Creators Books

The book is excellently written and the a 6 pack is the cheapest way to get it. I wanted to share the book after I read it. I bought this pack to give to a handful of people as gifts.

The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God

A great book for a sceptic or a believer. Puts into light a lot of what the scientific community finds as "proof of God's nonexistence". Not much else to say. The above link will place you at the regular version of this book. This is simply a "mass market paperback" meaning the paper's a little less quality (but it's still paper), the book is a little smaller (and consequently thicker) and it's cheaper. I got this pack because I wanted to hand some out to friends.

The Case for a Creator is a tremendously straightforward explanation of powerful evidence to substantiate the existance of The Creator. DNA, Micro-Biology, Darwinism revealed, debunking of popular thinking and presentation of cutting edge scientific thought. The experts are called out to explain how the world got made. And the overwhelming evidence is it as NOT an accident. Only one way to build a mousetrap that works. But where did the parts really come from? Dinosaur evidence is severely lacking to explain evolution and the creation of the thinking process in your head could not have happened by accident. Science cannot account for the fact that you exist, but you do. Wonderful presentation and explains opposing viewpoints with aplomb.

To be honest, I, too, am a layman in many scientific fields. And I must confess that I was almost convinced by this book when I reached Chapter 2 of this book. However, I noticed something lacking in this book. It is the lack of opposite argument that opposes all the scientists that were interviewed by Lee Strobel.

When I reached Chapter 2 and started reading the argument concerning the flaw of Miller's experiment or should we say Miller-Urey experiment, I noticed something strange. The scientist said that there was very little hydrogen within early-earth atmosphere because they escaped into space. How can anything escape into space? How can anything of earth escape earth's gravity? Unless, of course, the object's initial velocity is 11.2 Km/s (while excluding the friction of the atmosphere). So what has propelled the entire Hydrogen atom into space? And after this point, I found it difficult to continue reading.

But for the sake of reading, I continued on and I noticed that for every argument, there is no counter argument. You might say that the entire book itself is the counter argument. And you are right. However, every scientist in the book claimed that the "recent" discoveries of science showed that the previous theories no longer hold. And that the scientists who still hold on the old theories did not even counter these "recent" discoveries. As a journalist, Strobel should also interview the scientists who hold opposite view than the ones he interview in the first place.

I heard from a friend of mine that the book even discredit Stephen Hawking's mathematical model of the universe. And apparently, according to the scientist interviewed by Strobel, it was because Hawking use imaginary number within his equation and did not convert it into real number at the end. Tell you what; imaginary number is as real as any number. However it will be meaningless to apply them in construction or accounting. But applying them into AC circuitry will give a satisfactory answer, even if you do not convert them into real number. Moreover, their real life counterpart can cause harm or damage to either human or other equipment even if they themselves are called imaginary.

In the first chapter of the book, Strobel said that he wanted to explore all possibilities. Alas, he failed miserably. By reading the book, you will wonder why our school textbook still teach the "misguided" and "misleading" information and might be convinced of conspiracy. Well, maybe because the "recent" discoveries itself are not well supported and failed. I have shown you two minor aspect of the book that is flawed, for I know of them. And I bet that any reader with more knowledge than me will be able to point out more flaws within the book. And even if it is only a minor aspect, no hypothesis will survive if one of the assumptions it is build upon is flawed. Such is science.

However, he did write a good book for the conversation within the book is easy to understand. What he failed, however, was to present the other side of the argument. And one must take heed of this fact when reading this book. I was planning to give it one star but seeing how argumentative it is and easy to understand, I will give it 3 stars.

I had the fortune/misfortune of being born into a very religious family. I grew a little tired of rejecting invitations from friends and family to various religious services and outings. My rejections stemmed from doubts as to the usefulness of religious pursuits as I was skeptical of the bible as an actual and factual recount of history. I was decidedly agnostic (not an atheist; there's a difference) and thought I had to be missing something. I came to this book through a desire to somehow reconcile the world as I saw it around me with a belief in God. I had just completed a book by a young earth proponent which actually served to push me further from a belief in God. This book (which I intentionally refuse to identify here) required the suspension of common sense and the abandonment of logic and reasoning to believe in God. I have since read many other books which include books by self professed atheists, creationists, and evolutionists. I have also read many books on the topic of intelligent design; books on theology, psychology, the human brain, and why we believe what we believe. I have come to several conclusions as a result of my readings. I will list a few of these before I get into my review:

I have the utmost faith in the scientific method and believe that it will ultimately reveal real scientific truths over time.

I do not believe there is a conspiracy in science to deceive or harm people. Having flown on planes, eaten canned foods, driven in cars, had surgeries, taken medications (some of which worked), nuked hot dogs in my microwave, and turned on my TV (with a remote no less) without any fear of death or even harm, I must conclude that the pursuits of science are in general good and benevolent.

I believe that the 99% or so of scientists who believe in evolution really do (that should go without saying, but some people I have spoken to believe they don't but have a hidden agenda), and I believe that they have valid reasons to think the way they do. There is no reason for me to doubt that men capable of putting a robot on Mars would lack the cognitive capacity to draw logical conclusions from thier observations.

I do not believe that anyone should criticize creationism, ID or evolution without first making every attempt to understand each side of the argument. That does not mean asking a creationist to explain evolution to you or accepting an evolutionists explanation of creationists arguments for creation and/or against evolution. I have found that this is the surest way to get misled. Each position should be researched from sources put forth by proponents of each side that reflect the true stance of each camp. That is what I did. Admittedly though, this was probably easy for me as I was looking for truth and not reassurance.

