Science Books

This is a book that was read to my older brother my sisten and lastely me. I have read this to my children and I was happy to find it still in print for my Grandson. It was out of print for some time but it's back. Hardcover, great colors, the origional illustrations still intact. This is an absolutly wonderful book, I was glad to stumble across it on Amazon.

As a boy I had studiously avoided Lindgren's more famous creation Pippi Longstocking, partly because it was about a GIRL ("The horror! The horror!"), but also because it struck me at the time as just too silly. "Mio, My Son" is neither, but I had never heard of it before stumbling upon it in the list of chapter books reprinted by Purple House Press, which specializes in reprinting OOP children's classics. Since they had started by reprinting no less than FIVE of my favorite books from my childhood, all long out of print until they came along, I was inclined to trust their judgment sight unseen. "Mio, My Son" at least, did not disappoint.

Perhaps because it began as a short story of Andy and the genie, which Lindgren later expanded into the current novel, "Mio, My Son" starts rather slowly. I know that I began to wonder when "something" was going to "happen" after Mio arrived in Farawayland, but be patient. Lindgren is slowly drawing you into her world, making you care for characters that shortly will be plunged into terrible danger in the rousing climax. The charming illustrations by Ilon Wikland nicely complement the story. After this I am looking forward to reading PHP's other Astrid Lindgren title The Brothers Lionheart with greater interest.

Note: The publisher claims the reading level as 6-12; IMHO it's better classified towards the younger end of that scale, ESPECIALLY for boys. The Purple House reprint of Mio, My Son is worth picking up even if you own an older edition because of the smooth new English translation by Jill Morgan (the publisher herself?).

I had forgotten about this book until someone just asked me to name my favorite book. I read this book again and again as a child and found it absolutely entrancing. I highly recommend it to anyone who dreams of living in a fantasty world of their own.

I am so happy to find this book in English so that I can share it to my little American friends. In Germany, where I was born in 1983, Astrid Lindgren is a 'must-have' in every children's bookshelf. I grew up with beautiful characters like Mio and Madita, Michel and Ronja. I think the other reviews speak for themselves, I just wanted to add one more thing from self experience:
I think these bed-time fitted books (chapter length chosen for a 15 to 30 min reading session) are what made me dream as fantastic as I still do.
Astrid Lindgren knew the secret of how to catch on to children's interest, and how to pack messages of value in understandable words for them...

From E.A. Solinas' review: "It's never really dark or genuinely thrilling..."

Absolutely no offense intended, but try saying that if you're an 8-year-old girl who loves horses and fairy tales! This book has haunted me for years. I checked it out time and time again from my school library, and tried to find it as an adult, but I couldn't remember the title, the main character's name OR the author. All I remembered was ..."a horse called Miramis"... but that was somehow enough to track it down on a lost books site.

I remember the story as being mystical and full of entrancing descriptions. The story of a journey to destiny is timeless, and really captured me back then. I'm just thrilled to have found it again, and can't wait to get another copy.

While the Book of the Long Sun ended on a satisfactory note to those who didn't want to read further, it also allowed itself plenty of room to continue the stories of those who were involved in it. At the end of that long work, we found that the Whorl was apparently a giant spaceship and that the actual plan was to get everyone to two planets that it was near, Blue and Green. And thus, everyone did. Sort of. We pick up the tale a few decades later on Blue where Horn (who "wrote" Book of the Long Sun) finds that everything seems to be falling apart, civilization isn't what it used to be and the colonists are being attacked by inhumi, flying, shapeshifting vampiric creatures. Thus he decides to go on a quest to find the one man who can put it all back together, Patera Silk, who has been AWOL since we last saw him (and had an awesomely understated exit at the close of that last tetraology) and while he fully intends on doing it alone, it doesn't quite work out that way.

Wolfe is never going to an action packed writer, his prose is dense and things tend to unfold slowly, interlocking and branching until it all comes together. This is probably his most accessible book, at least on the surface, told in a first person style by Horn that is straightforward, although still heavy on ruminations from time to time. Horn has personality, although he lacks Silk's razor sharp and almost casual insights and his singularity of purpose. But as a straight-up quest, events are much easier to follow this time out. At first. Then things get deceptive.

