Byrne Books

This book really makes AutoCAD fool proof. The only problem is, you need to read the boof BEFORE you load your program!
Pay attention too the details.

I would not recommend this book. There are other Autocad books better at teaching autocad. If you want a good book on AutoCad try "AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD LT 2004: No Experience Required".

AutoCAD is an powerful program. This books takes you into the world of AutoCAD with baby steps. AutoCAD for Dummies throws in a line of humor on every page which keeps the reader from getting stressed about all there is to learn. If you read this book, practice on AutoCAD and then read some more - you'll be a pro soon. To learn AutoCAD also plan to go to some classes !!

Middlebrook writes in a deliberately breezy and informal style that is characteristic of the Dummies series. He explains the very latest 2006 version of AutoCAD. Necessarily, in an introductory book, he does not go very deep into the full extent of AutoCAD. But given just a minimal maths background on your part, you should be able to quickly lay out simple two and three dimensional objects using his advice. That maths mostly involves a good grasp of trigonometry and algebra.

If you are already familiar with the 2005 or earlier recent versions of AutoCAD, then avoid this book. You already know enough that you should get a more advanced text on 2006.

Anyone who has attempted to use Autocad in the past knows that it is a very formidable task. At the present time I have only gotten into a few chapters of Autocad for Dummies. What I have read so far is written in plain English and is very easy to understand. I have high hopes for the rest of the book. As with any technical course, the material must be read and reread a number of times to absorb it completely. It is structured in a logical manner and addresses a wide spectrum of AutoCad techniques which I find very helpful. I am confident that with the help of this book, I will eventually be able to produce a usable drawing. Looks to be a good buy!!!

At times moving look at a Guardian of the Universe who takes a different path to this brethren.

although the storyline is deep in the science fiction and depicts lepricans as long lost guardians, it does contain a nice glimps of the guardian who presented the final ring to kyle. all in all a book worth reading but don't get in a wreck hurring to the comic book store trying to get your copy.

Larry Niven is one of the best science fiction writers around. John Byrne is one of the best comic creators in the industry. The two combine to make a wonderful piece of pictorial literature. The Green Lantern is one of my favorite comic book heroes to this day. The mingling of science fact, science fiction, and fantasy creates a compelling story. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did when I picked it up. Happy reading.

What a creative idea. Niven takes the great, but very short, Guardians of the Universe off their stellar perch and connects them with mythological creatures far more close to home. It is a fast-paced and very fun read. I highly recommend it.

This may qualify as a really unobjective review, given that Larry Niven is one of my favorite Science Fiction writers, and John Byrne is my favorite comic book writer/artist.

Larry Niven's take on Green Lantern's mythos is really astounding, and it fits well for me, being a Green Lanter fan too. John Byrne's dialogues and layouts are really good, and his art is at his normal level. Byrne's not an astounding penciller, but he manages to get the work done, and by writing and drawing most of his work. he gets a cohesion that no writer-artist team can get.

The only setback to this story for me is that it's to compressed, I feel they should have dedicated a full 10 issues mini-series or something like that. It's a bit crammed in the prestige edition book.

The latest instalment in one of the best comic series currently being produced (if not ever produced), Mignolia's Conquorer Worm is everything fun about comics and fiction in general. We got your Lovecraft, your Pulp Heroes, dark castles, cyborg monkies and Nazis. Oh my.
Proving that comics can be atmospherically dark and still fun, our federally funded big demon lug continues on his journey of self discovery and finding bizarre creatures to punch in the face. Great if read in sequence with the rest of the series but also stand on its own two feet, Conqueror Worm can not be spoken of highly enough in my opinion.
It is almost impossible to find another comic book, or any other book for that matter, quite like it, and by the end of this particular yarn, you'll be wishing for more Lobster Johnson.
Buy this book now. Buy two of them.

Mike Mignola does it again with Conqueror Worm. This collection brings together some of Mignola's best work to date. Unfortunately I must say that this looks like a fitting end to the Hellboy series for the time being. I say unfortunately because I am a big fan of the Hellboy series, and while this book is an excellent read, it only whets the appetite for more Mignola. Sigh. That being said, this book is a great read and an important addition to the Hellboy library. Definitely worth the asking price boys and girls.

