Programs Books

I recently bought all the box sets of X-Files DVD's and have been watching them in order when I came across this book on Amazon. It was a valuable source of information and trivia for all the episodes for that season. I only wish I had gotten the earlier volumes of this series and that it had continued for seasons 8 and 9.

After a much anticipated wait, I was glad to have this book appear in my mailbox shortly after it delayed in publishing. Happy as a clam I thumbed through the pages, seeing each episode written in a "short story" style with dialougue taken from the scripts. I am also glad to see that they kept the title "all things" in lower case, as Gillian Anderson had when naming the episode she had written and directed. I have all season guides and I must say this is one of the best ones put out.

This Book would have to be my all time favorite that only adds to my collection of vol.3-6 now. If you want more x-files, and want to learn more about Season 7, I suggest buying this book. Of course, like the other volumes it has in-depth details of each episode as well as black & white pictures to accommodate them. There are eight pages of color pictures: X-Cops, Je Souhaite, Fight Club, FPS, and, Hollywood A.D.. Very Cool! I enjoy this book very much, despite the delay in publishing, but beleive me, it was worth the wait. There's also the back story of why the ending of Requiem was kept a secret, why Chris waited until the last day of shooting Requiem to write the finale, and why only 2 people knew of it's true ending. . . . All in All, an Excellent Book to add to your X-Files Paraphernalia!

This book has great photo, dialogue each show, the cast, interviews, and intersting facts about the show. This is a must have in any one x-files colection.:) :) :) :) :)

I had some apprehensions about this book before it even came out. First, the release date for this volume was pushed back, which is not typically a very good sign. And second, this volume was being drafted by Marc Shapiro and not Andy Meisler (who did such a wonderful job with the previous two volumes). But after having read through it, I can happily allay any apprehensions about this book not living up to its predecessors. Volume 6 in this series is just as good, if not better, than those volumes that came out before it.

Marc Shapiro does a great job in delivering the goods behind every episode. I was very impressed with this from Andy Meisler, and Marc Shapiro doesn't disappoint. There is interesting background information on all the episodes - things like the time-crunch in making "Requiem" and the fact that Gillian Anderson had to wear a wig in a car scene in "The Goldberg Variation" because it was shot after her hair stylist had sheared off her lovely locks.

Included in this book are eight full-color pages of images from the seventh season. Those images selected are fine enough, but they only focus on about four or five episodes, which doesn't do such a great season justice. It would have been nice to see more of a mix - some mythology episodes ("The Sixth Extinction" and "Sein Und Zeit") and stand-alone episodes ("En Ami" and "All Things"). But this is a minor detraction from an overall sharp-looking book.

Any fans of the series should have this volume sitting on their bookshelves. This is a must-have, and it is an enjoyable read. Well worth the wait in the time it took to get it published.

The Anonymous Disciple is for anyone struggling with an addiction of if they have a family member who is addicted. My brother has ALS and has been in AA for many many years. I taped this book for him including my laughter and my tears. He loved it and his care giver loved it. I want to thank the author for writing such a moving story of MAN.

Mary M. Shanks

Excellent book, and though it stands alone, it may be best to read after reading "Father Fred and the Twelve Steps: A Primer for Recovery" since Father Jim followed fellow Jesuit Father Fred through the doors of AA recovery.

I found this book difficult to put down, as it started by introducing some "unknown" speaker at an AA meeting (Fr Jim) through the eyes of a "newbie" third party, and and then immediately took the reader back many years to a desperate Fr Jim in a near-hopeless situation. The book takes us through his struggle in recovery, Fr Jim's work among the "disposables" (institutionalized alcoholics and addicts) and how together they became healthy, both in mind and spirit. A really inspirational true tale.

You will not regret reading this book.

I have been in recovery for many years, and have always thought that sober alcoholics (and drug addicts) have much to offer. This book, "Anonymous Disciple," is a triumph of the human spirit. There is hope for even those who are near death with their disease (addiction). The book renews my faith in God and in humanity.

My daughter gave Anonymous Disciple to me as a gift on my 12th sober birthday. Never in my life have I read a book that has had such a tremendous personal impact. This is much more than a book on recovery; it's a journey of one man's life, which was willing to be used for the benefit of others. This book will definitely create personal introspection, and cause the reader to think, "What is my commission, and how can I be used to help others?"

