The Web Conferencing Book: Understanding the Technology, Choose the Right Vendors, Software, and Equipment, Start Saving Time and Money Today

Book Description

Holding meetings, presentations, and other group events over the Web is cost effective and conducive to increased individual and team productivity. Getting started is easier than most people realize, but it's crucial to go in with the right information. The Web Conferencing Book is the ultimate easy-access, all-in-one reference, covering everything businesses need to know about:

Equipment, service, and content vendors * IT requirements * Making the business case for web conferencing * Teaching employees how to use web conferencing * Security issues * Using web conferencing for training and education * Where web conferencing is headed in the near future * Home uses: telecommuting, home business, school * and much more.

With this indispensable guide, readers will understand not only how web conferencing works but also how it can work for their business!

Customer Reviews:

General and non technical.......2004-12-31

I'm a computer services manager working in local government, so I am probably not part of the target audience for this book.

This book will give maximum benefit to a non-technical person who knows nothing about on-line collaboration. The book is effective in giving a survey of the conferencing products and services available on the market at the time of publication.

Here is my description of my "wish list" for a book on Web Conferencing:

1. Target audience: Information systems professionals
2. Detailed coverage of network issues involved with Web conferencing, including bandwidth, infrastructure and security issues.
3. Cost structure for each product reviewed.
4. Some coverage of manipulating low cost configurations to provide high levels of service. (How to do more with less).
5. Professional, rather than chatty, tone.

The Web Conferencing Book.......2004-03-12

AT LAST! A definitive, concise, readable, understandable, helpful book on this subject that has literally changed the way I communicate and network in my business. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to the authors!!

Great reference tool for all workplaces........2003-11-04

I work in a non-technology based field, yet found this book to be a great tool for inspiring some new marketing ideas.

Invaluable book - a must have!.......2003-10-02

Like many people looking for a book or information on web conferencing I was frustrated in my search by the surprising lack of available material. Needless to say I was thrilled when my search ended having come across "The Web Conferencing Book..." and was happier still when I found the book to be as an informative and engaging read as it is. Extremely comprehensive, The Web Conferencing Book answered virtually all of my questions on the subject - and even provided me with information I didn't even know I need to be aware of. I can't recommend this book enough for people needing to know more on the subject as it will undoubtedly have an immediate and highly positive impact on your web conferencing abilities and overall knowledge. The authors have provided us with an amazingly valuable resource and I'm now offically on the lookout for future technology books by them.

HIGH RECOMMENDATION.......2003-09-24

The world can be divided into two groups: those that get it, and those that don't. Real estate is a very competitive industry -- you not only have to be "with it," you have to be "ahead of it." This book is a must have for the business person -- in this case, realtor -- who needs and wants the cutting edge advantage.

Average customer rating:

Interesting topic, but a dry read

Is it Worth it?

All the Daring of the Soldier

A mixed bag.

Excellent women's Civil War history book

All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies
Elizabeth D. Leonard
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War

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Amazing Women of the Civil War: Fascinating True Stories of Women Who Made a Difference

ASIN: 0140298584
Release Date: 2001-02-27

Amazon.com

As the American Civil War raged on, Louisiana's Sarah Morgan complained to her diary, "Oh! if I were only a man. Then I could don the breeches, and slay them with a will!" Though Morgan never did "don the breeches," in All the Daring of the Soldier, historian Elizabeth D. Leonard reveals that many women did. Leonard recounts the stories of dozens of women who joined the war effort, such as Richard Anderson, a.k.a. Amy Clarke, who fought with her Confederate cavalry regiment at the battle of Shiloh. Other women served as "Daughters of the Regiment," doing everything from serving as mascots and nurses to bearing regimental colors in battle and even fighting in combat. Still others engaged in espionage, such as Elizabeth Van Lew, who hid behind a cultivated persona and the nickname Crazy Bet so that she could spy for the Union.

