Digital Books

This is a dramatic and poignant tale of growing up in a Philadelphia housing project. Through vivid language, such as Mixed Up Strawberry Sky and a young hoodlum who's "perpetratin'," Clark takes the reader into a harsh world. The story begins a week before she leaves for college, immediately setting up the premise that she literally is one in a million to escape poverty, abuse and neglect. Kelee's story is inspiring and written with courageous honesty. Her lively writing and insights gave me a deeper understanding of the forces that perpetuate poverty for some African-Americans.

This author doesn't worry about sentence structure, but develops a good rhythmic cadence.

The black ghetto setting is well evoked and the use of the main character's Journal works well as an expository device. I am unable to get a clear sense of Kelee, the protagonist. She's described as old enough to go to college, but she alternates between too-mature philosophy and childlike dreaming. If the author sustains this throughout the novel as part of the "mixed up sky" reference, I could accept it.

What I couldn't accept comes at the end of the excerpt: Kelee watches the neighborhood 'bad boy' follow his usual routine, but when we get to the action that the reader believes Kelee expects, she suddenly over reacts and reveals herself. Very confusing.

I was mildly irritated by a few typos (no space between the very first two words) and lack of subject-verb agreement (the life and the God... seems so far away.)

The first paragraph put me off, (typo, grammar and I couldn't make sense of, "besides, she read about it in a book." I persevered long enough to decide that the novel has possibilities, but doesn't much interest me.

I loved the vivid descriptions and analogies of a world opened through the eyes of a resilient, strong and "tainted" young girl named Kelee - one who has experienced more at a young age due to the environment she is brought up in. Although you get the feeling like the odds are against Kelee (bad neighborhood, high crime), you feel like Kelee has taken it all in as a matter of fact and she is still not broken. You feel for her as you would an underdog, and hope that she will not succumb to the pressures around her but find a way to get out.

The author structures the story around Kelee's diary excerpts, a very effective technique because you know these thoughts are the most intimate, gratifyingly real, and nakedly honest feelings as one can get.

Kelee has the rare power to see things for what they are. She accurately analyzes the situation before her - an ability many people wish to have. You can't pull away from her descriptions of the life and people around her. Parts of Kelee's life sound so normal and I could relate, but then the other parts are so shocking and you can't help but feel that no one should have to grow up like this girl.

These five short pages demands the reader's attention and I look forward to reading how Kelee will transition away from this impoverished neighborhood to college - a great stage in life to capture.

This excerpt left me longing for more. The story centers around a young girl, Kelee, who yearns to escape from "the island" (a southwest Philly neighborhood). With the author's vivid descriptions, I could almost visualize the abject living conditions that Kelee is so desperate to get away from. This has the promise of a feel good story though, as Kelee is full of hope no matter how dire her current circumstances appear. I especially enjoyed the introduction of Jojo, described as the Messiah of his family who has been doted on incessantly since birth. The excerpt is really brief (five and a half pages), but I think this story has vast potential and would love to read the entire book.

The first chapter, or pages 1-7 of the first chapter, proved intriguing. The notion that one can take refuge from painful memories, ignorance and a minacious environment through a relentless pursuit of knowledge is one that just may touch a nerve. A comfort found not so much in the change of geography but in the erudition itself. I gave it five stars not so much for the brief glimpse into the work itself, but for the option value. A downpayment on the promise the author purports to deliver.

Frank Bosworth does a superb job of incorporating a sense of humor in his writing to create an entertaining story. Many times I laughed out loud because I could relate to the writer's point of view. My Li'l Black Dad is a wonderful piece.

This Chapter reminded me of how I sat and stared at my parents and wondered what I did wrong and what planet were they from ?,. A touching,funny but true look at a young sons love for his father, WOW.
If this Chapter is this good the other 15, it will put this book over the top. A must read, for all the kid left in us and all for all the adults that can still find love, give love and just be loved.

I totally enjoyed this chapter. This tale of a young boy basically losing his father to a tragic, crippling accident is touching; yet the boy copes by remembering the humorous phrases of his dad and a connection/bonding to Red Sox baseball.

His descriptions of his New England, dilapidated, year-round summer house and family life in which he was raised has my curiosity.

I can't stop now. I want more!

This story dramatized what the precise pen of a true observer can do when it proses clearly into every angle of a subject, without unrealistically exaggerating either light or shadow.

