Customer Reviews (22)

Pavel's best book since Power to the People
Along with Power to the People, this is THE "how to" manual for getting stronger. The workout Pavel recommends contains only two exercises, the one-armed push-up and the pistol, a one-legged squat. But these exercises are not merely prescribed as a routine. Pavel uses them to teach you how to gain total body strength via the mastery of muscle tension. Really, the exercises are just vehicles for you to learn the skill of intense, total-body muscle contraction, although performing them will obviously make you exceptionally strong in those movements. In other words, this books teaches you how to be strong in all movements through the mastery of two basic exercises. For those of you put off by the difficulty of the exercises, Pavel demonstrates how to work up to those movements via easier variations of the exercises. Definately worth every penny.

Real-World and Practical Approach
As a person who travels a lot, I often don't have easy access to gym equipment. Pavel Tsatsouline does an excellent job of outlining the basics of strength development using no equipment at all. He spends just enough time on the "principles", and then applies those principles on two basic exercises. However, his principles can be applied to ALL exercises.

His approach is practical and real-world. I can only speak for myself and my own results in applying the basic principles outlined by Pavel. My strength has increased. I feel great. My energy and flexibility levels have never been better. No injuries. And 3 friends have already asked to borrow this book.

Not that good. Could be worse. Lose the hype
What is it with these self acclaimed bodyweight gurus? Their egos are bigger than the pages of their oversized empty books. I say drop the personal bests of the sideshow freaks included as inspiration and focus on giving the reader good useful information. The marketing never stops with these clowns. His book wasn't as bad as Matt Furey's which included more advertisements than useful information. Two things that you will get out of the Naked Warrior book: one arm pushups and one legged squats. Then you you have the many variations of those two exercises. Save your money people and go to the internet and look up those exercises. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding   2. Bodybuilding & Weight Training   3. Diet / Health / Fitness   4. Exercise   5. Healthy Living   6. Sports   7. Sports & Recreation   8. Weight Training   

Customer Reviews (21)

flexible muscle strength
This is the best book out there on stretching the safe way with efficient productivity. it is also about strenghtening your muscles. it not only teaches stretching through each stretch movements but give you the background and education to understand the principles of the stretches. once you understand the principles, you can start to create your own varietion of stretches if you know the kinesiology movements of the muscles. the reason i gave this a 4 is because Pavel left out the joint mobility exercises and dynamic stretches that i felt were important to having a healthy muscle. he didn't even explain why he left those out. these stretches sure beats the heck of the american passive stretches that is't effective. this is a great book that has no nonsense information just like his other books.

Easy to understand book on stretching techniques.
Like other reviewers, I have both Thomas Kurtz's "Stretching Scientifically" and now Pavel Tsatsouline's "Relax into Stretch". The techniques in "Relax into Stretch" are basically the same as passive techniques in "Stretching Scientifically" with a couple new twists, however, I find Pavel's book easier to understand than Kurtz's. Kurtz's book is more complete than Pavel's; it includes dynamic stretches that aren't in the "Relax into Stretch" book. I actually think the 2 books work well together. I was concerned about going through the exercises in "Stretching Scientifically" because I didn't feel my understanding was complete enough to do them safely. Now I feel confident about what I should do. I do have to agree that "Relax into Stretch" is a bit expensive given what it contains, but to me it's worth it.

This is the right path to the full dead split.
This book, like all of Pavel's works, is a great find. Don't let the size of the book fool you; information is packed in more densely than in any "Muscle Media Fitness for Mullets" P.O.S. you'll find everywhere else. This book containes clear, concise explanations of the theories involved, detailed descriptions of the methods used, and illustrations for each stretch. This guide fits in perfect with the rest of Pavel's works; to get the full benefit, you should get "Power to the People" and "Super Joints". Each book compliments the others. Personally, I have gone from barely-able-to-touch-my-toes to rock-bottom-dead-split in 6 months using the techniques described here. That's why I give this 5 out of 5 stars. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Diet / Health / Fitness   2. Exercise   3. Health & Fitness   4. Health/Fitness   5. Stretching exercises   6. Muscles   7. Flexure   

Customer Reviews (92)

