Series Books

Anyone who has studied languages, particularly difficult ones, knows that repetition, and lots of it, is the key to success. This book and its companions excel in this regard. Vocabulary is chosen carefully and is then used to build graded sentences through example, dialog and narrative which can run to over twenty pages in a single lesson. I wish that I'd had the equivalent when studying Korean and Japanese.
One piece of bad news, however, the text is in traditional characters. This means that at some point you are going to have to make the effort to learn the simplified characters that are used by the bulk of Chinese throughout the world now. However, if you've mastered the texts in this series, that shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

These texts are the seminal series in hanzi erudition. They are great for learning the language, and reading and writing its characters. This one is the second of the first two 'Beginning' texts. I just finished the first. It should be noted that this, the 2nd, is intended to be grouped with the first. The 2nd therefore has the index, dictionary, and other appendices in back. The first only has the first 33 chapters. If considering purchase or already in possession of the first, you might consider ordering this one also.
The book is structured into chapters each presenting 10 base character words, and about 40 compounds derived therefrom. After character and compound presentation, are short example sentances which have english translations. Then there are a few pages of dialogue text, untranslated. Finally are a few pages of narative prose, also untranslated. Then its on to the next chapter with another ten characters. Every sixth chapter is a summary of the last five with some excercises to distinguish similar constructs and prose to excercise reading.
Amazon got the book to me flawlessly of course. Pricewise it was unbeatable, although I bought the first one used for a fraction.

I'm not going to repeat what has already been said but DeFrancis states that this book and volume 2 combined contains 120,000 characters of running text using just 400-500 distinct characters!!! It is this repetition and various presentation of characters in different contexts that I find the most valuable. I am not sure where else you can find such a large number of what is essentially graded readings for beginners.

As many have mentioned before, this is bested used as a supplement to a grammar text.

This book is an excellent means of practicing reading Mandarin chinese in Traditional characters, but has little to no guidance on grammar, pronunciation, or traditional uses. While some self-study types like myself would be tempted to try using just one book at a time, I'd say this would best be used in conjunction with the other books in the series, or one of the software/tape systems for spoken and grammatical chinese.

In the 1960's, while Mr. DeFrancis was working on this series, he wrote an essay called "Why Johnny Can't Read Chinese" (Journal of the Chinese Language Teaching Institute, Volume 1) in which he explains why a book like this is necessary and why he designed it the way he did. The reviews below pretty much restate it - you cannot learn to read Chinese just by memorizing a lot of individual characters.

An example: ben3 means "root" or "self." Lai2 means "come." Di4 means "earth." Ren2 means "man." All simple words. But when combined, could you guess that benlai would mean "originally" or bendi would mean "this country" or benren would mean "myself, yourself, himself"? There are thousands and thousands of combinations of this sort that have to be learned separately from the individual characters or you will have no idea what you're reading.

In addition, I would like to get something off my chest. Everyone tells you Chinese grammar is easy. It isn't! It's just different! Chinese uses word order instead of declensions, tenses, etc., to convey different meanings. If you get the word order wrong, you're saying something completely different from what you wanted to say. People will tell you word order in Chinese is a lot like English, which is true in simple terms, but a very dangerous generalization. "Bu hen hao," for instance, means not very good, but "Hen bu hao" means really bad. "Min2guo2" means republic but "guo2min2" (same characters) means citizen. In any kind of complex sentence (or even in simple ones) you need to be very familiar with common, habitual word order rules. There are too many of them to simply learn by rote. And that's not even mentioning the problem with particles like the infamous "le." You need to read a LOT of Chinese words in context to really learn these grammar rules.

And the DeFrancis Chinese Reader Series has just that. These books are thick! Another reviewer below gave the number of characters in each volume, I think, and you can read above the dimensions of the book, so I won't repeat it here.

The Readers also teach you the cultural significance of a lot of terms, a lot of idiomatic expressions, and a lot of historical and place names. And also I'll make the suggestion that you use these books in combination with his grammar texts, "Beginning Chinese," etc. The audiotapes for the whole series, including the Readers, is available from Seton Hall Language Lab. I don't think you can find any series more thorough.

