Publications Books

This book is a great addition to the student of drawing's library. The author does a superb job of analyze some excellent examples of classical drawing and elucidates the formal and structural concepts in each. Although this book does not provide very much in the way of "step by step" style technical instruction, it does provide the reader with a way of conceptually approaching a drawing.

The author demonstrates where the great artist used a cylinder, or a sphere to conceptualize a part of the subject's anatomy. He shows how lines are modulated to give varying degrees of tone and shape to the figure. Many of these ideas will stew around in your head as you approach your own drawing projects. Eventually, you will notice that you are more aware of certain parts of the form and that these are being incorporated into your work. Overall, this book is a very interesting and enjoyable way of delivering basic drawing concepts to a student reader.

This is an excellent text/reference for drawing enthusiasts, or students of drawing. Both the way it is broken down, and uses examples from the masters to illustrate the concepts offer a really solid grounding in how line is used to describe space, shape and tone.

This is one of the "timeless" drawing reference books every artist should look at when he/she needs inspiration. Hale picks some of the most dynamic life drawings by the old masters--Leonardo, Ingres, etc.--and disects them in terms of composition, tone, thrust, etc. He is right on in his suggestions that artists should study human and animal surface anatomy to understand the figure. I found his discussion of light and shadow especially instructive.

More of a philosophical approach to drawing than instructional. But, often i find it enlightening to learn HOW to think...more so than WHAT. A great artist can synthesize his ideas rather than simply comprehend them. This book exemplifies and necessitates this philosophy.

I like that he has a full page to show the drawing and on the facing page he has a smaller version with commentary. He places capital letters on the drawing so you can see exactly which line or shape he is discussing.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It makes you think a lot even after you've finished it. There are many lessons to be learned from this book. For example: choosing between your ideals and the loved ones (when of course they are in conflict), God vs atheism, love and hate (how one can possess both of them towards the same person), ideals and the will and determination to fight for them.

Read this book for the first time in Russian when I was 12 and it had been my favorite book ever since. Was able to read it in the original language just some years later, realizing that:
1. The Russian translation is wonderful:)
2. The book is still my favorite one.

It's amazing how Voynish manages to write a book which countains a love story, yet not boring nor sexual, a fight story, yet not overpatriotic/stupid. The continuation book feets perfectly ("An Interrupited Friendship" and may be should be read between the 1st and the 2nd parts of "The Gadfly" (I read the "Interrupted Friendship" some years after "The Gadfly" and it was still perfect).


BTW, Ethel Lilian is a daughter of mr. Bool - for those of us who know what boolean algebra is - that's her father's doing! I know it's a piece of useless information:)

It's rather a mystery to me that this book has never gained the kind of popularity in the US that it's always had in Russia. And yes, one can put it down to its political background and revolutionary theme, especially in what is a "lesser" known milieu of Italy in the 1840's, but really this is entirely the outer shell that could easily have been set elsewhere more "popular." I think the problem after all is that this book has been judged by its cover, as it were. But setting aside, it is the most profoundly human and tragic book you may ever read. Much was said of the themes of the book in the other reviews, and it is all true, so I will only say that the ending of the book caught me riding home on the subway, and I wept like I have never ever wept in my life. People stared at me as if I were insane, but of course I didn't care - I was being affected by something most people would never imagine feeling for anything, and certainly for no "thing" like a book. I wept for two hours afterward. And then I couldn't touch another written word for months. If ever words produced raw, overwhelming feelings, surely it is between the pages of The Gadfly.

One of the greatest stories ever told - this book can change your life if you take its ideals to heart. It's not hard to understand why it was so popular among those in the revolutionary movement. I have to say though that when I lent it to two young friends who are Catholic too, they did not seem to be as profoundly moved as I was. The closing scene between the Cardinal and the Gadfly is one of the most heart-wrenching ever written. This book is a classic of its time and of all time. In my top 10 list of the best books I have ever read. Grab it - BTW if anyone is looking for a copy I do have one to spare which is in fairly good condition.

