Brian Books

One of the most thought provoking books of our time. This book will awake the curiosity, not just about Cambodia, but the way we should live in this world. And, especially, how everything is connected, especially media to the way we live.

What happened in Cambodia, unfortunately, did not matter as much as it should have at the time. And this is the crux of what this book is about, for it mattered then, and it matters now, and will always matter. Books like this remind us.

I read this book when it first came out and have revisited it several times since. Each time, there is a special resonance between the ideas in the book and the events of the times in which I read it. This is an important, passionate book that is that rarest of rare finds: surgically precise intellectually without being pretentious or opaque.

The parallel construction of the two stories, the Cambodian genocide and the assault on communication and community by our homogenizing consumer culture and thought-deadening media is audacious and brilliant.

This book is a disturbing, inspiring and challenging. For those who would like to follow the workings of an eclectic passionate intellect grappling with the deepest roots of the disease eating away modern North American culture, this is the book for you.

Way ahead of his time and tuned into visions of the future that were intimated by the state of the world in the 1980's, Fawcett's vision anticipates the rise of George W. Bush, with his renditions, his suspension of habeus corpus, Guantanamo and the primary role of his maintream media to erase history in service of the fantasies of those who would seek to dehumanize all who deviate from the True Path.

Brian Fawcett warned us about it twenty years ago. This book is perhaps more relevant now than when it was written.

I am an avid reader of books about Cambodia. This book, altough not a direct work on Cambodia, made me realize the inter-connectedness of our post-modern world. I had never hear of Brian Fawcett before buying this book. He rekindled my rebellious spirit against where-ever it is that we are headed! His insightfulness about the inter-connectedness of our modern times is witty and disheartening. I would recommend this book to all global thinkers.

Do you have a sense that national governments are just one level above the slave populations they are trying to delude. That there is a hierarchy to all pervasive control. Fawcett writes one of the most important books of our time as we enter into the next phase of on-line/media dominated mania. As humanity, freedom and sanity gradual slip away Fawcett chart the course of our demise.

If you're ever haunted by the countless examples of mans inhumanity to man, please read this book. It explores a writers struggles to become an artist in a worldful of atrocities. Fawcett explores the creative process, the global village, the mass man and Cambodia. He convincingly links the global village to Cambodia: the kamer Rough killed anyone with knowledge of the 20th century world just as the computer chip, albeit more subtley, erradicates the need for memory and ultimately for any kind of genuine human contact....well, anyways that's how I interpret Fawcetts message. His brilliant essay on Cambodia runs through the bottom half of the book, as subtext. I would recomend you read the essay first and then read the short stories which are on the top. This is such an important book it should be required reading at the universities...or at least be stocked in every library. Written in 1985,86, it's short term fate may be oblivion but in the long run it'll find an audience. Lastly, when Orwell wrote of a totalitarian regime in his book 1984 he made it appear too bleak...fawcett shows how that regime can exist at Disney World withn a happy face on it. Once more this book gets my highest praise.

I really enjoyed reading "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman". I have read all but a few of the "Redwall" series, also by Brian Jacques, but I never quite got around to reading "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman". I don't know why, but perhaps I thought it would be a little boring. However, as son as I picked the book up and started reading, I couldn't put it down. The story is almost like 3 stories in 1: The part where he is on the Flying Dutchman, the part where he lives with the shepherd, and the part in Chapelvale. The part on the Dutchman is spooky and violent, the part with the shepherd is moving, and the part in Chapelvale is like an urgent treasure hunt. If you have read most or all of the Redwall books, you will see that Brian Jacques likes to put treasure hunts with hidden clues in his books.
My favorite part is when Wilf, the leader of the Grange Gang, tries to punch Ben and breaks his hand instead. The characters in this story are very believable, and you can even find a moral in this story if you look closely: Progress is not always a good thing. It makes no sense to destroy a village for some stone you can build houses out of. It's like breaking a glass and then taking the pieces and making another glass out of them.
- YMP

It was merely impossible for me to put the book down. This is a book that you're going to want to reread several times because it's so good. Enter Neb and Den's world of eternal journies.
I have read all of the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques and all of them put together couldn't beat this book if the Redwall series popularity depended on it!!!!