This was really a beautiful book about a Jesuit priest (Father Jim) getting sober. I think anyone in recovery, regardless of their religious beliefs, would be touched by it. I had so much gratitude after reading it!

I rate this book just a slight notch above the KQED AYBS book, simply because the creators of AYBS had input in this project. It also highlights the bit players who appeared on AYBS, otherwise the two books do a fine of episode, character, and actor bio's. But the before mentioned book does a slightly better job at reviewing 'Grace and Favour' and the Australian AYBS version..., so you have to buy both :-)

This lovely and indeed comprehensive tribute book commences with an introduction by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft (co-writers of the series) and a foreword by Lloyd's ex-wife (and two-time guest), Joanna Lumley, and it is sure to be treasured by fans of this entertaining British comedy.

What makes this book so enjoyable is the amount of participation author Richard Webber has received from everyone involved in the production (from writers, directors, costume designers, etc., to the actors themselves), and the book is filled with their many anecdotes. In the case of deceased actors Harold Bennett (Young Mr. Grace) and Arthur Brough (Mr. Grainger), assistance has been provided by their son and daughter, respectively.

The book includes a detailed history of the series--how it came about, how the actors were chosen, why certain actors left the show, how certain effects were achieved, and so on. Also included are chapters on the stage show, the movie, the 90's sequel (Grace and Favour also known as Are You Being Served? Again!) and a look at the success of the show (and its US and Aussie spinoffs) abroad.

My favourite parts are the four-page bios of the original cast, which includes b/w and sepia photos of the actors at various ages and stages in their careers. (A priceless inclusion are the childhood photos of most of these actors). This is followed by one-half- to one-page bios of "other memorable characters"--the maintenance men, the replacements for Mr. Grainger and Mr. Lucas, Old Mr. Grace, the nurse, and the canteen manageress. There are separate chapters for the secretaries and the lift girls with brief quarter-page bios and tiny b/w photos of each. Finally, there is a chapter devoted to "familiar faces" which contains brief quarter-page bios & tiny b/w photos of every actor to have appeared as a guest on the show.

The book also includes a complete episode guide, often with a particularly memorable snippet of dialogue from the episode being summarized or a "memory" from one of the cast of crew. An episode guide and brief quarter-page bios are also provided for Grace and Favour. Finally, there is a detailed index.

The book is a 10" x 7 3/4" 176-page hardcover printed on thick, good-quality paper with a matte finish, and it contains many b/w and colour photos throughout.

In conclusion, this is an attractive, well-researched, well-written, comprehensive and thoroughly enjoyable look back at one of Britain's most popular comedies and at the cast and crew who made it so memorable. Very highly recommended!

For those of you who have the Are You Being Served? book by Adrian Rigelsford--are you free? For those of you who don't, are you also free? Well, gather around everybody, and that also includes special Grace Brothers board members.

This 25th anniversary book by Richard Webber with the two co-creators of the show, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, is basically an update of the previous book, but in a slightly different format. The story-by-story synopses are there, but instead of the * to **** ratings, there are memorable dialogue bits, that are always good for a laugh or two.

New material: familiar BBC performers who made guest appearances (mostly as hapless customers) on the show, with a short bio on each one. However, why was Gorden Kaye, who later starred in Lloyd and Croft's French Resistance comedy, 'Allo 'Allo, excluded from this section? Also, an episode-by-episode list of guest appearances.

What really perks me are younger photographs of the stars. They are recognizable but it's interesting to see how they looked before they joined Grace Brothers. And Lloyd and Croft's personal observations on the stars are filled with the fondest and highest respect.

There are bios on some of the minor but regular performers, such as Vivienne Johnson (Mr. Grace's nurse), Milo Sperber (Mr. Grossman) and Benny Lee (Mr. Klein), as well as those in Grace And Favour.

There are some updates. Inbetween books, Arthur English, who played Mr. Harman the packing department head, died in 1995, as did Billy Burden (Mr. Moulterd), in 1994.
However, the icing on the cake is the list of hot dolly bird secretaries who appeared throughout the season. My favorites: Penny Irving, the luscious redhead who appeared during the show's peak era, Louise Burton, and the Barbie Doll Candy Davis, who now got a Master's degree and is teaching. Wow, brain and beauty! How rare! Another hottie, Debbie Linden, sadly died in 1997.