Some people will tell you these books are out of date because they were written in the late 1960's, but I haven't found that to be a problem at all. Grammar doesn't change much. A few words have changed, but really, you need to know the old words as well as the new. I mean, is anyone saying that English readers can't understand books written 50 years ago? The only form of language that changes that quickly is slang, and you're in trouble if you think that's language learning. Foreign language book publishers are the main culprits here - they want to come out with a new, more expensive edition of their audaciously expensive, well-nigh worthless texts every 5 years. But don't get me started.

The introduction in the beginning of the book makes a lot of good points, but I've used up all my space, so I'll put some quotes in a "Volume 2" review in case you're still wondering if this is the right series for you.

Oh - and do buy Volume 2 along with Volume 1 because, as reviewers have noted below, the index is at the back of Volume 2.

Received this book within a few days of ordering. Like new condition. I am very satisfied with this purchase.

It is an awesome book. I stumbled on to Karen Kingsbury kind of accidentally and it was one of the best things I have ever done. She is an excellent writer. This book must be read after One Tuesday Morning.

Great. A must if you have read One Tuesday morning.

Karen Kingsbury did it again. Another fantastic story. Another, I can't put this book down until I finish it. I loved it! Great Christian fiction!

By: Jeffrey W. Bennett, author of Under the Lontar Palm and ISP Certification-The Industrial Security Professional Exam Manual
What can I say, I love a great story that has a great ending. Okay, for a guy, this story provides great role models. Karen Kingsbury demonstrate the great things that can happen when men take the lead to keep Christ in the forefront of their families. We all can benefit from heroes and we never know where we will find them. I'd say they can be found inside the pages of Beyond Tuesday Morning within the characters of Clay, Eric and Jake.

I've been training BJJ for about a year now, and I'm on the small side (130 lbs) so I find myself on my back a lot, and I quickly learned the importance of an effective guard. For me this book has probably done more to improve my training than anything else (except actual sparring). I usually fight guys much bigger than me (between 180-220 lb) and until I learned how to use the guard effectively I was basically a grappling dummy for my opponents. But now I'm constantly surprising my training partners and myself with how effective and varied these techniques from guard are, and I credit this book with much of my improvement. The guard is great because you can attack with all four limbs while your opponent can only use their arms.
Kid Peligro is an excellent teacher and offers many of the subtle details that make the difference between submitting and being submitted. For example, the section on breaking the posture and the 4 pages on the basic cross collar choked improved my game more than anything. Everyone knows this choke, but the minor details make it really dangerous, especially when you don't have a lot of muscle to force the choke. Before, most guys I sparred with weren't too worried about my choke, I was convinced I wasn't strong enough, but since reading this book I've put several guys to sleep because they wouldn't even considering tapping and now they try hard not to even let me get a grip on their collar. This opens up many more opportunities to attack with sweeps, arm bars, and omoplatas. What makes this book so good is the authors' understanding of students and the basic mistakes they make, as well as the very clear explanations and photos. The moves are integrated into a complete system that will put you years ahead than if you tried to figure this out on your own. That being said, there is plenty here for higher belts as well. I think the Essential Guard is essential reading for anyone taking BJJ seriously and interested in dramatically improving their Guard game. It should be know that there isn't a lot on the half- guard, it's mostly breaking the the posture, replacing the guard, opend and closed guard, butterfly, spider, and attack combinations. If you want a good half-guard game, I recommend Eddie Bravo's Mastering the Rubber Guard. These two books compliment each other well.

Thank you for writing this book. This book gives details about the guard that would take thousands of dollars to learn in a jujitsu school. I hope the authors write a book about how to pass the guard that is as detailed.

I found this book very useful and well laid out. I use this book whenever i get busy at work and can't attend bjj class as often as i would like. Very easy to understand with good pictures. My only negative comment is i wish the butterfly guard section was thicker.

this is the essential book for the beginner or intermediate BJJ player. it is likely the best BJJ book out there because it pays quality attention to the nuances of the GUARD and you will not get that at every jiujitsu school. without fundamental knowledge of the proper body positioning required to execute guard techniques, youre going nowhere.
futhermore, no matter how good you are as a 'top' position player, without a SOLID guard, youre wasting your time.

rodrigo medeiros is an excellent teacher.... one of the best. this is evidenced by the fact that he shows you the 'finer' points in very clear detail. one begins to wish that the book were much larger in scope and that it covered ALL the techniques from the guard, but no book can really do that. however, if you are having trouble executing or setting up the standard techniques, this book is sure to help. you get a $200 lesson for about 25 bucks.

get to rollin'

I loved this book the second I opened it. This book has a great lay out and an easy step by step process to help any gaurd game at any level. I opened it a read it the first day and put some new simple techniques into effect my first session. The chapter on setting up and combonations from one technique to another is GREAT, This is what all new BJJ strive for. Great book and a must get for anyone interested in improving there gaurd game.

