Technology Books

"Keeping Found Things Found", is a must buy, an essential tool, as we all struggle to keep on top of, rather than be buried by, information. The book's premise is excellent, explaining as it does how to organize web information into our lives in ways that help rather than just adding to the clutter.

In today's frenetic pace, when we are swamped with information, this book gave me highly valuable suggestions. But, as importantly, it also gave me some very useful questions to ask. It seems as though every day I run across new Web initiatives or gadgets or software tools. Which are worth my time and trouble (and money)? The book gives a checklist of questions to consider.

"Keeping Found Things Found" is thorough and extremely readable.

This book is a great introduction and a consummate summary of the field of personal information management. Its comprehensive nature makes it useful for people familiar with the field, while at the same time it's a great primer for someone new to this area.

When the author of this book invited me, based on some of my web illustrations, to create some illustrations for this book I was interested in the project because it spoke directly to my own experience. I teach design for instructional media in a university setting and struggle every day, not only with my own deluge of personal information and how to manage it -- but with helping my students recognize that the end result of their own design efforts will be contributing to the personal information overload faced by their clients and their students. This book maps out the dimensions of our current personal information problems, and should be a required read for everyone who is engaged in adding to those problems, trying to solve them, or studying them in any detail. In particular, students of Information Technology, Information Design, Informatics, Instructional Systems, Human Performance and any other discipline with ties to personal information management -- and Jones makes clear how many of us that really is! -- needs to view the complexity of users' lives in this kind of comprehensive detail. Too many of us only think about what we are asking people to use or to do or to remember. This view of their lives may be daunting, but it is critical!

I'm a college dropout(Information Studies), now working in IT as a Systems Admin at a fair sized hotel. When I left college to pursue other at that time more interesting things. I couldn't really see the big picture in why we had to learn what they wanted us to.
Now I do, thanks to this book.

I keep feeling inspired about the management of my information. Both as PIM in my own department, but mostly also for my users. I can suddenly see some meaning in the way they manage their PIM. I as the IT department have to facilitate their professional PIM. I have to give them the tools to make sure they don't lose stuff, but also so they don't drown in information. Suddenly I have a much more nuanced view of my job. Being the geek who loves his tech stuff, can do everything to keep servers and computer running, is not really enough. I have to know my place in the business of managing information and information flow in the company.

This book could teach many programmers, much on how they can make their products more usable to the users. Make them understand some of how people look at the information being processed, stored, shared, pushed by the programs they write. We have to facilitate more styles of PIM than just our own, not everyone works like we do.

I have to stop myself, I just love this book and the ideas it keeps inspiring to pop up in my head.
There is so much for so many people in this book..

I helped to review this book and contributed a number of sidebars to it. In working with William, I came to appreciate the depth and breadth of his thinking on PIM. His job in writing this book was really hard. It was, in part, the job of inventing a discipline. Information management is just coming on the radar of large organizations. There are now products to buy and methods to use to make sure that your information repays the effort it takes to collect, organize and deliver it. But for most individuals, information management still means no more than creating folders and making sure you back up. William has done more than anyone to define the concepts and methods individuals can use to make maximum use of their information. He carefully applies his own research and the work of others to helping you sort out your personal information wheat from chaff.

Personal information is everything from your address book to the story you heard on the radio the other day that you decide later you want to share with a friend. Most of us have a hard enough time with our address books, let alone managing the bits and pieces that we don't even know we need! William makes sense out of this mess using his fascinating research and deep knowledge of the field. It's too much to say that William has figured it all out for you, but he can sure enough get you started!

This book teaches math with kids who open a business selling lemonade and track their sales with bar graphs. Great for a math unit on graphs.

I teach 3rd and 4th grade and this was a great book to teach graphing with. We held our own lemonaid sale after reading and the kids got to make thier own graphs!

Wonderful book for graphs. Even though is supposed to be for younger children, my middle school students really liked it.

My daughter loves these Math Start books. She enjoys being able to apply math to real life problems.

It's all here! I like these math/story books, and this is one of the best I've seen. It combines kids selling lemonade and the use of graphs and marketing into a creative and funny story, that has a pretty good sub-plot as well! We enjoyed trying to guess what would happen next. A great resource for kids who struggle with math concepts or don't enjoy reading.

