Find the Constellations

Book Description

A delightfully illustrated, informative beginner's guide to locating and identifying constellations in the northern hemisphere, with an extensive index, glossary, and time table for sky viewing.

Customer Reviews:

Great for young and the not-so young!.......2007-10-17

My husband has a love for the constellations so I decided to purchase this book for him for Father's day; he just loves it and so do the girls. We went camping over the summer and this was a great book to use when we were star gazing; the illustrations are just wonderful. This is a great book for anyone that wants to learn about the constellations.

I love this book!.......2007-09-07

I bought this book a few weeks ago to use for school. I wanted the kids to learn what some of the constellations looked like and how they looked in different parts of the world. I got so much more! I learned about how the stars "moved" relative to the earth and seasons, I learned how to pick our constellations relative to others I already new, and I learned how these stars got their names. I would definitely recommend this for anyone from 5 - 55. Very simple, but very informative!

Review for Find the Constellations.......2007-08-11

An excellent book for children and adults. Interactive. Fun. This books makes star-gazing understandable and easier.

Find the Constellations.......2007-03-19

I am a librarian and this is a popular title in our lending library. Easy to read and easy to use

find the constellations.......2007-01-12

for grandson 7 yrs old and its easy for him to see the different constellations by looking at the picture and then at the sky...very good for all sky areas in the us or northern heemsp.

The Sky Is Full of Stars (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)

Average customer rating:

Blah
Stars book rates Stars from me

The Sky Is Full of Stars (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
Franklyn Mansfield Branley , and Felicia Bond
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0064450023

Book Description

Young stargazers learn about different star colors and brightnesses, how to locate major constellations, and how to make mini planetariums by using coffee cans and flashlights. `A fine job of encouraging young people to look at stars and constellations. . . . Highly recommended as a science resource book." —Science and Children. "A dandy book for [primary grade] readers." —AP.

Customer Reviews:

Blah.......2006-07-06

This is an uninspired book. There were a few very interesting pages that the author seemed to spend some actual time on. Beyond that, naming the constellations does not make for very engaging kids reading. There are better choices for young astronomers.

Stars book rates Stars from me.......2000-06-28

The Sky Is Full of Stars is an excellent and informatiive book for primary age kids. It gives lots of information about the night sky and constellations in an easy to understand format for children. Kids can take this book outside and find constellations following the directions in the book. I can't wait to use it in my second grade classroom!

The Big Dipper (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)

Average customer rating:

Excellent

The Big Dipper (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
Franklyn Mansfield Branley
Manufacturer: HarperTrophy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0064451003

Book Description

"[This new edition of a book first published in 1962 is] an excellent introduction to the night sky and star gazing. The beauty of this book is its simplicity and the high percentage of success a young reader would have following its directions." —AP.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-01-10

Another winner from the let's read and find out science series. As usual, the adults are learning along with the kids.

A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky: The Story of the Stars, Planets, and Constellations--and How You Can Find Them in the Sky

Average customer rating:

Beautiful book - out of this world
Very Educational
Can be a great book for elementary age with adult/older child's help
great astronomy 101 for the middle school and older child
excellent gift

A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky: The Story of the Stars, Planets, and Constellations--and How You Can Find Them in the Sky
Michael Driscoll
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 157912366X

Book Description

Children eight and up will enjoy this conversational but information-packed introduction to astronomy and stargazing, which includes the achievements of the great scientists, the history of space exploration, the story of our solar system, the myths behind the constellations, and how to navigate the night sky. Whimsical color illustrations on every page and handy definitions and sidebars help engage younger readers and develop their interest. The special star wheel helps locate stars and planets from any location at any time of year. This is the third in Black Dog & Leventhal's successful series including The Story of the Orchestra and A Child's Introduction to Poetry.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful book - out of this world.......2007-09-20

My 6 year old son had a class project about the night sky, I purchased this book and was blown away by the detail and artwork, the viewing wheel was a great addition to the book used to great effect by young and old. I gave the book to his Teacher and she was so impressed with it that she used it as a teaching resourse and took inspiration for some lessons out of it, if you only buy one book for your child on astronomy let it be this one

Very Educational.......2007-07-08

I must have flipped though 20+ books about the solar system & stars before I found this one. Once I had this in my hand, I would not put it down. This book has more details, than all the others. It's more like a child's science book. I learned things I did not know or had forgot.

