Book Description
The Caribbean has the fortune—and the misfortune—to be everyone's idea of a tropical paradise. Its sun, sand and scenery attract millions of visitors each year and make it a profitable destination for the world's fastest growing industry. Tourism is increasingly touted as its only hope of creating jobs and wealth—literally, the island's last resort.
Last Resorts examines the real impact of tourism on the people and landscape of the Caribbean. It explores the structure of ownership of the industry and shows that the benefits it brings to the region do not live up to its claims. New developments in ecotourism, sex tourism, and the burgeoning cruise industry are not changing this pattern of short-term exploitation of the region's resources. The book shows how Caribbean societies are corrupted by tourism and its culture turned into floorshow parody.
This new edition has been extensively revised and updated. It gives voice to people inside the tourism industry, its critics, and tourists themselves, and offers vital insights into a phenomenon that is central to the globalized world of today.
Customer Reviews:
Love this book.......2007-07-25
After having traveled in the Caribbean as a tourist for years, I always wanted to read a good analysis of tourism in the Caribbean. This book is the best. It explains how very little of the economic benefits of the money we spend in as a tourist reaches the local people. Pattullo explains how deep this exploitation goes and has tons of data to support her conclusions.
Towards a sustainable Caribbean.......2006-09-02
"Last Resorts" by Polly Pattullo is an excellent history and analysis of the Caribbean tourist industry. Ms. Pattullo examines the myriad social, environmental, economic and cultural changes that tourism has produced in the region. Along the way, the reader gains insight into how the promotion of the Carribean as a place of carfree escapism may be endangering the region's future unless vast inequities both within and without the Carribean are addressed in a meaningful way.
Ms. Pattullo explains that mass tourism emerged as an economic development strategy that was defined by the Caribbean's dependent relationship with the colonial powers of the 20th century and especially the United States. When air travel opened tourism to the middle classes in the 1960s, post-colonial governments turned to Western corporations to develop destinations that might attract foreign capital and thereby prop up local economies. However, the islands have gradually become ever more dependent on outside forces as airlines, cruise ship operators, and hotel chains have come to exercise near-monopolistic control over tourist itineraries. In order to maintain their privileged positions in the struggle for market share, most Carribean governments have found it necessary to concede the majority of tourist revenues to the procurement of foreign goods and services.
For example, Ms. Pattullo discusses how top jobs in the tourism sector tend to go to foreigners while locals get mostly dead-end jobs; many are resentful about earning poor wages despite working in a highly profitable industry. As street vendors and other freelancers seek to aggressively sell drugs and their bodies to tourists, more destinations have chosen to offer all-inclusive experiences that shut the dangers of the outside world away. Yet the coccoon-like world of the all-inclusives only serves to reinforce privilege, depriving locals of their own beaches and insulating visitors from the discomfort of viewing the socio-economic deprivation that often surrounds them.
Ms. Pattullo addresses that most pernicious of all tourism, the cruise ship industry which largely treats the Caribbean as a parking lot and waste dump for its 20 million annual passengers and where island culture is experienced in its most sanitized and commodified form. Most passengers spend little time onshore but frequently purchase goods at duty-free shops that are aligned with the ships, providing little revenues for the islands -- who, for their part, have found it impossible to impose reasonable rates of taxation on the industry for fear of being dropped from itineraries.
Whereas the path of corporate-controlled mass tourism is leading towards the Disneyification of island culture and the degradation of its environment, Ms. Pattullo believes that the Caribbean can secure a better future by embracing the principle of sustainability. The author contends that the region must begin to celebrate and preserve its unique history, culture and natural environment by implementing sustainable development strategies that are designed to empower local governments, businesses and people. To that end, she cites many examples of successful alternatives to the typical mass tourism model of sand and sun, including: eco-tourism, health spas, music festivals, living history, art and architectural appreciation, and other alternative vacation experiences. Indeed, it seems that the ideas advocated by the author might go a long way towards helping this remarkable part of the world both retain its uniqueness and gain a measure of the long-overdue success that it so richly deserves.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
An in-depth study of the economic and general effects of tourism upon the Caribbean area.......2006-03-14
Last Resorts: The Cost Of Tourism In The Caribbean, second edition, updated and revised by Polly Pattullo is an in-depth study of the economic and general effects of tourism upon the Caribbean area. Knowledgeably written, Last Resorts covers the overall economic effects of employment, history, government, social impact, culture, as well as an informative prediction of future probabilities for the Caribbean. Highly recommended for the vast coverage it provides, as well as its highly acute and accurate analytical content, Last Resorts is an excellent read for economics advisors, Caribbean trade executives, and non-specialist general readers, local citizens and vacationers with an interest in the Caribbean.
