Warden: Prison Life and Death From The Inside Out

Customer Reviews:

Doing Time.......2005-10-30

Long-time correctional administrator Jim Willett and his college roommate, Ron Rozelle, have produced an exceptionally interesting book on prison life from a very personal perspective. Drawing on Willett's distinguished career with the Texas Department of Corrections that spanned three decades, the authors bring to light aspects of a prison employee's life that rarely find their way into print.

Willett, who began his prison career as a correctional officer, worked his way up in the organization to become, at the time of his retirement, Senior Warden of the historic Huntsville Unit, where court-ordered executions are carried out and over which Willett presided.

Persons seeking a better understanding of the Texas criminal justice system and life behind bars would find value in this wonderfully thoughtful and revealing book.

A look behind prison walls.......2005-07-20

Jim Willett was what some people might think of as a contradiction in terms--a compassionate prison warden. He did his job, which included giving the signal for executions to take place, while inwardly questioning the humanity of capital punishment. This is a fascinating story of a man who began his career in the prison system as a part-time guard, trying to earn some money for college. He fully intended to leave after graduation, but somehow he never did and as the years went by and the promotions came, he continued in the work for which he seemed so well-suited. This book is written in the first person and this adds to the immediacy of the description of prison life and the relations between prisoner and prison employee. The stories which are told in this book show the depths to which human beings can go and also the common humanity which binds us together. This is a fascinating and well-written book.

An excellent read.......2005-06-27

Rarely is a 'civilian' afforded the opportunity of viewing the prison system from such an honest and insightful perspective. Messrs. Willett and Rozelle have succeeded in creating a compelling work of non-fiction that reads as well as a good work of fiction. My appraisal of Mr. Willett is that of a totally dedicated, honest and compassionate man who did an outstanding job--few men could have done better. This book will remain a permanent part of my personal library.

Real Prison LIfe.......2005-06-06

Life inside prison walls has long been of interest to those not employed by or incarcerated in such an instiution. Having worked inside the walls for twenty years I can attest to the de-scriptive accuracy and the range of emotions offered as this former Warden tells his tale. Interesting throughout, this book truly gives the outsider an inside glimpse into the daily inter-action between the keeper and the kept. I believe the author is a good man who was tasked with one of the toughest, most un-appreciated jobs in America,i.e., maintaining order among soci-ety's disorderly. This account of his career will not fail to give the reader true insight into real prison life.

Charlene Suess.......2005-06-05

Warden is a genuine daily chronicle of life within the Texas Prison System.
Jim Willett not only provides an honest insight into such a society but reflects on the humanity of both the "guard" and the guarded and the daily personal struggles and decisions that are required for such a profession.
Warden is well written and provides histroical information on a personal and interesting level from start to finish.

Average customer rating:

From the Inside: A Prison Memoir
Robert L. Berger
Manufacturer: iUniverse
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0595280390

Book Description

In February of 1998, Robert L. Berger, an entrepreneur and businessman, began serving a three year Federal prison sentence. This is a true story of his journey thru seven different prisons, solitary confinement, and the many fascinating inmates he encountered along the way. It is not only his story, but includes the tales of other white collar inmates as well as Organized Crime and career criminals. Roberts takes us to Allenwood Federal Prison Camp, Fort Dix, Otisville, MDC Brooklyn, White Deer, Lewisburg Penitentiary and Loretto. In this book the reader will enjoy an accurate depiction of what it is like to be locked up and separated from oneÂ's family, and all of the humiliation and difficult hardships this type of experience generates. It is the story of a self made man who founded an Aerospace empire, and lost, thru Federal investigations, and market conditions, his entire fortune, and then went to prison. It is the story of survival as well, both physical and mental, and how Robert dealt with the pressures of life not only within prison, but with his family on the outside as well. It is both a stirring and yet inspirational tale of one mans struggle against tremendous odds and a life that was turned upside down.