It was merely imposible for me to put the book down. This is a book that you're going to want to reread several times because it's so good. Enter Neb and Den's world of eternal journies.
I have read all of the Redwall series written by Brian Jacques and all of them put together couldn't beat this book if the Redwall series popularity depended on it!!!

I read this book, unable to put it down for a split-second. I was one of the best books I have ever read and is one of my top favorites, along with Madeline L'Engle's "A Wrinkle In Time."

I was thoroughly impressed and hope to read the sequel that came out not too long ago. Cheers to Brian Jacques!

This is a great book! It has similar and different characteristics to the Redwall series. For instance, the animals can't talk, but are able to telepathically communicate. This book is mostly mystery. It is also sci-fi, and adventure.
The book begins in the year 1620. A young, mute boy, about the age of 13, is running away from his stepbrothers. They corner him on the wharf. After being bitten by the mute, the bully punches him. The scrawny boy falls into the sea. After a while, he surfaces and finds a rope. Slowly he climbs it, and sees the words Flying Dutchman.
After the ship sets sail, one of the crew looks over into the sea. He sees a small boy, stiff from frost and salt. The captain, Vanderdecken, says to leave him there, or toss him overboard. The ships cook takes the boy in. He mercilessly beats him, and makes him work. The ship docks at a country to get supplies. The boy, Neb, spots a black labrador, and calls to him. The dog comes and they become friends.
The men sent out to get supplies return late. This angers Vanderdecken. He beats them, badly. The ship's crew attempts mutiny, but fails thanks to Neb and his dog, Den. Vanderdecken keeps trying to sail through a dangerous part of the Atlantic Ocean. However, he keeps failing, and the fierce waves push the vessel backwards. They run out of food. The captain goes mad! He starts cursing at everything. An angel descends, and condemns the whole crew to sailing the seas for eternity. However, the angel spares Neb and Den. They fall off the ship, and wash ashore. They are now immortal.
This is just the beginning, the first adventure. I think that everyone would like this book. With adventure, mystery, and fantasy, it is a great story. The genre is fantasy-fiction. Are they really immortal? If so, why? Read "Castaways of the Flying Dutchman" to find out.

I loved this book so much. It's deffently one of my favorites. It is filled with mystery and really involves the reader in the unique riddles. I have read it over and over since I recieved it from a friend. Highly recomended!! A+++

Castaway's of the Flying Dutchman was an awesome book by a wonderful writer, Brian Jacques. I found myself reeled into the story as I read about the tale of Neb (Ben) and his dog Denmark (Ned). Their struggles while on the ship, the "Flying Dutchman", and then the hopes and joys they shared with others, was invigorating. A mutinous crew of thieves and cutthroats powered the dangerous ship, but Ben and Ned stayed pure hearted amongst the wickedness. When their captain was cursed as well as the rest of the crew, the boy and his dog were saved because of true hearts. Their diligence to help others and save those whom they loved was awesome to think about. Would I try to help someone in the same way? Would I care that much? Who knows, but these characters are so believable you expect them to jump out of the page and rescue you. When they had to leave another town you wondered where they would go next and how they would survive.
The two characters were in the thick of many different story lines wonderfully written by Brian Jacques. The places, such as the little villages in the book seem to be set in the twenty-first century even if they were located 200 years ago. This was a great novel about adventures, good versus evil, and the endearing story of an everlasting friendship. I suggest that anyone who loves adventure, thrill, and a good sit down book, should read this story.

I have been reading Jacque's "redwall" books for almost a year, and I have been loving them. I eventually got tired of them, so I tried reading these series. The opening is exciting, with many scary and thrilling parts. Then the ending is boring, and there in no climax. On a scale of 1-10 compared to redwall books, I'd say 5.

I love the way, in all his books, there's a riddle to be solved and time is running out. Jacques always makes some hard riddles, while some authors can't make riddles hard enough to make you think. He is a riddle master. A perfect blend of action, history, and brain puzzlers, this is one of his best works.

