Book Description
Rodric Braithwaite was British ambassador to Moscow during the critical years of perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the failed coup of August 1991, and the rise of Boris Yeltsin. With his long experience of Russia, on good personal terms with Mikhail Gorbachev, he was in a privileged position close to the center of Russia's changing relationship with the West.
This frank and engrossing book gives an intimate account of momentous change and the people who drove it. As the Soviet Empire fell apart a demoralized army crept home from Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, and the outlying parts of the Soviet Union itself. Against the opposition of the generals, Gorbachev and his allies struggled to modernize and democratize a system that had already reached the point of terminal decay. The apex of the drama came in August 1991 when a gang of generals, politicians, and secret policemen sought-by storming Moscow's White House-to reverse the course of history.
Customer Reviews:
Superb! The Iron Lady's Ambassador to Moscow........2002-12-23
This was a wonderful book! Fresh, fast-paced, fascinating and immensely funny. The author was Maggie Thatcher's man in Moscow, he has an intimate knowledge of the Russian people and a great deal of experience in-country. His English humor (humour?) makes this book not just a chronicle of events, but a real gem. Examples...when visiting Kiev, he is invited to visit the musuem of UFO's which includes an exhibit of foot long iron bar munching rats from outer space, Ambasador Braithwaite dryly comments that although he would love to attend, he just can't seem to fit it into his schedule. When Moscow Radio plays excerpts from Pushkin in the throes of the 1991 aborted coup, he comments--who else but the Russians would air poetry at such a time? About half the length of Jack Matlock's epic "Anatomy on an Empire", (his colleague and apparent twin in the minds of the Russian people) Braithwaite's book is more accesible, and given in a lively style. While I do not agree 100% with all of his analysis, I do find this a supberb book and a must have for anyone who wants a Westerner's guide to understanding Russia.
Customer Reviews:
Highly recommended for K-2 ELL educators everywhere........2007-03-06
Written by National Board Certified Teachers Emelie Parker & Tess Pardini, "The Words Came Down!" English Language Learners Read, Write and Talk Across the Curriculum K-2 is a resource especially of teachers charged with instructing English language-learning students - usually, students whose parents are functionally illiterate in English. These young people need to learn English-language fluency for their family's sake as well as their own; workshop-structured chapters show teachers tested methodologies to achieve just that. Oral language is emphasized for communication, teacher modeling, and demonstration in The Words Came Down!, but written language instruction is also covered at length. Strategies to aid teachers in learning to adjust to the needs of each individual child, and guidelines for including English-language learning students in all aspects of the day form the heart and soul of this excellent workshop guide, illustrated with black-and-white photographs. Highly recommended for K-2 ELL educators everywhere.
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- Early suspense from a master storyteller
- greed
- Wonderful tale of greed gone out of control
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One Across, Two Down
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Vintage
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ASIN: 0375704949
Release Date: 2001-01-09 |
Book Description
Two things interest Stanley Manning: crossword puzzles, and the substantial sum his wife Vera stands to inherit when his mother-in-law dies. Otherwise, life at 61 Lanchester Road is a living hell. For she lives with them now--and she will stop at nothing to tear his marriage apart. One afternoon, Stanley lends death a helping hand. But very soon after the deed is done, he finds that his actions may cost him. In
One Across, Two Down, master crime writer Ruth Rendell describes a man whose strained sanity and stained reputation transform him from a witless loser into a killer afraid of his own shadow.
