Works Books

I adore this book. Groening is a cartoon genius. I also LOVE his book "School is Hell". These little gems have me splitting my sides every time I pick them up. If you are stressed out--read this. You will laugh, and you will feel better.

This is going to make you feel like crap
even if you laugh your head off all the
way through the book...

Better be on welfare to read this.

Rebellion may follow if you are
a simple worker or a stupid boss.

You have been warned.

Now get back to work,
or get back to the bitterness
of your uselesness on this planet.

For those who are into sublime sarcasm and have to work for a living in some stressful situations.

The gift was wonderfully received.

I love this book, but then I love the whole Life in Hell series. More truth-telling in comic form from Matt Groening. Love the different types of bosses, the magazine covers, the whole thing. Great fun.

I tried to keep an open mind while reading it, I really did. I think part of the problem is that I was a young kid in the 80's and don't have the nostalgic connection that a lot of readers do to this series. Despite my best efforts, I didn't find myself laughing at all. In fact, I managed merely a chuckle or two from cover-to-cover.

Keep in mind, I was never expecting a masterpiece. I was simply looking for an early glimpse into one of the arguably funniest minds in history. I have a dark sense of humor, so it didn't bother me that the taste was rather dry. I knew it was a beginning work, so I wasn't put off by the rough illustrations throughout either.

What did get me was the fact that there was very little within the pages I could identify with. I've been in the working force for a long time and have had all sorts of different bosses, but nothing struck me as familiar. The characters were very bland and the whole book struck me as something that could've been written by a smart kid poking fun at his school. I was disappointed, to say the least.

Like I said, this low opinion may be because I was born too late to enjoy the series as it was published, so I gave it 3 stars in faith that I might just be missing some of the subtle humor that's so well buried within. On the other hand, maybe the humor was just too obvious and so I missed it completely. In any case, I would've given it 2 stars if I were judging it without any knowledge of how truly funny Matt Groening could be.

I managed to find a seller who offered it for .01 plus cheap shipping, so I only paid $3.50 for it. Had I bought it new, I would consider it a waste of money. My advice to those who are jumping into this series with fresh eyes (like me): BUY USED.

Very unfortunately, the public at large too often misses out on opportunities to delve more deeply into something with which they are not familiar--in this case, I am talking about videogames. Many people have the idea that games are just about "Mario" or, at the other end of the spectrum, violence and shooting. Having said that, should you ever feel obliged to convince a friend or relative otherwise, to show them that games can be utterly remarkable and intricate works of art and creative thought, look no further than this book!

Conceived in large part by the duo of Kaori Tanaka (illustrator, designer, video game story writer) and Tetsuya Takahashi (director), the story affiliated with Xenogears is truly epic, not only in its ambitious scope, but also because of the utter attention to detail. Perusing this rare book does some part to portray the grandiose vision that these creative minds had. Indeed, I am beginning to understand why Squaresoft (as it was then called) seemed rather reluctant to further develop on this series; while Xeno's following is not as large as that of Final Fantasy, it is easily apparent that the amount of effort and resources needed to do this saga justice could easily rival that of the more popular Final Fantasy franchise. It is a shame we have not been granted the experience of another game in the Xenogears storyline; to this day, I still imagine what those games must feel like.

Taken from a reference at Wikipedia, "The Xenogears Perfect Works [book] contains detailed information of the world where the game is set. It describes the characters, creatures, Gear mechanics, geographical setting, social structures, scientific terms and the history, covering all the supposed six episodes of Xenogears (even if only one episode was published as a game)." As other reviewers have mentioned, if you have played Xenogears before (arguably one of the greatest RPGs of all time) and enjoyed it, then you owe it to yourself to pick up this gem. Even if you do not speak Japanese, and even if you do not like Xenogears, this book is still one of a kind, a true collector's item, and is worth the purchase. 5 Stars for me, without a moment's hesitation!

if you can read Japanese... or even if you cant. If you have played the game through then you must get this book. When I got this book i wanted to read its contents so badly that i took up Japanese and have eventualy been able to decifer the whole thing. So on top of reading the best book ever I have learned a new language to boot. And I will be the first to say that it was well worth it.

if you can read Japanese... or even if you cant. If you have played the game through then you must get this book. When I got this book i wanted to read its contents so badly that i took up Japanese and have eventualy been able to decifer the whole thing. So on top of reading the best book ever I have learned a new language to boot. And I will be the first to say that it was well worth it.

