Average customer rating:
- Great Overview
- Handy for the mixed-platform sysadmin
- Good writer. Easy to understand.
- Worth the money
- An excellent reference for System Administrators
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Essential System Administration, Third Edition
Æleen Frisch
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
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ASIN: 0596003439 |
Book Description
Essential System Administration,3rd Edition is the definitive guide for Unix system administration, covering all the fundamental and essential tasks required to run such divergent Unix systems as AIX, FreeBSD, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Tru64 and more. Essential System Administration provides a clear, concise, practical guide to the real-world issues that anyone responsible for a Unix system faces daily. The new edition of this indispensable reference has been fully updated for all the latest operating systems. Even more importantly, it has been extensively revised and expanded to consider the current system administrative topics that administrators need most. Essential System Administration,3rd Edition covers: DHCP, USB devices, the latest automation tools, SNMP and network management, LDAP, PAM, and recent security tools and techniques. Essential System Administration is comprehensive. But what has made this book the guide system administrators turn to over and over again is not just the sheer volume of valuable information it provides, but the clear, useful way the information is presented. It discusses the underlying higher-level concepts, but it also provides the details of the procedures needed to carry them out. It is not organized around the features of the Unix operating system, but around the various facets of a system administrator's job. It describes all the usual administrative tools that Unix provides, but it also shows how to use them intelligently and efficiently. Whether you use a standalone Unix system, routinely provide administrative support for a larger shared system, or just want an understanding of basic administrative functions, Essential System Administration is for you. This comprehensive and invaluable book combines the author's years of practical experience with technical expertise to help you manage Unix systems as productively and painlessly as possible.
Customer Reviews:
Great Overview.......2007-05-08
Used this book as a starter for Unix, already armed with basic knowledge and concepts this book helped me better understand the inner workings of UNIX.
Handy for the mixed-platform sysadmin.......2007-01-24
I spend most of my time administering linux systems, but also the occasional Solaris machine. Having this book is great for times like when I just can't remember the equivalent Solaris command for examining a print queue. It's not the kind of book you're going to read from cover to cover, and I may never look at 600 of its 1100+ pages, but I still consider it a required book on my shelf, and I refer to it a 2-3 times a month. The information in it is consistently clear and accurate.
I recently bought this as a gift for a college graduate who was embarking on a sysadmin career, and it was very well-received.
Good writer. Easy to understand........2006-11-17
Good writer. Easy to understand. Good examples. I also like the examples in Larry L. Smith's "Rosetta Stone Series for Programmers and Script-Writers" (3 books: Bash Shell, Korn Shell, and Perl). The examples in Randal K. Michael's "Mastering UNIX Shell Scripting" are also helpful for serious UNIX-LINUX users.
Worth the money.......2006-11-11
I'll keep this short and to the point, since the numerous other reviews already speak to what this book has to offer: It's not cheap, but it is worth every penny. The book provides a thorough overview on administrating unix/unix-like systems, and will help you become a better sysadmin, period.
An excellent reference for System Administrators.......2006-03-14
Power UNIX and Linux users will want to expand their skills. It's inevitable. Some will get frustrated and drop out and some will work their way through it.
For those who commit to make the transition from power user to system admin, then you will like this book. I don't believe this is the only book a system admin will read or need. But, this is the one you'll go back to over and over.
The author is a system admin herself. She's done the work and continues to do the work. She becomes a partner.
I found this book valuable. I like the publisher and I suggest you will like this book too.
Book Description
The Solaris 10 System Administrator Certification Exam Prep 2 is the ideal book for both new and seasoned system administrators. This book will give you the insight you need into the newest certification exams for system administrators, the 310-200 and the 310-202. It offers classroom-style training by one of the best and well-known authors in the Solaris world,
Bill Calkins. It will equip you with vital knowledge for success on exam day plus it acts a reference guide that will come in handy after the test. The content addresses all the new exam objectives in detail and will show you how to apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios.
The included CD features ExamGear's innovative test engine, which will be an effective tool for preparing for the Solaris 10 exam. It provides you with five different ways to test yourself, random questions and order of answers, detailed explanations of correct and incorrect answers, and it pays special attention to exam objectives. Also included on the CD is a PDF of the complete text of the book.
