Guides and Directories Books

The Martin, Porter video guides are the only ones my video watching son will use. We've bought others, but these seem to be the most concise and easy to use as a reference for video viewing.

I've been turning to Martin and Porter for around 12 years now and all I can say is that I eagerly await each new year's edition of the Video Movie Guide (VMG). When I first went looking for a paperback movie guide, I spent a lot of time checking out the competition and found them all lacking in some area. Leonard and I just didn't see eye-to-eye at all. If he didn't like a certain genre, those type of movies didn't get a fair shake. Many of the others were geared for family viewing (which is fine but I've been there, done that, and have moved on to encompass a wide range of films). The only one that I found to be fair and have the technical info (color or b&w, running time, rating, subtitles, year released, cast, director, etc.) that I was looking for was VMG. I've watched the book's format change (for the better) over the years (I happily don't have to figure out the genre of the film before looking it up anymore). After reading some of the other reviews, I understand the frustration of not having all of an actor's films listed but if you read the Forward/Introduction to VMG you'd know that only available (for rent and/or purchase) titles are covered. This is why I've purchased a couple of older VMGs to add to my collection for reference. Nobody seems to mind when a book or DVD has an incomplete filmography on an actor or director so what's the beef? ...

WITH 1582 PAGES OF MOVIE REVIEWS AND MOVIE RELATED MATERIAL, THERE IS NO WAY ONE WILL AGREE WITH EVERYTHING. HOWEVER, I OFTEN REFER TO THIS GUIDE FOR MANY REASONS. IT'S LIKE A TOOL MORE THAN A BOOK. WHERE ALOT OF SIMILAR GUIDES DON'T OFFER AS MUCH, ONE EXAMPLE IS: EVEN IF AN ACTOR ONLY HAS 1 OR 2 MOVIES, THEY ARE STILL LISTED IN THE CAST INDEX. THIS IS NOT FOUND IN MOST OTHER REVIEW GUIDES. ALOT OF READERS WONDER WHY ALOT OF THE REVIEWS ARE SHORT. IT IS SIMPLE. EACH YEAR WHEN THE NEW BOOK IS PRINTED, OLDER REVIEWS HAVE TO BE EDITED TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE HUNDREDS OF NEW LISTINGS. HOW FAT DO YOU THINK A BOOK CAN GET? THE TRUTH IS THIS GUIDE DOES HAVE MORE MOVIES THAN ANY OTHER. I'VE READ ALL THE OTHER GUIDES (EBERT, MALTIN, BONES ect.). BOTTOM LINE: WELL WORTH THE MONEY. EVEN IF IT'S NOT W/O IT'S FLAWS.

I agreed with theses people much more than terrible Leonard Maltin, ... They gave movies I enjoy pretty good reveiws. Note: Maltin thinks Friday The 13th deserves 1/2 stars. They think it deserves three. I agree. It's not a terrific movie, but it still isn't complete junk. I liked Betsy Palmer. Anyway, Maltin just hates everything, these people seem to try hard to find something good about the movie before calling it awful. Although, the cover shows a shot for American Beauty, but it's not actually in here. And, some of their reveiws are WAY to short. Like, for example, Ghoulies. They said in their reveiw "Gruesome. Rated PG-13 for Violence and Sexuality." What a helpful reveiw, NOT! I, myself, don't beleive in criticts, I just watch a movie and decide whether or not I like it. You should, too. ...

The Video Movie Guide is useful, but it should be more user-friendly. For example, past editions marked the actor and director indices clearly ON EVERY PAGE. Now if you want to find a director or actor you have to thumb around the back of the book with no way of knowing whether you're in the director or actor section. It's very frustrating. I'd also like to see them bring back the appendices listing four and five star movies. On the plus side, it's great that the authors have finally done away with the silly genre categories.

I bought this product a while ago. I get to LV once a year and Atlantic City 4 times a year. Most of the LV coupons are for the downtown casinos which I rarely have time to visit. I did use a few of the Atlantic City coupons, which about paid for the book. I did find some of the articles in the book interesting and informative.

used a bunch of these coupons already, it's a must have for a vegas vacation, probably saved over 100 bucks over the week using the 2 for 1 buffet coupons at places like The Silverton Casino (great place) The Sahara, New Orleans Casino, The Rio, Texas Station and several others. If you buy this book and use just 2 coupons it will have paid for itself in savings! Highly recommended.

Do NOT buy this book used. I did and when it arrived a good portion of the pages had been torn out. I sent it back and NEVER received my refund.
BUYER BEWARE!!!

