Customer Reviews (2)

Stay away from this
I've taken a 3rd year undergraduate fluid mechanics course and we've used this as our textbook. It was a complete disaster. Let me start by saying this book pays absolutely no respect to its readers - it's filled not only with typos (and lots of them!) but also with very flimsy arguments. Now, whenever I do not understand an argument I usually think that I did not get it, or perhaps I do not understand the material enough, or that I simply have to fill in the gaps - but in this book, there are no gaps, the arguments are just lousy. Some steps even seem to be wrong, and I say that after debating them for a long while with my friends. I strongly recommend you eye this book with great suspicion.

A clean and fast presenation of fluid mechanics.
An ideal book for the applied mathematician and mathematical physicist. This little text is deceptive in scope, covering the constitutive equations of motion, vorticity, and up through problems in gas dynamics. The book is also quite appropriate for self study, even more beneficial if studied in conjunction with G.K. Batchelor's classic text "An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics" for additional physical insight. Overall Marsden and Chorin have developed a classic introductory text. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied Mathematics   2. Fluid Mechanics   3. General   4. Hydraulics   5. Science   6. Science/Mathematics   

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   2. Computer Books: Languages   3. Computer software   4. Computers   5. Congresses   6. Formal methods (Computer scien   7. Formal methods (Computer science)   8. Programming - Software Development   9. Testing   

Subjects:  1. Economic aspects   2. Environmental   3. Environmental law, Internation   4. Environmental law, International   5. International   6. Law   

Customer Reviews (1)

The Three Musketeers
This is a very entertaining and exiting novel. At the begining of the book you get thrown right into the action. The main charecter, D'Artagnan, is a young swordsman who is given only an old horse, fifteen crowns and some advice from his father before being sent off to Paris to join the royal musketeers. Dumas does an excellent job demostrating the changes in the charecters throughout the book, specifically D'Artagnan. He presents each of them is a different light which makes it easier for the reader to see what type of person each charecter is supposed to be. From the point were D'Artagnan meets his friends to the point where they go thier seperate ways, there is action around every turn. The plot of the book makes it just that much more enjoyable. It becomes known at the begining of the book that there is a struggle for power between the King of France and the Cardinal. The plot revolves around this conflict and the constant battles between the Kings royal guard, the musketeers and the Cardinal's guards. The story follows the four freinds (D'Artagnan and his three friends, Athos, Porthos and Aramis who are already members of the musketeers)through France and England on countless adventures in an effort to thwart the plans of the Cardinal. I sincerely recomend this book to any person who likes mystery, action, adventure and even a little romance thrown in. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure   2. Classics   3. Fiction   4. Historical - General   5. Literature - Classics / Criticism   

Customer Reviews (1)

A great educator reveals his thoughts
Paulo Freire, viewed by many as the the most significant thinker in education in the 20th century, looks at his own thought processes in this book of letters to his niece. He explains here how he writes and rewrites, how his educational theories relate to current political debates, how he responded to his exile from his native Brazil when his teachings raised the consciousness of the peasant class to threatening levels. The book gives fascinating glimpses into the life of a great educator who loved his students deeply and who believed in their abilities to think for themselves. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1921-   2. Biography   3. Biography / Autobiography   4. Biography/Autobiography   5. Brazil   6. Correspondence   7. Educators   8. Freire, Paulo,   9. General   10. Philosophy Of Education   11. Biography: general   12. Education   

Subjects:  1. Photo Essays   2. Photoessays & Documentaries   3. Photography   4. Subjects & Themes - Erotica   

Customer Reviews (9)

A difficult read; know your history
Reading this book's description, I was anticipating a Scarlet Pimpernel-type adventure story. I was disappointed with the result. I admire Alexandre Dumas' work, but this book seemed to drag on and on and was awkwardly structured. None of the characters were particularly interesting, either. Also, it seems you have to know more than just your basic history of the French Revolution before even reading it, otherwise you will constantly need to avail yourself of the glossary in the back. There are many references to people (Marat, Robespierre) and places of the time, both famous and obscure. Unless you're well-versed in this area, stick to his classics.

