Great depth on an important site task
938131
Back in 1996 and 1997, the notion of Internet "communities" fuelled the dreams of entrepreneurs. These communities let groups of people come together on-line to share common interests and needs - on Web discussion boards, in email lists, in chat rooms and many other virtual spaces. Books like John Hagel & Arthur Armstrong's "Net Gain" (look it up in the Amazon search box) touted the marketing riches awaiting those who could inject commercial aims into such communities. Firms like iVillage built clutches of "community" sites in an effort to cash in on the riches. GeoCities, Blue Mountain Arts and even AOL found they could inflate already bloated valuations by flaunting their "community" credentials.
Then came the March-April dot-com bust - and the commercial Web community boom was over before it had really begun. As 2000 went on, site after site admitted that whatever "community" they had, it hadn't created much cash.
Lousy timing for Amy Jo Kim, a student of the art of building true Web communities who in April 2000 published "Community Building on the Web". Kim started working with virtual communities back before the boom or the bust, back before virtual communities were even sexy. Holder of a Ph. D. in behavioral neuroscience, she's worked at software giant Sun and movie giant Paramount, and her consulting work has taken her to AOL, Origin (the frirm behind Ultima Online) and eBay. She lectures on the design of online communities at Stanford. She knows her stuff. Now she's laid it out in a 352-page recipe for managing the human issues of a virtual community.
To Kim, online communities grow like ecosystems, or at least gardens. The successful community-builder, Kim argues, must do three things:
* design for unpredictable growth and change
* to manage that change, make sure to listen to feedback on the community's wants and needs, and respond
* as the community grows, let members play an ever-larger role in building and maintaining the community culture
Kim calls these three points - design for growth, create feedback loops, cede power to members - her three underlying principles.
Hagel & Armstrong argued for the same organic management style in Net Gain. But Kim spells out in exhaustive detail just how it should be done, without making unsupportable claims about its business value. This book targets a limited audience. Doubtless as a result of her work with huge clients, Kim focuses on the issues of very complex, expensive, high-traffic community sites. Readers trying to jump-start a small site will profit from seeing how the big US players do it, but you may also feel overwhelmed. The relentless prose doesn't suit light reading; you could call this volume "749 policies for managing community members".
But the narrowness of the work is also its strength. Kim doesn't provide big-picture strategic advice. She doesn't offer hints on technology deployment or usability. She has nothing to say on taking your community-based web site to an IPO, or even measuring a community's commercial success. Her focus remains at all times on the social aspects of community development.
And despite the intentional absence of big-picture thinking, "Community Building on the Web" does suggest something of the Web medium's evolving nature. It suggests, indeed, that most online communities will continue to be finely-balanced mixes of corporate and individual goals, often labor-intensive, built on a mixture of paid and volunteer effort, only partially responsive to their creators' control.
Hagel & Armstrong believed this back in 1997, but they also believed that community would bring commercial triumph. Thus, they believed, the online community would become in large part a business activity. In the more sober environment of 2001, it seems more likely that most online communities will continue to be nurtured by enthusiasts rather than corporate staff. Community specialists in either type of organisation will gain much from Kim's work.
3883815
This is a very important book. It helps you understand why the landing page is so impacting on the final actions of your visitors and what a landing page is for that matter. The book provides you with excellent guidance for analyzing your current website and determining how to make it easier for the visitor to use and, more importantly, easier for the user to do what you need them to do.

I loved the section titled, "Why your site is not perfect". It provides excellent information on how to uncover hidden problems in your site that your users are experiencing even though you may not have noticed them. Let's just say that it goes way beyond dead links.

