Science Books

I am yet another reader who wore out the library's copy of this book, with its purple and yellow cover, reading it over and over and over again in junior high. I particularly remember the story about the little girl on Venus who was so homesick for the sun, which came out there only every seven years -- and the other kids in the class locked her in the closet, so that she missed it. I looked it up here tonight because my son was asking me if I'd ever read any Robert Heinlein. But of course! This collection got me started on his work as well as that of many others. What a pleasant surprise it was to read these reviews and discover that I am not the only one who's still haunted by the imaginative scope and the sense of wonder in the stories in this anthology.

I just recommended this collection to a friend and came here to look for it-- about 30 years since I first checked it out from my grade school library. It was, in fact, one of two quasi-adult SF titles in our little library and as such is one of the books that introduced me to the genre. Just reading the reviews here has made me deeply nostalgic, not only for Tomorrow' Children but for many of Asimov's other books-- things like Foundation that I discovered after reading this edited collection.

I just checked and Ebay has a paperback copy-- in Australia. It's only $9US with BuyItNow but shipping is twice that and it doesn't look to be in such good condition. I'll keep an eye open there, and meanwhile I'm going to ILL this tonight. If you have access to a library do the same. You won't regret it.

I came across this book after watching the Twilight Zone Movie. I had only seen the very end of the third part where Anthony uses his powers to make a car. Out of curiosity, I looked up the movie and found that that part was a remake of the episode It's A Good Life. It wasn't until after I saw that episode that I learned that that episode was based off of the story from this very book. The rarity of this book is just amazing, so I knew it must be good. When I finally got it through interlibrary loan, it exceeded my already very-high expectations. If anything, It's A Good Life might have been my least favorite story. My favorites are Star Bright, Gilead, The Father-Thing, and The Little Terror.

Star Bright (by Mark Clifton) - Star is a very smart three-year-old girl. What her father doesn't realize, yet, is that she not only can read advanced textbooks and encyclopedias, but she also knows how to read minds and time-travel! This is a must-read. The ending will amaze you.

Gilead (by Zenna Henderson) - A boy who's known how to fly ever since he can remember must learn that he is different and find those who are like him.

The Father-Thing (by Phillip K. Dick) - Charles notices that his father has been replaced by some other creature that looks just like him. Don't forget your kerosine!

The Little Terror (by Will F. Jenkins) - After her grandfather lies to her about a magic trick, a girl is convinced she can make things disappear. She becomes so convinced, that she actually develops that power! Lots of Bishop Berkeley references (to be is to be perceived).

UPDATE: 18 Jan 2006 - I just won an ebay auction for this book for $26.22 including shipping. It's described as: hardcover - ex-library book with usual library markings. first blank page missing. book is worn. binding is not as tight as it could be, but pages holding in fine. still a good read.



I also checked this book out at a public library many, many times during my childhood, and some of the stories haunt me to this day. I would love to find a copy of this book.

Another author I read during this period, and stumbled on again recently, is Madeleine L'Engle. She has a trilogy of time travel which begins with "A Wrinkle in Time". If the names of Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, Mrs Which or Charles Wallace sound familiar, this is where you will find them, and they are available.

Am I ready to shell out over $30 for this book? There's already a cart full of Orson Scott Card, Diane Duane & Ursula K. LeGuin to pay for! But even if it has to be wish listed, I'm delighted to know that Tomorrow's Children is available.

I first read this book over 30 years ago. When I was about 11 my family moved from a city with a large library to a small town with a one-roomer adjoining the fire station. I hunted through the ubiquitous pop lit that lined the shelves, desperately seeking something readable. Finally I found a small section with about 5-6 shelves packed with 50's & 60's SF.

Having never read SF before, I sampled a couple of books and then dug in & read shelf by shelf. Heinlein, Asimov, LeGuin, and others transformed my small town library blues into pure gold. Tomorrow's Children was on shelf #4. As those who've read it can attest, the stories are outstanding, contributed by some of the best SF writers of the period.