This work is pure treasure and a great place for someone who wishes to begin reading fine literature to start. I cannot believe that I never heard of this book until I was 50! It ended up on my large "reading list" and I had to order it online to find a copy -- then (I kick myself) it laid around here for a year before I opened it. When I finally did, I discovered that I could not put this one down -- a quintessential page-turner. It's a very personal saga of a very good man, and, a Priest who betrays him during an Italian rebel uprising period. I savored "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov", and while "The Gadfly" is that sort of book (much shorter), it's not such a tough go as the former titles. Voynich was brilliant. I read an average of three books a week, and have done so for many years, and this one is one of my top 3 reads ever. Don't miss this one and if you wish to double your pleasure, get a copy of Dmitri Shostakovich's sountrack to "The Gadfly" movie and allow it to play as wallpaper as you read. Incredible stuff!

This book is just awesome....one can read it over and over and it has such a simple , sweet ending that you're left satisfied and happy....

the characterization is just apt and there are not to many characters to confuse the readers... the best part is David himself...

this is a must read.. hope u all njoy

My mother told me about this book shortly after I began my studies to become a school teacher. It had been one of her favorite books and she had loved reading it to my older brother and sister when they were children. She tried to find a copy in local book stores but had no luck. My sister, upon hearing about Mama's search, got caught up in the nostalgia and located two copies of the book from the original printing in good condition and had them shipped right away. It turned out to be money very well spent.

David is a most unusually happy, contented, naive, talented and loving boy. Almost everyone tries to change him, but the only one to stay the same is 'Just David'. Not as famous as her great 'Pollyanna' but nothing more perfectly typifies this wonderful author's warm and tender work. Eleonar Porter writes characters that do not exist - but should.

When I was young my mother told me that I was named after the boy in the title of this book. My mother loved this book and wanted her only son to be like its title character, whom she admired greatly. It pleased me to be named after someone who was the subject of a book but, for some reason, I never bothered to ask my mother for details about either the book or its principal character, although she often spoke glowingly about the David for whom I was named. After my mother's death I regretted not having queried her for more details about Just David and its hero whom she so admired. When I found that Just David was available from Amazon.com I immediately ordered a copy and read it as soon as it arrived. To my pleasant surprise I found that I shared my mother's love both for the book and for its hero. I also understood for the first time why my mother had raised me as she had. I won't pretend to have all of the virtues possessed by the hero of this wonderful book, but I believe that I have more virtues than I would have if my mother hadn't used Just David's hero as a template for rearing me. I'm deeply grateful to my mother and to this special book which I recommend highly to others. I'm also grateful that in my career as a NASA scientist I had occasion to edit a book, Heterogeneous Atmospheric Chemistry, which is also available from Amazon.com. Although my mother was not alive when this book was published I like to think that she knows of its existence and is pleased by it.

As the other reviewers, I was given the book, by an aunt, back in the 60's when I was in seventh grade. She said she had been searching for a copy for me to read because she had loved it. I remember doing a book report on it for my 7th grade English class (I got an A)--and it was one book I never forgot. I thought it was out of print & had been looking for it for years at garage sales and used book stores. Now I will have a copy to pass on to my new grandson. It is a special treasure of a book!

I'm going into my 2nd year and bought this book because I didn't get the grades I wanted as a 1L. I was a straight-A undergrad (English major) and scored 96th percentile on the LSAT, so I had high expectations of myself. The problem was, I didn't really "get" what my professors expected of me. This book nails it. I learned of it last week by desperately reading through law student Listmanias on Amazon when the last of my grades came through and I knew I needed some help if I wanted to do better next year. I had never heard of the book and don't know anyone who has read it-- it seems to be self-published, and I ordered it directly from his company; I don't think you'll see it in your school bookstore (I didn't).