The best source of strength
It isn't growth hormone... it's Pavel! This is THE definitive text on the art and science of strength training... and that's what it's all about, power! Page after page of the world's most useful and productive strength-training practices are explained in this book. A lot of experienced lifters, who think that they know how to train, will be humbled when they find out how much better Pavel's system is than anything the western iron-game community has ever done. Pavel explains how to build maximum strength (without adding extra bulk) through upgrading your nervous system's control over your muscles AND how to get huge and muscular, if that is your goal... and it's all right here, in black and white, with his usual easy to follow writing style. I have surpassed all my previous bests...and I no longer need or use lifting belts. I learned how to up-regulate tension through his "feed-forward" technique, how to immediately add AT LEAST ten pounds to every lift via "hyperirradiation", and to do it in my best form ever, and how to gain on every lift WEEKLY through the Russian system of periodization without any plateaus! Seriously, I gain every week! You only need TWO exercises! Pavel explains which ones, how to do them and how often. Also, you'll learn how to train to SUCCESS, not to "failure", how to immediately turn any lift into a "hyper lift", teach your nervous system how not to ever "miss" a lift, and simultaneously make your body far less injury-prone! Pavel illustrates the two types of muscle growth and which one you REALLY need, and the all-important power breathing. Pavel's training is the most valuable resource made available for strength athletes since the barbell. The breathing techniques alone are worth the asking price. This book is my personal favorite out of all his works, and in my opinion, they should be owned as a set. This book is superior to all the muscle mags and books that dwell on a content of unessential details of today's "fitness culture" and yet never fully explain the context of training for strength. Pavel cuts right to the heart of the "muscle mystery", by explaining the all-important context of the russian system: quick, efficient, permanent strength gains, without spending a small fortune on "me-too" bodybuilding supplements and without unnecessary, time consuming overtraining. Now I only hope he writes a book on full-contact training...

Don't listen to the naysayers. Buy it and Use it!
Power to the People isn't too thin for the money. It's simply concise. It doesn't fill its pages with useless information, it says exactly what needs to be said. This book serves as a primer into the ways of strength training. After you read this book you'll have a far greater understanding of how strength is achieved without having to wade your way through the mist and muck of conventional fitness wisdom. A great deal of what you'll find in this book goes against what you'd read in the fitness magazines, but I'll guarantee you that you'll get better results from these teachings IF YOU APPLY THE PRINCIPLES CORRECTLY. Let's be honest, how many people follow along with those convential programs only to be left too sore to enjoy life and frustrated that they can't make progress? Then they assume that they're genetically inferior and just stop trying. Too many people are after a one size fits all program to fit all their needs, and even though Pavel provides a few examples of simple but effective, the real magic is in the knowledge and insight you gain into the reality of productive strength training.
In reality, the strongest people around are in agreement with Pavel's philosophy's on many key points. Take a look at Milo magazine or PowerliftingUSA sometime, or have a look at some of the writings of the old time strongmen who Pavel speaks so highly of. You'll recognize some of the same content. Power to the People gives you more than the content, though. It gives you a context to fit it all into.
From personal experience I can say that the changes I have experienced in my life since I began applying Pavel's principles have been dramatic. I'm a great deal stronger, healthier, leaner (if you want to know how to lose fat the Pavelized way check out The Russian Kettlebell Challenge. I've lost about 80lbs since I started "Pavelizing" last July, most of my weightloss came after Kettlebells) and more athletic than I was a year ago. Although I have 5 of Pavel's books, and I refer to all of them often, this one is still my favorite. When friends ask me how they can get the results I've gotten, this is the first book I loan them.
If you really want to be strong -really strong, not just "buff"- buy this book. Now!

If you want to look like the author, buy this book....
Information contained in this book - in general accurate - could fit in a max 10 pages. First of all, I ve never in my life read a book in any subject employing so much fluffy terminology: Hyperirradiation, Irradiation, Pre Tension; you are trying to figure out on some common sense info through loads of useless terminology and hints on "secret techniques" uncovered by the author. If I were in my teens - 15 years ago when I first started training and had virtually no experience / knowledge on such issues - this book would indeed have looked fantastic in my eyes. I advise you to read the review of the reader from Alamo (Apr-13th-04); if I were to write a fuller review I would have quoted every single sentence he writes!

The only good point about the book is that's it is fun to read; it's full of "smarties" of the like: if you think that technique is for sissies, I suggest you volunteer your opinion to the 300-pound temperamental Mr x (who uses the author's suggested technique), and see how much you live...

The last 30 pages - i.e. roughly 25% of the book - and many quotes within the rest of the text, invite the reader to buy other books by the same author. Well, no thanks, I ll pass. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding & Weight Training   2. Diet / Health / Fitness   3. Exercise   4. Health & Fitness   5. Health/Fitness   6. Physical education and trainin   7. Muscle strength   8. Physical fitness   

Subjects:  1. Algorithms   2. Bioinformatics   3. Computer Books: General   4. Computer Science   5. Computers   6. Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology   7. Programming - Algorithms   8. Science   9. Computers / General   

Customer Reviews (24)

Stronger Abs
I have been exercising for over a year doing the usual high rep ab training and have not been very satisfied with the results. I am disapointed that after all this time i'm not seeing the definition I thought I should be seeing. After reading "Bullet Proof Abs" and applying the principles learned in the book, for two months now, my abs have gotten stronger and when I occasionally do my previous ab exercises they have become alot easier. The six pack that I wanted so badly is now not that far off. I am seeing definition that wasn't there after over a year of ab training. You definitely wont get this information (Bullet Proof Abs) from the high rep gym rats.