Paradaise might be a victim of its own success.......1997-04-26
- Everyone's tropical paradaise might be a victim of its own success. This book
reviews the tourism industry and explores how to bring greater benefits to the
region. Excellent!
Ron Mader / El Planeta Platica
Amazon.com
The sky isn't falling on Social Security, say economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot in this readable but sophisticated defense of America's popular government-run retirement program. The public suspects Social Security won't be solvent in the 21st century, they continue, because of "an avalanche of misinformation, disinformation, and powerful political and financial interests." The authors are both liberal economists, and they believe that the privatization of Social Security favored by many libertarians and younger Americans would involve great risk and possibly destroy a system of entitlements that has rescued millions of retirees from spending their golden years in poverty. Although they admit the stock market has averaged a 7 percent rate of return over the last 75 years--much higher than anything Social Security can claim--there is no way to predict what will happen in the future; mandatory private investment programs favored by many free-market reformers therefore offer false promises. Only Social Security, say Baker and Weisbrot, provides a guarantee of income for the elderly. Along the way, Social Security: The Phony Crisis discusses the history of Social Security and evaluates several of the reform proposals now on the table in Washington. A constant drumbeat in favor of the status quo will guarantee this book's popularity among liberals. --John J. Miller
Book Description
Is it true that the Social Security system is in serious trouble and must be repaired? As baby boomers begin to retire, will they inevitably, by force of their sheer numbers, bankrupt the system? Is Social Security a big Ponzi scheme that will leave future generations with little to show for their lifetime of contributions? Is the only way to solve the Social Security crisis through radical changes like privatization or bolstering it with massive new taxes?
According to the authors of this important new study, the answer to these questions is a resounding no. In Social Security: The Phony Crisis, economists Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot argue that there is no economic, demographic, or actuarial basis for the widespread belief that the program needs to be fixed.
As the authors emphasize, there is virtually no disagreement about the facts of Social Security's finances, or even the projections for its future. Rather, the Social Security debate has been foundering on misconceptions, confusion, and lack of agreement on the meaning of crucial terms.
The authors also take on related issues: that privatization would help save Social Security, that America has a pressing need to increase its national savings, and that future generations will suffer from the costs—especially for health care—of supporting a growing elderly population.
As New York Times columnist Fred Brock recently wrote, "So-called reform of the Social Security system is looking more and more like a solution in search of a problem." In this accessible and insightful work, Baker and Weisbrot seek to cut through some of the myths and fallacies surrounding this crucial policy issue.
"Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot have no trouble at all demonstrating that even on highly conservative assumptions about economic growth, the much-forecast insolvency of the Social Security system by about 2030 is most unlikely to happen then, if indeed ever."—The Economist
"The authors challenge basic assumptions with vigor and intelligence. . . . An absolutely relevant and important analysis, presented with force and clarity, that asks, basically, what kind of a nation we really are."—Kirkus Reviews
"Proponents—like George W. Bush—of Social Security privatization . . . typically ignore prospects for a stagnant or falling stock market. In Social Security: The Phony Crisis, [Baker and Weisbrot] show how a falling stock market could place pressure on both future Social Security payments and privatization schemes because earnings from the trust fund could actually fall."—Jeff Madrick, New York Review of Books
Customer Reviews:
Impeccable and Typical of the CEPR.......2007-06-03
There are some reviews listed by people who seem to be under the spell of the illusory "free markets." They seem to think that putting "must-have" money into risky investments like the stock market is a great idea. They are missing an important statistical fact when they quote the return on the US stock market, and that is that any average you calculate for a given period will be less for non-elite investors. Through insider trading and superior knowledge, better off investors do far better than non-elite investors. This has been conclusively demonstrated by research into 401k returns and is called the "yield disparity." It is one major reason, in addition to companies contributing less to 401ks than they did to pensions, why so many people's retirement in the US is at risk. Furthermore, all the major investment banks know this, and they are still pushing for to take over the social security system for their own purposes.
