Languages Books

Browsing is a journey through life, times, places, cultures. Looking up often offers surprises. This book is a kick.

murdered by the media

These words are no longer in use, as we no longer converse truly and freely as a nation of English and slang speakers

This volume is little more than a nostaligic curio, like Dr. Johnson's dictionary, or the great Ambrose Bierce's better.

The only English slang currently in use is that receptive vocabulary emitted by our media, and not expressive nor creative as our one way media permits no conversation. We are made to listen, to hear, to receive, only. The internet alone allows literacy, and look at the level of written speech there. Yet even there the formerly great oral tongue is lost.

The most vibrant languages heard throbbing through our land are now those not dictated by our anglo media. There alone does the uniquely human aural ability live and breathe. And thus this massive dictionary properly fades away unfinished.

In any case, what anglo librarian would permit its presence in a library?

Intriguing for historical reasons alone. Not useful for comprehending the language one actually hears around oneself, as no living and present language is heard. Just dust off your old Lord Buckley collection instead, or the Mercury recording How To Speak Hip. Not even riding the city bus helps anymore.

Forty years ago our Amrican language was still richer, more diverse, more playful, more subtle. Now we have only whitely phosphorized talking heads bleating how we must speak and thus how we must think, and by limiting our vacabulary limiting our capacity for free thought. Our only hope is a healthy jolt of James Joyce and the trembling Twain.

Oxford University press is currently undertaking the massive editorial work required to finish this ground-breaking four-volume set that was started more than 25 years ago. The third volume, covering the alphabetic range of P through Sk, is due to appear in March 2007. Volume IV, covering Sk through Z and including a bibliography of tens of thousands of items, is planned for two years later.(...)

I must agree with settimio biondi from Italy. Having purchased the first two volumes, we've been waiting for 7 years for P~Z. This is an excellent, comprehensive work. Hopefully, Oxford...or someone with a sense of responsibility...will finish the final volume.

We have been waiting for this dictionary for a long time. Specifically, since 1975 when Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner issued their second supplemented edition of the "Dictionary of American Slang."
Editor J.E. Lighter, a researcher at the University of Tennessee, is somewhat disparaging of Wentworth and Flexner, the only previous lexicographers to take a healthy swing at American slang. (I don't count H.L. Mencken, who compiled many lists, but not in a format that a working writer can use.)
Lighter faults their "looseness of definition, unpredictable allocation of citations and a certain historical naivete." Maybe, but their book had, and still has, the most important merit a dictionary can have -- it is useful.
Also, theirs goes through Z, which is more than Lighter can say in 2006, 12 years after his Vol. 1 came out and many more years than that since he began.
Also, Wentworth and Flexner's volume is wieldy. Lighter's dictionary has many excellencies, but handiness is not one of them.
Wentworth and Flexner covered the whole of American English in a small volume of two pounds, six ounces. Lighter covers one-third the ground in a massive folio of six pounds, one ounce.
Lighter is often, but not always, more comprehensive. Take bum.
W&F give this useful word 26 definitions in a page. Lighter gives 29 in three pages, but three of his usages have earliest dates since W&F's last effort. It looks like a draw, but it's not, quite.
W&F give a nice little essay on the finer gradations of meaning of bum (in its sense of vagabond); Lighter is less preachy on usage, letting the extensive quotations do that work for him. This is the approved method for serious work, but although Lighter's citations often seem repetitive, their length does not always ensure completeness, as we shall see.
W&F derive bum from the German bummler, idler, but Lighter appears to think this an example of historical naivete, finding bum sprung full-blown in 1864, without any certain antecedents. (In its sense of fundament, it goes back in English to at least 1387.)
Turn now to cracker. Lighter gives it nearly half a page, in the sense of "a backwoods Southern white person regarded as ignorant, brutal, loutish, bigoted etc.," tracing it to 1766. W&F does not have it at all.
Lighter is clearly ahead here, but there are problems with this definition.
First, it is politically correct but lexically incorrect. A cracker is not a white person but a white man. Like its synonyms redneck and woolhatter, it is never used of a woman.
Second, not one of the 31 citations even hints at a usage that would explain how the Atlanta professional baseball team in the old Sally League (slang for South Atlantic League; I will be interested to see if this makes it into Lighter's Vol. 3, if I live long enough to see it) came to be called the Crackers. Or how Georgians' and north Floridians' own nickname for themselves came to be crackers, the way people from Indiana call themselves Hoosiers.
Lighter does also give five other definitions of cracker: beans, a remarkable individual, dollar, a poor skier who often loses control and a light-skinned Negro.
Taken in all, Lighter has lifted the compilation of American salng to a new, much higher level -- except for Hawaiian American slang.
Except for go for broke, which is listed as "apparently originally Nisei or Hawaiian English," I cannot find any slang words from the Hawaiian dialect of Standard American -- even though some words in Standard Hawaiian have migrated into Slang English, like kahuna.
There are many definitions in Lighter of grind, for example, but none for the ways we in Hawaii use it as noun and verb (for eating). Chance um is missing, too, and give um and blahlah.
The absence of Hawaiian American Slang (Alaskan, too) is a serious fault, but on the whole the book is a corker ("a person or thing of extraordinary size, effectiveness, quality etc.," originally English slang traced to 1882 but brought into American by Mark Twain in 1889).

