Friday 4 March 2011

American Assassin: A Thriller



American Assassin: A Thriller
Vince Flynn | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | Atria | 448 | Fiction Other
In this book we get a better handle on Thomas Stansfield, Irene Kennedy, Stan Hurley and Lewis the psychologist. We also learn much more about the mindset behind Mitch Rapp. He and the psychologist have several conversations. What's the difference between revenge and retribution? When is it just to kill someone? Are you just acting out of anger and personal revenge or are you acting out of patriotism?

As you proceed from training to spy craft you will be drawn in to every aspect of this book. I just got the book yesterday and couldn't put it down.

Vince Flynn does a great job of developing his characters, building the story, setting the stage for the next thing that will happen and then throwing in the unexpected. You will enjoy every minute of this read.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Elementary textbook on the calculus



Elementary textbook on the calculus
Virgil Snyder | 1912-01-01 00:00:00 | Cornell University Library | 388 | Mathematics
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs collection.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Patricia Armentrout - Tsunamis



Patricia Armentrout - Tsunamis
David Armentrout | 2007-01-01 00:00:00 | Publisher: Rourke Publishing | 32 | Geosciences
Describes what tsunamis are, how they form, their causes, famous tsunamis of the past, and how scientists study and predict them.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Facts on File Library of American History)



Encyclopedia of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Facts on File Library of American History)
Elin Woodger,Brandon Toropov | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Facts on File | 448 | 19th Century
Reviews
This book starts out with a well-written introduction that provides an overview of the expedition, followed by a chronology of events leading up to, during and after the journey. The introduction and chronology provide useful context for the hundreds of entries that follow. The entries range from a couple of paragraphs to a couple of pages. They provide fascinating details on such subjects as the Native American tribes encountered during the expedition, sexual encounters by expedition members during the journey, supplies and equipment brought along during the journey, Clark's slave York (including his life after the expedition) and Lewis' dog Seaman. The book makes for easy browsing, as there are numerous cross-references that can bring you to related subjects, as well as recommended reading listed at the end of each entry. All in all, it's an enjoyable and highly recommended read.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust Holocaust And The David Irving Trial



Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust Holocaust And The David Irving Trial
Richard J. Evans | 2001-03-06 00:00:00 | Basic Books | 336 | England
In ruling against the controversial historian David Irving in his libel suit against the American historian Deborah Lipstadt, last 00/04, the High Court in London labeled him a falsifier of history. No objective historian, declared the judge, would manipulate the documentary record in the way that Irving did. Richard J. Evans, a Cambridge historian and the chief advisor for the defense, uses this pivotal trial as a lens for exploring a range of difficult questions about the nature of the historian's enterprise. For instance, don't all historians in the end bring a subjective agenda to bear on their reading of the evidence? Is it possible that Irving lost his case not because of his biased history but because his agenda was unacceptable? The central issue in the trial-as for Evans in this book-was not the past itself, but the way in which historians study the past. In a series of short, sharp chapters, Richard Evans sets David Irving's methods alongside the historical record in order to illuminate the difference between responsible and irresponsible history. The result is a cogent and deeply informed study in the nature of historical interpretation.
Reviews

"Holocaust deniers" ("Holocaust revisionists") are people who either deny that the Holocaust ever happened, or try to minimize the extent and horror of it. In my opinion, calling a writer, a historian, a politician, or anyone at all, a "Holocaust denier" is almost certain to damage his reputation.



Mr. Irving agrees. That's why he took legal action. In his opening statement at the trial, David Irving vs. Penguin Books Ltd. and Deborah E. Lipstadt, Mr. Irving said, "[`Holocaust denier'] has become one of the most potent phrases in the arsenal of insult, replacing the N-word, the F-word, and a whole alphabet of other slurs. If an American politician. . .is branded, even briefly as a Holocaust denier, his career can well be said to be in ruins. If a writer, no matter how well reviewed and received until then, has that phrase stuck to him, then he, too, can regard his career as rumbling off the edge of a precipice."



Dr. Evans demonstrated to the satisfaction of the High Court in London the "falsification and manipulation of historical records" aspect of some of Mr. Irving's writing about history. At the trial, Mr. Irving described the "damage to the reputation" effect of Ms. Lipstadt's book.



I do not read German and cannot comment on Dr. Evans' contention that Mr. Irving played fast and loose with the truth in his writing based on historical documents in German archives. The statement that no document, signed by Hitler, has been found ordering the execution of Jewish people in death camps (order clearly stated, rather than implied) may be true--I don't know. But some statements don't need backing up with archives. The idea, for example, that Hitler didn't know about the Holocaust is absurd.



Beyond this, as other reviewers have been allowed to stray from commentary on Dr. Evans' book in order to discuss Holocaust denial in general, I hope Amazon.com will do the same for me.



In my opinion, Mr. Irving is a talented writer. His books are lively, fascinating, full of fire. His writing reveals a fine sense of humor, too. I do not share his biases, and I often disagree with his views. Still, I have enjoyed reading his work.



Dr. Evans has written an interesting book, and I recommend that you read his Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial--and see what you think.



My impression is that Mr. Irving does not deny that the tragedy took place. In his opening statement at the trial, Mr. Irving said, ". . .no person in full command of his mental faculties, and with even the slightest understanding of what happened in World War Two, can deny that the tragedy actually happened, however much we dissident historians may wish to quibble about the means, the scale, the dates and other minutiae."



Mr. Irving does deny or revise information about the Holocaust (regarding locations, numbers of people who suffered, numbers of people who suffered and died, scale, blame, who knew what, etc.) that most people believe to be true.



Mr. Irving also said, "[The term `Holocaust denier'] is a poison to which there is virtually no antidote, less lethal than a hypodermic with nerve gas jabbed in the neck, but deadly all the same: for the chosen victim, it is like being called a wife beater or a pædophile. It is enough for the label to be attached, for the attachee to find himself designated as a pariah, an outcast from normal society. It is a verbal Yellow Star." He further noted that, "In many countries now where it was considered that the mere verbal labelling was not enough, governments have been prevailed upon to pass the most questionable laws, including some which can only be considered a total infringement of the normal human rights of free speech, free opinion and freedom of assembly."



I agree. Let them speak. Who are we, any of us, to say that other people may not speak?



Holocaust denial is a silly idea. Denying the Holocaust is like saying that World War II never happened, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were never bombed, men never landed on the moon, and the Titanic never sank.



No one in his right mind, no one who has even a smattering of knowledge about World War II, can deny that the tragedy we call the Holocaust did, in fact, take place.



Evidence of the Holocaust is overwhelming--testimonies of death camp survivors and Nazi perpetrators, material evidence, as well as documents created and records kept by the Nazis themselves. Many survivors of the camps bore, and continue to bear, witness to the reality of this dark period of 20th century history that Auschwitz survivor Elie Wiesel calls Night.



Photographs taken in the death camps and published shortly after the end of World War II are, and have been since that time, available for everyone to see.



Rational, educated people all over the world know that the Holocaust happened. Precise statistics can never be known--historians love to quibble about these--but it is known that people, Jewish and non-Jewish, who died in the Holocaust number in the millions.



People who publicly deny the Holocaust also know that the Holocaust did, in fact, happen. And they know how extensive and horrible it was. Holocaust deniers may have their own agendas: some are simply anti-Semitic and like to rail against the Jews; others seek to share the "limelight" with Jewish people who suffered in the Holocaust; and some, by erasing the memory of the Holocaust, hope to clear the way for a repeat performance.



But as an American who values freedom of thought and speech, I view with dismay the legislation some countries have enacted to prevent people from making statements which deny the extent, or even the reality, of the Holocaust.



I don't believe in shutting people up.



I share the view of the late historian Dr. Räul Hilberg, who said, "I do not agree with legislation that makes it illegal to utter pronouncements claiming that there was no Holocaust. I do not want to muzzle any of this because it is a sign of weakness, not of strength, when you try to shut somebody up. Yes, there is always a risk. Nothing in life is without risk, but you have to make rational decisions about everything."



"Revisionists" do bring attention to the Holocaust--a tragedy in history which the world must not forget. As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."