Finally, "the math of tuning" shows you how to make logical decisions for next steps and make sure you're not wasting time fixing things that aren't broken or don't matter. Overall... a great book.
405283
I like that it tells about the sites that are pictured.  I am always interested in learning more.  Photos are very lovely.
242795
If you're not already familiar with the Mojave National Preserve, I wouldn't start with this book. It goes into depth, but isn't laid out in a way designed to give a quick overview. Having said that, I'm pleased (although I've only spent a week or so going through it). I was able to get more information on areas I was already interested in, and found a couple of new areas I want to explore. It's also just fun to read about the history and geology of the place.
1128277
This book is loaded with ideas and methods for creating links to your site that can not only get it ranked in the SERPS but can also generate a huge volume of traffic from related sites in your market or industry.  It's not quite the ultimate guide though because while Eric and Garrett walk you thru their processes for effective link building there are pieces or thought processes not thoroughly explained.  Parts of the book reveal methods at a high level and then leave it up to the reader figure out how to apply them.  Granted every market, niche, and industry are unique thus requiring different approaches, vocabulary, and assets.  However it would've been extremely helpful to have 5-10 consistent examples throughout the book of major markets so the differences in approach and application of link building methods was more clear.  Even without the examples though the book is excellent and a must read for anyone looking to rank their site in the SERPS and drive a lot of non-paid traffic.
3642212
I was amazed by the information overflow and detailed accuracy in this work. You may think there's a lot of extra info and not enough pictures/diagrams, but believe me there's plenty of images that helps reader's comprehension levels. I think it is a very good source for anybody, who needs to get inspired and to design new stadia. It helps you from ground up. As for the price, it is well worth to spend on this book rather than try to compile bunch of other cheap ones. This book gives back much more value than it takes out from your pocket. Finally, it is a very successful work and keeps replenishing with newest inventions in stadia technology. That is why this is the 4th edition.
1257941
Like it says in the intro, "This book is for those of you who get it".  I like to think I get it, and this book addresses many of the concerns I have about building and managing complex web sites.
Rather than taking an approach of duplicating the manuals that come with the product, Green/Chilcott/Flick's book takes on the whole world of web site development.  It's deep in its coverage of fundamental concepts in good design.
The book does an excellent job of covering how to work with clients so they get what they want and need, and protect yourself at the same time from misunderstandings about what you're committed to delivering.  Key concept: Document, Document, Document.
Good coverage too on architecting dynamic content, Flash's new Video functionality, and ColdFusion integration.
Because of it's focus on fundamental concepts in good design, and although there's lots of info on working in Studio MX, this would still be a great book to have even if you aren't working with Macromedia products.
2299344
I wasn't through the first few pages of this book before it answered several questions that I've had for years about how to properly site and layout a building (I've done a fair amount of residential construction type work over the years, but always got to the project after the foundation was already in place). Going further into it, even more questions were answered and gaps in my knowledge filled in - I now feel reasonably competent to be able to tackle a layout project on my own (though maybe with someone more-qualified to double-check my work).

Not surprisingly, there is a fair amount of math involved, though none of it is more complicated than adding and subtracting plus some simple trigonometry - so if you don't have a decent background in high school math this might not be the best place to start (though math is definitely a core component of surveying techniques). Otherwise, the explanations are simple and written in plain English - excellent book and highly recommended.
970557
This book is an excellent treatise on how to use and tune Solr for various uses.  I really enjoyed how the author struck a good balance between hands-on specifics and details while still covering the breadth of the application needs.  In particular including details like how to tune and handle language differences (a necessity typically overlooked in most technical books) was very appreciated.  Given the depth covered by the author developers of every level of experience with Solr should find a lot of value in this book.  I had moderate experience with Solr when I picked this book up and definitely learned several useful techniques to add to my toolkit.
2198197
This absoloute Civil War site traveler book is fantastic in helping you locate and enjoy virtually every Civil war site in Virginia. Robertson smartly divides VA. into geographic regions
where he maps out the locations of famous CW sites with not only directions but brief description sof the events. With this book I found the famous Drewry's Bluff defense site located above the James river 7 miles below Richmond where the Confederates stopped the monitor and it's fleet and in 1864 played a key role in stoping the Union advance to take Petersburg and Richmond. A remote and beautiful earthwork over the river. Obviously, the great sites of Manasas and Richmond are noted but
off the beaten path locations are best. The site of Turner Ashby's death putside of Harrisonburg off a dirt road into the woods, the site of the Rifle pits and trenches of the North Anna campaign, the star shaped eathern fort in Smithfield, the remote twin on the opposite side of the James in Fort Eustis Army Base, Fort Early an earthwork in Lynchburg, the huge trenches in Newport News City Park, the Jackson valley Campaign and on. A great road trip book and I hope he will have an updated edition with more off road sites. Caution is needed regarding areas that have been developed since the initial printing. Original access roads may have been changed or renamed such as at Yellow Tavern where the connecting street, now called Old Francis Rd., no longer crosses U.S. 1. Now you must go further north and take a right (east) on VA. Center Parkway (North of 295 overpass)  from U.S. 1 to old Telegraph Road, then travel south, .1 mile past Old Francis Rd to find Stuart's death site.
3631702
This offering by Robin Heath is a great introduction to most of the facts and mysteries of Stonehenge. I love the mentions of Alexander Thom (Megalithic yard), Dr. Hawkins (Stonehenge Decoded), and J. Michell(The View over Atlantis) also, G. Underwood(Pattern of the Past). The author touches on each of these pioneering mavericks, as well as the "accepted" facts about this ages old monument, and its' evolution and/or changes over the years, and giving due to archaeologists: Aubrey, Stukeley, Hawley, Flinders-Petrie, Lockyer, and Atkinson.