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My Greatest Day in Football: The Legends of Football Recount Their Grestest Moments
Bob McCullough
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTN900

Book Description

Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications shows you how both state-of-the-art and well-established server-side technologies coupled with Macromedia Flash MX can deliver powerful dynamic applications. More than just a step-by-step tutorial, this book provides the theory behind the powerhouse code used to process, integrate, and display dynamic data, focusing on tried-and-true middleware languages such as Java and ColdFusion, as well as newcomer ASP.NET, for integrating server-side data with Macromedia Flash MX. You'll get an "under the hood" look at the full source code used to develop a number of inspirational and practical online applications, including an entire Hotmail-style email system using Macromedia Flash MX as a front-end, an online poll, a message board, a multi-user avatar chat, a multiplayer game, and an instant messenger. You get all of the source code for the applications in Java, ColdFusion, and ASP.NET, making Macromedia Flash MX: Creating Dynamic Applications the perfect resource no matter what project you're working on.

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Inaccurate and Misleading

Intersting with great images....but could've used a good editing and fact check

a very poor effort

I Haven't Missed The Oscars For More Than 37 Years!

An outstanding keepsake edition documenting the Academy Awards' high points

The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History
Gail Kinn , and Jim Piazza
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards

All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards

The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards

Four-Star Movies: The 101 Greatest Films of All Time

Inside Oscar, 10th Anniversary Edition

ASIN: 157912545X

Book Description

The best book ever on the Oscars® is finally available in paperback—updated to include the 2006 winners, losers, behind-the-scenes stories, fashions, and more.

Rushed to press immediately following the 2006 Awards ceremony, this photo-packed celebration of 78 years of Oscar is the most up-to-date reference available, including every juicy detail and an array of unforgettable images from the latest prize-winning films. As before, every Oscar year from the very beginning in 1927 through the present is fully documented in words and pictures—every nominee and winner in every category, and even some of those artists who were undeservedly passed over. Expert commentary, facts, gossip, and ceremony highlights are included on every page, along with quotes from speeches and a look at “Oscar style” through the decades. Finally available in a compact and affordable paperback, the updated edition still features more than 500 beautifully reproduced photographs in color and black-and-white.

Customer Reviews:

Inaccurate and Misleading.......2007-04-02

There are so many errors of various kinds in this book that it really is difficult to list them all! I've read a number of books about the Oscars over the years and I've been an avid follower and trivia buff of all things Oscar since the 60s, but I've never read a book about the Academy Awards that was as sloppy, inaccurate and error-ridden as this one! This book has many glaring and blatant errors - the mind reels! Obviously the authors didn't bother proofreading and checking the facts. To those unfamiliar with Oscar history (and Oscar trivia) who are reading this book for the first time, they will be misled since everything's presented as fact and truth in this terribly written book. I'm glad I bought an inexpensive copy since buying it full price would have been an even bigger waste of money. If you want to know anything about the Oscars, BUY ANY OTHER BOOK BUT THIS ONE!

Intersting with great images....but could've used a good editing and fact check.......2007-02-03

There are so many mistakes in here...read the reviews for a highlight reel. I'll point out another one not listed: at the end of each year, there are lists of the nominees with the winner highlighted in yellow. Michael Caine nomination for 'Alfie' in highlighted depite the fact he lost.

a very poor effort.......2006-11-20

This book is not only poorly edited and proofread, as a previous reviewer said, it is INCREDIBLY poorly edited and proofread. Also, it is not well written. Some entries are very sparase--it seems that the writers know nothing of the movie being honored, or the actor or actress winning the trophy, or the role for which they are winning. Did these writers even bother to see "A Passage to India"? You wouldn't know it from their discussion of Peggy Ashcroft's best supporting actress win. They wonder at Dianne Wiest forgetting to thank Woody Allen when she won her first Oscar for "Hannah and Her Sisters" remarking that Wiest was a frequent star of Allen's movies--but "Hannah" was her first movie with Allen. A lot of similar nonsense throughout the book, but it seems to get worse as we get closer to the present, and the carelessness becomes more and more enfuritating.

