Bryan Books

The Story of Philosophy is an encyclopedic history of philosophy. It is well laid out, being divided by eras of philosophy. Each section has many pictures usually relating to the philosopher or history of the time. Bryan Magee's writing style is decent, though not always clear or engaging. Unfortunately, the book is marred with bias.

Bryan Magee is clearly not sympathetic to religious thought. He is critical of religion throughout, often giving naturalism the final say or criticism on a topic. He abandons spirituality in the end, with but a brief mention of religious existentialism. Religious philosophy is far from dead and Magee is far from objective on the topic.

As example, Magee bluntly states that the Bible supports a flat earth by quoting Psalm 93. The Psalms are a collection of ancient songs. Taking a verse in a song as a literal scientific statement is not a fair or honest interpretation. Galileo stated this in his defense to the Catholic Church. Magee often alludes to the negative consequences of religious philosophies, yet gives a detailed defense for the naturalist philosophy of Nietzsche (which influenced such people as Hitler and Stalin).

The bias is unfortunate, because The Story of Philosophy is an otherwise decent, if not colorful, overview of philosophy.

The DK series of books seem targeted for younger readers, and Bryan Magee's comprehensive guide to philosophers throughout history is no exception. There is little text and many illustrations and photographs. It is a bit simplistic for those who've studied philosophy, but for a new student or someone who wants a generalized account of the history of philosophical thought, it's a good book.

In this short book, Magee examines the history of Western philosophy by looking at key philosophers and their ideas.

This book is very clearly written and beautifully illustrated. While it lacks the depth necessary to introduce a university student to the subject, this book would be a valuable addition to high school libraries and worth buying for younger readers, as well as adult readers who have not had higher university education but are curious about life's deeper questions.

This book lacks in depth coverage of Eastern philosophy, but that is well covered in other books such as Ninian Smart's 'World Philosophies.'

I checked this book out at the library with the intention of learning about the history of philosophy. I have a limited knowledge of philosophy, but I found two major errors within the first few pages. On page 19, the author says of Zeno's Paradox (Achilles and the Tortoise), "There must be a fault in the logic, they have said. But no one has yet been wholly successful in demonstrating it." This is terribly misleading to novices. The paradox has been solved since the discovery of finite limits to infinite sums. The solution is part of a good introductory calculus course.

I spotted a second problem on page 23, where the author attempts to draw a connection between the teachings of Socrates and Jesus. Jesus was quoted as saying, "What will a man gain by winning the whole world, at the cost of his true self?" This is a quotation from the New English Bible, but all other translations replace "true self" with "life" or "soul." Jesus certainly was not talking about personal integrity in that context. Socrates gave up his life in order to tell the truth, but Jesus was speaking about one's eternal afterlife.

Since I have found these two irreconcilable problems, it is likely that there are many other problems I might miss. I will shortly return the book and attempt to get a similar one. I admire the writing style and illustrations.

This book is very nicely compiled and tolerably well-written (although not beautifully or engagingly), but only 20 pages in errors and oversights have quite nearly ruined it for this reader.

As has been pointed out before - the Paradox of the race between Achilles and the Tortoise is followed by the statement "Perhaps one day it will be solved." I find it unbelievable that any educated person would fail to see immediately upon reading this (or writing it) that this 'paradox' is quite easily solved with a basic understanding of limits.

The other error that bothered me was a reference to Leibniz as the discoverer of calculus with no mention of Sir Isaac Newton. These two had a long bitter fight over who first discovered calculus, and it seems that not to mention Newton in this matter is either very biased or simply erroneous.

I am a student of science, so these are the errors that I catch - I hope that such errors do not occur so frequently when covering the topics more central to philosophy, because I will not so easily catch them and may be misled.

I imagine that I will continue to read this book, but it has quickly shown itself to be less than the gem that I had hoped for.

This is easy to read and understand, written in an engaging and conversational style, with some important insights into the mysteries of crop subsidies, textile quotas and the fate of donated clothing. It's a great illustration and analysis of globalization in action.

Allow me to provide a more descriptive title for this volume: What I did last summer + a history of cotton growing in America + a history of cotton mills around the world + a brief history of Shanghai + a brief history of child labor + a brief history of labor activism + a brief history of workplace safety regulations + a not-at-all-brief history of US textile protectionism + a characterization of the international market for used clothes. Interesting? Often.

