Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, Third Edition

Amazon.com

Lennard Zinn explains that it doesn't take special skills to learn how to care for one's bike, only "a passion for spreading new grease on old parts." Clearly, his ambition is to share with newcomers the Zen-like joy of bike maintenance. But it's seasoned bike mechanics that should be tripping over each other for a copy of this comprehensive and ambitious manual. Zinn differs from other how-to books by guiding readers--with plain-speaking text--through almost every imaginable repair on almost every imaginable part. He covers everything from rebuilding hubs, to loosening seized stems, to installing six different types of bottom brackets. He even risks cycling blasphemy by walking mere mortals through the art of wheel building--an intimidating task that can take years to perfect. Although best suited for the old pros, his guide is user- friendly, funny, and essential to anyone willing to love their bike. --Ben Tiffany

Book Description

In this book, Lennard Zinn explains and demonstrates how to completely and properly maintain every component of a mountain bike, including chains, derailleurs, shifters, wheels, brakes, cranks, bottom brackets, pedals, saddles, seatposts, suspension systems, handlebars, stems, headsets, forks, and frames. He describes and rates every repair and counsels the novice bike mechanic how to decide whether or not to take the bike to a bike shop for professional attention. Extensive line drawings show how parts fit together and illustrate the tools required for every type of bike. Completely revised and updated to include the most recent information on state-of-the-art mountain bike components, emergency on-trail repair tricks are also explained.

Customer Reviews:

Not bad.......2007-10-18

Not a bad book.... good pictures and explanations. could be a little more specific for newbies. overall a good buy.

A great intro to mountain bike maintenance.......2007-10-09

What can I add that hasn't already been said earlier?

If you can get the book and the dvd. This has been a great introduction for myself as I wanted to learn how to best maintain my mountain bike. It has proven to be very accessible for even a beginner like myself and yet not feel like I'm being talked down to by the author.

I only recently bought this and already some of the maintenance & repairs I've done have saved some serious cash. Now as I walk into the local bicycle shop I know what I need for the tasks at hand.

For the maintenance and repairs I do now I save myself money and also I spare the time of the local bicycle mechanics by not taking it in for maintenance jobs I can now do. They have noted this and do appreciate it.

Clear, well writen and with good schemes and graphics.......2007-08-03

I found that this was exactly what I was looking for. Clear, simple when it can be simple and not oversimplified when the things are complicated. If you are like me a MTB enthusiast with inclinations to understand, maintain and even repair ocasionally your bike, this is the book for you. Not that it covers only basic material, but it is friendly to newcomers that will, I believe, enjoy putting their hands on the bike.

Search the internet, its cheaper.......2007-07-09

Good book, easy to read and understand.

Yet I still feel the internet is a much greater resource which the ability to search for specific problems, rather than browsing problems, and ability to talk with people (such as on forums).

Great if you want a book though.

great textbook.......2007-05-21

This is a nicely written and very informative book--a must for anyone who wants to do his/her own maintenence on a mountain bike. For long-time and experienced mechanics, much will be review, but there are always those little things that you haven't done before, or have changed with new equipment. This book gives you the proper approach in a clear, no-nonsense fashion.

Book Description

Popular writers and historians alike have perpetuated the powerful myth of the rugged individualist single-handedly transforming the American West. In reality, William Robbins counters, the Guggenheims and Goulds, the Harrimans and Hearsts, and the Morgans and Mellons heavily influenced what the West was to become. Remove the romance, he shows, and a darker West emerges--a colonial-like region where "industrial statesmen," aided by eastern U.S. and European capital, manipulated investments in pursuit of private gain while controlling wage-earning cowboys and miners.

Robbins argues that understanding the impact of capitalism on the West--from the fur trade era to the present--is essential to understanding power, influence, and change in the region.

Showing how global capitalism had a more profound impact on the modern West than individual initiative, he explores violence and racism along the Texas/Mexican border; colonial-style company towns in Montana and the Northwest; contrasting traditions astride the U.S./Canadian boundary; pace-setting agribusiness and exploitation of labor in California; the growing power of metropolitan centers and dependence of rural areas; and the emergence of a sizable federal influence.

To grasp the essence of the West's dramatic transformation, Robbins contends, you must look to the mainstays of material relations in the region--the perpetually changing character of political and economic culture; the inherent instability of resources; and the larger constellations of capitalist decision making. Consequently, he shows why Western success and failure, prosperity and misfortune, and expansion and decline were all inseparably linked to the evolution of capitalism at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

In the tradition of Patricia Nelson Limerick's Legacy of Conquest, Robbins's study challenges some of our most revered images of the West and invigorates the ongoing debates over its history and meaning for our nation.

