James I (Stewart Dynasty in Scotland series)

Customer Reviews:

a fascinating insider view of F1.......2002-04-05

Since Damon Hill retired from the grand prix circuit and writes for a certain very popular English motorsport magazine we know that the guy can write. What we learn from this book is that he already had that gift when he was still driving! The book was made in 1998 when Damon was on his last F1 stint with the Jordan team, during that emotional year when Jordan scored a historic 1-2 in Spa. The F1-educated reader who knows what happened in '99 (Damon fired by Eddie Jordan because he was consistently outperformed by team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen) will find his remarks on the team a poignant read.
The book touches all the major aspects of Formula One motorsport: technology, image, media pressure, professional rivalry, the fear, money and fame. Damon also talks about his famous father Graham Hill and "his" race: Monte Carlo (GH won Monte Carlo 5 times and was only fairly recently surpassed by Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher in this feat). Damon explores how having a famous race driver as a father influenced his own career path and attitude towards the sport.
The book is overall very well crafted. Damon's text is supported and enhanced by the superb photography of Keith Sutton, England's premier F1 photographer. Overall a very good read and a pleasure to the eye, certainly a must-have for every serious F1-fan, even you Schumacher fans: Damon has some very interesting things to say about his famous rivalry with Michael!

Damon Hill - like his father before him..........2001-11-18

Damon Hill is seen by many fans as the "loser" champion, the champion who had it, he had the drive, he had the car, he had the intelligence, he had the motivation and dedication, but there was Schumacher in the way, as there was Clark that came Graham's way. It must be said that, even if the 1995 season, climax of the 90's, is most remembered and pictures Damon's defeat, Damon's 96 title is thorougly deserved and well acomplished. Damon deserves much respect for his acomplishmnet in the sport; even during his last and terrible f1 season, 1999, where he was outshined by his very fast team-mate Heinz Harald Frentzen, Damon was not to be looked pathetic next to him - instead he was to be held tremendous respect and would not receive any contempt from any TRUE F1 fan. Damon was not the fastest driver ever, but he holds his place among the other World Champions and stands as one of the Lords of this sport.

Damon Hill - like his father before him..........2001-11-18

So what does a F1 Driver think? Well, here you go!.......1999-06-26

From the moment I recieved this book, I could tell a lot of time and energy (money) went into making it. The cover is made of a nice, almost sliky paper material, which just makes you feel like it is worth the price. However, the real treat is inside. Damon Hill is a very eloquent writer, and makes some very personal revelations. If you ever wanted to know what makes an F1 World Champion tick, here's your chance. His gives his feelings about his early years driving with legends such as Aryton Senna, and Alain Prost, as well as his current on-going rivaly with M. Schumacher. Also, the photographs taken by Keith Sutton are an added bonus. As Damon said in his book, "So here it is. A book about all that (F1 life). But you can just look at the pictures if you prefer..." Yes! You really can; the pictures are fabulous. It's a shame about his retirement, and i actually would have felt that this book would have been better off, if he retired first and then published it, so that his writing wouldn't be so restrained. Even so, it gives the most comprehensive first-person's view of the things that transpire in the world of F1. Personally, I am a Damon Hill fan, so I can recommend this book to all those who also follow this "gentlemen's racer."

Naked Lens: Beat Cinema (Creation Cinema Collection)
Average customer rating:

long overdue

Naked Lens: Beat Cinema (Creation Cinema Collection)
Jack Sargeant
Manufacturer: Creation Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Inside Teradome: An Illustrated History of Freak Film (Creation Cinema)

ASIN: 1871592674

Book Description

The Naked Lens is a vital collection of essays and interviews focusing on the most significant interfaces between the Beat writers, Beat culture and cinema. Films by, featuring or inspired by: William S Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Brion Gysin, Anthony Balch, Ron Rice, John Cassavetes, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Klaus Maeck, Gus van Sant, and many others.

Including interviews with writers such as Allen Ginsberg, directors such as Robert Frank and actors such as Taylor Mead. Plus detailed examination of key Beat texts and cult classics such as Pull My Daisy, Chappaqua, Towers Open Fire and The Flower Thief; verite and performance films such as "Shadows", "Don't Look Back" and "Wholly Communion"; B-movies such as "The Subterraneans", "Beat Generation" and Roger Corman's "Bucket of Blood"; and Hollywood-style adaptations from "Heart Beat" and "Barfly" through to Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch".

Customer Reviews:

long overdue.......2000-11-03

Naked Lens is a stunning piece of scholarship that gives some focus to some of the lesser lights of 'underground film making'. The sections on Harry Smith are particularly enlightening, going a long way in giving some due to this criminally neglected artist/anthroplogist/filmaker. The same can be said for the sections on the visionary artists Brion Gysin and Anthony Balch who along with William.S. Burroughs made some of the most unsettling and groundbreaking films of the 1960's. The book is both educational and entertaining and that in itself is a testament to Sargeants skill both as a critic and writer. In short, buy this book you won't be dissapointed.