The early part of this book, for all its accessibility, can be rough going for those who never read "Book of the Long Sun" because there are a lot of references to that previous series, to the point where I wondered when the actual plot was going to start or if we'd just be rehashing events from "Long Sun" in greater detail and a first-person viewpoint. Then it changes and I can remember almost the exact point where all the first-personness condensed and became something far sharper and harder than I expected. It comes as suddenly the narrative starts to reference events that have occurred after our current point of view, a future Horn writing about events from his relative youth.

The sequence is brief, but it ends with the lyrically eloquent: "But know this: the best and happiest of my hours you know nothing about. I have seen days like gold." From that point on the book seems to gain focus, especially once Krait the inhumi comes on board, inserting these very alien but seemingly human creatures into the story adds another level to it. Meanwhile, the narrative itself splits and simultaneously becomes about Horn's life years from now after the book's events are over and what is happening now and what gets him to Green. He manages to do both without becoming confusing and still allowing mysteries to linger for future novels and does it so easily that you don't realize how difficult this is to pull off. Which is what makes it deceptive, he pulls you right into the complex and you never realize how much of a fractal you've entered.

Gene Wolfe at his best as he weaves the whorl and Horn in an enigmatic manner that exemplifies his style. I am always just short of being frustrated with Wolfe. You wait and wait, read and read, hoping for something significant to happen yet never seems to, only to discover that it has already happen but you didn't know. The frustration and mystification will only increase with subsequent books in the series as Horn devolves into
a multi-dimensional confusion of characters and space-time reality. I fell in love with the siren Seawrack and feel pity for Krait the alien vampire...or is he a manifestation of Horn's son Sinew? Wolfe will tease and tempt you but never really answer any of your questions while seducing you with effortless, gorgeous prose. I miss Silk.

Reading this brilliant first portion of "Short Sun," I repeatedly wondered if Wolfe had not decided to pay homage to David Lindsay's woefully unknown masterpiece, "A Voyage to Arcturus." In many ways, Horn seems much like Lindsay's character, Maskull, metamorphosizing to meet the demands of each situation, using and abusing those who offer him aid while trying to overcome his base urges and rise to the status of savior.

Wolfe is never content to simply tell a story, though, and his narrative complexities often scare off readers...Severian's memoir in The Book of the New Sun is, sadly, seen as overly long-winded by some; the progression of intrigues in Long Sun is considered, by many, the book's greatest weakness, along with its treasury of characters. Short Sun is no different: Horn's meditations are deeply personal, more of a confessional than anything. It is fitting that Horn, like Severian, narrates in the first person. Where Severian is distinctly amoral, relating his actions, ranging from murder to rape and worse, with no hint of regret, or even the notion that he should feel regret, Horn relates his actions with perfect honesty and marked shame...his memoir is a plea for mercy, while Severian's is simply a chance to allow others to remember.

Wolfe's characterization is at its peak, here, and I do not believe he has ever written more human characters. I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of the next two volumes in my mailbox!

..
I've never much cared for the Wolfe I've read (which isn't all that
much), but he gets so much praise from people whose opinions
I respect that, every few years, I try him again [note 1]. This time,
I tried On Blue's Waters (1999), since I recalled seeing some comments
that the Short Sun 'series' (which appears to be one long novel) is
unusually accessible. Plus, I saw a blurb by Michael Swanwick
praising Wolfe as the world's greatest working novelist, in *any*
genre....

Anyway, Blue's does have clear prose and an unambiguously sfnal
setting -- Blue is a pleasantly Earthlike planet that has recently been
settled by colonists from the Long Sun generation-ship, which is a
VERY large spaceship indeed. This is good, because I recall being put
off in both the New Sun and Long Sun books by the fantasy-that's-
really-SF tomfoolery [note 2].

Blue's also has a broken-back plot structure that got in the way of
Wolfe's story (IMO), but there was enough going on to lure me into
finishing the thing, even after it became obvious that this wasn't a
stand-alone book (another annoyance). Anyway, Wolfe's conceit
here is that On Blue's Waters is the memoir of the viewpoint
character (with complications noted in the reviews cited below).
Fine, except that it's a *first draft* memoir (written with a quill pen
on handmade paper....), and the narrator is constantly jumping around
from story-present to various times in his past, which I found both
confusing and annoying. Plus the bridge-bits (which make it a
'memoir' rather than flashbacks) are meandering and rather dull.
And there are all these carried-over characters from the Long Sun
books, that I'm supposed to recognize, I guess... Faugh.