Customer Reviews:
Early suspense from a master storyteller.......2006-11-07
This is one of Ruth Rendell's early novels (first published in 1971), a bleak foray into greed and despair. Stanly and Vera live in a North London suburd along with Vera's mother, the caustic Maud, who hates her deadbeat son-in-law with a passion. The feelings are mutual from Stanley, who is constantly planning Maud's demise when he is not obsessed with his favorite hobby - crossword puzzles. As in most Rendell novels, there are few likable characters here with the exception of Vera, the long-suffering wife. In a way, each character gets what they want, but the hands of fate have ways of playing them out in unexpected ways. There is a pervailing atmosphere of doom and gloom that gets darker as the novel progresses and Rendell may get the reader to gain a little sympathy toward Stanley, which is quite an accomplishment.
greed.......2001-08-20
smooth, if inconsequential narrative. economical with word and psychologically insightful. reminiscent of hitchcock's black and white t.v. tales.
Wonderful tale of greed gone out of control.......2001-07-23
I knew from Rendell's past books that this would end in chaos. There some tense moments, but Stanley ends up getting .... It moves right along and is hard to put down.
It's a good story about people waiting for someone to die so they can inherit money and how easily it can go wrong.
Vera, Stanley's wife, is a docile, meek character at the beginning.... ....Having nosy neighbors was ...downfall.
Book Description
Anxious to prove England's claim on the New World, Queen Elizabeth has charged Sir Walter Pendennis, seasoned spy and diplomat, with the top-secret mission.Walter gathers a team of scholars at his Cornwall estate, and calls upon his dear friend Susanna, Lady Appleton, to assist. Susanna is an expert herbalist with a quick mind and wise ways-and Walter has long carried a flame for her.When Walter's wife appears uninvited at Priory House, she sets about extinguishing that flame.Meanwhile, Susanna and Walter find that troubling discrepancies have surfaced among sailors' accounts of the land beyond the Western Sea.Their research becomes intrigue when an eyewitness account turns up missing and a scholar is found dead in his study. Is the murder the work of an academic rival?A jealous lover? A Spanish spy? Scholarly trickery and New World scandal come to light as Susanna's sleuthing skills are put to the test.Face Down Across the Western Sea is a potent concoction, brimming with the qualities that have made the Susanna, Lady Appleton, series a favorite among mystery lovers: rich period detail, first-rate suspense, and at the center of it all, Susanna-a headstrong and beguiling heroine. AUTHORBIO: Kathy Lynn Emerson lives in Wilton, Maine. Face Down Across the Western Sea is the seventh book in her Susanna, Lady Appleton, series.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining mystery set at an Elizabethean style "think tank" .......2007-07-03
This historical mystery is a very entertaining read, especially if you have spent much time in the competitive academic enviroment. I found the idea of an Elizabethean "think tank" very amusing. Talk about country house mysteries, this is one with a difference. The confusion surrounding what the academics were doing and more to the point, why they were doing it seemed quite realistic to me actually.
Good soap opera, poor mystery!.......2002-12-18
If you can swallow the idea of an Elizabethan research team and accept the fact that his book deals much more with marital difficulties than murder, then you might--I repeat, might--enjoy this book, but it is definitely not as good as previous offerings in this series. Either Ms. Emerson is running out of ideas, or she's cranking them out to make money...in either case, the reader ultimately suffers.
Good characters and history.......2002-06-22
The Spanish have pulled untold wealth from the Americas and have prevented the English from doing the same. In response, Queen Elizabeth has tasked Susanna, Lady Appleton and her friend Sir Walter Pendennis to lead a research team to discover some valid English claim to have discovered the Americas before Columbus. The pickings seem slim, but when one of the researchers is murdered, Susanna wonders whether the Spanish have discovered their mission--and have taken steps to prevent success.
Susanna and Walter investigate the unlikely suspects--a small group of aging scholars from Cambridge and Oxford Universities. Yet what possible motives would they have for murder, and why would any of them be interested in supporting the Spanish claims? Still, there is definitely something going on beneath the surface--one of the scholars has been sneaking out of the manor at night and another has a daughter who has ended up in places a young and single woman shouldn't go.
Author Kathy Lynn Emerson writes convincingly about this critical period in English history. Elizabeth holds the crown but is surrounded by enemies abroad and by Catholic and extreme protestant enemies at home. Emerson personalizes the mystery making both Susanna and Walter fully developed characters with conflicted desires and motivations that go far beyond simply solving a crime.
