Independent Books

this book is a must have for those starting an indie label. The book was interesting, it didn't bore me to sleep as some of the others on this subject did. I still refer back to it from time to time.

This book was an alright read. It went more to the legal side of starting a record label. We really wanted to do a lot of the stuff on our own. If you are looking to start a label then you won't be wasting your time by reading this, but there are plenty more books out there to read(keep that in mind.)

I am a hard to please person but trust me this book is worth every penny, it goes through everything you need to know for you to create a successful label. It s there for you, now it's up to you to work hard and do your homework cause this book is full of vital information!!!
One downfall, I wish there was a bit more in-depth information (I mean a REAL step by step book!!!). If anyone hear about such a book please let me know!!!
Appart from that, this is an overall really good read!

This book was definitely the best book that i have read about starting an independent record label. It took all of my scattered thoughts and put it together like a puzzle and made everything make sense. It gives a complete and thorough breakdown on the label itself (management and positions), as well as the music industry itself. Since i have read this book, I have started my own label, BackPack Records.

I was a bit skeptical at first because there are alot of con artists in the music industry, but I decided to take a risk and I'm glad I did. The author is very knowlegdeable and honest and he gives the best insight as well as a little humor to keep you interested in the book. I recommend that every artist who wants to be paid and secured financially, or wants to break into the business and control the show to purchase and fully read this book chapter to chapter. If you have to read it twice, I guarantee you will find yourself referring back to it. I make sure I reeducate myself from time to time because you never know to much in this industry all be willing to learn more. The more you know the further you will go. BY THE BOOK A.S.A.P. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!!!!!!

I had never heard of the United States Information Agency until I read this book. Among other public diplomacy (read: propaganda) duties, the USIA is responsible for Radio Marti, the pro-US propaganda beamed in to Cuba and the Fullbright scholar program. The reason those of us living in the US don't know too much about the USIA's mission is that they are not allowed to use their propaganda skills on US citizens, even though their predecessor organization, the Committee on Public Information (CPI) was created during the Wilson administration specifically to convince the people of the US that fighting the Germans in World War I was critical to the security of the American homeland.

Post cold-war and especially during the Clinton administration, the USIA became the mouthpiece of NAFTA and the evangelization of people in other countries of the benefits of accepting American-style economies. This very brief book outlines much of this history and the author Nancy Snow makes it clear that any positive aspects of the program like the Fullbright program have been long buried under the pro-business propaganda machine of the Clinton and Bush the Younger administrations. The Fullbright program in particular became a tool to influence thought on market economics in Mexico and Canada, whose citizens were ambivalent about the promises of economic development promised by NAFTA.

Today, much of the USIA's work has been rolled into the State Department, headed by former advertising executive Charlotte Beers, who is charged with "rebranding America to the world" like the Uncle Ben's Rice she used to work on. The USIA is one of the vehicles of US economic and cultural hegemony, especially in countries that we can't go to war with. Snow's history and analysis ends with an action plan that is wider reaching than simply what to do with the USIA. It is really a series of concrete ideas for reforming the very government of our country.

This small book tells the story of the USIA (the US Information Agency), a government unit.
This institution was created with very good intentions (increase mutual understanding between people), but was diverted from its original goal and streamlined as a propaganda machine to promote the US economic system and business interests.

The author rightly stigmatizes harshly the democratic deficit in the US: a media monopoly, a political duopoly ruled by big business and big money, and a plutocracy which dominates without control public welfare, public lands, public airwaves and the pension trusts.
Prof. Snow proposes a seven point plan to restore true democracy, but the implementation will be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

This book should be read as a classic example of how particular interest groups take control of a public institution and turn it into a pro-private interests mouthpiece.

Not to be missed.

Bad, both as history and as analysis, even the neo-Marxist sort that it unabashedly mimics. It's an embarrassment that the author has managed to turn this screed into an academic career as an expert on "public diplomacy." That she has done so offers a lesson on ambitious self-promotion in the academic world. She purports to tell the story about the former USIA, and ends telling no story at all.

She also misses the essential point about the former USIA: that its work was primarily in the field, people-to-people, and had little to do with politicized Washington policy-makers and attitudes of various administrations. Her litany of pleas for a sense of the real America of working-class people misses completely the large majority of Americans who are religious and socially conservative, exactly the kind of Americans who resonate well with Africans and Latin Americans, to name two important parts of the world. This isn't surprising for someone who freely cites Marxist Howard Zinn and places his photo on her website.

