Other The Books

First of all, THANK YOU for "Black Raspberries and Other Tales". Thank you for sharing your wonderful stories and imagination with the rest of the world. I'm blown away!

This is a collection of stories that: take us to places we would never want to be with 'Black Raspberries', make us think about things we never thought about before with with 'Hi, My Name is Kelly!', and totally surprises us with 'Tickles'. You, sir, are a masterful story-teller!

My favorite story was 'Tickles'. I thought I had it figured out, but then Campbell totally surprised me. I love O. Henry-type endings, and this is one. I laughed with 'Uncle Roscoe's Thumb' which was more along the line of a personal essay with its conversational tone. I enjoyed this one too.

With 'Black Raspberries', the most Stephen King-ish of the stories, the descriptions had me riveted until I had to finish it. With 'Road Kill, et al', I was forced to think about my own mortality and how life is a day-to-day gamble, which no one likes to think about, or we wouldn't leave our homes. 'Chat' was excellent, with a twist of an ending. I really thought I had that one figured out too, but then Campbell surprised me. 'Vincent's Nerve' made me laugh. 'Hi My Name is Kelly' made me cheer for Jackson, the hero, and also made me think about the hypocrisy of the whole internet lawlessness and our legal system.

You can 'hear' King's influence in some of the stories, but Campbell definitely has his own "voice". I can only compare them to Twilight Zone-type stories where Rod Serling comes out and introduces the macabre tale that is about to unfold.

Since this was a collection of early writings, Campbell's raw talent shines through brightly. If this is the level of talent he possessed in early works, I can't wait to see a new collection of stories from him now that he is more experienced. Don't keep us waiting! Great read!

Carniverous plants??? You had me by the second page, J.L.. You had me by the second page, my friend. I usually don't like horror too, much, but "Black Raspberries" drew me into the story, much like being around a campfire and listening to the actual storytellers. Hubby had to remind me a couple of times it was past midnight to make me stop reading.

As you read this collection of campfire and other tales, you envision a cozy fire, a roasted marshmallow or two and a madman lurking in your very midst. You feel the anticipation as he makes his way toward you~suddenly the atmosphere changes and you hear the comforting voice of J.L. Campbell as he reassures you that he is only telling a tale and you are safe once more~or are you?
Written with New England wit and wisdom, Black Raspberries and Other Tales will delight its readers with a realism that most of us possess but few have the nerve to admit. J.L. Campbell has that nerve and is well on his way to being the next "King" of horror. Awesome, wicked read!

In Black Raspberries and Other Tales J. L. Campbell has brought together a collection of happenings melded into a whirlpool of fantasy. The reader spins there helplessly until the author expels him.
"Black Raspberries" is really the only short story in the collection. Its vivid characters assume life and jump off the page with realism. A plethora of unexpected descriptive phrases contributes to the unorthodox clarity of the heart stopping action. When the reader concludes the story, he is breathless from the tension it created.
The other "tales" are really slices of life and glimpses into previously undreamed of situations. One progresses through the segments wondering what will take place next. Although the tales are unrelated, Campbell ties them together with fragments of personal commentary leading the reader seamlessly from one to the next. Frequently one reads a sentence and stops short wondering just what Campbell meant. Re-reading confirms the author's grasp of heretofore unrealized reality. Just when you think you have zoned in on the purpose of a tale, an unexpected turn leaves you clueless again.
A writer usually has some significant goal to reach and leads the reader down that pathway. But Campbell entices the person who reads to the very edge of an abyss, then leaves him hanging there. I will undoubtedly go back and re-read this book in an attempt to discover "Did I grasp his message?" If his purpose was to puzzle, Campbell succeeded admirably. Long after you put down the book you will periodically wonder, "What did he really mean by that tale?" Black Raspberries and Other Tales can be correctly described in many ways, but one of those will certainly not be dull.

This collection of short stories by J. L. Campbell is a great asset to any book collection. Full of high tales of fantasy and mystery, the stories are short and engrossing. The stories are deep and yet short, entertaining yet chilling. Could Campbell be our next big mystery writer? I can't wait for the next one. *****

Karl-Heinz Frieser's Blitzkrieg Legend provides a detailed view of Germany's campaign in the west during May 1940. Unlike most accounts of this campaign available in the United States, Blitzkrieg Legend presents events from the German point of view. Frieser offers an intellectual and historical basis for understanding the blitzkrieg concept by examining the usage of the term in wartime propaganda, and comparing the material and doctrinal preparations for war undertaken by the adversaries. Frieser states "...blitzkrieg signifies an attempt to turn strategic necessity into operational virtue against the background of shortages in economic resources."