Can be a great book for elementary age with adult/older child's help.......2007-04-25

We purchased this book for my daughter as a reward for a good report card. Her 1st grade class has been learning about space. While the book may seem a little advanced for first graders it is definitely a book that they can used to reference with an adult's help. The book is broken down in and way and written so that the common person without astronomy knowledge can learn from it and transfer that to the child. This book can also be used as a great resource for teachers teaching younger kids about our universe. Included with this book is a glow in the dark star chart that helps anyone find the constellations. This book provides an easy way to have quality time with a child that is also educational. If you are looking for a one stop shopping book about space that a child can used for a while then this is it!

great astronomy 101 for the middle school and older child.......2007-01-28

The subtitle of the book is the Story of the Stars, Planets and Constellations -- and How You Can Find Them in the Sky. It should read The Stars, The Planets, the Astronomers, the Universe and Everything. The books has definitions, factoids, readable text, stories, illustrations, pictures, a star wheel/star finder, stickers and everything that has anything to do with our world and our universe. Not for small children (too much text/ too much information), but the best introduction to astronomy I have seen for middle school and older children presented in a very very approachable/ user friendly format. Well done!

excellent gift.......2007-01-09

I purchased this book as a gift for my 9 year old nephew. He absolutely loved it! He enjoys reading the book with his mom and loves the fact that it came with the glo-in-the-dark stars.

The Ultimate Guide to the Sky: How to Find Constellations and Read the Night Sky Like a Pro

Average customer rating:

Excellent classroom resource!
Fun to Read but also excellent reference!

The Ultimate Guide to the Sky: How to Find Constellations and Read the Night Sky Like a Pro
John Mosley
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science, Nature & How It Works | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books

Astronomy | Science & Technology | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1565655966

Customer Reviews:

Excellent classroom resource!.......2003-01-05

I purchased this book when it first came out, and have been using each year while teaching my fifth grade students about the constellations. It is concise but easy to comprehend for this age level. Students enjoy using it so much, that it has ended up in several hiding places throughout my room in anticipation of other students wanted to use it. Buy it, you won't be disappointed!!!

Fun to Read but also excellent reference!.......2001-07-17

My 6 year old picked this book out at a book store and I was a little wary. But it is a great book. It gives information about each constellation and where to find it as well as some background on the mythical character. The star finder really does help to locate the constellations. My niece picked up the book and immediately had to borrow it and read it cover to cover - now I'm ordering her her own.

Average customer rating:

Find the Constellations
H.A. Rey
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GOWCGU

THE CONSTELLATIONS AND HOW TO FIND THEM - A BOOK FOR WINTER EVENINGS - FOR THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

Average customer rating:

THE CONSTELLATIONS AND HOW TO FIND THEM - A BOOK FOR WINTER EVENINGS - FOR THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
W. Peck
Manufacturer: Gall and Inglis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K5RNFK

Constellations and How To Find Them: Southern Hemisphere

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Constellations and How To Find Them: Southern Hemisphere
William Peck
Manufacturer: Gall and Inglis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J0XT2M

Average customer rating:

FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS
H.A. Rey
Manufacturer: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000INXN9Y

Average customer rating:

FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS
H.A. Rey
Manufacturer: Houghton, Mifflin & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000INSRSG

Book Description

A deep gap is growing between the promises of the new global capitalism and the reality of the social breakdown, inequality, insecurity, spiritual emptiness, and environmental destruction left in its wake. What went wrong, and why?

Beginning in the 1960s, social, economic, and political observers expressed concern over the role of multination-al corporations. As the global economy has evolved, it is the transnational corporation that provokes apprehension. Increasingly, concentrations of economic, social, and political power are being held by a few strong companies. Corporate Rule shows how devastating these effects have been to both the planet and the majority of its inhabitants.