Olivia O'Donnell's senior year hasn't started off too well. On the first day of school she finds herself in a three-way tie for valedictorian and needs to come up with a volunteer position to give herself an edge over the competition. As she schedules volunteer time in her already over-crowded day planner, other things get crowded out-family, friends, homework. But an unexpected stint on a makeover show gets her to thinking about others, especially those women trying to start a new life in the shelter. Olivia learns about what is really important in life and uses that knowledge to help out others.

This is a book I will encourage my daughter to read.

Award-winning author Wendy Lawton tackles a brand-new series, inspired by reality tv programs on The Learning Channel, Style Network, and various BBC Television shows. Teen Olivia O'Donnell is a multi-tasker, a stressed-out senior whose goal is to become her class valedictorian--if her energy and her day planner hold out. Her best friend Jane earns good grades, but also saves time for spontaneity--a quality that Olivia envies. Olivia used to carve time to watch Changing Faces with Jane, but lately, Olivia's schedule and goals have taken on a life of their own.

When this over-achieving young woman wins a total fashion makeover on Changing Faces, a new reality tv show, her all-new-improved look collides with the real Olivia lurking inside.

Wendy Lawton is a skilled word-weaver, but more than that--she has a knack for capturing authentic life lessons through excellent characterization and dialogue. Olivia feels like someone we all know, and her story subtly invites readers to examine their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the consequences of their choices.

CHANGING FACES by Wendy Lawton delves into the teenage world of fashion makeovers, peer pressure, and stress in a delightful tale that grips the reader as a young girl searches for God.

I liked CHANGING FACES a lot. I definitely give it 5 stars. It's a good teenager book. It holds your interest. I liked it because I like the make-over TV shows, but in CHANGING FACES Olivia realizes she needs more than a physical make-over. She needs a spiritual make-over too.

This first book of Wendy Lawton's Real TV series is delightful. Through Olivia's personal journey, the reader is reminded of the things that are really important. As Olivia pulls out all the stops to achieve her lifetimg goal of becoming valedictorian of her high school, her discovery of what it means to serve others is exciting. As she works at a homeless shelter, "those people" become her dear friends as we see them unite to work on a shelter project. And although Olivia receives a makeover on the outside, she realizes that it was her own attitudes that needed the makeover all along. Don't miss this great read!

Victoria Chang's first book of poetry, 'Circle', is unusual for a poetry award-winning book in that it can stand alone, quite apart from its already sung praises. In fact, it demands it.

Her Edward Hopper 'Studies' have a wonderful feeling of osmosis, evoking often charged scenes in Hopper's notoriously solitary paintings.

'An Evening at the Chinese Opera', 'Morning Porridge', 'At Lake Michigan' (which is like a Haiku that breaks its own rules) and 'There is Something about the East Coast' are other poems of particular note.

The unique notion of the 'circle', derived from Emerson and which forms the galvanising path of the book, does pervade the collection yet the collection would in no way suffer if this were missed by the reader. In a non-pejorative sense, this may be a collection where the sum is not necessarily greater than its exquisite individual parts.

Victoria Chang, Circle (Crab Orchard Review, 2005)

Every once in a while, I stumble upon a book like Circle (I say "stumble" because at this point I've no idea where I read about it originally), and all the time I spend reading poetry that ranges from the mediocre to the mind-splittingly awful is worth it. For Circle is one of those books where the poems leap off the page and come at you with a boning knife, gazing hungrily at the innards lying beneath that flap of belly fat you've been trying so hard to work off these past few years. While this is not happy stuff, for the most part, Chang manages to retain a twisted sense of humor about life, the universe, and everything:

After returning from Arkansas, I've never been the same.
Little here, little there, it's always great

to go à la carte-- it gives leverage and leave, it lends option to pull out
that front tooth or start saying y'all.

