Beck Books

Ankarlo practically advocates execution of anyone who disagrees with his viewpoints. He especially hates Jews, Catholics, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. And he exploits his son's service in the military for his own financial gain. His book is an advertisement to buy his book, advising readers that they can reach idealogical nirvana if they sleep in a bathtub full of his books.

Why do you hate America so much, Mr. Ankarlo? Why do you want to burn the City of Boston to the ground? Every time you open your mouth, George W. Bush weeps. Every time you congratulate yourself for your son's military service, McCain cringes. Every time you mention your book on your show, Cheney nearly has another heart attack. And, yes, when you espouse your "the Republic must fall" viewpoints, even Ann Coulter blushes.

Save us all the trouble and stay in your bunker without a laptop - so you CAN'T write another piece of garbage.

For anyone who truly wants to make a difference in this country, are concerned about those who are eroding the American way life, and want to stand up for what is right, this book is a must read. I just read it and feel empowered as a single citizen to be able do something! Darrell Ankarlo says everything that has been on my mind for years but I couldn't effectively put into words and didn't know what to do about it. Now I do. This book has given me a reason to stand up and be counted in a more visible way to save the country I love from those who would tear down the moral fiber on which it was built. It will shock you, encourage you, and even bring you to tears in places. But it goes beyond that; it gives detailed, practical ways to use your talents to help this great nation.
If conservatives want to save a rapidly deteriorating country, they must get involved--and quickly. This book tells them how. There is power in one person with conviction standing up for what is right; even more so if two, or three, or a thousand stand together. Please read it--and get involved!

[...]
Now onto my review of the book...
I just finished reading Mr. Ankarlo's book and I am grateful he wrote it! This book opened my eyes to things I was not aware of; you know the kind of things that you should have known and afterwards kind of say to yourself "well duh". This book is insightful, resourceful and provoking; causing the reader to be very aware of the need to stand up and make a difference while providing a plethora of contact information and resources to empower the reader into the action it provokes. Great job Darrell! Great job to all who make a difference! Great job to all those who serve and have served to keep this nation free, THANK YOU! And God bless the USA!!!

This is the most detailed and highly researched (and sourced) book I have ever read! I listen to Darrell Ankarlo daily on 570 KLIF in DFW. I'm glad to see that his book is of the same great quality that his daily morning show is. Darrell has changed my life over the course of the last few years. He has opened my eyes to what is going on around me, and is a constant motivator to me and the rest of his audience. Darrell leads by example and encourages others to lead their charge as well. I truly believe the "nay-sayers" whom I see commenting on this book just don't get it!

This book will open your eyes as to what is really wrong with America and give you ideas as to how you can fix it on your own. Truly inspirational you will laugh, cry, and cheer while reading this book. Give a listen to the web cast of Mr. Ankarlo off the KLIF site if you need an indication of what is in the book.

If you like to read about the unfortunate accidents that occur daily without our knowledge, pick up this book and find out what gets done to remedy some of those grimm situations. The in depth description and multiple examples given of the use of hypothermic arrest for repairing deep brain aneurysms put you right in the operating room. A few grammatical errors and an unessesary Arizona history lesson bog the main body and, at times, the author seems to jump around but, all in all, a good read. I learned a few things and the detailed written description of where certain structures in the brain are located created a vivid mental picture of the severity of head injuries that occur in the greater Phoenix area.

It is always good to read about the way discoveries are put into use. This book lets us into the most minute of details of trying to "fix" a person in that most secretive of places: the brain.
I have had a number of neurosurgeries and know the results but this book helps one to learn the intricasies.
An interesting contrast is A Pained Life, by Carol Jay Levy, ISBN: 1-4134-0609-2, written by a patient who has undergone many neurosurgical procedures.

Jerry, our 42 yr. old son-in-law had a burst brain aneurysm 2 yrs ago and was operated on by Dr. Zabranski. He is continuing to recover, but his short-term memory is still not dependable. This book gave us so much information about the "work" that these docs do. How they go through each procedure, step by step, before beginning. When our kids went back for a return visit 1 yr later. Dr. Z kept them for about 45 min. We know that these recoveries are not common, and he has no physical deficits from it. We feel the doc, since stats are not common because of low survival rates, wanted to question Jerry as carefully and completely as he could. Jerry's is a success story, as is Dr. Zabranski's. Thank you for giving Jerry his life back, Dr. Z.