Customer Reviews:

straightforward and educational.......2007-09-01

The history that people are told and retold about the early American West is not always true. Pre-existing and inaccurate ideas of the West are implanted into people's skulls by Hollywood, foggy-minded teachers, and misled scholars. American pride can even shield people from the truth or lead them in a more ideal direction of what they want the history of the West to be instead of what it actually is. William Robbins recognizes this in his book Colony and Empire: The Capitalist Transformation of the American West and attempts to pull back the layers of romance and myth surrounding the West. In doing so, he reveals the true forces that shaped and carved the West into what it is today.

Robbins examines how previous authors have portrayed the progress and industrialization of the West. He builds his arguments up with harsh realities that knock down the pretty and gentle stories of other authors. He opens the book by defaming the myth that a few good men and elbow grease built the nation from the ground up. He shows how settlers only played a part in shaping the destiny of the frontier.

Arrell Morgan Gibson is one of the many victimized by Robbins's criticism. Gibson is attacked for his books that, according to Robbins, portray the West as a world of romantic heroes that was built solely on the power of goodness and righteousness. Throughout the book, Robbins makes it clear to the reader just how disgustingly far from reality these interpretations are. Many of his cited sources are referred to in order to criticize them rather than to support his own ideas.

Robbins looks at the history of decreasing manual labor as machines take over. This serves as a vital topic as Robbins discusses industrialization and changes in capitalism. These changes serve as Robbins's main thesis and were often fueled and influenced by foreign investors with interests of their own. One chapter focuses on the yearning for personal wealth and prosperity yet shady examples of this can be found throughout. It is a surprising look at who really had power in the West. This book is a compilation of drawn-out explanations of factors in an equation that equal what the American West is today. Vast amounts of land produce resources. Resources reap wealth and greed. Wealth and greed feeds capitalism. Capitalism supplies industrialization and mobility. Mobility multiplies technological progress and the quality of living. None of these things are magical or precious like many of the stories that are used to explain history today. Pointing this out takes up most of the pages in Robbins's book.

Robbins successfully accomplishes what he set out to do with this book. Unfortunately, Robbins's writing style rubs off as bossy and angry. This is because every chapter is just a new angle to disprove what others have written. His battle, however, is legitimate and noble. There is simply no way to criticize all of the kid-friendly works of history without looking like a jackass. The book serves as an educationally valuable resource for those wanting to learn more about the West. All in all, however, the book would provide little entertainment for readers that lack a pre-existing interest in the subject.

Colony and Empire: The Capitalist Transformation of the American West. Development of Western Resources

Average customer rating:

Colony and Empire: The Capitalist Transformation of the American West. Development of Western Resources
William G. (born 1935) Robbins
Manufacturer: Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, [1994]. 1st Printing. xvi+255+[1]pp. Brown cloth. A near fine copy in pictorial dust jacket. (OP). eng.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000T5QK8M

Average customer rating:

Wonderful book!

Terrible advice

Best wedding planning book EVER!

OUTSTANDING! Best I've seen in wedding planning!

The Bargaining Bride: How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams Without Paying the Bills of Your Nightmares
Shirit Kronzon , and Andrew Ward
Manufacturer: New Page Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Planning | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Forecasting, Time Series, and Regression (with CD-ROM) (Forecasting, Time Series, & Regression)

Trump-Style Negotiation: Powerful Strategies and Tactics for Mastering Every Deal

Bridal Bargains, 8th Edition: Secrets to throwing a fantastic wedding on a realistic budget (Bridal Bargains)

Jo Gartin's Weddings: An Inspiring Guide for the Stylish Bride

Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, Fourth Edition

ASIN: 1564147983

Book Description

Dr. Shirit Kronzon has taught hundreds of students at the prestigious Wharton School of Business how to negotiate everything from their first job offer to their latest promotion.

Now she is going to teach you how to negotiate your wedding!

If you are like so many brides-to-be, you will spend months preparing for the most important day of your life. There will be dozens of decisions to make as you try to secure the best wedding gown, photographer, music, flowers, cake, invitations, and reception location…without having to mortgage your parents' house —or your own—to pay for them.

Each one of these decisions presents an opportunity to bargain for a better deal. At the core of wedding planning is a skill you may not realize you need: you must know how to negotiate. After all, the cost of a wedding can easily exceed that of a fancy car or even a starter home!

The Bargaining Bride will help you get the wedding of your dreams without paying the bills of your nightmares. It will show you proven strategies to help you save money on the most important elements of your wedding without sacrificing the splendor of the event, including:

How to get that dream dress (or bouquet, or cake, or reception location) at a fraction of the price.