Wonderful book! I like anything by this author! It was a pleasant break from the Redwall series. The riddles were a very interesting twist. I spent a very pleasant afternoon on the patio with my dog lying beside me and sipped on cold drinks and was soon swept away into a great mystery. It was worth it!!

This book is a wonderful portrayal of nature and is a very good book for every child to read.

I have used The Cherry Tree in 4th and 5th grade inner-city classrooms for many years. Even though it is a picture book, upper elementary school children relate to the notion of hope and reconstruction thriving in an environment of loss and destruction. My students have been greatly moved by the final flowering of the cherry tree at the end of the story--a metaphor about the strength of the will to live.

After losing their father and their home during war - and while their mother is busy during the day struggling to earn a living for her young family - a young boy and his sister try to help an old man wrap a damaged cherry tree as protection against the winter cold, hoping that for the first time since the war started the tree will bloom again in the spring.

During the winter, animals find a home beneath the tree and finally spring brings a family of flowers around it, a comforting sign that renewal may also come to the war-torn village.

The great illustrations are by the renowned Brian Wildsmith, who many say contributed some of his best work in many years to this beautiful little book.

This is a wonderful little book for kids from 4-8 or so, but will also be enjoyed by adults as well. It teaches to never give up hope, for hope is life itself. It teaches that with hope, even the most horrible of circumstances can be overcome and we can find happiness in even the smallest pleasures in life.

This tale of a cherry tree's survival after the devastation of war will touch the hearts of children too young to understand abstract ideas like pacifism and environmentalism. Brian Wildsmith's illustrations invite the reader into a world where an old man, a boy, a girl, their newly adopted cat, and especially their mother, can rejoice in a dream come true after enduring a cold, harsh winter

This tale of a cherry tree's survival after the devastation of war will touch the hearts of children too young to understand abstract ideas like pacifism and environmentalism.

Brian Wildsmith's illustrations invite the reader into a world where an old man, a boy, a girl, their newly adopted cat, and especially their mother, can rejoice in a dream come true after enduring a cold, harsh winter.

What Else can be said. The book is awesome, you get to see not only the clay puppets but parts of the scenery, stroyboards, concept boards. I havent seen the movie yet, but cant wait to do so. For my students it has been a very interesting approach to Claynimation, now I just have to find the Wallace and Groomit videos to add it to my library.

Anyone who has the slightest interest in knowing how an animated movie is created will love "Chicken Run - Hatching the Movie." by Brian Sibley. Even the design of the book is whimsical in style and lush with color illustrations from the new movie as well as from other films from this animation house.

A lighthearted introduction written by Mel Gibson (who is the voice for Rocky in the movie) sets the overall tone for the book. In this overview there is a brief history of the animation process with some really slick photos of the British Aardman Studios that both Nick Parks and Peter Lord, the directors of "Chicken Run," help to put on the map with several Academy Award nominations for their past films.

Animation and story development is not just fun and games as one might think but envelops serious thinking and work. The book is sprinkled throughout with wonderful idea sketches, watercolor paintings, storyboards and outlines showing how script and plot ideas for "Chicken Run" were developed.

A wonderful chapter on the actual making of the physical characters gives an inside look into the art studio itself where molds, paint, and artists bring these figures made of a clay-like substance called plasticine into existence. In a chapter called "Making the Right Moves" Sibley details the various problems that animators had during production. Trying to give the human characteristics of anger, hate, love, fear, and happiness in front of the camera is a major feat in itself. The difficult task of lighting a scene along with making the miniscule movement of each figure to create the animated move almost sounds like torture. And when one realizes that the largest film shoot in one work way was a mere 26 seconds you wonder if it is. The animators say their work normally floats along on inspiration but at other times when they are tired, getting the job done becomes a matter of will. They are so involved with their work that it is only when the camera isn't running that they realize that they are only working with a lump of plasticine.

This book is definitely written for the connoisseur of animated films and filmmaking but children could also enjoy the "fun" illustrations from the movie, which are a large part of this publication.