As far as calling the authors left wing or crackpots. I can tell you the work done by Dean Baker and by the Center for Economic and Policy reseach is some of the best economics done in the country. They are one of the few economic institutes of note who have not sold out to large power interests. If you sit in the top 2% of wealth in the country, go ahead and call them names. You need to, because their facts can not be argued away so easily. However, the rest need to wake up. If you are part of the rest of population (the other 98%) of the country in income and agree with Social Security "reform" you either don't know what is intended for Social Security (i.e. handing it over to wall street) or did not understand the arguments expressed in this book.
Jeez, I guess these guys got it wrong!.......2007-04-26
Well, it's now 2007, and there's very little doubt by anyone (even left-wing nut jobs like these guys) that if something is not done, the Social Security system WILL FAIL. How many people bought into their flat earth diatribe? These guys are probably related to the fellows who wrote the 1943 book: "Splitting the Atom: Junk Science". The book unfortunately is wishful thinking, spun around manipulated data. Propaganda, not misinterpreted information.
Detailed and comprehensive statement of economic fact.......2006-11-23
I have often heard the jeremiads about social security that through shear repetition hope to gain acceptance. Most significantly we hear that demographics doom social security as the large aging population will dwarf the new workforce and push it into bankruptcy. Baker and Weisbrot use detailed actuarial and labor force statistics to demonstrate that increases in average worker income will more than offset the increases in future recipients. Perhaps Italy and Japan will have those issues but Americans have more children and more immigrants and we shall have sufficient workers to cover the costs of benefits. Why don't the conservative forecasters suggest that we raise the maximum incomes for SS tax if they are concerned about its solvency. I do not want to repeat the arguments of Baker and Weisbrot since they state the case so effectively. The other amazing aspect of the book is that it applies so well to the 2005 privatization debate even though it was writter 6-7 years earlier.
Inaccurate tabloid mentality economics.......2005-07-17
This book is more of a left-wing diatribe then real, intelligent economic analysis.
Save Social Security - by enslaving young people.......2005-02-24
The authors do a wonderful job of ignoring one vital fact - how Social Security actually works.
Social Security is an intergenerational welfare program.
Money is taken from the young, and given to retired people.
The number of retired people will increase tremendously in the next few years as the generational wave (aka baby boomers) start to retire.
This means that young people will have to pay more to keep Social Security running. At the same time, there are no armies of younger children to provide retirement money for today's working people.
Social Security eats the young for the benefit of the old.
As the authors note, excess Social Security collections are used to buy government debt. This forms the "Trust Fund".
Here is what the government itself says about the "trust fund".
This quote is from Status of the Social Security and Medicaid Programs (2004). "Since neither the interest paid on the Treasury bonds held in the HI and OASDI Trust Funds, nor their redemption, provides any net new income to the Treasury, the full amount of the required Treasury payments to these trust funds must be financed by increased taxation, increased Federal borrowing and debt, and/or a reduction in other government expenditures."
After 2016, there will be more money paid out of Social Security to retirees and survivors than taken in by the 12.4% tax.
To pay for Social Security, the government either has to increase taxes, borrow money, or reduce expenses.
It is that simple. To keep Social Security going, we have to enslave young people.
Any volunteers?
Peter Simmons Author The Next Crash
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Southern Economic Journal, published by Southern Economic Association on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 6503 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: 2 1/2 Proposals to Save Social Security [*].(Review) (book review)
Author: Deborah Fretz
Publication:
Southern Economic Journal (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Volume: 67
Issue: 3
Page: 764
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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Land Reform in Ukraine: The First Five Years (World Bank Discussion Paper)
Csaba Csaki , and
Zvi Lerman
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
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ASIN: 0821340085 |
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- unfunny and racist
- This Author Deserves A Sicilian Necktie!!
