Design Books

"Face Off" has been perfect for me as it actually has me drawing- unlike all the other drawing books I have. I'm drawing 10 faces a day and its both hard work and hard to find the time- but the images look like faces.
"Face Off" isn't so much of a "how to" but a "get to". Its giving me the start that I need to get into actually drawing and developing the hand and observational skills required.
I'm using the book in conjunction with a book of face portraiture which is giving me plenty of examples to practice on. Cartoon portraiture is very rewarding and is helping me overcome my face recognition disability.

This is one of the best commercially available books on caricature. However, I would recommend looking at a few books, rather than just this one (this isn't a standalone caricature education resource). Some of the caricatures don't look a lot like the real people they represent; whether this is an artistic choice or a limitation of the talent involved is a mystery. Many, useful techniques are contained herein; some readers may be disappointed in the results achieved and need more instruction in achieving a recognizable likeness. Worth a look; one of the best.

I have several books on caricature and have to say this is the best. The funny thing is that some of the pages looked kind of familiar and I realized that they were some of the handouts used at the local amusement park. After looking at Harry's picture at the end, I do remember him holding some excellent training classes at the park. He has an excellent way of explaining the whole process. This is an excellent book on the subject.

I used to do caricatures and this pretty much is what I did for over a year. This is a well designed instructional book... It gives many variations of eyes, noses, mouths, facial structure and hair style. I recommend this book as a handy reference source to my students.

I purchased this book about a week ago after seeing it at a bookstore and seeing all of the excellent reviews for it. I have been studying art for a few years and having worked at a bookstore as well I know when I read a good art instruction book and this is definitely one of them. It has practical to do steps that gradually build a persons skill. A common pitfall of art books is they show a finished product of the artist but they leave it a mystery as to how they got there. This book will help seasoned artist as well as give newer ones confidence in their ability to do caricatures. Highly recommended!

This book is everything I expected. The pictures are great and the text very informative. I am enjoying it very much and it is a valued addition to my film library.

As a glamour photographer myself, this is a book I own and use for inspiration. I love the way Hurrell not only captures the inner-beauty of the subjects, but his photojournalistic approach. I often graze through this book as I've read it many times over--the grazing gets me going when it comes to my own glamour photography. I recommend anyone interested in this book, buy it now! If you'd like to see how it's affected my career, also check out the following books, Garage Glamour: Digital Nude and Beauty Photography Made Simple, Rolando Gomez's Glamour Photography: Professional Techniques and Images and even a book where I have a chapter, Professional Portrait Lighting: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers (Photo Pro Workshop series) This book should not only be on a collector's list, but for any student of photography--we're always learning no matter what level your photography. ---Rolando Gomez, contributing writer, Studio Photography magazine

This book -- how beautiful. I have photography books by several of the great portrait photographers of the 20th Century, and this one is the best. There are a wealth of photographs, and the story of Hurrell's life is also interesting. If you ever thought about seriously learning about photography and taking some good pictures, this book will take any hesitation out of your mind. Gorgeous!!

I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through and then reading this beautiful tribute to the legendary work of George Hurrell. As compelling as Hurrell's photos are it is the author's indepth knowledge and understanding of Hollywood and Hurrell that set this book apart.

Mark Vieira's own photographic artistry is based on Hurrell's techniques, providing current-day enthusiasts with authentic glamour photography of their own.

George Hurrell is universally acknowledged THE Hollywood portrait photographer, the man who recreated during the talkies much of the mystery of the silent stars through his breathtaking photographs. At a time when the finest still photography was becoming more incisive and natural, Hurrell managed to balance this new naturalism and directness in highly manipulated ways, producing in his best work iconic images of the great stars of MGM. After the second World War his work became largely passe, appearing too contrived and built up for an age demanding grit and spontaneity and an off-hand naturalness.