Ultimately, however, this non-book is just sad. USIA was a failure in many ways, but the story deserves to be told by a real historian, not a sham professor of "communications" who happened to do an internship in the now-dead USIA. Now that Snow has set the standard for interns, I'm waiting for Monica Lewinsky's analysis of the presidency.

Someone please put this woman on TV!

The pamphlet (so it describes itself internally) is titled as if it were a discussion of the US propaganda establishment, but is in truth a sketchy and afactual memoir of a two-year Clinton-era
internship in USIA. The pamphlet is only 60 pages long, being
prefaced by laudatory and emotional prefaces that stretch to 30
pages, probably reflecting some demand of the printing process.
About 20 pages of the pamphlet is devoted to demanding that the USIA be disbanded, the remainder to rambling far-left invectives
against the NAFTA, "globalization", "hegemonic corporations" and
other betes noires. This pamphlet may well be part of a tenure-quest rather than a knowledge quest. The reader is advised to seek knowledge elsewhere.

A very readable work that covers the relatively undocumented independent tank battallions in the ETO. The previous reviewers are right on the money concerning the strong points of the volume.

One minor criticism (of the publisher, not the author): some detailed maps of the smaller scale actions would have been appreicated and provided clarity.

I'm a B- amatuer military historian and thought the author's writing style was enjoyable, interesting and well researched. It filled in some of my personal gaps in ETO knowledge.

Author Harry Yeide has contributed one of the most gripping reads to hit the ETO lexicon in quite some time. With fast-paced combat narrative, and thorough research, Yeide has filled a long-standing gap in the European campaigns of 1944-45. The author tells the story of the American independent tank battalions that were attached to infantry divisions, and analyses the many tactical, and command and control problems this unique marriage entailed. Unlike America's armored divisions, whose ideal doctrine called for rapid exploitation, and deep penetration, the independent tank battalions moved at the infantry's pace. This homogeneous relationship presented problems throughout the ten month campaigns, as the author competently demonstrates. Yeide's narrative is clean, concise and to the point throughout. Tackling a topic that could easily fill volumes, the author never allows himself to get bogged down in a myriad of facts, or jargon. At just over 300-pages, this work can easily be consumed within a weekend. Undoubtedly, Yeide's gripping narrative is the strongest feature of the book. Organizational appendices add to the resourceful appeal, however, the five-pages of maps are over-simplified. The author hits on several important themes. Foremost, he points out that independent tank battalions were trained only in how to get ashore on D-Day, but not how to conduct operations from then on. Therefore, their primary role, that of supporting infantry, was a learn-as-you-go, on the job training process, throughout the campaigns in France and, Germany. The author touches on several significant technical innovations, such as infantry-tank radio communications, and special weapons. Some of the latter, like shells designed to penetrate concrete, and a tank deployed bangalore torpedo, called a "Snake" proved reasonably effective. Others, like a huge rollers fixed to the front of tanks to detonate land mines, were considered junk by many of the tankers. Yeide shows that for the first half of the campaigns in Northwest Europe, these tank battalions were attached fairly permanently (organic) to their perspective infantry divisions. Later, as manpower shortages were felt, tank battalions were repeatedly detached and attached to a variety of new infantry units. This parcelling out to unfamiliar infantry commanders with varying tactical notions on how to deploy tanks, presented more problems for the tank crews. The author's research is thorough, yet not meticulous. His notes cite sources, but are not explanatory. Yeide leans heavily on unit After-Action Reports (AARs), and quotes many at length. These passages are surprisingly reader-friendly, since AARs are usually dull, as a rule. These documents focus on problems encountered, and lessons learned in tank-infantry cooperation. Some contain insightful participant testimonies, gleaned from interviews after the battle. The ten-page verbatim transcript of radio chatter between tanks and infantry, was pushing this a bit too far, however. The author consults the usual secondary sources. A glaring omission, however, is Michael D. Doubler's _Closing With the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944-1945_ (1994), a benchmark in ETO tactical evolution. Yeide's work will appeal to the hardcore military historian, as well as the amateur buff. Yeide's work gets four-stars and comes highly recommended!

