V Books

and if you learn to use it ( to transmit and enhance your own )YOU CAN HEAL ANYBODY !
What a magically scientifical book !

EL SISTEMA INMUNOLÓGICO SE REFUERZA Y HACE INMUNE A TUS SERES
QUERIDOS Y A TI MISMO !
¡NO ESPERES MÁS !

LO MEJOR PARA CURACION INSTANTANEA...
De inmediato se empieza a sentir el alivio cuando se inicia la transmision de LA ENERGIA

ATÍPICA
¡Te has puesto a pensar que no hay curacion para esa enfermedad, provocada por un NUEVO VIRUS ?
Sólo tu sistema inmunológico puede protegerte a ti y a tu familia...
PUES TE RECUERDO QUE, A TRAVES DE LA TRANSMISION DE LA ENERGIA, EL SISTEMA INMUNOLÓGICO SE REFUERZA Y HACE INMUNE A TUS SERES
QUERIDOS Y A TI MISMO !
¡NO ESPERES MÁS !

bvarios casos de gente muy enferma que "se cura " con la imposición de las manos, con la transmisión de energia...
Mi formacion de medico dice que es mentira...pero LO HE VISTO !

This is it. This is where the modern noir Daredevil take started with Frank Miller. A must have for any Daredevil fan or if you're a comics enthusiast that wants to see some of Frank Miller's best work. The book is huge though, it is the biggest book I've ever seen. Looks great in your bookcase but a tad uncomfortable to read through.

I see this is sold out on Amazon and people are trying to sell on Marketplace for $150+. There are still copies left on mycomicshop.com for $88.

Get this one and enjoy the ride! Reprints Miller's classic DD stories starting with issue 158. Miller's early Punisher rendition is still the best! The coloring and paper quality is excellent --- although this volume is somewhat pricey. In my opninion, Miller is one of the VERY few artists to capture the essence of Daredevil. If you're a Miller or DD diehard, this one is not to be missed.

Note: There are a few extra goodies in this volume: A Miler interview and storyboard layouts.

awesome collection of the frank millar daredevil run! great quality printing, pages feel great.

Before Sin City, before Dark Knight Returns, there was Frank Miller's Daredevil. In my opinion the best thing he ever did. He took a "B" rated super hero comic, that was being published bi-monthly, and turned it into one of the best selling monthly books of it's time. The ideas that Miller introduced in these stories are still resonating in the Marvel Universe today. He turned Daredevil into a super-bad ninja warrior. He made the Kingpin a major villain with unlimited underworld clout. He transformed Bullseye from a two-bit hood into the world's greatest assassin. And most noteably, he introduce Matt Murdock's ninja assassin love interest, Elektra.

These are some of my favorite comics of all time. The stories are a brilliant blend of super hero adventure and film style action and pacing. Not as light and upbeat as some of the books of the time, but not as dark and depressing as the "gritty" stuff Marvel is publishing these days. While I really liked some of the early adventures of DD by Stan Lee, Wally Wood, John Romita etc., for me Daredevil begins and ends with this legendary run. Nuff said.

I'm not gonna try to sell you on this book 'cause if you're looking at it you're already a Frank Miller fan. So... before I purchased this book I wanted to know what issues were contained therein! Above there are claimes this book contains DD issues #158 thru #191; this is only sort of true...

This most wonderful book ACTUALLY contains:

Daredevil #158 - 161 and #163 - 191 as well as the DD story from
What If...? #34!

Cool bonuses are: ALL of Franks DD trade paperback reprint covers, thumbnails and color guides for issue #190, a new introduction and an 1981 interview w/ Frank and Klaus,Frank's DD page from Fantastic Four Roast #1, AND Frank's intries from the Offcial Handbook of the Marvel Universe!

You know you want it True Beliver!

'Nuff said!

I agree whole heartedly with the other reviews here, and merely wish to second their opinions. I bought my copy in 1960 and would never part with it. I still have crystal clear images in my mind from courant's exposition of the 1-1 correspondence between points of the real line and infinite decimals, his comment that all absolute convergence tests result from comparing with a known convergent object - either the geometric series or an integral, and his preface emphasizing "the chief task" of one who would pursue the study of Science: acquiring a firm grasp of the application of general principles in particular cases.

I have studied and taught calculus, advanced calculus, real and complex analysis, Riemann surfaces, differential equations, and differential manifolds both real and complex, for over 40 years, but anyone who reads thoroughly these 2 volumes and masters them will know more calculus than I do.

