bench or pull them off the team. He points to the once playful dance classes that somehow morph into intensive dance training and regional competitions. Or the high school junior who faces a nightly four-to-five hour marathon of homework only to rise at 7 a.m. for morning band practice before AP calculus. We reward youth for their adult-pleasing achievements, failing to consider the price of isolation, stress and fear of failing that this generates.
Clark (the author of Daughters & Dads 1576830489 and From Father to Son 1576832945) concludes the book with solid recommendations for turning this tide. Unfortunately, he often defends his research and recommendations, as if a critical academic was looking over his shoulder. The truth is this book belongs less to the world of academics and more appropriately in the hands of anyone who lives with or directly works with teenagers. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
What do teenagers really think about adults? If you think you know the answer, you may be in for a surprise. According to Chap Clark, today's adolescents have largely been abandoned by adults and left to fend for themselves in an uncertain world. As a result, teens have created their own world to serve as a shield against uncaring adults. Based on six months of participant-observer research at a California public school, this book offers a somewhat troubling but insightful snapshot of adolescent life. It will surprise and enlighten parents, youth workers, counselors, pastors, and all who want to better understand the hearts and minds of America's adolescents.
Customer Reviews:
Eye-Opening.......2007-04-13
This book was recommended to me by my youth pastor, and as a senior pastor I'm glad I've read it. If you thought you understood youth and their lifestyles, then think again. Chap Clark reveals that the youth of today are greatly different than the youth of twenty or even ten years ago. Combining hard sociological data with a Christian compassion for young people, the author enlightens anyone who comes into contact with teenagers. I strongly recommend this book to any parent, pastor, church leader, or other adult who is working with teens. We can't truly minister to younger generations until we've taken the time and effort to understand their unique needs and wants. Clark does an excellent job here of summarizing them both.
a book for every parent, or person who works with kids!.......2007-03-25
Very sobering look at the state of adolecent thinking. Well researched and informative. A must read!!
Sociology, not theology.......2006-01-11
I bought this book expecting to get a healthy dose of sociology along with some seriouse theological reflection on the sociological data. I was wrong. In my opinion this book was too heavy on sociology and too lite on theology. If Clark would've spent more time connecting the sociological conclusions to theological implications, the book would've been a gem.
If you love youth, you'll read this book........2005-10-20
Below is the book review I submitted to Group Magazine regarding this book.
This is an academic resource that differs from most in that it describes what the adolescent culture of today looks like through the eyes of those who live it.
Dr. Chap Clark has given those who care for, and work with youth another gem. This resource is for any adult (parents, counselors, teachers, professional youth workers) that has significant interaction with teenagers. Most importantly, this book offers wisdom and insight as to how to connect with teens that are abandoned and hurt. A major premise (and proof) of this book is that these abandoned and hurt teens are not just the "at-risk" youth, but a shockingly large group of students that have been left behind by well intentioned adults and their created programs. You will not find "over-talked" postmodern rhetoric in this book. You will find compelling, hard-hitting data that clearly states the crisis that teenagers are experiencing today. Hurt will be difficult for some to read because it challenges the very landscape its readers have created. Further, it is a deep book and could be challenging for some with limited reading skill level.
Every Adult Should Read!!.......2005-10-13
This is an outstanding presentation of quality research that has practical application! Youth NEED adults. They need a supportive, safe environment.
Chap Clark does a great job of opening our eyes to the reality of the life of high school students. A change needs to happen in the societal view of how to help youth become healthy, happy, successful adults...and this is a good start!
Amazon.com
Edwards traces how computers have emerged as the dominant technology as a direct result of Cold War politics and the defense research it engendered. From the first use of room-size mainframes to coordinate missile systems, Pentagon research aimed toward complete computer control, including the budget-busting and ultimately impractical Strategic Defensive Initiative. Edwards relates how the technolog--which is now so open as to be nearly anarchic--began in strictly enclosed secrecy. The military computer goal of perfect "command, control and communication" systems was understood to mean communication only within a very closed world. Edwards' thesis is that this approach influenced the very structure of our modern computers.
