J Books

I loved this book and I highly recommend getting the other three books in the series. The books are hard to find right now but hopefully the publisher (Imajinn) will be printing more copies. The characters are strong and well defined. Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down.

Darcy Kincaid is half-English and half-Egyptian, which makes her a pariah in Victorian England where bloodlines are most important. Her grandmother wants Darcy to marry an Englishman, produce heirs, and ignore her tainted Egyptian heritage. Rather then take the easy way out, Darcy is determined to earn enough money to pay for her passage to Egypt. She is working on writing a collection of Egyptian stories that she hopes will get published and she accepts the position of secretary to Dr. Simon Garrett, writing a book on the derivation of words.

When she first arrives at Rosewood Hall, Simon wants to dismiss her because he expected a male but Darcy's typing skills persuades him to give her a chance. From the very beginning Simon and Darcy are attracted to one another as if they knew each other in another lifetime. Both try to fight the attraction but neither are successful yet if they are to find any happiness, they must fight the evil that dwells within their midst.

J.A. Ferguson has written a beautiful reincarnation romance starring two lovers who must fight and win against an old enemy if they are to have a second chance at life and love. Set against a mid-Victorian English background, Call BACK YESTERDAY is a gothic ghost tale that will appeal to lovers of romance that have a strong dose of the paranormal in the plot.

Harriet Klausner

This book is very interresting. I would recommend the Image series to people who love: action, fighting, romance & suspense. Afterimage is about Drago, a vampire enforcer who must make sure that the other vampires obey the rules set forth by the Directorate (The vampire council.) Drago finds out that someone is trying to destroy him & that someone is named Marya Jaks. However, Marya is just a pawn used by Drago's real foe. Will Drago, now teamed up w/ Marya; discover who the real enemy is before it is too late & will his new teammate (Marya) give him something that he has been longing for, a companion.

Buy the book & find out. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Sincerely,
JenJayLynn

Marya Jaks hates vampires. Her grandfather was one and her father was a vampire slayer killed by a vampire. Because she is part vampire, the Vampire Council, has reviewed her case every few years since she reached adulthood. So, with a potential death sentence over her head, Marya leads a rather lonely life, not wanting to get too involved with anyone. She hates the vampires even more for this, even though she doesn't have her father's need to kill any of them. The council sends L'Enforcier, Drago to give her her final evaluation. Drago, is tired of running errands and just to be contrary, grants her life. Marya is relieved and starts her life anew. Until another Enforcer arrives to tell her that Drago has reversed her decision. Furious and with nothing to lose, she sets out to kill Drago. The only problem is, Drago didn't reverse his decision, and has to keep her with him to protect he while he finds out who really gave the erroneous orders.

This was a fast moving novel, with almost no break in the action. I read it in one sitting.

AFTERIMAGE is second in the Image Series created by Jaye Roycraft. First introduced in DOUBLE IMAGE, it is primarily the story of Alek Dragovich, l'enforcier, the sometimes hated primary Enforcer of the Directorate, a vampire hierarchy beset by betrayal, corruption and jealousy. Dragovich is not especially loved by his comrades, nor by the beings he polices in the underworld. Only Nikolena, la directrice of Drago's particular branch of the Directorate, seems able to tolerate his insolence and his desire to do things "The Drago Way." But his relationship with Nikolena is a rocky one. When she sends Drago to pass judgment on Marya Jaks, a dhampir, or half-vampire, whose father was a renowned hunter of the undead, Drago purposely grants the beautiful--and herself insolent--Marya life, despite her danger to vampirekind. The decision sets into motion a conspiracy to remove Drago from his seat of power. But who is behind this sudden desire to tear Drago down in the ranks?

At first, Drago believes it is Marya herself who is out to destroy him--Marya who is embittered by her life and treated as an enemy both to humankind as well as the Directorate. Marya who belongs to both worlds and to neither of them. But Marya soon shows her true intention: she wants to live free, nothing more, and she forges a hesitant relationship with Drago for just that purpose. In a strange twist of fate, a member of her hated half-kin has now become her protector as a twining of events leads Drago and Marya all over the map in search of clues as to the identity of the being responsible for wanting Marya dead and Drago unseated. Can Drago uncover his secret nemesis before the clock runs out? And can Marya accept the fact that she has feelings for the rogue vampire who saved her life? An interesting array of emotional fireworks ensures.