Customer Reviews:
It's good, but it's not great........2007-06-15
If you already pretty much know what you're doing, this is a good reference for preparing for the test. But you have to be able to overlook the issues like typos and wrong entries.
Have been using this for ten months, is perfect for my needs.......2007-05-11
I bought this book, not for the certification per se, but because I needed something that would help me get through some of the pieces of Solaris 10 that I needed help with.
This book does a great job, and really explains what I need to know to function as a system administrator. In fact, in my office most will pick up the book from my desk and search through it because they know that if the answer is in there it'll be easy to pick up and grasp quickly.
Kudos to Bill Calkins -- keep up the good work.
SCSA in TX.......2007-01-20
This book is more than just an excellent resource in order to pass the Solaris 10 SA exams, it is a great resource to manage your day-to-day Solaris machines. Thanks Bill!. I passed the 2nd exam today!
Excellent Guide and Reference.......2007-01-09
I passed the both exams using this book with flying colors, but then I have been doing Sun UNIX for 20 years. I can confidently say this is an excellent review book and even a good reference aside for using as a study guide. The CD exam had many questions that were on the test, amazing. But most important, not just passing the exam, the book provides an in depth understanding of Solaris 10. I have many of Bill Calkins books on this subject, different OS releases, and you can see he has evolved his book into an efficient concise guide for Solaris. There are plenty of review tables and step-by-step examples.
He does the best coverage of have seen on Rules file keywords for Jumpstart; you have to dig on the Sun site for such documentation. The book did lack enough content for Intel Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) and there were a number of questions on the exam (x86 Solaris) on this subject. However, you can't find material on x86 subject easily or in one place, so this is the best there is on x86 Solaris.
The book covers zones in just 20 pages and is complete. Step-by-step examples are provided for different configurations such as NIS, NFS, network interface, AutoFS (excellent explanation and step-by-step), jumpstart, logical volumes, zones, service management facility and its recovery, backup/restore including recovering the boot block, access control list (ACL) commands, etc. which can be used as a reference too. I also recommend the book for a trainee learning Solaris.
Excellent Study Guide.......2006-12-02
Im am an employee of Sun Microsystems and used this book as a primary study guide. It not only exceeded my expectations but it also contained everything I needed to take the 310-203 upgrade exam. I found it to be as good or better then the internal Sun training materials and helped me pass the test the first time around. Thanks again Bill
Customer Reviews:
Simply a wonderful book.......2007-10-03
The book is really well written, covering even more topics (i.e. Networking) than the first edition. Considering the advanced nature of the book, it's surprisingly easy to understand.
However, i would recommend reading Operating Systems: Design and Implementation (3rd edition) by Andrew S. Tanenbaum and Albert S. Woodhull before this one if you're not familiar with Operating Systems, as this book covers advanced topics which are not for begginers.
The 2 books combined equals Theory and Practice! Excellent!.......2007-09-16
The "Solaris Internals" and "Solaris Performance and Tools" combined to give any UNIX-guru-wannabe the perfect environment to learn and appreciate the Solaris Operating System.
"Solaris Performance and Tools" introduces the tools and utilities available on the latest Solaris release which is Solaris 10 and its simply GREAT ! Its definitely a MUST-HAVE for UNIX administrators.
Btw, it has a great section on using DTrace and MDB which is not too terse but enough to get you started.
"Solaris Internals" introduces the architecture of Solaris and many of its components together with their internals and you can use your knowledge of DTrace and combined it with that gained from this book and build interesting monitoring strategies
Really good buy.......2007-07-17
It is a really good overview of Solaris performance measuring and tuning tools, along with some good portion of theory and practive of Solaris internals. The only problem is, that it could be longer.
Great Book.......2007-03-22
Reading this book, I think it helps to know UNIX and some C already, but is ok if you don't... This book gives great details and examples. Must have for anyone working on/with solaris 10.
Yes.. it explains how zones and things like that work...
This is THE BOOK for Solaris internals.......2007-01-12
Well written and detailed. If you wish or need to know about the internals of Solaris this book is the source. This is a second edition and covers 10 and updates information on 8 and 9. The first edition covered 2.5.1, 2.6, and 7. I liked the first edition and waited for this edition based on the books/authors web site and have not be disappointed. Highly recommended, a reasonable background in OS theory is helpful with the type of material covered here - but not required - it will aid in understanding however. Recommended more general OS books would include "Operating System Concepts" by A. Silberschutz, J. Peterson, P. Galvin, "Operating Sytstems" by A. Tanenbaum, A. Woodhull, and "Unix Internals" by Uresh Vahalia among others.