This work seeks to both show and tell the story of Hurrell's highwater era as not only the major photographer of the stars, and MGM in particular, but also his development as artist. Breathtaking photographs fill the volume - Harlow on a polar bear skin rug, her gown glowing a burnished white against the softer fur while all around her Hurrell captures an infinite play of lighting, the entire amazing and unrepeatable, a dream world evoked out of the irridescent sheen of an infinity of microscopic silvery gifts left by the platinum negative; Norma Shearer transformed from attractive but doughty into a timeless vamp, surpassing her silent film predecessors with an electric sexuality never before captured on still film; Joan Crawford, Hurrell's great muse at the top of his game, seen in powerful forceful images, unrelenting in their hold on an Apollonian authority.

Hurrell's flamboyant personality, his novel and sometimes off-putting behavior during shootings, seems now unfortunately taken as role template by many lesser fashion photographers. In his day and at his height during the late twenties through the beginnings of World War II Hurrell dominates a demanding and highly accomplished professional field.
Whether you live in a sumptious penthouse overlooking Central Park, need a single book for the coffee table in the living room of that restored Neutra you just purchased, or just enjoy reasonably priced fashion books, Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits fits the bill. At a significantly reduced price its a lovely reminder of one of the nicer advantages of democratic publishing: not every fine art book is a prohibitively expensive limited edition printed by a small press.

This is a benchmark book for interactive design. It separates the design process into information design, interactive design and presentation design. Those who head the process and focus on information design tasks at the beginning of an interactive project will find that costs are lower.

Information design changes are easiest at the beginning of a project and create large cost problems at the end.

If you have proceeded with good information design then interactive design and costs are much less difficult and less expensive.

Finally if you have made good information design and interactive design decisions, then you have a vast arrays of how to present the final product. It is at this stage the costs the highest with graphic designers, video producers, web developers, programmers and so on.

Read the book and memorize the process.

The book promised a lot based on previous readers' reviews and the publishing house's reputation but I was disappointed with its contents. The information is well presented but too simplistic. Lacking any further elaboration this book is of little use if you have some experience in the field of interactive design. A good brain-storming session at home would come up with the same findings of this book.

I have had this book for 4+ years. I loaned it to a friend once who didn't return it, so I bough another one.

Among the dozens of books I own and read on usability or project management, etc. this one is fantastic - a real stand-out.

The one drawback is that it's not as contemporary/up-to-the-minute as newer books. [shrug]

This is nicely organized, introduces important concepts and explains them in plain english. I used it as a textbook for a multimedia class and it was well received.

You will not find fancy tricks and designs, but you will get a good overview of multimedia, interface design and project management. It is 'outdated' so it is not suitable for experts but its information is excellent for an intro class, especially for people with little graphics experience.

For once, someone makes the distinction between information design, interaction design and presentation design. This book was invaluable in helping our division more clearly define our process for product development.

This book contains J.R.R. Tolkein's artwork (the stuff he did himself). This provides unique glimpses into Middle Earth the way he saw it (as other reviewers have mentioned).

Additionally, this work contains many non-Middle-Earth-related works. The section on his early works help clarify his other paintings by providing an artistic sense of the world around him, and the section on artwork for children is helpful too (includes pieces from "Roverandum" among others).

This is not just finished art though. There are sketches on letters or notes, for example, and one case of color doodles on a newspaper classified section (I found this one particularly amusing).

Highly recommended.

J.R.R. Tolkien was an accomplished writer, as everyone knows, but his abilities as an artist are sometimes overlooked. Many of his readers have been able to admire his illustrations for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. This book, by the authoritative scholars Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond, gathers together all of Tolkien's artwork and provides fascinating commentaries and analyses.

Among the earliest works included here are paintings done by Tolkien while still in school and at Oxford University. These contain many dream like visions which remind me of William Blake. The book also holds the Middle earth illustrations, some better known than others but all fascinating and many exquisite.

The book is arranged in roughly chronological order and includes some of Tolkien's final sketches and drawings, some mere doodlings on newspaper, but all of them appealing and many entrancing.

This important book reveals another dimension to Tolkien that remains obscured by his monumental storytelling. Tolkien was gifted with a many-sided creativity, as most artists are, and his visual creativity casts as vivid a vision of re-enchantment as his written work.

