Ames Books

although the delivery range was 9th to 24th, i got the book on the 9th. it saved me a lot of points on my psychology course and the book came with all the features and defects, just as the seller indicated. these are the little stuffs that increase your trust both for amazon, and the seller.

This is a very good book. One of the best textbooks out their they should make more books like this.

This is a good book but there are later editions that are used in the class.

This is a decent psychology text book. The information is presented clearly. The chapter starts with a quick story about the information, then info is presented clearly, then a review, then study guide and practice test. Overall an excellent book.

The only problem is there are a series of practice test included in the back of the book and they would be very very helpful, but the answers are sold in a workbook that must be purchased separately.

In reading this novel entitled The Essential World of Psychology, I was pleased to find such a rich written work in its particular area of study. The author, Samuel E. Wood, has done an extraordinary job in portraying the fundamental elements of psychological study. He uses his knowledge of the field to demonstrate a true understanding and an effective teaching method to be taught to beginners and professionals alike. He covers definitional psychology and psychology on a personal level to create the perfect blend of teaching material. I was pleased to have read this book, specifically because it was used as the guidelines for my psychology class at the university I attend. This book is undoubtedly more than appropriate to be used to teach all college-level psychology courses.

Being a woman who only hunts for bargains at the shopping mall, Brian's collection of stories opened a different world to me. His stories placed me right in the mind and boots of a hunter at various stages in his life. How they reason, respond in crisis, interact with others, and their humor. These are lively stories to tell when you are sitting around the campfire. Brian gave beautiful detailed descriptions of the great outdoors that would inspire anyone to hop in a 4-wheel drive and head to the Pacific Northwest. I personally can say I will never look at a handful of tadpoles the same.

Brian Ames' prose and skillful use of powerfully descriptive words paint pictures for the ready much like really good poetry does. When reading about his characters' adventures in the outdoors, you can feel the connection the author has with nature. If you have spent time in the wild, especially if it was in a solitary pursuit of any kind, you will love this book.

Once you have read a few of his stories, you will have an overpowering urge to venture forth into the woods and finishing reading the book while lying under the branches the nearest tree. Not a bad way to spend you time, if you ask me.

Attention literati--the search is over! You want a legitimate American voice in fiction? Brian Ames has arrived.

Have you searched for the writer that would inspire and energize like Hemingway, Faulkner and Fitzgerald did, way back when and even still? The new Carver or Cheever or Vonnegut, a writer with wit and guts and profound pain and wild colors outside the lines? Your search is over.

Brian Ames offers an eloquent voice to rise above the shrill, slick chorus of American letters today in his superb short story collection, "Smoke Follows Beauty." Cerebral, classic narrative? Superbly mournful characterizations? Wild-ass rock and roll in actual text form? Playful plots with just a touch of painfully, compassionately offered cruelty? You want poetry, you want hard rock, you want red-neck and knee jerk, you want sweet kindness and compassion, love and hate, all deftly portrayed, sometimes in gritty black and white, sometimes in pastels that make you weep with gratitude? Search no more. Ames is the real deal.

In "Smoke Follows Beauty," Brian Ames displays not only a mastery of the genre, but a startling breadth of theme and mood that makes the book a roller-coaster ride of the heart. The collection works superbly as a series of experiences for the reader, but also creates--or reflects--a world that puzzles, moves, disturbs and enthralls.

Superlatives, superlatives. There are very few good books, books you would really ask a broke friend to buy anyway. Well, this is one of them. Watch out for Ames, because there is more to come, or so Ames says when I sent him an e-mail raving about this book. American fiction deserves writers like this who can cut to the psychological chase, offer up stories that kill, stories that make us--that's right MAKE us!--feel what we have a right to feel, and do it all unpretentiously, artfully, gorgeously, with extreme cool.