AFTERIMAGE is a fast-paced story coupled with romantic suspense, action and drama. The characters are real and believable, from the sultry Drago to the bittersweet Marya and even Revelin Scott, Drago's assistant (Or is he more?) who added a wonderful flair of humor and tongue-in-cheek to the story. I have to admit that before I was done I began to hope the author would deem Scott worthy of his own story someday as his hip, charming and mysterious character stepped easily off the page. Jaye Roycraft is a definite force behind the next generation of paranormal romance and June 2002 will see the release of her newest in the Image Series, SHADOW IMAGE.

Karen Koehler,
Author of Slayer and Scarabus

The most amazing thing that about this book is that Arrian somehow managed to rescue the man from the legend, the god from the myth and the story from the soothsayers. He intended to write a factual history of the great leader but by necessity was forced to rely on word of mouth, old stories, past recollections and hardly any authoritative manuscripts.

Considering what he had to work with, the outcome is simply amazing. Like Thucydides, Herodotus and Livy, his goal was to write a factual work that was to have been definitive...and it was. The campaigns are given much attention as well as the character of Alexander. For a more scholarly and literary work I recommend Robin Lane Fox and his biography of Alexander - just stupendous.

This book is a PRIMARY SOURCE that is great for any student. An ancient work that has great deatails. It is actually interesting to read, even if you just use it for school. If you want more information on this book, feel free to e-mail me at Silvermouse51@aol.com. I will try to respond to your e-mail as soon as possible. Again, buy this book if you're doing a project on Alexander the Great! It's the absolute best you can ever buy!

Of all the books that I read of Alexander the Great, this book is my favourite in explaining the famous battles.It also explaines how he conquered the tribes from Persia up to Sogdiana.The battles of the Granicus,Issus,Gaugamela,and above all Tyre are incredibly narrated.The names are all there, who did what,and who did not.In the battle of Tyre, how much he had destroyed and how much he had to rebuild,never giving up.It explains all the problems that Alexander encountered with the Tyrians.
The death of Hephastion that made him lose his sanity,make you really feel what friendship meant to him. What this young man accomplished,and what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. Conquer as long as there were places to conquer.
It also writes about the honest side of Alexander,and those who
were traitors how he treated them.All the spoils of war he gave away,only eternal fame was his.How he created cities,and how he was ahead of his time, in many ways.
Read it is a great book indeed.

The wierdest part of this history was the account in Indika of the island of cavemen that Nearchos ran into, and battled with his fleet...

"There was a lagoon at the mouths of the river, and the depressions near the bank were inhabited by natives in stifling cabins. These seeing the convoy sailing up were astounded, and lining along the shore stood ready to repel any who should attempt a landing. They carried thick spears, about six cubits long; these had no iron tip, but the same result was obtained by hardening the point with fire. They were in number about six hundred. Nearchus observed these evidently standing firm and drawn up in order, and ordered the ships to hold back within range, so that their missiles might reach the shore; for the natives' spears, which looked stalwart, were good for close fighting, but had no terrors against a volley. Then Nearchus took the lightest and lightest-armed troops, such as were also the best swimmers, and bade them swim off as soon as the word was given. Their orders were that, as soon as any swimmer found bottom, he should await his mate, and not attack the natives till they had their formation three deep; but then they were to raise their battle cry and charge at the double. On the word, those detailed for this service dived from the ships into the sea, and swam smartly, and took up their formation in orderly manner, and having made a phalanx, charged, raising, for their part, their battle cry to the God of War, and those on shipboard raised the cry along with them; and arrows and missiles from the engines were hurled against the natives. They, astounded at the flash of the armour, and the swiftness of the charge, and attacked by showers of arrows and missiles, half naked as they were, never stopped to resist but gave way. Some were killed in flight; others were captured; but some escaped into the hills. Those captured were hairy, not only their heads but the rest of their bodies; their nails were rather like beasts' claws; they used their nails (according to report) as if they were iron tools; with these they tore asunder their fishes, and even the less solid kinds of wood; everything else they cleft with sharp stones; for iron they did not possess. For clothing they wore skins of animals, some even the thick skins of the larger fishes."

Cavemen who dont at all use metal, but only stones and fingernails...they wear animal skins...but most importantly, bodies COVERED in hair? What?! I want to go search for this island.

I want to go look for this island, i know how wierd it is, but THIS paragraph caught my eye more than any other in this work.

PS:
Arrian's account of Alexander is the best ancient source, though he is a bit of an apologist for the actions of Alexander, so dont believe ALL that Arrian says. The guy though was an actual general, and he had fought and conquered, he was someone who had been through many of the same situations as Alexander as a governor and general, so he DOES know what he is talking about.
Great work...