So here I am again, wondering how Wolfe has acquired such a
stellar reputation from books that I find, at best, annoyingly 'literary'
and at worst unreadable. Why would Wolfe structure Blue's as a
confusing, meandering and dullish pseudo-memoir? How is this
better than using a conventional first-person with flashbacks plot-
structure? Why does Wolfe deliberately fracture and obscure what's
basically a fine travel-adventure yarn? His choice, of course, and he
clearly knows what he's doing, but it sure doesn't agree with me.
Sigh.

I'm guessing that the Short Sun is as straightforward as Wolfe is
likey to get, at novel-length anyway, and I liked On Blue's Waters
well enough that I may continue into Green's Jungles sometime --
but I'm afraid that most of the glittering jewels that others see in
Wolfe's work look like dusty pebbles to me.
___________________
Note 1). I vividly recall a long-ago weekend in some godforsaken
mining camp when for some reason all I had to read was Free Live
Free. And it rained. It was a VERY long weekend, and it was years
before I touched another Wolfe.

2). I abandoned both series (after about 1.5 of each), not because of
this, but because I Didn't Care What Happened to Those People.
I have had better luck with his short stories -- I've liked maybe 1/3 of
those that I've read, as opposed to, basically, none of the novels.
I believe that I've sampled most of what Wolfe's fans think is
his best work....

Review copyright 2002 by Peter D. Tillman
First published at Infinity Plus, with links and discussion:
infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/blueh2o2.htm

(...)
The Book of the Short Sun will be one of the finest reading experiences of your life... if you can get through the thing. The difficulty in extracting those rewards out of the text is considerable and not to be lightly discounted. Reading these books will require supreme effort. Willing readers will have to be intensely interested with how individuals relate to historical and semi-mythical figures, religion, and their own personality as influenced by these themes. These books are about as far as you can get from the popular concept of "space opera" and thrilling, "page-turning" fiction. An analogy to Moby Dick is probably very appropriate as that work due to the very slow pacing, the introspection, and the great literary symbols stomping through the setting reified and alive. Any scholar of literature should be deeply fascinated by these books.

WHY YOU SHOULD PASS:

There is no shame in not reading these books. They are terribly difficult and an exercise in stamina though we feel most people should at least try once. If you have attempted Shakespeare and been turned back because of the language; if you have attempted Moby Dick or novels by Henry James only to be turned away by the lack of progression in the plot; if you have attempted James Joyce's Ulysses but been baffled by the interior monologue, then Short Sun is probably going to daunt you as well. But we feel the rewards of this book are equal to those giants in literature.

(...)

I needed to refresh my DEs since I was out of college for some years. I regret that I never looked at this book when I was in college. Simply the best book on this. Unlike most other books, it is a lot more applied and it makes sense better. Since DEs works best when you know the purpose of the equation, the approach is the best to me. It does have a good amount of theory as well.

If you are looking for just more theory-based, this is not the book then. But applied concepts are the most interesting to me. Another interesting thing is that the amount of examples in this book will definitly drill down the theory.

This is an old, elementary textbook on ordinary differential equations presented in the format of lessons. It is clearly written with the student in mind and has a lot of elementary applications. Students who are studying this subject for the first time will have no difficulty with the book.

I certainly enjoy reading this book.
An excellent applied mathematics text book for engineers and scientists.

I feel compelled to write a review even though many others have already written in praise of this book. The ultimate accolade: If only I had this book when I was an undergrad taking differential equations, man I would have been the star student! In a misguided quest for "purity", I chose the math department's ODE course, and at the risk of offending mathematicians (for whom I have the utmost respect), all the talk about Wronskians was about the only thing I remembered of the course, only to find later that they are almost completely useless (at least in physics, am I wrong?). Heavenly thanks for Tenenbaum and Pollard, now decades later, I finally understand what differential equations is all about.

The only small criticism is the number-labelling (sp?) of almost everything makes for some clutter in the text. Otherwise, as many have said, this book is VERY WELL ORGANIZED and super for self-study. I have purchased two copies, one for my library and one for my 10-year old daughter whom I hope will find it as attractive and interesting as I did.

Finally, once again thanks to Dover for re-pubishing at reasonable cost so many great books, among which is this particularly outstanding volume. Maybe some sort of prize or recognition should be given to Dover for their contribution to the spread of knowledge.