This ASL dictionary is very concise and a very important asset to either hearing or deaf student!Great drawn illustrations in a compact book. Easy to carry around for reference in class or any living situation. I would highly recommend this book.

Book was noticeably used but was in readable condition and will be used for a while. Arrived in timely manner.

We started out signing with our first child as a baby, then wanted to continue learning American Sign Language together as a family, as a second language and as part of our homeschooling. I searched for a dictionary that would meet our family's needs as being easy to use, small enough to carry in the diaper bag, and good for those new to learning ASL. I reviewed other ASL dictionaries and this one best met our needs. What I like most is that it lists the greatest number of words. Because there are fewer words in the ASL vocabulary (for example, the same sign can mean beautiful AND pretty) sometimes we look up one of the words that does not have a direct ASL equivalent. This book refers the user to the correct word. In some other dictionaries, there is simply no entry so the user is left trying to figure out other words to look up. I also like the price and that the author is respected in her field.

I am fairly new to ASL, and I find this fairly easy to use. While no means comprehensive, it does have a number of signs you will probably need in your daily life. While it does use drawings, it also tells the user what handshapes to use and how to move them. At the back is the alphabet and numerals.

I don't think this should be someone's only guide to ASL, but it is a good supplement to carry with you to practice.

We have an employee that was born deaf. He has been to the best schools for the deaf available in this area since he was a child. I would consider him an expert at the different sign languages and also lip reading. When he looked at this book he let me know that it was very good with up to date signs and easy to understand examples. I ordered three copies for use at work and one for him. This book has at least 4500 signs. He explained that he knew over 3000 signs but couldn't possibly know or remember them all. This is a great reference for all of us. A real communication bonus.

I adore this book! It is one of those books that I just pick up and flip to a random page, and absorb the wisdom. It is full of tiny little things you can do to make your work look more professional. This guy is amazing.

