Interactive Books

My daughter is 4 years old. She gets so excited before I even open up the cover. She squirms and giggles before the tickle bugs come out because she knows what's about to happen. TICKLE TICKLE TICKLE!!

It's a fun and interactive book for children.

Ha!! my daughter just came by as I was writing this review and noticed the picture of the tickle bugs. She's giggling and talking about it right now.

We started reading this book to our now, two in a half year old, at 18 months, she adores it! We definitely interact with lots of tickles and she anticipates it every time we turn the page. She has already memorized all the characters names and knows when it's time for the ticklebugs to come out! I recommend this book to all parents who take the time to read to their children. The colors and story are unique and very fun.

I came here to give this book a glowing five star
rating and was very surprised to see a two star
rating. This is my four year old daughter's favorite
book by far. She loves the Tickle Bugs. We read it all
the time and have never laughed so hard in our whole
lives. The artwork is all computer animated and, in my
opinion, is excellent - it's creative, cute, and
vibrant. I'm really amazed that anyone wouldn't like
it.

Children's books are made for kids, not adults. Out of
about 60 books, my daughter loves this one over all
the rest. She's crazy about it. For that reason, if I
could, I'd give it six stars.

Clearly, everyone has different tastes. Hopefully
there are a lot of other parents out there who like
this as much as we do, because without a parent
playing along, this book isn't going to be half the
fun. If you enjoy quality time with your children, I
full-heartedly recommend this. The amount of fun we've
had thanks to this book is priceless.

I was drawn to this book for its cool artwork. When I gave it to my friend's three year old son for his birthday, I was amazed. I don't think I could have given a better gift. He loves this book and is crazy about the Tickle Bugs. He literally carries it around with him wherever he goes! On so many levels, this is a very special book for kids.

This book is very, very, very, very, very cute and fun, and the tickle bugs are so great and adorable!!! We love it!

What an important book for the contemporary marktplace! The author gives the reader incredibly canny insights into the confusing world of interactive marketing--both the "30,000-foot," strategic view and the hands-on, everyday tactics that get the job done. And all of this is presented in a friendly, easy-to-read style with a minimum of jargon and buzzwords. This book is worth many times the cover price. It's about time someone wrote this book.

A must for all new and veteran marketing professionals.

First, read the last four paragraphs. Then read the book. Use a marker liberally. This is a person with strong opinions and he is usually right. He is a marketer's marketer who never strays far from the fact that we all have to sell something to survive. He complies a lot of current internet thinking and best practices with a substantial heaping of his own background. He adds a sprinkling of the future with an eye on what's working now. Worth the price of admisssion, but start with the end.

A must read for anyone who either makes or influences marketing decisions. Being a part of an organization that serves both small and medium sized businesses that need integrated marketing solutions, this book is the outline for success. As an avid reader, all too often I see either "Joe Bob's theory on marketing success" or somebody plagiarizing one of the Porter bibles; either way, they're not usable by the average guy. Ryan's book has concise, easy to implement solutions that can be scaled. In today's marketplace where most businesses have between 2 and 10 employee's and make well under a million a year in revenue, business owners need roadmaps that are easy to follow and implementable with the staff that is on hand. Ryan does this well.

Not only would I consider this a must read, I'd say it's one to pick up again and again.

Christopher Ryan has hit a homerun with his book High Performance Interactive Marketing. His book provides the reader with a host of real-time, practical advice on how to improve the performance of your business.

I love the fact that Ryan provides the reader with a plethora of real-world examples that a company (such as mine or my client's) can utilize immediately.

In a book world that is so focused on nice-to-know theories, Ryan delivers on what all companies covet--practical advice that can be used the next day. I especially like his demonstrations of metrics, such as return on marketing investments, as this continues to be the holy grail that most companies seek, but very few find the right formula tied to their specific situation.

I will use this book regularly for my company and highly recommend it to my clients.

My students love this book. I do an assignment where my kinders create their own creatures and the images of the flip-page combined creatures. It also has good prompts for creative writing assignments for older students.

I got this for my 6yr old daughter and she loves it. The illustration is beautiful but what keeps my daughter asking for it is the puzzles in it. Great Book.