I have an excellent understanding of evolution (from an evolutionists standpoint), and I have an excellent understanding of the arguments against evolution (from a creationists standpoint).

MY REVIEW:

This book has one glaring flaw that must be addressed before any other issue can be dealt with. Throughout this book, Strobel casts himself in the role of the skeptic; an unbiased journalist in search of actual truth who was quite often "shocked" at where the "evidence" led him. I didn't have to read too far into the book to see that the opposite was actually the case. Biased doesn't even begin to describe this book. Strobel neglects to interview anyone with stances antithetic to those of the logically apparent creationist views of his chosen interviewees. I suspect that the conspicuous absence of even one interview with an evolutionist had more to do with strategy than presenting the truth. This ultimately served to detract from the credibility of this book, but somehow I don't think this was a problem for Strobel. Overt one-sidedness notwithstanding, this book actually made a poor case for a creator. There are ostensibly a handful of arguments that creationists invariably reiterate as facts that supposedly invalidate evolution. These are more or less the same arguments put forward in Strobels book. The problem is each and every one of them have sound and convincing refutations in main stream science. I'll admit that I found Behe's irreducibly complex argument a bit novel and a somewhat worthy challenge to Darwinian evolution, but it also has already been effectively refuted. Strobels book really adds nothing new to the whole creation/evolution debate, so if you've already heard the current arguments, then you already know where Strobel is headed.

I must admit though that I am in total agreement with this book on one major point: evolution is a theory in crisis. Evolutions one possibly (though not likely) fatal flaw is that it dares to contradict a literal interpretation of the bible. There is no doubt in my mind that the bible would be a heck of a lot different had science been at the stage it is now when the passages of the bible were originally written. For those of you who think that evolution is a myth that can be disproved, guess what, you are right. Evolution can be disproved quite easily in fact. If any of the following were found, for example, it would disprove evolution and send the scientific community scrambling for answers:

-Any primate that doesn't carry the gene for vitamin C synthesis.
-Fossils of prehistoric kangaroos in North America (or Mt Ararat for that matter).
-Indigenous cacti in the deserts of Australia.
-Fossil horse ancestors in Antarctica or Australia.
-An australopithecine fossil anywhere outside of Africa.
-Atavistic legs on sharks.
-Atavistic gill slits on whales.
-Atavistic feathers on bats.
-Alligators or magnolias indigenous to anywhere outside of Eastern North America or East Asia.

If you do not know why any of these would disprove evolution, then you don't know enough about it to lable it as false. Take the time to research it conscientiously from sources by mainstream science and not from people like strobel. I am not saying that he is a bad person, but he has a clear agenda, and it is not one that allows him to treat evolution with integrity. Strobel's book summarily states that there is no evidence for evolution. The wanton truth is, however, there is plenty. There is a veritable web of interconnectivity between evolution and virtually every branch of science. Evolution makes many predictions in the areas of geology, genetics, biochemistry, and geography to name a few. If anyone of these predictions cannot be borne out through research or experiment, then the theory would indeed be a bust. I have to believe that many of the "scientists" that claim to have disproved evolution know at least some of these predictions. If they are serious about debunking this 150+ year old theory, I would suggest these predictions might be good starting points. In the mean time I would say this to the average lay person (like me): make an honest attempt to understand evolution. Ask for help if you need it. Science is, afterall, a difficult subject to tackle for most. If after you have done so you still believe there is no basis whatsoever for even entertaining a belief in evolution then wait. Give it some time. There is no greater friend to truth than time. If evolution is a myth, then it will be proven to be so by the unrelenting progress of science. I promise you. One thing though, don't hold your breath.

As for my search for God. I've concluded that it is absurd to think that science can be used to quantify or validate God. God is beyond the empirical and cannot be experienced but through faith. As proof of this I offer the foolish and awkward attempts of young earth creationists to shoe horn natural history and science into compliance with a literal interpretation of the bible. The efforts of old earth creation scientists and IDers might not be as blatantly misguided, but they are just as foolish. To try to justify God through science is to admit weakness. Such endeavors only serve to turn people from God. Even though it might seem like it sometimes, science is not trying to disprove God. Science simply cannot do that and is actually not even equiped to comment on God. All science is trying to do is improve lives through knowledge and understanding. Is it rational to so casually dismiss science in this instance without hearing her story (from those who represent her acurately and honestly) while viewing images of shoemaker-levy 9's collision with Jupiter on the internet or taking an antibiotic for that infection your doctor discovered Through MRI technology? Real faith lies outside the purview of science or empirically measurable experience and is not unreasonablenable. Keep your faith, but not because someone tells you the universe is 15,000 years old. Keep it in spite of the knowledge that it's closer to 15,000,000,000.

During the past several months, I have enjoyed reading the Oz books aloud to my little sisters, from which we have all derived much pleasure. As Baum himself so eloquently put it, "My books are intended for all those whose hearts are young, no matter what their ages may be." Katherine M. Rogers describes L. Frank Baum as an imaginative, impractical, optimistic dreamer who loved flowers, music and above all, children. I got a sense of that when reading the charming forwards to his books, but this biography gave me a better picture of what he really was like.

One of the things that surprised me most was that both he and his wife, Maud, were feminists. I can only imagine that turn of the century Americans would have been shocked to learn that while he provided the family income, Maud managed their budget! While this may have been unorthodox, it was only logical since she was the more practical of the two. She was indeed more than just a helpmate to him; she was his friend and encourager. I smiled through several stories involving the two of them that showed how much they loved each other.