I am a pure mathematician, and I believe these volumes are highly recommended not just to physicists and engineers, but to anyone who would master their subject. I also love the book of Spivak, but after teaching from them together one summer, and comparing proofs, I concluded that Spivak himself probably learned the subject from Courant.

I will not say, as is common in reviewers of books on calculus, that this is the best book of calculus that there is. Indeed, calculus is a subject with so many textbooks that it can be said that there is no best textbook, but that each person can find one that suits his/her needs.

Nonetheless, Courant's book is an old text, around 70 years old. It belongs to these classics of science that were influential and held its own as a source of common knowledge. Why?

I believe that the answer to this question is simple: Courant's book has the perfect balance between theory and applications. It does not use too much pedantry in its exposition, is full of examples (for the student to do and also some worked-out), ranging from simple to very difficult, and yet it proves everything that is important in a way that no mathematician can complain. Indeed, the authors leaves the most difficult demonstrations to appendixes that can be found in each chapter, so the reader that doesn't want to enter into the complications of the proofs can skip them. And the book is written in a conversational style, that much probably influenced the book that, in my humble opinion, is the best that can be found treating the subjects it treats (so I also have my favourite calculus text: Spivak's Calculus!).

There are two volumes, the first one dealing mainly with calculus of one variable and the second with multivariate and complex analysis. It contains the core of the mathematical theory useful for physicists and engineers and has this that is amazing: it develops the theory and always gives good physical examples. Indeed, a whole course of theoretical physics is contained in this book, almost hidden.

So, if someone is reading this review and is in doubt whether the book is good or not, I can say, with the experience of having read a long list of calculus texts, that the book is good and is worth-while. It is useful to the mathematician and to the engineer, to the philosopher and to the physicist, and serves extremely well both as a text book for class study, self-study and for reference. If you are worried that the treatment is dated, I can say that, although today the most common treatment of, say, multivariate calculus is through linear algebra, that leaves the subject much cleaner, Courant's work still is of value in that it explains everything in as simple way as possible, mantaining always ahead the objectives of each section. It is essentially a book of applications of analysis and if you read and work the examples, you will turn yourself into an expert both in theory and application and will be able to follow easily any work that has classical analysis as prerequisite.

Great classical book!

This work has an honored place on my bookshelf. A colleague
recommended it to me when I was in school and I bought a copy after
looking at it in the school's library. It sits next to my copy of
"The Feynman Lectures in Physics". These are works you go to for
insight. I like Courant's mixture of physical examples with the
mathematics.

After encountering Courant's book for the first time, I remember
wondering why the first volume wasn't used as the textbook for the
typical year and a half of basic calculus. Then, as now, I can only
conclude that teachers probably think it's not watered down enough for
the students. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise to come across
Courant after you've been taught calculus from an uninspiring "modern"
text.

Everyone's needs are different, so take all reviews with a grain of
salt. As a working scientist/engineer, my primary use of the calculus
is as a tool to get things done, so I'm typically more interested in
learning the mechanics than getting a deep understanding like a
mathematician would. Courant works for this, yet still allows one
to dig in deeper when desired. It's still an awfully good book, even
if it is 70 years old.

Courant knows the art of writing a good preface. He attacks "diffuseness" and "pedantry" and aims at "exhibiting the close connection between analysis and its applications" and "to give due credit to intuition as the source of mathematical truth". The book also has a tone that is unusual today: Courant speaks to us the way a dignified, open-hearted professor speaks to an intelligent student. No rambling pretensions; just to-the-point, good mathematics. This is the perfect solid-as-they-come, timeless book on the calculus, and most likely it will never be surpassed in this domain. One must be warned, however, that this is a very serious book and reader-friendliness has lower priority than technical coherence and brilliance of formal organisation. The likely reader will know calculus already and use Courant for masterful, concise exposition of standard topics as well as a wealth of topics that have been watered out of most current calculus curricula (e.g., evolutes, involutes, envelopes, curvature, geodesics, centres of mass, the gamma function, the catenary, the cycloid, the lemniscate, the brachistochrone problem, Kepler's laws, Maxwell's equations, the zeta function, etc.). Everybody knows that all the usual calculus books, "reform" or not, are pathetic. But what is even worse is that there are no good alternatives even if one is prepared to dig deep into the library shelves in hope of finding an author who has not sacrificed his intellectual dignity at the altar of royalties. Take for example Serge Lang's books "A First Course in Calculus" and "Short Calculus". Lang is of course the virtual definition of the mainstream of respectable mathematics. Nevertheless, these books are soaked with the common formalistic attitude. In fact, as if his books had not finished the job, Lang adds an appendix to both books called "Physics and Mathematics", which very explicitly drives a wedge between physics and intuition and mathematics. Courant is a good antidote to such modern nonsense.