Arlene Sanders
Reviews
This well written book is a memoir of the author's participation as an expert witness in David Irving's libel suit against the historian Deborah Lipstadt and her publisher, Penguin. Irving, an independent historian of some repute, sued Lipstadt and Penguin over Lipstadt's statements that Irving was a Holocaust denier and distorter of historical truth. Under English law, the defense in libel actions has the major burden of proof, in this case that Lipstadt's statements were unequivocally correct. Evans, a distinguished historian of modern Germany, was retained to investigate Irving's scholarship. Assisted by 2 of his graduate students, Evans undertook a painstaking analysis of different aspects of Irving's writings. Evans was able to document definitively numerous and serious distortions and falsifications committed by Irving. These included not only Irving's misleading, to say the least, statements about the Holocaust but also Irving's distortion of the casulty toll in the destruction of Dresden. Its important to note that Evans' conclusions were based not only on tracking back Irving's citations and use of documents but also on examination of Irving's own files obtained in the process of pre-trial discovery. Evans' documented not only Irving's dishonesty but also Irving's assertion of conclusions that more than vindicated Lipstadt's statements about Irving.



Some of the text is an interesting lession, though largely a negative one, in historical analysis. Its also a lession in how ideological preoccupations, in Irving's case, rising to the level of delusion, can produce terrible distortions. The persistent strength of such delusions is illustrated by several of the negative reviews of this book posted on this site. Evans uses this case as a point of departure for a mildly interesting discussion of the nature of historical truth, though Irving's misdeeds are hardly a strong challenge to the epistemic status of historical analysis. More interesting are Evans' generally negative and apparently well justified comments on press treatments of the trial and the issues raised by the trial.
Reviews
Excellent book!



Places the Holocaust deniers and minimizers in their deceptive realm.
Reviews
Everybody loves to play the role of iconoclast. Dispelling popular myths and dashing cherished beliefs is sexy. Unfortunately for "Holocaust Analysts", as Irving cutely refers to himself and his anti-historical friends, the evidence doesn't indicate that Hitler was just a "patriot" whose aim was to return Germany to its former glory. Nor does it demonstrate that any of David Irving's other conclusions about Hitler, the Holocaust, or the Dresden Bombing campaign are correct.



Richard J Evans has excoriated the case for Holocaust denial and there is absolutely no way any honest researcher could continue to espouse skepticism over the Nazi's World War II atrocities. None of the arguments advanced by Irving's supporters to defend his theories stand up to the intellectual beating Evan's has served up in Lying about Hitler. Contrary to his cheerleaders' claims, Irving is not a great revisionist historian who seeks only to discover the truth about Hitler; he's an ideologue who parades his fallacious arguments continuously--despite the voluminous evidence to the contrary.



This is made obvious by Irving's deceitful attempts to exonerate Hitler of the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the late 1930s and 1940s. According to Irving, Hitler was unaware of the slaughter taking place behind the eastern front because other high-ranking Nazis like Himmler and Goebbels intentionally kept him in the dark. Furthermore, according to Irving, Hitler was opposed to the brutality often ascribed to him by most historians. Hitler essentially had no policy of violence aimed at European Jews. The problem with this argument is that Irving had to distort, mistranslate, ignore, or otherwise obfuscate primary sources to make his half-baked theory plausible.



For example, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels wrote in his personal diary after the Night of the Broken Glass on November 9-10, 1938 that Hitler's views toward the Jews were "totally radical and aggressive" and that Hitler wanted to "take very sharp measures against the Jews." This diary passage alone implicates Hitler in the crimes committed against the Jews in Germany. How did Irving handle this admission from Goebbels? In his 1996 biography of Goebbels, Irving argued that Goebbels was lying! Irving claimed that Goebbels had been acting against Hitler's wishes but attempted to give the opposite impression in his diary! (pg 63)



Irving dealt with incriminating evidence surrounding the slaughter of Jews by the SS in a similar fashion. When confronted with statistics collected by SS officers tallying how many Jews they had machine-gunned, Irving claimed the officers were inflating the numbers to garner favor with Himmler. Irving called these statistics "meaningless" and insisted that these officers didn't "have time to count." (pg 115) Of course, as Evans points out, this is pure speculation on Irving's part.



These examples of Irving's fallacious scholarship go on and on. Evans exposes just about all of Irving's bogus revisions and smashes them to pieces. Lying about Hitler is thoroughly researched, meticulously footnoted, and conclusively damning to Holocaust denialism as a whole and to Irving's arguments especially. Buy it, read it, and become smarter as a result.


Reviews
I have been a big admirer of David Irving's for a long time, and still believe that he is head and shoulders above all other WWII historians when it comes to his writing skills and mastery of the German primary source material. While Anglo-American court historians were content to write books based on the secondary source "research" of other court historians, David Irving learned the German language and went to the primary sources: the Nazi archives in Europe, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and to the surviving members of Hitler's entourage, who had shockingly been ignored by his lazy, and usually monolingual, peers. He has contributed invaluable, original research to his field of study. He has been a free speech martyr on 3 continents and has actually been imprisoned because of his words. My own public library system has a slew of David Irving books that are listed as "missing" because they've been stolen or destroyed by organized Jewish groups who publicly boast of their censorship. I admire him for his work, his sacrifices and because anyone who has such loathsome enemies must be doing something right. However, after reading this book, even I have to conclude, as much as I don't want to, that David Irving lied.



The author, Richard Evans, is a distasteful left-wing academic who obviously has an agenda and who raises a good deal of niggling objections to Irving's work. However, he also proves rather conclusively that Irving has deliberately lied in several of his books, whether through distortion of historical facts or flat-out invention. It might be worth it to detail one example.



When I first read Irving's original 2 volume magnum opus, "Hitler's War", in the mid 90s, the one thing that really caught my attention was Irving's assertion that Hitler had actually ordered Himmler_not_to liquidate the Jews. Irving's thesis was that the SS actually massacred the Jews on their own initiative, contrary to Hitler's direct orders and express wish to simply expel them after the war. In his introduction, Irving writes, "...the incontrovertible evidence is that Hitler ordered on November 30th 1941 that there was to be 'no liquidation' of the Jews." The relevant passage of the books reads:



"On November 30th, he (Himmler) was summoned to the Wolf's lair for a secret conference with Hitler, at which the fate of Berlin's Jews was clearly raised. At 1:30 p.m. Himmler was obligated to telephone from Hitler's bunker to Heydrich the explicit order that Jews were not to be liquidated; and the next day Himmler telephoned SS overall General Oswald Pohl, overall chief of the concentration camp system, with the order: 'Jews are to stay where they are.'"



Needless to say, I sat up and took notice. What a historian! What a discovery! Hitler actually wanted to protect the Jews from his bloodthirsty subordinates! Unfortunately, Irving's account is not at all accurate.



First of all, the relevant phrase in Himmler's notes was, "Judentransport aus Berlin. Keine Liquidierung" which means "Jew transport from Berlin. No Liquidation." It should be obvious to anyone, even without the fluency in German which Mr. Irving has, that the phrase refers to a single, specific transport of Jews from Berlin. Somehow, Irving extrapolated that order into a general prohibition against the liquidation of all Jews. Even more damning to his case, Irving had correctly translated the word "judentransport" as singular in a 1974 letter, so what was the justification for the mistranslation 3 years later?



Such an extrapolation is even more bizarre considering the two lines which preceded the mention of the Jew transport, which Irving chose to completely ignore. They are: "Verhaftung Dr. Jekelius/ Angebl [ich] Sohn Molotows" which mean "Arrest Dr. Jekelius. Presumably Molotov's son." This means that is was believed that one of the prisoners on that transport from Berlin was believed to be Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov's son, who would conceivably be a valuable bargaining chip for the Nazis, and who would have been automatically liquidated on his transport's arrival at its destination, unless some higher-up ordered his removal.