The seriousness of this studio's filmmaking makes for some very interesting reading. A quote by one of the directors, Peter Lord, not only sums up the animation process but could be the kernel theme of this book. "We make films and by the way, they happen to be animated."

Ron Harmon rohar@msn.com

*

How did they do that?

"Chicken Run: Hatching the Movie" provides an engaging, behind the scenes examination of the workings at Aardman Studios, offering insight into the personalities and technologies that brought us Wallace and Grommit, as they work towards the completion of their first feature-length animated film.

There are plenty of photos from the final movie, but more importantly, the book is stuffed with the artifacts of the animation process- the sketches and drawings, storyboards and photographs that record the way the film was developed from idea to story to finished storyboard and characters.

The book stops short of offering specific timelines, technical details or recipes for plasticine, but the aspiring animator is given ample opportunity to read between the lines. There is a wealth of information and inspiration to be had; something to learn on every page.

Sibley's narrative follows Nick Park, Peter Lord and others as they discuss, revise, and rethink their ideas, meet with Hollywood moguls for the first time, hire and then change writers, and work their way through the transition from commercials and short films to producing a two-hour, animated movie.

The writing is open and lively, describing the time involved and the twists and turns in production as the storyline is developed and revised, characters and ideas introduced and then axed. This frank discussion of the creative process at work is perhaps the book's most valuable asset.

"Chicken Run - Hatching the Movie" is an ideal companion to Aardman's earlier book "Creating 3-D Animation".

One book gives a superb, do-it-yourself introduction the techniques and process of model animation, while the other provides an in depth study of the creative process in action during the production of a single feature.

Together, these books provide the most useful resources on claymation and model animation to date.

If you haven't seen Chicken Run you should go see it. It is a family movie in which their are chickens who try to escape from the farm where the live. They try to learn to fly, but they keep failing. If they don't escape soon they will become chicken pie. Can they learn how to fly or find a way to escape soon enough, or will they become chicken pie? Watch the movie and find out.

This is the most delightful book about the making of a movie I have ever read! The text is full of funny stories and interesting details about the process that went into hatching this chick flick!Being a published cartoonist myself, I found reading about the process the Ardman folks went through to be fascinating.Also good were the photos showing the different animators at work making the models of chickens and other assorted poultry items.This is a must for any fan of Ardman! Viva Wallace and Grommet! Viva Rocky the Rhode Island Red and his favorite chick, Ginger!You will not regret buying this book! Myke Feinman, publisher and cartoonist for Ink and Feathers Comics

This is an excellent book! It's very hard to put down. Brian uses references, charts, and graphs that a person like me can understand. I'm not the most knowlegdeable in this part of the computer field, but this book is giving all the tools needed to understand and build on the knowledge presented in this book. It has been most helpful to me because I've taken a huge step in my career from a desktop technician to Enterprise support. The knowledge I need to be successful is contained in this book. It has been approved overwhelmingly by my boss and others who have looked at it.. I greatly suggest buying this book..you will not be dissapointed

I found this book to be an outstanding reference guide through the quagmire that is the CCIE written exam. An important fact to remember- most books do not explain in depth all the IOS features even Cisco own Cisco IOS manuals, but this book doesn't leave any stone unturned, loads of IOS examples for routers and switches but a complete reference to almost every feature used in todays' enterprise IP networks, a must for a cisco person,
The structure of this book is to give you a solid foundation if you don't have much experience, and to act as the glue to tie it altogether if you do have experience or no experience.
Not only did this book help me to pass my written exam, but I could not have done it without it. I found the text easy to read and quick to sink in, which is critical when study-time is at a premium. I finished the book in a two weeks, and then passed my written exam. I highly recommend this book.

You may fall in love with all the concise yet clear description of most ALL cisco products in the first quarter of this huge book
(or not, IF you're adverse to Cisco product catalogs!). It also does a good job of covering [teaching] all the many topics listed in the TOC. There are some unique flowcharts of route processing. But there's no coverage of BGP and some other important advanced topics. I don't seem to find a "command reference", like the superb O'Rielly IOS Nutshell book. I give it only 4 stars, because of it's limitations, but there's sooooo much to love in this book. The details on EIGRP/OSPF do go VERY deep.

