Language Arts Books

Chock full of insights and thoughts on how to get your arms around the whole Web2.0 idea. This collaborative book is like talking over coffee with over 100 of the thought leaders. Highly recommend. And all proceeds go to charity. Brilliant.

I like to bring this book when I do speeches about viral marketing, Web2.0 and blogging because it gives a very tangible example of the power of new media. The whole concept of world conversation can be a bit intimidating or frightening to some, but The Age of Conversation brings it to a concrete level.

Looking forward to the August release of The Age of Conversation '08.

The group of authors in "The Age of Conversation" understand book marketing and online promotion.

Not only are the authors each experts in their own right, they have used best practices in creating a wonderful example of publishing done right.

1. Over 100 contributors. Social is everything

2. Heavy involvement on the Internet

3. Connections back to the authors for you to learn more.

I'm buying a copy to connect with these smart people. This is a group that you should be following too.

This book was written collaboratively by 103 authors scattered all over the world. It provides a wealth and variety of insights about conversational marketing (social media) from an incredible breadth of perspectives. Lots of gems here.

The Age of Conversation is a book about the conversations that are transforming the business marketing landscape. It is about how various marketing disciplines such as advertising, internet advertising, public relations and journalism have to change the way they talk to their consumers to be heard. It emphasizes that the most important part in a conversation is listening. This is why it is important :)

It is a remarkable book with many authors, each giving a very personal view on the topic of conversation - in the broadest sense. As an internet publisher I engage in a conversation with many thousands of visitors each day. Marketing managersm Journalists all have conversations with the audiences they try to reach. And the audience tries to start conversations with brands and companies - sometimes even succeeding. Mainstream media, the web, blogs, PR professionals, everyone is part of the conversation :)

I got the book from a friend, at just the right time. It was very helpful in figuring out how communication is changing in the information age. The origin is simple; Editors Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan challenged bloggers around the world to contribute one page -- 400 words -- on the topic of the conversation. Over a 100 responded, and this book is the result. It is a stunning effort, and I recommend it warmly. I gave my first copy away and bought a couple more. Currently I have one left. I cherish it.

One of the best studies I have ever read on the nature of power and domination. Wedeen asks the simple question of how Asad is able to keep power in Syria when all of the people know that all of the state propaganda is false. Her elegant answer gets right to the heart of what makes a ruler powerful. Asad rules not through totalitarianism, but through authoritarianism. What's the difference? A ruler who controls everything that the people think (like in North Korea) is not really dominating them, they just don't know any better. But a ruler like Asad rules because the people fear him and become unable to dissent as a result of Foucault-ian discursive practices.

This book will facinate anyone interested in the modern Middle East or the nature of power.

When I first traveled to Syria in the late 90's, I found the eerie, creepy phenomenon of what Wedeen terms Syria's state cult to be the most inscrutable, absurd and mind-boggling feature of the entire land-scape. After Asad's death, the succession of his son, Bashar, saw the ubiquity of his father's visage decline noticeably but still it did by no means disappear.

Wedeen's work does forcefully and with keen insight what I once thought was impossible. Though known to be patently absurd by all Syrians, inside and outside the elite, Wedeen argues cogently that this cult in its own way reinforces power for the state by demarcating the boundaries of political practice 'as if'...i.e., politics in Syria are to be practiced AS IF the cult expresses reality. Her analysis also broadens to include investigations of the vast amount of state resources squandered on the cult and the circumscribed efforts to resist and protest the gov't. Highly recommended reading for anyone studying the modern Middle East.

This engaging and often witty work asks the basic question, "how do rituals and symbols that are widely understood to be false or absurd help to support a regime?" Her answers help to complicate our understanding of the relationship between state symbolism and legitimacy in authoritarian states.

Happily, the value of this work is not limited to political theory. Indeed, for most readers, these theoretical issues will be secondary to the insights and observations Wedeen offers regarding the workings of the brutal and repressive Syrian regime. Her authorial tone is wry and, despite its theoretical sophistication, this is an easy work to read. In particular, her reliance on everyday communications and popular media and the breadth of examples she provides bring Syrian society to life in a way that few academic works have.

A ground-breaking exploration of the subtle ways power operates to structure everyday life. Rich in ethnographic detail and eloquently written. Definitely worth _much_ more than $17. A worthy read, not just for people interested in contemporary Middle Eastern politics, but for those interested in issues of power, discipline and resistance. Ms. Wedeen is a rising star in the field of Political Science. Bravo!!