Well deserving to be called a classic
I had been reading the rather quick type of books of late. I decided I needed something with a great plot, good character development-overall something I would not want to put down-a classic. I loved every word of this book, as well as the French Revolution history. This book had real and fictitious characters wonderfully portrayed. The story actually had a beginning, a middle and an end. I could not put it down and cannot wait to read more Dumas again (I always loved Camille, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Christo). I highly recommend this book, if you like facts interwoven with fiction well defined characters, believable dialogue and a great plot. I felt as though I was in the gallery in every scene. I wanted to yell to the characters-do this do that, don't do that-NO. Great book even so many years later. Enough with the fast read-bring on the classics.

The age of Terror in great Narrative
I truly enjoyed reading this book, as a person who's generally knowledgeable with the life of Marie Antoinette and the French revolution, the book was fairly accurate. There are some mistakes in the notes, historically...Never the less they do not affect the beauty of the story nor the narrative. The French Revolution was a blood bath, way too many innocent people met their end during the Terror. For someone to be disappointed with the end is a bit naive! Yes, a part of me wanted the heroes to survive, still Dumas did the best thing by sending them to the Guillotine. He was true to the history and it made wonderful fiction. It is a great image of the history of the time. Enjoy! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics   2. Fiction   3. Fiction - Historical   4. France   5. French Novel And Short Story   6. Girondists   7. Historical - General   8. History   9. Revolution, 1789-1799   10. Fiction / General   

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Customer Reviews (1)

Excelente historia de amor con tintes pasionales
Esta historia nos demuestra claramente la pasíón que un hombre puede llegar a sentir por una mujer, y lo que una mujer puede sacrificar por el amor de un hombre, también es un fiel reflejo de algunas de nuestras conductas; muestra en forma detallada como una sociedad y algunos preceptos morales pueden ser la causa de dejar a un lado a la persona que realmente se ama. En pocas palabras puedo opinar que esta novela es para personas que gustan del amor sin barreras, rayando en los límites de la pasión. Puedo comparar ésta novela con otra poco conocida y muy recomendable llamada 'Werther' de Goethe -primer novela escrita por este celebre autor alemán-, pues tambien es una historia de entrega y de amor, terminando en una tragedia irremediable. Ambas un reflejo de las vivencias de los autores así como de los sentimientos que los llevaron a escribirlas. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio - Romance   2. Romance - General   3. Fiction   4. Classics   5. Audio Adult: Books On Tape   6. Spanish: Adult Fiction   

Customer Reviews (13)

This book rocks! Great way to start learning game writing!
Alexandre Lobao and Ellen Hatton have done a great job with this book!! This is a great entry level book that will teach you the basics of game programming without requiring a degree in Math or Computer Science. This book is delightful to read, because it intersperses graphics programming techniques with discussions about good game play. The appendices also include some notable articles about game playing, game projects, and the "science" of making a good game. Some hard-core developers may be put off by the fact that the examples are in Visual Basic.NET, but I strongly advise against such a bias -- VB.NET code is just as efficient in execution as C#, and you would miss out on a GREAT opportunity to learn about game programming AND have fun. Lastly, I want to say that their writing style is very nice -- well thought out and not pretentious at all. Thank you, Alex and Ellen!

Good, but basic introduction
This is a pretty good book. It is very easy to read although the subjects discussed aren't really trivial. The book touches on a wide array of topics, ranging from GDI+ to DirectInput and DirectAudio, as well as DirectDraw.

However, the potential buyer should be aware that this is a very basic book. If you want to write the next Doom, this book will not teach you how to do that. In fact, considering that this book has "DirectX" in the title, it covers very little 3D programming. However, this book DOES teach the basics of game development and almost all aspects that go along with that, from simple graphics to controlling sound, and controllers such as force feedback joysticks. But as I said: Most of it is pretty basic. But if you have no experience with game development whatsoever, reading this book will be an excellent first step...