Read "Memory of Hard Rain" and tell me it isn't the best short story you've ever read. C'mon, I dare ya! Read about hunting, read about forest myth, read about being a tired middle ager or a hopelessly hopeful adolescent--it is all here in "Smoke Follows Beauty." But do read it, because exceptional authors are in short supply these days, and great writers are fewer still, and I imagine that most readers (like me) had to stumble upon Brian Ames. He has the stuff. Buy this book, and keep the dream alive for a literature in this country that kicks [butt]!

And keep an eye out for the next book by Brian Ames!

In SMOKE FOLLOWS BEAUTY, Mr. Ames stirred me with his excellent, descriptive writing as he shared the thoughts and experiences of a hunter as he blends into Nature's world in search of elk.

The first story, "Listen," captured me immediately with "The language of trees, utterances of fir and maple, the soft hum and sigh and clearing of the pine's throat. An opinion offered from cedars." It was a great start for the book, describing the world of the forest, drawing the reader into what we consider to be a retreat for peace and silence, not a place for lessons to be learned.

I was impressed the author's range of knowledge--how he incorporated it into the stories and added depth, and with the variety of stories and their details. I appreciated the stillness of these tales, the insight, wisdom, and perspective gained from the woods juxtaposed with the rural, "civilized" world.

His stories were creatively and aptly titled, all fascinating and sometimes profound, segments of a whole. I loved the language in this book, combined with the author's careful thoughtfulness. His exquisite language and extraordinary metaphors just blew me away. Wordsmithing at its best.

Brian Ames' collection of short stories entitled SMOKE FOLLOWS BEAUTY is a work to be savored. While most of the stories are fairly short, they are also deep, so that the reader feels compelled to read each story twice, once for the pure enjoyment of reading a well-written story, and a second time to look for the meaning that lies therein, thus the stories make the reader think as well as enjoy. Most of the stories are set in the Northwestern United States, in natural settings, mostly woodlands. Mr. Ames is obviously an outdoorsman, one who has a deep love of nature, and his love of nature is reflected in the beauty of his words. For example, he describes the approach of a rain wall thusly: "It assembled itself like the weaving of a moist blanket over the rise of the river, dropping from low altocumulus onto round mounds of hills." His description of a woodland sunrise is just as striking: "Dawn is breaking, sunrise evolving bands of orange and pink, the pink flying from light and overcome by gold, then gray, as overcast settles the east." What Mr. Ames does is describe the beauties of nature not just so the reader can envision them but so that the reader feels as though he or she is actually there, seeing and feeling and enjoying what the narrator of the story is experiencing. There's a lot of Hemingway in the stories, not only in the way a love of nature comes through, but in the details that only one who has experienced and enjoyed life in the wilds could express them. Like Hemingway himself, Mr. Ames truly has a way with words.

This dictionary is an incredible improvement on the last version (1890).
I use mine all of the time! Information includes spellings so that any student of linguistics could do proper pronunciation. However, it isn't necessary to be a linguist to utilize it for increasing one's Creek vocabulary. Better definitions and more information are given for every word, something that may be overlooked by those unfamiliar with the dearth of resources previously available to students of the Creek language.
I own two copies at present, and am steadily wearing one out (and I have yet to find a mispelling of "dictionary" or any other word).
It's true that one can't learn a language or a culture from a dictionary alone, but this volume is very helpful to the serious student of Creek.

This "dictioary" is great except for one thing. Instead of being the Muskogee Creek Nation DICTIONARY, it is the Muskogee Creek Nation DICTIOARY. You would think a DICTIONARY would know how to spell its own name.

This is far the best ever dictionary of the Creek (Muskogee) language of Oklahoma and Florida. The authors are a native speaker and teacher of Creek, and a linguist specializing in the analysis of the language. The volume provides spellings in both the traditional and the technical (linguists') spelling systems, and is derived from 19th and 20th century writings in this language as well as the knowledge of contemporary speakers. This will be an essential tool for speakers, writers, teachers, and students of the Creek language, and for historians, anthropologists, and other who need to know the meanings and proper spellings of words in the Creek language.