I am 13 and I found this book utterly intriging. With such fine detail Messenger shows us how to look at the world in different ways. I learn something new from this book everytime I look at it.
It would suit any age group, from 3 - 100.
I loved it and I'm sure that anyone else would think the same.
10/10

This book is filled with stimulating, intriguing artwork. Children of all ages will enjoy it. It is not a typical storybook. Instead, this is a buffet of thought provoking illustrations. You can explore the pages from different positions and see new things. Your mind will enjoy all of the possibilities presented as well as the puzzles in the corner of some pages. The artwork is beautifully detailed quickening your imagination to new perspectives.

"Imagine," is one of the most outstanding children's books I have had the privilege to review this year.
Inside the covers of this book, children will be able to interact as they imagine many different scenario's, for example; what different animals would look like with other animal heads or bottoms, and they will giggle up a storm as they give it a try.That is just the beginning of the fun as this read explodes into countless imagining for your child.
The illustrations are priceless and add flare to a book that is already top of the notch.
Parents, do not miss this one. Your children will be absolutely delighted with this book and it will give them hours of entertainment as their imagination soars. I give it my highest recommendation.

I'm not new to the Mac, but am new to iMovie and was struggling with some basics. I recently purchased Missing Manual and am glad that I did. Well written, complete and easy to read. My iMovie editing productivity has skyrocketed and would strongly recommend this book

I bought this book because I wanted to use I-movie to help me put together a short film in short order. It is quite simply the best computer book I have ever purchased. It is a very straightforward, lucid, step by step explanation of how to get the most out of this program specifically, and digital video in general. It seemed like every time a question or would pop up he would have a special box on the next page explaining how to solve it. Mr. Pogue appears to have thought of everything and then some. He presents a number of excellent "work-arounds" for the limitations of I-Movie and lays them out in step by step fashion. Using this book is like having an I-Movie Guru sitting next to you, helping you along. If you use I-Movie, you need this book.

I have used the iMovie application since March 2000 to create over a hundred hours of edited footage for my video production company. Before reading "iMovie: The Missing Manual, I concluded that I had learned all their was to know about this program. I previously considered it a limited program that was most effective when production time was critical and expectations were relaxed. However, I was astonished to learn of techniques and shortcuts that greatly expanded my knowledge of iMovie and radically refined my approach in it's use. The concise layout and effective index of this manual has kept it within arm's length whenever I launch iMovie. Few computer manuals are "page turners", but if you use iMovie the information that is contained in "iMovie: The Missing Manual" will surely excite and inspire you. The software that is made available is alone worth the purchase price of this excellent manual.

This book answers every question I have had since I started using iMovie in January. It is not only very complete and extremely easy to follow, it also includes some unexpected surprises such as a very comprehensive explanation of film basics such as lighting, camera angles and sound. Before reading the book, I thought that iMovie was a great program but had some severe limitations - that was not the case after reading the book. Any limitations I had come across were covered in the book and Pogue provided excellent and simple workarounds for most difficulties I have had. I would highly recommend this book as a starting point to any person- skilled or novice - interested in creating video productions for personal or public use.

David Pogue's long-awaited iMovie manual is a terrific intro to digital movie making using the incredibly popular and now FREE iMovie for Mac.

Now there's no excuse for not making that little movie that's been rattling around in your head. Pogue's guide is logically laid out with numerous easy to understand graphics that take you step by baby step through painless editing of your video footage.

This is the finest of the iMovie guides and equal to Pogue's best past efforts. He's a master of technical explanations and has a deservedly large and devoutly grateful following.

If you are considering buying an iMac or have ever thought about making a simple movie, this stimulating book would be an smart, inexspensive first step -- even before forking over a dime on any software, hardware or a DV cam.

The digital revolution has begun and this is the manual that is entry level. The initiation rites happen when you first plug in that firewire, batch capture and string some selected scenes in a new creative order.

For someone with a strong visual sense and some basic story skills and with careful pre-planning and this manual, it is possible for a first time filmmaker to make a high quality mini masterpiece. Or better yet, a product to enter in one of the red hot film competitions like the Palm Springs Short Film Festival.

