Careers for Puzzle Solvers & Other Methodical Thinkers

Book Description

Careers for Puzzle Solvers & Other Methodical Thinkers lets you explore the job market through the unique lens of your own interest. It reveals dozens of ways to pursue your passion for solving the unsolvable and make a living--including the training and education needed to polish your hobby and interest into a satisfying career.

Book Description

N/A

Customer Reviews:

AC/DC Kicks Butt ! ! ! (sorry about the language...).......1999-01-25

I have always been impressed with ac/dc. This book has really made it all much more clear. I was a little disappointed though that absolutely no mention of Angus Young or any of the lads for that matter had appeared in the text. Well, I mean... if the band was important enough to have these particular forms of electricity named after them, one would think there to be some mention of them in the book! I mean... who made who? This is not the first time that this oversight has occured. As a matter of fact, I scarcely recall their being mentioned even once in a four year university level discourse on the subject! Oh well, at least I received a BSEE? out of the deal, and it has proved quite useful in securing a job in the states (United States that is). In conclusion though, putting these issues aside, I found the book to be quite interesting.

Regards, David Herbster, BSEE, EPE, North American Philips Ltd

ps, (You have got the initials inverted, should be ac/dc!... still figured it out though, thanks again mates!)

Average customer rating:
Dc/Ac Circuits: Principles and Practice/Instructor's Guide
Louis E. Frenzel
Manufacturer: Delmar Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0827363397

Book Description

This volume explores the changing relations between employers and workers in industrial production from the earliest phases of industrialization to the present day. It examines how these relations have developed in different contexts and places, and the ways in which they have influenced the process of industrialization.The book brings together a number of different approaches and the topics covered vary in theme and scope, including broad general surveys (for example, of the historical debate on the early factory masters, and of the principal trends in post-war industrial relations in Europe) and more specialist case studies. The contributors include labour, social and economic historians, and the geographical spread ranges from Europe to the USA and Japan. While each of the chapters covers major new themes, the volume's originality lies in examining the theme of industrial relations in ways that invite broader comparative thinking.

Book Description

Welcome to the wonderful world of Tama Janowitz, one of New Yorks wittiest social chroniclers. Area Code 212 is filled with idiosyncratic delights and oddities, including her hilarious account of Andy Warhols eighties blind date club; her brief moment of celebrity as an elderly teenage extra in a ZZ Top video; the day she tested mentally retarded on an IQ test; as well as many revealing tales of New York life, its parties, its restaurants, and fashion. Janowitz gives us her unique low-down on hairless dogs and ferrets, babies and Brooklyn, big hair days and bad hair days Self-deprecating, funny and touching, Area Code 212 is an irresistible collection.

Customer Reviews:

mostly superficial.......2007-09-03

I haven't seen any of Janowitz's writing since Slaves of New York was first in paprback. This is a book I still refer myself back to now and then for some of its best stories ("You and the Boss" and "Kurt and Natasha: A Relationship" come to mind), but this book was followed with the quickly faultering and ultimately bland novel A Cannibal in Manhattan. But the bright spots of Slaves show that there is great promise for Janowitz's work--she does have a sensible way of handling absurdity, and at her best she puts even the most absurd situations in a wonderfully accesible light. This, of course, would seem to be one of the main drives of absurdity--to make even the most fantastic situation sympathetic because it ultimately touches something innately human, something that we could always learn or re-experience.

But when Janowitz goes wrong, the human element goes away, and one is left with a bizarre string of details that do little more than delight in being strange, but with little meaningful appeal. Unfortunately, this may be what Janowitz most enjoys. I saw her read with Howard Mohr, and a good part of her reading involved presenting slides of strange people that she knew in NYC. It was at least a little arrogant, more than a little egocentric, and ultimately carried little interest except for those who already thought that NYC was something of a circus, and here was a ringmaster giving them exactly what they wanted.

This experience was pretty much the same I had when reading this book. In her collection of essays and almost diary-like experiences of NYC, Janowitz presents a host of characters, and mostly herself, but often in such short doses that most of the pieces in here feel like journal entries, but with little attraction beyond the personal or the already-in-the-know. As in the reading, I felt that many of these pieces only held appeal for those already interested or curious about NYC, or maybe those in the NYC clique who can revel in inside jokes or things that remind them of what they already know. Lucky for Janowitz, she has chosen a rather large clique to address, rather than the Rotary Club in Wichita, KS, for example, but too many of these pieces feel horribly underdeveloped and only out to point out oddities in the world, but not out to make them sympathetic. There are some moments of great humor, but they don't sustain, and moreso are defused through extended efforts to make her dogs funny, or her family life.

