California Books

Excellent book on a California Asian Fusion style of food preparation. Great graphic photos of food preparation with easy to follow instruction to make the various foods. This book prompted a visit to three of the restaurants now in operation in California. Planning to visit the other two in Oregon soon.In particular the Cantina in Pacific Beach, California. Awesome interior design highlighted by a bar from Indonesia and a 1200 pound statue of Budah. Friday, saturday & sundays are heavy customer attendance. The food presentation is very unique. I've recommended this experience to my friends. The Cantina is open for breakfast(awesome), lunch (awesome), and dinner(equally awesome experience).

After eating at the Cantina for years, it was wonderful to finally be able to experience the food at home. Excellent recipes, photos and presentation. I highly recommend this book.

My husband and I ate in Isabel's restaurant in San Diego weekly when we lived in San Diego for four years. We just moved to Chicago and I can't explain my joy when I found out she not only had a cookbook, but one with many of my favorite dishes from the restaurant in it! It is one of the things I miss most about San Diego--luckily, I can still enjoy this great food when I make it in my own home!

Ate at her restaurant and had to get the book as the food was wonderful. The photos and the recipes are
great. We tried them at home and they are unique and great tasting.

The only reason I give this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that if you were not a cook, it would be hard to follow the recipes, as they leave out things that you'd know as a cook to do, but wouldn't if you were a novice. Nonetheless, this is a great book with great photos.

I first encountered Isabel's cooking at her Dragonfly restaurant in Ashland Oregon a couple of years ago. As director of the Center of Excellence in Nutritional Genomics it is important for me to look the part so I ordered the grilled chicken lettuce wrap thinking that it would be low-cal, healthy but tasteless. Boy was I surprised and my family and I have been regulars every since. I was delighted find that many of Isabel's great dishes are now available in "Isabel's Cantina: Bold Latin Flavors." I purchased her book recently and I wasn't disappointed. Isabel has managed to capture in this well written and beautifully illustrated book, the very best of the "fusion" cuisine. Drawing on her multicultural experiences in the LA area, Isabel blends international flavors and ingredients into dishes that are both delicious and fun, not to mention healthy. Her recipes are certainly at the forefront of current food trends that place greater emphasis on flavor and a healthier balance between protein and vegetable. Is Isabel's Cantina: Bold Latin Flavors the new cuisine for the global village? Is Ms. Cruz the new female "Bobby Flay" of the West Coast? I don't know but her style and recipes have put the excitement back into fusion cooking.

This is a very lovely book for showing how a professional artist goes about his business. I appreciate the lack of product endorsement.

Howe can get rather verbose and sometimes repetitive, but this book is filled with great inspiration in text and pictures.

This is a great book and those I've shown my book to agree with me. Amazing talent and very well illustrated. The workshops show amazing creativity.

I'm always interested in any collection of John Howe's work and this book does not dissapoint in that regard, it is chock full of illustrations and examples of his approach and techniques. The addition of his insight and advice just makes this a terrific volume with no failings. In addition to being very useful as an instructional book, it's also inspirational. It's worth every penny of it's very reasonable price.

John Howe is the artist I credit for making me interested in fantasy illustration, and will always be one of my favorites. It should come as no surprise that the artwork in this book is amazing, and the information presented is also quite insightful. It is not an art how too book, so much as it is a general treatise of John Howe's way of thinking about his work, and going about his creative process. He actually expresses pretty clearly his dislike of anything that feels like a how too process, or is so forumulaic that it can be presented as if there is only one set way to do it. One of the best additions to my art library.

This is a wonderful book. I am a big fan of Mr. Howe's work and much of the advice in this book is familiar from John's forum but it's a good chance to see how he works step by step, as well as how he organizes his studio and prepares for illustration jobs. While there are only a few "walkthroughs" featuring new art, the book is full of interesting tidbits of information about the creation of other paintings. There are lots of tips even I who has been painting for many years didn't think of before. John Howe makes a point to encourage readers to find their own unique style and way of painting, unlike many how to books which only show one way of doing things. I particularly love that his sense of humor shows. He honest about illustration and admits that he isn't perfect and procrastinates as much as possible before every job.

