good ideas, but it's sloppy in its editing and ...
580969
Hard book to read, good ideas, but it's sloppy in its editing and titles, Ps. Don't use gothic old English in such small print. Can't read what it says.
4819578
This author needs a good editor.  There are typos and editing mistakes throughout the book. For example, here's a sentence from page 423: "Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Ferrari are prestigious names in the history of car making." These are silly mistakes that are expected in early drafts, not in the final version. Occasionally there are small syntax errors that draw attention to themselves, making the book uncomfortable for a native speaker of English to read. An editor or English teacher could have fixed these problems quite easily. Overall, the writing is rambling, redundant and poorly organized. The author could have cut out 100 pages without losing any information. It is typical for him to say the same simple thing ten different ways in order to fill a chapter. At the same time, he sometimes mentions events or concepts that should be (briefly) explained, but without explaining them. He often makes opinionated statements without providing references to support them. If one of the chapters from this book had been submitted as a term paper in a school where this book is being used, it would have received a C at best. Much better books can by found right here on Amazon by using "modern Italy" or "Italian history" as search terms.
648922
This book has a lot of good information in it, but the editor should be shot.  It's filled with a plethora of really annoying basic grammar mistakes.  For starters, there is a difference between "to" and "too."

Aside from the grammar complaints, I really liked this book and use it as a jumping off point for my own recipes.
2368823
The initial idea was good . . . but the back and forth in time got silly and was inconsistently applied...an OK read, but one more edit would have been valuable
2321811
I would agree with the earliest reviewer that this book is laden with errors.  Perhaps the editor needs to take a refresher course in editing a book!!  And the author's pompous attitude does get a bit irritating.
Putting the above aside, the examples cited are quite fascinating. They really demonstrate the importance of square control.  The problem is that the author does a very bad job of explaining his ideas and presenting the material.  The definition of key squares is rather vague, yet this is the most important idea of the book.  The author should have attempted to convey how to identify key squares in an endgame position. He should have laid out the principles involved. This would have enhanced the value of the book considerably. Instead, he simply tells you which squares are the key squares. It was not always obvious to me why he chose the squares he did, but after analyzing the positions certain patterns emerged which the author failed to point out. Another concept that lacked sufficient explanation is how to find correspondences once the key squares are identified.
Unfortunately chess books that teach individuals how to think and how to evaluate a position are in the minority ("Best Lessons of a Chess Coach" is one of these exceptional books, and I highly recommend it). "The Final Countdown" falls short in this regard, but it could be rewritten with the examples used and be a five star book. Jeremy Silman recommends this book (maybe he should rewrite it!!), and he is perhaps the best chess teacher of his peers.
2316364
There is good information here, but it badly needed an editor.  Rife with non-sequiters, ramblings, and examples that don't quite follow.  My statistics and probability textbook was more interesting.  There are better books.
3423998
The immensely important concept presented here, that man should mimic nature by reusing and recycling all the by-products of agriculture, industry, and human consumption, is sound. Unfortunately the book is poorly written and weakly organized. Text is repetitive, rambling, full of minor factual errors. With massive editing and pruning, this would be a good book.
4198964
This book offers some helpful content for the beginning blogger, especially if a person is interested in blogging to make money or build a business. The advice here appears to be sound, and I will likely refer to this resource again as I look to build my blog. I would have given it another star, but the book needs to be more carefully edited. Common mistakes included using "you" instead of "your" and "your" instead of "you," "their" instead of "they're," and several instances in which superfluous words are inserted into the text.
4891972
The book needed a good editor.  Good idea.  Fun to read during visit to Yellowstone, but technical difficulties, like the alarm clock flashing 12:00, which told the characters that the power was out so get a flash light.  Hey, wait a minute, how is the clock flashing if the power is out??  With battery back-up, the time would still be showing.  Character development was choppy, as was plot development.  Several interesting sub-plots went undeveloped.  Good enough, though to keep my interest, just could have been a lot better with a little more editing effort.
3376715
Daxton Brown has taken on an ambitious project. His book is a great idea, but could have been executed better. Definitely needs an editor. However, editing books takes a lot of work, and since this book is self-published, Daxton did not have the luxury of an editor. There is a lot of good information in this book, but it is a slightly difficult read, given its wordiness and lack of organization. Daxton is prone to rhetorical flourish, which reflects his love of the written word. I hope he will at some point rewrite this book, to clean up the prose so that the book is easier for readers to understand and follow. However, I will re-read this book carefully to make sure I understand everything. Daxton has potential and I would like to read more of him. Given the good information, but slightly disordganized writing style, I would rate this book a C. What could have been a searing indictment of Harry Reid comes across as a partisan hit. But there is substance behind the rhetoric, however. Give this book a chance.
4051057
There are some interesting ideas in these stories, however, they are often very predictable. The writing is sometimes very stilted and there are many grammatical and syntactical errors. She really needs a good proofreader and a good editor. I do think the stories would be a decent read if they were properly edited. I used to receive many books to review prior to publication, and, I will admit, I have been wrong on one major occasion. I thought one of the books I received about 15 years ago was so poorly written that I was really astounded when the author's second book was published. currently, there are over a dozen books in the series, and it was made into a television show for a few seasons. So judge for yourself.
676555
I realize I am reviewing this a few years after the book's life cycle has pretty much ended, but I thought well enough of it when I read it to chime in with this late but semi-positive review. Other reviewers have laid out the basic premise of cultural and economic divisions and confrontations between cultures, which I won't repeat. I can't argue with the author's basic idea, but the book is WAY overwritten and not edited that well. Some of the jargon ("Non-integrating gap") made my eyes roll, but apparently there is a market among national leaders for insight summaries that can be reduced to bumper-sticker length. There is probably enough meat here for a single long article in Foreign Policy or, more likely, the New York Times Magazine, but at book length it becomes repetitious and annoying.