Unfortunately for the novel, Susanna and Walter's personal lives are more interesting than, and not especially connected to the mystery itself. Indeed, the solution to the mystery comes as something of an anticlimax, not resolving the fundamental issues or advancing the personal goals of either primary character. FACE DOWN ACROSS THE WESTERN SEA is a pleasant read and contains intriguing history and historical speculation. Pretty good.
superb Elizabethan mystery.......2002-03-23
Sir Walter Pendennis is at Priory House in Cornwall on a mission for the queen. With him is Susanna, Lady Appleton, the woman who turned down his marriage proposal s well as a host of England's best scholars. Their job is to find England's claim, if any, to the New World and a faster waterway to the Asian Markets. Susanna is glad to find something worthwhile to occupy her time since her lover Nick Baldwin, a member of the Merchant's Adventures, is in Hamburg to advance England's cause in that port.
When one of the scholars explains to Susanna that one of the documents is missing, she intends to help him look for it. She is distracted from her mission when Sir Walter's estranged wife arrives on the scene causing emotional turmoil. In the meantime, the scholar who lost the document has been killed and Sir Walter and Susanna must find out who did it since England's interests are involved in the matter. When a second scholar disappears and is presumed dead, Susanna is determined to find out what is going on.
Every Susanna, Lady Appleton novel is a joy to read. In an era when a powerful queen ruled England, a widowed noblewoman has much power, especially if she has enough money to back up her desires. Susanna is a person of sterling character who wants to make the world a better place. That is why readers love her and the plot of her latest tale, FACE DOWN ACROSS THE WESTERN SEA, enhances her desire to leave a positive mark while also enhancing the reputation of author Kathy Lynn Emerson
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
The 15 million Americans who do crossword puzzles know that it's far more than just a hobby. Zen and the Art of Crossword Puzzles is a fun and philosophical look at this beloved pastime-from why we love crossword puzzles and how they benefit us in unexpected ways, to puzzle solving as a spiritual practice and how that practice contributes to our self-awareness and personal growth.
Inside you'll find:
Yoga for the brain-the link between crosswords and mental agility
Pen or pencil?-a profound choice
It takes a village-building community with crosswords
Puzzle gurus-interviews with renowned crossword creators
Each chapter opens with a puzzle, luring puzzle fans into a crossword journey rich with meaning and magic. The first book of its kind, Zen and the Art of Crossword Puzzles is sure to be a hit with crossword puzzle lovers everywhere.
Customer Reviews:
A disappointment!.......2007-05-08
I found this work so poor that I have consigned it to the recycling bin, rather than taking up space on my bookshelf! It reads as though the author had been given some sort of 'assignment' to connect Zen with Crossword Puzzles, both of which she has knowledge of. Not written with any degree of 'passion'! I'd suggest separate books on each subject would be a better buy: any of Alan Watts's books on Zen or Tao, and "Wordplay" DVD with its companion book. All available from Amazon.
Don't ask, don't bother.......2007-02-08
This is a non-book. The wheel is reinvented on every page. There are very few puzzles and those are not even interesting. Pick up a crossword book at your supermarket rather than waste your money on this thing.
A little Zen and a lot of crosswords.......2006-08-07
Nikki Katz's Zen and the Art of Crossword Puzzles is part of a series of Zen-related hobby books published by Adams Media (Zen and the Art of Knitting, etc.). In her contribution to the series Katz provides thumbnail histories of both crossword puzzles (first published in 1913) and Zen philosophy (considerably older), and she frequently points to intersections between the two--how Zen principals can be used to make one's crossword experiences more pleasant, how solving crosswords can be experienced as a kind of "working meditation." But Katz's book is hardly all Zen all the time. She discusses a great number of topics in the book's ten chapters: crossword solving rituals and methodologies, hints for solving puzzles, an explanation of British cryptic crosswords (for which I am especially grateful), the health benefits of puzzle solving, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, crossword-related poetry and paintings and fiction (specifically, the Nero Blanc series of crossword mysteries). Some of what Katz has to say will be too lightweight for hard-core cruciverbalists, but there should be something new in the book for just about everyone.