This hard-hitting title examines all aspects of corporate rule and the underlying ideology which serves corporate interests. In particular, it examines its main control mechanisms: trade agreements, the media, and the popular culture, naming corporate rule a form of tyranny no different than the tyrannies of dictators, monarchs, or the church.

Though a searing indictment of an unjust international economic order, it is also a guide to the average person on how to understand and address the enormous challenges of our time. The book argues that the most promising alternative is a world of healthy market economies that function as extensions of healthy local ecosystems to meet the needs of people and communities.

Millions of people are acting to reclaim their political and economic power from these elitist forces, challenging the status quo, saying â€~no' to the myth that global capital-ism is not only inevitable, but necessary. At this critical time in history, Model believes that if we truly want to meet our future needs, we must intentionally build a radical new post-corporate world that will sustain our community.

David Model teaches political science at Seneca College, King City, Ontario. He is the author of People Before Profits (Captus Press).

Book Description

Although economic theory has increased our understanding of some economic problems, it has rendered others, including the problem of capital accumulation, growth, and development, more difficult to understand. Focusing on capitalist economic systems, this book develops a theoretical approach to the study of aggregate capital dynamics. The theory is developed within the Keynesian framework of aggregate thinking and builds on the work of such Cambridge economists as Robinson, Kaldor, and Pasinetti. The approach helps to resolve some theoretical difficulties within the Keynesian framework for studying aggregate investment behavior. Dompere also provides a criticism of the neoclassical investment theory and the general neoclassical theoretical framework for studying aggregate capital accumulation, investment, and growth. Reexamining some questions on investment that earlier theorists have tried to answer, this study develops some of the basic ideas of Keynes, Robinson, Kaldor, and Pasinetti into a general theoretical system that allows an optimal aggregate capital and investment to be determined for a given information set.

The Theory of Aggregate Investment in Closed Economic Systems (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)

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The Theory of Aggregate Investment in Closed Economic Systems (Contributions in Economics and Economic History)
Kofi Kissi Dompere
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTWIMK

Average customer rating:
Official Shit Notebook: The Book to Help You Get Your Shit Together
Pete Tortolini
Manufacturer: Official Shit Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0961617209

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Official Shit Notebook
Ted Cleanthes
Manufacturer: Hampton Roads Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0961617217

Amazon.com

The legendary mandolinist and bandleader Bill Monroe wove his personal vision through more than 60 tireless years of recording and performing, inventing almost single-handedly the music that is now known--in a nod to his first band, the Blue Grass Boys--as bluegrass. In his thoughtful biography Can't You Hear Me Callin', Richard D. Smith argues that "no single artist has had as broad an impact on American music." As evidence, he highlights dozens of country and rock & roll musicians, both white and black, who were inspired by Monroe's powerful mandolin playing on the Grand Ole Opry's weekly broadcasts. (Chuck Berry's "Maybelline," for example, is an almost note-for-note copy of Monroe's instrumental "Ida Red.") Until now, however, Monroe's hesitation to reveal personal details has kept his personality as mysterious as one of the foggy mountaintops he sang about in his signature high lonesome tenor.

Bluegrass audiences required a rural, Southern authenticity from the "Father of Bluegrass," and Monroe was slow to deny their exaggerations. Smith, however, dismisses many of the backwoodsy stories that grew up around the Monroe myth, instead emphasizing truer biographical elements: loneliness, fear of abandonment, compulsiveness with women. Perhaps the book's main scholarly step forward is the depth of interviews and research the author conducted with the women in Monroe's life. Indeed, Smith remarks that "without exception," none of Monroe's platonic or romantic women friends had been interviewed before. These women reveal a second Bill Monroe, relaxed and gentle in private despite his imperious manner onstage.

Much of the book relies on the archives of the late Ralph Rinzler, a Smithsonian folklorist whose plans to write a Monroe biography were thwarted by his untimely death. Taking up where Rinzler left off, Smith employs solid scholarship and thorough fieldwork, yet he remains clearly in awe of his subject, ranking him as a "true giant of American music" on the level of Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Hank Williams, and Charles Ives. Can't You Hear Me Callin' is the first published attempt at a comprehensive, critical biography of Bill Monroe. Surely, it won't be the last--a testament to the enigmatic genius whose every note extended one of our most emotive and demanding musical genres. --Edward Skoog

Book Description

Now in paperback: The definitive biography of the father of bluegrass, who "did what no other individual has done: invented an entire genre of music."- Chicago Tribune.