This work grabs you immediately with its description of the "standstill" procedure. A patient is placed into a coma, the blood and body chilled and then the heart actually stopped while the surgeon skillfully digs around in the grey matter. Fascinating stuff.

The author is a journalist obviously awed by Dr. Spetzler and all that he (and others) have accomplished at the Barrow Institute in Phoenix--the book is primarily a story of Dr. Spetzler's career and secondarily the developing science of neurosurgery. The reader is treated to descriptions of the daily life of residents--rounds, M&M conferences, surgical procedures, etc. There are the obligatory descriptions of the hideously expensive gadgetry and imaging technology that has made modern neurosurgery possible. But something was missing.

In attempting to simultaneously cover the entire field of neurosurgery (as well as a curious diversion into the history of Phoenix) this book lost some of its punch. This could easily have been an incredibly interesting biography of Dr. Spetzler (and if anyone writes one--I'm buying it), or a surgical techno-thriller about standstill procedures curing otherwise hopeless cases . Better yet, a treatise on the cost/benefit tradeoffs presented by modern medicine with its increasing dependence upon pricey machines. Not to mention the peculiar danger of saving a patient from a horrible aneurysm only to find that his or her personality is irrevocably changed--and not for the better. Unfortunately, the work was somewhat diluted by its lack of focus. Nevertheless, highly recommended.

The book's subject matter is intrinsically interesting, but the writing is a bit clumsy and the organisation of the chapters seems chaotic. Also, there is a lot of repetition (ie explanations of certain neurosurgical procedures, and all of the stories pertain to a certain type of innovation in neurosugrey--which is interesting but doesn't vary much from case to case) and any suspense in the stories is very muted. Also, the book fawns its neurosurgical "heroes." It begins to feel like you are reading a mash note.

If you are interested in reading about true neurosurgical case studies, I recommend "When the Air Hits Your Brain," which is much better-written and covers a greater variety of material. If you are interested in excellent essays by a general (not brain) surgeon, read "Complications," by Atul Gawande, which is better than the vast majority of true-medical books. If you are interested in neurologic syndromes (not surgery), read almost anything by Oliver Sacks, who is (along with Gawande) a fairly brillliant writer.

I would not really recommend "The Healing Blade."

This is a great package of John Grisham audio books for one low price. Fast shipment. Highly recommended.

The stories themselves are great, however, the discs are all marked wrong. For example, I put in the first disc marked "A Time to Kill" and it was "The Client" instead. I had to use a marker and rename all 11 discs!

I always enjoy Grisham's way with words & a story, even if they're dated, & the three readers plus the fade out music are enthralling, however, RandomHouse Audio made a booboo with the packaging I received. The Firm discs (4-6) are correctly labeled & slotted, while A Time to Kill (discs 1-3) & The Client (discs 7-11) are mislabeled & mis-slotted. Bummer, especially if you're driving while listening.

I HAD SEEN ALL OF THESE IN MOVIE FORM AND WANTED TO SEE HOW CLOSE THE MOVIE SCRIPT WAS TO EACH GRISHAM NOVEL IN THIS COLLECTION. THEY WERE REALLY CLOSE TO THE REAL GRISHAM! BUT AGAIN HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE ON GRISHAM'S WORK? I ENJOYED ALL THREE
AND ESPECIALLY THE READERS WITH THEIR INFLECTIONS! THEY SOUNDED
ALMOST LIKE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE MOVIES. ANYTHING GRISHAM
HAS IN AUDIO I WILL CERTAINLY OBTAIN. THANKS TO AMAZON FOR YOUR WONDERFUL WEB SITE TO PURCHASE SUCH GREAT PRODUCTS.

I had seen all these movies, so I thought I'd give this set a chance. The price is a steal! All 3 narrators do an excellent job, and the stories will certainly keep your attention. I would recommend this especially for trips. I plan to buy more John Grisham audio books in the future!

For those in my age group (early 20s), Nickelodeon was second to none. They had amazing game shows, original shows, and cartoons. The best of these were the cartoons. This book goes in debt with one of the greatest eras of cartoon history, taking the reader behind the scenes, giving neat facts and awesome artwork. It's kind of expensive, but well worth it for someone who loved these shows as much as I did :-)

Until Nickelodeon decided to revamp and update the children's world in 1991, parents had no problem keeping up with their kids' cartoon experiences. After all, Bug Bunny and Daffy Duck, the Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo (in so many incarnations) were all staples of a kid's fantasy world.