- He wrote a book and is making money......
- Don't let Sonny go to the tollbooth alone...
- Racist, Stereotypical Jokes About Italians...Again
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Fuhgeddaboutit: How to Badda Boom, Badda Bing, and Find Your Inner Mobster
Jon Macks
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
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Fuhgeddaboutit: How to Badda Boom, Badda Bing, and Find Your Inner Mobster is the definitive guide on how to be a twenty-first-century made man. With easy-to-read step-by-step instructions, Fuhgeddaboutit reveals a unique way of living and a unique way of dying -- usually involving an icepick and duct tape.
In Fuhgeddaboutit, you will learn...
The three most common uses for toothpicks: "dental hygiene, stabbing and storing gum during sex."
All about honeymoons: "Every couple should honeymoon somewhere completely foreign and exotic for two weeks. Like South Jersey."
To protect yourself at all times: use a condom and a bulletproof vest.
The main difference between a Jewish mobster and an Italian mobster: a foreskin.
From the mobster's "Code of Conduct" to "Five Ways to Pass the Time in Jail" and even a chapter called "Minestrone for the Mob Soul," Fuhgeddaboutit is a must buy for both the serious mob professional and fans of this special way of life. And we use the words "must buy" in the strictest sense.
Download Description
Fuhgeddaboutit: How to Badda Boom, Badda Bing, and Find Your Inner Mobster is the definitive guide on how to be a twenty-first-century made man. With easy-to-read step-by-step instructions, Fuhgeddaboutit reveals a unique way of living and a unique way of dying -- usually involving an icepick and duct tape.
In Fuhgeddaboutit, you will learn:
- The three most common uses for toothpicks: "dental hygiene, stabbing, and storing gum during sex."
- All about honeymoons: "Every couple should honeymoon somewhere completely foreign and exotic for two weeks. Like South Jersey."
- To protect yourself at all times: use a condom and a bulletproof vest.
- The main difference between a Jewish mobster and an Italian mobster: a foreskin.
From the mobster's "Code of Conduct" to "Five Ways to Pass the Time in Jail" and even a chapter called "Minestrone for the Mob Soul," Fuhgeddaboutit is a must buy for both the serious mob professional and fans of this special way of life.
And we use the words "must buy" in the strictest sense.
Customer Reviews:
unfunny and racist.......2006-12-05
Aside from the fact this book is not at all funny, racist, offensive, poorly written, littered with typos, annoying, shrill, cloying, offensive, mean-spirited and dull, it's a great read.
This guy is one of Jay Leno's writers. Leno may be the one guy on the planet less funny than this author.
This Author Deserves A Sicilian Necktie!!.......2001-11-16
Ok! I bought this book thanks to those positive reviews coming from so-called Mob Fans. Bad Move! Judge this one by it's cover! The fact that the title treatment is an obvious Sopranos knock off should've clued me into the fact that somebody was jumping on a bandwagon in order to cash in. About 2 pages into the thing I realized I'd been duped. This guy ain't from New York or Jersey or any other mobbed up town. He's a Hollywood fag with enough connections to get a knock off book like this published. The humor is cutesy and trite. It's like getting a game show host's perspective on crime- think Bob Saget. The funniest thing about the book, is that the author simultaneously chastises the PC crowd for not having a sense of humor, then caters to them throughout the writing. "I'm not picking on Italians, I promise, there's lots of Mafia's out there." In the end I have to say that the guy is a rip off artist and deserves to have his knee caps busted. Don't waste your fuckin' money!!!
He wrote a book and is making money.............2001-08-19
After reading the reviews, one can tell who the reviewers are. The females are totally negative about this book and the males look at this from just being funny. Being Scilian I find this book humorous and not at all racist. If you can't laugh at yourself or understand it, well I guess you haven't lived it. No, "Eyetalians" are usually not assoicated with the family , but the small island off the boot is where it started. Give me a break, look at the book for what it is. How gouche for anyone to grade this book as if it were Roger Ebert reviewing a movie for it's exact content, performance, and accuracy. Lighten up "Eyetalians!"