This is the best calculus text for aspiring physicists as well as applied mathematics students. However, don't know why Amazon sent the book with different front cover to me. It's not the one shown in the picture but rather a black cover--exactly the one seen on barnesandnoble with the same isbn. Although the covers are different, the content is the same.

Never imagined i would get a chance to read the EC collections of Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, Shock Suspenstories etc, that too in good quality bound volumes in glorious color on art pages.All are real collector items. A good investment to treasure and re-read on lonely rainy nights. Boooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The current age of the comic book and graphic novel has seen so much classic work with technical and artistic virtuosity that could only have been dreamed of in 1950. What they had back then, and is so beautifully reflected in this reprint, was a deep desire to tell a story unlike anything that had been seen or read before. I won't spoil any of the material for you, but I must say the level and depth of social ills dealt with in these stories is far more unflinching than even the current crop of verite and dark side of life style of writers and artists provide. The art in some cases, as seen in the work of Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando and Jack Kamen, is precise and stripped down in order to serve one cause- the furtherance of the story being presented. This book has beautiful production values, a great paper stock, some interesting historical tidbits, letters pages, pristine restoration and enhancement of the originals. The title says it all folks, these truly do shock and also manage to drum up a bit of suspense at the same time. A must buy, as are all the EC Archives books now out. I remember these comics in the hands of my older cousins and neighbors, I even inherited shopping bags full of old EC books from them as they all entered High School, went to College or left for the miltary. Moldy and a bit raggedy in some cases, they were nonetheless fascinating. But these more mature themed works could not escape the all seeing eye of my Mom, and in a heartbeat they went out in the garbage. A shame, because the books, as you will see with all edtions in this series, are anything but garbage.

Whether inspired by the success of Marvel Comics Essential or DC's Showcase reprint editions, EC Comics have excelled with the first of their series of collected editions from their late 1950s archive. These volumes give the average comic collector (even with a full set of the 1990s reprint editions) and avid fan of B movies access to many hard to find and prohibitively expensive gems, reprinted larger than the original comic size in full glowing colour. Even the forewords presented by icons like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and John Carpenter (on Tales From The Crypt) show the significance of the stories that are contained within each volume, many of which giving inspiration to sci-Fi, mystery and horror tales in the intervening years.
I can heartily recommend these collected editions to lovers of nostalgia of every age.

I am 35 years old, jaded, hardly young at hearted believe first and foremost that most comics as is most sci-fi are for people who have never had a girlfriend or hit a home run. But I have always heard good legendary things about EC comics, things which might make them transcend genre.

So when this collection finally came out after a lifetime of waiting I plunked down my milk money like any other dime store dork.

I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I was. The stories, plots and picture book quality of the stories are simply too good, too rich, too detailed, too good for this world. It is no wonder they were stopped by the powers that be.

A tome of fun for future generations or the ULTIMATE coffee table book? Either way, I am going to collect them all. And look forward to the NEW issues being released this June of Tales From the Crypt.

Just as I started thinking about the old E.C. titles and how I'd like to get my hands on some of the reprints that came out in the 1980's, I found out they were getting reprinted in hardcover trades! I was young when I first started reading the E.C. books, picking up the single-issue reprints of whatever was available at the supermarket or drug store. All of those copies were thrown away as a punishment nearly 20 years ago, along with all the other comics I had. I started reading comics again in 2001, and lately I've been dying to read these old stories from the 1950's that I connected with so heavily, forty years after they had originally been collected.

I've picked up this title and Weird Science, so far, and they both deliver even more than I thought they would. The original art was used in the re-printings. The lines and shading of the reprinted art is just as crisp as it may have been in the 1950's, perhaps crisper. The lettering is also amazingly clean and it's a blast to read Al Feldstein's thoughts on how each artist had his own distinctive style of bubbling/boxing in the letters that matched his artistic style.

And the colors, well I can't say that I ever laid eyes on the original printings, but I would imagine that the re-colorings are at on par. Even if they are not, they are certainly more defined than in the reprinted issues from the 1980's. Those issues are what I have to go on, and the reprinting in the hardcover surpasses them in quality--I managed to find a couple of back issues of the "Tales From the Crypt" and "Vault of Horror" reprints so I am able to compare them. Plus, everything is printed on high-quality, glossy paper. It's really a great job. And the writing is, of course, unchanged. It's amazing how Feldstein had so many stories in his head, churning out four stories per issue plus one or two one-page short stories. They hit just as hard as ever, with the "preachies" standing out like lightening blasts. To have read these fiery anti-bigotry stories in 1952 must have been a shock, indeed. All the letters pages and E.C. ads are also faithfully included.

