Zagatsurvey 2003 Chicago Book 'N' Map Pack

Book Description

How do you measure the progress countries are making in economic development? Should measurements focus on per capita income or output? Or should assessments also consider education, health, a clean environment, or a participatory political system? These questions have vexed national leaders, international donor agencies, and development practitioners for decades. This book was conceived to address the lack of definitive, comprehensive measures of development among policymakers, economists, and other social scientists. It presents a unique and innovative measurement system for country progress in six aspects of development: economic performance, competitiveness, education, health, environment, and democracy and freedom. The authors scored over 100 countries individually and plotted their development performance along six vectors, allowing them to be benchmarked against one another. They illustrate at a glance whether the country's development is balanced and allows the country's progress to be monitored over time. This book presents the conceptual framework supporting a Development Web model, the scoring systems, as well as 100 individual Country Development Webs accompanied by discussions of their scores and country conditions.

Average customer rating:

Looks good in print, but not a lot of content.

Let's be honest with ourselves!

Super!

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Piano (Teach Yourself Visually)
Mary Sue Taylor , and Tere Stouffer
Manufacturer: Visual
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Piano | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Techniques | Theory, Composition & Performance | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Entertainment | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Guitar (Teach Yourself Visually)

Making Music at the Piano: Learning Strategies for Adult Students

The Only Basic Piano Instruction Book You'll Ever Need: Learn to Play--from Reading Your First Notes to Constructing Complex Chords

How To Play Popular Piano In 10 Easy Lessons (Fireside Books (Fireside))

Teach Yourself to Play Piano: A Quick and Easy Introduction for Beginners

ASIN: 0471749907

Book Description

Want to go beyond "Chopsticks?" This visual guide to tickling the ivories will show you the way. By Chapter 2, you'll be playing simple pieces and practicing scales. You'll progress from getting familiar with notes, symbols, and keys to playing basic chords and reading music like a pro. Without getting bogged down in boring theory, you'll learn what you need to know and enjoy playing as you go! Whether you like Bach or rock, jazz or country, golden oldies or new age, you'll love learning to play the fun, visual way.

Concise two-page lessons show you all the crucial skills and are ideal for quick review

Each skill, chord, or technique is clearly described
Concise and understandable instructions accompany each photo
Detailed color photos demonstrate proper fingering technique
Helpful tips provide additional guidance

Download Description

More than 20 million Americans play the piano, making it the country's most popular instrument. This information-packed guide covers all the basics of reading music and playing the piano. It features full-color photographs that demonstrate the principles and techniques, progressing from playing basic notes to common chords to intermediate skills. Step-by-step text instructions accompany each photograph. It's perfect for piano students, people who want to learn to play a few songs, and adults who played as children and want to play it again! Mary Sue Taylor (Roswell, GA) has filled her share of musical requests, having played piano in the Atlanta area since 1954. Over the years, she's dusted the keys of nearly every piano in town, from formal society clubs to dim, smoke-filled jazz bars to the hottest house parties. She has taught beginning piano, jazz, improvisation, chord study, and other related topics to a diverse array of students for five decades.

Customer Reviews:

Looks good in print, but not a lot of content........2007-07-14

I browsed through this book in a bookstore (remember those?) and went home and immediately purchased a copy from Amazon.com. Unfortunately, I didn't find the book especially helpful or informative. I sold it and went back to my Alfred's All-in-One Adult course. I think this is still the best series for the beginning piano player like myself.

Let's be honest with ourselves!.......2007-02-23

I borrowed this book from my local library on three occasions. Enough! I thought. I must have one of my own. After wasting money and time on professed "quick fix" solutions, I came to the realisation that to play the piano requires dedication and hour upon hour of practice. Nothing less will do. As a tool to help you achieve this goal and to guide you through the difficult process, nothing can surpass the program which this book offers. I haven't travelled the journey yet, but I am on my way, knowing that I will eventually get there, given ongoing patience and my own copy of this book.

Super!.......2006-12-17

Great for beginners or people needing to brush up on the basics. I had trouble with a lot of the advanced chords til I picked up this book. I was confused for a long time, but there in a few pages everything suddenly made sense! If you want to learn the fundemantals of the piano definitely get this book. It has simple, easy, to-the-point text and real pictures. The only thing is I wish they had made it spiral bound. Oh well. It's worth it.