I Haven't Missed The Oscars For More Than 37 Years!.......2006-09-22

Since my Junior High School years, I've been an avid fan of Oscar night, and the whole history of the Academy Awards and its winners. I guess I'll always love movies, and the allure of Hollywood, having lived in L.A. all my life, and being an aspiring actor in my younger years. In High School as a hobby, I and my best friend and fellow drama student, use to bet who could pick the most winners from each category every year. There is something about Oscar night, and all the glamour that goes with it, that keeps me glued to the set every year; first to hear the nominations, then the big ceremomy to announce the winners. And this book is up-to-date; from the very first winners of 1927, to 2005 and the surprise of "Crash" taking Best Picture honors (my personal favorite). If you enjoy films, and specificly The Academy Awards as much as I do, then you'll love this book.

I relate each years winners and nominees, to historic events and lifestyles of the times. Sort of an insight into what was going on then.

An outstanding keepsake edition documenting the Academy Awards' high points.......2006-08-18

If film, actors and the Academy Awards are of interest, THE ACADEMY AWARDS: THE COMPLETE UNOFFICIAL HISTORY must be part of any serious home or public lending collection. It's been revised and updated here and offers behind the scenes and documented film history - nearly eighty years of it - complete with black and white and color photos throughout. Color sidebars of rich information include 'best of' roundups by year, and profile each actor or actresses' achievements. An outstanding keepsake edition documenting the Academy Awards' high points.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Average customer rating:

The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History
Gail Kinn; Jim Piazza
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0760774668

Average customer rating:

The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History.
Gail & PIAZZA, Jim KINN
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MYMKAM

Average customer rating:

More, please!

A Very Good Book

Better than Silman's HTRYC Workbook

A Must Have Book

Addictive book!

Test Your Positional Play: How You Should Think In Chess
Robert Bellin , and Pietro Ponzetto
Manufacturer: Batsford
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Chess | Board Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Gm-Ram: Essential Grandmaster Chess Knowledge

ASIN: 0713446269

Book Description

Designed to improve a player's middlegame performance by analyzing the strategic and tactical elements of a position, these tests also explain how to form a plan and to check that is it sound. Over 100 positions test the reader's ability to formulate the correct plan using a multiple choice format. This thought-provoking work provides a unique method of improving strategic understanding through self-evaluation.

Beginner

Customer Reviews:

More, please!.......2007-04-17

In my humble experience as a chess hobbyist I have found that three things have been the most effective for improvement. (1) Playing serious competitive games and analyzing them thoroughly with a strong player. (2) Studying master game collections using the guess-the-next-move approach. Some game collections are even designed to be used this way, e.g., those by Bosch, King, Pandolfini and Buckley. (3) Studying rich middlegame positions in depth and writing out the associated analysis without moving the pieces (NM Heisman calls this a "Stoyko" exercise), then comparing one's results with published annotations.

I sought out the present book in the hope of finding suitable chess positions for activity (3), and my expectations were more than adequately met. The book comes in two parts. The first part consists of brief chapters, formalizing the process of choosing a plan in a chess game. It does not constitute a comprehensive treatise on chess strategy, however, but rather illustrates the planning process via several of the authors' games. I didn't derive much value from this portion of the book, having had a grounding in similar ideas from other sources.

The remainder of the book presents 30 "tests" and their solutions. Each test is a critical position (usually early middlegame) from an actual master game, for which the reader must select the appropriate plan. Three plausible plans, including descriptive words and detailed variations, are supplied for the reader's consideration. Each test takes up about two pages. After the selection is made, the reader turns to the solution, which also takes up about two pages (to give you an idea of their depth). The solution will explain the correct plan, and supply the remaining moves of the game. The incorrect plans are also deconstructed, with possible bonus points awarded if the reader spotted any tactical refutation. There is generally partial credit for these suboptimal plans. At the conclusion of the book there is a conversion table from raw scores to Elo ratings (and BCF grades). The tests gradually get harder as you go along.

