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This book is about the application of business process reengineering to information technology development - sharing the genuine experience of the authors with others in the field. "Reengineering IT" plugs the gap in the reengineering market by applying these concepts to IT development. The authors set out an approach to project development by in-house IT departments based on the principles of empowerment and performance management. It is based on the experience of the authors on a successful reengineering project at Dun and Bradstreet, but includes many references to cases beyond the company. ... Read more

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Dark and scary
Except from being a textbook which must be an obligatory read for every NASA employee, it offers a very scary and freighting future for mankind. I have to admit that I did like the textbook science parts put I couldn't quite cope with the negative aspects of the whole story. According to Murphy's Law 'If anything goes wrong it will', the book develops a future where the USA withdraws from all international efforts for peace and development. The newly elected president and his cabinet believe that science has reached its limit and that it can't advance mankind anymore. This nutty leadership committee defines a new society strongly based on religious ambitions. The churches welcome this of course and help to turn the nation's mindset into a backward society based on religion (science is prohibited). On top of that, the USA consistently threatens China with biological warfare. Oh yes, I forget the comet which is approaching earth! This doesn't sound like a story about a mission to Titan at all!? Yes agreed, the main plot is about a mission to Titan but Stephen Baxter tries to enhance the boring story (a 7 years flight through the darkness is not quite entertaining) with elements about mankind screwing up big time. The aspect of the USA screwing up is certainly within the realm of reality and I think this is what most people found so disturbing in that story. The entire narrative would be of great epic ambitions, however, the negative touch and style is so very unpleasant that I was really happy when I finished the book. Maybe it was too real in certain aspects... ... Read more

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Written over a 30-year period by the late Patrick Wormald, one of the leading authorities on the Early Middle Ages, this book is a collection of studies on Bede and early English Christian society. Its central concern is the establishment of a Christian community within a warrior society, and the way this was charted, not always sympathetically, by Bede and other writers of his time. A subsidiary theme is the emergence of a self-consciously English Church, which was in turn the foundation of an English state. An appendix considers Bede’s treatment of St. Hilda, the first great English female saint.The book will be welcomed for its systematic integration of the religious, intellectual, political and social history of the English in their first Christian centuries. ... Read more

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William of Orange, the Savior of Europe.
This informative biography tells the complex story of William III of the United Provinces (Netherlands)Born in 1648 at the end of the 30 Years War, William must learn to navigate the fratious system of Dutch politcs which is deeply divided and ant-autocratic, but at the same time must struggle to survive against the encroachments of Louis XIV' France.In order survive the Dutch must allow power to be centralized in the office of the Stadtholder, which by right belongs to the ruling house of Orange.It is during the desperate War of 1672-78 that William is called upon to become States-General, in charge of all combined Dutch land and naval forces.Through sheer grit and determination William manages to rally thre faltering Dutch forces before the seeminly invinceable advances of the French under their talanted generals.

The French under the Duc de Luxambourg and others mainatin the largest and most aggressive army in Europe.These are the years when France seeks to create a greater hedgemony.Population and ecomonic growth has blessed France since it was largely spared the devastations of the 30 Years War earlier in the Century.Now under their highly autocratic monarch, Louis XIV (The Sun King), they seek to dominate Europe.They have impressive resourcesto do this.Vaubin is the genius of siege-craft.Under his brilliant direction one Dutch fortress after another falls as the French armies advance deeper into the Spanish Netherlands and the Low Countries.Only the dogged determination of William is there to stop them.Each year another major Dutch or Spanish Netherlands fortress falls, but William holds out long enough to wear the French down.Louis begins to tire of the tangled web of Dutch fortifications and William's determination to keep a field army together.The French become interested in bullying the German principlaities instead.William is given a repreive and through various loosely worded treaties which the French constantly keep changing, he manages to save the Dutch Republic.For this alone William deserves to be known as the George Washington of the Low countries.

But fate has a larger story for Dutch William.Through marriage to Princess Mary, the protestant daughter of King James II, William has a direct claim on the English crown.This is brought into play when the English parliament seeks to remove James for his pro-Catholic and auto-cratic ways in 1688. The Glorious Revolution as it is known in England brings William and Mary bloodlessly to the English crown and forever changes
Anglo-Dutch history.William now has a new lease on life and can bring the larger resources of England into his greater conflict againt the dominations of Louis XIV.The Nine Years War will see William first campaigning in Ireland to defeat James II at the famous battle of the Boyne in 1690.This watershed moment in Irish History is little understood today despite numerous pictures of the event hanging in many Irish pubs around the world! William will then return to the Continent and continue the struggle against the French.The battles of Stenkirk (1692) and Landan (1693) are largely inconclusive but prove Williams increasing abilities of generalship over Louis XIV's armies.The siege of Numur (1695) is Williams crowning military achievement. He here manages to beseige and take a fortress designed by the great Vaubin.The myth of French invincibility in this period is finally broken.France, exhausted under Louis's harsh domestic and foreign policies must seek peace for the time being.

William continues as joint monarch of England and the Netherlands.The English will see themselves established as a leading maritime and commerical power, while the Dutch will beigin their descent into non-entity. Yet, for all that William does for the English he is not generally liked by them and is regarded derisively as "Dutch" William.The Dutch will tend to have an indifferent attitude toward him in their history.

Williams place in history covers the histories of two nations (England and Holland) and his influence extends beyond into Ireland, the Spanish Netherlands, Germany and even France.Louis XIV, despite numerous attempts to assassinate him, comes to respect William.The Dutch and English will have mixed feelings, and to the Irish he will become a distant almost mythical figure.There is no doubt that his legacy was the salvation of Europe from a French universal monarchy under Louis XIV.Dutch William may be largely forgotten today, but his struggles helped to shape modern Europe.

This book, while extensive on William' life, is at times tedious.The author's discussion of the complicated court politics and dynastic claims of the period was at times quite confusing.His descriptions of English politics is equally hard to follow.The author can not totally be blamed for this as the dyanstic politics in the 17th century were extremely confusing.The author writes with evident admiration for his subject, and seems to truly admire William almost to the point of excess.While not a great Biography in terms of style and writing, the subject and the historical period are fascinating.
Until a better andmore recent work on William III comes out I would strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in the military politics and dynastic history of the 17th Century. ... Read more

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With a brand new novella set in a fresh universe, from Peter F. Hamilton (the latest and most dramatic breakout SF author to follow the mainstream success of Iain M. Banks), a new novella from the internationally significant Stephen Baxter and new novellas from two of the most crItically acclaimed authors writing today, FUTURES will be an essential purchase both for fans of these authors and for anyone wanting a snapshot of the British SF scene as the genre rides the wave of success that has seen it dominate the world SF market in recent years. ... Read more

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Irina Larionova had had no intention of visiting Mercury herself. Why would anyone come to Mercury, unless they had to? The planet was a piece of junk, a desolate ball of iron and rock too close to the Sun to be interesting, or remotley habitable. But, within days of landing two exploratory teams on the planet, both had reported anomalies. This story takes place in the author's Xeelee sequence. ... Read more