How to recognize and respond to common vendor pressure tactics such as "the bait and switch," "nibbling," and "entrapment."

How to negotiate with family members and in-laws. And much, much more.

You will see how effective negotiation skills can mean the difference between paying too much for an unremarkable event and getting an exceptional deal on the most memorable day of your life.

Dr. Shirit Kronzon received her B.A. in Psychology from Stanford and her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Princeton. She has taught at Wharton for five years.

Dr. Andrew Ward, a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College, has conducted research on negotiation for the past 15 years. His work has been featured in such popular magazines as Glamour, Self, Allure, and Redbook.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful book!.......2006-02-22

Wonderful book! Lots of helpful hints! I have two points to offer:

First, I loved how the authors actually tell you what to say to the various wedding service providers that I am dealing with. The book even includes a mock conversation with a photographer about how to get your final photographs when photographers take their time returning your pictures.

Second, as a woman who is planning her wedding I was very intimidated by how I should interact with the wedding vendors and I LOVED the book's central idea, that is, that if you are afraid of a formal negotiation, just think of it as ASKING questions so that you can make informed decisions about your wedding planning. I wholeheartedly agree: It is less scary to ask questions than to visualize a tough bargaining session.

This book is saving me hard-earned money - well done!

Terrible advice.......2006-02-22

I got married very recently. I went through the whole planning experience...

Though there are some decent ideas, most of what this book tells you will actually hurt your big day and create stress.

For example, this book teaches you to treat your vendors like car salesman. Smart idea. Plan and dream of your wedding all your life, but then chose the cheapest people, turn off your vendors by nickel and diming them to death to which only the most desperate will agree to. Very smart.

As a recent groom, my experience is that you get what you pay for, and creating a situation where you pick the cheapest/most desperate vendors will only create more stress for you. I done this with one vendor and regretted it. I have shot some weddings in my life as well, and in one or two cases where I accepted the hard negotiation, it really made me resent the clients. When I didn't accept it, the clients picked some desperate person and they without exception came to me to fix their photos which was not possible.

I also wonder if the authors salaries were negotiated like car salesman for this book.

There are many books that help plan a wedding without going into big debt. This however, is not the way to do it. The authors are just trying to take advantage of the bride's willingness to save money and they are in fact the people who remind me of car salesman but taking advantage of this.

Best wedding planning book EVER!.......2006-01-05

I read dozens of books when I planned my wedding, and this is by far the best of all. It gave actually useful advice, and it was really fun to read. The fact that the advice was all scientifically based just made it that much more persuasive.

OUTSTANDING! Best I've seen in wedding planning!.......2005-12-22

I've looked at several wedding planning books (as do many brides-to-be), but never have I seen one so well written, thoughtful and practical.

I picked up this book while putting the last details on my own wedding planning. I specifically used its advice in negotiating price and arrangements for the wedding gown and flower arrangements. I saw so many of the tricks coming and now have extra money left over to indulge in an extravagant honeymoon! I wish I had found the book earlier!

I'm sure these negotiation tactics will even carry over into my consulting career. Believe me, take a look.

Pocket-Poet's Guide to Planning Your Dream Wedding Without Nightmare Bills

Average customer rating:

This helped me SO much!
A great find!!
A HUGE help! I am glad I found this book

Pocket-Poet's Guide to Planning Your Dream Wedding Without Nightmare Bills
Robert Melillo
Manufacturer: Pocket-Poet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Gown | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Planning | Weddings | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0975275305

Product Description

Pocket-Poet's guide to planning your dream wedding without nightmare bills. Topic by topic instructions on how to save thousands of dollars and still plan your dream wedding. Topics including: venue selection, guest list, flowers, dresses, menu selection, bar options, transportation, tuxedos, favors and more.

Customer Reviews:

This helped me SO much!.......2004-02-24

OK, God knows I have been to enough weddings that you would think I could plan mine easily. Uhhhh..NO!

I was clueless and my fiance (now husband) was fairly useless (but I love him anyway).

I happened to see this book on a website (sorry Amazon, it wasn't yours) and figured for [$$$] or whatever it was, it was worth a shot. I am glad I picked it up.

The advice on flowers alone was amazing. The ideas for saving money on my dress..a lifesaver! I know that sounds overdone but I am serious.

I basically took one of their ideas for my reception and had a great time. It was like a 4 hour cocktail hour. People LOVED the food. I got so much feedback.

A good find!