I begin to acknowledge feet with hair on the big toes, my eyes
get greener and green.

Periodically, there's a 300-point inspection and I'm checked,
re-checked, and checked again,

but what if the checker is the one missing a tooth? What if
I discover this

when I'm more than halfway? Do I turn back or keep going away
from home--

two small dots plucking broken guitars?
("Majority Rules")

Oh, yes, folks. I am unabashed in my love for this book, which will most likely make my top ten reads of the year. You want it. **** ½

What I love about Ms. Chang's work is her directness and her intensity. Though she said in an interview in June of this year that she would like to be more daring, I find her sense of political and social outrage infuses even the simplest of domestic situations, a fully committed kind of daring, as in this description of a rice dish the speaker prepares in "The Dragon Boat Festival" interwoven with a revelation about murdered baby girls: " I snip the string, unwrap the leaves, the rice pulses with steam, black dates ache, the wind smells of wet grass, sugar, fractured flesh." This is a wonderful book by an emerging poet who will become one of our nation's finest.

Reading Victoria Chang's poetry is like walking through woods in the fog, and every so often a branch smacks you in the head.

Circle is a collection of poetry by published poet and editor of "Asian American Poetry: The Next Generation" Victoria Chang. Poems encompass both the distant past, particularly laws, history, and customs of ancient China, and the muddled modern day. The female perspective, with its share of unique pains and mistreatments past and present, shines through in this interconnected anthology written with frankness and passion. Meditation at Petoskey: An old woman on the beach hands me a stone. / I tell her of the ruining landscape, tortoise backs / of stone, algae colonies, like puzzles on rock, / the lighthouse column with its cracked putty / and rotating eye. But she says, nothing has changed, / we have always been this way - a thousand young larks / mount the sudden breeze.

I'm a French student and I don't write papers without this- every verb, every tense, and easy to use. Amazing.

I found out that it's the reference book that French language professors always have. If you're taking French lessons, it's a very helpful aid, specially for written assignments.

Don't be fooled by the picture. This book (in hardcover) is truly tiny, but fabulous things come in small packages. I've been studying French for about 2 years, and I couldn't live without my Bescherelle. Sorry, Amazon, I bought mine in London!

this book is all you need in order to learn how to conjugate french verbs. if youre having problems with those irregular verbs that dont seem to want to behave this is ideal. there is no parallel as far as verb mastery. there is no assistance in grammar that's the only downside of the book . just memorize the 82 patterns and youre good for life. trust me (smiles)

This book is better than Barron's 501 French Verbs. Flip to the back of the book to look up which verb you want to conjugate and it will give you the page of the example verb. Flip to the page, follow the pattern and you are good to go! Great for intermediate french, or beginners who are serious about continuing french in later years - much better investment than the Barron's 501. Enjoy!

Contents includes:

interfacing a robot to a PC
electronics schematics : light, touch. motion sensors, distance, compass sensors

Robot magazine cost $5.99 and includes non JAVA educational robots

This book is superior to "Programming Lego Mindstorms with Java."

It is well suited to both beginning and advanced programers. It covers languages basics, but still provides much info to experienced Java developers about robotics Design Patterns.

It also includes detailed instructions and pictures describing on basic robotic construction...things like how to turn a rotary motion to a linear motion, how to change gear ratios, how to build differentials, etc.

There is also a detail chapter devoted to building your own homebrew sensors that even someone with little to no experience in electronics could easily build.

I am very happy with this purchase.

While taking java courses at the local college, I ventured into the idea of applying what I had learned. Being an avid Mindstorms fan, I found this to be the perfect outlet. This book has re-affirmed what I have learned as well as created new ways to look at the programming. Due my success with this product, my professors have asked that I periodically come by with a program for student review and demonstration of applied programming.

It is well written with unassuming overtones. The portions on building your own sensors also make electronic assembly easier. The graphics are black and white on flimsy paper giving the book a sense of newspaper style instructional manuals. This said, presentation could be better.

All in all this is a very good tool for the Mindstorms nut, Java programmer, and techy at heart. I highly recommend added it to your tool box!

If you have the Lego RIS and are interested in Java then this is the book to get. Bagnall leads you through the installation of LEJOS and JCreator (both freeware) including setting up the environment variables on your PC. He also gives a brief introduction to Java, enough to get you started. The chapters on behavior, proximity detection and navigation are especially good. As an added bonus, applying the techniques discussed in this book is a fun way of learning the basic concepts of Java and object oriented programming. It won't make you an expert, but it will get you started.

