Realism Books

This book is one of the most enjoyable novels I've ever read. Having read all her other works, I believe this is Francesca Lia Block at her best . Following multiple story lines, It can get confusing at times, but in the end it all comes brilliantly together. I've read this book seven times and I never get tired of it. It has something for everyone, including love and loss, fantasy and reality, humor and drama. You also might want to check out "Ecstasia", which is my second favorite book by her. I'm a very avid reader, and to this day I've never found an author as brilliant and diverse as Block.

i am a big fan of block, and, weetzie bat was my favorite book of hers...until i read echo :]

I have only read this and "I was a teenage fairy," by FLB. I think this book was better! I found a couple of parts confusing but otherwise the mixture of the fairy-tale, vampires and realism (as in her other books) is amazing.

This is another book listed under Juvenile Fiction at the library, but too adult to count as such in my mind. However, the writing is beautiful. Echo is simply lovely, and I fell in love with her from the start. I love the descriptions of painting and music in this wee little novel. I loved how she kept turning from person to person when the right man was waiting for the right time, and she just did not understand. I love how she began to come into her own power as she accepted herself instead of striving so hard to be her mother or her father. It was magical in the best ways. Complete poetry. This may have been my fave, aside from Necklace of Kisses. If you want to read some Block, try this one.

For anyone who's ever read Francesca Lia Block before, you'll know what to expect here. Riddled with teenage angst, fairytale settings and dense, poetic language, "Echo" provides another glimpse into the mind of tortured, restless adolescence. As always, Block's novel stands outside any particular genre; is it fantasy or drama? Poetry or prose? Magic realism or something else entirely? As always, her trademark style is the use of her intoxicating language, which again defies description, but is best compared to fantasist Patricia McKillip. Like McKillip, reading Block for the first time is always a little confusing, for the language is layered so thickly over narrative and character that it's difficult to keep track of what's happening and who it's happening to.

This is especially true in the case of "Echo", as the story is not just about this young woman attempting to find her place in the world, but concerns the myriad of friends, lovers, parents and predators that full her life, who are all given their own intertwining stories. For some, her techniques may come across as weak and pretentious. I don't consider myself qualified enough as a critic to make any assessment on the skill of the writing; such things all come down to a manner of taste, and I can only attest that I like it!

Echo is a young woman born to a stunningly beautiful woman and an artist who only has eyes for her. Feeling suffocated by her angelic mother, Echo goes in search of vindication elsewhere, finding temporary fulfilment in the arms of a string of lovers, drugs and alcohol, dead-end jobs and painful beauty regimes - all the time searching for something to give her purpose and meaning. On the way she meets a range of characters; her lover Smoke who sacrificed everything to save the life of his daughter Eden, the vampiric Nina and Mark who set their sights on Echo, and of course her own parents who must deal with their failing battle against cancer.

Alongside fantasy elements such as angels, vampires and fairies are serious issues such as drugs, sex, prostitution and anorexia, all of which are intertwined into a twisted, fairytale version of Los Angeles that Block paints as both a paradise and a hellish dungeon. Continuously haunted by the memories of the angel who saved her from the ocean, Echo finally must find completion in the discovery of her true self and in making peace with her inner demons.

A risk here is of the story being all style and no substance, made especially confusing by having to keep track of Block's secondary characters and the changing points of view. When it comes to a writer as unique as Block, this all comes down to personal taste and whether her writing style appeals to you personally. If analysed carefully, it is true that there is very little meat to the story; as always Block is more interested in personal development and word-play. However, I do feel that this is not Block's best work, for several reasons.

As mentioned, there are too many characters vying for the spotlight and as such cannot make an impact on the reader due to the short amount of time each is given. With this in mind, the amount of time in which the story takes place is also rather muddled; Eden goes from an infant to a teenager within the space of a few paragraphs, though none of the other characters seem to age or change in any significant way during this time passage. Finally, Echo herself is a rather frustrating heroine. There is nothing truly tragic about her life (though she has enough presence of mind to admit this to herself), and so her self-abuse comes across as rather self-pitying. Her long line of failed romances gets tedious after awhile - by the time we get to Valentine, I'd had enough. Finally, I also felt it was a little strange that Echo's journey of self-discovery ends with her falling into the arms of yet another boy; wouldn't it been more true to the novel's purpose to have Echo simply be happy with herself?

And yet for all of this, the first thing I did once I'd finished the book was turn to the start and read it all again. Despite its flaws, there is something undeniably attractive about Block's books. Try one and see for yourself.

And like the title, it will take you on a long and strange (for Western eyes) journey. I liked the humanity and the constant failings of the characters and how Okri is able to project the same kind of social problems and issues found in any community into his fictional village. That the place is small doesn't mean that the stakes are. How he brings politics, status-seeking, public bombast, family issues and the recurring unlearned lessons of society into his story is reminiscent of Naipaul (as has been repeatedly pointed out). But unlike Naipaul who reveals the story with dialogue and detail, Okri's intermingling of the physical world with the world of local folklore and spirituality, as if it were an entire second half of a person's constant existence, gives the novel an added dimension. It also allows the author to give you perspectives into the people and the region that would normally get relegated to subtext. Often, that spiritual realm becomes more real than the African village they all call home.