Alexander the Great was already a historical figure and "larger than life" character by the time Arrian wrote his CAMPAIGNS OF ALEXANDER. More than 400 years had passed since Alexander's death and, while there was doubtless plenty of popular lore about him, there also was a considerable mass of written source material in existence. Much of this material came from contemporaries who had campaigned with Alexander, but these accounts apparently often conflicted. Forced to pick and choose from all this information, Arrian appears to have relied largely on Ptolemy and Aristobulus. Ptolemy was experienced in military matters and, as one of Alexander's generals, had participated in many of the operations he described. Arrian brings his own knowledge and experience of military and administrative matters to bear on this information with generally good results. The rap on Arrian is that he displays a sound grasp of Alexander's military exploits and of his character, but is too forgiving when it comes to Alexander's faults and glosses over other issues.

Arrian brought a wealth of experience to his task. His own personal accomplishments were considerable. A Greek by descent, he was born in the city of Nicomedia, capital of the Roman province of Bithynia, sometime prior to A.D. 90. His family was prosperous and had attained Roman citizenship, giving young Arrian the possibility of a career in the imperial service. Before he was done, he attained the Roman consulship and was subsequently entrusted by Emperor Hadrian with the governorship of Cappadocia, a border province on the eastern frontier that entailed the command of two Roman legions plus auxiliary troops. During this period he led a successful campaign to drive an invading tribe out of Armenia, sailed all the way around the Black Sea, and wrote accounts of these events as well as manuals on military tactics. After Hadrian's death, Arrian retired to Athens, where he rose to become chief magistrate and, later, a Member of the Council of the city. He also continued to write until his death sometime between A.D. 173 and A.D. 180.

Besides THE CAMPAIGNS OF ALEXANDER, Arrian authored many other works. A few survive, but most are now lost, as are the many sources available to Arrian from Ptolemy, Aristobulus, Nearchus and others. All that remains from those who actually knew Alexander is in the form of quotes and citations in the works of later historians like Arrian. It's a sad fact that, while a few histories written by ancient scholars such as Livy, Plutarch, Arrian and others have survived, the great bulk of ancient literature and source material is gone. In an age when scribes had to copy books by hand, there could never be more than a few dozen copies of any book in existence. Under such conditions, it is hard to exaggerate the magnitude of historical disasters ranging from the destruction of the great library at Alexandria to the sack of Constantinople. A survivor like this is a rare opportunity to share the observations of an intelligent and accomplished person from a very different age.

THE CAMPAIGNS OF ALEXANDER is an important piece of the modern world's understanding of Alexander the Great. We're extremely fortunate it has survived. More than that, though, this is a lively and fascinating book that any reader can enjoy. If you have any interest in Alexander, or in ancient history in general, read this book.

Mr. Crawford has done us all a great service by crafting a wonderfully readable book that beautifully blends vision and practicality. The reference model for Carfree Cities proposed in this meticulously considered work could quite possibly be the blueprint for reviving not only the art of building but the art of living itself.

There is no better time to consider the building of a car free city than now, and this is one of the best books out there on the topic. Many people believe that a high density living environment translates into a loss of freedome and personal space. We think of tall sky scrapers thousands of feet high to accomodate high density living and we associate that with stress and other negative factors. The author shows how by living in a little more dense environment, and building better public transit systems we can actually experience more freedom, not less freedom in a high density environment. Comparisons between LA and Venice, Italy help tell the story. A must read if you are interested in this topic.

Crawford does an excellent job of opening up your mind to the possibilities of a world without cars. He takes a very close examination of two polar opposites Los Angeles, CA and Venice, Italy. He explores the ways cities have been built, and how they could be built. I particularly like that he draws up what a model car free city coul look like,even suggestions on where the first carfree city could be built. Many books out there talk about the destruction that has come along with an automobile dependent world. Crawford tells us how we could possibly escape it. Down Low Glow Lighting Kit - Two Tubes-Envy(green)Down Low Glow Lighting Kit - Two Tubes - Plush(red)

There is a very desirable lifestyle possible between that of urban tenement slum and suburban car slum, and this book charts the way. The future lies in high-density habitation surrounded by very low-density green space. Walking, biking,a nd public transport will be the prime movers, not cars.