I just bought a mind storm kit and have had great fun during these thanks giving holidays. I explored the lejos api and have read this book. I am keenly interested in running the robot over the network, with the IR tower. And this book has just all the code and examples to help me work on that. I am using this book and the basic rover bot to test out some java code on it. I have tried a few lejos examples. This is a great book. Its just amazing thatjava can be run on 32K of memory!

--Naveed

Dr. Kernan's four years overseas, which encompasses the full length of the War in the Pacific during 1941-45 is an autobiographical treasure that is as true a war story as any can be. This book takes us not on a pleasure cruise, but a voyage into a long-forgotten world of young, Depression-era ranchers and shoe clerks turned aviation ordinancemen and pilots. These we meet, however briefly, snaking up the stairs in a long line at the New Congress Hotel whorehouse in old Honolulu, in a below-decks poker game on a rusting, inflammable escort carrier, or seen for a fleeting moment, unconscious in the gaping seas as the result of a slight but deadly flight miscalculation, sinking beneath the waves, impossible to save, gone. Those voices of the past, their thoughts, fears and dreams, are recorded here with a painful honesty and without much sentiment for, as the author admits, he never really intended it for general publication at first. Those of us who appreciate history poured straight up will be forever in his debt that he changed his mind.

War, of course, is the antithesis of wonderful, and yet Alvin Kernan's memoir is so vividly and beautifully written that I wish to have been at his side during that time. The other reviews give a sense of Mr. Kernan's story, but I want to spend my praise on his writing: clear, direct, unadorned prose, which nevertheless conveys an absolute sense of place. If you want to learn to write well, you will read this book repeatedly. If you teach writing (not making up), consider Crossing The Line as a textbook.

Highest recommendation. You can order new copies online at Yalebooks.com.

. When you think of an east coast university professor who specializes in the humanities--Shakespearean literature, in this case--you probably won't be visualizing someone who started adulthood by engaging in vicious aerial gunnery duels with Japanese fighters and otherwise living the stressful, profane, hazardous life of an enlisted sailor on three World War II aircraft carriers, one of which was sunk while he was aboard. Such is the case, though, with retired Yale professor Alvin B. Kernan, author of "Crossing the Line," one of the most interesting and often gripping sagas of navy life that I've read.
. The book came as a surprise to me, on two counts. One, I knew that Kernan had been an aviation ordnanceman on the USS Enterprise during the Battle of Midway, and later an aerial gunner. But I had very little notion of the depth of his wartime experiences, not only as an aircrewman but also in escaping the sinking of the USS Hornet in the Guadalcanal battles and in a harrowing deployment aboard the escort carrier USS Suwanee (CVE-27). Suffice to say in this short review that Kernan earned a Navy Cross, a DFC, and five air medals from inside the turret of a TBF Avenger!
. And two, I had previously read Kernan's fictitious account of the Battle of Midway, "Love and Glory," which I thought was interesting but flawed in a number of regards (see my review on Amazon). For that reason, I was a little dubious about reading "Crossing the Line." Would this be another "interesting but flawed" piece of work that would cause me to keep my red pen handy while I read it? No. Crossing the Line is simply outstanding. Anyone with an interest in WWII naval air action will also want to read this book. I highly recommend it. Yes, there are a couple of minor nits that a very knowledgeable historian might want to pick, but they are so insignificant as to be unworthy of mentioning here. "Crossing the Line" will not disappoint you. In fact, you'll probably find it hard to put down.
. (Reviewed by R. W. Russell, Battle of Midway Roundtable, www.midway42.org)

Alvin Kernan has written one of the best books on WW2 I have ever read, and I've read a lot of them. His descriptions of his wartime experiences are crisp, vivid, and relevant.

If any of us are ever tempted to generalize in a negative way about sailors in the U.S. Navy, I suggest they read this book all the way to the end. What Kernan went on to do after the war is just as impressive as what he did while he served Uncle Sam.

