Studios Books

I had read all the reviews for this book before I purchased it but in the past that has not always been a guarantee. This was also the first Hollis book for me. Happy to say it won't be my last. I have a minimal amount of psychology studies (I minored in it) but am starting a master's program this summer. I picked it up mostly because I'm turning 50 this summer and felt the urges to put some "order" to the chaos I've been chasing the last decade or so in my life. It hasn't really been traumatic for me as much as it has been unsettling but I needed a name for it and Hollis names it well - the Middle Passage. I look back now and understand more clearly now why I seek out what I do and why I needed to reconcile what wounded me in the past. It gave me tremendous hope for the second half of my life and Hollis has a way of writing that is not intimidating. Too bad it's not a "must read" for every adult hitting 40 or 50. Marriages might have a better chance of staying stronger. People in general might not be wired so tight with superficial undertakings as they mature in life. I am grateful I found this author and intend on reading his other works.

This book was recommended by a friend who read it when she was going through her own mid-life passage. I found it extremely helpful and continue to use it as a reminder to myself when I am feeling like I 'm floating in outer space. James Hollis writes very succinctly, in Jungian terms, what takes place in the psyche of a person in the second half of life. I found it comforting, useful, and true for me. I highly reommend it to anyone who needs a light of hope and a map through the terrain of mid-life transformations.

I have had the priviledge of sitting through hours of James Hollis' lectures at Houston's Jung Center. His writing style is very compact but pacts a punch (Hemingway for Jungian Wanderers, if you will). He takes the notion of the "mid-life crisis" to the appropriate realm of "mid-life transformation" by illustrating the WHY of the formerly named "crisis". Taking his words (and always keeping in mind TS Eliot's "The Wasteland") will help any reader better understand why they feel "unfullfilled". His book will also give them tools to direct them back to that path of command/control of their own lives. Additionally arming them with the notion that there will be plenty more goofy (read unconscious) activities with which to deal in the future.

This book is a tool and a useful tool indeed.

An amazing number of people in Vancouver are reviewing midlife crisis books ... is that city going through it's own midlife crisis ?

This book is perhaps the best one out there. The reasons are many as others have pointed out, but in my estimation is this: Hollis does not jump into the mechanics of the midlife period, in fact this is not the main emphasis at all. He starts with an in-depth retrospective on childhood and does a thourough analysis of our early years, then guides us into our present state and our future.

Highly recommended, yes.

The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts; 59 by James Hollis, PhD was published in 1993 and is his first contribution to the series.

The "Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts" is a wonderful series published by Inner City Books with Daryl Sharp as founder and chief editor (himself an accomplished Jungian Analyst and writer). Marie-Louise von Franz is their Honorary Patron with 9 of her classic titles in the offerings. The publisher's charter was "...founded in 1980 to promote the understanding and practical application of the work of C.G. Jung. " Since then they've published over 110 titles in this series with other prolific Jungian authors such as Barbara Hannah, Edward Edinger, and Marion Woodman to name a few. Hollis is a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst practicing out of Texas where he is also the Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center of Houston. He's contributed 8 titles to the Studies in Jungian Psychology series himself. His most recent book (from a different publisher) titled: "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life - How to Finally, Really Grow Up" is receiving critical acclaim as well. Incidentally, the author and I recently shared some correspondence and I found him to be warm, helpful, responsive and thoughtful.

The audio version of The Middle Passage is unabridged on 4 CD's with the author narrating in a calm, clear, and agreeable tone of voice with an elegant economy and effectiveness of words. I own a treasured, well-worn print copy of the 128-page book that is liberally underlined, dog-eared, and grossly highlighted.

Whether reading the book or listening to the author narrate, I am nearly overwhelmed at the compactness of meaning in his tightly composed sentences. This sense of being overwhelmed is most assuredly not a bad thing - it's a welcome invitation for re-listening to the audio book during my daily commute (a 95 mile round trip to work and home in southern California traffic gives nearly two hours of listening time!). Plus I get opportunities to reread the printed book as time permits as I have a new addition to the family - this equates to sleepless nights with our newborn baby boy...