More than half of the world's petrol sources have already been exhausted, and now, with rapidly industrializing countries with huge populations like China and India, demand and competition for petrol will skyrocket and accordingly prices will too. This is one of the three bases that Crawford sets for the radical revisioning of global city planning to abandon autocentric tendencies, and perhaps the most persuasive. The two others, that auto-use is destroying the Earth and that car-free developments, like Venice and very old sectors of European cities, are intrinsically more beautiful and livable areas, are both valid and convincing. But recent economic realities, as is currently being evidenced in global oil prices, perhaps serve to allow the reader to actually consider the feasability and necessity of abandonining continued suburbanization, rather than just relegating the thought as a utopian but impractical solution.

This book was written in 2000, but the predictions made regarding economic necesities are still valid and the book does not feel dated in the slightest bit. It was a joy to read - the author quite clearly wasn't an English major but the style he utilized - straight-forward and casual, in conjunction with many visual examples - is consistent with his overall vision of the carfree city: efficient, user-friendly, and pretty. At some parts the book is a little dry, but these stem from the specific topic of discussion (like freight transportation, which is very thoroughly conceieved) and are not indicative of the greater whole of the book. One of the more memorable sections of this book compares the strip malls and highways of Los Angeles against the vendors, stores, canals, and alleys of Venice - it perfectly demonstrates the ridiculous and sadistically-hilarious sacrifices we have made to live in our "car-dependent jungle." A little history of how we got to where we are is also included. Things don't have to be the way they are - and with new and pressing economic realities, they're not going to be able to for long either. Here's a fabulous concept for revisioning our cities.

What a wonderful book about a man who loved basketball and the Lakers. Chick Hearn was a very gifted announcer. The way he would describe the game would seem to put you court-side along with the other 17,505 at the fabulous Forum! I started listening to Chick during the 70's and into the 80's. Living in Arizona I had to try and find the L.A. station when possible. When one of the local stations started carrying the games in the 80's, I was estatic. The book does a nice job starting from his youth into his last days. Reading about the last few months of his life just broke your heart for the man----and I didn't know him!! That should tell you how the fans could relate to Chick. The Los Angeles area had two other announcers that were also great in my book---Dick Enberg doing Ram games and Vin Scully doing Dodgers games. The Los Angeles area was blessed with many great teams and announcers, but none will be able to replace Chick Hearn.

I grew up watching/listening/simulcasting to EVERY GAME for the Lakers from 1981 through about 2003 or so (still try to catch them on tv, but no longer live in the L.A. area). It seems that since he passed away, the Lakers were suddenly cursed. But this book brings back the Memoirs of one of my favorite idols. Chick was the best announcer, period. He was so good that even people who were simply not into the game, or even disgusted by sports in general, would get into it and watch because of his sharp apt to connect to the viewers/listeners with ease and comfort. I've seen this myself firsthand more than a plenty of times. His ability to bring the game to you in a simple and enjoyable fashion was priceless. My mom even loved the guy. So Laker fans, Angelinos, basketball and sports fans -- buy this book!

This book really brought Chick Hearn back to life for me...I LOVED IT! It contained so many facinating memories from Chick and those close to him. Also, the accompanying CD with excerpts of Chick's calls from many games cleverly strung together...his Chickisms....was an added treat. For anyone who followed Chick during his career I highly recommend this book!

Dianne O.
La Canada, CA

For 3,338 consecutive games Chick Hern was the voice of the L.A. Lakers. He became as famous as the best of their players. As the voice of the lakers, he essentially was the lakers to millions of fans. He brought the team, the coaches, and the rest of the organization to the millions of fans. He lived Lakers basketball, and it showed in the way he talked.

This book presents Chick in two ways: One is the writing about Chick, his life, his stories of the team, people, and life in general. Second is the CD included with the book that gives some of his greatest calles, along with narration by Al Michaels. Normally the voice of a sports broadcaster is a transient thing. You hear what he said, or maybe you miss it, and it's gone forever. Here are some of the best of his work, recorded forever.

As a lifelong Laker fan, I've felt like I've known Chick for most of my life. He was like the eccentric uncle that explained things to you when he visited, and in Chick's case, what he explained was basketball.

If you're not a Laker fan, this book probably won't be as meaningful to you, but it's filled with entertaining stories and poignant nuggets about broadcasting, basketball, and life in general. Some of the material I'd read about before, but a lot of it was new to me. It gets quite emotional at times; it's not strictly about basketball or play-by-play announcing, although he looms very large in both fields.