This book covers a subject I had never read about before in years of WWII study. For that reason alone, it's interesting in that there are stories here that are fresh even to avid students of the war.
That said, the scope is limited, partially as the author explains, by limits on the detail and comprehensiveness of After Action Reports and post-war writings by the heroic soldiers of these battalions, and partially due to simple space limitations.
There are maps here, but they don't offer enough detail to give the reader more than a general idea of where the actions took place. There is no map for the final section of the book that covers the drive from the Rhine to VE Day.
While the battle descriptions are gripping, other portions of the narrative are more pedestrian. A good amount of space is devoted to hardware background - the M4 and M5 tanks etc.
One theme carried throughout a good portion of the book that would have benefited from more analysis and explanation is the fact that these independant battalions were often not rotated out of the line with the infantry divisions they supported, but remained in the heat of action to support the relieving GIs. The excellent appendices show attachment relationships between infantry divisions and the indy tank battalions by date, but don't fill us in on how much of that time was spent in the front line...a data set I would be interested in seeing. A look at this information compared to the in action days of the supported divisions would give an interesting new insight into the whole American army replacement/rotation system in the ETO that has been much discussed in recent years. Overall, a good addition to your WWII library, if for no other reason than it deals with a gutsy group of tankers who have not had their stories told before.

Although many books have been written on tank warfare in various theaters-both from a strategic, tactical, and theoretical point of view, Yeide's Steel Victory gives us an excellent first-hand impression of what it was like to be Sherman tanker during World War II. It is not all guts and glory. Hampered by the American tank theoretician's idea of what a tank should be able to do and not do, Yeide succeeds in capturing the bitter lessons learned by those units in which it was employed to support infantry, and describing the frustration of those who drove and fired Shermans with orders from the generals who seemed to know little about how to employ them properly.

It is probably a testament to the tanker's ingenuity that not only did they learn to offset the Sherman's poor design, but also developed tactics at the smallest unit level (often the platoon) to defeat German defense in the Bocage country, and the much more dangerous Panther and Tiger tanks that appeared in increasing numbers after D-Day, by improving infantry-armor coordination.

Steel victory should prove a solid read to both military buffs and novitiate alike.

I really wanted to like this book, but confess I stopped reading halfway through. First of all, it reads like a well written executive briefing, done by someone charged with researching a topic about which he knew very little. Unfortunately, this author really does not seem to know much about World War II. For example, he keeps referring to soldiers as "Doughboys" and "Doughs." The correct vernacular term for WW II soldiers was "G.I.'s" or just "soldiers." "Doughboy" is a World War One term, but this author seemed to like it, so he tried to write it into the history of the Second World War.

Second, the author marvels at the fact that General Leslie McNair's tanks fought as Independent Tank battalions, but he clearly does not know why this occurred. And, he correctly mentions how the independent tankers and soldiers eventually came to the conclusion that working in concert (just like armored divisions) worked best. This should have come from the command structure, but with McNair's units the learning curve came from the bottom up.

The author neglects to mention (perhaps because he doesn't know) that General McNair was vehemently anti-armor. In fact, McNair was so politically well-connected in the Army that he attempted to quash the use of armor (in favor of the "tank destroyer"), and almost succeeded in doing so. Lucky for the U.S. that Colonel George Patton made McNair look bad in war games during the late 30's, and proved that armored divisions could work. Patton did this by running roughshod over McNair's divisions using his concept of armor and infantry fighting in concert.

There was some good information in this book, but the author never really pulled it together. He seemed to see a lot of trees without realizing that he was in a forest. The context was not really there.

The book is well written. The story is familar in terms of mobster literature. Its a pretty good read. She leaves me cold. She divorced said mob and turned her life around when she had no other choices. Maybe that was the best she could do given the particulars of her life, but something is too off putting for me to be able to sympathise.
And turned her life around to what? We arn't give any particulars of her new "independent" life. For safety's sake? Who knows" Ultimatly, who cares?

I found this biography fascinating (in the vein of "The Glass Castle"), but there were too many typos - at least in the edition I read. These mistakes (often 1 or more to a page) were disconcerting and inexcusable, in my opinion, since the book was co-written. You'd figure one of the two writers would have found the other's errors. I have to give Andrea credit, though, given her childhood, she's truly a survivor. Her story makes me wonder what might have been had she experienced an ordinary or a privileged upbringing.