I really enjoyed the novel, but it was long and it was winding. I did feel at the end that I knew the people and I knew the place, and I didn't mind at all that Okri asked me to check my beliefs of what is reality and what is spirituality at the front cover to get me to that destination.

Now, if someone could recommend a place where I could get a good pepper-soup and cup of palm wine...

I read this book 5 years ago, yet it stays with me. I think of many of the characters regularly. Of the family relationships. Of the magic of childhood and Africa and parenthood. It's mystical and my very favoirite of the magical realism genre.

in my humble opinion.

I was truly surprised to see that others had a rough time reading this book. Although my grasp of West African mythology is only as strong as my relationship with Vodou, I found this book entrancing.

Despite the fact that my degree is in literature, I do not often meet books that pull me in and through the way this one did. I found myself completely wrapped in the story & followed with my full attention.

It would sound trite to say that this book changed my life for the better, yet it would also be true.

I came across Okri's 'The Famished Road' in a used bookstore, in Sydney. I decided to do what I used to when I was a kid, and had no knowledge of literary genres or authors- I picked books at random until I found one that looked interesting.
I know a book is good when it completely removes me from reality, pulls me in as if I'm watching inside the book, and alters my perspective when I set it down. When the father becomes a boxer in this novel, I found myself hunched over, practically yelling as if I was in the crowd.
This is a wonderful book, that leaves questions suspended in the air above you long after you set it down. Do yourself a favor, and buy it.

A beautiful story. An African version of Magical Realism but still quite different.

100 years of solitude is an extremely well-written novel. The town of Macondo is personified through the Buendia family. It was the Buendias who founded the town and their lineage that is followed in the story. The town (like the Buendia family) is a desolate and solitary place that rapidly matures until it is destroyed. From the founding of the town, to the installment of the banana company, to the town's destruction, Macondo is destined to remain in solitude. Like the Buendias, the town never really reaches its full potential. Although the novel is extremely graphic and somewhat depressing at parts, from a literary point of view, 100 years of solitude is a fantastic novel.

I checked this book out of the library after reading rave review after rave review.

I wanted to like it, I really did, but I honestly cannot understand all the high marks. To me the book reads as if it were written by a 6th-grader. Characterization and storyline aside, the language itself is what turned me off. It seemed stilted, contrived, lacking in fluidity, and devoid of any real color; an amateurish effort at best.

Perhaps this reads better in its native tongue, but the translation I read was atrocious. I promptly returned it to the library, shooting it soundly down the return bin with a force that it so richly deserved.

And fascinating illusions don't let me go. I loved the book to the bone, to the heart of this exotic village and its psycho people. I was mesmerized by the literature and captured by this uniquely masterpiece of fiction and fact, mixed in a bowl of madness.

For those of you who have read Marquez before this book will not dissapoint you, in fact I think its one of Marquez best.
For those of you who havent, this is a great way to start.
This is the story of the Buendia family and how things happen through the years. It is full of memorable passages that will make you think that what happens to the family and the town can be related to different passages in world history.
Dont worry if after the first couple of pages you are confused by the many names and vatriations of each. The characters and their story are so unique that the similarity in names will have little importance.
I think Marquez tells a good and enjoyable story that can be enjoyed by everyone at anytime and you will find that after the first few pages it will be hard to put it down.
Granted that I read this book in Spanish so I think it might feel a little different reading it in English and maybe some events will seem strange if you are not familiarized with the way families behave in Latin countries.
Totally worth it though.

I'm one of those who found One Hundred Years of Solitude fascinating and enjoyable. The style definitely made it for me; Marquez's prose is misty and mythic in a beautifully descriptive way. I never lost interest in the story. It's told in an unusual manner, more like an oral history or legend than a written work. After reading it, I could see why Marquez is called the "South American Faulkner"; the style in One Hundred Years of Solitude can only be compared to a book like The Sound and the Fury. I have called it misty, but it's deeper than that. The haze over Macondo is analogous to the haze of memory itself. I was thoroughly satisfied and amazed by the book. For me to attempt further description of its marvelous intricacies would be to rob you of the full joy of reading it.

I was disappointed, though, when I sampled some of Marquez's other works. In Evil Hour failed to hold my attention at all, and the only novel that has even come close was Love in the Time of Cholera. Marquez was a good author and journalist, but he didn't have the consistency to maintain the style he achieved in One Hundred Years of Solitude. I would wholeheartedly recommend OHYoS to anyone interested in this book or this author, but I would simultaneously warn him or her not to expect to find another book like it. Perhaps it's best that way.