My recommendation: get this AFTER the Adrian Rigelsford book to get the optimal enjoying effect. You'll be right as rain then.

For those of you who have the Are You Being Served? book by Adrian Rigelsford--are you free? For those of you who don't, are you also free? Well, gather around everybody, and that also includes special Grace Brothers board members.

This 25th anniversary book by Richard Webber with the two co-creators of the show, Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, is basically an update of the previous book, but in a slightly different format. The story-by-story synopses are there, but instead of the * to **** ratings, there are memorable dialogue bits, that are always good for a laugh or two.

New material: familiar BBC performers who made guest appearances (mostly as hapless customers) on the show, with a short bio on each one. However, why was Gorden Kaye, who later starred in Lloyd and Croft's French Resistance comedy, 'Allo 'Allo, excluded from this section? Also, an episode-by-episode list of guest appearances.

What really perks me are younger photographs of the stars. They are recognizable but it's interesting to see how they looked before they joined Grace Brothers. And Lloyd and Croft's personal observations on the stars are filled with the fondest and highest respect.

There are bios on some of the minor but regular performers, such as Vivienne Johnson (Mr. Grace's nurse), Milo Sperber (Mr. Grossman) and Benny Lee (Mr. Klein), as well as those in Grace And Favour.

There are some updates. Inbetween books, Arthur English, who played Mr. Harman the packing department head, died in 1995, as did Billy Burden (Mr. Moulterd), in 1994.
However, the icing on the cake is the list of hot dolly bird secretaries who appeared throughout the season. My favorites: Penny Irving, the luscious redhead who appeared during the show's peak era, Louise Burton, and the Barbie Doll Candy Davis, who now got a Master's degree and is teaching. Wow, brain and beauty! How rare! Another hottie, Debbie Linden, sadly died in 1997.

My recommendation: get this AFTER the Adrian Rigelsford book to get the optimal enjoying effect. You'll be right as rain then.

I have watched this show for years and this is such a great book. There are episode details and bios, and even customer bios. Joanna Lumley from AbFab was in the show a couple of times.

If you like AYBS, get this!

Prolog remains academic but still of great educational value. But to get to that value, you need to get past using prolog like a smart procedural language. This book and especially its last few chapters achieve this goal. For this reason I recommend it as a must read for any decent computer scientist.

I am currently working as a computer hardware design engineer. I have always been looking for new software methodology to improve my hardware design flow. Prolog, and especially its presentation in this book, shows me an interesting and powerful view of how computer programming should be.

Overall, I am a true believer in Prolog and logic programming after reading this book.

This, to me, is one of the 4 best books on computer programming. Unfortunately, it is hard. Not because the book is poorly written - it is like a wonderful story, but because understanding how to think declaratively after being taught something like C or Java is like someone giving you a pair of wings when you're a mudfish.

Thinking declaratively changes how you think about problems and how you write code. It's a career changing experience. This book leads the way.

Top 4:
* Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (Sussman, Abelson)
* The Art of Prolog by Sterling/Shapiro
* Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, etc.
* Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Van Roy and Haridi

Admittedly, this one tends to be a bit pricey. But, the content is pure gold for any programmer. Nowhere is the Prolog paradigm better conveyed than here. And, it is of little value to you if you attempt to learn prolog with a mindset of some other language. Prolog is unique and demands a unique way of looking at computer programming in general. It is dated a bit in that it does not cover all the latest developments in Prolog/AI research but no other Prolog books provide the foundational understanding that it does. Get this one for a solid foundation and then build on it with others. See my listmania list of AI Language books for suggestions of followup titles.

This book is a must for anyone starting to program in Prolog or interested in logic programming.

A downsize of the book (if any) can be that it could have detailed more in the respect of Prolog's applications. The pleasant style of the authors would have made a wonderful introduction into these fields.

A real pleasure to read.

My boyfriend bought this book for me 22 years ago and it has followed me around through seven changes of address. I can honestly say that but for this book, I don't think I would have read Crime and Punishment or The Grapes of Wrath. I wanted to be sure I was getting all the jokes. It was funny in 1984 and it is still funny.