Considering the range of stars that have claimed Bill Monroe as an influence-Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Jerry Garcia are just a few-it can be said that no single artist has had as broad an impact on American popular music as he did. For sixty years, Monroe was a star at the Grand Ole Opry, and when he died in 1996, he was universally hailed as "the Father of Bluegrass." But the personal life of this taciturn figure remained largely unknown. Delving into everything from Monroe's professional successes to his bitter rivalries, from his isolated childhood to his reckless womanizing, veteran bluegrass journalist Richard D. Smith has created a three-dimensional portrait of this brilliant, complex, and contradictory man. Featuring over 120 interviews, this scrupulously researched work-a Chicago Tribune Choice Selection, New York Times Notable Book, and Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2000-stands as the authoritative biography of a true giant of American music.

Customer Reviews:

Father of Bluegrass.......2007-08-23

Bluegrass music has become a major part of our lives. The story behind the music is fascinating! The author has carefully documented his sources. He has presented Bill Monroe as others knew him. Excellent work, a page-turner for me.

John Drummond
www.Banjo.com

Well-Researched Biography.......2006-08-16

This is quite possibly the best biography I have ever read. Bill Monroe is a facinating character who lived a life of musical genius and person contradicitons. His story is told here in great depth and detail, and makes for a good read.

But what makes this book stand out above all others is the research. Every single anecdote and fact is footnoted. Flip to the back and you'll find that the author took the time and effort to interview every major person in Bill Monroe's life. In some bios you'll read a famous story and wonder if that's how it happened or just the author re-telling the legend. Mr. Smith gets to the truth behind the legend with first-hand interviews of the parties involved or from transcripts of other Bill Monroe interviews.

And the subject is a worthy one. Bill Monroe transformed country music to such a degree he invented his own genre, named after his band, the "Blue Grass" Boys. Defining American music, and influencing musicians from jazz to rock and roll, Monroe's music will live on forever. This particular biography is the most in-depth and factual of any you'll find. Highly recommened for the music history and for the true story behind the man.

The Amazing Bill Monroe.......2006-06-18

Bluegrass is incredibly transparent. You feel like you know each of the singers and musicians personally if you listen to the music a lot. But this book really goes beyond that and ties it all together. It's so great to read about all the back stories behind certain songs and just about Bill Monroe's life. He is a legend and this book just brings you closer to it.

Currently the "Definitive" Bill Monroe Biography.......2004-04-29

This work is meticulously and exhaustively researched and includes wonderful stories and insights into the personality of the "Father of Bluegrass". So many other reviewers have remarked here about how interesting (and sometimes previously unrevealed) many of the stories are, in particular with regard to his need to be with many women. But one of the great attributes of this book is giving some insight into Mr. Monroe's music - his genious of a gift for "pulling music out of the air" and his innovation in turning the previously muddling mountain rhythms of his youth into a driving force of nature that was propelled forward by the bark of his Lloyd Loar Gibson F-5. The stories behind the creation of "Little Georgia Rose" and "Can't You Hear Me Calling", among others, were unknown to me, and I found fascinating and frankly poignant.

I consider this the definitive biography of one of the absolute giants of American music.

A GREAT START!.......2003-12-16

While this won't be the definitive work on Monroe it's the one that had to be written before anything further can be done. Someone once wrote that a biographer should be sympathetic to his subject. Smith might have overdone it a bit but I personally don't think it got in the way as much as some other reviewers. I think what he did do,however, is spend too much time trying to define what made Monroe tick. On the VERY positive side he didn't stoop to a chronicle of the endless "Monroe Stories" that circulate. (I knew one of his many banjo players quite well and he could entertain you for hours with "Monroe Stories"). Hilarious at a cocktail party, but that's where they belong. I think overall it's a great book and gave it only four stars because much more work needs to be done to define Bill if that's even possible but this is a great step in that direction.