Very clearly written & illustrated
This book includes a lot of unique & rare info. I particularly liked the info about breathing techniques to use with the exercises. Pavel includes a wide variety of techniques from various disciplines including yoga & martial arts, plus a lot of stregnth-training type exercises. I ended up buying the Pavelizer equipment he discusses in the book, and it is very effective. I also liked the fact that it does not strain my neck. As a belly dance teacher & performer, I'm obsessed with abs, and I've recommended this gem of a book to my students.

Great, But...
As a college student I don't have alot of money. His product the Ab Pavelizer seems like a good invention, but costs a lot of money. The Janda situps, that Pavel recommends, is a great strength builder, but you have to have the contraption or a partner.

However, he has some other strength builders, and his approach to excercise is refreshing. Well written and easy to understand, Pavel's book is worth the money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding & Weight Training   2. Diet / Health / Fitness   3. Exercise   4. Health & Fitness   5. Health/Fitness   6. Abdominal exercises   7. Abdomen'   8. Muscles   9. Sports & Recreation   

Customer Reviews (39)

The best all-around workout you'll ever do
If you're looking for an effective and efficient way to get stronger, leaner, more flexible, and increase your endurance (both muscular and cardiovascular), you won't find anything better than Pavel's Russian Kettlebell Challenge. The book clearly illustrates both exercises and routines to get you up to speed. You don't need to have a kettlebell (a round weight with a thick handle) to benefit; you can still get 75-80% of the benefits working with dumbbells and get kettlebells later if you're hooked.

In six weeks of kettlebell work, I lost an inch off my waist and dropped my heart rate 6 beats per minute, while staying the same weight. I was already working out when I started using kettlebells, so I'm not a novice. There are few ways to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve your cardio fitness all at the same time; I've never seen a better one than this. By simply changing exercises and rest periods - all of which is explained in the book - you can work on just about any attribute you want.

Kettlebells were a favorite tool of the Soviet Special Forces, whom Pavel trained in Russia. He is now training the U.S. Marines and similar organizations with kettlebells here. It's great for martial artists, soldiers, and SWAT teams, but you can adapt it to your needs even if you're a housewife who has never exercised before. As long as you have access to dumbbells, you can do this at home, which is where I do my kettlebell work. Give the Russian Kettlebell Challenge a try; you won't be disappointed.

The Definitive Text on Kettlebell Lifting!
In this book, Pavel introduces the reader to the most effective training tool that most of us had never heard of. I was personally very skeptical about the kettlebell and I waited until I heard others rave about the results that they have achieved with this hunk of cast iron before I purchased this book. Through Pavel's expert guidance (his attention to detail on the execution of the lifts is extraordinary)and the use of the KB, my fitness level has skyrocketed. It is rare to find a workout that will improve your power, strength, strength endurance and cardiovascular functioning but this is what you can expect with KB use. I have experienced the following benefits from the use of the KB: decreased blood pressure and resting heart rate, greatly improved grip strength and an increase in upper and lower back strength. The most practical benefit that I have noticed is the physical endurance carryover to every day physical activities (moving furniture, mowing the lawn, shoveling snow). I highly recommend the Russian Kettlebell Challenge to anyone who would like to move to the next level of physical fitness!

Good book, great workout
If you have been power lifting, bodybuilding or are involved in martial arts, you owe it to yourself to give kettlebells a try. They provide an intense full body workout that leaves you exhausted. Additionally, they demand good form and intensity. You can't do a sloppy workout with these things, they'll punish you if you do. The author's writing is basic and to the point just like the workouts, and his sense of humor makes the book enjoyable. He does a great job of explaining the techniques as well. I was up and running with a 20KG kettlebell the first day and can honestly say it's one of the best workouts I've ever experienced. Get the book, get some kettlebells, and get strong Comrade! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding & Weight Training   2. Diet / Health / Fitness   3. Exercise   4. Health & Fitness   5. Health/Fitness   6. Physical education and training   7. Muscle strength   8. Physical fitness   

Customer Reviews (14)

Math Creative?
I always knew somewhere in the back of my head that Math and physics could be creative. I remember getting through Calculus and Intro to Physic course back in college by trying to understand the concepts visually. Mind you, I failed Intro to physics once and got a D in Calculus3 by doing it that way. Fast-forward 4 years. I've been using flash on and off for about a year but started doing actionscripting, about 2 months ago. I picked up this book when I bought ActionScript: The Definitive Guide, I think this book is a great companion. I found that I was using this book as a springboard to learn creative visual Actionscripting techniques. Though I found the explanations hard at time, definitely not a book for beginners, its a great source to get your hands dirty. I've coded examples and found myself going off in my own creative direction afterwards. I think the most satisfying moment I had was relearning Trig but seeing it on a screen. It definitely gave me a deeper understanding to some math concepts and proving my thoughts way back, that math can be visually creative.

