Q and A Books

I found this book easy to read and understand. It's a refreshing look at the past and notes important specifics in history. "Cuts to the chase."
This book is well organized and easy to navigate.

A trully remarkable text book! This text strives where many fail, in communicating with students from AP level high school to Doctoral studies. Includded are full color diagrams on the political process, governmental structure dating back to the 1600s. Also, philisophical viewpoints from Plato to John Locke. The benefit of the text, is its current up-to-date information on the 'insides' of political views and parties. This text would assist anyone in learning about our nations history and government.

This text is the finest I have come across for a basic understanding of American government.

MMMurphy

American Government covered everything and anything on politics. I could not have asked for a better introduction on politics! It covered everything from the US Constitution to interest groups and the bureaucracy. If you are interested in politics, but need a simple, solid introduction, this book is for you! However, I found the book was difficult to read, as it was poorly written and tedious at times. Although this book is probably the best intro to Government around, do not buy it if you have a short attention span.

This book offers a foundation for political concepts and historic background about the U.S. Using standard survey course format, the author skims the broad topics of government from the core documents, including the Declaration and the Constitution, to the general structures and processes of governing. While I must conclude with a prior reviewer that the writing is unexciting, I have yet to find THE basic government text equivalent of "Democracy - Not 4 Dummies"

I LOVE BOOKS LIKE THIS! Action, vivid detailed fight scenes. I really didn't feel this was horror as more of fantasy/science fiction. I loved the way TL Gardner hooked me into his story and kept me turning the pages in this urban novel.

I kept thinking how cool it would be to see this in a series or mini series. The graphics and action would just be amazing. I can't wait to read Book Two. Faboulous!

The book had me so involved that I at one point had to stop and look around behind me to see if maybe something was about to get me. I don't normally read horror, but I wanted to read something by TL Gardner, that he'd written by himself and this book was fantastic.

The characters were interesting enough to keep me reading and keep me interested in what was going to happen next. However, the flow of the story had too many abrubt scene/incident chages to make it a good novel. With more time, writing, and editing Demon Hunter would have been a good first novel.

Elijah Garland is tired of life as he knows it. Just as he experiences some kind of happiness, something happens to take it away from him. It's as if he isn't meant to be anything other than miserable and alone. It is in that misery that he finally accepts his fate, accepts defeat and shoots himself in the head, taking his own life. One wonders how all of that comes to pass in the first few pages of DEMON HUNTER by T. L. Gardner, but only one who hasn't read previous work by this talented young author.

Instead of death being the end for Elijah, he wakes up in the hospital days later without any apparent damages. His mother and sister are happy to see him alive, but the doctors and the police don't quite understand the "hows" of his recovery and want to run tests and interrogate him. Elijah doesn't question it too much either. He just makes a run for it and eventually it is revealed to him that he has been chosen from birth to right some of the wrongs in the world, to take battle against the forces of darkness (demons, minions, and even Lucifer himself) who are trying to take over their world. With his twin swords Enobe and Soul Seeker, he sets out on the mission. He is "The Protector" and he uses his past pain and rage to guide him on his journey.

Being chased by the police, he encounters FBI Agent Ebonee Lane to whom he immediately feels an attraction. She is undercover on a case which she finds has some connection to Elijah and just as she thinks she knows what's going on, everything around her changes and she ends up fighting for her life. Through both their travels and the battles with the human and supernatural forces around them, they are tested on love, faith, and the meaning of life.

DEMON HUNTER is a mesmerizing and emotional trek through the landscape of good and evil, love and hatred, life and death. T. L. Gardner is an exceptional writer who gives the reader a well-paced story, solid characters, vivid imagery, and witty dialogue.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Platinum Reviewers Rating 4.5
Do you believe that before you are born your destiny is already chosen for you? Well TL Gardner explains in Demon Hunter how if the Archangels or any angel with status has a mission for you that your life could be altered even before your existence.