I know this book is supposedly a classic, and all that, but I didn't get it.
I was looking forward to reading this book, and started it..follows a dentist practicing in San Francisco.. I didn't relate to the characters, didn't like the story, nothing about it hooked me.. Maybe if I had been alive in 1899, I would have loved it!

The novel starts out almost almost farce-like with the bumbling oaf of a dentist McTeague, his clever, good-natured friend Marcus, and the sweet, innocent Trina caught in a seemingly benign love triangle. But it quickly turns into a dark story of greed, lust, and trickery which is both comical and engrossing in its absurdities, while at the same time horrific in the undeniably truths it reveals about human nature.

Though I love novels that are thoroughly crafted so that themes and recurring symbols are not terribly difficult to dissect, I felt Norris to be a little too blunt and overt in what he wanted to be taken from events. Each character represents only one or two exaggerated qualities, which makes for an intense and profound plot, but not a terribly finessed one. In effect, the novel does not show what it is like to be a complex, everyday human, but rather what would happen if humans allowed themselves to be governed by their animal instincts, which reminds us just how much of that animal lurks within our everyday selves.

I read McTeague for a class, and the professor premised it by saying that it had "the greatest ending of any story, in any language, in the history of the world." I'm not entirely sure to what extent I believe that, but it's definitely an end worth getting to.

This is a profoundly naturalistic novel, fixed on the dark side of the human species, his vices like jealousy, avarice and greed. `(Alcohol) roused the man, or rather the brute in the man, and now not only roused it, but goaded it to evil.'
Its philosophy is determinism: people follow their desires `blindly, recklessly, furious and raging at every obstacle' in `the changeless order of things'.
This determinism of no escape is perfectly illustrated in the last image: `As McTeague rose to his feet, he felt a pull at his right wrist. Looking down, he saw that Marcus in that last struggle had found the strength to handcuff their wrists together.'
The picture is sometimes overdone, a caricature: `The hideous yelling of a hurt beast, the squealing of a wounded elephant.'

And ultimately, the novel is less impressive than `The Pit' or `The Octopus', because it lacks a framework. People are acting as in a void. The novel is a pure illustration of characters. There is no social conditioning; e.g., the fact that a new legislation is introduced to regulate the profession of dentist is mainly used as a vengeance, out of jealousy.

But, all in all, it is (still) a courageous book and a very worth-while read.

I agree with the reviewers below. This is a superb read that with stay with you for a long time. I read it on my own as an adult but agree it should be part of a classic literature curriculum.

I purchased this book because my daughter was reading it in college. I was not familiar with either the title or the author, but a quick web search allowed me to rectify that shortcoming quickly. It is a gut wrenching view into the early city life of San Francisco. Marriage, money, and ignorance are the main charaters presented through names that soon become the face of the story.

Norris, the realist, doesn't waste time on the way the world could be, and he doesn't even speculate on the way things are; he rather cuts to the reality of the time and, like a snapshot, gives us that which an observant eye would see if present. The violent ignorance manifested by the characters stuns, and I was amazed and intrigued by the actions of individuals I had become close to through the events of the story.

Be forewarned, those sensitive to sterotypical descriptions of race will be shocked, and those without patience for the actions of brutally ignorant settlers will be sickened. Nevertheless, for a picture of the probable behavior of the settlers of the west, this is a fine read.

This is the first book I have ever read by Alice Hoffman and it will not be the last. I am on my way to my local library today. I LOVED this book.
I actually cried while reading through parts of the stories. She has so
much emotion in her writing.This book is a MUST read.

I have read all of Alice Hoffman's books and absolutely love her style. She seems to have a deep connection with the spiritual and is able to bring it off the page and into your heart. I found this book gripping and often hard to put down, however, it was a bit confusing with it going backwards. I think I would have appreciated it more if it was written in reverse order. I did love the explanation of the Angel of Life and the Angel of Death along with the "Third Angel" that walks among us. I found the three different (yet the same) story lines to be interesting and captivating. Ms. Hoffman was able to show us the humanity of the doctor in both the positive and negative. All in all I really enjoyed the book but I gave it three stars because I found the backward style confusing for me. It appears that most others did not, so perhaps it's just me.

I was very dissappointed in this book. The plot is a cliche that reminds me of Maeve Binchey's novels. I like Binchey's books put the are in a genre that Hoffman should not compete with. Her previous books were whimsical in ways that were literaly and not soap opera.

Barbara Covell

Sometimes I think the whole concept of language and storytelling have spent centuries waiting around for Ann Hoffman to come along and use them. She is certainly one of the best wordsmiths the English Language has ever produced, one of the best storytellers too and she's at the top of her game with this one.

The Third Angel is three novellas which work backward in time, telling the story about interconnecting characters and a ghost. What happened back in 1952 affects what happens in 1966 and 1999. We get the last story first and the first story last.

The story opens with American Attorney Maddie Heller arriving at the Lion Park Hotel in London. Her sister Allie is getting married and her husband to be Paul who is ill. However, that doesn't stop Maddie from sleeping with him. Maddie is the bad sister. Children's author Allie is the good. The ghost in room 707, well he's just the ghost. In Maddie's defense, if there can be any defense for a woman who sleeps with her sister's intended, is that she's in love him. It's tragic for Maddie, what she has done can ruin her sister's life. Will it?