In an Intro to ODE course I took, we used the Edwards and Penny book merely as a reference for exercises and concepts. Most of the instruction was done primarily from the instructor's own books and from what he felt was more useful for the class.

Trying to read through the E.&P. book was painful at best, and useless at its worst, so this text became invaluable to say the least. This book does the job where the E.&P. book did not, to top it off it has plenty of exercises and detailed solutions for sample problems. This text covers about 70% of that course. It falls short of 5 stars because although the material in this book is presented with detail and clarity, its approach to an ODE course is outdated. Modern topics such as Fourier series, exponential matrices, systems of 4 or more equations linear nonlinear or dynamic, are things that are brought up in a typical ODE course taught today which are not mentioned in the book(I assume this was considered too difficult to solve by hand in the age when math software for the freshman was nonexistent).

this book is a great referece for those who want to learn the new features in .net 3.5. it is not for the beginner programmer as it uses some advancced techniques that could be confusing. It is more of a reference book than a learning book, overall it is great and covers all areas of LINQ.

After being disappointed by other books on ASP.NET was leery in purchasing another. Wishing to learn about LINQ I finally gave in and ordered this one. I'm pleasantly surprised and delighted that it actually teaches you something other than just touting the benefits versus older technology. It is so complete as opposed to other books that give you a dip in the shallow end and leave you to wonder what else there is out there.

Excellent book. Well worth the price. Get it.

I am always looking for new tools to make my job as a developer easier, more efficient, allow me to write code that is more easily maintained and just make things more exciting. The problem that comes with learning these new tools (such as LINQ) is finding the time to learn them to the point that they are useful. This style of this book made it very easy to read with excellent code examples, providing me with the knowledge to get started using LINQ in my current project within a week of reading. Lastly, I was able to contact the author (with a timely response) about a question I had using LINQ in my project. Joe was friendly in his response and very approachable. Highly recommended!

This is a very comprehensive and well structured LINQ learning guide. It can be used as a structured tutorial or as a reference guide, as definitions and sample code for each method call are complete.

What is really nice is that this book works well in eBook (Kindle) format. I am usually reluctant to buy technical books with code listings for the Kindle, but all the listings in the text are zoomable images and easy to read in the landscape rendition.

I'm an intermediate level C# programmer (I think) and have been using ADO.net with SQL-Server to build a database application for a client. When I read about LINQ earlier this year, it sounded like something too good to be true. I started with a couple of other books, but found practical explanations of getting things to work lacking. I get the impression, the authors are too far advanced and just assume we have fairly expert knowledge of some of the nuts and bolts things that are elementary to them, so they don't explain these things.
Joseph Rattz's book does not assume we know how to do a lot of this stuff. Rather he explains in detail, how to get LINQ up and running, and to actually get a query completed. I was able within an hour to run SQL Metal to generate an entity class (basically a map from SQL Server to corresponding data objects), and run some of the example queries in the book. That said, this is not a lightweight book for someone new to programming. It's just that he does an excellent job explaining a complex subject. It gets into advanced topics on LINQ and requires some knowledge of C#. If you plan to use this to work with SQL Server, you should also have some experience with that also.
Summing up, there is just something about Mr. Rattz's writing style that makes this book easy to read and understand. I find I'm actually enjoying reading this book, and I certainly can't say that about most technical books I study.

It arrived quickly, I got it for a great price, and it gets the job done. Perfect :)

its a great book to start your studies with psychological concepts and helps to think from diffrent ways.

Everything arrived promptly and in good condition. Also, the correct edition which was a major concern. Thanks!

I purchased this book for my Psychology class. It was a introductory class, and I was surprised as heck to see this thick, 700+ page book was what I needed. I bought it out of necessity. I was hesitant to take this course, but at the same time interested. Hesitant because I didn't want to find out that I had some psychological problems and read about myself, and interested because I was curious as to which psychological problems I may have. So I guess you could say that I was torn inside psychologically just with the prospect of purchasing a darn book. After reading the entire book, I realized that I had no less that a half a dozen different mental problems- self diagnosed of course. I mean dag nam it. I belong in a loony bin according to this book. I've got some bolts loose, I'm missing some screws, I'm a few cards short of a deck, and I probably need some mental meds and to be put in lock down. Heck, I have no need for a shrink, this book saved me money by helping me realize exactly what my mental condition consist of. And next semester I am taking a biology course, so I'll be able to determine all my health problems and be my own doctor too. Books are amazing, they really are. Even a psycho would buy this book. You would have to be insane to pass up on this one. Buy it now.