The biggest disappointment through this was the bravado and arrogance that played subtly throughout this. Granted, Janowitz is rather open about very personal experiences, but it is also laced with an egotism that becomes more apparent in other moments. This is probably when drove my interest out of the book quite quickly.

In all, I found myself lightly curious, but hardly engaged.

And 718!.......2005-01-27

Having slogged through several VERY IMPORTANT and no doubt much book clubbed novels of the sort where a trio of southern ladies is glimpsed baking their baked goods while dancing to the Shirelles, it was like taking off a girdle to read these short pieces. Even when certain key points are repeated, belying a sort of publishing house sloppiness, I didn't mind - I'm all for Tama making a buck without having to rework old material that still rings fresh and funny.
Make that very very very funny - and I was gratified that Brooklyn, despite the title, loomed so large. Dang, I should have moved here in the early 80s!

Area Code 212 : New York Days, New York Nights

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Area Code 212 : New York Days, New York Nights
Tama Janowitz
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MU4JO6

Average customer rating:

Area Code 212: New York Days, New York Nights
Tama Janowitz
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTDLQW

Book Description

Presented in the striking format of Ken Bloom’s successful Broadway Musicals, this rich visual history of popular song covers all of the prominent figures behind the music, in front of the bandstand, and on top of the piano. “The Singers” includes Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Barbara Cook, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and dozens more; “ The Songwriters” features Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Dorothy Fields, Stephen Foster, Richard Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and a host of others; a lively section discusses the Big Bands; and a decade-by-decade insert puts the entire history of popular music in perspective through words and pictures.

Each one of the more than 200 listings in the book features the artist’s personal and professional history, great songs, and important contributions, plus photos (many rare), record covers, anecdotes, quotes, and more. Sidebars and features throughout cover topics of interest—everything from Arrangers, Vocal Groups, and Keepers of the Flame to Tin Pan Alley, Parodists, and Classical Crossovers—making this the most thorough survey of its kind. Throughout, all of the great songs are discussed—literally hundreds of songs, from “Stardust” to “My Funny Valentine” to “White Christmas.” Illustrated biographies, discographies, chronologies, and indices make The American Songbook a full-fledged reference as well as a pictorial feast.

Customer Reviews:

The secret on page 51.......2007-09-04

I loved the book, especially when I noticed the review of Darlene and Jonathan Edwards' work, on page 51.
They are in my fairly extensive LP library and I thought I was one of a very few who had ever heard of them---and knew their secret. The owner of a radio station I worked for years ago wasn't acquainted with them, and when he listened he was, to say the least, astonished.
Obviously (I hope) Ken Bloom does know all about them. If he does not, my opinion of his book may take a change for the worse.
Buy the book! It's great!

Pretty good, but uneven.......2007-08-30

This book is a good addition to the literature of American traditional popular music in the 1930s, `40s, and `50s. (Although it goes back to the 19th century and forward to the 1960s, the emphasis is on the 1940s and `50s, with pretty good coverage of the 1930s.) Since my musical interest is primarily in the late 1940s and early `50s, this book is a welcome addition to my library.

The biggest deficiency of the book is that some artists which deserve inclusion are not well covered, or not covered at all. Patti Page, for example, was a major vocalist in the genre, but there is not an article, or even an index entry. (There is at least one picture of her, however.) She was certainly more important than, say, Connee Boswell, who was covered in an article.

One of the best things about the book is its biographical coverage of songwriters who are not as well-known as they should be. Anyone who is interested in this kind of music knows "Secret Love" and "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing," for example, but few of us are familiar with the name of Paul Francis Webster, who wrote the lyrics for both songs and a host of others. This book has biographical articles on Webster and many other songwriters who deserve to be better known.

The book does not get more than 4 stars because of its omissions; it gets 4 stars because what it does, I like. I'm glad I have the book but I think it could have been better if the author had done a better job of deciding who should be included.

wonderful.......2007-01-10

Another great book to have in your collection if you are a fan of great American songwriters....such talent.

Time To Remember the Songwriters Behind the Music........2006-09-02

This is the definitive book for the major songwriters from the Twenties to the Fifties on Broadway and in the movies made from these shows. There may be nothing like the first night and performance, but the movies with a bit of esthic changes usually the female stars are just as lovely and exciting the first time you see and hear them. Frank Loesser wrote the music for 'Guys and Dolls' and Rodgers and Hammerstein did the other major musicals. Livingston and Evans, Burton Lane, Hugh Martin, Jule Styne Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer followed in their footsteps, or as the case may be, led the gang in some ways. There was the enigmatic "Bewitched" in 'Pal Joey, which was done in the movie by Rita Hayworth, unless Charles Southcott can prove me wrong. The best song in a play or movie was the "Soliloquy" in 'Carousel.' It means something to every parent, whether the child is a boy or a girl. Cole Porter. Harold Arlen and Harry Warren contributed their vast talents, as did Irving Berlin and the Gershwins.