This book is much better than I thought it would be. Mostly I was curious to see more of Tolkien's art, but the text that goes along with it is wonderful. Christopher Tolkien asked the authors to write this book to showcase his father's art, and they do a wonderful job of describing the pictures, pointing out details that I missed, and putting them in context of when and where and why Tolkien drew them. Several versions of the same pictures are shown so you can see how Tolkien worked through a problem until he found the best final product. Plus the inspirations for some of the pictures are also shown, to show that Tolkien copied others sometimes, but in the end put his own mark on it. By copied, I don't mean plagarized. He drew his eagle from a book of birds to make sure he got it right, or was inspired by other artists particular works. Highly recommended if you are a Tolkien fan. If you are just into art and not a Tolkien fan, then I don't think this will interest you.

This book is a great way to collect some of Tolkien's best works of art and to get a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Highly recommended.

I am teaching a robotics course using Lego Mindstorms NXT and this book was full of challenging builds for my students.

This book shows you how to build and program 10 robots . . . that is pretty much it. The authors do not teach you about the NXT or NXT-G they just get right into building. The models are cool but you should get the Mindstorms Idea book if you want to learn more about the NXT itself.
They do give you some helpful tips as they go along in the book. In the beginning of each chapter, they tell you about what the robot does, then they will say "By the time you have finished building the model, you should have a good understanding of. . ." then they list some examples.
At the end of each chapter, they give you ideas on how to expand and advance the robot you built.

Over all, you should only get this book if you understand the basics of NXT and programming.

Having just gotten the Lego Mindstorms NXT kit, I was very excited to see this new book on the market. One-Kit Wonders offers ten new projects that can be built with just the NXT kit - no extra parts necessary.

This book provides detailed layouts and step-by-step instructions for building each project (including illustrations). It also gives thorough information on programming each robot. This is very important for users like me who do not have any programming background.

One great aspect about One-Kit Wonders is that it features something for eveyone in the family. The projects included range from an M&M Sorter (my kids favorite) to a dragster (my husbands favorite) to a bike that steers and moves by itself (my personal favorite).

Adding color to the illustrations is the one thing that I found I would change about One-Kit Wonders. At times it is hard to tell which pieces needed to be used because the pictures are various shades of gray. This would make it much easier to use, especially for kids who might be trying to do these projects on their own.

Another useful feature about this particular book is that it is bound using RepKover so that it will lay flat. This comes in handy when you're snapping lego together and need both hands. I won't say that this worked perfectly, but it was definitely better about staying open than the standard book.

Overall, however, I was very pleased with LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders. It provides hours and hours of entertainment and was fairly easy to use despite the lack of color. I had a blast with my kids building some of these great projects, and we'll definitely be on the lookout for the next book of this type.

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonder is a fantastic book with step by step instructions for ten new robotic inventions that can be built with one LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit.

Ease of Use, Performance: 23/25
Look & Feel: 23/25
Features 25/25
How much I enjoy 24/25

Total: 95/100

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders is a complete step by step instruction book for ten totally different robotic inventions complete with programming guide. The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders is written by James Floyd Kelly, Matthias Paul Scholz, Christopher R. Smith, Martijn Boogaarts, Jonathan A. Daudelin, Eric D. Burdo, Laurens Valk, Blue ToothKiwi and Fay Rhodes.

The authors comprise a group of LEGO enthusiasts with plenty of experience not only in LEGO's but in engineering and publishing with several of the authors creating The NXT Step Blog. The book is a simple but detailed step by step guide to creating a wide variety of robots from a single NXT kit that make up a broad range of uses and abilities.

Unlike other books I have seen these are ten totally different robots built from the ground up as opposed to a few alterations in one robot to make a different one. For changes or further experimentation they have given hints and tips at the end of each robot section for further altering the robot for different uses or study.

