chromatic, lord of many reviews, has come up with a review of MySQL, from the folks at New Riders. Author Paul DuBois has gone beyond the technically comprehensive MySQL documentation to produce an informative and entertaining compendium of MySQL knowledge. Requiring little prior experience ("What is a database and why should I care?"), he explains general SQL and RDBMSs, as well as the peculiarities of MySQL.

Python is an object-oriented scripting language, similiar in ideas (if not in style) to Perl. It's getting more and more popular, as people discover the benefits brought by its simple style. It's a natural under Windows, thanks to good object-orientation. Like many free software projects, though, the Windows port of Python has suffered from poor documentation. Until now, that is. [Updated 15:00GMT by timothy -- fixed link to tutorial.](Read more.)

randombit has sent us a review of William Stallings' Cryptography and Network Security: Principles and Practice, 2nd ed. The book is a history of cartoons' effects on American children. Er ... rather, the book looks at applications of cryptography and in networking today. If you've read it or have comments, please add to the discussion below.

Ellen Knowlton Wilson brings us this review of a book which has succeeded in presenting one of the important concepts of modern life -- cryptography -- by grounding it in its historical roots as well as its modern applications, including ones not yet implemented. (Read more.)

Thanks to Crag Pfeifer for sending a review of James Gleick's Faster. If you've ever felt like life's moving faster then ever, this is worth reading.

Jayakrishnan has returned with another review of a Java book. This time around it's Matthew Robinson and Pavel Vorobiev's Swing. Published by Manning Publications, this book is designed to give information to both beginners and advanced programmers.

Duncan Lawie has returned with a review of Star Maker, a science fiction novel written by Olaf Stapledon. Part science fiction, part philosphical text, it's worth checking out. Originally published in 1968, it was re-printed last summer, making it available again for the first time in a long time.

Here's another doubleheader review, this time of The Cluetrain Manifesto, the four-author print extension of the Web site of the same name. Hemos and Jason Bennett here dissect the book and provide some insight into where the cluetrain is steaming.

Thanks to Greg Smith for his review of O'Reilly and Associates' Unix Backup and Recovery. Not suprisingly, the book is complete coverage of Unix backup and recovery. Huh. Truth in advertising. Whodathunkit?

2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the kings of science fiction movies, and widely regarded as one of Stanley Kubrick ^[?] 's best films. With the recent anniversary of the movie has come a spate of 2001 retrospectives. rombuu has reviewed one such work, titled The Making Of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The book is written in team format: Selections by Stephanie Schwam; Series Edited by Martin Scorsese; Introduction by Jay Cocks.

In the new paperback edition of his book, Paul Davies takes us on a wonderful tour (metaphorically) through what he calls the "Mind of God." Physics may scare some people, but physicists like Davies (and Dyson and Walker) are doing some of the best writing on the planet on spirituality, science, and the powerful connection between the two. This paperback is a hypnotic exploration of some of the great questions of existence as well as a lively summary of recent developments in theoretical physics. Read more.

chromatic has reviewed O'Reilly's DocBook. Written by Norman Walsh and Leonard Muellner the book is: "A hefty reference of DocBook Elements and Entities, with an emphasis on customization and configuration -- if you know what that means, you'll find this book useful."

Flexing my cerebellum, I recently reviewed Daniel Gray's book concering Affiliate and Associate Programs on the Internet. The book itself is entitled Associate and Affiliate Programs on the Net: Turning Clicks into Cash and does a good job not only of categorizing but also of explaining how to use these services.

We've got a double-headed review of Simson Garfinkel's new book Database Nation: The Death of Privacy at the End of the 21st Century. It's a thought-provoking vision of the future which frankly scares the heck out of me.

Matt Ridley claims in the introduction to Genome that we are living through the greatest intellectual moment in history: the unraveling of the mystery of our own genes. He's right. This is one of the most important and hypnotically interesting books I've ever read, covering an astonishing range of issues: Why are some of us combative, friendly, hopeful, grammatical? Does free will or genetic determinism shape our behavior? Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, is the autobiography of all of us. Read more below.

Duncan Lawie, resident science fiction reviewer and world traveler has sent a review of Iain (M) Banks' Inversions. The book itself is a good story, but also has a very interesting writing style. Form and function - what a novel idea. *grin*

SEGV has reviewed Coriolis Books title Game Architecture and Design. The book, written by Andrew Rollings and Dave Morris, is an incisive look into game development. Not just coding techniques, but it also looks at game design, architecture, process and the game industry. Click below to learn more - and perhaps be the next Carmack.

Duncan Lawie has sent a review of John Wyndham's The Chrysalids. It's known by its alternate title Re-birth. One of the most popular science fiction authors in the British Commonwealth in the 1950s and 1960s, Wyndham looks at the nature of humanity.

Allan Carscaddon has contributed a review of Secrets of Software Success: Management Insights from 100 Software Firms Around the World. As the title would indicate, this is book for people who are trying to figure out the best way to get work done in a more corporate environment. Click below if you need to learn more to survive in the corporate world.

Jason Bennett has returned with a review of Mark Minasi's The Software Conspiracy. The book is basically a well-informed perspective of the state of the software industry - how it functions, what it does, and what's really going on. Click below to learn more.