A great find!!.......2004-02-18

I was walking around a Wedding Expo in Huntington, NY when I met the author of this book (they were at the event). By the time I got to their booth I was getting depressed over the fact that I knew my wedding would cost way more than I could ever afford.

I decided to buy the book, I figured $14 was a good investment. I am glad I bought it.

The book is easy and fun to read and has some great tips. The section on flowers and favors was such a big help. Almost every subject I could think of was covered. They really put together a great guide.

I can honestly say that this $14 investment saved me at least $5,000 in the planning of my wedding.

I think any bride planning their wedding should pick up this book if they can find it.

A HUGE help! I am glad I found this book.......2004-02-18

I was walking around a wedding expo, getting depressed over the prices of everything when I stumbled on this book, the author was at the expo.

The book is not super long but is very thorough and easy to read. I tried a few of the suggestions and can honestly say that I think I saved at leat $5000 on my wedding (no lie!)

The best sections are about flowers and favors, but the other stuff is good too. I thought the section about finding out who will help me pay for it was great and very helpful (oh and it worked).

I am not going to ramble I just noticed this book was on here and wanted to let you all know it's a great buy!

Book Description

Understand the rich tapestry of your child's inner world! With fewer inhibitions than adults, children eagerly share their dream life and visit their worst nightmares. But they often don't have the vocabulary to express their feelings. Open up the lines of communication and help youngsters tap into a joyous fount of creativity and a source of intellectual and social development. Using a variety of imaginative techniques, such as Dreamercises, children can safely explore and come to terms with their nightmares. Stimulate pleasant dreams by suggesting scenarios to "revisit" that night--perhaps from a story or a cherished, favorite event. Encourage awareness with the "Dream Finder," which gives parents questions that gently and positively guide a child to talk. The extraordinary color drawings will help them visualize and focus on their dreams. With illuminating real-life case histories that show just how much youthful dreams reveal and a dictionary of common images, you'll have a head start in assuring that your child has a happier, more fulfilled life. 144 pages (all in color), 8 x 10.

Customer Reviews:

This was so much about creative parenting as well as dreams!.......2002-01-17

I bought this book as I thought it looked interesting and I'm fascinated by dreams. I'd never seen one on children's dreams so I thought I'd see how it worked with mine. I was pleasantly surprised to find it packed with sensitive real-life stories with lots of caring advice. If you're wondering about your parenting skills - and what parent doesn't? - then you'd be wise to buy this book by Dr. Spurr. You may find it eye-opening!

How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams on a Nightmare Budget: 150 Money-Saving Strategies to Slash Your Wedding Costs

Average customer rating:

Nothing new.

How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams on a Nightmare Budget: 150 Money-Saving Strategies to Slash Your Wedding Costs
Gwendolyn Riase
Manufacturer: Applesauce Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consumer Behavior | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0963244647

Customer Reviews:

Nothing new........1999-03-18

This book was a complete waste of money. The author indicated nothing new. The only good piece of information I got out of the book was the weather prediction guide (The Old Farmers Almanac). Other than that, the author did not give any new tips. This book should cost $5.00 only. It is not worth the price that it corrently is.

Average customer rating:

Must read - bride-to-be or not!
Funny book to help you plan for the worst & expect the best!
Funny book to help you plan for the worst & expect the best!

Wedding Nightmares
Bride's Magazine Editors
Manufacturer: Highbridge Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Humor | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0453008143

Customer Reviews:

Must read - bride-to-be or not!.......2004-06-23

This book has everything - shock, horror, comedy, tragedy, adventure, true crime, true love, gowns, rings, cakes, swans, in-laws, and outlaws. Everyone should read this compendium of wedding mayhem before they get married to gain perspective, rationality, and many, many laughs. Weddings bring out both the worst and best in people, and this book give many examples. From a newly married groom hitting on a bridesmaid at the wedding party next door through collapsing cakes and hurricane honeymoons, there's never a dull moment. Waiting for volume 2!

Funny book to help you plan for the worst & expect the best!.......1999-03-22

Funny, sad and pathetic stories that put everything in perspective! I'm planning a wedding and keep reading it for laughs and to realize that things are not so bad!

Funny book to help you plan for the worst & expect the best!.......1999-03-22

Funny, sad and pathetic stories that put everything in perspective! I'm planning a wedding and keep reading it for laughs and to realize that things are not so bad!