This tape isn't one of the best I've heard. The man's voice is soothing, and the imagery is good, but when he snakes technical terms in ( i.e. " endorphins " ) and talks about getting your bowels moving again after surgery, it kind of makes you lose track of the relaxation. It would be better if he didn't try to include so much INFORMATION and stuck to guiding the relaxation.

This tape helped me so much through my last surgery. I played it many times prior to the surgery and asked the doctors if I could have it played during my surgery and they agreed. My recovery time beat all others who have had the same type of surgery! While I was in the hospital recovering, I was able to play the tape and focus my pain literally "outside my body". I did not need to have as much pain medication as they thought I would need. I would truly recommend this tape for anyone going through major surgery.

As a result of listening to this tape, I recovered from 5 hours of surgery with virtually no pain. My doctor prescribed vicodin every four hours and I ended up taking only 4 tablets. This tape is such a wonderful healing tool, not only before, but after surgery as well. My incision healed so fast, I was taking my usual 3 mile walks in 10 days. This tape is a "must have" if you are anticipating any type of surgery!

I used Dr Neimarks tape prior to undergoing Gastric Bypass Surgery. I believe that it helped me immeasurably. Not only was my pain level very managable, but I left the hospital a day early. My recovery has been nothing short of remarkable! Thanks Dr Neimark!

I went in for major surgery and was fortunate to get Dr. Neimark's tape on Less Stress Surgery. There are a few points Dr. Neimark mentioned that was very helpful.

1. Think of your blood flow moving away from the area of the surgery. I did this and I had very little blood loss.
2. When you have discomfort (pain) make your mind think of good experiences. This worked great for me. I thought of my wife and kids.
3. When you wake up from surgery start thinking of you favorite foods. This will get your intestine's working faster. I dreamed about cheesecake! It sure helped.

I would recommend anyone going through surgery to listen to Dr. Neimark tape.

This is one of Dickens best novels in terms of overall continuity but it also is his most static: almost all scenes occur inside prisons - mostly debtors prison - and there's a lot of it - 1000 pages. And there's not a lot happening in those prisons. I think that Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend and Martin Chuzzlewit are also long novels that are more entertaining (and of course there are all of the 'episodic' Dickens novels to read), but Little Dorrit is one of his better crafted works. If you seriously like Dickens, then this is worth the time.

While Hard Times was written at about the same time as Little Dorrit, the two could not be more different. Hard Times features 1-dimensional characters you couldn't care less about; Little Dorrit's father, the Father of the Marshalsea, is one of Dickens' most complex creations, and you sympathize with him at the same time as you dislike him. His mental breakdown at the end is particularly poignant. The Circumlocution Office in Little Dorrit seems to foreshadow Kafka's Castle, whihe factories in Hard Times are cardboard propoganda.

(Aside: the best Dickens film adaptation I have ever seen was of Little Dorrit. For some reason, that is still unavailable on DVD.)

Little Dorrit was not well received upon its original publication in monthly segments from 1855-1857 because critics and readers of the time were unhappy with the complicated nature of the story and its dark tone. To this day, it is one of the lesser known Charles Dickens novels, a fate it does not deserve.

Much of the novel takes place in the Marshalsea prison for debtors, an environment with which Dickens was familiar due to his own family history. William Dorrit, father of "Little Dorrit," has been confined to the prison for so long when the book opens that he has become known inside its walls as "Father of the Marshalsea." He has lost all hope of ever being released from the prison and has learned to enjoy the respect that he receives there from prison employees and fellow-prisoners alike. In fact, he has been imprisoned for so long that Little Dorrit, born inside the prison walls, is now a young woman working as a seamstress outside the walls in order to be able to bring her father some of the luxuries not provided to prisoners. She faithfully returns to the prison every evening in order to see that her father is as comfortable as possible.

Into this mix arrives one Arthur Clennam, only recently returned to London from several years in India when he meets Little Dorrit while visiting his mother. Clennam is struck by the selflessness of Amy Dorrit and befriends the family in an attempt to make their lives somewhat easier. But in true Dickens style, Clennam and the Dorrits will find their roles reversed after Clennam is swindled of his fortune and William Dorrit is found to be heir to a large fortune.