Maddie's story finished we move back to 1966 and Ms. Hoffman captures the time beautifully. She captures the story of Paul's mother Frieda beautifully as well. Frieda is an over educated maid in the Lion Park Hotel and she's besotted with a wannabe Jim Morrison type and she has his child and names him Paul, who will eventually grow up, get sick and marry Maddie's sister Alley. Again Ms. Hoffman has given us characters so true that they'll be in your head long after your reading of this book is done. She's done the ghost justice too.

Frieda's story finished, we move still backward in time to 1952 and join twelve-year-old Lucy, who will later in life give birth to Allie and Maddie. Her father and stepmother bring her across the ocean to London as they are going to the wedding of stepmom's sister Bryn who still has a thing for her ex-husband Michael, who is not the guy she's supposed to be marrying. Lucy carries messages back and forth between Michael and Bryn and it's because, whoops, better stop right here, but needless to say the ghost might not be a ghost yet. You'll have to get this book to find out more, but it'll be a good investment.

Ann Hoffman's characters, her ghost, her three angels, the rabbet who lives in the hotel and the city of London all invite you to crack open the pages of the best book you'll read this year.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

This latest offering by Ms. Hoffman is a generational piece whose roots are in the 1950s. The backdrop for most of the story is the Lion Park hotel in London, a second-rate hotel that is haunted.

Our first encounter with sisters Maddie and Allie uncovers a betrayal by the younger sister who lives a care-free existence based on the fact that she believes that she was an unloved child. Allie, the older sister, has pretty much done what was expected of her because she has always been the caretaker; first when her mother had cancer and later when her fiance suffers from the same disease. She realizes only too late that she truly loves her fiance and moves swiftly to makes things right only to lose him too.

Freida, the fiance's mother, takes up the middle of the book. Her story is set in the 1960s and brought back for this reader 'the look' that was so popular then in London: overly made-up eyes, short mini-skirts, high boots, swingy music, free love, etc. Hoping to escape from the dreariness of a rural youth she makes her way to the Lion Park hotel where she works as a maid. Soon, though, she becomes the muse for a rock-star wanna-be who is hooked on drugs and has a very Paris Hilton-like girlfriend. In the end, Freida puts all of the very trendy and drug-filled life behind her and returns to her rural home where she marries the boyfriend who had gone on to college. She goes on to nursing school herself and lives a very fulfilling life in spite of the ghostly happenings that populated her time working at the Lion Park.

The thread that sews it all together is Lucy Green. Lucy is the mother of the two young women we first met at the outset of the story. Inadvertently she is the one who caused the problems that have brought about the haunting of the Lion Park's seventh floor. Having witnessed the deaths of the people involved she withdraws to a secret place inside herself just as she did when her own mother passed away. It takes love in all its simple complexities to bring Lucy into her own once more.

This book is a very easy read despite the complexities of the characters we meet. I read it in two sittings and would have accomplished it in one had I not fallen asleep at nearly two in the morning.

I give this story four stars simply because I've enjoyed some of Ms. Hoffman's other offerings more.

Note: you're bound to fall in love with Millie.

Recommended: Practical Magic, The Probable Future

I read this book my first year of college in Serbian language (Pavic's native language)and I was amazed. I re-read it several times and every time it supprised me again. Some details from the book, like the location of the certain grave near Sarajevo, do exist. Several of my friends confirmed it. The way Pavic and his wife write all of their books is very interesting. Sometimes one can not separate facts from the fiction.

I think that anyone with the open mind should read this, even people that do not fancy fiction. Honestly, it is Milorad's best book, and I read them all.

This is truly one of the best books ever about eastern European history. It has a unique style. It's postmodern book and it can be best described as hyperlinked dictionary or encyclopedia. You should read it as a dictionary (you will find reading guide at the beginning) Most of the book is not actually about Khasars but about history and interconnected stories of different nations from Eastern Europe. It is anti nationalism and against all evils that come from religious wars. It's unique style will be problem for some people and it also require some history background. However everyone should read it.

A pleasant effort to read: a masterpiece of magickal literature

Milorad Pavic, born 1929 in Belgrade, is a noted Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and historian of literature. "Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel" is his first novel, published in 1988. Originally written in Serbian, the novel has been translated into many languages, including English.

The novel is in the form of three small encyclopedic dictionaries, each compiled from either Christian, Jewish or Moslem sources. The three sections (Christian, Moslem and Jewish) are separated, yet intermingled due to cross references (many of them contradictory). They are color-coded, yet this only provides one aspect of categorization. Each section is set up like an encyclopedia in its own right, with the unifying figure of Princess Ateh "presiding" throughout the book.