I actually don't even know if his advice would resonate as well with me as a 1L as it does now, so I'd encourage other current law students looking to improve their grades to read it, especially if you're like me and struggling to understand why you didn't do better than you expected. But I definitely wish I'd read it last year-- my classes would have made a lot more sense. On the first page of Chapter 1, Delaney proposes a definition of "what law is" to explain what the first year of law school is about: "Law is a process of legal reasoning for decision-making about particular controversies." Believe it or not, I truly didn't get that my first year; I thought I just needed to "spot the issues." But there's a lot more to it than that, and I'm glad I found something that spells it all out in a way that none of my professors did. I've only just started reading so I can't report on all the content, but I wanted to encourage anyone just starting or looking to improve their grades to pick this one up before school starts. Good luck in school!

Fantastic book on the introduction to law. Buy it and read it rather than waste your time with books like Law School Confidential and its technicolor briefs. Also check out Delaney's other books (How to Do Well on Law School Exams and Learning Criminal law), which are written in the same easy to follow and enjoyable style. Two thumbs up.

Read this book the summer before law school. You'll understand more and more of it as you go through your first year, and it will help you tie the first year courses together.

This was very helpful right before I started school. I went through some of the chapters a few weeks before and then went back to it when I was actually preparing my first briefs for class. If you use this book, you should have a good start on anything the prof asks.

The publication company shipped very quickly and that was helpful to me because I ordered the book a few weeks before I started lawschool and I was pretty stressed out. The book was easy to read and the exercises flowed smoothly from the reading. I feel that the book helped me prepare without causing me more stress.

I thought this book was an excellent training manual for my 2 yorkies. Gives you insight into the dogs' perceptions of the world, and offers great advice on training your little dogs. When I trained my first yorkie, I tabbed certain "tricks" and wrote an index in the back to give me a quick reference point.... Came in very handy when training my second yorkie. I liked this book so much I purchased 1 for my mom, who has chihuahuas.

My toy poodle is my first dog (although I had dogs growing up, they were never *my* responsibility, heh.) This book has been an invaluable training tool. It even had a solution for his incessant barking. He was worse than a car alarm. Anytime there was a noise, he'd go off. But the book gave multiple suggestions on stopping this. It took less than 2 weeks to train the alarm-barking out of him. I'm shocked. And all of the techniques are so gentle. I am able to use my soft-speaking voice and he listens. No yelling. No yanking on his leash. No forceful grabbing that could injure his tiny body. One thing, I did put him through a puppy training class, mostly for me to learn training techniques. It made this book easier to follow.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It's informative in a fun way. I especially like the quips and pull-out stories throughout the book that provide real-life examples and stories about training. Although it's still a few more weeks until my fur-baby comes home to live with me, reading this book has made me excited and confident about my ability to train her, which I'm sure we'll both appreciate in the long-run.

I was very surprised that there are training differences and ways to think about dogs and training not addressed in other books. I thought I knew it all. I was wrong. She makes you think about size and how a small dog learns etc. I thought I could guess them, I was wrong. These are things I have never thought of before. I have always had larger dogs. This is a must get book for dogs under 20 lbs or 12". It is the best dog book I have ever purchased. I do not say this lightly. A must have book.

I checked this book out from the library and found this book very helpfull so I decided to buy it!

The Berklee guitar books could very well be the best comprehensive method out there. This is the first of three books. The DVD is a big help because it lets the student hear and see the exercises along with reading them. Anyone who takes the time and exercises the discipline to give the Berklee method adequate attention will emerge an accomplished legitimate guitarist.

The Berklee books are geared to the serious student. Those who are looking for a few hot licks to amaze the garage band or the folks at the club should probably look elsewhere.

Levitt's 'Modern Method' has been the foundation stone upon which many great guitarists have built their careers and reputations. It's pretty much beyond criticism for many players, but it's worth noting some observations:

1) It's not recommended if all you want is to learn how to strum a few chords

2) If you simply want to read TAB and chord charts, this is not the book for you

3) This will not help you perfect your string bending, hammer ons, pull offs, fingerpicking or even sweep picking

So, why the five stars? Because it's essentially boot camp for guitar. Spend a year with the book (and the accompanying DVD) and you will come away with a good basic understanding of how music works and how to apply that understanding to the guitar. You'll also be on the way to be able to sight-reading 'the dots'. Plus, in the process you will improve; playing slowly, carefully and methodically to the unstinting beat of a metronome can reveal many weaknesses in technique.