"Shibles explains and refutes one main theory of metaphor, one which he classifies as the substitution theory.... The book has a very helpful outline summary of what the substitution theory claims and of criticisms of the theory. In addition, there are several very helpful expository appendices on the theories of metaphor of Aristotle, Max Müller, I. A. Richards, Northrop Frye, and Max Black." Marcus Hester Styl

"This treatise should be noted by literary theorists with philosophical interests.... The essay demonstrates how metaphor functions in human discourse, not as distortion, but as a fundamental way to reality. Shibles concisely provides data about how systematic thinkers have approached metaphor.... Also as a lucid overview of Urban's metaphorical concerns this essay succeeds." Victor Kramer Aesthetics and Art Criticis

Selected as one of the best reference books from 1970-76 by Best Reference Books. Reference Books provides a careful selection of 818 substantial reference titles, chosen from seven volumes of American Reference Books Annual. "In our judgment, these are titles of lasting value that can be safely recommended as substantial reference books for libraries of all types."

"Urban has an exciting conception of the importance of communication, and no doubt deserves far more attention from students of rhetoric and philosophy." Michael Osborn, Philosophy and Rhetori

Straightforward, understandable, entertaining, with an easy-going style, chock full of explanations--both solemn and humorous--and examples--both historical and contemporary. This volume teaches. I learned. I can't think of a better book for personal exploration or for the classroom. It was originally the textbook for a course I was taking at the university, but it became a textbook I could never bring myself to sell back. Years later I still keep it on my shelves for both reference and recreation.

Straightforward, understandable, entertaining, with an easy-going style, chock full of explanations--both solemn and humorous--and examples--both historical and contemporary. This volume teaches. I learned. I can't think of a better book for personal exploration or for the classroom. It was originally the textbook for a course I was taking at the university, but it became a textbook I could never bring myself to sell back. Years later I still keep it on my shelves for both reference and recreation.

Straightforward, understandable, entertaining, with an easy-going style, chock full of explanations--both solemn and humorous--and examples--both historical and contemporary. This volume teaches. I learned. I can't think of a better book for personal exploration or for the classroom. It was originally the textbook for a course I was taking at the university, but it became a textbook I could never bring myself to sell back. Years later I still keep it on my shelves for both reference and recreation.

A humerous, brilliant, masterpiece. Bonevac does it again!

The books are very detailed and take a lot of analysis... they are not written in a current Object Oriented Language... that was a disappointment but otherwise it is very good... just uses old "spaghetti code"

This fascicle can perhaps best be read as a sequel to Knuth's Volume 3, on sorting and searching, where he discusses trees. The fascicle extends that into how does one generate every tree. Of the four fascicles thus published, this might be the skimpiest in terms of current mathematical knowledge. Though to a practising programmer, trees are a vital construct and the book could well have germane analysis. And, as with his other books in this series, there is a tough set problems that can be just as instructive and interesting as the text.

Still, to perhaps compensate for the thin length, the book contains a distinctive section on the history of combinatorial generation. Knuth delves into this subject while giving a deeper treatment of the maths than one would likely encounter in a popular text directed at a general audience. He cites the I Ching, as well as ancient Indian and Arab manuscripts. The I Ching is notable as it is still in print and likely to be familiar to many.

With the publication of this fascicle, the collective set of four would make a respectable book in its own right. However, Knuth is scarcely done yet. We can expect more fascicles, and soon, one might hope. And eventually, a hardcover.

The fourth volume in the classic ART OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING: GENERATING ALL TREES: HISTORY OF COMBINATORIAL GENERATION add to and expands upon a multi-volume work on the analysis of algorithms in classical programming, updating sections of the set using a series of small fascicle books. This covers the generatio of all trees, a topic covered in the first three volumes of ART OF COMPUTER PROGRAMMING, and provides over a hundred new exercises to programmers.

I've known about The Art of Computer Programming volumes by Donald E. Knuth for some time, but I've always avoided reviewing them for fear of not being able to do them justice. But after being contacted specifically by the publisher asking if I was interested in the latest - The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4, Fascicle 4 : Generating All Trees--History of Combinatorial Generation - I decided to give it a try. For the right audience, this is really good stuff. But I can tell you that I'm not it...