Something that I found disappointing was that Frank blamed Christianity for many of the problems of the day. What really irked him were the hypocrites. I believe he should have looked to what Jesus said instead of listening to self-absorbed church goers to form his opinion of the Bible. Sometimes he sounded like an atheist because of his faith in science, and at other times he seemed more influenced by New Age philosophy because of his belief in supernatural beings. The marriage of these two ideas deeply influenced his writing.

Anyone who likes "The Wizard of Oz" or is interested in Victorian authors should check out this insightful book. However, Baum's view of Christianity saddened me. His death and few last touching words to his wife were nothing short of tragic. There will always be people who twist the Bible for their own purposes, but that does not make it false. I would encourage those in doubt to turn to the Bible itself. In truth, I think Baum would have found heaven closer to his wondrous Emerald City than the paradise he so bitterly wrote about in his work, "Policeman Bluejay." (pg. 150-151)

Katherine Rogers, like myself and thousands of others, is a fan of L. Frank Baum and his books about Oz. She is also a scholar and has written a truly detailed and well-documented biography of this interesting and influential man. It is a valuable addition to the body of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, about Oz.

For those who have never read an Oz book, this is still an important book. L. Frank Baum was an intriguingly different man for his times and reading about his life gives wonderful insight into America of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His feminism and respect for children and animals become some of the endearing features of his fiction and what make his Oz series classics of American literature.

He married Maud Gage, the daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage, one of the leading women suffragists. So the information that Katherine Rogers provides on his relationship to his mother-in-law and his home life with Maud is invaluable to students of the women's movement. Gage's own 1893 book, WOMAN, CHURCH AND STATE, has just been brought back into print by Humanity Books in their Classics In Women's Studies series. Her belief that christianity and the Western state are the very basis of the oppression of women, which is detailed in this work, was radical at the time. Her own spirituality found a home in Theosophy which became the religious practice of Baum and was influential in his writings.

Baum took his family to the Dakota territory where three of Maud's siblings had settled. The book's account of their life on the northern prairie will be of interest to those who study the history of 19th century Dakota. As first a merchant and then a newspaperman, Baum's views on life in the Dakotas are well represented. It is in this section where we first encounter Baum's racism. He wrote an editorial where he called the native Americans "a pack of whining curs" who should be totally exterminated [p.259]. Rogers doesn't develop this aspect of his personality very deeply saying that for Baum these were "thoughtless lapses, in which Baum unthinkingly went along with contemporary attitudes [p.272]." Her treatment of his racism is confined to the Notes at the end of the book.

For those who are avid readers of Baum's fiction, the book is a wealth of information. Each of his novels are analyzed and related to the events in his life. When possible drafts are compared with completed works to gain insight into Baum's creative process. His relationships with his illustrators W. W. Denslow and John R. Neill are described. The close relationship he had with Denslow is contrasted by the distance he maintained with John R. Neill. His dispute with Denslow, who illustrated The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, over the ownership of the characters may have contributed to his reluctance to know Neill better. Baum and Neill only met once. He relating to Neill mostly through the publisher, which accounts for some of the mistakes that exist between Baum's descriptions and Neill's pictures.

The book contains 35 pages of Notes, many of them long and detailed additions to the text. A six page listing of Baum's published works will be a joy to collectors. The 13-page index makes it easy to find any details quickly in the text. This is a wonderful work with a positive perspective on Baum, his writings, and the time in which he lived.

When I was little, Oz lust made a thief of me. My grandfather ordered a dozen books in the series at a time, doling them out to me on birthdays or when I had tonsillitis. I found out in which cabinet he hid them and temptation took control of me. Although I was caught practically in the act, I went unpunished. Who can spank a child for wanting to read?

There were a total of 40 Oz books on my shelf (only the first third --- THE WIZARD OF OZ (1900) and 13 others --- by L. Frank Baum) and an Emerald City built of green glass and construction paper in our basement. Oz was a world intensely real to me; the boundary between its wonders and ordinary existence was noticeably porous. If Dorothy could be blown by a tornado into fairyland, why (to paraphrase the song) couldn't I?

Katharine M. Rogers understands my passion. In L. FRANK BAUM: CREATOR OF OZ, Rogers, an early Oz aficionado herself, combines a scholar's detachment with a child's delight. She is also a revisionist critic, bemoaning the Oz books' exclusion from the haughty scholarly canon of "good" kids' literature. In this book, the first full-length adult treatment of Baum's life (although there is a lengthy biographical essay in the centennial edition of Michael Patrick Hearn's THE ANNOTATED WIZARD OF OZ), Rogers undertakes to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the origins of Baum's imaginative universe and establish his works as genuine classics.

Baum didn't immediately become a full-time writer. For years he was the very model of a self-reliant, entrepreneurial American. He was involved in a number of different businesses, including poultry breeding, china selling and newspaper editing. While none of his enterprises ever really took off, his spirit of adventure, his independence and egalitarianism, his healthy skepticism and persistent optimism are all reflected in the characters he created and the land they inhabit. The novelist and critic Alison Lurie once called Oz "an idealized version of America in 1900, happily isolated from the rest of the world, underpopulated and largely rural, with an expanding magic technology and what appears to be unlimited natural resources." Rogers develops this idea further, offering some splendid insights into Baum's pastoral vision, individualistic values and ambivalent relationship to science and technology (which, in his books, are closely identified with magic) --- marvelous in their power, but dangerous if misused.

