Great choice for an introduction
593170
If you are looking for a place to get started ,look here.
This video is well done and easy to incorporate .
4187439
The color photographs alone in Ted Olsen's Christianity and the Celts make it well worth the price of purchase.  The reader interested in how the early church developed in the Celtic culture receives an excellent introduction to key people and events.  I found it one of the most helpful introductory resources that I have used.
509610
This book was required reading for my Intro to Philosophy, and I must say it was a great choice. It covers all the basics and explains complicated material quite clearly. It's also not that much different from the newer edition - though it's much cheaper.
1721781
As the Mom of 3 girls, I was looking for a book that wouldn't become outdated and was a basic introduction to puberty.  This was a great choice.  My 9 yr. old daughter really enjoyed it.  We read it together and then I left it in her room for her to review on her own.  I think it was a great resource and was very helpful in opening the lines of communication.
1031310
This book provides a great introduction to BizTalk.  The author puts the software into its proper context, provides a solid introduction to its architecture, and gives just enough "how-to" to get started.
Reading this book first will give you what you need to approach more in-depth material, e.g. Microsoft Press's BizTalk Server 2000 Documented.
4839004
The book and companion movie are a basic but powerful introduction to Christianity without lots of religous words. It answers age old questions in a simple, straightforward, and provactive way. A great introduction to someone who has some interest in religious ideas but still has lots of questions.
2181242
Great starter/foundation. Covers broad rang of topics. We used this in a general bio for non-science majors course. It does a good job at presenting the information in an easy to follow, approachable manner.
1878217
This is the best single volume introduction I've seen to Tibetan Buddhism. I'm a Zen practitioner who has long been interested to learn more about Tibetan beliefs and philosophy, and this fit the bill perfectly.

Powers does an excellent job of framing Tibetan Buddhist practice. He begins with a brief historical introduction to the Buddha and early histories of Buddhism in India and pre-Buddhist times in Tibet. He describes the basics of Mahayana teachings clearly and with emphasis on the key elements that show up in Tibetan systems. It then describes the basic commonalities of the Tibetan practices from both an historical point of view (e.g., Tibet's modern history) and philosophical point of view (e.g., Tantra). Finally, it details the four main Tibetan orders (Nyingma, Sakya, Geluk, and Kagyu) plus the Bon tradition. All of this is exactly the right material to provide a comprehensive overview, along with enough depth that one knows where to go to explore further.

What doesn't it do? Well, first of all this is not a book about practicing Tibetan style. It describes many of the practices, explains them, and puts them in philosophical and historical context, but it is definitely not a guide to doing them. That is probably best sought with a teacher, or at least through a book with a different scope. Second, Powers does not take sides and does not attempt to sort through conflicting claims or to reconcile Tibetan beliefs to modern or scientific beliefs. He attempts to explain them as they are understood "from the inside", as it were, not to judge them. In particular, he doesn't try to convince you of any of them, and doesn't present any one of them as superior to the others. That's a welcome contrast to many other introductions I've seen that are specific to one of the traditions. Third, it does not attempt to be maximally concise. As others note, it is slightly repetitive in places, but to my reading that simply serves to highlight the key points and to make the sections stand a bit more on their own, which is a good thing.