There is a really good section on the "briefing culture" of the Pentagon that would have made a great article in its own right.

Whether you believe the premise of the book or not, you ought to be familiar with it because most of Washington's policy makers think this way.

Four stars for basic message, two stars for presentation and editing: three on average.
4024997
I like the idea of a vampire with a mechanical heart, and there are other creative ideas here, too.  But it needs better editing to keep the reader from being pulled out of the narrative stream.  Reading it was one little bump after another.  I can't really recommend it.
4625521
There is a lot of good material in this book, but it is poorly edited. A number of the essays are very repetitive and they vary a lot in quality of writing. In those cases where the authors disagreed with each other, it might have been profitable to allow those authors to respond to each other.

Basic fact checking would have been helpful; for example, one author places the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1968. Some of the authors identify the animals rights movement as European in origin, when, in fact, it has roots that go back to ancient Asia.
1449434
Doug Welch can spin a tale, but he desperately needs to PAY a good proofreader/editor.  Sometimes he chooses the wrong one of two words that sound alike, such as "peel" vs. "peal."  Often he will use a plural subject with a singular verb -- or (and this really grates on my mind's ear) -- something like, "He looked at Beth and I."  Seriously?   at I?  This is sixth grade grammar.

I notice that many of the reviewers liked the story but did not give more than a three-star rating.  In my case, I found that the numerous errors in word meaning, syntax and grammar caused a distracting bump in the road or a full stop, while I tried to figure out what he intended to say.  This may account for the sluggish pace that some readers commented on.

In any case, though the premise was somewhat interesting, I don't think I'll get his next book.  He needs to do some serious editing before I commit the time to it.
2196322
Some interesting stuff, but really could have used a good editor and organizer. Wanders a bit.
1942629
This could have been a superb book, but it's badly in need of professional editing, copy editing and design. There's a great deal of worthwhile information and insights from a seasoned professional, but it's hard to tease out.