This excellent dictionary contains linguistic background, pronounciation and grammar guides, a section on proper names, and illustrations of cultural objects as well as substantial Creek-English and English-Creek dictionary sections. Although the book is called "A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee," it also includes material on Seminole Creek (one of the two languages spoken by the Seminole people in Florida and Oklahoma).

This is my first drawing book. It was so fast and simple to start drawing the ships I was really impressed. The step by step patterns make it easy to get the feel for it. After practice, my creativity and imagination was finally able to express itself. I can't wait to share these drawing books with my twin boys!

My almost three-year-old child Devon loves this book. Obviously the drawings are too complicated for him. Heck, some of them are too complicated for me, but I attempt them anyway. Devon is into trucks and cars and my gal Sara and I lived on a sailboat for several years, so he's into boats as well, has to be, because we still talk about when we lived on the ocean, still dream about going back someday.

Anyway, we've spent many hours, Devon and me, with this book. He patiently sits by my side, holding crayons, as I draw the pictures (the Jeep is his favorite as he's into army men too). After I finish the outline, he hands me the colors he wants the truck, train or boat to be. His color combos are very interesting, baby blue boats, pink trains, but the Jeep is always Army green. He's got that one down. The good ones, the drawings he likes best and maybe the ones he's scribbled on least, often wind up on the refrigerator door for a few days, only to be replaced by new ones.

Simply put, this is a handy book if you want to learn how to draw a bit and if you have a child, you can really put it to good use. In fact, I hear Devon waking from his nap, so I'll be drawing that Jeep pretty soon.

Jack Priest, Sailor Home from the Sea

At 38, I was convinced that I could never learn to draw. However, I found this book on the shelf of the local bookstore and decided to give it a try. What was there to lose? Only my conviction that I could never learn to draw, as it turns out! While I still cannot claim real skill at drawing without following the steps, at least I can now produce a reasonable reproduction of what I see on the pages of an Ames book. It's great fun and I'd encourage anyone who was ever told that perhaps drawing wasn't for them to pick up this (or any other Ames drawing book) and prepare for a most pleasant surprise!

Another educational Lee J. Ames book. Line by curve, andstepby step the reader is drawn into the world of vehicle drawing.Anyone will find it easy to follow the sequential pictures and draw all sorts of fascinating models. I used this book some time ago and even though I don't remember the name of a single model and the book is long lost, I have continued to be artistic. Lee J. Ames helps the reader in the same way that studying with one of the Old Masters would help an art student. By emulating the style of an excellent teacher, the student can excel. This book is an easy first step in the wonderful world of art.

This book is the best drawing book I have ever read ( Well, I didnt really read it ! ). I have looked over this book a few times. Whenever I am doing a drawing project, I just look in this book and it practically gives me whatever I am looking for! I recommend people of all ages should give this book a try.

"Drawing with Lee Ames" is an extremely well illustrated book on drawing generally. He sketches rough figures advanced to a more refined drawing, by sequence; but I regard this book more as a reference book, and not the best of the field of beginner's drawing books. It is one of the larger books dealing with human figure drawing, at 261 pages, outsizing many other books by about 100 pages. With that much size, one might think Ames would include something on human anatomy, or the canon of proportions, but he has nothing on these matters whatsoever. His last 40 pages are entirely on Portraits. I believe some will find this book a value; children for example. In fact, what is a stunning surprise about Ame's book, is that there is virtually no text in it at all, with the exception of about 4 or 5 pages, and then only a paragraph of text per page. With the early pages demonstrating how to draw butterflies, cats, dogs, and dinosaurs, one could readily see that Ames has an ability to encourage children and the young to give drawing a try. It is a welcome addition to my home library, and I'm sure it has its place.

This book is a great drawing book to follow. I don't have any real artistic ability and found I was able to follow the steps easily. Each step had enough to not be over whelming, but help lead you. My 9 year old is also enjoying. And since it has a little of everything (animals, still lifes, automobiles, people), there are lots of great choices.