Bosworth skillfully applied an artistry of what could have become angry bitters in a lesser author, but which was instead blessedly filled with exquisite humor. But effective humor wasn't enough, for this author; he continued with a flowing vigil of observation primed in literary luxury. Under the humor, under the sadness of some of the situations, I began sensing in this author a subtle pride and quiet peace about the passage of his childhood. I didn't realize the last part until I had finished reading this Amazon Short and allowed the intense flavors (of perfectly balanced hardship and humor) to settle. I was relieved myself to feel the cathartic residuals in the author himself (if that makes any sense).

This is the first chapter to the book, "Never Play Leapfrog With A Unicorn." Prior to reading this Short, I checked blurbs and reviews (an excellent collection) on the Amazon buying pages for the book as well as this Amazon Short, wanting some background. With time precious, even more than lack-less $$, the reviews gave what I wanted to know before I clicked "View Now" and began reading "My Li'l Black Dad."

These lines in the middle of the bio stayed with me as I began reading: >>Only those quick enough, creative enough, witty enough to react, are allowed to move on to the next experience, the next round.<< The concluding lines were particularly inviting: >>So sit back, put your feet up, pull the box of Junior Mints ® a bit closer. The show is about to begin.<<

Skimming catchy titles set within hot-popped graphics on the covers of Bosworth's Amazon Shorts collection showed that this guy has honed enough artistic pizzazz and effective speed for outrunning heartbreak, hardship, and a heavy early life, overrunning it with humor. What I wished most for him, prior to reading this Short, was that he would one day be able to feel safe enough to allow a contrasting ability to develop, an intrepid ability to ...

Rest.

I wished for Bosworth to be able to let go, let down, and rest once in a while, from the ongoing push to perform every second within every breath. (However, we can be thankful that this author didn't slow down before he had produced at least this much in his repertoire, enough to expose his intense value as an artist. I wish him well, on both ends of life's continuum.)

Here's a sample of the crisp, quick images brought forth in this story: >>Of the forty-seven sites, thirty-three were definitive summer cottages; all of them no better or worse than can be found in any low-to-mid-cost cabin campground. Thirty-three drab, lifeless, forgotten shells, that sprang to life three months a year, when their owners fled the sizzling city heat for the cool, sultry breezes of lakeside Shangri-La; a veritable utopia in suburbia.<<

A sample of the brisk humor: >>"Makes no sense throwing good money after bad. Don't much matter, we don't have either one," my dad would say. Then he'd grin, chuckle, cough, huck a louie, fart, and walk away. All at the same time. I tried it once when I was seven and sprained my ankle.<< Picks for characterization tricks: >>...all you would see was his wicked grin, and all you would hear was his fractured logic.<<

In the middle of the read of this Short, I flashed to memoir passages in the opening sequence of Stephen King's ON WRITING. After reading through the end of "My Li'l Black Dad," I saw the nightmare base of my compassion-driven-comment here about "rest."

Veeger (Voyager) has found one of its places of dissemination, Amazon Shorts.

With Admiration and Best Wishes,
Linda Shelnutt

Greatly enjoyed this mult-layered, richly nuanced, family tale of a foundry-worker's life in the infamous fifties. The author's comedic skills are not to be taken lightly, but all through his rollicking ride through blue-collar glory, there runs a deep and powerfully moving Father/son love that speaks much louder than any of the truly excellent jest-and-joust. Another treat from Frank Bosworth that shouldn't be missed!

Michael Firewalker

I have read many books on filmmaking and I have a film school degree (from CalArts, as it happens, where Mackendrick once taught). You can't learn filmmaking from a book or from school, only by making films. Nevertheless, "On Film-making" comes as close as any book I've ever found to explaining precisely and beautifully the work of a film director. Whether you want to make films or are simply a film fan, this book will be an immensely rewarding and illuminating experience.

Great book by a great filmmaker and a great teacher. Anyone serious about how to create meaning in the cinema by using the "grammar," the form, should read this book. Ditto for the creation of story along classical lines --

Too intelligent to be a director, to make compromises in the craft of film making with the studio system of his time, Alexander Mackendrick only left us a glimpse of his own potential in his body of work. He did however pass his vision and passion for creativity onto the next generation in his teaching. In this book his voice is loud and clear, without being dogmatic. It's like having a drink with a friend in a bar and having him sort out all your problems with scripts, actors and life. No director should be without a copy. From the beginner to the established star everybody can find something in this book and all conveyed in the manner both intense and unpatronising that was uniquely his.

