5 comments about The Executive Guide to Call Center Metrics.

1. From the introduction this book explains how metrics must be more than just numbers or report cards. They are proactive tools to get much more out of your call center. The book then sets out ways to create powerful metrics that lead to winning decisions for your center.
   Chapter One: Having It All
   The first chapter looks at why modern metrics are required in centers with numerous monitors. Old ways of thinking will not do. Everyday, real world examples are given to highlight critical metric sources. These are a must in balacing wait time, cost and performance.
   Chapter Two: Call Center Metrics
   This chapter begins with Abbott's signature approach to decision making and and the discussion of mstrics that compliment this approach. He introduces the unique Dependency Diagram and metric blueprint. On page 38 he lists six key proactive metrics.
   Chapter Three: Monitoring Metrics
   Chapter three makes cetain you are uaing clear thinking when monitoring your meticws. Again, real world examples and critical statistics are used to help you have a clear look at your center.
   Chapter Four: Metric Dashboard
   Using building blocks already mentioned this chapter begins putting together a call center dashboard. Who does what? How do we set it up? What is my part?
   Chapter Five and Six: Tactical Decisions and Metrics
   How do we know when real change has happened? What are the "alarms" to look for when monitoring the call center. We see how to read and use tactical metrics to avoid problems and run effective centers.
   Chapters Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten: Strategic Decisions & Metrics
   These chapters explain the strategic aspects of running your call center. They help you develop the strategic eye needed to bring your call center into the 21st century.
   
   The book ends with a review of benefits that come from the effective use of metrics and how that is achieved. If you have the difficult responaibility of runing a call center, you need this book.



2. James Abbott has produced a handbook that is required reading for all Call Center Managers. It provides a step-by-step method for metrics creation and why improvement is not possible unless you can measure Call Center activity.
   
   This book must be on every employees desk in the Call Center and the Metrics should be based on this book. The books 11 chapters are easy to read and understand. James clearly outlines the reasons why metrics must be real time and the benefit in performance associated with this method.
   
   You should read this book, as I did, just to understand how implementation of this methodology will cut costs and improve customer satisfaction.
   
   John Washburn
   Colorado



3. This is a fantastic resource for anyone trying to figure out how to measure their Call Center performance. Because Call Center services and types vary so greatly, using the wrong metrics can send executives in the wrong direction and greatly impact the staff and performance of the Call Center. This book is a phenomenal resource in determining what Call Center Metrics are and what they are not.



4. This book was really helpful to organize and explain metrics. The explanation of strategic and tactical views of the metrics was what I really needed. What was neat was how it explained the metrics with very practical examples that everyone can explain. One example of this is the use of a grocery store checkout to explain which metrics to use. Great book and great value.



5. This book missed the mark in so many ways that I am baffled by earlier positive reviews. It is poorly written, ineptly edited, repetitive and confusing. Perhaps most importantly, it offers little real substance regarding how to use the most important call center metrics to manage a call center. More a primer on statistical process control, this book is certainly not geared for most call center executives.

5 comments about Optimal State Estimation: Kalman, H Infinity, and Nonlinear Approaches.

1. I'm using this book to apply the unscented Kalman filter to multiple sensor target tracking. His exposition on the unscented transforms is very clear.



2. I have 4 books on Optimal state estimation:
   _ Applied Optimal Estimation of Arthur Gelb.
   _ Optimal Control and Estimation by Robert F. Stengel
   _ Optimal Control and Estimation Theory by George M. Siouris
   _ Optimal State Estimation By Dan Simon
   
   Of the 4, Dan Simon's Optimal State Estimation is by far the most useful for a GNC Engineer like me. He strikes a good balance between theory and practice and his examples are really useful. I find his treatment of EKF excellent.



3. I agree with a previous reviewer in that out of all the books I have come across on Optimal Estimation, this is by far the most suitable for self-study. I have found his explanations to be concise and straight-forward. That is, he goes straight to the point and delivers the concepts using simple/common language which is non-characteristic for academic books in the areas of Systems and Control. For a sample text on the subject written by him check his article on Kalman Filtering on the site embedded[dot]com
   
   While conducting research as part of an Independent Study course, I have treasured this book like no other since it continuously serves as a valuable reference. The first two chapters which review the underlying mathematics (linear algebra and probability) necessary for understanding the central themes of the book are also above the usual presentation in related books. Needless to say that readers should not expect to learn the Math from this book alone, however, they can expect to find in these chapters most of the topics that usually need a quick review to make sense of higher-level concepts in the text.
   