Mr. Ames clearly takes a different approach to teaching drawing. He provides step-by-step sketches so a piece can be seen from the first few lines up to its completion. He totally avoids explaining any art technique, vocabulary, supplies, etc.
I like his approach very much, although it may be more helpful to break up the steps a little more in the more complex drawings. A beginner would also need to purchase other books (which he recommends) in order to learn drawing basics such as shading, perspective, etc.

This is an important volume of reproduced primary resources. For those who take history seriously, for those teaching that subject from Middle school through graduate courses, this volume is an indispensible addition to their personal libraries.

It is always valuable to read the original texts of American oration, whether one is in favor the the persons' points of view or not. Great American Speeches provides a unique insight into the perspecitives, insights and philosophies of those addressing an American audience during several periods of this country's unique history. It is a extrordinary book and more such texts need to be made available in time to come.

Great American Speeches (Library of Freedom)

How many snippets of speeches do we know? "I have a dream;" "Give me liberty or give me death;" "Four-score and seven years ago ..." are just a few. Did you ever wish you had the full text of the speech? Here is a good source for the full text of these famous bits of Americanna. Students of American history need to understand the words that formed America as it was and is. Teachers of American history have here a source for the information to show their pupils why we are the America we are. For a low price, this is a valuable resource.

This is a small collection of speeches given by America's great thinkers and leaders. Suriano goes beyond the orators of government and politics. I enjoy the fact that famous speeches I have only heard a few lines to are now provided for me in full. Given the number of famous speeches, I believe Suriano has done an excellent job in his selection.

This is an amazing collection of speeches. Suriano does a clever job at selecting specific speeches from Americas history. He does not select random speeches, rather he selects those that exemplify and embody the issues that plagued or benefitted America at the time these were written. One can read this entire book and have an understanding of what was going on in the 1770's, 1860's, 1990's, etc. He does not only select speeches that show America in the most glorious light, he also selects those that depict America as a dimming failure. I highly recommend this book as it is an excellent tool, in it of itself, for combating the ignorance that plagues this country. In reading this book people will see that some of the issues we face today, are repeats of what America went through before and continues to go through now. This book is an excellent source of information for the novice historian, or an excellent supplemental piece for the advanced researcher. To put it in simple terms, I love this book.

Good book, like an encyclopedia about air dropped weapons.
Very vey poor quality of pictures but very well text about the weapons.
I'm sorry this book regard only american air lauched weapons.

If you want to understand the capabilites and technology that makes American air power so powerful then you will want to read this book. The author has taken a complex subject and made it easy to grasp and useful.

This is a useful book if you want to understand how aerial weapons work. I would recommend this book as a valuable addition to any military reference library.

A Guide To Airborne Weapons by military historian David F. Crosby presents accurate and informative descriptions of the diverse air combat weapons employed by the U.S. Armed Forces. Each entry consists of descriptions of the particular weapon system, with particular attention to its special employment, characteristics, and delivery aircraft. Also included is authoritative information concerning weapon manufacturers, line drawings for each weapon, its technical specifications, black-and-white photographs, and more. An excellent and informative resource, A Guide To Airborne Weapons is an important, seminal, and highly recommended contribution to personal, professional, and academic Military Studies collections.

I spent an hour writing a rambling review of this outstanding book and decided that no amount of words could do it justice. There are interesting books, there are good books, there are great books and there are books that can make a profound difference to your life. If you've reached the understanding that there is a dimension to human existence that is very, very rare, then you need to read this book. (I don't mean organisesd religion or a consciousness of a 'God', though all the people here approach their work with a profound awareness of the transcendent). One measure of this rarity is the appalling fact that books on genuine mastery are as scarce as masters themselves. This book was published almost ten years ago and is now, criminally, out of print. Grab a copy while you can.