Owing to its lexicon format, the novel may be read in any number of ways, rather than simply front to back. Pavic intentionally challenges his readers to shun passivity in reading and become active participants in the novel as they themselves compose the story from often conflicting fragments.

As the author writes (in his introduction to the English translation):

"No chronology will be observed here, nor is one necessary. Hence each reader will put together the book for himself, as in a game of dominoes or cards, and, as with a mirror, he will get out of this dictionary as much as he puts into it, for you...cannot get more out of the truth than what you put into it."

Dictionary of the Khazars ("DOTK") offers a prime example of what is known as ergodic literature (the term is derived from the Greek 'ergon,' meaning "work", and 'hodos,' "path") a literature that requires a "non-trivial effort" to traverse the text. This effort must consist of more than simply reading by moving one's eyes along lines of text, turning pages and mentally interpreting what one reads.

The book comes in two different editions, one "Male" and one "Female", which differ only in seventeen lines of one critical paragraph.

As might be expected, there is no obvious plot in the usual sense, but the book's central theme (the "Khazar Polemic," i.e., the mass religious conversion of the Khazar people) is based on an actual historical event generally dated to the turn of the 8th and 9th centuries. Although DOTK asserts that both the indigenous faith of the Khazars and which of the three Abrahamic faiths they converted to remain unknown, it is certain that the Khazar royalty and nobility converted to Judaism along with a portion of the general population. Pavic, however, is not concerned about the historicity of his depiction of the Khazars, but in the events and processes that led to a melding of cultures of the Balkans, the states of Man and God and their relationships to each other, and in formulating the prospect of peculiar, surreal connections that an informed reader can potentially make between multiple books.

Pavic often veers into his own style of playful fantasy: most (but not all) of the characters and events described in the novel are entirely fictional, as is much of the culture ascribed to the Khazars in the book, which bears little resemblance to any literary or archeological evidence. One critic has called DOTK "a sort of metafictional false document," as the people and events in the novel are presented as factual. Some observers have suggested the novel symbolically addresses the dissolution of Yugoslavia, which at the time DOTK was written had yet to happen, but is nonetheless a distinct possibility.

This book, lacking a plot, is without any single or simple way to read it. I have re-read it several times, and on each reading the experience is a different one. Like skimming through a dictionary or encyclopedia, this book beckons you to read its parts in no particular order or in any order you choose.

"DOTK" is sure to intrigue any sagacious reader; and while the whimsical nature of the book may seem superficial at first, the reader is inexorably drawn deeper into the mystery of "What is this all about?"

Reading "DOTK" opens the door to a magickal world, one well worth visiting and re-visiting. I strongly recommend the book to readers whose tastes are consonant with its themes.

I am a fan of both Borges and Calvino, yet I cannot find a reason to attach either of their names to this surprisingly bad piece of work. This book is a compilation of one inane story after another, progressively getting less interesting no matter where you begin. It tells three stories of the Khazar polemic (one from the point of view of each of the major religions) along with the history of the actual book. All three versions of the story are essentially the same boring tale replete with overwraught metaphors and uninspiring characters. In the introduction (the most interesting part of the book) the author advises the reader to skip around using the index. I would advise skipping the book altogether.

An unreadable gimmick. Has little to do with the Kingdom of Khazar, a nation in Medieval Russia in which the entire population converted to Judaism. The fact that the authors needed to include a stunt such as releasing "male and female" versions of the book (in which the difference lies in one single word being changed in the editions) should say a lot about the substance of this work.

I bought this book over 3 years ago and I keep going back for it for reference. The book covers photorealism as principles and guidelines that establish much more understanding concering producing 3d imagery.
The problem that it's lighting section is a bit weak and it does not have almost any color pages.
If you would like to become a better 3d artist, buy this one.

I found Bill's methods valuable, but his images are not photorealistic enough and may not be too helpful for beginners.
Most annoying thing is that most of images are printed only in grayscale and only few are in color. If reader want's to see color versions, he/she has to download images from writers website. Due to grayscale-problem there were some troubles to compare images properly to see differences in them, and I was not always sure what Bill really meant in his text unless I saw color versions. Writer also keeps repeating same things over and over across different chapters and more tighter writing style would get the job done more easily. I would shorten this book about half and drop price also...and include at least one photorealistic image to see what the subject really is.

I found many useful techniques in the book and I have been able to apply them in a way that makes my work more "photorealistic." Bill's writing style is not for everyone. On the whole it is pretty casual and some chapters lack clarity. The supplied images are ok, but have a certain cartoonish (read not photorealistic) quality to them, mostly because his techniques are overused and the color is overly saturated. The book does supply some valuable information, but it isn't the last word on "photorealism."

This book does indeed contain true insight into creating photorealism, and using Fleming's concepts, it is easy to surpass his own attempts at photorealism. This book would be, however, much more valuable to a 19 year old kid who just got his hands on TrueSpace than to a professional artist. If you are looking for a quick and helpful read about many of the same concepts, but presented more concisely and technically, read [digital] lighting and rendering, or so I believe it to be called.

