Movies Books

This is one of those books.
Unfortunately shorter than War and Peace or Brothers Kam... , something Cyrillic. We need more from this author. She is someone who has the wit to spit in the eye of the inevitable. You wouldn't mind striking up a conversation with her in the line at the DMV or waiting for that express elevator. If you guys have any pull, use it for our advantage. Please. This is a funny, insightful, useful book.

Funny as hell, no funnier than that; funny as underwater basket weaving.

This book has more of a comical approach to the apocalpse.It was an alright read but don't be looking for good info on survival.This is a fun read not a serious one.

Ahhh, Meghann Marco, it must be crazy being around you. So the end of the world is coming (and it will come) so what are you going to do? Well, Meghann has given us some options based on knowledge-stealing from friends like 'Smart Neighbor', her own research, and piles of Apocalyptic movie scenarios. While this book isn't dead serious, it still provides some actual information yet in a highly humorous way. What do we have to look forward to - here ya go:
1. The False Utopia where culture, emotions, and reproduction are controlled by the 'higher ups'. How to break free of those mind controlling drugs they have you on and how to hide your freewill so as not to be captured and 'recycled'. You learn how to tell if you're in a dreamworld and how to avoid the simulacrum robot replacement initiatives.

Some at the movie references: The Island, Matrix, Clockwork Orange, Total Recall, Equilibrium, Stepdford Wives.

2. Neo-Medieval World and how it's brought about through natural disasters (super volcanos, greenhouse effect, ice age, meteor strike), pandemic disease, robot revolution, and the massive co-ordinated animal uprising. You learn how to survive in the apocalyptic wasteland (remember Wardrobe, Firepower, and proper choosing of your Vehicle & Pet). How to become the Warlord. Converting your car to use alternate fuels. Some notes on zombies and how to make antiserums (along with who to save - hotness is a factor). And dealing with massive severe climate change.

Look to movies like Mad Max, Army of Darkness, 12 Monkeys, Planet of the Apes, Terminator, Back to the Future, 28 Days Later.

3. Advanced Technological Dystopia where computers and robots infest our world. What to do to become the heroic detective and how to talk in 'cityspeak'. Being the Hacker and how to dress for it. How to tell if someone is a replicant and clone (and using it to your advantage). Dealing with extra-terrestrials and robot uprisings.

Movies: Terminator, A.I., Blade Runner, Fifth Element, Mars Attacks, They Live, and Alien.

4. Lastly, Tips for saving the world such as how to stop the alien invasion, assembling the proper ecclectic group of people to save the world, beating the massive co-ordinated animal uprising, and dealing with giant insects and other mutants of radiation.

Meghann gives us a great book to show how we can outwit and survive those less knowledgeable people that live down the street. Big influences on Mad Max movies, Matrix, & Blade Runner. Also, Meghann wants to make sure that anyone should be saving Jude Law for her (or George Clooney as a back up). She appreciates the undefined wisdom of Biff Tannen and most importantly... do whatever you need to to get a 1974 Ford Falcon 'V8 Interceptor' and you will be sure to survive.

- Do houseguests constantly complain that you've got nothing interesting to read in the bathroom?
- Do friends complain that waiting impatiently for you (as you try on your 33rd successive outfit while getting ready to go to the club) is boring because your coffee table contains only archaic episodes of the Onion and a few unpaid cable bills* to read?
- Are you constantly searching for 'light' or 'light-hearted' reading material that won't suck you in to a plot-line and refuse to let you get to sleep until 5 minutes before your alarm goes off?

Then go get yourself a copy of Field Guide to the Apocalypse : Movie Survival Skills for the End of the World by Meghann Marco

Most of the people I choose to spend my Saturday nights gaming, watching movies or even just socializing with, probably could have written this book. I probably could have written this book. You probably could've written this book** -- if we weren't so busy whiling our time away reading and writing things like Amazon.com Reviews instead, that is.

But thank heavens that Meghann Marco did - because it needed to be written!! And she definitely did it justice. Don't believe me without thumbing through it yourself? Go read a few excerpts.