However, the heart of the book is the author's detailed presentation of the Wehrmacht's attack through the Ardennes, across the Meuse River and straight across the Allied rear areas to the English Channel (with over 40 color maps).

Highlights include:
- Logistics behind the German move through the Ardennes.
- Role of the Luftwaffe.
- Crossing the Meuse at Sedan under fire in rubber assault boats.
- Guderian's decision to turn west with the 1st Panzer Div.
- Blocking the French counter-attack at Stonne.
- Stealth crossing at Houx by the 5th Panzer Div.
- Rommel's 7th Panzer Div and the drive through Montherme, Montcornet and Avesnes.
- Tank battles at Hannut, Flavion and Arras.
- Rundstedt's halt order before Dunkirk.

As he endeavors to account for the tremendous disparity in outcomes between the German forces and their Allied adversaries, Frieser focuses on the mission-based tactics which allowed German commanders to respond to local conditions in a way their Allied counterparts could not match. Combined with extensive use of radio communications, ground-air coordination, more efficient re-fueling practices, and the schwerpunkt principle, mission tactics gave the Germans a doctrinal edge in handling the fast-changing conditions of maneuver warfare. As Frieser sums it up, "An operational war of movement above all is a problem of command technique."

Nazi Germany's spring offensive of 1940 opened a new chapter in warfare -- never before, in the long history of European conflict, had a victorious campaign of such magnitude (and brevity) been seen. Frieser is at pains to demonstrate that the most exhaustive quantitative and qualitative analysis of the opposing forces would not have yielded any basis for predicting such an overwhelming German victory. The book focuses on the tactical details of the "sickle cut" breakthrough in the Ardennes sector and the subsequent exploitation to the Channel coast. (The operations of Army Group B in Holland and northern Belgium barely rate a mention.) Readers will appreciate the abundance of operational and tactical-level maps (in German, of course), and Friesers combat narrative translates well. The German Army, despite deep misgivings within most of the high command, implemented and (for the most part) stuck to a superior strategic concept that was executed with great energy and outstanding tactical skill. Above all, Frieser's account pays tribute to the initiative displayed by German soldiers of all ranks. From Generals down to sergeants, this army demonstrated near-unbelievable energy, adaptability, and presence of mind throughout the campaign. It is a story well-told, with lessons that will resonate with every serious student of military history.

This is the definitive account of the campaign in France and Benelux 1940. Thoroughly researched, myth-busting, superb analysis, easy to read in spite of its academic complexity.

This is an excellent study of the 1940 blitzkrieg campaign in Western Europe and looks at the struggle of the German High Command to adopt the brilliant "sickle cut plan" when they themselves were expecting a long drawn out war and then looks how the campaign unfolded in depth. The book examines how the German victory came about even though the German forces were outnumbered and also contained in some instances inferior equipment e.g. the panzer divisions contained mainly inferior tanks of panzer pzkpfwIs & pzkpfwIIs.

The German advantages however lay in their ability to co-ordinate all arms in their arsenal e.g. airpower, armour, infantry and the German personnel on the battlefield were able to make quick decisions in the field and were always conscious of time and pushed onto their objectives. The author relates this ability to quickly react to the German training in that the German command gave out objectives and missions, but the way in how these were to be achieved was largely up to the individual officers in the front lines. It was also the unauthorised actions of commanders like Guderian and Rommel by relentlessly pushing forward with their panzers and outstripping the supporting infantry that caught both the German and Allied commands of guard. The French & Allied way was to wait for orders but once received they were generally hopelessly out of date, and time and again opportunities to launch effective counter attacks were wasted. The French Command was slow to react, unable to coordinate all arms and could not organise an effective counter attack at the operational level, they could only achieve this at a tactical level.

