Library

Price: $5.95

Edition: Rev

ISBN: 0307244105

Summary: When I was 12 years old our family went on vacation to Folly Island South Carolina. I had been a shell enthusiast since I was in diapers and we got to stay in a beach house owned by my uncle. I was in heaven! I grew up in the northeast and had never seen any of the shells that seemed to be common place there. Unfortunately, up to then I had never owned a book on shells and knew little about them or even what to call most of them. On my second day there my aunt gave me a little book with shells on the cover. I opened it up and it opened a whole new world for me. I was mesmerized. I now had a source of information about my favorite pastime. I looked up and found each and every shell I had found and even learned how to clean and take care of them like a professional. That book was Seashells of the World. Thirty years later I now have thousands of shells and hundreds of books on shells, many of them quite advanced but to this day that little book is my favorite by far. I have worn out my tenth copy and never go anywhere without a copy. It is perfect for all ages from toddler to adult.

Price: $7.00

ISBN: 1882926390

Summary: Rather than a give the story of philosophy in 50 pages, Dr. McInerny points students of philosophy in a direction such that their philosophical studies might actually benefit their lives. The book is thus a defense of perennial philosophy, and the classical view that philosophy is something humans are "naturally" drawn to do, because it completes our lives. Dr. McInerny engages the reader in argument, as he defends this view against modern views of philosophy, and discusses the nature of certainty, common sense, and the role of science. Its most important value is the great faith in human intellect and reason, implicit throughout the book. This book would make a good beginning for college philosophy classes. A concluding bibliographical appendix by Joshua Hochschild gives a brief overview of main philosophers throughout history, and some good suggestions for reading.

Price: $24.95

Edition: 1

ISBN: 0596004613

Summary: A competent system administrator knows that a Linux server is a high performance system for routing large amounts of information through a network connection. Setting up and maintaining a Linux server requires understanding not only the hardware, but the ins and outs of the Linux operating system along with its supporting cast of utilities as well as layers of applications software. There's basic documentation online but there's a lot beyond the basics you have to know, and this only comes from people with hands-on, real-world experience. This kind of "know how" is what we sought to capture in "Linux Server Hacks". "Linux Server Hacks" is a collection of 100 industrial-strength hacks, providing tips and tools that solve practical problems for Linux system administrators. Every hack can be read in just a few minutes but will save hours of searching for the right answer. Some of the hacks are subtle, many of them are non-obvious, and all of them demonstrate the power and flexibility of a Linux system. You'll find hacks devoted to tuning the Linux kernel to make your system run more efficiently, as well as using CVS or RCS to track the revision to system files. You'll learn alternative ways to do backups, how to use system monitoring tools to track system performance and a variety of secure networking solutions. "Linux Server Hacks" also helps you manage large-scale Web installations running Apache, MySQL, and other open source tools that are typically part of a Linux system. O'Reilly's new Hacks Series proudly reclaims the term "hacking" for the good guys. Hackers use their ingenuity to solve interesting problems. Rob Flickenger is an experienced system administrator, having managed the systems for O'Reilly Network for several years. (He's also into community wireless networking and he's written a book on that subject for O'Reilly.) Rob has also collected the best ideas and tools from a number of other highly skilled contributors. Written for users who already understand the basics, "Linux Server Hacks" is built upon the expertise of people who really know what they're doing.

Price: $6.95

ISBN: 0819560502

Summary: My rating of 5-Stars was based on the 1977 edition of the Cape Cod Canal. That book was published by Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Today I purchased a Second Edition copy of the Cape Cod Canal, printed in 1993;and published by Cape Cod Historical Publications, Yarmouth, MA; and was VERY disappointed to find that a photo of the "Keith Band" (Photo #19 in the 1977 edition) was omitted. I had special ordered the 1993 edition from a local bookstore; and thought the Second Edition would have the exact same contents as the book published in 1977. My father was a member of the Keith Band; and I was planning to give a copy of the book to my brother for his 70th birthday. Needless to say, I am returning the book I purchased today. Earlier this month, I ordered a copy of the Cape Cod Canal, printed in June of 1987, from Amazon. I am hoping when I receive this edition that it has the photo of the Keith Band. I would like to have this review sent to the publisher, Cape Cod Historical Publishers as I couldn't find an e-mail address for them.