Pogue even promises a (free?) download or revision for the inevitable iMovie version 2.

This book covers all bases and FAQ's regarding iMovie and iMac configurations.

Now stop reading this review, buy Pogue's book and commit to making that life-altering little film that's still screening in your head. Isn't that why you're reading this? Now you can be empowered to create that film that comes out of nowhere and charms the world (to say nothing of making millions). Step aside BLAIR WITCH. I know what you're thinking!

Every man, woman and now child can be a studio unto him and her self. No middleman. Peasants, raise your no longer missing manuals. Share the vision.

In other words, I am saying David Pogue's iMOVIE THE MISSING MANUAL is highly recommended.

And, hey, don't be ashamed if all you want to do is edit some vacation video or the kid's recital or some hanky panky with the spouse. But the potential for something far more creative is definitely available to anyone now. My guess is THAT is the drawing power of iMAC, iMOVIE and the terrific MISSING MANUAL.

A suggestion for future editions: include a simple appendix of film language and story structure basics. Maybe a CD-ROM for an on screen guide that includes filmmaking and digital film internet links.

And then, Mr Pogue, a clear guide to Final Cut Pro.

Quiet on the set. Action!

"In My Daughter's Eyes" is such a beautiful song with such a wonderful message. Looking through the book and reading the text reminds me so much of my daughter and her daughter (my grand daughter). It is inspirational and thoughtful and a celebration of women. My only criticism is that the illustrations are a bit ameuterish; nevertheless, the message is priceless. I bought the book for my daughter for Christmas, and I'm sure she's going to love it.

This was excellent, the song matched the book and I will buy all the others when I can

This book/CD is absolutely amazing!! Even though my two daughters are grown, this is so appropriate and can be passed on to their children if they wish. This was not a gift for a specific event, just to show them how much they mean to me and what a blessing they are. Truly a wonderful gift for any mom to give to her daughter(s). Thank you.

This is the perfect gift to give your daughter for any special occassion: Sweet 16, her wedding day, when she has your grandchild, or just to say I love you! It is a touching little book with a CD of the song she can listen to over and over.

What an absolutely delightful gift for my daughter! I gave it to her for Valentine's Day and she loves it. I couldn't resist, even though she's 28 now! Every time I hear Martina's song, In My Daughter's Eyes, tears fill my eyes so I had to share it with my girl and she thought it was the neatest gift. There is a place in the beginning of the book to put your daughter's photo and when my daughter saw the one I chose, her eyes filled with tears along with mine. A perfect way to share that mother-daughter bond no matter how old either of you are! I think this book/cd set is a terrific idea!

I love this book! It is probally the best Goosebump book I ever read. But remember there is more than 20 endings in this book and only 1 WAY OUT!!!

I love this book! It is probally the best Goosebump book I ever read. But remember there is more than 20 endings in this book and only 1 WAY OUT!!!

I think this book was a real TWIST. I mean when you choose something something may seem like the best one while it could be the worst one. Like the elevator for an example if you go in it, it will go up so much it will give you a:"or mayby--SPLAT! I like this book it took me probaly about 7-9 months to figure out this book. the main plot was a evil super computer taking over the hall of science. I love GOOSEBUMPS BOOKS. I had had the biggest goosebumps collection in my 3rd grade class.

and thats why I would give it five stars --from Corey Johns

my mom bought this for me on my 9th birthday, along with alot of other goosebump books. I really liked the cover, aolt will the dinsaur. the story made me laugh a little . it took us 2 days read it, but that is good time for us. you will really like this book, i did.

This book is like a hard maze. Exept beware! If you make 1 mistake you're doomed. I would say anyone 6 or up will love it.

The Missing Manual series has been around for quite some time, but I have never felt the need to buy one until I started doing some serious work with iPhoto. iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual was a good volume to assist.

One of the things I like about Apple's iApps is that they hide a great deal of complexity behind a simple interface; they do indeed make the complex simple. The drawback to this is that I often find myself ignoring the more powerful aspects of the application and never using it to its full. It was here that the Missing Manual came to my help.