There are two kinds of people, those that take exams and have lots of expensive pieces of paper on the wall and then there are those people that actually do the work. If you are a do the work sort of person then this book is quite helpful.
I have to admit that I just bought this book for some light reading; however having access to Cisco equipment the little dabbling I have done has paid off. I doubt I will be doing anything serious other than initial setting up.
This book is a lot more than just Cisco. It covers the history, theory, and practicality of WANs, LANs, WAP, and more. We can not cover everything in this review.
The book is broken down to four parts, [Networking Basics, CISCO Technology Overview, CISCO LAN Switching, CISCO Routing]. Each part has a darkened tab down the side of the book to allow fast access. These sections are broken down in to 27 sub categories that are further broken down in to subjects. There are plenty of diagrams and tables, even a few practical commands.
While it is all there this book is more helpful if you have some background in the subjects or the learning curve is quite steep.

Working with Cisco Routers is part of what I do everyday and there are time when I need an information about the router or a configuration entry, or I might want to change certain parameters to enhance the performance of the network. Using this book I can have a great manual to go to for almost every purpose.

Broken down into 4 parts, with Part 1 covering Networking basics, such as an excellent explanation of the OSI model from top to bottom. Also 90 pages of TCP/IP breakdown as well as IPX/SPX and WAN technologies finish out this section.

Part 2 is the CISCO technology overview, from the router layout, which included several models, to the switch layout for both LAN and WAN switches and what I found to be most helpful was the 125 pages covering the IOS and commands.

Part 3 is the LAN switching and configuration section, covering Layer 1, 2, 3 and 4 switching. This is followed by Part 4 or the Routing section, and here you have coverage of all the protocols from RIP I and II, IGRP, EIRGP, OSPF in single and multiple environments and Access lists. What is missing is coverage of BGP, which could be included in the next edition.

Overall this book is very complete and while no specific exam is covered this book can and should help with all Cisco Exams.

I waited for a weekend off to start this book, after my experience with the first in the series, so I could read it in one sitting. Once again, I was not disappointed. Excellent development of characters; what a maze of twists and turns!! Will do anything I have to, to get my hands on the next book!! Thank you Mr. Matthews

This is another must read! Can't wait for the next in this series!

Better clear your evening before you start reading this book, because if you're like me, you won't be able to put it down till you've read it from cover to cover.

Excellent book, can't say enough about it other than to find anything you can by Mr. Matthews and read it, you will not be disappointed.

This book was completly wonderful. The entire time I was reading it I could bairly put it down. Character developiment was outstanding and the plot line was building the entire time, it was everything I had hoped it it would be after reading the first one and I can not wait for the release of the third one. A diffinet must read in my oppinion.

great continuation of the story, and what a wide ranging sequel.

expansion of the characters and the plotlines was very well done.
LOTS of surprises throughout the story

Rampaging sheep..... there is no substitute

And not just funny--witty, colorful, inventive, slapstick, adventurous--and eagerly awaited. Here's an oversized, hardback, full-color, coffee table book chock-full and brimming with the art of the funny papers. Brian Walker, son of Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), not only draws comics but also mounts exhibitions of them. This book includes hand-colored originals from the Museum of Cartoon Art, as well as full page Sunday layouts. From the Yellow Kid and Hogan's Alley at the turn of the century to the wartime wonders of the 'forties, this is a coffee table book you can't put down. Retailing at $50, Amazon's price is about $30--a bargain and a steal for such a beautiful volume. Also check out Walker's companion volume, The Comics: Since 1945.

Anyone who is interested in American comic strips and their creators must have this book in their library. It is by far the most comprehensive survey of the genre and the best source for reproductions of the comic strips discussed. While obviously limited by space considerations, Brian Walker has done an admirable job of showing at least one example of most comic strips of connsequence from the first half of the twentieth century. The rather disturbing insecurity demonstrated by some comic artists and other commentators in other recent books (Masters of American Comics and Cartoon America), who seem obsessed with their desires to have comic art classified as "fine art," is nowhere to be found in Brian Walker's essays on the subject. He rightfully accepts comic art for what it is and, by providing useful background information on the creators, helps the reader appreciate the obvious merits of this art. The color reproductions in this volume are also superior to those in the catalogue which accompanied the recent comic art exhibition. All those with a new found interest in comic strip art after visiting that exhibit would be best served by making this their first purchase from those books currently available on the subject.