As hectic as the world is for a parent, it's hard to keep up with what shows they've watched or are watching when they're growing up. Sad to say, television cartoons have served as babysitters and best friends for kids for decades.

However, Nickelodeon changed the package when they released DOUG, RUGRATS, and THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW. Questionable content began to invade American living rooms and kids' bedrooms in subtle ways. DOUG and RUGRATS tended to be wholesome fare - though with strange ideas at times.

But there was just no excusing Ren and Stimpy's behavior. They were gross and inelegant at best, and downright disgusting and offensive at worst. However, your kids thought they were hilarious. If you sat down and watched part of an episode with them, you'd swear they were way too young to be caught up in something as crass as that.

You'd probably be halfway right. But Nickelodeon took the stance that kids were a lot more intelligent - and socially inelegant - than most parents wanted to believe. So they created entertainment that took all those facets into account.

And man, what a whirlwind it's been these past 16 years. My oldest son turns 25 soon, and my youngest is 10. I had five kids, and Nickelodeon has been a constant feature in my house from the beginning.

The problem with having kids, though, is that you have to work to provide for them. And to provide cable TV. So even though I tried to get in front of the TV to check out what they were watching, I couldn't do it often enough. I watched some of the Nicktoons (as they came to be called) but not all of them because I didn't have time.

Thankfully there's a book out now that will catch you up almost overnight with the thirty cartoon that have and are airing on Nickelodeon. Jerry Beck's (author of THE HANNA-BARBERA TREASURY and THE ART OF BEE MOVIE and other works concentrating on the cartoon pays much you')monstrous compendium is kid-intelligent and adult-friendly, and it's heavy and sturdy enough to use as a shield or as a weapon. Not only that, but it was produced with the full support and cooperation of Nicktoons.

When I first pulled the book out of the box, I thought some had gone badly wrong. The book felt...SQUISHY. I let go in a hurry and decided to finish opening the box to have a better look. Then I realized that the book was covered in green slime, another trademark of the network.

Just like a kid, I couldn't help mashing on the slime book cover to see what I could change and see how long it would retain the impressions I made. It was great fun. If you really want to get a strange reaction from another adult, just hand them the book without warning. The first time they close their fingers in slime, they're going to freak - and be instantly interested.

Once I opened the book, I was even more impressed. The table of contents is set up with icons of the television shows. One of the games you can play as an adult is try to identify the series from the icon, then open the book to that page to find out if you were right. I got more of them right than I thought I would.

The sections on the cartoons are adult-friendly too. There's not a whole lot of reading to be done to get up to speed on what the cartoon series was. Background and creative spark, as well as the names of the writers and or directors, are wrapped up in easy-to-read chunks. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, gleaned from storyboards and character concepts all the way up to finished presentations.

While I was reading through the book, picking out my favorite cartoons first (like DOUG, RUGRATS, THE ANGRY BEAVERS, DANNY FANTOM, and HEY ARNOLD), my ten-year-old dropped in, saw what I was reading, and snuggled into the couch next to me. Then he started telling me what he knew about the characters, favorite episodes, favorite comic bits, and when it was going to be on again, if that was the case. There are unexpected benefits that come from owning this book. And, unlike the television episodes, the book can be turned on at any time.

There's not a whole lot of reading here to be done, which should be encouraging to you as an adult, because I'm sure your lives haven't slowed down any more than mine have, but there are a ton of pictures and graphic media. If you don't think there's a ton there, try holding this book straight out from your body in one hand!

NOT JUST CARTOONS: NICKTOONS! is an amazing compilation of info regarding these shows. The beauty of it is the book makes a great Christmas present (maybe not so much a stocking stuffer) for a kid or an uninformed adult on your list that doesn't know about Nicktoons but has children. Pick up the book and wander back through the history of your child's imagination and excitement.

It has some information for each show, but I didn't feel like it had enough information. Sure, it had some short interviews, but it wasn't very satisfying. I'd like for it to get into more depth.

Some parts were longer than others. Some had way more pictures than others. It's a decent book and great for children who enjoy Nicktoons.

Oh yeah, the cover is sweet. It's green gooey glop that you can push around the cover.