Book Description
The Closed World offers a radically new alternative to the canonical histories of computers and cognitive science. Integrating political, cultural, and technological history, it argues that we can make sense of computers as tools only when we simultaneously grasp their roles as metaphors and political icons.
In this extended exploration of the relations of science and engineering to the evolution of modern society, Paul Edwards argues that what people have said, thought, and experienced through computers--as reflections of the nature of their minds; as solutions to political, commercial, and military problems; as icons of rationality--is as significant as anything computers have actually accomplished. Social and cultural context has shaped the growth of computer technology as much as it has been shaped by it.
Customer Reviews:
Missing the point?.......2000-10-16
While this is an excellent and sensitive overview of the history of computer science from a critical standpoint, it may miss the essential point.
This is that while the announced intention of Cold War data systems efforts was to indeed provide a logically closed structure that would ensure national security and a narrow form of economic growth (which excluded unions from power), as Edwards himself reveals, these systems in significant ways failed to accomplish their technical goals.
The problem is that people with the traditional liberal suspicion of computers miss either this fact or fail to grasp its significance. Edwards fails to grasp its significance.
What it means is that on the ground, in the apparently highly controlled mainframe computer rooms, a highly "open" and possibly even "green" for of chaos operated as software (in one noted example) bayed at the moon when it mistook the moon for a missile. This chaos was presented as its opposite in a rhetorical trick which conceals the labor, and in some cases the very existence, of software creation.
The troubling fact, invisible to humanists outside the field, is that the upper-level administrators of these systems did not really care that they did not work, as long as the public viewed them as a closed and working system. They'd also prefer to conceal the origins of the software that controls these systems in labor and in writing.
Edwards in the main fails to link this rhetorical sleight-of-hand to C. Wright Mills' work in which the general public is systematically deceived, and a white-collar class creates the tools of its own destruction.
The Sage air defense system did not work and did not, in fact, protect the United States from attack: what protected us from attack was the decision of men to back down from macho and nuclear-armed confrontation, including Eisenhower's decision to not back Britain, France and Israel in 1956's Suez crisis and Nikita Krushchev's decision to back down in 1962 over Cuba.
The real technical illusion is not that the closed world is "better than" the green world. It is to not fully close digital worlds but to present them as closed, and to prevent the rules of their closure from public oversight, and control.
Book Description
Love it or hate it, create it or repeat it, America is obsessed with gossip. Here is a fascinating look at five decades of dish: a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the personalities that control what we read and see; the unholy and unchanging trinity of celebrity, publicist and reporter that has stoked the American appetite for gossip from the salad days of silver-screen magazines to the instantaneous communication of the scoop-filled Internet.
Insider Jeannette Walls delivers a tantalizing tell-all that features not only gossip itself, but its history, its movers and shakers (including quite a few tony Ivy Leaguers), high and low points, and the watershed events and personalities--like Elvis, Diana, Michael Jackson and O. J.--that altered it forever. Here is the famous formula for People, the astonishing magazine that began amid sneers and snipes but went on to become one of the publishing industry's greatest success stories. Here too is the incredible truth behind explosive material that didn't see the light of day.
From the humble beginnings of the National Enquirer, aided by the avuncular beneficence of crime kingpin Joe Costello, to the lurid Hollywood trial of Confidential magazine, where the "libeled" stars were proved more guilty than not of the salacious episodes the publication revealed, Jeannette Walls expertly traces the formation and development of the hush-hush industry. She shows us that tabloid TV shows are nothing new: they were preceded in the Fifties by the wildly successful Night Beat, hosted by none other than Mike Wallace, who turned the show into a forum for sex and scandal with his relentless prying and probing into the lives of celebrated figures.
Customer Reviews:
Tells ABOUT gossip...and includes some! GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2001-09-17
This book completely EXCEEDED my expectations! As a former journalist (who is now a ventriloquist believe it or not) I've always been interested in how and why gossip has grown in our news media.
I got THAT answer in this wonderful book written in a breezy, solid style that made it hard for me to put -- plus a LOT MORE.