Some singers of note were Howard Keel, Helen Morgan, Gordon MacRae, Eddie Fisher, Shirley Jones, John Raitt, Bea Wayne, Sonny Bono and Cher, Tony Martin, and Don Cornell. Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were the best dancers in both venues. Michael Feinstein appeared in a Broadway show when he was just a young man in the musical starring Tommy Tune; he wrote about his favorite songwriting team, Ira and George, in the 'Foreword." He has CDs recorded with such notables as Jerry Herman, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern, Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer. Ken Bloom is president of Harbingre Records in New York City and a radio host (when did they stop calling them deejays?)

The American Songbook by Ken Bloom .......2006-03-19

This is a superb "dipper-inner"! If you are into the songs that have become American standards, you will find in this book a wealth of entertainment. The photos are chosen for interest and the anecdotal material--gossipy, behind-the-scenes stories about singers and songwriters--is fascinating. The book is pretty darn comprehensive with short pieces on the more obsucre songwriters and singers and in depth pieces on the greatest American singers and songwriters of the 20s,30s,40s and 50s. The index is thorough and very useful.

Allen Johsnon, Jr. - Kid's writer and jazz guitarist

Book Description

Raising the Devil reveals how the Christian Pentecostal movement, right-wing conspiracy theories, and an opportunistic media turned grassroots folk traditions into the Satanism scare of the 1980s.

During the mid-twentieth century, devil worship was seen as merely an isolated practice of medieval times. But by the early 1980s, many influential experts in clinical medicine and in law enforcement were proclaiming that satanic cults were widespread and dangerous. By examining the broader context for alleged “cult” activity, Bill Ellis demonstrates how the image of contemporary Satanism emerged during the 1970s.

Blaming a wide range of mental and physical illnesses on in-dwelling demons, a faction of the Pentecostal movement became convinced that their gifts of the spirit were being opposed by satanic activities. They attributed these activities to a “cult” that was the evil twin of true Christianity.

In some of the cases Ellis considers, common folk beliefs and rituals were misunderstood as evidence of devil worship. In others, narratives and rituals themselves were used to combat satanic forces. As the media found such stories more and more attractive, any activity with even remotely occult overtones was demonized in order to fit a model of absolute good confronting evil.

Ellis's wide-ranging investigation covers ouija boards, cattle mutilation, graveyard desecration, and “diabolical medicine”—the psychiatric community's version of exorcism. He offers a balanced view of contentious issues such as demonic possession, satanic ritual abuse, and the testimonies of confessing “ex-Satanists.” A trained folklorist, Ellis seeks to navigate a middle road in this dialog, and his insights into informal religious traditions clarify how the image of Satanism both explained and created deviant behavior.

Customer Reviews:

Satan? Or just your imagination?.......2005-11-30

It wouldn't surprise me at all if some people believe that Ellis doesn't have the "right" to write a book like Raising the Devil, and not would I be very surprised if many of these critics stated their opinions without even bother reading the book. But why shouldn't Ellis be allowed to make a thorough analysis of the so-called "satanic panic" that raged in both North America and Great Britain from time to time during the 20th century? Because, he happens to be an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. And to many narrow-minded Satanists, this equals an inability to remain objective.

Well, that might be so, but let's not consider the fact that he happens to be a Christian. He also happens to be a folklorist, and a very good one, too. He might be the most Christian guy you ever met; this still doesn't stop him from with Raising the Devil creating a book that's not only a high-quality analysis of how Satanism and devil worship, both in America and Great Britain, were forced to become the no.1 scapegoats for various social ills; it's also a study that most self-appointed Satanists should read and ponder. And let's not forget all the hard-core Christians who never hesitated to put the blame on something without making sure to know all the facts first.

What Ellis does is describing how phenomena that not necessarily has any reality to it still becomes something very real, when fear for the unknown and unnatural forces the antagonists into creating something that isn't really there to begin with. Or in the words of Ellis himself discussing alleged witch-cults in Great Britain: "The claim that they existed seems to have brought the witch-cults into existence", that is, it wasn't until people started worrying about witches that witches came into existence.