Each robot has simple to follow instructions giving which pieces are being used and then how to assemble them for each step as well as not going so fast with so many pieces in each step to keep things simple. I found they use so few pieces on each step that it helped a lot in not only understanding and seeing where each piece went that it also made for simple building without using too many pieces at once.

If a piece does not clearly show in the pictures they have circled it for easy reference so you have a large circle on the part that you may not have seen. This means they went to great lengths to make sure you could see and follow the step by step building pictures to create each robotic invention.

Once your model is complete they also have very important step by step instructions for connecting the robotic sensors and motors to the NXT block with simple terms that are understandable. For instance on my SPC or Self Parking Car it tells you to look at the last building step and see the motor on the left which they refer to as the steering motor. This motor will connect to the NXT Block slot B and the motor on the right, driving motor, connects to connection A.

Its these simple to follow directions that show they are a group of people that not only know how to design and build the robots but also how to tell us less than technically capable people how to build it for ourselves. They also have simple explanations for each design block in the programming section so you not only can see what each block does but understand the what and why of it.

This helpful explanation shows you what your robot is doing and why it is doing it so you can get the basic as well as in depth understanding of the robot and its functions through an actual understanding of the programs that make it work. The programs can be quite simple to follow but you should use care and go over the entire program once so you are sure you have all the settings for each block correct.

They use short block sections of less than six blocks so you can see the program blocks clearly and there are not too many blocks to program on each page of the instructions as well. This is more important here in the programming section than in the building section and they have kept things short and simple for easy programming so you have less chance of errors.

Of course they do not go much into depth about troubleshooting a non functioning robot and simply retracing the steps of the programming blocks will find out where you put in information that is wrong. I found I had missed a couple of settings and it was obvious from the start where I had gone wrong but a little common sense or retracing the programming would have spotted the setting corrections needed.

With the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders book there is one correction that they may not mention in the website where you buy the book but it can be found at the NXT Step Blog forum. Simply add the one programming block for the SPC Car that is missing and you will easily get it working correctly if you were unaware that a picture was missing.

In any other book this would have been a simple spelling error or missing picture but here it is an important setting picture for the program so you do need to get the setting picture if you are going to create the Self Parking Car. Other than this one missing picture there are no errors in the book that anyone has found and plenty of people have been using and complementing the book and its authors.

The step by step nature of the book means it is a lot of pictures and is really easy to follow, only a couple of pages in building the two robots that I did completely had pictures that I had to really look at closely. Most of the places that I would have had problems had the big circles showing the additions of smaller parts but I think they missed a couple of other places as well that should have been highlighted.

The NXT One-Kit Wonders does a great job of giving you ten separate projects in robotics with very different types of inventions for some fun experiments. They include the Candy Picker, Punch Bot, M&M Sorter, NXT Dragster, BobBot, RoboLock, The Hand, the Self Parking Car GrabBot and the Bike.

Most of the robots are just what they sound like but they all are different enough that they use and have a very different setup to them so they are not all just variations of each other or anything like that. The dragster for instance is made and programmed so it races much like a drag car with sensors to keep it on a track made from black tape.

The dragster will race down the track but first it will perform its staging when the person sets the car down and presses the program button. The program will drive the car to the start line you tape down on the floor and wait till it runs through a race count down and then races through a twenty foot drag strip area. The dragster will then stop racing when it crosses the finish line and you can check the time that was recorded on the NXT for the race from crossing the start line to the finish line.

The book explains all this and shows you how to tape down the track and the type of tape and area needed for this experiment and invention. The book goes into depth about further areas to explore for each invention with some very short and simple ideas to a few that are up to a page in detail.

The ten robots are a good starting point for creating robotics and inventions using the NXT kit and add a lot to the growing ideas behind the NXT robotics kits. The One-Kit Wonders book is a great addition to the NXT kit and well worth the cost of the book and then some with a great new set of robots to build.

The NXT Step Blog is a great place to get even more ideas and further information about robotics and building things with the LEGO MINDTSTORMS NXT kits. I highly recommend the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonder book for a fantastic step by step guide for building ten new robots from the retail kit of the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT.