The target audience for this book would probably be a little less technical than myself, however when I find myself in a field I don't understand well I don't mind a little stuff for the absolute newbie. This book has an entire first section that deals with photography and digital photography in particular that may be a total repeat for some, I found it a welcome reminder of how to get a good photograph along with some extremely useful hints about the new technology and choosing a camera. It covers such topics as composition and lighting for a host of different situations such as landscapes, night, portraits, children and sports.

It then goes on to a section of similar size on the basics that covers getting the photos from your camera to the Mac, organising the photos using albums and keywords and then editing your shots.

A third section covers the various ways of publishing and showing your photos such as printing, CD, and web pages, and a final section with some tricks and tips on things like managing your libraries. There are two appendices: one very useful troubleshooting guide, and a menu-by-menu look at iPhoto 2.

I particularly appreciated the thorough treatment of how to get the most out of iPhoto when printing photo books and creating web pages in the third section; it was here that I really discovered how little I knew from just `playing' with the application. The book is peppered with useful information and tips that take you beyond the level that most of us discovered when we ran and used the program. The authors have also provided some marvelous explanations of what is going on, the "why" as well as the "what."

The book is well written with a readable, light, almost witty style that somehow deceives the reader as to the depth of the material being covered. It is only when I reflected back on how much the book taught me that I realised how well it had done the job.

O'Reilly have their usual web page for the book with a sample chapter, Table of Contents and Index. Pogue Press have a neat idea - they have a page that features all the software mentioned in the book. A neat idea that I liked a lot.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to everyone who is serious about digital photography on their Mac. If you have used iPhoto for a long time you may think the book a waste, but I'd be surprised if even long-time users didn't get their money's worth out of this book. I much preferred the style of this volume to IDG's iPhoto 2 for Dummies, the only other real competitor for this volume was iPhoto 2 for Mac OS X: A Visual Quickstart Guide, and that is a shorter volume with less depth and less advice for photography and nothing on the camera technology, though I think Engst's writing seems a bit clearer at times.

I wouldn't buy a "Missing Manual" for every iApp or the operating system, but if you take the slogan for the series seriously, "The book that should have been in the box" (for the box is entirely devoid of books), I think they are a marvelous help for becoming a true `power user.

Can you imagine a software manual that makes you feel smart, not dumb? David Pogue's iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual does just that. It's written in a way that's easy to understand without being condescending. The straightforward style is well organized, sometimes humorous and always informative.

I'm new to Mac and iPhoto. Some things come easily but the details are often evasive. The Missing Manual fills in the blanks. I was hooked from the first chapter. The discussion of digital cameras and their use has opened my eyes and was a terrific intro to using iPhoto.

The Missing Manual is a reference book that's enjoyable to use.

At first I wondered how an entire book could be written about iPhoto--this one is packed with useful information. I had no idea how much can be done with this application. I own a number of Missing Manuals, and they're all very good.

I've had iPhoto for about a year, but wasn't familiar with any of the features save importing my photos from my camera. After a few hours with this book, however, I've mastered the program and received a lot of kudos on the improved quality of my shots.

The first section is on how to take better pictures. As I've never taken a photography class, this section was particularly useful for me. It breaks down the different types of pictures (portraits, action shots, close-ups, night shots, etc...) and tells you how to get the best shot.

The meat of the book is in the second section though - that part details how to use iPhoto, from importing pictures to touching them up and eliminating red eye. I primarily use my photos for my website. As such, I wanted to crop them, touch them up, and eliminate red eye. All three of those functions are easy to use after reading this book. It takes me a minute or so to turn my original, off-centered, dark, photo into something worthy of going online.

The Missing Manual goes through each function in order, explains what it does, and what the potential drawbacks are. It also goes into file management - I had no idea that iPhoto stored a copy of the original of any image I altered, even if it was just to rotate it. I followed a suggestion in the book, downloaded a piece of freeware, and was able to open up a lot of space on my hard drive by eliminating these unnecessary duplicates.

The Missing Manual also details how to edit photos in other programs (such as Adobe Photoshop) without causing problems in iPhoto. As I occasionally have to resize pictures based on the DPI, this information was quite useful.