My Xperiment with this book
In the beginning, the title of this book attracted me a lot as a VB.NET programmer aiming to add some 3D content to my programs. The title seemed close enough to my ojective. I thought i could easily learn DirectX 9.0 from this book. Unfortunatly, this didn't happen.

First of all this book is missing the sense of attracting the reader to it, it gives examples and it goes through some steps and finally it tells you to copy the rest of the code from the companying CD. Also some examples have mistakes so they may not function well just by wrutung them. I got frustrated because of that, i had to copy and correct a lot using the cd which finally ended up with me by copying the whole project and understanding it on my own.

Probably the most usefull chapter is chapter 3, in which the author explains the basics of 3D gaming. However, This book doesn't deal with 3D anymore, most ( in fact 99%) are dealing with 2D games.

As an advice, if you are trying to find what i looked for, try another book as I am doing now. This book doesn't worth the money i spent on it. I am sorry to say so, but truth is truth ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   2. Computer Books And Software   3. Computer Games   4. Entertainment & Games - General   5. Games   6. Microcomputer Application Software   7. Programming   8. Programming - General   9. Programming Languages - General   10. Video & Electronic - General   

Customer Reviews (5)

Original love story!
Alexandre Jardin plays and experiment with conventions about love and youth. His hero, also named Alexandre, has a very unconventional idea how to best love ONE woman for a life time. His pursuit of the love of his life, Fanfan, is enjoyable and funny. When other young heros cannot wait to have sex, Alexandre does the unexpected. It is rare that one comes across a book which deals with the "serious" subject of love in such a new way. Conventions are not mottos; they are hindrances! Jardin is original and writes entertainingly. In fact, this is sheer brilliance.

Brilliant
When you fall in love there is passion. If you do not want to let this passion slip into the every day boring life, you hold back so that passion forever remains. Is that possible you ask? Well, the character in this book seems to think so. He is madly in love and the girl loves him, but he keeps pulling back inventing stories and telling lies, just so that she keeps wanting him more and more. But how far can he go? Very deep book which everyone should read. Another view on commitment phobics.

Very Romantic! Very French!
If you've watched the movie you'll appreciate this novel's more depth and insights about Alexandre's own passion. The story is very original, while the feeling is still so REAL. I believe when Alexandre Jardin was writing this novel, he must have had Sophie Marceau in his mind already. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction   2. Fiction - General   3. French (Language) Contemporary Fiction   4. General   

Customer Reviews (3)

Absolutely Riveting Tale!
This is honestly one of the greatest novels I have ever read. I absolutely loved this book. I could not put it down! This is a must read for anyone.When I first started into this novel, I had in my memory the 'movie' that was made for the big screen. So of course, I expected the book to be very similar to it. Well, I was very wrong! Other than Edmond Dantes being betrayed by his 'friends' and finding the treasure, this book takes on a different route.

Believe me, the book is much more superb. The way the Count exacts his revenge is astonishing. I cannot fathom how Dumas came up with such a scheme. At times, one cringes for the those who wronged the Count.

This book made me laugh and cry. There are many poignant moments throughout the book that make you feel good. Anyone who says that Dumas is not up there with the 'classic' writers, does not know what they are talking about. This book is rich in dialogue, mystery, suspense and storyline. All in all, this is an amazing classic, and I recommend it to anyone wanting a good read.

Almost every edition is abridged
Dumas's works were regularly abridged by the original English translators...you would never want to read the original version. It's entirely too long. This version is terrific -- I really appreciated the contemporary reviews and the Inspired By section that lists adaptations of the novel.