This is quite possibly the most INCREDIBLE Japanese artbook that I own. (And that is saying something; I own QUITE a few)

First off, if you love Xenogears, this book is an absolute MUST-HAVE. Every inch, every *millimeter* of the game is covered in this book. Take note that even though it IS in Japanese text, it is also a very beautiful thick artbook with EVERY official Xenogears artwork ever released between it's covers. All of the origins of everything about Xenogears is in this book, including explanations of the connections between all of the characters, the history and structure of different creatures, places, etc. Even if you know absolutely NO Japanese, buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

Oh yeah, there ARE some translations available online of various parts of the book. :)

This book contains anything and everything you'd ever want to know about Xenogears - from early character sketches to social structure to science to history to geography to thorough and complete background on the characters - ALL of them, meaning, everyone with a portrait.

Xenogears, despite being phenomenally complex for its medium, is a MASSIVE story squashed into a single rpg, and if you know the -true- complexity of the plot and their world, that becomes all the more apparent. So much about the characters and world/universal history were left out. For example, the game never mentioned how Yui and Citan met (which may sound frivolous, but it certainly is not), never told of Citan's brothers and parents, never got past stating one or two facts about Sigurd's past, did not go into Krelian's life before the war at all (did you know that he was originally supposed to assassinate Sophia back in their homeland of Nimrod, but seeing that she was then just a child, he took pity on her and didn't do it?)...really, I could go on for a while, and not just about the individuals we all know and love. PERFECT WORKS contains all this information and more. The text is completely in Japanese - but if you cannot read the language, translations are not too difficult to find online.

The single downside of such a treasure is that the spine is incredibly weak for a book of its size. A page out of mine is loose already, and I barely look at it as it is, in order to preserve it. Do not scan images out of it unless you have another copy, because you will certainly ruin it. You may want to invest in two so that you can have one to continuously look at and one to display.

PERFECT WORKS may become irrelevant in terms of content with the release of Xenosaga, as the new rpg is the starting point of a retelling of the Xenogears tale. However, that makes this book no less valuable, both for sentimentality and as an original. This is something no Xenogears admirer should be without.

With over 30 years of IC pain, I was tolerating only water and green beans until I read this book. The author, an IC sufferer and doctor, includes a wealth of suggestions which I immediately was easily able to incorporate into my diet and life style. Yes, the foods IC sufferers cannot tolerate are listed in her book which I found very helpful!

As a high school teacher and a mother of a medical doctor, the knowledge I acquired in this book led me to a FOOD SUPPLEMENT which has STOPPED my IC pain-it's been over 8 years that I have been taking this, not to mention no more neck and back pain, severe menstrual pain, a decrease in allergies, a clearer complexion, etc. YES! - A miracle food supplement for me! Prior to the discovery of this food supplement, my urologist offered an option of removing my bladder and wearing an external bag! I was about to give up teaching because I felt like a zombie from the IC pain that awakened me every hour during the night, let alone, all the trips to the lavatory in between every high school class period! The food/drink/vitamin information in this book and the food supplement I discovered have stopped the IC pain, as well as other pain.

What a fabulous domino effect! I started noticing that this same food supplement was stopping other pains! Prior to my taking this food supplement, the orthopedist recommended that I have neck and back surgery after years of recurrent episodes of excruciating pain when repeated physical therapy sessions and pain medications failed to provide relief. To avoid surgery, I went to a chiropractor for the first time in my life which continued for five years with therapy visits required every two months to stay pain free. I then went to a neurologist for a second opinion of the chiropractor's progress on my neck and back. The neurologist said I would always need to be under the chiropractor's care if I was to avoid the neck and back surgery . . . until the FOOD SUPPLEMENT stopped my neck and back pain! I have not seen my chiropractor in over 8 years or any other doctor for neck and back pain since taking this food supplement!!!

