Page Count Grade 0-9 Date I finished Source (FPL: Fargo Public Library)
The Language
This wasn't too bad. There isn'much for VBA books. Paul's Dummies book is a better overview especially for Excel. But then this book wasn't as bad as it's second glance seemed to indicate. The first couple short chapters are a look at the language and objects. Chapter 7 is over half the book and looks at the commands of VBA. 616 pages 4.0 1/3/02 Suzanne
How You And Your Financial Advisor Can Grow Your Fortune In Stock Market Mutal Funds
If what he's saying is true, and it's almost too simple not to be, the biggest problem is human behavior. Thats where the financial advisor comes in. The only problem with believing him is his close ties with the financial advisor field, yet how would he know if he hadn't been one? On the flip side one could look at Buffett's piece in Fortune as a rebuttal. 163 pages 4.0 1/3/02 Craig
This book was pretty funny. I like that one family was more reasonable so you knew who to route for. 265 pages 6.0 1/24/02 FPL
How Disney Devours The World
A funny book that sort of matched my wimsical anti-Disney attitude. Some quotes: (p3 "Truly it's a phenomenon, for the shelves offer nothing but the usual cross-merchandised crapola: snow globes, wristwatches, charm bracelets, figurines, and lots of overpriced clothes.", p70 "Once you paid your money and walked through the turnstiles, there was virtually no chance that anything unrehearded would occur in your presence. 'Nothing can possibly go wrong here, because nothing can possibly happen..'", p81 "..I fantasied what might happen if a Disney touron crossed paths with the half starved lion- a rustle in teh vinyl topiary, a twny flash, a muffled outcry, and somewhere the ghost of Charels Darwin exclaiming, 'Right you are!'" 83 pages 7.1 1/25/02 FPL
Roy O. Disney And The Creation Of An Entertainment Empire
Athough Walt Disney was interesting. I think Roy was more interesting because he made everything happen behind the scenes. Walt wasn't quite the creative genius he's made out to be, but he did have a vision for mid-west entertainment which Roy enabled. They were smart to keep creative control and treat their employees well. 344 pages 6.5 1/29/02 FPL
An interesting overview of Science. One story on each page with one full page photo illustrating the story. Not much room for detail, but I was in the mood for an overview which this National Geographic book was. 281 pages 6.0 1/31/02 FPL
I liked the story; it was easy to read. The flashbacks throughout the book were an interesting way to develop the charactors but I thought there were too many. It might have worked better if the book was twice as long. It almost seemed like a short story padded out to 300 pages. 331 pages 6.4 2/2/02 FPL
A Legendary Novel
It wasn't funny like "Little Big Man" but it was an interesting retelling of the Arthur Legend. I'm curious how he wrote it. I had misplaced the book in Orlando. I ended up getting it through abe.com. I got it in three days, with time to spare to finish reading it. 499 pages 7.0 2/6/02 FPL
I've wanted this book since it came out in 1977. I first heard about it on a long radio interview. Pete recently put the interview on his website and I checked with abe.com and ordered the book. 90% of the book was about the movie which isn't all bad, but I thought there was going to be more about the LP, recording, etc. 129 pages 5.0 2/7/02 Craig
This was a nice little book. I think it would make a good Christmas movie. Sort of like 'A Christmas Story'. It could be made pretty funny. I like the anti-Christmas bent, but at the end it gets sentimental. 177 pages 7.0 2/11/02 Victor
The Programers Who Created The Software Revolution
(The Story Of The Math Majors, Bridge Players, Engineers, Chess Wizards, Maverick Scientists And Iconoclasts ) I liked this 'history of computing' book because it dealt with software rather than hardware. These were stories I had not heard before. 222 pages 6.7 2/12/02 FPL
This book is sort of stupid. I ordered it along with Rhino Success because I wanted to riff on the Rhino carvings I got in Florida. The Rhino metaphor is interesting. The drawings are cut. Scott basically rants against the government in this book. 125 pages 6.5 2/15/02 Craig