   I cannot stress enough that his use of language and clear explanations make this an easy-to-read textbook which simplifies the understanding of the topics. Do not get me wrong though, to really understand the problem of state estimation the readers need to be quite prepared in different areas of Engineering and Mathematics (hence my motivation for self-study).



4. A very clear, well written book that takes you step by step from the algebra and statistics basics to the most advanced developments of dynamic systems. The first part of the book is about providing all the knowledge required for the rest of the book in linear system theory (1st chapter), probability theory (2nd chapter) and least square estimation (3rd chapter). These chapters are very clear and, in my opinion, easy to follow for the non specialist. The second part is about the core subject, Kalman filter. Again, it is very clear and the fact that it very consistent with the 1st part in term of notation makes it very readable. Subsequent parts are more advanced topics but again nicely elaborate on the previous chapters and hence very easy to understand. I'll repeat myself but that really what I enjoyed most with this book: it is very progressive and takes you step by step.
   I even think this is the best technical book I have ever read. Dynamic systems made easy!



5. this book is very well written, easy to follow, with a lot of topics, and the derivations are shown thoroghly and in detail. One of the best estimation books I used. This book is recommended for both beginners andadvanced in estimation theory.

1 comments about Technical Communication: A Practical Approach (6th Edition).

1. If I had to learn technical writing all over again, this would be the book I would choose. It is a relevant, clear, and comprehensive guide to technical writing processes, skills and practices. It includes numerous examples and exercises in each chapter. The discussions of ethical considerations and communicating with international audiences that appear throughout the text are important topics that are not often covered in other books. The broad range of document types and industries presented in the examples offer a good sense of the range of technical writing career opportunities. This book won't give you everything you need to know as a technical writer, but it will give you a good foundation.

5 comments about This Business of Television.

1. This Business of Television is a landmark volume in our practice (entertainment industry economic forecasting) for three reasons.

   Reason # 3: it is incredible that guys of this stature would take the time to compile such an essential and complete perspective of the television business. Goodenough, a seasoned entertainment lawyer, law professor, and a scholar pioneering the study of law and evolutionary biology, brings the structure and rigor, while Blumenthal, a prolific TV, multimedia, and online entertainment producer and businessman brings the been-there-done-that street savvy.

   Reason # 2: it is, after all, the business that pays for the content (the subscriber, pay-per-view, advertising, syndication, and the latest, e-commerce revenue models) and the content that drives the migration to new technology (streaming media webcasting and video-on-demand, interactive TV, and wireless). The clear understanding of the financial systems supporting television and video entertainment offered by Oliver and Howard in this book facilitates the modeling of future monetary transactions.

   Reason # 1: video programming spread from broadcast to cable and then to satellite in one generation. The last decade found it spreading to the PC via CD-ROM, DVD, and broadband Internet. In the future it will be found on our cell phones, wristwatches, car seat backs, and refrigerators. There will be innovations in business arrangements along the way, but those who cannot converse in the basic economics will be doomed.

   This segues into a jacket quote by Morty Morton, former producer of the Late Show with David Letterman, who remarked, "This Business of Television has gotten me through years of moderate success in the TV business. I'm now ready to burn the damn thing and open a restaurant."




2. This Business of Television is a landmark volume in our practice (micro-economic forecasting for the entertainment industry). Here are the top three reasons why.

   Reason # 3: it is incredible that guys of this stature would take the time to compile such an essential and complete perspective of the television business. Goodenough, a seasoned entertainment lawyer, law professor, and a scholar pioneering the study of law and evolutionary biology, brings the structure and rigor, while Blumenthal, a prolific TV, multimedia, and online entertainment producer and businessman brings the been-there-done-that street savvy.

   Reason # 2: it is, after all, the business that pays for the content (the subscriber, pay-per-view, advertising, syndication, and the latest, e-commerce revenue models) and the content that drives the migration to new technology (streaming media webcasting and video-on-demand, interactive TV, and wireless). The clear understanding of the financial systems supporting television and video entertainment offered by Oliver and Howard in this book facilitates the modeling of future monetary transactions.