Average customer rating:

Not recommended

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Piano
maranGraphics , and Frank Horvat
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0764569155

Book Description

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something-and skip the long-winded explanations? The Visual Learning System in Teach Yourself VISUALLY Piano breaks down the complexities of this instrument into graphical two-page lessons that simplify learning. Inside you'll find clear, step-by-step instructions covering all the basics of playing the piano and reading music. Full-color photographs show you how to build chords, play in different keys, perform with singers and other musicians, and master more advanced techniques, such as playing glissandos and the 12-Bar Blues. Plus, you'll discover how to purchase the right piano and accessories.

"Question & Answer" sidebars provide practical tips and tricks
Large color photos demonstrate how to correctly play notes, chords, and more.
Step-by-step instructions explain beginner to more advanced techniques
Companion Web site features all the audio from the book and more

Customer Reviews:

Not recommended.......2005-04-12

The instructions are easy to follow, and it is a good reference book to find out the basics of reading music and playing chords. HOWEVER, it does not have enough lessons or songs for practicing. I finished the whole book but the only things I found useful from it were some basic hand positions. I bought two other piano books afterward and they are a lot better than this one.

One thing I don't understand is that the instruction in the top and bottom sections on most pages are nearly identical. I didn't want to miss any thing so I read them all, and turned out it was a big waste of my time.

Customer Reviews:

Historically Inaccurate.......2006-02-15

The whole story of One Thousand and One Nights is Persian and the characters are Persian, including pure Persian names, however its better known as "Arabian Nights". This book advocates this inaccurate name and therefore is not a trustworthy source for studying the "One Thousand and One Nights".

While you are at it write a book on Alexander and call it the "Turkish Conqueror" who is a Ninja, historically accurate by your standards.

Featuring more than 800 sperate entries.......2004-09-11

An impressively collaborative work by Ulrich Marzolph (Professor of Islamic Studies, Georg-August University, Gottingen, Germany) and Richard van Leeuwen (Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) this two-volume edition of The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia is a comprehensively detailed compilation providing students with authoritative and up-to-date research on the diverse stories historically comprising the Islamic classic collection of myth, legend, and folklore known to western readers as "The Arabian Nights". The characters, themes, most influential translations, textual history, adaptations, and literary context for each individual story is proffered in a thoroughly accessible and "user friendly" arrangement. Featuring more than 800 sperate entries organized in an A-Z format, The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia is a seminal, core, essential, informed and informative contribution to personal, professional, academic, and community library Literary Studies, Folklore Studies, and Islamic Cultural Studies reference collections and resource holdings.

The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia.(Book Review) : An article from: Marvels & Tales

Average customer rating:

The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia.(Book Review) : An article from: Marvels & Tales
Thomas Geider
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Literature | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Mythology & Folklore | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Marvels & Tales, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1590 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: The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia.(Book Review)
Author: Thomas Geider
Publication: Marvels & Tales (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Page: 322(4)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia (Volume Two)

Average customer rating:

The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia (Volume Two)
Ulrich Marzolph , and Richard van Leeuwen
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NCWNBE

Book Description

Ballooning government? Millionaire welfare queens? Tort lawyers run amok? A $330,000 outhouse, paid for with your tax dollars? John Stossel says, "Give me a break."

When he hit the airwaves thirty years ago, Stossel chased snake-oil peddlers, rip-off artists, and corporate thieves, winning the applause of his peers.

But along the way, he noticed that there was something far more troublesome going on: While the networks screamed about the dangers of coffee pots, worse risks were ignored.

In Give Me a Break, Stossel explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters, and greedy lawyers make your life worse even as they claim to protect your interests. Taking on such sacred cows as the FDA, the War on Drugs, and scare-mongering environmental activists -- and backing up his trademark irreverence with careful reasoning and research -- he shows how the problems that government tries and fails to fix can be solved better by the extraordinary power of the free market.

He traces his journey from cub reporter to 20/20 co-anchor, revealing his battles to get his ideas to the public, his struggle to overcome stuttering, and his eventual realization that, for years, much of his reporting missed the point.

Stossel concludes the book with a modest proposal for change. It's a simple plan in the spirit of the Founding Fathers to ensure that America remains a place "where free minds -- and free markets -- make good things happen."

Download Description

Ballooning government?
Millionaire welfare queens?
Tort lawyers run amok?
A $330,000 outhouse, paid for with your tax dollars?
John Stossel says, ""Give me a break.""

When he hit the airwaves thirty years ago, Stossel helped create a whole new category of news, dedicated to protecting and informing consumers. As a crusading reporter, he chased snake-oil peddlers, rip-off artists, and corporate thieves, winning the applause of his peers.