I tend to lean to the mavericks' side, and this is a great book for that, and established, or conventional archaeology has had its' scandals, and almost seems to suppress as much evidence as it uncovers. ( see "Gods, Graves and Scholars" Zahi Hawass, and almost any volume on ancient North America, to name just a few ) Stonehenge remains a little mysterious, even today, and this volume touches on its possible construction methods, on the monuments possible uses, as well as touching on some of the why's,many of which were just recently discovered, due in large part to the mavericks. Just because something cannot be proven without a shadow of a doubt, does not make it untrue !!  ( to further illustrate see the 2nd review for "The Pattern of the Past" by G. Underwood, review by Marco Buendia)

Like all the volumes in this exceptional series, there is a load of info, wonderful interesting illustrations, all orchestrated into a keepsake worthy package, and worthy to inspire the next generation of mavericks.
3156640
Even if you know your way around SEO-ing your site, this book will refresh and upgrade your current knowledge base. On the other end... if you're a newbie then this book will get you started with confidence in optimizing your site. SEO tips are not just the main focus in this book, the author also demonstrates the proper way to write articles that will boost your rankings. Topics from when to use and not use keywords, to the proper length and formation of posts and articles are covered in the very beginning. It is also important to remember that social media posts and keyword add-ins play a big part in how you rank as well. This book covers that end of the spectrum and includes a few tool references for keyword finders. This is a great book to have on hand when doing an overhaul on your site, the tips can help trim the fat that may be weighing your site down.
2112518
HTTP: the Definitive Guide is a comprehensive view of the plumbing of the web. There are enough gory details to satisfy the hungriest of developers (it's becoming a standard reference where I work), but where the book really shines is in how it presents a coherent overview of all the elements of modern web infrastructure and how they fit together. The book is very well written in that each chapter is independently accessible on an as-needed basis, yet hangs together as a coherent whole as well. For example, I needed to get a quick (re)-education on redirection; I was able to get what I needed from that chapter quickly and easily, with the pros and cons of various approaches laid out in an easy to grasp manner. The material on caching is also particularly meaty (unsurprising given the author's backgrounds). Managers, executives and IT professionals who need to become fully "buzzword compliant" will also find this book surprisingly accessible and informative.
2647406
Brian clearly put a lot of thought and careful consideration into the structure, content and flow of the book. It's well done. I've been building websites for 4 or 5 years now and this is the first book I've found that does a good job of walking the reader through the entire thought process of planning and creating a structured strategy for designing websites. If you're sold on the idea that smart thinking and great design thrive on a methodical approach, this book will delight you. That said, it's not a how-to book on building code or using tools like Photoshop, so if you're just getting into web design and you're itching to learn specific skills for building stuff, you'll probably want to hold off on buying this for now and come back to it later when you're ready to start doing professional projects. Just do so knowing that, when you do eventually come back and read it, you'll probably kick yourself for not having read this one upfront ;-).