But this is only one of the book's major plotlines. Dickens also spends hundreds of pages introducing a predatory Frenchman and describing how this despicable man is attempting to extort money from Clennam's mother because he knows some dark secret of hers that she is desperate to keep hidden.

At its heart, Little Dorrit is a love story, one that seems destined for a sad ending because middle-aged Arthur Clennam feels that Little Dorrit can never see him as anything more than a friend and father-figure. She, on the other hand, living in complete poverty, does not feel worthy of Clennam's attention. Pride proves to be a two-way street, and when Little Dorrit finally admits her love for Clennam, he is broke and refuses her because he does not want to leave the prison at her expense.

Little Dorrit is filled with side-characters who have distinct personalities and stories of their own to tell. It is through them that Dickens so successfully recreates the world of early nineteenth century London as experienced by all class levels of its inhabitants. Admittedly, this is a long book (the Wordsworth Classic edition runs 740 pages but others clock in at over 1,000 pages) but it is well worth the effort. It is always a treat to lose yourself in the world of Charles Dickens and Little Dorrit is no exception.

I have always loved Dickens, but hadn't read any in a while, and never might have read "Little Dorrit" if I hadn't recently read a biography of Dorothy Day that mentioned that this was her favorite and that she kept a copy of it by her bed. Let me just say that I understand why someone whose life was dedicated to the homeless and downtrodden would have found this book - out of all of Dickens - the most inspirational. It is particularly masterful at depicting how being flung to the bottom of the heap can create psychological damage that no amount of wealth can ever undo. We see the corruptions both of extreme wealth and degrading poverty. And we are also shown most convincingly one small figure who remains uncorrupted by both extremes, who finds her greatest joy in service and in following the steps of the Master. (Little Dorrit has a wonderful speech to this effect as she confronts Mrs. Clennam's championing of Old Testament-inspired vengeance.) The characters are endlessly interesting, whether engaging or loathesome, and altogether, long as it was, I was sorry to see it end!

This is a long book - it feels like a 1000 pages - but it is a masterpiece. Dickens takes us from Marseilles, home to an evil man whose smile makes his moustache disappear under his top lip and draws us into a dark, damp, murky Victorian London where one's whole future existence seems to be mapped out at birth, and where to escape from one's perceived 'destiny' is both sacriligeous and impossible. The Marshalsea Prison is a place all of us can visualise - a debtors prison from which many fail to escape, the dubious honour of the Father of the Marshalsea bestowed on the longest-serving inmate. Little Dorrit - Amy - is the daughter of the Father of the Marshalsea and this is her tale, one which stretches across the grime of smoggy nineteenth century London to the pollution of Continental Europe. The cast of characters is fascinating and Dickens rarely misses a trick - each is easily comparable to people any of us knows today. I studied this book at school and I have read it four or five times since.

I disagree with those who say this was not one of Dickens's best novels; on the contrary, I feel it is one of his very best. I believe many critics and those who study Dickens would agree. I had a difficult time getting into the book after the initial few chapters but was richly rewarded as I continued on. The length of the book is quite intimidating; however, it is well worth the effort to read it. I could not put the book down as I came to the last 100 or so pages. I absolutely loved it by the time I finished the book. It is one of Dickens's darker novels, which may put some off. Even so, many, if not most, of his novels deal with unpleasant topics, and there is quite a bit of humor in the book to balance the darkness. In fact the book is full of balance, wonderful Dickens prose, masterful characterization, as well as one the best plots. I will read this novel again when I have the time to savor it.

I have recommended this book to friends who would like to understand the subtleties of reading people. It is a good starting point for people wanting to know how best to approach individuals.

As the title says, this book is for coaches, managers and YOU! There are a lot of books out now on NLP and a lot of people talking about it. Roger Ellerton lives it. Oftentimes I've found that people talk about NLP but don't give action steps to put it in practice. This is what this book does with exercises and examples. This book is good for anyone who would like to improve communication with others yet also, good for improving communication with oneself.

Pick it up, read it, use it; read it again. It's worth the time and effort.

