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I found it best technical book till date but you should know Flex & Ruby before you can jump into this..

This is a great book. Peter is the #1 expert in Flex + Rails.

I have used Flex for about a year and I have only dabbled in Ruby/Rails development. I have been curious how I might back a Flex front end with a simple service layer that isn't hard to create, maintain or host. So far I have only worked with Java/Spring/Hibernate backend services which can take a little while to build and integrate (Grails is MUCH faster).

After about 100 pages I'm in interation 4 building an interesting RIA with a Rails backend that I can host on relatively inexpensive server if I wanted to. My only struggles thus far was getting MySQL going properly. But that was only because I forgot a step in installing it.

If you have little exposure to Rails and/or Flex and you feel at home on the command line as well as you do in an IDE like Eclipse, this is a great "project" book for you. I'd say you probably want a primer in Ruby, Rails and Flex before you get going but it is pretty easy follow and has a lot of free professional advice from someone that has obviously been around the block a few times. Peter is very upfront about some things that he has done in the book that should not be considered "best practice".

I am hoping to get some good insight how I might do something similar for Flex and Grails. Regardless, I am confident this is going to be a fun journey!

I wasn't sure whether a mixed-technologies book would be adequate for both reading and reference, especially with two technologies. As both a software engineer and a moonlighting instructor this book was an easy read from the start. Mr. Armstrong explores both Flex 3 and Rails 2 with enough background information on both technologies to get a reader ready to code--and that was just Chapter...err...Iteration 1. The second iteration begins with coding (Hello World) and it doesn't stop. This is a must for your coding library and makes a great textbook for students who enrolled in courses geared toward building web and Rich Internet Applications.

The author goes into great detail on how to efficiently get Rails and Flex working together. The book is updated for the latest version of Rails as well as the upcoming Flex 3 release. I've found the book easy to follow along with and enjoy the author's humor spread throughout the book.

As a developer I'm often tasked with making "things talk to each other". Typically if I can I'll use a tool like Flex Builder for a project and if I have a choice I'll pick Java, .NET or Ruby for the server back end - whatever is the best fit. This book only backed up my belief that Rails and Flex really do work very well together. I've learned a lot going through the code both on Rails and Flex.

I also liked how the author is continually refactoring the application (called "Pomodo"), that is where your learning kicks into overdrive. He uses the Cairngorm framework and even RubyAMF. I didn't have any experience in either up until this point. Now I can say I do and it all fits together nicely.

Within a matter of days of the conclusion of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 -- July 3, 1863) photographers were on the scene to capture the Battlefield and its participants. These photographers included Alexander Gardner of Philadelphia, who began photographing the Battlefield on July 7 or 8, 1863, the famous Matthew Brady, the Tyson Brothers, portrait photographers who lived in Gettysburg, and others. Their photographs were arranged in series and sold in various formats to the American public which was eager to learn about the War.

Over the years, the photographs have been misidentified, placed out of sequence and, in some instances, forgotten. William Frassinto's "Gettyburg, a Journey in Time" (1975) was among the first books to recapture this photographic legacy, to study the scenes and the makers of the pictures, and to organize his material in a book for the modern reader. Mr. Frassinto has since published a number of sequels to this inital book as well as a study of photographers at Antietam.

The book consists of approximately 100 photographs, most of them dating from shortly after the battle in July, 1863 through 1866. There are also a number of photographs that Mr. Frassinto himself took dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s. These photos allow the reader to compare the original scenes with the current state of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

After a short discussion giving biographical information on the photographers and information on their visits to Gettysburg, Mr Frassanito presents and discusses the photographs themselves. His presentation is arranged in six groups: 1. the first day's battle (north and west of the town); 2. Cemetery Hill; 3. Culp's Hill; 4. Cemetery Ridge; 5. Little Round Top and Devil's Den; 6. the Rose Farm.

Mr. Frassanito introduces each group with a short description of the significance of the site. He then discusses each picture in detail, explaining when it was taken, what it shows, and its importance to the Battle of Gettysburg. The photographs are themselves eloquent and compelling and their effect is heightened by Mr Frassanito's commentary. I came away understanding the first day's battle and the fighting on Culp's Hill and Cemetry Hill on the Union right much better as a result of Mr. Frassanito's account and the photographs.