... to sift through 300+ pages of. This book mixes a handful of helpful suggestions for the beginner in with a bunch of other, um, stuff. Not necessarily "wrong," mind you; just simplified to the point where it's no longer quite "right" either. Look closely at the cover before you buy (use Amazon's 'larger photo' link). If you are swept away by the detail in the shot -- the variety of surfaces, the color, the artful disorder -- this book may be for you. If you find yourself wondering where the light source is, why the image drops off into shadow at the top, or why everything still looks like plastic, prepare to be disappointed. The book relies very heavily on scenes like this -- amazingly detailed, but clearly drawn from the author's imaginaton. Many images and examples also suffer from "only-in-3D" artifacts, such as improbable camera placements or "unreal" light behavior. For a technically ept discussion of lighting, cameras, film, reflection, radiosity, and surfacing, I would recommend "[digital] Lighting and Rendering" by Jeremy Birn. For tips on clutter and surface aging I would visit (web site name); while the downloads are heavy, they at least present photorealism using real photographs.

Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman have written a text, albeit a short 180 fairly small pages, that challenges much of the irrational, impracticable, and immoral tenants of American foreign policies. Of course, the first segment of the book introduces the concept of ethical realism. Wow!!! Two guys in Washington who write a book that is void of most political extremist beliefs. The authors, from polar opposites of the political spectrum, join together to introduce a new, viable, inspiring view of American foreign policy that rightfully places America as the responsible leader / super power it once was seen by the rest of the world just 65 years ago. The second half of the book examines the relationship between the United States and a selection of other states, Iran, Russia, China. You know, when I read a good book, I am saddened to turn the last page. I felt such disappointment reaching the conclusion in this book. Here we have two insightful writers offering exciting approaches and, before I knew it, they concluded. There were about 10 references that were cited frequently throughout the book - not much, but very well done! The logic, grammar, spelling were noteworthy for their absence of errors. I really could see and appreciate the careful logic the authors used in writing this book. I would have liked to see them describe ethical realism from a more global / state department perspective. I would have liked to see them describe ethical realism in our approaching countries such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia ... I found this to be one of the top 20 books that I've read in the last few years. It is well worth the purchase price, new, and, certainly, used.

I just finished reading Ethical Realism. The authors of this book attempt to compare the problems faced by Presidents Truman and Eisenhower with the modern problems facing the Bush administration. The problem is it isn't that simple.

I don't understand how the authors can compare the policy of containment developed for the Soviet threat (which by the way lead to military action) and the current threat of terrorism (which the authors say we are handling incorrectly with the war in Iraq).

Regardless of who is President, the person in charge has to consider the national elements of power. These are Dimplomacy, Information, Military, and Economics (D.I.M.E.). These four varibles are how we influence other countries. Every country and every situation can have a different mix of these variables. To reach back in time and cherry pick a situation that worked and to try and apply it to a modern situation is simply madness. To make matters worse, the authors propose simply using Diplomacy to solve all our problems. Do the authors think we aren't doing that already?

Also, to use the D.I.M.E. correctly, you must use all of the elements. To isolate a single element, Diplomacy, and broadcast to the world that you won't use Military, is to doom any efforts at Diplomacy with a hostile force. They will simply ignore you. Did sanctions and UN diplomacy work against Saddam? No, military force did.

There are far too many logical fallacies in this book for it to be taken seriously.

If you want to really learn about how America should use national elements of power, I suggest you read Angelo Codevilla.

Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali

Lieven and Hulsman provide a framework for crafting contemporary foreign policy. To buttress their framework they provide historical examples, discuss elements of contemporary American foreign policy, and provide some broad recommendations of what policy makers should focus on. Each of key elements has areas where additional consideration is needed.

The authors look at Presidents Truman and Eisenhower's policies, extract over-riding principles and apply these principles to contemporary American foreign policy. The conditions during the Cold War are very different from those today. A key question here is that given the differences between the Cold War era and the contemporary one, how relevant are the underpinnings of Cold War foreign policy to our world today?

The authors advocate formulating foreign policy on the following principles: Prudence, humility, study, responsibility, and patriotism. One issue is that the reader is left to define these principles; hence different readers are likely to derive different meanings and advocate differing policies. Another consideration is that the authors do not shed light on what to do if these principles contradict one another within a given policy. Yet another concern is that if one were to accept the Truman-Eisenhower era as a paradigm, then are the generalizations presented here a valid extraction of that paradigm?

Perhaps the most contentious part of this book is the recommendations. Here one has to be mindful that there can be several manifestations of foreign policy that could all be derived from a common set of principles. A framework to determine the relative merits of each specific proposal would be useful, but is beyond the scope of this work. Lieven and Hulsman have different political perspectives and seem to have successfully presented an outline for American foreign policy. Truman and Eisenhower pursued similar foreign policies. Is our pluralistic society today sufficiently cohesive to agree on a common foreign policy?