One-Minute Designer Revised edition Roger C. Parker MIS:Press, 1997

Like it or not, if you use a computer you are a typographer, and that's anyone who arranges words within a given space: letter, report, bulletin, brochure, ad, billboard, book, sign etc. You don't have to be a graphic designer to create good typography because Roger Parker makes it easy to communicate clearly. The book is methodically organized. Each page is devoted to one subject, i.e. column width, placement, type sizes, word and letter spacing, font choice-all 204 of them. Parker writes easily, clearly, succinctly, and is always on the side of the reader, and the absence of verbiage and posturing is refreshing. Each page has direct, easy-to-understand two color illustrations that unambiguously define the text. Unlike program manuals that have incomplete or misnamed subjects, I'm impressed with Parker's contents page and glossary, which makes it easy for the reader to find information quickly. The soft cover book is a comfortable, easy to hold 7" x 9" portrait format. For quick review, the italic captions are printed in red. Text is set in one of my favorite fonts Minion, designed by Robert Slimbach one of the world's great type designers. The generous 11-point size makes is easy to read. This is a book that makes it easy to produce good looking, well organized layouts that communicate, a rarity in manuals. Parker's book should be within arm's length at a workstation, and [for the money], it's money in the bank.

Doyald Young, teacher and author: Logotypes & Letterforms and Fonts & Logos

This book is amazing. It lists 200 examples of good and bad design in a text/title/image/graphic perspective for business documents (which is just like a website). This book is a bible for begining or intermediate graphic designers who want to make the perfectly organized data (newsletters, website, newspaper, etc). Instead of long chapters of boring theory and idealism, it points out common design mistakes and shows a better way to do it and throws in a couple sentences of theory to it. In my opinion this is a must in anyone's library of books.

I bought this masterpiece after I read 'The Non-Designers Design Book' by Robin Williams. The content is much the same, but explored much more thoroughly, with clear examples and well-thought layouts.

If you want to get only one book on Desktop Publishing, THIS IS THE ONE! Don't waste your time with other books.

A paper design is self-explanatory and self-maintaining. This is why Roger Parker was able to write this superb book on design for paper. Web publishing involves collaborative maintenance of a collection of material. So one can never achieve such clarity. Anyway, this is a great book if you want to design some paper stuff and it is also good to think about why you'll never have it this easy in the Web world.

Bold colors with black outlines captivate babies as young as 2 months old. This book is one the babies actually enjoy, not just a sentimental favorite with parents. All my kids loved to stare at the images with their contrasting colors. The squishy cover is soft, durable, and can be chewed on without falling apart.
Later it helps build vocabulary, and it was also the first book all of my kids could "read" all by themselves, as they memorized the names of each picture, and soon could "read" the book back to me.
Even later, at age 5, when they were actually learning to read, it's a very good book to help them practice sounding out words. I would cover each picture with my hand and see if they could figure out the word.
This has been a favorite book for all 4 of my kids, so I give it as a baby gift to everyone I know.

My daughter is now 18 months old. We bought this book when she was just over a year old. It was exactly what I was looking for - one picture, one word per page. I was worried because it wasn't a board book, but my little girl was so interested in it I relented and let her look at it independently. She's done very well, but she loves it so much it is falling apart! I'm sure this book has increased her vocabulary greatly and I can't recommend it enough!!!

My daughter Sam absolutely loves this book! I thought it would be too long and would not hold her attention, but it's great! She enjoys flipping through the pages, and with so many pages to flip through it holds her attention longer than other, shorter books. The pages are surprisingly sturdy too.

We got this book as a gift. I thought it was an awful lot of pages for a 1-year-old, and it's not a board book. But it's among my son's top 5 favorite books, and it's proven to be quite sturdy. With just one picture per page, it's very easy for him to focus and learn while we read together. He especially loves the animal section at the end.

This book is great! We got it when our son, Sam, was first born and it was thrilling to see how he progressed through the book over time until he could name every picture. I love the concept of having only one picture on each page, which sounds boring but is exactly what those budding minds need.

This is a great book for young children who aren't yet into books or won't sit through a story. The simplicity of the concept keeps them occupied. I only wish it came in a board book format.

This book told me everything I wanted to know but was afraid to ask about a whole host of everyday relationships: with my sons' pediatricians, my own doctors, funeral home directors (I've know too many of these), even my hairdresser. The author manages to pry the lid off these often awkward relationships and get to the heart of what makes them awkward. She then offer sometimes surprisingly simple, straightforward advice on ways to improve them: "magic words" indeed!

Thank you for helping to untangle at least part of my complicated life!