To save the Cleavers from the network axe, past and contemporary literary giants pour forth their own "episodes" for the Beave and crew. Everyone's character --including Eddie Haskell--gets fleshed out in ways you'll never see on Nickelodeon. Personal favorites include Tennessee William's turn on Miss Landers and June. Brilliant and absurdly funny blend of high prose and Americana 50's schmaltz. Made me laugh out loud at every read.

When I first read the Dostoevsky episode ("Hey, Wally, do you think it's OK to kill an old lady?" "I don't know, Beav. We haven't gotten that far in civics."), I was in convulsions. This is the funniest book in the history of Western Civilization, even funnier than "The Lazlo Letters," and that's saying something. That it is out of print is some kind of culture crime.

In an attempt to save "Leave It To Beaver" from going off the air in 1963, famous authors submit scripts hoping their influence will persuade the network from dumping the show. Scripts include "Lady Cleaver's Beaver" by D. H. Lawrence, "Beavermorphosis" by Franz Kafka (where Theodore actually transforms into a giant beaver), and my personal favorite "And Thus Spake Beaver" by Nietzche ... "And Beaver descended alone from the house encountering no one, and all at once there stood before him Larry Mondello who bit into an apple. And thus spake Beaver unto Larry Mondello, 'Shared cookies make a friend, not getting in trouble together', and he punched Larry Mondello in the stomach." If you love the Beave and love Literary Parodies, you'll love this book.

Wow -- it's nice to see that there are other people out there who have read this book and loved it as much as I did. I bought the book when it first came out in 1985 and I was in college. I almost peed my pants reading it in the bookstore, so I figured I'd better buy it before they threw me out. I still have it on my shelf, and it's provided countless hours of amusement ever since. About the only books I would consider funnier than this one are George Ade's "Fables in Slang" and "More Fables in Slang", which are sadly almost unknown today. They should really reprint this, because it's as hilarious today as it was almost 15 years ago.

This is a great book on the long running TV series"The Beverly Hillbillies" but where's the Max Baer(Jethro) Autobiography?It's been long overdue!!We're all anxiuosly waiting!!

Another winner for Steve Cox! His relaxed writing style makes for a fantastic read, and the photos compiled for it really make this collection stand out. A must-have for any fan of the BH, or heck - TV for that matter.

I became hooked on this author's books with the first one I bought (about the Munchkins), so it's no surprise that I love this one too! Once again, it's full of rare photographs, little known trivia and fascinating tid-bits. Even if you only had a passing interest in The Beverly Hillbillies, you're going to love this book. And if you're a fan of the show......you're going to be in Seventh Heaven with this one! You'll love this as much as Elly May Clampett loved her critters!!

The critics hated and audiences loved it. CBS only put it on the air because they had no other good sitcoms in the fall of 1962. What happened was a revolution in sitcoms. "The Beverly Hillbillies" went on to become one of the biggest hits in the history of television. It climbed to the top of the ratings faster than any sitcom in history. It is no wonder that forty years later audiences still love this show. With the exception of "I Love Lucy", not other sitcom has been so durable and successful in syndication. Thanks to Mr. Stephen Cox for writing a book about a sitcom that truly deserves such recognition. "The Beverly Hillbillies" was a runaway hit and a phenomenon. But, for me, it is simply a funny show that I don't mind watching over and over again.

For anyone who is a fan of "The Beverly Hillbillies" (or is interested in TV history) this is the book for you! Steve Cox has a way of writing that makes you feel as if he is in your own living room telling you the remarkable story of the Clampetts. The book contains: fantastic black & white and color photos, behind the scenes stories, great interviews with the cast, an episode guide and a detailed history of America's favorite hillbilly family. So set a spell with Steve Cox as your guide and relive all the fun and laughter of The Beverly Hillbillies. Y'all read up now y'hear.

