The Fallen Leaves Experience of the reception of _The Fallen Leaves_ by intelligent readers, who have followed the course of the periodical publication at home and abroad, has satisfied me that the design of the work speaks for itself, and that the scrupulous delicacy of treatment, in certain portions of the story, has been as justly appreciated as I could wish. Having nothing to explain, and (so far as my choice of subject is concerned) nothing to excuse, I leave my book, without any prefatory pleading for it, to make its appeal to the reading public on such merits as it may possess. -- Wilkie Collins, GLOUCESTER PLACE, LONDON, July 1st, 1879
A Criminal and an Irishman: The Inside Story of the Southie Gang Wars and the Boston Mob-IRA Connection South Boston, Massachusetts, has become a media darling, inspiring numerous books, movies, and television shows.From the Publisher:A Criminal and an Irishman is an incomparable account of Pat Nee's life as an Irish immigrant and Southie son, a Marine, a convicted IRA gun smuggler, and a former top associate of Whitey Bulger's. His narrative transports the reader into the criminal underworld, inside the planning and preparation for an armored car heist, inside gang wars and revenge killings. Pat Nee details his evolution from tough street kid to armed robber to dangerous potential killer. He discloses for the first time how he used his underworld connections and know-how as a passionate and effective IRA operative. For years law enforcement and the media have speculated about important events with Pat Nee near or at their center: the Mullen-Killeen gang war for control of South Boston, the Valhalla smuggling operation (seven tons of heavy weapons aboard a fishing boat from Gloucester, Massachusetts, bound for Ireland), the murder of John McIntyre, and many other episodes. Pat Nee's stories are sometimes dark and brutal, but they shed light on the world in which we live, and are stories that only he can tell.About the Author:Patrick Nee is an Irish-born Southie thug, DOB 12-22-44. In the early part of his career, he was in a gang that hunted Whitey. His fellow mobsters in that crew included Paulie McGonigle (Catherine Greig's brother-in-law, murdered by Whitey) and Buddy Roache (brother of future Boston police commissioner Mickey Roache). Later Nee hooked up with Whitey and did stretches in prison for an armored-car robbery in Abington and, earlier, for the Valhalla gun-running operation to the IRA. Released from the federal prison in Ayer MA on April 25, 2000, Nee has worked construction on the Big Dig. Co-written by Richard Farrell & Michael Blythe.
Ajax in Action From the Publisher: Web users are getting tired of the traditional web experience. They get frustrated losing their scroll position; they get annoyed waiting for refresh; they struggle to reorient themselves on every new page. And the list goes on. With asynchronous JavaScript and XML, known as Ajax, you can give them a better experience. Once users have experienced an Ajax interface, they hate to go back. Ajax is new way of thinking that can result in a flowing and intuitive interaction with the user. Ajax in Action helps you implement that thinking--it explains how to distribute the application between the client and the server (hint: use a nested MVC design) while retaining the integrity of the system. You will learn how to ensure your app is flexible and maintainable, and how good, structured design can help avoid problems like browser incompatibilities. Along the way it helps you unlearn many old coding habits. Above all, it opens your mind to the many advantages gained by placing much of the processing in the browser. If you are a web developer who has prior experience with web technologies, this book is for you. What's Inside Ajax principles Why Ajax design patterns matter How to avoid Ajax pitfalls Examples of Ajax in action: type-ahead suggest, live searching using XSL, and many more. Examples using Ajax frameworks: Prototype, Scriptaculous, x and Rico Ajax usability, security, and performance About the Authors Dave Crane has pushed the boundaries of DHTML, and latterly Ajax, on digital TV set-top boxes, in home automation and banking and financial systems. He lives in Gloucestershire, UK. Eric Pascarello is an ASP.NET developer and a moderator of the HTML and JavaScript forum at JavaRanch. He lives in Laurel, MD. Darren James is the architect of the opensource Rico project. He lives in Sunnyvale, CA.