It says you can get this item in 1-2 business days. But I've waited for it for 3 months! and never got the item. They didn't charge me for the item but it was a total waste of time to shop in amazon. Move on, People!

Mike Magnolia brings it all together, all of the creepy bits, the folklore, the boggles and ghosts, Christ and the Devil, Lovecraft and Poe, he gathers all of the elements that make this kind of fiction wonderful, and binds them in the world of Hellboy. Anyone who enjoys the wierd fiction/folklore horror genre will enjoy Hellboy.

"Conqueror Worm" has all of the elements of a great Hellboy story. Mystical Nazi's seek to contact things from "beyond," who wait for mankind's destruction. If this sounds familiar, then you will probably like Hellboy. Newer characters, in the form of Roger the Homunculus and Lobster Johnston are developed, and become an interesting part of the Hellboy mythos rather than side players.

The art is amazing, as usual. Magnolia refines his style with each Hellboy release. As always, the TPB offers new material and is superior to the monthly comic release. The entire Hellboy library is as worth owning as the complete works of Poe or Lovecraft. "Conqueror Worm" is a necessary edition.

Anything Mignola does these days, especially anything having to do with Hellboy, drips Lovecraft. The Conqueror Worm, though borrowing from Poe and a few others as well, is no exception to the Lovecraftian rule. You can see this in the way Mikey has managed to prefect his style, in everything from the foreboding ways he drips shadows into pictures to the means by which he manages to places something sinister within each and every storyline.
This newest edition introduces everyone's favorite antagonists, the occult driven Nazis, in their newest attempt at subordinating the world. Sixty years ago, the Nazis launched a mission into space to contact beings in space that "wait to celebrate the downfall of man." Somehow communication was established and a deal was struck, and now it returns as the doom of man - the Conqueror Worm. Certain nemesis's to BPRD's plights return for this story, plus Hellboy comes with his friend Roger the Homunculus, developing a tale that continues in the proudly readable Hellboy tradition.
Also, this TPB edition has an epilogue added to it, one that brings a semi-conclusion to events that have been transpiring for some time now. Coupling this with the fact that the transfer from comic to TPB brought about a more defined, crisply darker feeling, I'd have to recommend it for consumption by old fans and new ones alike (just try to read them in order).

Being at a similar age as Byrne was during his plunge into the unknown, I can relate and feed off the energy. Motivating book and very well written.

I cancelled the order because the delivery of the book was significantly delayed due to vacation of the seller. This fact wasn't disclosed prior to placing the order. The delay was unacceptable and I cancelled and reordered from another source.
The seller promptly issued a credit for the order. They really should have disclosed their vacation down time on their order site before the order was placed and not after the fact.

Murphy's memoir is light-hearted, witty, and very personal, but it simulteneously offers very serious lessons to any aspiring ex-pat entrepreneur. He also does a great job describing social, cultural, and geopolitical context (very important, of course) in addition to the business story. A must-read for those interested in real estate development or international business!

J. Byrne Murphy has written a very rare "business" book. It is a personal story first, with humor and many subtle points about life and business and morals that are all tied together at the end. Very well written. Could not put it down. As a real estate developer who experiences these same struggles it was an inspiration and reminder that we do what we do for love, family, and for life.

The American economy is absolutely dependant on American businesses being able to successfully sell their goods and services abroad. Exports are vital to American economic health and well being. That's why there are so many "how to" books published every year for the American business community and aspiring entrepreneurs seeking success in foreign markets. What is unique about "Le Deal: How A Young American, In Business, In Love, And In Over His Head, Kick-Started A Multibillion Dollar Industry in Europe" is that it combines J. Byrne Murphy's personal story that took him to Europe and Asia where for fifteen years he conducted his business activities with the riveting elements of a true life adventure story. Of special note are the cultural differences he encountered with respect to how business is conducted. For example, the Italians readily agree to new ideas -- but have a tendency to delay implementation of them. The French are cautious about accepting new ideas and examine every aspect of the concept to extraordinary lengths before implementing them. The Germans (no surprise) are rigid about following rules no matter how outdated and in need of revision they may be. All this contrasts sharply with Americans who tend to move quickly and easily get frustrated when having to deal with other cultures and their approaches to business decision making. Very highly recommended reading, "Le Deal" is a real life case study that combines a fascinating personal story with entrepreneurial and corporate insights that will well serve any who aspire to engage in commerce abroad.