Only downsides? It sells for $50 in the comic shops. Personally, I think it is worth the price considering just how well these stories are reprinted and the fact that it just gets harder and harder to find any trace of the older reprints, including the old hardcover reprints. The price just puts the younger readers out of range, though, kids will have to rely on their parents to fork over the cash if they want to be shocked and in suspense. The other downside is that it seems the volumes are going to be coming out just as slowly as every other comic book company puts out their trades, and that Weird Fantasy (the stories I am most interested in!) isn't scheduled until lord only knows when. They are putting out just one new volume every two months! Maybe if they sell fast and well, the release schedule will be quickened....hint, hint...BUY THEM!

To further answer the questions from die-hard fans about how faithful the re-colorings are, here is a quote from Russ Cochran, in charge of the project, from an interview by Jim Patterson for "Tales of Wonder" (Google it):

"RC: I remember when I saw the Nostalgia Press book Horror Comics Of The '50s. I was very disappointed in the color. It was garish and so strong in some cases that it tended to obliterate the artwork. The original ECs were printed on the cheapest grade of paper which absorbed the colors and kept them from being too garish. When these same color separations were printed on a better quality paper, the color was too strong. This has been a problem in virtually all the Archives projects from DC and Marvel and I wanted the EC Archives to solve that problem, and I believe it has. First of all, the earliest EC Comics from 1950 were not colored by Marie Severin. They were colored by employees of Chemical Color Engraving and this coloring left a lot to be desired. Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein were very unhappy with the coloring from Chemical. Toward the end of the first year John Severin mentioned that his sister, Marie Severin, could do a better job of coloring all the ECs. She was hired and subsequently colored all the EC product. Every page in the EC Archives has been re-colored using modern computer technology to include fades and blends, modeling on faces and clothing, and other modern techniques to achieve a more pleasing color page. But in doing this Marie's original color schemes and style were followed."

Powerful is the word that comes to mind. The writing, the plot and the dialogue. The character of Carrie is as different from me as night and day and yet when she needed to be strong she totally came through for herself. I didn't agree with many of the choices she made yet by the end of the novel I was rooting for her like she was a best friend.

The husband is truly irredeemable and I am glad to say I have not in my lifetime been around anyone so domineering, condescending, insufferable and without self-awareness. In fact, his whole life revolved around him, he can't grasp why everyone around him wasn't focused at all times on his needs. Loathsome. The author does a terrific job of making him so real that you hope never to cross paths with him.

I absolutely adored Val. I could totally see why Carrie was drawn to her. I loved the way Val was written as so very strong and unique yet not without flaws.

This is a book that will stay with you forever.

I was quite disappointed in this book - it was the first fiction of its kind I have ever read and sadly it lived up to all the negative stereotypes. The husband character in the book is such a cardboard-cut out villian the lesbian lover is a virtual saint. However the author has a real talent for making sex scenes erotic. Definitely a book for flicking through ...

Katherine has done it again, with her usual finesse, she's brought characters to life with writing so clear and descriptive it was as if I had been scooped up by some force and surreally planted in the midst of the events of EMERGENCE. I am in awe! I only wish there were some sort of epilogue, to give me some sense of closure to Val and Carrie's relationship, and especially to the evil that befalls Paul (Carrie's ex-husband). No complaints; just wishes. Truly remarkable!!

I began reading Katherine V Forrest's mystery novels and I hate to admit... but I wasn't terribly impressed. Yet so many of my friends said she was one of their favorite authors. So I finally picked up "An Emergence of Green" and now she is also one of my favorite authors.
This is a wonderfully touching story of how the friendship between two women blossom into something more. I highly recommend this book to anyone, gay or straight.
It reads very fast, and I was on the edge of my seat through many chapters not wanting to wait to find out what happens next. The setting is a bit dated, but the story refreshing. You won't be disappointed