I found this to be a wonderful program to work through. I took the approach (recommended by the authors, actually) of trying to determine the solution first without looking at the three plans supplied by the book. Then after exhausting my capabilities I looked at the three suggested plans and tried again. I wrote out all my thoughts, and sometimes spent 2 or 3 hours on one position. The tests, taken together, span a wide range of important and typical structures, with most of the popular openings touched on (though only two tests on the Sicilian). The tests range from moderately challenging to impossible. The solutions contain just the right amount of detail, again mixing instructive prose with hard analysis. I learned a great deal from this experience, and strengthened my ability to analyze a position deeply.

It must be said that there a few analytical errors: this book was written long before computer chess engines were available to check for blunders. In the solution for Test 13, for instance, the sub-sub-variation that calls for the "Greek Gift" sacrifice is actually unsound - Black can hold on to the extra piece after a tricky queen move. But that does not invalidate the solution as a whole.

I write this review -- even though the book has been out of print for decades! -- in the hope that the authors might write a sequel, or that other chess writers might come out with something similar. I would buy such books in a snap. In the mean time, the only other books that come close to this type of thing are Chris Ward's lovely trilogy titled "It's Your Move" and Jacob Aagaard's "Excelling at Positional Chess."

A Very Good Book.......2004-09-27

This book is a series of positional chess exercises. I find that puzzle books are the most effective, practical way to improve playing strength.

The author has picked good problems, that will help you to improve your over the board play.

Better than Silman's HTRYC Workbook.......2004-02-18

This is a very good book. It is an alternative to Silman's Reassess Your Chess Workbook. Many people love the Silman books. Personally, I think they make you feel as if you can play much better than you really can.

This book, through its ratings (and according to the authors you must complete all exercises before you get an accurate rating) can give you a realistic idea of your strategic skills. But the authors note that a good plan may be subverted by tactics.

In the preface the authors reveal their aim of writing a book which is both enjoyable AND instructive. They do this by keeping the reader involved, as if interacting with a chess coach. I think they do a fair job at both tasks, and that is high praise for a chess book.

I think that in the first few chapters they do a better job than Silman -- or nearly anyone else -- of explaining the elements of strategy. The main problem is that they bounce around amongst seven different games to show their points. You need a computer (or 7 chess boards) to follow along closely.

Anyway, the tests are the meat of the book. As I have not gotten far, I'll withhold my opinion and promise to finish this review later. For now, I suggest reading Silman's other book, The Amateur's Mind, then turning to this book to see what you've learned. Then I would skip How To Reassess Your Chess Workbook, though the HTRYC textbook might still be interesting eventually.

A Must Have Book.......2000-10-22

Don't leave home (for the tournament) without this book! I am a sub 1200 player and this book is the first (for me personally) to describe the "mechanics" of positional play and game strategy. By working through the exercises one gains a true appreciation of how to analyze a position from a strategic/positional perspective. The thinking process that one learns using this book carries over into actual play--where it counts the most obviously!

Addictive book!.......2000-04-11

This book is quite exceptional. It is not soporific like many other chess books and will have you not wanting to put it down. Will surely help your positional play and method of thinking. I had to copy the book though. Hard to find.

Book Description

Expect is quickly becoming a part of every UNIX user's toolbox. It allows you to automate Telnet, FTP, passwd, rlogin, and hundreds of other applications that normally require human interaction. Using Expect to automate these applications will allow you to speed up tasks and, in many cases, solve new problems that you never would have even considered before. For example, you can use Expect to test interactive programs with no changes to their interfaces. Or wrap interactive programs with Motif-like front-ends to control applications by buttons, scrollbars, and other graphic elements with no recompilation of the original programs. You don't even need the source code! Expect works with remote applications, too. Use it to tie together Internet applications including Telnet, Archie, FTP, Gopher, and Mosaic. Don Libes is the creator of Expect as well as the author of this book. In Exploring Expect, he provides a comprehensive tutorial on all of Expect's features, allowing you to put it immediately to work on your problems. In a down-to-earth and humorous style, he provides numerous examples of challenging real-world applications and how they can be automated using Expect to save you time and money. Expect is the first of a new breed of programs based on Tcl, the Tool Command Language that is rocking the computer science community. This book provides an introduction to Tcl and describes how Expect applies Tcl's power to the new field of interaction automation. Whether your interest is in Expect or interaction automation or you simply want to learn about Tcl and see how it has been used in real software, you will find Exploring Expect a treasure trove of easy-to-understand and valuable information.