Average customer rating:

What a great book!
A great book - very helpful
A very good book

Gay Weddings Without Nightmare Bills

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 097527533X

Product Description

Moments of Pride is a resource for gay and lesbian wedding planning. Two of their top wedding and event planners combined their collective skills and knowledge to create a guide to assist gays and lesbians in planning their weddings/unions/commitment ceremonies without having nightmares---bills or otherwise. This book includes information regarding invitations; vows; flowers; clothing; accessories; menu items; bar options; entertainment; transportation; negotiating and so much more. This book is part of a series that includes books on being a Best Man at a gay or lesbian wedding as well a book on how to be a Maid or Matron of Honor at a gay or lesbian wedding. The writers of this book are not only outstanding wedding and event planners, but one is also the former two-term president of the longest running gay and lesbian switchboard in New York. This book will help you plan your dream wedding without nightmare bills.

Customer Reviews:

What a great book!.......2004-06-27

When my life partner and I decided to marry shortly after it became legal in Mass. we started doing some research. We were surprised how little information there was. We stumbled on this book and picked it up. We think it was published right before the decision to allow gay marriages in Mass so it can use that update but other than that it is GREAT! We did some more research and found that the writers actually run a great company for gay and lesbian gifts and writing services, etc. We recommend this book highly.

A great book - very helpful.......2004-06-14

I picked up this book at a Gay & Lesbian Expo in NYC. One of the writers was there and my fiance and I found him delightful. He mentioned that he had the book on Amazon.com so I came on to buy it for a friend as well. The book is very helpful and gives some TERRIFIC advice on how to save money while planning a lovely affair. My fiance and I are planning a fairly traditional wedding. Since we do not live in Mass. the wedding will not be legal, but we still wanted a very nice affair. Money is an issue. The advice in this book was really terrific especially since we did not really know much about throwing a large event. We both highly recommend this book.

A very good book.......2004-06-02

Well I took a chance on this book because there was not much information in the write up on here. I am glad I did. The book really provided a lot of information on how to plan a wedding in general and then had some specific advice for gays and lesbians. The cost saving information was really helpful. The section about suggestions on menu and bar options was a HUGE help. I do think this book is well worth the money. I look forward to finishing the plans of our wedding! (how nice is it to say WEDDING?!?)

Average customer rating:

Wedding Nightmares
Editors of Bride's Magazine
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K3UM0A

Average customer rating:
Mel Bay Presents Ukulele: Easy Method Book
Mary Lou Dempler
Manufacturer: Mel Bay Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guitar | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Mel Bay's Ukulele Chords

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Mel Bay Presents The Easy Ukulele Tablature Method, Book 2

The Complete Ukulele Course taught by Ralph Shaw

Hal Leonard Ukulele Method Book 1

ASIN: 0786659769

Book Description

The Easy Ukulele Method books give you music at your fingertips! Using both notation and tablature, this method is so easy that in minutes you will be strumming your ukulele and singing along to familiar songs. Students of all ages will enjoy this book! The ukulele is an instrument for everyone and every type of music! So begin today using this tablature method and discover the wonders of this little instrument.

Mel Bay Presents The Easy Ukulele Tablature Method, Book 2

Average customer rating:

Mel Bay Presents The Easy Ukulele Tablature Method, Book 2
Mary Lou Dempler
Manufacturer: Mel Bay Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

ASIN: 0786659777

Book Description

The Easy Ukulele Method books give you music at your fingertips! Book II reviews many of the fundamentals presented in Book I. It tests your music reading skills with worksheets, expands your knowledge with additional chords, and gives you many more songs to play. Both notation and tablature are used, allowing you to strum along using the chord symbols or play the melody with the tablature.

Book Description

Marianne and the Puritan provides a sociological, political, and aesthetic analysis of French and American cultures as seen through their respective cinemas. Author David I. Grossvogel focuses on highly popular and available French and American films which, taken together and through the 20th century, treat permutations of the couple.

Book Description

Watch your PC's monitor, or watch TV? Using the Teach Yourself method, this edition includes step-by-step instruction and the visuals you need to quickly master WebTV basics. After you power up your first WebTV unit, with this proven tutorial soon you'll be navigating the Web, editing text, filling out forms, and sending e-mail -- by your television's remote or your unit's keyboard. You'll make the most of WebTV when you visit news and entertainment centers and, of course, watch TV. If you find that surfing the Web is more comfortable from your sofa, WebTV and its communities are the right choice for you.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Step by Step Review of Webtv.......2000-04-01

If you are looking for an easy to read guide with great photographs and you are a new Webtv user, this is the book for you.

Teach Yourself Webtv guides the reader slowly through the internet maze whether learning how to chat,email, or shop for the first time. To some, technology is daunting enterprise but this book helps those who are interested but afraid of making mistakes online. An excellent reference guide that should be in all libraries.