Content:
Chapter 7 - Combinatorial Searching: 7.2 - Generating All Possibilities; 7.2.1 - Generating Basic Combinatorial Patterns; 7.2.1.1 - Generating all n-tuples; 7.2.1.2 - Generating all permutations; 7.2.1.3 - Generating all combinations; 7.2.1.4 - Generating all partitions; 7.2.1.5 - Generating all set partitions; 7.2.1.6 - Generating all trees; 7.2.1.7 - History and further references; Answers to Exercises; Index and Glossary

Don't refresh your browser thinking the Content section didn't load properly. There's just chapter 7... For those who don't understand the "fascicle" concept (like I didn't before getting this volume), it's a small book (120 pages) of material that either updates writings in previous volumes or a "preview" of material that will eventually be rolled into a single volume (in this case, volume 4). Knuth has a lot of information he wants to convey, and by using fascicles, the public can get a steady flow of information and help shape the continuing evolution of the series. Interesting concept, and one I can appreciate. Another review stated that this was probably one of the "skimpiest" volumes in terms of mathematical knowledge. If true, then I fear what will await me with future installments. To get the most of out Knuth's work, you really do need to be well-grounded in computer science and mathematical theory. Every page is populated with numerous formulas to prove the subject matter, and I'll admit to being completely lost in most of it. That doesn't mean the book isn't good. It *is* excellent work, but I'm definitely not the target audience. I don't come from a formal computer science and mathematics background, so I'd have to really slog through everything from page 1 with supporting texts in order to fully benefit from it.

It wasn't a total loss for me, though... I enjoyed the History and Further References chapter, where he shows the tree theory and how it affected such things as literature and culture through the ages. Whether the ancient Chinese had all this in mind when developing the I Ching is open to debate, but the theory and underpinnings of trees is definitely there. And for those readers who really want to work through and apply the material, there are exercises galore at the end (with answers graciously provided for those who get stuck). You could likely set up a college level course based on this (and associated) book, and it would be foundational to a computer science degree.

So, for the right audience, this is the type of book that will allow for weeks of thought and learning. But if you're more like me, someone who deals more with business systems and development (without a comp sci degree to back it up), you'll likely miss most of the value here.

This is a truly amazing trip through the minds of the ancient Maya who wrote in an elegant and complex system. Michael Coe clarifies and demystifies the beautiful texts on all forms of media; ceramic, stone, shell etc. But best of all, Justin Kerr's photographs are a thrilling excursion into the realms of an exotic society. This partnership of scholars enables the reader to sit back and explore the depths of the beauty and intellectual achievements of an ancient culture. Frankly, I was blown away!

Sumptuous, a true visual feast, Michael Coe's foray into the world of the Maya artist reveals the talents and personalities of the Maya scribes. Lushly illustrated by Justin Kerr, the world's foremost photographer of Precolumbian art, this coffeetable-style book looks at what scholars understand about the individuals who created the Maya's sculptural and painted repertoir. Coe brings his knowledge of hieroglyphic writing to bear on this previously little-known subject, revealing the names and titles of Maya artists and other significant facts. Following in the tradition of his best-selling BREAKING THE MAYA CODE, which describes the scholarly-community's halting attempts at decipherment, Coe relies heavily on cutting-edge breakthroughs in reading Maya script. But more than this, he demonstrates an ecellent knowledge of art history and archaeology, setting forth quite a rich array of information. A fine book by one of the great Precolumbian scholars of all time, amply supplemented with line drawings and an effective design strategy.

Many calligraphic traditions, such as Egyptian, East Asian, Islamic, and Western European, have been long studied and are generally well understood. However, much less attention has been given to Mayan calligraphy (from the South Americas). This magnificent book seeks to rectify the imbalance with an insightful, well written account of not only the meaning of Mayan calligraphy, but also its remarkable aesthetics.

The Mayans seem to have written on everything: seashells, jaguar skins, walls, rocks, wood, pottery, dishes, vases, caves, etc. The book beautifully reproduces and deciphers these writings, many for the first time. The world that emerges is neither Eastern nor Western, spiritual yet at the same time profoundly secular.

The Maya lowlands were known as "The Land of the Red and the Black," because their books were written with red and black pigments. Reproductions of some of their finest books are included here, though tragically, many of their books were destroyed.

The Mayans still have a lot to teach us. This book offers the curious reader an essential foundation for understanding a brilliant, often neglected civilization.

This is an amazingly beautiful book both visually and because of the way the articles accompanying these glorious pictures illuminate our understanding of the role of the scribe in the Mayan culture and how they worked. The images provided are simply exquisite and well chosen. It is impossible for me to flip to a page and not learn or see something new even after owning this book and looking at it for several years. There is just so much here that even as your eyes become familiar with it, you begin to see more deeply into it.

The authors show us how the writing developed, matured, and how the scribal tradition passed away. They also show us how western scholars tried to deal with this writing before the great decipherment happened in the second half of the twentieth century.