Alice Street Editions has released a new edition of this 1986 novel by author Katherine V. Forrest, originally published by Naiad Press. If you read this novel long ago, it is worth the purchase price just to read the foreword from the author and the afterword written by Victoria A. Brownworth. But the book is worth rereading for its own merits.
Set in 1984 in Los Angeles against the backdrop of the Olympics and the presidential campaign involving the first (and only) woman candidate for vice president, the novel is not dated at all by this, nor is it dated by its subject matter. It is as fresh and nuanced and topical as if it had been written today.
The point is made in the afterword that Ms. Forrest writes about lesbians for lesbians. In this novel, among the first in a new genre of lesbian fiction, Ms. Forrest carefully and skillfully presents the male character, the antagonist, as fully drawn and as sympathetically as one could, a man trapped by his upbringing and his past and the social mores of his time. One may not feel sympathy for him, given the inevitable and violent denouement, but we can certainly understand him.
In fact, a reader might even begin to feel less sympathy and more impatient with the main character Carolyn Blake than perhaps might be expected. She is a trophy wife, married at nineteen to a man ten years older who is already well established in his corporate career track. She sublimates her own education and career to his, leaving jobs to move with his transfers, seemingly accepting without question that her career is less important. A friendship with the woman next door, Val Hunter, a divorced artist with a son, allows Carolyn, and the reader, to begin to draw comparisons.
One of the most interesting things about this novel is how close we get to all three main characters. We see Val through Carolyn's admiring eyes and growing affection, and also through Paul's growing resentment and jealousy as he comes to understand she is his rival. We see Carolyn both through her husband's idealistic view as a possession of which he inordinately proud, and as Val comes to know her, a vibrant woman who has spent far too much time acquiescing to Paul's idea of the perfect wife. Carolyn struggles to continue to believe her husband's possessiveness is a product of his impoverished childhood, the early loss of his mother, and his love for her, which she believes is genuine. Val sees a grown man who is domineering and arrogant in his presumptive male superiority. She instinctively feels there is something infantile about Paul's need for Carolyn, and Carolyn herself often refers to her husband as a little boy. Once she thought of this as an endearing trait, but she begins to feel his need to have her with him as clinging, suffocating, and ultimately controlling.
The tug of war that ensues between husband and friend for the heart and mind of Carolyn Blake slowly escalates as the sexual tension and awareness between the two women increases.
For those who haven't read this book before, a few words of caution. The nature of sex itself is at the heart of this novel. There are no pulled punches here. Ms. Forrest is not shy about delineating the intimate sexual details of a marriage and, exquisitely, the sexual and very sensual relationship between the two women. Nor does she back away from the same attention to the excruciating unraveling of Paul Blake and his eventual recourse to violence as the familiar world he has created starts to crumble.
I once had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Forrest, and found myself peppered with questions about this book, then yet to be released by Alice Street. On the eve of the release of her thirteenth book, the eighth in the Kate Delafield detective series, she wanted to know about a book she had written almost twenty years ago, as nervous as a first time author. Perhaps recalling the critical reviews of many years ago, she asked whether the main character, Carolyn Blake, was too weak.
The answer then and now is an emphatic no. Many women may recognize themselves in Carolyn, guided by the accepted precepts of her time, who believed that in placing their husbands' lives and careers first, they were perhaps doing the hard work often assigned women, that of balancing the cementing of family and home against their own sometimes unspoken desires; to be a woman meant doing what had to be done, and then doing more, if one wanted to also have a career. It takes some time for Carolyn Blake to realize her own needs and to leave behind the conventions to which she adhered but in which she found no rewards for her loyalty, no comfort or room for herself.
The afterword properly places this novel, and Katherine V. Forrest's body of work, firmly in the history of a genre she helped to create, both as an author of great skill, and as senior editor at Naiad Press for ten years.

I just read the second volume in the Fake series and I'm just as thrilled by it as I was by the first volume. As I'm anxious about reading the third book in the series, this will only be a short review. ;)

In the first story Ryo and Dee are on holiday in England, but a mysterious series of murders threatens their well-deserved vacation. In the second story we learn about Dee's youth as an orphan. And the last story is again a short story with Bikky and Carol.

Again Dee tries to get cozy with Ryo and again succeedes only a little bit more. ;)

Book Description:
Our two favorite cops, Ryo and Dee finally get a long deserved vacation in a nice country setting. Ryo wants rest and relaxation and Dee is on the hunt for Ryo's heart. The plot takes a turn when it looks like one of our heroes is the next target in a chain of grisly murders. Ryo glimpses a side of Dee he did not know existed when Dee introduces him to his Mother. Can our heroes stop a land hungry corporation from destroying his childhood home with the current occupants in it? Add in the introduction of a new boss (Berkley Rose) with an agenda of his own and a old flame of Dees (JJ) and it all adds up to a fast paced fun fill read.
My Review:
This book is a must for yaoi lovers. What more can you ask for 2 cops; one with a heart of gold and the other with a heart of passion for his partner. The story line is full of plots each chapter ties in well with the next. As the pages turn, the storyline grows-a nice variety of supporting characters are added in the mix to spice things up. And a wonderful selection of antagonists and triangle love interests (new and old) pop up. All which cause the main boys woes and worries, misunderstanding abound which lead to those wonderful kissing scenes we all love. The art work is good and the imagery is detailed. Ryo's mixed personality of innocent vs. seriousness charms you right off and Dee's devilish side enthralls while the sideline commentary makes you giggle.