I love this book, I'm 16 and I have no trouble understanding it (though I am smarter than your average teen). It's quite interesting and explains a lot. It's the perfect introduction to psychology for someone like myself looking to pursue it as a career.

Excellent book. Well written. Clear. Thoughtful.
Plenty of examples. I would highly recommend it!

There are many other reviews that discuss (and applaud) the merits of Kuipers' treatment of the subject, and I agree with them. Rather than add a "me too", I wanted to treat some of the features of this book that make it approachable.

This book is not written for the layman, you do need a fair grounding in matrix methods, complex variables, and rotations. If you remember the basics you should be fine because Kuipers reminds you of special theorems and properties as they are used. Notation is kept simple and unconfusing.

Of particular note, he uses the margins in a novel way. Most math texts number their equations and refer to them often. The reader spends a lot of time flipping back and forth. Kuipers frequently puts referenced equations, needed properties, and other information in the margins where they are needed. This minimizes the usual back and forth and enables a marginally sophisticated reader to actually read and learn something new in bed.

Book is more or less what all the glowing 4 and 5 stars say it is. I would like to add a 1859 quote from William Rowan Hamilton about his Quaternions in a note to Peter Guthrie Tait (professor and friend of James Maxwell):

"Could anything be simpler or more satisfactory? Don't you feel, as well as think, that we are on a right track, and shall be thanked hereafter. Never mind when."

This is an excellent book, it's right up there with Gilbert Strang's Linear Algebra texts.
Want to understand quaternions and rotational matrices, well this is the book for you. Starts with the basics, coordinated transformations and such, and moves at a reasonable pace into quaternions. Others at work, looking at this book felt that they understood the text. Interestingly these were software engineers that never really gotten basic college calculus. Never could understand why many software people are so light on math. Different part of the brain I guess. Author vs. engineer.

Quaternions are not as intuitive as 3x3 matrices however this book give a strong understanding of quaternions so that the reader can let go of the 3x3 matrix and successfully, in my case at least, change over to only using quaternions. This has proven useful in my simulations for, and firmware code for, satellite attitude determination and control. In the version I have of this book, there are some mistakes that hopefully will be corrected, but the mistakes are obvious and easy to overlook. I hate quaternions but they are powerful tools in solving real world problems. This book made quaternions interesting and bearable. If you already have a really good understanding of quaternions, this book might help, but it has a long introduction into quaternions so you might want to review the book using the online outline to see if it actually covers more than what you might already know.

love this book!!! there is so much going on!! amy and andy are really hot together

I started reading this book series last year when I was looking for something to read. After I read the first book I fell in love with the series. This one is my favorite book! I think Aly is really funny when she gets very hyper. If you LOVE the Replica books then you'll LOVE LOVE LOVE! this one!

Have fun reading!

This book was really really good. It is probably my favorite out of all of the series. I would reccomend to girls 10-13. Everyone would LOVE this book!!!!! You'll really like it if you like adventure with comic. Totally great!

It's another organization-planned 'get-together' with the clones. Only this time, ALL the clones are there, including all the surviving Amys and all the Andys. They're trapped on a perfect Island Paradise - the sand feels soft and warm, the water is crystal-clear and full of colorful fish, and the sun shines brilliantly all the time. Too bad the clones can't enjoy the experience; they're being held here against their will by 'The Organization!!' Their supervisors, a woman named Cindy and the Mr. Devon clones, force them to play a frightening game similar to 'Survivor.' But you better watch out when you're voted off.. it's pretty serious!!

I loved this book sooo much!! The only thing I didn't like about it was that whole celebrity-clone thing. I mean, c'mon. How would they know which baby would be a celebrity someday? Are they just mass-producing future celebs in cloning labs or something? 'Hmm, this baby looks like she could be a supermodel someday. Let's clone her!!' hehe. Anyway, I loved the rest of the book. It was great!!!