The DVD is hugely useful, too. Not only does it demonstrate the exercises well, but Larry Baione adds a human touch that the text is sometimes missing.

In short, if you want to take guitar seriously, there's no better starting place than William Levitt's books.

THis book is for anyone who wants to take their playing to the next level. It takes you from the beginning to very upper imtermediate and helps you hone your reading skills. If you are not a music reader this book can be the catalyst to knowing just what it takes to be a master. I recommend this book to anyone reguardless of what level of playing.

This product was exceptional in helping me become proficient reading standard notation for my guitar. This book is still not designed for people who have not played at all, simply because of the pace of the book. However, if you are a tab player and at least know how to read the notes of the staff; this book will help you solidify your sight reading skills on guitar. As a side note I have only had this book for three weeks, but the material is laid out so well, that I haven't felt the need to even look at the DVD yet!

Really makes you work, but you'll learn very quickly with this book. It's well laid out and not so difficult that you'll get frustrated and give up.

ISBN 0399231935 - A quick glance through the pages of the board book edition from G. P. Putnam's Sons didn't give me high hopes for this book, but I have - once again - been surprised by what can work in a board book!

The owl and the pussycat hop in a boat and head out to sea, where Owl proposes in song. They buy a ring from a pig and are married by a turkey... and that, you have to know, hardly tells the tale at all.

In few, very well-chosen, words, Lear's story can hardly be done justice in a simple recap. Jan Brett's illustrations are just slightly less difficult to put into words - the detail initially seemed to me to be a negative: young children tend to like simpler, less busy, illustrations. I think this is one time they will happily learn to love the busy-ness. The remarkable detail of everything, from Owl's feathers to the individual fronds on the palm trees, adds gorgeous depth to the book.

In addition, a second love story - told only in pictures - takes place, courtesy of Brett. Pussycat carries a yellow fish (we're going to call that one a girl) in a bowl onto the boat and the fish is seen on every page. Underwater, another yellow fish is seen "talking" to other underwater animals and each one he talks to joins him as he follows his trapped-in-a-bowl love, until Owl and Pussycat unknowingly have an underwater parade following them. Is everyone eventually with the one they love? Of course they are! Very well-worth picking up for your short person!!

This is a beautifully illustrated version of _The Owl and the Pussycat_. My three-year-old son absolutely loves looking at the whimsical pictures of the fish and other sealife that are abundant in this book. The pictures are done with beautiful colors and have their own story.

What a beautiful version of Edward Lear's poem. I've always been a James Marshall fan, but this book is absolute tops for his illustrations. The colors are glorious, the characters, as his always are, deftly and lovingly handled. I understand that it was his last work, and it's a shame that it is out of print. Buy it, save it, and pass it around.

Jan Brett's Caribbean-inspired illustrations for the classic Edward Lear poem are teeming with life, and the effect is stunning. The colors, textures, and shapes are a visual treat. Each page also has a different pattern of "straw" border, adorned with a different tropical flower.

The pictures overflow with detail, to the point where there's even a sub-story (pardon the pun) involving two yellow fish.

I didn't give it the full 5 stars because the way the text is broken up across spreads makes it difficult to read the poem with any kind of flow, and because some of Brett's admittedly gorgeous illustrations could (and perhaps should) have had more of a connection to the text. For one notable example -- there's no pot of honey on the boat, and we never get a look at the money wrapped up in the five-pound note!

But there's no denying the beauty of the illustrations, and the Caribbean theme works surprisingly well. This is a great book for anyone -- for newcomers to the splendid silliness of the poem as well as for old fans of the poem who are looking for an edition with fabulous illustrations.