LOTS OF FOOD COUPONS FOR VEGAS,,, PAYS FOR ITSELF WITH JUST ONE VISIT. LOTS OF 2 FOR 1 HOTEL NITES...

The American Casino Guide is well worth the money to use in Las Vegas. There are a few other out of state casino coupons but this is mainly for Las Vegas. Great buy one get one free buffet, shows and hotel offers. The only problem with this book is the binding. It's coming unglued in the middle, not a big deal though. A lot of info for new table gamers. Highly recommend this book!

Our son graduated high school in 2002. A friend suggested this book to us and we read it eagerly. We parents were struck by the wisdom of Pope's arguments that big name colleges charge a lot for the prestige of the name, while the colleges in this book just offer great education.

Our son studied the book and came up with four colleges he wanted to look at - and one he was pretty sure was the place for him. After visiting the campuses, that's where he ended up going, and he thinks it was the best thing that could have happened in his life. He would have never found that college without Pope's book.

We recommend the book enthusiastically to anyone we know with a child looking at colleges. They may not be for everyone, but understanding his philosophy of choosing them will make you a more discerning consumer.

I felt that this book provided pretty general common knowledge information. It gave examples of people who's college experience had an impact on them, but did not increase my knowledge of making that match between applicants and colleges. This book did not satisfy my "need to know" about the college process.

I used this book in our college search. The book is worth reading, if only for the additional college information that it offers. My daughter ended up at one of these colleges four years ago. I am very satisfied.

This book, "Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change The Way You Think About Colleges", has become a well-known and classic guidebook read by many during the college selection process. It is the book that first introduces many people to the concept that small liberal arts colleges will often provide a superior education and are a better choices than big universities for many college-bound high school seniors. It challanges the notion that acceptance into an Ivy League or Ivy League wannabe school should be the ultimate goal for typical bright perspective college students. It points out that the Ivy League schools and most large universities target graduate students rather than undergraduate students. It also points out that professors at those schools are often far more interested in research than paying attention to whether undergraduate students are actually learning the subject or not. Small 4-year liberal arts colleges, however, are different. There, class sizes are smaller, and the professors are far more likely to care about whether their students actually understand what is being taught. The small liberal arts colleges are also much easier for the typical high school graduate to gain entry to. Ivy League schools are beyond reach for the vast majority of high school graduates, and many large public universities have many more applicants than they can accept.

The downside to most private 4-year liberal arts colleges, of course, is cost. The published tuition prices are usually considerably higher than those of most public universities. However, there is some good news about cost. Most private colleges today discount their tuition costs via financial aid and merit scholarships. So, the final cost of a private 4-year liberal arts college might not be too much more than that of a typical public university.

The vast majority of the book is devoted to descriptions of 40 colleges that the writer has selected based upon the criteria he chose to rate the impact of the colleges upon the lives of their students. Those 40 colleges he felt were the best among the colleges he considered. Some of the best information is therefore at the beginning of the book. Starting on about page 35, he begins his descriptons of the 40 colleges. I could not help wondering as I read through the college descriptions whether other writers would have used different criteria and therefore included some different colleges.

It should also be pointed out that one must be careful in wholely relying upon this book to make their college selection. One should take note that the writer included Antioch College among the 40 colleges. Antioch College, of course, is now closed. That fact suggests that parents need to consider more than just whether a college has historically been innovative or life-changing when considering whether they want to spend their money to send their children to it. They might also want to take a look at a college's financial picture, its enrollment statistics, and in just what manner the college has been changing lives.

Overall, "Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change The Way You Think About Colleges" should be a must-read book for parents and perspective college students. It will make one think about whether the best undergraduate college option is always a large public university.

The author makes a persuasive case for small, liberal arts colleges, many of whom are not well-known. He describes each school in detail, and does a very good job of pointing out each school's advantages. Initially I was quite impressed with the information.

What is lacking is very much information about problem areas or weaknesses of each college. The book is so laudatory, it lacks even-handedness. I am recommending the book highly, but think it needs to be complemented with a more balanced book. As an example, Pope (rightly, I think) raves about St. John's College in New Mexico, which uses the "Great Books" as primary sources. But, this praise needs to be balanced. Here are comments about St John's from The Princeton Review's "The Best 368 Colleges": "full of relentless intellectual duress..." " a school for super-geeks"...Everyone is a "voracious reader" and "kind of neurotic".
I'm not saying these comments are all valid, but they should be included for the reader's consideration.

Other than this criticism, I think the book is a great asset, and one we'll make good use of in researching colleges.

I'm trying to get a book published and this book is an excellent resource on how to write the proper query letter and assemble the perfect proposal submission to a publisher.