Revvell

Ellerton is Brilliant, Concise, Precise, Lucid, and Comprehensive. This is an in-depth explanation of, journey through, and discovery of NLP in its most clear and most comprehensively engaging representation. By far the most comprehensive and thorough and easy-to-understand book on NLP. I'm still reading it (plan to read it cover to cover) and will constantly use it for reference.

Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up: NLP & Common Sense For Coaches, Managers, And You by certified management consultant and certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming trainer Roger Ellerton is a self-help guide to using NLP to improve one's communication, free oneself from the burden of past memories, achieve goals, and much more. Written both for individuals seeking to transform their lives and parents, coaches, and managers helping their charges unlock their full potential, Live Your Dreams Let Reality Catch Up is upbeat and positive-minded, offering step-by-step instructions to focus one's thoughts in the right direction. An excellent and easy-to-use self-help resource.

I highly recommend this book: the NLP exercises are laid out in a step by step format, making it a useful reference for NLP practicioners. "Live your Dreams" also provides an excellent overview of NLP for people who are not familiar with it. Throughout the book, questions are asked to stimulate the reader's reflection; this makes the book especially valuable for both individuals and trainers. In fact, I used it as a reference in a recent training I gave to coaches and I certainly plan to use it again!

I purchased this book for my son so that me may use it for our homeschool lesson to celebrate Louis Braille and what he has done for the blind community. We will be using it in January and I can't wait to share this book with him.

I choose this book because I wanted to learn about Louis Braille. When he was 5 years old, he lost his sight in an accident. When he was 12 years old, he decided to develop a better system for blind people to read. It took him 3 years to come up with the dot system. It allowed blind people to read just as fast as sighted people. There were people who did not think it would work and made it hard for him, but he kept trying. I liked this book because it showed how important it is to keep trying and how even when bad things happen you can try to make it better. This book is good for kids in the 5th or 6th grade. I would definitely recommend this book. I think you can learn a lot about how one person with an idea can make a difference for so many people.

First off, I would like to warn customers that this is definitely a children's book and geared for a very young audience (readers between maybe 1st and 4th grade). I didn't realize it at the time when I bought it so I thought I would mention it to other customers so they are aware of it. However, I read the book anyways and I must say as an adult reader I still enjoyed reading this book very much! It took me a little over an hour to read the whole thing, but in the end I still enjoyed learning about Louis Braille and his amazing, inspirational life. This book has definitely inspired me to go on and try to find more books about his incredible life.

I thought it was a good book. I like the way Maragret Davidson listed a bunch of things that Louis couldn't see when he was five. She included lots of detail. It made me think a lot differently about blind people. It was interesting because I've never read a book about blind people before. Louis was very brave. He really wanted a way for blind people to be able to read and never gave-up.

We 3 Fifth Graders, read a book about Louis Braille, by Margaret Davidson. This book is about a boy named Louis Braille. He was the boy who invented books for the blind. Louis lived in Coupvray,in France. He is blind. He became blind by playing with his father's awl. The awl slid right into Louis' eye and it got injured and it got infected. One day, a new priest came to a church on the hillside. The priest was named Father Jacques Palluy. Father Palluy knew that Louis was blind so, he sent Louis to a new school for blind children in Paris. He liked every school subjects there.One day, a Captain called Charles Barbier came to Louis' school. Captain Barbier taught Louis about nightwriting. Nightwriting are raised dots that stands for sounds. Louis invented his own alphabet dots and he spread the news by making books. When Louis died, everyone started to call his dots Braille. Will Louis' popularty ever be extraordinary? Why did some people dislike his invention at first? Will the Braille be used forever?

Our opinion about this book is that this is an outstanding book because Louis made up a way for blind people to read. Why would Louis want to make books for blind people? We gave this book 5 star because we think it is a fantastic book. This book can teach blind people how to read and write. People that are not blind can also learn Braille.The back of the book also has braille dots so, we can practice. We even learned how to spell our names in Braille. We think that Louis' idea was excellent.

We should recommend this book to 4,5,and 6 graders because it teaches a lesson about not playing with sharp tools, and it also teaches you how to read the Braille alphabet. Another lesson we learned is that if you want to get something done you have to do it yourself. If you want to learn more about Louis Braille, try reading: Louis Braille: the Boy who Invented Books for the Blind.