Excellent primer for Web TV novices.......2000-03-31

This book is very helpful for anyone new to Web TV. I found the step-by-step examples were just what I needed to gain confidence and skill. The authors really take you by the hand and guide you. Perfect for the internetphobic. Well worth the investment and also quite useful as a reference book.

Book Description

Soon after its launch, Ant succeeded in taking the Java world by storm, becoming the most widely used tool for building applications in Java environments. Like most popular technologies, Ant quickly went through a series of early revision cycles. With each new version, more functionality was added, and more complexity was introduced. Ant evolved from a simple-to-learn build tool into a full-fledged testing and deployment environment. Ant: The Definitive Guide has been reworked, revised and expanded upon to reflect this evolution. It documents the new ways that Ant is being applied, as well as the array of optional tasks that Ant supports. In fact, this new second edition covers everything about this extraordinary build management tool from downloading and installing, to using Ant to test code. Here are just of a few of the features you'll find detailed in this comprehensive, must-have guide:

Developing conditional builds, and handling error conditions
Automatically retrieving source code from version control systems
Using Ant with XML files
Using Ant with JavaServer Pages to build Web applications
Using Ant with Enterprise JavaBeans to build enterprise applications

Far exceeding its predecessor in terms of information and detail, Ant: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is a must-have for Java developers unfamiliar with the latest advancements in Ant technology. With this book at your side, you'll soon be up to speed on the premiere tool for cross-platform development. Author Steve Holzner is an award-winning author who s been writing about Java topics since the language first appeared; his books have sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

Check out internet instead........2007-05-16

This book is a regurgitation of O'Reilly web material. This book had a real opportunity to discuss Ant internals or at least something that can't be found on tech sites or the software documentation. Project wikis will undoubtedly replace the need for tech books of this sort.

Got Me Going Quickly.......2007-02-06

Web research on Ant revealed a lot of explanations, but they were very hard to understand. And I didn't want to waste time scratching my head. This book explained what Ant is and how it works in an approachable way without insulting my intelligence. The author obviously has a lot of experience in Ant and many of the other technologies it interacts with. While other comments have pointed out that it's not a reference, I can easily get those other details on the internet. This book got me up and running with Ant quickly and painlessly. It contained useful examples that actually worked when I tried to follow them.

The best book on Ant.......2006-10-13

Apache Ant is the primary build tool for Java projects and this book is excellent introduction to it. Although the title is misleading - this is not really a definitive guide (its not really reference book for starters), it is well written and easily understood. If you work through this book from start to finish then I'm confident that you'll come out the other end as an Ant expert.

A Good Introduction, but Only an Introduction.......2006-08-18

This book provides a good enough introduction to Ant, but it only takes you to the point of knowing how to use Ant and not the point of knowing how to use ant on a project of any size. As an introduction it works well. You learn how to get up and running with Ant very early on in the book, and you learn all of the key tasks rather quickly as well. Everything is explained clearly, and it seems reasonably organized. What it lacks is really any explanation of various best practices for using ant, whether on a small program or a large one. For a book of this size, I was surprised at the absence of this info and ultimately I felt that it was only a bit more useful than the free online docs for ant.

Good Place To Start With Ant.......2006-08-16

This book can take you from zero Ant knowledge to being productive in a matter of days. After starting with some simple examples, it builds up the following concepts very well: properties and types, compilation, deployment, testing with JUnit, working with CVS, and Eclipse integration. I skipped chapters 8, 9, 10, and 12 because I did not anticipate a need for them right now. However, if I need to know about web deployments, working with XML docs, optional tasks, and extending Ant I know that this book covers these things too. To get the most out of the book, you need to download ant to your computer along with the example code from the book's web site. It is very easy to modify the code and see how different options for the various tasks work.

Average customer rating:

Sofar, O'Reilly books never disappointed me.
Beware: Sample Source Code Obsolete
lalin
It's a good book, but Eclipse is a better open-source IDE
A complete and worthwhile reference

NetBeans: The Definitive Guide
Tim Boudreau , Jesse Glick , Simeon Greene , Jack Woehr , and Vaughn Spurlin
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Programming | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Software | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Programming | O'Reilly | By Publisher | Books
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ASIN: 0596002807