Anyhow, it's a real pleasure opening this book and unpacking the riches within - and treasures they are! I reach into the bag and there are the gems, the gold in the content - but it's packed so tightly as to need diligent & mindful mining. I unpack the words, the sentences, and paragraphs and air them out, taking the concepts down different avenues of thought to glean new insights into the character of my self. I can't tell you the number times I've had "AHA!" moments - or the sublime experience where some subtle material gestated over time, gelling into meaningful mini-epiphanies. I can't tell you because it won't stop! A most gratifying experience!

I have only one minor criticism of this great contribution to Jungian analysis/literature. I can imagine some people possibly being turned off by the author's complex wording which might appear a bit pedantic on the surface. Some of the arguably abstract/esoteric language is not common to a layman's lexis yet they pose a rewarding challenge for the diligent reader. Here's a sample of random rarified words & phrases for example: existential angst, imagos, ineluctable dialectic, the modern Zeitgeist, politic real, portmanteau and (ready?) Jung's awesome word Auseinandersetzung. I've had to grant myself a little time adjusting to his rich vocabulary. Nevertheless it is a cogent, logical and lucid narrative where Hollis carefully defines his terms in the context of recognized Jungian terminology.

Hollis uses an abundance of prominent literary and historical figures including Christ, Dante, Stephen Dunn, T.S. Eliot, Nikos Kazantzakis, Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, Dylan Thomas, St. Thomas, Thoreau, Yeats, and C.G. Jung is well deployed throughout the text.

A two-part bibliography gives a listing of select publications segregated by major categories such as: On Midlife, On Women, On Men, On Relationship, Typology, and Inner Work. The other half is a General Bibliography providing a comprehensive list of his sources cited. It also has a pretty good index. Generous footnotes throughout the pages helpfully clarify certain points and direct the reader to relevant sources.

Characteristic of Hollis' Socratic bent, "Who am I apart from the roles I have played?" (from the preface) is the first of many questions posed in Middle Passage. The following passages from the preface effectively capture critical sentiment worth reflection: "Many of us pass through life as if it were a novel. We pass from page to page passively, assuming the author will tell us on the last page what it was all about...on the last page we die, with or without illumination." Hollis tells us "The invitation of the Middle passage is to become conscious, accept responsibility for the rest of the pages and risk the largeness of life to which we are summoned."

In the first chapter, "The Provisional Personality", he uses the language of Jungian principles to reveal the genesis and evolution of childhood wounding resulting from internalized interpretations of adult conflict (particularly with respect to parental and cultural influences) and the subsequent development of unconscious complexes. He tells us "...the person one has been is to be replaced by the person to be...One is summoned, psychologically, to die unto the old self so that the new might be born." He concludes the chapter with "...the Middle Passage represents a summons from within to move from the provisional life to true adulthood, from the false self to authenticity."

Making a comprehensive review of the rest of the book would prove too lengthy; however I've listed the remaining chapters below and will conclude with a review of one last chapter after the list:

Chapter 2 - The Advent of the Middle Passage
Tectonic Pressures and Seismic Intimations
A New Kind of Thinking
Changes in Identity
Withdrawal of Projections
Changes in the Body and Sense of Time
The Diminution of Hope
The Experience of Neurosis

Chapter 3: The Turn Within
The Persona-Shadow Dialogue
Relationship Problems
Midlife Affairs
From Child to Parent to Child
The World of Work: Job Versus Vocation
Emergence of the Inferior Function
Shadow Invasions

Chapter 4: Case Studies in Literature (see below)
Chapter 5: Individuation: Jung's Myth for Our Time

Chapter 6: On the High Seas and Alone
From Loneliness to Solitude
Connecting with the Lost Child
The Passionate Life
The Swamplands of the Soul
The Great Dialectic
Momento Mori
This Luminous Pause

One chapter in particular has grown on me: in Case Studies in Literature Hollis explores and illuminates new perspectives into the shadow with fascinating analysis of some classic, well recognized literary works. In Goethe's Faust, "Mephistopheles describes the shadow as that part of the whole, neglected and suppressed, which is necessary for the dialectic that ultimately brings wholeness." And for our protagonist, "The central encounter which Faust suffers is the overdue meeting with his anima..." Next, we're treated to obvious projections Flaubert's Madame Bovary. The resulting sense of urgency from Faust and Emma's unlived lives causes them to make bad tragically bad choices. "They project their inner contrasexual onto an outer person, not realizing that what they seek is ultimately within."