In America, not-so objective representations of different law enforcement agencies and Pentecostals, with their fanatic struggle to exterminate everything which in their eyes was satanic and evil, resulted in the accusations of both innocent individuals and actions. It's a thin line between what's good and what's evil, and the most fascinating aspect of his study is his ambition to point out how fanatics (mostly Christians) with extreme, yet well-meaning, intentions are mostly to blame. Their ruthless crusade against everything occult (which in their eyes were a whole lot of things), turned out to be "a sincere but wrong-headed effort to fight the devil by raising the devil".

So far, Sweden has been spared the same kind of hysteria about satanic panic and occult conspiracies, mostly because we simply don't have the same kind of religious landscape that the U.S. has. However, there's always a risk for fiction to become more believable than truth wherever folk-narratives and folk-processes are able to triumph over what's really out there, and because of this, books such as Raising the Devil are good tools in the fight against imaginations and prejudices.

Bedeviled.......2001-03-17

It was a great show while it lasted, the subject of fervent newspaper reports, television specials and an exposé by Geraldo Rivera in the 1980s. Satanism was rampant across America, nay, the world, with protean manifestations, if people would just pay attention. Twenty years before, there had been Satanism, but it was not very well publicized and not very interesting. But somehow it became the fashionable scare. How did this happen, and what should we do about it?

Bill Ellis is a folklorist, and an academic specializing in English and American studies. His book, Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media (University Press of Kentucky) attempts a sympathetic understanding of how the Devil made one of his cyclic emergences and how folklore can affect society and politics. Scares about Satan and witchcraft have been present for centuries, and seem to give a safety valve for social aggression, scapegoating deviant individuals. At the individual level of, say, someone who thinks he is possessed by a demon and someone who thinks he can cast that demon out, there is a social agreement on a folkloric belief that may be beneficial for both concerned (if not for the demon). But Ellis's theme is that social groups can take over a folkloric belief to push a religious or governmental agenda, with disastrous consequences. He shows how demon possession and speaking in tongues are two sides of the same coin, and how belief in demons was ballooned into the belief that there was a huge underground satanic network ruining our country. Those who promulgated such conspiracy beliefs also bought into conspiracies involving Jews, vampires, the Illuminati, and cattle mutilations.

Raising the Devil is an academic work, well documented and organized. Ellis tries to illuminate the role of the folklorist in examining these sorts of belief, and realizes that he and his fellows have the difficult road to follow of accepting folklore (even if it is patently untrue) as a force between small numbers of individuals, while they also have to confront institutions that would harness folklore for political or religious change. His academic prose is leavened by the strange subject matter. For instance, the Governor of Colorado is quoted as saying that cattle mutilations were "one of the greatest outrages in the history of the western cattle industry," and a leader of a coven in England warned about bogus cult groups, as he had heard about one in which members "started getting in prostitutes dressed in rubber gear and there was wife swapping, too. It gives Satanism a bad name."

GREAT BOOK!!.......2001-02-15

This is a book that I could not put down! It explains how the media reacts so viciously to Satanism and new religions, which they know very little about. I myself am a Satanist and think that the media makes it sound much more evil than it really is. I think this was a good book because I can relate to the media and Satanists.

Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Folklore

Average customer rating:

Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Folklore
Jacqueline Simpson
Manufacturer: Folklore Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Folklore, published by Folklore Society on April 1, 2003. The length of the article is 554 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Jacqueline Simpson
Publication: Folklore (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2003
Publisher: Folklore Society
Volume: 114 Issue: 1 Page: 123(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.(Book Review): An article from: Church History

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Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.(Book Review): An article from: Church History
Mark Silk
Manufacturer: American Society of Church History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Church History, published by American Society of Church History on December 1, 2002. The length of the article is 766 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media.(Book Review)
Author: Mark Silk
Publication: Church History (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2002
Publisher: American Society of Church History
Volume: 71 Issue: 4 Page: 925(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

A companion to the bestselling Torchon Lace Workbook, these 28 lovely patterns are all centered around a sampler. Includes concise at-a-glance guides to techniques and terminology.

Customer Reviews:

Patterns, yes; how to build them? not really.......2001-01-12

DON'T GET ME WRONG! IT'S A GREAT BOOK!!

It's just not quite what I expected.

I'm new to lacemaking, I've only been at it for a year, but I had some ideas (from a book of Celtic stained glass patterns) and I wanted to see if there was a step-by-step method to build lace or just look at a picture and take it from there. (I've tried the 'take it from there' approach in other crafts and haven't been 100% successful). So I hinted for the book, received it for my birthday from my husband and read it cover-to-cover.

