X Books

It might seem to be a story in of itself, "Scholar by the Warsaw Fire", it is, after all, an anthology according to its subtitle, or even, perhaps, a story within a story - this latter description should hardly be surprising, being that what has now been designed to tempt, and, indeed, on occasion trap the timeless may only achieve this ambition once it has woven a web by which 'it might seem' that not one corner has been exempt from its embrace, thus making the reader but a fool in his expectations, and the reviewer, being no less equally displaced, a prisoner to his frustrations; for either is bond to submit to his or her enlivened, enlightened, insulted and enthralled experience, and, equally, estimation about one's "taste" of what it is exactly that the book seems to grapple with. This said, I can't readjust the comments of the previous reviewer, but simply complete them, or, at least, further their advancement by keeping the frame clean from any potentially conceivable misunderstanding. Though the stories are diverse in character, they are, however, unified by more than their chronology. Each story, for example, has an opening narration which begins when some profoundly disturbing and yet almost invitingly intricate nightmare-event has already happened. You see, the first story starts with the Romans having already lost a strategically decisive battle against the Jewish insurgents; a single survivor, the name of whom is Uriahkles, becomes our "body and soul" throughout the rest of what follows from then; and only in this way does each tale told in the collection finds its course from beginning right up until the few yet last words on the ending pages at the back of the book. The plots are difficult to describe and, therefore, difficulty is often an invited guest in the "reading experience" of this volume. This book, then, is not for those looking to escape from enlightenment into ease and entertainment...but must be experienced directly, and thus a dynamic immersion is required of the reader in order to get things started, otherwise it's better not to read the book at all actually. As for those who are willing to find more than pleasure in these pages, it is bond to honor the desire and hold on to it zealously, until you put down the book. But even then, this too you will see, how when the reading is consigned either to completion or a temporary pause, it ought not to be believable for the stories won't leave you alone, and nor will they be content in staying quietly imprisoned within their world. If only this was hyperbolic but it isn't. And so at the end of this review I'll conclude on one yet final note: there're miscellaneous notes at the back of the book which will be found useful by any seeking further counsel and to how, precisely, the anthology has been arranged and the reality around which each and every entry in the collection revolves.

I originally purchased a copy of the book from an event held at my local college bookstore. I didn't know the event was being held there - I came there to buy some scantrons for one of my finals originally - but I found myself curious, asking myself why should I not go see for myself what the book is about. I was told that the stories were greatly diverse in both content and presentation, held together only by a series of particular time periods, more exactly: beginning with antiquity, then finding continuity with the Middle Ages, until we arrive at the age which heralds the advent of the European Enlightenment. This is, then, followed by the last century, with the chronology securing a rather surprisingly simultaneous climax and conclusion with the epoch in which we are now. There's no room for me here to highlight either each individual plot or character, let alone incident, but there's enough space to say why the book held, and continues to hold, my approbation. I'll give the fifth story, as an example, after which the anthology has been named. Its central character is Nazarich Shlomowitz, a disillusioned scholar and clergyman, who is still grieving at the loss of his last surviving family member. Nazarich inhabits the Russia of the Czars, a time when Jews are bond to oppression and thus subject to the whims of a corrupted hierarchy. Torn by his melancholia, he visits the gravesite on the anniversary of the death, during one dark night, after curfew. The clergyman's detected by one of the patrolling soldiers, who is supposed to enforce the curfew: for Nazarich, as with the rest of the village, have been thrown into a ghetto. But against all expectations, isn't punished for his flagrant violation of "the law", the specific-customary punishment of which would have been a shotgun to the forehead, but warned, "You'll be given six days to evacuate the ghetto. Any who fail to do this will be shot, on orders from the General." It seems that the story that follows is about the decision that Nazarich has been forced to make, as he himself was told by the soldier, "Save those you can, all the rest shall die." The tortured moral question, poised by the solider, forms the core of this character's struggle. To the point: "READ THIS BOOK!"

Interested in the phenomenon of couples onscreen? No one has written about this subject with such insight and specificity previously. I never thought about how many different kinds of couples there are before this read. Or how the way popular culture uses couples has changed with time. Take a look!!

Screen Couple Chemistry was a fascinating read that provided me with new insights into the underlying structure of romantic relationships in the Hollywood pantheon. This was particularly helpful in my work as a writer and teacher of screenwriting at NYU. I recommend this book to anyone interested in movies or about to write a screenplay with a romance in it. Nochimson's view of Hollywood hypocrisy is an eye opener and a doorway for any writer who wants to find something new and original to write.