In addition, Himmler made this phone call an hour before he even met with Hitler, so it was misleading to say he was "obligated" by Hitler to spare this trainload of Jews, let alone Jews in general. The next part of this passage was the order that "Jews are to stay where they are." The relevant order says, "Verwaltungsfuhrer des SS haben zu bleiben" which actually means, "Administrative leaders of the SS are to stay where they are". There was no mention of Jews anywhere in Himmler's log that day. Irving says these were mistakes. For an expert in his field, who is fluent in German, these seem like the mistakes of someone who is either deliberately falsifying the historical record or who is so blinded by a desire to exculpate Hitler from all wrongdoing that he can't tell when he is extracting totally baseless interpretations from a document.



Evans looks into several other instances in Irving's work, such as the Dresden death toll, that couldn't have been anything but deliberate lies. I can't judge Irving's motivation. Perhaps he really does want to rehabilitate Hitler. It is a fact that there are more lies about Hitler and WWII that are accepted as common knowledge than there are for any other historical subject. Yet Irving had to have known that he'd be caught eventually. Maybe he did it for purely promotional purposes. Such revelations would surely sell books, but again, he had to know he'd eventually be found out. I don't know, but it's unfortunate that what amount to just a few lines in a man's work can ruin his reputation. However, if you can't trust someone in one area, can you really trust him in others? Those of us who are in favor of "revisionist" (i.e. "true") history have to be able to recognize and expose historical lies, even when they're told by our side. Objective truth has to be the touchstone for our allegiance, not ideological kinship.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Nonlinear Analysis of Structures



Nonlinear Analysis of Structures
Muthukrishnan Sathyamoorthy | 1997-01-01 00:00:00 | CRC Press | 640 | Other Engineering
Nonlinear Analysis of Structures presents a complete evaluation of the nonlinear static and dynamic behavior of beams, rods, plates, trusses, frames, mechanisms, stiffened structures, sandwich plates, and shells. These elements are important components in a wide variety of structures and vehicles such as spacecraft and missiles, underwater vessels and structures, and modern housing. Today's engineers and designers must understand these elements and their behavior when they are subjected to various types of loads.Coverage includes the various types of nonlinearities, stress-strain relations and the development of nonlinear governing equations derived from nonlinear elastic theory. This complete guide includes both mathematical treatment and real-world applications, with a wealth of problems and examples to support the text. Special topics include a useful and informative chapter on nonlinear analysis of composite structures, and another on recent developments in symbolic computation.Designed for both self-study and classroom instruction, Nonlinear Analysis of Structures is also an authoritative reference for practicing engineers and scientists.One of the world's leaders in the study of nonlinear structural analysis, Professor Sathyamoorthy has made significant research contributions to the field of nonlinear mechanics for twenty-seven years. His foremost contribution to date has been the development of a unique transverse shear deformation theory for plates undergoing large amplitude vibrations and the examination of multiple mode solutions for plates. In addition to his notable research, Professor Sathyamoorthy has also developed and taught courses in the field at universities in India, Canada, and the United States.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Bloodlines



Bloodlines
James Axler | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | Gold Eagle | 352 | Fiction Other
Product Description: Pursuing a personal quest with the help of his son, post-apocalypse warrior Ryan Cawdor finds himself battling mutant life forms in the bayous before he discovers an unsettling truth about a previous generation.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

The Forever War



The Forever War
Joe Haldeman | 1991-05-01 00:00:00 | Eos | 272 | War

Private William Mandella is a hero in spite of himself -- a reluctant conscript drafted into an elite military unit, and propelled through space and time to fight in a distant thousand-year conflict. He never wanted to go to war, but the leaders on Earth have drawn a line in the interstellar sand -- despite the fact that their fierce alien enemy is unknowable, unconquerable, and very far away. So Mandella will perform his duties without rancor and even rise up through the military's ranks . . . if he survives. But the true test of his mettle will come when he returns to Earth. Because of the time dilation caused by space travel the loyal soldier is aging months, while his home planet is aging centuries -- and the difference will prove the saying: you never can go home. . .


In the 1970s Joe Haldeman approached more than a dozen different publishers before he finally found one interested in The Forever War. The book went on to win both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, although a large chunk of the story had been cut out before it saw publication. Now Haldeman and Avon Books have released the definitive version of The Forever War, published for the first time as Haldeman originally intended. The book tells the timeless story of war, in this case a conflict between humanity and the alien Taurans. Humans first bumped heads with the Taurans when we began using collapsars to travel the stars. Although the collapsars provide nearly instantaneous travel across vast distances, the relativistic speeds associated with the process means that time passes slower for those aboard ship. For William Mandella, a physics student drafted as a soldier, that means more than 27 years will have passed between his first encounter with the Taurans and his homecoming, though he himself will have aged only a year. When Mandella finds that he can't adjust to Earth after being gone so long from home, he reenlists, only to find himself shuttled endlessly from battle to battle as the centuries pass. --Craig E. Engler
Reviews
Politically relevant, well written (and I usually am not a fan of first-person writing), and even genuinely funny at times. Also a great book for anyone who watches Star Wars or any other sci-fi fare and says "Oh come on, physics wouldn't allow for that."
Reviews
The Forever War is about a soldier, drafted to fight in a war against an alien enemy. Since the war is being fought light years from earth, and since he is shipped out and returned to earth or other bases repeatedly and at relativistic speeds, his subjective time becomes seriously compressed relative to the passage of time on earth. With each return to earth or to a base, he is growingly out of touch with earth culture.



The metaphor is the VietNam War experience for US soldiers in the 60s and 70s, and the author, Joe Haldeman, was a VietNam Vet.



So far, so good, and interesting. And I did get into the book -- it was a fast, engaging read. But I don't think, beyond the mere fact of the VietNam metaphor, I am going to be thinking about this book a month from now. Haldeman's character is thin -- I don't feel like I knew him that well -- and, I suspect as a consequence, the disorientations he experiences just weren't that deep or detailed for me.



I understand there is a movie in the making. I'd see the movie, now that I've read the book. A good director might make something more of the book than my experience in reading it (the movie, for me at least, could actually be better than the book!).



The book won numerous awards for science fiction, so maybe others saw something I didn't.
Reviews
Amazing book. Couldn't put it down! I got it on a Thursday and it was finished by Sunday. As you read it you'll think it's a fairly basic story, but after it's over and you sit and think about it you'll realize the depth and ingenious of the story. It's simply brilliant, I don't want to spoil any of the story but believe me it's worth a read. It's not terribly long so even if you're on the fence just get it, it's not going to kill you to read it.



I'd recommend it to anyone who likes war/sci-fi/good stories.
Reviews
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.



Life's too short to read this book. I am puzzled by it's winning awards and garnering great reviews. I admit, I'm not usually fond of dystopias in the first place but I am very interested in sci fi, millitary fiction and I even appreciate a bit of sexiness in books. All of which The Forever War has.



It's just that the author doesn't write any of it all that well or compelling. There's a war theme. Even a rather interesting idea of space travel warping time such that a soldier engaged in interstellar war suffers such time dilation that every time he returns "home" to earth, it's a different and alien place. Yes, that's a cool idea and plot device. However, the war story sections fall flat. The battle scenes are not compelling. The camaraderie scenes do not bond you with the main character. He's nothing like the story teller of Orson Scott Card, Eric Flint or David Weber.



The different dystopias of earth are interesting ideas -- but not told in very compelling ways.



The aliens -- they were not brought to life in any meaningful way.



The horror of war was there -- but not told in any way that would move you.



Sex -- plenty of talk about sex -- none of it actually sexy. He goes from complete sexual promiscuity where the female soldiers are required to have sex with any and every male soldier....to complete homosexuality where everyone is gay but the archaic "from the past" main character. Kind of an interesting idea...perhaps people in the 70's found it shocking...but it's not compellingly told from my current vantage point.



There's a love story theme throughout -- but again, it's simply not told well. You don't fall in love with the main character's love of each other.



I'd love to see what a David Weber or John Ringo could have done with Halderman's ideas. He had some truly interesting ideas and plot lines. But I had to force myself to finish the book. I had read half of it before starting on the five book Alvin Maker series by OSC. I read the first of those with my youngest daughter and was simply compelled to devour the next and the next. Not so with The Forever War. There are just so many other really great books that take up the themes and plot devices of this book to bother reading it.



It wasn't the worst book I've ever read. It isn't even a BAD book. There are definitely interesting thoughts and points. It's just not a very well told story.