The third section describes how to show off your photos. As I usually just upload them to my website, I only perused this section. It looks to contain some useful information though - how to make a slideshow with a soundtrack, turn the slideshow into a QuickTime video, back up your photos on a DVD, upload them as a photo album to a website, print out a photo album, e-mail them, and more.

Apple Computer markets a concept they call "the digital hub" representing its integrated hardware and software combinations, especially the iLife package (iPhoto2, iTunes, iChat, iMovie, and iDVD). Beyond Apple's traditionally elegant and harmonious hardware-software integration, the iLife programs are brilliantly designed to allow users to easily enjoy important non-computer things in their lives - photos, music, home and family and recreational video, etc. - while benefitting from the enormous background power of computer applications.

With iPhoto2, for example, images (scanned or from a digital camera) can be easily imported into the computer, viewed, printed, burned to CD or DVD, emailed, posted to websites, or composed in professional quality albums with only a handful of clicks. Other than acquiring the images themselves, iPhoto2 and the Mac can facilitate an enormous depth and breadth of enjoyment of photo images without great effort or computer knowledge. The iLife idea is to have the computer aspects work seamlessly and near sub-consciously in the background allowing the user to enjoy his or her photos.

In essence, Apple has designed and created a hardware-software combination which, in itself, does virtually everything a non-professional needs to fully enjoy photo imaging. All of the iLife applications are designed with the "hub" concept - put all the tools needed into one easily learned and implemented application; - in other words, think of what people need and give that to them in an integrated and elegantly-designed package.

As easy as the iLife applications are to use, like all computer aspects, ease of use is relative - there is no real "easy" computer or application - it's an issue of something only more or less easy to use than another thing. Consequently, there is still a need for focused documentation and instruction to allow users to better and more fully utilize the features and power of the applications. This is where "iPhoto2: The Missing Manual" becomes useful. "iPhoto2" is part of the acclaimed "Missing Manual" series published by Pogue Press/O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. Like all of the other "Missing Manuals" it is a comprehensive, systematic, well-written paper manual where Apple provides none.

Whether intentionally designed, or not, "iPhoto2" mimics the "hub" concept - bringing together into one elegant unit all the information and tools needed to productively enjoy digital imagery. "iPhoto2" contains five parts - an opening section on how to select and buy a digital camera, and sections on

how to use a digital camera, iPhoto2 basics, how to create and produce photo projects like slideshows, prints, web galleries, photo CDs, etc., and a section on how to take advantage of specialized iPhoto2 features like making screensavers and desktop images and using Applescript. Also included is a separate set of appendices about trouble shooting, a menu-by-menu description of iPhoto2 features and commands, and a small section describing where to find additional digital photo resources.

The trio of authors are David Pogue, noted writer, NY Times computer columnist, and wit; Joseph Schorr, established Macworld writer and author of "Macworld MacSecrets"; and Derrick Story, author of "The Digital Photos Pocket Guide" (which was reviewed here favorably a number of months ago).

This book is structured into two overarching themes - as an iPhoto2 manual and as basic instruction in near-professional quality photography. Overlapping some material from "The Digital Pocket Guide", part one of this book covers basic digital camera concepts: resolution, memory cards, batteries, controls, etc. It then continues with guides on image composition and tips and tricks on how to obtain good quality photos in a large set of situations: portraits, travel, sports, night scenes, and the like. It does no good to have the ability to easily view, print, and e-mail bad photos. Learn how to take a good shot. These sections of the book will help a lot.

The iPhoto2 parts describe how to get your "good" images into the application, how iPhoto2 is structured on the hard drive with its designated Library, for example, and its organizing concepts - "Albums" and "Rolls." Other application features like editing, copying, and archiving images are well- explained and detailed.

The most interesting chapters are 7-12 detailing how to get quality and efficient production from the program.Features like the "One-click Slideshow" and how to make Quicktime movies from a folder of images are highlighted.

All in all, this is another well-done publication from Pogue/O'Reilly.

Saw this in our school library and read it to kindergarden children.
Library had a hard cover version which is no longer available. Was pleased that I could order it even though it is soft cover. The children loved the 3 D effect of the star on every page especially with the band aid. The story is very sweet and I wish there were more books like this for children.