Average customer rating:

Naked Lens. Beat Cinema.
JACK. SERGEANT
Manufacturer: London:Creation Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UBI88A

Customer Reviews:

An extremely useful and informative book on an important social trend.......2006-08-24

This is a collection of short pieces, some written especially for the book and some reprinted from other sources. The authors have also interviewed a number of the more famous bloggers or other people analyzing the trend. This variety makes it an extremely useful introduction to the phenomenon. It certainly isn't a gripping read, but the ideas are fascinating. This is not a how-to book, except in the sense of explaining some of the capabilities of the format, and exploring what makes a good or bad blog.

Kline and Burstein have a fairly balanced view of blogs, expecting them to be quite significant, but acknowledging that they cannot be expected to creat a new utopia, and that the future is very much still forming. The book is somewhat slanted, but not uncritically, in favor of blogs, perhaps because the authors feel that love them or hate them, they're here to stay. They point out that the purposes of blogging are age-old, although the technology now allows communication on a grand scale.

The book acknowledges that most blogs are personal, i.e., intended mainly for friends and family (although still open to public view), but they concentrate on the publically oriented blogs, especially the political and the business.

Fortunately, having gotten me all gung ho on reading blogs, the book has appendixes giving guidance to various blogs of great general interest. They also have an blog updating the see future of blogs (see productwiki, below).

I recommend this to everyone, especially those who are not currently familiar with blogs.

The Significance of Blogs.......2006-07-18

According to one of the greatest scholars of the 20th Century, Dr. Walter J. Ong, SJ, who taught and inspired countless students and media experts for many years at St. Louis University; any new technology starts out in the path of older technologies and gradually finds its place, purpose, rules, and forms as people get used to it.

A striking example is the fact that the first cars were basically horse carriages with a motor. Gradually, people learned about aerodynamics and developed more sensible shapes although there is a car out there which I will not name which does look like a perfectly rectangular carriage with a motor, fancy that!

Now Prof. Ong did write somewhat about computers but he retired before the Internet became the Web with its accessible, visual format. Now how would he approach Blogging?

First, obviously when a reporter or a student starts a blog, he/she has some responsibility to follow journalistic practices just as a student still has to give credit for sources even if it comes from the Internet. Obviously these standards are changing because what a 12-year-old writes in a blog on Madonna ( what a skank!) should not be judged by the same standard as what a reporter writes on her latest relationship (judging by the fallout of her latest adventure, it would appear that Madonna is following the judge-me-or leave me paradigm, blah blah.....)

Now as Dr. Ong would point out, blogs and the Internet in general are making great changes in such basic areas as how we learn (many teachers and profs. are terrified of students who can make them look stupid by finding materials on the Internet which directly contradicts the teachers' favorite notions); how we process information; how we communicate and what and how our literature and art operate.

BTW, I have spent over 10 years trying to promote discussion topics (or lists, or whatever the site calls them) as a means to improve thinking, feeling, communcation and writing skills in students at whatever level.

Why? Because just as is the case with blogs, young people love to have a forum to express their personal ideas, likes, dislikes, preferences etc. They are trying out attitudes, styles, etc. and learn much when they are either praised or blasted for their efforts.

However, discussion topics and blogs are still in the Wild-West stage where often anything goes. Now, slander is slander in any form but our laws are not ready to discriminate between teen-age (or journalistic) ranting or praise; and speech and acts which are slander or treason.

Obviously if we are really at war, (sorry, but I don't think so unless you mean the drug wars which are all over the world); then free speech in blogs or anywhere else should be limited but not too much if we don't want another Hitler.

So, blogs are important. History will show how they are developing and how they will continue to develop (if you can believe history.)

is rant on political left.......2006-06-29

I was very disappointed in the book. Unfortunately, there's at least as much ranting from the author about his views of what's wrong with the political left, and as much of his glorifying of the political right, as there is info about blogs. Info about blogs seemed to be only a backdrop from which to share his strong right-wring political views. If you are a strong right-winger, buy the book. Otherwise, if you are a centrist, on the left, or interested primarily in blogs, don't buy this book.