Interesting capsule biographies aside, the strength of this book lies in Leonard's historical analysis. While many historians (and most Civil War novelists) have assumed that women went to war because they were motivated by love--either of men or their country--Leonard is quick to point out that whereas many women did follow the men they loved, and that others were sincere patriots, many others were motivated by economic need or even the desire for adventure and a wider range of opportunity than 19th-century society allowed them. Leonard's thorough research in archives and memoirs adds great detail to these women's stories and makes All the Daring of the Soldier an excellent addition to both the scholarly and general literature on the Civil War. --C.B. Delaney

Book Description

During the Civil War, women worked as spies and sometimes disguised themselves as male soldiers to play an heroic part in the conflict. Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard has combed archives, memoirs, and histories to unearth the stories of these hidden and forgotten women who risked their lives for the blue and the gray. Here are the stories of Belle Boyd, Confederate loyalist and key player in Stonewall Jackson's struggle to hold the Shenandoah Valley, and Sarah Emma Edmonds, who enlisted as Franklin Thompson, and fought at Fredericksburg. Leonard includes many other courageous women, investigates why they chose unconventional ways to help their cause, and shows how they were able to break through the traditional barriers of Victorian womanhood.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting topic, but a dry read.......2007-07-31

This reads more like a text book or research essay. It's a little dry for the casual reader who just wants to learn about the topic in their liesure time. It seems like author is trying to pack in a mention of EVERY woman who was ever involved in the Civil War, no matter how little information is available on them. However, it's an interesting subject, and some of the women are discussed in detail, with quotes from people who knew them. The detailed accounts are worth reading about.

Is it Worth it?.......2005-12-09

Though the beginning of the book was a little dry, it continues to improve. It's greatest strength is the use of personal stories and accounts of those who actually knew the women.
As the book begins, many women are mentioned who had small, some might say even insignificant, role in the Civil War. This part is the book is the more dry area, but when the author, Elizabeth D. Leonard, begins to focus on the five most prominent women who helped to illicit information from the enemy, it again improves. This style of writing continues throughout the book, first mentioning several women whom not much is known about, then sharing the story of a well-known Unionist or Confederate female. Another strength of this book is the information that one can learn. I was surprised at some details and statistics provided. For instance, many women who brought information across enemy lines were able to do so through the use of their clothing as a means for hiding letters and even entire army uniforms. One woman strung hats and boots underneath her hoop skirt and kept letters in her hair. The statistic that six women were able to kept their pregnancy a secret (until delivery) while being enlisted under a male alias is shocking.
This book provides another look at women in the Civil War. Many believe, incorrectly, that only a few females were involved with either the Union or Confederate cause. As this book proves, however, that is not the case.
Overall, this book has an equal amount of interesting aspects, as well as dry moments. The "good" parts, however, are worth reading the book in its entirety.

All the Daring of the Soldier.......2002-12-14

Women soldiers, vivandieres, nurses and so on of the Civil War. More detailed than Hall's book, but still not a really scholarly text.

Various mentions of women in the American Revolution seem off-topic, with not much to show how they connect causally with the Civil War.

Women spies and scouts, real women soldiers (a few, with the presumption that many were never discovered), etc.

A lot of attention to contemporary literature and balladry concerning fighting women, though this work isn't deeply analyzed.

For me the most valuable part of the book was a fairly long discussion of how it was that women could convincingly masquerade as men in the 1860's. This was useful and interesting. Overall, though, there was only so much this book had to offer. I wonder if the limited hard evidence for female soldiers makes any book of this kind an uphill struggle. A new volume on the topic has just come out, and I'll be having a look at that.

A mixed bag........1999-07-30

Leonard's early chapters are good, though she misses a couple of prominent women. However, her chapters on "soldier women" are greatly disappointing. She can provide positive proof of only three women who successfully disguised themselves as men and fought during the war. All other cases she presents are based entirely upon anecdotal information. Her claim that 500-1,000 women served is entirely unsubstantiated. Leonard seems to accept the story of Loreta Velasquez even though her account has been disproven.

Excellent women's Civil War history book.......1999-06-11

I am the author of "Memories of Maggie" and "Potpourri Of War" so I readily ordered this new book to learn more about the women who served during the Civil War.

"All the Daring of the Soldier" was excellent. It brought forth more women than I was even aware of who did so much for their country during the Civil War. Elizabeth D. Leonard should be proud of the work she put into her research and writing. This book should be a welcomed item to anyone's collection but especially for students to learn more women's history.

I only have one complaint. There was no mention of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker who also served during the Civil War and was ultimately the only woman to date to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for her actions during the war. I hope this was just an oversight on the author's part.

BUT believe the rest of this book is wonderful!

Average customer rating:
Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent: How Daring Slaves and Free Blacks Spied for the Union During the Civil War
Thomas B. Allen
Manufacturer: National Geographic Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

People of Color | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Historical | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
1800s | United States | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0792278895
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Book Description

It's 1863. Harriet Tubman is facing one of the biggest—and most dangerous— challenges of her life. She has survived her master's lash, escaped from slavery, and risked her life countless times to lead runaway slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Now she has a new role—that of Union spy! The outcome of a secret night raid deep into Confederate territory depends on the accuracy of the intelligence she and other black spies have gathered. Success will mean freedom for hundreds of slaves. Failure will mean death by hanging.