Is this the magic behind Flash?
Most of those amazing Flash films share have the very same secret: mathematics, especially geometry. Many basic and advanced techniques in this area need to be taught. A review of some basic concepts would also be helpful. It's true that a lot is done by trial and error, but those who grasp the basics are the ones who know what can be done with what is available.
This book has beautiful, colorful pages and many contributors, some with great ideas - learned from some imagination and from some trial and error.
Yet this one book fails considerably. Great opportunity, great idea. But no math is really taught, no basic technique is really given. What can be found is only a mixed bag of ad-hoc math solutions to produce some nice effects and little meat.
What is wonderful about this book is its potential. What is tragic about this book is its end result.

Codes??
The projects are pretty cool if you have enough knowledge of flash to finish some of the code by yourself. With a few of these projects I had the feeling the codes weren't complete ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Animation   2. Computer Bks - Desktop Publishing   3. Computer Books: General   4. Computer programs   5. General   6. Interactive & Multimedia   7. Mathematical recreations   8. Computers   9. Internet - General   

Customer Reviews (23)

Tried and compared....
Pavel is an accomplished guy with some impressive physical ability. I respect that, so I got a few of his books and borrowed some of his tapes to see what he recommends.

"Super Joints" is a quick, easy-to-follow handbook that anyone can use for basic guidelines on how to regain or improve overall joint mobility and flexibility.

Many of the movements presented will be familiar, but some of his ideas of how to combine them may not be. I would have liked to see more detailed descriptions, including variations and more photos of some movements.

After a 6-month break from nearly all physical activity, I started to get back into working out by incorporating a number of the movements and principles in this book. Overall, I am pleased with the results, and I feel this justifies a portion of the advertised price.

Aside from the joint mobility movements and principles, Pavel does talk about the use of calisthenics that will progressively increase joint mobility as well. While it doesn't get as much attention as it deserves, I have combined what he did present with my existing knowledge of basic and advanced calisthenics and gotten good results that way too. If I didn't have some experience with this, I don't know if I could have had the same success based solely on what the book contains.

Pavel also touches on the stretching principles outlined in some of his other books, which are predominantly based on PNF (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation) stretching doctrines. He definitely intends for you to combine this with his other works in order to realize the full benefits, but most people can certainly have some good success with the material he presents here.

This book's biggest failures are the oversimplified presentation and lack of variations, and the mediocre editing job which leaves some odd printing and writing errors to contend with. I am glad I have a copy, and I am really glad I got it for half price, which is about right.

I highly recommend looking at Kit Laughlin's "Stretching & Flexibility" and "Overcoming Neck & Back Pain" for a better presentation on regaining mobility through PNF stretching, and Scott Sonnon's "Bodyflow" is a fascinating and extremely detailed approach to improving overall mobility through coordinated movement.

Super Joints is the real deal for lifelong joint health
I'm very surprised by some of the negative reviews of SuperJoints. Many people seem disappointed that Pavel does not include more pages in his books in general, but what he includes is more than sufficient - I perform many of the SuperJoints exercises every day but there is no way I'd ever have time to perform all of them.

SuperJoints combines tried and true old Russian wisdom with a modern, no-nonsense presentation and supporting scientific evidence to tell you what you probably already knew intuitively - if you don't move your joints, they will deteriorate. Pavel shows you why you need to move them and how to move them to keep them healthy for the rest of your life. I don't see how anyone could possible ask for anything more from a book on joint health than that.

Highly recommended! And note that the publisher offers a 1-year, unconditional money-back guarantee if you don't feel you got your money's worth.

three $35 books on the same thing
Pavels got -three- 120 page books on stretching, Do new ideas keep coming to him after the last book is already out? I don't think so. Big print, lots of unused page space, and much attitude take up what could easily fit into one book,(one cheaper book). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Diet / Health / Fitness   2. Exercise   3. Health & Fitness   4. Health/Fitness   5. Pain Management   

Subjects:  1. Admission   2. Authorship   3. Business schools   4. Composition & Creative Writing - Academic   5. Education   6. Education / Teaching   7. Essay   8. Exposition (Rhetoric)   9. Graduate School Guides - Business   10. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy   11. Reference   12. Reference - General   13. United States   14. Education / Reference   

Customer Reviews (29)

A genuine and revolutionary book about stretching!
"Beyond Stretching" is a quite revolutionary book about flexebility and stretching. Its diveded into three main chapters. First, a teoretical and initial part about flexibility and typical misconceptions. Second, a practical part that easy describes each stretching methode. Third, a picture part that shows all the different stretching exercises and tells you how to practice them.