Joel Davis literally leaves no stone unturned in telling the heart-breaking story of the horrific double-murder of college sweethearts in his hometown of Davis, California, and the winding and bizarre 25 year investigation that followed. The fact he grew up in Davis and was an acquaintance of one of the victims provides a unique perspective to the book, and his unexpected involvement in the case is a fascinating twist. I didn't want to put it down!

Hi... I know this story because I am somewhat involved in it.. All though I am only 20 years old... The killer happens to be my mothers ex brother in law... Pretty sick... I don't know the book... If it goes into detail of his life.. But I know more of the story than I think anyone else does... He had a very very traumatic childhood... His father was the lowest form of scum there is on this planet.. His name was Casper... My mom is actually in the book briefly.. I got kind of mad because I heard the author changed only her first name, and used her current last name, which is Keaton... Even though she did not get that last name (The last name of my father) years and years later... And guess what they changed the first name to? Sally... That happens to be the name of my aunt!!! I'm sure it's a good book... But the author didn't even research a real life persons last name, and carless through it into the book. It is not that big of a deal... But sometimes people don't want to be linked to certain things like this... And now a real life person that is somewhat connected to this tragic incident is carelessly thrown in the mix.. Not that anyone would notice.. Just the locals that we all know....

An unforgettable story beautifully told by Joel Davis. "48 Hours Mystery" devoted a broadcast to this tragic double murder of sweetheart college students, solved over two decades later with the use of DNA. Joel Davis brings the reader back to a foggy night in December 1980, when Sabrina Gonsalves and John Riggins are driving to a birthday party for her sister. The horror which unfolds for the families is told in chilling detail, as Sabrina and John's bodies are found two days later. Joel Davis' investigation in this unsolved case spurred its resolution. This is a haunting, memorable story, impossible to put down. "Justice Waits" was not available locally and I ordered it directly from AMAZON. It arrived beautifully packaged with a bookmark autographed by the author, and a copy of the "San Francisco Chronicle Magazine" interview with Joel Davis.

Joel Davis' first book is excellent! From the moment I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. It's a very intense story that's full of interesting details. I grew up with one of the murder victims--John Riggins--and after reading Justice Waits, I feel like I knew Sabrina Gonsalves as well as the other people in the book, because of Joel's descriptive story-telling. Interestingly, Joel didn't just tell the story, but he became part of it. I highly recommend this book.

I'm not usually a reader of crime-books, but, having gone to Davis, I wanted to give this one a try. Once I started, I dragged it around from the kitchen sink to the car to the sidewalk outside of my kids' school because I didn't want to put it down! It's terribly gut-wrenching and made my heart ache for the Riggins Gonzales' families; but it also provides an important reminder of how vulnerable our justice system truly is.

After spending some time in Japan, I find that Meghan Murphy pokes delightful fun at the culture of kawaii.

Besides the bountiful collection wonderful four pane commic there's a few treats like the manifesto, kawii-o-scope and a short story.
As an added bonus, I find that the way the book is constructed lends itself nicely to turning each commic into a postcard. My friends love recieving them.
I'd recommend this as a gift to anyone over 13, seeing as some references and wording are a more adult.

If you want to get an idea of what the humor is like, Ms. Murphy has constructed a website: [...]. Most of what you see there is also in the book. I hope you enjoy!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

randomly found this in a book store & started flipping through it and i couldn't put it down! I love the (sometimes) inappropiate humor...but it definitely says the things I'm sure some of us think of! :)

Showed it off at my office & my friends LOVE it too!! We're picking up more copies so they have their own...

Looking forward to another collection! (HOPEFULLY SOON!!)