The book is mostly a compilation of other people recalling their memories of Chick, with some first-hand quotes from him as well. It doesn't really have a narrative, so it's a nice book to pick up and read from occasionally. I think the structure of it really suits the subject well. Chick was great at describing basketball and relating to people, so to a large extent the book is basketball people talking about him.

If you're a Laker fan, it's a great read. If you're into sportscasting or basketball, there's something for you too.

Very comforting with knowledge that Christ is the creator of the life that lives within the pregnant woman. Very helpful information to aide the pregnant couple in their journey thru labor & delivery.

The author of this book does a phenomenal job capturing and explaining the essence of Christian childbirth, in a manner useful and relevant to life in today's society. The concept of Christian childbirth infuses the message of Romans 12:2 into a world where childbirth has been culturally twisted from the blessed miracle of life into a medical event tainted by fear and distrust. Parents are called to renew their minds through God's word, restoring faith in the process created by God to bring forth new life. While fostering both medically and scripturally informed decision-making, the book guides the reader through the creation of a new family, from trusting God's will before conception, to prenatal communication and pregnancy stewardship, to the labor process and the physiological effects fear has upon it. It also provides the expectant couple with extensive practical information and scriptural encouragement for labor.
This is a vital guide for bringing spirituality back into birth and reinstating the wonder of its divine design. With a sensitivity rarely seen elsewhere, attention is given to such important topics as a father's valuable presence at the birth, and the profound effects of caregivers' attitudes and postpartum depression upon the well being of a new family. With the helpful addition of resources such as Bible study guides, beautiful birth testimonies, an explanation of salvation, and even her own faith statement, author Kelly Townsend addresses all the essentials!

I have really enjoyed reading and learning so much from this book. After reading it I have so much more confidence in myself in having a natural childbirth. My husband has really enjoyed it too. I hope others feel the same way.

I am Founder of Blessing God's Way - a ministry that focuses on the blessing of children as well as our other God-given cycles... and I have sold Mrs. Townsend's book for the last 4 years when I do confernces and hold birth related meetings. This book was so helpful to me, personally, with my 5th pregnancy and delivery - I am so grateful for her constant advice to take my thoughts captive and focus on God's goodness and the work of Christ for us and our salvation. I used her ideas, her techniques for focusing and found them to be most helpful in keeping my eyes upon Jesus during my pushing stage. I tell women now, "God doesn't leave the building, so to speak, during the last stage of labor" and then I direct them to Christ Centered Childbirth to understand how I can say such a statement!
Women need to be encouraged, supported and exhorted during this time in their lives. This book is a practical tool in doing so. I am grateful for her ablility to put this great knowledge in book form to share with so many other women, helping create a better birthing world for us all.

I definitely appreciate that this book was christ-centered and not "new-ageish" like most of the birthing books I have found. That said, it wasn't as good as I had hoped based on the other 5-star reviews. I had expected more nitty-gritty how-to info for during labor. In actuality, I found that it presented a lot of basic info on childbirth that I already knew and less christ-centered coping techniques. I am a born-again Christian, but I was a little bit weirded out by the part asking you to write down ways that you can assure that you won't be rude or inconsiderate to anyone at the hospital while you're in labor. Rudeness is clearly never something to be carried out by a Christian and should be a non-thought. When you're in transition and getting ready to push the baby out, though, I cannot imaging referring to your list of strategies about how to not be rude and thinking them over, etc. Your focus will be on getting the baby out and not much else!

Great Book! Gave mine to a friend and am ordering another. If you love your Coach, buy him or her this book.

The book is a little more advanced than what I needed right now coaching 8 & U coach pitch softball, but it does a great job of showing you the direction your coaching should be going as the kids get older. That in turn has influenced how I teach these young girls. Many of the fine drills in this book are too advancd for my age group, but I was able to simplify them a little to make them easier for 7-8 year olds. If your coaching 6-10 year old kids and can only buy one book, this may not be the one. But it is a great book to have in your coaching library. The best I have seen, my kids just are not quite ready for it yet.

I have coached for over ten years now and have found this book to be the most comprehensive, theoretically sound, user friendly coaching handbook on the market. Veroni has organized the information most effectively using charts and diagrams in addition to her commentary. This is THE book to purchase for both the beginning or experienced high school coach.