   Reason # 1: video programming spread from broadcast to cable and then to satellite in one generation. The last decade found it spreading to the PC via CD-ROM, DVD, and broadband Internet. In the future it will be found on our cell phones, wristwatches, car seat backs, and refrigerators. There will be innovations in business arrangements along the way, but those who cannot converse in the language of economics will be doomed.

   The second edition proudly bears a jacket quote by Morty Morton, former producer of the Late Show with David Letterman, who remarked, "This Business of Television has gotten me through years of moderate success in the TV business. I'm now ready to burn the damn thing and open a restaurant."




3. This book is so hot that it's been stolen from my office library 3 times. I'm on my 4th purchase of this book. I felt like I could have an intellegent conversation about any aspect of the television business after using this book. It is my main resource for getting quick answers that are easy to understand. This is required reading for those getting started and a great resource for those that have been in the industry a while. It also includes a computer disk containing forms such as U.S. Copyright registration and others found in the book that you can import to your word processor.

   Ron Hebert
   Producer
   2002 Emmy Awards - Pacific Southwest Chapter




4. This book (textbook) is an excellent resource for just about everything in TV. The disk included is a great utility to have for printing out your own contracts. I only with this book could be updated, say, every two years.



5. When I was in film school there was a lot of film history and film theory, and no one talked about television often enough for us to learn anything worth while about it. I now work as a television director, and it was this book that taught me the "business" aspects of the industry. Without this book I would probably be out of work or directing the local news someplace like Lima, Ohio.

5 comments about An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood.

1. Neal Gabler explores the fascinating question of how Hollywood was created primarily by a remarkable group of men who fit into a remarkably small demographic: European Jewish immigrants, most of them poor, most of them from Manhattan's lower east side, none of them practicing Jews, most of them from families with weak father figures. But together they moved to an almost completely protestant city and created the most successful form of popular entertainment in America, presenting an idealized version of American life for a nation in a constant for new national myths. The most fascinating thing about the book is the gap between the mythical world that they were presenting and their own backgrounds. For Louis B. Mayer, Andy Hardy's America was for him the real America, an America where there were strong nuclear families headed by strong fathers, doting neo-Victorian mothers, and obedient, respectful children. Economically most people were Middle Class, the tenor distinctively Middle American, and almost always Christian. Gabler argues that for most of these men, what they provided was not America as it existed, but the America that they wanted to be a part of.
   
   Almost all of the major studios were founded by men who more or less fit Gabler's description. There are a number of major and minor characters in Gabler's story, the most prominent being Adolph Zukor, who was instrumental in creating Paramount; Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal; William Fox of Fox Pictures, which later merged with Twentieth Century; Louis B. Mayer, who built MGM into Hollywood's largest studio; Harry and Jack Warner of Warner Brothers; and the belligerent Harry Cohn of Columbia. There are in addition a number of crucial supporting characters, none more important than the legendary Irving Thalberg (I knew very slightly Thalberg's son, also Irving, an academic philosopher who spent his career in Chicago and who quietly funded liberal political causes--he paid for the Chicago Seven's legal bills at their trial--while quietly pursuing his university career), the inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald's last novel THE LAST TYCOON. We also meet the Schenck brothers, Nicholas and Joseph, the Rabbi of Hollywood Edgar F. Magnin, theater chain owner Marcus Loew, and an uncountable number of smaller figures.
   
   One of the most striking aspects of the biography is how utterly these men suppressed their Jewish backgrounds in their films. Although THE JAZZ SINGER is the story of the son of a Jewish son rejecting the culture of his cantor father (Gabler points out that the son's story was also the story of the moguls), the vast majority of movies produced by Hollywood in the twenties, thirties, and forties contained no identifiably Jewish characters. Although an astonishing number of the people producing the movies were Jewish, it was as if they felt compelled to completely erase Jews from their idealization of American life. The was more than mere assimilationist aspirations; it was as if they were trying to expunge the weak fathers of their youths, the poverty they knew growing up, and become a part of a nation that largely rejected them. For two or three decades, at least, they could maintain this myth, but in the forties and the HUAC committee of the U.S. House of Representatives they found their fiefdom increasingly under attack for the industry's supposed inculcation of un-American (i.e., Communist) values. Many of their attackers persisted in the fascist depiction of Communism as an essentially Jewish cast of thought (in Hitler's writings there is no clear distinction between Jews and Communists, and at least one part of his motivation in attacking Russia was to attack what he weirdly considered a Jewish nation).
   