The author examines how the Germans came out victorious even though they contained large numbers of inferior tanks. The Germans achieved this by concentrating their armour in panzer divisions adhering to Guderians concept of "punching with the fist and not feeling with the fingers". The French tanks were superior in armour and firepower but lacked radio and had small fuel tanks. The French were constantly stopping to refuel from fuel trucks whereas the Germans tried to alleviate this by carrying fuel in jerry cans with them. The German tanks contained radio that enabled crews to better coordinate their attacks and gave them the edge. When the French did manage to mass their tanks it was in a linear fashion with no depth and the Germans were easily able to penetrate. Once the French lines were penetrated and the Germans raced on and reached the French rear areas, panic ensued and the French front virtually collapsed.

The author points out the French Command incorrectly assessed the Ardennes as impassable by armour, neglected the Sedan sector through lack of mines & incomplete bunkers and ignored reconnaissance reports of German movements and of course were far too slow to react. Also, the French airforce was not very effective because a long drawn out war was expected and therefore only a portion of available aircraft were committed.

This is indeed an interesting and well researched book and highly recommended.

This book is both an analysis of whether the campaign in France in 1940 was planned as a "blitzkrieg" and a rather good account of the campaign itself.

The author very convincingly demonstrates that the Germans in general (and Hitler in particular) did not plan the French campaign as a blitzkrieg-style attack. While the high command's conservative plans resembled a revamp of WWI plans, a few new-style officers--principally Manstein and Guderian--came up with and convinced Hitler to authorize the daring plan to attack through Sedan. The campaign would have been an even greater success if Hitler and the senior generals had not lost their nerve and continually reined-in the panzers. In any event, all the German generals were a bit stunned by the quick victory. The author concludes by saying that France was an "unplanned but successful blitzkrieg, while Russia was a planned but unsuccessful blitzkrieg."

The book is also an excellent account of the campaign, and points out many interesting facts, such as:
--the French supreme headquarters was not equipped with a single radio at the outbreak of the war;
--another senior headquarters had a single telephone line, which became inoperable every day betwee 12:00 and 14:00 while the battle was raging because the swithboard girl insisted on her lunch break;
--at the outbreak of the war, the Germans had twelve times more trained radio operators than the French army;
--while the superiority of many French tank models over the German panzers is rather well known, the author recounts an incident in which a panzer commander grew so frustrated that his panzer could not damage a nearby French tank that he dismounted and attacked it (unsuccessfully and with fatal results) with a hammer.

Meticulously sourced, well written, great book. My only quibble is the rather excessive use of the word "astonishing"...

This is such an important novel. Everyone needs to read this book, especially as the issue of torture is finally center stage in American politics. The author's writing is beautiful, unusual, and distinctive. She is clearly someone whose career readers should follow. I recommend this book whole-heartedly. I could not put it down.

A brilliantly-written, moving book about the takeover of British-occupied Singapore by the Japanese in WWII.
This story is ingeniously told through masterful writing which is at times poetic, at times cryptic and always beautifully descriptive.
The superbly-drawn characters are utterly human, believable and many-layered. No cliches or stereotypes here.
This novel is political, historical, psychological, and deeply emotional. It seems to transcend time and place.

In the middle of "Breaking the Tongue", Vyvyane Loh repeats Somerset Maugham's warning that:

"'A work of fiction ... is an arrangement which the author makes of his experience with the idiosyncrancies of his own personality.' In other words, if someone messed with him, he'd write him into a story."

It seems that most of the ethnic groups in Singapore must have "messed" with this Malaysian author and she's written them into a mean-spirited parody of life in the island state during the 1940's.

At the center of the action are the Lim's. Father Lim is a sadistic snob, who evicts a homeless family from their temporary shelter in his drainage ditch. Mother Lim is a mentally unstable self-mutilator with the morals and varnished claws of a cat. Junior is a whiny adolescent. Little Sister doesn't have a speaking part, but her Confucian saint of a grandmother makes up for it by reciting large tracts of Sun Tzu at the drop of a hat. The various members of the family detest each other and that is the only part of the book that truly makes sense.

Alert readers will have noticed by now that "Breaking the Tongue" is a farce, not a literal history of Singapore. It didn't take any `courage' to write, just a lot of spleen.

