Studios Books

this is truly a great book. I have been a friend of Johns for over 14 years now and he has tought me more than almost everyone else in my life. This book is still one of the best in its class, and every portrait photographer doing families needs it. In a word, buy this book. YOU NEED IT

Although this book is about 12 years old, it is still one of the best out there on how to enter into the world of profitable professional portrait photography. Many of John's ideas in this book are timeless and time-tested. If you are interested in succeeding, REALLY succeeding in the portrait photography of any kind, you need to get your hands on this book and anything else John Hartman has written. I firmly believe he is responsible for making more photgraphers financially successful than any other educator in the history of the industry.

Beautiful, entertaining and educational, Felicity's Cooking Studio is a gift for young Felicity fans and for their families. Readers will come away from this book with an excellent knowledge of foodways in Williamsburg, VA. in the 18th century. The ingredients and process of authentic recipes are delightful, along with background information and party planning.

Felicity's Cooking Studio is a must for American Girl enthusiasts! Invitations, name cards, a cookie-cutter, centerpieces, games and dance steps are all here. Reusable place cards and tabletalker question cards are sure to make your Colonial Williamsburg parties a big hit. There are some wonderful family memories to be made with this book.

Highly recommended.

Just bought the American Girl Felicity Cooking Studio and am very happy with it. My daughters, ages 5 & 3, helped me with the mixing of the recipes. It was a nice activity for us to do together and so far the recipes have been great hits with the whole family. The chicken pudding is a recipe that I'm sure I'll be using again & again (Although the book should state that the texture is cornbreadish and not like a chocolate pudding texture.) I was surprised at how amazing the recipe turned out considering I used gluten-free pancake mix - you couldn't even tell it was GF when I was done. We made the spiced nuts today which taste just like the nuts they have at the Oktoberfests in Germany. FYI about the breakfast puffs: Be careful not to leave the pan in for pre-warm too long. I ended up burning the butter. (Oh and don't try to use the muffin paper cups - they will not peel off the puff.) Some might complain about the number of recipes compared to the price but I think it's just the right length. They obviously only included the best, most tasty, authentic recipes and ones that are not too daunting for parents to help their daughter's make. I'm looking forward to trying every recipe in the book and eventually buying the other historical cooking studios.

This is one of the best CD's I've ever listened to with regards to Interviewing and I'm a Career Consultant. I intend to use it in my coaching practice as it's to the point, full of energy and absolutely targeted to today's market. GREAT product!!!

This is a great resource for those looking to build confidence as they begin looking for a new career path. The detailed strategies that are given are concise, to the point, and very easy to follow and integrate into your own personal style. I would highly recommend this series as a great way to not only prepare for an interview, but even just to help maintain perspective on how one should act and follow-up in all areas of modern business and business etiquette. Great to throw in your car stereo on your commute!

I am always looking for great gifts for college grads that are actually more helpful than a toaster or money! I heard about this multi-media CD/book from a friend of mine. It is full of great tips about how the world really works when it comes to looking for that first real job. The authors are very knowledgeable about the subject matter and present it in an engaging and entertaining manner. My only regret is that I did not have a resource like this when I was cluelessly trying to navigate the job market the first time when I graduated a zillion years ago!

This is a great gift for a college senior or anyone a little rusty when it comes to career changes.

I was given this multi-media CD/book as a gift just before I was about to graduate from grad school. It has been a tough couple years, with lots of hard work, and the last year was the most difficult. When I took my first listen to the CD, I thought- 'wow, I'm so out of the loop.' It had been a long time since I had even THOUGHT about how to prepare for a new job, much less go on an interview.

I put this entire book on my iPod and just left it on during commutes, during slow times of the day, and I just let it play. Sometimes I'd sit and pay close attention, other times I'd be doing other things, but just having it on turned out to be much more useful than I expected. Before too long, I found myself with two opportunities for interviewing with agencies that were well-known and respected in my community, and they were in my field of concentration!! All of a sudden, I was NERVOUS! I hadn't even graduated yet and I was going on an interview!!

Needless to say, having this CD around changed everything. I was able to slowly prepare for the interview, talking to references in advance, preparing my notes and timelines so I had all my facts in order, tweak my resume and get the best points forward, and gain composure and confidence about how to act, how to hold myself, even on what to wear!