But along the way, he noticed that there was something far more troublesome going on: While the networks screamed about the dangers of exploding BIC lighters and coffeepots, worse risks were ignored. And while reporters were teaming up with lawyers and legislators to stick it to big business, they seldom reported the ways the free market made life better.

In Give Me a Break, Stossel explains how ambitious bureaucrats, intellectually lazy reporters, and greedy lawyers make your life worse even as they claim to protect your interests. Taking on such sacred cows as the FDA, the War on Drugs, and scaremongering environmental activists -- and backing up his trademark irreverence with careful reasoning and research -- he shows how the problems that government tries and fails to fix can be solved better by the extraordinary power of the free market.

Stossel concludes the book with a provocative blueprint for change: a simple plan in the spirit of the Founding Fathers to ensure that America remains a place ""where free minds -- and free markets -- make good things happen.""

Customer Reviews:

Great book - really makes you think.......2007-09-11

This is a great book. In his wonderful style, Stossel subjects commonly-held assumptions, common scams, scares, and media lies, the government, and a lot of other stuff to whithering skepticism. Discover why everything you know (or, at least, a lot of it) is wrong.

It's funny how people are willing to be very skeptical of businesses but aren't willing to turn that same skepticism on the government. Stossel manages to do that and argues that the expansion of the government hurts consumers much more than it helps them. A lot of people have this idea of a benevolent government saving us from big, bad industry, but this isn't true at all, as Stossel quiet ably shows.

I'd recommend ignoring the one-star reviews of this book. Stossel answers most of their "objections" in the book, and one of the reasons he wrote this book was to refute a lot of those types of claims.

This book is a must-read for those who are concerned about the expansion of the state. Then again, if you're not concerned, you should definitely read this book, because this book shows that you should be. This book shows how government regulation hurts consumers by raising prices, stifling innovation, and much more. Gives plenty of examples of government stupidity. This book is great reading and provides an excellent introduction to many of the key ideas of the libertarian philosophy of government. This book is very well written and highly entertaining; there's not a dull moment to be found. Highly recommended.

Worthwhile Read.......2007-09-07

As someone who has been in the media for more than 20 years, and has developed a niche in debunking the horribly inaccurate, irresponsible and downright sloppy use of statistics in the media and beyond, this book was a refreshing piece of common-sense journalism. I highly recommend it especially to anyone considering a career, or already embarked on a career, in journalism or any communications endeavor.

Quick and Easy Read, But Arguments are Weak.......2007-03-30

When I first began reading this book, I thought I might enjoy it. After all, John Stossel is (or was) a leading consumer reporter with some excellent credentials to his name. However, by the end of the first third of the book I was already lowering the number of stars I planned to give it.

The first problem I encountered was writing that was simplistic. For someone who is a journalist and who graduated from Princeton, I expected the writing to be more professional. I can't tell whether he "dumbed" the book down or if this is the way he usually writes. Either way, it is a simplistic (and very quick) read.

The second, and by far larger problem, is the argument he puts forth in the book. He claims to be a "free market" advocate, yet throughout the book he stumbles on his own argument. His argument is that in a free market, industry will always do things for the best, since it is in their best interest to increase profits.

Because of that argument, he strikes out against government intervention. One example he gives is OSHA. While OSHA is not a well loved agency, the reason for their existence is exactly to opposite of what Stossel claims. Worker's compensation laws were passed in the early part of the 20th century to get business to stop injuring workers. Industry, however, continued to allow unsafe work conditions and worker injury rates continued to climb. OSHA was the result of the inaction of industry. They didn't do what was right...they did what was cheap.

In another example, he rants about mandatory airbags in cars. He is against the notion of paying for them when you don't want one, and claims that over a roughly 10 year time frame air bags have killed over 200 people. He leaves out how many (thousands?) were saved that would have died had air bags not been present in the vehicles. A short while later, he stumbles on his own argument again when he discusses vaccine manufacturers. He claims that they are going out of business because of lawsuits brought due to injury to children from the vaccines. He then makes the point that, because a few children got sick the number of manufacturers is falling, which jeopardizes the many. The question becomes, which is it? Do you want to save the many at the sacrifice of the few or vice versa?

I could go on for pages, but that isn't really the point to a review.

There are places in the book where I agree with his arguments and they make sense. There are government agencies that are redundant and ineffective.