I read this last week while lollygagging on South Padre Island beach where they have the 3rd largest Spring Break every year. This book is a definite page turner. Andy grew up poor and abused and got the attention and money from men that she craved and never received as a child. Unfortunately, she was abused as an adult as well and the money and power she acquired was not worth it in the end. I hope she and her children are still alive and well in PA. She is a tough cookie so I am sure she is doing fine. If you like true stories about the mob you will want to read this one.

I couldn't put this book down. I am a big fan of mob stories and this was a good one...I am just glad she got her life together and got her kids out of that mess. The author is a strong woman with incredible survivor skills. I wish her all the best!

I'm still waiting for the other part of the title to materialize. That is, when did she become an independent woman? She leeched from man to man and then to the Witness Protection Program. She even needed a man to help her write the book.

She might talk the talk but she did not walk the walk. Even when her world is falling apart (again), she first thinks of who is going to care for her first before she thinks of putting food on the table for her kids. Me, me, me, me, me.

One got the feeling she was only sorry she got caught. If she had never been caught, she'd still be mooching off the organized crime system.

If she had to do it all over again, you know she'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The transaction was easy and I received the book in a reasonable amount of time. The book was in good shape and came just as described.

I got this book because I needed something to study for my M3 clerkship shelf exam and I was told Blue Prints was not good and there is no First Aid. It took me a long time to go through all of the questions and extensive explanations but it was totally worth it. Some of the questions I had on the shelf were almost identical to those in the book. I have since loaned my copy out to several people with rave reviews. This has been my favorite book in medical school so far!

I used this book while on my Fam med rotation during 3rd year of medical school. At the time, there were not many books designed for medical students specifically on FP. The was no First Aid or Blueprints Family Medicine book for example.

This book was just average. The FP shelf exam is one of the most difficult ones. I found that the format of the questions in this book did not really reflect the types of questions usually asked on those shelf exams. This book was not that helpful, it was tedious to work through, and overall not an efficient use of study time.

I found it more useful to read through the Blueprints books again on Int. Medicine, Peds, and Ob/Gyn. The "Outpatient Medicine Recall" book is actually really good and I would recommend that book very highly.

Overall, this family medicine question book represents a decent review for the clerkship and shelf exam. I spent countless hours working through this book and managed to get through it once before the shelf, but I wonder if my time would've been better spent with another resource. Here are some things I noticed:

1. The cover clearly states "nearly 500 all new questions", but I counted about 870 questions! While more questions are welcome, it is definitely hard to master so many in a 6 week rotation. Had I known the true number of questions before, I would've considered purchasing the new Pretest Family Medicine book instead.

2. The style of questions does not resemble the nbme shelf exam questions (my subjective opinion after taking the shelf)

3. Some questions require a very detailed level of knowledge - to the point of splitting hairs to get the question right. Even after looking things up in several textbooks, there were some questions that I still could not find the answer to. I sometimes wondered if these were valid teaching points.

4. The answer explanation format could be better. Instead of listing each answer choice separately and stating why each is correct/incorrect, there is a paragraph. It was sometimes difficult to know which sentence went with each choice because there was no transition from one answer choice explanation to the next.

Just use this and your set. I had a 4 week rotation in fam med & had not yet had, ob/gyn, peds or IM, but I did well using this text. I only got through half of the text, but did that the night before. I only wish I'd got it sooner.

I picked this book up, not because I am a consultant, but because I am an executive at a company that uses consultants frequently. I was hoping to spot in these pages all of the "tricks of the trade" that consultants use so that I would be a smarter customer of consulting services. As someone that occasionally loathes, and infrequently appreciates the perspectives of so-called outside experts, I was pleasantly disappointed (yes, pleasantly disappointed) to see that what Holtz and Zahn are suggesting in these chapters is non-manipulative, ethical, and above board practices that in no way try to take advantage of a customer that is not as sophisticated as perhaps they need to be. I was disappointed because I wanted to be armed with ways of combatting what I perceive to be the car salesman approach taken by far too many of the consultants I have worked with in my career. Perhaps the fault is as much mine as the consultants we hired. Maybe I have to spend more time doing exactly what this book recommends consultants do when it comes to; scoping out projects, ensuring agreement on objectives, managing project timelines, and agreeing on how to fairly compensate the consultant for his or her assistance. I found this book pleasant in that it convinced me that not all consultants are cut out of the cloth of the "give me your watch and I will tell you what time it is" type. Seeing what the consultant is SUPPOSED to be doing when engaging with a client (me) and being able to compare that to what happens in my company makes me want to buy this book for a few of our most senior executives and dog-ear those pages that they need to read. The chapters on how to set up a business, accounting, and other organizational necessities were initially of little interest to me as my focus was on the actual working with the consultant, but even those chapters were enlightening in that I better understand why the consultants we use pressure me about some things and not others. The point made about cash flow being critical to the success of the consultant over and above other issues was not something I would have realized on my own. Now that it was explained, I can understand and appreciate it better.