It's a delightful little book - and if you keep it on the coffeetable, or in the W.C., it will amuse the crap out of you*** - presuming you have at least a passing knowledge of post-apocalyptic movies. It's good to be familiar with just about any Charlton Heston after-the-end-of-civilization movie (Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green, Omega Man...) It's good to know any Kubrick 'futurism' movies (2001, Dr. Strangelove...) It's good to know some of the more popular Philip K. Dick stories-adapted-to-movies (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report...) It doesn't hurt to have a healthy knowledge of the Classic-Sci-Fi-novel-turned-movies (1984, Farenheit 451, Brave New World...) in order to get a lot of the 'Cognoscenti' references. But even if your only familiarity is a brush with Logan's Run or the Matrix movies, you'll still enjoy the humor.

Honestly, this isn't deep, meaningful literature. It's not groundbreaking - there are a slew of similar books on the same subjects, including those limited to just one genre of PA society (zombies, comets, asteroids, wastelands...)
But it IS damn funny... and it's definitely worth the cover price.

Even if nobody else ever stays in your post-apocalypticesque bathroom long enough to find out why you kept laughing so hard while you were in there!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Which at least explains why they aren't watching pay-per-view adult movies on your TV instead
** An assumption, given that you're literate enough to have gotten this far and clearly have at least a passing interest in the subject matter - or you wouldn't have kept reading
*** The pun was unintentional when I wrote it, but then it amused me, so I left it in due to vanity (did you catch that one?) and because I can (can! hah... another bad restroom pun! I crack me up - not as much as the book does, but you get what you pay for)

Fluke tells the tale of an abandoned dog named Fluke that has past life memories of being a man, a man that was evidently murdered. Fluke then goes on an odyssey to find his home, his family, and his killer. Getting there alternates between funny and frightening. Herbert shows genuine skill as a fantasist here and I wish it was a talent that he tried explore more often, as this is his best novel.

This is a surprise. With Herbert, you usually got a gore-fest, and when I started reading this book about a man who finds himself in a dog's body, I imagined there would be lurid descriptions of dogs ripping apart other living things, probably humans. Far from it. This book is as cleverly written and as skilfully told as anything by Richard Matheson or Jonathan Aycliffe, and I do not make such comparisons lightly. `Fluke' describes the dog's (told in the first person-or should that be in the first dog?) quest to discover his previous humanness. It is a journey both of discovery and self-awareness. Herbert vividly describes what it (probably) feels like to be a dog, capturing the world of smells and canine desires; and the lingering sense of his previous humanity that propels him to discover who he was before he became a dog. The ending is moving without being sentimental. An unusual and satisfying book and one that I can fully recommend.

This book is a delightful and wondrous tale told by a writer who is best known by his forays into the Horror Genre.Author James Hebert abandons his usual ghosts and scares and takes the reader on a marvellous journey through the eyes of a dog , Fluke who was once a man in a previous life. In this book we see Fluke trying desperately to regain his life as a man as he goes on a journey to find his Human Family.Read this book and then give it to your children to read as it is a enchanting story for young and old.

This book is as beautiful, moving, riveting, and profound as its film version, and explains further the concept of reincarnation. A man returns to life on Earth as a dog...trying desperately to adjust to his new life, he is constantly beset by confusing flashbacks to his former life as a man. Why is he one of the few who remember? And should he go back home to find his human family? These questions and more are answered in "Fluke."

I've read this book many times and still find it fascinating; it's written simply but beautifully, in language anyone can appreciate fully. The author obviously has a vivid mind and understands how the world looks through a dog's eyes; or perhaps he has been a dog in past lives. I know that I have. I highly recommend this lovely, exciting adventure.