Price: $28.00

Edition: New Ed

ISBN: 0192805479

Summary: A startling amalgam of Zulu war-cry and Sherlock Holmes, of practical tips on health and hygiene and object lessons in woodcraft, Scouting for Boys (1908) is the original blueprint and inspiration for the Boy Scout Movement. An all-time bestseller in the English-speaking world, second in its
heyday only to the Bible, it is one of the most influential manuals for youth ever published, known and loved around the world.
Including all of Baden-Powell's original illustrations, this new critical edition of Scouting for Boys serves up a wonderful hodge-podge of true crime stories, stern moralizing, stock adventure tales, natural history, first-aid tips, advice on observation and tracking, and much more. Readers
will find a roughly composed pastiche of jingoist lore and tracker legend, padded with lengthy quotations from adventure fiction--from Rudyard Kipling and James Fenimore Cooper, to Alexander Dumas and Arthur Conan Doyle--and seamed through with the multiple anxieties of its time: fears of
degeneration ("the fall of the Roman empire was due to bad citizenship") and a constant worry over imminent war. Alongside practical instructions on how to light fires, build a boat, or stalk animals (or men), it includes sections on chivalry, self-discipline, self-improvement, and citizenship.
Indeed, the book brims with Baden-Powell's philosophy of life, one that replaces self with service, puts country before the individual, and duty above all. The introduction by Elleke Boehmer illuminates the book's maverick complexity and her notes clarify obscure references.
Though almost a century old, Scouting for Boys continues to fascinate, surprise, and motivate readers today. It will delight anyone interested in popular culture, Victorian history, and literature for children.

Price: $39.95

Edition: 2

ISBN: 0596003536

Summary: "PC Hardware in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference" relies on an eternal truth of the computer industry: legacy systems never die. This book focuses on the technologies that have provided Wintel personal computers with various capabilities over the years. Like most of its competitors, this book addresses the PC on a subsystem level, and deals with video cards, hard-disk interfaces, memory, and other pieces of the componentry puzzle that hardware integrators need to figure out. The authors do a great job of explaining the differences between (and relative merits of) IDE and SCSI hard-drive interfaces, various video buses, competing processors, and other technologies. They also prove themselves adept at explaining general assembly procedures and troubleshooting strategies.
This book distinguishes itself from its most popular competitors by emphasizing the authors' opinions on hardware products. It's refreshing to see authors recommend Product A for high-performance systems in which price is not an issue, Product B for economical home systems, and Product C for organizational workstations. On the other hand, the recommendations, prices, and similar values will change over time. The authors maintain a great Web site, at which you can find their current recommendations. (The Web site, on the other hand, doesn't include the book's high-quality tutorial on designing and assembling a system from zero.) Even the photographs that appear in this book--traditionally a weak point among hardware books--are clear. "--David Wall"
Topics covered: Personal computers that comply with Microsoft Windows and Intel compatibility requirements. The authors address processors, memory, hard disks, optical media, removable magnetic disks, video cards, power supplies, and more. Also, there are instructions for assembling a machine from scratch, and some coverage of troubleshooting problems.

Price: $17.99

Edition: Library Binding

ISBN: 0670451495

Summary: It's not easy for duck parents to find a safe place to bring up their ducklings, but during a rest stop in Boston's Public Garden, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard think they just might have found the perfect spot--no foxes or turtles in sight, plenty of peanuts from pleasant passers-by, and the benevolent instincts of a kindly police officer to boot. Young readers will love the mother duck's proud, loving protection of her wee webbed ones, and those with fond memories of Boston will enjoy familiar locales, from Beacon Hill to Louisburg Square, and over the Charles River--often from a duck's-eye view. Robert McCloskey, creator of "Blueberries for Sal", never fails to elicit happy story-time giggles from youngsters, and his soft, brown-toned, Caldecott-winning illustrations make this gentle world come alive. (Ages 3 to 8) "--Karin Snelson"