Dostoevsky's Underground Man "...takes us into the belly of the beast." and "...represents a profoundly searing encounter with the shadow." making conscious "...what all of us do in the first adulthood, namely, react to life's wounds. We build a set of wound-based behaviors and live out our handicapped version with rationalizations and self-justification."

Works from three American poets, Hugo Richard, Theodore Roethke, and Diane Wakoski are shared representing "...self-conscious efforts to rework one's personal myth." and identify our biographies as "...traps, deceptive enticements that freeze us in the seemingly facticity of the past, wound-identified and creatures of fate."

I end this quote-labored review with an invitation Hollis gives at the end of the same chapter, "In the secret club of the Middle Passage, there is an invitation for greater consciousness and an enlarged capacity for choice. With greater consciousness comes a greater opportunity for forgiveness of others and of ourselves, and, with forgiveness, release from the past." Finally, a grand imperative: "We must address the making of our myths more consciously or we shall never be more than the sum of what has happened to us."

I highly recommended this book for the challenge it offers the welcoming soul.

IndiAndy

I liked ballet shoes so since this was the sequil I wanted to read it and was disapointed. It's not as funny and there's not as many crazy adventures as the first. It also has lots of flaws that the first didn't have. But read the third shoe book called dancing shoes way better than even the first one!

I think Theater Shoes is a great book fo kids intrested in acting,dancing or singing.This book had three strong charcters intrested in diffrent areas of theater so it was easy to find a charcter I could relate to.I would suggest this book for girls ages 9 to 14.

Theater Shoes is a wonderful story with an attention grabbing plot, a lovely setting, and a well thought out conflict and resolution. This is, now, one of my favorite books and I really enjoyed it.
Throughout this story, there is a great plot. In this book, Sorrel, Mark, and Holly's parents die. They are forced to live with their grandmother, a bitter, but famous, english actress. She puts the children through a Childrens Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. Almost everyone in their family, before the children, had been a famous in the arts. Their grandmother was determined to keep the family tradition. At first all three children hated the academy. They thought that all of the teachers were too harsh and too serious. Then, after getting used to it, the academy "grew" on to them. Each of the three children discover something about themself at the academy. Sorrel, the eldest, discovers that she is a real actress. She can be very dramatic and play roles quite well. Mark finds out that he is a really fabulous singer. Little Holly can do a lot. She charms almost everyone at the academy with her adorable ways of doing things.
There is a lovely setting in this book. It takes place in England! I have always wanted to go to England, and by the way Noel Streatfeild, the author, describes it in the book, it seems so beautiful. It is in such detail and it is so easy to put an image in your mind.
The conflict / resolution in the story, almost stated in the second paragraph, is the children are forced to go to an academy, by their bitter grandmother, that they have no interest in. But in the end, it all pans out. Each child learns something different about themselves and are now striving to learn more. They end up loving the academy and treating it like their home. It means more to them now, than just pleasing their grandmother. Do you think that all of the hard work the children put into learning will result to something? Read this wonderful book and you will find out quickly.
In conclusion, this book was really great! I think that one reason why I liked it so much was because I can really relate to it. I love to do musical theater, and I think that reading about something that I really enjoy helped me understand the text better than it was already described. You don't have to love musical theatre to enjoy this book, but I think that it really helped. This book was enchanting and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

I started the Shoe books a few years ago. The first one was absolutley stupendous and cute. This one is amazing too.

Although each book is its own story, they are all linked with an amazing writing quality and performance.

This one is the story of Holly, Sorrel and Mark, whose grandfather, who supports them, just died -- so they go and live with their grandmother who puts them in an Academy for Stage Training and Dancing. It starts out rough but they learn to like, and even love it.

The overall story is really sweet a precious, which still warms my heart to this day.