Starting with Matt Drudge's meteoric rise, DISH backtracks to trace the growth in gossip over the years. You'll also find new revelations in here. In the end our news media (what it printed and NEGLECTED to print over the years) will make sense to you. And it reads like a novel. Some tidbits:
1. The overnight rise of Matt Drudge, using a computer his dad gifted him. Everything you wanted to know and what you didn't want or need to know (i.e. his alleged sexual preferences; media suspicions that he got some scoops through hacking) about him and how his lively internet column took over, confounded mainstream media and made him a huge multi-media star.
2. How the Hollywood studios along with fawning California politicos crushed Confidential magazine, the 1950s gossip sheet which dared to undermine the carefully-constructed phoney public relations images of many stars (some stars are named in the book).
3. Mike Wallace's pioneering role in bringing show biz to news, his fall from grace and professional rebirth on 60 Minutes.
4. The birth of the National Inquirer and why it's located in Florida (fears of problems from the Mob).
5. Why there wasn't more MAJOR NEGATIVE published gossip on the Kennedy administration (they virtually destroyed one person dabbling in info about them and many journalists were intimidated.) JFK's other marriage.
6. The OJ case, Elvis Princess Diana case, the gossip columnists of the 40s and 50s and their replacements, the explanation of why Rona Barrett had such a sudden rise and fall. The birth of People Magazine and it's influence on pushing tabloids to another level...which pushed the national media to a new level (or low?).
7. Hardball-playing p.r. and private detectives who contolled their clients images and staved off major scandals -- and how they do it (bullying, getting the dirt on and confronting critics and making sought after clients inaccessible to offending journalists).
This is a highly ENTERTAINING book, with lots of facts, quotes and info that you haven't read elsewhere. It's solidly written but an EASY read and you'll REGRET it when you come to the last page. It answered a LOT of questions for me about what "really" went on and why our news media is the way it is today. SUPERB!!!
Good but feels like the author rushed to print.......2001-07-19
I found "Dish" very entertaining as well as educational. I think the historical aspect is very good. However, after reading another reader review that criticized sloppiness with names (spelled wrong, first and last names transposed), which now does make me wonder just how truly careful and thorough the research was. The way I feel right now is that fumbling the names was not due to the author not knowing what she was writing about, but just that her writing (editing, proofreading) wasn't great. I did get the feeling that this book was rushed to print, which might have led to the name fumbling. The different chapters read like separate articles, without much of a transition from chapter to chapter so there wasn't a real cohesive feel to the book as a whole. I wish I could rate this book higher, because I think there is good content but it's not presented as well as it could be.
The best book on the gossip industry.......2001-06-01
If you read The National Enquirer, The Globe or Star weekly or enjoy gossip columns or shows like Entertainment Tonight, this book is for you. Full of history and detail, you get the inside scoop on how gossip is made and reported, and how it's changed the face of "legitimate" news organizations. It's a great read and very informative. I couldn't put this book down. Sure, stars complain about the tabloids, but wait to you hear celebrities' true role in it all.
Try to put this one down!.......2001-05-12
I picked this book up on a whim and what a treat. Gossip, whether you like it or not, has definately altered the course of history. Dish definately introduced some concepts I would have brushed off as trivial in the past.
I couldn't put it down.
The growth of gossip provides entertainment.......2000-12-21
Not as lightweight as the title would have you believe, this overview of the growth of celebrity gossip is fascinating. The author chronicles the events which took gossip from a limited group of tabloids to the pages of some of the world's most prestigious newspapers as well as the surprising successful efforts of celebrities to control their public image.
Book Description
A journalist reveals the disturbing realities of life in the Saudi kingdom. S audi Arabia: Land of oil, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, and a crucial American ally. As the only Western journalist to have extensively worked in the Saudi Kingdom, John R. Bradleyis uniquely able to expose the turmoil that is shaking the House of Saud to its foundations. From the heart of the secretive Islamic kingdom's urban centers to its most remote mountainous terrain, from the homes of royalty to the slums of its poorest inhabitants, he provides intimate details and reveals underlying regional, religious, and tribal rivalries. Bradley highlights tensions generated by social change, focuses on the educational system, the increasing restlessness of Saudi youth faced with limited opportunities for cultural and political expression, and the predicament of Saudi women seeking opportunities but facing constraints. What are the implications for the Sauds and the West? This book offers a startling look at the present predicament and a troubling view of the future.