This book is about a small family with a few imported sheep, who became embroiled in a whirlwind of government conspiracy regarding the big beef industry, international trade, manipulated scientific data, and the irresponsible panic of one powerful government agent regarding Mad Cow disease. The result was the terrorizing of a family, murder of healthy sheep, and the disillusionment of anyone interested in healthy eating or in the ability of their government to protect their right eat safely.

If you have any suspicions that the USDA is not monitoring agriculture and food safety the way they should, this book is a must-read. It tells the story of a family farm destroyed by the government agency designed to protect food safety. Mixed messages, lies, secrets, big business pressures, international trade, spies, good science and poor science--they're all in here, interspersed with the very personal details of a mother who watched her children's hearts broken as they were betrayed by their government.

I find it ironic that this book brought to mind the works of the "muckrakers" of the early 20th century. After Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" revealed the horrific conditions of the meat packing industry in the US, the government responded by creating the USDA. It is that very agency which is at the heart of Linda Faillace's fight with her government and with the USDA's highly questionable science and politics. Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in 1906 about the "muckrakers" (who were really just the first investigative journalists.) In his speech he said:

"There are, in the body politic, economic and social, many and grave evils, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil man whether politician or business man, every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform, or in book, magazine, or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful."

Even if Linda Faillace's story is colored by righteous anger and bitterness, the truth is in the details. She and her husband are well educated scientists, and back up their side of the story very clearly and persuasively.

That seems to be the biggest question one has to ask by the end of this very sad story. It was sad on so many levels. It was sad because the Faillace's lost an opportunity to begin a new agricultural venture for a state that badly needs sustainable small agriculture. It was sad because they lost animals they dearly cared for. They had to send house raised bottle lambs on a trailer with sheep they weren't used to. To have perfectly healthy animals seized by a government for no good reason was devastating. It was sad because the Faillace's and their children were failed by the duly elected representatives, both Senator Leahy and Governor Dean waffled back and forth and never really did back them up to the degree they should have (and these were DEMOCRATS not corporate hugging Republicans). It was amazing that Howard Dean, a medical doctor, said the science was too complicated for him (I wonder how he ever got through medical school!). It was sad because once again it was demonstrated that our government cannot be trusted to do what is best for the little guy, that, in point of fact, the little guy is at the mercy of the wishes of bigger guys.

One question that occurred to me at the end of the book is this. After the tainted beef (BSE tainted that is) was sold and consumed did anyone think about putting an immediate freeze on organ donations from any person who might have eaten ground beef in the states that received the tainted beef? I seriously doubt it. Yet people who lived in England during the time of the BSE outbreak are not allowed to be organ donors. I know this because my sister died a couple of years ago from natural causes (not CJ disease), at the time of her death the hospital was informed that she spent 6 months in England during the BSE outbreak. Her corneas, etc. were declined because of that.

It's amazing how much energy went into making the Faillace's look like dangerous people in the mind of the public. It's amazing how quickly the actual exposure of consumers to BSE tainted meat was hushed up. It's not amazing, given the information in this book, that organic farmers of all types don't trust the government. It's amazing, given the information in this book, that consumers do.

In 2001 after months of surveillance and harassment armed federal agents seized a flock of some 100 organically-raised dairy sheep. One might think this an isolated incident, but MAD SHEEP: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE USDA'S WAR ON A FAMILY FARM holds implications for farming and food distribution channels as a whole. USDA chief Linda Detweiler claimed the imported sheep had been exposed to a disease, but the flock's owners - here, the authors - weren't about to let the judgement pass silently: they weren't just farmers but scientists, and demonstrated the impossibility of their sheep being infected. And then the fight really begins - documented here in eye-opening pages of detail.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

We tend to forget that this country was founded on agricultural principles. With the industrialization of food, farmers have come under scrutiny by various agencies of the government because of the multi-national business arrangements they, particularly the USDA, have. Mad Sheep is a perfect example of what is happening on family farms in the United States. Driven by greed and fueled by fear of being condemned in the global market, USDA makes up a scenario that could absolutely not happen, that being BSE in sheep, and ruins the dreams of another law abiding family.