What did I just read? Is DB for real? I'm sure this photo book parading as a small gideon bible from an alternate universe would make for a good coffee table conversation piece, but beyond that?

As a software engineer, Byrne places me in the seventh circle of hell.

There is this bit in the Confessions of St. Augustine (I suppose people tend to call them "THE" confessions) that makes me think of this book. The thing about this particular sweenist book, is that it has the same hushed cuteness, the same relative boring polished and prim ah has, the same foolish urgency to play cool and harlotous with the easily distracted mind: and that is what is expected, we like it, we're all in on it, we are adept it is what is provided. "A" for wearing the right tie darling. And, yes don't worry, it still fits the procedural gust of being a book that will exit the mind before digestion, do not worry dear conscious reader, this author is speaking directly to us, is entering our homes, is talking us through his messes, all glamourous and descriptive with every detail scraped of any ambiguity and leaving as quick as cash. I mean, we love pictures in color that this book provides. But why should we expect any more? St. Augustine said that:
"Crimes are committed, if the mind's disposition for vigorous action becomes vicious and rises up in an insolent and disordered manner, and deeds of shame are done if that affection in the soul to drink the carnal pleasures is left unchecked."
If this book was only a crime... But I suppose it has to make everything safe and classified, and for that, I love it. Because I love the present, it is so safe. And I will flip through this book when I doubt that the world has forgotten emotional sins, and become simple cute procedures. And smile.

I thought it was thought-provoking and great.

David Byrne stopped earlier this week in Oxford to do a small private bookreading for people who purchased his book. It might seem wierd that Byrne stopped to a small Mississippi college town, in the midst of his current musical tour, but the William Faulker (former Oxford resident) influence in this book, he claims, brought him here. This book is a very tongue-in-cheek attempt to show the "new sins" of our time. This book has to be read to be understood, and even then it can be hard to grasp. If you are a fan of the avant-garde, and David Byrne as a lyrical and prose composer you will be pleased. The book also features a nice collection of photographs by Byrne.

I have read both of David Byrne's books, I own all of his musical albums, as well as all of the Talking Heads albums. Byrne has always been my prime influence, I started a band last summer, because I was inspired by his great musical talent. But, when I read his books I saw a whole new level of talent. His books are so well written and very poignant. My dream is to meet the David Byrne, ever since I was 7, he has been my favorite artist. I am now 16, I recieved both of his books for my birthday, now I am not only a fan of his music, but also his writing. Very well done Byrne, you are an inspiration to us all!

mary robinson lived her life on her on term ,when woman were told there was only one path to follow,wife and mother.

The late 18th Century is a fascinating period of contradiction. The circumspect lives of George III and his wife are at odds at the so-called crème de la crème of society, including the Prince of Wales. Mary Robinson's life story reveals the opulent lifestyles, decadence, and life of privilege of England's aristocracy and nobles. A great commentary on this period.

For the eighteenth century, I suppose you could call her a great 'beauty' as she was privileged to be painted by the famous Gainsborough and other artists of that time. She was a social climber who had her own opera box complete with mirrors. As the actress portraying 'Perdita' in Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale" she captured the fancy of George,the Prince of Wales, and became his mistress at the risk to her reputation and career. Had it happened in today's society, she could have married him and become royalty.

Born in a former monastery in Bristol, England, on November 17, 1757, she was a notorious figure of society, theatre, and literary circles. She derived from Irish roots, she was the perfect 'Juliet.' After her betrayal (in which she produced letters to negotiate a future), she became ill with rheumatic fever and turned to writing Gothic novels. Living in the old ruins of a catheral as a lonely, introverted, sad child, she had a vivid imagination and used it in her books.

She was a product of her time and used whatever wiles she had as a female to further her activities, whether in theatre, politics, royalty, celebrity writers or just her own poetry and fiction. She wrote a memoir of her sordid beginnings and sham of a marriage, which had allowed her to live a fashionable life in London for a short time, then to fall to the bottom of the ladder in debtors' prison. Her early years were one of abandonment and marriage one of infedilities. She had good teachers along the way.