I searched for it tonight because I was thinking of Asimov's story about the nurse and the Neanderthal boy (Asimov claimed he always cried when he read that one - me too). For contrast, there's a story (by Bradbury?) about a couple of kids who sic a virtual lion pride on Mom & Dad - kind of 50's Freudian but effectively chilling - and technologically, still fresh. I would love to read those stories again! So I'll have to decide whether to ramp up for an ebay quest - or pay the amazon price, and be grateful for the opportunity!

Meanwhile, it's thrilling to read these reviews, and to feel kinship with all who remember this book with affection and respect. We are among a fortunate minority. . . early in life, we encountered a powerful, challenging vision of what our future could be. May all children be so lucky!

This book was as good as the first one I bought.He is a prophet of our American Civilization. Someday; we will be like the society in his books. The best adult comic book writers come from United Kingdom. Since The UK is our best international friend; They earned the right to be our best critics. Again; As usual Amazon delivered.

Even though subsequent volumes in Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson's TRANSMETROPOLITAN series would surpass this very diverse collection of stories, it is still a first rate addition to the series. It is always outrageous, frequently funny, sometimes absurd, but always stimulating.

There two aspects of the series that make it especially interesting to me. First, no other comic series explores the meaning of the media in general and the Fourth Estate in particular. For all his cynicism and rebelliousness, anti-hero Spider Jerusalem is a journalist who believes that reporting should strive to make the world a better place . . . or at least not quite so bad. Sometimes Spider's posing and stunts get in the way of that, but Ellis does manage to get the story back around to that conceit from time to time. Second, the series goes further than any other I know in looking at the furthest extremes of what people will do to remake and reconstruct themselves. Many writers have pointed out that ours is already a Cyborg culture. How else can you characterize someone who has an artificial hip, a pacemaker, and lasik eye surgery? Other writers, like Ray Kurzweil and Hans Moravec, have fantasized about a utopian future in which the human brain is sliced up and downloaded into a database, where one's consciousness can enjoy a virtual immortality (though personally, I just think of this as a bizarre way to die). Many of these notions are taken up and explored in the Transmet series.

The two books that begin the series are good, but newcomers should keep in mind that it gets much better in subsequent volumes. So while I recommend this, I even more strongly recommend reading the volumes that follow.

This book too much focuses on "being punk" instead of focusing on story. There are great ideas but they are not really explored.

Lust for Life is probably the weakest collection of Transmet. It falls in between the initial story arc, and when Helix Comics, was shut down and the title was moved to Vertigo. It has some nice establishing moments, and sets up some characters that will play critical roles through out the series. But, it's that point in between where the story starts and where it finds its feet.
It's still a part of the larger whole though, and can't be skipped if you're trying to read the series beginning to end. And Transmet is still one of the best comic series out there, so, even at its weakest, it continues to be a very strong piece.
In the end, if you haven't read the first trade, this is a poor place to start. If you did and disliked it, Lust for Life does expand the characters, but, you probably won't find anything to change your mind. If you loved the first trade, or just found it mildly enjoyable, it's worth continuing, though, mostly for where the series does find its feet, in the third trade.

This is really something I could say is a Graphic Novel without smirking. I'm no veteran when it comes to comics, but I've lent it out to a few people I know that are, and they rave about it as well. It's very much like a Fear And Loathing influenced cyberpunk tale of journalism in a future that, for all its random technical advances, is still populated by people and therefore still plagued by the same kinds of problems we face today.

This is really a lovely book. The story is sweet..a nice extension of the original Twinkle, Twinkle song. The illustration are just lovely, and somehow shiny on the page, making my one year old love to touch them. My only caveats are that some of the lyrics/words are written in gold ink, and that makes them difficult to see in certain lights. Also, when you sing it, make sure to set a fast enough pace, or else it is a LONG book! Because it's so sweet and serene, it's easy to start off slow and cuddly, but by about the 4th page, you're losing their attention and your patience. Overall I'd recommend..it's just beautiful to look at. I also like that the pages are paper, but a little thickier -- sturdy enough for little hands to turn and thumb through without tearing.

I have this book that I have read over and over to my children when they were little. both kids are in school now and they still love the book. i would highly recommend this book to any parent with little ones whether they are babies or toddlers even up to 2nd grade.