Elijah Garland never could figure out why so much wrong has gone on in his life from the many failed attempts at happiness, love, and joy but when he finally finds happiness and thinks he has a hold on it a man with a vengeance for what Elijah has done takes his away another one of his one true loves. What he fails to realize is that the Archangel Gabriel has played a part in his existence before he was even conceived and it was all in reason of him to become a Demon Hunter a half angel half human to fight the war that is happening on Earth. Elijah has found a second love with Ebonee and wouldn't let harm find its way to her but he didn't realize that Ebonee would also become the one who could pull him out of his dark moments. With Elijah and Ebonee teamed up as one they fight hells most evils presence with the help of FBI contact and a priest but will it be enough to keep love alive long enough for Elijah to finish his father's mission and to possible catch a full glimpse of love and happiness.

TL Gardner brings laughter and complete enjoyment into his book and his characters leaving you wanting for more just to see what else these characters could get their selves into. I would defiantly recommend this book to any paranormal or romance reader.


~ Reviewed by Missy Brown

My brother passed me this book, and now I want to tell everyone I know about it. These are terrifying topics, many of which we wonder about but don't have the nerve to ask. Doesn't matter if you are looking at it to laugh-you will learn something. Not like from a text book, more like from talking to people, most of whom you'll never get to meet.

The material in the book speaks about his commitment to diversity and discussion, and knowing that he runs the yforum website shows it even more.

This is an entertaining book, filled with different people's perceptions on race, sexuality and culture. The format is simple: A question is asked and various people answer the question based on their experience. At the end of each question an 'expert' answers the question putting closure on the topic.

I was vastly entertained by the subject of sexuality, race and ethnicity. (Although some questions were somewhat silly... ) A reader wonders why "White People" (a generalization in itself), smell like wet dogs when they get wet. Huh? Anyway myths such as this are quickly debunked. Thank God.

Several sections I found less interesting. The section on disabilities, age, and class (a social and not biological construct) seemed common knowledge or to have so many variables that I found it difficult to be interested. Age is also another widely variable category. Sometimes the questions seemed a little off-kilter such as: "How come it seems that Teenagers are afraid to take care of AIDS patients?" Huh? I've never heard or thought of this as being a perception of teenagers. Teens come with variable responsibility levels as do adults.

Overall an excellent book. Sure to educate one on both our perceived and real differences. This could only be improved with a few more 'widely wondered' questions and an omission of a few of the more obvious ones. High entertainment value.

This book exercises the most important part of the body -- the brain. It will stimulate your thinking about questions you have always wondered about, but were afraid to ask. I found myself laughing out loud, flinching with embarassment and saddened by our ignorance. Milano provides great balance by giving the reader both individual and expert opinions to our questions. I Can't Believe You Asked That! will contribute to your understanding of the concept of tolerance in our world today.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is obvious that the author has selected the most sincere questions and responses from what must be a great collection of sticky material. Some topics are amusing, some heartbreaking, but all of them are honest.

Adding the opinion of experts on each topic provides a great summary, while still allowing the reader to ponder the question and arrive at his own conclusion, or at least arrive at a better understanding about persons different from himself.

We need this book, if for nothing else, than to open our minds to understanding, tolerance and acceptance.

I call these sorts of books, "bon-bon books" because like a box of chocolates I find myself reading one piece and then another until pretty soon I find that I've read the whole darn thing!

This is a collection of questions and answers about delicate subjects from Milano's website, "Y? The National Forum on People's Differences." Some of this is a little too delicate for an Amazon review, but let me give it a try.

Do women (pass gas)? Replies range from "Of course..." (dodo brain) to "men tend to pass a higher volume of gas than women--about 120 cc (cubic centimeters) per passage to just 90 cc for women" while "women have a higher concentration of the dreaded hydrogen sulfide in their outbursts, which makes their odor intensity greater." So now you know. (But unmentioned is the inflammatory test beloved by adolescents with cigarette lighters...)