You are about to enter the undercover world of African-American spies—enslaved and free—risking everything in the name of freedom. How were the Underground Railroad and slave songs used to pass secret messages? What were "contrabands" and "Black Dispatches?" What did Harriet have in common with the Secret Six and a maidservant in the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis? You'll discover these answers and more as the action unfolds.

Thomas B. Allen, author of the award-winning George Washington, Spymaster, has sifted through military and intelligence archives, diaries, and little-known memoirs from ex-slaves to bring to light new facts about the role Harriet and other black spies played in helping the Union win the war.

This detailed account combined with powerful archival images supplemented with woodcuts by Carla Bauer, maps, a time line, footnotes, and extensive quote sources make this incredibly detailed account an excellent resource for report writing as well as an exciting true-life adventure.

Daring Women of the Civil War (Civil War Library.)

Average customer rating:

Daring Women of the Civil War (Civil War Library.)
Carin T. Ford
Manufacturer: Enslow Elementary
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Military & Wars | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0766022501

All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies

Average customer rating:

All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies
Elizabeth D. Leonard
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIX4RO

Average customer rating:
Diary of Philip Leget Edwards: The Great Cattle Drive from California to Oregon in 1837
Philip Leget Edwards
Manufacturer: Glen Adams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Reference & Collections | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Pacific Northwest | State & Local | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0877704651

Average customer rating:
The Diary of Philip Leget Edwards: The Great Cattle Drive from California to Oregon in 1837
Philip L Edwards
Manufacturer: GRABHORN PR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TLNJ2Q

Average customer rating:
Diary of Philip Leget Edwards: The Great Cattle Drive From California to Oregon in 1837 (Rare Americana Series, 4)

Manufacturer: Grabhorn Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HU0TEA

Book Description

More than four decades after her death, Billie Holiday remains one of the most gifted artists of our time–and also one of the most elusive. Because of who she was and how she chose to live her life, Lady Day has been the subject of both intense adoration and wildly distorted legends. Now at last, Farah Jasmine Griffin, a writer of intellectual authority and superb literary gifts, liberates Billie Holiday from the mythology that has obscured both her life and her art.

An intimate meditation on Holiday’s place in American culture and history, If You Can’t Be Free, Be A Mystery reveals Lady Day in all her complexity, humor and pain–a true jazz virtuoso whose passion and originality made every song she sang hers forever. Celebrated by poets, revered by recording artists from Frank Sinatra to Macy Gray, Billie Holiday is more popular and influential today than ever before. Now, thanks to this marvelous book, Holiday’s many fans can finally understand the singer and the woman they love.

Customer Reviews:

A brilliant work.......2004-08-02

This is a brilliant analysis, rumination, meditation, on Billie Holiday. I believe the previous reviewers who did not agree with me missed Professor Griffin's use of jazz phrasing within the prose of her work, the reworking and repetition of themes to provide new insight. It is a technique that perhaps would only be understandable to a jazz lover, but it is part of the creative wisdom of this piece. This is the best work on Billie Holiday that I have ever read and I highly recommend it. And incidentally, Dr. Griffin is one of the most respected scholars of African American and American Studies, so she should never be compared to a first year graduate student. I suggest readers check out her other work as well.

Had Promise.......2002-10-16

Griffin's opening chapter is interesting and effectively presented, and by itself would make an adequate article on Holiday's life. There's not enough content here to warrant a book, and, in fact, it reads more like a first-year graduate student's paper than a text polished for publication. It seems that Griffin favored the copy and paste method here, repeating herself, literally, at times, in subsequent chapters, word for word, from previous chapters. This was not done to lend the text a wondeful insularity or elipticalness...I think she was just confused as to what to say and where to go. That Griffin adores Holiday is clear, but her worship of this Jazz Diva doesn't translate well into postmodern theory, and the pomo buzzwords Griffin sprinkles throughout the text seem to hinder her own understanding of and relationship with Holiday and to her music...Ultimately, the author ends up sounding disingenous and uncertain and not quite cognizant of the social politics she purports to examine and explain. Still, the glimpses we do get of Holiday stand out and shine marvelously.

Interesting but flawed.......2002-06-15

This book promises much but delivers little....which is a great pity since it could have been a much better book than it is. Part of the problem lies in the fact that it is not well written and is in severe need of editing. The book is repetitive in the extreme (see p. 181 for a glaring example - where we are told in two CONSECUTIVE sentences that Abbey Lincoln was under consideration to play Billie Holiday in a filmed version of Lady Sings The Blues). Other examples involve being told something, and then two or three pages later the same information is repeated. This is sloppy and shows that the author (or her editors) did not bother to proofread the manuscript in any meaningful way.