I take one tablet after breakfast every day and I am pain free!!! Basically, it is a naturally-occurring substance in everyone's body that feeds the nerve endings so that they are healthy and pain free; but, in some people this substance does not replenish itself as fast as the body expends it and, thus, the pain. This food supplement is a naturally-occurring source of organically-bound dietary sulfur that replenishes this deficit without side effects. It contains no solvents, sugar, salt, yeast, wheat, corn, dairy products, coloring, flavoring, or preservatives.

A well-known urogynecologist in Connecticut who sees many IC patients refers her IC patients to me to supply them with this food supplement.

...

Thank you, Dr. Gillespie, for the knowledge in your book is what led me to discover this food supplement which has returned me to a normal life!!! I have been able to continue teaching which has allowed me to provide the financial support to meet the educational needs of my son who is now a Physical Education teacher and my daughter who is graduating this May from the University of Connecticut Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut, as a medical doctor and to support my husband as he was caught up in the corporate buyouts and found himself unemployed until he changed careers and is now a U.S. Post Office employee. I can only imagine where my family and I would be had I not read your book!

You will refer to her book over and over again - as I have!!!

I suffered from recurrent bladder infections and the excrutiating symptoms even without the presence of bacterial infection for many years. I had massive long term antibiotic therapy, surgical procedures and saw several urologists - all without relief. My mother gave me this book in 1988 and I am so grateful to her and to Dr. Gillespie. This book changed my life! I now understand my condition and can manage it. Many doctors are unaware of IC or believe it to be very rare (it's not as rare as they think!). I still get 1-2 infections a year, but that is heaven compared to what I used to suffer. I can't recommed this book highly enough!

I came across this book 10 years ago at a seminar and have been giving it to patients ever since. It is very well-written especially for the layman, providing numerous things to think about it in the face of chronic bladder problems. Being a chiropractor, I also found it fascinating that Dr. Gillespie basically spells out the whole theory behind chiropractic care when she cites that the number one cause of bladder and prostate problems is low back problems! Using diagrams she shows how the nerves enamating from the lumbar spine enervate these areas of the body. Though she doesn't mention chiropractic care in her book, I had to laugh when I saw that she had, however unwittingly, totally validated the science and theory of Chiropractic care. Whatever the underlying cause of your bladder problem, you are likely to find some help with this book.

This is a ground-breaking book written by a doctor who truly understands both bacterial and interstitial cystitis. Before the 1st edition of this book, the medical world was virtually silent on the subject, telling women it was all in their heads! Dr. Gillespie shows a deep understanding of the all-too-common and frequently mis-treated and/or over-medicated cystitis (urinary tract infection). Further, Dr. Gillespie virtually forced the medical world to learn about interstitial cystitis (IC) and to begin research into more humane and effective methods of treating it. Dr. G is a personal hero for me. Her book has provided guidance in my dealings with IC,where unfortunately most doctors still don't know what IC is. This book can help the patient to make decisions about treatments that can affect their body for many years to come. This book has helped me to minimize the occurrence of bacterial cystitis. And while my IC is incurable, this book has provided insight and helpful methods to make the condition less debilitating. Thanks for this ground-breaking book!!!

While the book does validate IC-which 10 years ago was relatively unknown, the treatments will not work for everyone. I believe everyone needs hope with this dreadful disease, and at a first pass, this book provides it. I must thank the doctor for that. I read the book, was a patient of the doctor, and followed the protocol for 2 years. ....

This book has been pretty helpful, my girlfriend and I enjoyed going through it and reading certain sections.
It's true, most of the subject matter isn't a walk on the beach, but it's good information to know and understand. Besides explaining the previously unmentionable, it also offers good suggestions as to what to say and do if you're in a situation covered in the book.
The language is plain english and slightly humorous (without damaging the credibility of the information)
The only reason it's not 5 stars is because the book skipped one or two particular things we, as a couple, were looking for.