This was well researched and much effort put forth to show the truth, no matter how bad. Her triumphs were greater than her failures.

For those who enjoy the Regency period and life of George IV, this is one of the most perfect books to introduce you into the life of the period. It was a brief, intense and fascinating life which pushed the established mores to their limits.

The Prince of Wales (lat to be George IV) became enamoured of Mary Robinson in her portrayal of Peridita in Shakespeare's, A Winter's Tale. She was a young actress, escaped from a bad marriage and strange father. She took to the stage for some income (as many women of the period did instead of taking up prostitution as such)

The Prince of Wales became known as Florizel to Robinson's Perdita and she was his first 'major' mistress. Their lives intertwined for a brief period in his early adulthood - the beginning of what is known as the 'extended regency'. Robinson was then mistress to many of the influential peers of the time, and was even friends with Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire;

At a time when Georgian morals were of questionable value (everything in private, nothing in public)- when profligacy, spending, appearance and general splendour were the order of the day - Mary Robinson orbited on at the perimetre of acceptability. An actress, an abadoned wife, a mistress, and more.

I found this book overlong, but worth the effort to read. It is one of a series of books about women on the edge of society in this period, and has been great to build up a picture of life and living in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The author has gone to enormous efforts to track down information on Robinson, and it has paid off. There seems to be a good depth of research to back up the work. Overall a good read and well worth making the effort

I'll confess I would never have looked at this book if it hadn't been for the fact that I decided to read the 10 nominations for Richard and Judy's Best Read 2005.This book has been the biggest surprise of the lot,because, to be honest, I was not really looking forward to it.
How wrong could I be ? This is a dazzling story of a fascinating woman. I am afraid to say the other biography in the Richard and Judy list,"Feel" by Chris Heath, which is all about pop singer Robbie Williams, comes off a very poor second when compared to this volume. Sadly of course there's no doubt which book will sell more.I wish all Robbie Williams fans, or indeed the fans of any of the over-hyped celebrities of today, would read this book and find out that maybe their hero's or heroine's exploits are not so special after all when compared to what the subject of this biography got up to.
Mary Robinson, whose nickname was Perdita, was married at 15 and her marriage was something of a disaster and included spending some time in prison with her husband. She then made herself into one of London's most celebrated actresses and was a friend of the outstanding theatrical figures of the day.She became a leading figure in the glamorous high society of the city, reputedly being the most beautiful woman in Britain.She voluntarily gave up her theatrical career to become the mistress of the Prince of Wales, thus heightening her celebrity even further. Reading about this time of her life it appears that she was just as famous or infamous as any contemporary celebrity.Maybe more so.There are many obvious similarities.
In the second half of the book the plot changes almost completely as Mary, after being ditched by her royal lover, re-invents herself as a writer. She is so successful in this enterprise that she becomes one of the leading lady literary figures of the era. She is primarily a poetess, but also writes plays, novels and political tracts and she becomes friendly with both leading political and cultural figures.
It is an absolutely fascinating tale, made more moving perhaps by the fact that she was not lucky in love, suffered a debilitating illness for many years and finally died young at the age of 43.
All this is retold in an easy and entertaining way by Paula Byrne and I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It provided not only the entertainment of being spooked, when reading in a dark room, with only a light bright enough to read the pages, however it also provided a great deal of historical information about the area/house/building/etc. that is believed to be haunted. The author writes about haunted locations that she's actually experienced. However, the majority of the book is written about the experiences of others. I think you'll truly enjoy this book, I'm planning on purchasing the author's book about hauntings in the Gulf Coast Region of Texas - a little closer to home!

Living in Texas made this book much more exciting for me, however, I think it will interest others outside of the Lone Star State as well. The book gives as much detail as possible, while telling the stories that were told to the author. There are some pictures, and those in the San Antonio area should be able to locate many of the locations with just the information in the book. The historical information, including the information about who the ghosts are believed to be at each location, add even more excitement to this already mysterious and intriguing topic. Do I believe in ghosts? I don't think so, but it's still fun to read about others imagination - or maybe their experiences ---- how would I know? Nevertheless, give it a try - especially if you are in Texas - and most definitely if you are in or near San Antonio! I think you'll enjoy it!