Book Description

As the Java programming language has increased in both functionality and complexity, developers have demanded more of their program editors. Gone are the days when a simple visual editor is sufficient for even small programming projects. While there are numerous IDEs available today for use by Java developers, one stands above the rest, not only for its functionality, but for its extensibility: NetBeans. In NetBeans: The Definitive Guide, you'll find out how to use this IDE to its fullest, making your Java programming more efficient and productive than ever before. You'll understand the basics of the IDE, and quickly be utilizing the various editor and explorer windows. You'll also master many of NetBeans advanced features, and be working with XML documents, CVS repositories, Javadoc trees, and web applications, all within the NetBeans framework. In addition to teaching you how to use the existing features of NetBeans, this work goes on to cover developing additional modules for NetBeans. Through this instructional portion of the book, you will master the NetBeans APIs, and learn how to enhance NetBeans for your own specific needs. Whether you need to add customized behavior to handle your proprietary file formats, or want to redistribute NetBeans as a proprietary product, NetBeans: The Definitive Guide will allow you to master this open source IDE and all of its advanced features. Whether you are an enterprise developer looking for an IDE that can handle your complex program tasks, an open source developer looking to integrate NetBeans into your own visual projects, or a manager trying to maximize your team's development potential,NetBeans: The Definitive Guide is the book for you.

Customer Reviews:

Sofar, O'Reilly books never disappointed me........2006-03-18

Sometimes I wish, I had all of the O'Reilly books on my shelf. "NetBeans The Definitive Guide" is a real asset to your bookshelf. IDE's are not that simple anymore. If you learn them by "hacking" you certainly do not learn the "hidden" features. Although I know Java well, this book helps to accomplish a development task faster. I like particular the chapters on Java Beans, Javadoc, XML, Extending NetBeans, Tuning Models. These are topics that require a book to help you.

Beware: Sample Source Code Obsolete.......2005-11-17

Overall, this book is a very good reference but there are currently only two books written dedicated to the use of the NetBeans IDE and platform.

I am currently working with the 5.0 Beta release of NetBeans and it has some very nice new features and excellent forums and tutorials at netbeans.org. However, having progressed through the O'Reilly book tutorials one thing is very clear - the API's are continually changing.

The majority of code samples in this book cannot be compiled and run in the current and beta releases of NetBeans. This makes this book less useful than need be. It would be wise of O'Reilly to make an effort to release an second edition or at least to provide updates to the sample code which overcome the deprecation of classes used in the examples.

Perhaps even NetBeans.org could update and post retooled examples as the ones presented appear to be very useful indeed.

Bottom Line: Very disappointed with examples being outdated and unusable.

Otherwise, the book is informative and well written as I have found all of my references from O'Reilly.

lalin.......2005-04-20

Excellent book, even though there is only one :| Unfortunately, since it's release in 2002 netbeans have grown so much. This book was a life saver, too bad it's hard to link what it contains to what netbeans can do nowadays.

It's a good book, but Eclipse is a better open-source IDE.......2004-08-04

At first, I thought that this book was a good book. It covered a free open-source IDE for Java and I wanted to learn to program in Java. I met a professional Java who was going to the Sun One Conference in San Francisco and he recommended Eclipse. I tried Eclipse and I think that it's much better than NetBeans. I first started to dislike NetBeans when it used tilde characters in my pathnames, which made them unreadable. I tried Eclipse and so far I love it. I'm selling my NetBeans book.

A complete and worthwhile reference.......2004-05-22

This is mostly a well-written, dense, book about a very complex subject. I learn something new each time I pick up the book meaning this is a book that you will want to keep nearby.

Many of the reviewers lamented the second half of the book about creating your own plug-in. Since that was the sole purpose for me to obtain the book, I welcomed the wealth of information. I was also impressed that it covered branding, which is precisely the information I was looking for. In a the short time it took for me to read a few chapters, I had written, branded, and packaged the initial skeleton of the application I'm building on top of the NetBeans platform.

The organization of the opening Concepts and Paradigms chapter baffled me. It's also a tutorial and user guide and overview. The section didn't flow together very well unlike the more focused chapters that came later.

The only major complaint I would have is that many of the examples and code didn't work in my version (3.6). But that can't be blamed on the book which was based upon version 3.3. The solution was usually easily found. The O'Reilly errata pages also provided some fixes. I expect everything else will be cleared up by the NetBeans community on their fairly active mailing lists.

I also found the chapter on creating beans to be a bit light on motivation. Why would I want to create a bean? What is a bean and how do the steps presented create a bean? How would the bean be used?

I would have also liked to have seen how to make the editor use Emacs keybindings. While that capability does not exist in the product at present, I'm sure there are enough people who want that capability that it would have been useful to describe a workaround in the book.

I caught nearly a half dozen typographical and grammatical errors and one error in an example. More than I'd expect from O'Reilly. Since NetBeans is evolving so quickly, I'd encourage O'Reilly to come out with editions that cover 3.6 and the upcoming 4.0.