Overall, I've learned a tremendous amount. For generally interested readers, or practitioners either in other traditions or Tibetan practitioners wanting a philosophical introduction, it is a great place to start.
7974
A great guide for those who have never used or worked with any type of Linux OS.  Although it primarily concentrates on Ubuntu, it starts you off on the ground floor with the basics, including terminology and takes you step by step through choosing, installing and operating Ubuntu on a system.  Since it is clearly meant for a classroom environment, it reads clearly and includes plenty of easily searchable references for those who require further elucidation.  For those already versed in Linux, it may seem a bit tedious and slow but is a great refresher and provides the 'why' behind how Linux operates especially in comparison to other operating systems like Windows and OS X.  For those looking to pick up an additional skillset or are looking for an introduction into the world of Linux, this book is a great start.  And for those Linux pros looking to keep their basic skills sharp or learn the ins and outs of Ubuntu, this is a good book to have in your library.
737437
This is a pleasant introduction to Unix that someone just starting out with Mac OS X will find very useful. Don't bother with this if you are already experienced with Unix or Linux, but if you've never been at a Unix command line in your life, this is a good place to start.
I liked that the authors went to some effort to cover what could go wrong with the examples they used. I think it was also good that they covered Fink and a few Unixy applications like Pine.
There are bigger and more inclusive books out there, but the brevity of this (128 pages) makes it very non-threatening for the command-line phobic. The back cover states that its target audience is traditional Macintosh users, and while I don't fall into that category at all, I suspect that even the most fearful will find this to be a painless experience.
I did think it a little odd that the Apple Developer Connection considers this a "Recommended Title". While it's certainly true that developers can be just as Unix naive as anyone else, I would think that most Mac Developers would want something far more techy than this. I don't mean to imply that this is just fluff; but it definitely is just a light surface treatment and wouldn't seem to take a developer where they probably want to go. I could be wrong, of course.
692773
Michael Bird's Introducing Paul (IVP in England used the whimsical title A Bird's Eye View of Paul for this same volume there) is a great little introduction to Paul's life and thought. In this short book, obviously intended as a college or seminary text, Bird covers the necessary ground for an intro, dealing with matters of upbringing and training, Paul's conversion, his literary legacy, the important components of his thought, and his ethics and spirituality. Bird's coverage of these areas is uniformly well written and up to date, reflecting the latest issues and advances in scholarship without giving over to a faddish interpretation of the apostle. One leaves the pages understanding the contested ground but at the same time having a well-grounded understanding of Paul's theology that reflects both the best of the historic interpretations of Paul and some important modifications and improvements from the "new perspective."

Bird does a great job of situating Paul in his second-temple Jewish context, and notes how the Old Testament and Judaism provide the important seedbed and framework for his thought, while also noting the role of Rome in his thinking.

Bird's book is my favorite introduction to Paul that I have so far encountered. He straightforwardly deals with the important issues, he gives solid background and well-reasoned and balanced conclusions, all the while inviting the reader into Paul's rich and gospel-focused world. An extremely good book; thanks Mike.
867939
I am new to Crowley and found this tome a wonderful introduction.

The short essay series in the second half provide much to ponder, and dare I say have some inbuilt initiation triggers?

Will be rereading this for enjoyment and to make sure I have gleaned all the treasures within.
1476355
I think this is a good introduction for people who are just beginning their spiritual journey. It gives basic concepts, such as love and understanding, great emphasis in a very poignant way
2886563
Excellent, insightful, thorough introduction.
3231361
Clearly written, offers the best introduction I've encountered so far. It might be a little too pedantic for experienced web developers, especially those comfortable with other JavaScript frameworks.
2434126
This book is an excellent introduction, which is what it is meant to be. For the record, I have a degree in physics and have worked on a number of robotics projects, but my background in mechanical pursuits is pieced together from various places - so, I picked this up at the library because it looked interesting and I wanted to see what I had missed along the way.

The overview is good, and I feel like the book gives you just enough knowledge to start experimenting (which is where you will really learn, anyway). There are some good example projects to get your mental gears turning (sorry for the pun) and the various resources referenced are invaluable.

The one thing I would've liked to see: A chapter or book level summary that presents a snapshot of the information you're likely to reference. There are a couple of tables (the one comparing CAD packages, for instance) but I think the book could benefit from more - on the covers, or in an appendix for instance. I'm thinking specifically of a list (maybe comparison?) of all the numerous resources mentioned, or a collection of the basic equations that were used. What I'd really love is something that could be photocopied and put up in the workshop for quick reference.

That said, useful book, it does what it sets out to do and is aimed well at the target audience. Even if you've been in the biz for a while, there might be a couple of resources in there that you haven't used before, or maybe an idea that makes you think about something in a new way.
2912353
I am a seasoned .NET / iOS developer who is relatively new to functional programming and this is my first F# book. I really enjoyed the concise, practical and succinct introduction to F# with short-n-sweet examples. I found that the quick introduction helped me bridge the gaps in some topics I did not fully grasp and helped me understand the concepts.

This book provides a concise view of F# from a vantage point of general purpose software development. In this introductory text, author provides more or less standard collection of basic data structures and algorithms with examples. The author provides illustrations, code samples and explains the ideas thoroughly, which is evident in first few chapters where the concept of data structure and language style are still familiar and a concise writing works well. Some places are bit shallow in detail on each topic and could have been further expanded upon. The chapter quotes and interesting code examples are a nice touch.