   This is not a perfect book. For one thing, the scope is simply too large for any one book to undertake. And inevitably there are either serious omissions or details that don't quite tell the whole story. For instance, Gabler attempts to characterize the more plebian tendencies at Warner's by mentioning that one of their stars was Rin Tin Tin, which seems to hint at how far down the ladder they were in the Hollywood pecking order, but failing to note that for most of his life Rin Tin Tin was the number one box office star in Hollywood. Also, there is amazingly little discussion of the many Jewish performers in Hollywood. Some are mentioned in passing (such as Groucho Marx, noting his famous reply to the attempt by the Jewish country club Hillcrest to recruit new members following the stock market crash, that he wouldn't want to be a member of a club that would accept someone like him as a member), and Edward G. Robinson gets a few mentions, but for the most part actors are ignored. This is overwhelmingly a book about the top brass. And one can take issue with some minor depictions, such as the long discussion of the nature of Universal in the thirties, but no mention of the man who is most responsible for the visual look of those films and the director of all their major achievements, James Whale. The implication is that the distinctive look of Universal films was not determined by the former art director Whale. But this is all nitpicking.
   
   I do have to take strong issue with one of the current featured reviews that criticizes the book because he believes that the American depicted in the movies was very much the America he knew in the forties and fifties. First, the book deals mainly with America in the twenties and thirties, a bit less with the forties, and the fifties almost not at all, so the time framework of his criticism is off. Second, how can anyone argue that the movies were not an idealization if one knows any American history at all? Certainly the poverty that my parents and grandparents knew growing up in Arkansas during those decades was almost completely ignored, THE GRAPES OF WRATH aside (and the subject of that film were very much my people). Any informed demographic study of the period will show that the depiction of women in the films was wildly out of kilter with the actual lives of women, many of whom had to take jobs even in the thirties, forties, and fifties to enable families to make it financially (the fifties is the only decade in American history of which the so-called traditional American family is even somewhat true). And Hollywood films of the period are notorious today for their depiction of race relations. Anyone stating that the Hollywood film in any conceivable sense depicted America as it really existed beggars credulity.
   
   I strongly recommend this book to anyone either interested in the history of the movie industry or how immigrants sought to integrate themselves in their new nation. The book contains a wealth of information and I can't imagine anyone know coming away from it not merely entertained but better informed.



2. Not that it was bad but I was disappointed in this book. The subjects that interested me the most, the majority of movies made then portraying characters that represented how the Jews viewed themselves in American society, the schisms between the more established Jews who had immigrated from Germany and the ones from eastern European countries, the muscling in and manipulation of Hollywood by Jewish political groups like the ADL and AJC, and the gradual evolution of Hollywood into a tool of global social engineering, were barely touched on. If you are more interested in personality profiles of the early Hollywood movie moguls then this book is right up your alley though.



3. I was shocked to have someone point out that there's 300 million people in the US population of which 79% are Christian. The law of averages does not support that 2.5% of the US population that are Jewish being so prevalent in the media. Or does it? This book suggest a reason for the Jewish at the forefront. Also there are equally talented Christian actors who would like leading roles over and over again too. So ask yourself where are the Christians???
   
   Now if you look at who's who at the box office right now it gives credence to this book.
   
   Who's who in movies? IRONMAN: Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow (both Jewish). THE INCREDIBLE HULK cameo Robert Downey Jr. SEX IN THE CITY (movie): Starring Sarah Jessica Parker (Jewish). She is the wife of Mathew Broderick (he is Jewish). INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: Harrison Ford (Jewish). YOU DON'T MESS WITH ZOHAN: Adam Sandler (Jewish). TROPIC THUNDER: Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. (again, all Jewish). Amazing, take a bow!
   
   Further, what do Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. ALL HAVE IN COMMON?
   
   Hint: They are blood brothers with Adam Sandler, Larry King, Jerry Seinfeld & Jon Stewart for example.
   