Other Great Series/Manga by Sanami Matoh
By the Sword
Tenryu: The Dragon Cycle
Until the Full Moon
RA-I
TRASH

For those who like this series I recommend checking out "Yellow" by Makoto Tateno

This is my all time favorite series - even though it's only Shonen Ai it is the greatest Manga Series out there. The art is great and the story is funny and sweet in a lot of places, especially when it reveals how much the two main characters care for one another. It focuses on Dee Laytner and his persistence to get into the pants of his new partner Ryo Maclean, your average uke not knowing what to make of Dee's advances and Dee isn't the only one after Ryo, their new boss Berkley Rose is and Dee has his own admirers including one hyperactive jealous JJ, who hates Ryo. This is a must have series for any Yaoi or Shonen Ai Fan!

The first time I read this manga was way back when in highschool when my Japanese language teacher gave us manga for us to practice reading with.It was actually in Japanese and it really got me hooked on Japanese manga, especially the Shounen Ai genre. It wasn't really smart for her to bring in some yaoi manga books, but hey, it was awesome. Though the translation really varies...and Tokyopop has a reputation for screwing up some mangas. All in all, the second book is awesome. There's mystery, action, adventure (...). The characters aren't that bad looking either. Sanami Matoh's art is awesome, though her child characters look mighty freaky with weird glass like eyes. There's a lot of humor and Sanami Matoh portrayed NY people perfectly! Although in the second book it goes on to the supernatural realm...ghosts and such, Matoh-san didn't overdo it. I strongly urge any Shounen Ai manga fans to buy this book. It's one of the most popular shounen Ai mangas out there.

Dear god, I love this series! It looks like Sanami Matoh refined her drawing style between the first and second books. A big improvement, if you ask me. The only thing I tend to not like about this volume is that it tended to get riciculous at times, but that's more than made up for by great kissing scenes. ;D

Just wait 'til volume 7... *snicker*

Thus far I liked this book best compared to the other volumes in the series, even though they're alle terrific. The first story is quite long, Dee and Ryo have to investigate the case of a bomber. After the bomber has planted a bomb in a house near Bikky's school and even one in the police station, where Ryo and Dee work, he plans to detonate one in the school itself. When Dee tries to prevent the detonation, he finds his own life in grave danger.

The second story is one with Bikky and Carol. Bikky wants to buy Carol a gift for her birthday and works overtime to get together enough money for it. And the third story with Dee and Ryo in which Dee get's ill and Ryo cares for him.

If you love the series, you'll love this book. The story flows right along, and in this volume you'll love the "explosive" scene right before the middle. Can you say "KAAABOOOOOOOM!!!" But it get's touching right after that, Ryo-style. *tear* But JJ sure is a character that'll lift the mood right back up... and cause it to errupt in humor of course!!! Now before I ruin it, Later. Oh and pick up the book, you'll love it. ^_^

I kinda stumble onto this series, and man, I fell in love with it! I used to stay away from so-called "boys love" (yes, that's how it's called in Japan) stuff because many times those Japanese men were depicted in such a feminine way. But this series is totally refreshing for they are just "regular" men who are in love with another "regular" men, know what I mean? This is the Must Own series, not to just read at bookstore and leave 'em there. And, just because I am fluent in Japanese, I ordered the original version of the series and am to pick 'em up when I get to Japan, hehehe. I can't wait to read their original dialogues. I wish they make more videos/DVD's based on the stories, not only one :( But, take it! There are some CD's out, too, yay!

This is my all time favorite series - even though it's only Shonen Ai it is the greatest Manga Series out there. The art is great and the story is funny and sweet in a lot of places, especially when it reveals how much the two main characters care for one another. It focuses on Dee Laytner and his persistence to get into the pants of his new partner Ryo Maclean, your average uke not knowing what to make of Dee's advances and Dee isn't the only one after Ryo, their new boss Berkley Rose is and Dee has his own admirers including one hyperactive jealous JJ, who hates Ryo. This is a must have series for any Yaoi or Shonen Ai Fan!