This book is comprehensive and is aimed at the coach of a team consisting of younger or much younger players. Kathy Veroni sounds like a tough, fair, and thorough coach. Imagine driving a group of late-arriving players 10 miles out of town and telling then to jog back to practice. No wonder West Illinois U has a great softball team.
However, as a captain of a mens' fastpitch softball team, with players who play once a week, this book did not help me much. The drills were just too involved and required a much higher commitment and lower physical strength than I have from the guys on my team. It's like using a college-level calculus text when all you want to learn is high school algebra.
Having said that, the big plus of this book is the VERY EXTENSIVE list of both defensive and offensive drills. This section of the book makes the purchase price worthwhile.

This is a very well laid out book and easy to follow. I would highly recommend this book for coaching high school or college age girls. Might be a little deep for younger athetes but could be adapted. Many drills are included in this book, and I found the philosophies especially interesting. Brought out a lot of simple points I had never thought of before.

In light of the previously posted shining reviews on this text, I suppose there is not much more to be said, but I felt compelled to bolster what has already been written. This book is, along with Norman Friedman's US Submarines since 1945, without question, among the definetive works on submarines of this period. Outstandingly researched and presented. Do not hesitate to buy this book. Top notch.

I was somewhat skeptical of this book when I saw nothing but 5 star reviews from purchasers of the title. However, having read it, this is THE Cold War submarine reference. It contains insights not only into the technologies deployed, but the rational (or in some cases the Irrational) that led to the development of the mysterious technological marvels we could only speculate on during the cold war. The authors clearly show both American and Soviet perspectives on the cold war submarine development. I found the information regarding the CONFORM design on 1967 to be of particular interest. Rickover's insistence on developing the 688 class killed CONFORM. Yet CONFORM was 40 years ahead of anything available at that time. It is interesting that the 688's were far more fragile than one might imagine. Yet Rickover insisted on having his way. Where would we be had the CONFORM design gone through?? This book is absolutely the best material that I have read to date on cold war submarines.

Not as many actual pix of subs as most books but it is very well written and also dabbles into the politics and design that went on with each new design of submarine. Nice charts and missile specs and things like that. Goes into greater detail of the US boats more than Soviet.

I sought a book with a serious overview of the topic of Cold War submarines, and not a book about one or another aspect of the topic. I ended up with a book that contains both an excellent overview as well as serious discussion of specific submarines, strategies, technologies and the men behind the scenes.
The story is well placed within the historical context of the political, military and economical events and processes of the Cold War. The text is well written and well structured.
Especially fascinating is the look behind the scenes of Soviet submarine design, construction and operations - those were among the best-kept secrets of the Soviet Union.
Besides dealing with "main stream" submarines, there are several interesting chapters about different experimental projects; rescue submarines and several fantasy projects, like freight vessels and aircraft carrying submarines.
Although the story is focused on the Cold War period, there is a detailed discussion of WWII technology that highly influenced Cold War designs, as well as descriptions of post Cold War vessels and fleets.
The book is well illustrated with photographs and line drawings.

I knew about a Polmar from reading references in some papers, so I finally decided to give a try. I wasn't disappointed. There were lots of technical details giving an overview. Better yet, it is a balanced account - by no means are Americans portrayed as all powerful.

If there were two things it can be improved on - well, one would be the placement of the endnotes. It is a matter of taste, but considering how many there were and how interesting they were, it might have been more convenient to have put them at the bottom of the main text as footnotes for each page.

The second is that I would have killed for a chapter or two on "other than the equipment". Subs are not just their designers, their admirals and the technicals - it is also the men, their organization and their training. Polmar briefly goes over the differences, but it could have been given a full chapter or at least an Appendix if extra efficiency measures were applied to the pre-Cold War history stuff.

Now, I'm going to buy another Polmar book that would hopefully fill up the gap. Wish me luck.

Overall, and interesting account of the creation of the character and the movies in which he stars. Great for Indy fans and those intrigued with the process of filmmaking.

As a long time fan of the Indiana Jones series, this book is a real treasure to own. It goes through the whole film series from concept to reality and has great anecdotes from behind the scenes. Packed full of interesting behind the scenes photos and production notes etc. A must for any fan of Indiana Jones and film making in general.

I've bought a wide range of books over the years. Sometimes I've regretted the purchase. That is certainly not the case with this excellent book on the Indiana Jones films. I would highly recommend it - unlike some movie based books, there is a lot of substance - the fact that both George Lucas and Steven Spielburg have contributed prefaces goes to show how well respected this book is by the very people responsible for the movies. You only have to hold the book in your hands and feel its weight to know that a lot of research went in to creating it.

I thought the book would be good, and was pleasantly surprised to find it even better than expected. If you enjoy the Indiana Jones movies then this would be a good coffee table book for you.