The most famous photographs in the book are probably those of the dead soldiers (in a few cases the photos were taken of live soldiers posing as dead for the photographers) on Little Round Top and on the Rose Farm. Most of these photographs were taken by Gardner because the dead were removed from the Battlefield relatively quickly after the battle. Gardner moved from south to north on the Battlefield and captured the few instances in which the dead had not yet been buried. The photos capture the terrible costs of the Battle.

Many of Gardner's photos have been erroneously identified over the years as originating from the first day's fighting on McPherson's ridge. Mr. Frassanito explains how he determined these photographs in fact originated on Rose Hill, on the southern part of the Battlefield. (The first day fighting was on the northenmost part of the Battlefield.) Yet misidentifications die hard. I have seen books which postdate Mr. Frassanito's which continue to attribute these photographs to the first day of the fighting.

The photos and the text in this book will give the reader a good sense of the tragedy and cost of this seminal battle. Mr. Frassanito's book remains essential for those interested in seriously exploring the Battle of Gettysburg.

Most history books, especially those written for the public, seek to make the events come alive in some way. The author did that in a completely unique way. Take the old photos and find the positions from which they were taken and show what the areas look like today. You can use these to walk to the very point where some photo was taken, and it really brings that history home. Also, the author works those photos into a discourse on the battle, while using his photoanalysis skills to shed new light on the contents of the photos. All in all, this book is endlessly fascinating, well worth the money, and deserving of a wider audience than it probably has.

If you visit the Devil's Den portion of the Gettysburg battlefield, there's a sign describing how a famous photograph came to be. The photographer claimed that it was a picture of a confederate sharpshooter who had been mortally wounded during the battle. The soldier evidently made himself comfortable before he died. The sign explains that the photograph was staged, the soldier was not a sharpshooter and that the body was dragged some 40 yards to the spot. The sign credits William Frassanito with having made this discovery after careful study of Gettysburg photographs.

This is the book that describes this and many other pictures of the Gettysburg battlefield, many depicting dead men or horses. Many of these photographs are famous in the sense that they are used frequently in civil books and now in documentaries. Frassanito demonstrates convincingly that several of these frequently used photographs are mislabeled, generally to make the photographs seem more interesting and therefore more saleable.

Frassanito was an intelligence analyst during the Vietnam War and won the Bronze Star. I feel that only from a lot of practice analyzing photographs during the war could he have developed the skill needed to make the many clever observations in this book. Clearly, his wartime experiences left their mark in other ways as well. He frequently loses the detached air of a historian and reminds his readers of the horrors the subjects of the photographs must have experience. For example, he describes how rapid decomposition bloated the bodies immediately after the battle and how in some instances forced open the corpses' trouser buttons. "Thus the trousers on the soldier seen here were most likely open before his body was dragged to this position, the dragging action forcing them down below his hips. Here then was a young man who, only three days prior... full of life...But by July 5... was just another nameless corpse, his faced pressed against the earth, his exposed buttocks, once carefully hidden in accordance with the vanities of civilization, a sign of war's ultimate glory."

This book has the potential to make you feel like an expert on the battle of Gettysburg. If you read this book, you will recognize misidentified photographs in even some of the best documentaries. Further, you will be able to find the locations most of these photos with the aid of this book, even those in less frequently visited portions of the battlefield.

I would recommend all of Frassanito's books to Civil War buffs, but this one above all. The section on the Rose Woods photographs is brilliant, more so than even the passage that earned a marker at Devil's Den.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this is the book you should "read" about the Civil War. Certainly the goals of the book were well accomplished. I could have done without the numerous times the author explains in detail about the bloating of the bodies and how the bacteria cause it....it was brought up so many times I thought he must be a bit morbid. Nevertheless, it's not a book to entertain but to depict what was, and it does this very well.

this is a fascinating book for both civil war buffs and those interested in early photography. frassanito is an excellent writer and his detective work is unbelievably thorough. i can't recommend this book enough!

Don't expect to read this one over the coarse of a couple of nights- or even a week! You really need to set aside time to savor each tasty morsel, chapter by chapter, tale by spooky tale, to get all the enjoyment out of this book.