When Sandy MacKenrick told my CalArts MFA Thesis committee that my thesis film script was, "long, much too long, and very much too long" and, "doomed to never be completed", I was shocked and terrified.

Sandy was one of the most brilliant and irritating people ever to tell a story or to browbeat an egotistical young film student. His films and lectures convey that contradiction -- his every work is a pearl.

If you were not lucky enough to get Sandy's notes while at CalArts, you must buy this book.

Odds are good, you won't have the genius of Sandy MacKendrick, but you will appreciate how much you could grow as you strive to attain what he found so simple.

I was proud to invite Sandy to the first screening of my thesis film, "Pirate's Dagger", and it still hurts that he was too ill to attend. I wouldn't have gotten it done without his special form of encouragement.

Unlike most how-to directing and writing books, Mackendrick was an accomplished director with decades of professional experience. He speaks from hard-won experience, not dubious armchair notions of what makes a successful film or director. He is wise enough to know there are no "secrets" or immutable laws of storytelling, only rules of thumb. Every time I go back to it, I learn something new, and with every film I make, I am struck by points in the book which ring ever more true. This book will not make you a great director by reading it, but Mackendrick has the good sense and candor to know that a book or a course never will, only lots and lots of hard work and dedication.

This is an extremely clear introduction to Boolean Algebra. It is very well written and edited. Plenty of exercises will answers to cement the concepts in your brain.

The book covers number systems, logic gates, and some elementary set theory. They are all covered well. There is no coverage of flip-flops which I would have liked to have seen.

I should note this is not an electronics book. There are no real circuits but there are plenty of logic diagrams. Read this book to understand the concepts then go on to an electronic book if you actually wanted to build any of this stuff.

I'm a Computer Engineering student and have read many books on the subject. Until I read this book, I was constantly struggling with complex Boolean equations. Fortunately, this book has helped me master the subject -with a lot of hard work. I highly recommend this book for any student in the Computer Engineering field.

Incredible book for understanding boolean algebra. What I like about the book is the simple and clear language that the author uses and a lot of very helpful examples throughout the book to help understand the concept.

If you are looking for a complete understanding of boolean algebra, this book will definitely statisfy your needs. It provides several interesting examples with each chapter to keep your mind working. Great way to start out learning about boolean logic.

This is an rxcellent book for anyone interested in digital circuits and boolean algebra. It is very easy to understand, but does go into enough detail for the advanced to learn from it also. We can all improve our skills after reading this book. Also the price is right!

One might wonder how long a book having to do with online advertising strategy will last, considering the rapid pace of change in technology and online rules, but Joe Plummer, Steve Rappaport, Taddy Hall and Robert Barocci focus on strategies that are not particularly vulnerable to time or tech changes. They take online advertising in the direction of other sophisticated mass media advertising, including targeting specific markets precisely, and using multiple channels and other audience-oriented tactics. With this book's information and abundant real-life examples, marketing and brand managers can create winning plays. getAbstract thinks they will want this valuable tool on their desks so they can build their brands online and do it right.

This book is clearly useful, but assumes that you at least have a dedicated marketing person and budget, more often a whole marketing department that manages actual campaigns. Assuming your company is of that size, then if you don't have much experience in online, or in managing campaigns in general, this is a great jumpstart. It can also be a handy reference to give the boss so he understands this "new thing" you're trying to do with online marketing, and why he/she should trust you to spend some money.

The book is highly credible, even though I wouldn't take the time to look up any of the referenced information myself. The information looks to validate assumptions with objective information, not just "this is cool, you should try it." It's not going to necessarily change anything about my online initiatives except the way I justify certain kinds of spending. It's also nice to know I'm not far from the mark where I have drawn my own previous conclusions about the online media.

This is one of the most useful and effective books I've acquired to advance our advertising strategy. I made an effort to log on here to write a review because I was extremely happy with the purchase. Not only is the info in the book useful, but the numerous studies and examples referenced in the book have also been extremely useful in presenting our business case for the strategy this book helped us create. I highly recommend it.

When I first received the book and skimmed it very quickly, I was initially disappointed. Too much text, lack of "punchlines", and seemed to cover only small number of facets of online advertising.

After reading the book carefully, though, I was impressed. Very detailed coverage of many topics, excellent citations and references to actual studies, and many cases that are discussed in detail.