Yes, this can make a gorgeous coffee table book and can spark much discussion, but unlike books found on such tables, this one deserves to be read closely and multiple times. It is a book I treasure deeply.

I want so very badly to give this book 5 stars. Particularly, the excellent picture on page 62 from the 1985 movie Tenshi no Tamago (Angel's Egg) is reason enough to buy this book. Which brings us to the problem. This book is paperback, and as far as I know, no hardcover version exists. This book is definately still worth owning, its just that I personally worry about the longevity of a paperback book and also its place in a collection of works by Amano.

To put it simply, Hiten is superb. To put it less simply, Hiten is a book filled with brilliant, shimmering examples of the mastermind fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano. Within each painting are details abounding, with more noticed at every examination. The art doesn't always make sense, but it doesn't have to . . . it is fantasy, and fantasy is the imagination. And surely, very surely, anyone who takes the time to completely absorb the book will have their imagination occupied for more than the instance it takes to browse the pages.

I do not believe I can actually do justice to Hiten in words, for the adjectives existing in all the vocabularies of all the languages of Earth and beyond could never be that adequate. And so, I can only go back to the heart and soul of fantasy, a piece of which is within Hiten: The Art of Yoshitaka Amano

"Hiten" offers a huge selection-close to 100 plates-of vibrant images. I can never tire of examining and immersing myself in each dreamscape. His figures are just the right combination of reality and fantasy...to sum it up...it's gorgeous!!

This is an art book, so it's basically all pictures. Most of it is rich, full-color paintings, and if you're not familiar with Yoshitaka Amano's work, it's a mixture of Anime and Western Fantasy style artwork, done with the intensity of a serious artist. Great stuff!

Traditionally, four major East Asian languages have used Chinese characters for their writing systems: Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, and, of course, Chinese. Wm. C. Hannas knows all of them, and in this book he uses that extensive knowledge to deliver a broadside against the Chinese characters' lack of efficiency as a writing system.

Anyone familiar with John DeFrancis' work on the Chinese language will recognize some of Hannas' arguments (DeFrancis writes the forward for this book and was clearly an inspiration for Hannas' work). But Hannas is more wide-ranging in his scholarship and goes further with his arguments.

The first part of the book introduces the four major languages that have used Chinese characters for their writing systems, introducing them in order of the frequency they presently use the characters. Thus, Chinese -- which is comprised entirely of characters -- is introduced first and Vietnamese -- which no longer uses any characters -- is introduced last. This part describes the history of each languages' writing system and is highly readable.

After the languages have been introduced, the second part of the book critiques the Chinese character-based writing system. This part varies between highly readable sections and some more abstruse sections that deal with linguistic, analytical, and even psychological arguments that require close readings by the layman who doesn't have an expertise or at least a strong interest in those areas. But these arguments are the meat of Hannas' book as he looks at what Chinese characters represent, reading and literacy in Chinese character-based scripts, and even whether those writing systems are really appropriate for East Asian languages as some people have argued.

The third and final part winds down with a look at why reform of the Chinese character-based writing system fails (as Hannas argues it does) as well as what the future is likely to hold for it. One chapter alone is dedicated to the effect computers are having on characters. I found this part the least plausible of the three and also somewhat repetitive as arguments made earlier were restated.

While I agree with most of Hannas' general arguments and found his book both highly interesting and entertaining, I also think he greatly overstates his case. Hannas seems to actually believe that characters are on their way out. The growth in education and wealth, as well as the general social vibrance found in so many of the societies which still use Chinese characters suggests, at the very least, that perhaps inefficiency in a writing system is simply not an important aspect to a well-functioning, modern society -- that whatever impact it has is more negligible than Hannas imagines.

But disagreements over some of its points shouldn't be a reason not to read this outstanding book. Hannas' scholarship, lucid writing, and forceful exposition will give anyone who has experience with any of the East Asian languages that use Chinese characters a wonderful read.

This, following the tradition of John DeFrancis's Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, uncovers the myth of East Asian languages: Korean, Japanese, "Chinese" and Vietnamese. The author provides an academically reliable and easy-to-read account of how the language works (or, doesn't work), and the future prospects for these languages and their writing systems. Read it and believe it instead of the myths running around in our societies.