The other problem with the book is that it offers little in the way of insight. Sure the author has some ideas - but they are not enough to stretch out over the length of a book. It might have made an interesting presentation at a conference where it could have been presented as a 20 minute talk, but over the length of a book it becomes tiresome. Billie Holiday deserves better than this. Sorry to be so negative, but i bought this book with a great sense of anticipation and felt really let down by it. A real case of the critic not being up to the level of her subject.

Thank you for the insight.......2001-07-21

I'm a graduate social work student and I recently wrote a paper about Billie for a class on counseling creative clients. From a strengths perspective, Billie's life was a creative success. She lived true to herself and she lived for herself. Given the enormous odds she faced, as a black woman in that time period, she overcame much. Ms. Griffin has done her justice and I highly recommend her book.

Something to do Billie Holiday a little Justice.......2001-06-11

This book serves to show yet another side of Lady Day. Despite a tendancy to repeat herself, Farah Jasmine Griffith gets her point across eloquently. She peals away layers created by media, stereotypes, and the politics of her time that hide a complex, intelligent and more human Holiday. Fans of the Lady will enjoy this newest edition to the collection of writings about her.

If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday

Average customer rating:

If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery: In Search of Billie Holiday
Farah Jasmine Griffin
Manufacturer: One World/Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVB2IY

Average customer rating:

If You Can't Be Free, Be a Mystery : In Search of Billie Holiday
Farah J. Griffin
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLU8WA

Book Description

“Awjeezma!” was the universal dissent, whined—repeatedly if necessary—at an unreasonable mother who wanted the vacuuming done now-not-next-year or a pile of encrusted dishes washed or the sputtering heater refueled.
“Awjeezma! Do I gotta?”
“If I have to tell you one more time—”
“Awjeezma! Awright! Jeez!”

Through the telling of his own madcap childhood, David Benjamin pays homage to the exuberance of countless untamed boys who grew up in Middle America in the 1950s. Whether he’s stalking frogs through the bogs of Tomah, Wisconsin, playing four-kid baseball with his bothersome little brother and two favorite cousins, or sneaking into the theater to watch Saturday afternoon Westerns, Benjamin is the kind of little kid who eagerly would have fallen in with the redoubtable Tom Sawyer.

His tales—including one about a truly sorry incident with Snappy, the snapping turtle, and another about a run-in with a particularly fiendish squirrel—are by turns hysterically funny, caustic, aggrieved, and movingly sincere. Traversing the nooks and crannies of kidhood, from ballfields to swimming holes, The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked captures a moment in twentieth-century American life, as Benjamin magically recalls the myriad scrapes, intrepid adventures, and wanderlust that once made childhood such an exhilarating enterprise.

Customer Reviews:

High Praise.......2005-11-29

I, like another reviewer on this page, played for the Publics and was 4-5 years behind Benjamin in Tomah, the small Wisconsin town described in this memoir. Benjamin got it right--the place, the era, the people, the experience of just being a kid. This is first-class writing: evocative, descriptive, precise, fun.

Stirred many memories..........2004-05-27

Mr. Benjamin's book is outstanding. For any boy that grew up in the Midwest playing sports - especially baseball or football - with friends in backyards, side lots, or in any empty field, this is an absolute must-read. The descriptions of people and places are written in such a way that made me laugh uncontrollably and just smile at the same time. Highly recommended.

Believe it.......2004-01-19

I grew up playing for the "publics" in the town of Tomah. The author was four years ahead of me but my experiences were similar. I recognized almost every character in the book and remembered parts of my childhood that had been long forgotten. I never dreamed that this book would also tell the story of so many others growing up in the 50's. I applaud the author for this excellent book and wonder how he could remember so much of his childhood.

A great gift.......2003-06-06

Everybody knows this kid. He was either in our class or in the family. Great storytelling. I think I married him as well. Have given this book for graduation, teen's birthday and now father's day. Good for all ages.

An excellent book from an excellent author.......2003-04-08

Mr. Benjamin spoke at my school today on his tour for this book, and I had the chance to speak with him beforehand. His speech was engaging, and at the lunch prior to the event he had a chance to talk on a more personal level about "Last Kid Picked" and sumo wrestlers. I recommend this book as well as his short "screeds," vignettes about his childhood in Tomah.

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