Won't give any information away, but some of the ideas that didn't make it to the big screen are quite surprising. Thankfully Spielburg and Harrison Ford managed to curb Lucas's enthusiasm for sci-fi. I hope that they make one more movie - as long as it doesn't involve any more aliens or CGI based action scenes! Somehow I doubt that it will happen though. So you're pretty safe in buying this book as the 'complete' making of!

The book was a very interesting look, and brilliantly put together, but there could have been more about the the kingdom of the crystal skull. Most of the book heavenly takes you into the world of the first 3 movies.

For any fan of the "Indy" film series, this is the ultimate book... While it does contain information we all may have heard or seen in archival footage or interviews on the two recent DVD releases, it also contains an abundant amount of new insight and some really great photographs straight out of the Lucasfilm Archives!

If you hated the new film, you can skip the last chapter, but it is also an insightful read - It also shows, and explains, in great detail how virtually every BAD idea associated with the series can be attributed to Lucas... who miraculously seems to win arguments with Spielberg just by wearing him down over time. While the book is never critical of Lucas, it nevertheless paints a less than flattering picture of him... It's odd that he let certain things come to light.

Anyway. This is the ultimate book for any hardcore "Indy" fan - a must buy.

The other reviewers have already done a terrific job describing the content. I'll just add that while a profesional/accademic mathematician might find this book a bit informal, as an amateur I really appreciate its appeal to intuition and the author's tendency to review the meaning of terminology for a few of it's subsequent uses immediately following it's introduction. Not a difficult read, but a working knowledge of calculus for one variable is prerequisite. Seems to be out of print as of this date -- I've had good luck with used book purchases through Amazon marketplace from dealers with positive ratings better than 95%.

Check this sentence from the preface:

"The Cauchy Integral Theorem is thereby an easy consequence of Green's Theorem and the Cauchy-Riemann equations. Goursat's remarkable deepening of the Integral Theorem is discussed, but is not proved."

Such an upfront motivation of physicality in Complex Variables or Analysis is more than a rare find, it can only be justly defined as heavensent. A gift from the gods! This miraculous text absolutely deserves its many 5 star reviews. (other readers should still figure out the previous text that has an even clearer presenation of the physical foundations than Flanigan [to think i gave it 3 stars!])

Perhaps the most Physically Intuitive text on Complex Variables Ever (here's the first full paragraph): "We examine the the geography of the xy-plane. Some of this will be familiar from basic calculus (for example, distance between points), some may be new to you (for example, the important notion of 'domain'). We must also consider curves in the plane."

The two basic facts about analytic functions are these: they satisfy the Cauchy-Riemann equations and they are conformal. These are two lanes of a two way street between complex function theory and potential theory. The Cauchy-Riemann equations imply that the real and imaginary part of the function are conjugate harmonic functions. Harmonic functions are functions that satisfy the Laplace equation, and they thus describe steady-state heat flows and such. So facts about heat flows translate into facts about analytic functions. For instance, if no heat is generated inside a circle then the temperature at some interior point will be some sort of smeared out average of the temperatures along the circumference, so the maximum temperature in the disc must be somewhere on the boundary. This carries over to analytic functions: the maximum of the modulus of an analytic function on a disc must be attained on the boundary, and, if the function is never zero we can invert it and find that the minimum of the modulus must be attained on the boundary. And from here we obtain a quick and easy proof of the fundamental theorem of algebra: if a polynomial is never zero the minimum of its modulus on a disc must be attained on the boundary, but as the disc is taken larger and larger, the modulus on the boundary of course goes to infinity. QED. Thus we have a sort of physical proof of a very formal mathematical theorem. And there's plenty more where that came from. Integrating along a closed loop sort of corresponds to integrating the heat flux across the boundary, and poles correspond to heat sources, so if there are no poles inside the loop the influx and the outflux will be equal and the integral will be zero, and in general the net flux will be determined by the strength of the sources (i.e. residues of the poles). All this because the Cauchy-Riemann equations turned analytic functions into physics. But we promised a two way street, although admittedly there is less traffic in the opposite direction (flows around obstacles could have evened the score but are omitted). The key here is that harmonic functions are conformally invariant, and analytic functions are conformal, so an analytic function applied to a harmonic function produces a new harmonic function. An indication of the usefulness of this fact is this: the Dirichlet problem for the disc is easily solved by the Poisson formula but remains hard for a general domain, but because any domain can be mapped to a circle by an analytic function we can, in principle, solve the general problem by simply mapping the circle solution to our new domain. In conclusion, we very much applaud the idea of a harmonic function approach to analytic functions, but we also feel that this book is a bit stiff and does not sufficiently exploit the power of the intuitive and geometric ideas involved; we strongly recommend Needham's wonderful book for these aspects.