I have always liked Lear's rhymes, especially this one, but more than the rhyme, it's the illustrations in this version that I like. We live in Florida and all our sub-tropical and tropical flora and fauna is in this book, beautifully illustrated and very recognizable to my 3 year old daughter. Following along with the secondary story of the two damsel fish (I think they're damselfish, but if they're not, the fault is my fish identification skills, not Brett's illustration) is really fun for her too. A bit further south, but still full of recognizable plants for us Floridians, is another of Jan Brett's books, "The Umbrella."

Amazing book! Proves that not all Germans were rabid Nazis. A personal journey through a unique perspective on how and why the Nazis were able to assume power, as well as why the Germans were unable to stop them. Highly recommended!

This is the story of Sebastian Haffner, a man who lived in Germany during Hitler's rise to power. I loved hearing the story from the perspective of the average German. I can't imagine living in such tumultuous times, but reading this book gives me a glimpse. The best part about it is the fact that it tries to answer two very important questions: how on earth a regime like the Nazis could rise to power, and how almost the entire nation where corrupted by them. It's a wonderful story that I would recommend to anyone that is the bit interested in that period. Remember, it's by understanding the past that we can best keep from repeating it.

Excellent book on the rise of the Nazis by an author with a very humane and sensible view of life who lived through the events. Haffner gives voice to the average Germans who witnessed the rise of Hitler and did not approve - the majority, as it turns out - but who could simply not make sense of the madness around them nor could they find a way to realistically oppose the Nazis.

Haffner's narrative is often touching as he discusses personal events of his own, friends' and family's, illustrating how the sphere of their private lives was affected by politics. The result is that it reads like a 'non-fiction novel', and one extremely relevant for contemporary world events.

It is a pity that Haffner never actually concluded the book. In the last section, his son briefly explains what happened after the abrupt ending of the narrative, thus we miss the detail and richness that Hafner's own perspective would have undoubtedly provided. Still, it is an unmissable book, packed with lessons for present and future generations.

Sebastian Haffner's "Defying Hitler" has an ambitious initial scope - to chronicle the rise of Hitler from 1918-1939. The memoir is "unfinished" in that the narrative leaves off in 1933 as Haffner put down writing the manuscript with the advent of World War II and never came back to it. Haffner's son, Oliver Pretzel ultimately had the work published after Haffner's death.

Even in its "unfinished" condition, the work is a masterpiece. Haffner's purpose is not to excuse the average German in germany to succumbing to Nazism and to Hitler but rather to EXPLAIN the phenomenon. Excusing it would simply be post hoc. Explaining it serves the additional function of future application.

Defying Hitler was a difficult thing to do in practice. One could certainly not do so in public. The repression of Nazism in Germany was all the more pervasive by its reach into the private sphere and by doing so, obliterating the prior German distinction between public and private. The only safe way to defy Hitler was, ultimately emigration.

Haffner's narrative is frank, honest and ironic. It was a joy to read.

Finally, a word about Robert Whitfield, the reader of the Audio edition of "Defying Hitler." I believe there are instances in which the audio edition of a work is equal to or superior to the printed version. These instances of "audio excellence" are directly related to the quality of the reader. Robert Whitfield repeatedly accomplishes "aduio excellence." Whitfield's diction is spot on, his tone fluctuates to match the text. If the text is ironic, so then is Whitfield's tone. If the text is frank, so then is Whitfield's tone. If the text contains italics for emphasis, that emphasis is contained within Whitfield's voice. In short, his contributions always enhance a book and never detract from it. For other texts read by Robert Whitfield, I would recommend Bleak House by Charles Dickens, and The Abolition of Man & the Great Divorce: Library Edition by C.S. Lewis.

This is a powerful story of the rise of the Nazi movement with scary parallels to modern day events. The question has often been asked how the Germans could allow this to happen and Haffner does an amazing job at describing how. Along with a controlled media, one method was to turn the volume of fear and intimidation one little almost imperceptible increment at the time. Most people just laughed at the antics of Hitler and his crowd in the beginning, but by the time that people caught on to the seriousness of the issue it was too late. By this time many secretly just hoped that it would go away like a bad dream, but history tells a different story.

The difference with this book is that it is told from a very human perspective from an ordinary German who was living through those times and who saw the transformation of German society and social interaction.