Baum was also very American in his industry and ambition. However, in marked contrast to our sequel-crazed age, he did not originally think of THE WIZARD as the first in a series. For some time he continued to invent new fairylands; when none of them really caught on, he finally resigned himself to a yearly Oz book (a pattern that would continue until his death in 1919). He also wrote adult novels, plays and non-fantasy series for children under pseudonyms like Edith Van Dyne and Laura Bancroft.

The female pen names are not as incongruous as they might seem. Rogers, whose field is women's studies, is particularly enlightening about Baum's feminism: his wife, Maud, was the daughter of a major figure in the fight for women's right to vote. She, not Frank, was the disciplinarian and financial manager in the family, an arrangement that seems to have suited them both. Oz itself verges on the matriarchal --- girls are the heroes of ten of the fourteen books and they are brave, strong, honest, practical and unpretentious. There are no frogs being transformed into princes here. In the LAND OF OZ, second in the series, Baum turns the gender tables on traditional fairytale magic when the boy protagonist, Tip, turns out to be the lost princess, Ozma.

Because Rogers' biography is a pioneering effort, it can't afford to skimp on any detail of Baum's life --- so there are, inevitably, tedious moments. There is also a great deal of dutiful synopsizing of each volume this very prolific author published, not all of them of equal value or importance. Still, on the whole, Rogers does a fine job of combining biography with an intelligent and balanced literary/social assessment of Baum's work. She doesn't pretend that his writing style is "poetic or beautiful or especially distinctive" (and she rightly criticizes his annoying penchant for dialect), but she is persuasive in her advocacy of his talents: "Baum's greatest gifts were the two most important ones for a writer of fantasy: he could create a wonderful world and he could make it believable." Underpinning this credibility was a vast respect for his audience. "Father never 'wrote down' to children," Baum's son Harry said. "They were his friends and companions and he always treated them as such."

L. FRANK BAUM: CREATOR OF OZ is likely to be sought out principally by those who already love Baum's work. People who know Oz only through the 1939 Judy Garland film will be less enchanted, for Rogers doesn't like the movie very much. Above all, she disparages the idea (entirely absent in the Baum original) that Dorothy's trip to Oz was nothing but a dream. For true believers like Rogers and me, this is nothing short of sacrilege.

--- Reviewed by Kathy Weissman

Although this book seems a bit on the dry side, it is nevertheless a well researched biography of a very influential writer almost forgotten (although obviously his Oz works continue to be important- albeit mostly due to the MG film).

Rogers does well to show how his background involvement in the suffragette movement most likely helped to inspire him to write one of the few female protagonist in fantasy literature (one only has to look to Harry Potter to see how little progress the genre has made in the past 100 years). One wonders if Rogers stumbled upon the curious fact that Baum's mother-in-law was a prominent member of the New York state women's movement at the turn of the century when she was researching some of her other books.

But over all the book seems to fall flat in giving the reader s true sense of the man and his times. While there is a fair amount of background on Baum's involvement with the women's movement and Theosophy neither aspect is fully developed for the reader. Rogers seems to feel that the reader ought to know exactly how these movements fit into turn-of-the-century life and what they were all about. Granted 1900 America is not exactly foreign to today's readers, but many of the ideals that people in that time subscribed to are all but forgotten. The women's movement is not feminism as we understand it today, a little more detail and background would help.

Over all one does not get a sense of the time and place Baum existed in. Granted, his life was fairly boring, routine and seems, despite constant money troubles, fairly well off. However context would help establish a reason to care about Baum other than the fact one might enjoy his writing. There are plenty of text synopses, but little delving into where the stories came from. Was he simply trying to modernize the fairytale? Based on Rogers book one gets the impression Baum was something of a hack, simply grinding out tales for children. I feel that there is more to his writings than that.

Kudos to Rogers for exploring fully Baum's non-Oz works. Again, a little more follow up (beyond the four or five paragraphs at the end) about what happened to the Oz series after Baum died and what happened to his copyrights etc (is the book in public domain? What happened to his original publishing house as I do not recall they still exist...?) His influence has been great ( C S Lewis owes at least a small debt to Baum) but Rogers seems to attribute it all to the MGM movie.

L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz is a necessary books for fans of Oz. Katharine M. Rogers provides a clear, balanced examination of the details of his life and includes analysis, and relates it to his life, of his writings, both Oz and other. The most important aspect of this book are the sections describing his other (often) successful series for children, such as Aunt Jane's Niece, which are little known today. The weakness of the book is the fact that outside of his writing, Baum's life is not particularly exciting. It seems very pleasant and homey and I could not be happier for him, but it does not always make for thrilling reading. Still, Baum fans will be delighted to have his entire story told so compentently with the added bonus of the author's informative analysis.

This book has so much information that I did not know.
I believe that now is the time for this information to be given
to us.
I highly recommend this book.

This book touched me to the very core of my being. I am typically kind of cautious about channeled info, but this book amazed and resonated so well with me. I understood it well and felt comfort when i read it. I have to say at times i found myself with tears running down my face...

Even though this project has ended in an abrupt way, there is still hope and much to be learned from this book. I bought this book 3 years ago and to the best of my knowledge and understanding, I believe this book has transformed me for the better. Yes discernment is key when reading or channeling these higher beings but the open soul, heart, and spirit knows what is light and what is dark. I would still recommend this book because there are a lot of powerful tools if used correctly with an good intention will bring light to those who ask for it. One must be protected at all times since there are a lot of opposing forces that will try everything they can to stop you from returning to the light. Listen to your God-self and be the judge of what this message can bring to your life. Also, read many books out there... Expand you faith, trust in God, once you find the your truth and "reality" it will become clearer to you. Welcome to the next level.