In the course of all these histories - occasionally interspersed with a reminder that we are following Rivoli's t-shirt around the world - we jump from England to Japan to Texas to West Africa; we leap back and forth (and back and forth) from century to century. By the middle of the book, I had gotten dizzy and wished it had been a long magazine article.

But in fact, the second half is the most interesting. Rivoli gives a detailed history of textile protectionism in the United States, giving a peek into the dizzying, constantly morphing tariff and quota systems as well as the huge bureaucracy the system supports. And finally, she gives an illuminating description of what happens to the t-shirts after they get donated to the Salvation Army and how they make it to market stalls in East Africa.

Rivoli is an economist and so recognizes that her inherent leaning is toward free trade, but she argues for the value of both sides of the textile battle, both the free traders and the student demonstrators.

The first half of the book feels too long (even though it isn't that long), and Rivoli's strength is in illuminating description rather than careful analysis. But if you get bored, just skip ahead to the next chapter: There's plenty to choose from!

[I listened to the unabridged audiobook narrated by Eliza Foss, published by Recorded Books. The reading is fine, but Foss's voice is too syrupy sweet and storybookish for 8 CDs (think the voice-over narration from Desperate Housewives).]

Worst of both worlds - claims to be anecdotal to get around having to have too much actual information (other than the more boring parts of the history of the American textile industry, but trades in interesting anecdotes for general suppositions and a couple sucess stories.
The last section is very cool and interesting and saves this book from the bin. If you get it, skip to the end.

The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

This is not just a fun book which you might infer from the title. It is also informative, scholarly with a light touch, and humane - - treating an apparently trivial subject with breadth and depth in exploring the larger consequences of international trade and the tensions between poor and rich countries. Highly recommended.

The book is a good read, since I am taking my international trade class, this is actually one of the require reading. If someone who is very liberal, or cuddle to grave type of mentality, this book does not offer the cuddly senstivitive that the faint hearted people are looking for. But it is quite realistic. If you can look pass the sweatshops and all, this is a good read.

The book could have been written on half the paper. It is somewhat helpful, but extremely repetitive. Less words and more information would have been appreciated.

Any book is good that tells this is a severe and choronic real disease, I treated for 2 months massive abx of all sorts...and in live blood microscopy we found sticks STILL in a drop of my blood AND some crawled out the next morning after the red blood cells died off. They CAN hide in blood cells...that PROVES this. Our govt is bought out. Dont trust ANYTHING ANYMORE nothing nothing nothing.

Bryan Rosner's The Top Ten Lyme Disease Treatments is my new favorite book to recommend on the topic of Lyme recovery.

As a recovered Lyme sufferer himself, Bryan speaks with both compassion and authority to those seeking release from a lifetime of suffering and endless medical interventions after their unfortunate encounter with a Lyme-carrying tick. As he does in his first book, Lyme Disease and Rife Machines, Rosner warns the reader that no credible and effective Lyme treatment will be short-lived, since recovery is based on eradicating a bacteria which lives and dies on its own slow pace.

As another Lyme patient remarked to me, Rosner is very even-handed in his evaluations of the pros and cons of each of the ten remedies he suggests. Again, he does not promise a quick or simple recovery process, nor does he obscure the potential dangers and side effects of the suggested treatments. In both his quality writing and especially his objectivity, he is a credit to his chosen profession or journalism.

Buy Bryan Rosner's The Top Ten Lyme Disease Treatments and educate yourself about both the difficulties of treatment and the very real prospect of recovery IF you can find the right mix of antimicrobial and supportive treatments that work for you. At the bare minimum, reading this book will give doctors, patients, and concerned citizens a quality and easy-to-understand "crash course" on the most promising and best-proven treatments for Lyme which are being discussed in the Lyme community today!

I have read extensively on the subject of Lyme disease as both my wife and I have been struggling with it. This is by far the best, most useful book I have read thusfar.