In my humble opinion, this is a much more in depth study of mastery than George Leonard's slim tome (grateful though I am for it) and there is wide agreement among those interviewed here about the path to mastery and its rewards and pitfalls. Interestingly, none of the interviewees regard themselves as masters, and most have a warm sense of humour.

Joan Ames has done a masterly job in arranging the interviews, in the focus of her interview questions and in editing and compiling the answers. Anyone interested in the path to mastery can't fail to be deeply indebted to her (and let's not forget the publisher) for this book. It's also beautifully designed.

If you're unable to find a copy of Mastery, I'd recommend the following (not in any order): Gene Landrum - Eight Keys To Greatness; Howard Gardner - Extraordinary Minds; Eugen Herrigel - Zen In The Art of Archery; Ken Carpone - The Virtuoso; Terry Orlick - In Pursuit of Excellence; Steven Pressfield - The War Of Art; John Schuster - Answering Your Call: A Guide To Living Your Deepest Purpose; and the most enchanting, Richard Bach - Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Mastery pursues the art of devotion to one's ambitions from a splendid array of vantage points. Regardless of one's individual journey, Ames finds commonality through a diversity of recognized masters from all walks of life. Compelling reading that is insightful, entertaining, and thought provoking. A definite title on my gift giving list.

What do you trust more: autobiographies or biographies? I prefer the latter because they tend to be more objective. This book is nothing more than a collection of brief and carefully controlled glimpses into the lives of a few famous and many not-so famous people.

I purchased a copy of this book on the strength of the reviews on this page. Unfortunately, the book turns out to be a complete disappointment if you happen to be looking for insights into how these people became masters in their respective fields. Each brief 7 to 9 page chapter is simply a record of the author's one-hour, or so, visit with the subject. At the end of it all, the only insight you take away is that successful people are exceedingly courteous to authors planning on devoting an entire chapter to them.

If you are curious about mastery, you will benefit far more from a reading of "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

This book is well worth the time investment. Ames interviewed 30 people who are considered to be at the top of their field, and asked each one how to achieve mastery, what are the components of mastery, and what are the pitfalls along the way. The uniformity of their answers is striking. Every chapter is just wonderful, and equally engaging. This is easily one of the best books I've ever read.

I really enjoyed this book greatly. The dialogue and characterizations are sophisticated, both for the sailors aboard an aging destroyer and the on-shore love interests -- this is not just a boom, bang, bam war novel, in other words. Certainly, I would highly recommend it for any one interested in the genre of naval war books. But I feel I can even recommend it as a fine novel, with good writing, compelling characters and the sort of "yeah, that was a good book" feeling you have when you are done

This book was a real sleeper. I picked it up for a friend and ended up learning a lot. I really was pulled into the story of Destroyer Captain and his men fighting their way south from the Phillipines after Japanese attack Dec 7, 1941 (on the same day Pearl Harbor was attacked). I found myself rooting for the likeable crew on their journey,and I was so taken by the story that I did more research on the early part of the war in the Pacific after finishing the book. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed this yarn with its description of the retreat from SE Asia at the beginning of the 2nd World War and the heart renching impact this had for all concerned.

I felt the descriptions and characterisations were pretty good. This is a subject which has given rise to a small literature in English. Two other novels are "Surrender" (I don't recall the author) an excellent story about the escape by boat from the Philippines to Australia of two children and a US serviceman and Alistair MacLean's "South To Java Head".

I felt the characterisation of the emotional pain felt by the crew of the elderly destroyer as she left Manila was well captured. I can't help but think that the retired Rear Admiral, who co-authored the work with his son was writing from personal experience, as a young officer dealing with a crew who had emotional commitments in Manila.

One also gets the impression from the description of the ship, its escape and actions that the authors have personal knowledge of the type.

This kind of well researched detail in a novel always gives it a sense of realism and immediacy.

Having lived and worked in South East Asia for a decade or so I can say that some of the descriptions are pretty good.