"Why do Christian networks and shows feature people with really big hair and lots of makeup and gaudy, overdecorated sets?" I always wondered that myself. According to one guy ("MIKE, 42, Humanist gay male), the target audience seems to be "trailer park trash" from the Bible Belt "where big hair and tons of makeup seem to never go out of style." Professor Anson Shupe from Indiana University adds that the Trinity Broadcasting Network, etc. have "done their polls and market research, and they know what sells" and "The big hair and ornate sets have a certain appeal to these televangelists' biggest audience segment: lower-middle-class, middle-aged females."

One more: "Is it true that when women are together they talk in much more graphic, detailed and intimate terms about sex and their sexual partners than men do?" Answer: it depend on who you ask, but according to Milano's expert, Aline Zoldbrod, "I think men like to imagine women having all these intimate discussions about their sexual relationships, but women are as private as men." Hmm. Another truism of my youth blown to smithereens.

The book is divided into nine chapters from "COLOR-BLIND: Race and Ethnicity" to "ON THE JOB: Work." Within the chapters are sections headed by a question, followed by some answers from people who responded on the website (e.g., "DEBBIE K., 29, married female"), concluded with what Milano calls a "Y?Check" in which he cites an authority or two on the subject at hand (or in hand, as the case may be). Tacked on to the end of the chapters are some questions they are working on, with no answers yet.

And, yes, SIZE does matter. (But you knew that.)

Bottom line: adult, levelheaded and informative, mostly PC, but not overly so with some chuckles and some surprises.

FORMER NBA PLAYER BILL BRADLEY TAKES US THROUGH SOME OF THE 1973-74 KNICKS SEASON, AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF BRADLEY, EARL MONROE, WILLIS REED AND DAVE DEBUSSCHURE. MOST OF IT IS INTERESTING AND WELL WRITTEN. IT IS NOT A TELL ALL OR CONTROVERSIAL BOOK BUT PRETTY MUCH A FACTS ONLY BOOK. SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS ARE HOW THE PLAYERS SPEND THEIR DOWN TIME ON ROAD TRIPS, THE AVAILABILITY OF WOMEN WHO WILL SLEEP WITH JUST ABOUT ANY PLAYER, AND THE INNERPLAY OF THE KNICKS IN PRACTICE AND ON PLANES. I LIKED THIS BOOK BUT IT IS NOTHING GREAT AND IT IS BORING AT TIMES BUT STILL WORTH A PEEK.

He writes about being in the NBA but it's during the 70's when it was so different from now. Players didn't make mega millions then. I can't believe they would still have to do their own laundry and share a hotel room with someone on the team. But it's a nice glimpse into the 70's and professional basketball, I guess. The basketball writing is okay, I've read much better. His writing is pretty dead.

Bill Bradley's account of three weeks in the life of an NBA team in the '70's is as much a stunningly insightful social commentary as it is a nice, easily-rambling, "On the Road"-style ride. Beautiful.

After reading John McPhee's account of Bill Bradley's years at Princeton, I put the book down and thought it was too good to be true. No NBA player I've ever seen is THAT smart. But after reading Bradley's own Life on the Run, I recant. Bradley IS that smart, and he's a hell of a writer to boot. This one can be spoken about with the same kind of respect due the classic sports profiles, including McPhee's own Levels of the Game. I'm glad I took a chance on this book. It was a real pleasure.