Very interesting but I don't know what to think about the war, and how he handled it. He didn't have anything bad to say about the principles. He seemed frustrated through most of the war. I would normally blame Clinton, but it sounded like the 'Joint Chiefs of Staff' were the real problem. He had some mis-communications with General Shelton the head of the JCS, and Def Sec Cohen. Another war- problems cause by half measures and politics. 461 pages 6.0 2/17/02 FPL
The Allied Air Offensive Against Nazi Germany
This book delt with the practical and moral implication of area bombing in the ETO during WWII. It pointed out there was very little difference between British night area bombing and US daylight precision bombing- due to the weather. It did change my mind about the strategic bombing in WWII. It probably didn't have the affect they wanted until 1944, but it did force the Germans to devote approximately 30% of all war output to defend against the bombers- that's justification enough. 406 pages 7.3 3/15/02 FPL
Inside The Strangest Presidential Election Finish In American History
Surprisingly good. I always thought Jeff was somewhat conservative or libertarian. He comes across neutral in this book which is refreshing. I found out he wrote for National Lampoon- a good start. His take on the 2000 Presidential election was entertaining and informative. 307 pages 6.2 3/29/02 FPL
All The Fab Four's Instruments, From Stage To Studio
I like reading about the Beatles I like reading about their equipment even more. It must be a guy thing. I have a fetish for equipment even more then the recording process. Which means I liked this book even more than Mark Lewisohn's book: "The Beatles Recording Sessions" (9-7-95). I know this book stayed with me because when I was done- I felt I really knew what it said and could tell you the major peice of equipment that each Beatle played and when. 251 pages 7.8 3/31/02 FPL
A True Account Of Courage In Vietnam
Victor got three war books from his brother. This one was interesting but hard to read in spots. I get the feeling better training might have made all the difference in Vietnam. That and better political leadership. C-130 rollin' down the strip/Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip/Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door/Jump right out and count to four/If my 'chute don't blossom wide/I've got another one by my side/If that 'chute doen't blossom round/I'll be the first one on the ground/If I die in a combat zone/Just box me up and send me home/Pin those wings upon my chest/And tell my mom I did my best/Airborne, all the way/Airborne, every day. 217 pages 4.8 4/3/02 Victor
A Sniper's Vietnam
This was the best book of the three. Good stories and Joe seems like a levelheaded guy. You felt like you were there with him. 255 pages 6.7 4/5/02 Victor
This was as good as the sniper book. Each chapter is a mission in Vietnam. Some are more interesting than others. Again, it seems with proper training and leadership we could have won the war on the ground. 313 pages 6.7 4/10/02 Victor
An American Rock'n'Roll Journey
This book is poorly written and I think she exaggerates most of the stories- if some aren't outright lies (it's hard to tell.) But the stories are fascinating look at the behavior of some famous men. Although this book was a trashy read I still recommend it for the light it shines on rock stars. 372 pages 6.0 4/15/02 FPL
It was a good read. I liked the story until the end- seeing god in the dreams of a dog seems a bit much. The story of aliens was played pretty good except for the enemy aliens, Dean could have come up with a better back story for them. 606 pages 6.8 5/3/02 FPL
A good solid effort by Grisham. Not his best book, but easy to read and enjoyable. The only flaw I see (and there would be no story without it) is why didn't Ray Atlee just include the money in the Estate. Victor got this book on a seven day loan. He gave it to me Friday. I didn't notice the pink sticker until Sunday. Luckily Suzanne was online all day, so I got it half read. I finished it Monday morning- it was due Tuesday. 341 pages 6.0 5/6/02 FPL
A New Kind Of Intelligence
Interesting but hard to read. Like Hawkin's book I got halfway through it okay, but then started getting lost. I sort of understood the Quantum Mechanics but didn't follow some of the phase properties of light, nor what was proposed regarding using light in circuitry. 242 pages 5.5 5/6/02 FPL