This book is unlikely to change anyone's political perspective. It does however ask what we ought to do and how we should go about doing it. While the authors feel this is lacking in contemporary times, upon further reflection, the book raises more questions than it answers.

Armchair Interviews says: A thought provoking book if read between the lines

I was very impressed with this book. It took a liberal and conservative expert and found those concepts they could agree on. They present a review of the foreign policies that succeded and those that failed since WWII. They then present a view of how we should proceed in the future and concepts we should keep in mind as we try to determine how to react to events that occur. Although I did not agree with everything they said, I found their reasoning sound and it gave me a lot to think about. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in foreign policy, especially the candidated for president.

and since i'm not an expert - found it difficult to follow until i got into the author's pattern. They take a position - anti administration - then offer an alternative - then try to give a historical reference to prove their point. Maybe it's intentional - to shake up the reader - but you're either already "for" or "against" US policy -and this book isn't going to change your mind.
If you're "for" don't bother with it - it's too high brow and insulting to work for that purpose.
But if you're looking for a conforting companion to bash the US thought process then you'll cheer while reading.
Very provoking both ways in that it puts in black and white, what none of the mainstream media will.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot compared to the other Flash books I've read. If you are trying to make Flash games and don't know where to start this might be the book you should buy! :)

I bought this book hoping to take steps from mid-level ActionScripter to a more advanced coder. In a world of how-to books that just regurgitate the same ol' techniques this one not only met, but it exceeded my expectations. I was hoping to improve my techniques for interactivity and thought a book on ActionScript gaming would be the quickest, most thorough and most fun way to do it and this book came through big time. Great examples, and good explanations of every step taken. Sometimes I needed more of an explanation but I think that's a trade-off of having more examples. So not really a complaint since I can find explanations online, but good examples are far more scarce. An absolute must-have...as someone said even if you are not into gaming. I'll also add that its still a must-have despite ActionScript 3 being out...but hopefully they put out a new edition covering that.

To respond to the negative reviews: 1. Want to see classes and OOP...that would be an issue if this book claimed to be an AS3 book, but considering it is AS2, when OOP and classes weren't as en vogue, I don't think that is a valid complaint. 99% of Flash CS2 books hardly mentioned classes and didnt code that way. 2. Bad habits/naming conventions...I didn't think so but I think that is a preference and if you don't like his "style" no one is forcing you to continue coding that way after you finish the book. Every author has their own style, and I didn't think his coding broke any conventions. 3. Nothing you can't learn yourself...just not true. I've found a lot of great stuff online, but it was a big help and hugely time-saving to have this wealth of info in one place AND with great instruction...and a bonus general ActionScript chapter that is better than many Flash books out there!

The book provides several examples that progress the reader through the programming of gradually more complex games. The reader should have a basic knowledge of Flash and Actionscript, as the book brushes over beginner-level concepts. At the time, the book is fairly up to date, however there is supposedly quite a jump between Flash 8 and Flash CS3, which uses Actionscript 3.0. Nonetheless, the concepts taught in the book are universally applicable regardless of what Flash version you are using. The inclusion of a CD-ROM is an added bonus and a must with this kind of book.

I found the book easy to read and very practical. The use of examples to explain things is great. And of course, examples that do work is great also!!!

It's the right book for those that already know something about flash and actionscript (doesn't need to be an expert), and want to learn to develop some games in flash, and perhaps aplly those technics on other apllications.

The book is great fun!!!

As a physicist, I looked at the chapter on "Physics for Games". It's very introductory Newtonian mechanics. Applying these in time-discrete form for moving objects in the game. Gravity is considered for vertical motion, and wind is incorporated to affect horizontal motion. Freshman level stuff. If you are developing a game where you need to seriously incorporate physics, there are entire books devoted to it, like Physics for Game Developers.

Though to be fair, the book is about learning Flash and its effects. Other chapters offer code fragments. Of necessity, these are all elementary, from a programming complexity standpoint. But they help explain how to apply Flash.

The most intricate part of the book seems to be when you model a 3d world. Nice rendering examples. Doesn't go very deeply here. Flash almost certainly has more advanced functionality.

In this lucid, compact and profound volume the always incisive philosopher Thomas Nagel goes about defending the very thing that makes philosophy possible: reason. Reason has been under attack of late. Whether it be deconstructionist continental nonsense (usually of the Gallic variety) or reductionist empiricism (think Richard Dawkins) reason itself has been a whipping boy in the intellectual community. In forceful prose Nagel reasserts the primacy of classical reason to all human understanding and thought; the variety in which he reasserts his basic argument is both convincing and creative. It's somewhat sad that the relativist, reductionist status quo of the academy forced this classical defense by this modern enlightenment thinker. Though his other work, like the brilliant "Mortal Questions", shed more light on his philosophical preoccupations, this work in many ways elucidates the structure in which Nagel attacks all his philosophical quandaries. One interesting result of this books thesis, one that goes slightly ignored in the text, is the metaphysical implications of the existence of reason in a "naturalistic world." An unabashed atheist, Nagel is, nonetheless, perplexed by reason's ontological status and even describes his acceptance of reason as "Spinoza-istic." The reality of reason in a evolved species is an interesting problem and perhaps one for future study, but the point of "the last word" is to reassert the NECESSARY primacy of reason to any and all judgements. I found it utterly convincing.