Bradley's memoir of the waning games in the New York Knicks' 1973-74 season (the season after they won their second NBA championship) contains many observations about professional sports that, unfortunately, continue to ring true today: the shameless exploitation of undereducated athletes by agents and comparable parasites; the intrinsic harshness of an itinerant existence during a roadtrip on the West Coast; the grueling physical and mental demands of the NBA regular season; the evanescent nature of fan support. Given all of the above, why then would anyone want to play NBA basketball? Well, Bradley also does a fine job of describing the many thrills an athlete can derive from, among other things, being exhalted by home fans; winning a championship; and being part of a selflless team unit that manages to sublimate individualistic tendancies in its pursuit of greater goals. Bradley's book, from what I can gather, was revolutionary for its time in that it eschewed the type of hagiographic approach that many writers took toward the world of professional sports and ablely demonstrated the myriad difficulties associated with being a player in the nation's largest media spotlight. It should be a must- read for all aspiring NBA players -- especially those players who are considering foregoing several (or all) years of their collegiate eligibilities to make a fast buck. They should be forewarned: "All that glitters isn't gold."

I found this book to be the best primer for someone who has not done any multithreaded programming. The examples are concise and straight to the point. I read this book in two days . This book was very similar to an Operating Systems course that I had taken where I learned about concurrent programming; e.g., the "Reader-writers" and the "Dinning Philosphers" problems, deadlocks/starvation, race conditions, and how to synchronize events, etc.. In a world where getting information/samples to show "how to" do multithreaded programming, this book will give you a starting point to build on. "Highly recommended".

Beware of this text, despite it's recent publication date of 1996 it only covers Windows NT 3.5 multithread API. If this is what you are looking for then purchase this book!

This book took me from knowing nothing about thread programming to writing professional mulithreaded programs very quickly. If you are tasked to write multithreaded programs under Windows NT (like I was) this book will give you a flying start.

A very well written book on multithreading. Though this book focuses on NT multthreading model, it will serve as a good reference for people working on UNIX as well. It is written in a very simple language which makes the reading very easy and interesting. Coming from UNIX background, I would have liked to have a more elaborate comparision of NT thread interface with UNIX (such as Solaris) one. But in no way this missing feature diminishes the value of this book. A must have!!

This book offers good solutions, overall. But it's advice is ocasionally flawed fatally. Within the first couple chapters, for example, the authors write all of their examples to call TerminateThread(), which is a fatal and unforgivable mistake that results in nothing more than unstability. Worse, throught the book, they code threads that use the C runtime libraries but start the threads with the CreateThread() API--that causes the runtime libraries to not correctly initialize or shutdown in all cases, and that results in memory leaks and unstability. While the authors clearly treat deadlocks and thread programming models, their implementations are still mortally flawed. A score of 10 for great abstract descriptions plus a score of 1 for terribly poor implementations and samples results in a score of five.

I would like to say "Thank You" to Admiral Kenneth M. Beyer for telling the story about my father. The story my father was not willing or able to tell himself. My father was not a flamboyant man and he spent thirty two years of his life in service to his country. I first read about my father's ship the USS Asterion in Michael Gannon's book "Operation Drumbeat." The dramatic true story of Germany's first U-Boat attacks along the American coast in World War II. The true nature of what my father did in 1942/43 did not become abundantly clear to me until after I read Kenneth Beyer's book. I was not born until two year after in 1945. I have contacted Mr. Beyer and talked with him personally even sending him copies of letters my father wrote to his mother (my grandmother) while he was in command of the USS Asterion. The one thing Mr. Beyer did not know was that Harry Hicks, captain of the USS Atik aka SS Carolyn, sunk by U-123 was my father's best friend. They graduated from the Naval Academy together in 1927. They kept in touch with each other throughout the Thirties and in 1942 while at the War College my father was asked if he would like to command a Q-Ship and he said he would if his friend Harry could be in command of one as well. I asked my father about his tour of duty aboard the Asterion and he said he did not care to discuss it other than to say it was a very dangerous assignment. Beyers discription of a confrontation that took place off of Jacksonville Beach between my dad's ship and the United States Coast Guard is vintage Legwen. I saw myself in this roll and I would have done exactly what my father did. You will need to read it for yourself. In the "The Beacon 1927-1962"(a publication of the United States Naval Academy), my father's comments to his fellow classmates are as follows: "I enjoyed the thirty years I spent on active duty and had the pleasure of serving with a grand bunch of people...In fact about the only disagreeable memory I have is not being able to arrive in time to help out my good friend Harry Hicks when he was sunk with all hands about ten days after we sailed on the "Q" Boat venture." Neither my father nor his crew ever received any recognition or so much as a thank you for this voluntary service to their country. One of the momentos that I will cherish as long as I live is a silver water pitcher. It is engraved with the following: To Captain & Mrs. G. Legwen from Crew U.S.S. Asterion May 1943. Captain Legwen died December 12, 1982. He never met his grandsons Glenn W. Legwen IV and William Lee Legwen born after his death.