An American reader confronted with a passage of Chinese characters might think: "Well, this is Chinese text so if it were read aloud it would come out as Chinese." This however is completely false. The tens of thousands of incredibly complex Chinese characters are ideograms, they represent not sounds but meanings such as man, flower or war. As a matter of fact, there are many Chinese languages such as Mandarin, Cantonese or Hokkien. All of these spoken languages sound entirely different but they are all written in the same set of Chinese characters. A long time ago the Japanese also adopted Chinese characters to write their language which is of course completely different from Chinese. The practical Japanese use an alphabetic script as well, so in practice a passage of Japanese writng might consist of a mixture of Chinese ideograms and alphabetic symbols. It is clear therefore that if you were erudite enough you could write any language including English in Chinese characters. Conversely, if you were to read aloud a passage of Chinese text you could do so in any language including English. Chinese text in other words is sound-independent, language-independent or as we might say tongue-independent.

In this book, near the end, the English text is occasionally replaced by passages of Chinese characters which are of course incomprehensible to the average American reader. This does not mean that the author has switched from English to Chinese but only that she has abandoned (or broken) the tongue. This is one meaning of the book's title, but only the metaphorical meaning.

There is a literal meaning as well. At the end of the book, the main character Claude Lim cuts out (or breaks) his own tongue. This operation is described in very clinical detail reminding us of the fact that the somewhat intimidatingly brilliant author is in fact a practicing physician who writes Nobel Prize quality novels in her spare time. The reason Claude cuts out his tongue is that he is an "English educated" Singaporean Chinese which meant in the colonial pre-war period that he was taught only English and could not speak a word of Chinese. After the Japanese conquest in 1942 and related personal events, Claude rejected his English education and wished to revert to his Chinese heritage. Since he could speak only English he accomplished this by cutting out his tongue ao that he could no longer speak any language but make only grunting sounds.

The reader may be pleased to hear that in modern independent Singapore Claude Lim's linguistic dilemma can no longer occur. English is now the primary language of education for all Singaporeans but each ethnic group is also taught their "mother tongue" whether it be Malay, Tamil (a southern Indian language) or (Mandarin) Chinese. So there are four official languages in Singapore and every Singaporean of normal intelligence is at least bilingual.

Well, it has taken me the space of a longish Amazon review and I have managed to explain only the title. To explain the body of the book as well is obviously beyond the scope here. But perhaps you can see what I mean when I describe this book as of Nobel Prize quality. I do not mean that Vyvyane Loh will receive the Prize in the near future since the Swedish Academy will not award it for a first novel. What I mean is that there is not the slightest doubt in my mind that she will receive the Nobel eventually. This book has the literary quality and the depth that would be expected. It is also has the exotic setting that is evidently much liked in Stockholm. So congratulations Vyvyane, a great literary future for you is assured.

In BREAKING THE TONGUE Vyvyane Loh successfully brings to life the myriad of cultures and languages resulting in a rich tapestry of colors and flavors of Singapore, situated at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. The days of the British Empire are numbered as the Japanese threaten to invade Singapore in the days leading up to Second World War. Within the unstable economic and political landscape is Claude Lim, a young Chinese boy who was raised to only speak the language and admire the mannerisms of England. His parents taught him that the Chinese along with other non-whites are barbarians; the British are much more civilized and cultured. There is little uncertainty that the British will succeed in protecting Singapore from the Japanese menace.

Despite their initial beliefs the Japanese experience minimal difficulties advancing south through Malaysia towards Singapore. After his family flees to the relative safety of the countryside Claude is left behind to resume his studies. However, shortly after their departure the routines of everyday life are interrupted when the bombings begin and war becomes more apparent. Claude along with Brit Jack and Chinese Ling-li who strive to survive day by day while running a defunct medical clinic. They dodge bombs and the chaos of the streets to buy food and run the injured to the hospital without knowing when or if any type of normalcy will return to Singapore.

One of this novel's strengths is the manner in which Loh highlights and exposes the issues of cultural identity and belonging. There is Claude who is a devout Anglophile and who has essentially turned his back on his cultural identity, Jack who is British but is interested in the peoples of Singapore, and Ling-li who is strong pro-China. These three divergent individuals bunker down and explore their own cultural identity. Throughout the course of this book Claude slowly realizes that all his father taught him is not necessarily true. He begins to regret not knowing the various Chinese dialects and opens his eyes to the futility of his parent's choices.

BREAKING THE TONGUE is a book that is well worth seeking out and reading. It is filled with mystery, intrigue, and action and there's much to enjoy.

"There was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire. From Ceylon to the Americas, England ruled, bringing her lifestyle to Crown colonies around the globe.