This book offer plenty of new informations about its topic. New and extremely effective techniques like Plyometric,Pneumomuscular and Shutdown Threshold stretching are clearly described. The traditional static or relaxed stretching methode is, in this book, considered as an ineffective way to stretch. The author claims that warming up is unnatural and stretching twice a week is sufficient to develop flexebility. By using the methodes that is shown in this book, you will gain astonishing results with even small amounts of stretching. That is a great benefit!

Learn: How to develop optimal flexibility in a fraction of the time you spend stretching today . How to do splits and high kicks even if you are old! How to achieve great strength without bulky and big muscles. How to avoid injuries. How to stop feeling like the Tin Man when you wake up in the morning. How to increase the blood flow in the joints and keep their surfaces smooth and painfree. How to use the three new,revolutionary and effective stretching systems.

I regard "Beyond Stretching" as an amazing book, with a new point of view on stretching and flexibility. I am a dancer and martial artist, so I have read plenty of books about stretching but this book was different. Becuase the text sometimes can be a bit confusing to understand; I read the book more than once. But, because this book offer so many new and useful tips and advices, it is worth every penny.

Are you searching for a new and effective stretching methode? Which can be as seldom as twice a week, and done without any sweat warm up, and gives impressive flexibility and strength? If your answer is "yes" , you should purchase this "Beyond Stretching" immediately!

A very good book, but overpriced
I'm a Shotokan Karateka and I have poor flexibility since I can remember. Recently, I began studying this subject, and I now own a few books on stretching.

The ideas in this book are very similar to the ones explained on Kurz's "Stretching Scientifically" (both authors are from the former East Block), but the author introduces some fresh ideas wich are really worth reading. Also, some of the exercises are better explained. However, I found the explanation on Isometric Stretching more readable on Kurz's book.

Both books have the same problem: few exercises. After a while, you will want to add variety to your workout. Bob Anderson's "Stretching" is quite better in this respect, but lacks the advanced Eastern ideas on this subject.

Tsatsouline's book is a bit overpriced. The quality of the images is not so good (it seems they were taken from TV images). But the ideas presented in this book overcome the problem. They are really worth reading.

Consider buying the three books I mention in this review. You won't be disapointed.

good
Heres what Bob Anderson Author of the bestseller stretching had to say about the book.
"Are you ready for pavel? This is a tough, strenous, take no prisoners approach to flexibility and strength. He describes some pretty radical russian techniques for flexibility,strength, circilation and healthy joints. Not for wimps; expensive for a paperback." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Exercise   2. Stretching   3. Health & Fitness   

Customer Reviews (5)

Best workout book!
Pavel gives a simple straightforward workout, with emphasis on
steady progress and safe technique. I have the tape also and it
helps, but if you can only afford one, get the book. There are
excellent illustrations, comments from other kettlebell users,
and Pavel's dry wit throughout. I started this program to
strengthen my back. I am staying with it because IT IS FUN!
To quote Pavel, "Comrade Ladies, enjoy!"

Not overpriced
Resistance training is entirely new to me. For that reason, an associate of Mr. Tsatsouline suggested "Tough Love" as a good starting place for me. I began by buying one (35 lb.) kettlebell and the associated video. The video is quite specifically instructional and very cleverly and efficiently arranged. Mr. Tsatsouline explains in economical detail exactly what should be done and (as importantly) exactly what must be avoided. At the same time, attractive (and very strong) female associates demonstrate, both in front view and side view how the moves are accomplished.

The way to prove whether a product is good or bad is to learn its proper use and then use it consistently, almost every day, for a long time. If you find improvement in yourself, then the product is good. Otherwise, it is a bad or worthless product. I am already getting good results. Of at least the same importance, the exercises don't hurt me (at the time I do them). I don't feel as though I am systematically injuring myself by doing the exercises (as is sometimes the case with other resistance training that I've tried---very briefly---and abandoned). Although my own personal proof of this particular pudding is not yet finished, it appears to be going very well. Apparently, this book/video combination gives very true and useful information in exercise physiology---information many of us can use very much. Realizing that we are paying for information that we can use to improve our own physical lives a lot, I have to conclude that the materials are not overpriced. Ineffective instructional materials are overpriced. This, apparently, is worth the price (and probably more), contrary to some other reviews.