Along with this book I would recommend the movie V for Vendetta (Two-Disc Special Edition), and the book Political Ponerology (A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes), which describes the process by which a society is taken over, and by what kind of people.

Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. This book is an important book to read so as to be better able to read the warning signs before it is too late.

So far I've only gotten throught the first chapter. It's a dense amount of information, but it is incredibly well written and informative. No extra words just to take up space and get something into book format. It's definetly a text book. The first chapter gives you an extensive review of the human relationship with drugs since the beginning of time, and forty pages later, I feel enlightened and full of ideas. Incredibly insightful and well worth the price for someone with a deep interest in this field.

This is a wonderfully written book with lots of great information. However, I really dislike the newspaper column width of the text. It is very hard to read from such a thick book with this layout.

The item shipped quickly and was brand new as I was told. I am not impressed with the Study Guide, and the book itself is rather disjointed. It's hard to find the information within all the quotes from addicts. I would set it up so that the information came first and then the quotes would be placed at the end of the text in each section.

If you work in human services or if you're just interested in learning about substance abuse, this is the only book you'll need. This was my text in grad school and a decade after I'm still recommending it to clinicians.

The authors, Darryl Inaba and William Cohen do a great job of keeping this book very open and simple. They cover almost every drug (5th edition) which a counselor may run into when talking with his students. As a research or higher level order book though, this would not do as it is just too brief on most subjects to really get to know indepth pharmacology or pharmacodynamics on most of the psychoactive drug actions. There is a lot of history, and even a CD-ROM to help you familiarize yourself with many topics of addiction in a very short period of time. In some sections, there is some really good information on drugs I have not seen on the pharmacy shelves for at least 12 years. If you are someone who wants to quickly get to know the subject of psychoactive drugs, then I highly recommend this book for you. His vocabulary is such that it is easy to read, without too much of a serious tone-- and you will not even need a highliner to remember the facts. This book is packed with knowledge. Very enjoyable reading for a change, with lots of good and interesting photographs that make you think. You will enjoy this book, for it is written in a very unique format that makes you want to relax and just turn each page and learn. guyairey

And so Asterix meets the Romans. This is the perfect place to start with the series, as it is the first book. Little idiosyncracies are evident. This was before the final forms of the characters were imagined, so you get some variance of what they look like. It's hard to put into words, but they're definitely different.

I don't think it's possible to overestimate how interesting and important this comic strip is. Not only is it extremely entertaining, it's interesting and well drawn. Also, if you care to read a little below the surface, many other things: scathing critique of expansionism, romans, and likely catholics. Also the chief of the Gauls is Vitalstatistix, a nod, I think, to Gamers everywhere. Plus... Here's more hidden meaning.. Put Gaul and Rome together, and what have you got? Game. Of course, the romans lose a certain amount of face... heh. Anyway, I'll add more when I think of it.

Every Asterix rules, doesn't matter which one, it rules!
These things are hilarious, has anyone ever read the French version?

Wonderful. what more can I say. You got to have it.

Thanks to the magic potion of the resident druid, Getafix, Asterix and Obelix triumphantly defend the borders of their village against Caesar's legions, to the legions' great dismay ("I hate those Gauls"). My personal favorite is "Asterix and Cleopatra" where they travel to Egypt to help Getafix's buddy Edifis win an architectural contest between Ceasar and Cleopatra. Oh, and the Sphinx's nose? Obelix did that.

In this graphic novel series there is great storytelling, superb drawing, awful puns, wonderful sound effects (yes, really), and sneakily, insidiously, while you're laughing, you're learning.

Asterix lives in the Gaulish part of the Roman Empire. Doesn't he? Not quite, his village resists the Romans thanks to a magic potion. The Romans want some of this potion for themselves...

"Asterix the Gaul" was the first Asterix comic, published in 1961. Rene Goscinny made the words and Albert Udzero did the pictures. It's a pretty good way to start the series though the sequel "Asterix and the Golden Sickle" (1962) sets up the vibe the other comics enjoy.