As someone who is active in the Endometriosis community, one of the most common problems women come across is explaining Endometriosis to their husbands or boyfriend. Since Endometriosis can cause painful sex, infertility, and other possible relationship problems, the disease can cause problems for both men and women. This book offered one of the best explanations of Endometriosis to men that I have ever seen. It does not go into too much detail, but it goes in enough detail that it allows men to really understand the full nature of this awful disease.

I found 'Your Guy's Guide to Gynocology' witty, informative and a big help in understanding the fairer sex. This should be required reading for every bloke interested in improving his relationships with women. Bekkar and Wahn deserve a medal.

Dr. Wahn, one of the authors of "Your Guys Guide to Gynecology",is my personal Gynecologist and for that reason I bought the book. Thinking that I knew everything in the book, I read it anyway. I found it not only to be informative, and humorous for men, but I also learned things that I didn't know.I think that this book should be a required reading for High School Seniors, both male and female.

The amazing fact about this book is that I learned a lot about a subject I thought I already knew a lot.It is fun to read and the more you read the more fun you will have in using or living your gained knowledge.I am more sensible towards my girlfriends feelings which gives me a better feeling,too.This book is definitively a recommendation for both sexes,because there are always two involved in a relationship. Thank you for teaching me!

This is such a precious book! It's one to read in small bits, because it is so chock full of simple wisdom. Love it!

Andy Murry has a close relationship with his Lord and Savior, Jesus. He makes the point that we can only experience Christ by accepting that Jesus paid the price IN FULL for our unclean natures. Keeping rules of conduct is only a product of our FAITH. We are saved by GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST. GRACE IS AN UNEARNED AND UNDESERVED GIFT FROM GOD THROUGH CHRIST. AMEN!

Review by Richard W. Kelsey, PE and Author
Search "Powerful Wisdom for Powerful Writing,"
Amazon.com or AuthorHouse Publishers

Outstanding treatment on communion with Jesus. Very practical, accurate, useful in helping disciples to walk daily with the Lord.

I am a great fan of great devotional writing and Andrew Murray's "Abide In Christ" is one of my top choices along with a few, time-tested others (Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly, The Depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon, The Spiritual Guide by Michael Molinos, The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer).

I know of no other lesson that is as crucial to every child of God than learning to "Abide in Christ." And yet there is nothing easier than drifting along on a thousand other spiritual currents than "the one thing that is needful." Our lives can thus be so fragmented and parceled among so many competing demands that we have lost sight of Jesus Christ. And to no longer fix our eyes on Him is to lose sight of everything.

One of our greatest lacks today, both individually and corporately, is authentic, intimate, sustained encounter with Jesus Christ. We think all things are well as long as we are continuing to learn more "about" Him rather than "from" Him.

The bible itself has become an obstacle rather than an avenue to greater intimacy with our Lord. Again, we think all things are well as long as we are continuing to learn more about the bible rather than the One whom the bible writes. We think learning biblical principles for living is somehow adequate and what we are called to. But this is not the call of Jesus Christ on our hearts. "You search the scriptures," He said, "thinking that in them you have eternally life, but you won't come to Me that you might have life." But in many instances, just like our forebears, we think it sufficient to eat from the tree of the knowledge of "good and evil" rather than coming to Jesus, our tree of life, our bread of life, our water of life, our "all in all." And on the road to Emmaus, Jesus "pointed out to them all things in scripture that pointed to Him." In all of our bible reading, do we fix our eyes on Jesus?

The deepest longing of Jesus Christ is for closeness with us. In one place it says that Jesus cried with a loud voice saying "Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest!" We need to be reminded of this, often and daily.