I was still nervous going into the interview, but when I walked out of there, I actually felt a bit more confident that I hadn't totally screwed it up! And the payoff! I got the job!!!! I am now happier than I thought I could be, and it's not even a month after graduation.

This product is worth every penny- I would highly recommend it as a perfect gift for anyone leaving school or looking for a new job/career. It totally worked for me!

The story of Thomas Pearson, as present by author Donald Graves, is an excellent study on the life a remarkable officer. Well researched and with a great grasp of the times and locations, the book totally engages the reader. The description of the battle of Albuera is especially good. I highly recommend this book for any person that has even a fleeting interest in the period. Historians will no doubt find this book a great item to have on the bookshelf.

I know my copy will be read many times.

Don Graves has authored a real masterpiece with his book, Fix Bayonets! A Royal Welch Fusilier at War, 1796-1815. Set during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, Graves tracks the life and actions of British Army Officer Thomas Pearson from his early youth until his death in 1847. The core of the work focuses on the remarkable military life of Pearson as he campaigns with the British Army throughout the period from his early days as a Lieutenant in the 23rd Regiment (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) to his final promotion to Lieutenant General.

Pearson served in the British Army in a variety of posts and campaigns throughout his lengthy career. Graves provides an excellent narrative of this soldier's experiences. By far, the most intriguing components of the book center upon the host of battles Pearson participated in. The Battles of Albuera, Chippawa, and Lundy's Lane are the most noteworthy and interesting. The author provides an in-depth and organized account of these actions while interweaving Pearson's role and contribution.

Graves also provides a fascinating look into military life, culture, values, and society that existed during Pearson's life. While clearly focusing on the martial aspects of his life, the author provides additional great detail into his youth, father, heritage, and later marriage.

I feel this work is especially noteworthy in its scope. Most comparable authors have chosen to focus upon events or well-known characters as a basis for their narrative. Graves has chosen a gallant, decorated but rather obscure soldier as his foundation from which to place the greater events into perspective. This approach is very unique and refreshing. Graves' research is also impeccable.

Overall, Fix Bayonets! A Royal Welch Fusilier at War, 1796-1815 is an exceptional historical work. Written in a compelling style that draws the reader in, this book is a natural choice for anyone interested in the Napoleonic Wars / War of 1812 era.

Flash MX Learning Studio
Ethan Wattral

Published by Sybex...

ISBN: 0-7821-4180-3

I would give this package 5 stars, it certainly works for me anyway.

This is another in the new line of learning-made-simple using the Sybex "Savvy" line of books. Having the CDROM based on the book "Flash MX Savvy" added to the package has made this even better.

I have already reviewed this book and found it to be excellent.....

Once opened in your CD player, you can just leave it running while carrying on working in Flash, even after you have put the book down.

It provides a very good source of easily understood information and walk-throughs. These are broken into 7 categories for easy learning.

1. Creating visuals steps you through the basic steps of animating and is further broken down into different aspects of selection, grouping etc.

2. Animation comes next and this introduces the concepts of working with timelines and movie clips.

3. Intro to ActionScripting is really useful as this is what can make or break an animation and allow interactivity with your movie.

4. ActionScript for interactivity takes your basic skills in ActionScript to new levels, and like al the sections has been further broken down into another 5 sub sections.

5. Working with audio is really useful as this has been a problem, or at least difficult to do in the past. MX makes this easier, but understanding what to do is a great help.

6. Using other tools helps understand how to integrate Flash into Director, Freehand, audio software and 3D.

7. Publishing Flash is next, and this, once again is an important aspect when file size and bandwidth are concerned.

8. The referenced section contains what you expect from it, plus it has all the keyboard shortcuts.

9. Lastly there is the Hands On section and this is where you get to practice your skills, aided by video of the lessons/

Most of the descriptions are in slide show format using screen shots, which is supported by sound where applicable, and the lessons are step-through if you don't want to watch the whole thing.

There are some special video sections, using Flash, that take you through making some movies using the familiarity that you have built up using the preceding lessons. By all means look at these early on, but they will not have the impact that will come after stepping through the rest of the manual.