Having Lyme for many years I did not appreciate this book. As a matter of fact some of this author's ideas do not match that of my very competent LLMD. On page 81 he discusses cell wall inhibitors and says they are never indicated for lyme and should be avoided. And he also brings in that Trevor Marshall, PhD (Marshall Protocol) says we should avoid them. The problem is that this isn't true in all cases. My LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Dr.) did not agree with this when I questioned him about it. (And we have had lyme for 10 years, not acute.) In our family we have used 2 of the cell wall inhibitors that he says should be avoided and have had tremendous success with them. We just follow the treatment with cyst antibiotics. The good thing is the author admits his position is investigational and open for debate. The problem is that lyme sufferers already are grasping for help and newly diagnosed patients may not be open to these drugs after reading this. Also I believe most of the info in this book can be found on the internet or better yet with an appointment with a great lyme doctor. I personally felt this was a waste of my money.

This book changed my perspective, not only of autism but of the aproach I had of troubles in aging, auto-immune diseases, oxidation, aminoacids, etc. I've been looking for this information for a long time.
Gladys Roij

This book answers a lot of questions about autism, and gives solid scientific evidence about how it can be successfully treated. My son is already reaping the benefits of this wonderful work.

For parents that want a closer look on how to treat their autistic children, this book gives you unbiased and safe information on the subjekt. The book is fearly easy to read, if you have already done some biomedical intervention on your child. For medical practitioners, this book offers a new look on life. It holds well documented arguments for biomedical intervention and makes you think that there may be a different approch to treating children with ASD.

And many other medical problems, for that matter. It basically is a complicated breakdown between the intestine, nervous system, and the brain due to a number of situations that have happened to a child or person. Dr. Jepsen, whom I heard speak in L.A., has a son who was diagnosed with autism and was told to "save money for an institution and don't waste your money on alternative treatments." It was his wife that learned (on the web) that kids were being helped--even cured--and he started investigating the data to prove her wrong. He said this book was written for people in the medical field to show them how this breakdown into autism occurs and, with hope, that they will be open minded to treatment.

A very good book for the lay person, too, like myself who has two kids affected and needs to learn as much about the causes (and treatment) as possible.

If you care for an autistic* child (or someone older) then this book is a must read -- several times, until you thoroughly understand the science involved in this condition and until someone writes an update in a few years, as the science grows.

*Autistic Spectrum Disorders, PDD, (including 'regressive' autism in children who initially developed normally.)

[If there is a better book -- or one even nearly as good -- PLEASE leave a review pointing the way to that book since I want to read it too. This and the Jaquelyn McCandless' book, "Children with Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorders are the best and you should read both.]

Dr. Jepson is quite simple a scientist AND a physician who is trying to learn everything *he* can about autism, and to teach what every parent and treating physician needs to understand as a basis for beginning to help those with autism.

In this book he has provided a primer on the science needed to understand autism from a medical view point and on the current medical treatments and how they might work or be improved.

This is a book any literate (or really determined) parent can read, while at the same time presenting the scientific documentation so enable a physician to use it as a primer on the current debates and state of knowledge.

When deciding "can I read this book", consider it to be roughly at the same level as high school or college freshman biology in raw difficulty but remember that likely you are motivated to understand this disease far more than you ever were in high school.

Those who gave it low ratings as 'unscientific' quite simple never read this book, since practically every page is a discussion of biochemistry, immunology, and/or the scientific literature, both in support and in opposition to every major theory of autism and its treatment.

Jepson warns parents and physicians to seek the science. He is NOT a "mercury causes it" fanatic, but instead (for example) presents the science for and against mercury being a contributing factor.

He leads with the primary known risk factor and reminds of this throughout the book: autism has a strong genetic component.

He also points out that autism is on the rise (now estimated by the CDC at between 1 in 150 or 1 in 165) -- diagnostic changes and anomalies do NOT account for the increase of the last 20 years -- and that purely genetic diseases do not exhibit "epidemic" characteristics.

Jepson's only consistent "points of view" or biases are these:

1) Autism has a STRONG genetic component
(e.g., monozyotic twins incur it far more frequently but not
universally than either fraternal twins or other siblings)

2) Autism is more than just genetic and is a complex condition
likely to have several 'causes' which affect those with the
genetic predisposition.