I thought I pretty much knew what I needed about negotiating life, but this book offers some of the most commonsense, down-to-earth tips I have ever come across -- the kind of info you might seek from someone's uncle or friend of a friend, but here it is. And the kind of info that can apply to you as well as your parents and your kids. Plus, it made me laugh. Great book for college grads.

Everyday life has become exceedingly complicate. We don't have the leeway to make mistakes in our dealings with people and expect to learn from these mistakes sometime in the future. We need to increase our chances of getting it right the first time. This is where Lynette Padwa's book comes in. Wouldn't it be better to see a doctor with some prior understanding about how a doctor's office really and how you can maximize getting the best possible treatment? Similarly, if you've never consulted a lawyer before, wouldn't it increase your chances of having a good experience if you knew how lawyers feel about their clients and how a law office operates. I found this book to be both fascinating and highly informative, as well as easy to read. I know I'll use it often.

This "magic words" book shows how to successfully deal with busy professionals not so much by the words we use but the way we say them. The eighteen occupations this author chose to investigate are essential to most families.

Some are necessary to parents of younger children, like nannies, teachers, pediatricians; for couples just starting out, she covers realtors, contractors, landlords. Even the adult children of elderly parents with information they should know, the needed advise on choosing nursing home and funeral directors -- which go together -- are a priority. She tells some of the things to ask and how to supervise (what to do, what not to do). "One of the most stressful aspects of placing a relative in a nursing home is the unwelcome glimpse it offers into your own possible future." She gives alternatives such as adult family homes (my sister did this for a while some years ago in Maryland), a private residence licensed to provide care for two to six individuals; it adds the personal touch as opposed to the "demoralization of institutional life." Even though "nursing homes are the second most heavily regulated industry in America (the nuclear power industry is first)," there are no guarantees. From personal experience, I'd advise it only as a last resort.

For those who own cars, she has pointers on dealing with auto mechanics and car salesmen. When dealing with local politicians, such as city council membres or even the mayor, there is a sample letter detailing how to get the best results, "with carbon copies sent to the Mayor, a local t.v. station news producer, and the editor of the local newspaper." City council members can accomplish many things, but they must work within certain limits; "prepare by clarifying what you want done."

If you need the services of a lawyer, "you will know that [by] asking why he got into law will make you one of his favorite clients." She gives pointers on hairdressers, so essential to a woman's appearance and self-confidence, and the tipping process, when it is alright not to tip.

People like doctors and therapists we all need at different stages in our lives so that they will do what they are trained to make our healthcare (physical and mental) tolerable. Some magic words to use: "Be 'concerned' instead of 'scared.' Be 'apprehensive' instead of a 'nervous wreck.' In everyday life, we tend to exaggerate to get results, but with doctors have to go to the opposite extreme. Even if you are 'in agony,' try not to use those words. Instead say, "I have a lot of discomfort."

If something about you gives these professionals the impression that you will make them fail, they will be less than likely to help you. "If they sense that they will succeed with you, they will go out of their way to return your calls, honor their agreements." This book will show you how to give them the impresssion that they will succeed. Lynette Padwa has also written EVERYTHING YOU PRETEND TO KNOW AND ARE AFRAID SOMEONE WILL ASK.

The author gets it right in the very first paragraph: The REAL Golden Rule isn't doing unto others what you'd have them do unto you; it's about doing unto others what THEY want done unto themselves.

Eighteen chapters cover topics from doctors to funeral directors; car salesmen to auto mechanics; realtors to general contractors. Each chapter stands on its own as a "playbook" with practical advice for dealing with common situations. Pawda teaches win-win by showing the reader how to see the world through the other person's eyes.

Read it once for the practical advice. Read it again for insight into human behavior. Read it one more time to transform how you see others.

...and has trouble with language and reading comprehension. We read one or two of these at the dinner table and it always leads to more discussions and life lessons. It's great for our younger son too. It's well written and interesting. My husband and I have learned things too...like the origins of a lot of those funny sayings and how they came to be part of our language today.