When Seattle schools were closed for snow (snow!), my son decided to make a project from No Starch Press's new book, LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT One-Kit Wonders. We really like this book - it consists of ten projects designed by the contributors to the NXT Step blog. The book is not for absolute beginners, but it's not too advanced if you have some experience with building and programming NXT MINDSTORMS. The projects include an M&M sorter, a NXT version of a Bobcat, and a drag racer.

He chose the robot hand project - it's a hand that fits over your own hand; he liked the silly redundancy of the idea - it takes two hands to operate it! Like all the projects, this one has a parts list, an explanation of the project, pictures of the steps, and the programming code. The only criticism he had was that the pictures were in black-and-white, and a little dark, so it was sometimes difficult to see exactly what parts were needed. You can see the robot hand in action in the video - it rotates in both directions, and it's surprisingly dexterous.

We really liked the fact that each project uses only the parts that come with the basic NXT MINDSTORMS kit; we've started projects from other books that turned out to require lots of other parts only available in really expensive and hard to find educational kits. Since there are nine authors, the projects represent a variety of approaches - it's like learning from a team of teachers. The projects are complete in themselves, but each project has suggestions for modifying the designs, and the authors encourage kids to think creatively and explore further. The book is full of fun projects, and gives kids tools to help create their own designs. We look forward to building more projects!

Beautiful collection of Logos!
Simple awesome to retrieve inspiration from :)

A+!

This is another good book of logo ideas. Great for inspiration. Nicely laid out and the pages are of good quality glossy paper. Very nice book for my collection.

This series is a must have for any designer. Not only is it great for ideas, but a nice tool to have when a wishy-washy client just isn't sure what they want. If you are a serious designer, you must own all the Logo Lounge books.

Always a fan, the assemblage of brands from every corner is impressive and helpful. The Lounge has always been and continues to be a wonderful resource for jump-starting logo block.

Whether you are fresh out of college or a seasoned Senior designer, you will find this book an amazing resource of ideas, trends and just plain good design.

We actually have purchased every volume and they keep getting better and better. Logo Lounge 3 is no different in terms of the unique talent chosen to be showcased in this edition.

If you need a design spark look no further, this is the book of choice.

[...]

This is a major compilation of the work of the intriguing graphic artist, M. C. Escher. Remember seeing depictions of events that seem plausible but, under closer analysis, involve impossibilities? That describes some of Escher's most interesting works.
The book provides just about everything Escher produced (appearing in the "Catalog" section of the book), including his earliest works compiled during his teens. Among the most well known (and fascinating) include "The Waterfall," "Ascending and Descending March," "Convex and Concave," "Liberation," "Synthesis," "House of Stairs," and so on. The catalog section is fun, for one thing, simply to trace the evolution of his art.

But there is more to this volume than the works themselves. The volume provides context, with a brief description of his father's life as well as a more detailed analysis of Escher's life, from his birth in 1898 to his death in 1972.

There is also a most useful chapter labeled "The Vision of a Mathematician" (featuring the thoughts of mathematics teacher Bruno Ernst). It begins by noting two periods in the work of Escher--(page 135): ". . .pre 1935, in which landscapes predominate, and post 1937, which is characterized by a marked mathematical tendency." Ernst describes the mathematical principles in some detail (for those interested in this, a fascinating discussion). The textual portion of the book concludes with an essay by Escher himself on "The Regular Division of the Plane," including his reflections on his art.

This book has been around a while, but it is a valuable backdrop to getting a sense of the art of M. C. Escher.

I love everything Escher. I have several books, numerous calendars, as well as large jigsaw puzzles, T-shirts, magnets and mini jigsaw puzzles. Because of the detail in this book, I will never need to add another book to my collection. I especially appreciate the explanations. I am nowhere near smart enough to figure out what Escher was doing in each of his artworks. The detailed lesson on what each piece means is much appreciated by an art fan who is not an art scholar. I think this book would be great for any Escher fan, but I feel the need to tell you it is very large. Make sure you have room for it.