I bought this for a friend for her birthday. I have never even heard of the website. My friend knew about the website and absolutely loved the book. I plan on giving it as a gift to at least 5 other people.

It's both a humorous and "keeps your mind in the gutter" type of fun. Every page is funny and cute at the same time! I love it! I can only hope the author brings more books as adorable as this one!

I have the book sitting on my desk and people come in all the time to flip through it. Everyone leaves laughing! It's not too raunchy (well minus a few that might be considered not exactly 'work safe') and the majority of them of hysterical. My personal favorite is the chainsaw "whir!" but a lot of the engineers are partial to the can of botulism.

I love the way it props up even though the cover gives me a bit of trouble sometimes. It's a great book to share.

The book gets high marks for creativity, but I'm left wondering if the analogies between business and ecology bear up under scrutiny. They sound great, but are they informative or simply comforting?

The authors use many familiar terms ecology, niche, evolution, ecosystem, etc. To this they add a variety of terms less common to the ecological literature platform, landlord, dominator, etc. Additionally, they omit several commonly used terms species, predator, prey, energy balance, carbon cycles, etc. Other terms have been modified to sound more genteel: 'competition between species' has become 'competition between ecologies', 'food chain' has become 'supply chain'.

If one surveys ecological literature for the first time, they might be surprised by the difficulty of the subject. Descriptive studies can be overwhelmingly detailed without establishing any comprehensive principles. Computer models of ecological systems are generally too mathematical and abstract for the non-professional. When principles are elaborated, they can become controversial (is there any 'intelligence' in the 'ecosystem'? Do plants 'collaborate'? etc.)

Drawing analogies between 'business communities' and 'a rain forest' may turn out to explain economic change and technological innovation, but the book itself fails to engage the reader at its most important level understanding ecology itself. It seems to assume 'ecology' is simple and we can easily draw upon well known ecological principles. If you are looking for some inspiration to learn more about ecology, there couldn't be a better book. If you want definitive answers, you may be disappointed.

The authors highlight the importance of these networks in the strategy creation process. Their discussion provides organizations with a roadmap that points out the importance and pitfalls of networks the tactics they will need to successfully navigate their futures.

Harvard Business School Professor Marco Iansiti and business leader Roy Levien employ the analogy of biological systems to describe the inner workings of business networks. Using 10 years of research and practical experience in a range of industries they identify three roles firms play within business systems:

1. Keystones. These companies improve system health and increase their own operational performance.
2. Landlords and Dominators. Firms with these operating strategies occupy a network hub.
3. Niche Players. Organizations that do not occupy a network hub.

Business networks and biological networks, the authors explain, are governed by a common fate. They base predictions on features that enable stability, longevity and productivity. The authors offer three predictions:

1. Expect more robustness in the face of external shocks. Although damage is accompanied by widespread collapse, most problems will be absorbed.
2. Expect networks to develop a capacity for creativity.
3. Expect a heterogeneous structure, with each individual organization playing a unique, dramatic role.

The authors view this evolving network as a renewal source, not an external threat.

The Keystone Advantage is a good book. It uses a biological metaphor to discuss and explain the success of various companies within a larger business 'ecosystem'.

But if you want to understand the fundamentals of WHY this metaphor works, and HOW to choose which strategy will be best for your particular business, you need to read "The Escher Cycle".

Marco Iansiti and Roy Levien describe examples of how companies have used different strategies to achieve success in the modern business ecosystem. "The Escher Cycle" explains from first principles (not just a metaphor) HOW that ecosystem came into being.

Iansiti and Levien focus on the impact that Information Technology (IT) can have on business performance. But IT is just one of the ways in which performance can be improved.

"The Escher Cycle" identifies the key activities that deliver strategic success. It shows layer upon layer how to improve skill at carrying out those activities (one means of which is through IT). And it shows how different businesses interact together to form the ecosystem that Iansiti and Levien describe.

Finally, "The Escher Cycle" shows how a business can imitate the natural flows of information and capability that circulate within the business ecosystem. It shows how a business can accelerate its own 'Evolution' within that system, and so create the ultimate competitive advantage.