Murray writes:

And observe especially, it was not that He said, "Come to Me and abide with Me," but, "Abide in me." The communion was not only to be unbroken, but most intimate and complete. He opened His arms to press you to His bosom; He opened His heart to welcome you there; He opened up all His divine fullness of life and love and offered to take you up into its fellowship to make you wholly one with Himself. "There was a depth of meaning you cannot yet realize in His words: "Abide in me."

Just what is this "depth of meaning?" What is this "unbroken, intimate, and complete" fellowship with Jesus Christ? What is this call to "inner communion" into the heart of our Lord? Do read this classic devotion "Abide In Christ" and discover some of the answers. Rediscover the ultimate call and central message of Jesus Christ to all those who have lost their way.

This was one of the greatest books on living in Christ I've ever read. Though tough reading, it still influences my prayer life today. If you haven't read it, you must!

This book provides a great foundation for the classes I am teaching in e-commerce. It's chapters on site server also are excellent! I found the fundamentals section to be outstanding for handling the task of getting new students up to speed.

This book is really useful from the standpoint of providing an overview of what ESD is doing today, and how e-commerce tools from Microsoft are making it possible for organizations of any size to buyild their own sites. I found the chapters on managing a new site useful with some good suggestions for getting everyone on the same page from a development standpoint. Good reference book and teaching tool for new administrators.

I have been studying up on e-business and found this book to have a personable tone and many insights into how I could get up to speed quickly with terms and concpets to manage the outsourcing of our company's website quicker. I liked the chapters on building a framework for organizing solutions and found the chapter on electronic software ditribution very enlightening. An easy book to read.

This book has interesting information about Microsoft's Site Server applications, and shows the plans for electronic software distribution Microsoft authored with key industry leaders. it is decidely pro e-commerce and provides an interesting approach to managing web development through cross-functional project teams.

I found this book to provide a level-set for my staff, who is working on the definition of our websites, and what we could reasonably expect with the resources onhand. This book gave us hands-on guidelines and advice from experience we could use for getting our site completed in the minimum amount of time with the least disconnects between what we wanted and what we ended up creating. E-Commerce is constantly changing, and this book brings all the change into perspective. Good teaching tool.

What a wonderful book. APACHE is beautiful.

What a beautiful book. It's really stunning. I'm envious. I hope the publisher does as well with it as I think they should.

APACHE is a beautiful, really beautiful book.

APACHE: The Sacred Path to Womanhood is magnificent. It, the photography and writing, deserves an award.

Apache is graphic & well-told as a photo story, which is rare indeed.

When I got this book I read it cover to cover and felt like a pro after. I refer to it all the time for help with movements and terminology. It also has some WONDERFUL history on famous dancers, the evolution of the pointe shoe, even about tutus! It also has amazing sections on different ballet buns, what dancers should have in their dance bag, how to properly sew and tie pointe shoes, and more equally useful things! It also has a lot of information for late starters and recreational dancers. It answers those embarrassing questions most people are too afraid to ask about! Plus they couldn't pick a better model! She has amazing technique.

By far the best ballet book I've ever seen. Lots of pictures, concise information, covers just about everything. Despite being by Minden, it's not a book that overly promotes the shoes. I'm a Grishko-wearer and was expecting a lot of tie-ins, but the book actually says different dancers may have different needs.

I highly recommend this book for young and older dancers alike.

I really like this book. I would recommend to any ballet lover. It has a lot of nice pictures and tips.

We give a copy of this book to all graduating seniors who intend to continue their dance career.

This book is a must have for anyone who loves the Ballet. There is a little something her for everyone, instructors, dancers, ballet enthusiast. It's a beautifully put together collection of photos, descriptions of ballet moves as well as descriptions of actual ballets. This is a wonderful book for research purposes and a beautiful addition to anyone's personal library. The history of dance is also included as well as other interesting bits and pieces of trivia.

Ms. Gaynor Minden's love for ballet comes across in this book. I highly recommend this title if you love ballet or know someone who does.

I wish that I had read this book before surgery #1 of #15 (before age 36), most of which caused complications.

Excellent reference book on the latest cosmetic surgery procedures for face and body. Does not include reconstructive procedures.