Lee


Reviews
It's already been said, so I'll keep it short. This is a classic sci-fi war story with a totally different perspective than most war novels. It is an absolute must read!

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Model-Checking Based Data Retrieval: An Application to Semistructured and Temporal Data (Lecture Notes in Computer Science)



Model-Checking Based Data Retrieval: An Application to Semistructured and Temporal Data (Lecture Notes in Computer Science)
Elisa Quintarelli | 2004-03-19 00:00:00 | Springer | 134 | MIS

This book is devoted to the study of the semantics and assuring the efficient execution of database query languages, where the database contains semistructured and time-varying information.

The primary focus of the work presented is the definition of an effective graph-based approach to the formalization of query languages for semistructured and temporal information; as a result, query execution can be reduced to searching the database for subgraphs that are similar to the given query graph and thus can be supported through bisimualtion. By integrating and refining graph-based methods and bisimulation, the author develops a powerful and flexible paradigm. The second research challenge solved is that of efficient implementation by modeling graphical queries as formulas in modal logic and interpreting database instance graphs as Kripke transition systems.



Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Unleashed (Unleashed)



Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Unleashed (Unleashed)
| 2006-08-18 00:00:00 | | 0 | Visual Studio


Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Unleashed is a deep dive into the Visual Studio 2005 tool. Specifically, it will provide you with solid guidance and education that will allow you to squeeze the ultimate productivity and use out of the Visual Studio 2005 development environment. This book folds in real-world development experience with detailed information about the IDE to make you more productive and ease transition from other development environments (including prior versions of Visual Studio). This book will also help you increase team collaboration and project visibility with Visual Studio Team Systems and it will give you straight, to-the-point answers to common developer questions about the IDE.

 

Chapters include:

Code Viewers, Explorers, and Browsers Refactoring Code 8 Writing ASP .NET Applications Defining Standards and Practices Introduction to Visual Studio Team System Work Item Tracking  Unit and Load Testing

User review
Not For Beginners
In all fairness to the writer/publisher I did not ompletely read this book. I am new to VS2005 having taught myself VB since Version 3. VS2005, in my opinion is a whole new species of programming. This book is not for the beginner with VS2005. This book tells you where the various features, wizards, helpers and the like are thoughout VS2005. Doesn't give much info on how to program with VS2005.


I recommend `Start-To-Finish Visual Basic 2005` by Tim Patrick for the beginner VB2005.NET.

User review
Tons of information
There should be a class taught on Visual Studio by itself. This book is excellent. Highly recommend if having trouble learning Visual Studio.

User review
Not what I'd hoped for
I started a new job a while back and found myself using VS2005 for the first time after years of using VS6. I was looking for a book to get me up to speed, and there are few titles out there.


While this book had some useful info I found that it wasn't terribly useful for a programmer writing C++ in a non-.NET environment. Most of the coding examples are in other languages and mainly targeted towards .NET.


If you're working in that environment you may find this more useful than I did.

User review
No codes samples available
An excellent book. Lots of examples. Unfortunately, you will have to type in all the code examples yourself as the Sams Publishing web page does not have any downloads even though the back covers says that they are available.

User review
Great breakdown on the tool for novices and professionals alike!
This book did a great job of revealing the breadth of features available in the product. I think this book is quite useful to not only those that are just getting started but those that are seriously considering implementing VS/TFS in the organization. Even if you are an experienced user of Visual Studio you will certainly learn several new tricks. In fact, I reference this book with my clients who are interested in rolling out VS and TFS.


Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

A Treasury Of Humorous Poetry



A Treasury Of Humorous Poetry
Frederic Lawrence Knowles | 2007-03-15 00:00:00 | Saerchinger Press | 456 | Poetry
Copyright 1902 BY DANA ESTES COMPANY All rights reserved A TREASURY OF HUMOROUS POETRY Published, October, 1902 Cnlnnfal 3J m0 Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. SImonds Co. Boston, Mass., U. S. A. KANSAS CITY, Mt PUBLIC LIBRARY ing a Compilation of Witty Facetious amp gt and Satirical f erse Selected from the Writings of British and American Po, ets KNOVFLES JKditor of quot Golden Treasury of American Lyrics quot A Year Book of Famous Lyrics quot etc. Illustrated JBOSTON DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO Satmul lLattj 0t ne Clemen n quot PREFACE quot The great end of comedy, quot said Doctor Johnson, in speaking of the drama, is quot making an audience merry. quot Whatever else may or may not be true of a humorous compilation, it is certain that unless such a book is amusing, it is a failure. The aim of this quot Treasury quot is not that of presenting extracts illustrating the development of humorous poetry in the English language. If that were its purpose, the anthology might have greater value for historical students of literature, but for the average reader it would prove of necessity uninteresting. A sense of relative proportion would have to be observed, which would mean that Chaucer must be liberally represented that one or more scenes from Shakespeare would have to be transplanted bodily that the quot Rape of the Lock quot must needs be included, as well as much of Dryden, Prior, Gay, Samuel Butler, Swift, Southey, and other wits of a former day, and that the jesters who can really amuse a modern audience would have to be represented meagrely or not at all., The editor s first intention, he confesses, was to produce a book a little after this fashion, but upon examining a number of compilations which aim to preserve a sense of historical perspective, and discovering how uncompromis ingly dull they are, viewed in the light of contemporary taste, he abandoned the scheme for one more unpretentious. The selections are almost wholly from nineteenth century writers, but in any anthology which succeeds in interesting a wide audience of readers, this is unavoidable. And yet the present book has a higher aim than that of collecting ephemeral newspaper rhymes. Although it has been the editor s purpose to include only extracts that are strictly amusing to modern readers, he has given preference to such selections as seem most likely to have viii PREFACE something approaching permanent interest. This standard, however, is difficult to preserve, for who shall say thai what entertains this generation will succeed in entertaining the next, or, indeed, that what amuses one reader to-day will be certain to amuse another At best, any editor s choice must be personal, and all his efforts to determine the tastes of his readers experimental. The term quot humorous quot has been interpreted in this com pilation very broadly. It has been made to include poems as widely apart as the rollicking ballads of Hood, and the refined, delicately phrased verses of Locker-Lampson, or as the grotesque comicality of Gilbert and the serious irony of Canning, Clough, and Sill In a word, there has been no attempt to discriminate between humorous poetry in any exact or narrow sense, and society verse, epigram, or satire. The selections vary from broadly comic to merely facetious and lively. It is interesting to observe how the public taste has changed. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centu ries the dominant influence of Pope led to the substitution of pithy, satirical epigrams for the broader, comic manner which preceded, and which happily has followed. The fondness for epigram persisted well up toward the present time. In Parton s quot Humorous Poetry, quot published fifty years ago, nearly two hundred epigrams are included. The reader of to-day cannot but wonder that many of the supposedly witty couplets and quatrains by Prior, Pope, Swift, Waller, Sheridan, Hook, and others, failed to seem merely flat and vulgar...

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Astronomy: Principles and Practice,4 Ed



Astronomy: Principles and Practice,4 Ed
A.E. Roy, D. Clarke | 2003-01-01 00:00:00 | Taylor & Francis | 475 | Astronomy and Cosmology
Text introduces the concepts and historical development of astronomy. Presents positional measurements and celestial mechanics, and describes the techniques and instrumentation of astronomical observation and measurement. For undergraduate students in physics and astronomy.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

The Struggle For Nature: A Critique of Environmental Philosophy (Environmental Philosophies)



The Struggle For Nature: A Critique of Environmental Philosophy (Environmental Philosophies)
Jozet Keulartz | 1999-02-12 00:00:00 | Routledge | 208 | Netherlands
The Struggle for Nature outlines and examines the main aspects of current environmental philosophy including deep ecology, social and political ecology, eco-feminism and eco-anarchism. It criticizes the dependency on science of these philosophies and the social problems engendered by them. Jozef Keulartz argues for a post-naturalistic turn in environmental philosophy. The Struggle for Nature presents the most up-to-date arguments in environmental philosophy, which will be valuable reading for anyone interested in applied philosophy, environmental studies or geography.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Energy Metabolism and Obesity: Research and Clinical Applications (Contemporary Endocrinology)



Energy Metabolism and Obesity: Research and Clinical Applications (Contemporary Endocrinology)
Patricia A. Donohoue | 2007-10-30 00:00:00 | Humana Press | 302 | Internal Medicine

This unique and authoritative book presents an up-to-date overview of the many aspects of energy balance and its relationships to disease processes resulting from excess energy consumption and storage. It provides a comprehensive treatment of important research and clinical aspects of energy metabolism and obesity. It will be a valuable resource for endocrinologists, diabetes specialists, internists and family practitioners.



Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Beginning ASP.NET 1.1 with Visual C# .NET 2003



Beginning ASP.NET 1.1 with Visual C# .NET 2003
| 2004-03-08 00:00:00 | | 891 | ASP.NET


* Readers will learn how to build dynamic personalized Web sites from the ground up using Microsoft ASP.NET 1.1
* ASP.NET supports twenty-five languages, and C# is the second most popular, trailing only VB .NET
* The expert author team makes no assumptions about readers' previous programming experience, and they've decreased coverage of object-oriented programming to make the book even more accessible for absolute beginners
* All code has been rechecked and verified to work correctly with ASP.NET version 1.1
* Anyone with even a slight knowledge of HTML and Web page creation can pick up this book and soon be creating dynamic sites with ASP.NET

User review
Decent book for the complete beginner.
This is a pretty decent book if you have no programming experience what-so-ever. If you do have programming experience (namely C#) then you will find a huge portion of this book completely useless.


This book starts off by teaching you how ASP.NET works. This is good information for any programmer to know, but after you learn that then it's all basics. You learn about data types, variables, properties, loops, events,,. pretty much all the most fundamental aspects of programming. This is not bad if you are new to programming, but like I said, if you know C# but don't know much about ASP.NET then be prepared to skip almost 1/3 of this book. This book also briefs you on OOP, but you will not feel confident in OOP practices - it's more like you learn the definition of OOP.


This book teaches you how to program using Web Matrix, which is a free web development/pseudo web-server tool. I see a lot of reviewers complaining about this, but I actually believe it's a good tool to start with. I believe it's good, especially for beginners because you aren't required to have IIS installed in order to start learning ASP.NET programming. This is good for new developer that don't have access to higher-end operating systems like Windows XP Professional. If you have Windows XP Home then you can use Web Matrix. I don't believe that it would be hard for a developer to move from Web Matrix to Visual Studio, especially since the IDEs are so similar. A big downside to Web Matrix is that it doesn't really utilize the whole code-behind idea (and no intelli-sense).


In conclusion I recommend this book to new developers that have no C# experience. If you are an experienced developer then I would only pick this book up used for less then $10.00 because you already know a lot of the information this book presents.

User review
Disappointed
Unfortunately this book did nothing for me. I was looking for a beginners guide for ASP.Net that would get me started programming with C# while learning the features of .NET. I chose Wrox because I found some of their other books very useful.


This book wastes alot of time on the Web Matrix which is both pretty useless for the beginner and the professional alike. If you are trying to be an ASP.Net professional, Visual Studio would be your choice. And if you are beginner you want to learn how to program the examples in C# rather than using the automated features of Web Matrix.


Basically I am returning the book and will have to find another company to help me in my web development learning process.

User review
Great Book - you will learn to create real world websites!
I needed to learn ASP.NET for a new project. I know HTML, VB6 and SQL but had no previous experience with ASP or other internet stuff. I was initially going to buy a similar book from O'Reilly but I like this one way much better even though it has some mistakes, typpos and pictures in the wrong places here and there. Wrox will probably fix it all in a second edition. In the mean time they could fire the people who did the revision. Things that other readers mentioned as a CON, I find a PRO in this book. Example: using WebMatrix instead of Visual Studio. WebMatrix is not as powerfull as VS but it is free and at the same time provides you with an Internet Server, so you can get started right away and don't need to spend extra money with VS. The book teaches you what to download and install and takes you step by step in building a complete website with most of the features you will find around an average+ web site. Also gives some brushes about XML, OOP, CSS and Databases among other stuff. It's a long book 800 pages, but with about 40 to 60 a day, with little more than 2 weeks you will be done with it. I couldn't believe I would go through all of it and I am already in page 500!! It doesn't have any cute pictures or icons or little jokes in it, but it will teach you step by step without telling you to click OK in every dialog. GREAT BOOK! Good luck to you!

User review
Professionals Be Warned,,.
The examples in this book are built with a free product called WebMatrix. Most (if not all) professionals must use Visual Studio, which is the preferred development environment for all .NET languages. Learning ASP.Net programming without using Visual Studio will only take you half way to your goal.

WebMatrix is also used as the Web Server, so you won't get IIS exposure. If you are a professional, or want to be one, look for a book that uses Visual Studio and IIS.

User review
An Excellent Book - But There Are Caveats
I have always been happy with the Wrox series, and this one is no exception.

The book starts out explaining about .net and getting you up and running with some `Hello World!` stuff and basic controls on a webpage. It then goes into various datatypes and describes some of the fun data structures built into .net and some basic stuff on how to use them. It then explains some basic c# functionality, and goes on to explain the object-oriented nature of it. After this, databases are discussed and how to connect to them. Much of the remainder of the book is spent developing a faux application which explores some of the more complex controls, some useful objects, asp.net security and how to use assemblies.

I found the style of presentation to be very clear. A concept is presented. A try-it-out section is given where you copy the code from the book, using the IDE etc. The code is then gone over line-by-line explaining what is going on.

The .net framework is huge, and I appreciated having this book so that I could learn the most important stuff first. There is so much that the book does not talk about, but it sets your feet correctly at the beginning of the path.

At times I would have liked more depth in the explanations of some of the code - things can get a little hand-wavy and you see stuff that just kind of plops there (why does he cast that object now, when before he didn't?).

But really, you can learn what you need quickly from this.

*Caveats*

1) The book assumes you are using the free WebMatrix IDE from Microsoft. Some others in the same book in VB complained that they got confused when they used Visual Studio. You have been warned.

2) The book claims to be `for beginners who have no previous experience with ASP, C#, XML, object-oriented programming, or the .NET framework. A little knowledge of HTML is useful, but not essential.` - This is a joke. You need to know SQL, HTML, and have some kind of programming experience (VB or C++ - I know both) for this book to be useful. You don't have to know them very well, but you do have to have a clue. This book is *NOT* for people trying to create webpages with no previous experience.


Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Hobbes's Thucydides



Hobbes's Thucydides
Thucydides | 1975-01-01 00:00:00 | Rutgers University Press | 587 | Greece
Reviews
The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master storyteller does not just cover the battle scenes; he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!



The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.



As a graduate student in philosophy and history, I heartily recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I also recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides."





Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Few-Body Problems in Physics: Proceedings of the 3rd Asia-Pacific Conference



Few-Body Problems in Physics: Proceedings of the 3rd Asia-Pacific Conference
Yupeng Yan,C. Kobdaj,P. Suebka | 2007-01-29 00:00:00 | World Scientific Publishing Company | 393 | Nuclear Physics
The Asia-Pacific Conferences on Few-Body Problems in Physics tackle the various aspects of few-body systems in physics, with high caliber contributions from internationally renowned researchers. Readers will gain a clear picture of the latest developments in the field in both the theoretical and experimental sectors. The scope of these proceedings covers research in the following areas: three-body forces and few-nucleon dynamics, hadron structure and QCD; exotic hadrons and atoms; effective field theory in few-body physics; electromagnetic and weak processes in few-body systems; few-body dynamics in atoms, molecules, Bose-Einstein condensates and quantum dots; few-body approaches to unstable nuclei, nuclear astrophysics and nuclear clustering aspects; and hypernuclear physics.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Mindfulness for Beginners



Mindfulness for Beginners
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PH.D. | 2006-01-01 00:00:00 | Sounds True | 1 | Audio Books
Editorial Reviews
From AudioFile
Jon Kabat-Zinn's voice is calm, quiet, and gentle. It fits his discussion of meditation and acceptance though, to be honest, at times it is so calm that listeners may miss key points, or some of the dry jokes he drops subtly into the lecture on the first CD. However, his calm fits the second CD perfectly. On that one his voice allows listeners to relax mind and body and simply follow the guidelines he explains during the five guided meditation exercises. His tone and slow pace allow trust to build with each breath and are evidence of his success in his own stress reduction. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Description
Perhaps no other person in America has done more to bring mindfulness meditation into the mainstream than Jon Kabat-Zinn. Through many research studies and his pioneering work at the University of Massachusetts where he is founder of its world renowned Stress Reduction Clinic, Kabat-Zinn has served as a recognized bridge between science and meditation. With Mindfulness for Beginners, he offers the definitive course designed specifically to introduce new students to the proven benefits of mindfulness practice, including: stress reduction, alleviation of depression, chronic pain relief, and more.