The book would be an excellent textbook for a course on online advertising. It is not a "how-to" book, with lists of to-do items. Everything is substantiated by pointing to a related (academic or professional) research study. Many discussions reveal things that are not obvious even to seasoned professionals.

In short: Buy the book if you plan to invest the time to actually read the book, and you are interested in understanding in-depth many aspects of online advertising. If you just need a book that can be read quickly and you simply want to follow blindly its instructions, search for something else.

As for recommendation, I have purchased several copies which I have given to agencies I work with. Aside from covering facets of online, the surprise was a series of "futures" by a variety of specialists. Well-done.

Although I have been reading a lot of documents related to OpenCable, I was looking forward to a comprising work, where all was coming together. That book is now available. The good structure and well managed balance between the bigger picture and the details makes this is a very interesting book for a wide audience in the North American cable community.

No kidding. Michael Adams has taken very complex technical subject matter and crystallized it in a conversational, easy-to-read manner, injecting personality and humor to make the text thoroughly enjoyable. Very refreshing approach to material that is usually inaccessable to non-engineers. Highly recommended for anyone in the broadband networking arena. Calculus is not a prerequisite!

The opencable industry has great promise and potential. In its early formative stage, various industry participants (hardware and software developers, service providers, cable MSO engineers, etc.) really need and will benefit greatly from this book.

Michael Adams has done a great job of pulling together various information pieces in a coherent framework in an understandable and easy to read manner: history, rationale, process, market and technical details of the OpenCable architecture; current status and future direction. I recommend this book highly.

Satish Thatte, Director, Product Management & Standards LG Electronics Research Center of America Princeton Junction, NJ

If you need a way to get employees, vendors, customers or anyone else up to speed quickly on how cable television networks are being re-designed for digital and interactive services, this is the book for you. It clearly and concisely covers the widely varying technical issues involved in designing broadband systems. I think it will a handy reference tool to both technical and non-technical readers.

Although I have been reading a lot of OpenCable documents, there was a wish to have a book that gave the overview and connected the pieces together. That book has now arrived. I can recommend it to all that like to have more knowledge on digital cable and the overview of opencable.

i don't know why he is not known for his poetry. it is like that scene in "men at work" where he and his brother shoot the guy with the b.b. gun and then he gets killed for real and they do not know. it is exactly like that. but for real. that is how amazing his work is.

Who knew Charlie Sheen was such a good writer? But he is. Introspective poetry about self and society, this is fine, thought-provoking reading. He should write more of this stuff - and stay away from book introductions. Good reading.