Business networks represent the future for many organizations as capabilities and competition move beyond the individual firm. While many have heralded the rise of these networks, few have applied any discipline for figuring out how these new organizations work and are structured.

Iansiti and Levien's categorization of keystone, landloard,dominators, niche players etc is helpful in understanding the different ways and types of networks that exist. They are also careful not to push the ecology applied to business angle too much -- a welcome thing in this day of quick fixes and simple models that are supposed to be universally applied.

The focus on the foundations of competition are helpful and point up the value or architecture, platforms, and innovation. My one concern is that much of the book reads like a prescription for technologically advanced industries -- even though the authors use some low tech examples. This makes it seem more descriptive than advancing a theory from which I can understand what is going on and taking action.

This book forms the first real examination of business networks without the hype of the internet or the determination that everything will be connected to everything else. A solid foundation seeing business networks for what they are, and their dynamics.

As no man is an island, businesses do not operate in a vacuum. There are suppliers, customers, employees and of course the government. More and more, these outside influences are banning together in a perhaps unofficial but no less real ecosystem.

In the computer industry, which everyone reading this must have some at least sideline awareness, there are two principle 'keystone' players: Microsoft and Intel. Around these companies there are literally thousands of other companies somehow creating a business around their core technologies. This works pretty well, so long as you are very careful. If you sleep next to an elephant, you'd best sleep with one eye open, just in case he decides to roll over. Just ask Netscape.

These authors have attempted to provide a framework for analyzing such business ecosystems, drawing on examples from biology where such systems have been studied for many years.

Most of the examples used in the book are from the American market. Next, I'd like to see the authors do a book comparing the American and the Japanese systems. It appears that the Japanese started this philosophy but that we have taken it into new and different directions, certainly less formal (the Japanese methods would be illegal here) but seemingly headed in much the same direction.

What a blessing to listen to these sermons of my brother in Christ Dr. King. Never throughout my life did I hear these. Why?

America, wake up!!! You are a great nation, because of the freedom bestowed upon us by none other than Jesus, the Messiah (Christ).

And those people, brought here as slaves (believe me I've heard it ad nauseam going through school, but just listen), have helped make us a great nation!

Now listen - we are ALL slaves - every one of us. To who? To ourselves!

If you think I'm a religious zealot - absolutely, freakin' not. I am a former slave, that's all. No more, no less. Saved by the blood of the Lamb. And now filled with the love of His Spirit, and loving my fellow man, regardless of color or background.

I look forward to meeting you in heaven Dr. King!

(Let's pray for Dr. King's constituents, that they would come to know the Lord, and love all, black and white, and gain God's strength as Dr. King did.... and keep loving one another, faults and all - 'cause we know we all got faults, but our hearts should be turned towards perfection! Thank you Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords!!!)

Simply phenomenal added dimension of Dr king that the general public who know him as an inspired civil rights leader must come to know. He was nspired, energized and directed by the word of Almighty God and conscience. Oh for leaders today to be likewise constituted.

The sermons in A Knock at Midnight are both deeply moving and a powerful reminder of the greatness of Dr. King. This collection should be read and heard by everyone, especially the young of today who have been fed a Dr. King who somehow only delivered one speech ("I Have a Dream"). As a middle school teacher I found the sermons to be an excellent way for my students to move beyond the platitudes about Dr. King to a much deeper understanding of his life and ministry. To read and listen to these great sermons is an absolutely wonderful experience, but at the same time a sad reminder that today we have no great voice of moral authority like his. Fortunately we do have his words and voice preserved for us and our children.

A fabulous collection of soul-stirring preaching by one of this century's finest preachers. Many people know King as a great political leader, fiery orator, and creative organizer. This collection of sermons will convince the world that King was first and foremost an anointed preacher. His sermons ring with authenticity and resound with relevancy. Kings messages speak profoundly to our troubled times and offer both prophetic insight and divine guidance as we attempt to find our way into the next millinium. This collection of sermons, with their superb introductions and commentaries, is perhaps one of the finest efforts of its kind. It will certainly be a source of pleasure and insight for generations to come.