Alvin Kernan was a 17-year-old from a poor family when he enlisted in the Navy in 1941. He was assigned to the carrier Enterprise and was aboard on Dec 7, 1941. He served aboard carriers most of the war, including a tour aboard the Hornet and he was aboard when she was sunk. He spent most of the time with the torpedo squadrons and gives a vivid account of the Battle of Midway. Most war histories are written by or about the leaders and it is unusual to find someone who was there for all the battles but who was seeing it all from the bottom up. After the war, he went to college on the GI Bill (as did I) and eventually ended his career as dean of the graduate school at Princeton. This is a vivid and knowledgeable account of the carrier war from one who was there and is a skilled writer. Anyone interested in the navy in World War II should read this book.

Christy Award-winning author and attorney Robert Whitlow combines his professional expertise, Bible knowledge and strong faith to deliver DEEPER WATER, a legal drama set in the South. Like his character's aluminum johnboat, the storyline drifts slowly along for the first half as the scene is set and characters and complex relationships develop. Though this portion of the book lacks any page-turning action, it serves to bring us into the sharp mind and faithful heart of Tammy Lynn Taylor, a law student whose family ties and convictions will navigate her through the challenges of a summer internship at a prominent Savannah law firm.

In the prologue, we meet Moses Jones, a southern black man whose home is a piecemeal wooden shack on the Little Ogeechee River. His life is little more than a routine of collecting cans from town during the day and fishing by night. For all the world, Moses anonymously leads his simple life without a care. Below the surface, however, he conceals a secret that weighs heavy on his heart --- a secret that sometimes brings "faces" to the surface of the river's black water. When Moses is arrested for tying his johnboat to private docks at night, his case is put in the hands of a sweet, intelligent legal intern.

Tammy seeks the Lord's guidance in everything and follows through by opening her heart to His responses. As she traverses the murky waters of her profession, Tammy glides into Moses Jones and quickly uncovers a scenario far more sinister than a poor old man illegally tying his battered boat to people's docks. She wonders about his "faces in the water" and questions whether or not he may have put them there.

Further research leads Tammy to an unexpected source: the elderly woman with whom she is living for the summer. As more and more clues are revealed, Tammy is sure that the senior partners of her law firm are tied to her client in a cold case involving the murder of a young girl. Her friendships with three co-workers are complex, and doubts arise as to whom she can trust. Answered prayers and an interesting twist set the record straight as Whitlow ties it up in a neat little bundle, still leaving the readers to ponder a relational question.

Tammy's deep-rooted conviction is evident in every move and conversation, whether or not it leads to stares, persecution or simply awkward moments. Unwavering in her faith and as obedient to her parents as she is to God's laws, Tammy is almost unbelievable as a character. That said, I have to add that she is inspirational as well, and may lead readers to pause now and then for some self-reflection of society's influence on their own spiritual journeys.

--- Reviewed by Susan Miura

This is Whitlow's best writing yet. It's another "can't put it down" book that will appeal to both men and women, and should make another excellent film (be sure to catch The List, which is now out on DVD)!
I look forward to the second and third novels in this series, to see how Tami will develop her own faith and character.

Robert Whitlow is one of my favorite authors. I can't wait until the "next" book comes out. I have all of Mr. Whitlow's books (most of them signed) and have enjoyed everyone. I have met him several times in person and found him to be a very gracious person. It is uplifting to read his caliber of books. I could not put Deeper Water down until I finished it in the second afternoon.

Excellent book. I could not put it down until I finished. I have read all of Robert's books and they are all great. Keep it going.

If I'm honest, I was a little bit disappointed with this novel. it seemed to me, that the conspiracy aspect was built up to such an extent, that when we actually got to the crux of the situation, it was over with before it really started. BUT, the saving grace for me is that this is the first in a series of novels from Mr. Whitlow concerning the truth, with respect to his main character in this novel, her family, and how her particular Christian upbringing has helped to shape her attitude concerning her conduct, and views concerning the outside world. So, taken as an introduction to this upcoming series, it has left me wanting more, which, no doubt is evidence of a good author, of which Mr. Whitlow certainly is. I await the next novel in this series.

This writer is very clever in the evaluation of Harry Potter. The author comes up with many different scenarios based on facts in the first six books and gives deep thought to all possibilities. This book is a great read for the Potter fan that is anxiously awaiting Book 7!