As a tattooist, this book is very helpful for making scripts. The fonts are varied and intricate but also very legible. I have ordered a few of the different Dover font books and they're all wonderful, but this is one of the most popular with customers.

This book is really great as a reference and as a stencil tracer for words and names in different fonts. They are very clear and easy to copy. I recomend this book to every tattoo artist and want to be tattoo artist.

Full disclosure, this is my instructor. However, he wrote an informative book that can give you an introduction to the martial arts in general and his own thoughts and practices in particular. Although I've been studying with him for six years now, I will still pick this book up in order to refer to some detail of the material. If you're interested in starting to learn about the martial arts, it's worth a read. If you're already an expert, this book is still worth a read just to get a different perspective from an established master.

The book was informative. Techniques were very easy to follow. Anyone wanting to learn basic self defense should buy this book.

To the curious minds of today and tomorrow:

This book is an advanced treatment of x-ray diffraction, which should adorn the bookshelves of x-ray diffractionists.

It is a pleasure to see that such a diffraction classic is very affordable, thanks to Dover Publications. It is a "best buy" indeed since it offers a lot of substance for its price.

The uninitiated reader in X-ray diffractometry should approach it with caution, however. It is by no means a textbook.

Those who have a well founded working knowledge in X-ray diffraction, on the other hand, may want to read this book because it elaborates the underlying principles with utmost rigour.

As such, I highly recommend this book.

Cheers,

Dr. E
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Well...this book is definitely a "must have" book on diffraction if you're interested in this field. Dr. Guiner,for those who are not familiar with diffraction, was one of the leading scientist in the field and contributed much to the development of x-ray diffractometry. The book is definitely not for the beginner. However, for someone who has made his/her initial steps into the world of x-ray crystallography, this book might be rewarding to read for it discusses the fundamentals rigorously. The book is very affordable as well, making it a very attractive buy indeed...I highly recommend it.

_Sex and Single Girls_ is a must-read, as far as I'm concerned, especially if you're feeling like your sexual proclivities somehow alienate you from the rest of the world. This book ranges all over the sexual spectrum of smart, funny, sexy women. And, despite the title, not all of them are single, so don't let a serious commitment scare you away from giving this book a read! From the joys of being a tease to bondage to polyamory to porn...it's all discussed in here (along with much, much more)! The essays are often humorous, sometimes painfully sad, and, in almost every case, well-written and worth reading. Getting to know the contributors through their essays was one of my finest reading experiences in a long time, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

"Sex and Single Girls is fresh, bold, revolutionary, and entertaining. Lee Damsky has brought together a diverse group of voices that illustrate just how complex, exciting, and ever-changing women's sexuality can be. It both interrogates and celebrates sexual identity, sexual power, and sexual satisfaction. This book is a must-read for every woman, (and person) who cares about sex--it proves that we have indeed come a long way, baby." --Tristan Taormino, Editor, On Our Backs

The size and design of this sketchbook is perfect for tossing into the back of your car or truck, tucking into a tote bag, or slipping into an oversized purse. It also lends itself well to an illustrated journal, which is why I bought it for myself... two, in fact, as I'm sure I need to practice and polish very rusty sketching skills! Affordable, portable and (I'd think) giftable, though not recommended for water color. It's a sketchbook with pages that will not take much moisture (even dry brush), and I don't think Prismacolor markers would work either, as the colors would definately bleed. For colored pencil, charcoal, graphite or pastel pencils, though, it should be perfect!

Sketchbook is priced well and also has a cover that self-supports. No need for travel desk or other support.

I carry a sketchbook with me at all times as I travel throughout the world. Since I discovered the Watson-Guptil sketchbook I have used it exclusively for all my travels. I just returned from a couple of weeks in the Cook Islands and my trusty sketchbook held up well. The hard cover protects the pages from smudging and this handy size is easy to carry and pack. It will even fit in the leg pockets of cargo pants and hiking shorts. The pages are acid-free and have just enough tooth to take a pencil. Highly recommended.

I agree that these are great journals and sketchbooks. For some reason Amazon does not list the number of pages in the various Watson-Guptill sketchbooks, even though it is printed on the sticker. So this version has 176 neutral pH, nonyellowing archival-quality pages.

This is a colorful and attractive book that tells you everything you may ever need to know about creating multimedia presentations using SMIL 2.0, the second release of the World-Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language Recommendation. SMIL is an XML language for creating multimedia presentations, integrating media, temporal control and interactivity. A SMIL presentation can contain a combination of any types of media. SMIL itself is media "agnostic", and includes most media types by referencing their URL's rather than embedding them in the SMIL file itself.