Being stationed in India or Egypt, however, was no excuse to relax the standards of living to which British Army officers were accustomed. Living 'under canvas' did not mean roughing it. Instead, they brought their homes with them, packing cunningly constructed, portable furniture suitable for any elegant tented dinner.

Today, campaign furniture's elegance and simplicity have made it a must-have item for decorators and antique lovers. Nicholas Brawer's new book British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas (Abrams) provides a fascinating history and a guide to collapsible decor."

I just had to have this book. The subject matter was unusual and touched on the social aspects of camp life in the British Army.
The pictures are fabulous.

This is an excellent review of British Campain Furniture.

Each piece is photographed in colour and/or Black & White, discussed and given brief measurements. The "disembled" photos are of great use to anyone who wishes to reconstruct any of the items from the book, as well as satisfying the just plain curious. Some of the gadgets are fantastic.

Unfortunately, like most books of this type, the author is limited by the pieces that he can access within a year or two. I know there were 'Campaign' folding rocking chairs, and I an certain that there are other examples of furniture, with other systems of assembly ( Louis Vouton made a folding-bed-in-a-trunk for the Brazza Expedition in Africa in the late 1800's which survives - there is a single picture in 'Treasure Chests').

I can only hope that the author will be encouraged to keep looking & photographing, and that we may see a second volume in years to come.

Sorry Amazon, you just don't have enough stars........

"If you were a British officer during the 18th or 19th century, your home had the look of a proper English residence, with desks, chairs, sofas, chests and fancy bedroom suites--even if you lived in a tent.

'The only real difference between fine household furniture and its campaign counterpart was that the latter could be quickly folded up, packed away in boxes, transported, and--without the use of nails, tacks or tools--reassembled...,' Nicholas A. Brawer writes in British Campaign Furniture.

How the furniture can be taken apart and stored is fascinating. One dining table and set of four padded chairs and a chaise lounge can be broken down into pieces that fit into two small crates.

There are pictures of the furnishings set up and stored. Often officers lived better overseas than at home. One cartoon depicts a British officer and his wife dining in their home overseas, with a half-dozen servants waiting on them, and then dining at home after retirement, with only one housekeeper.

Nearly half the book is a portfolio of the furnishings and detailed descriptions of manufacturers and furniture makers."

This book is a must have for anyone interested in English antiques, social, military, or naval history. I have never seen another book on this subject and it is filled with very interesting "before" and "after" photographs of dozens and dozens of pieces of campaign furniture "assembled" and "disassembled." I imagine this book has been a great hit in London.

I wasn't really expecting to receive this book as quickly as it was delivered. As a matter of fact, I also ordered a book from another seller who is only 50 miles away. The books were ordered at the same time. They were also delivered the same day even though the seller was several states away.

I'm into lepidoptera, and own several buttefly books. This is definitely my go-to guide, and anytime I go in the field, this is the book I bring. It's great to have photos, field marks, maps, and there are pictures that show variations among different species. The format's great because one side of the page is all photos, and the facing side has the map and text. I think that if you're just getting into butterflies, a book like Introduction to Southern California Butterflies or the Golden Guide Butterflies and Moths are good to start off with, as this one may be a little to much for someone who is not too familiar with butterflies and doesn't know the basics yet.

This book was recommended by a person who was experienced in butterfly identification. As a beginner, it is awesome. So for the experienced and the beginner, it is wonderful. A must buy for the curious in all of us about those beautiful butterflies God put on the face of the earth!

A while back I wrote a review of the Peterson Series "Field Guide to Western Butterflies", which I had used in the field during the 4th of July Butterfly Count in the Organ Mountains of New Mexico. I gave it five stars as I thought it the best field guide to actually use in the field. The rival Audubon guide to butterflies left me cold because it simply does not show enough detail for identifying hard species. I thus dismissed photo guides because of this bad experience, thinking that artists did better work in illustrating these beautiful insects. I was wrong! There is a way to produce a photo guide to butterflies that actually works and Jeffrey Glassberg has done it! This is the best field guide that I have ever seen for butterflies. The photos, mostly taken by the author, are simply superb! The best thing that Glassberg has done is to standardize the photos so you can compare the same characters. This is a major innovation and must certainly have taken a lot of time. The placing of maps and descriptions opposite the photographic plates is also a major change from the other popular guides. It sure saves a lot of page flipping!