Not just for women
I was unsure if I should purchase this book since I already have the Russian Kettlebell Challeng book. But after I purchased it, it was well worth the money. It has a lot of different drills that both men and women can perform. I am very pleased with my purchase and look forward to Pavels next book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding & Weight Training   2. Exercise   3. Reference   4. Sports   5. Sports & Recreation   

Customer Reviews (15)

Nice introduction
If your pretty new at SOAP, and if you need an overview, then this is the book you want.
If you don't care about interoperability, and you just want a book on SOAP within a particular environment (say Java), then this is not the book you want.
If you need a reference guide, then you don't need this book.

Barely Scratches the surface
Can be used as an incomplete introduction.

Complete rubbish
I was so keen to learn from this book but no matter how hard I tried it was far more nonsence to be readable ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Client-Server Computing - General   2. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking   3. Computer Books: General   4. Computer networks   5. Computers   6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols   7. Distributed Computer Systems   8. Internet - World Wide Web   9. Internet programming   10. Networking - Network Protocols   11. Object-oriented programming (C   12. Object-oriented programming (Computer science)   13. Programming - General   14. Programming Languages - HTML   15. Simple Object Access Protocol   16. Simple Object Access Protocol (Computer network protocol)   17. XML (Document markup language)   18. COM051010   19. COM060080   20. Computer Programming   21. Computers / Client-Server Computing   22. Internet   

Customer Reviews (5)

relevant, practical and well-balanced
Programming Web Services with Perl is principally a book on implementing solutions using XML-RPC and SOAP in Perl. It also covers complementary and alternative standards such as WSDL, UDDI, and REST in some detail. And on the periphery, it finishes with a whirlwind tour of developing message routing, alternative data encoding within XML, security, transactions, workflow, internationalization, service discovery, extension, and management techniques and specifications.

The book assumes the reader will have the knowledge of an intermediate level Perl programmer. I.e., the reader is assumed to have a working knowledge of references, data structures, and object-oriented Perl. On the other hand no previous knowledge of XML, XML-RPC, SOAP or XML related technologies is required.

It should also be mentioned that both of the authors Randy J. Ray and Pavel Kulchenko are also the principle developers of the most popular XML-RPC and SOAP Perl modules: XML::RPC and SOAP::Lite respectively. That said, the book is not a soap box for the authors to tout the merits of their tools.

Rather, it is a practical book which starts with grounding fundamentals. Readers should walk away with a core understanding of XML-RPC and SOAP and not just a particular tool set for working with them. The authors examine the alternative XML-RPC and SOAP tools, illustrate how they are used, and give practical and even handed reasons why their modules should be preferred. Which comes down to issues of features, active development, support, and the amount of work required to code to a particular interface. They then settle down to a comfortable and thorough guide to XML::RPC and SOAP::Lite.

The topics and issues are illustrated throughout using real world web services. For example creating an XML-RPC client for O'Reilly's Meerkat news wire, or a SOAP client to covert use.perl.org's journal stream to RSS. Code is presented to the reader filtered down to highlight each particular issue as it is discussed. This is nice in that it avoids listing slight variations of the same code multiple times, but on the down side it can also leave the reader flipping back and forth to reassemble an example in their head. Full code for each example is provided in the appendices. And all of the example code may be downloaded from O'Reilly at [their web site].

All-in-all, the book is a thorough practical introduction to working with XML-RPC, SOAP and related technologies. When I started reading the book, I was a bit disappointed to see that it only covered XML-RPC and SOAP related services. When I finished, I was impressed with how very much information they'd managed to pack into so few pages.

And yet, I was left wishing there'd been a more through coverage of interoperability issues between other SOAP implementations and things like custom de-serializers. To be honest interoperability and de-serialization are mentioned, and the authors do an excellent job of referring the reader on to sources for continued reading on most other topics.

The book does an admirable job balancing content, length, and information density. Not to mention an excellent job delivering the information that will still be relevant years and not just weeks from the date published. Most of the topics I'd wished to see covered in more depth are those that are still developing and consequently most likely to become quickly dated. In short a well balanced practical guide to applying XML-RPC and SOAP to solve problems.

A "complete reference" is oh so hard to find...
And yet this book covers every aspect of web service development utilizing perl. As a long time user of the original Frontier::RPC2 module, things have come a long way, and with that greater complexity, the concepts have grown in scope considerably. This IS the book that you want to read if you REALLY want to understand SOAP and XML-RPC. From the XML DTD's to implementation code (either standalone applications or utilizing mod_perl) this book covers everything in between. In all it is a welcome addition to the O'Reilly family of Perl books.