Can't You Hear Me Callin The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass

Average customer rating:

Can't You Hear Me Callin The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass
Smith Richard D.
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UEWKCM

Average customer rating:

Can't You Hear Me Callin' The Life of Bill Monroe Father of Bluegrass
Richard D. Smith
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OU6UN2

Average customer rating:

Can't You Hear Me Callin': The Life of Bill Monroe, Father of Bluegrass
Richard D, Smith
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSO928

Average customer rating:

Can't you hear me callin': the life of Bill Monroe, father of Bluegrass.
Richard D. Smith
Manufacturer: Boston, Little, Brown and Company, [
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OUTSPY

Customer Reviews:

A disappointment for a rabid fan :(.......2005-07-08

As a rabid fan of TLOG television series, I bought this book.It wasn't what I had anticipated, although you should always expect the unexpected with these guys! It's somewhat pornograghic, so be forewarned if that is something that bothers you. Alot of it is written through Tubb's eyes: it's like a scrapbook she has kept of papers she has found out on the mores, "local stuff" about "local people". Bernice has an advice column, that was kinda funny, but in a sad, fatalistic way, which I don't need to explain if you have seen their show. I guess I wanted something with more information, pictures and material about the actors/writers and less lewd content. It seems that they have gotten more and more bogged down with sexual stuff with each year of the series and this book sinks even further down! All the same, I couldn't stop watching the show,(albiet with a flinching eye), especially Reese Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton-they are brilliant, gifted actors (Mark too). Anyway, the book is for die-hard fans only, like me.

Average customer rating:

Local Book for Local People
League Of Gentlemen
Manufacturer: FOURTH ESTATE (HCOL)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K6KTMI

Book Description

Build Dynamic, Database-Driven Web Sites
PHP is a fully developed, server-side embedded scripting language, and its importance for web application development has grown with the rise of the Apache web server. Are you a novice programmer? This book starts with the basics and takes you wherever you want to go. A seasoned pro? You'll be amazed at how much you can capitalize on PHP's power and object-oriented support, and how it leverages your knowledge of other languages. Finally, if you're a PHP user in search of an authoritative reference, you need look no further. Mastering PHP 4.1 guides you through all levels of real-world web programming problems and provides expert advice on which solutions work best.
Coverage Includes:
* Reading and writing files
* Validating data with regular expressions
* Accessing MySQL and PostgreSQL databases
* Accessing LDAP servers
* Generating images and PDF documents on the fly
* Building authentication and access-control systems
* Sending e-mail and building web-to-e-mail interfaces
* Creating your own classes
* Closing common security holes in PHP scripts
* Parsing and generating XML documents
* Using sessions to store persistent data
* Debugging misbehaving scripts
* Encrypting and decrypting sensitive data

Customer Reviews:

Better than googling; code examples are not page-turners.......2004-04-15

Scenario: I'm an experienced programmer and I'd tinkered with PHP a little bit but needed to get going on a serious project. Fast.

This book was the answer. It covers all the essential ground in a well structured way. Don't be fooled by the word "Mastering..." in the title. The author is not too frightened to give you another grounding in the basic principles behind web architectures - but he does it in such fluid fashion you won't get frustrated.

This book will teach you great conventions and techniques to ensure you program effectively and give you a firm foundation on which to build robust, extensible projects. The chapters: "Forms and User Interaction" and "Data Validation" are excellent.

Reading this book will incur a slight hit to your productivity. That's because the example projects are so illuminating that you'll just have to put the book down and try them out yourself. Within a few hours you'll have twenty-odd scripts open on your screen. That's pretty rare in a programming book. I usually rate them based on the brevity of the examples rather than vice-versa.

Prior to picking up this book I'd been looking up the answers to my queries using my faithful old search engine. Now I rely on this book almost exclusively. There's no crud to wade through. This book provides the answers to your questions and knits them together in a solid fabric of clear explanations, real world examples, and good style.

I think programmers of nearly every level would find this book useful.

Worst PHP book.......2003-10-20

This is the worst PHP book i have seen. This is my 3rd. I bought this book expecting advanced topics like email and pdf and gd but this book really dissapointed me. We can call it a extended copy of the php manual. Without any practical applications, this book keeps on telling different functions with little code snippets like in the php manual. the book fills in the space by lengthy texts.