This book is about three children named Sorrel, Mark and Holly. When their grandfather dies and they are sent to live with their maternal grandmother, and former famous actress. They are sent to the Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training so that they can carry the family's stage tradition. Holly is very good at dancing, Mark at singing and Sorrel at acting. The grandmother is very distant and cold, yet the children find love in their nanny and other family members. Meanwhile, they must put up with their talented, bratty cousin.
The story is wonderfully told and once again, the characters are completely lovable. Kids and adults will love this story, especially Shoes fans.

I've just granted my eyes and heart a second opportunity to experience Alaska through the verse and images of John Pezzenti Jr. The verse conveys both the spiritual and emotional connection the author obviously has with Alaska. The images transport this viewer to a place and time that feature nature displaying a magnificence worthy of savoring. Alaska, the book, inspires me to contemplate another adventure here in the northern Eden we call Alaska. A place where I am invited to quest for the spirit of the natural world that John Pezzenti knows so well. Alaska, the book and Alaska, the place transend the ordinary with grandure and excitement. I recommend both to anyone who lusts for beyond the ordinary. John Toppenberg

After 40 some years of living Alaska, I am well aware of the difficulty and seeming impossibility of capturing the great land on film and with words. The true essense and spitituality of this vast offering often eludes our cameras and pens. John has nailed it. His enduring patience and impecable eye for the finest of nature glows from image to image, mushroom ice stands, an otter enjoying a meal, volcanic clouds balloning over stands of towering spruce, an eaglets first moment broken from the shell, in your face bears, all these images and much more inspire me to look harder, go further, and wait longer for more of Alaska than I have ever experienced. The photos are sparkled by John's unique style of writing. After recieving the book as a gift I spent long nights, reading and re-reading his tales of adventure with delight. My work takes me far from home and John's book gives me opportunity to share the true flavors of Alaska with those I meet on the trail. Thank you John for sharing your God given talents, I so look forward to the next book.

There are a great many picture books on Alaska, some which contain exceptional photgraphic elements. There are a great many journalistic books on Alaska, some which are so well written the reader is taken with and to The Great Land. John Pezzenti's book epitomizes the best of both.

Like Alaska, this book is greater than it's physical boundaries. It evokes the senses and the emotions. This is one photo book that is a must read!

Great Book! I would recommend to anybody interested in the beauty of our 49th state. This book captures the wild beauty and grandeur of the last frontier. Buy this book, if you can!

Once you have met John Pezzenti, you will understand that this artist and his incredible photographs are one entity. John's "ALASKA..." will take you on an incredible journey through the heart of the Alaskan wilderness, into the soul of an unforgettable man.

Five years ago, I walked into a conference room at the World Trade Center in Manhattan. A man stood beside a display of exquisitely breathtaking photographs, protecting them like an anxious parent; listening to every word, every comment, as if there might be some question about the magnificence of his work. That enigma was John Pezzenti, Jr. Those privileged to know him, have experienced the complexities of the man: Passionate, sensitive, wild as Alaska, free as the wind and sometimes, as immovable as the mountains. His life and his photographs have made an indelible impression.

Language seems a truly inadequate means of conveying the experience of John's "ALASKA" book. The photographs seem to have a life of their own. Speaking directly to the heart and soul, they give a glimpse into the spirit of the man who created them. This is a soul that seems to dance somewhere between heaven and earth. A soul that has borne burdens that few of us could shoulder, but one that has known transcendent heights that few will ever reach.

With each page, John's photographs and stories allow us to share his incredible gift, and to see places on this earth that seem closer to heaven. John's spirit is as wild and free as the Alaskan wilderness. Nature seems to recognize a kindred spirit. You will feel certain that he has been granted special permission to view the sacred, and that at times, nature must say "wait, keep that until John gets here." But such honors are not bestowed without tremendous tests of courage and endurance, endless patience, and unquestioning faith. No work of this magnitude is brought to fruition without great sacrifices, and John has made more than his share.

John has the unique talent of capturing the essence of the moment - then combining it with a fragment of his own soul - the result is this spectacular gift he has given to the world. No one can experience "ALASKA: A Photographic Journey..." and not be deeply moved. The superb imagery and heart warming words speak to everyone in a unique way. It will draw you in, touching your heart and soul each time you open its pages to relive the journey. Again and again it will surprise you, revealing something new with each reading.

