[boost] asio forcing the use of handlers?

I am just about to find out how I could make use of the asio library, and am wondering if async io also can be done without using handler functions. I recognize that it is possible to use it in a blocked manner as follows: assuming we have an open socket: sock read(sock, buf); ... use the buffer contents ... Now I am wondering if I could also accomplish something like: cp = async_read(sock, buf); ... do something useful ... cp.wait(); .. use the buffer contents ... Thank you, Roland aka speedsnail