having been a member of this ship's crew and therefore familier with most of the characters,I deem it to be authentic.

Captain Beyer has put together an excellent piece of work in this his first book! It is a story of courage and ingenuity in the bleak early months of WWII. This is a very well-researched work that is rich in detail. I read this fascinating chapter in U.S. Navy history with profound admiration.

A super book on an overlooked part of the Battle of the Atlantic --- the U.S. Q-Ships. Moreover, thanks to Kenneth Beyer, the families of men on the "Secret Ships" Asterion and Atik have a reference that documents what their parents and, in my case, grandparents accomplished, endured and gave in a little documented aspect of the Battle of the Atlantic.

I knew my Mother's Father, Guy Brown Ray, was an officer aboard the Asterion but little else until Mr. Beyer's book.

Mr. Beyer -- THANK YOU!!!

...

Q-ships were ineffective in the First World War, and obsolete in an era of unrestricted submarine warfare. But President Roosevelt insisted the U.S. Navy try Q-ships against the Nazi threat. It might perhaps be new to the young U-boat captains. Admiral E. J. King, commander of the U.S. Fleet, recognized the futility of the Q-ship concept, but lacking any real anti-submarine capabilities, King diplomatically complied: "the president had requested Q-ships, and Q-ships he would get," Beyer wrote in his Q-ships versus U-boats. King had two small freighters and a tanker converted and outfitted as Q-ships (USS Atik, Asterion, and Big Horn), invested minimal resources, and sent them in harm's way. The Q-ships were not expected to "last longer than a month after commencement of assigned duties," and indeed proved a futile and ineffective, albeit gallant, offensive gesture.

In his "Q-ships versus U-boats" Beyer (who served as Asterion's supply officer) uses American and German official records, and the memories, letters, and memorabilia of the veterans of Asterion and the families of the Atik crewmen to reconstruct a speculative account of the battle of Atik with U-105 and U-123. His "nonfiction fiction" fits the record to a dramatized rendering, based on Beyer's knowledge and imagination. This mixing history with fiction is the first problem with Beyer's book. The second is the dry and awkward writing. While flawed, Beyer's memoir fills a niche, and describes the minor role of America's Q-ships in the western Atlantic, holding on against the predations of the U-boats through the dark days of 1942... The Q-ships received none of the fused all-source operational intelligence that one year later would become essential to victory over the U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. No effort was made to exploit the U-boat captains' fallacious but ubiquitous fears, for example, by simulating Q-ship operations more widely, or making their existence public. To the contrary, the Q-ship operations remained classified long after the war. Like their counterparts in the Great War, the Q-ships lacked any effective mechanism to force U-boats to the surface, or even excite their interest. Only one of the three U.S. Q-ships was sure-fire U-boat bait: a high-value tanker. But this was happenstance; the Q-ships' designs were not based on any careful assessment of U-boat vulnerabilities to deception.