Seldom do you find a book which appeals to children, yet, it also gives adults something to think about. That is exactly what this story does. A lonely little girl named Laura has no friends, no one she can share her secrets with. Until one night, when Laura is looking out her window, she sees a silver light crash to the pavement outside her house. It turns out it is a little star, which Laura can tell all her secrets to. This story is wonderful, and should not be overlooked.

This is a touching, subtle story about feelings, mainly loneliness, love and loss. Because the storyline regarding the star is intriguing to kids, and the text also had a deeper meaning, this book has the ability to appeal to a wide range of ages.

This book is a wonderful story about a girl who befriends and unselfishly cares for an injured star. The illustrations are beautiful and colorful, and will attract and hold even the youngest eyes (I bought it for my daughter when she was 14 months old and it was an instant favorite). Each depiction of the star is rendered in a holographic image a la The Rainbow Fish. The story, about loneliness and caring, is appropriate for all ages. This is the author's first US-published book but he teaches children's book illustration at the university level in his native Germany. I highly recommend this book.

Laura spots a streak of silver shooting past her window and discovers a sparkly star nearby. She has always wanted someone to share her secrets with, and so she takes the little star home and makes it her friend. But when she wakes up the next morning, Laura discovers that the little star has disappeared. She searches everwhere, but it's no use. She thinks that her special friend may have been a dream. In this magical story a lonesome girl learns that friendshop sometimes means giving away the brightest treasures. I think that this would be a great story to teach character education. It faces the issues of depression, loneliness, friendliness, caring, sharing, and giving. It is a precious story that would be delightful to children of most any age.

Of the ten to fifteen series of Latin Primers I've looked at and taught from, this is the best. The next best is probably Oxford or Cambridge. The problem with Henle and Wheelock is that although one can thoroughly understand grammar, one does not acquire the idiom. I mean idiom as Cardinal Newman in Elementary Education (in Idea of University) describes it. Oerberg best gives you a knack for "how the Latin sentence is thought" or put together (not merely idiomatic expression). It is harder to teach, but much more enjoyable. My students love learning. It also has rave reviews from teachers at the publishers' forum for Oerberg. There is also a brand new companion book that is supplement to the grammar.

It is a "natural" approach. Everything is in Latin. My students learn to recite the Latin in 2 months of 6th grade, and learn about 4 times the vocabulary without ever using a dictionary (and I only give them a few difficult words, in particular some prepositions and conjunctions).

It is difficult on your own I imagine, but there are additional resources. It's by far the best approach, the closest to actually acquiring the language by immersion. Suitable for adults and used in colleges. (Oerberg has a very subtle and also not so subtle humor, making it suitable for all ages.)I studied Latin formally for ten years and never acquired a knack for the idiom. Teaching from Oerberg has actually improved my Latin. It is, I think, an answer to Dorothy Sayers who said her biggest complaint was that after 20 years of study, she never really acquired Latin -- she started when seven.

Vive, Hans! He's done a great service for Latin pedagogy. It's really a brilliant little work as are the best Latin text books -- the difference is, this works. Latin is the toughest elementary "subject" there is -- I've taught almost all of them including AP Calc. It's also the most beneficial. I'm grateful to the Oerberg for having made it a little easier.

FINALLY, if I haven't yet convinced you, I suggest that you get it as a supplemental reader. Just read it in the Latin and try not to translate. Read and reread until you master the first book. It will help all future Latin reading. (BTW the second book is helpful too, and Hans is attempting to make an intro. to the Aeneid.)

Orberg has given us a priceless gift that will have a prominent place in the annals of language learning for many years to come. Revised and perfected over the course of several decades, I expect this series was what began convincing language scholars that immersion, or as Orberg calls it, "the natural method," is the logical way -- and by far the best way -- to learn a language.

This book should be in the personal library of every language student in the western world. It has been refined to the point of grammatical precision. I have never seen anything like it.

The book is also entertaining--no small feat for a Latin text. After learning simple geography about the Roman empire in the first chapter, you immediately become acquainted with an endearing second-century family. Soon you are hooked and learning Latin naturally as the story unfolds.