Customer Reviews:
Insightful Portrayal Of The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.......2007-06-05
Bradley is a journalist who lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for more than 2 years. This book describes what he observed, obviously from a Western perspective, while living there. Some of what he discusses has been covered in other books. For example, the strict segregation of men and women, the brutal public executions and the extreme corruption and hypocrisy of the Saudi royal family. He also mentions the poor education and professional training received by most Saudi citizens which requires the country to be dependent on foreign workers. Many of these workers are people from poor countries such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines who do the "dirty jobs" that, supposedly, Saudis don't want to do themselves. But I find this questionable since Bradley also describes the high rate of unemployment among Saudi citizens and the fact that many of them live in poverty while the Saudi royals bask in the enormous wealth generated by the oil business.
Bradley also talks about the good qualities of the typical Saudi person, such as kindness, hospitality and generosity. There are certain Western right-wingers and Christian zealots who have an anti-Muslim agenda and are clearly biased in their writings. But Bradley doesn't strike me as that sort of person. I think he is simply trying to explain his experiences in Saudi Arabia with as much honesty and truth as possible. Of course, he is seeing the country from the point of view of a non-Muslim Westerner. But that doesn't mean he is necessarily wrong in what he is saying.
However, what really takes this book to the "5 stars" level for me is that he elaborates on the regionally based political and cultural differences in the kingdom. He talks about the Hijaz area, including Jeddah, as having a long history as an international center of trade which makes it somewhat more liberal and sophisticated than the rest of the country. The southern region is called Asir and includes people who, in many ways, have more in common with the neighboring country of Yemen than with their fellow Saudis. Finally, there is the Eastern province which is largely made up of Shiite Muslims who, like the people from Hijaz and Asir, often finds themselves at odds with the Wahhabi dominated central region which includes the royal family and the Wahhabi religious establishment that controls the country politically. In other words, Saudi Arabia is a complex and diverse society with people from a variety of religious and cultural perspectives who are seeking to challenge the hold on power by the Wahhabis and the royal family. This is not the picture provided to the broader American public, who tend to recognize that the royals are corrupt but still see them as the lesser of two evils when compared to the Osama allied extremists. Obviously, the situation there is more complicated than most people think.
I actually came away feeling at least a little more optimistic about the future, or at least the potential, of the country. But, of course, Saudi Arabia still faces a tremendous amount of problems and what happens there will continue to be of vital importance to the rest of us, especially considering that the Saudis have 1/4 of the world's known supply of petroleum.
A little bias detected.......2007-06-03
This was the fourth book that I read about Saudi Arabia and although I thought the descriptives were very good in that Bradley goes into some depth that other authors may consider too trivial (i.e. Najran and Flower Men), the author clearly takes hold of the arab militancy with a one track mind. This was the first post-911 book I read about the Kingdom and I was curious to find out what has changed, and all I found was a loud-echo of anti-Wahhabism and the outcry of abused Asian workers. I understand very well that K.S.A. has many issues in that area, but I also know many families who treat their workers well. I'm always leary of books that incite anger in me as I read, and this certainly made me angry and defensive toward the Kingdom when I have already met so many wonderful Saudis who give me an entirely different perspective. A fuel on the American bias fire, but worth reading if but for the descriptives of Shiite history in the Kingdom.
Try Again.......2007-05-23
really needs to try again here I was in the kingdom the same time as this man and have read his account, but cannot agree, one thing to put straight here is that the mention of a Keith Birmingham as an engineer is incorrect he was a welder for Saudi Arabian Airlines at the engine overhaul centre in Jeddah. Perhaps had John really spent time out and about in the rest of Saudi and met the those who you can say are not the city folk could probably had a very good book but this account is far from complete
Tipical Orientalist.......2007-05-17
I GREW UP IN A MIDDLE CLASS SAUDI FAMILY AND READ THE WHOLE BOOK.