REPLICA!!!!! One of then best sci- fiction series ever. If you haven't read any other of the Replica books I suggest you read the following ones before reading this book.
#1 Amy, Number Seven
#11 Lucky Thirteen
#3 Another Amy
#6 And the Two Shall Meet
#12 In Search of Andy
#4 Perfect Girls
If you have read a lot of the Replica books already, you probably won't need to read those.. Anyway, this was one of the best Replica Books in the series. You learn a lot more about the Project Cresent Clones, and OTHER CLONES!!! This was really a great book. Also, our Amy reunites with some old friends. And ENEMIES!!!

I find this a very provocative science fiction trilogy. Lewis' view of cosmology and theology is neat, and the story, though somewhat dated, is interesting.

I absolutely LOVED this series. My science fiction loving father recommended it and now I have become a sci-fi junkie because of it. A great story that shows our history and future in interesting ideas. Fantastic read.

Books such as these cannot fail to change you. There have been many books in my life which I could say that about, but short of the Bible, I think these surpass them all (Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or G.K. Chesterton's Man Who Was Thursday being the only serious competition).
I cannot speak about these books without a tone of awe, it would be absolutely useless to try and explain why. Please trust me - read these, and many times, too.

Out of the Silent Planet
C.S. Lewis
Scribner Paperback
ISBN 0684823802

This is the first book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. These books are far less known than Lewis's Narnia series or even his Mere Christianity or The Screwtape Letters, yet it is just as good as any of those writings and goes to show the versatility of Lewis as an author.

This first book begins with our hero, Dr. Ransom, out for a walking tour in the countryside, dressed in that shabby way for which professors are renowned. His foes are his former schoolmates Devine and Weston. These men believe they need a human sacrifice, and by capturing Ransom they have their victim, for they have made a spaceship and are taking Ransom to Malacandra the red planet.

Once on Mars, Ransom escapes his captors, meets many species, and finds out that on Mars there has been no `Fall' and Ransom from Earth or the Silent Planet is a bit of an oddity. People from earth are considered to be `bent' in nature, from the original sin of the fall.

Follow Ransom as he treks across a strange world, and must find the courage to risk it all to save not only an alien race, but also, possibly his own soul.

This is a first book in an amazing series. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

Perelandra
C.S. Lewis
Scribner Paperback
ISBN 0684823829

This is the second book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. This book was written as a sequel to the immensely popular Out of the Silent Planet but Lewis also wrote it so that the story can stand on its own. So if you haven't read the first you can start here.

This book takes place some time after the first, but we are not sure how long. Ransom has received a summons to Venus, a planet that is just beginning its inhabited life. This planet's `Adam' and `Eve' are on the planet and they must choose to obey God or to reject his law and face a `fall' as has happened on earth.

Ransom must face his old foe Weston, and try to save a planet from great evil. Can he navigate this watery planet; can he negotiate the intricacies of human weakness, temptation and corruption? Can he conquer himself and help others to learn obedience?

This is a great creation story. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

That Hideous Strength
C.S. Lewis
Scribner Paperback
ISBN 0684823853

This is the third and final book in C.S. Lewis's amazing Space Trilogy. This book was written as a sequel to the immensely popular Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra but Lewis also wrote it so that the story can stand on its own. So if you haven't read the first, you can start here.

That Hideous Strength, unlike the first 2 books in this series, where Ransom leaves earth and fights evil in space and on other planets, the battle in this book takes place on earth.

Ransom must lead a group of faithful believers against National Institute for Coordinated Experiments or N.I.C.E., an organization that believes that Science can solve all of humanity's problems. He must battle the people in this organization, super aliens trying to invade and control earth and use its population against other planets and against God.

On top of all of that, Merlin has arisen from his long sleep and has arisen in England's time of greatest need. But the question is, who will find him first - N.I.C.E. or Ransom and his team? The fate of the world, and possibly the universe, rests on this question.

Lewis called this story an adult's fairy-tale. It is a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, and a book that will keep your attention as you raptly turn the pages to find out where Lewis will lead you.

Sometimes learning is like sunbathing. You soak up wisdom like you soak up rays--changing, even though you can't pinpoint every little drop that touched you.

I say that because today I completed the second book in C. S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. True, I can't name one thing I learned (and this series is much more about exploring concepts than telling a story), but I feel very wise. Before you laugh too hard, let me say that my spirit is quiet right now. It's still. Rested. Open. In awe. Ready to receive.

Today I will continue resting, listening. Tomorrow I'll go back over the pages and remind myself what I learned. (And then I'll start the third book.)

I highly recommend these book, but read them only when you have lots of time to reflect.