Long over short
Unfortunately, this abridged version (with no indication of it on the cover) chops out several hundred pages of necessary information that would satisfy the readers' feelings of vindication for the Count. Opt for the unabridged edition to truly enjoy this wonderful, emotional adventure. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics   2. Fiction   3. Literature - Classics / Criticism   4. Literature: Classics   

Customer Reviews (11)

A Dish Best Served Cold
The introduction to this excellent Modern Library edition says, "The long journey of Edmond Dantes is one that we should all take at some point in our lives." I couldn't agree more. This novel easily ranks among the greatest epics--The Odyssey, Don Quixote, Les Miserables, War & Peace and The Brothers Karamazov come to mind as works of comparable scope and moral grandeur.

My only advice is: set aside some time. With 1500 pages, a complex web of characters (including many with shifting identities) and more than a few dispensible subplots, this unabridged edition is a challenge--albeit a rewarding one.

The novel tackles all the great themes: war, revolution, love, power, money, justice, evil, God. But in a word, it's subject is REVENGE. A good-natured young man of exceptional promise, Edmond Dantes is betrayed by his erstwhile friends, unjustly imprisoned by an ambitious magistrate, and left for dead by the woman he loves. The first three hundred pages of the story are fast-paced and almost cinematic, from the wrenching scenes of betrayal and imprisonment, down to Dantes' miraculous escape and rebirth as a remarkable new man, the Count of Monte Cristo.

The Count is part 007, part Stoic philosopher. He'll drop you in a duel, match wits with you in the salon, concoct potions from recipes in a dozen languages, be in three places at once, with three different identities, and exercise a kind of foresight and control over human events that we normally associate with gods and conspiracy theories. Oh yeah--and he's loaded, too.

Dantes burns with a desire for revenge, but it's an entirely different sort than the Clint Eastwood/Charles Bronson variety. Instead of blasting his way into Paris with a semi-automatic (or less anachronistically, with a really big sword), Dantes methodically plots the downfall of his enemies using even more lethal weapons: the evil that lurks in their own hearts.

All this takes a long time. There is a big drop off in intensity in the middle chunk of the novel, as Dumas transitions from the swashbuckling Napoleonic days to a more traditional European novel of manners set in the 1830s. A whole new set of characters are introduced. Later, we discover their relationship to Dantes' earlier antagonists--but for a time we are totally at sea. Meanwhile, Dumas launches various digressions that will occasionally cause the reader to wonder whether he was getting paid by the word (probably).

But don't despair. The last half of the novel gathers steam like a freight train, as Count of Monte Cristo moves in for the kill. The suspense builds--not because we wonder whether Dantes will get his revenge, but whether he can avoid turning into a monster in the process.

Ultimately, Dumas offers as sane and humane a message as you can hope for from 1500 pages of injustice and vengeance. In a novel where fortunes shift, names and titles are granted and extinguished, and identities are transformed on turns of luck, the old Stoic wisdom shines through. It's not what happens to you, good or bad, but how you respond to it, that determines true virtue in this world. One suspects this would be true even without an avenging Providence, even if Edmond Dantes' triumph were less complete.

A tale for the centuries
This is one of the greatest tales of revenge of all time. We owe to Dumas's skillful hand a narrative rivaling WAR AND PEACE, a vast collection of characters and tales within tales, all finally ancohered together upon the dreadful downfall of Edmond Dantes and his in some ways equally dreadful rebirth as that mysterious agent of justice, the Count of Monte Cristo. It is a fascinating story, providing thrills -- but not at the expense of shallowness -- and provoking thought -- but without affectation.

My only piece of advice to the reader is to take a few notes on the characters, since they disappear and reappear, and sometimes are referred to by different names and titles. However, for what it is worth, I was able to follow the story closely enough to thoroughly enjoy it even without notes, and despite occasionally being forced to set the book down for a few weeks between chapters.

Because of the size of the book, the Modern Library Classics edition is especially useful, having comparatively large and legible print, decent spacing between lines, and, most importantly, a flexible spine which allows it to be set open on a table without creasing or cracking.