As cool as this book is (read the other reviews for that) I was very disappointed in the fact that, during the Kablam! section, they completely failed to mention anything about the music for the show! The music really made that show POP and get your attention. The music was created by The Toasters (the United States longest running ska band based in NYC 1981 - present day) recording under they pseudonym The Moon Ska Stompers. The recorded over 85 tracks for Nickelodeon, with about 12 different complete tunes. These songs were recorded as anywhere from 10 second to 2 minutes versions, to be used in every single instance that Kablam! would need them for. Fading to commercial, returning from commercial, the main theme song, all the small cuts and clips and ending titles.

It's a big disgrace not to give props to the band that made millions of kids remember your animated show, because they were singing it's theme song all day long!

Ever stuck your nose up to the blow-up valve of a beach ball? Wrapped in thick transparent plastic, this thick book has exactly that same odor. Yuck!

If you work at it you can take that cover off, but unfortunately the book isn't worth it. It's poorly designed, has little information and fills too many pages with nothing more than giant type. In fact, the whole thing smacks of the work of a teenage graphic artist. The table of contents is so cool it doesn't have any words, just a splatter of cartoon faces with little page numbers attached. If you don't know your Timmy (Turner) from Rudy (Tabootie) from their looks alone, you'll be lost. Likewise, the page numbers are so trendy-tiny they're nearly invisible. It's a shame, because Nick's often-cutting-edge cartoons deserve much better treatment.

On the other hand, there is lots of art, and occasionally a paragraph or two of good editorial, so if that's all you're looking for you'll probably be happy. I wouldn't put it on my coffee table, though. It would stink up the coffee.

Two far better books about animation are To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios and Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation.

A man is being treated in a hospital. An intruder enters and stabs him with a bayonet. The victim was Chief Inspector Nyman. Detective Rönn estimated the death occurred 30 minutes before he arrived based on the coagulation and body warmth (Chapter 6). Chapter 7 tells of destruction of districts and their rebuilding to exploit valuable land in the 1960s. Apartments were replaced with office buildings. [What did that do to traffic patterns?] There has never been an unsolved murder of a policeman in Sweden (Chapter 10). Nationalization of the police forces had negative consequences. Nyman's best friend doesn't know who could have killed him (Chapter 13). Chapter 14 lists the civilian complaints against Nyman. (Is there a clue here?) One clue is who knew the room number for Nyman.

Then a shot hits on uniformed policeman by the Eastman Institute (Chapter 23). Detective Larsson called for help and to block off the area (Chapter 24). The Child Welfare people took away the daughter of a former policeman (Chapter 25). Did this create a crisis? [Is there such oppression in Sweden?] This sniper on the tallest building was seemingly unstoppable (Chapter 27). But new tactics are used to end this problem, with suspense until the last page. [There is no last chapter to tie up loose ends.]

The authors seem to have copied the 1966 case of the sniper at the University of Texas for this story about the effects of oppressive tactics.

Another spellbinding Martin Beck mystery that invites the reader into the world of the Swedish police in the 70's. The characters are memorable, the plot is very believable, it's an excellent piece of mystery fiction.

"The Abomidable Man" is one of the better entries in the ten "Martin Beck" mysteries by the husband-and-wife team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. It features the unforgettable characters of Martin Beck, Leonard Kollberg, and their colleagues at the newly nationalized Swedish Police Force as a particularly brutal murder of a police officer in a hospital is investigated. With few clues, Beck and his colleagues eventually solve the case, but are overtaken by events in the sort of bleak existential denouement that characterizes this unmatched series of crime stories. The authors use the police procedural as a prism through which to look at society, and their liberal outlook seems innocent and quaint given the passage of time. Search your local used bookstores and garage sales for any entries in this series (not too uncommon in paperback) and let's hope that Black Lizard rereleases the whole series. NOTE: This book was made into an outstanding Swedis! ! h film called "The Man on the Roof", available on video at certain outlets.

After reading all ten of the Martin Beck series, I'll contest the other reviews: This is one of the two lame-ducks of the lot. ("Murder at the Savoy" is the other.) The socialist commentary is ladled on like chocolate syrup at an unsupervised birthday party for four-year-olds. The action is limited to one day (unlike the careful development of time in other Beck books) and places an emphasis on the stupidity and brutatlity of Swedish police, and it's far over-the-top when compared to other works in the series, such as "Cop Killer" and "The Laughing Policeman."

Whatever you do, DON'T start with this one. "Roseanna" and "The Laughing Policeman" are better bets to ease into the Beck series.