3) Other (than neurological) conditions are commonly seen in
conjunction with autism, and might either be more closely
related to the root causes or environmental factors which
cause autism to express so tragically. (Intestinal disorders
being the most common.)

4) Finding a way to TREAT the babies that is safe and scientifically
supportable, driven by neither fads nor hindered by refusal to
really LOOK at and UNDERSTAND what the current scientific
studies indicate and do NOT indicate.

There is much more research to be done on autism -- read this book if you care for someone who has autism, or who may have it.

Give this book to your physician, or if you are a physician yourself, then recommend it to your friends AFTER you have read it and determined for yourself that it is indeed scientific.

I loved this book also! Just as informative as his other book! A great asset for any collection!

Bryan not only is a great photographer, he is gifted in teaching others what he knows. He tells you exactly how to get the results he gets. The book is very good.

This was the type of book I was looking for to upgrade my portraiture skills. Deals with technical aspects of people photography and with composition as well as with the 'softer' aspects. It really made me want to go out and try all I have learned through this book.

This is the material that is ausent here, in Uruguay. I believe the reviews before published, were right!! and I'm very pleasant to recommend this book!

This is a book meant for YOU, the photographer who wants to invest time, time to look closely, observe and then tweak the image to the point that YOU find it acceptable. Bryan has found a good balance in text and pictures. He shows clearly what defines a successful picture and from then how to make that a winner ! Beautiful examples enrich this book, but don't neglect to read also, the text is highly informational, for both digital and analogue photographers alike.

Although the description said for readers ages 4 - 8, there is no way this book is readable to any but the brightest 8 year olds. The book is probably great, but I was mislead by the description. (The rating of "1 star" was for these young readers, not for older kids or adults.)

corpus-callosum's [Amazon.com] review mentions "At the end of the articles, Ford has placed in parentheses an abbreviated reference to the specific book and page number that coincides with the topic being discussed. "

There are two numbers separated by a comma- the first is the tradepaperback/hardback HaperCollins or Harper Trophy page number, the second (after the comma) is for the Harper Trophy rack sized (mass market) paperback editions.

Examples from the Companion book listings to check pagination of the Narnia editions you have to see if they match up on the correct page:

Lion Witch Wardrobe: Hosea 11:10 "at the sound of his roar" 79,85
Prince Caspian:Isaiah 9:1"the people that lived in hiding" 72,75
Dawn Treader: Isaiah 6:6 "a little live coal" 207,224
Silver Chair: Psalms103:9 "I will not always be scolding" 236,250
Horse & His Boy: Daniel 4:24 "not a donkey!" 219,235
Magician's Nephew: Job 38:7 "stars themselves singing" 107,117
Last Battle: Deut.33:27 "between the paws of the true Aslan" 121, 134

I have the trade paperback Harper Trophy "full-color collector's edition of Narnia, boxed set ISBN: 0064409392 and the first number of the two (the one before the comma) matches perfectly in all the Narnia books.

This reference is a must for any Narnia fan. Although it is done 'dictionary style', I read straight through it, picking up bits of information I never knew & finding connections between & new symbolism in characters, places, & things from all the books. Especially worth a read are entries on broader topics like sexism, the roles of adults vs. children, & the influence of Plato.

I resold this book immediately, without even browsing all the way through it! I thought it would be a fun book to help me re-enter the Chronicles of Narnia world, but there aren't any short summaries of the books and their meaning. There are many long references to obscure characters. Without remembering which are the most important characters in which books, it's hard to look anything up.

I first entered Narnia as a child, simply pushing the fur coats aside and stepping through the wardrobe into the snowy world near the lamp post. I didn't need a guide book. Things just unfolded and I went with the flow of wonders. I came back for an extended visit when I was expecting my first child. There were concepts there that I had not noticed before as "concepts". I felt inspired and doubly moved by its beauty. Now, I'm at the "grandma" age if not yet in that reality. I've popped back in to visit old friends and this guide book is truly a "companion." I realize that the word "companion" in the title refers to the fact that this volume is a companion to the Narnia books, but for me the title has a double meaning, in that it is also my companion on the journey to Narnia, my tour guide, so to speak.
This book takes you by the hand and encourages you to look closer, gently pointing out the secrets of the locale that only the natives might know. It gives insights and provokes thought and dialogue. It is a neat holistic view that encourages an appreciation for the big picture by illuminating the subtle details. It is also the kind of tribute to the minute of one's heroes that all "fans" love to pour over. If you are a young person just let Lucy help you find your way into Narnia and I assure you that you will have a splendid time, but if you are a bit older I recommend this travelog and the company of this wonderfully helpful and insightful book.
This book also contains an insightful foreward by Madeleine L'Engle, author of "A Wrinkle in Time".