Divided into categories like "Military Ghosts," "Restaurant Ghosts," "Animal Ghosts," etc, the book is peppered with actual photos of many of the haunted locales, plus eerie illustrations. Some stories are frightening enough to make the hair on your arms stand up, while others are comforting, in that they'll make you believe that there is an afterlife in which our departed loved ones are still watching over us... and occasionally making mischief!

Another great book by a talented author.

Mr. Pitkin has put together a stylish glossary of ghost stories, taking place in a series of Up State New York (among other places) Villages and Cities. Some hit close to home as I live only a short drive from where many stories are reported to have taken place. I bought two copies (one in a book store) and have lent it out to many friends who love it too. It is a wonderful book to take along on a country drive up and down New York State's open roads. The stories are told with honesty and an open mind, never attempting to capitalize on the "fright" factor, but instead bringing common sense to the stories, although there were one or two that had me sleeping with the night light on a couple of times. Truly one of the BEST books on true hauntings I have read to date. I look forward to more from Mr. Pitkin.

This is one of the best true ghost books that I've ever read, and I've read many. I would rank it high in my top ten. I thrilled to every page and had a terrible time trying to put it down even when my husband begged me to turn off the light and go to sleep. The information was presented concisely and deliciously, and I savored every chilling drop. But it gets better still as this is no book that you're apt to read in a single sitting and wonder what it was that you just ingested. This is a bounty of numerous spooky tales that will hold you enthralled with enough terrifying entertainment for a feast.

Most of the stories are even accompanied by photos, a rarity in ghost books, which helps the reader visualize the haunts.

In all, I can't recommend this book highly enough to ghost story enthusiasts who're looking for a good read and a bedtime chill. You'll gladly devour this book and wish you had more!

I don't usually venture outside New England for my ghosts, but this bone-chilling collection was well worth every step of the journey! This is not a short read by any means. There are 380 pages of stories here, in fairly small print, and still you will wish there were more.

The author writes primarily about his regional area of New York. His writing style is inquisitive, with much information based in fact. I enjoyed his well-researched historical information about the places he visits, and the photos he includes. He then pulls it all together with contemporary stories, including eye-witnesses, credibly told and concisely written. He writes with just enough speculation to make you think, and I also enjoyed his wry sense of humor. Because there are so many well-varied stories, it becomes evident how many common threads run through ghost encounters and hauntings. You will be fascinated by what these people have witnessed!

It is tempting to read for hours once picking up this book. My advice would be to digest these stories slowly, if you can, to appreciate the full impact of each of these fascinating tales. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking substantial goose-bumps.

I'm an agnostic and a skeptic on the subject of ghosts, yet I found this book to be incredibly enjoyable and I was sorry to reach the end. I disagree with the other reviewer that these stories are Christian sermons in disguise. For starters, while Pitkin is obviously a "spiritual" person, he never indicates that he's a Christian. I do agree that he ends most of the stories on a heartwarming, spiritual note that I suppose could get old for some people; however, I wasn't irked by it--maybe because I took a while to read the book and therefore got it in smaller doses.

I think if you're reading a book of "true" ghost stories authored by folks who believe in ghosts (whether or not you do), you should expect to hear a bit about their spiritual beliefs as well. Are there any books of "true" ghost stories penned by absolute skeptics? I don't think so...

As for the stories, many are quite chilling, and Pitkin obviously knows his history. Most stories have accompanying photos of the houses, etc. in question, which is nice. The illustrations are mostly funny--actually, many of them are downright goofy. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more Massachusetts stories, as I live in MA. New York is well covered--I believe Pitkin lives there, and has written another book exclusively about New York ghosts.

This is one of the two best books of "true" ghost stories I've read. The other is "Haunted Happenings," by Robert Cahill.

I was given this book as a gift in preparation for my new Cornish Rex kitten. I found it very informative. The author only confirmed my interest in having one of these incredible cats with personality plus++. The most important fact, for me, was her discussion of this breed's low tolerance to the pre-anesthetic, Ketamine. For the "pet quality" owner who will be spaying or neutering their Rex, this is certainly an important topic to discuss pre-operatively with your veterinarian.