The Q-ships were a lost opportunity to effectively bait the U-boats to the surface. The British code breakers in the spring of 1941 had already seen the utility of cutting out German weather ships to capture their cryptographic materials. Royal Navy task forces in the spring of 1941 captured München and Lauenburg with their code keys, at about the same time HMS Bulldog fortuitously seized U-110 and her Enigma code machine, rotors, and keys. The Germans were just as intensely interested in British and American merchant codes, and read the Allied convoy codes until mid-1943. The Kriegsmarine surface raiders frequently made captures and seized intelligence materials.

The U.S. Navy might have baited and trolled Q-ships, enticing U-boats to the surface to attempt such a capture. But the U.S. Navy hatched no such ruses or deception schemes. America's few WWII Q-ships, basically window-dressing, essentially were sacrificed.

I ordered this book because, as a student of WW-2, I have always been curious to learn more about the Alamo Scouts, an organization that is only alluded to or mentioned briefly in most books on this conflict.

I found this book to be both interesting and informative, especially the sections devoted to the rigerous training imposed upon prospective members of the Scouts.

In my opinion, several of the exploits attributed to the Scouts could have been more lengthy and provided additional detail, but basically I am well satisfied with this story.

This book certainly answered many questions I had regarding this organization and the excellent and unheraled job they did.

This book covers a group of little known heros of WWII. While small in number it's importance to the success of the war in the Pacific cannot be measured by it's size. Their contribution cannot be in operations alone as the very existance of the group was a foundation for future units such as theirs. It could even be said that the Special Forces of today might possibly not exist had it not been for the foresight of the founder and the execution of operations of the men of The Alamo Scouts. The book is well written and with plentiful photographs. Their accompolishments are truly astounding.

This chronological review of the Alamo Scouts is interesting, but...

The story spends a great deal of time describing the organization, setup, and mission of the Alamo Scouts. Mr. Zedric does a very good job of providing this background information.

The author also does a very god job of outlining the missions performed by the Scouts and the positive impact of the Scouts on the US war effort in the Pacific. However, the book falls short by overviewing many missions, instead of detailing a few particular missions.

I would have enjoyed the book more had Mr. Zedric introduced me to 1-2 of the teams, and explored in greater detail, their efforts.

Having said that, the book is still interesting and explore's a fascinating portion of the war in the Pacific. As a result, I do want to learn more about the Phillipin campaigns.

The story on page 240 is more clear than I remember it. I was a Gunners Mate on PT Boat 379 of Squdron 28 and have pictures of the two prisoners that Lt. Dove brought back to the boat. Also took a picture of the 39 people we rescued. Lt. Morton was our skipper. At least one part of the operation was in daylite. The "team" was made up of only two men, Lt. Dove and a Filipino Scout. We in the boat crew couldn't believe the scouts could get away with some of the operations they were on. A most fantastic group of men.

Read this book! Real people, real heroes. I have no idea why they haven't made a movie about these guys.

They have a record no unit on the planet can top: 106 missions in 18 months, 138 personnel (including staff, support and operators), and no wounded or killed in action.

Freaking Unbelievable! One of the more interesting anecdotes was a prayer by one of the Scouts (paraphrased): "Lord, If you don't want me to kill the enemy, don't let me see them..."

Get this book, it's history and it's not dry at all!

Yarbro does an excellent job describing an element of Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' that (to my knowledge) heretofore lacks explanation: the three vampire wives or brides residing in Dracula's castle. 'The Angry Angel' depicts Dracula's acquisition of his blond vampire bride, Kelene. Kelene's journey as she follows Dracula's "calling" is riveting, as she and her family are spared few tragedies.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in vampire fiction and lore, particularly those who appreciate a rather graphic tale (in terms of violence, not sex). This subject was one of the missing links in vampire fiction, and Yarbro has done a fantastic job filling this niche. Her characters are convincing and well-developed, and this book is tightly compelling right up to the very last sentence. After reading this, I am anxious to read Yarbro's books about the other two wives of Dracula.