   Give up? They ARE ALL JEWISH... Who knew? I didn't. Simply AMAZING...
   
   [..]



4. Gabler is a uniquely erudite cultural critic. This is the third book I have read by him and I am deeply impressed with the unusual breadth of his coverage. In this case, he writes about the founding fathers of Hollywood, the dictatorial dreamers and shapers of its golden age (to the late 1940s}. In his telling, they are all Eastern European Jews, striving to become part of the American dream and at the same time providing many of the images that entered the American psyche. They all started with the penny arcades at the beginning of the century, and built empires in which they exercised total control of content and creation.
   
   This book is less about the economics of the studio system - cartels that manufactured films on lots, virtually owned the "talent" via long-term contracts, dominated the distribution of their films, and controlled many of the theatres that played them - than about the culture and ethos they were trying to create in their dictatorial domains. The era passed with the Supreme Court trust-busting ruling, political attacks during the McCarthy era, and the rise of independent talent in actors, producers, and writer-directors.
   
   As Gabler sees it, these founders were fairly secular Jews, who wanted to fit into the American ideal of pseudo-aristocratic entrepreneurs (from poverty). This was the source of their maudlin, sentimental style and crude american ideals, each studio with its own peculiar character. I must admit, I find this angle of analysis, with all the objections one can make for its subjectivity, quite fascinating and given their power to shape things, dead on the mark.
   
   Gabler tells the story in the form of serial biographies. It is a wonderful flowing narrative, superlatively written and with a genuine depth of historical understanding. Indeed, while I think this early book is somewhat weaker than his later books, Disney and Life" the Movie, I will read any book that this critic writes.
   
   Warmly recommended. This is not my usual domain of interest, so the reading is often hard going for me, but I have learned an immense amount from this critic, who is a real intellectual.



5. very thorough, obejective look at the founding of the motion picture industry in america. there is a lot of minutiae, so be prepared to focus. at the end of the day you'll be happy you did.

No comments about 3G Evolution, Second Edition: HSPA and LTE for Mobile Broadband.

3 comments about Telephone Triage: Theory, Practice, and Protocol Development.

1. This textbook has become a standard reference at triage call centers across the U.S. A *must* read for either the new triage nurse or an experienced one.



2. As an educator, it is important to provide historical information on a new subject, along with clear scenarios and critiques. This book allows a nurse, new to the field of telephone triage to understand the relationship of the nurse to patient, elicit the most informative information, and how to categorize information appropriately. The book provides the basis for telephone triage, no matter what the local requirements or conditions. I have used this boook for over 2 years in education of nurses to telphone triage and recommend that it belong as a resource in every call-center!



3. I really took to this book when I was assigned to read it for my new job in pediatric clinic. It has many tools you can use to create your own triage guidelines. The tools apply to a nurse serving any population, from pediatrics to adults, occupational health to obstetrics. I found the writing to be concise and to the point. Nurse managers and educators, you should definitely consider this book for your telephone triage orientation program. I work for a military installation and I have to tell you as an insider that a practically congressional committee considered all the triage theory books there were, and chose this ONE. I can see why.

3 comments about Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony (Networking Technology).

1. I have to admit that this is not a book that I have read cover to cover. I have dipped into it to cover topics listed in the CCIE voice exam. I have found it to be very useful in that respect. For each topic it gives an overview and brief details on configuration before going on to explain how to troubleshoot problems. It will not replace the troubleshooting resources available on CCO, but it will give you a great place to start!

   Now that I've read it I can answer the following questions:

   Would I buy it to help pass the Troubleshooting Exam? - Yes (but I have not done the exam so difficult to say for certain)

   Would I buy it to help pass the CCIE Voice written exam? - Probably, but would need more information from CCO.

   Would I buy it for my reference bookshelf? - Definitely.




2. I have to say, a lot of the Cisco Press books can be frustrating. They're great if you want a really detailed background on VoIP technologies, but for day to day use and quick reference they quickly prove to be more hassle than they're worth. The idea of a "troubleshooting" guide by Cisco seemed like it would be this to the extreme, but this is actually and incredibly useful book. Especially useful are the sections on configuring traces, monitoring, and alarms. I've worked with Cisco IP Telephony products for nearly 2 years and still was not aware of many of these features. Many of the problems I've encountered are listed here, and accompanied by an ordered checklist of things to troubleshoot. Reading this book will save any engineer, administrator, technician, or manager tons of time on the job.
   