Geoffry Patterson's beautifully illustrations combine with the easy to read rhythm of this Rudyard Kippling tale. A captivating book. A treasure.

I used to read this story to my son, now 29; and it was always a favorite of his and of mine. I just bought this copy to read to his 3-year-old daughter, who also loves it. I got the "again!" plea from her, which is always a good sign. This is a fun story to read out loud.

Right after "The Cat who Walked by Himself" This has always been my favorite "Just So Story." It is good to see it in an individual book, as it is a little unwieldy as part of a group. This is the story of a curious elephant and how the elephant go its trunk. I can not say much more as the reader needs to experience the story as it unfolds. The pictures add a dimension and do not distract from the words.

Rudyard Kipling is a master at this telling. "In the High and Far-Off Times the Elephant, O Best Beloved, had no trunk."

Just So Stories (Books of Wonder)

This is a wonderful, imaginative, creative take on an old tale. Nicholson is great -- charming, sly, knowing & on top of each character, McFerrin is pure lyric, his vocal skills put to perfect use here, & the whole production is enough to stop you in your tracks. Unless, of course, you have a zombie agenda -- the stubby mustachioed desire to dictate all that happens in the world around you, to re-write history to your preconceptions. Too much whacking? How about you get a real life, load up on the amazing, the unexpected, the delightful, the instantaneous & then try this. Yup, it'll never live up to any PC ideas. It may not be the definitive telling of this story (though I know of no better & don't expect any real soon), but it is a totally charming variation if you are still breathing when you see it.

One of the most original tales in the English language, "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling is published again, this time with pictures by Lorinda Bryan Cauley. The book has been around since 1983, and still holds its own in style.

From time to time, during visits to the zoo, have you wondered why an animal has a certain feature? Giraffes have long necks. Why? Monkeys have feet that are a lot like hands. Why? And, elephants have extraordinarily long noses. What good is that?

Kipling knew why and took time to tell us. With the refrain explaining where it all happened, by "the banks of the great-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees," Kipling shows us what fun alliteration can be.

While in pursuit of an array of questions, especially what crocodiles eat, a young elephant -- an Elephant's Child, goes on a journey to the Limpopo to find out. His quick to spank him relatives don't encourage him to go so much as force him to, fully geared with little red bananas.

Loaded with naivete and his next meal, he heads out. He meets a bi-colored-python-rock-snake and the crocodile who not-so-politely gives him the answer, and the Elephant's Child returns to explain on his own terms what he learned.

A generous mix of black and white, and color pen and ink drawings frame the story. As imaginative as Kipling's words, Cauley's pictures will tease readers to wonder about the animals and exotic jungle and river.

Versions of "The Elephant's Child" abound, as the original tale is part of public domain. Be sure to get an unedited, uncorrected version, as modern editors lack the brilliance Kipling was blessed with.

I fully recommend "The Elephant's Child" by Rudyard Kipling, and this version is worthy of the story and your shelf.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I hesitate to rate any book five stars, but will do so when it satisfied all my expectations and gives me far more. Pvt. Sneden's journal does exactly that.

In the context of civil war journals, in my humble opinion, it rises above many others for three reasons. First, Pvt. Sneden is simply an excellant writer. Not surprisingly, the journal is no example of modern grammatical rules, but of course, that would not be expected in this context. Still, I found Pvt. Sneden to be one of those writers with a gift for painting a picture in words. It is one of those books, unlike many historical primary sources, that you do not find yourself rereading parts to try to figure out what the writer is trying to say. Secondly, Pvt. Sneden had an extremely unusual perspective for a private soldier. He acted as a map maker and had been attached to headquarters units for most of the period covered in the book. This allowed him to comment based on many perspectives as he traveled through multiple commands in each campaign. Likewise, he gave some insight to the conduct of the general officers he worked for mapping. Thirdly, Pvt. Sneden Had a hobby of drawing pictures of almost anything he tripped over on the battlefield. The analogy I would draw would are to people these days who always have a camera and will take a picture of anything that strikes them as an interesting shot.