My name is Matthew (the name above is my Mom's name), and I am a 16-year old homeschooled highschool student. I just recently started studying this curriculum, and am thrilled! Last year (my freshman year) I struggled through Henle Latin, a terrible curriculum, and had almost given up hope that Latin could ever be rewarding and enjoyable. Then a friend recommended Lingua Latina to my Mom, and we bought it immediately. The moment I opened the book, I knew it was perfect. Instead of bombarding students with conjugation after conjugation, declension after declension, word after word, and rule after rule, all Lingua Latina requires is that students read the fun and interesting stories that are so well presented in this book. Although this sounds too good to be true, it works! Through the use of detailed pictures and clever diagrams, the meaning of each sentence is made clear. Even if students are fuzzy about the translation of a word or phrase, Orberg repeats it plenty of times, so by the end of the chapter nothing is left unclear. The characters: Julius, his wife Aemilia, and their three children - Marcus, Quintus, and Julia (along with a multitude of servants!) The episodes in their lives are often witty and humorous, making the learning of new words and sentence structure easy and enjoyable. Lingua Latina has proved to me that the Latin Lanuage need not be boring and discouraging! I would highly recommend this curriculum!

I take latin, and this is the book we use. I think it is VERY well writen, (all in latin) and very easy to use. I would, though not recomend it as a begining latin book, but as a second year latin course. The many pictures make it fun, and it is exciting to read about the roman family; Mother, Aemilia, Father, Julius, and the three children, Marcus, Quintus and Juila, (who is my favorite!) The story's are progressive, starting with simple introductions to the geography of Italy, then meeting the family, then moving on the more complicated things like runaway slaves. All in all, this is a very well written textbook!

I am doing my MFA in English at UC Irvine, where I'm also taking a Latin reading course. Reading courses usually amount to, more or less, a student standing in place while an instructor tries to throw a grammar at the student's head, hoping for a direct hit. The student is then handed some passages to translate, along with a healthy pat on the back and some words of encouragement: "Figure it out! It's really hard, isn't it? Learning Latin can sure suck! Have a great weekend!"

Okay, there's a little more academic structure than that and some courses are undoubtedly better than others. But the traditional approach to learning Latin has been, seemingly to me, a rough road. This book comes to the rescue. It's amazing. The only English in the entire book appears to be on the publisher's page and the back cover. The rest is all Latin -- you pick it up and start reading. You don't even have to pick it up. You could prop it up against something and start reading that way.

The experience isn't quite magic. You need to pay careful attention to what is happening in each and every paragraph. Concepts in this book come at you fast, and while they are reinforced, it helps to pick them up clearly the first time around. For example, some distinctions of case are very subtle, as with the genitive which is, at times, indicated by a mere long vowel mark. Because Latin is inflected, it can be very compact. But if you're astute and not in a big rush, learning is accelerated by this text's approach.

I am in love with this book. It's a revelation and a lot of fun. But I don't recommend it to anyone who prefers their learning to be painful, frustrating, or unpleasant. I also don't recommend it to anyone who believes that the acquisition of a language should exclusively be a slow, classroom process punctuated by nights of stressful cramming for the next morning's test. For those people, definitely go with Wheelock and enjoy the pain.

But if you want to work toward reading Virgil and Cicero in the most pleasant way available today, this book is the way to go. I also recommend the supplementary materials, especially the grammar, the student's guide (which is very useful), and the Exercitia Latina (which really works concepts well).

I got this book at a local Linux talk given by the author about a week ago. This book really opens my eyes to see how much resource there is for multimedia on the Linux platform. It's a must-have if you are serious about multimedia, even if you are not a heavy Linux user. As you see, a software dies on Windows PC when the software company (or Microsoft) stops supporting it (or the software company goes under), because you only have the binary code. But the Linux software lives on because you can always pick up the source code from the open source (that is if it's an open source project, of course. Fortunately, most of the Linux software are). Bottom line: this book does what it says ! I am very happy with it !

Kyle Rankin's Linux Multimedia Hacks: Tips & Tools For Taming Images, Audio, And Video covers a program which typically disappoints multimedia fans with what seems like shortcomings in playing DVDs or MP3 files. Overcome these seeming detriments with a book which tells how to tweak and build Linux multimedia entertainment systems. Both newcomers and advanced users of Linux learn how to edit images, audio and video, manage music, burn DVDs and VCDs, and much more. Linux Multimedia Hacks isn't just one developer's knowledge base: it reflects contributions from many Linux experts - even the software creators themselves.