Amazon.com
It quickly becomes apparent that Mark G. Sobell, author of A Practical Guide to Solaris, knows that of which he speaks. The "that" in this case, is Solaris, Sun Microsystems's venerable and well-respected operating system, which now runs on both Intel and Sun hardware. As implied in the title, this book is designed to be used actively. In fact, in the opening pages, Sobell recommends that the reader be seated in front of a computer before going any further.
A broad range of topics, from creating passwords and working with files to shell programs, are covered in this thick volume. However, each one is given the same highly effective treatment of illustrative screen shots and commands, which should prevent readers from getting too lost in the OS. There are also warnings and tips about specific functions and utilities, such as the which and whereis that are used to help located commands and files, throughout the chapters.
For greater detail on specific utilities, the book includes a massive section devoted exclusively to the utilities within Solaris. A master list groups them by function, and subsequent discrete sections outline their purpose, the commands needed to use them, and notes on potential pitfalls. Though some may argue that it is impossible to make Unix variants approachable, this text comes about as close as is possible. --Sarah L. Roberts-Witt
Customer Reviews:
I cannot find anything in this book.......2006-01-18
I purchased this book long time ago and every time I'm trying to use it I think I should of return it back. It is a huge book, more then 1000 pages and yes, it has a lot of information. But it is absolutely useless because there is no definite logic in the content and index made so that you will never find what you need unless you know precisely what the command is. Very disappointing!
They should all be this easy to follow.......2005-08-03
I bought this book for work when I needed to know alot about Solaris in a hurry. It quickly got me up to speed and has since carried me through two undergraduate Unix programming courses. The text is written in plain language, and is supported by excellent examples. When I didn't know how to read the man pages, Mark Sobell's book came through for me. If I could only have one book on Unix, this would be the one.
Great book to learn from and a great reference.......2002-08-14
I used the book to brush up on my rusty Unix skills.
Don't let the number of pages in the book overwhelm you if you're a newbie or want to brush up. The first 125 pages will have you using Solaris with great confidence. The next 1,000 or so pages can be used to learn particular topics and as a reference. Recommended for newbie and intermediate (learning tool) and advanced users (detailed reference).
take a look at TOC.......2001-12-03
take a look at table of Content to make sure that is what you want.
Excellent UNIX book for beginners and experts alike.......2001-11-28
This was the first and only UNIX book that I have in my technical library. Covers all the basics of the operating system as well as more advanced topics. Very good layout - the first part of the book is written by topis with the latter part containing an alphabetical listing of UNIX commands. If you're a UNIX admin, supplemental books beyond this one would be required, but for a user of the UNIX OS, it's a great resource.
Book Description
Primarily Written for those who want to earn the Sun Certified System Administrator (SCSA) certification for Solaris 10, this guide presents full coverage of the official objectives for both the required exams: CX-310-200 and CX-310-202. In spite of the laser sharp focus on the exam objectives, this is not a cram style book. Written in a classroom-based teaching style, this book presents material in a sequential fashion: topics and chapters build upon the previously covered topics and chapters. There is no hopping from topic to topic. An introductory chapter for beginners and a cohesive, concise, yet comprehensive presentation of the material makes it a self contained book that requires no prior experience in Solaris or UNIX. Even after passing the exam, you will find yourself coming back to use this book as an on-the-job reference.
Full coverage of exam topics includes:
- Basic and advanced Solaris 10 installation
- Managing file systems and core dumps
- Performing user and security administration
- Managing network printers and system processes
- Performing system backups and restores and managing storage volumes
- Managing naming services
- Managing role based access control and system messaging
- Understanding fundamentals of TCP/IP networking and managing network services
The book features complete details on all exam objectives, 250+ practice questions, step-by-step exercises, on-the-job elements, a two-minute drill at the end of each chapter that reviews the key points in the chapter, and chapter self-tests. The CD contains MasterExam practice exam software with all new questions, a Searchable electronic book, and a second practice exam (with free online registration).