Case studies of interest but not very helpful.......2006-05-31

If you want to read about some interesting blog developments and some socio-political analysis of the blogging phenomenon, this book will introduce you to such topics, but it does not reflect the blog universe from the perspective of the serious blogger. The phenomenon of Blogging is metamorphosizing so quickly, that much in this book is getting out of date. If you recall why cable TV had a 'buzz' when it first came out, it was basically for three reasons: a) to offer greater access to production; b)commercial free programming; and c) better quality images. The first two have been co-opted by the cable industry and the third is largely irrelevant thanks to DVD programming (unless you are a sports freak whose idea of ecstasy is to watch emerald green grass in a ball field. Blogs already exist that are shills for major corporations (for example, there are blogs that look like 'on-line journals' that are sponsored and produced by corporations--really a form of P.R., and unless you can get paid full time for blogging,or have an organization/interest group supporting you, or form a co-op blog of writers, who could possibly maintain a first rate blog besides a) college professors and b)stay at home with lots of free time people (these two categories are not mutually exclusive).

Every Blogger should read and the public should know.......2006-04-10

This book review was a blog post on http://jimestill.blogspot.com/

I know a lot of bloggers read blogs. One awesome book that is a must read for bloggers is "Blog! How the newest revolution is changing politics, business and culture" by David Kline and Dan Burstein.

It talks of the power and influence of blogs. It uses political examples. Through these examples we can learn what good blogging is (honest, open) and what it is not (poorly written, blatant marketing). It talks about freedom of the press and countries and companies that try to suppress blogs. It also warns and gives examples of blogs that share insider or confidential information and what happens. Most of this advice is just "don't be stupid".

To quote from it:

"..most people - or at least most of the media's coverage of business issues in blogging - are missing the fact that the real excitement here is not how much money business can make from blogging, but how dramatically blogging will reshape the world of business from top to bottom and create new sources of competitive advantage for firms that learn how to use this new medium intelligently."

"Bloggers not only tend to be more passionate about their interests and hobbies than other people, they also have marketplace influence far beyond their numbers".

Much of the book consists of interviews with famous people who blog. It asks their view of the Blogshpere and what is happening.

This is a highly inspirational read for anyone who blogs. We live in revolutionary times and as bloggers (and blog readers) we see history being made. We are truly cutting edge. The world is changing before our eyes.

As A. J. Liebling a great 20th century journalist said "Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one". With blogs, anyone can.

The blog revolution.(Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture)(Book Review): An article from: American Journalism Review

Average customer rating:

The blog revolution.(Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture)(Book Review): An article from: American Journalism Review
Carl Sessions Stepp
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Blogging & Blogs | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Journalism Review, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 832 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The blog revolution.(Blog! How the Newest Media Revolution Is Changing Politics, Business, and Culture)(Book Review)
Author: Carl Sessions Stepp
Publication: American Journalism Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Page: 62(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

In Search of Business Value: Ensuring a Return on Your Technology Investment
Average customer rating:

Spread the enlightenment!

A no-nonsense guide to steering clear of trouble

In Search of Business Value: Ensuring a Return on Your Technology Investment
Robert L. McDowell , William L. Simon , and Jeff (FWD) Raikes
Manufacturer: Select Books (NY)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage

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CIO Best Practices: Enabling Strategic Value with Information Technology (Wiley and SAS Business Series)

ASIN: 1590790626

Book Description

In today's high-tech business world, few issues are more important than how companies can gain competitive advantage from using new technology, especially information technology (IT). In 'In Search of Business Value', Microsoft vice president Robert McDowell and best-selling business author William L. Simon address that problem head-on, describing the steps every organization must take to "get the best bang from each buck spent" on IT infrastructure.

Drawing on their own personal experience and that of over twenty-five corporate and IT leaders from the worlds of business and government, 'In Search of Business Value' covers in detail such issues as bringing organizational leaders on board in promoting the use of IT, enlisting staff support, using IT to lower costs and improve productivity, integrating the IT and business sides of an organization, and using IT to support best business practices.

IT these days is an indispensable tool in defining and achieving corporate goals. 'In Search of Business Value' is an indispensable tool for corporate leaders and managers looking to make IT work successfully for their organizations.

Customer Reviews:

Spread the enlightenment!.......2006-06-20

Most business-self-help-type books put me to sleep pretty fast. I appreciate the direction, examples, and insight given by this book. It points out many issues I have seen at past employers and gave me a lot to think about as far as 'the right ting to do' as far as technology implementations go.

From the trenches, all I usually saw was 'how do I sell this to my boss to get funding'. By changing my perspective a little, I am able to see a much bigger picture.

The problem is not too hard, it just needs to be approached with the proper respect and consideration by all parties involved. Accountability, governance, common sense, leadership, communications and honesty -- it all takes work, but it is the only way to achieve excellence.

A no-nonsense guide to steering clear of trouble .......2005-06-13

A key Microsoft vice president and a skilled author of the business world (among other venues) combine their talents to present In Search of Business Value, a management self-help book for both corporate and IT leaders that offers real-life examples showing how best to extract the maximum business value from technology. Framing the achievement of business value as a leadership issue, not a technology issue, chapters address how to make a business case for types of technology, the role governance can play in order to improve the useage of IT, how to cope with controversy and miscellaneous problems, and much more. A no-nonsense guide to steering clear of trouble and gaining optimum benefit, written especially for managers and lay people who themselves may be only minimally familiar with the latest technological innovations.

