Review:Should be required reading for anyone talking or thinking about Big Data and how it's used. This will be the first of many to make more sense of it than has been to date. It's fine to say don't start into big data efforts just for the sake of mountains of data, but have an objective, but most people haven't a clue how to begin to figure out what those objectives might be. This will help, but the future holds more ideas I'm sure. Still is nods toward the power and value of big data analyses that ... Read more

Review:Still reading the book but already found some errors that detract from my enjoyment of the material.

You'd think a book about cybersecurity would at least use a proofreader or editor that would know the difference between a silicon "die" and "dye".

They also clearly didn't get a good enough explanation of things like BGP and denial-of-service attacks. I found this disheartening. Read more

Review:Very interesting perspective and well written. I've read Kurzweil and was always a little concerned with his seemingly over optimistic perspective regarding AI. Barrat does a great job explaining the dangers of AI both technologically and philosophically. His narrative is also much easier to read than other books on the subject.
The only thing I would critique is that, while his views are rationally supported and thorough, I would have liked to have seen more specific ideas about what can be ... Read more

Review:Cover is hard and protective, pages are floppy and easily turned, doesn't require too much muscle power to get to the next page. Could use more pictures of kittens. All in all, it does everything I expect a book to do. Read more

Review:In popular culture, computer programmers, sometimes confused with sysadmins, are often described as teenage punks, sitting in a dark, lit only by the glow of their monitor, empty cartons of pizza and Mountain Dew bottles scattered strategically around, frantically hacking away on their keyboard.

What does it mean to be a professional programmer? Is it wearing a suit and tie to work? Is it having certifications or diplomas decorating the walls of your office? Is it working hard, sometimes ... Read more

Review:Several months ago, I had a renewed interest in computer programming and started researching . John's blog was one of the first places where I found some wonderful advice. Around this time, he was promoting this wonderful book. I signed up for the Manning Early Release Program like some others, and was really impressed when I read the first two chapters - I couldn't wait to read the rest of it.

"Soft Skills" has great advice for those who are interested in becoming software developers.... Read more

Review:As mentioned in other reviews, the book itself is low quality. The cover image is blurry, there is no print on the binding, and there are pointlessly large margins surrounding all of the text. On top of that, the printed font is grainy and difficult to read.

I would rather track down a proper printing of this product, than try to trudge through reading this. As a comparison, Code Complete is three times longer than this book. However, I was able to easily hold and read that book. This ve... Read more

Review:While the web is full of content that teaches you how to write code and solve specific problems, there aren't many resources that demonstrate how to pragmatically "connect the dots" of building a successful career - and this book does just that. Whether you're new to the development arena or you've written your fair share of if/then/else statements, John's book meets you at any stage of your career and gives you not only the inspiration to reach farther and harder, but outlines the specific step... Read more

Review:HORRIBLE BOOK!!!! How could this book average over 4 stars is beyond me. It is quite literally the worst Python book I have come across. First and I could forgive this if the content was good, the print in the examples in pathetic. It looks like a 4th recopy from a 25 year old copy machine. That however is the good news about this tripe. This book clearly was written with the goal of making money and generating interest in the writer's website, not to teach Python to beginners. The cursory... Read more

Review:Some books really don't need ratings, this is one such book. Any experienced software developer should own a copy of this book and should have studied this book. Beginners are recommended to maybe also buy Alan Shalloway's book titled Design Patterns Explained as companion read or as a primer. Read more