Besides those positive aspects of this book specific to Pvt. Sneden, there are two other aspects of this book that makes it exceptional in my opinion. First, as to primary sources, I would submit that most readers would agree that the most important factor in evaluating them is veracity. In other words, the memoirs of a politician I would guess would never be taken on face value due to the bias of the author. In this book, even describing his time as prisoner, Pvt. Sneden in a very large seemingy presents a vey balenced picture of his experiences. There might be some comments put in after the war for dramatic effect, but the editors flag them. Even flagged as possible exagerations, Pvt. Sneden established his credibility to a sufficient degree with me that I would not so easily disregard such comments.

Secondly, the editors do an excellant job providing the backdrop to Pvt. Sneden's journey through the war.

In my humble opinion, this book should recognized as excellant primary source material writing about the period. Likewise, I believe it well worth the cost of anyone with an interest in the period.

The finding of primary source material is of great value in the field of history as it can give us a glimpse into the past through actual eyewitnesses. This book gives us a chance to see the American Civil War through the eyes of Robert Sneden of the 40th New York Regiment. His skills as a cartographer produced some remarkable depictions of some of the battlefields, land features and prison scenes that alone are worth studying. As the compilers of this book stated, his memoirs and drawings were quite substantial.

Sneden's observations offer us a glimpse into camp life (though he was spared most of the front line activity), some of the personalities of the war, the unfolding events of battle and perhaps most descriptive of all, life in the numerous prisons he stayed in, including those in Richmond, Salisbury (though briefly), and Andersonville. Once again it is his remarkable sketches and drawings of these places that capture our attention, though of course his written descriptions can be quite vivid and detailed, especially concerning some of the gruesome features of battle and prison life.

Sneden wasn't so much writing a history as he was detailing his day to day activities and observations during his time of service and captivity during the war. But it is these types of accounts that can offer new insights into historic events that we otherwise may never have known about and in Sneden's case especially his drawings. Of course even these types of sources need to be carefully scrutinized for factual errors as well.

Do you ever read book and have trouble putting it down? For Civil War buffs this is it. While RK Snedon rambles on a bit at times, there can be no better insight into the maelstrom that was the Civil War. The drawings are fascinating as is the courage and positive attitude of an individual faced with obscene circumstances.

I always look for first hand information in journals. These are the journals by Priv. Sneden. The pictures that he drew are wonderful and his first person accounts of his journey throughout the Civil War are sad & touching. It is worth it all to read a first person account of his stay at Andersonville Prison in Georgia. Both his books, "Eye of the Storm" (his journal) and "Images of the Storm" (drawings of his journey) are prized books to treasure and will be passed on through generations. What a wonderful gift Priv. Sneden left behind.
My heart aches for this wonderful young man who realized nothing
from his legacy.

Eye of the Storm is a rare opportunity to see a new yet original view of camp and prison life. You will find yourself drawn to Sneden's original illustrations time and time again. The more you study them the more you see. It makes you want to see more and larger versions of his drawings. Brayn and Lankford have done a good job in not tainting Sneden's work while at the same time pointing out some important historical questions. I marked over twenty parts to use in reference and speeches.

This book condenses an advocacy course down to it's most helpful points. It is a quick easy read and many of the points can be put to use right away. Other points are aimed towards improving one's advocacy over his lifetime. The book made good use of anecdotes and hypotheticals to illustrate more complicated points.

While the book is a little pricey for its size, it is definitely worth the money.

I gave this book to my personal attorney. He can and is authorized to argue a case before the Supreme Court. Like me, he looks up to Antonin Scalia as great judge. What Judge Scalia says in the book is helpful to all new lawyers who will have to litigate cases. This book should be included in the curiculum for future lawyers.

I'm no attorney, but I am preparing a Small-Claims Court case involving $500. Admittedly about as far from the Supreme Court (Justice Scalia) as you can get, but still the same general idea. "Making Your Case" provided an excellent set of ideas for both structuring my presentation and keeping in mind in any ensuing arguments.