And c'mon - if you've seen his work, you're a fan.

The great thing about this book is not just the extensive and readable biography, but the complete (so they say) catalog of his graphic works. Even people very familiar with Escher's ouvre will be surprised by some of the entries here. They go back to work he did at ages 18 and 19, and show the devleopment of the Escher that has become so famous. It's just a little disappointing that the catalog is printed only in black and white, when so many of his works used color. The catalog reproductions are just that - a listing of his work, not a gallery, so the quarter-page size of most pieces is adequate for recognizing a piece, if not for appreciating it fully.

It is fascinating to see Escher's style develop though his (and the twentieth century's) twenties. Various influences early on suggest Beardsley (cat. 49, 67), Picasso (cat. 51, 58), or the pervasive Art Deco of his time (cat.34). Even then, some of Escher's later fascinations begin to emerge, including hands and reflective balls (cat. 88 and 80), symmetries and tilings (cat. 61, 65), and complex interactions of many figures in a repeating structure (cat. 90). The lesser-known parts of his work also start to emerge by the time he's 30, including delicate lithographs (cat. 129, 132). As much as I love his visual paradoxes and flirtation with the infinite, the lithos and mezzotints are the pieces that truly move me. "Snow" and "Blowball" (cat. 278 and 330) have an eloquent simplicity. "Eye" and "Drop" (cat. 344 and 356) demonstrate his classical sense and his perseverance with the demanding medium of mezzotint.

The text is also thorough and enjoyable - a good thing, since it takes up half of this heavy book, including its own set of illustrations. I admit that I have only skipped around this section, which starts by describing Escher's father. It's small wonder that his father was an engineer and that his son Arthur studied geology. Although an artist to the core, Escher had fruitful contact with mathematicians and crystallographers. He is one of very few artists that have successfully incorporated hard science into their artistic vision at such a visceral level, and the scientists appreciated that as much as anyone.

Although out of print, this book is available inexpensively on the used market. It's one of the best bargains around; if you've read this far, you'll probably find it well worth having.

//wiredweird

I haven't even had a chance to go through all of this remarkable book yet, but I am so impressed with it so far I cannot burble enough about how delighted I am with my purchase. This is a beautifully produced, designed, and wonderfully complete book. Many tales of the personal life an vision of the artist, countless, cleanly reproduced graphics, many works I have never seen or heard of before. Terrific! Can't recommend enough!!!

Definitely the first book every Escher fan should purchase. It's helpful in getting to know about the man himself as well as his brilliant artwork. It may seem pricey, but it's totally worth it, being hardcover (at least the one I got), and high quality photos of his work. It also shows his lesser known works (ones never released apparently), as well as photos of himself and his family. A very informative read and a quality edition.

This book is very thorough in its coverage of machine quilting; the author explains how to create a design for each
quilt depending on the quilt's intended use. She also
has complete information on threads and needles, and ways
to efficiently combine them for the best results. I hope
to start using this information soon.

I have numerous books on patterns and "Machine Quilting' but this is the first one that breaks down the process in such detail with so many actual examples. It was most helpful to read about how to quilt based on use and then to see the same quilt, quilted for each of the 3 main uses.

I highly recommend this book as a 'must have' resource for anyone who isn't highly advanced. It really will make the process of finishing the top much more enjoyable and give you a shot of confidence.

This book is a supreme example of the old adage "don't judge a book by it's cover." I found the cover quilt extremely boring to the point I couldn't imagine why in the world the book had so many good reviews. When I got the book I didn't even like the quilting design on the cover. I didn't like and wouldn't make any of the quilts in the book, either. They were way too basic for me. However, forget all that! The bland quilts in the book were just a quick way for the author to show her quilting designs, and I get it! The free-flowing designs are wonderful, and doable by all! There is no marking involved, no stencils, nothing to stop you! I suspect long-armers have known how to do designs like this for many years, but they just haven't been available to domestic machine quilters. I am grateful that I bought this book, and I think both beginning, intermediate, and advanced domestic machine quilters will love it.