Overall, I don't think the book is worth the purchase price. I would recommend getting it from the library or a yard sale if you are inclined to read it.

The bravest journalist in the mainstream today.......2007-03-29

You may recall I mentioned that John Stossel addressed our NH Liberty Forum in February (2007) as the banquet keynote speaker. I lamented then that I had not been properly appreciative of the courageous work of this noble contrarian knight of the mainstream media (M2).

He is after all an explicit libertarian (possibly even a Randian). In Give Me a Break, Stossel writes that his liberal peers and audience regard him as "that [damnable] conservative on ABC." To which he counters:

"I'm hardly what I would call a conservative. I happen to think consenting adults should be able to do just about anything they want. I think prostitution should be permitted. I believe homosexuality is perfectly natural, that the drug war should be ended, that flag burning and foul language should be tolerated, and most abortion should be legal."

He continues, asserting that M2 is tilted so far to the left, they still call him a conservative:

"Libertarian is a better term for my beliefs. But the term [is misinterpreted.] Maybe 'classical liberal' is a better term for what I am. Liberals were originally the ones who advocated freedom and tolerance. Not lately."

He also opposes pseudo-conservativism, skillfully dissecting our current Republican/Neocon brand of crony capitalism and its imperial-fascist excesses with his intellectual scalpel.

Stossel is the real deal, a popular media personality-the weekly viewership of 20/20 is somewhere around 20 million-who lays it on the line for rational liberty. And he gets his facts straight. He has to because when he doesn't all the poseurs he has pissed off form a lynch mob calling for his head.

Some of the sacred cows he slays:

. Business regulation by government-e.g. OSHA, the
FDA, the FTC, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
child labor laws, and so on, all radically harmful.
. Scaring ourselves with false threats-Brain cancer from
cellphones, exploding Bic pens, toxic waste cause minimal
damage compared to smoking, obesity, and poverty.
. Expensive government bureaucracies-e.g. the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that wastes
billions. TSA stands for "thousands standing around."
. The organic food hoax-Food from regular farms treated
with artificial pesticides is generally as good or better for you
than 100% organic food.
. Welfare for the rich--Millionaire sports franchise owners
receive $700 million stadiums. Federal flood insurance bails
out rich people, including Stossel, who build on the ocean.

"Law grinds the poor, and rich men rule the law."-Oliver Goldsmith

...

For my complete review of this book and for other book and movie
reviews, please visit my site [...]

Brian Wright
Copyright 2007

Very enjoyable.......2007-02-27

If you like John Stossel's journalism, you'll like this book. If you don't like his journalism, then you won't like this book. The same goes for his other book. I too am glad that Stossel narrated the audiobook himself.

I have been very disappointed with the subtitle of the book, which calls him "the Scourge of the Liberal Media", because it implies that Stossel is conservative, which he is not. It also implies that he is not liberal, which he is... in the original sense of the word (i.e. one who believes in liberty).

Book Description

In JavaServer Pages 2.0, Sun has added new features that make it even easier to create dynamic, interactive Web pages in Java. These include a built-in expression language and a library of tags (the JSP Standard Tag Library) that facilitate creation of pages.

Sams Teach Yourself JavaServer Pages 2.0 in 24 Hours starts with the basics of JSP, and explains the expression language, JSTL, creating new tags and more. Each lesson builds on the previous one, giving you a full picture of JSP development. Later chapters describe how to incorporate XML, interface with larger Java applications, work with popular frameworks such as Struts, and more. The book includes Apache Tomcat, Sun's reference implementation of JSP, so you can start developing applications immediately.

Customer Reviews:

Nice book truly at par with the 24 hours series.........2005-07-30

This book is probably the best primer on JSP... The excellence of this book is comparable to "SAMS TEACH YOURSELF CRYSTAL REPORTS 9 in 24 hours"...absolute detail in approach plus good introduction to the netbeans IDE..Apache...ECLIPSE IDE...everything you need oh and yes a nice chapter on XML..woohoho definitely a good buy..this book indicates that its intended level is for beginners but as soon as you finish this book youll be easy on the way to Java GURUHOOD

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books

Ballooning government? Millionaire welfare queens? Tort lawyers run amok? A $330,000 outhouse, paid for with your tax dollars? John Stossel says, ""Give me a break.""

Ballooning government?
Millionaire welfare queens?
Tort lawyers run amok?
A $330,000 outhouse, paid for with your tax dollars?
John Stossel says, ""Give me a break.""