John R. Bradley goes to Saudi Arabia for 2 ½ years, befriends upper class kids and some liberal journalists then thinks he figured out the whole country. These are some things you should know before you read the book:
-When a teenage boy has a satellite in his room he is rich even in Saudi Arabia. Same thing goes for students who hire a Briton to teach them English and for kids with fluent English.
-Average Saudis will not talk to foreigners especially not westerners.
-The book was written in June 2005 and Saudi Arabia is rapidly changing (for better or worse)
-This was before the new king came to power.
-The people he speaks of are not representative sample of the Saudi society(mostly pro-American liberal)
-Any other orientalist could not have done a better job of an inside view of Saudi Arabia through a westerner's eyes.
Insightful look at an understudied country.......2007-04-05
This is an informative book for those wishing to gain a better understanding of the political and social situation in contemporary Saudi Arabia. The author was apparently one of the few Western journalists in the country in the early 2000s and he was able to obtain a visa that allowed him to travel around the country and speak with people without facing many of the restrictions that apply to most Westerners in the country. The author discusses a number of subjects. I thought that the two most interesting chapters were the ones dealing with Saudi youth and gender relations, respectively. He also writes about the rise of crime, attacks against Western expatriates, and, of course, the royal family, among other subjects. The author traveled outside of Riyadh, the capital, to many different regions. One of the main themes of the book is that the tensions between various regions within the country, many of which are inhabited by distinct tribal and ethnic groups, pose perhaps the greatest threat to the country's unity. Perhaps the one thing that I found frustrating was that, at times, it seemed like the text was devoid of Saudi voices. While the author obviously made a great many friends and professional contacts in the country, I kind of wish that he would have presented more of their viewpoints. He often seems too eager to convey his own impressions and opinions of Saudi Arabia rather than let the country's citizens speak for themselves. Luckily, this isn't as problematic as it could have been, because his opinions are generally very insightful and well-argued. Overall, as someone with very little knowledge of Saudi Arabia (and the Middle East in general), I found this book to be a highly informative analysis of some of the major tensions and problems facing this country that has been so often discussed and misunderstood in the Western media.
Book Description
The Brethren is the first detailed behind-the-scenes account of the Supreme Court in action. Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong have pierced its secrecy to give us an unprecedented view of the Chief and Associate Justices -- maneuvering, arguing, politicking, compromising and making decisions that affect every major area of American life.
Customer Reviews:
Woodward's Best.......2007-06-29
I read this book about 15 years ago while in college and recently decided to read it again. This is probably the best book on the inner working of the US Supreme Court that anyone could read. Woodward does a fantastic job of examining the daily ins and outs of the Court, as well as describing the personalities that made up the bench at that time.
Many of us have our own views of what how the Supreme Court comes to their decisions on such a wide variety of cases. This book dispels many of the myths of appellate review.
This book is highly recommended to anyone who wants to really know how the Supreme Court decides the cases before it.
Prepare now for the next nomination battle.......2006-12-09
Though a bit dated, The Brethren is still required reading for any who would speak intelligently about U.S. public policy. Undergrads considering a PoliSci major or a pre-law track should get this read before fall classes start. Justice John Paul Stevens is 86 as of this writing so we can expect another nomination circus soon. Opinions will be loud and furious but few of those opinions will be informed or articulate. The reason is that the courts are the least understood of the three branches of the U.S. govt. Americans love court TV but their eyes glaze over at the merest hint at what legal professionals actually do.