Great intro to XML-RPC
As with all O'Reilly books there's a great intro to the technologies. They take you through how it works, not just how to deploy some code. When you get to the XML-RPC modules, they don't force a solution on you, but give a great tour of what's available and let you pick. For me, the highlight was the intro to Randy J. Ray's RPC::XML modules (he's also one of the authors). I've been fighting with getting the 'system.*' handlers hacked in with other aproaches and it was great to see someone had already figured out such a clean approach. (Which is something since Perl can get reeeaaal ugly!) This book has saved me many days of wasted development. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   2. Computer Books: Languages   3. Computers   4. Internet - Web Site Design   5. Programming - General   6. Programming Languages - CGI, Javascript, Perl, VBScript   7. COM060060   8. Computers / Programming Languages / CGI, JavaScript, Perl, VBScript   9. Internet languages   10. Programming languages   

Subjects:  1. Applied   2. Differential Equations   3. Mathematical Analysis   4. Mathematics   5. Science/Mathematics   6. Mathematics / Differential Equations   

Customer Reviews (5)

The title says it...
An excellent book for studying computational molecular biology from an algorithmic perspective. (But if you never took mathematics seriously, you are forewarned.)

Good book, but the back cover lies....
As others have noted, the premise that this book is for beginners from either the computational or the biological field is flawed...unless one's definition of beginner is a lot more advanced than mine.

For example even chapter one throws out terms like "recombination" and electrophoresis. without enough explanation for the biology newbie, IMO. Heck, for someone truly new to biology, a bit of time explaining what a chromosome is is probably time well spent.

And for the person coming from a pure biology background, some of the mathematics will definitely be a problem unless they have a decent understanding of combinatorics and discrete mathematics. And that "computational biology without formulas" blurb on the back cover should be read as "not as many formulas as I could have included if I really wanted", rather than "no formulas at all". There are equations galore in this book, rest assured of that.

That said, if a person *does* have the necessary background to make the material accessbile, then the book is definitely worth the purchase. The book's failure is in defining its target audience, not in the material presented.

computational
While this is certainly the do-loop of computational biology the reader would question the assertion that this book provides a common link (no pun) between the biologists need for computational expertise and the programmer's need for biological insight. In either case a solid basis in Discrete Mathematics goes along way here (usually a required course for computer science majors). This reader thinks a similar required course in genetics should be made for engineers to reduce their reductionistic tendencies. However the distinction between these lines grows narrower with each new computer chip. None the less the book is well written, and easy to read (as Discrete Math stuff goes). This book is not for beginners in either Combinatorics or genetics and the last part of the book poses many current questions that as the author says, "are just currently being answered". This book already assumes you know about such things as NIH, PDB, Chime, Isis, NCIB, docking, etc. For those less adapt at programming (myself) the following alternatives are fun, useful and to the point. Both trees and networks can be easily set up in MathCad using their built in resource center add-ins for Combinatorics and Set Theory. They also provide a Traveling Salesman routine in Numerical Recipes that can be applied directly to the problems in Pevzner's book. (Although remembering that most optimization algorithms provide only the most probable 100 out of 2 million it is still fun!). Most of the mappings and node process familiar to Discrete Math can be solved using Mathcad and some sort of adjacency matrix combination. (Including the four-color mapping problem). This provides the basis for most nodal mappings. For the more daring the adjacency matrices can be run through Matlab's GUI's decompositions and analyzed using their optimization toolbox. Currently I'm investigating the Hidden Markovian chains using the Frame advance feature of Mathcad applied to 2D cspline- intercept graphing and updating by frame iteration. This book is for the serious student or solid course material in a related field, and while probably not rated in top ten novels of 2000 certainly rates five mouse clicks from this reader. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Algorithms   2. Algorithms (Computer Programming)   3. Computer Books: General   4. Computer Science   5. DNA microarrays   6. Life Sciences - Biochemistry   7. Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology   8. Mathematical models   9. Molecular Biology   10. Programming - General   11. Science   

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Meteorology & Climatology   2. Physics   3. Science   4. Science/Mathematics   

Subjects:  1. Allied Health Services - Respiratory Therapy   2. Alternative Therapies   3. Complementary Therapies   4. Health & Fitness   5. Health/Fitness   6. Hydrogen Peroxide   7. Hyperbaric Oxygenation   8. Medical / Nursing   9. Oxygen therapy   10. therapeutic use   

Customer Reviews (31)

Invaluable source of techniques
Excellent treatment of this flexible GUI API presenting both basic and advanced usage of JFC Swing with great care. I especially like the way all examples are annotated and fully explained. I hope this book's source code style will be emulated in other publications! The book can also be regarded as an easy-to-follow reference for JFC Swing techniques. Every example is a complete application; this allows any snippet of code you pull out to be derived in context. I find this format ideal and it provides the convenient ability to skip around in any chapter to exactly what might be needed for a given task.