Charlie is a personal friend of mine, and i have been reading his poetry for years. This collection is the best of the best as far as Chas's art is concerned. When one works on a show like full house, one sees many forms of expression (from "youve got it dude" to "Watch the hair!" [my personal favorite!]). Sheen expresses the overall feeling of the modern man. From our disgust with the system (damn the man) to our love of sheenistry. Not many people realized that i not only function as an actor, but as a producer. How does this relate to Los? one might ask. Well, sheen PRODUCES some pretty good poetry. Ok ok. Some of sheen's poems may be seen as obscene, thats what i hear anyway. Well, thats trash. that is like saying c thomas howell is a bad tennis player. its just flat out not true. Sheen steals part of ourselves and gives us a chunk of humanity and sheenathan. And, everything that is sheentastic. i remember when a young man named carlos estevez came to town and tried to break into the business. After a name change and a little flick named Lucas, the buzz was too loud to ignore. i personally think that the artist formerly known as estevez will be known more for his poetry than for his acting. carlos is of a caliber not normally seen in this lifetime. I know that sheen has given us all something to think about. ok, i know what you are thinking. he is a mysoginist. nope. he is a drug addict/alcoholic. nope. first of all, as sheen once said, "nobody ever told me it wasnt ok to have a good time." ill vouch for that. ive known the man for quite a while, and never, i mean never, during that time did anyone tell the man that it was not ok to have a good time. now, time to get down to the nitty gritty. The poetry. it is outstanding. brilliant. fun. did i say outstanding? yeah. i am going to go out on a limb here. are you ready? sheen has produced the greatest book of all time. did i say the greatest book of all time? yes. the greatest book of poetry of all time? nope. the greatest book of all time. Why? well ill answer that. sheen is willing to take on the greatest of topics. i wont spoil anything, but lets just say he runs the gamut from A to F. F stands for a bad word. now im going to introduce a new word. Sheenastia. verb. - to live life with the greatest of detailed theological reasoning known to the human form. NOUN - a bong. There is one movie that i would like to expound upon. please allow. NO CODE OF CONDUCT is a film not like any other. on the surface, it seems to be the story of a man's struggle to solve a crime. yeah, yeah, but thats not the end of it. It is ultimately an allegory of one man's search for truth. It may have been directed by the greatest new directing talent on the planet. bret michaels. alright, enough. back to my experience as it relates to sheen. sheens and my life have intertwined on not only a physical but a spiritual level. And through sheens words, i have found life. life's name is estevez. the extevez tribe started in spain in the year 4000 bc. when the spanish conquered much of south america, the estevez's moved on to find their fortune in the new world. they made it, but little jose esteves, didnt. this created a long line of disillusionment within the sheen's inner circle. it lasted for generations, and was not truly harnessed in art until young carlos sheen, born 2350 years after jose, gave his artistic gifts to the world. now, we experience a new form of sheen. a new form of expression. i believe that this book will outlast us all, and will be the final testament of a species that never fully grasped their capability. Call me oldfashioned, but that is the way i feel. sheen has given us what we may never repay. now i will get to the real purpose of this review. i, as a spiritual being, believe in my deepest darkest regions, that sheen the publishing of this book breaks the forth seal of the apolcolypse. that being said, i also believe that sheen is not human. allow me to qualify. sheen, the father of modern thought, is supernatural. sure martin claims to be his biological father. but i know this is not the case. the conception of one carlos sheen-estevez was one of divinity. this impregnation parallels that of another great book of poetry. in fact, i'm not convinced that sheen did not write that great book, as either one apostles or the Lord himself. How did this happen, it cant be true you say. permit my clarification. it is not widely known, but this book of poetry was originally written by sheen during a year of isolation and meditation in the mountains. sheen during this binge of spirituality, would go into trances where he would write unconsciously. Big deal, you say. well, did i mention that he wrote it in a dead language known as aremaic. Once this book is broken down, translated back into other languages and then back to native american languages, we will get the true translation, we will see THE BOOK OF SHEEN aka a piece of my mind.

Charlie wrote the foreword to my biography of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman". I finally got around to reading "Peace of My Mind", and found it witty, irreverent and humorous. Good job and I dig your work, man.

STEVEN TRAVERS
Author of "Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman"
Foreword by Charlie Sheen
STWRITES@aol.com

Sheen tackles everything from the media, politics and relationships in this amazing collection of wit and prose. Sometimes disturbing, mostly witty. I couldn't put the book down once I started. I'm sure critics will analyze every word of this one!

If you like NX this book will make you love NX. It gives details not covered in the manual and how to's that you will not find anywhere else. Jason Odell has given NX users the simplest and best book on how to get the most from your Nikon RAW files and NX. If you use NX you need this book.

Highly Recommended

Book is not bad, but Jason skips between the thoughts and does not fully show how things work from start to finish and step by step. For example selection tools section. I still cannot figure out how they work even after reading his book and practicing along. I think Ben Long does better job in his book.
Book can be very expensive to print. It emptied both cartridges in my HP 970 and the cost $55. It's a last e-book that I'll print. Paper copy would cost a lot less to buy.

I purchased this e-book to learn more about the new Nikon Capture software. I am not a professional but have enjoyed photography for decades. I now shoot in RAW to obtain maximum flexibility. I own Adobe CS2 which is a very powerful program, but for most of my personal work, I just don't need that much power and the time it takes to "process" a photo. I decided to try Nikon Capture with the new Control Points. It is a great program. Since the new version came out, there aren't many resources for training, books, etc. This e-book by Jason Odell was one of the first, so I thought I would give it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised with how good of a book this is. Jason takes a very practical approach and the book is very easy to follow and learn from. I would highly recommend the e-book for anyone that needs a little more instruction on the new Nikon Capture.

Instructional materials are often written by experts who have forgotten the viewpoint of what it is like to NOT be an expert in their own subject. As a result the author's manual can overshoot the tyro's reality and end up talking to other "experts" who don't need the manual in the first place as they are already experts. Fortunately, The Photographer's guide to Capture NX by well-known Nikonian, Jason Odell, doesn't make that mistake. It is one of those rare instructional manuals written by an expert who is also in touch with the viewpoint of someone who is NOT familiar with the materials.