Bob Woodward shows his considerable strengths in this collaborative work with Scott Armstrong. We see his uncanny ability to use the "background" style of interview to tease out a vivid picture of a generally inaccessible organization. We also see his ready willingness to place his own views alongside statements of alleged fact without the slightest pause for ethical implications. On p.378 of my hardbound copy, the authors describe an effort by one of the Court clerks to rally dissent against a Warren Burger opinion thusly: "The debate turned not on what the Chief had said or intended, but on what Klein and some other clerks said it might mean." How Woodward read, maybe even wrote that line with a straight face is beyond my comprehension. Woodward is notorious for quoting a person or conversation or describing events at length and ending the otherwise factual paragraph with a summary of his own that sometimes stretches or distorts the obvious meaning hilariously.
Such passages read about like this: The man walked into the courtroom. His body language seemed to say "I have contempt for this hallowed organization and shall devote my energies to its downfall in accordance with my extremist views mwahaha!" (do you see how I said the passages were LIKE this? Clever eh?) In the closing paragraphs of "The Brethren" the authors offer this from p. 444: Five separate Fourth Amendment cases were announced on July 6, the last day of the term. All five ruled against citizens' rights and in favor of the government." That is a pretty terse description of cases which have spilled barrels of ink and a false dichotomy besides (are citizen rights truly protected by a government which fails to protect them from crime?)
The storytelling is clearly slanted against the Burger court but the overall quality of the work makes the bias forgivable. We learn how the members of the Court see their mandate. We see the enormous role the clerks play in shaping the rulings of the Court. Hopefully, we see the imbecility of street demonstrations in front of the Court Building but probably not.
There have been decent books on the SCOTUS since The Brethren but Woodward and Armstrong's work captures a period of transition and evolution. We see the bitter and grudging resignation of William Douglas, one of the longest serving Justices in the history of the Court. We see the machinations behind Roe, busing and capital punishment.
The Brethren is a dense and fairly challenging read but well worth it.
Interesting, but lacking.......2006-10-21
I was very much looking forward to reading this book. But I must say that from the first chapter I was disappointted with the writing. The book reads like a string of unrelated newspaper articles or diary entries. There is no underling arc that ties all of the little stories together.
However, despite this shortcoming, "The Brethen" is very interesting. Woodward and Armstrong provide a unique take on the inner-workings of the first few years of the Burger court.
I would suggest that anyone considering reading "The Brethen" instead consider "Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court" by Edward Lazarus.
The best book on the Supreme Court out there........2006-08-03
This may possibly be the best book ever written in regards to the US Supreme Court. Opening with the end of the Warren Court, Woodward and Armstrong go on to describe the Burger Court from 1969-1975. Talking at length about Abortion, the Nixon case, and the Death Penalty, as well as giving great insight into the minds of the 9 men who interpret the nation's constitution. An amazing book, everyone should read it.
A Classic History of the Burger Court.......2006-03-19
I have just re-read this book, which I first enjoyed while I was taking Con Law in law school in the late 1970s. It is a little dated, but still a fun and well-written insider's story of the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court. Woodward and Armstrong write with an "inside the beltway" politically-correct perspective which may seem a little dated today. That's one feature that stands out. When it was originally released, Jimmy Carter was just being elected President, and the Congress was 2/3 Democratic. The political battlegrounds have changed in a generation. However, judicially, not as much as you might expect. Many key issues - abortion, free expression, and the role and limits of government, e.g., - continued through Rehnquist's term as Chief and still face the Roberts court. While today's Court line-up is more conservative, the process of internal court politics is certainly similar, so this book remains useful in attempting to understand both the history of the Court when it issued so many of those decisions that still drive politicians mad today, and how the often convoluted opinions on divisive issues are formed.
It also provides a little nostalgia in remembering Justices such as Potter Stewart and Thurgood Marshall. The authors capture a famous incident involving these two. When the Court of the 1970's considered an obscenity case, the Justices would retire, often en masse, to a basement screening room to take in the offending film. This was a world without home videos. Justice Stewart was infamous for his statement in an earlier case that, while he couldn't define obscenity, "I know it when I see it." Apparently, at the crucial moment (you know the word I'm avoiding) of the film, Justice Marshall would turn to Justice Stewart and proclaim: "That's it - I know it, I see it!"
Anyone interested in Constitutional Law and the Supreme Court should read this book.
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