The author does it again with this production. My children and I love her extended versions of these old children's songs. And, as usual, it includes the music on the last page, which is a nice addition and teaching tool. It is wonderful!

We have many Iza Trapani books and my daughters and I usually love them. My 3 year old asked me to read this last night and I decided this is my least favorite. Some of the pages are difficult for me to read in a dim bedroom because of the gold text on blue pages. To me, it drags on more than others and the story isn't as fun. My daughter was concerned about a little girl going out without her mother. I think it is an OK book but was surprised at how many reviewers thought it was wonderful. I just don't think it is as good as "How Much is that Doggy in the Window", "I'm a Little Teapot" or some of the others ( I think we own at least 6 of her books).

This is a great everynight bedtime story. This is actually my second copy because reading it everynight to my boys wore it out so I had to get a new copy for my daughter. It is so precious when they say it back to you as you read it and because they hear the song a lot it makes it easy for them to learn. My 2 1/2 yr old says it almost word for word already. My favorite is the last line... "What a special star you are!" It is a great way to send your child off to dream land.

This series of Sisters Grimm books by Michael Buckley has characters familiar to adult readers and to many kids, too. The characters come from fairy tales and from other children's literature, with this author's own spin on them. The books are as entertaining for an adult to read as for a child. My nine year-old and I both read them very quickly and did not want to put them down.
We also enjoyed the Harry Potter series, but after reading these books find the Potter books to be much longer and wordier than these. These are quick reads, yet have a lot of action in few pages. We definitely recommend them.

The second book in this thrilling fantasy series introducing Sabrina and Daphne's school, filled with strange mysteries. Tantilizing secrets about characters are revealed, an evil plot is discovered, and Sabrina and Daphne, as the fairy tale detectives, must find out what's going on! This fast-moving, magical, epic tale will keep you on the edge of your seat!

The Sisters Grimm series is an awesome series. When my mother first told me about it and I saw it, I thought it wouldn't be that cool so I didn't buy it. But then I got it from one of my friends and I read it and it was AWESOME! That immediately made me want to read the second book, so when me and mommie went to the bookstore and I saw the second book there, I really wanted to get it. Now that I got it and read it, I immediately want to read the third book.

I really liked how surprising it was when it seemed like some of the people at first I thought were going to be the bad guys turned out to be the good guys, and some of the good guys I liked turned out to be bad guys. An example was Principle Hamelin, when we thought he was helping Rumplestiltskin but then it turned out that Rumpelstiltskin tricked him, so Principle Hamelin became good again.

My girls, 8 and 10, thoroughly enjoyed this book. They are always begging for 'just a little bit more' every time we have to put the book down. They love making the connections to the fairy tale characters that they are familiar with from other stories.

I've enjoyed reading "The Sisters Grimm", and recommend it.
I particularly appreciate the "Wizard of Oz" references.

One section had me laughing out loud, an unusual occurance (outside of a Stephanie Plum novel). Even today, two weeks later, I still smile thinking about it. Without revealing anything, I'll just refer to the ink "drawing".
...get the series, and read it!

This is a fun, well laid out book, but in the intro., astrology is referred to as a science! Please! Let young people have fun with astrology, but don't tell them it's science!

I put this exellent book in my Best reading guide for beginning wiccans - you should go check it out!!!!!

I thought the idea of an astrology guide for kids was so unique that I gave this book as a present to each and every one of my three nieces, three nephews, three god-daughters and one god-son. Both they and their parents report that they absolutely love it. My nephew Maxim insisted on assigning zodiac signs to all his stuffed animals (of which he has a huge collection). My god-daughter Tara comes home from school when she's made new friends and heads straight for Madalyn Aslan's book to look up their signs. It's involving, entertaining and inspirational (and Tara's mom tells me plays a useful role in helping children understand how different people have different qualities and good and bad things about them) - highly recommended.

This cosmic guide is enchanting. The author goes deeply into the origins of astrology, which is the worship of our earth and our connection to all that is around us. It is a beautiful book with a truly loving message.

Take away the celebs and this could be a little Druid's book! "Sweet Venus" is described as "around 900 degrees Fahrenheit. It is an example of what could happen to the Earth if we do not take care of it." Virgo "busy bee" is so smart it "sixth-senses nectar in a flower."