I've spent the last few days going over this book and experimenting with the different hacks on my Fedora Core 4 workstation. I use Fedora Core 4 almost 100% of the time at home, and I've felt the need to manipulate and use multimedia objects for a long time now, but didn't have the practical knowledge at my fingertips to do so. For example, how do I take a screenshot? This book answers this and other questions.

Now I understand how to use ImageMagick, take screenshots, and work with mplayer. I've implemented some hacks with gratifying results and experimented with bits and pieces of other hacks. For example I installed mplayer and the software bits needed to import video from a camcorder with a Firewire (1394) port. Mplayer is now running smoothly, and I'm waiting for a convenient camcorder to come my way so I can plug it into my 1394 port and let it rip. These hacks really seem to work, and they are quickly implemented. The authors of the various hacks give brief explanations that help build multimedia skills. Each hack is written with great clarity.

This book will gently introduce you to the power of scripting in Linux. Simple 1- or 2-line scripts pepper the book, and by using them you can quickly get the effects you want without having to spend long periods of time learning how to do the same thing on a GUI interface. Now, I can dump all 300+ photos from my 1 Gb flash card into a new folder and then use a script to resize them to a size small enough for a web page and for sharing with other folks. Try doing that to hundreds of photos on a GUI interface! With the suggested scripts, you can let the computer do the work, not you, and you can congratulate yourself on your smarts. Each script is carefully explained in plain language. I especially like Rankin's discussion of how to set up a digital camera and download all the photos from it automagically.

Today the Linux desktop is every more GUI-friendly. It is very easy to use; some of my friends have used it without realizing they were on Linux. I can see thumbnails of all my imported photos on Gnome -- it just works. I can expand the thumbnails into new windows with the actual photo. I can plug a compact flash card into my card reader and Gnome will recognize that, too, and offer to download the photos in the card. I can and often do edit photos with the Gimp and email them to my relatives. This books discusses all these things except possibly the emailing bit.

I began to realize that my hard drive is way too small for all the media I hope to work with. I recently ordered a 400 Gb drive to solve this problem.

This book shows you how to work with your media at no cost to you. It rolls up a lot of useful knowledge right at your fingertips. I can't think of another source of well-thought out media hacks either on the internet or in the documentation that comes with your Linux distribution. Every person wanting to work with media on Linux ought to have this book. Rankin and the other hack contributors have done a superb job.

Do you want to master the entertainment possibilities of Linux? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Kyle Rankin, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that takes the best of Linux's multimedia tools and shows you step by step how to use these tools to do cool things you would not have thought possible with images, audio, and video.

Rankin, begins by defining hacks that are specifically for images. Then, the author describes hacks for all things video. Next, the author shows you how to get the most out of video tools under Linux, which are some of the best in the industry. The author then gives you tips for accessing and creating your own web broadcasts. Finally, he shows you hacks to help you tweak your web browser under Linux so it can get the most out of the multimedia Web.

For the most part, this most excellent book allows you to look for hacks based on the multimedia type. More importantly, with this book, you'll be able to move quickly beyond anything you previously thought was possible, without spending a small fortune on commercial software.

Most versions of Linux have minimal multimedia abilities without the installation of additional software. Of course there is a lot of Linux software out there that can be used to change your Linux installation into a powerful multimedia computer with amazing capabilities. And, since it is Linux, it can be done at minimal or no cost for the software. Author Kyle Rankin details how to install and configure these products in this book. To keep the information organized he breaks it up into chapters on Images, Audio, Video, Broadcast Media, and Web. Working through the hacks you soon discover everything from how to rip a CD, convert file types, and edit a sound file to how to build a MythTV system where you can record television, watch videos, listen to music, and play arcade games from one system. There's even a tip for automatically removing commercials from digitally recorded television shows. When you are trying to figure out how to get your Linux system to do something special in the area of multimedia this is the first book you will want to turn to for answers. Linux Multimedia Hacks is highly recommended.