Thank you, John for sharing your vision. Your book is dearly treasured, and keeps Alaska close to my heart until I return. God Bless, John. We await your next creation.

I'm an intermediate coder, familiar with programming and I have about 1.5 years programming C#. I've already used this book(C# Cookbook 2nd edition) to write C# code navigating in and around directories and files. The examples in the book regarding "Directory Info" and "File Info" were so clear and concise, I was able to complete my programming task with almost no lost time to the learning process. What I like most was that there was not one example, but many examples for the most used functionalities. This book has already paid for itself when I consider the time it saved me the first time I needed it!

Being an advanced programmer I was looking for books to use as references or to further my skills. This book has proven a valuable asset.

I came across a project that had to do with XML, and I came to love this book. It has a lot of suggestions that helped me jump start my project.

I wouldn't recommend this book to learn C#- (pick up John Sharp C# step by step for that.)

If you are just coming into C# or have been doing it for a while - it doesn't matter - BUY THIS BOOK!!! Oreilly as we all know, makes very good tech/programming books and this one is one of the best I've had so far. This will be a book that will spend much less time on my shelf and much more time next to me on my desk.

The C# Cookbook, Second Edition has been updated and revised for C# 2.0 and version 2.0 of the .NET framework, and despite the fact that version 3.5 of the .NET framework is imminent, it remains a must have book to have on hand. It is essentially a collection of examples showing how to solve specific programming problems (some of which you might not have even realised you have, such as boxing/unboxing and efficient string handling, to name just a few...)

The C# Cookbook has over 1100 pages and is arranged into 20 chapters, each of which focuses on a particular area in C#. Despite its size it is not daunting to read. Here are the topics covered:

1. Numbers and Enumerations
2. Strings and Characters
3. Classes & Structures
4. Generics
5. Collections
6. Iterators and Partial Types
7. Exception Handling
8. Diagnostics
9. Delegates, Events and Anonymous methods
10. Regular Expressions
11. Data Structures and Algorithms
12. Filesystem I/O
13. Reflection
14. Web
15. XML
16. Networking
17. Security
18. Threading and Synchronisation
19. Unsafe Code
20. Toolbox

This book is in O'Reilly's `cookbook' series Problem-Solution-Discussion format, and like other books in the series can either be read from cover to cover, or be used as a reference to shed light on a particular problem. Each `recipe' starts with a description of the problem, followed by a complete, documented code sample showing you how to solve it, along with a detailed discussion of how and why it works, and any drawbacks. This format can also serve as an excellent way of mastering aspects of C#.

Like the other O'Reilly cookbooks, this book manages to strike a perfect balance between reference and instruction on real problems developers encounter every day. Hats off to Jay and Stephen for creating such a useful resource.

If you are a developer who writes C# code for a living, I would be surprised if you do not find something useful the first time you pick this book up. If you are thinking of buying just one book on C# 2.0, make it this one. Highly recommended for beginners and experts alike.

[...]

Worth everyday spent in prayer. Amazing photos, beautifully written Novena bio's of Christ, Mary, Saints, and Angels (including the Holy Spirit).

What caught my attention was the Novena of Saint Barbara.... I've never seen a prayer like this one written for her.

Of course The Sacred Heart and OL of the MM are the ones closest to my heart.

I purchased the hardcover version. Still beautiful w/o the dustcover in white with gold lettering and a gold cross.

This is a beautiful book. The sections on the Infant of Prague, the Mother of Sorrows, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel are especially valuable. One mistake, however: The picture of Saint Catherine in the section on Saint Catherine of Siena is of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, not Saint Catherine of Siena.

Authors Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua give readers another invaluable resource for saintly intercession, prayer and personal edification with The Novena Book: The Power of Prayer (Penguin Studio, hardcover, 176 pages). As with the previous Calamari/DiPasqua books I've reviewed, The Novena Book combines informative and readable text with stunningly beautifully illustrations in a manner few other manuscripts can match. Their works grace my living room both because they are a treat to the eyes of my visitors and because I turn to them frequently for my own spiritual and educational formation.