This was suppose to be a new series. But as I read it, it sounded very familar. It used charactors from the last series. Petty enjoyable story. Not much in the way of Science, but a good adventure tale none the less. 349 pages 6.7 5/11/02 FPL
Emperor Of The City: The Story Of America's Mayor
Well written by a journalist from New York 1 (the all NYC news TV station). I'm sure he was bias against the mayor but he did give him credit for what he accomplished. Rudy comes across as a egomaniac but this seemed to help him accomplish what he wanted to. He was a moral man but insensitive. He demanded total loyality but also gave it. I don't think his style would work over the city government level because then your run into the legislature. 308 pages 5.0 5/20/02 Dad
Mean and cruel, but mostly true, and yet irrelivant. It wasn't terribly funny either, actually it wasn't funny at all. 256 pages 4.8 5/23/02 FPL
A good story which illustrates his "The Case For Mars" with an entertaining back story. 262 pages 7.2 5/27/02 FPL
America's Cold War Airmen
Very interesting first hand accounts of the Berlin Airlift, Korea, overland spy missions, and Vietnam. All these pilots seemed to end up retiring in Riverside CA. 344 pages 7.3 5/30/02 FPL
A great story of a FBI Hostage Rescue mission set up and then the surviving agent trying to figure out what happened. 548 pages 7.6 5/31/02 FPL
I enjoy this story arc. This continues with Ben's tale of interstellar settlement this time the asteroid belt. 384 pages 7.0 6/10/02 FPL
The Highs, Hype, Heroes, And Hustlers Of The Warner Music Group
An interesting look at the record business from the inside. It was dog eat dog until the company reached a certain size and then they had a liscense to print money during the 70s music boom and 80s CD bonanza, but then it all fell apart. I wish there was more about the artists, but he didn't work with them. The prose it good, "Mod dress shops clerked by emaciated girls who looked like they'd just come from a mascara tournament." p194; p314 about Fargoites getting MTV (meaning the boonies) 457 pages 6.7 6/11/02 FPL
An interesting tale about a guy who gets courtmarshelled for standanding on principle, then divorced for the same and finally almost killed in the crossfire at the final Sioux uprising at "Wounded Knee". Victor took the book after I was done. 232 pages 6.8 6/12/02 FPL
A Surgen's Notes On An Imperfect Science
A very interesting look a surgery and the problems and possible solutions to using 'very much human' doctors. 252 pages 7.5 6/18/02 FPL
Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
It seems to me this could have been a lot better, but I did finish reading it and got Volume 1, as I fould I did learn about some pivot points in history just by reading these essays. 427 pages 3.2 6/27/02 FPL
The World's Formost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been
This was better than volume two but there still isn't much 'What If'. It is interesting how pivital minor events can be. I didn't realize how blood thirsty the Mongols were or how Cortez used 'Divide and Conquer' to defeat the Aztecs. One interesting quote paraphrased from James Joyce, "History is a nightmare from which we are trying to awaken." 395 pages 4.7 7/8/02 FPL
Win Or Lose- How History's Great Political Leaders Play The Game
I didn't want to like the book, but he did a good job. Coming up with a theory and then finding examples- anyone can do that, but Morris also found examples were it didn't work and tried to explain it. 318 pages 5.5 7/13/02 Suzanne
I think I would have found Socrates guilty... of being a windbag. Apology had some parallels to Ortner's case, but it wasn't as close as I thought it might. Socrates was guilty of corrupting the youth of Athens but by denying the 'Gods' not sodomizing them- that was probably okay. The Quote "The life which is unexamined is not worth living" comes from "Apology" 53 pages 1.5 7/15/02 FPL
Some of the stories were very good, even the worse was at least a little interesting. The use of generational names and place names makes it easier to follow the story as it jumps through time. 764 pages 6.0 7/20/02 Suzanne
A History Of Warefare Against Civilians- Why It Has Always Failed And Why It Will Fail Again
Each chapter except the last is tells the failure of Terrorism in a different period of time. Caleb does make a distinction between guerilla warefare and terrorism. (Civilians) The last chapter is a statement of principles a country or group should hold if they wish to win. 256 pages 7.3 7/21/02 FPL