Long but each page is worth it...
I have read 6 different translations of this book starting with a children's version when I was 6. I know, that doesn't count. But the 5 other ones were full versions. I know that such a thick book can be intimidating but it is worth while. Each turn of the page feels like unwrapping a new gift. By the time you get to the end you will miss it and wish that it was even longer. This is the best translation that I have read thus far. This book is for anyone that likes to treasure their time with their books and is not for impatient people who just want to know the plot. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century   2. Classics   3. Fiction   4. France   5. Historical - General   6. Historical fiction   7. History   8. Literature - Classics / Criticism   9. Fiction / General   

Subjects:  1. Description and travel   2. Russia   3. Travel - Foreign   

Customer Reviews (2)

Unfortunate
The most unfortunate aspect of this book is that it projects post-60s thought onto Kojeve's anthropological reading of Hegel. The book would have been far better served by tracing the real impact of Kojeve's misreading of Hegel (and the French were well aware that Kojeve misread him) on the social sciences, from philosophy to psychoanalysis. Obviously, that a book (or originally in this case, a lecture series) is reading a philosopher (Hegel) incorrectly (and dozens of books attest to this fact in French) takes nothing away however from the brilliance and fecundity that others are able to discern in it and who subsequently use in their own thought. So misreadings can be very fruitful.

That the title of Drury's book is "Kojeve" rather than "Kojeve's reading of Hegel" (which would have been more accurate - is Kojeve known for anything else?) should be duly noted (as I will, below). So, Drury's book defies every major category except for one: it is not a work of philosophy, or of history, or even of intellectual history (the book would have to treat facts to qualify for this title). So what is left? Polemical, if that were actually a book category. Drury's book tries to show how post-60s French thought is very simply (one should probably say far too simply) a reaction to Kojeve's work from 40+ years earlier, while it ushers Hegel out the side door, as if he were just a bit player on the stage. Errandum: no Kojeve without Hegel. To make matter worse, it seems as though Drury, while busy polemicizing against contemporary thought, has forgotten one thing, and it's not simply Hegel: it is the immense cultural learning that French lycee students were (and still are) required to partake in, including philosophy. Drury would have the reader believe that from the second quarter of the 1900s to the 1960's, and beyond, that there was a cultural vacuum in French thought. Ergo post-1960s thought is but a "reaction" to Kojeve (but not to Hegel, or, come to think of it, anybody else for that matter). I have used the word reaction on several occasions in this review, and not only because it is Drury's main argument. I think the word speaks aptly to Drury's book as a whole, which is not only polemical but reactionary, in the everyday sens of the word. As there are plenty of excellent books on the market that are neither polemical nor reactionary and address exactly the same issues that Drury attempts to do, but fill in the background, there seems little sense in wading through Drury's at times hyperbolic arguments. In short, he's reaching. I have intentionally not spoken to his own misunderstandings, and therefore inevitable misrepresentations, of the authors he discusses - not even where Kojeve himself is concerned. This is not the place for a page by page correction. And as better books exist without these errors, the problem is more easily fixed: I recommend Vincent Descombes' remarkable "Modern French Philosophy," which is a model of scholarship and clarity. It begins with Kojeve. The volume also gives suggestions for further reading. And one of the most incisive synopses of Kojeve's highly slanted reading of Hegel and its influence is perhaps not where one might expect to find it: as the Preface to Mikkel Borch-Jakobsen's "The Absolute Master." It is an exceedingly clear account, and highly recommended. Both books can be perused online at Amazon.