I have a number of books pertaining to machine quilting, including the McTavishing book. That one is good, but this one is better. The ideas and instructions are superior. I've already put some of it to use and the improvement in my free-motion is very satisfying.

Many machine quilting books give the nuts and bolts of quilting on an ordinary "domestic" sewing machine, but few take that next step to inspire a novice machine quilter to create her or his own quilt designs. This book does just that. Yes, I agree with those reviewers who say the quilts are nothing special, but the point is that they are there to showcase the quilting, not to detract from it. With the simple traditional block designs that we have all seen before, our eyes are drawn to the quilting. Each design is quilted in three different ways- a simple allover design, a design that shows off the plain blocks and negative spaces as well as the pieced blocks, and an elaborate "show stopper" with detailed quilting and touches of trapunto. As a longtime quilter, but a relative newbie to machine quilting anything other than loops or meanders, this book has done far more to improve my quilting than any other machine quilting book in my personal library. I have gone on to machine quilt at least four or five quilts without copying any of the designs in the book.

Wonderful book! If only all married couples had this information, our families in this country might not be in the crisis that they are! Highly recommended!

This book is an excellent resource for creating a marriage pleasing to God. I would recommend this to newly engaged or married couples as well as those married for several years.

This is one of the best and most balanced Christian books I have ever read on marriage. So many books on Christian marriage are trite - Christian claptrap - with silly, insipid advice. This book actually includes practical suggestions for dealing with the real problems of marriage. Even more refreshing is the author's frankness about the terrible effects on our society of fatherless families and the need for fathers to pay attention to their wives and children without dominating the family. Wow, finally someone willing to speak the truth.

Also, few Christian books address single parenting or marriages in which one person is doing all the work - this one does AND offers practical advice on how to deal with these very common situations. It addresses what happens when a husband puts his job first, cheats, or simply won't work on the marriage. It also addresses what happens when a woman is demanding, cold or critical. The discussion on sex is better than most Christian books if a litle bit dated (definitely written from the older male's perspective).

My one critique: this book, while better than most Christian books when it comes to explaining the Christian wife, does not address the prevalance of working wives and the effects on the family when MOM cheats, is working too much, or no longer wants to work on the marriage. It's time for contemporary Christians to wake up and realize that it's no longer just Dad who's not keeping the home fires burning. Few Christian books seem to want to deal with this particular issue even though it is increasingly prevalent.

Even with this minor critique, though, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is much better than "The Power of a Praying Wife" or similar nonsense books that give endless examples from the author's own (relatively easy) marriage and very little solid advice. "Marriage on the Rock" includes behavioral solutions that address serious marital problems, while of course incorporating prayer. Plus, Dr. Evans clearly has done enough counseling that he knows a lot about what he writes and can provide real-world examples. His presentation is not sugary or pie-in-the-sky and he doesn't pretend that all marriages will work...but his advice on making them better is excellent.

My wife and I used this book for a small group we did at our church and it was amazing. The principles that are used in this book relate to the reasons why we have trouble in marriage. The author is very insightful into how to have a successful marriage and how we can achieve the marriage that we have always wanted. I would recommend this book to anyone and being a pastor at my church I will continue to use it to improve my marriage as well as others.

This book has really been helpful - coming from a couple who has experienced heartache in marriage, they offer practical tips for growing your marriage. The focus on God as the center of your marriage and on changing your own attitudes and behavior is key. Great investment in your marriage!

Great book, my son loves McDuff comes home and McDuff and the baby the best, but we keep reading this one and I am sure it will be be a favorite soon.

Dear old Rosemary Wells. If you've ever read her books about that famous bunny Max or classic titles like, "Morris' Disappearing Bag" then you know that her stories, while disjointed, can often be truly charming works of preschool art. So when I discovered the McDuff books (written by her but illustrated by someone else entirely) I was ill at ease. I mean, Wells draws such cute little bunnies. How could anyone else adapt to her words? On reading the first book of the McDuff series, "McDuff Moves In", I was amazed to find myself suddenly on the oposte side of the fence. The pictures in this book are really quite charming. From the cute little Scottie named McDuff to the 1950s setting, visually this story's a charmer. But strange as it may seem, Wells's words are out-of-place here. Though a brief tale with little in the way of plot, somehow this book is not as direct or understandable as it might be. A pity.