The romance between the young officer and his Dutch sweetheart is nicely described.

In places the book does become a bit two dimensional, however, the quality of the story carries the reader through these patches.

If the retired Admiral wrote his autobiography I am sure his story would make an interesting read.

This review is submitted on condition the content is not ammended.

South to Java is the story of the US and allied navies which were tasked with the defence of the Philippines and Dutch East Indies at the outset of World War II. It is the story of the crew of the destroyer O'LEARY and their lives in the Far East. Admiral Mack was a participant as a young Naval officer in this campaign and I have no doubt much of what he writes is based on his experiences. The charecters of the crew are excellent and true to life. Some remind me of men I've served with in my career. One of the chiefs is hated by all of the crew, yet he comes through in a crunch and helps prevent the ship from sinking after a battle. Other chiefs are much more humane but equally competent. Making due with what you have is what will save the ship. The Sailors are all believable and are extremely competent and in many cases are doing double duty in keeping the ship operating and at the same time teaching the officers the fine art of leadership. The officers are an interesting assortment from Annapolis grads to activate reservists with little if any maritime background. Yet the start of the war, except for one exception, pulls the wardroom together. This is a story of the old Asiatic Fleet; where Sailors made whole careers serving there and then retiring after 20-30 years. Some Sailors served in the same ship for 8-10 years; a far cry from todays rotating men and women every 2-3 years. The other members of the crew, from the engineers, to the gunners mates, the torpedomen and to the doctor all resonate with authenticity. The romatic aspects of the book are not neglected and they are all extremely well and sensitively done. The interactions between the allies also is well done - how many people today know of the role played by the Dutch in the opening months of World War II in the Pacific. These were men who were facing, in spite of popular opinion to the contrary, a highly trained and professional navy sailing in modern ships and using modern aircraft exceptionally well. Facing the Japanese fleet was a collection of ships that were obsolete, with outdated weapons and ready for the scrap heap. As the authors said at one point, the ships weren't worth much but the crews were worth a great deal. This is a story that doesn't really end. It is really only the end of the beginning. The survivors are left with having made it out of danger but are going to have to go back and face it again to bring the war to a close. Admiral Mack has written other books in this time line, but I would like to see a final book that brings closure to the sacrifices of the men of the O'LEARY in his book about the start of World War II in the Pacific. This is an exceptional book and one that you won't put down. It is one that I have read any number of times and find it just as good a read now as when I first read it. Anyone with an interest in the real navy should read this.

I admit I am a fan of woolly Buggery, some may argue as per the last posts.
I like being buggered, it adds that special spice when the dom is woolly. It's like they dont understand the authors point of view, It kinda annoys me when people buy things yet dont understand what they are buying.

I must admit my Dad wasnt too impressed when i told him i am a buggery fan, but luckily my uncle (*his brother) totaly understood and I think it has improved our relationship. My uncle now spends a lot more time taking me out and enjoying our together pleasures.
Its nice to have a family that can enjoy the same interests.

I say this is a good guide to a family wholesome pursuit.

Lackness Mr. S

Dave Ames is hilariously brilliant. True Love and the Woolly Bugger isn't just for fisher people, it is a great book for anyone who enjoys all views of life, only with a twist of fish! I would recommend it to anyone!

If you ever have the need to walk on the wild side, rest at ease. Dave Ames has done it for you. This set of eclectic tales has the common thread of flyfishing, but the stories are more truly bound by the protagonist's need to push out the perimeters of life-as-usual. It's alternately romantic, adventurous, and weepy, with seamless transitions among all those emotions. Read it before leaving town next week-end, and the road will look different somehow, as if through tinted glasses...

...and a little too predictable for my taste.

I presumed that the stories were fiction, are they?

Unlike Gierach where one gets the feeling of the real river, the soil, his personal experience through an inspired journalism, Ames is a craftsman writer. Perhaps I expected more from the hype?