And, of course, this book has an exhaustive list of publishers of all kinds as well as literary agents. My only complaint would be that I wish they had an index organizing the agents by the genres they accept. It's a minor quibble on an otherwise flawless book.

I love the resume format for each literay agent! Helped me tremendously in making a decision.

You can read these sort of books morning, noon, or night. But it all comes down to one thing: integrity. And agents have little or none ... The very nature of selling a book is antithetical to artistic achievement. Just look at the trash that sells to the bovine minded public and you'll understand why Jeff Herman recommends medocrity over artistic achievement. Art is beautiful but it doesn't sell. And sell you must if you want to be the next big thing on the Times best seller list. Oprah not excluded. Baa Baa Baa

Jeff Herman is one of the top literary agents in New York. In this book, he offers his own insights, and he also calls on many of the key players in the publishing industry to explain, from their perspective, exactly how the business really works.
Learn what an acquisition editor looks for; what motivates an editor to want to publish your book; and the mechanics of the whole process. Armed with this information, you are in a much better position to contact the editors and agents listed in the book. There are other more famous books about markets available to writers... but this one is the best one... in my humble opinion. Oh... in case you think I'm prejudiced... Jeff is my agent and has done wonders with the material I've given to him: We've submitted four projects, and have four sales! I follow his advice, and do whatever he tells me to do with hesitation.

This and other books like it purport to help writers. It is certainly comprehensive and well done. The reality is that the gatekeepers and the keymasters of the publishing industry are publishing lots of books for writers that do not seem to advance their cause. This book looks more like an advertisement by literary agents for literary agents and editors, rather than anything that is truly meant to help the writers among us. The literati turn their noses up at most of the query letters they receive.

Take a look at the responses most writers get to their queries and you will realize that the literati hold themselves to a much different and lower standard than they require of the writers who query them. This tome makes money for the insider not commensurate with what those who purchase it get in return. His rewards are orders of magnitude greater than any that can be derived by a writer purchasing this work.

For the schools we were interested in, this book was great. The problem was that the many of the schools that my daughter was interested in were not even included in the book. Had I known that, I would not have purchased it.

very thourough, and amazon did a great job replacing the lost package. all around good job.

The Fiske guide provides a very useful start to the college search process. It is easy and fun to read through and gives you a quick general idea of what the school is like and how competative it is to get in. The biggest drawback is that many schools are not included in the book.

Don't bother - buy the Princeton Best 366 Colleges. This book has fewer details, fewer insights into such things as SAT expectations, scholarships, neglects costs all together, etc. The Princeton book had everthing in the Fiske Guide plus much much more.

Our daughter is in high school, and we've been researching possible college choices for a couple of years now. This is the first time I have read Fiske's guide, and I was very happy with it. The other guide we have relied on heavily is The Best 366 Colleges, 2008 Edition (College Admissions Guides). Taken together, I feel these two books give you the best understanding you're going to get from just reading college guides. At the end of the day, you're still going to need to visit the campuses and talk to people familiar with the schools you're interested in.

But what schools are you, or should you be, interested in? Which schools are a potential "fit" for your future college student? The guides are a great way to narrow your choices from 2200 to a manageable handful. While some reviewers here complain about Fiske's "subjectivity", I found very valuable the subjective judgment of this seasoned observer. Sometimes the Princeton Review guide is too numbers heavy, and many of the comments from students just seem way too anecdotal. With Fiske, I get the feeling that the student comments fit better with the overall impression that the Fiske staff gets from the school.

Where Princeton uses numerical rankings in many categories (academics, quality of life, etc..) I think Fiske's 5-star ratings are more meaningful. It seems to me that it's unrealistic to differentiate between schools on a scale of 1-100. Is a school rated 95 on academics really "better" than the school with a 93? Better for your child? I think it's easier to understand if you're talking about a 4-star school versus a 5-star school. 4-star is well above average, 5-star is elite.

Fiske does include all the essential numbers (SAT & ACT ranges for the middle 50%, enrollment, admissions percentages, etc...). But the narratives in Fiske are more thorough than those in the Princeton Review. There tends to be more detail on the important basics of student life (dorms, cafeterias, classes, professors). Fiske does a very nice job flagging potential problem areas for your child. If a school environment is very liberal (or very conservative), very religious (or anti-faith), hard drinking (or dry), hand-holding (versus sink-or-swim), Fiske identifies that for you so that you can avoid environments that aren't suited to your student. I found especially helpful Fiske's inclusion of a short list of strongest departments or majors at each college. If you're already considering a particular field of study, that is invaluable information.

I highly recommend this guide for families searching for the right place for their future college student among the top schools in the country.