It was a dog's life for Fluke the puppy until the images that had been haunting his canine mind came into sharp focus - he wasn't supposed to be a dog, he was actually a MAN! How had he ended up in this furry body? What of his wife, his child? What of HIM? Soon, though, the truth came - he the man had died, and had been reincartnated as a dog. And the visions hinted that he had been murdered! This begins a quest as Fluke sets out to his old town, determined to deliver out justice to whoever murdered him...An excellent book and a personal favorite of mine. But the best part of all was Fluke. He remained at all times a dog, even though he had human intelligence and memories, rather than some bizarre mix of human and animal that all too many books have. Fluke's friend Rumbo is also an enjoyable character, even if he did have a passion for crime. One of the best, well-written and beautiful stories I have ever read.

If you ever found Cooper handsome, this book certain has many photos to entertain and foster this thought.

The hardcover is a must! The narrative inside is perhaps average but if you supplement the book with a bio novel on Cooper you'll certainly feel its well worth the expense. Buy, buy, buy

Well, let me start with what beautiful tribute this book is to her father. Maria Cooper's book is beautiful, but too many of the pictures look posed (Hollywood style). And the pictures that are actually not posed say more in body language about a family that clearly protects the Cooper family image. These people are beautiful, but they are too perfect: clothes, hair, makeup, you know it's all there. One picture I found fascinating, is of the three of them on a beach facing the ocean. Maria and her mom on the left, and further away is Gary Cooper and his body language is quite clear. Hmmm, that definitely was a candid shot. And if anyone is really looking, the beautiful Maria seems to be the glue that kept that family together. There is a gorgeous shot of the three of them in their ski clothes in an old house. Rocky with little makeup is quite beautiful, but Maria and her Dad are the ones in sync in this picture. I don't know, but these pictures show a definite strain in the family relationship far more than I ever realized. With friends, the pictures are happier. I am a fan of Gary Cooper's and always will be. And the fact, that he adored his beloved daughter and she adored him is clearly seen in this book. Maria Cooper shows us a Gary Cooper I have already seen in other pictures other people have taken of him. There really isn't a lot of hugging, and touching, and birthday parties, water fights, and family occasions, events, like most people and other stars have of their lives while children are growing up. I would love to have seen a picture of Mr. Cooper in his overalls in his garden (he was an avid gardener), teaching Maria to do things, showing her how to ride a horse, acting goofy.. Maria Cooper is quite lovely, and this book is wonderful to look at, but I don't really feel anything but a little sadness that she didn't show us more candid and "real" photographs about of her Dad and the family. There was a great deal more to this man than meets the eye. I didn't get too much of a glimpse into that.

The cover photograph, of Gary Cooper spoon-feeding ice-cream to his daughter on the streets of "Hadleyville," is a poignant clue to what follows. Maria Cooper was a girl who lived a very rarified life, and she lets us take a delicious peek at it.

This is a great book for initial insight into Gary Cooper by his daughter. It is very obvious she adored her father. The book is very informative about the personal life of "Coope" with many wonderful pictures, however, the book is more images than writing. The details are only touched on. If you are a Gary Cooper & you want many unseen pictures, this is the book for you...

In a day and age when the children of "the stars" write the most deplorable books about their parents, this book is a wonderfully tender tribute to a true hero. Absolutely refreshing.

I bought the book as a gift for a friend. It arrived in good condition, although it took a little while to get here. It appears to be amusing for those who like Star Trek.

Able to remove an appendix with one hand tied behind his back, The Doctor is also able to write an engaging book with tongue firmly pressed into his holographic cheek. While more "truthful" than Leslie Nielson's A Liar's Autobiography, The Hologram's Handbook is similar in tone and manner, told by a person who is rarely able to look beyond the mirror. The Doctor tells us organics just how things really are, and how they should be. Everything we love about The Doctor is here - from the biting sarcasm to the Data-esque desire to experience humanity. If you're like me and think The Doctor was the best (and perhaps the only truly great) part of Voyager, then this one is a must read.

If your a fan of Voyager and you loved watching the episodes that pertained to the Doctor aboard then you will just love reading this book. It is funny, witty and just down right enjoyable. A must read for any Star Trek fan.

A brilliant and witty piece of Star Trek writing, possibly the wittiest piece of Star Trek writing I've ever read.