I read this book in just 24 hours. It has been a long time since a book just wouldn't let me put it down. Perhaps it is because I too am a homesteader and have sheep every year. When the USDA came to take the Falliace's sheep, my tears started to flow, hard.

Mr and Mrs Consumer who know nothing about farming, know nothing about where your food really comes from, know nothing about the encroachment of the government into our personal lives, you need to read this book to get a glimpse of what life will be like for you once an agency of the government decides they want something that you have.

If I had told friends I was reading about alleged disease in sheep they would have missed the true significance of this book. It's about big government intervention against the rights of citizens. It's about a Vermont family's creativity and dedication and how all of that was trampled by the USDA run amok. It's also about what happens when special interests and lobbyists overwhelm a government agency.

It really was a page turner.

My son read this book to me for reading but it can just as easily be read for health or science. He really likes these books while he does not care for the shows much. In this one they take a trip through Ralph's body and learn about the main systems - digestion, circulatory, nervous... Recommended for ages 6-9 years and 3rd grade reading level.

My daughter has been reading Magic School Bus books in school and we bought this one for her this past Christmas. She probably enjoys this one more than any other so far. It is well written and very educational with great illustrations. If your young reader likes science, then this is definitely a great choice!

Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen outdo themselves in "The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body." It is their most ambitious collaboration yet, and it definitely doesn't disappoint.

As is the custom, the third book in this science series (written in 1989) picks up where the second story left off. Ms. Frizzle is showing her students a filmstrip about the human body. "We're going to learn all about ourselves," she says. Then she announces the next field trip - the class is heading to the museum to "see an exhibit about how our bodies get energy from the food we eat." However, anyone who has even an inkling as to the kind of person Ms. Frizzle is should know that things rarely, if ever, go according to plan. A field trip is never just a field trip when you're taking a ride aboard her magic school bus.

The Friz and her students stop at a park for lunch before arriving at the museum. Afterward, everyone goes back to the bus . . . except for Arnold! He's still sitting at a picnic table, daydreaming and eating a bag of Cheesie-Weesies. And before the class realizes what is happening, the bus shrinks to the size of a Cheesie-Weesie . . . where it is promptly downed in one gulp by Arnold!

"I thought we were going to the museum," says one student.

"There's been a slight change of plans," explains Ms. Frizzle. "We're being digested instead."

Why visit an exhibit about the human body when you have a magic school bus and a teacher like Ms. Frizzle who can take you directly to the source?

If "At the Waterworks" was like priming the pump, and "Inside the Earth" was like getting the ball rolling, "Inside the Human Body" is like plowing full-steam ahead. Cole and Degen have firmly established themselves as a literacy force to be reckoned with; this is proven in the confidence of the writing and the boldness of the illustrations. There is so much going on in this story that you almost need a scorecard to keep track of it all. It seems as though Cole and Degen are bound and determined to one-up themselves with every book they come out with.

A list of some things Ms. Frizzle educates her class about would include: blood cells (red and white), blood vessels, digestion, germs, the heart, lungs, molecules, oxygen, plasma, the small intestine, etc. Do you know what villi are? You will after you read this book! Any idea what the cerebral cortex does? Ms. Frizzle will show you! Ever wondered why you sneeze? The answer resides in this story!

"Inside the Human Body" deserves just as much, if not more, a home on a person's bookshelf as does "At the Waterworks" and "Inside the Earth." Cole and Degen loaded their latest adventure to the bursting-point with information. You can see the growth author and illustrator have taken since their inaugural effort with "At the Waterworks." They prove that some things do, indeed, get better with age.

At the end of "Inside the Human Body" is a true-false test to help readers distinguish what things were true in the story and what things were made up. And, of course, Ms. Frizzle drops another clue as to where her next great adventure will take us. I'm pretty sure the class will think of their next field trip as out of this world!

It doesn't seem possible, but Cole and Degen managed to improve upon an already-winning formula. They are both in top form with "Inside the Human Body," a field trip that will take you from the brain to the small intestine and back again. Well, what are you waiting for? Hitch a ride on the magic school bus!

As Ms. Frizzle herself would say, "Seatbelts, everyone!"