   The only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is it is 4 years old, and only covers CallManager up to 3.3 (5.0 is the latest version). Subsequently, there's lots of "this may be supported in future CallManager versions" lines, which you must then look up on Cisco's website. Many of the problems listed in this book were fixed with CallManger 4.1, released in late 2004.



3. Overall I thought this book was very well written. It has a lot of good examples and if you are willing to invest the brain power you can learn a lot from it. I will say that you can't rely entirely on this book to help you pass the Cisco IPT troubleshooting test. I used this book along with some material from Knowledgenet to pass the test. I'm pretty sure I would have had to take it at least twice if this book was my only reference.

3 comments about Sams Teach Yourself Ajax, JavaScript, and PHP All in One (Sams Teach Yourself).

1. Firstly, when a book is about a constantly changing web-programming technology like AJAX, you expect it to be up-to-date, right?
   
   Well, two chapters in, and I've already spotted several typographical errors. What's worse is the outdated nature of some of the technologies depicted in the book. Let me illustrate:
   
   Chapter 1: When illustrating assorted web browsers the text uses IE6. I'm sorry, but IE7 has been officially released for nearly two years now, and you couldn't be bothered to upgrade the screenshots in that time? This book was published June 2008, with a 2009 copyright, and you're using screenshots that were outdated in 2006?
   
   Further, the fact that the screenshot of Firefox in the first chapter shows that at the time of the screenshot, Firefox 1.0.7 was the current release shows that that was taken mid-2005, as Firefox 1.5 was released November 2005.
   
   I'm sorry, but these over-two-years-old screenshots of antiquated technologies featured in a text, and the fact that it seems to feature IE6 throughout already has me somewhat turned off to the book. If this is the attention to detail that they have paid thus far, what will have slipped through the cracks in the programming portions, and what other techniques were already antiquated by the time this book was published?



2. As has been said in a previous review, this book already seems quite dated after only the first two chapters. Having completed the book, I can say it only got worse. Much of the basics are covered fairly well, but as the book progresses into more complicated areas, where more detailed explanations are really needed, it fails to deliver. Some of the example code will not even run without error. It seems the book is a "best of" compilation thrown together from bits of previous books, but purported to be a new work.



3. No previous Ajax programming experience is needed to use this book, which provides step-by-step lessons on using Ajax, programming with JavaScript and PHP, and understanding their technological foundations. The cd includes a complete Ajax programming starter kit with all tools needed to set up a learning and testing environment, while the pages of black and white screen shots and applications provide all the detail necessary to follow through. Both computer libraries and college-level courses will find it a winner.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

5 comments about Linear Systems and Signals (The Oxford Series in Electrical and Computer Engineering).

1. This book without a doubt is a masterpiece when it comes to studying systems and signals. The author does a brilliant job of explaining the concepts. When I took this course the book that my university used was so pathetic I couldn't make out anything from it. But when I purchased lathi's book as an extra aid my scores in tests, exams and homeworks started to skyrocket. I came very close to getting an A- for the course and largely the credit goest to this Lathi's book on systems and signals. Certainly worth the extra investment!



2. This book has it all: logic, concepts, math, many examples, practical applications, even little historical notes and matlab sections. It's just a very accurate, neat, and well organized book. The guy actually exlains "why". He explains not only how to DO Laplace, Fourier, etc but how to UDERSTAND it. And he is very accurate with what and how he is saying. I bought this book for my undergrad systems & signals class for extra reading and thanks to this book it wasn't one of those 'mechanically' learned classes but math actually acquired meaning.



3. This book though lucid in its conversational language does not explain how the author came to his conclusions. Gives examples that the solutions of which are not traceable to the method described and is dirth of the supposed answers to exercises included. As a required text it is a nightmare to an engineering student required to take this couse as a introduction to the subject.
   David M. Cook (actual name)



4. This is a pretty good textbook for Signals and Systems.
   
   However, the examples in the book often do not correlate well to the exercises.



5. This book is well written, and it is easily understood. You'd understand signals and systems, review you math skills, and hone your Matlab skills with this single book. I think the author must have been a great teacher.