Customer Reviews:
Great book!!.......2007-08-06
This book is amazing. teachs all you need to know and how to do. perfect. my unique concern is a version of the cd content for mac os x. except this, which we can fix using parallels, I recomend this book 100%
Gotta go with the general consensus here..........2007-06-14
Good, but not great. Unfortunately, this seems to be the best option for the Solaris 10 tests.
The De Facto Book on Solaris 10.......2007-03-11
To prepare for the SCSA certification exams, I used this book and an eBook (SCSA Exam Quicklet) by the same author that contains five practice exams. I guess I downloaded it from BooksOnBoard. Based on these two resources, I have already passed the first exam and preparing for the second exam. I have found both of these books as excellent resources for the SCSA certification exam preparation. I agree with another reviewer that for now this is the de facto book on Solaris 10. The presentation style of the author also makes it a good reference book for learning basics of Solaris 10. Every term that appears is defined and the use of visuals makes the dry topics interesting and easy to understand.
This book covers topic well within the scope of the exam. For more advanced material, you can always check out the SUN docs.
Not a good reference manual.......2007-03-10
I purchased this book to be both a desktop reference and a study guide for certification. I have not taken the certification tests yet because I have serious doubts on the amount and quality of material covered in this text. The book is not indexed very well at all. Still looking for a good Solaris 10 reference guide for Unix Admins with experience in other flavors.
This is the book.......2006-12-30
Yes, there are typos in this book. If you are one of those people who throws a book out for that reason, then this is not the book for you. However, this is a very good book for both exam-prepping and for general reference. I used this book almost exclusively, and I managed to pass both exams. I expect my decoder ring in the mail within a few weeks. If you want a Solaris 10 book now, get this one. It is the best available. Maybe in a year or so, there will be another book that is the definitive on this subject, but for now, this is the one!
Average customer rating:
- Another great O'Reilly book
- Useful book to learn most important unix things, good chapters on awk & sed, but also has some redundant material
- Incomplete and confusing
- Unix partner to have around
- Best Unix book I have
|
Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition
Arnold Robbins
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
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ASIN: 0596100299 |
Book Description
As an open operating system, Unix can be improved on by anyone and everyone: individuals, companies, universities, and more. As a result, the very nature of Unix has been altered over the years by numerous extensions formulated in an assortment of versions. Today, Unix encompasses everything from Sun's Solaris to Apple's Mac OS X and more varieties of Linux than you can easily name.
The latest edition of this bestselling reference brings Unix into the 21st century. It's been reworked to keep current with the broader state of Unix in today's world and highlight the strengths of this operating system in all its various flavors.
Detailing all Unix commands and options, the informative guide provides generous descriptions and examples that put those commands in context. Here are some of the new features you'll find in Unix in a Nutshell, Fourth Edition:
- Solaris 10, the latest version of the SVR4-based operating system, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X
- Bash shell (along with the 1988 and 1993 versions of ksh)
- tsch shell (instead of the original Berkeley csh)
- Package management programs, used for program installation on popular GNU/Linux systems, Solaris and Mac OS X
- GNU Emacs Version 21
- Introduction to source code management systems
- Concurrent versions system
- Subversion version control system
- GDB debugger
As Unix has progressed, certain commands that were once critical have fallen into disuse. To that end, the book has also dropped material that is no longer relevant, keeping it taut and current.
If you're a Unix user or programmer, you'll recognize the value of this complete, up-to-date Unix reference. With chapter overviews, specific examples, and detailed command.
Customer Reviews:
Another great O'Reilly book.......2007-07-09
For those of you with the "animal" bookshelf, this is one of the better books to own. Lots of the stuff you need to know, but can never totally remember is here.
Useful book to learn most important unix things, good chapters on awk & sed, but also has some redundant material.......2007-05-17
This is a review of the 3th edition of Unix in a nutshell. The book has almost 600 pages, roughly divided as follows:
- 200 p. on unix commands: good stuff, to the point, summaries of all commands, with examples.
- 100 p. on shells, (bash, kch, csh: good stuff, summary of commands, examples.
- 5 p. on pattern matching: way too short! Here I miss a good and thorough section on regular expressions !
- 40 p. on various editors (emacs, vi, ex): useful if you use them, I prefer a GUI editor these days.