This is a great book for idioms and understanding what they mean. It's written in easy to understand plain english. It's a really fun book to read, you'll enjoy it.

My teenagers LOVE this book! It is a must have for word lovers. It is not just for younger children.

This book really comes in handy in the classroom, especially if you have ESL students. Use it all the time!

I really would LOVE to recommend this book for all of people who are learning English as a second language and hope to know English idioms. I am from Korea, but now I am staying in N.C. to learn English. I was looking for some books that could helps me to understand the meaning of idioms because sometimes it was too difficult for me to figure out what they mean. This book has more than 700 idioms with examples, meanings and origins. The origins help me to remember the idioms easier. After I read some, I finally understand why people use idioms in particular situations and I feel like I will never forget them. It may not really helpful for academic courses or daily conversation, but it is easy to read anytime and it is good for FUN! Unless I am older than twenty, this book is fun enough! And especially, this is cheaper than others. So, I'd like to say just buy and read. I am 99% sure that buying this book is going to be a good choice!

Excellent book! I've been using Seam since 1.2 and this book is by far the best and provides the most detailed coverage on a very advanced and deep topic like Seam integration framework. It's the best Seam book I've read thus far (I have read three previous Seam books on Seam 1.2). I especially appreciate the copious pics and tables (summarizes a lot of info quickly/easily); those should be added to the Seam ref docs. Very nice job on the editing, looks very clean so far! I use the pdf version for reference a lot now as well as the Seam ref docs. Index is very good as well.

You'll learn interesting concepts and technical details like:

* JSF lifecycle and how Seam's phase listeners work
* Seam lifecycle
* Seam interceptors
* bijection = dynamic injection + outjection + disinjection
* how Seam's contextual container works and details on the added conversation and business process contexts
* new features in 2.1 like Identity Management
* heavy detailed coverage on conversations and transactions (e.g. SMPC and Hibernate manual flushMode)
* seam-gen
* Spring integration and jBPM integration with business process contexts
* Drools and security management for authorization and permissions
* Seam Application Framework (framework in a framework for CRUD app support)
* Seam internals like how the components.xml works, Event/Observer, @Factory, @Unwrap annotations and patterns
* Page navigation in pages.xml
* Unified EL and JBoss EL
* I18N support
* Seam email support
* how Seam fixes the dread LazyInitializtionException seen in many Spring/Hibernate apps
* facelets as a view layer technology for JSF
* Seam remoting (calling session bean from javascript function)
* iText PDF support
* ajax4jsf vs. Icefaces (with coverage on Concurrent Ajax requests contending for ownership of the conversation)

You will learn a lot of stuff in this book that you will not find elsewhere all in one place and so well written. Also, the open18 golf course project and code examples are very helpful. There are many tips and warnings in this book that are very valuable and can't found be elsewhere. For example, the author discusses the dreaded PermGen out of memory error that happens a lot with Sun JVM and how to prevent that with options when you start the VM (i.e. JVM tuning).

Also, the author is a Seam core committer, so rest assured that you're getting the info from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Enjoy.

I am completely new to Seam and I found this book to be really helpful.

Just browsing the seamgen section convinced me and the rest of the chapters are also top quality.
The level of technical detail is appropriate and the examples help you understand the concepts discussed.
Highly recommended!

I found this a really well written interesting read on an interesting topic. I am now going to try out the examples in the book more and give a more thorough review on my blog

Not too many months ago, I was evaluating a number of Java frameworks for a project I was starting. One of those frameworks was JBoss Seam. Seam brings together J2EE technologies such as Enterprise Java Beans 3.0, Java Server Faces, POJOs, and a wealth of rich web components.