Just like finding two solutions for the same problem gives additional insight, Flannigan was able to give me an additional insight to the whole subject of complex analysis with his approach that is drasticly different from any other book on the subject I know.

Used this book during Mathematics Ph.D. studies to prepare for a preliminary exam in complex analysis. The unorthodox approach helped me get another angle of the subject. In particular I would note the introduction of harmonic functions before analytic functions and using "real analysis" techniques to prove "complex analysis" theorems like the maximum principal and the Liouville theorem for harmonic functions. Before the number "i" is even introduced, you already know these theorems for analytic functions once you define them as a pair of harmonic ones.

The student friendly tone of the author was a blessed interchange from the standard graduate books like Ahlfors, and for a fraction of the cost, it makes a wonderful buy for a self study book for the complex Ph.D. exam.

I would not assign it as the course book for undergraduate students taking a first course in complex analysis (which is what it is intedned for) though. It would be frustrating for a student to ponder through Green's theorem and real analysis material, which is by no means introductory, for 100 pages or so, when what he or she needs and/or wants to be doing is to deal with the algebra and geometry of complex numbers.

Overall, an awsome book if you already tasted the subject and want to get a better feel for it. If it's your first time, stick with the traditional books.

Flanigan's book starts at the beginning, and it covers some central aspects of complex function theory, elementary geometry, harmonic and analytic functions.

The central topics are (in this order) calculus and geometry of the plane, harmonic functions, complex numbers, integrals, power series and analytic functions, and the standard Cauchy-and residue theorems, ending with a brief chapter on conformal mappings.

The book was published first in 1972, but reprinted since by Dover. It is suitable as a text or as a supplement in a standard course in complex function theory, late undergraduate level, or beginning graduate. While it contains the standard elements in such a course, we note that a systematic treatment of power series comes relatively late, in Chapter 5, beginning on page 194. Some readers might want to begin with that. Flanigan concludes with the Riemann mapping theorem.

Of other Dover titles on the same subject we recommend the books by Volkovyskii et al, Schwerdtfeger, and Silverman. Review by Palle Jorgensen, August 5, 2006.

If teaching is part of your life's work, then this is a must read. It is both spiritual and practical in its wisdom and demands for authenticity.

This book is a gift to all dedicated educators. Parker Palmer's thoughtful text, The Courage to Teach, has been updated and expanded for this, his tenth anniversary edition. I love the CD that comes with it. I used this book in my graduate course last fall and my students really enjoyed reading it and discussing Palmer's ideas. One student commented, "From Parker Palmer I've learned how to think more critically....I find myself spending much more time thinking before speaking. Not just in class but in LIFE!" All of us who work in classrooms need to consider the impact of our words on others. This book is an excellent guide to understanding that it is not technique but one's identity and integrity that make a difference in the classroom.

This new edition is a welcomed reminder of the eloquent and insightful invitation Parker Palmer issued ten years ago to educators to go inside themselves and rekindle the passion that originally drew them to teaching. I am delighted to know that in the past ten years this work has evolved to include others in professions of the heart--namely everyone. This is a profoundly thoughtful and engaging book for anyone.

I love this book! I loved it when the first edition came out ten years ago -- and I love it even more now, with the new beginning and ending. I also love the CD that comes with the book -- the wonderful conversation between Parker and his colleagues. Parker puts into words what so many of us have felt -- and he does it exquisitely. He says that we teach who we are, that the teacher's identity and integrity are more important than any technique or method. Good teachers have always known that -- but we've begun to doubt our own knowing in this mean climate that has left way too many teachers behind. This book is the perfect gift for every new teacher-- as well as for those of us who struggle some days to remember the passion that brought us to teaching in the first place!

Parker Palmer's wisdom is invaluable to all who teach. His ideas are both profound and revolutionary. The Courage to Teach leads us on an exploration of the paradoxes inherent in our living and our teaching. We are encouraged to "cultivate the capacity for connectedness on which all good teaching depends." Parker's words inspire us to live and teach authentically, and invite our students to do the same. This book is a must read for all who struggle to teach in a way that opens students' hearts, as well as their minds.