- 30 p. on awk & sed: good stuff, but this should be expanded. I learned at lot here, but I still want to know more.
- 100 p. on stuff I never use (troff, mm ms me macros (?) ... )
- 50 p. on the make utility and related stuff only programmers use.
Bottom line: the sections on unix commands, csh, awk and sed are really good. The rest is only who those who really need it. And if you have never heard of it, you probably are not in this group. So the 'good half' of this book is nice to have as reference on your desk.
Advice: buy this book used for a few euro's and you cannot go wrong.
Incomplete and confusing.......2007-03-23
Unix in a Nutshell is not for the faint-hearted. It tries to be a concise reference on Unix but ends up being incomplete (esp. with regard to Linux). A lot of commands are explained cursorily without complete options or examples. The presentation is often confusing; witness the chapters on shell programming. If you know nothing about Unix, don't even consider this book; it'll get you nowhere and more frustrate than ever. If you already know Unix you can find better and more accurate Unix references elsewhere.
Unix partner to have around.......2007-03-12
Great product and evyone needing to know Unix commands should have one around
Best Unix book I have.......2007-02-23
This book is really useful for a Unix dummy like me.
Customer Reviews:
doesn't even mention basic service administration.......2007-08-01
Most of the services for Solaris 10 are under control of the service management facility (smf - try 'man smf') and the svcs and svcadm command. You can't start, stop, disable, or enable most services without it.
This book doesn't even mention them. It still refers to /etc/init.d/ scripts (some are still there but most, such as the various nfs and automount services are not).
This isn't a linux or general unix book - the book has 'SOLARIS' on the cover and should reflect Solaris.
A complete mistake.......2007-07-17
This book not only doesn't really cover Solaris 10 but previous ones, but also is so full of mistakes, that I am really glad I had the opportunity to check it without buying.
Where's SMF?.......2007-01-06
I bought this book because it was the most appropriate book on Solaris 10 that I could find at the bookstore. I am a long time Solaris system administrator, but I wanted a book that specifically talked about the new features of Solaris 10.
I didn't know about SMF when I bought the book, but it's a pretty important feature that replaced previous methods of system management in Solaris. I just can't believe that this book does not even mention it. I see other people have complained about the same thing.
I also noticed that the book did not give a good overview of the installation. I had to go online to look up anything I didn't know about in regards to the install since the book just didn't discuss it.
I gave this book a two star rating because it's an okay general Solaris reference book, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
AGREED -- DO NOT BUY.......2006-12-16
The biggest disappointment for me was no discussion of SMF. If these reviews were here before I bought the book quite a number of months ago, I would not have gotten it. It is indeed a rehash of Solaris 9 ideas. It would have been very helpful if there was some discussion on how to control your own inet connections by modifying an XML template -- but alas there is no mention of this in the book. The one person who rated this a five has obviously not used Solaris 10 very much other than some very basic issues. Any system administrator book probably would have worked for that person.
Solaris 10 Disappointment.......2006-11-22
This book is NOT a true reference book for Solaris 10. Rather, it introduces Solaris 7-9 to a novice Unix user with only a few references to Solaris 10 features. And even on those few Solaris 10 items, there are not enough examples or configuration ideas. Based on the paucity of relevant information, one could not even use this book to determine if an upgrade to Solaris 10 is warranted.
The purchase of this book was a complete waste of money.
Average customer rating:
- Compelling, cerebral science fiction
- Way better than the movies. But very very strange.
- CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND...
- Good, idea-driven sci-fi
- The translation isn't bad: a sci-fi classic
|
Solaris
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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ASIN: 0156027607 |
Book Description
Who's testing whom? When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he is forced to confront a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. Scientists speculate that the Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, its purpose in doing so unknown.
The first of Lem's novels to be published in America and now considered a classic, SOLARIS raises a question: Can we truly understand the universe around us without first understanding what lies within?
Customer Reviews:
Compelling, cerebral science fiction .......2007-04-20
Kris Kelvin goes to a space station where strange things have been happening. The planet the station orbits - Solaris - seems to be having a strange influence on the inhabitants of the space station and begins to have an effect of Kelvin.
Solaris explores what it means to be human. This is cerebral sci-fi. Fairly heavy going but worth the effort. The central idea of the novel, which I wont give away here, is awfully compelling and Lem conjures up a wonderful character in Kelvin's lover Rhea.