This book is really out of this world. I have been hooked on the magic school bus series. I can't wait to read more books in the series. The inside the human body book is full with very interesting facts and I learned so much from reading it. Arnold doesn't know where the bus is and is trying to find it. He doesn't even know that it is actually inside him. Then Arnold sneezes and finds the bus right next to him. He doesn't understand how he didn't see it before.

Ms. Frizzle is taking her class on a memorable field trip through the human body in this entertaining book featuring the beloved eccentric teacher and her curious class. My only complaint is that the pages are so busy with information that it's impossible to sit and really read the whole book, but perhaps it's best to let a child's curiosity guide you through a number of readings rather than trying to get everything in at one sitting. Concepts are expressed clearly and with humor. Justly popular with young students.

Excellent product for anyone just starting to learn the guitar. It is everything it said it was and more. We are loving the book. Detail oriented.

I have all my students buy this book. Pictures and explanations are top notch.

I had a few lessons from a friend to get started many years ago. But I hadn't picked up the guitar much since. I was given a Les Paul electric guitar recently and picked up a copy of this book. Excellent resource for a visual learner. Tight integration of hundreds of photos and 'to the point', simple instruction. Maran recruited a top flight instructor (veteran college instructor and session musician) to put the content together. I'm going through it COVER TO COVER.

I have several guitar books as I have been learning to play for the past 2 years. I have alot of instructional books and learned bits and pieces. This book is an excellent resource and covers almost every topic in great detail. Everything from chords, picking, blues, rock and country guitar, guitar effects, amps, etc. Also includes instruction and pictures on repairing and maintaining your guitar, adjusting the action, changing strings, etc. A valuable resource and worth owning yourself.

Want to learn guitar from a book? There are plenty of slimmer guides on the market - but none with the depth and detail of Moran Illustrated Guitar, which packs in color illustrations of techniques. From playing different kinds of chords to power rock, single notes, slides, string muting and much more, Moran Illustrated Guitar packs in the step-by-step close-up color photos so it's hard to go wrong. An outstanding instructional which stands apart from similar-sounding guitar 'how-to' guides.

The Alvin Fernald books were in fact made into movies for the Wonderful World Of Disney. They are Alvin the Magnificent, The Wiz Kid and The Mystery of Riverton, The Wiz Kid and the Carnival Caper. I just wanted to let any fans know. The bad news is that none of them have been released on video or DVD. But how knows, maybe Disney will get smart and release them.

The Magnificent Inventions of Alvin Fernald is coming back in print in 2006! For those who have enjoyed this book and its companion books over the decades, Bethlehem Press is bringing it back! You can find out the publishing dates, etc., at www.bethlehembooks.com and it will be available here through Amazon as well. There is a such an enduring universality of the themes of the Alvin books, that this series will just go on forever...and deservedly so.

This is the one that started it all for me. The most exciting book about a smart kid you will ever find. It's been overdue ...for a long time.

I am 45 years old... my 44 year old brother came over and talked about how this book changed his life. He read it as a kid and became an inventor of sorts himself... a perpetual tinkerer. He wasn't sure of the name and I found it for him and ordered him a copy as well as my 9 year old son. It took some insistance to get by boy, Nick, to read it. He couldn't put it down and when my brother came over to visit he quized Nick on select parts of the book. They both smiled and laughed. Having read it myself I can tell you it is a most wonderful book. Buy it! Your kid will remember it always.

This is the first title in an outstanding series of Alvin books by Clifford Hicks. Sadly, they all seem to be out of print.
The Alvin books were my favorites as a kid. I checked them out from the library repeatedly and devoured them. As a 10 year old, I wanted to hang out with Alvin and Shoey. The books are full of laughs, adventure, and great storytelling. They take us back to small town America, before kids had to deal with grownup problems.
If you have a kid, buy this book for him. Buy it used, buy it on Ebay, buy it at a used bookstore! The other titles (all very good) in the series are ALVIN'S SECRET CODE, ALVIN'S SWAP SHOP, ALVIN FERNALD FOREIGN TRADER, ALVIN FERNALD MAYOR FOR A DAY, and ALVIN FERNALD SUPERWEASEL. All are great. Another great series if you like the Alvin books is the Mad Scientists Club books by Bertrand Brinley. Check them out.