In The Novena Book: The Power of Prayer Calamari and DiPasqua take a comprehensive look at the concept of Novenas. The introduction highlights the powerful nature of this prayer format. At the heart of the book is a lengthy series of chapters on Saints, Angels, the Madonna, and the Divinity. Each section on the saints provides a brief biographical or informative statement, an illustration, and a Novena. Rounding out the volume are additional prayer resources and a helpful topical index. The book features Novenas to several well known saints and to a few who make become your new favorites. I'm looking forward to sharing Novenas with my sons as we anticipate the rapid approach of the holiday season. The Novena Book: The Power of Prayer is the type of book you'll want to give as a gift, but be sure to purchase a copy of this treasure for your own spiritual library.

The authors have done a wonderful job taking the mystery out of Novenas and prayers. This book would make a wonderful gift for those searching for spirituality. The prayers work, I know this from personal experience. I've purchase several copies to give as gifts this coming Christmas.

I've been an Amazon customer for years and have never felt compelled to write a review until now. I bought the book to learn more about St. Jude's novena and found myself completely immersed in reading all of the other saints' biographies. It is beautifully illustrated, well written and well organized. A must have for every library.

I was pleased to have this book be in prime condition when it arrived. The price was excellent. The order came in a timely fashion.

The Art of books by Pixar are wonderful. For the artist these books give a great background into how the art brought the story alive.

I highly recommend these books, especially for those who love Pixar.

If you enjoy learning the behind the scenes process that goes into many of the animated and computer animated films of today, you will love this book.

It shows step by step the drawings and thoughts that went into each character in Radiator Springs and also the creation of all the backdrops. From the smallest signs and orange cones to the racetrack and beyond, you can see how it all evolved.

It's nicely bound with a great jacket cover. Definitely a nice coffee table book your guests will enjoy leafing through or the perfect addition to the library of any art and animation lover.

I purchased this art of book recently and found it one of the best art of books I now own. The illustrations are very helpful to my concept art assignments. Great reading

I have to say, I love this series of books. Seeing the concept drawings for the movie is wonderful and how they got there inspiration for what eventually became the charming and funny movie CARS.

Pixar's most recent animation is fully revealed in this wonderful art book. All the research, ideas, and concepts are printed gorgeously in this book. You see how the ideas are captured on paper to guide the production teams to make one of the best animation in years. Conceptual ideas of characters from the beginning to the final rendered CGI model on screen are all there. The landscape is captured in with colorful pastel paintings. Even all the details from neon signs to the Southwest vegetation are drawn out for you to see. Everything in the book is traditional artwork techniques from pastels, blue pencil, to gray scale markers. Only a few pages have any 3D images for you to see, but in an age where everything is computerized... its really nice to see that old fashioned techniques being used.

Its a quality book I highly recommend for the Pixar fan, 3D animation enthusiast, and art students.

I have been sculpting in bronze for nearly twenty years. Had I owned a copy of Tuck Langland's book when I started out, the quality of my bronzes would have taken a quantum leap, and I would have become a better instructor sooner. In my opinion, Mr. Langland has an excellent working knowledge of the sculpting process, and he presents it in an interesting and witty writing style. This is the best "how to" book on bronze sculpture I have seen.

I have owned this book since 2001, and still find myself referencing it for additional insight and techniques. As my work evolves I find this book an invaluable manual to refresh me and acquaint myself with alternatives to what I have been already doing. Finally it has been very helpful for me in working with foundries to check their process and verify the quality of work produced- whether speaking of molds, waxes or finished bronze.

This is a very helpful book for anyone creating sculpture and wishing to mold and cast into another material. Langland is very knowledgeable in the history and practice of casting in a variety of materials. His depth of knowledge shows in the attention to methods for wax, plaster, bronze and other metals.

I have sculpted for the past 15 or twenty years and bought this book specifically for the page that dealt with plaster piece molds. Unfortunately, piece mold making is a lost art and few books even attempt to describe them, never mind explain how to make them. I'm still not sure how to tackle piece molds of fully articulated figures, but relatively solid pieces, like the portrait head illustrated in the book, would be reasonable to attempt.