Customer Reviews:

best reference to Expect.......2007-02-11

Exploring Expect delivers as the essential reference for any programmer who uses Expect for automation. I have written literally thousands of lines of Expect for automating testing, switch maintenance and data creation. This book describes all the different aspects and utilities provided by Expect. One of the more esoteric parts of expect is the keyword exp_internal which causes the expect interpreter to print, in great detail, how it attempts to match patterns to output from any spawned command. Also, the tracing capability is excellent. You can literally see each line as it executes.

Overall, this book is an excellent description of the expect language and it contains many examples.

Exploring Expect (1994) good but badly needs updating.......2006-11-23

Expect is a language that allows users to simulate users for the purpose of automating certain tasks. What Expect does is open a virtual terminal for the process to be run, then looks for certain things in the ouptut from that program and reacts accordingly. Expect as a tool provides methods for automating the creation of expect scripts and more. Expect can be an excellent tool for regression testing from a command line.

When I first started learning Expect, this book was extremely helpful years ago. Back then, this book would have easily gotten five stars from me. Since then, it has become rather dated. It seems that Don Libes could do very well for the Expect community by publishing an updated PDF much in the same way as Subversion publishers have done. This allows O'Reilly to continue selling the hard-bound materials, yet provide us with more updated materials on the web. The hyperlinks included in the book are often broken (who woulda' thunk it after 12 years?).

Not only does the book need to be updated, but because the use of command-line environments has decreased so much over the past 12 years, the need for text-based testing has generally left us. Where the need lies now is in gui-based testing. That doesn't mean that Expect has lost its usefulness, though the amount of usefulness has dramatically decreased.

So, if you need to automate the use of a text-based application interactively, this book will help you with tools to do it. If you're trying to automate a GUI, this is not the resource for you.

Book hits:

o Written well enough with good examples (enough to get users started)
o Still useful reference if you need Expect
o Easy to understand for programmers / script writers.

Book misses:

o Desperately needs to be updated
o Hyperlinks no longer work
o Title misleads users in today's GUI-based world
o Does not address the needs of users automated GUI-based applications

Cool.......2005-12-18

Have you ever wondered how to create 12000 principle in kerberos from a list of username and passwords, maybe the data is stored in some mysql database? Yeah I had to do that and this book came to my aid.

I have found Expect a usefull companion in many arcane system administration task and this text by Don Libes (many of the examples exists as papers online) is an excellent 'cookbook' and a great starting point.

autoexpect is also a cool simulation tool. try it

Good Introduction.......2005-03-11

I came across Expect while I was trying to find a programming language to automate certain tasks in my experiments. After seeing how practical it was with automating command line sessions and I decided to get this book.

The book covers many topics relevant to developing Expect programs along with a good introduction to Tcl, which made it quicker for me to ease into writing Expect code. The book is self-contained and after reading a few chapters, I was able to automate FTP and SSH sessions with Expect programs. The book is very useful if you are a beginner Tcl/Expect programmer. However for some advanced topics, I found myself searching for answers on the man pages and the Internet.

In summary, I recommend this book for people, who need a good introduction to Expect but don't want to start from Unix man pages.

Nice reference to have.......2004-03-19

The good thing about this book is that it gives one a basic back ground of TCL before delving into Expect which, makes it an excellent "quick" reference book to have on the shelf. The only drawback I can really think of is that it is not extensive as it should be to make it an exhaustive reference guide.

Nice book. Worth the money you pay.

Average customer rating:
Exploring Expect: a Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive Programs
Don Libes
Manufacturer: O'Reilly & Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LZGV16

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