Most of the book is intended for real attorneys, and my impression is that they too will benefit - particularly the material on making appeals, citing precedent cases, and how to NOT impress judges.

The book has been prepared by two outstanding writers who have the experience and expertise to advise on not only persuading judges, but for application in all walks of life. It is an application of legal psychology and intensely practical. It is recommended to all legal practitioners as a desk-top reference in legal case and court work, as well as other persons who have the need to persuade in matters of daily life.

This book gives a great review and insights into the process of persuading judges at all levels. It is a must-read for every new lawyer, and an interesting and valuable resource for even the most experienced practitioner.

Scott Pilgrim might just very well be one of the funniest and most enjoyable things I've read in the last five years. The pacing is swift, the dialogue is witty, the plot simultaneously familiar and mundane and also completely outlandish and awesome. The closest thing I've seen in comics to Veronica Mars (and that's not saying one is better than the other), and I think a reviewers quote of VM also sums up Scott Pilgrim nicely: it "explores the fears and anxieties of near adulthood without belittling them." If you haven't already purchased this book, do it.

Having heard scattered word of mouth reviews from blogs I frequent, I picked the first book up while at Borders. Seeing the manga format, I expected to find something piffle and trite that I would somewhat disdain, but instead I was laughing out loud, drawing irritated stares from my wife and other customers. I sat there and read the first couple books in the series and came back as soon as possible to finish all that were available.

And *THEN* I bought it. And I don't regret it one bit. I recommend this to friends highly.

Bryan, the author, writes with an enthusiastic earnestness that name-checks your obscure childhood favorites while crafting an ongoing romance where you care about the characters. Video game silliness abounds as fallen enemies disappear in a poof, leaving behind coins or perhaps a 1up! The protagonist irresponsibly breaks a girl's heart, and you feel sympathy for both sides. Cartoon expressions bubble by, but they're not crude; their simplicity convey subtle emotions with economic style.

Again, I recommend and I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out. You should even run this by people who usually don't like comics.

This is simply one of the best comics I've read in years. The writing is hilarious, and the drawings manage to evoke, embrace, and mock manga at the same time. It's been a comic has made me laugh with just a funny drawing or sound effect. I'm off to read Volume 2 now. Bye.

Bryan Lee O'Malley is a talented comic maker, and the first half of Scott Pilgrim is an excellent book, but by the end it is a hollow joyless exercise in hipster nostalgia.

The story begins as a surrealist romance between our slacker protagonist Scott Pilgrim and subconscious traveling delivery girl Ramona. This is a charming tale well told and just goofy and surrealistic enough to properly convey the craziness of love at that age. Unfortunately as time passes it becomes clear that Mr. O'Malley becomes less interested in telling a good romance story and more interested in aping nostolgia for a cheap laugh.

By the end the characters all become 1 dimensional, and the interpersonal conflicts are replaced by feats of strength. It is a sad sign that the end of the first book climaxes with a literal boss battle where the "power of teamwork" (not to be confused with actual team work) is used to win the battle. This would be a whimsical diversion if it was not (in later books) taken so seriously.

This book series actually has grinding and sub-bosses, it sells out its own story to become a retelling of old video game cliches. As such it becomes about as exciting as it is watching a stranger play an old video game, Amusing for a few minutes, then endlessly tedious...

I'm a big fan of comics, particularly indie/underground comics, and after hearing so many rave reviews about Scott Pilgrim, I finally picked up vol. 1. Perhaps my expectations were high, but I was sorely disappointed. While the art is unique, refreshing, and captivating, the sudden genre-jumping from a slice-of-life comic taking place in the modern-day (though cartoonish) real world to a martial arts anime kids' show/video game comic was just too jarring for me. A lot of plot developments happened very suddenly, made no sense, and then were immediately swept aside, meant to be accepted at once by the reader, with no satisfactory explanation whatsoever. And on top of it all, I find the main character thoroughly unlikeable and unrelatable. While I appreciate the revolutionary technique of combining seemingly unrelated genres and the vast potential of comics as an art form, this one was just too much for me to swallow, and I can say I'm really confused as to why this comic has such a huge fan following.