Some of the stories were pretty good but some just went on and on without any action or interesting insights. I want to read some more, while I'm on the alternate history kick. The intros to each short story gave some other books to read by each author. 415 pages 6.0 7/30/02 FPL
The First Kinsey Millhone Mystery
The mechanics of the writing was good, but I'm not that big on mysteries. I didn't really care for the characters either. I didn't find the plot to be exciting either. Nothing much happened to her until the last page when she hides in a garbage can. He opens the lid and bam- she shoots him dead- so why was she hiding from him in the first place- just arrest him. 215 pages 2.7 8/3/02 Victor
50 Websites Deconstructed
Not as good as Jakob's last book. He makes his point and then beats the horse dead dead dead... dead (50 websites later.) I was surprised by somethings that test poorly- like using multiple navagation widgets. I would have guessed more is better. I've made most of these mistakes, but don't do as many; some I still do on purpose or in the case of DandMGraphics.com I just don't care enough. 305 pages 5.0 8/5/02 FPL
It was pretty funny in spots. Some times I couldn't tell if he was serious or not, which makes it funnier. 159 pages 5.2 8/8/02 FPL
This was suppose to be one of the best graphic novels around. I just got it because it features Black Bolt and rest of the Inhumans. The story is good and the art is excellent, but Black Bolt doesn't do much other than fly around and think or stand around and look troubled. 150 pages 6.3 8/21/02 Craig
A good SF story about a rouge department of the government that tries to take over the US using a defense contractor and a St. Louis earthquake. We're all saved in the end by a rouge AI program from the same defense contractor. 279 pages 7.0 8/23/02 FPL
The Novel Of Russia
This book took me eight weeks to read. I wasn't reading anything else. It wasn't a difficult read, nor was it boring. It just took a lot of time. An interesting look at the lifes and times of historic Russian. Almost all of the book takes place before the October Revolution of 1917. Starting with 180 AD. 760 pages 6.8 10/2/02 FPL
I really wasn't in the mood to read this book but I didn't have anything else to read. Once I started I throughly enjoyed the read. The story was pretty good yet too much coincidence. 448 pages 7.0 10/13/02 Suzanne
This was hard to read because it was so good. You could feel for both sides having to fight their friends while feeling the respociblity for the slaughter of their men. It only took a couple pages before I realized I saw the movie: "Gettysburg." 374 pages 7.0 11/6/02 Suzanne
The story seemed a little cobbled together, but it was still pretty good. Writing SF is a odd for Caleb. The use of advanced technologies and socialology was interesting. The book had a technocratic feel bordering on socialism. 274 pages 7.0 11/14/02 FPL
The Best Of The Onion
TheOnion.com is funny in short burst like it's weekly page. It wasn't as a funny in a big chunk like this. There were some very funny pieces: p85 The "Holy Grail" Quotes, and p142 Barry ploegel.com (Which has become an actual site.) very funny because it reminds me of me. 174 pages 5.0 11/24/02 FPL
Sure it was mostly cartoons, but I read a much of books that I didn't finish (Because they were no good) and didn't catalog them. The cartoons were very small and almost took as long to 'read' as text. 304 pages 6.0 12/9/02 Suzanne
Another good crime story from Elmore. I like the Robert Taylor charactor. All the charactors were interesting- it would make a good movie. 308 pages 6.0 12/16/02 FPL
A cool look at Jimi Hendrix's recording career: both in the studio and live recordings. Also a chapter on movie & television appearances. It's hard to believe so much material is available. 255 pages 6.9 12/23/02 FPL
Inside The Special Forces
This was much better than I thought it would be. I was surprised how tough the Special Forces were, but I was surprise how well trained for 'Peace Corp' type activities they were. The SF seem particularly well suited for the US at this point in time. Too bad the book wasn't written after Afghanistan- I think the point was proven there as well. 529 pages 7.5 12/27/02 FPL