I am often laughed at because I still use a 35 mm SLR for photographing insects, but Glassberg's photos (all with a 35 mm SLR) show why it still may pay. Digitals are, I know, the coming thing and will soon overtake SLRs, but most digitals still cannot match an old Nikon FM2n with a 55 mm macro or an Olympus with a 90 mm macro, both of which I use.

Glassberg's remarks about how much space digital shots take up (5 MB roughly for a decent high resolution) are probably dated because of gigabyte technology which allows as much as 200 shots at a time, even at high resolution. However, I still like the feel of a SLR and many digitals (but not the more expensive ones) are boxy and difficult to hold. I get irritated with the automatic focus that often keeps me from getting the shot of an easily disturbed subject.

Those aside; if you are at all interested in butterflies and can afford only one book, get this guide! It is the new standard for photo guides and it will be hard to ever beat it.

A quick summary for anyone who doesn't want to read my ramblings. This is a great identification reference. It is intended only as an identification guide. And as that, it is excellent. But with so many butterflies described, the casual butterfly observers may want a smaller book / chart with only local species for easier lookup (perhaps in addition).

First, it is important to know what this is. It is a field guide to aid in identification of butterflies and skippers, with very good photos for that end. The photos may not be artistically pleasing to everyone, but they are taken in such a way to best present the butterfly for identification. Unique identification characteristics of individual species are pointed out when they will aid in the identification. Size and geographical distribution is also given. On each photo the author also tells you how large the photo is compared to a real specimen.

This is not a butterfly reference book. You will not find detailed information about the butterflies in this book. Instead, you will be able to identify what you find, and then use the name to look up more details on that butterfly in another book / the Internet.

This is also not a coffee table book with large glossy photos of butterflies. Due to the sheer number of species described in the book, each photo is rather small, and as mentioned earlier, may not be artistically pleasing to everyone. Little attention is paid to the background, since that is not very important to identification. When the plant the butterfly frequents is important to the identification, it will be mentioned in the text.

The sheer number of butterflies in this guide can be overwhelming to the casual observer. I don't know if I'll ever see more than 1% to 2% of the butterflies listed here. Since the butterflies are not sorted by region, getting a less comprehensive book with local species only may be easier for the casual observer. This book stays at home, while I carry a small laminated "quick guide" to common local butterflies.

I don't observe them through binoculars (the book does have a short section on that as well), I photograph them. There's a short section on butterfly photography that, while mainly focused on film photography, does contain some good tips.

The only thing I have not been able to identify definitively so far with this book are skippers.

When I first started collecting Cameos it was very confusing which ones were worth collecting. This book showed me what to look for and what to watch out for. Well worth the money!

I liked the book. It could of had alot more information in it because there was a few things that I did not get answered...like I had hoped. But I guess you can't expect one book to give you all the information that a person seeks.

The book is very thorough and spotting every important and relevant issue concerning old and newer cameos. Very easy to read and remember, giving all that's good to know about cameos. Recommended for anyone interested in knowing them - collectors, dealers, teachers...

The only thing is that almost all of the photographs are in black & white, and in a rather poor quality. If the photos were in good quality color, this would have just made the book perfect. I, for one, would be happy to pay for the difference.

If you love cameos and collect them this is a wonderful little book for you. Tells you the history, the types, the reasons for certain styles, how to tell the age, how to tell the value, and all the necessary terminology for discussing them. Good illustrations are also a plus.

When most people think of cameos, they think of the standard woman's profile carved from shell and mounted as a brooch or necklace. But the art of the cameo encompasses far more than that. Historically, it dates back to the ancient world, and over the centuries many materials have been used in making these works of art. Although female heads are probably the most common subject, mythological figures, animals, portraits of individuals, and many other things have found their way onto cameos. The quality can range all the way from cheap mass-produced modern items to fine hand-crafted pieces worthy of any museum.

Anna Miller's "Cameos" is a wonderful introduction to cameos. She covers the history of the form, the subjects normally found and what each one looks like--very useful in an age where few people know their mythology. She describes the different materials that have been used in making cameos--including lava from Mt. Vesuvius, shell, agate, onyx, plastic, and glass. There's an extensive section on how cameos are made and on the people who made (and make) them. One particularly useful discussion describes the differences between traditional hand-carved works and those made by modern ultrasonic machines (vital for any modern buyer). The author also gives information on how to evaluate quality and condition and on market value. The book is illustrated throughout with black and white pictures, and there is an extensive color section in the middle. One of the best things about this book is that the author is able to convey her appreciation of the art of cameos to the reader. "Cameos" is an essential reference for anyone who wants to acquire a knowledge and understanding of this art. Highly recommended.

