Dated, it's true-but still the best available.
356023
It took me six months, studying about six hours per week, to finish this course, and I am very pleased with it. It combines a very thorough treatment of the important points of Japanese grammar, an extensive vocabulary, and dialogue and drill practice on 10 CDs. Aside from Pimsleur, I don't know of any other Japanese course that offers so much audio (and Pimsleur, of course, gives you no written materials). After completing this course, you will have a good grasp of basic Japanese grammar and a nice vocabulary to go with it. This course will by no means make you fluent in Japanese (I don't think anything short of constant practice with native speakers can do that) but it lays a very solid foundation for further study and for developing greater proficiency. One flaw of this course is that it does contain some antiquated vocabulary, such as "jibiki' for dictionary and "junsa" for policeman (instead of jisho and keikan, respectively) so, as one other reviewer mentioned, you should not rely solely on this course-"Teach Yourself Japanese" and a good modern dictionary are excellent correctives to the older style of speech that is taught here. Many reviewers have criticized this book for not teaching the Japanese writing system. I don't feel that this is a fair criticism. Writing Japanese and speaking it are two very different tasks, and if this book had included Japanese writing it would certainly have been at the expense of a considerable amount of grammatical and vocabulary instruction. There is no shortage of books available for learning written Japanese. I find it enjoyable to learn the written language concurrently with the spoken language. The techinque I have developed, which works quite well for me, was to learn the two kana systems (I recommend "Learning Hiragana and Katakana by Takagaki and Henshall for this) before starting on "Beginning Japanese," and writing each lesson's dialogue out in kana. Also, with the help of a Japanese dictionary and P.G. O'Neill's "Essential Kanji," I learned 10 to 15 new Kanji per lesson, by checking to see how new vocabulary items are written in Kanji and practicing them. This is a demanding language course, definitely no-nonsense. If you just want to learn a few traveller's phrases, look elsewhere. But if you are serious about learning real Japanese and are willing to put forth the time and effort it takes, you can't do better than this.
3489881
The classic, but updated book on the subject.
3515264
It is as relevant today as it was when it was made (2010?). Spot-on!
836268
Despite its age, this book still has much to offer that other books, like  Writing Solid Code, miss.  Even though it uses languages from a bygone age  in its examples, it points are still very valid.  Coupled with the clear,  lucid, writing it is a joy to read.  If you think your code is the bee's  knees, think again unless you've read Elements of Programming Style.
414685
Great book, the diet still works - even after all these years.
2285726
Most of what has ever been available in the open literature about the effects of nuclear weapons was available in the 1962 and 1964 editions of this gem of a book.  Later works, even including later versions of this book, are more noteworthy for what got taken out than for what, if anything, got added.  The language is clear enough for a journalist writing about "what would happen if..." and detailed enough, including equations, for the most exacting scientist.  If you're lucky you can even find an edition that includes the "bomb effects computer," a cleverly designed simple device, essentially a circular slide rule, that makes it easy to calculate, in case you don't know or have forgotten how to use the equations, how effects change as a function of yield, distance, and height of detonation.  Still the best after all these years!
3520176
Although it was written around 1933, it is as applicable today as ever. Brilliant.
1904334
I have used this reference for years--and even though it is dated it still has great value.
4544720
If I were writing a review of this book by Mr. Ayoob twenty years ago, I would have given it five stars. While much of the info in this book is still relevant today (e.g. the self-defense techniques demonstrated) - a lot of the info in the text is woefully out-dated. For example, there have been great developments in handguns since this book was first published. So while the advice he gives on gun selection was sound 1983, it really needs to be updated - I'll bet even the author would agree with me on this. Mr. Ayoob praises the PR-24 (Police Baton) at length in his book. Today, you'll be hard-pressed to find a Police Department that hasn't switched to the telescopic style of Baton (which doesn't look aggressive until deployed or get left in the patrol car). The same goes for OC (Pepper-spray). Perhaps in 1983 pepper sprays were, "useful only as dog repellents and have little if any effect on humans", but today's pepper-sprays work quite well, thank-you (ask your local G-8/APEC/WTO protester). I have used pepper spray on the job (and have had it used on me) and I can assure you while not 100% effective on 100% of the people 100% of the time, (short of a bazooka - what is?) the stuff works. So in essence, what the other reviewers are saying about this book (favorable comments) are true, but in my opinion this book badly needs an update/overhaul. Having said that, for the price of the book (cheap!) it is still full of practical advice. There you have it: the truth about, THE TRUTH ABOUT SELF PROTECTION.
3117859
The book has been out since the turn of the century, yet it still demands attention from detractors and supporters - always a sign of good writing.
While the data is rather old, the premise still holds. a recent note from the EIA indicates a new low in the number of people in abject poverty globally - less than 300M and down from 1B three decades ago. yet another refutation of the naysayers.
Certainly, read Ms. Simon's introduction, as it gives the back story for the book's thesis and generation. Reviled during his lifetime as a librarian statistician w/o due education, Mr. Simon's works have had a lasting impact upon many. Despite Dr. Erich's gratuitous errors, his books too make strong selling, if not good reading.
The book is straightforward. Here are 100 fact trends. They indicate support for wealth, health and education based increases in the wellness of humanity. fear is disposed of with facts, a rarity in today's polemical society.
Enjoy these facts. Learn from others. Try The Improving State of the World as a follow on to this read.
1848535
Although this book is a bit out dated, the source material here is extremely usable.
3630213
This is the classic text - in both a positive and negative sense. Porter's framework for competitive analysis, and his description of courses of action and the five forces of competitive landscape remain critically importat, topical and useful.  In fact, many B-Schools have this as required reading, or the strategy book they use draws on this source text for competitive analysis.