I was delighted to see psychologist Carol Gilligan and other educators in the reviews. My children are Montessori-educated - Maria Montessori is in the "busy bee" Virgo chapter - and it's a hit at school as well as in our home. Incredible fun. Heartfelt thanks to to the author Madalyn Aslan for this miracle she has given us!

This is simply the best book I've found for my kids all year! It's entertaining, fun and funny, and there are stories about the stars, ancient myths and the history of astronomy in every chapter, with very cute illustrations. It's positively written, with a kind of feel-good emphasis on each sign's gifts. My kids love it! Even my youngest - 3 years old - will turn the pages over and over and doesn't want to put it down.

What's Your Sign has been a great addition to our household.

Thank you, Ms. Aslan!

Returning to the world of the Little Goddess there were hearts to mend, more wrongs to right and some clever political maneuvering to bring safety back to Green's Hill and his beloved people as we find deeper plots behind the insidious attacks from the prevous book. Despite a great deal of suffering for the characters we've grown to love, as they deal with the overwhelming grief caused by the senseless loss of several of their own, there is a loveliness to the story that is hard to explain.

Wounded really struck me on an emotional level. After watching the destructive power of grief in the previous book, there was beauty in witnessing the literal `power' of love and also a strength in the way Cory transforms choices that are made for her here and makes them her own. In Wounded, love begins to take another shape for Cory, Green, Bracken, Remy and the other survivors as they begin to heal, even as much of the happiness in the book is tinged with the sadness of longing for that which can never be fully theirs.

So this one gets five stars from me for heart and soul. I'll leave others to rate commas and typos, I was too caught up in the story to notice. If you are new to the series you probably should know though that as in the previous book, the sensuality that is integral to several of the characters knows no boundaries between species, age or gender but it is, except for a few exceptions, handled subtly.

If you have the first one you'll love the second one! I didn't think it was possible but, Wounded was better. The tension between Bracken and Corey is fabulous! Then she throws Green and Andres in and how can you go wrong? With a villain that is rotten and heroes that are tormented but loved, you can't help but be sucked into the turmoil and excitement of their world. I can not wait to get my hands on the third one. As for the editing, well I didn't really notice it. If I enjoy a book, I get so into the story that I do not even notice the editing in a book. Wounded is one of these books!

Loved it!!! Loved Vulnerable, too. Miss Adrian!!! :-( However...am really enjoying the series!!!!

Book 2 Wounded.
This is were the clothe started to be woven better.
The dialogue flowed more smoothly and was more natural, it was the characters speaking, not being told what to say. They had more depth, more dimension/reality to them. Maybe it was the pathos of Adrian's loss, but it had a texture that more tangible than the first book. The plot ran more smoothly, it flowed rather than paused and changed abruptly like it did in Vulnerable. I did wonder why Marcus went from being a stockbroker in Book 1 to a schoolteacher in Book 2, but figured it was an oopsy moment
These are books I really like.

After reading Vulnerable I didn't know how I'd feel about Wounded. I thought I'd miss Adrian too much to enjoy it. I was oh so wrong. It was touching to see the process of Cory (and Green and Bracken) learning to get past the death of Adrian. It was the strength of all three together(along with the help of Grace the vampire, Arturo the former Aztec god elf, Renny the werekitty, Max the cop, Niky the avian & Andres the yummy new vampire) that made it possible for each of them to move on. None could do it alone.

The relationships changed as they learned to depend on one another. Cory accepts her need of other men and her responsibilty to Green's and Adrian's people. Green accepts that he can't belong to Cory alone(nor she to him) due to his position as leader of his people. And Bracken comes into his own as both a man as Cory's lover and an integral part of the community as Green's warrior. And during it all Adrian's memory is carefully preserved.

The book itself shows amazing progress. The story flows. The characters grow, show more depth and seem more real. Again I laughed and cried. Again Amy Lane made me feel. The residents of Green's Hill are becoming family and I look forward to Bound and seeing where they go from here.

Great author, great writing. My guess is that Wren Journeymage will come out around June 24th (2006!)