I'm dissapointed in this book. I wanted to understand, continue to want to understand. But the explanations in this book are breathless - very quickly presented with little in the way of justification or exploration of why... or some of the alternatives. I don't doubt the sincerity of the writer, but I don't find it credible compared to say the Lost Key of the Budha or the Dissapearing Universe. Or even Journey of Souls.

Maybe there is some reality in this - but it doesn't come across. Reads like the teacher was teaching on automatic pilot, and genuine teaching seems more grounded.

Latest News (September 21, 2007) from Karen Kirschbaum written why she ending "The return of the Light Project. http://www.returnoflight.com/

Extracted from her site "..The purpose of this communication at this time is to conclude The Return Of Light. I have been a long time in coming to this conclusion, but this venture was deeply flawed from its start and inevitably ended in failure.
I cannot speak for Elora other than to say that both of us met in a wounded place, and created this teaching from a lack of wholeness. I can tell you of my part in this. Trauma created in me a deep need to give away my own power. I don't know when this happened as Spirit hasn't shown me the specifics, but it was long before I came to Earth. This need to not own my power left a gaping hole in me that allowed distortion to enter.
The bottom line is that we got hold of the wrong Heru - an impostor. He disappeared the day Elora died and hasn't been seen since. I have had a little contact with the real Heru, and believe me when I tell you that I am not all that welcoming to him. That he was so ineffectual in not stopping something in his name has made me question the benefit of working with any of the "gods." I certainly won't be channeling any time in the near future."...
"I recommended that you discard the books and do whatever it takes to deprogram your self from all of this....."

I will amplify the author's honest comment that this book is a work in progress. I'm looking forward to the revised edition that will match the current version of the Creator IDE.

Although it was helpful getting started it did not address using feature beyond the basics. Although Sun touts Creator as an easy to use tool, like most of Java it is unecessarily complex. The book just gives an introduction but not much beyond that.

Finally Sun has provided us with an easy drag and drop applications builder for Java. Many programmers have learnt the intricacies of coding, but while Java is great for quick manual building, there is still a lot of boilerplate. Many widgets have a lot of properties. And you need to write out a bunch of callbacks and keep track somehow of the overall structure.

Creator lets you do a lot of design easily. Its DND pushes a lot of details into the background. But the UI gives you quick visual access to reading and changing these details.

More importantly, the authors show how Creator is far more than a GUI builder. Many server side applications involve JSPs, Java Beans and hooking up the UI to this back end logic. From the book's starting walkthrough of Creator, it describes a full integration. It has visual tools that show the logic layout as clearly as the UI layout. For example, if you use JSPs, you typically have these interacting with each other in some logic flow that is triggered by user actions. Creator has a Navigation editor that shows visually how these JSPs interconnect. Nothing you could not previously do with pen and paper. But that is the point. Relieves you of that burden. Plus now this Navigation information can be summoned from your application at any time, and always remains consistent with it. Hitherto, you would have to maintain a set of hardcopy diagrams, which are physically separate from the source code.

Pity Sun didn't produce Creator several years ago.

While I have not yet finished reading this book, I can
say that thus far, it appears to be well written.
Interestingly enough, I have the first book written
by this couple nearly 20 years ago, which was also
a very well written book.

Bottom line, this is a useful companion to someone
looking to create web applications with Java Studio
Creator.

In addition to this book, I purchased the "Core JSF" book
at the same time. The differences are quite stark.

If like me, you are also looking for more in depth knowledge
of the technology behind Studio Creator (such as Java Server
Faces), then I would recommend either the JSF specification
itself (from java dot sun dot com) or a book OTHER than
the Core JSF book by Geary and Horstmann).

For roughly one hundred fifty dollars, a developer can
purhase this book, and Sun's Java Studio Creator. Coupled
with these tools, web developers with moderate knowledge
can begin creating web applications, simply and quickly.

Sun's Java Studio Creator makes use of JavaServer Faces (JSF) to allow visual development similar to the way Microsoft's Visual Studio allows visual development of ASP based sites. It is an easy to use IDE that allows you to drag and drop JSF components, validators, and converters to design a web application. Much of the code required for a web site is automatically generated for you as you visually develop and additional classes can be generated or hand written (depending on their complexity) using the tool. This book will not teach you JSF but it will teach you how to use the IDE and quickly create web applications. This book is a well-written and easy to follow step-by-step tutorial to using this new IDE.

The book starts with a chapter on Java that can be easily ignored. The next chapter gives a quick introduction to the IDE. The authors demonstrate many of the basic techniques and show how to use the visual features to create navigation for a multi-page web site. The third chapter discusses each of the JSF components that are available in the IDE. Chapters four and five demonstrate how to use these components to build a web application. The examples are simple but they show how to integrate the generated code with custom beans (that can also be generated). Chapters six and seven show how to integrate Web Services and databases into your application. Chapter eight looks at internationalization and writing custom validators. The final chapter covers debugging.

If you have a copy of the software and want to utilize it to the fullest then this book is well worth buying. If you don't have the software then look at ISBN 0131499947 to purchase the book and the software together.

this is a really fun book! i enjoyed reading and rereading it! pure fun

My wife recently presented me with a random and unexpected gift: a copy of "Pop This: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Best of Pop Up Videos." She knows me as a dedicated VH-1 viewer and one of many other closet Pop-Up Video fans. With this book came her explanation: she saw the book, and knew I had to have it.