This classic "instruction manual" for consultants has been well-known for years in the consulting world as a primer for people just starting out, or for those who are thinking of making the jump from working for others to working as a consultant.

However, the last edition was showing its age and I'm glad to see that this 4th edition breaks a lot of new ground while retaining the great "blocking and tackling" advice from Herman Holtz which drew raves in consulting circles worldwide.

New co-author David Zahn has taken this classic and put an afterburner jet on it and zoomed it in to this new millenium with up to date advice that resonates with clarity and strong, well grounded counsel. As I read the revised volume - which was just released in March of 2004 - I found myself nodding vigorously as he discussed cash flow (the consultant's biggest obstacle year in and year out); marketing in today's internet world; the use of email as a newsletter medium; and so many other great directional points that I realized that an experienced consultant could also benefit greatly from this new volume.

If you are reading this review, you no doubt are considering purchasing this book and you're probably wondering if it is worth the money. That's what I use these reviews for here at Amazon, and that's why I wanted to post this review as soon as I read the new edition....because I believe it can help EVERYONE in the consulting profession hone their skills to a much sharper edge.

From my perspective, the 14th chapter (How to Handle Negotiations, How to Set Fees and How to Handle contracts) alone is worth the cover price, and then the rest of the book is a remarkable bonus. And I speak from personal experience, having been involved in consulting for 14 years - first working for a midsize consulting firm and then going out on my own several years ago.

I think this is a TERRIFIC book that you'll use again and again...and again. And if you are thinking about joining the profession of consulting, it will give you a real eye-opening peek at what it takes to enter, survive and prosper in the world of consulting.

Highly recommended.

Take a deep breath and sit where the light is good as author David Zahn (who wrote this with the late Herman Holtz) attempts to describe everything about consulting in 400-plus pages of small type. The book realizes a good bit of its ambitious goal, though not without cost. Information is abundant, but not tidy. In this fourth edition, chapters pile up as the authors add coverage of new technologies to their previous reporting on older forms of media. The result is a big onion: layers and layers of information. Some are useful, topical and important; some dated, redundant or irrelevant. You can skim the parts that don't affect you, but a tougher editor would have slimmed it down and combined some basic chapters, such as the extra treatment of marketing and second careers. However, if you persist, you will garner some valuable information, especially about the competitive process of bidding for government consulting contracts. We consider this book worthwhile for those who are serious about becoming consultants. Just be diligent about ferreting out information that is pertinent to you (and bring a magnifying glass).

I can't believe the authors are consultants who write for a living. This book has good information but suffers from redundancy, typographical errors, and uneven modernization between editions.

I read this book straight through, and I think I read the same anecdote three times. There's some good advice buried in there along with some so-so advice, but the (minimum three) parenthetical passages (per page) make the text hard to read. Along with all the typos. (I had to laugh when they went on for several paragraphs about how proofreading is important because typos will "torpedo" a report to a client.)

In places they emphasize the changes made in the newest edition, but it seems the end of the book didn't get as much attention to these changes. The section on computers is talking about tapes!

This book also suffers from an over-focus on government contracting, a specialty of one of the authors.

I purchased this book when the third edition first came out. I found the information so brilliant and so helpful. It has remained a constant bottom line reference for those hard questions that have simple answers! I have referred the book to many other who were trying to establish viable consultanting businesses and were searching for all the 'questions and answers' of getting started. And more important - "how do I figure out what to charge???" When I purchased the book, please note, I was living in the highly competitive North Eastern United States!