For those of you interested in buying the book, here's a quick list of pros and cons:

PROS (many):

- There's zero fluff-factor. Brian did a solid job of explaining things simply and succinctly and moving on. Every page gets straight to the point. You'll get through it quickly without feeling like you wasted any time.

- It's easy on the eyes. There are plenty of visuals to support the content. If you surf though CSS galleries a lot looking for inspiration for your projects, you'll also get a lot of value just from flipping through the pages.

- It's an ideal start for aspiring design professionals because it provides a comprehensive, horizontal look at the design process end to end. If your goal is to learn how to manage big design projects, the book helps you develop an essential vocabulary and a broad awareness of things you need to consider (and why you do) before you get started.

CONS (few):

- The information in some sections is a little "light". At 255 pages, that's not really a knock. There's plenty of great info to chew on. The book was clearly designed for breadth, rather than depth, which is why it succeeds in giving the reader a complete and broad awareness of the design process. Depth needed to be sacrificed in order to cover everything. Entire books have been written on each topic covered in this book (like SEO, typography, usability etc). The good news is that being aware of why these are critical steps in the process will aid you in your search for deeper dives into how this stuff is done.

- No suggestions for further reading. Recognizing that this book was designed for breadth, it would have been useful to have had a short list of suggested resources in each section to guide the reader to deep dives. Including a vetted list of "further reading" would have been great. This isn't a make or break by any means, it's just a nice to have.

Overall a great book that you'll probably want to keep in your collection.
3713883
Any books that can add to the understanding of our prehistoric past are all good, in my opinion. This is a beautiful book with fantastic pictures. I would not say that there is anything earth shattering about Clovis People in this book, but there is a lot of good information on the artifacts and the discovery of this site.

It is unfortunate that the original finders of this site did not have the good sense or wherewithal to contact a university or museum before they destroyed much of this site through sand mining. One of the operators of the sand mine said that he had collected over 1500 projectile points off the site and the conveyor belts of the sand mining equipment. This operator figured he only had 20 per cent of what was taken from this potentially earth shattering archaeological site. It is a shame that probably thousands of artifacts and the site itself were destroyed

No one even knew about this site until one of the collectors decided to sell his portion of the Clovis cache.

Back to the book. Great book, two thumbs up!
2244894
I purchased the book on my Kindle and was rewarded with a fascinating first hand account of both what the author experienced as a student of archaeology with various professionals and about the science and importance of archaeology. I also now have a hard copy of the book for easy reference to the bibliography. "Lives in Ruins" is well-written by a professional journalist, and her "subjects" are very interesting both for the science they produce and as individuals pursuing an underfunded and often unappreciated (especially by land developers) academic discipline. The author traveled to some obscure places to learn the hands-on work and need for patience characteristic of the professional and his or her students. I fancy myself as reasonably well-read on world archaeology and a perceptive visitor of American archaeological sites, but I learned even more by reading this book and "visiting" the many places to which she traveled while researching the book. If you have any interest in this subject, "Lives in Ruins" is a wonderful read. You will appreciate even more the important science and history gathered by the professional archaeologist.
4559235
A collection of articles originally written by the authors for THE TABLET, the book progresses from a consideration of theological bases of the liturgy and of liturgical principles to explorations of architecture, both of churches already built and of those yet to be built, with a view toward implementing those bases and principles.  The book culminates with very practical considerations of the various ways in which a church might thereby be arranged.  Of especial interest is the treatment of the ambo, a church feature that has, over the centuries, come to be almost totally ignored in ecclesiastical architecture, but the importance of which the book explains clearly and in fascinating detail...and a feature that the book highly recommends be resurrected.  For anyone interested in implementing the Second Vatican Council's document on the liturgy and subsequent liturgical documents and directives, for anyone interested in continuing to recover authentic liturgical tradition, this book should prove to be a marvelous incentive and a valuable guide.