A Companion to Eastern European Cinemas showcases twenty-five essays written by established and emerging film scholars that trace the history of Eastern European cinemas and offer an up-to-date assessment of post-socialist film cultures.

Designed in the highly regarded O'Reilly Cookbook format, ADO.NET Cookbook is strikingly different from other books on the subject. It isn't bogged down with pages of didactic theory. The ADO.NET Cookbook focuses exclusively on providing developers with easy-to-find coding solutions to real problems. ADO.NET Cookbook is a comprehensive collection of over 150 solutions and best practices for everyday dilemmas. For each problem addressed in the book, there's a solution--a short, focused piece of code that programmers can insert directly into their applications. And ADO.NET Cookbook is more than just a handy compilation of cut-and-paste C# and VB.NET code. ADO.NET Cookbook offers clear explanations of how and why the code works, warns of potential pitfalls, and directs you to sources of additional information, so you can learn to adapt the problem-solving techniques to different situations. This is a painless way for developers who prefer to learn by doing to expand their skills and productivity, while solving the pressing problems they face every day.

"Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history," wrote historian Oscar Handlin. Immigrants and generations of their descendants have defined the American nation from its beginning and continue to provide America's characteristic diversity, representing practically every race, nationality, religion, and ethnic group around the world. Some immigrants came to the New World in search of economic gain. Others were brought in chains. Still others found refuge in America from religious or ethnic persecution. This single-volume encyclopedia includes more than 300 entries, covering multiple aspects of immigration history and policy: ethnic groups, including census and immigration statistics, major periods of immigration and areas of settlement, predominant religion, and historical background key immigration legislation, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, Immigration Act of 1990, and Refugee Act of 1980 terms and concepts, including green card, quota system, citizen, naturalization, picture brides, and nativism categories of immigrants, including refugees, indentured servants, children, and exiles immigration stations: Angel Island, Castle Garden, and Ellis Island religious groups and churches, such as Amish, Huguenots, Muslims, and Eastern Rite churches further reading lists and cross-references follow each entry An introductory essay provides a cogent overview of the entire scope of the book. More than 150 photographs and illustrations complement the entries. Statistical boxes supplement the articles with key information. A list of immigration, ethnic, and refugee organizations; a guide to further research that includes books, museums, and websites; and a detailed chronology conclude this useful resource for research in American history, ethnic and multicultural studies, and genealogy. Oxford's Student Companions to American History are state-of-the-art references for school and home, specifically designed and written for ages 12 through adult. Each book is a concise but comprehensive A-to-Z guide to a major historical period or theme in U.S. history, with articles on key issues and prominent individuals. The authors--distinguished scholars well-known in their areas of expertise--ensure that the entries are accurate, up-to-date, and accessible. Special features include an introductory section on how to use the book, further reading lists, cross-references, chronology, and full index.

Animal Tracks is one in a series of comprehensive, nature-based field guides in a pocket-size trim with clear, full-color illustrations for easy subject identification.

This book tackles everything from beginner problems to those faced by experienced users. For every problem addressed in the book, you will find a worked-out solution that includes short, focused pieces of code you can use immediately. You also get explanations of how and why the code works, so you can adapt the problem-solving techniques to similar situations.

Applications Interface Programming Using Multiple Languages is a comprehensive, hands-on, and practical guide to interface programming between multiple languages. Today, as computer technology develops rapidly, a single programming language sometimes is not enough to handle complicated, real-world implementations. Each language has its strong and weak points and it is very difficult to find one language to satisfy all applications requirements. Mixed-language programming, or interface programming between multiple languages, has emerged to meet the needs of complicated applications and implementations in scientific research, industrial controls, and manufacturing, as well as in commercial applications. Using interface programming, professional Graphic User Interfaces, flexible databases, multitask environments, and real-time controllability can be integrated to form an optimal computer system that can complete challenging applications tasks.

Ideal as an introduction for beginners and a quick reference for advanced programmers, the C Pocket Reference consists of two parts: a compact description of the C language and a thematically structured reference to the standard library. The representation of the language is based on the ANSI standard and includes extensions introduced in 1999. An index is included to help you quickly find information the information you need.

The C# & VB.NET Conversion Pocket Reference helps you easily make the switch from C# to Visual Basic .NET and vice versa. Differences between the two languages occur in three main areas: syntax, object-oriented principles, and the Visual Studio .NET IDE. A perfect companion for documents and books that don't have examples using your mastered language, this guide expects that you know one of the two languages, but does not make an assumption about which one.

The C# Language Pocket Reference offers the convenience of a quick reference in a format that will actually fit in your pocket. The book includes a guide to C# language elements, a brief overview of the Framework Class library, a cross-reference for namespaces and assemblies, a list of compiler syntax and switches, a regular expressions reference guide, and more.

This comprehensive, fully illustrated Companion answers the need for an in-depth archaeology reference that provides authoritative coverage of this complex and interdisciplinary field. The work brings together the myriad strands and the great temporal and spatial breadth of the field into two thematically organized volumes. In twenty-six authoritative and clearly-written essays, this Companion explores the origins, aims, methods and problems of archaeology. Each essay is written by a scholar of international standing and illustrations complement the text.

If crafts are big, then clay is colossal. From pins and pendants to bracelets, buttons, and embellishments, crafters of all ages are embracing the creativity that polymer clay inspires. This encyclopedic book by renowned expert Lisa Pavelka includes the latest techniques, handy tips, and trade secrets. Pavelka presents a sweeping overview of materials, how-to fundamentals, and construction techniques. She also introduces six original projects with complete instructions showing readers how to make pendants, curio boxes, a necklace, and a bracelet. Clear, concise, and comprehensive, this is an essential addition to any crafter's library, no matter his or her skill level. For even more inspiration, this indispensable reference features a gallery of 50 original projects by Pavelka and other talented polymer clay designers.

In a region of violent physical and cultural contrasts, Costa Rica is often easy to overlook. Among the six small countries of Central America, it tends not to make the news very often. Costa Rica is not the Central American country with the famous U.S.-built canal and the corrupt military dictator overthrown by U.S. armed forces in 1991. It is not the one ruled by Marxists for most of the 1980s and with whom the U.S. waged a small proxy war. It is not the one that suffered through nearly 35 years of a civil war that has only recently ended. The natural disasters associated with Central America–hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions–also seem to happen elsewhere in the region, just across the border in Nicaragua or to the south in Panama. In 2000, Hurricane Mitch, for example, killed thousands of people in Central America and devastated much of the banana industry in Guatemala,Honduras, and Nicaragua, but it spared Costa Rica. Is Costa Rica lucky? In part, this may be the case. Major tropical storms and hurricanes in the Caribbean Basin usually strike just to the north of Costa Rica. The country’s history certainly reveals some lucky decision-making. For instance, the first Spanish colonists avoided settlement close to the country’s active volcanoes; this was not the case in other parts of the region. It is also true that Costa Rica has worked to avoid the mistakes made by its neighbors. While international attention has focused on the plight and misery of its neighbors,Costa Rica has quietly worked to develop democratic institutions and a sense of national identity that makes it exceptional, not just in the context of Central America but throughout the world. As the civil wars and political problems of the region seem to be coming to an end in the twenty-first century (due in part to efforts that began in Costa Rica), the country is emerging from the shadow of its violent neighbors. The world is finally recognizing Costa Rica as a natural wonderland and as a political model for stability and peace.