Don't let Sonny go to the tollbooth alone..........2001-03-31
FUNNY STUFF!!! I disagree with those who don't see the humor in this book. As someone who has seen "The Godfather" -- parts 1, 2 and in a moment of weakness 3 -- over 100 times and actually wore out a DVD of "Casino," I LOVED this book. Jon Macks taps into all of the funny nuances of Mob-dom and made me laugh again and again. This book is SO ON TARGET! Buy it for yourself or someone you'd love to whack. It's a bada bing bada bang!
Racist, Stereotypical Jokes About Italians...Again.......2001-03-28
This book has to be the most racist, prejudiced book about Italians
and/or Italian-Americans on the market today, even though the author
devotes the first chapter explaining that there are Jewish,
African-American, Asian and other Mafias, and that Italian Mafia is
nearly extinct. The author then has the audicity to admonish anyone
who might be offended ("anyone with a name ending in a
vowel") to "stop being so Goddamned politically
correct." False disclaimers aside, the bulk of the book centers
on stale Italian jokes, including Italians as criminal, moronic,
dirty, hypocritical, etc. But, the author goes farther to attract
"The Sopranos" watchers, by characterizing female Italian
teens as being sluttish, big, fat, mustached mothers who are taught to
be "public saints and private whores," but who in reality
are "public whores and private saints." Let's face it, this
kind of book would NEVER be written about Jews, African-Americans,
Mexican-Americans, or Native Americans. Perhaps these groups are
better organized to stop this constant, negative drumbeat in the
media, but alas, we "Eyetalians" are just so darn
assimilated into the American way of life, that we don't usually go
around hyphenating our heritage. Since the Godfather movies of the
70's, up until now with "The Sopranos," which has elevated
cold-hearted, criminal behavior to high art, "Friends," with
the incredibly stupid, Joey, and a vast array of cartoons,
commercials, and now this so-called "humor" book, the nasty
Italian-American characterizations have reached a fever pitch in this
country. The author is fooling no one with a brain. This is racist,
juvenile material that should be pulled off the shelf.
Book Description
Leading inventor offers full history of piano technology, earliest models to 1910. Types, makers, components, mechanisms, musical aspects. 300 illustrations.
Average customer rating:
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Pianos and Their Makers
Manufacturer: Covina Publishing Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HHHNCE |
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Laboring to Play: Home Entertainment and the Spectacle of Middle-Class Cultural Life, 1850-1920
Melanie Dawson
Manufacturer: University Alabama Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0817314490 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Theatre History Studies, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 2187 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: Laboring to Play: Home Entertainment and the Spectacle of Middle-Class Cultural Life, 1850-1920.(The Most American Thing in America: Circuit Chautauqua as Performance)(Book review)
Author: Dorothy Chansky
Publication:
Theatre History Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 27
Page: 148(6)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
A Must Read.......2007-02-24
Radio Voices: American Broadcasting, 1922-152 is a must read for those who wish to learn about this important period in our history. It is an excellent book for those who remember those wonderful days, and for those who want to learn what their parents or grandparents were talking about!
No Mas.......2004-08-24
Please---not another PC book, full of deconstructionist jargon and only using the triple prism of the Left: race, gender and ethnicity.
Decent History of early Radio.......2003-02-21
Radio Voices is a decent look at radio from the early 1900s to 1952, although Hilmes mostly skirts any discussion of radio's decline after 1945.
She amply discusses the effects of early programs such as Amos 'n Andy which were based on minstrel shows. This discussion and the racial reasons behind them is quite interesting.
However, I think the book at many points turns from an interesting discussion into a polemic, and loses its way. She discusses the "ghettoization" of women programs to the daytime schedule. I think this really disrespects women listeners of the 1920s and 30s. Yes, many of them were at home and not out working like many men, but Hilmes discusses this topic in a tone that makes it sound like the daytime schedule was "second rate" when in fact it's the women who make the purchasing choices for most households, not the men who'd be listening more at night. The audience may have been smaller during the day than at night, but it doesn't mean it's less important and certainly shouldn't be referred to as "ghettoization".