This is classic Nagel. He is one of the most important philosophers in America today. And his philosophical prose style clearly demonstrates why that is the case: it is clear, direct, and straightforward. This text (along with Mortal Questions and A View From Nowhere) would be a great Intro. to Philosophy text; it is a superb example of how analytic philosophy should be written. There are actually arguments here. Imagine that.

Yes, the text bashes various forms of relativism and subjectivism (in favor of "objective facts" and "objective values"). But possibly the most important chapter is titled, "Logic." Read this chapter. I won't ruin the sunset ending for you.

I highly recommend this text. As well as: Searle, Mind, Language, Society; and Nozick, Invariances.

Nagel's claim is that those who argue against reason must use reason and thus automatically invalidate their claims. But the threat posed by subjective deflationsists is more comprehensive and robust than that. For the most popular "argument" for subjectivism is not very rational at all. It is more like an ad hominem. It suggests something like, "reason is just an unfashionable and unjustifiable manifestation of the will-to-power."

The Enlightenment made Reason fashionable. Deflationists don't necessarily want to defeat reason its own terms. They simply want to make Reason and its Pretensions upopular. Then we will all have to end all statements with "of course, that's just what I think personally."

I think that Nagel in right in saying that those who are resolutely rational cannot get outside of the heavier claims of reason, or even the lighter ones. The danger is that people may simply cease to reason at all. Assuming that that is a danger and not a liberation.

Unfortunately, it would probably take entire squadrons of Fighting Nagels to stem the subjectivist tide. Which means that the Last Word may be a scream instead of a rational argument. But "The Last Word" is certainly an honest try by an honest guy. Buy it before it becomes illegal.

Poor guy just does not seem to understand that this debate is merely an eternal circle. An unending battle between propositional "polar opposites" that ultimately emanate from the same plane of philosophical thought about the world and the nature of reality. The barn door was busted open long ago and he, nor any of his "rationalist" cohorts, can ever close the door much less get the horse back in again. Intellectuals should move their debates to more interesting areas wherein some real discussions may take place, not nasty little polemics like this.

Ostensibly, Nagel's work is an assault on extreme relativism/subjectivism. On another level, it complements Nozick's "Nature of Rationality" (while rightly attacking Nozick's misuse of evolutionary principles). If extreme relativism/subjectivism were the sole objective, Nagel could have defeated it with a single statement: "All truth/logic/science/ethics is relative/subjective," is self-refuting (which Nagel cites).

But the rationalist Nagel really has a stronger objective. He rightly wants to insist that constructivist/subjectivist/relativist (he uses "perceptivist") claims against reason, logic, science, and ethics are embedded in the very criteria they want to deny, and worse, their efforts to use external criteria "to get outside" to challenge these claims is (1) impossible (because they use the very tools they criticize), or (2) untenable, because they use irreducible principles in one category to assault irreducible principles in another, or Ryle's "category mistake (misuse)," (3) implausible, because they substitute less plausible hypotheses to assault rationally and empirically more plausible hypotheses, or (4) two or more of the preceding three. Except for ethics, his observations are valid.

The chapter on ethics is more elusive and certainly inconclusive. He begins with ethics as a species of practical reason, itself a feature of decision-theory, which is distinctly non-instrumental (a controversial claim, he concedes), that requires "reasons" (i.e., justifications). Except for the "non-instrumental" claim, there is nothing controversial thus far. Everything that follows, however, seems lost. He begins denying Hume's "pleasure/pain" motivation of ethics, raises the empathy factor (Hume, Smith), admits emotions (typically non-rational) are often involved (Hume, Smith), as are other "background" information (Mill, Bentham), that "impartiality" is one of its features (all but virtue theory), as is the "universifiability" of the action (deontological, consequentialist), then gives a concrete consequentialist example, followed by a concrete deontological example, of "reason," then concedes he isn't sure where all this leads. I assume this exercise was meant to instantiate that agents act for "reason(s)," but the "reasons" are intended to satisfy individual integrity for having acted.

The final chapter is a series of ruminations, something about naturalism not becoming a religion, Nozick's (mis)use of Darwinism as an escape hatch, and a reminder that the natural world and our use of it also necessarily includes us in it (a dominant theme throughout).

Nagel reinforces Nozick's point about rationality being inherently circular, but according to Nagel that is simply necessary and unavoidable (not an objection). The principal idea is the individual's inability to escape his embeddedness, much less his ability to approach his perspectives "outside" them is both impossible and undesirable, and why these facts repudiate extreme subjectivism/relativism. Most philosophy students already know this. Most in postmodernism and the humanities don't, and they will most benefit from this book.