Overall, a wonderful book, and a wonderful series. My Thoughts is that in"Wren to The Rescue" we'll see a develooping relationship between Wren and Connor. Also, my suspect is that Wren is part Iyon Dain (Hope I spelled that correctly).

While I enjoyed all three Wren books, I found this one to be a little weak in the end. The war ended somewhat abruptly. I also felt that, while it was obvious the author wanted to leave things a little open-ended for a potential sequel, there were loose ends that should have been tied up before finishing the story.

Generally I think it was a good book, but it could have been better.

Hopefully it isn't just a quartet =P

Anyway, this series is simply fantastic! A friend recommended it to me, so it bought it, all three of them. Guess what? I finished all of them on the same day. And no, I don't usually finish multiple books in one day. I absolutely love her writing style, it's not difficult to read, and extremely lively and interesting. I have no idea why hardly anyone knows of her books, they are simply fantastic! As for the books, I especially loved the ending to Wren's War ;)

ps. Does anyone know of any good Wren fanfiction out there? I can't find any, FanFiction.Net has very little. Thanks.

Hello! Got good news to tell you, Wren Journeymage is coming up in 2005 or somewhere around there. Just heard it myself! I am happy as anything.

Anyway. Wren's War was fantastic. I like it that Sherwood Smith didn't focus the whole thing with Wren as the heroine all the time. She gave Wren's friends a chance to shine as well. Yup. You HAVE to read this.

I studied Baldor's algebra when I was in 7th grade in Latin America. When I moved to NYC at the age of 17, I was so well prepared that the math that I was taught in my host country (USA) has been too easy.
The person who said that this book sucks, has been misled by the fact that most Latin students who come to the USA are from places where they have lacked a good education (countryside). I know this because I am a math teacher here in USA. However, there is a large population of students in the metropolis of Latin America who are well prepared in math. Perhaps, he/she should take a trip to any of those cities, and verify it before arriving to wrong conclusions.
Overall, this book teaches the real algebra, the way it should be.

Es el mejor libro para afianzar las herramientas del algebra escolar. Realmente una maravilla, para los jovenes de la secundaria en España.

El libro es excelente, didactico y practico. Nos ayudo mucho con nuestra hija de 13 anos.

Dr. Baldor's "Algebra" and "Arithmetics" are an excellent reference for those young students interested in having strong basic math skills. Honestly, if it wasn't for these books, I wouldn't have succeeded in engineering school.

One of the most interesting things about Dr. Baldor's books is that the first editions were published more than fifty years ago. My father, who is also an engineer, used Dr. Baldor's books during high school and regards them as one of the best books he ever used during his schooling years.

Five stars.

P.S.: The short biographies at the beginning of every chapter in "Algebra" were always fun!

This the best algebra book that I've seen. Both my wife and I used it when we were in high school years ago, and now we're using it to complement the teachings in our kids schools. My children understand the concepts of algebra much better from this book than from their school textbook.

The limitation is that it's written in Spanish, so you have to be able to read basic Spanish to get the most of it. Being a math book, it doesn't require advanced reading, since algebra is based in lots of symbols.

I have a bad habit of reading books out of order. The reason being my local library doesn't contain certain volumes. Even though, I started with this volume I felt as though I didn't miss a beat. When reading this book I felt that this world is waiting to be discovered and I have to say I'm proud to be one of the few that discovered it. Ms Chester has a unique way of drawing you in and wow, I felt like I was in entirely different universe which separated itself from anything out there. The whole infrastructure of the Viis empire and community was interesting. The Viis being superior to any race out there gave you an understanding of how Ambris felt. She felt supressed and seeking out a way for every race to feel equal. Even though she was a slave turned famous gladiator she stayed true to who she was and what she believed. No mattered what had happened to her especially when she gave birth to genetically experimented children she still believed in the greater good of things. Everything in this book shows how Debra Chester had great depth of knowledge of this universe. So now goes on my search for part one and part three.