Our third trip to Vegas is coming up in October. I always use Alamo for our car rental and I have used the same coupon to book the car every trip. This alone more than paid for the cost of the book the first time I used it. I have never been asked for the coupon at the rental car center so am able to use it multiple times. We have also used several of the match play and food coupons. Although the majority of the coupons are for off strip locations, many are for downtown including Binions Steakhouse, Main Street Station etc. You won't be disappointed.

This was the worse book I ever bought. The pages are falling out because of bad binding. The contents are very poor. Casino's that I know are not in the book or not accurate. Very Very poor

Well I never used any of the coupons in here but it did have good tips and reading in it. It was prompt on getting here.

We bought this book before our last trip to Vegas. It was well worth it just one coupon for dinner paid for the book. We always rent a car so getting to the different places was easy. The two for one buffets at Green Valley, and the Silverton were great. If you only go to the big hotels on the strip you wont get the full benifit of the book.

Loads of good info and a ton of coupons. If you are planning a trip to Vegas this book is a must have. You won't find offers from many of the large resort casinos but you will find enough free play, free gift, and food coupons to pay for this book a few times over in just one trip!

I bought this for my high school sophomore granddaughter after she had advised me not to. However, she wrote me a thank you note that was a rave review, saying that it was both entertaining and helpful, especially the comments from students at each school.

She is an A student so these 100 top schools are within her reach. For students who aren't as high achievers, this book may have limited value, but it still gives some idea of what college students get from their respective schools.

This book is so amazing (and I can justifiably say that because I am a prospective college student). This book includes 100 schools, and each school has 3 students that filled out a questionare about their college. This book is so great because it offers 3 different points of view, and not from people who are just telling you canned stuff about the college like admissions officers. It even has a question that asks what an admissions counselor might not mention on a tour. As a prospective college student, this gave me such a great view on the colleges I am looking at. The 3 reviews allows you to distinguish between those students that are exaggerating and those who are censoring. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the top schools- not just Ivy League (because believe me, I am not Ivy material and this book was still amazing) but any colleges. I read so much of this book, and I was able to throw out certain colleges and add other colleges to my list that had not been on my radar. Since I read all those reviews, I have a much better understanding of college life in general, and each college's student's life specifically.
I could rant and rave about this book forever, but I recommend you see for yourself. Look and make sure you are interested in at least one of the schools in the book, and, heck, you might be surprised to find a school you never would have thought of before--I know I did.

If you are going to get more than one college guide, I highly recommend this volume. For each of the top 100 colleges, it contains three long essays by students who attend. You should get a great feel for what its like to attend these colleges. One of the coauthors, by the way, was a prospective student being tracked in "The Gatekeepers"--an insightful book abut the whole college admissions process.

I found a lot of information in this book, which is not found in some of the other college review books. Even though it is not realistic to get a complete picture about a college/university based on the opinion of 2-3 students, it is very informative to hear the students perspective. For some institutions the reviews were very uniform among the 3 students, and for some were completely contradictory.....but still quite useful!

My biggest problem is that most of the students were from the same state that the school is located it. Therefore, not very helpful for people out of state which we are. There was one section that was helpful--things that the administration probably wouldn't want you to know but overall disappointed.

An absolute "must-read" for anyone contemplating educational options in this industry. Very easy to read but dense with useful and practical advice.

Would have appreciated more coverage of undergraduate options, though. While the authors make the case for undergraduate school as a time of broad educational exposure, it is conceivable to do that within a context of film.

For a young person interested in film, it is hard for them to delay their involvement until graduate school. They can certainly get a liberal arts degree (and thus the broad exposure) with a film/film studies major and then decide if they want to continue on to grad school (and if so, what particular emphasis). However, there are also undergrad options that are more concentrated on the actual production side of things. Some coverage of the undergrad options would have been very much appreciated.

The book has its value for discussing in detail several schools throughout the country. I would even say it is a must-have before you visit ANY film school (even if's not in the book). The grudge I have is how the authors sometimes weigh in with their personal preferences while discussing school facts (eg, they call Valencia, CA "depressing to live" - while that may be true it is highly subjective and should not be mentioned in a section which is supposed to inform an applicant). The introductory chapters are helpful, but the authors on occasion fall for juvenile foot-in-mouth comments like minimizing the work of McKee and Field by arguing they haven't had any produced screenplays (which is ridiculous - that's like saying a Superbowl team coach sucks because he can't throw a ball like Joe Montana). The glossary is tongue in cheek but is obviously filler, no substance. Other than that, if one ignores these annoyances the book can be helpful.