As a learning tool for those who do better by using visuals and sound, sooner than reading a manual, this is definitely the way to go. Obviously the slide shows don't contain the same amount of information as the book, but they do make you click on things so you learn to work in a sensible order, and then a lot of the written work makes a bit more sense.

Teaching is really about being shown how to do something, and then following explained principles to find out how to do anything associated with that process. Books on their own are great, even with the CD-ROMS that are included, but I feel that it isn't the same as this type of learning.

For a start, the CDROM attached to a book is just a set of lessons, and it is easy to skip past stuff when you don't understand, but this CDROM is done in such a way as to make sense of what you are doing quickly. It is just like having a help file open with interactive pictures instead of just words.

Once you learn where to find the answers, you don't have many problems that you can't solve, and that is where the strength of this package lies.

You may only need a small part of the jigsaw to solve the whole thing, and with the 700 page book added, then you don't need to look much further for any answers.

Bottom Line.

As the complete learning tool, and help and assistance for problem solving, you will really need to go a long way to find a better package.

I firmly believe that this is the way that good manuals for software will have to be produced from now on. As long as the book is good for it's purpose, and the quality of the CDROM is kept up, then there is a market for this sort of package.

Once a book has been written, then the making of something like this is not that difficult, as it uses screen shots that apply to the book. Therein lies it's strength. If the screen shots don't work, then the book doesn't either, and in this case they both go together really well.

Tim Skyrme...

I've got to admit, I was a little skeptical about plunking down [money] for Flash MX Learning Studio. Boy, was I glad that I did. First off, it comes with the book Flash MX Savvy...which would normally cost you [money] to buy. Secondly, the actual interactive training CD is absolutely incredible.

You can sit and watch tutorial movies...and then try out the techniques you just watched - all within the CDs learning environment. Its a perfect tool for those who learn software by watching things being done - instead of just reading about the techniques.

Flash MX Learning Studio is worth its weight in gold! Buy it and you'll see.

I give the book top rating because of the input that I have rec' from those who have purchased it over the past couple of years. It was written so that anyone can take the book without ever having woven before, and weave a nice product. This book takes you through building a simple loom to weave on, taking your grungy fleece, skirting it, washing it, dyeing it, teasing it and finally weaving a rug and finishing it. The book is full of step by step photos, has large enough print so you can lay it beside you and follow along as you work. It is simple basic weaving that is fun.

Found directions very specific and easy to follow, no over-technical speak to try and figure out. Love the pictures and larger print. The comb binding also makes it very easy to keep open to the needed page. Enjoy the fact the author is more concerned with having fun and creating lovely wool objects than with being technically difficult and overly concerned with unnecessary "rules."

Leslie Carbaga is a big fan of Fliescher cartoons and this book shows it.I loved so many of them when i had the chance to see them on TV in my younger days.(Color Classics,Popeye,Sing-Alongs, and the movies Gulliver and Hoppity.)This tells the story of Max Fliescher,who made many worthy but largely unknown contributions to the art of animation.I recommend this to any fan of the vintage cartoons of the 20s/30s/40s

Rarely I have seen a biography with so much interesting details.Not a single page is wasted.As a Fleischer cartoon fan,it's la creme de la creme for me.Congratulations Cabarga.You wrote a book with love and admiration.

A must have for everyone interested in American Folk Art. Great color prints. Excellent essays.

This is an unbelievable price for a book so full of high-quality black-and-white and color plates. Not much text, but an excellent source of patterns for very appealing american folk-art motifs.

Mrs. Savage did a wonderful job bringing the story of Fly and George to life. It is hard to believe all that these two went through fighting in the Civil War. I would never have known about Fly if Mrs. Savage had not written the story. This story is for all ages!

This is one amazing story about the strength of love.

This is the true story of a young man who took his horse with him when he enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. Based on transcripts passed through his family and contemporary accounts researched by the author. The book is written as a children's book, but is so well done it can be enjoyed by anyone.

Kudos to Bridgette Savage for helping to bring to life a story that should be heard. You will not be disappointed in this book; I purchased several for family and friends. An absolutely wonderful little book.