The Alien Chronicles by Deborah Chester are among the finest books I have ever read. The journey that the characters undergo is so epic and far-reaching that once you experience them, you will feel as though you have lived an entire life within this alien universe. The characters are well-defined, rich and provocative. The story itself is so much more than what it seems to be. Even though those living within these tales are fantasy species with abnormal customs, they are so unbelievably human. The trilogy revolves around the quest for freedom. The abiru -- a race of slaves who possess no rights whatsoever -- are considered greatly lesser than their Viis superiors. They are beaten, sold and killed at the whim of their owners, echoing the horror of our own history of human slavery. The oppression of the Viis leads to in-fighting and betrayal amongst the abiru, making it nearly immpossible to trust another untouchable. But even amongst this reign of distrust lies the hope of long-lasting, beautiful frienships -- as demonstrated by the wily Kelth thief (Elrabin) and the lovely and powerful Auron pet/gladiator (Ampris). The bond that develops between them is almost instantaneous even though it takes Elrabin years to realize how much Ampris means to him. They share a sort of unrequited platonic love. Unrequited in that it's not what they say to each other but what they do for each other. There are also strong antagonists, from the fear driven mad-gladiator Ylea to the tempermental spoiled sri-Kaa Israi (whose ascension to power is far from pretty). She is such a fantastically written villian that you will find yourself wanting to jump inside the book and slap her silly. The decisions she and those before her make in regards to the abiru are often times disturbing and haunting. (The period Ampris spends in the medical testing facility of Vaas Vess is particularly horrifying.) In summation, this book she be heralded as so much more than dime store science/fiction. It should be placed among books such as 1984 and Animal Farm. I know I will be recommending this book to everyone I meet henceforth. Even those who would never think of picking up a science fiction novel. Deborah Chester should be lauded immensely.

I you like books that get you hooked this is one of them. You enter a new world with strange creatures. But it is writen well enough that you can almost see the creatures. This book is about a strange creature called Ampris who is forced to fight as a gladiator. Many of the fights are described including her last one were she makes a life changing mistake, in her fight for piece and freedom...

I you like books that get you hooked this is one of them. You enter a new world with strange creatures. But it is writen well enough that you can almost see the creatures. This book is about a strange creature called Ampris who is forced to fight as a gladiator. Many of the fights are described including her last one were she makes a life changing mistake, in her fight for piece and freedom...

This lives up to the first book and usally you don't think the second will be as good as the first, only on a rare occasion, and this is one. It was better, faster paced, and gives more understanding to the character's roles. If you read the first you HAVE To pick this one up. I waited forever to have this one out, and I couldn't wait very long. This is a good book, Terrific, and Deborah Chester is a great Author.

Even if I'm not working in vfx, so I haven't a great experience, I think this book should be in every comps shelf: very simple, well written, it deals with the math under every (even the simplest) operation you can do in your compositing package (it's quite software-indipendent). It explains several wonderful tricks too.
Globally, very useful in my opinion.

Ron goes over the very concepts of compositing that are essential to know in the computer graphics feild. I have bought several copies of this book as the disappear from my desk (no longer kept in public view)

This book is exceptional and a must for anyone pursuing this area of interest. The only disappointment I had in purchasing this item is that it is supposed to come with a CD, and the CD was never shipped to me. What's up, Amazon?

That can I say about Mr Brinkman. Well he's one of the God's of compositing and VFX. Mad about the math behind Node based compositing software, which incidentally is a good thing. This is not meant to be a 'Shake' bible as it is supposed to be non software specific. However it uses 'Shake' language and node naming. This is not a criticism as 'Shake' is the meccano kit of compositing. Understand the mode and the math behind it and you can do anything. I would also assume that this will still be relevant when shake is 'reborn'.

This is also essential for other composing software where the math is hidden. If you've ever considered what happens inside that 'magic button' after you've clicked.

I also think that Steve Wright's 'Digital Compositing for Film and Video, Second Edition' is a must too. Another great book from a great man of VFX.

Having not been personally taught by Mr. Brinkman and Mr Wright these books prove to be the next best thing.

This book is a in depth study of the techniques and technologies involved in the art of compositing. Not sooo technical that no one will understand it, but technical enough that it even explains in detail the algorithms and math used for antialiasing, blurs, the transfer operators like multiply, screen overlay., etc... I am a professional cg artist and highly recommend this book.