I've read three HP 'prediction' books, and this was definitely the most enjoyable read. The author clearly has given this a great deal of thought; he not only discusses his ideas on 'the big questions' that we all have (and came up with some fascinating twists to think about!) but also presents a number of small details that I guarantee never occurred to you, but once you read them you can't stop thinking about them and where they may lead. I especially loved that he referenced books with page numbers for every assertion he made, so that I could go back and reread in more detail. It was fun to reread parts, after having been given additional insight to their meanings.

I also greatly liked the friendly, very personal style of writing. I see why other reviewers said it felt like having a conversation with a (similarly obsessed) friend. Reading this made me that much more impatient for Deathly Hallows!!!

I thought I had studied the Harry Potter books, but the author of this book has really done his homework. The book addresses predictions for Book 7, important questions that must be answered in this last book, set-ups from previous books in the series that must pay off in Book 7, and the all-important issue of whether Snape is good or evil. CasaBianca supports all of his predictions and theories with evidence culled from the Harry Potter books themselves, and published interviews with JKR. He freely admits that some of his theories are going to be wrong, but you have to concede that they all make sense.

The book is written in a very conversational tone; it's kind of like having an animated discussion about Book 7 with an old friend over a butterbeer. A very enjoyable read.

If you are like me, having read books again to glean hints from previous HP books to see how it all ends, this is an exciting book. Louis CasaBianca has systematically gone through and has formed speculative answers how our favorites end up.
I simply do not want the series to end, and I am no kid. Hallows looks to be a violent scary book. In a perfect world, good conquers evil, but I guess in the real world the balance doesn't fall that way. This book gives predictions of what the clues from Book 1 on have to say.
While this book doesn't calm fears about what Rowling will do to our favorite Hogwart friends, it does give an educated theory on what will happen in Hallows.
Worth cost of the book.

As Harry Potter fans everywhere gear up for the release of the seventh and final novel in the septology, devoted fans and authors are throwing in their final two cents on what they think is going to happen in the coming book "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". What secrets and mysteries are going to be explored and explained? Which characters are going to survive the final battle?...and which aren't? What set-ups that have spanned several books are finally going to pay off? How does it all end?

Most H.P. fans know that half the fun is in exploring these possibilities and theories while eagerly awaiting the arrival of the one book that is going to give us all the answers. Louis CasaBianca, author of "Defogging the Future: Unauthorized Speculation about the Seventh and Final Book of the Harry Potter Series" is the most comprehensive, insightful, and down-right entertaining foray into answering the unknown, and theorizing just what the heck J.K. Rowling is up to!

Within this book, the author fearlessly explores the remaining mysteries, and attempts to weigh in with their well-educated and well-researched guesses at whats going to happen. Half of the book is dedicated to the enigmatic and confounding issues surrounding Severus Snape (Is Snape good or evil? What are his true motivations for his actions? Why does Snape think, act, speak, and behave the way he does?), while the remaining half of the book is dedicated to the myriad of other remaining mysteries.

At the beginning of the book the author clearly makes 33 fearless predictions for Book 7, and then proceeds to support these predictions (some of which will have you going "What!? Why on earth would he think that!?), while others are obvious and easy predictions to make. Just to wet your appetite, here a few predictions included in the author's original thirty:
**Voldemort gave Lily Potter several chances to live as a reward to Peter Pettigrew for betraying the Potters. Pettigrew betrayed the Potters because he wanted Lily for himself, under the Imperius curse or dosed with a love potion. (Those of us who have already read Book 7 know that this prediction is wrong, but it is still fun to read the author's support for this idea).
**Sometime during Book Seven we will return to the Ministry of Magic, to the Death Room and/or the "Locked Room". The Locked Room is almost surely the "Love Room," and is the most probable site for the final battle between Harry and Voldemort.
**Fleur Delacour will kill Fenrir Greyback, while transformed into one of the Veela-birds described in "Goblet of Fire". (This is one of the predictions that was admittedly a little off the wall, but it's fun none-the-less).
**We will spend much more time reviewing the memories of Severus Snape -- and the author was very correct with this one!

After exploring his 33 predictions, and the evidence he has discovered to back up these predictions, the author also discusses 20 burning questions that remain, along with examining 12 different set-ups that have yet to pay off. Bottom line, this is a must-have for H.P. fans, and no one will be disappointed with this intriguing and delightfully humorous book!