On CD 1, Kabat-Zinn presents "Mindfulness 101"—an accessible, comprehensive tutorial that addresses the basics of mindfulness meditation and explores the spacious, luminous, and mysterious qualities of awareness itself. CD 2 guides listeners through a series of five meditations meant to be used at home, at work, or while traveling. Includes Eating Meditation, Mindfulness of Breathing, and Mindfulness of the Body. Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way—on purpose, in the present moment, and without judgment. This special kind of attention nurtures greater awareness, and is a simple yet powerful route for getting ourselves back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality. Now, Jon Kabat-Zinn brings the practice of meditation to the widest possible audience with Mindfulness for Beginners.

Quote:
I have been lucky enough to take two Mindfulness courses and they have changed my life. Both were run by excellent course leaders but nothing compares with hearing Mindfulness founder Jon Kabat Zinn discuss the philosophy and methodology behind it. His wit, compassion and way with words themselves make CD1 compulsive listening as well as explaining the reasons for CD2 which are the practices themselves. I cannot recommend this highly enough to anybody who wants to learn about themselves and especially those seeking release from troubled mind states such as anxiety and depression. Buy it- Mindfulness practitioners will tell you honestly that they make no promises to 'fix things' but it might change your life too...


# Audio CD 2 Hours
# Publisher: Sounds True; Unabridged edition (July 2006)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 1591794641
# ISBN-13: 978-1591794646
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Flowering Plants



Flowering Plants
Armen Takhtajan | 2009-01-01 00:00:00 | Springer | 905 | Biology
Armen Takhtajan is among the greatest authorities in the world on the evolution of plants. This book culminates almost sixty years of the scientist's research of the origin and classification of the flowering plants. It presents a continuation of Dr. Takhtajan's earlier publications including "Systema Magnoliophytorum" (1987), (in Russian), and "Diversity and Classification of Flowering Plants" (1997), (in English). In his latest book, the author presents a concise and significantly revised system of plant classification ('Takhtajan system') based on the most recent studies in plant morphology, embryology, phytochemistry, cytology, molecular biology and palynology. Flowering plants are divided into two classes: class Magnoliopsida (or Dicotyledons) includes 8 subclasses, 126 orders, c. 440 families, almost 10,500 genera, and no less than 195,000 species; and, class Liliopsida (or Monocotyledons) includes 4 subclasses, 31 orders, 120 families, more than 3,000 genera, and about 65,000 species. This book contains a detailed description of plant orders, and descriptive keys to plant families providing characteristic features of the families and their differences.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Succeeding in Business in Central and Eastern Europe: A Guide to Cultures, Markets, and Practices (Managing Cultural Differences)



Succeeding in Business in Central and Eastern Europe: A Guide to Cultures, Markets, and Practices (Managing Cultural Differences)
Woodrow H. Sears,Audrone Tamulionyte-Lentz | 2001-05-29 00:00:00 | Butterworth-Heinemann | 240 | Economics
In Central and Eastern Europe, the 'Old Europe' of cobblestones co-exists with mobile phones, horse carts fight for road space with cars, and farmers' markets compete with mega-stores.

Western business professionals hoping to expand or start up new ventures in this complex environment must possess knowledge that is both comprehensive and subtle. What is it like to live and work in Central and Eastern Europe? How is business conducted there? What happened in Central and Eastern Europe to make integration into the rest of Europe so difficult? What important social and cultural issues must be mastered by Westerners hoping to flourish in this region? 'Succeeding in Business in Central and Eastern Europe', the fourteenth title in the 'Managing Cultural Differences Series' answers these and many other questions.

This book identifies a variety of factors, including an anti-business attitude and a resistance to Western-style change, that hinder some attempts at development within Central and Eastern Europe. It provides a frame of reference for understanding the "post-Soviet syndrome" - with its remnants of corruption and mistrust of managers and customers alike - that continues to haunt the countries of CEE. Dr. Sears and Ms. Tamulionyte-Lentz give readers solutions for overcoming the problems inherent in this region. They explain how Western executives can build relationships and find point of cultural "synthesis" with their Central and Eastern European counterparts and ultimately create a new and mutually beneficial work culture with their ventures.

With understanding and insights on the cultural nuances of the region, 'Succeeding in Business in Central and Eastern Europe' can help all Western visitors, even tourists, who arrive at this increasingly popular destination.
Reviews
This is a hands on vade mecum for doing business in Eastern Europe. The dangers may lead to pessimism, but the authors are showing that with good will and persistence one may succeed against all odds.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Fogs of War and Peace: A Midstream Analysis of World War III (Praeger Security International)



Fogs of War and Peace: A Midstream Analysis of World War III (Praeger Security International)
Robert L. Dilworth,Schlomo Maital | 2008-09-30 00:00:00 | Praeger | 264 | Iraq

The war in Iraq, Afghanistan, continual conflict in the Middle East, and the global war on terrorism, are all intertwined in a greater battle of global conflict: World War III. However, the fogs that have been created to hide these conflicts from public opinion are obstructing a clear view of reality. Fogs prevent the public from accurately seeing this war unfold and from taking action in the government to help prevent, this now, inevitable conflict. This work unveils that the media and government are two thickening fogs that continue to obscure the reality of what is occurring. Media does little to help develop an in-depth understanding of the world. In turn this creates limited interest in reporting of foreign affairs among the market sectors they strive to reach. The government has focused on winning the hearts and minds of the American people in order to drive the cause of the war on terrorism. Yet, this war has unleashed greater struggles, which citizens have covertly been blinded to. While these global conflicts are seemingly isolated, the authors illustrate that they are, in fact, closely linked with similar underlying causes. The fogs of war and peace need to lessen so the American people can be accurately informed and global leaders are able to strive for better policies in order to bring World War III to an end.

Seemingly unrelated conflicts raging in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and other global areas, are in fact, closely linked, as part of a greater battle, World War III. In the midst of conflict, this work delves into factors of World War III, and claims that we have already begun this new war. However, in an age where the average American citizen is uninformed on international foreign policy and conflict, the two fogs of government and media, are only contributing to this miseducation. These fogs have never been thicker in obscuring the reality of what is occurring. The fog that is media, explains what is occurring in cryptic sound bites by funneling certain information to the American people. Government, the second fog, affects citizens by either withholding or distorting information and opponents, and expands a great effort to deceive and distort current events. In turn it tries to win the hearts of the people by explaining that this is the only way to obtain the idea of peace. This work explains that through the distorted reality of the fogs, we are now in a stage of disinformation, misinformation, and noninformation, which block the view of citizens from what is truly happening and how to deal with it. It is the first analytical model that clearly examines the fogs of war and peace and how new perspectives must been found. The authors offer a model to help inform readers to better understand World War III, while illuminating the causes, nature, and dynamics of the global concern. In turn, they offer new policy directions for political leaders in America, Israel, and Europe and hope to bring to light these fogs of destruction.



Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Primary Color 1: Student's Book (Full) and Audio


Primary Color 1: Student's Book (Full) and Audio
unknown | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 1 | For Children
The topics in the Pupil's Books encourage children to think about the world around them and, at the higher levels, are linked to other subject areas in the school curriculum. This approach makes language
learning more meaningful and memorable.
Units 1 and 6 only
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists



Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists
Sebastien St-Laurent | 2004-01-01 00:00:00 | Course Technology PTR; 1 edition | 512 | Game Development
"Shaders for Game Programmers and Artists" - the title says it all. This book does something that other shader books don't. It focuses solely on shaders and their creation. You'll use ATI's RenderMonkey platform, giving you an easy-to-use framework for shader development and allowing you to focus your energy on shader development rather than the development of framework applications. Cover simple techniques, from the basics of color filters to more advanced topics, such as depth of field, heat shimmer, and high-dynamic range rendering. Extensive exercises at the end of each chapter allow you to test your skills by expanding upon the shader you've just developed. Whether you are an engineer or a technically minded artist, you've finally found the ideal guide for mastering shaders!

From the Author
Programmable shaders are the best and latest in the computer graphic industry. With the latest generations of video cards out there developed by ATI Technologies and nVidia, it is now possible to draw interactive scenes on a computer with an unsurpassed realism. With the current rate of advancement in this field, it is only a matter of years before the quality of graphics generated matches the visuals in some of most recent Hollywood movies such as "I, ROBOT" or "Spider Man 2". Some of the most anticipated video games this year, such as Doom 3, HALO 2 and Half-Life 2, take full advantage these cards and I wanted to show my readers exactly how easily it could be done.
Most books out there which cover the topic of programmable shaders also covered broadly the topic of computer graphics. I wanted to do something different and focus in-depth on the specific topic of programmable shaders. To accomplish this, I have taken advantage of a tool called RenderMonkey, developed by ATI Technologies, to quickly prototype shaders and spend less time worrying about the other aspects of computer graphics.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Health and Wealth: Studies in History and Policy (Rochester Studies in Medical History, Vol. 6)



Health and Wealth: Studies in History and Policy (Rochester Studies in Medical History, Vol. 6)
Simon Szreter | 2005-11-01 00:00:00 | University of Rochester Press | 520 | Public Policy
Today's complex policy problems cannot be understood by the social, medical and policy sciences, alone. History is also required to interpret the present and to inform attempts to mould the future. The essays in this volume seek to bring an historical perspective to bear on today's national and international policy concerns and to present original historical research, which challenges conventional assumptions and viewpoints.
In Health and Wealth the essays in Part I offer an historian's reappraisal of several of the most influential ideas dealing with the relationships between health and economic development in the post-war international policy sciences, such as demographic transition theory; the McKeown thesis; and the population health approach.
Part II presents a distinctive interpretation of the course and causes of mortality change in Britain during the 'long century' of industrialisation, c.1780-1914. British history shows that rapid economic growth is a highly disruptive process, unleashing potentially deadly challenges. The key to life and death in Britain lay less in medical science or rising living standards than in the changing electoral politics of the nation's industrial cities. Class relations, political economy, ideology, religion and the public health movement were all significant elements in this story. A late-Victorian flowering of vigorous municipal government was the precursor to central state activism in the twentieth-century.
Part III reflects on history to make direct contributions to contentious current policy issues. The persistence of social and health inequalities today in developed nations and debates over the new concept of social capital are addressed, along with the economic and health problems of today's less developed countries. The lessons of history are awkward and heterodox, indicating the importance of establishing state-sanctioned institutions to ensure social security, legal identity and civic freedoms in advance of measures to stimulate and open these countries' economies to global trade.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

The Cambridge History of Judaism, Vol. 1: The Persian Period



The Cambridge History of Judaism, Vol. 1: The Persian Period
W. D. Davies | 2008-01-01 00:00:00 | Cambridge University Press | 495 | Religion Other
The first three volumes of The Cambridge History of Judaism cover the history of the Jews from the Exile in 5 87 B.C.E. to the early Roman period extending into the third century C.E. A comprehensive examination is made of all the relevant literary and archeological sources, and special attention is given to the interaction of Iranian, Semitic, Hellenistic and Roman cultures. The contributors include both Jewish and Gentile scholars from many countries, and this History thus helps to deliver the study of Jewish history and Christian origins from geographical and religious limitations, and contributes to a deeper understanding and a broader tolerance. This first volume opens with three introductory chapters to the work as a whole dealing with the geographical background, the chronology and the numismatic history of Judaism. The remainder of this volume concentrates on the Persian period, the two and a half centuries following the Babylonian Exile.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Radar Systems, Peak Detection and Tracking



Radar Systems, Peak Detection and Tracking
Michael Kolawole | 2003-01-01 00:00:00 | Newnes | 400 | Telecommunications
As well as being fully up-to-date, this book provides wider subject coverage than many other radar books. The inclusion of a chapter on Skywave Radar, and full consideration of HF / OTH issues makes this book especially relevant for communications engineers and the defence sector.

* Explains key theory and mathematics from square one, using case studies where relevant
* Designed so that mathematical sections can be skipped with no loss of continuity by those needing only a qualitative understanding
* Theoretical content, presented alongside applications, and working examples, make the book suitable to students or others new to the subject as well as a professional reference
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles 1093-1343 (The Ford Lectures, 1998)



The First English Empire: Power and Identities in the British Isles 1093-1343 (The Ford Lectures, 1998)
R. R. Davies | 2000-11-16 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 224 | England
The future of the United Kingdom is an increasingly open question. This book traces the issue's roots to the Middle Ages, when English power and control came to extend to the whole of the British Isles. By 1300 it looked as if Edward I was in control of virtually the whole of the British Isles. Ireland, Scotland, and Wales had, in different degrees, been subjugated to his authority; contemporaries were even comparing him to King Arthur. This was the culmination of a remarkable English advance into the outer zones of the British Isles in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The advance was not only a matter of military power, political control, and governmental and legal institutions; it also involved extensive colonization and the absorption of these outer zones into the economic and cultural orbit of an England-dominated world. What remained to be seen was how stable (especially in Scotland and Ireland) this English 'empire' would be; how far the northern and western parts of the British Isles could be absorbed in an English-centered polity and society; and to what extent the early and self-confident development of English identity would determine the relationships between England and the rest of the British Isles. The answers to those questions would be shaped by the past of the country that was England; the answers would also cast their shadow over the future of the British Isles for centuries to come.
Reviews
Davies continues his excellence in scholarship and fresh perspective on the interaction of Norman/"English" influences on the existing cultures of the British Isles during the immediate two centuries following the invasion. It elegantly reflects that this process of "integration" of Wales, Ireland and Scotland was not natural or inevitable and could only be accomplished by force - or a forceful ruler (Henry I, Henry II. Edward I). In fact, the process of integration may have fostered the development of cultural unity that could only be overcome by force. It sheds an exceptional light on the question of "natural" British unity. As with all of Davies works, his writing style can hold the reader's attention while still being well-documented in facts.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age



After America: Narratives for the Next Global Age
Paul Starobin | 2009-05-28 00:00:00 | Viking Adult | 368 | Politics
Farsighted and fascinating predictions for a new world order in which America is no longer number one

The world is now at a hinge moment in its history, according to veteran international correspondent Paul Starobin. A once-dominant America has reached the end of its global ascendancy, and the question of what will come next, and how quickly, is not completely clear. Already the global economic crisis, in exposing the tarnished American model of unfettered free-market capitalism, is hastening the transition to the next, After America, phase of global history.

According to Starobin, the After America world is being driven less by virulent anti- Americanism than by America's middling status as a social, economic, and political innovator; by long-wave trends like resurgent nationalism in China, India, and Russia; and by the growth of transnational cultural, political, and economic institutions. While what is going to come next has not been resolved, we can discern certain narratives that are already advancing. In this sense, the After America age is already a work in progress-pregnant with multiple possibilities.

In this book, which masterfully mixes fresh reportage with rigorous historical analysis, Starobin presents his farsighted and fascinating predictions for the After America world. These possibilities include a global chaos that could be dark or happy, a multipolar order of nationstates, a global Chinese imperium, or-even more radically-an age of global city-states or a universal civilization leading to world government. Starobin feels that the question of which narrative will triumph may be determined by the fundamental question of identity: how people determine their allegiances, whether to the tribe, nation-state, city-state, or global community.