An excellent book by a very brave author. It kept me awake all night -- in fact, I may never sleep again. After searching far and wide -- but failing to find many other books on the inner secret workings of the IRS -- this one hit the spot. Does anyone really know how to audit these 'servants' of ours? Mrs Davis has given us so many more questions to ask. Forget volunteering -- this should be required reading for all taxpayers

This is not some lunatic fringe wacko attacking the government, but someone who truly wanted to work to improve the IRS. The reports of serious lack of morals or ethics by hign ranking government employees was scary. The highest praise I can give this book is that it reads like a true history... documented and detailed... trying to be objective even when the IRS turned on her. In the end, you realize that the only 'reform' possible is to abolish the whole system.

Shelly Davis has written a book that reveals some of the internal workings of the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS as revealed by Davis is a corrupt, paranoid organization that goes to more trouble to cover up its own failings and illegal activities than it expends doing its legitimate job. Davis shows that the law is no barrier to IRS proceedings. In particular she describes the IRS repeated and apparently systematic efforts to conceal its operations by destroying internal records in violation of the Federal Records Act. Davis writes in a straightforward narrative style suitable for an account of bureaucratic bumbling by one of the nations most important governmental agencies. If you have had an interest in the Internal Revenue Service, tax problms or an interest in how bureaucracies work this book is essential reading.

For anyone who wants to see a Govt. Bureacracy in meltdown, and that is still on going read this! With the recent retirement of Mr. Gross and the new IRS Commissioner Rossotti's idea to redo everyting, coupled with the attempts by Congress to "simplify" it on the one hand --by making it more difficult, to the other extreme of abolishing it altogether, you will soon see we are headed to another 1985. Considering this kind of book was never done before on the IRS, it stands by itself. All of our legislators should be required to read it and take a test on it!

Let me start by saying that I do not condone the present state of the IRS and that, like a recent presidential candidate, I would like to see the IRS abolished as we know it. However, I feel that Unbridled Power did not even come close to delivering on what is promised in the synopsis and cover flaps. Shelley Davis states that unethical, and even unlawful, behavior is rampant within the IRS. Yet, within 260 pages of text, she provides us with only a few such examples, and the frequency with which she refers to these few examples undermines her claim that such behavior is commonplace. The author's descriptions of her own actions toward the end of her employment at the IRS further erode her credibility regarding the severity of the problem. Davis claims that often times the IRS has a blatant disregard for federal laws and that certain actions by IRS employees could be construed as a violation of these laws. However, when she was asked point blank by an IRS investigator if charges should be brought, Davis reponds that what she really wants is "change". Also, just prior to her departure, Davis is asked to submit a report detailing her experiences at the IRS, a report which she readily admits would be the perfect opportunity to memorialize the atrocious actions she has witnessed and the people responsible for these actions. Once again, Davis demurs and decides to "not burn any bridges." If the actions of the IRS are so egregious, why isn't an outside agency such as the FBI involved? Davis complains that the IRS is incapable of policing itself, yet all her efforts to "whistle blow" (a favorite phrase of hers) were conducted along the very same reporting channels Davis derides as being inadequate and ineffective. Much of what Davis talks about in her book can better be described as "entrenched bureaucracy". In the end, her efforts to change the status quo did not succeed because she was a victim of this bureaucracy and, more importantly, because she herself became a part of this same bureaucracy. Rather than a scorching expose, this book is, at best, food for thought

A waste of time and money. You can learn more about DV video on line for free.

So... You got a new digital video camera for Christmas, and you want to be the next Spielberg? Unless you've had experience in how to shoot good video, you'll end up with a lot of home movies in digital format that don't look any better than anyone else's home movies. To remedy that, get a copy of Digital Video Pocket Guide by Derrick Story (O'Reilly). In 113 pages, you'll learn the essentials of how your camera works, basic editing and shooting techniques, and tips on how to improve your video quality. While this shouldn't be the only video guide you get, it will be more than enough to get you started on the way to making movies that people will enjoy watching.