Robert Picardo catches the essence of Voyager's EMH, our beloved Doctor, in a way that only he could. Witty, insightful and thought provoking are all words that perfectly describe this book.

I couldn't put it down, Picardo's writing is so smooth it's like listening to the Doctor himself talking. And not only does he provide insightful views on his character, but also some views about life in general, which are recurrent themes throughout all the centuries portrayed on Star Trek.

And, unlike the show, this book gives equal credit to pre-Scorpion and post-Scorpion time periods, and the Doctor speaks of both Kes and Seven of Nine fondly.

However, the book wasn't perfect. While Picardo covers the Doctor's views on some of the major characters nicely, I felt that he failed to provide enough insight into his relationships with the other characters on Voyager, particularly Neelix and Harry Kim.

Another low point of the book me was his continued references to Lt. Joe Carey, a recurring guest star on Voyager. In one early episode, Carey was abrasive to the Doctor, and Picardo has played that out to the extreme here, often saying he didn't like Carey. I found that to be a little rough, Carey eventually died on an away mission for Voyager, and to speak ill of a dead crewmember like that doesn't cut it in my book.

I would also have liked to have read more about the Doctor's experiences in the Delta Quadrant, and not just about personal relationships. The Doctor remained active and onboard the ship during most of the alien takeovers, and more often than not entire episodes were devoted to his adventures. Wouldn't these sorts of experiences have shaped his views on life a little? He watched as Suder struggled to contain his violence, watched as the Hirogen tortured the bodies of Voyager crewmembers, and countless other such experiences. Wouldn't these sort have things changed him? Perhaps he held a grudge against the Hirogen? Or detested the way the Vidiians used their medical science to harm others? Little to no attention was paid to these in the book, and I didn't like that. Those sort of experiences deserved a chapter at least, but Picardo paid no attention to them.

But that being said, the book was excellent, and provided great insight into the Doctor's character.

A must read if you are a Voyager fan.

Robert Picardo opens his Foreword to the book asking "Do you often feel you are the only intelligent one in a universe of idiots?" Brannon Braga, one of the executive producers of "Star Trek: Voyager," has something else to say in his introduction, that the book is "a hundred page cry for help."

All joking aside though, "The Hologram's Handbook" is truly a revealing insight into the chacter of The Doctor from "Voyager." Robert Picardo goes completely in character to write this missive that includes information on everything from "the pros and cons of hololife" to "the program upgrade of kings."

Throughout, the book is written in The Doctor's style, assured of his own superiority and yet enriched for the experiences he has had with his friends and even family. The book provides the expected background on The Doctor as well as adventures that had never been previously be revealed. The book contains images from "Star Trek: Voyager" throughout, as well as cartoon caricatures which The Doctor seems to abhor, but says his publisher felt it would help him to not appear elitist.

If you wish to know more about The Doctor, then pick up "The Hologram's Handbook" today. Or, if you're a holographic reader who hopes to improve your well-being and social skills, simply download it onto the nearest padd and prepare to be enlightened.

Lana: "The Memories, the Myths, the Movies" is without doubt the best book ever written on Lana Turner. Marvelous pictures, the complete biography, put together by her daughter who obviously loved her mother very much. Lana Turner fans will never find a better book about her.

I purchased this book last week and the verdict is that this book is such a treat and certainly a wonderful resource for Lana fans. Cheryl Crane and Cindy de la Hoz have included a multitude of photographs and information that I have not seen in previous books on LT. I am totally in love with this book, it is truly a joy to read and I would definitely recommend it. The photos are gorgeous and I think it's interesting that the book contains a synopsis of every film Lana was ever in - it even dispels the myth about her having supposedly been an extra in 1937's "A Star is Born". Her more obscure films include "The Flame and the Flesh", "Betrayed" and "the Lady Takes a Flyer" and each of them is covered in depth and many stills are featured. At the beginning of the book there are also some baby pictures of Lana (Julia Jean) and pictures of her dad that were not published in her autobiography or seen in Cheryl's TCM documentary.