I enjoyed this book very much because of the diferent stories about spirits around San Antonio and south Texas.

An exciting and intriguing novel highlighting the extraordinary and unexplainable happenings within San Antonio. From walking spirits to haunted landmarks, the novel details the exciting myths and facts of San Antonio without trying to solve the mystery behind the stories.

This is a very informitive book. I love the stories about the railroad tracks. I loved it so much that before I moved away from San Antonio I just had to try it out.

I thought G2 was an amazing read and the perfect example of John Byrne's excellent ability to tell complicated stories with faultless plots and an uncanny ability to understand his characters.
The comics of the "imaginary story" DC universe are my all time favorite comic books and give readers an unprecedented take on superheroes and how they would change and affect the world in "real time".
What stunned me the most about this series was the wonderful way it touched and connected with the first series and took the stories where no reader would guess until after the fact.
Also the ending where Superman helps Batman learn something he didn't know about his past was one of the most touching and heartfelt stories in a comic I have ever seen.
Buy this book; the artwork alone is worth the price.

Summary: Generations 2 is John Byrne's follow-up series to Generations. It includes eight interrelated stories set eleven years apart involving the aging superheroes of the DC Universe in era-similar stories. While Generations followed the careers of Batman and Superman very closely, Generations 2 expands the scope of the series to include Green Lantern, the Flash, and Wonder Woman as well as the Justice Society/Justice League of America. The stories aren't as cohesive as those in Generations, but still fit together well in conjunction with the first series.

Writing: In Generations 2, John Byrne has the unenviable task of keeping track of many similar characters over eight stories and trying to keep their personalities straight. He does this, but none of the characters proves to be very inspiring and none of the dialogue is particularly clever. On the other hand, the script is deft in keeping the story flowing and explains what can't be seen on the page. It's vanilla, but it's homemade vanilla hand cranked by your grandfather.

Since the stories are supposed to be era-similar, the plots might seem weak at times. I'll therefore try to discuss each chapter in turn.

1942: This chapter loosely connects two stories, a JSA story with Superman and a Batman. Neither is particularly complicated, and both insert the reader into the middle of the action. The JSA story is a Giant Nazi Robot story and the Batman story is a Nazi Conspirator story. Both are fun stories and together serve to connect the series to Generations, but neither is a full story on its own.

1953: This chapter has one main story and a lot of back story. The main story is Superman's fight to get off of a planet with a red sun. It also introduces a subplot that culminates in "1997" that is one of the most striking aspects of the series. The rest of the back story mainly deals with maternity issues.

1964: This is one of the three most cohesive chapters in the collection. Although there's some back story about Dick Grayson as the Batman and his fling with Batgirl, the story is mostly taken up with the formation of the JLA. I this series the sons and daughters of the original Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman join up with Wally West as Kid Flash in Infinity, Inc/Teen Titans style to form the Justice League while fighting Flash villains.

1975: This is another coherent story. This story is basically a team-up, a type of comic book common in the 70s. In this story Batman teams up with Dead Man to help solve the problem of a phantom that's stalking the Joker. There is a Green Lantern subplot connects this chapter to the rest of the series.

1986: This is a coherent Batman story. It involves Batman's deepening obsession with crime-fighting, his conflict with the Gotham police department, and what the JLA does about it. This chapter has a rationale giving the story the grittiness that infected Batman comic books in the eighties. In this chapter Batman pursues a super villainess and is in turn pursued by the JLA. It also ties in with the Green Lantern subplot.

1997: This, like 1942, is actually a chapter with two stories. One is the conclusion of the Green Lantern subplot and the other is a Knightwing (Superman's grandson, Batman's adopted grandson) story where he fights with a random guy in a Supervillain Combat Robot.

2008: Here, a random Kryptonite-powered robot attacks Metropolis and the JLA tries to stop it. This story mostly connects Generations 2 to Generations.

2019: This is a story about Superboy and the young Bruce Wayne teaming up against the villain of Generations and seems to be an alternate first meeting to the one included there.