On the other side of the coin, the version of the book I have is from about 1980, and the examples are a bit dated, and the world has changed quite a bit since then. It is easy to get wrapped up in the successes and failures of the compaies that Porter calls out as having superior competitive positions back in 1980 and looking at where they are (or aren't) today.

In summary - the framework for analysis is still revelvant and very useful, the examples are very dated, but if you are doing any level of competitive analysis, you will be almost expected to have read and used this book - the Bible of Competitive Strategic thought.
1252573
I am sure it is fifty years since I first read it.  I call  it idealistic fiction, but it is honestly so and written  as though realistic.  In one sense it is dated, but in that particular sense so are most classics-- books anchored in time  but with  lasting appeal and  transcendent application.  It is better than I remember it being, which says a great deal.

Disclosure:  I am a Christian novelist on Amazon. I could not have written Sheldon's book, but I am glad he did.
2026193
The only problem is that it's outdated. The conflicts have changed and most of the players are different, but it'll still give you an insight into the history of world issues and how they formed.

Besides that, the information not pertaining to current events is as useful now as it was then. There's a reason this book was mandatory reading for the CIA.
1273381
It proved to be informative for all. Although it proved to be outdated but still helpful.
3240382
It may be a bit dated (being 10 years old, and all), but the information within, is still quite valid, and is more than helpful in getting new Ministers up and off to a running start.  I recommend it highly.
3225469
This was a great book in its time, and still provides solid understanding of CSound fundamentals. Much has changed in the last decade, and you're better off working with a more recent software version. Even so, some of the strangenesses in current versions make more sense when you see how the system evolved.

As great a resource as this is, it's difficult to convey so much technical material while making sure to explain everything before using it. With a bit of patience, technical readers can put the pieces together. I subtract a rating star only due to technical obsolescence, as of 2009.

Though the CD's in my (used) copy looked good, many files on them did not load under Windows. I suspect this may be due to insufficient testing across multiple OS'es. Once you see what is supposed to be there, you can probably find reasonable replacement material (also more up to date) on the listed web sites.

Happy composing!