Yes, that's right, genius work! A lot of people would completely disagree with me on this series (specifically friends) but I completely adore it. FAKE is freaking awesome and the fourth book is so cool. It's very touching and sweet and wow, there's a plot, how amazing is that? The action is absolutely amazing and I completely love how Matoh depicts New York city life, although she's way off on the kinds of people who live here and how the buildings look and such, but she completely gets the perfect NY attitude. The fourth book deals with a mad bomber destroying Dee and Ryo's precinct...and the rest, you'll have to find out for yourselves. I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone if I could, but I suggest whoever reads it not be offended by boy on boy relationships or cursing. There's a lot of both. There's an OT rating on the book so that means there are certain scenes not suitable for anyone under the age of 16.

Does that make me an addict? These books are wonderful and always put a smile on my face. They are definitely laugh out loud material.
This is the book where Tohru meets Akito, who at first appears to be nice, but is actually very controlling, in my opinion. He tried to brainwash Yuki! wtf??

Having introduced us to the rabbit, dragon (seahorse), rat, cat, dog, boar and cow of the zodiac, it's time to meet a few new people.

Specifically, it's time to meet the sinister head of the family, and the heretofore unknown snake of the zodiac. And while the fourth volume of "Fruits Basket" is extremely funny and kooky, Natsuki Takaya introduces us to some of the darker, more tragic dimensions of her characters.

Momiji and Haru have just entered high school with Tohru, Kyo and Yuki. The class president makes trouble for a gender-bending Momiji -- and almost gets throttled by "black" Haru -- but otherwise things are going well. Then Akito suddenly shows up, and while he initially seems friendly to Tohru ("You really are cute!"), his cruel streak is revealed when he sees Yuki.

Later on, Yuki and Tohru are gardening when a snake slithers into Tohru's clothes -- and it turns out to be Ayame, Yuki's flamboyant, flirtatious older brother. Problem is, Yuki can't stand the sight of him, and the more Ayame talks about himself the worse the rift between them grows.

When the anniversary of Tohru's mother's death rolls around, the Sohmas become involved in the lighthearted ritual at her graveside -- even having a raucous meal on it. But Hana hints at a dark connection between Tohru's mother and Kyo. And when Tohru is hanging out with Momiji, she finds out the saddening story about his own mother, and why she doesn't remember her own son.

The fourth volume of "Fruits Basket" is when Natsuki Takaya really starts balancing out her comedy with angst, rather than more straightforward romantic comedy. She doesn't lay on the dark stuff too heavily just yet -- a scene here, a line there -- but you can tell that things are getting less fluffy.

Most of it is still very fun and light -- Haru showing the class president that the, um, carpet matches the drapes, as well as generally abusing him ("That's incredible! Say something, GOD!"), the grave visit, Yuki's woes with new girls, and virtually any scene with Ayame. The flashbacks to Ayame and Shigure's teen years are especially funny ("Now please, lust after me!").

But Takaya shows her darker dimensions, hinting at Yuki's abusive past, and Kyo's possible involvement in Kyoko Honda's death. These are no more than glimpses, but her elegant artwork makes them chilling. And she ups the tragedy exponentially with Momiji's backstory. Despite his chirpy, sunny personality, we find out that he has a story even sadder than Tohru's. Good luck not crying during that chapter.

This volume also introduces us to Akito (well, up close) and Ayame, and Akito is about as nasty and creepy as you'd expect. But Ayame steals whatever scenes he's in -- flamboyant, flirtatious, socially inept, an astounding liar, and very arrogant ("Direct your passions at me!"). But we do get to see his more sedate side, and his real (though confused) desire to bond with his younger brother.

The fourth volume of "Fruits Basket" delves into darker territory without losing its comic edge, and introduces us to two important characters. And it only promises to get better.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

it was wonderful sweet and momiji was positive cute.loved all the carters. got to read more. the best there is

I purchased this book and two others in the series for my 12 year-old daughter after she received the first volume as a Christmas present. She absolutely loves them all.

I own this series in Japanese, and it is a wonderful read! It has all the important elements of a good shoujo manga: it is romantic, twisted, with a shoujo (in the traditional meaning of the word) involved in finding a new family and love triangles galore. It is just a very fun read, no matter the language!

I love Fruits Basket. It is really awesome, and I love Yuki! Anyway, I have something to say to Mew Pretear. If you had the smallest inkling about Fruits Basket you would know that its nickname is Furuba. Guess what? It was made up by the creator. She says so in either book one or two. So I suggest that you actually think before you try contradicting a fact.