A young girl's gift, visions from her angry angel, protect the family she loves. But with each new vision there is a price to be paid until she finds herself the ultimate sacrifice. The contrast between the worship of God and the corruption of evil was very interesting. The erotic seduction of the young girl was breath taking without being explicit. As usual the historic detail is excellent. This book pulses with passion, action and horror. I couldn't put it down and have now read it three times. It is the best vampire novel in a long time.

I felt unfaithful to Anne Rice, however. this book and author is unique to her mostly because of the setting. I'm in awe of different cultures and time periods. She provides both deliciously with her use of such detail. It is difficult to find an author that provides both with a book that you can't put down. The details were so exact that you actually saw Kelene, her family, and of course Dracula and his numerous haunts. If you enjoy an exhilarating novel, then tap into this trilogy. The only complaint I have is that I wish the print was larger mainly because when I'm reading for hours, my eyes tire. This frustrates me because I don't want to go to bed....I want to keep reading. As soon as I finished it, I ordered her next. Read this one, you won't put it down.

Very good book. I found the descriptions of life in the fifteen hundreds very captivating. How a young girls life progresses and then digresses when she becomes Draculas slave is facinating. Well fleshed characters, great plot. I don't feel it is as good as Ann Rices Vampire Series but it is definately worth reading.

The Angry Angel is a mesmerizing tale of a young girl's seduction by the original vampire, Count Dracula. It's also a metaphor for a woman's surrender to male sexuality. Even if Chelsea Quinn Yarbro only intended to write a vampire story, the raw sexual symbolism shines through. The highlight of the book is the slave auction, where Dracula claims his "bride." I've read that passage over and over, I just can't get enough of it. I think it resonates with me because while it's degrading and de-humanizing, Kelene ultimately is claimed by her suitor and is allowed to become something she never dreamed of before. It's a metaphor for the kind of self-discovery we sometimes find in sex.

Do you love his wit? His cheerful smile? His omnipotence?
Well, here is the book for you - the scripts from all the times he decided to visit his friends in Star Fleet!
The book starts off with 'Encounter At Farpoint' and goes on to 'Hide And Q', 'Q Who?', 'Deja Q', 'QPid', 'True-Q', 'Tapestry', 'Q-Less', 'Death Wish', 'The Q And The Grey' and 'All Good Things'(which I think is the least interesting of all the encounters).

If you are into scripts and the technical aspects of seeing production scripts as they were used - this is a good set.

If you are a fan of Star Trek:The Next Generation era, and more specificlly, a "Q" fan..this is a must.

It features all the "Q" interuptions - interventions that John De Lancie performed brilliantly throughout the run of all four series. Great writing by the authors, but more memorable is the performances as you read through this journel of script.

Very entertaining and if you watch the episodes at the same time, you'll see the subtle differneces the actors bring to their characters. Get it!

I love the Q concept. We all have this spark of divinity, and power resonates with us. We also like a good smart alec like Lucifer in Milton's "Paradise Lost." Q whets both of these appetites. The Next Generation is an unusual series in that Q serves as a judge of humanity in the first and last episodes. It is a brilliant move by Rodenberry to have these bookends that frame the discussion and the series. There is something more than entertainment or collegiate forensics, but the actual question of humanities survival, with the Continuum as the metaphorical judges. You see a similar device used in the last episode of "Seinfeld," which was a clip show, but also Seinfeld on trial. Lucky, unlike Seinfeld, Picard was not found wanting.

This book has all the TV series scripts that have Q, expect "Q and the Grey," and any possible Cameo in "Enterprise." Aside from this one deletion, it's all here. It is titillating to watch the development of Q from a quasi-god or Loki being that were so prevalent in The Original Series (Melkots, Metrons, Orgainians, etc), but to a likeable almost Bart Simpson character. He was called the God of Lies, but he did let Data have a laugh.

This is not prose, but the actual scripts used in films, so keep that in mind whey you are buying. Remember the trouble you had with reading Shakespeare? Same format, so it is a little hard to read, and you need John de Lancie to breathe life into this one letter character.