Notice I refer to the cassettes and the companion book as an EXPERIENCE as I both listened to and read the REVEREND King! Although the media focused on the visible part of his ministry, the civil rights movement, his sermons are profound and awesome in their implications for today as well as their in their powerful delivery during the mid-1950's through 1960's. Although I will cherish both the cassette series and the book, it is through hearing the SPEAKING of Dr. King that really made me breathless! Thank you LORD God for sending us your messenger Dr. King to give us a wonderful earthly ministry for a brilliant and brief time (much like Jesus Christ). Simply awesome!

The updated, expanded edition of The Last Album: Eyes From The Ashes Of Auschwitz- Birkenau is out, and no less hard-hitting than the original. These black and white photos were not supposed to reach the world: the Nazi order to destroy all personal photos brought to each concentration camp was meant to destroy memories as much as evidence. Despite this mandate, author Weiss uncovered an archive of over 2,400 photos brought to Auschwitz by Jewish deportees across Europe - photos hidden and saved, at great risk to their owners. These photos accompany a traveling exhibition which is making its way around the world, presenting over 400 of these photos and how the deportees arrived at Auschwitz - and how Weiss came to discover them and to research their roots. A 'must' for any serious Jewish history collection - and many a general interest holding, as well.

"The last Album" by Ann Weiss is well organized and well written. It contains 400 remarkable
photographs that were brought to Auschwitz-Birkenau by victims in 1943. These photographs were taken
prior to the Holocaust and depict people bursting with life. This is an extremely unique book, and contains material that was lovingly researched for a period of 15 years. The beauty of this book is that the
photographs and the research accomplished brings to life people that were lost during the dreadful time of
the Holocaust. The book like the author is soft, sweet, articulate and brilliant

I read this book by chance, yesterday, Memorial Day 2003.
Been crying.
It's like Schindler's List or Sophie's choice.
How could they do it?
How can we let them continue doing it?
The animals still are around us, although using another names, another symbols, another motivations.
I kept reading, hoping to find some of the people to be safe at the end, but almost everybody was killed.
Binim, Rozak, Mayer, Bronka, so many of you.
I miss you, my friends.

After reading this book, I feel this should be in every house in every country. You hear so much about the people and the numbers killed that sometimes it doesn't seem real but this book makes it very real. The pictures are so powerful and at the same time so ordinary - they could be pictures of anyone's parents or grandparents. The most haunting pictures are those of the children - you have to wonder how many survived. The stories of the survivors bring it all home - "There's the aunt of the little girl I used to babysit", etc. I found it amazing that these pictures did survive 40, 50 years before being discovered again. Anyone who denies the Holocaust happened should read this book and then try to still say it never happened. Thank you Ann Weiss for bringing these pictures and the stores behind them out of the darkness.

This book is an amazing piece of history. The fact that so many photos brought into Auschwitz have survived is phenomenol as all personal effects were automotically burned by the Nazis murderers. When viewing the photos in this book, which were brought in by those of the Sosnowiec-Bendzin transport, it would also be advisable to read Tadeusz Borokowski's book "This way to the gas ladies & gentleman' as this book covers the particular Sosnowiec-Bendzin transport and outlines in gruesome and terrifying detail what became of many of those on this transport. The photographs bring back to life many who are gone and also tells you those who survived, which is a relief to realise that some of those from the Polish ghettos made it. These photos bring back a lost world that will never return and along with Roman Vishniac's collection of photographs are a piece of history that is very much worth investing in.