Many of us are familiar with the "In Action" series of books from Manning. They are quite simply some of the most highly respected technology books available. I purchased this book knowing the kind of quality I could expect, and I wasn't let down. The presentation and quality of the material was as I expected. Some of the key areas of focus were those that are most important in Seam; the Seam life cycle, inversion of control, state management, persistence, and transactions. Obviously many of these topics exist outside of Seam but what the Seam framework does is provide added features for these key items. The book focuses heavily on each and really drills into the improvements made.

I've done a lot of scrounging around the web for tutorials, guides, and articles about Seam. This book is far and away the best resource I've found. Everything else has been a mere reference. If you are like me, and want a real resource on the topic, you'll be happy with this purchase.

Based on perusal of sample chapters, I will likely buy this book, and will undoubtedly learn a lot from the author's expertise.

However, I would like it lot better, had the author omitted the silly and distracting metaphors of Seam as the classic car with the J2EE engine, or Seam as the application-stack-dinner-party-planning-sous-cheff. Enough already with the goofy florid stylings! Such is just distracting fluff. I hope the author didn't fall into this style throughout the text.

If you need a book that will give you a good, quick review of Spanish grammar, this is the one you need. Everything is explained, from the present tense to the Spanish subjunctive.

What separates this book from others is that it doesn't drill a bunch of rules into your head. Instead, it gives several examples. Many people learn better from examples because it is the context that tells you what you need.

Brandon Simpson

This is an excellent book on Spanish grammar.

It is composed of many short chapters each dealing with a specific topic.

The explanations are clear and to the point. They are well organized. The chapters on the subjuntivo (subjunctive) are exemplary in this respect.

There are no exercises--the book is thin--but many examples illustrating the salient points.

The book is lightweight, unlike almost any other grammar book I've seen and bought, so I took it into work many days, using it during lunch or on the commute. Often I would bring along a sheet or two of exercise or homework that I had scanned or copied.

The advantage of this book is its conciseness, clarity, excellent organization, and its portability. The disadvantage is the complete lack of exercises.

Supplement it with The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice, the best overall in my opinion, for the exercises and additional coverage and you'll be pretty much set for grammar. At least, these two did it for me. They were totally superior to the pathetic required--and hugely expensive even when used--textbooks.

Because of its low cost and since there's always room for improvement no matter how excellent a product is, I plan on also purchasing the new 2nd edition.

Buy this book. This book provides a comprehensive guide to verb use and grammar. Other topics include idioms, pronunciation, practical rules, time, suffixes, numerals, letters and extensive vocabulary. The book is easy to read and examples are abundant. The topics are easy to find because the book is brief and well organized.

This is just the handiest Spanish grammar to have at hand. I'm using the Teach Yourself... series of books (I have the Latin American Spanish, Spanish Verbs, Spanish Vocabulary, and Spanish Grammar) and the Oxford Take Off in Latin American Spanish, along with the Pimsleur Audio-only CDs.

Whenever I have a question about a grammatical item, this is the book in which I can find the clearest and most concise explanation. For instance...it takes ages for them to talk about the imperative in the Teach Yourself series. In this grammar, I just had to look in the imperative section, and it quickly summarized how to make all of the forms of the imperative and what other verb forms each one is related to. That's all I really needed, a quick look-up, not a long winded explanation which tries too hard to be "non-technical." Granted, this grammar does assume that you know grammatical terminology--if you do, you'll probably be quite pleased with the speed with which you can find answers to your questions with this book.

I remember enjoying the French edition in this series when I was in high school years ago...and I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy this Spanish version as I continue my self-study.

This is another book that was recommended to me by Patrick Jackson at www.learningspanishlikecrazy.com When this book first arrived in the mail my first impression was how could such a thin book with only a little more that 100 pages be of much help. I was so wrong. This book is a very comprehensive grammar book. The author does an excellent job explaining the differences between "para and por" and "pero and sino." The wrong use of these words can completely change the meaning of a sentence.