When one studies any subject there are three barriers: 1) lack of graphic or physical representation of what one is studying 2) technical terms which aren't defined and 3) complexities are entered into before the basics have been reviewed. On all three counts Jason's Guide does splendidly. The strength of the book is in its step by step approach combined with graphics on every page. In fact, the photographs of before and after edited images and computer shots of the editing take up the majority of space. To slightly modify the truism, "a single picture can be worth more than any number of words."

Frankly, I don't know what I would have done without the GUIDE. Nikon's manual was daunting (and verbally, not visually oriented) and I didn't have time to laboriously wade through it. I needed results immediately so I could jump in and produce for clients. That's what the Photographer's Guide did for me. Within a few minutes I could apply what Jason was communicating and get a handle on the technology with a learning curve that I could win at. At this time, I'm not aware of any other after market instruction manual on the subject of NX. That was another advantage of Jason's Guide. It got there first and it got there fast with the data the pro photographer or photo enthusiast needed.

Kudos to the author.

David Ziff
Ziff Photography

Just bought Capture NX? Buy this tome . . . now! All software instruction should be this clear, to-the-point and immediately usable. The organization is straightforward . . . the information is understandable on first-read. You'll also -- quickly -- answer those embarrassing basic questions about different digital photo formats that you never asked. I have found few how-to resources to exceed my expectations, but this one does.

A very useful book. Well presented information. Covers many different types of materials to be photographed. Includes discussion about camera use first, in general. Would have liked more about photographing large sculptures. Overall, very good.

This is a wonderful book for those who wish to photograph their work in the most professional way possible. Mr. Meltzer takes you gently by the hand, assumes you are starting from scratch and gives an outline of the various types of digital cameras, how they work and compares them to film cameras -- all in an easily understood way. He then goes on to talk about other equipment, lighting, a bit of colour theory and different methods of photographing. If you need help photographing your art, this is the book to buy!

It's good to finally have a book to teach me more of digital photography and my arts. Very useful.

I'm very happy with this book. It's just what I needed to improve the photos that I take of my work. There is a lot of information, and It's written in words that anyone could understand. Illustrations further help to clarify the material.

As I searched for books to learn more about how to use my digital camera and create the best photographs, I happened upon this gem of a book. It is a mixture of the art, the fun and the simple and complex information on digital photography. The illustrations and photographs are very helpful to understanding how to create the best digital photographs.
The very best thing about the book is that appeals to the beginner, the average user and to the professional. It also explains in a very clear and simple way the jargon and technical aspects of digital photography.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn how to use and get the best pictures or the person who wants to become a professional digital photographer.

This book is great!! It tells you a lot of cool stuff. Aside from following the book exactly, you can learn about how everythign works, and experiment on your own. I can't wait to get Type Magic 2!!!!!

This book is just loaded with terrific and imaginative uses for the effects in PhotoShop. What is really great about it is that once you get the hang of it you realize that you needn't limit yourself to just using the effects with type. You can apply the effects to photos, shapes, just about any image - which comes in really handy when creating for the web.
Just as an aside,the shatter map was left off the CD-ROM (at least in the PC folder), but upon contacting the publishers, they eMailed me the file within two hours. Great job!

Have you ever wanted to set your type on fire? How about make it transparent? Or shake it apart like it's been hit by an earthquake? Now you can easily create spectacular type effects like those of the masters. Using step-by-step instructions and detailed, full-color examples, Photoshop 4 Type Magic 1 covers 45 type effects, such as chrome, beveled, neon, liquid, glass, swirling, transparent, shattered - and more! The companion CD-ROM is loaded with ... Lighting effects presets Stock images Plus, demo software and plug-ins from Adobe, Alien Skin, MetaTools, Xaos tools, and Andromeda!

Chuck full of texture effects for words. There are about 40 effects and which are described step by step. This book isn't for the cheaters who just want to do Eyecandy plugin's fire effect. Each step is explained in detail and has a picture with it. After all the steps are shown, there are 2 or 3 examples on how to make the same effect look slightly different to give it a more custom look just for your needs. This is one of the few Photoshop books I keep. I've sold more than 1/2 of the Photoshop books I've boughten, so that does mean alot.

I am in college and while learning new photoshop techniques, this book comes in quite handy. The full color examples are just the thing if you are a visual learner like me, and they are easy enough to understand. They go step by step through the various techniques, and it can be learned quickly, if you pay attention. This is also a good reference book if you already know the techniques