It really makes an easy to learn language like PHP much more difficult.

If this book had a title somethin like "PHP Reference Guide", then i wud have given this book 4 stars but since it misleads the poor beginners by saying "if u r a beginner, this book starts from basics" which is not correct in any case.

There are plenty of books for beginners and intermediates. A very good book recently released is (by Julie Meloni) PHP Essentials 2nd Edition so get it as its the best books for beginners you will ever find.

I just kept wasting my time in this long manual. i dont know how the other readers give it so good rating?

Yep, 5 stars from me, too........2003-02-12

This is a review of two books. I'm going to tell you why I bought Mastering PHP 4.1, and why I did not buy PHP Bible, 2nd edition.

First, I have the PHP Bible 1st edition, and a bunch of other PHP books. But they're all outdated now. One thing that has changed dramatically in the PHP language is the use of forms. PHP used to turn a form field named "comment" into a variable called $comment. But then for a while, $HTTP_POST_VARS['comment'] was preferred. And now $_POST['comment'] is the best way to get that form field (I think, I'm not even sure, it has changed so much).

So I go looking for books that can really walk me through all these changes, and teach me the newest, best way to handle forms. PHP Bible mentions $_POST, and if that's all you're looking for -- the newest additions to the language -- then the Bible is worth considering. It's the most current. But PHP Bible really skimmed over forms. It doesn't even have "forms" in the table of contents (well, it does mention processing GET and POST input, all grouped in Chapter 9, "Passing Information Between Pages"). But that chapter is doing so many other things, forms get shortchanged.

So I look at Mastering PHP 4.1, and right in the table of contents is a chapter on forms. I go through the chapter, and it's really good, even mentioning all the new variables for forms. The weak spot is that some of their code examples still rely on "register globals" -- but then they followup with a section on why to keep "register globals" off and they show an example of how to rewrite one of the scripts. That's pretty close to exactly what I wanted: I know the old way but want to learn the new stuff; they showed the old way, then they showed the new stuff.

But there's more, and this is what solidified my choice. I tried looking up how to handle file uploads, either by PUT or POST. I looked in the index of the PHP Bible for $HTTP_POST_FILES, looked under "forms" for anything close, looked under "files" for anything close, looked for the "is_uploaded_file" function. Nothing. I skimmed Chapter 9, and did find mention of this, but pretty minimal. Then I looked to Mastering PHP 4.1. In the index under "forms" I see "uploading files" and turn to a page that has a nice walkthough with code. It also has a half-page discussion of some things you can do to secure the PHP code that handles file-uploading. While I'm reading this, I realize that any place there is some HTML in an example, it's actually XHTML compliant. Nice. I decide to buy Mastering PHP 4.1. I give PHP Bible 3 stars because a lot of the good stuff from the 1st edition is still there, and if you don't have specific needs, it's an OK book to use to learn PHP programming. But I give Mastering PHP 4.1 5 stars, even though it's a few months older, because it has a lot of the new info in a well-laid out format with a good index, good Table of Contents, and more well-developed content.

Extensively mediocre..........2003-02-05

While Mastering PHP 4.1 is a surely an interesting book, it is written quite amateurishly, which really does pique me.

For example, I would estimate that there is a typo every 3 pages, a grammar mistake every 10 pages, and a repeated word every 20 pages.

More importantly, the format is absolutely horendous. In almost every one of their sample programs, the authors employ the use of various PHP concepts that are not to be introduced until much later on...and they rarely explain why they introduced such concepts premateurly.

Almost every other page, I find myself flipping through the index, searching for a word that they forgot to explain.

Overall, a quite mediocre book.

PHP made simple.......2002-09-20

This book is a great book if you want to learn php. It goes through all of the basics and adds a lot of detail if you choose to really dig in. The index is huge and has answers to 99% of the questions I have. The attached CD really helps a lot too, since you can see the code and interact with it. A book doesn't always cut it. I recommend this book to any php newcomer and to anyone who wants a guide to this great language.
The section on SQL and database interaction also helps for those who want to work on interactive sites and storing user data. This book is the best php book I have come across yet.

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