Katz conducted a great many interviews while working on the book, which she punctuates with personal anecdotes gleaned from her interview subjects. As it happens, I am among those whom Katz contacted: she writes in chapter eight about my habit of blogging the New York Times Sunday crossword every week at the-deblog.com.
Katz ends each chapter with a tip for improving--or at least for altering--one's crossword experiences: in the last chapter, for example, she suggests that readers try solving a crossword online if they haven't before as a means of broadening their crossword experiences; elsewhere she suggests that readers try creating their own crossword-related poetry. An original puzzle follows each chapter, and Katz lists a number of crossword resources in a handy appendix--online crossword sites and dictionaries, anagramming tools, construction software, etc.
Debra Hamel -- author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in ancient Greece (Yale University Press, 2003)
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Across and Down
Eugene T. Maleska
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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ASIN: 067150472X |
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America's route of the ages- from Asia across Alaska down the Rocky mountains to the plains of texas
Amazon.com
Patterns are higher-order designs that can be reused across projects and types of computer systems. Analysis Patterns: Reusable Object Models defines over 70 patterns, beginning with some from the business world, such as the Party and Accountability patterns, which define the players in organizations and whom they report to. Many of the other patterns are drawn from the health care industry and mainly show patterns of doctor-patient interactions.
The patterns for financial markets will probably be accessible for the majority of readers. Author Martin Fowler defines a Transaction pattern (and related patterns) as well as several patterns for the Accounting of Objects. He moves on to modeling stock markets with Portfolio, Quote, and Scenario patterns, which define how a price for a stock is determined for a given moment. Interestingly, he establishes patterns for Forward Contracts (for derivatives) as well as Options, and so takes on a complicated area in today's financial markets.
Fowler's considerable design experience in these fields is beneficial, as he is able to define each pattern in both text and software engineering diagrams. Only rarely does the author provide implementations of these designs and those that are furnished are done in Smalltalk, which makes this book more suitable for those who have experience in object design.
Customer Reviews:
A bit dated in a few spots, but quite good........2005-11-30
This is Martin Fowler's first book, published in 1997. The book is divided into two large sections.
The first section details analysis patterns that Fowler has encountered across industries. These chapters cover several common domain patterns including representing organizational hierarchies, inventory, accounting, and others. Fowler approaches these chapters by starting with a simple model and repeatedly expanding on this model to fit more and more complex needs. This section of the book is interesting from an academic and a practical perspective. It was interesting to see how Fowler has approached different domain problems and I expect to reference these chapters as I tackle similar problems in the future.
The second section of the book covers what Fowler calls Support Patterns. In these chapters Fowler discusses tiered architecture, presentation layers, facades, and association patterns. The second section on support patterns is less useful and some chapters are quite dated. While this information may have been useful in 1997, if you are looking for more information on layered architectures read Enterprise Application Architecture - a more recent book by the same author.
I found this book to be quite good. I enjoy Fowler's style of writing and for the most part I found the book easy to follow. However, this is Fowler's first book and it lacks the polish of his more recent other books -- in a few spots it was hard for me to follow the author's train of thought.
This book predates UML and the diagrams used throughout the book take a while to understand. There is a key to the models on the inside cover of the book, but if the diagrams had been updated to UML they would have been easier to understand. If needed, you can find UML diagrams for this book on Martin Fowler's website. I think sample code would have helped clarify some of the models as well, as was used in the "Gang of Four" book.