And what an unexpected treat it has been. Upon receiving my gift, I immediately snuck off to my private reading room (my bathroom) to delve into this rather substantial and colorful book. And "Pop This" did not disappoint: it is packed with original, witty facts about truly original artists and their music videos. Best of all, I find myself returning frequently to my "office" to read it at my own casual pace.

Great off-the-wall information in our information age. Thompson and Lowe are doing something right!

Looking forward to "Part II."

In 1996, American cable channel VH-1 was moving away from rock-and-roll videos, and towards other shows. However, on October 27 of that year, there came a big turn around, with the premier of the hit show Pop-Up Videos! Pop-Up Videos shows a music video, and throughout pops up little bubbles with factoids or witty little comments - each accompanied by a telltale "bloop" sound. It was a great show!

In 1999, the VH-1 people came up with this book. Some of the pages have a picture of an entertainer, who is surrounded by a constellation of bubbles from Pop-Up Videos. Also, some of the pages actually contain a string of images from a music video, complete with the bubbles that were included.

Actually, I must admit that it was my daughter who got this book. She's a newly-minted videos fan, loves Pop-Up Videos, and really enjoyed this book. I have read it, and enjoyed it just as much as she did. Though, I must admit that the images from the videos are a bit small making the bubbles somewhat hard to read. But, that said, we did enjoy this book, and recommend it you all Pop-Up Videos fans!

If you love Pop-Up Video, you'll love this book. All the trivial facts and clever commentary you'd ever want to know about Madonna, Jewel, U2, etc. This little page turner allowed me to catch up on all the "info nuggets" and searing humor from the show. The whole Pop-Up phenomenon has taken off over the past few years, and this collection adds to the original show's success. Can you say "visual sniglets?" "Pop-This" is absolutely essential bathroom reading for music junkies and vidiots like me!

Not much of a book at all, just a flimsy rehash of still photos what was once an amusing program, now just a constant regurgitation of pointless facts serving only to inflate the two-headed ego of its creators. There ain't a damn thing dangerous about what Messrs. Low and Thompson are doing these days, no matter how much they can't stop asserting to the contrary. Destined to gather dust on 99-cent tables everywhere, well before the Millenium strikes.

Walt Disney Creator of Mickey Mouse by Michael D. Cole is about the life of Disney. Walt Disney was a success in animation and as an entertainer. To make his visions a reality, Disney worked hard and was always chasing his dream. Walt was born in Chicago, Illinois. Disney's older siblings were Raymond and Roy. Walt also had a younger sister, Ruth. Walt was too little to remember life in Chicago, so his childhood memories were in Marceline on a farm.
While drawing covers for theater programs, Disney wrote to his mother and told her to send the $500 he made for a small business. They called it "Iwerks-Disney." They made Laugh-O -Grams, and the stories of Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella. Later, Disney's character Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit was taken away by Universal Studios So Disney came up with a new one, Mickey Mouse. This was just the beginning of his success.
This book was organized and structured in an informational yet confusing way. The photographs usually didn't have much to do with the chapter, but did have interesting facts. It used descriptive wording and helpful dates. There were also many quotations which were helpful to see the ideas of Disney. The chapters were organized by the aging of Walt, although it did jump around with time. Michael D. Cole has really explained year by year the life and times of Walt Disney.
This has been an exciting book and I am happy to have read it. I would recommend that one who has an interest in animation or Walt Disney should read this book. I would not say that a person who is attempting to make a timeline should read the book because the time period in the book seems to jump from year to year.

I am writing a review on the book Walt Disney by Michael D. Cole. The author grabs the readers' attention in the beginning of this story by explaining how Disneyland was first opened. This books purpose is to teach readers about Walt Disney
and how he became famous.
This book is about Walt Disney and his life. It tells how Disneyland was created and when it was created. Also, it explains Walt's childhood and his living arrangements. He lived with his parents, Flora and Elias Disney on a farm along with his three brothers and one sister. It tells how he first started drawling to be a cartoonist. Walt's brother Roy influenced and helped Walt with his ability. Roy often saved his extra money to buy paper and sketch pencils for Walt to practice on. It tells how Mickey Mouse was created. Walt Disney won many awards for his creations. Sadly, after all his wonderful creations, Walt was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died at a hospital near his studio on December 15,1966.
This book gives many interesting facts about Walt Disney. A few will be listed in the following. He was born on December 5,1901. The Disneyland amusement park was opened on July 17,1955. Walt played polo to keep physically active. He won many Oscars in 1954. Walt raised many animals; in fact he had a pig named Porker. Walt once said, "I guess I really loved that pig...She had an acute sense of fun and mischief...Do you remember the foolish pig in Three Little Pigs? Porker was the model for him." Walt Disney is most famous for his creation Mickey Mouse. This book is probably meant for a fifth grade reading level. I think over all this book is average.
This book made me think that he was a very artistic and creative man. I learned a lot form this book. This also has values on other readers, by teaching how their favorite old cartoons were ever created. The author ended this book by telling how Walt's work will have an impact on everyone's life. This book gave enough information for me, but if you need to know more or if you want to, the book gives other suggestions. Well, thanks for reading my review. I hope you enjoy and decide to read this book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about Walt Disney. It has a lot of good dates and interesting facts and pictures. The only thing I don't like about this book is that the picture captions don't usually say who is who.
Walt Disney was born in Chicago. His dad's name was Elias and his moms name is Flora. He has three older brothers, Herbert, Raymond, and Roy. Later he moved to Missouri and lived on a farm. Then his sister Ruth was born. The book tells more about the farm life and funny incidents. His older brothers, Herbert and Raymond, left a note saying they moved to Kansas City. Later the rest of the family moved to Kansas City. Elias bought news routs and made the boys run them.
Way later in his life, Disney stared his own company with a friend named Ub Iwerks. Later, Disney worked his employees to hard and Iwerks started his own company without Disney and Disney's brother, Roy, went to work with Walt. I don't want to spoil it, so I won't tell you all of Disney's firsts. He was the first one to do a lot of things with cartoons.