I WAS EXPECTING A NORMAL HARD COVER BOOK........WHAT I GOT WAS A TABLE TOP BOOK WITH ONE OF THE MOST HONESTLY WRITTEN BOOKS I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME.
THE LAYOUT OF THE BOOK IS INCEDIBLE,AND MORE UNSEEN PHOTO'S THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE.
IT IS A SHAME LANA COULD NOT SEE HOW HONESTLY & DIRECT HER STORY WAS TOLD.
HER DAUGHTER DOES SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT...AND ANY ATTEMPT BY ANOTHER AUTHOR TO TELL HER LIFE STORY IN THE FUTUE WOULD BE IN VAIN.
THIS IS THE FINAL WORD ON AN INCEDIBLE STAR.

The quintessential book on this screen legend. Beautiful and numerous photos augmented with some interesting anecdotes.
Lana comes across as a star, but one that's been humanized by her daughter Cheryl Crane reminiscences. Highly recommended!

From the lush, gorgeous photos to the restrained and respectful text, this is a fan's perfect movie book. Page after page of lushly displayed photos, a very readable and elegant type face set on rich, coated paper in a layout that can only be described as simple and most artistically planned, LANA is a visual joy. It is also a book full of the kind of information that only a daughter could provide, yet it is not, by any means, a hatchet job and that is also a joy.

Lana Turner was a glamorous icon, a symbol of the kind of extravagant Hollywood glory that no longer exists and of which this fan has fond memories. She was a better actress than most and certainly better than many remember, but her blonde beauty in the dozens of perfectly posed studio photos and in her films put the emphasis elsewhere. She was, above all, a Star. The photo portraits here are exquisite, carefully chosen by a pair who loved her: her daughter Cheryl and Lou Valentino, collector extraordinaire.

This book is a loving work of art which any fan of Lana's and of old Hollywood will surely want to own.

I am an in-house attorney for a film production company. This book is a great resource to point you in the right direction in many respects: reminders of what terms various contracts/agreements should contain, the different types of agreements common to the film industry, copyright information ... just to name a few items. Money well spent for a very focused look at legal aspects to the film industry.

This book helps anyone who wants to do or is doing anything in entertainment be on top of their game. I carry this book with me, along with my bible (that says a lot about the book right there!) I read it every chance I get and learn so much more as a Writer/Producer, about the legalities and expectations of each member of a production team. This book is necessary for a business minded person. Crowell educates the readers in the basics of entertainment law, however he does not use language that only an attorney or judge can comprehend. He breaks concepts down in bite size pieces. I have gained a better understanding of what needs to happen in pre, pro. and post production of a film and will make sure that the many areas in film making get the attention and documentation that it needs because of this book.

This book is so useful, I don't know where to begin. It's well-structured, well-researched, and I don't know where I'd be without it. The author has so much useful information, and puts it in a way a filmmaker, who doesn't speak legalese, can understand. This book gets a very high recommendation from me for sure.

Having the hindsight of producing several movies, I wish I had read this book much earlier. ANY filmmaker would benefit from reading this book as early in their career as possible and then keeping it on their shelf as an invaluable reference tool to return to again and again.

This review is specifically directed to aspiring professional screenwriters: GET THIS BOOK.

(Note I did not say "buy" this book, since, if you truly are an aspiring professional screenwriter, you're probably sucking your own body lint for food and live under a bush overlooking the Santa Monica pier.)

Yes, do whatever you have to do. Beg, borrow, steal...pawn...get this book. You've already read your Sun Tzu:

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt."

Hollywood was built on exploiting talent, and specifically exploiting writers. It's time we (YOU!) writers start preparing for the business side of things because gosh knows the other guys are plenty prepared already. Reading this book will make you realize three things.

1. Actually getting your great little/big screenplay made will be incredibly complicated, even if you're just selling it to someone who already knows what they're doing.