What is most impressive in this fantasy classic is the oral folklore. The author is apparently an expert on folklore (according to his bio), not the fake magic stuff invented by the Harry Potter author. This is the real stuff! The Anansi stories are a scream! We get a new insight on Pan, the notorious half goat and half boy. And the author is always "kidding" around with puns that make it even funnier. Never has Coyote, the trickster, been more outrageous! The whole idea of the stories within the stories within the stories is unique and powerful. I am breathless!

The best thing about this book is how well it is written. The illustrations enhance your understanding of the story, as do the helpful footnotes, appendices, entertaining exercises, and the compelling board game that is introduced within the context of the plot. Never before have I seen a story that is so readable for all ages--a fantasy and yet it appeals to all ages, males and females, all cultures. Why? Because it alludes to universal folktales, legends, and myths that we are all familiar with. It engages the reader into taking part.

The best thing about this book is how well it is written. The illustrations enhance your understanding of the story, as do the helpful footnotes, appendices, entertaining exercises, and the compelling board game that is introduced within the context of the plot. Never before have I seen a story that is so readable for all ages--a fantasy and yet it appeals to all ages, males and females, all cultures. Why? Because it alludes to universal folktales, legends, and myths that we are all familiar with. It engages the reader into taking part.

I cannot believe how good this book is. The author is a master of words, using palindromes to signal when events are about to go backwards, inside out, or upside down. Ironically, when this does happen, the reader soon realizes that things are not really what they seem, just like palindromes themselves, which say the same thing forwards as they do backwards. The result is a wild adventure in the form of a fantasy that satirizes the real world as we know it. The author takes aim at the adult world of BIG businessmen, toxic mothers, & toxic fathers. This is a must read!

I cannot believe how good this book is. The author is a master of words, using palindromes to signal when events are about to go backwards, inside out, or upside down. Ironically, when this does happen, the reader soon realizes that things are not really what they seem, just like palindromes themselves, which say the same thing forwards as they do backwards. The result is a wild adventure in the form of a fantasy that satirizes the real world as we know it. The author takes aim at the adult world of BIG businessmen, toxic mothers, & toxic fathers. This is a must read!

Rachel Howard tells a compelling story in "The Lost Night," a memoir that reads like an extended episode of crime documentary shows like "48 Hours Mystery." A pre-teen when her father was stabbed to death in what seemed like a botched break-in, the loss haunts Howard until she can find a way to make sense of it. Suspicion surrounds Howard's step-mother, whose brother is questioned by police, but it is eventually cold cased. As an adult, Howard investigates further, a decision which brings her back in contact with both her father's family and her dreaded step-mother (who has since married again and moved away.)

The book effectively sets the scene in California's Central Valley, and Howard successfully plumbs the psychological effects of growing up without a murdered parent. She is candid about many of her struggles with men as a result of the loss, although she is slightly dreamy about her wedding and happy relationship with her husband. (This aspect of the memoir seemed overly one-sided and idealistic.) Her father's murder is never solved, but Howard does find a way to come to peace with it, including an acknowledgment of her own biases against her former step-mother, who makes a memorable reappearance in some of the book's best latter moments.

What we end up learning about in "The Lost Night" is the effect of crime on those left behind, and the mysteries that remain when crimes aren't solved. Although the writing is no where near the quality of classics of the true crime genre, this is a worthy effort and worth a read.

Met the author at a book signing and was impresssed by her impeccable poise and story-telling ability. Then I went home and read the book. Wow. I had the same experience as the other readers. This is an excellent and poignant memoir.
One feels the you-are-there quality of a little girl awakening in the middle of the night to see her father covered with blood on the floor. The people in her book are like characters in a Dickens novel, yet they are (were) all very real. Howard captures the cultural milieu of Merced California in the mid '80's. Her father loved Rod Stewart with a passion and the lyrics of his songs weave through the true story of a child trying to make sense of what is going on around her.
The child matures into an adult and becomes a writer! What an awesome contribution to the memoir genre. I do hope that the killer is eventually caught.