The authors, Bulterman and Rutlege, are respected multimedia researchers and were key contributors to both the SMIL 1.0 and SMIL 2.0 Recommendations. They were personally involved in drafting and testing a significant portion of the standard, and the company that Bulterman used to lead, Oratrix, developed one of the first full implementations of the SMIL 2.0 language, Grins. So these guys know what they are talking about.

While the W3C SMIL 2.0 Recommendation (http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/REC-SMIL2-20050107/) is primarily written for SMIL implementors and XML language designers incorporating SMIL features into their XML-based language, the book is written for multimedia content authors. The book begins with an overview of SMIL 2.0, with six example presentations that show how SMIL can be used, some history, and a guide to the organization of the SMIL 2.0 standard. The next chapter gives a brief but useful introduction to SMIL 2.0 code including the major components of the language: structure, media, layout, timing, linking, and control.

Further chapters go into each of these areas in much greater depth, explaining all of the options and features in each component (terms module in SMIL 2.0) of the language. And there are many! To support fully featured, interactive, and attractive multimedia features that allow infinite flexibility in the look and feel of a multimedia presentation, SMIL 2.0 has a ton of features and options. In addition to the components already listed, there is animation (my favorite), transition effects, media clipping, advanced layout, extended control, and metadata. Bulterman and Rutlege do a good job of presenting a lot of material in an organized and attractive manner, with lots of examples.

By and large, the features in SMIL 2.0 are straightforward and intuitive to use, However, as is true in any standard developed to meet the needs of many separate groups (SMIL 2.0, for example), SMIL 2.0 is a large language with some potential pitfalls, and there are some also "doozers" and "gotchas". By necessity, the SMIL timing model is complex. While usually intuitive, in some particular cases the timing elements and attributes can interact in initially surprising ways. For another example, there are two kinds of SMIL XML for representing transitions, and all transitions may not be available in all platforms. The authors calmly guide the reader through all this. Backward compatability between versions of SMIL, including the oddly named 'skip-content' attribute is another complex subject clearly presented.

This book is both more comprehensive and much more attractively presented than any other book on SMIL that I have seen. The "insiders" view of SMIL that authors have is used to round out the explanations and rationale for things to good effect. Overall this is a great book for any multimedia content developer who is using or considering using SMIL 2.0. It will also be useful to SMIL implementation developers as another source of information when reading and implementing the recommendation documents. Lastly it should be of interest to students studying multimedia as an in-depth guide to a specific comprehensive multimedia presentation architecture.

Aaron M. Cohen
Chairman of the W3C Synchronized Multimedia Working Group (produced the SMIL 2.0 Recommendation)

This is a remarkable book, and by far the most authoritative guide available for the SMIL languages. It serves a broad audience, and combines a readable style with complete expertise in the subject matter.

For authors, the book provides an easy-to-understand explanation of the language principles and syntax. Many useful examples illustrate the features, and provide useful authoring templates. Bulterman and Rutledge's experience with multimedia authors and authoring comes through in the many tips and hints for addressing real-world issues and avoiding potential pitfalls. All examples are provided online as well, along with demos and other resources.

For the serious student or implementer, the book provides detailed explanations of the underlying models for layout, timing and animation. These sections benefit from the combined experience of the book's authors as leading members of the W3C standards group that developed the SMIL languages. Their understanding of the details is clearly beyond that of most other authors on this subject.

The book design itself is interesting and fun. Graphics in the margins mark the chapters, with key chapters featuring flipbook-like graphic "animations". It has a comfortable layout and organization and an excellent index. If I have a complaint, it is that I do not find the graphics summarizing syntax features to be very intuitive. Fortunately, the text and examples provide sufficient syntax reference.

Authors of web multimedia as well as academics and professionals integrating or implementing SMIL language features will find this an invaluable addition to their reference bookshelf - I strongly recommend it.

A rare and unique book indeed! Mr. Alarcon takes us on a spiritual path to the past with poems that are vibrant, full of wisdom, and rich in the voices of ancestors.

This book is an interplay with a collection of Aztec incantations collected in the early 17th century. It includes translations, a glossary and an extensive bibliography in addition to the poetry by Alarcon. The book is primarily for lovers of poetry but is useful to anyone with an interest in MesoAmerican culture and religion.

Alarcon's poetry is typical of his style - extremely spare depending heavily on its images and the connotations (as opposed to the denotations) of words. In this particular book where the number of poems in each section is determined by Aztec associations, a few of the poems are a handful of words - a snippet of a phrase. Some of these work in much the same way haiku works - but a few fail as poetry. The longer poems are consistently successful - either as new incantations or as comtemporary poetry.