After receiving the book from Amazon, I was pleasantly surprised by the thoroughness of the book on a host of topics. Trust me, for anyone who is starting out, you can save yourself years of trial and error by referring to this book. In the chapter titled "modeling the figure" Langland explains the importance of building up slowly in "strings" that follow the forms of the muscles and stresses the importance of creating a solid pelvis, rib cage and head making sure that they align properly with the spine. I found myself nodding in agreement at countless points reading the book. It is remarkable how many processes and artistic concerns he manages to thoughtfully and clearly address throughout the book. As an example, Langland describes three methods to mark locations where holes will be drilled through a base to facilitate mounting a bronze sculpture. Now, this sounds like a very straightforward thing to do, but in practice it is a little tricky. Typically, underneath a bronze sculpture, a foundry will drill and tap two or more holes that can receive screws that pass through counter-bored holes in a stone or wood base. How would you locate hole centers in a blank base so that they will match the existing hole pattern in a bronze sculpture?

This book covers so many aspects of sculpture from start to finish. You are never left with unanswered questions or uncertainty to any of the processes. The color section on patinas is marvolous. I love this book and have enjoyed reading it. Highly recommended!

really good technical manual for the whole sculptural process, and clearly and simply written and illustrated. I would certainly recommend this book.

I enjoyed Kevin's book because his explanations were easy to understand
and the demo pictures so helpful. I have gleaned alot from this book.

Kevin has done a classic, and I am sure that is will be used by artists
for years to come.
Loads of useful information, great examples and good instructions.
I have been a professional painter for 30 years, and am always looking to
learn more, this one really hit home for me on many areas. Beautiful color
with strong draftmanship.

This is the book for the serious landscape artist who has had questions about their own work that have never been answered until now. I found things I always wanted to know. The book never talked down. The author shared information about what he is doing artistically now and not the way he did it in the past. There is a wealth of ideas and information, much more that I ever expected. I will be continuing to read and refer to this book in the future. It was a big inspiration, and one of the best art books I have ever purchased.

Very Good Book - landscape painting inside and out is quite inspirational, as are all of her books. I particularly enjoyed the reproductions. Barbara Barrick

This book gives practical, specific advice on improving your landscape painting technique. I especially like the illustrations. The paintings are beautiful and "fresh." Not your average landscapes. They inspired me.

A good book, very complete and full of infos. All topics are well and deeply explained. I give only 4 stars for two main reasons
1. I don't like the writing style. It is too friendly, I prefer a formal and clean one.
2. Some explanation is 'obscure' and needs to be rewritten, for example the SelectWith extension method.
Anyway it really worths to have a copy on your desk.

I read a lot of tech books and only write reviews on the ones I really think offer value. This is one of them. If you want to learn LINQ from some guys that know their stuff, this is the book for you. It's very readable with great code examples..VB coverage is much appreciated by me! I've also looked at some of the other LINQ books. This is the only one I took the time to read cover to cover. Very easy to read with great coverage of the topic. Highly recommended.

Mark Dunn, MCT, MCAD, MCDBA, MCSD.NET
Microsoft MVP, Visual Basic
Microsoft Regional Director
President, DUNN Training and Consulting, Inc.

If you want to learn Linq, whether its data stored in a database, in XML files, DataSets or just in-memory objects this is the book for you.

I found it so easy to understand, and really comprehend. There are lots of examples, but not too many. After reading the first few chapters you become comfortable with the concept and syntax of the new language extensions.

The authors style had just the right combination of light humor and serious programming. He seems able to express complicated issues with the greatest of ease, and obviously has enoumous knowledge on the subject.

If that was not enough, there are forums avalable where you can raise queries and doubts and the author will do his best to accomodate you, again with a nice and easy flowing style.

The book is a 'must have' to any serious Linq programmer (or want-to-be Linq programmer!) and will certainly occupy a prominent place on my bookshelf.

Highly recommended!

Regards,
Martin.

I've read every LINQ book that i"ve come across and on the whole, they are all really good. As a subject area, the coverage is amazingly well done. This book is a natural fit b/c in every important respect, it's excellent.