Great book! Did a great book report! 2 thumbs up!

The book was a good book. I used this book as a research guide and it was very clear and full of information.

A very good overall description of all the jobs associated witrh filmmaking. I thought that there would be a little more depth to the descriptions, but...

As far as I know there are two books on the subject, the other being William E. Hines' "Job Descriptions for Film, Video & CGI". From those two this book is certainly more prosa. Every major field of movie production is described through kind of essays written from industry insiders. Although the book is by no means an encyclopedia, the reader gets a good idea what those jobs really are about. If you want some insights instead of concise descriptions, buy this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I never knew what gaffers and grips and producers actually did, but this book explains all those jobs. The book is written in the order that each person comes into a film, so you first learn about how an idea is generated, what happens with it, who gets involved next, and so on.

One thing I really liked was all the personal anecdotal information that each interviewee gave. For example, John Lithgow talks about working on the World According to Garp, and Charles Joffee talks about what it was like producing specific movies for Woody Allen.

A great book for someone who wants an enjoyable way to understand the intricacies of the filmmaking process.

_Gaffers, Grips and Best Boys_ is a great title. Unfortunately the title is misleading. The fine print is "From Producer/Director to Gaffer and Computer Special-effects creato, a behind the scenes look at who does what in the making of a motion picture."

If you're looking for good, solid information about "gaffing, gripping and best boying" forget it. It's just one of the subjects touched on in this book.

It's a decent book allright, but the title is misleading. If I had seen it in a book store I would have passed it by.

The author of this book posted his own review of his book here and surprise, surprise, he gave himself four stars. I will never buy any book where the author is so egotistical that he or she is unwilling to let the book stand on its own merits. This author is so insecure that he tried to manipulate the rating system. This is not ethical and no one should patronize anyone who cheats in such a blatant and pathetic manner.

This is a phenomenal piece of literary work. It is provocative, inspired, and relentlessly entertaining. The more I read the more I wanted to explore the hidden meanings and thoughts of the author. I was highly intrigued, impressed, and equally inspired. I feel sure this is the first of many works to come from this young author.

A Language Unconscious is a uniquely profound book of literature. It blends a storyline of love, politics and religion into passages of poetry. At times the story stirs you to pause and reflect on its meaning (hidden or otherwise). The insight, imagination and love for writing is evident with this new author. I highly recommend this book to intellectuals who have a desire to move beyond the conscious mind into the world of a not so impossible future.

The energy has to come from somewhere (I see a world divided)

This is my book. So, take this review with a grain of salt. I decided it would be a good idea to put up a review that summarizes what the book is all about though. I give it 4 stars because I think it is a great book and am very proud of it, but I had trouble getting the first 40 pages or so to flow. So, it begins with some dissonance, but I left it that way because it creates some tension to be released in the end.

I've been writing for about 10 years putting my work in whatever literary magazines would have it. I was featured a number of times in Semantics, Clemson's lit mag and that's what really got me interested in the idea of publishing. I've never really planned on publishing a book, but about a year ago I sat down, looked at everything I had written, and thought to myself 'what if?'


I decided that if I was going to write a book of poetry I did not want to simply throw them together as a collection, but to create something that held some sort of theme to carry the individual pieces to a place they could not reach on their own.


A Language Unconscious... began under the title "Godshell". As the story and theme began to take shape I kept changing the title, for better or worse. It now seems like an albatross as I try to tell people what it's called, but I never meant for this book to be understood by a lot of people. I wrote it for myself. I've probably read it 100 times or more and I continue to see new things in it (which completely baffles my mind, since I wrote it).


I only decided to publish it because the opportunity fell directly into my lap. I was at a party and met this girl who worked at a publishing company here in my home town. I got her number and set up an account and the rest was pretty easy.


So, what is it about? It's sort of autobiographical in that I laid the foundation of its characters in myself and some of the people I've known and loved. It is the story of a young man (Sol) who wakes up one day, upset that the world is torn apart, and goes across the country looking for inspiration and trying to change the world with his words. He travels from Folly Beach, SC (the place I have been living while finishing the book) to LEAF (my first arts festival and poetry slam in Asheville, NC) to Bonnaroo (one of the most amazing places on earth) out to the desert (Burning Man). Along the way he meets his So(u)l's counterpoint (Luna) and she guides him along with a few other friends. Their conversations focus on Love, war, religion, metaphysics, and the supernatural. As they travel, the gods are being forced to write the end of man (Post Apokalyptika: A History of the Future), but Lila, Sol's muse, does not want to let them die. She relinquishes her status as a god to come down to earth and help them to complete their mission and give birth to Love.


As I said, it is a collection of things I've written over the past few years. As a poet I see myself as someone who is reactionary to the state of the world. Seeing as how we are living in a war-torn place it has a lot to do with the roots of the evil that has brought war upon us. Specifically, I see a lot of the problem rooted in our own leadership and in religious fundamentalism. I am not a religious person, but I am very spiritual and I can see the value and potential that are present in the idea of a human spirit. The idea that religion, the belief in something from another plane, could be the end of our civilization is really frightening.