This book is a wonderful reference for the Cornish Rex owner (really someone owned by a Cornish Rex!) or for people considering taking one of these balls of energy and loving, non-stop attention into their lives. These cats are a little different... and Greta Huls takes you through background, grooming, feeding, healthcare and breed standards in a very interesting, straightforward and informative way. For instance, the information on the breed's intolerance to pre-op drugs is invaluable and possibly a lifesaver. In addition, the wonderful photographs perfectly illustrate the Cornish Rex's beauty and character.

Greta's book is great. It is extremely informative. This is a great book for people with Cornishes in their family or ones who want to have one in their family. I learned so much more about my cat since I got her book. Excellent photos! A++++

As a devoted breeder of this wonderful breed of cats, I can wholeheartly recommend Greta's new book. She did her homework quite well and picked many breeders brains to come up with a great finished product. And a very much needed book for this breed. A+++++++++

when i first got my two cornish rex, i read all that i could find on the cornish rex breed, and i discovered that there were no comprehensive books on them. i really needed some tips + how-to's specific to rexes. fortunately, greta's book provides that. the text is informative and easy to read, as well as entertaining. thanks, greta! from one owner who's happier + a little more confident in her cat care now.

Great book, all instructions are very well written and patterns are well done, can't wait to get started on this project!

Love it

I found this book to be absolutely great!! There is a great variety of easy, medium, and more challenging blocks to complete in this book. Also, there is a good variety of designs amongst the blocks. Each block is represented in color on the front and back covers. The rest of the book is in black and white. Root also gives you an idea of how each block could be quilted. Although I only have 1 thing that I would change, and it's probably just my own personal curiousity but nonetheless, I wish the blocks had a little tid bit of their own history saying why that design came to be immortalized in a quilt. The book still deserves 5 stars!

Perfect book for the beginning quilter who wants to make a first attempt at a Hawaiian quilt. This small blocks are perfect to get a taste of the techniques involved and to improve your skills.

Very well constructed book, with excellent drawings of patterns and thorough instructions included. There are additional graphics depicting suggested quilting ideas, which, for the novice hawaiian quilter, such as myself, is an excellent tool to create an outstanding finished result. Her patterns are full sized so you do not need to re-size the patterns to use them. You can trace or copy them for use. Overall, an excellent hawaiian quilting instruction book.

I consider selective mutism as an extreme form of anxiety disorder, much like the authors of this book and several of the reviewers.
However, there are reasons why children with selective mutism are sometimes "misdiagnosed" with autism spectrum disorder. Frequently, in my experience, the two overlap, especially in children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. I also say this from experience: I am diagnosed Asperger's as an adult, but could not speak fluently until I was 8 due to word-finding difficulties associated with autism. There was no diagnosis of high-functioning autism when I was a child, so they called me "elective mutism with autistic features". (Selective mutism used to be called elective mutism.) I had a great deal of anxiety in situations where I was expected to speak to others for years afterward, and frequently would not speak with anyone other than my parents and teachers.
I must say, though, that the authors did not include the techniques I have found that work best with children with either or both selective mutism and high-functioning autism disorders, including asperger's, who have anxiety about speaking.
Some respond very well to the use of masks. I try to have it be a mask that the child has made, with my assistance, and gradually modify the mask to look more like the child, or modify the base material from paper to nylon around a base.
Another good therapy tool is a sock puppet. Gradually make it look more like the child, such as by adding hair, eyes the same color as the childs', etc. Gradually try to fade the use of these as the child's anxiety decreases.
Best of luck.

What a find!! Helping Your Child with Selective Mutism is a well-researched and organized resource that is a must read for educators and parents alike.

This is the first book I would buy after receiving a Selective Mutism diagnosis. It's well written and organized in a logical step-by-step fashion. Well worth the money.

I also highly recommend Maggie Johnson's "The Selective Mutism Resource Manual". It's pricey by comparison, but worth the cost.

As a mother of a child with selective mutism, I can tell how helpful this book can be. Practical and comprehensive, it helps you rate your child's level of selective mutism and gives hints on how to work your way up the ladder of a child's social relationships. Feels good to see the progress. If your child is well described by the first chapter, then get a copy of this book for the teachers.