2. There are ways to make your script more attractive for producers/distributers and more lucrative for you.

3. Thom Crowell is an informative and entertaining scribe.

I had a friend of mine in negotiations with a major studio executive. True story. Wrote a little script called "Balls, No Balls II." Guy tried to get my buddy to sign a contract without an NDA. My buddy stood up, whipped out his Pocket Lawyer and KA-BLAW! Smacked that suit right in the mouth! "You want my high concept? I WILL be signing that NDA!"

Hmmm, actually this never happened. But at least I know what an NDA is now. Do you? Oh, you don't? GET THIS BOOK!

And yes, AMAZON, you do offer a very reasonable price. I suppose buying it isn't out of the question.

Sabrinas Aunts apply her for a Summer camp consellor job. They put her down as having many other jobs alike elsewhere which is a lie. So welcome the highest consellor theyve ever had. So shes put in charge of cabin 13- the troublemakers cabin. But when they get too much she puts them under an obedience spell. Can she keep it up though when they are losing every competition?

Sabrina's lonely. Harvey's away to Europe with his Mum + Dad and Libby's flanting it in France.So her aunts zap a counselor résumé that makes her sound brilliant. So Sabrina and stowaway Salem are off 2 Camp Bearclaw.Then there's the bad news. She get cabin 13. the trouble-maker cabin.So food fights and running aways are a daily occurous.But so Sabrina finally loses her temper and cast a spell to make her camper act like angels. But her campers are 2 good. Can Sabrina win the Tug of War competition? And can she remove the spell? Read and find out!

This was definetly one of the best Sabrina books. It wascreative and funny. I really liked it a lot, and if you read it, youshould like it too.

ive read about 15 of the sabrina books and this is my favorite it even beats showdown at the mall. Its so good like all of john vornholt's books, as my favorite buffy the vampire slayer book is 'coyote moon' also written by john vornholt hes a great orthor. i think what makes the book good is it has comedy,romance,fun ect all in one book also its easy to relate to if you have been to summer camp. This is definatley my favorite and ive read many.

This is THE best Sabrina book of them all. Sabrina uses herwit, diplomacy and just a little magic to tame the wildest bunch ofkids at her summer camp. If you like Sabrina, read this book first.

I REALLY LIKED THE PROFILE OF THE BOOK AS A WHOLE. HOW THE TWO CHARACTERS QUINN AND NIKITA CAME TOGETHER FROM DIFFRENT WORLDS. BUT, I DID NOT LIKE HOW HE MADE LOVE TO HERE THAT LAST NIGHT AND RAN OFF WITH MAXINE. THAT PART I DID NOT GET AT ALL. PLUS NIKITA WAITED FOR TWO YEARS TO HEAR HIM SAY THAT HE LOVES HER AND WHEN HE DID, HE WENT TO LIVE WITH MAX AND SHE WAS WITH GRANT. I JUST THINK THAT MAXINE COULD HAVE STAYED WITH DRE AND LET QUINN AND NIKKI SEE IF TWO DIFFERENT WORLD COULD COME TOGETHER AND BECOME ONE. SO I REALLY DID NOT LIKE HOW MS. HILL LET QUINN AND MAX END UP TOGETHER.

This book is the bomb as my son would say . I loved It ! I was so excited to see Quinn choose Nikita they were made for each other in this novel. I was reading this book every chance I got to see if Nikita and Quinn was going to live happy ever after. Iv'e been waiting for this book to be brought to life on the silver screen. I recommend Nia Long as Nikita and of course my man Leon as Quinn, I'm not sure who would be a good character for Max perhaps Jada Pinkette Smith. Anyway the book was full of electricity.

This has to be the one book that has really touched my heart of all the 150 plus books I have read in the last three years! Hill has put (as my grandma would say) her ten toes into this book. "A Private Affair" has everything a romance reader could ever want in romance novel, of course that's my opinion. Truly it was a great novel that I recommend everyone should read, at least once! There is a sequeal to this novel and it is called " Pieces of Dreams." Get that one too you will not be disappointed. Much, much, much love Hill!!