I somehow got the idea that if I wrote this amazing book that changed the way people feel about their beliefs and created an environment of acceptance and understanding rather than intolerance, that maybe the world would save itself. Of course if we've come so far in the wrong direction it's hard to believe that one little book will change anything, but someone had to try, and I figure, why not me? The energy has to come from somewhere...

I very much enjoyed this book. Why?

Lots of detail: the writer unearthed old documents and interviewed aging witnesses to put together a portrait of Roddenberry which starts from before his birth to the moment of his death.

Is it hagiographic? No. Why?

The author clearly, and repeatedly, reveals Roddenberry's tendency to be a womanizer and does not directly excuse him for this. He merely reports it.
The writer also reveals at least one episode of outright gratuitous cruelty on the part of Roddenberry.

Is it fully satisfying? Not quite. Why?

I wish there was more material on Roddenberry's home life with his first wife and their children. I also wish there were more material about Roddenberry's non-professional interests, hobbies, if any, etc. However, I forgive this lack because I know that a larger and longer book might not have been economically viable. And, after all, it is Roddenberry's role as the creator of Star Trek that we care about.

What about the controversies regarding other peoples' contributions to Star Trek?

This book, and indeed every other book I have ever read about Star Trek over the past 30 years including interviews with Roddenberry, make it very clear that MANY people contributed to Star Trek. But, the concept was Roddenberry's and he was the necessary and unique filter through which everybody else's ideas had to pass. This has been obvious to me for decades and I was happy to see that this book touched on this as well. There is really no basis for controversy.

I see Roddenberry as a loving and creative man who allowed himself a great deal af latitude in matters of sex (hardly a capital crime, and hardly unique), did abuse substances to some extent (which probably contributed to his death, but again, hardly unique especially in the culture of Hollywood), and occasionally was involved in wrangles about creative priorities, responsibilities and credit (again, very garden-variety stuff in the business culture he was a part of). It would be nice if he could have risen completely above such things, but I feel he did the best he could while, at the same time, producing something of lasting humanitarian and entertainment value to the world. Only he could have done it in that way with that degree of success.

Without putting him on a pedestal, he is a heroic figure. And one the world sorely needs again.

Offers a different treatment of Star Trek. Contains many documents Roddenberry wrote to promote the idea of ST. Gives interesting insight of Gene's early life with the Los Angeles Police Department and his conversion to TV. There are many ups and downs. I know him better due to this book. ST is the biggest thing in TV, the hottest property, an expansive franchise, and it almost didn't happen at all. Not many TV shows reach from 1966 to beyond our lifetimes. Star Trek will.

The other reviewer was overly harsh. This book was a wonderful telling of Gene Rodenburry's life. Was it perfect? No, but I do feel that I have a greater appreciation for the man and his life. I have a much better understanding of what motivated him and his ideas. This book is so cheap that you can't lose.

1) This is a hagiography written by a friend, not an objective biography. Roddenberry's character flaws (and there were many) are barely touched upon or completely glossed over. (The one-sided, multi-page attempt to discredit detractor David Gerrold is embarrassingly silly, for example.)

2) For a book written by someone who was supposedly Robbenberry's friend, precious little of the story comes from the man himself. Nearly half the book (and almost all of the latter sections) consists of transcripts of memos and letters written by Roddenberry.

3) The editing is sloppy; typos abound, most frequently in people's names. Usually they're just annoying, but when you see uncorrected misspellings such as "Harland Ellison" and "Leslie Nielson," you have to wonder just how well the author knew the details of what he was writing about, and whether he was simply parroting material given to him by others.

I'd recommend sticking with Joel Engel's biography of Roddenberry as an antidote. It too has its slant, but it's nonetheless a far more rounded effort than this volume.

I was sold on this book when a friend had me read the entry about one of my favourite minerals: Pietersite. This is a fabulous book. Roeder has channeled the information very nicely and has combined it with common knowledge. She brings mineralogical data into a metaphysical light with regard to hardness, crystal system, and colour. There are even some great photographs of some crystal Masters with short meditations to accompany them. Towards the end are pages and pages of crystal combinations for specific situations. This can be very useful for gridwork, elixirs, and laying-on-of-stones. I highly reccomend this book for everyone.

I like this book. I like it a great deal, but I think there's some major flaws in the text. The author has presented some fairly unique information on stones, which is admirable and interesting. I can't and won't judge the stone knowledge she presents and recognize that her information represents her relationship to stones. My complaint isn't in the channeled information, but the major gaps in the recommendations she makes...

The author's scientific knowledge is lacking because she suggests making gem essences from several stones that are not only inappropriate for essences but stones that are highly toxic and can be dangerous if ingested. I realize that this is a common problem in many metaphysical texts, but I believe that an author assumes a certain amount of responsibility when recommending certain practices to an audience that may know less than the writer. Some research should be done to see if certain stones are appropriate for essences because people's health and well being are on the line.

If you're interested in learning about the energies of stones, this book is useful. However, I would recommend you do some solid research before make essences from many of the stones she recommend because many are extremely dangerous when soaked in water and may make you very sick, or worse.

Authors should consider their responsibility to their readers before recommending practices that can be dangerous and damaging. To do any less is irresponsible, in my humble opinion.

When I was trying to buy crystal books, no reviewers noted their content. This book contains an alphabetical directory of crystals and in-depth information as to their properties. Also astrological stone advice and colour photos. It is very interesting and set me on the road to crystal knowledge.