We have a 4 year old who did not speak at all in preschool for the first several months. We were very worried about her. Her teacher initially misunderstood her behavior, thinking she was just being uncooperative. I initially consulted the website, [...], and shared the information from it with her teacher. Together we implemented several strategies recommended on the website, including a teacher home visit, and realized some positive, albeit limited, results. I then found this book, and again shared it with her teacher. We had a very clear understanding of SM as a result, and implemented some additional strategies suggested in the book (like another teacher home visit, building on the friendships she had outside of school, being cognizant of classroom seating, etc.). To all of our amazement she is a little chatterbox at school now (same school year)!!! I am incredulous that implementing the simple suggestions on the website and in the book had such dramatic results, and highly recommend the book for parents and teachers of children with this problem. THANK YOU to the authors!!!

We moved in our present home 10 years ago. We begin searching for our home some knowledge reguarding if it was a Sears House. We began with The Houses that Sears Built by Rosemary Thornton. However we couldn't find it there but, we found a wealth of information on Sears homes. If you think you have a Sears Kit Home both of the books are must have for you to read, learn, and enjoy. I just learned that Rosemary Thornton was in Beckley WV this week, I'm so sorry that We missed her.

A nice overview of the Sears kit homes. A nice companion to the various catalogs that have been reprinted by Dover.

This is the book to spark your interest in Sears Homes. I am now motivatied to find the homes in my town. Great read.

This book should be in every American home... When reading this book you feel as if you are sitting and talking to Rosemary Thornton. I just love it!!

This book is fun!

It's an excellent resource for those interested in learning about and identifying Sears' kit homes. Ms. Thornton has traveled the country in search of these remaining houses and she shares her wealth of knowledge regarding these wonderful kit homes. Her energy and passion shine through the pages as she brings us along on her travels.

What also makes this book such a joy to read is it provides fascinating glimpses into real life, down to earth America during the first part of the 20th century. A high school or college history teacher could easily use this book as a springboard and practical resource for discussing and bringing to life the sociological, cultural, and economic trends and mores during this period of American history. Learning about Richard Sears' foresight and marketing strategy by seeing examples of kit home advertisements for and testimonials from kit homeowners is fascinating. It's an interesting way to learn about American culture through a discussion of our homes throughout the heartland. This book, however, does not read like a textbook or technical manual. Ms. Thornton's casual writing style matches the real life of her subject. It reads more like a fun adventure sprinkled with historical facts rather than a not-so-exciting technical document. Thank you, Ms. Rose, for an excellent contribution!

Amy Carmichael is as close to a 'saint' as non-catholics have!
Her writing in this tiny book, "If," is so convicting that one shouldn't read more than one thought a day, but if you claim to love the Lord Amy serves, you need to learn to think as she inspires us to do! After reading this, you'll want to read her biography, "A Chance to Die," by Elisabeth Elliot. (may be purchased through Amazon Marketplace)

Amy Carmichael was an exceptional individual and writer. At first, I found her writings hard to follow, but once you are familiar with her style, the reading flows much easier.

Of all her books, and I've read many, IF.. has to be the most convicting book I've ever read. If you can live up to the ideas and standards in this little book, you'll have had the help of the Lord. One cannot live up to this standard in themselves. A most convicting book, and one that will definitely change the way you think (and hopefully, act) after reading it.

A must read.

This is a hard hitting little book. I can not pick it up without saying, "Ouch." It is filled with "If - Then" statements, all ending in "Then I know nothing of Calvary love." It is a small book, and "if" is a small word, but it has a big impact. It is filled with wise and profound statements covering many areas of life. Every time I pick it up it shows me how little I know of Calvary love, and how much God has yet to change me. This is not a book to read once and then put down. It is one to open up at random on a daily basis. It isn't a book shelf book, but one to be kept by the bedside, coffeepot, kitchen table, or any where else that will remind you to pick it up again. It is a convicting reminder of how God loves each of us, and how He expects each of us to pass His love along.

Dedicated on Spiritual works, service and inter-Christian relationship in-depth. Because of this book I have visited Dohnavur Fellowship in S. India once. Suprising that not so many Christians (besides the fews mainly in England) care about (or even know) their exsistance: In their guest book we are the 1st Chinese (and properly the 2nd Asians besides Indian) to visit them.