Also she discusses in condesending tones the use of radio by the government and other interests to promote America's intervention in World War II. Like many post-Vietnam academics, it's obvious she likely falsely believes we should have stayed out of that war. It's really a shame she strays into a polemic on some of these topics. Otherwise, it would have been a great book.
radio constructed America.......2002-10-21
"Radio Voices" offers an overview of the radio's impact on America. Hilmes describes the way this media interacted, effected, and was influenced by phenomenon such as urbanization, immigration, the rise consumer culture, racial tension, the notion of gender roles, WWI, and WWII. I particularly enjoyed her dealings with gender and race. Hilmes reveals the invention and propagation of racial tension as she discusses the portrayal of blacks as an uneducated group participating in society secondarily to white listeners, and most often in positions of servitude. Hilmes' treatment of women in the text reveals their suseptibility to consumerism and their exclusion from nighttime/masuline radio air time. She describes the waxing and waning acceptance of women into positions of power in the radio industry as well as the evolution of gender roles as a result of female shows such as the first soap operas (serials). The end of the text addresses the radio propaganda surrounding WWII, including the encouragement of black soldier participation and women in the workforce. Overall, I feel the text broadenend my knowledge of the radio's influence on American culture, not only between 1922-1952, but in modern society. The radio served as a means to American unification, and traces of this cultural foundation still remain profoundly engraved in the notion of what it means to be an American. After reading this text I feel I can examine, more objectively, the media I absorb today.
A fun... and insightful historical look at radio.......2001-08-10
An outstanding, if slightly academic, homage to the glory days of live radio. Hilmes is both a fan of the medium and a critic of its development, paying special attention to radio's role in shaping American national identity. The presentation of women and various ethnic groups is one of her main concerns, but Hilmes isn't a mere PC grind; she also explores the nuances of supposed stereotypes, analyzing the degree to which these characterizations both shaped and reflected the world around them. It's fascinating to read an account of a seemingly "dead" medium... She does a great job capturing the flavor of the times, even though most of us will never be able to hear the shows she mentions. Hilmes draws upon several major media libraries, as well as extensive governmental and academic archives, mixing bureaucratic, sociological and pop cultural perspectives. Of particular interest to readers in the present day, where multinational conglomerates duke it out over the vanishing frontier of post-dotcom economy, and the FCC and Congress have sharply curtailed freedom of expression (under the guise of protecting intellectual property), is the older, earlier story of how the US government and the budding broadcast industry squelched the amatuer broadcasters of the 'teens and '20s. In some ways it's a side note to Himes' wider social concerns, but it couldn't be more timely. Recommended reading!
Book Description
AI Game Engine Programming provides game developers with the tools and wisdom necessary to create modern game AI engines. It takes programmers from theory to actual game development, with usable code frameworks designed to go beyond merely detailing how a technique might be used. In addition, it surveys the capabilities of the different techniques used. In addition, it surveys the capabilities of the different techniques used in some current AI engines, and covers common pitfalls, design considerations, and optimizations. If you're having difficulty determining which techniques to use, or looking for working code best suited to a particular game, you'll find the answers here. You'll also find a clean, usable interface for a variety of game AI techniques with an emphasis on primary decision-making paradigms. The book provides insightful coverage of a variety of subjects important to AI engine development, and ties them together masterfully to form an indispensable reference. Part I provides an overall look at game AI, covers the basic terminology used in the book, reviews underlying concepts of game AI, and dissects the parts of a game AI engine. Part II covers specific game genres (RPG, TRS, FTPS, Shooter, Sports, Racing, Strategy, Adventure, Fighting, Platform, and miscellaneous) and explains how they use different AU paradigms. It also covers the move common solutions to the problems posed by each genre. Some of the problems include, dealing with direct AI and human interactions, using scripting languages appropriately, and general intelligence/entertainment balancing. Part III provides the actual code implementations for the basic AI techniques such as finite state machines, fuzzy state machines, message board systems, scripted systems, and location-based information systems. And, Part IV covers the move advanced techniques, including genetic algorithms, neural networks, artificial life, planning algorithms, and decision trees. The book concludes wit
Customer Reviews:
All around great book on the subject.......2005-09-07
This book was quite revealing to me. It is basically split into two halves: the first part talks about specific game types and how developers have traditionally used AI systems for each, and the second part which covers the actual code implementations for these systems.