Book Description

Ant is the premiere build management tool for use in Java environments. Unlike traditional build management tools such as GNU Make, Ant is itself written in Java, is platform independent, and interfaces well with the utilities in Sun's Java software development kit (SDK). In addition to being platform independent, Ant is also independent of the integrated development environment (IDE) being used. IDE independence is important for open source projects (or other projects) in which the various developers might use different IDEs. Using Ant, Java developers can:

Define build chunks, the results that they must produce, and the dependencies between them
Automatically retrieve source code from source control systems such as PVCS
Build applications by having Ant compile the necessary source files in the proper order

Ant build files are written using XML-a well-established standard-so programmers using Ant are not required to learn yet another scripting language. They will likely already know XML, and will be able to leverage that knowledge. Ant is an open source project, and part of the Jakarta project. Jakarta is Sun's open source reference implementation for the JSP and Servlets specifications, and is part of the Apache group's work

Customer Reviews:

Definitive? I'm not so sure........2005-05-26

This book is basically a rehash of the product docs that come with Ant. There are some examples included, but for the most part, there isn't any information in this book that can't be gleemed from the documentation.
If you are someone that likes to printed examples available, then this book will be useful. The examples seemed to be fairly well formed and complete (although not all the complex topics are covered in adequate detail).
Ohterwise, if you are looking for a Ant reference that will cover complex examples, and include strategies for using the tool properly, look elsewhere.

Just What I Needed.......2005-05-21

I learned something on page 2 -- ANT stands for Another Neat Tool. I was surprised, I always thought ANT was a pretty dull tool. To be sure, every time I wanted it to do something I could eventually get it to do it. (Actually I went and got help from the guru.) That reached a point where I got handed this book and told to go away.

First, of course, I turned to the index, looked up what I wanted to do, went to the proper page and it didn't make any sense at all.

Son-of-a-gun!

The guru said, "have you read the manual?"

Well, not all of it."

Go read the manual, start at page one."

I did. And the surprising thing was that it didn't take long at all. From the beginning, it made pretty good sense. And as I got further into it I started finding something neat that I should do about every six or ten pages.

ANT is a pretty powerful program.

The book? It's an O'Reilly book, professionally written for professional programmers, what more can I say. Oh yes, it's a new book, and it covers ANT 1.6.

Highly Recommended!

Lacks code examples for a definitive guide.......2005-02-13

This book is good if you have no idea what Ant is about. The book lacks creative code examples, and doesn't explore many things that Ant is capable of doing. The book should be called "Ant the Definitive Introduction". I think the Ant Developer's Guide does a better job of touching into the depth of Ant's capability. However, the book would be very good for an Ant newbie.

Great book if your NEW to Ant........2005-02-08

I really scratch my heads these days on the book reviews hence I'm writing this one. I have this book AND the Manning Ant book.

This book does a great job of teaching you basic fundamentals and how the pieces work. So as an example the other book which is over 600 pages talks about DataTypes BEFORE talking about properties. This book talks about properties FIRST which is a much better progession of complexity IMHO.

This book has some typos. There was also a typo in the Apendix B on how to create a super zip jar of your open source lib jars. This example does not work nor can I find anything on the publisher's site with a fix. :-(

I can understand mistakes but I'm not a big fan of people being lazy or not supporting their web site with current updates. To help further this point the errate site last changed on 7/21/04 an today is 2/8/05 with no clue how to fix the busted example on page 254.

This book I would recomend as an intro or if you just have a small project you want to use Ant for. If your doing J2EE work with things like ejbdoclet the Manning book is a great reference. Don't expect the Manning book to be a good intro. Ironically the Manning book STATES in chapter 3 where they introduce the key concepts that it CAN NOT be digested in one reading.

So basically treat this book as a good salad an the other one as a steak dinner. There are a LOT of folks who really only want a salad for dinner. :-)

Also the salad is about 1/3 of the pages of the steak dinner so if you have to carry one around the salad will fit easier in a book bag. :-)

BTW

I'm not associated with either authors or publishers. I am a software developer by trade and got assigned to fix a year old Ant build that was over 800 lines of text. This book helped me get started down the right path while the Manning book filled in the outer edges. I also managed to reduce our build file down to a little over 100 lines plus it now WORKS but enough about me. :-)

I would recomend it plus I would have given it a 5 star had the publisher shown better diligence on updating the supporting web site.

great book - needs a little better reference section.......2004-11-10

this is a great book for getting your knowledge past the basics in ant, but i don't think it is the best reference. use this book to learn ant and use online help for reference.

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