On our first view of little white McDuff, he's sitting in the back of a city pound truck. After a providential bump in the road and a quick escape, the solitary doggy goes down a nice suburban street in search of food and shelter. Door number one at the first house growls at him. Door number two at the second house hisses at him. But door number three at the third house is just right. There, a friendly couple take him in, feed him, give him a bath, then decide they haven't room for a doggy. Fortunately an attempted car ride to the pound proves that maybe this couple has grown a bit attached to their shaggy new friend. Happy ending and shortbread biscuits for all.

The book bears a striking resemblance to Lyn Rossiter McFarland's subsequent similarly plotted picture book, "Widget". The difference, however, is that "Widget" is the stronger story. Though I was with "McDuff" through the beginning, about the time he stumbles on the kindly couple I found my eyebrows slowly beginning to lift. For example, when McDuff appears outside the third home, the book says the following: "Somebody opened the door and asked him to come in. It was Lucy. 'This is Fred', said Lucy". Looking at the picture of both Fred and Lucy staring at the pup on their porch, I naturally assumed that now the dog was named Fred. Not so much. The text and the pictures don't mesh particularly well either. When the book says that Fred checks McDuff's collar, the picture shows Fred sitting on a chair with McDuff hiding underneath. Plus the language is oddly stilted. It ends with the words, " 'How happy we are!', they said in their dreams", which is half an inch shy of hokey and a sneeze away from outright saccharine. I don't think I'm conveying the book's inability to tell its story convincingly to you. Nevertheless, I strongly urge you to flip through this story long before you decide to buy it. Long before.

Which is not to say that the pictures don't almost make up for its narrative flaws. Illustrator Susan Jeffers has a Caldecott Honor Award under her belt and it shows. From Lucy's painted toenails and felt hat spotted bathrobe to the image of the three new friends happily munching on McDuff's shortbread biscuits at the tale's end, this book seeks to enchant. Seeks and, were it not for the words, would succeed. I loved the fabulous 40s-50s decor. I liked the scared little McDuff turning into a confident happy pup in a loving home. I liked how realistic these images were and how original the setting became. Obviously if Rosemary Wells had illustrated this tale herself she would've done it in an entirely different way. It's just her own bloody good luck that she found herself paired with such a supremely talented artist.

So it's entirely up to you. "McDuff Moves In" has much in its favor and much against it as well. Personally, I suggest that if you are looking for a tale of a cute little white Scottie finding a home then you should seek out "Widget" by Lyn Rossiter McFarland forthwith. If, however, you're a fan of the period picture book genre and you like Susan Jeffers's work, "McDuff" may be a great choice for you and yours. It is not Rosemary Wells's best writing and the story is pretty touch n' go. Still, there are things to recommend it. Definitely give it a trial run.

When I was a working librarian, I read this books (and the others)to my storytimes. When I retired I started to volunteer in an inner city school. I was not certain how the children would react to the book. I am now in my sixth year reading to Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade. They hear the first four books each year and they always ask me to repeat the books. The line about "no one had ever asked him to come in" always gets a great response. I think everyone should read these McDuff books. So many classes can't be wrong!

I own this book, as well as others in the series. They are just great! My mom owns a Westie, perfectly named Duffy(he got the name before we new about the books), and the illustrator captures the essence of the Westie. Every picture is perfectly drawn to show the character of a Westie. I love the author as well. I have been a teacher and have always read Ms. Wells' books to my students and the McDuff series is loved by all. McDuff moves in is just a fun book to read and I recommend it to all ages.

I am a 2nd grader. My name is Ashleigh. I have been reading books by Rosemary Wells. My favorite book is McDUFF MOVES IN. I like this book because it makes me feel happy when McDuff finds a home.