The Kojeve File
On the trail for suspects in the legacy of both the 'end of history' myth, and the sources of postmodernism (for those who find it problematical), we arrive at the Ministry Office of Alexander Kojeve, a remarkable figure towering philosophically over the last gasp of the Cold War and whose charming brilliance conceals a contradictory, if not toxic, mix of Marx, Heidegger, and Hegel. An admirer of Stalin, yet he saw before many the inevitable outcome of the Cold War, and thought America a more deserving victor of the ideological war of the twentieth century. Yet the strange result of his gesture in the interpretation of Hegel in his classic text lies in the subsequent dialectical swing to an opposite extreme in a version of Hegel that is really a neo-liberal false mustache. The spectacle of the end of history so conceived has a strange Nietzschean fevered charm, yet suddenly seems a bit sulphuric, as the hell with no-exit for the bourgeois Faust, the last man.
This work contains a good critical account of the Kojeve's life and work, along with discussions of his relations with Strauss, and his influence on early postmodernists, Alan Bloom, and the work of Fukuyama. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1902-1968   2. Contributions in political sci   3. History   4. Ideology   5. Kojeve, Alexandre,   6. Philosophy   7. Political   8. Political aspects   9. Politics/International Relations   10. Postmodernism   11. Political Science / General   

Customer Reviews (8)

swashbuckling and intrigue
This is Dumas at his almost-finest, very vivid and exciting, great characters and plot, even Nostradamus! As fine as Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth. The reason that the title is given in French is because it would translate as Queen Madge, which doesn't sound so good.

fun, great novel on court intrigue
This is a lesser known Dumas novel than, say, the Count of Monte Christo. But it is just as good as the others he did: vivid personalities, attention to detail, and fabulously intricate plots. It tells the story of Margot and her marriage to the King of Navarre, an ambitious Hugenot in constant danger of assassination. With the backdrop of the religious wars, she finds love in a knight that she attempts to cloister from the dangers of court intrigue. It ends in tragedy, hope, and the promise of further adventure.

Based on available historical sources at the time and embellished with Dumas' unique sense of drama, it is a spectacular read, full of danger, sudden developments, and psychological depth. While it may not be as deep as Stendhal's best works, it is absolutely first rate as a historical novel, a genre that Dumas helped to develop. It stimulates the reader's desire to plung more deeply into French history as well.

High recommendation.

A historical French soap-opera
This is a Historical novel that takes place in France, in the XVIth century. There's a very very bad black widow -as a matter of fact, black mother as well this is Catherine of Médicis-, a beautiful and amorous young queen married to somebody she does not love but with whom she forms an alliance just in order not to be a widow herself and go to a convent, a romantic heroe, his true friend -who sometimes loves him a little bit too much and a bunch of intriguers. Alexandre Dumas, in his newspaper serial style - this novel was first published that way-, interweave different stories aboiding boring descriptions and getting to the point: quick dialogue, short chapters, attractive characters, and everything to catch you from the first page, which he achieves. It really is a page turner, with several love stories that never goes with marriage and several marriages that never goes with love but with alliances. I have read that some United States reviewers are a bit confused because of the historical part and that's a problem unless you know European History or have a book with comments and notes. If you end the book and want to know what happened afterwards, read British Enciclopedia or something like that, because all characters are historical, even the Romantic hero La Mole and his friend. To those that have seen the 1990s French movie, you have the advantage of imagining the whole story with the beautiful faces of Isabelle Adjani and Vincent Perez, and the great soundtrack and spectacular staging from his director, which reminds of an opera. To those who doesn't I'd say go to your videoclub and try to find it!! It's not a substitute but a perfect complement. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics   2. European - French   3. Fiction   4. Literature - Classics / Criticism   5. Literature: Classics   6. 19th century fiction   

Subjects:  1. Classics   2. Fiction   3. Literature - Classics / Criticism   4. Literature: Classics   

Subjects:  1. Fiction   2. Fiction - General   3. General   

Customer Reviews (1)

Dry as the wind of the desert
Hogue's works are dry, miserable. If we see his works, we will see the darkness of our mind. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1898-   2. Art   3. Art & Art Instruction   4. Exhibition Catalogs   5. Exhibitions   6. Graphic Arts - General   7. Hogue, Alexandre,   8. Hogue, Alexandre   

Subjects:  1. Fiction   2. Fiction - Historical   3. Historical - General   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal   2. History   3. History - General History   4. History: World   5. Medieval