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that Quinn did not pick Max over Nikita. I guess maybe because I am that special friend to my first love. But I enjoyed the storyline all the more. Nikita earned Quinn. She proved that they came from two different worlds and could still be HERE (like Martin would say "We Here"). I am going out to buy the sequel to this book to see if Quinn made the right decision. Keep up the good work.

DONNA HILL, NEWEST DIVA AT ARABESQUE!!

THIS BOOK GRABBS YOUR INTEREST FROM BEGINNING TO END. SHOULD RATE MORE THAN FIVE STARS. THE MAIN CHARACTERS QUIN, MAX AND NIKITTA WERE SUPERBLY DEVELOPED. THE LANGUAGE OF QUIN FLOWS IN SUCH A WAY THAT BRINGS US HOME TO OUR ROOTS. HIS FEELINGS HAD ME IN AN EMOTINAL UPHEAVAL. MS. HILL GRABS YOUR HEART AND PUTS A KILLER CHOKE ON IT WITH THIS BOOK. PERSONALLY, I WAS ROOTING FOR MAX TO WIN OUT IN QUIN'S LIFE. I GUESS I'M JUST A ROUND THE WAY GAL. BUT I LIKE THE WAY QUIN DIDN'T JUST LEAVE MAX HANGING AND PROVED HIMSELF TO BE THE MAN OF THE HOUR, EVEN THOUGH I HURT TO THE BONE FOR MY GIRL MAX.

I CAN'T SEE WHY THERE WAS ANY CONFUSION ON THE PART OF READERS AS TO WHO QUIN WOUND UP WITH. IT WAS VERY CLEAR BECAUSE WHEN HE WENT BACK TO MAX AND HELD HER IN HIS ARMS HE SAID A FRIEND WAS ALL SHE COULD BE. YOU JUST KNEW HE WAS GOING TO WIND UP WITH NIKITA WHEN YOU GO TO THE CHAPER THAT HEADED "AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN". YOU KNOW THE REST OF THAT SONG, SO THAT LET YOU KNOW THAT NOTHING WOULD KEEP HIM AWAY FROM NIKITTA.

EVEN THOUGH I WAS SAD OVER THE ENDING (NIKITTA WINNING OUT OVER MAX), I STILL LOVED THE STORY. IT IS A GREAT ROMANCE NOVEL AND I CAN'T WAIT TO GET MY COPY OF "PIECES OF A DREAM", WHICH IS THE SEQUEL.

THANKS MS HILL FOR YOUR GREAT WRITINGS, KEEP IT UP!!

A FAN

I found the history of the drive-in very interesting in this publication. It would make a great gift for any friend or family member interested in this type of history.

Although the drive-in theater didn't start in Hawaii, it may be that the outdoor movie did.
In "The American Drive-in Movie Theatre," Texas drive-in buffs Don and Susan Sanders have a photograph of a sizable crowd watching films projected against the outside wall of a building next to Sacred Hearts Convent School in Honolulu in 1906 -- about a year after the silent movie came to America.
It took a surprisingly long time to marry the outdoor movie and the automobile. In 1933, Richard Hollingshead Jr., the "father of the drive-in theater," opened the Camden Drive-In in New Jersey.
Although cars and movies seem as natural a combination as milk and cookies, it wasn't so easy for the pioneers. The Sanderses say the studios never liked "ozoners" and refused to make first-run, or even good second-run, films available.
And getting sound to the customers was a problem that took years to solve. When the problem eventually was put in the hands of a professional engineer, at RCA in 1941, a workable solution was simple.
But drive-in entrepreneurs were not engineers, nor were they the kind of people who turned to engineers for help.
They tinkered. The results were weird and wonderful -- and likely to annoy the neighbors. One solution was a giant speaker that broadcast the sound over the lot, and much farther.
Cold nights cut into business, too, but every problem was an opportunity to the drive-in operator: In Anchorage, the Billiken Drive-In offered 18-hour, seven-feature admissions in the wintertime.
The 1945-55 decade was the peak for drive-ins. The nation had more than 5,000 of them, though they never caught on much overseas.
From 1955 on, the Sanderses say, television and other changes started to suck the family trade away, leaving the field to teen-agers and Samuel Z. Arkoff's American International Pictures for another half decade or so.
Since then, drive-ins have steadily declined. There are about 500 left, mostly in rural areas. They require too much land to be affordable in cities.
Some individual theaters are doing well, and drive-in societies seek to preserve and protect them.
The Sanderses have traveled to more than 40 states to interview drive-in people and take pictures, and they have ransacked archives for illustrations.
They came up with enough material not only for this charming bit of nostalgia, but for another volume, "Drive-In Movie Memories."