John Broger's "Self-Confrontation" manual is probably the most exhaustive work available today to help the Christian conform their lives to be more like Christ. Even though the book is titled "Self-Confrontation," Broger accurately refers to the book as one of "self-condemnation." He systematically dissects the worldly philosophy of self-esteem by introducing believers to areas of their lives that may not have yet been exposed to the illuminating and cleansing power of the Word. This manual is not intended to be read simply as you would a typical book, but used instead as a roadmap to completely inventory and restructure a person's life.
Broger's book is broke into three main sections. First, he establishes the biblical foundation for change. The second is an application to specific problem areas that need addressing. The final section is a conclusion consisting of three chapters. He structures each of the twenty-two lessons (chapters) into a minimum of five basic segments. He closes with an open book examination in chapter twenty-three and a lesson on biblical counseling training in chapter twenty-four.
He starts each chapter with a purpose and outline of the lesson. It is followed by a series of biblical principles. This lays out in clear detail with supporting scriptures the background and justification for the topic studied. Third, he gives an in-depth bible study on the topic. In some chapters, he expands the bible study into several sub-sections to further advance his point. Forth, he provides homework which at times will refer the reader to accomplish charts or worksheets located in the appendix. Finally, he provides a study guide for daily devotions which include memory verses.
Broger leads off the book by offering an exhortation on the necessity and the believer's ability to change biblically. He introduces the reader to the first of his 105 principles: "God's plan for you to change in a biblical way centers on His Son, Jesus Christ." This in essence lays the basis for the remainder of the manual.
The second main section examines the nature and solutions to eight specific problem areas that affect and can afflict many Christians. He uses thirteen chapters to address the subjects of dealing with self, anger and bitterness, interpersonal problems, the marriage relationship, parent-child relationships, depression, fear and worry, and life-dominating sins.
The book's conclusion contains three chapters. The first is God standards for life which is designed to re-motivate the reader. This chapter charges the Christian with the importance and necessity of adhering to God's word and plan. The next chapter is the course exam. The exam is intended to be open book and the answers are taken from the material aforementioned studied. The final chapter gives an explanation of biblical counseling training. It briefly teaches the student about the nature of biblical counseling, why we should train believers to counsel biblically, and how to prepare oneself for training in biblical counseling.
Broger's Self-Confrontation Manual can be an extremely effective resource in counseling. It would not be very realistic however, to offer this as a homework assignment to a counselee. Its depth, detail, and amount of work required to complete the assignments would overwhelmed most, if not all counselees. Instead, I found it most useful as a reference manual in correlating topics to key areas of scripture, and as a resource to create homework assignments. In addition to being a helpful reference tool, it confronts the counselor with areas in his or her life that need to be brought under the dominion of Jesus Christ. This will improve the counseling process as counselors are required to remove a plank from their own eye before trying to "remove the speck out" of someone else's eye.

This is what being a Christian is all about. Every single psychoogical and emotional problem relates to many scriptures. This book has pages and pages of them. When you study this book the scriptures become alive in your life.

His delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Everything he does prospers. Psalm 1:2,3

God's Word, being our only truth and the only way to grow in spiritual relation, has been captured in this study in more ways than I have seen in other Bible studies or books. I have been through this complete book and will soon be diving into it again. It grabs God's will for our lives and shows how to apply His ways in our earthly selves. This is more than a mere translation and use of the Bible for our growth, it is lessons in changing our human ways to glorify God in everything we do while not mixing up God's words. I recommend this for everyone!

This is a terrific book -- not just for the pastors or counselors who may use it with people seeking advice. It is, as the title suggests, a resource with which to confront *yourself.* Included in the lessons are plans for daily devotions. By using those plans, or perhaps expanding them over a longer period of time than just the week per lesson the book suggests, you could be prepared for devotions for months. It would probably be wise to go through it again and again.

I'm not a counselor, but I've been greatly blessed as a recipient of truly Biblical counsel, the type endorsed by this book. When I look through this book, I realize that the valuable lessons I gained there are all right here (in this book, and, more importantly, in the Bible).

Just like every other member of the human race, I am a sinner. Years ago I used this book for devotional purposes. I'm back, delving into it again, with the desire to grow and to change, to purge my life of some of its shortcomings and failures. The solutions, the keys to change are all found right here. This book simply points you to the Scriptures where the answers are found.

This book shouldn't be hidden in the dark corners of Amazon.com. It should be a top seller. Every Christian should have it and engage in some self confrontation. Perhaps then we would be a better reflection of Christ to the world around us.

This excellent book was the manual for a nine-month discipleship class we had at our church. I have to admit I had some trepidation about using this book; I didn't know if I really wanted to know myself that well- Ignorance can be bliss. Think about it, if I were confronted with sin then I would have to repent of it. Come on now, I am just be honest.