Solaris has inspired two very different films - Tarkovsky's early 70's effort, which will test your patience, and Soderbergh's recent effort, which is actually very good and retains the spirit of the book.
Way better than the movies. But very very strange........2006-12-10
I tried to watch Solaris twice (old Russian version, new Clooney version) and fell asleep both times because the going was so slow. Yeah, sorry if you think that brands me as an action-movie-dimwit, but I just didn't like them. Anyway, I had read some Lem before ("Return from the Stars", I think), so I figured I'd give Solaris a try in book form.
The good news is that the book is actually pretty short and mostly moves along briskly. More significant is that Lem does such a great job describing contact, or rather the lack thereof, between humans and... whatever the ocean is.
However, Solaris is also very open ended and leaves you to your own interpretations as to its meaning. Nothing is made clear and you have to be prepared to take the book either at its inconclusive face value, or analyze its philosophical meanings in depth. There is no nice elegant plot and conclusion included in the package. If you tend to ask yourself big questions about the meaning of life and the universe, this is by far one of the best SF books to read. If not (like me), this is still a classic, but may leave you a bit frustrated at the end.
The only question I got out of it is how the ocean, supposedly so alien and unaware of us, can animate its mental projections. Does making a perfect simulacra, complete with memories and speech not imply that the ocean understands us pretty well? Or are the simulacra involuntary and autonomous items that it is not aware of having created? Certainly, Kris's wife doesn't understand what she is, though she gradually becomes aware she isn't human. Neither does she seem particularly interested in gathering useful information out of Kris (but what information would be left unknown at that point anyway?). Maybe she is more of a projection by Kris, in which the ocean is only an accidental facilitator, rather than an interested party?
Also, with this edition, what's with translating Lem from Polish to French to English??? Ever heard of Polish to English translators? It's not that the double translation is that bad, but you do occasionally feel its effect in some weird turn of phrases.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND..........2006-11-26
Having seen the film that starred George Clooney and was based upon this book, and having found it wanting, I decided to go to the source. I am glad that I did, as it is certainly better as a book than it is as a film. It is also far more profound than the film, which concentrated on the love story.
This book is much more than that, covering many themes. It is, first and foremost, about contact with an alien entity and communication of a type beyond our comprehension. Is it friend or foe? Who can say, as the source of the communication makes its pitch based upon an individual's memories, some good, and some bad? What it is communicating remains unfathomable. Still, the book provides much food for thought.
Good, idea-driven sci-fi.......2006-09-10
In Stanislaw Lem's classic sci-fi novel, Kris Kelvin, a psychologist, is sent to visit a station positioned over Solaris, a planet with unique attributes which has been explored by generations of scientists in the vague hope of establishing some form of `contact'. Kelvin's mission is to determine whether the entire Solarist project should be abandoned, once and for all. Solaris, as it turns out, is a colossal brain. The planet is almost entirely covered by ocean, though it also entertains a variety of spontaneously arising structures: whether the planet's processes represent intelligent cogitations or primitive, vegetative outputs remains a mystery. After being explored by human scientists Solaris begins to develop its own `investigations' of the crew, performing `psychic vivisections' - while the station's inhabitants sleep the planet is able to scan their memory structures and project physical representations of the most assimilated and stable memory traces. Soon, each of the station's inhabitants begins to receive their own `visitors'. These recreations are accurate to an extraordinary level of detail, their bodies deviating from human ones only at the sub-atomic level. Kris Kelvin's visitor is his late wife, whose suicide has weighed on Kris' conscience for years. Lem's book explores issues surrounding memory, regret and the nature of personhood, but perhaps more fundamentally it is concerned with problems of epistemology. Is our knowledge of the world, of the cosmos and even of our own selves, necessarily limited? In the course of trying to understand Solaris the scientists become guilty of anthropomorphizing - attributing human motives and characteristics to the planet. Are even the most abstract branches of knowledge anthropomorphic, in the sense that there are "correspondences with the human body...in the equations of the theory of relativity, the theorem of magnetic fields and the various unified field theories"? Is `true' understanding (an objective epistemology) impossible? Lem had worked for a time as a reviewer of scientific articles - his familiarity with scientific jargon is obvious in the passages where he describes (and pokes fun, tongue-in-cheek) the intellectual history of Solaris and the elaborate technical nomenclature that was developed to describe it. Parts of the novel offer intriguing insights into the sociology of science.