Don and Susan Sanders have captured the essence of the drive-in movie theatre and packed all of the magic into a really great book. I flipped hamburgers at the now defunct Belknap Drive-in when I was in high school and turning the pages of this time-machine brought back many memories. Forget about multiplex cinemas and theater complexes at the mall. The American Drive-In movie theatre lives!

The best book of its kind, bar none. Photos are excellent, and it is obvious that the authors really know and love their subject. Anyone who has ever spent an evening at the drive-in would love the memories this book evokes. Anyone who never had the opportunity to participate in the golden age of drive-in movies can experience it vicariously through The American Drive-In Movie Theatre. I've given several copies as gifts -- Everyone loves a Drive-In !

Being a huge fan of drive-ins, I really looked forward to reading this book. The only criticism I have is the sequence of the actual chapter text of the book, and the information inserts that the author has throughout. It is very "chopped" up. Reading the chapter, then turning the page to find there is information pertaining to something else on the next page. The chapter text starts a couple of pages later in some cases, breaking up the continuity. Other than this, it makes for a very interesting read for those who enjoy nostalgia and want to be transported back to a more simpler and fun time.

I'm a fan of the wonderful Brady Bunch sitcom and some of the made for television reunion movies so I bought Elizabeth Moran's Bradymania book and I liked it and thought it was interesting and fun. I loved the episode guide which was actually the main reason I bought it but I loved all the rest of it too including the cast biographies and I highly recommend this book and also Growing Up Brady which was written by Barry Williams who played Greg Brady.

After reading Bradymania, I bought the book for friends that I knew would get a kick out of it! I even played a trivia game with friends and family, utilizing the Bradymania book as my source of questions about the show!

In terms of spinoff coverage, this is the best I've seen so far. While they're not the focus of the book, Moran does talk about each one in more detail than anyone else so far. There's no episode guide for the spinoffs, but I suspect the problem there is availability. I bet a lot of us would do our own episode guides if we could just see the shows again, uncut!

Moran's book also talks about the stage show, and speculates about the "upcoming" (at the time!) theatrical film, the first Brady Bunch movie from 1995. Moran was shooed away from the ultra-high-security movie set in her quest for tidbits!

I have yet to find the true ultimate Brady book. Like the rest of the Brady books, the episode guide in this one could be a lot plumper. But Moran's book is a good balance of character trivia, actor trivia, producer trivia, episode trivia, etc. Read every word, and you just might pass the trivia challenges at the end of the book!

You can find more in-depth actor trivia in "Growing Up Brady," and good "outside-world" trivia in the "TV Treasures" book. However, if you are looking for a little of everything, "Bradymania" will do the trick.

Elizabeth Moran did her homework. The famous TV show which first aired October 3, 1969 accumulated a lot of trivia, and Moran found most of it,

It is as if she read every Brady Bunch fan site and spoke at length with every Brady contact.

I'm not a Brady collector, and found "Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know" to be an entertaining book about a show I grew up with.

Learn about every episode, the careers before and since the show (including Oliver and Sam, and even 'Tiger the Dog' and 'Fluffy the Cat'). Incidentally, there were as many as 36 cats (all named Rhubarb) that may have played Fluffy.

There are sections on how the actors became Brady kids, how they were schooled on the set, how they relaxed, and why the show was eventually canceled.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I know this book is much more reliable than Barry Williams' often untrustworthy Growing Up Brady book. The GUB book has in it's original edition about 32 careless mistakes! In it's revised edition it has about 15! Buy this book by Moran instead!