I though this book was very good in this one it starts out with them at the summmer home place that Shigure brings Toharu, Yuki,and Kyo and since no of them can drive Hatori drives them there. When they get back they later find another member of the Zodiac, this time it's Kisa the one cursed by the tiger.
Trough out the book there was a lot of funny parts...but I was reading this in school so every time I can to a funny part I had to restrain my self from giggling in the middle of class(do you know how weird that would seem...). But I thought it was an Awsome book I rate it 2 thumbs up err... I mean 5 stars ^.^' .

I don't know why, but I love this volume! I think because it has so much of Hatori in it- actually so much of all the Mabudachi trio! They're most definitely my favorite characters- especially Shigure and Hatori (Ayame's growing on me...)
Anyway, the Sohma's lakehouse is beautiful! (I always wonder what they did to get so fantastically wealthy...) There are some very adorable Tohru Yuki Kyo moments. We meet Kisa, the tiger. (Who's about as un-tiger-like as it is possible to be...) Kisa's adorable, and Hatsuharu makes a wonderful big brother to her. (Proving that you don't have to be Tohru to be nurturing and loving...)

Shigure decides to go to the Sohma family lake house for a much needed vacation, and to torment his editor. He invites Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo.. And persuades Hatari to come along as well (because he's the only one with a drivers liscence. This episode deals largely with Yuki and Kyo's changing relationship, and how Tohru deals with. At the Lake house Ayami Sohma shows up out of the blue. The rift between him and his younger brother, Yuki, is tested once again. He also reveals to Hatari that his former fiancee, Kana, has gotten married.

While out on a walk together Yuki and Tohru encounter Hatsuharu Soma carrying a small tiger. This turns out to be another member of the Sohma family, Kisa, also a member of the Chinese zodiac. When Kisa's mother comes to retrieve her it is obvious that she needs a much needed reprieve from her daughter's curse, so Shigure allows Kisa to stay with them for a few days. Kisa soon bonds with Tohru.

Kisa's mute behaviour causes some concern for the Sohma family, and for Tohru as well. Momitchi Sohma reveals the root of Kisa's silence and a letter from Kisa's instructor proves to be too much for Yuki. Then Hanajima suddenly invites the Prince Yuki fan club to her home after they ask to write a newspaper column about Denpa waves. President of the fan club, Motoko Minagawa has ulterior motives, and Hanajima doubts it not. Hanajima's little brother and his ability to curse people is awaiting for them at the house.

Much to Tohru's shame and dismay she fails one of her mid term exams and has to attend a make up test day. Under this stress her body becomes susceptible to a cold and the Sohma family becomes concerned that she is pushing herself too hard and force her to spend her illness in bed convalescing. Kyo proves to be an apt nurse when he makes her a cure all he loathes, and listens to Tohru reveal her anxieties about graduating high school and why it is so important to her.

Again...I am hopelessly addicted. I'm going to stop telling people to read this anymore. If you have read all of my other reviews of the manga so far, you already know how much I love it. Go read it for yourself. It's wonderful.

Excellent topic coverage by what I consider to be the best mind in the field today!

One of the best written textbooks I have ever read, in any field. Crystal clear, and is a gold mine of knowledge.

This text is very good for those who start doing research in statistical signal processing. A lot of explanations, technical terms are well presented and consistent, plus a number of examples that help you to learn about different statistical signal processing concepts and algorithms. Research students can be beneficial alot from this text.

Without any hesitation, I consider this book as a masterpiece in the area of statistical signal processing. Kay takes the reader to the journey of estimation theory as if a science teacher takes his students to a field trip. The one special feature of this book is the convergence of thought that reader obtains upon reading the book. Kay lays a fundamental bridge between various estimators using his succinct style for describing the subject.

Few special areas require more attention in this book. For example the coverage of EM methods is very condense and requires more elaboration. Also there is no discussion on the estimation methods using higher order statistics.

Overall I consider this book as the best book I have read ever and I highly recommend this book to those who want to obtain an ever-lasting view on statistical signal processing.

I've had tough courses on statistical signal processing as a post-grade student. I am often confused in front of a problem and turning back to the notes taken in class doesn't help much.
When you read this book all gets bright. I am still wondering how some teachers can be so confusing while such good books do exist...
However don't count on it for in depth mathematical demonstrations, it starts with a practical problem and explains how to model things. Thus it is a bit bottom-up but anyway starting from a good graduate level in signal and stats.
I got this one at the library but already ordered a copy for myself and am planning to get part2 on detection.