I recently reviewed this and the more recent Oreilly book, Digital Video Hacks, with contributions from the author. Hacks is much more up-to-date and contains lots of things from the Pocket Guide. But a lot of the troubleshooting tips from Pocket Guide are about using cameras and mikes, not stuff likely to go out of date. Here is what I wrote specifically about Pocket Guide:

For readers looking for more information about the shooting process itself, the cheaper and more succinct 2003 Digital Video Pocket Guide by Derrick Story covers that information superbly. Story's book goes into more detail about equipment to buy as well as how to resolve lighting and sound problems. There's only so much you can say in 112 pages, but 30 of those pages are devoted to solving practical shooting problems (i.e., the walking interview, dealing with wind , etc.) Another 30 pages consists of reference material and tables about basic camera concepts (i.e., how aperture relates to depth of field). Also, this book in particular has a high percentage of color photographs, which (like those in Digital Video Hacks) make it easier to understand what the writer is getting at. Some of the information from Digital Video Pocket Guide is duplicated in Digital Video Hacks, but lately I've found myself referring more often to the Pocket Guide than the Video Hacks book.

Digital videography is challenging and this useful pocket guidebook makes taking videos more exciting and fun. By following many of the suggestions and tips throughout this small reference book you will find it helpful when preparing for your next home movies. This is one of the few books dedicated to digital video. Most current publications like magazines keep you up to date with the latest gear but this book is more in-depth on the art of video productions. The author Derrick Story has written many books and provided photographs for countless others. The pocket guide is a series of small books that includes titles like digital photography, Macintosh Troubleshooting, Extreme Programming and over 200 other pocket guide titles.

As a video producer I found this book very easy to read and understand and felt this reference book would offer any level of videographer benefits from this information. The book is broken into 3 chapters and one reference guide. The first chapter starts with "What is it". This chapter covers the camcorder basics and may other more advanced concepts including time-code, analog line-in, aperture, image sensor, interlaced video and progressive scan. I was quite surprised that these subjects were covered since these are new features found on the newest camcorders and the average videographer may not be familiar with the concepts. It is nice to read about some of the newest features and how they can benefit the end user. This first chapter is very comprehensive going well beyond the camcorders instruction manual.

The second chapter covers the physical camera and its features, how does it work explain concepts and techniques for today's digital video shooting. The section on time-code and logging was invaluable. The third section is how do I...Tips, Tricks and Techniques offers 12 very helpful and modern information on what the average shooter may encounter.

One concept that often overlooked in the wave of new technology is the fundamentals. The art of storytelling is true regardless of the latest and greatest camcorders and accessories. The author emphasizes the camcorder is just the tool that allows the individual to create and visualize your message. I found myself revisiting several techniques that I have used in my video business on a recent trip to Baltimore for the US Open table tennis championships. I took my camcorder and candidly interviewed several players and officials. When taping my subjects I utilized the walking interview tips in the final section. The ability to change background offered variety to many of the candid comments. I also used the technique of entrances and exits. This allows the subject to enter the frame follows them for a period of time and then let them exit the frame. This clean shooting transition is a bridge commonly used in movies and TV shows.

Overall this book is very useful and I found several of the tips very informative. I recommend this book for the beginner and intermediate level digital video user.

Book Review: "Digital Video Pocket Guide"
by John Suda

"Digital Video Pocket Guide", by Derrick Story, is another in the series of "Pocket Guides" from O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. Like the others, it is a well-written, comprehensive introduction to a technical/aesthetic area.

This is a small, pocket-size book of 113 pages, including index, published on bright, glossy paper which provides brightness and contrast for its included photographs and makes it easier on the eyes for reading.

I have been contemplating investigating digital video myself for some time and found this little volume to be a near perfect introduction for a couple of reasons. First, the substantive material contains about everything one needs to get a start in digital video, from buying a camera, to learning and understanding its controls and features, to using the equipment, and tips on how to get some quality production from the camera. The second reason is the unusual (for a computer book) author's "voice". Story's style is casual, friendly, clear, simple, encouraging, and even soothing, Imagine attending a 2 or 3 hour presentation by an informed camera salesperson who knows how to produce videos, who has the personality and presentation of Mr. Rogers.

It's the substantive material which is most important however. Story walks the reader through the entire movie-making process, from start to finish. Even technical concepts like "black the tape", "bumping", and "zebra patterns" are made simple and easy to follow.

The book has three parts encompassing explanation of the equipment, how to use it, and how to produce some quality product. There is an appendix of a handful of quick reference tables pertaining to color temperature charts, types of microphones, and other incidental matters.