While this book is about using Microsofts Project 2003 Software it contains a wealth of information about leadership and business and street smarts of managing yourself. Many times in life we get so involved we "can't see the forest because of the trees". Boged down in details we lose sight of the big picture. Ron provides clarity that can help anyone move forward with laser like effeciency, if they want. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to live larger, and be more successful. Lee Holden

I recommend this book to anyone getting started in PM

I have just started using this application and this book has turned me in to a confident user. All of my departments projects will now go on to Project 2000. Ron not only explains how to use Project, he also describes the principles behind them and the common problems that can occur while trying to run a project. He also explains the importance of "iced mochas and pistachios" and other necessities.
the book is well written, applicable and easy to read. Ron's Mum should be proud :)

I was just hoping to find a book on how to use MS Project 2000, but instead I found an excellent reference on project management that also teaches MS Project. That is the value of this book - it teaches good project management skills, and how MS Project can help you reach your goals. I especially recommend this to project management rookies.

Everything is explained so that is easy to understand, even amusing sometimes. I think a book like this would be perfect for a beginning course on project management.

My first inclination when I saw the title COOLIES was offensive, but as I read the book, I thought how appropriate the title was. I applaud the publisher and author for reminding us of the truth about the Chinese's struggle for dignity and equal rights. The illustrations are luminous and complimentary to the text. I appreciated the artist's attention to detail all the while capturing the human spirit and struggles of early Chinese life in America. This is a must have book for all libraries to include as part of Asian studies. Asians must owe it to the Chinese (especially the Cantonese) whose sacrifices paved the way for all Asians living comfortably in this country today.

I think it is a great book that I think everyone should read. It was a great story that had good detail and had awesome illustrations that go really good with the book. I also think that the railroad was a great Place for the two of the characters to work at all through the story.

The part I like about Coolies was when they went to put the dynamite on the edge of the cliff. Chris Sentpient is my favorite Illustrator because he writes good book. I gave you 5 stars.

I give this book 5 stars because it has beautiful illustrations. The pictures look life like.

Delightful story of two young boys who leave China and travel to US to earn money to send home. It begins because a grandmother is trying to teach her grandson the importance of honoring their ancestors.

The story is told by the young boys as they take us on the voyage, into the work camps and show us a glimpse of the predujices they faced in America.

It shows of the love the two boys have for each other and how they sacrifice to see to each others needs during this hard time. In spite of what they face, the boys remain optimistic.

The illustrations are beautiful.

A great book. I defy anyone to read this and not find it fascinating and useful and life enhancing.

I LOVED this book. It provides a fascinating inside look into the unconscious mind and the power of hypnosis and counseling. Even if you have no interest in hypnosis per se, this is a great study of human nature and relationships.

Rarely do we get a chance to witness a master healer at work. In this fascinating and well-written book you can begin to fathom how the mind impacts the body, how powerfully the events of our childhood mold our psyche and reverberate into every area of our lives. Here's a benchmark for good therapy - so whenever you might need some help navigating your life, you hope to find a gifted therapist like David Calof. This is a must-read for all who want to know themselves and others. P.S. Mr. Calof, when's your next book coming out?

Rarely do we get a chance to witness a master healer at work. In this fascinating and well-written book you can begin to fathom how the mind impacts the body, how powerfully the events of our childhood mold our psyche and reverberate into every area of our lives. Here's a benchmark for good therapy - so whenever you might need some help navigating your life, you hope to find a gifted therapist like David Calof. This is a must-read for all who want to know themselves and others. P.S. Mr. Calof, when's your next book coming out?

Rarely do we get a chance to witness a master healer at work. In this fascinating and well-written book you can begin to fathom how the mind impacts the body, how powerfully the events of our childhood mold our psyche and reverberate into every area of our lives. Here's a benchmark for good therapy - so whenever you might need some help navigating your life, you hope to find a gifted therapist like David Calof. This is a must-read for all who want to know themselves and others. P.S. Mr. Calof, when's your next book coming out?