First off, it's easy to read. Learning the basic mechanics of LINQ isn't all that difficult. Learning advanced LINQ mechanics is still pretty straightforward. However understanding why certain approaches should be used over other ones, understanding potential pitfalls (getting something back you weren't expecting) and ensuring your code performs well after you get back more than a few records, well, that takes some effort. I think this book helps you accomplish each of those in a manner that's very clear and very straightforward. [As a stylistic note, I think really understanding Lamda expressions, which admittedly aren't a linq feature per se, is challenging at first. This book did not shy away from them and went at them head one. B/c learning them isn't a linear process (at least it wasn't for me or anyone i know), you often make no real progress, then have a moment of understanding that gets you to the next level. That type of learning is best facilitated by seeing several examples - seeing several ways to accomplish something and then reverse engineering the differences. The extensive number of examples really makes that process a lot simpler].

Another really strong point is the examples themselves. In the LINQ to XML coverage, there's an example of how to create a RSS feed from a collection with one linq query. It's beauty is its elegance and b/c most developers have given writing RSS a try, it's a great juxtaposition to show how powerful and useful LINQ can be. That example isn't alone though - there are several others that extend beyond the cliche'd Hello World samples that leave people wanting for more.

The coverage of each topic is superb as well. At no point did I finish a chapter with unanswered questions in mind. Often, authors will make an assertion "you should do it this way b/c otherwise you'll open up security vulnerabilities" or whatever without explaining what the downside is that they are talking about. I know it's a seemingly unimportant thing, but I found that they always explained the points they make, even the minor ones. It's a typical example of the attention to detail the authors put into this book.

Having co-authored several books, I know how hard it is to write a book with a unified writing style. The editing for this book is done in such a way though that it looks like one author wrote it. Yes, there are some differences in their individual writing styles, but it's all close enough that it really does feel as though one person wrote it. That is a huge plus and again, it's just one of those small things they do that shows a serious attention to detail.

So it's easy to read, they cover everything really well, they selected great examples and explain them well and they start out with general coverage and move onto very detailed coverage - making it ideal for both a LINQ newcommer or a seasoned vet.

It's a great book and IMHO, the authors are to be commended for putting it together. Although I've found all of the LINQ books I've come across to be very good - this one made an impression and it's excellent from start to finish.

I am a newbie both in visual basic and Linq, and I have to say that this book is really great. It provides a LOT of understandable explanations, that are so useful for who's not a guru already.

There are tons of examples, plus quite a lot online resources that can be extremely useful.

Great book, probably one of the best on LINQ subject, and it's definitely worth the price

Dear animation lover. This book will restore your faith in the power of passion. With a never failing belief in the craftmanship of delivering a great story Pixar showed the possibilities of a good marriage between art and technique. Off course, some luck of being in the right place at the right time counts as well.

The book starts with the original background of the pixar machine as a calculating machine to the point where Disney takes over.

I also have almost every Pixar art-of book there is, but the movies described in the book (including all the shorts) are mostly viewed from a Pixar company point of view. This way you get a great overall view.

As it is my dream to come close to the Pixar company, this is probably the closest you can get the heart of Pixar when you are living far away...

Great book,
have to read a lot but very very interesting.
Great image quality and edition.
I'm loving it!


Martina,
Buenos Aires
Argentina

If you're at all a Pixar fan, or even an animation fan, this book deserves a place on your shelf!

very insightful look at the fascinating studio that pioneered the animation industry into the 21st century.

The content of the book is as high quality and colorfull as the company it describes. Also the author did a good job at documenting the history of the company.

However, in the making of this book someone made a couple of mistakes. There are tens of images which have unacceptable 'pixelation' (i.e. blockiness due to overstretching of digital images). Especially the full page spread on p. 220 jumps out with pixels blown up to almost milimeter size!

This is quite dissappointing to me, especially as it is the artwork of a company which spearheads the way in digital imaging! I can imagine this is a slap in the face of some of the artitst and it would definitely not pass through their quality system if the book was produced by Pixar.

Overall the majority of the images in the book are very well reproduced, so I take the couple of handfull of bad apples for granted.