There are several photos from the episodes, although I wish we had a better picture of the Continuum from "Death Wish." But the Q-Zone novel trilogy paints a better picture than they did with the voyager episode.

Aside from that one caveat, I recommend this for any Q-aholic as myself. Except for "Encounter at Farpoint," and "All Good Things," these episodes have not been novelized. This is your only source for the acid lines, with and wisdom of our favorite being.

I love this book. The schmuck above, my friend actually, didn't read far enough. That missing scene is indeed in the book. Hope to see more of Q in the future!

It's hard working in groups when you're omnipotent.

I love this character, he's a schmuck, but he's so damn fun, and irreprisible. When I grow up I want to join the Continuum.

This book is great. It is wonderful having access to the scripts. Being the Q nut that I am I could only give this book four starts. I was reading the episode where Amanda is involved. There is a part where Q tests here but inducing a warp core breach. He tells the crew he was responsible. They ask him what if Amanda had not been able to stop the breach, and he responds that then he would know she wasn't a Q. That part didn't appear in the transcripts.

All in all, great.

This is a great trivia book for R and B and Hip-hop fans alike. I liked it so much, I bought one for my brother.

Poulson-Bryant is a founding editor of VIBE and Fontaine used to be music editor at the SOURCE and the book only covers from the 1970s-1990s as a result. Forget Motown, Stax/Volt, Cab Calloway, The Moonglows...they ain't here.

The format of the book is a series of multiple-choice answers for a possible 1000 perfect "hi-fi Q" score. The book is HEAVILY weighted towards the rap era since the questions break down into 266 possible points for 70s questions, 328 for the 80s and 406 points for the 1990s. If you don't know your hip-hop, you may not do very well. However, the questions are at times a bit TOO easy. They're already multiple choice so you can always "pick C" if you don't know. And some of the questions give it away if you have HALF the information.

Case in point:
A question asking about female R&B groups. I had the answer narrowed down to either TLC or En Vogue and I was leaning toward TLC. The question said "what female R&B QUARTET"...so I could rule out TLC. This book would find the REAL black music geniuses more accurately if they tried to have at least 2 of the answers be very likely correct. i.e. two of the answers are female R&B quartets.

My Hi-Fi Q was 599 overall (74% of the 1970s questions, 60% on 80s and 50% on 90s). As to those saying it's a good way to learn more about R&B, I'd say that's iffy. Since the answers are placed all the way at the end of each section, instead of say at the bottom of each page with explanations and more detail, most people probably won't bother to flip back and forth.

BOTTOM LINE:
Might be a fun diversion for a day or two at a family reunion. But I don't see a whole lot of "re-read" value and I don't think it's a good candidate for boning up on rap/R&B music. You'd probably do better with a NON-trivia book in that case.

I always enjoy Books as these they are fun for cook-Outs&things where you can ask questions&things on different Musical Artists.it covers a Wide Range.it truly has a Family Affari Vibe at how it covers so many different time periods but yet combines&brings them as one.

This book is an awesome example of fun and education working in tangient. I would highly recommend What's Your Hi-Fi Q ? for summer outings as well as a tool for black music education. Scott and Smokey has done a phenomenal job in using their expertise of black music to create an outstanding product. It's definitely a book I would want to have if I were even remotely interested in black music history.

I heard these guys on the radio and saw them on TV talking about this book and they seemed real interesting and knowledgeable about music. The book proves it. It's full of tons of trivia questions about hiphop and r&b, but the best part is the funny and informative lists they have, like Top 5 Posse Records and Top 5 Blue-Eyed Soul records. I don't agree with their choice for the best Duet ("The Closer I Get To You" by Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack). I would have picked Donny and Roberta's "I Who Have Nothing". But anyway they got some good choices all over the book. You'll enjoy this book if you love music and you love trivia. It's like a hiphop version of "Jeopardy."