Ironically, the book ended up as an excellent Swedish movie -- "The Man on the Roof" -- that's subtitled in English and available used in VHS. The movie stripped out the socialism and other extraneous commentary to focus on action and plot development.

The sixth Martin Beck novel. The crime this time around is the brutal murder of a decorated police officer in his hospital bed. Beck (now divorced from his shrewish wife) and his partner Kollberg, are on the case again.

This is the best novel in the series, masterfully interweaving the virtues of Beck's patient, methodical style of detection with a damning indictment of the pointless brutality and general incompetence of modern law enforcement. The point of the book, made in a variety of ways, is that law enforcement needs better cops, not bigger guns. Excellent as both a crime thriller and social commentary.

And don't miss the cliffhanger ending.

Unfortunately, it's out of print, and hard to find. Beg, borrow, or steal a copy, and read it.

This is the kind of book "The DaVinci Code" wished it could be. True, this will probably never become as popular as the aforementioned book, but I think it is in many ways better. It certainly fulfilled my need for a conspiracy-based adventure. Plus, it had the added bonuses of science fiction and spirituality; I have a sneaking suspicion the author is a Mormon based on the spiritual thread of the novel.

The story revolves around a widower scientist who stumbles onto a strange electronic journal from the future that tells of a horrific disaster in only a few years' time. His effort to prevent this leads to a marvelously satisfying adventure. There is romance, humor, fantasy, everything a good story needs.

I refrained from a five-star rating because it was a little lacking in character development and sometimes the philosophy detracted from the story rather than added to it. But four stars is still four stars and I would recommend this to anyone.

Imagine the possibilities if we could face our fears and take that leap of faith. Ethan, the main character gives us a sense that sometimes the only thing holding us back from the adventure of our lives is ourselves.

This book was a shot of life. Well done.

This book needs to go back to the editors and start over.

Parker puts NO detail or flavor into his settings--the entire book could take place in a padded room, for all the background research he's done. The characters are supposed to go through Russia and Turkey, and yet all the people they run into speak English. There are no descriptions of country side or culture, no mention of customs, etc.... In fact, the only thing these characters do is talk and think in isolation from any environment at all.

The "science" in the book is likewise empty, with some nonsense about elemental particles--please, Parker, go take an elementary chemistry course. Has he ever heard of protons, neutrons, electrons, quarks and leptons? A writer who can't even grasp the concept of a neutrino shouldn't create a main character who's supposedly a particle physicist. Wait, no--he can't even be bothered to name the main character's job-title. Parker himself doesn't know the name of the profession that matches his character's job-description.

In addition, Parker can't find a comma to save his life and there are some spelling errors that any half-wit editor should have caught. Dyer instead of dire, peeked instead of piqued, and disparity instead of despair--the mistakes are distracting and unprofessional.

There is a potentially good plot here, but so badly written and edited that it's painful to read. It's a level of writing I'd expect from a talented 14 year-old.

I enjoyed the book very much. The many twists and turns were interesting and made it hard for me to put the book down. I started it on a flight while on vacation and finished it in just a few days as I continually wanted to see what was going to happen next. My Wife said "that must be a good book your always reading it." I would recommend it to any one that would love to read a book that is not the same old thing, it is very imaginative. Looking forward to the next book Ranse writes.

Circle of Doors is a very fun book to read. I love the way the author mixes science and science fiction. The story is easy to place your self into and is very enjoyable to read. I highly recommend it.

This book is neither just talking about Japanese businesses nor business strategies, but is a literary work that, using several metaphors, tries to associate Japan's business renewal with Japanese history and Japanese traditional mindsets, so called Samurai or Bushido spirits.

We, the Japanese usually are not conscious that we are descendants of Samurai. As authors say, however, those factors of Samurai spirits are part of our nature, and they might enable us to continue to revive.

The lessons from Japan's renaissance can be applied to Western business, but of course, just learning them does not revitalize your business. In order for you to enhance your value through this book, the essential process would be to think over the lessons and embody them in your business strategies, tactics and daily operations.