I loved the in depth game section. It was really interesting to find out exactly which techniques are used the the various games. He even includes many examples from real life games. It made thinking about creating these systems for myself seem much more doable.
As far as code goes, there's a ton of it. Both working game code for each type of AI system he's trying to explain, as well as code from real games or internet demos. I found his code clean and professionally written. I have already used code from three different chapters as a launching point for my own projects.
I saw a reference in another review for Programming AI by Example. I also own that book and I must say I liked this one better. Matt's book is good, don't get me wrong. But there's a whole chapter on math basics (which I didn't need), another chapter on steering behaviors (all of the information and code for which I can get directly from Craig Reynold's OpenSteer project online) and then specific chapters detailing Matt's own AI engine, which is called Raven (nothing really mind blowing, and I'd rather code my own to get the concepts solid).
Brian's book, on the other hand, was more of a toolbox of code that I can assemble into whatever shapes I need. Not too much code, and definately not too little. One of the reviewers noted that there's "not enough code to illustrate the concepts"? Sounds to me like somebody just wants the entire thing done for him. I looked at the other books that guy has reviewed, and he absolutely loved Andre LaMothe's "Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus". Ha. That book is for total beginners, and was just a collection and republishing of some of his earlier, outdated books. He even says "I want to write like him".
I'm really looking forward to anything else Brian might write in the future. I have found so many useful nuggets of information from this book. Great job.
No real meat and potatoes, but many appetizers........2005-08-23
First, I would like to address the comment a reviewer made about the book being no good because it utilizes OpenGL.
This is a book on AI, the AI concepts and code can be implemented using any rendering API (or none at all) to visualize their activity. OpenGL and DirectX have as much to do with AI as car engine maintenance has to do with cooking a good lobster neuberg. The fact that the reviewer cannot make this distinction is sadly telling. Some people want all the work done for them. If you are that type, don't bother with programming.
Second, the reviewer who said that this book is too scattered is right. It tries to do too many things and ends up doing none of them extremely well. It does, however, have a few good code samples and can be used as an introductory book on the subject.
Scattered, superficial treatment.......2005-08-20
The book is trying to do too much but end up delivering little. There is also not enough code to illustrate the concepts. I would recommend Matt Buckland's AI books if you are actually looking for a practical guide to help you develop your own AI system. If you must buy, check it in the bookstore before you do.
Great Book in Game AI.......2005-04-28
This is a good book that talks about game AI. The author describe most of the game AI topics in this book. If you interest in game AI. I highly suggest you to have this book on your bookself.
Best game book I've read yet.......2005-04-16
I have worked in the game industry for over 10 years, and have also taught classes in game design and programming. This is the first book that I would recommend as intro/intermediate textbook for game AI. It covers all the popular game types (shooters, fighters, sports, and more) and covers all the popular AI methods (state machines, scripting, messaging, many others).
The book uses a very clean, not-too formal, not-too conversational writing style, which is easy to get into and yet remains professional sounding. The included code is clean, usable, and is very representative of real working game code. There's also tons of code snippets from actual released games to show the reader how the concepts have been done out in the wild.
The book also goes into the actual process of creating an AI system for a game project. Only by knowing the type of game you're going to make, the platform, the audience, and a slurry of other factors can you intelligently design a system that will provide your project with everything it needs to succeed.
All in all, a great piece of work from an industry vet.
Also, another review states that "the book fails because it's OpenGL based," which is hilarious in its ignorance and outright falsehood. The reviewer states that "all major gaming houses use DirectX" which is strange, cosidering that the vast majority of all video games are actually not PC based (which is the platform that mostly uses DirectX; Sony and Nintendo obviously are not using Microsoft's libraries, even the XBox uses a very specialized version of DirectX). Plus the fact that the author actually WORKS at Sony, and you can see that the reviewer doesn't really have any clue. The book is about Game AI, and the small bit of OpenGL code in the book is just allowing a quick, cross platform "renderer" for the AI demos. This is not a book on game graphics, and never says that it is.
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