From my initial comments, you can tell I truly like and recommend this book. The only negatives I see right now are those last four chapters not being printed but only available on-line (I dislike this trend). Also, the book stressed Java 2 but it would have been nice to see them mention that 95% of the book applies to the JDK1.1.x with the JFC Swing extension (e.g. simply reference the single file swingall.jar); those examples will run with Java 1.1 unchanged.

A must have for any serious Swing work
Before the first edition came out, I was very frustrated with the books available on the topic. The first edition was already the best book on Swing. While reviewing the manuscript for the second edition, I made up my mind to purchase the book as soon as it would be available. In a forward that he wrote for the book, James Gosling -creator of Java- gives credit to the authors for their excellent work.

Swing is a difficult topic, with many concepts that are a departure from more traditional Window MFC or Visual Basic GUI programming. This book does an excellent job at covering those concepts in simple terms, so that by the time the reader hits the first examples, he/she is already familiar with the general principles. I would have no problem recommending this book for people of all levels, as I believe they will all find some serious material to further their comprehension of Swing.

But do not think this book is a dry text book either, or a mere reprint of the voluminous Swing documentation. Once equiped with the general concepts of Swing (including an excellent coverage of thread safety in GUI applications), the authors embark on a methodical review of the Swing components, illustrating each with some real production grade code. No 10-line hello world in this book... but no verbose samples that have you wonder why the authors took an approach that you know would not survive the test of a production environment. No. The source code is excellent, documented, and accompanied with some detailed specific explainations when necessary (too many books have a long wordy reprint of the sample code in plain english that simply detracts from the essentials).

Everyone has a different style of learning. I find this book to be a good balance between the dry concepts and the concrete tips. Notes throughout the text highlight the differences between successive releases of Swing... a nice touch when you have to develop for multiple target platforms. As you progress in your understanding of Swing, you will find yourself going back to this book over and over again, looking for more details about the inner workings of Swing.

2nd Edition Has Typos out the Wazoo
The depth of coverage is excellent. If you want to see examples that are more than toy applications, this is for you.

Unfortunately, an otherwise excellent book is marred by a surprising number of typos and errors. Provided one has a satisfactory understanding of the material, it is possible to intuit what the authors intended to say. Aggravating this problem is the lack of published errata.

Whoever edited the 2nd edition should be fired (if they haven't been already). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming   2. Computer Books: General   3. Computers   4. Java (Computer language)   5. Java (Computer program languag   6. Java (Computer program language)   7. Programming - General   8. Programming Languages - Java   9. Swing (Computer file)   10. Swing (Computer program)   

Customer Reviews (1)

A lavish and visual tour-de-force.
This visual tour of St. Petersburg's fine attractions reveals interiors from all periods of its history, from lesser-known sites such as the Russian National Library to those which have received more attention. Photographer Leonid Bogdanov has taken shots especially for this book: many are full-page displays, and all provide special views of Russian interiors dating from all periods of Russian history. This lavish title will delight both fans of Russian history and students of interior design. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture   2. General   3. History - General   4. Interior Design - General   5. Interior architecture   6. Interior decoration   7. International Architecture - European   8. Residential Interior Design   9. Russia (Federation)   10. Saint Petersburg   11. Art / General   

Customer Reviews (8)

too many errors and misconceptions
I am very displeased with this book. Many errors in figures and equations. Section 4.2.2 is fundamentally in error.

Good but not solid one
The book starts every chapter with good start but ends each chapter with so so. I guess the authors start each chapter with great enthusiasm and then lose it towards the end chapter. The book has some mistakes in the worked example, as simple as transforming impeadance to admittance and vice versa. It has also other rigorous mathematical mishap.
I do recommend it but not to starters since it could easily confuse . I hope the authors revise it and correct the mistakes and carry the enthusiasm to the end of each chapter.

Very helpful
I think this book is practically the bible for anyone looking into designing radios. Using the material covered in this book, I've built three functioning transcievers. I started as a amateur, knowing the rock-bottom basics of circuit design, and steadily built increasingly more complex prototypes, until I worked up to a 50 watt transciever operating on 3.80512 GHz. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Design and construction   2. Electronics - Circuits - General   3. Engineering - Electrical & Electronic   4. Radio   5. Radio Engineering   6. Radio circuits   7. Radio frequency   8. Science/Mathematics   9. Technology   10. Technology & Industrial Arts   11. Circuits & components   12. Radio technology   13. Technology / Engineering / Electrical