My fears were put to rest as soon as I got into the book. Yes, you will be confronted with God's Word. Yes, you will have to repent. But the growth you experience in your Christian walk will be phenomenal. What makes this book so effective is that it is so repetitive. It takes you back again and again to God's word. When we used this book, we looked up every Scripture, highlighted them in our Bibles and then answered question and completed every exercise. The results were overwhelming. If you are stuck in your Christian walk, if you seen to be on a treadmill going nowhere in your walk with Christ, this book if for you. By the way, if you are a new Christian, don't waste years of your life trying to learn God's Word on your own. Buy this book, spend the next three to six months going through it, and not only will you master the English Bible, you will mature in a few months more than many Christians do in twenty years on their own.

I buy these books because my grandkids love them too. They always have age appropriate topica and seem to keep pace with their interests as they grow. They are challenged and they learn as they work through the books. Mom & Dad love them too.

This book had a lot of really fun art ideas that my boys loved. It is very hands on, and you can mix in science with your art. My history buff loved the art history, and this book inspired much online investigation and a planned trip to our local art museum. It is a great way to introduce your child to real art- but is also fun and "crafty." My high-energy boys loved this book, and I can not recommend it enough.

This was a huge hit with my two daughters, ages 6 and 8. They passed many hours going through every project/exercise in the book. Later they devised ways to create their own projects based on ideas form the book. We also discovered which crafts the kids wanted to follow up on, we have ordered materials for metal foil embossing, etc. based on our experiences with this introductory book. I recommend this book highly, your kids WILL enjoy it!

I bought this book for my nephew, who is 10 years old. He opened his present and started looking through it right away, ignoring his other presents waiting to be opened. There is a nice selection of different activities in this book. I would recommend it for older children as it includes activities that require lots of cutting and pasting, and the tempura painting could be messy with younger children.

Crafty people will like this book, and all of klutz other books. This one has lots of fun things to do, and will keep you busy for a long time. You get to play with stickers, do sunburn art, paint with eggs (this sounds strange, but it works!!), and tons of other stuff. It's a cool book.

This book is one of the ultimate companions to the blockbuster show of the same title.

In a day and age when show creators and producers have gotten into the habit of talking down to their ausiences, Whedon again breaks the mold by sharing the direct scripts with us, the loyal fans.

I remember how happy I was when I heard that BTVS was going to be a television series and this book brought back the early euhphoria that I experienced with the revival. Thank you again Joss for everything.

Of course it's not all in the dialogue. You've got great acting, directing, editing, costuming, etc. HOWEVER, the Buffy writers obviously not only love what they do, but are also very good at it.

The pop culture references mingle freely with the historical. Renaissance Poetry class was never so much fun.

These scripts give you a chance to catch anything you might have missed the first time around. It's peppy. Is Poppy a word? Well, I know it's a word, but is it a word the way I mean it? Anyhow, I would recommend this book for any Buffy fan.

Watching "Buffy" T.V. series or cassettes is huge enjoyment already. Reading this script brought pure delight: sharp wit, self-derogatory under-/overstatements, punch and speed - this script is, quite definitely, for lovers of language. Stage directions, as indicated between parts of dialogue,are about as savoury as dialogue itself. I've just one reservation:I suppose, to really relish this book as it should be relished, one should obviously have seen related episodes on either TV or cassette. One then remembers Charisma Carpenter's studied drawl, Sarah Gellar's brisk deadpan humour, and Nicholas Brendon's fantastic "fool's faces". Only then does one realize, not just how good the writing is, but also, how brilliantly the whole cast has done its job. Yes, this definitely does show just how brilliant the whole "Buffy" act was - and still is. Can we PLEASE have scriptbooks of what follows?!...

The good news is that original shooting scripts of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are available, as in this volume offering up the first six episodes of Season One. But the bad news, relatively speaking, is that we just get the scripts without any extras. The pages are your traditional Courier style font (including the title page), and while the pages are not in blue, pink, green, yellow, goldenrod and salmon to reflect the various revisions, if you follow the revision dates on the top of the pages you can figure that part out. Therefore, while I appreciate having the original scripts in front of my while watching the episodes so I can see what has been deleted/added/changed (these are not transcripts; big difference), I would have really liked to have a bit more such as introductions by the writers talking about the genesis of the script ideas or problems they had to overcoming in putting the script into production, beyond the production notes and stage directions. Certainly some of what I am looking for can be found in "The Watcher's Guide," which covers the show's first two seasons, but given how first-rate the BtVS companion volumes have been I am rather surprised this is a comparatively bare bones effort.