After reading the reviews I knew this book would be great... It greatly surpassed my expectations. If you are a Star Wars fan, you should order it right now!

I bought this book for my husband. He really loves it. Its like a scrapbook collection of 30 years of Star Wars. Very neat! I was disappointed because the shipping caused the book to be dented in the corners. I know its a heavy item, but Amazon should make sure to accomodate.

My husband LOVES all things 'Star Wars' and I don't think there's a single day in his life that goes by without him making at least one daily Star Wars reference. This collection has so much to offer. So many little gems that will surprise even the biggest Star Wars fan. It's so masterfully crafted and quite a show piece! It's like a modern heirloom, and sure to provide hours upon hours of enjoyment.

STAR WARS VAULT BY STEPHEN J. SANSWEET AND PETER VILMUR: Celebrating it's thirtieth anniversary this year, the Star Wars franchise is in a similar predicament to the time after the release of Return of the Jedi: no plans for future movies, apart from a continuing animated series of the Clone Wars. By the same token, fans are in the same state with little to nothing to look forward to. Thankfully, to commemorate the third decade of the blockbuster, internationally bestselling movie series, there's the Star Wars Vault: "thirty years of treasures from the Lucasfilm archives with removable memorabilia and two audio CDs.

This is not just a nicely decorated picture book in a sturdy slipcase; it's an experience, a journey that one is immediately taken one when they open up the cover. Star Wars Vault is part of the new style of picture being published, like that of 1776: The Illustrated Edition, where the book goes beyond glossy, colorful pictures and photos, but incorporates all types of media, and with the rich heritage of the Star Wars franchise which literally revolutionized the world with merchandising, Star Wars Vault is a gift that would make any fan of the series, no matter how old or how much of a fan, respect you greatly in your choice of gift.

Sansweet keeps his story short, taking up little room on the page, and leaving the evidence reproduced here in various forms to speak for itself. He begins with the fascinating tale of how the first movie, Star Wars Episode IV, barely made it to release, and with little support, until the enormous numbers of audience members proved that the studio executives were very wrong. While Sansweet spends less time on the development and release of the rest of the movies, the experience as one turns the pages and relives the history of the Star Wars empire is unlike that of any other. With unique photos, movie posters, and a plethora of pictures from around the world, there are innumerable insets and handouts of unique items like patches, stickers, collectible postcards, film cells, and even two audio CDs with a variety of different pieces ranging from the mid-eighties radio ads, to special interviews, to a recording of the song sung by Carrie Fisher for the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.

While the price for Star Wars Vault is considerable, no one will regret it when they turn the page and discover the world within. It is a book that will immediately be quickly read, the stickers and patches possibly used, and added to the shelf to be rediscovered over and over.

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My 8-year-old, who is a huge Star Wars fan, loves this book. Unfortunately, because it's so cheaply made, it fell apart shortly after he got it. The pages have completely separated from the hard cover, probably because the materials/methods used in the binding are too flimsy. For a more-than-$50 "collector's edition," the publisher should have made the book to last more than two weeks. It will cost me $85 to have it repaired.

I am new to making armor, but not so much to metalworking. This book gets you started on techniques (although a few could have a little more attention), and has terrific sections on measuring and padding. The illustrations and photos are a big bonus, and most are helpful to some extent. Overall a great example of a master passing on some of his knowledge to the apprentices of his craft.

I have yet to find a better book for armoring. Nearly every fundamental is covered.

Tools, stock, techinque, buying tips, and even history is covered.

The Maille section is somewhat lite but there are other books that are fully dedicated to that discipline.

It's worth every penny. You can't go wrong with this book.

This book is an awsome read, very interesting and the info on constructing armour is just incredable. Every aspect is covered even lining the armour to make it more comfortable, if you are intersted in medieval armour this book is second to none.

Good book. BUT compleatly failed to mention safety glasses. These are IMPORTANT. you need to get a good pair and wear them when you are working in your shop. unless you think you will look good with a eyepatch.

This is a book on how to build armor. Tools, techniques, materials, workspace needed, cost estimates are all part of it. I make leather armor for re-enactors, so much of what was taught here was not directly applicable. However, there are chapters on how to measure, pattern, and cut. These are useful even if the material used isn't metal but leather. There are even some basic instructions on leatherworking. Overall, a pretty straightforward work. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in armor construction, collecting, or re-enacting.