This is a wonderful combination of memoir and true crime. I felt as though I realy got to know the author. Her willingness to examine the fragility of memory and adjust her conclusions accordingly made her more appealing. The change in her attitudes toward the people in her life caused me to re-examine my own feelings toward people in my life. This book is a definite addition for anyone's library.

William Grimes has always been one of my favorite NY Times reviewers. Although he tends to be negative, when he waxes effusive, I take notice. When I saw this....
------
"As a memoirist, she succeeds BRILLIANTLY. "The Lost Night" is ENTHRALLING, a skillfully narrated story that begins as a tale of detection but quickly becomes something more."
--William Grimes, NEW YORK TIMES

I figured I'd take a chance. Well, it's been sitting on my nightstand for 6-months now and damn if it's not enthralling. Although I was hoping for a bit of a who-done-it, I couldn't put it down. The descriptions of the messed-up Central Valley(to put it delicately)were terrific. With some sex, drugs, and even some 80s Rod Stewart in the mix, for good measure, it was a joy to read.

Lost and Found - a past reclaimed

I finished Rachel Howard's "the lost night" at 3 this morning. From the minute I cracked its spine, the pages turned themselves, inviting me to ignore every routine chore of mine: dirty dishes, daily exercise, even meals (though I did manage to go to work and feed the cat).

Masterfully written, the book tells a riveting story of the murder of Rachel's father when she was only 10 years old. How she handled the loss of this beloved man, her protector and playpal, is a glimpse into how children cope with tragedy of this magnitude. The experience retrospectively defined Rachel, her relationship with her family and also with her stepmother Sherry, her father's third wife when he was murdered. Rachel, the product of divorce, was spending a few summer weeks at her father's home during this time. She was witness to his last waking minutes and remembered details that would replay themselves with increasing vividness as time went by.

But memory is elusive...and selective. The author comes to realize that her memories were circumscribed by the limited frame-of-reference of a young life.

What I found so compelling here is the child's perspective. I have read (and probably own!) just about every true-crime/courtroom/forensic book that exists, yet I never read such an account from a 10-year-old point-of-view. Rachel illustrates the sometimes graphic, sometimes muted terror-of-the-night children of murdered parents are heir to, their wispy and unexpressed--indeed unconscious--suspicion of significant-others, and their necessary dependencies on adults who, often not comprehending the nuances involved, believe that by trotting the kid to therapy, they absolve themselves of the pain of revisiting the circumstances themselves. In Rachel's case, her father's family remained largely silent with her about that night. They may have felt that openly speaking about the murder with someone so young would somehow legitimize it for her. In fact, their passivity had the opposite, and quite damaging, effect on a young mind hungry for assurance and validation.

Palpable throughout Rachel's memoir is its raw honesty. The writing is often brutally introspective, devoid of the self-pity and lachrymose language which the author might easily --and justifiably-have indulged. She is seeking information and answers, and by the last page, I realize she has found those things, and some peace along the way.

Therese Hercher

I didn't know if I would like it when I first bought it, but as soon as I started reading I fell in love with it. I was great, it tells you all the details about the movie, how each scene was shot and the special effects. It also concentrates on every character, not just on Mulder and Scully. I think it is great. If you are a true X Files fan, you have to have it.

The book was good for what it was. It goes into great depth of how hard it is to make a movie. I thought the book got boring at times. I would recommend this book to the true x-files fan or just anyone who wants to see how a movie is made.

The book was good for what it was. It goes into great depth of how hard it is to make a movie. I thought the book got boring at times. I would recommend this book to the true x-files fan or just anyone who wants to see how a movie is made.

This book was written for everyone....from newbies to real X-files addicts. It takes you to the whole process. A definitive must-read. You'll enjoy it!

It contains great pictures and sometimes exhaustive details about the making of this feature film. From the concept of the movie to post production work, you get an inside look at all of the planning and hard work involved in getting this film into theaters. If you are interested in the steps involved in movie-making and the X-files in general then this book is for you. It gave me a better appreciation for the movie.