Greetings! Anne Bruce does a thorough job of uncovering the building blocks for establishing yourself as a speaker in this industry. Her delivery is simple, methodical, focused and full of best practices for developing both the high-level strategy, and tactical steps, in creating a professional, scalable speaking business. It is a valuable read for any speaker or promoter within this space.

I read this book as recent founder of a speaker management organization and choose to provide each of my speakers with a copy. No doubt one of the best investments I have made. This book has already provided real value well beyond the investment of $$$ and time. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

People who speak well make it look incredibly easy. Those who don't usually know themselves well enough not to try. But for the rest of us -- those who have something to say to others in our field, for example -- know the value of being able to give a polished talk at breakfast clubs, conventions, seminars and such. This book will tell you what you need to know to line up speaking engagements and how to handle yourself, before, during and after an event -- and make it pay!

If you want a book to sell you on how easy it is to make a fortune as a public speaker, this is not that book. However, if you seek one that will help you assess whether or not you really have what it takes to stand a chance in this competitive field, this is the book you must buy, read, and follow. Whether Anne's advice launches your dream, or awakens you from it, it will have been money well spent.

I am a 28 year law enforcement officer who is transitioning to a new career as a professional speaker/presenter. Simply put, Anne's book is outstanding!! She provides you with the tools necessary to succeed in this very competitive business. She has credibility. She backs up her statements with many, many years of experience. If you are considering a career as a speaker, you must read this book.

Anne's book is a wonderful "how-to" guide for individuals who are thinking about starting a career as a professional speaker or trainer. She provides a realistic look at the profession itself and lays out, in specific and straightforward terms, what people need to do to succeed in this very competitive but exciting profession. I would highly recommend Anne's book to anyone starting in this business and also to seasoned professionals. This book is a winner! Buy it!

If you are serious about becoming a screenwriter, this book will be a valuable addition to your professional library. Lucy goes into depth on subjects other authors ignore or treat lightly. Usually if you can learn one or two things from a screenwriting book, it's worth reading. This book clarifies subjects other authors fail to explain. Lucy not only explains all the loose ends, but ties them together. There are a lot of good books on screenwriting, and this is one of them. Cynthia Whitcomb has a couple of books on screenwriting that you might also want to read.

This book should be a mandatory read for writers of all types and all levels. Story Sense offers the tools to develop an entertaining, clever plot with emotionally and psychologically dimensional characters. It takes you step by step through idea, plot, and character formulation, as well as explains how to develop structure, dramatization, and everything else you need to write the perfect screenplay or fictional story. You will find yourself highlighting passages and constantly refering back to this "bible" throughout your writing journey. Keep this book close by, it has all the answers you need as a writer.

This should be required reading for any type of writer--novelist, screenwriter, playwright. The sections on plot and character development are worth double what this book costs.

Too many "how-to" books on writing perpetrate the image of a writer as a conduit for mysterious creative forces. While I'm not entirely discounting that image, there needs to be a balance between writing as an art and writing as a craft. This book falls firmly in the craft column. It demands you cast aside any artistic pretensions and get down to the plumbing of creating a story. And it doesn't stop with the obligatory pep talk--Lucey shows you how it's done. And he shows it better than any other writing how-to out there.

If I could give this ten stars I would. Highly recommended.

When ordering several books on screenwriting this book caught my eye because of the high ratings afforded it by others. After reading it I fully concur with what others had to say. I went out and purchased DVDs of the four main example films (The Verdict, Terminator, Sleepless in Seattle, and Witness) that Mr. Lucey focuses on and they allowed me to pick up the fine points described in the text. His vast experience in script writing shows through in each of the topics discussed. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. For a detail-oriented individual such as myself, this book met all my expectations. If you are interested in this topic, this book is a "must have" by all means.

I have read many screenwriting books and this is the most complete. It takes you by the hand through each step of the process. I would recommend it to anyone interested in screenwriting. The book even states that if you follow the steps in the 12 chapters it should take you 120 hours and would be equivelent to a college course. No need for any other training. This book is it!