I suppose I expected a list of things to do: 1. Find something you want to do in lace. 2. Decide on the stitches: (a) these are stitches most often used in backgrounds (b) these stitches hold up well here but not there. 3. Ddecide on the flow of the piece. 4. Wind your bobbins and get going.

Of course, none of the above were in the book.

Bridget Cook HAS to be one of the best lacemakers in the world, both for her ability to actually make the lace and for her ability and efforts in continuing this beautiful art. But I believe her abilities to design and create lace pieces are probably more artistic instinct than a learnable skill. So, I'll happily keep this book, make some more of her patterns and then get that stained glass book out again and go Celtic.

I hope you buy the book, because if you are a lacemaker I know you will be glad to have it in your library.

Book Description

What is this book about?

Professional Java builds upon Ivor Horton's Beginning Java to provide the reader with an understanding of how professionals use Java to develop software solutions. Pro Java starts with an overview of best methods and tools for developing Java applications. It then examines the the more sophisticated and nuanced parts of the Java JDK. The final and most extensive part of the book shows how to implement these ideas to build real-world applications, using both Java APIs as well as related Java open source tools. In short, this book provides a comprehensive treatment of the professional Java development process, without losing focus in exhaustive coverage of isolated features and APIs.

Customer Reviews:

Reviews Misleading.......2006-06-03

Despite what some other reviewers said, I actually really enjoyed this book. It has allot of valuable material for folks making the jump from beginner topics to more advanced topics.

It seems that allot of folks expect the book to be all about JDK 5 when the title clearly says "PROFESSIONAL JAVA" (JDK 5 edition).

Unfocused, riddled with errors.......2006-05-07

This book is an unfocused collection of reference manuals that seem to have been thrown together with very little forethought. It's poorly organized, the code examples aren't all that intructive, and there are plenty of errors throughout the book. It isn't very useful if you're learning Java, and it's a lousy reference if you already know it. I suggest skipping it.

just collection of refference manuals.......2006-02-16

all I could say is that book is very poorly written , no connection between reader and writer, in may chapets ,they are just composed of a bunch of refference manuls that everyone can read for free from vendor , for example JAAS section is totaly useless ...
JDK 1.5 is covered very very poorly ...
it seems that book was written in a rush to get it out to market ..

Worth buying, but it could be better.......2005-10-29

I like this book because it brings together in one place a lot of information that is helpful in real-world development tasks. My complaint is that it seems carelessly edited, leaving you with a collection of chapters obviously written by different authors who didn't communicate much with each other in the formation of the book.

It's nice to be able to get the new Java 5 features under your belt in just a couple of hours of reading and playing around. In fact, the first chapter is excellent, code samples and all. The next chapter is nice for a quick review of methodologies, or if you are completely new to the frameworks that are often used in conjunction with Agile Programming in Java, such as JUnit and Hibernate and so on. Chapter 3 is a capable introduction to some of the more popular Design Patterns, but it is here that you first notice that the author ignores all the advice in Chapters 1 and 2 about how much easier your development will be if you use the new language features of Java 5 and the tools and methodologies of Agile development.

Things go downhill by Chapter 4, which covers Swing desktop GUI design and coding. The sample apps aren't all that well designed and don't don't demonstrate everything presented in Chapter 3 (such as the MVC application architecture) in a clear, convincing way. And it is here that you encounter the most shocking deficiencies of this book: sloppy, difficult-to-read sample code that compiles and runs--more or less--but which contains numerous lines (and even entire blocks) of extraneous code, poorly-chosen and sometimes even capitalized local and member variable names, and code stucture that defies best coding practices in many places. It is the type of code that you get when you hurry to meet a deadline for a prototype, and which you have not yet gotten around to going back and cleaning up.

Things pick back up a bit in subsequent chapters, with a nice intro to J2EE and J2EE-oriented API's, messaging, security, and a fine chapter on the much-neglected subject of application deployment.

Overall, I'm glad I bought this book. I've learned a lot from it, despite it's few annoyances. In fact, I made an exercise out of cleaning up the kludgy code samples in chapter 4. No, I'm not being sarcastic--I really did find it far more helpful and educational to patch that code up than to just read it through and then kid myself that I had internalized it. Who knows--maybe all sample code should be written with some defects.

Lacks Focus, not much information about JDK 5.......2005-10-17

Chpater 1: Key Java Language Features and Libraries - the only chapter that talks about JDK 5.

Waste of time to proceed further.

Average customer rating:

Professional Java JDK 5 Edition
W Clay Richardson
Manufacturer: WROX PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000Q1EXG0

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