This book is nothing but yet another call for open borders and globalization. Other than using the tired old Samurai metaphor, the authors provide little in the way of real business examples in Japan. I was wondering how far into the book it would be before they mentioned importing guest workers but sure enough, I occurs on page 93 about 1/2 way through the book. The authors give the example of Shinsei bank and make sure to mention importing workers from India to Shinsei as a sure sign of "Japan's Renaissance". Well, I did a little research on Shinsei Bank and since they started this radical new program, the company has gone into the tank including its stock - no doubt ruined by imported guest workers as so many American companies have been. Japan's "recovery" is due to nothing more than increased trade with China - China's new consumers want to buy Japanese products. Don't waste your time or money on this book - and don't give these globalist shills any more money.

Do you remember the 1980s cascade of management tomes extolling the ancient principles of Japanese management? Welcome back. At that time, Japanese corporations were asserting themselves globally and seemed invincible in almost every industry. Then, everyone wanted to learn from Japan (to the profit of many authors and consultants). However, the collapse of the Japanese stock market in 1989 precipitated a new way of thinking about Japan. Instead of being a global exemplar, Japan became a global disgrace as news emerged of financial corruption, of inflexible bureaucracy, of agency risk gone amok, of self-serving and incestuous dealings between banks and companies, and, above all, of the insane overvaluation of Japanese stocks and real estate. Now, 15 years after the collapse, in the wake of a few years of apparent Japanese recovery, though not a rebound to 1980s levels, authors Mark Fuller and John C. Beck dust off the myth of ancient Japanese magic. They offer a skillfully retailored hand-me-down of a familiar, somewhat imperial suit. The emperor may still lack a full wardrobe, but not everything is old. The book includes some novel findings from recent attitudinal surveys of Japanese managers, and observations from the handful of Japanese companies that have managed a turnaround. We suggest this as an interesting ride on the swinging pendulum of the Japanese economy, with a look at what makes it tick.

This book is about Japan's renewal - and so much more. John Beck and Mark Fuller provide eye-opening narrative about Japanese culture and history. Countless examples of remarkable transformations are drawn from Japanese businesses in a very approachable manner, while analysis is drawn from rich historical and contemporary sources. The reader is given countless opportunities to reflect - and a surprising number of biases and opinions may be thrown overboard as you read this compelling book.

There are many chapters that will offer truly useful insights. One example is a Chapter called "Youthful." It offers some fascinating examples (and lessons) of how some Japanese companies are harnessing the talents of younger workers and managers - to enormous benefit. Japan has constantly shown that it has the ability to be nimble- and renew itself throughout its history. How? The authors describe how the country has periodically opened itself to the ideas and influences of others (China, the U.S. and others), while retaining its identity. Today's "modern samurai" are again showing a great willingness to try new ideas and approaches- and appear to be helping drive another dramatic Japanese renewal.

A great variety of readers- executives, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, general professionals and those simply curious about the world will find great value in this book. You may find yourself looking at renewal and change in a very different way.

I picked up this book because I was curious how Japan could possibly recover from their 10+ year slump. What I wound up with is a book that has profound implications for the company I work for and the companies that I deal with. The book makes for an interesting read on many counts: Business - how companies can use renewal cycles to reinvent themselves for continued success; History - how Japan has evolved into the country it is today; Sociology - how Japanese people think and how that compares to how US managers view the world.

All of this is tied together into an engrossing book that covers critical material all managers must understand and embrace given the pace of change in business and technology.

I ordered two weeks before classes started and I received my book the following week! This book is great, the information is all encompassing. Recommend highly!
Thank you for your prompt delivery and great service!

Never received merchandise or an appropriate resolution, not even a response from the seller. I am very dissatisfied with this experience-the classroom portion of my class is almost over and I ordered this manual on the first day of class; April 9th and as of today 11 May, NOTHING!!!!!

This is a great book for the massage therapy student. Its filled with all the information you will need to begin your education, and a great reference source after you are practising. I especially appreciated the information about business.

A well-thought out- well planned book for a massage student. Not too complicated. Updated pictures and graphics are great and detailed. Great references in the back. A + basic book for starting massage.

This is by far the best Massage textbook I have used yet. It is comprehensive and still user friendly. I teach massage therapy at a massage school and we have reviewed many textbooks, this is the one that I recommend.

Jerry Beck is one the best animation historians out there and his new book proves this once again."The Animated Movie Guide" has a treasure trove of information on numerous animated films, even the most obsecure films get a mention.Jerry Beck KNOWS what is hot and what is not in animated films, so I would definetly pick up the films that get a good review in this book. I'll guarantee you'll find a film or film fact you never heard before, so pick this one up.