If you are designing a domain model for a complex business, I think this book would be useful for you. If you are looking for similar books, I would suggest Design Patterns by Gamma, et al. ("Gang of Four" book), Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, and Refactoring both by Fowler.
The only "practical" book on deciding which design to use.......2004-11-13
What I am nearly always missing when reading about design (esp. when sifting through design case studies) is the path that lead to a design. The weighing of arguments that made the author/designer choose the solution at hand. The context and the "drivers". Fowler is the only one achieving this: offering different solutions and discussing their advantages and disadvanteges. Yes he dives deep and goes into abstract concepts, but sometimes solutions only differ from an abstract viewpoint. You need quite some understanding of design principles, to (i) understand the book and (ii) be a good designer.
For me this is the book that helped me understand the design process as it should be. And using "analysis patterns" he gives plentiful of concrete examples, sharpening your mind.
One remark to everyone critcizing Fowler for not using UML: This book does not use UML since it dates back to 1996! When UML was not really there. Version 0.9 of the UML came out in the second half of 1996. And btw. Martin Fowler has written the very first -- and still one of the best -- book on UML ("UML Distilled", now in its 3rd edition).
Truly Unique, Extremely Valuable Entry.......2004-07-16
Kind of funny, reading the reviews here makes it clear that this book is something of a sleeper, it has not gotten the exposure that a lot of the other pillars of the pattern community have. I think the reason is that people may glance at it and think that it is too domain-specific. In fact, this book does a lot of great things, it is a meditation on some crucial OO modeling issues.
The first problem Fowler broaches is a patient's weight and he states, correctly I'm sure, that most programmers would just make weight a class property and make it be of type integer. But there are problems with that approach. First one is the issue of units. If you make it an int you are assuming that it is just a count of pounds. What happens if you want another measure? Furthermore, what happens when someone asks where the patient's weight has gone in the last month.
From this point of departure, many issues are taken up. For people who have grappled with OLAP before and know something about dimensional models, it will seem as though he is trying to make an operational into an analytical model, which experience has taught us is not good. But, in fact, there is sanity to Fowler's approach.
Personally, if he ever does rev this book (read on his site that he is thinking about it), I wish he would consider writing a section that attempts to hide the observation elements and seamlessly map them back into the object model. Having a separate class keeping track of what the weight of a person represented by another class is does ultimately seem to undo the objectness of the model, but that's a minor nit. Definitely a book that I've returned to many times.
Study, don't just read this book........2003-02-09
I bet you are an object oriented software developer striving to build better applications. If you have not read GoF Design Patterns and followed that with Vlissides's Pattern Hatching, read those first. Follow those with this, Martin Fowler's Analysis Patterns.
As two readings of Design Patterns took my OO knowledge from infancy to adolecence, Analysis Patterns will take you from adolecence to adulthood. Fowler's work does not put together patterns from the Design Patterns book, but takes its time to decompose actual application domain concepts to applicable object models. It will then be up to you to use your knowledge from Design Patterns to create mechanisms that support properly modeled business concepts as Analysis Patterns describes.
If you like OO modeling and design, but are wondering how better to apply your modeling concepts, Fowler's book is something you will definitely benefit from. However, make a pot of coffee per chapter-this book is very dense with concepts.
Fowler ends Analysis Patterns with some more easily read chapters on application design on a larger scale. You've heard of "n-tier," his discussion of the concepts of "n-tier" at the end of the book are possibly worth reading first.
After reading this book-and understanding it's motivations-you will never again be tempted to take "innocent" shortcuts in your application design. You will not be motivated to use "Strings" for "measurements" or "doubles" for "distances." You will look upon your peer's object designs either with a new understanding that they know that going the distance with their object model is worth it-and you won't demand they dumb down their design ever again-and you'll likewise gain intuition about where a simplistic business domain model is going to fail.
A bit too abstract.......2002-07-18
There are lots of interesting ideas here, but the actual patterns themselves are not that useful as they are too abstract.
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