One of the problems with the English version of Solaris is that the prose is a bit choppy and at times, difficult to get through. Quite possibly this is because of a shoddy translation - from Polish to French and finally to English. Despite this, the book remains enjoyable to read, mostly for the ideas that it explores and its wonderful imagination. The novel, of course, has been adapted to the screen twice: first by the Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and more recently by Steven Soderbergh. Both of these films focused on the love story between Kris Kelvin and his wife, something that Lem insisted was not the book's main point. This book is especially recommended to those who have seen the films without having read the source material.
The translation isn't bad: a sci-fi classic.......2006-05-31
When an incompletion especially over a permanent loss haunts you, it can drive you crazy with illusion and delusion. The classic Solaris is a philiosophical bent on just how bad ungrieved loss and regret can be. But also offers a message of hope on how we can complete with a great love when we do have the chance.
Customer Reviews:
A must.......2007-09-10
This book is a must for anyone that would like to administer Sun Solaris or OpenSolaris systems. It explains in deep important aspects of the system, giving a wonderful insight and gives better idea how to plan workloads and where to look for problems. Just a a must.
Unusual problem with your Solaris application?.......2005-11-09
If there's some weirdness going on with your Solaris app, this is the best place to look, short of reading the Solaris source code, for a diagnosis. It's dry reading just for the sake of reading, but when it's connected to some puzzling behavoir in your application, it becomes very exciting to understand exactly why, for example, that thread is spinning...
must-have for professionals but has problems.......2005-07-19
Ok so here's the deal. The author misleads you in order to "simplify" things. This is a disservice because as a system programmer you have to know the real behavior, not somebody's watered down, easy to digest, but dangerously incorrect simplification. All other paths lead to kernel panic.
Unfortunately, it's a must-have because it covers some of Sun's modifications and extensions to the System V kernel.
My advice is that you first read "UNIX Internals: The New Frontiers" followed by "The Magic Garden Explained: The Internals of UNIX System V Release 4." Lastly, read this book, but if it disagrees with the books I recommend, ignore this book because you're probably being fed simplified rubbish.
Lastly, I have to mention that I found some sentences in the book that match word for word other sentences in "The Magic Garden Explained?"
Husband of Sarah
NOT for sysadmins!.......2004-12-23
This is not sysadmins. Developers maybe. I wish I could
give 3.5 stars.
One of the Top Books on Solaris/UNIX Internals.......2003-12-06
This book will teach you everything you want to know about Solaris. It is an excellent Operating Systems book and can be used as a reference or text. It digs into the guts of the kernel and intimately presents the fine details of Solaris operation.
Book Description
Parish Nursing is a handbook on health promotion and care within faith communities. Sections of the book address the context for parish or congregational nursing; models, roles, and settings for practice; issues for parish nursing practice; the parish nurse's collaboration with other health team and spiritual care professionals; and international perspectives of parish nursing. While the project had its initial roots in the Lutheran General Care System, it has been written so that nurses of all faiths should find it an extremely useful shelf reference or advanced-level text. Parish Nursing will be of interest to scholars, students, and advanced practitioners in community and public health nursing, psychiatric/mental health nursing, and primary care nursing. Originally published as Parish Nursing: The Developing Practice.
Customer Reviews:
The Must Have Text for Every Parish Nurse.......2001-03-24
This updated version of an earlier work on Parish Nursing is a comprehensive and invaluable overview of Parish Nursing as it was, and as it is today. Parish Nursing began as a movement under the encouragement of Granger Westburg and his work in whole person health. It now recognized by the American Nurses Association as a speciality practice within nursing, and has spread throughout the USA and other countries. This book is rich in resources and is required reading for any congregation or institution wanting to learn how to get started in developing a Health Ministry.
Books:
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- Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (Fancy Nancy)
- Flying High (My Secret Unicorn)
- Forever a Hustler's Wife: A Novel (Nikki Turner Original)
- From Hell - New Cover Edition
- God Save the Child
- Goodnight Moon
- Grace Under Fire: Letters of Faith in Times of War
- Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
Books Index
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