I was so excited about this "comprehensive" guide but it's not what I hoped for.
Too much space is spent on Beck's opinions of the films (most of which I don't agree with) instead of discussing the lesser known animated films. I bought it to help me remember the movies of my childhood but I've had better luck with blogs and youtube in finding The Point, Unico and others.

My daughter is using this as a resource for Computer Animation classes at the Art Institute of Atlanta

Excellent book! I give it 4 stars because it's not an all-inclusive animated movie guide as it fails to mention the Dot character from the 80's, which was released in theatres, and there are few colored photographs.

I would save my money and instead check this book out from the library as I did because it's not worth paying as much as it sells for; unless, you want the whole animated movie guide to keep.

Bottom line: Great reference work, but I'd rather save my money and buy DVDs! :)

Beware - Jerry Beck's guide to animated feature films is totally addictive! If you want to sleep at night, forget it!
Once you start reading this book, you're compelled to read on to the next film and find out who animated it, who was involved, little stories about the production, and if the film made money...I became totally obsessed!

This book offers a great overview of the subject, anxiety disorders and phobias, from a cognitive perspective. The book is divided into two parts, a clinical/theoretical analysis and a practical outline of the application of the theory in therapy, authored by Beck and Emery, respectively.

The book accomplishes its aim of laying down the fundamentals from a cognitive perspective, but does have some flaws. First, much of the anecdotal evidence is just that--anecdotal. Specific studies aren't often mentioned, especially in the second part of the book. Additionally, the book does not address the importance of approaching psycholigical topics from multiple perspectives. That is, the book does not inform the reader of the other perspectives. So, if you take a more biologically-oriented perspective towards behavior and psychopathology, it is difficult to not take much of the book with a grain of salt. All in all, however, it is a good overview of the cognitive perspective on the issue.

I picked up this book years ago (before getting therapy for my own anxiety disorder) and quickly gained much insight into the many variants of phobia and anxiety disorders. The explanations are clear, allowing laypersons as well as experts a good level of understanding.

While the book is definitely geared toward therapists interested in learning Beck's cognitive therapy approach, it is certainly useful to any patient or relative who is confronted with such problems -- above all the first half of the book! I really appreciated not being talked down to as in so many patient-oriented books.

Beck opens with an overview of everyday experience of fear and anxiety. Next, he describes the adaptive purpose of anxiety responses ("fight or flight") putting anxiety disorders on a dimension with normal behavior. He continues on to discuss the difference between "normal" and "pathological" forms of anxiety, addressing the major symptoms and thought patterns associated with clinical forms. He then gives an overview of clinical anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, atypical anxiety disorder, phobic disorders (of which there are many kinds), agoraphobia, social phobia and simple phobias.

He then presents his cognitive model of threat reactions and in-depth chapters focussing on anxiety disorder clusters ("Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder", "Simple Phobias", "The Agoraphobic Syndrome", and "The Evaluation Anxieties" social phobia and social anxiety). The second part of the book is devoted to his principles and strategies/techniques of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

The fact that new editions of this book have been published every few years over the past 2 decades is a tribute to its usefulness.

This book was an interesting book and, undoubtedly, an important book from the professional stand-point. However, from the layman's stand-point, I thought it was a little too intense. There were sections that I had to go back and reread several times in order to understand what the authors were trying to say. I think this was because I am a layman with only General Psych 101 as a background. I can not, however, speak as to its rating for a professional.

Every day, veterans of the Vietnam War commit suicide in deep depression. With the United States almost continually cutting its Veterans Administration budget, you would think that the V.A. would give up, but books like those of Beck help it treat and cure depression and anxiety. The Cognitive Therapy uses Socratic questioning, training people to ask why they feel sad or anxious, what their answers mean, to substitute more effective coping thoughts for ineffective thoughts and wrong ideas (illogical ideas, like "everybody is against me," "I'm born to fail," etc.). Patients record in diaries or logs what events trigger these wrong thoughts and learn to instantly respond with other thoughts and actions. This is one of the greatest books in psychology and psychiatry, and should be read by the young people of all ages (many of whom are depressed) as well as the older ones.

If you want to know more about anxiety dissorders from a doctor's point of view this book is good, but as a patient it wasn't very helpful. It was more geared towards telling a doctor how to treat the patients, but to be honest I didn't finish it, it wasn't for me or what I was looking for.