There will be surprises, Starobin thinks. In the After America world, both the nation-state and the traditional empire may lose ground to cosmopolitan forces like the city- state and the universal civilization. California-the eighth largest economy in the world and the most future- oriented place in America-is becoming an After America landscape, as illustrated by postnational, multicultural Hollywood. Prestigious educational institutions like Harvard are migrating from an American to a global identity and thus becoming part of an After America universal civilization. While these changes may feel unsettling, our best hope for adapting to an After America world is by becoming better borrowers of the best ideas and practices developed all around the planet.

Thought provoking and well argued, After America offers a way to think about a dramatically changing world in which the United States is no longer number one. Starobin's tone is sober but in the end hopeful-the age After America need not be a disaster for America, and might even be liberating.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Biology at the Single Molecule Level



Biology at the Single Molecule Level
S.H. Leuba,J. Zlatanova | 2001-12-31 00:00:00 | Pergamon | 262 | Internal Medicine
This is the first book solely devoted to single-molecule biochemistry and molecular biology. Authors were selected on the basis of their contribution to this new and exciting field, and were asked to focus more on the biological problems that can be approached using single-molecule techniques rather than on the techniques per se. It is thought that such techniques will eventually dominate the physical characterization of biologically important macromolecules.


Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

The Thousand



The Thousand
Kevin Guilfoile | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | Knopf | 352 | Fiction Other
The premise is excellent built from what is known about Pythagoras leading to the modern day cabal Thousand who causes calamities for profit (capitalism at its purist). The story line is fast-paced and loaded with fun but somewhat inane chase scenes. Except somewhat for Nada who feels like a freak, the key cast especially any of the members of the avaricious lethal Thousand are never developed. Still readers will enjoy the Thousand's interpretation of the Pythagorean theory.
Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download

Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop



Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop
Tom Adelstein,Sam Hiser | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | O'Reilly Media | 352 | Linux
Picking out the key elements of any operating system and it's desktop can radically improve ones productivity. That includes the highly regarded Java Desktop System, from Sun Microsystems. JDS represents the most modern of desktop systems that behaves pretty much the way a Windows or Mac user would expect, but with many more powerful features.

JDS, an unusually robust, well-integrated desktop system has turned out to be the first to fulfill the promise of mass adoption for open source. JDS brings Linux and other open source software up to a level of usability that makes them suitable for the enormous base of Personal Computer users including office workers, students, mobile and home users. Sun Microsystems has sold large quantities of JDS in the United States, Britain, China, and elsewhere.

This book is the ideal guide to JDS: it is clear and direct, but loaded with insights from authors who have spent time working with, supporting, and enhancing the system. Tom Adelstein is an award winning polymath system designer; Sam Hiser is a respected business consultant with an itch that led him to become the marketing project lead for OpenOffice.org. Both are advocates for open source and founders of the Open Government Interoperability Project, members of the Open Source Software Institute and contributors to the JDShelp.org project.

This book carefully covers such housekeeping chores as setting up networking, updates, and backups. It enters into great depth concerning the key productivity tools every user needs: email, web browsing, instant messaging, word processing, spreadsheets, and slide presentations.

A number of chapters and appendices concerning useful tools, including things you can add to your system, rounds out this remarkably useful book. It has plenty to offer the new user as well as the seasoned Linux professional.
Reviews
Putting Linux on the desktop has been the clarion call of many Linux users as well as people who want a system that does not crash almost daily or have multiple security and other problems. The problem is that a graphical interface that is similar enough to the Windows or MacIntosh systems that there would be minimal training and yet is easy to install without problems has been long in coming. While there are several contenders today, the Java Desktop System (JDS) Linux Desktop is one of the fastest, and easiest to install.



In Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop the authors take the reader through the installation process and all the basic information for using the JDS Linux Desktop. Not only do they go over the infrastructure items like networking and printing but also the most common applications that come with JDS Linux Desktop. These applications include email, calendaring, instant messenger, the web browser, StarWriter (word processing), and StarCalc (spreadsheet). They even go over various options for running Windows programs in JDS Linux including some options that often run Windows programs faster than Windows!



The book comes with a Live CD, which is a version of JDS Linux Desktop that runs from the CD. Simply put it into your CD-Rom drive and boot your computer and you are running Linux with a graphical interface. I tried it on a couple of computers on which I had trouble getting a much more popular version of Linux to recognize the on-board video interface but JDS Linux Desktop got it right the first time and worked as expected without any special manual configuration. While many of the items covered in the book are not on the CD, enough of them are there to give the user a good feel for how the operating system works. The book warns that the Live CD allows you to create documents but you cannot save them. However, that is not entirely true. If you are knowledgeable in Linux it is simple enough to open a terminal and mount the hard drive - including a Windows formatted drive and save any files there.



Although I have done a lot with the Linux operating system this is the first time I have used the Sun Java Desktop System (JDS). The interface is very professional and definitely on par with Windows. Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop is a highly recommended read for anyone who wants to learn the basics of navigating and using this system.
Reviews
With background as a Unix user and system administrator in a small business, I have been looking more on Linux the latest year, and especial on using the JDS Linux. Though Sun's JDS user documentation has been available online on the web, a text book is something more. Therefore I was anxious when I started reading Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop by Tom Adelstein and Sam Hiser.



The book is excellent clear and direct written with the user in focus. Thanks to the authors insight and experience, even usual more difficult subjects like Internet and network setup are presented to the user with simplicity. But the user also learns to do real work in the Linux environment, as there are relative extensive introductions to the central Internet and office applications.



Also support staffs and Unix or Linux system administrators will derive advantage from learning the JDS GUI ways whenever possible. If I should suggest an extra wish for a second issue (knowing it was out of scope this time), it would therefore be to complete a chapter or two on local networking with typical client-server configurations. In small office and workgroups, one of the users often has to manage also the necessary system administration, and not unusual in a mixed Linux/Unix/Windows environment.



I was also impressed by the the JDS demo on the companion CD, how well it booted and started up with hardware autodetection. The only thing I had to change manually afterwards in the Yast2 configuration tool, was setting my keyboard to Norwegian layout. By help of this demo CD, which implements a nice variant of the JDS theme, it is really possible to explore JDS Linux live, even without installing the system on the disk. That is trying before buying.



My conclusion is therefore safe: Exploring JDS Linux Desktop is recommended for all with interest to learn and use the nice JDS, working environment and applications in a quick and easy way.
Reviews
This book attracted me as I'm a current JDS user, and I was completely taken by suprise by the actual depth of the book. Most technical books that one buys goes way beyond the scope of the average home user. Adelstein and Hiser use your basic building block approach to using JDS and a newcomer interested in linux can follow it right along with the enclosed bootable cd without the danger of making a mistake and wiping out the settings on one's computer. For the experienced user, such as myself, or someone wanting to learn, the chapter dealing with StarOffice will be something that will be referred to for years to come. This book is a "must have" for your linux library.
Reviews
I often find myself digging through the pages of technical books, prior to purchasing them, just to be sure they are readable. Most technical books assume a certain level of expertise, and as a result, become overly technical and hard to read. "Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop" is an excellent book that from the very first page, is well written and an easy read. If this is your first experience with Linux or your 10th, this is the book for you! Complete with screen shots, and a live CD of JDS, you will soon be on your way to enjoying the JDS experience. You will learn many aspects of the operating system including, Networking, office productivity, and system management.



Hats off to the authors for writing this fabulous book which has found a permanent place in my collection.




Reviews
Exploring the JDS Linux Desktop is the first Linux book I have read that speaks to the user rather than the technical audience. It's the kind of book that the entire community has needed but no one has ever written before. This is the book you give your fifth grader, grandmother or employee.



It is also unusual because you don't need to buy the software to learn JDS. It comes with a completely live version of Linux that runs from a one's CD Rom drive. It doesn't disturb the existing software on your hard drive. That's important to me because I am able to try everything out without having to make a commitment to changing my system.



I thought the authors did an usually good job of writing to the non-technical audience. They explained what they needed to and allowed the reader to get right into working with the system. It also allowed me to see the similarity between Linux and Windows. I think it proves than someone can go from from Windows to Linux without much pain.



Overall, the book is a good read, interesting and unusually high quality consider it's on a technical subject. I recommend it to anyone curious about Linux or who has purchased Linux and wants to get better at using it. Also, I think it's reasonably priced.

Download this book!

Free Ebooks Download