Beauty in the Balance is a wonderfully written book covering a wide range of topics in cosmetic surgery and treatment. Dr. Rosen and Dr. Ablaza reveal the many options available using every day language. The decision to select cosmetic surgery is often confusing and frustrating, this book tackles the many issues and answers the questions those considering surgery often have. This is a must read for anyone considering cosmetic surgery.

Karla L. Hall
National Organization of Vascular Anomalies
[....]

I was truly impressed with "Beauty in Balance". It gave me a clear understanding of the procedures and this in turn helped me to have realistic expectations. I would recommend this book for anyone contemplating cosmetic surgery.

I'm so impressed with this book. It contains clear-detailed information in a professional yet easy to undestand manner.

I love that I can just skim through this book & find the information that I need. It is really basic - clearly written with great examples. After being away from work for 8 years & being out of school for almost 20, it was a great refresher! Besides, Max proves that even geeks can have a sense of humor!

As a student finishing my B.S. in Computer Science, I very badly needed something to liven up my CPU architecture and discrete math classes, which were horribly boring.

This book not only did a GREAT job of clarifying the finer points of boolean logic, but somehow managed make it interesting. I would recommend this book to anyone trying to understand the nuts-and-bolts behind what makes your computer tick.

Maxfield's book is unique, both in format and in content. And I'm not just talking about the gumbo recipe at the end.

The first section, almost 150 pages, is "logic lite." It starts with transistors, both MOS and bipolar. From there it works its way up to simple latches and such, and scratches the surface of state machines, with side trips to boolean arithmetic and such. The breezy, informal style will work for people put off by more academic treatments, but the logic design content stops way short of what any other basic logic text would present.

The second, longer section covers material sorely missing from all other logic texts I know. It starts with the simpler parts of silicon fab process, then goes through all kinds of printed circuits and hybrid packages giving a fair tour of the basic printed curcuit (PC) processes that were current when the book was written (1995). It even goes into gutsy stuff like the copper patterns in PC processes that have to do with heat flow during soldering. All those real-world facts earned this book an extra star. The "far out technology" chapter at the end is an interesting read, too, with its discussions of nano, optical, and molecular computing.

The book's weaknesses are significant, though. It would work well with any of several companion texts that would cover what this misses. That includes more advanced logic techniques, like alternatives to gate-level implementation and all the fussy bits of state machines. A standard logic text (e.g. Katz) would fill in those blanks. Going in a different direction, it does only a little towards talking about how PC layout interacts with logic design. More about ground planes, guard rings, power decoupling, RF emissions, etc. would fit well with the detail presented here, espcially when you see how much time and effort it already spends on "vias" vs. "holes." The little bit of analog discussion from the front would help here - why inductive effects matter at high frequencies, why distributed capacitance is different from lumped, why you'd have a high-value and low-value capacitor in parallel, and why that ceramic cap near the power input has a saw cut in the edge. A third possible direction would be the way Wirth's book on circuit design for CS students went: into the higher levels of design, letting tools attend to the lower levels. The biggest flaw is in treating FPGAs as exotic, out-there technology - by 1995, they were well into the main stream, and have very nearly killed off discrete logic and ASICs in many areas.

If you just want a light-weight intro to logic design and to the physical circuits that carry it, this is OK. It could have been better in all directions and, at this 2005 writing, you should check it's sell-by date. I gave it the fourth star for addressing PCs and mounting at all, not for addressing them well.

//wiredweird

Considering this book deals with what I consider to be rocket science at best and black magic at worst I think it does a really good job of explaining things. I'm still working through it and it still makes my head hurt but I recommend this for anyone like me who wants to understand this stuff and has zero background to do so.

I grew up watching my neighbor, a mechanic, work on cars and it helped me pick up the basics. When I would try to take apart a transistor radio and figure out how it worked I was left with an assortment of colorful bits and no clues. This book is the remedy for my total ignorance of things electronic. Just how good it is I do not know due to my lack of knowledge in the field. I reccomend it to any interested beginners.