Craig Englund

Many time book stores will sell gift books that are all fluff with no meat in them. This book (I am happy to state) is not one of them.


Broken up by decade you get a treasure trove of strips, some everyone knows and some obscure but beautiful (you will often find yourself wishing for more).

The text pieces are insightful and the strips themselves both are chosen for the classic and the obscure.

Well worth it for the Amazon price!!!

This is a wonderful book for anyone who has followed the Comics,Strips,Funny Papers,Cartoons,or whatever you want to call them.
I was born in 1935 and by the time I could read,I became addicted to the comics. I didn't consider it an addiction at the time,they were just something I loved to follow.
This book is really a set of two. The other is "The Comics Since 1945",also by the same author. I wrote a review on it on April 28,2005;and won't repeat what I said there. I am surprized that "Before 1945" was published in 2004 ,while "Since 1945" was published in 2002. Why in that order? Who knows. All the things I said in that other review also apply to this volume.
The two books are really a 2-volume set. If you read and want to own one;you'll want both.
Physically, the books are identical; 10"X13",each 336 pages,glossy hard cover with a selection of strips,lovely dust covers and each weighs about 4 pounds. The paper is of excellent quality and so is the printing,color reproduction and binding.The overall quality of the manufacturing simply
couldn't be better. One might think that these books are too large;but it takes this size to do the strips justice and readible.
These 2 books bring back so many memories to me of following the strips.
I have always been interested in the mechanics of the strips and the artwork and lettering.
One of the things that amazes me is that when the Comics were in their heyday;in the 1940's, everyone followed them. For instance;everyone knew who Dagwood and Blondie,Li'L Abner,Daisy Mae and the Yokums,Jiggs,Dick Tracy,Superman and a host of others were;and followed their stories and adventures.
The books give you a brief story about each of the Cartoonists,and a surprising idea of the earnings they enjoyed.In those days we didn't pay much attention to the creators.The strips were just there. However; there was always a big issue when your paper dropped your favorite.
Comics certainly don't have the broad appeal that they used to for several reasons. First,when the creator retired,the people who tried to continue it,just didn't "have it". Political correctness spelled the end of many strips. The really good strips were full of adventure,such as;Tracy,Red Ryder,Annie,Li'l Abner,Prince Valiant and so on. The introduction of romance and feminine strips changed what comic strips were all about and probably resulted in the loss of many readers.I know they never interested me.
My daily paper,the Toronto Star,has only one strip that I follow every day;that being Doonesbury. It hasn't even carried Dick Tracy for years;fortunately I can still follow it on the Net.
These books have excellent indexes and extensive notes providing all sortd of information for further reading.
If you enjoyed the Strips,you'll love these books.

Insider, Historian and Exhibition Curator of note, Walkers take on the Early Comics is naturally second to none ,gathered in a single volume; as a companion volume to the Comics Since 1945, unparalleled in its overview of a nearly 110 Year History of an American Original Art Form. A Must- Have for any Library on Popular Culture, and for any well-read Home Library.

A balanced look at a long time American Art form that does NOT criticize the Wide Range of various Talents who expressed , with satire, humor and foibles of American life with the big foot style ,as well as the adventure comic genres, including the noble, ignoble and everyday .

Without a doubt, a 10********** out of a 5 ***** possible!

A wonderful Holiday Gift for that Special Favorite Friend.

I read many of the stories in this book for a college course and I found them to be rather interesting and thoughtful. Many of the tales are difficult to understand at times, but that usually comes with the oral stories provided by Native Americans. I would definitely recommend this collection of stories to anyone who is particularly curious in Native American legend.

Not much need to be said, simply the best collection of indian oral literature I found, and I looked anywhere and everywhere!