I found this book to be a well written and interesting look at the use of Chinese characters. It uncovers some of the commonly held misconceptions about the use of the characters. It does a very thorough job of examining the differences between them and phonetic alphabetic scripts. The book covers the use of characters in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The view of Hannas is that the characters are "on their last leg". I have discussed this book with several of my Chinese, Japanese, and Korean friends and they all seem to disagree with Hannas and are not in favor of abolishing the use of the characters. Hannas claims that he is not writing from the point of view of a disgruntled Westerner, but sometimes this is hard to believe. The introduction by John DeFrancis states that Hannas is one of the few people (Western or Asian) to have mastered Chinese (several "dialects")Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. I would highly recommend this book for anyone curious about East Asian languages. As an aside, I'm sure that an Asian could find plenty of things about English that do not make sense and should be changed!

This work is a highly polemical look at the writing systems of East Asian languages, specifically those that use Chinese characters. The author is out to demolish standard ideas about the use of Chinese characters in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, and he does a thorough and persistent job of it. The book is accordingly much more exciting than a straightforward introduction to these writing systems could ever be. What is more, the author's insights are pretty well spot on, although not likely to endear him to those who entertain the myths that he sets out to demolish (which includes most speakers of these languages). Bold, refreshing, and definitely recommended.

Gets our children talking about what's happening in their lives. We ask questions from this book at our dinner table.

I have borrowed this book from our local library twice and will be purchasing it. My three boys, 2nd-5th grade, love this book. During dinner we ask a question and all discuss it. It is a great conversation starter. One question can last all dinner!

My daughter and I love this book. She's 4 years old and I am amazed at the level of conversation we have using this book. Asking her the inquisitive questions brings some of the most hysterical answers from her. You will be amazed at what your learn about your child from such a simple action of "Asking".

Each page of "Ask Me" has a question and a funny, intriguing, or funky picture to go with it. The idea is simply to turn to a page that you and your child like, and talk about it. Questions are things like: What makes you laugh? What makes you really mad? What will you keep forever? What do you put on to look good? The real magic of using a book like this is having both the parents AND the children answer the questions. I use this in a school setting with first and second graders and their parents, and they LOVE it. The pictures really make this book. I would highly recommend this book to parents who are looking for entertaining ways to connect with their kids.

I found Author to Law to be highly informative and full of take-away.This book is a must-read for any author, from the novice to accomplished. I initially wanted more information about copyright laws but discovered there were concessions to negotiate along with royalty rates I hadn't even considered.I wish I had read this before I signed my contract. Now I feel I have tools to work with. And this book is in my toolbelt.

You've finally received a book contract. Yeah! Congratulations and what excitement. Yet when you study the contract it is 15 or 16 pages full of legalese that you can't understand. What do you do? Sign it?

Here's a great tool to increase your understanding of the issues related to the legalese of contracts. It's not black and white but often in between and the words on the page make a huge difference. It's the author's responsibility to understand these words.

I love what these authors wrote in the final paragraph of their section on how to use the book: "Remember that no book can be a substitute for the advice of a good lawyer. But this book and others like it can--and should--help you better recognize the need to get good legal advice and help you better understand the advice you get. It can help make you a better consumer of legal services and a savvier provider of writing services. But it can't--and shouldn't be expected to--replace solid professional advice."

Here's a carefully written and researched book which explains complex terms in plain, easy-to-understand language. Get this book--and read it. If you do, you will be much wiser about legal matters in the world of publishing.

This book should've been called Entertainment & Media Law A to Z. It is both informative and extremely thorough in its description of the legal and business affairs of the publishing industry. It also provides basic information on recording industry practices as well as copyright & trademark law. This book does a terrific job of informing authors of many valuable resources that exist to assist them. As an attorney, I was impressed with the case law cited by the author. However, this book is written in plain English, and written in a way that people of all backgrounds could easily understand. I would say, to aspiring authors or literary agents alike, this book is a must have.

The latest installment in the "A-Z Legal Series" from Capital Books, Author Law A-Z: A Desktop Guide To Writers' Rights And Responsibilities packs the collective wisdom of author-lawyers Sallie Randolph, Stacy Davis, Anthony Elia and Karen Dustman into plain terms for lay readers - and writers! Author Law A-Z is organized like an encyclopedia, with A-Z entries of common legal and writing industry terms or issues that every author should know, from "abridgement" and "acceptable manuscript" to "young adult books" and Zapruder film", which denotes a landmark legal case about film rights concerning the home video film that accidentally documented the assassination of JFK. In addition to the entries, numerous tips, tricks, techniques, and warnings for the aspiring author in a legally complex world, from a sample demand letter (as written to a vanity print-on-demand publisher masquerading as a traditional publisher) to a sample complaint for copyright infringement, advice for what to say when one's editor calls, and much more. Enthusiastically recommended for spot research or simple cover-to-cover reading in order to grasp valuable basic lessons of the writing and publishing business.