Included in this volume for those of you who do not have the first 100 episodes totally memorized are "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest," both written by series creator Joss Whedon, "Witch" by Dana Reston, "Teacher's Pet" by David Greenwalt, "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, and "The Pack" by Matt Kiene and Joe Reinkemeyer. After the two-part pilot these other episodes reflect a time when the Buffy mythos was just starting to get organized. After all, Buffy has yet to find out about Angel's true nature and the emphasis is on how high school is a living hell if you are a teenager, but even more so when you are perched on the Hellmouth. Besides, once you get the first half of Season One you have to pick up the second half as well. Then there is Season Two...

It's valuable for fans of Buffy, full of hints and descriptions that make the tv episodes even more enjoyable; it's also a very cool book for anyone interested in writing tv scripts who're curious about the format, or looking for insight into how to blend comedy and suspense and juggle an excellent ensemble cast without shortchanging anyone.

At first glance you may easily dismiss this book; featuring a rather dull cover; size that is dwarfed by the more "popular" C books - do not be fooled! This is an excellent text for learning about the C language.

Admittedly, if you're new to programming in general, then this book may seem a little difficult. For instance the first chapter launches straight into a discussion of C idioms: keywords, variables, operators etc. If these are foreign to you I would recommend you also buy an introductory programming text, then return to this book when you understand these concepts.

These assumptions aside, Kalicharan clearly and concisely discusses control structures and arrays, functions, character handling, data types, input/output and more. The concepts of each chapter are thoroughly explained and incorporated into numerous programming examples.

Indeed this is one of the strongest points of the book. In particular I liked the way Kalicharan introduces the three programming constructs; conditional execution, looping and iteration first, BEFORE discussing for example, the printf statement like most other C books do - which can be highly confusing to the novice C programmer. (Kalicharan leaves it until chapter 9). Thus a strong grounding in the fundamentals of programming is emphasised from the very start and is a consistent theme revisted throughout the book.

Unlike other C books, Kalicharan gives a brilliant discussion of pointers. What is dismissed as "too hard" in other texts is covered with ease and again, numerous examples to illustrate. For this chapter alone, one should buy this book.

Following the chapter on pointers is a good introduction to "advanced" data structures, linked lists and binary trees. These are left out of most other C books, bar those dealing with data structures specifically (university texts etc) but it is here that the power of the C language becomes apparent.

Topping off the book is a chapter in file handling. Text and binary files are discussed.

The range of topics, clarity of expression and *working* examples (I compiled every program in the book without error...) makes this book an essential addition to any C programmer's library. I hope another book from this talented author is on the way soon! (How about Java or C++?)

A friend recommended this book after I complained of the difficulty of learning C, having tried more popularly recommended books. I'm glad she did, for this book made C easy and fun to learn. An excellent book, strongly recommended.

I had Noel Kalicharan (UWI) for my Year 1 programming. Used many of the books he wrote and can vouch for the calrity and ease of use of his books, overall high quality. Even better when combined with his lectures.

A fantastic book! Its simple, clear and systematic presentation and explaination of concepts along with the abundance of examples make learning to program in C an easy task. And all the scary stuff you may have heard about pointers in C become mere rumours after reading the relevant chapters! An excellent book for learning and teaching.

This book is one of the best books explaining ANSI C. It starts from the newbie level and delivers the knowledge needed for any good C programmer to survive.

The writing style is very nice, the author has done some fine efforts in keeping his threads of thought clear and easy to follow.

For people who already know C, this is also good as a quick reference and is something concise to quickly refer to, in small issues. They could also just use it to quickly refresh their knowledge of C every once in a while.

It doesn't cover any advanced topics, but it does what it promises to do, so there's nothing serious to put this book down.

This book could have helped me greatly when I was just starting to learn C programming, but it didn't... Just because I only bought it too late, at the end of my C programming days!

-Mokhtar M. Khorshid