Overview of the top graduate film programs: gives good insight into each program and their respective strengths and characteristics. Very helpful in understanding the 'signature' of a school. Would be great to have an equivalent for undergrad film programs!

Does say what it claims to do. Excellant guide, helped me choose Chapman U due to its excellant equipment and policies.

Excellent- great discussion of the value proposition of film school. One thing I found odd though- they estimated one year rent and living expenses in New York at $20k. Living where, in a cardboard box, eating ramen noodles? Anyway, I highly recommend the TV reality show series "Film School," on DVD. As for the question of whether to go, I think it says a lot that the #1 reason to go is the contacts you'll make. Do you need to spend three years and god only knows how much money to make some friends/contacts? Anytime that's used as a justification for the cost of grad school, watch out! They say the same thing about business school, and I don't know a single person who wouldn't be where they are today if it weren't for b-school.

Once you find a publisher its important to get an agent. This book will save time and money.

This is probably the third edition of this book that I've purchased, and I finally figured out that the book can't possibly list all the serious and competent literary agents. By the time you winnow the list down to the few who might be interested, based on their profiles, the list gets mighty thin. After trying several (for a few novels over the years) I finally decided to self-publish a very small quantity of books and treat my writing as a hobby. I'm much happier doing this than trying to deal with a publishing establishment that seems to change little from year to year. So I think the main problem this guide suffers from is simply lack of completeness.

I ordered 2 books, I was immediately informed by email that one of the books was not available and the other would ship in about 10 days. The book came in ten days and was in perfect condition. All in all a pleasant experiance.

The book was informative and was what I needed. I will purchase the 2008 edition unless I get an agent before then for my novel.

As a writer with little experience in trying to find an agent, this book has been very helpful to me. The information is up-to-date and accurate in regard to all those agents I have queried. Most of the agents have responded to correspondence within the time frame stated in the book, and I also found the pointers on how to write a synopsis very helpful, although not all agents want a synopsis quite as long as the implied page length in the article. Overall, though, the book has helped me a lot.

I needed guidance after writing my fictional novel, The Skye in June, and this book help soothe my fears that I would never be published. Suggestions and examples of how to write a proposal, inquiry letter and so much industry information are included. Ease your worries if you are planning on being published - or self publish, and read this book.

After reading several revews, I can say that the problem is not Jeff Herman's book, but the publishing business itself. My comments are really about non-fiction but there is some truth in this for fiction writers as well. I used his book to send query letters, found an agent, my agent sold my book--but the advance is so tiny I can't afford to write the book. I'm single, I'm not going to inherit anything, I'm not a trust fund kid, and my book was apparently deemed less important than a celebrity tell-all. My advice? Be smart if you want to earn a living writing. Follow the example of that writer who spent FIFTEEN YEARS writing a bioghraphy of J.P. Morgan because her advance was so generous. And she lived off of the advance in New York City, no les! Why did she write about J.P.? Because she admired him? Had some experience in investing? Knew him personally? No, no, no. She wrote about him because all the Wall Street guys who will buy the book hoping to become rich like J.P. did are the reason her advance was so large. Publishing is a business, plain and simple.

If you write or plan to sell written materials this book is full of useful information you need.

Every year or two I buy an updated copy of Mr. Herman's book, and it's always a great investment.

I sell most of my books to publishers, directly. Perhaps 6 of my 12 books were sold to individuals I found in Herman's editions.

Herman's book provides me with an up-to-date listing of editors who can acquire my titles, along with their phone numbers, and topical interests.

I can't tell you how much time his research saves me, especially when I'm shopping an idea for a new project.

If you want to sell something, it pays to have a great, "smart" list, and that's what Herman's book provides.

And you should know this--I sell my books by telephone, first, and then follow-up with written material--contrary to Herman's advice. But then you'd expect as much from the best-selling author of REACH OUT & SELL SOMEONE and YOU CAN SELL ANYTHING BY TELEPHONE!

--Dr. Gary S. Goodman--

This guide will be bought by far more people who will not be helped by it , than who will be helped by it. The great majority including myself will look for the magical way to find the agent, the editor who will want and accept their writing. They will learn the right way to do this, the right way to write a proposal. But having learned all that they will probably not succeed in having their manuscript published.
Beyond this , those who can be eternally grateful to Jeff Herman for providing the formula for success, are those who actually will have a book published. For the overwhelming majority of them this will not bring honor, fame, wealth in anything at all like their secret hope and expectation. If not publishing is a disappointment, then publishing may even be a bigger one.
Nonetheless, we all live by hope. This book is clearly written, instructs the fledgling writer on the way to make it in the world.
It is one of the most popular of these guides, and has helped make at least one person's fortune i.e. Jeff Herman.