Other recommendation by "Amma" would be "Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael": a big collection!

Supporting Dohnavur Fellowship's work if we could!

This book it worth reading just for the preface. Then the content itself is even better. Be careful, God might ask you to change!

No one knows it more than Isabel Campion that life is not very thrilling for a young girl living in London, England in 1592. Leaving her frustrations at home, she finally decides to make her own adventure, even though she knows it's risky. However, taking that risk just might be the beginning of the change of pace she was looking for. Her dreams just might be in reach.

The author did an excellent job of incorporating just enough facts about the time period, and about their daily lifestyle, that the entire story seemed very realistic.

I loved everything about the book and I would read it again in a heartbeat!

Isabel Taking Wing is really enjoyable because it is about
a girl in the 1700's. My opinion is that it's really good if you like historical fiction. It's really good to read from beginning to the end.

Isabel: Taking Wing is a VERY good book. It tells about her life as a twelve-year-old in England in 1592. She becomes friends with Meg, a servant girl. But when she an Meg go to a theater alone, they end up staying too long, and they steal a boat that almost sinks. When Isabel returns home very late, her strict aunt tells her father what she's done, and she's sent away to her Aunt de Vere's country estate. When she finally returns home, her father forgives her after she saves her baby sister from dying. The only bad part in this book is when Meg dies from the plauge. This is a fantastic book.

This book provides for the reader a very accurate and correct description of England in the year 1592 while still providing and interesting read for a variety of age groups. Let's look at this book from the point in which you might want to read it and the different points of view of different people.

If you wanted to read this book for information on the culture of England during the year 1592 there are several specific details which may be of special interest to you. First of all, the whole book, especially in the Then and Now part, have accurate descriptions of the clothing that was worn by women and girls in this time period. You learn about the different layers of their clothing and how clothes were used as a symbol of wealth and priveleage. You also learn of the accesorie called a pomander, which was important as it was supposed to ward off dieases such as plague. You also learn a bit about the hierarchy of birds and plays in that time. There are also hints about a women's place in society at the time.

If your purpose in reading this book was to learn about plauge, you also have several important details. In the book, especially at the end, you can find the symptoms of plauge. These may not be written out and palced in a list so to speak, but if you look for them and are good at inferencing, you will easily find them. Also, in the Then and now Section, you find about the attempts made my doctors in those times to ward of plauge. You also find out about how plauge spread, when it happened, and what families did if plauge hit them.

Of course, for many people, the reason they read this book was just to find an interesting book to read, and this book had details for them too. There are good descriptions in the book. Also, there are some parts in the story that are not necesseraly important to the overall plot, but form interesting, small sub-plots of their own, that make the book interesting and fun to read all around, although people who were reading this for specific information might have found those parts annoying. Many girls can connect to Isabel and her feelings, which are ones that we most likely have all experianced during our lives. Most of us can also probably imagine how it would be in this situation and if not you'd still might feel a bit saddened at first for Isabel.

This book is also very well written. The desciptions are very colorful and entertaing but they still give us insight on life in 1592 England. The parts that are funny, entertaining, and don't completely relate to the overall plot do not take over the book as in some other novels that I can metion but would prefer not to. The grammer is also very correct and the sentence starters vary, thus keeping the book from being dull.

In conclusion, this book is very informative, while still being interesting and entertaining. We can probably relate to it and it is extremely well written. I reccommend this to anyone of any age no matter what your reason for reading is.

The year is 1592, and twelve-year-old Isabel Campion is living under the strict rule of her Aunt Elinor in an upper-class neighborhood located in London. Isabel, unlike other 12-year-olds, wants nothing more than to escape the "conformist" society she is forced to grow up in. She doesn't want to spend her days cleaning stains out of shirts, or learning how to sew perfectly; but rather longs to explore the world, and become an actor like the boys she sees perform at the playhouse. Unfortunately, that's another thing Isabel is unable to do. Perform. For girls are not actors, and even the roles of females are played by males. When Isabel is sent to her Aunt de Vere's home, she becomes lost, and joins a group of boys who accept her as one of their own, and allow her to become an actor like them. But maybe acting isn't what Isabel was after all. Maybe there's nothing in the world that is perfect for her.