Book Description

The American sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was one of the most inventive and beloved artists of his time. He was best known for his mobiles--hanging, dangling, perfectly balanced innovative sculptures that twist and orbit in the breeze--and for his stabiles, stationary sculptures, often enormous, that grace and enliven public spaces around the world.

Average customer rating:

The Essential Alexander Calder
Howard Greenfeld
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU2RFE

Customer Reviews:

WOW !!!! A must read if you want to know how it was.......2005-04-13

I bought this book in the UK and thought I must tell you guys that this book is an excellent read. Written by a British soldier who fought in the Iraq war(rather than a TV war correspondent or journalist)the book is: Explosive, pulse-racing, gripping and in some places a tear-jerker. Reflecting what the British and American Reserve forces had to endure and experience during the actual conflict, fighting along side their regular counterparts, and of course, how the author explains, the liberation of a nation. Truly an amazing read, reinforcing the special bond between Brits and US Forces and their ability to fight an enemy 'shoulder to shoulder', and for what they believed in, not the politicians. A great book, a fantastic story, a soldier's story!!!

The Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu: Humanitarian Despotism and the Conditions of Modern Tyranny
Average customer rating:

Machiavelli Misunderstood?

A great book with a sad history

Not for the Optimist

The Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu: Humanitarian Despotism and the Conditions of Modern Tyranny
Maurice Joly
Manufacturer: Lexington Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Democracy | Government | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

A Lie and a Libel: The History of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion

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The Jewish Peril Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion (Kessinger Publishing's Rare Reprints)

ASIN: 0739106996

Book Description

John Waggoner's superb translation of and commentary on Joly's Dialogue--the first faithful translation in English--seeks not only to update the sordid legacy of the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion but to redeem Joly's original work for serious study in its own right, rather than through the lens of antisemitism. Waggoner's work vindicates a man who was neither an antisemite nor a supporter of the kind of tyrannical politics the Protocols subsequently served, and presents Maurice Joly, once much maligned and too long ignored, as one of the nineteenth century's foremost political thinkers.

Customer Reviews:

Machiavelli Misunderstood?.......2006-09-03

I read this book while researching the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion." Clearly "Protocols" was heavily plagiarized from this work and was a forgery to boot. In any event, this is a captivating tale of a conversation between Machiavelli (counselor to despots) and Montesquieu (philosophical and political father of the U.S. Constitution.) Machiavelli claims to be misunderstood but as the dialogue progresses it seems painfully evident that he is generally not.

While Machiavelli and Montesquieu both claim to be followers of Christ, it becomes clear to everyone but Machiavelli that he operates out of self-interest rather than the good of society. His self-delusion is phenomenal and is readily seen in politics today. The book is obscure, true, but I found it to be a page-turner. Do not pass judgment on this book because someone later used it for anti-Semitic purposes. There is nothing anti-Semitic in this original tale.

A great book with a sad history.......2006-05-19

As noted in every book I've ever read about the infamous forgery, _The Protocols of the Elders of Zion_, this book was the source, edited beyond recogintion by the Czar's secret police.

_The Dialogue in Hell_ must not have done very well, or more people would have recognized the _Protocols_ as a forgery sooner.

Sadly, political forgeries continue today. Dan Rather and Mary Mapes lost their jobs at CBS over forged memos; how odd that today's American liberals haven't learned from the Czar's secret police's mistakes.

Not for the Optimist.......2003-05-01

Before I can even begin about the book, the story BEHIND the book is amazing. It would not surprise me if Cheney had a copy of the German version somewhere in his desk as Bush probably wouldn't understand a third of the amazing ideas put forth in this formerly banned book.

Watching the news is like watching Machiavelli's Dialogue come to life. Listening to Democrats is like hearing Montesquieu's feeble attempts to say that in the end, the good guys will win because of Justice and Liberty. If the Dialogue were a swordfight, Machiavelli would have not only killed poor Montesquieu, but eviscerated and beheaded him as well. Waggoner's commentaries and insights are a little dry when compared with the excellent text but are a good read and do well to put some of the outdated points in the text into context. I strongly reccomend this for anybody who is questioning the course of events that our world is being swept up in.

Book Description

Dr. Fox, vice president of the Humane Society of the USA, an internationally known defender of wildlife and the environment, states, "This new book is about healing the earth and ourselves in the process ... changing our attitudes to respect and reverence ..." - the new eden for man and animals. With illustrations by Susan Seddon Boulet.

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