"Coming to Light: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America," edited by Brian Swann, is an amazing volume. Approximately 800 pages long, this anthology brings together materials from all over the continent. Cultures included range from the Yupik of Alaska to the Zuni of New Mexico to the Iroquois of southern Ontario--more than 30 different peoples in all.

Each selection is preceded by its own separate introduction which discusses such topics as the culture and language of the people who produced the text, the specific storytellers, and translation issues.

The material in the anthology includes creation myths, animal tales, trickster stories, songs, and stories of birth, death, and transformation. Some of the most remarkable selections include the Wolverine tales of the Innu, which are masterpieces of bawdy humor, and the Yupik tale of "The Boy Who Went to Live with the Seals," a magical story of human/animal relations. I highly recommend "Coming to Light."

I really found this book to be an endless source of delight, because it not only features the incredibly diverse multitudes of narratives from individual Native American nations, but it because as a whole it really challenges the assumptions that have been handed down to us by imperialists. This is a truly amazing collection by what must be a brilliant scholar.

Readers interested in the traditional stories, myths, folktales, and other cultural expressions of American Indians would be hard pressed to find a better anthology than this excellent book. Swann edited together stories from a wide range of regions within North America. He included terrific introductions by excellent researchers and authors. These introductions present sufficient background information to learn about the storytelling traditions, and the commentary helps readers understand and appreciate the texts. There is also an extensive bibliography that includes hundreds of additional sources for learning more about the stories, storytellers, authors, and societies that are represented in the book. The stories, themselves, are magnificent. Some are fairly accessible to readers with little knowledge of American Indian history and culture. Other narratives are more esoteric, and they must be read and reread with great patience. As readers develop ways to read these stories, the wonder of the tradition lights up ways to think about the verbal artistry of America's first peoples.

This is a very good book. It will help you get conditioned to the max. The book is about a balance of both functional strength AND endurance. It is therefore a useful reference to almost any athlete or person. If you're a big, powerful, lifter it will help you get conditioned so that you aren't so easily winded and low on endurance. If you aren't strong it will make you much stronger, without losing flexibility or getting "inflated" muscles. It gives tons of methods as well as training plans, details and examples to help you apply what you read. The chapters give lots of variety and there's 1 or 2 on nutrition that are very useful too. This would also be an outstanding book for those involved in MMA or Strongman, giving MMA fighter the perfect combination of real world strength and endurance for maximum performance in the cage and giving the amateur to intermediate strongman the conditioning needed to complete a competition plus helps get rid of the imbalances that may occur with conventional training. The book covers too many topics to list; it isn't just a list of cool exercises. It gets into the science too. There is an incredible amount of information within this book, and it is a legitimate, quality book that you will not outgrow. Pick it up and become a well-rounded, conditioned athlete, ready for almost any physical endeaver.

If you're looking to compete in long distance events, this book probably won't help you much, but if you need to get in shape for any type of sport or activity that involves a lot of short, repeated bursts of activity, you're bound to find something in this book that can help you. The type of training outlined in the book can also help you with everyday tasks that require a combination of strength, power and endurance.
It's also ideal for coaches in most sports, too.
I've done some group personal training at my gym (as a trainee, not a trainer) that included many of the same kinds of workouts and exercises that are in the book (circuit training, burpees, sled pulling/pushing, etc.). Though that type of work is very hard, I also think it's more interesting than walking on a treadmill for 45 minutes. This book gave me lots of new ideas for workouts I can do on my own, either in the gym or at home.

The information in this book is top notch. I was really pleased with it and I have used it to supplement my workouts over the last six months. I would strongly recommend it for any one who is interested in training for results.

This is a great resource book for true athletic conditioning. th author does over the multiple aspects of conditioning. (Endurance, strength endurance, strength, etc.) Tips are given on how to manipulate your current workout or a complete 12 week beginner and 6 week advanced course are given with each days training written out in detail.

Brian Jones is a guru of tactical and combative training and conditioning. His book has laid the foundation for the training methods I have used to train one the top S.W.A.T units in the world. It can be used by anyone regardless of level of fitness.

B. Ray
SpecOps Training Systems
Lexington, KY