As a fan of the GIRLS OF MANY LANDS series, as well as sixteenth-century London, I found that ISABEL: TAKING WING was a perfect addition to the collection. Isabel is a spirited young girl, who is brave, and kindhearted, and will easily keep readers enthralled from the first page to the very last. Filled with many informational tidbits regarding sixteenth-century life, as well as information about London-born girls of today, Annie Dalton's effort will be cherished.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

"J.G. Ballard scans the suicide-code of a chemical=anthropoid into the abolition world, as if the drug fetus's modem=heart of the corpse mechanism is aspirated acid." - Kenji Siratori, author of Blood Electric

J.G. Ballard's "Quotes" is one of my favorite books. How does Ballard do it? He offers the starkest insights about Western culture and the psychopathology of the human race, and yet the book is fun, exciting, and totally addictive. The editors have combed all of Ballards books for interesting excerpts, and they have arranged them conveniently into chapters. There is a chapter on Writers and Writing, a chapter on 9/11, a chapter on Beaches, a chapter on William S. Burroughs--it goes on and on. Yes, sometimes there are redundancies, but that did not bother me. In fact, it is interesting to see how Ballard takes an insight or prediction and retools it slightly over time. One of my favorite of his predictions is that in the future, science and pornography will intersect. That may seem obvious to some people now, but Ballard made this prediction in the early 1970's. Another thing this book is good for: getting titles to other interesting books. Ballard reads widely, and he recommends books throughout this volume; some are books I had never heard of. "The Black Box", for instance, contains the transcripts of dialogue between pilots and air-traffic controllers for flights that eventually crashed. Ballard cites one of his favoite books: "The Los Angeles Yellow Pages". He considers this directory a surrealist work. Likewise, the chapter on film is good for some titles: after reading Ballard I returned to "The Road Warrior" and "The Hitcher" (two of my childhood favorites) and saw them in a new, Ballardian light. If you like this one, I would also recommend the book of Conversations with Ballard and "A User's Guide to the Millenium". Of course, "Crash" is not to be missed...

"jg ballards: quotes" is a book of maxims, aphorisms, statements, and glibly profound comments from the mouth and pen of the perspicacious jg ballard.
if you are at all interested in the theories of a modern thinker without all the impenetrablenous of postmodern theorists from academia, then check this tome out.
the chapters on 'PSYCOPATHY' and 'THE SUBURBS' alone are very salient indeed, soaring through the time and mind barriers of our age looking with hindsight at the strange possibilities that time and mind present to us now.
ballard transposes the psychical landscape onto the physical one using freudian theories of the libido and the unconscious to evoke a surreal landscape at once familiar and yet alienating.
these are the themes ballard tackles and talks about in his own inimitable and exciting manner. always fascinating.
i recommend this book to anyone interested in a worthwhile compass to the imaginative world around us right now.

RE/Search has compiled the best blips and ramblings from Ballard's extensive body of work, illuminating the uninitiated and re-affirming to the already converted that Ballard is one of the sharpest commentators on the modern world. The book itself is compact and formated for easy digestion during commuting hours or periods in limbo, and each quote is a gem. This book will definitely keep you intrigued and sane on your otherwise dismal journey through the day to day.

In J.G. Ballard Quotes, author Ballard and Quotes editor V. Vale continue a relationship which stretches back twenty years. Along with being the finest writer of our time, Ballard is a keen social observer, as well as a thinker of unique and visionary perspective:

"Does the future still have a future?"

"The open coffins lay empty, ready to catch the American pilots who would soon fall from the air."

"Everyone says there is too much violence on television but secretly they want more."

"Will NASA one day evolve into a religious organization?"

"A perverse sexual act can liberate the visionary in even the dullest soul."

As one can see, Ballard is interested in the tropes of our time. Reading Quotes, one can't help but marvel at his wonderful ability to seamlessly extemporize on virtually any subject. And along with thousands of great JGB quotes, the book is illuminated by surreal techniscapes from photographers Ana Barrado and Mike Ryan.

If you're a JGB fan, or just need an interesting book for your coffee table, Quotes will be a good choice for you.