The best sections deal with learning how to shoot scenes including how to light a scene, and how to prevent wind from ruining your audio. There is a nice 10-step movie production checklist which details all one needs to start and complete a beginner's video project.

For a small volume on a technical topic, this is an unusual good read.

Definately intersting, and definately just for fun. Many items are common sense if you take the time to stop and think about them, but there are a number of items that have little gems of information that a layperson would never have known to try should they ever encounter such a situation.

Fun, if ultimately impracical.

Some are more realistic than others, but all are entertaining. I'll certainly allow this book when I start my own nation off the coast of Africa.

So help me, a lot of this stuff might actually work... Of course most of their ideas would take more time, money and resources than i'll ever have, but they're fun to think about!

I've found Don't Try This At Home to be lighthearted and fun. It's also impractical and seems to be based largely on complete fantasy. What is it about you ask? Think of it as a 264 page Do-It-Yourself guide for the armchair adventurer.

Megalomaniacs will want to skip right to "Form an Independent Nation". In just 8 short pages, Fulghum describes the steps you'd need to complete. Like most of the items in the book, Forming an Independent Nation does have a large number of prerequisites. For example you will need "hard currency", especially if you choose to acquire your nation through peaceful means. Well no worries, just check out Fulghum's section on stealing gold from Fort Knox.

Thrill seekers, there's plenty of material here for you too. Good starting points are "Fly Through the Eye of a Hurricane" or "Guide and Surface a Nuclear Sub through Ice". My personal favorite is "Drive a Tank through a Tornado". Fulghum says the tank is "available from the US Army, contact the Pentagon to arrange purchase or lease". Does anyone have a phone number?

Imagine calling Fort Knox and asking the best way to break in and steal the gold. Don't have the guts for it? Don't worry, because Hunter Fulghum has done it for you. He has contacted everyone from the U.S. Dept. of Energy to his local alien experts to find out how you would do everything from Swim the English Channel to Borrow the Mona Lisa to Start an Independant Nation.

Aside from being funny and quite interesting, the book is very well written; I highly recommend it.

The subtitle is completely misleading, it's not "the definitive history of infinity" at all, indeed it's not even a history of infinity (actually, it only has two chapters on this subject).

The book is just another (very well written, by the way) popular science book which talks about general relativity, quantum mechanics, time-travel, big-bang, worm holes, etc. So if you have already read others books on this subject (as the ones of Kaku, Hawking, etc.) you won't find much new information.

But, in case you are really interested in a "History of Infinity", get the marvelous Rudy Rucker's book "Infinity and the Mind".

As a lay reader who's interest in math and quantum physics is limited to the "gee whiz" aspects of science, this book is a must read. There are great mind twisters and insights into the reality of math and physics. I was blown away by the discussion about calculus. Wish I had the insights when I flunked the class....may have helped!

Estoy iniciando la lectura del libro, por lo que no puedo todavía emitir una opinión global. Pero he hallado una afirmación tan errónea, que no puedo evitar comentarla. En la página 52 de la edición en español (Ediciones B, ISBN: 84-406-9582-9)dice que el Sol, "más próximo a la Tierra en verano que en invierno"... ¿Cómo?¿Desde cuándo las estaciones se relacionan con la proximidad al Sol? Como que dudo de que el Sr. Morris, todo un doctor en Física, según los créditos del libro, cometa un error tan flagrante, pienso que quizá se trate de un error de traducción. ¿O es que estoy equivocado y el Sol sí está más proximo a la Tierra en verano que en invierno?

When I picked up "Achilles in the Quantam Universe" it was soley for a school project. We were assigned to read a physics related book and "A Brief History of Time" wasn't at the library. I found, though, that once I picked it up I couldn't stop reading. Not only is it written so that anyone can understand it, Morris adds humor, anecdotes and footnotes that keep the reader immersed in the amazing accounts of historical events. Starting with Cantor, Plato and Zeno, the book moves through the discoveries of some of the world's greatest physicists. It focuses on the history of the concept of infinity, but while doing so, explains such things as the development of the idea of an electron and the charting of our solar system. He makes Galileo, Newton and Einstein seem real, as if he was a friend telling of thier experiments. The book is informative, fun and an amazing account of the history of "infinity", and I would recommend it to anyone.

Achilles in the quantum universe, was one of the best books I've read. It approached the concept of infinity in a way that the common reader could understand.