Generations 2 isn't well connected from story to story. Three of the individual stories are excellent and others are good, but the connections between them are the characters instead of the story. Most of the plot-based connections over time are actually Generations connections. I'm not sure if the series was designed to be read intermixed with the first series or not, but it certainly reads that way.

I'd like to give Byrne three-quarters of a star for the script and one-half of a star for the plots, so the writing gets one star.

Art: John Byrne is one of the premier superhero cartoonists today, and one of only a handful of really talented illustrators to continue to work on monthly comic books over several decades. Byrne has a cartoony style, but he can make very subtle distinctions between characters. In "1953" he has a panel, for example, with Wonder Woman as an adult talking to a "projection" of herself as a teenager, and they are recognizably the same person at different ages. He doesn't skimp on backgrounds, either. There are astoundingly intricate drawings of skyscrapers in Metropolis and elsewhere peppered throughout the collection.

One place Byrne really shines here is in giving the separate chapters a feel distinctive to their era. This is rather difficult because he's much more technically proficient than the earliest illustrators and no one would buy a comic book drawn as poorly as many of the WWII era comic books were. However, especially in "1953," "1964," and "1975," he does a great job. The revenant Batman in 1975 reminds me of several stories in the 1970s, for example. The art earns both its stars.

Conclusion: Generations 2 is a very enjoyable comic book on its own, even if it is a little fragmented. The three very cohesive chapters-1964, 1975, and 1986-are good enough on their own to justify the cost of this collection. Because the story relies on so much in Generations, I would read Generations before reading collection. The art is superb and the stories are good. Since there are no quarter-stars, I've only given John Byrne's Generations 2 four of them, but it's a large four.

Generations 2 is an ELSEWORLDS story that takes place mainly around Superman and Batman. The concept is that heroes actually first appear in the date their first comic appearence was and they age nromally from there (so by the 60's Bruce Wayne is in his 40s-50s with a kid of his own). The story jumps every 11 years and gives you small snipits of the DC Universe according to John Byrne's unique vision.

This is the book to read if you want to read about super-HEROES.

I loved this trade as much as the original Generation series. The Generation "Universe" has evolved into an interesting place full of new superheros and old favorites. This is one of those series where the concept was good was it was thought of...and then it was extremely well executed. Who is the new Wonder Girl? How can the ghost of Batman be haunting the Joker if Batman is still alive? What old foe of the JLA returns to battle the JLA's decendants in the future?

All of this and tons more in one book! Loved it!

Jeff

In this second volume of Generations, the stories jump ahead at eleven-year increments. While there is some additional information given about the Superman and Batman timelines from the first volume, most of the book actually concerns the lives of other DC heroes.

Once again we see classic heroes in a universe where they age and breed at normal rates. This could have been very good, but there was just not enough space. Too many heroes are introduced with little or no explanation. Some are better fleshed out than others and some secrets of the universe are revealed.

Generations was a wonderful book, but Generations II makes the reader feel that Byrne will have to fill in all of the years to make it work for the DC pantheon. But then that would eliminate the Generations idea. The adventures are entertaining, but we want to know more. Perhaps it would have been better to do a Flash Generations, Green Lantern Generations, Wonder Woman Generations, etc.

JACK KIRBY IS STILL THE KING OF COMIC BOOKS!!! Yes, I hate to admit it, but I agree with most of the other reviewers that the writing in this graphic novel reprint of some old FANTASTIC FOUR stories is not Kirby's best work--or even the best Dr. Doom appearances, because those were issues 57-60!!!--but even a Kirby collection at 80% is still better than 90% of other comic books, and so I rate this graphic novel 4 stars.

But Kirby's artwork--inked by INKER SUPREME JOE SINNOTT, THE MOST UNDERRATED MAN IN THE HISTORY OF COMIC BOOKS JUST FOR HIS INKING OF JACK KIRBY'S WORK!!!--in reprinted issues 84 through 87 is...FANTASTIC!!! And that's not just the way they drew Dr. Doom, but also Mr. Fantastic, The Torch, The Thing, the supporting characters, the scenery, and of course, the women!!!

I've bought a lot of graphic novels over the years--including the first ever printed, THE ORIGINS OF MARVEL HEROES--but I'd probably rank THE VILLAINY OF DR. DOOM #2 after that, because...

JACK KIRBY IS STILL THE KING OF COMIC BOOKS!!!

Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING

The book was a dissapointment for me. I am a big Dr Doom fan and expected a lot better. I thought about returning it, but i usually keep the comics i buy, just to add to my collection. The highlight of the entire book seems to be the fight between the thing and the doc in the battle of the baxter building. Other than that it was a let-down. The writing in some of the stories did dissapoint me at times and devaluated my image of the charater of Dr Doom. In one story, when Doom refered to two bombs he had set, he replied: "my subjects!!----I forgot!!" It may seem my complaint is over the top, but the Doom we all know would never admit to a fault. This is but one example of one the times i felt let down by the writers. Additionally, since the book featured more footage of the fantastic four than Dr Doom, it probably should be called Doom V the FF, at the least!Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the book but I guess if you are a true Dr Doom fan, you probably better see for yourself, afterall, you can always return it. As a final note, i will say to any Dr Doom fan who has not read Triumph and Torment, you must read this book to see Doom at his finest...

Do you like art of Jack Kirby? Do you enjoy scripts of Stan Lee? Do you consider John Byrne excellent author? I do. And I do love comics of yesteryears. For me there is no other possibility: five stars, no less.

Some of the finest FF stories featuring Dr Doom collected in a single volume. FF #39-40 is here, a fabulous story where the Fantastic Four try to regain the Baxter Building from Doctor Doom without their powers. Also included is FF #84-87, where the FF go to Latveria. Beautiful Jack Kirby art never has looked better. They should have included the story where Dr Doom stole the Silver Surfer's powers or FF #200 (Doom vs Reed alone). The stories appear to be edited with some scenes being omitted. However, all faults aside, this is a good volume with great stories and art.

I am one of the biggest Doctor Doom Fans of all time. I bought this book because the cover was a previously unpublished masterpiece by Jack Kirby which is gold. Where this book fell way short was the incomplete reprints of a few of the issues. It was noticeable that parts of the book were cut out, and that is a big sticking point for me. I felt cheated on the full story. Where Marvel usaully leaves me grinning ear to ear with the Trade Paperbacks, I was left needing more. Dr. Doom was definately villainous in this as we get to see two of the greatest FF writers in Stan Lee, and John Byrne and two of the greatest Pencillers of all time Kirby, and Byrne. But the incomplete issues left me feeling cheated on the full scope of the book. And I think they could have found some other comics where Doom proved his evil than just the Fantastic Four. The book is called the Villany of Dr. Doom not the Fantastic Four vs. Doctor Doom, seeing him clash with the Avengers, The X-Men, Spider-Man or the Hulk would have made this a more enjoyable book. But Doom is awesome and this book is good when it does not clip out part of the comic.

This is by far one of the best business books I've ever read (top ten). Anyone interested in: Ford Motor Company, the automobile industry, American business history, or the world of finance/accounting will enjoy this work. If you're a MBA-Finance the Whiz Kids does a great job of showing the development of modern financial analysis - its advantages as well as its shortcomings. It also deals with Robert McNamara's role during the Vietnam War and Tex Thorton's creation of Litton Industries. It's kinda long but I've read it cover to cover twice. A few of my friends have also read this one and they all really liked it.

I was pondering when I read this book. I have read this book for many times. Every time I got different feeling. From this book, you can feel the cheer, and the tear of them. These guys, we can call them "Blue Blood". They got the power of how to control this world, changing this world. The problem is, some of them, for example, Robert Mcnamara, was plug into the data, statistic data and lose humannity. That is why he loose in Vanem. That is also a lesson to all of us, who are at the edge of IT evolution. Don't be a robust, computer is only a tool, there is a lot of beautiful things outside this data matrix. Don't be slaved by it.

Author did give a clearer picture of this ten guys. And intrigue me to know more about them. This is a rather interesting books, also a good lesson to those in "Internet" fever.

Don't lose your humanity!!!

Just ten men -- all relatively young during the war -- were responsible for Corporate America's decline after the post-war boom? "Yes -- to an extent." is John Byrne's answer to that question in this unflinching look at how the "whiz kids" (originally called the "quiz kids" for reasons explained in the book) landed jobs at Ford Motor as a group and then proceeded to skillfully consolidate their power by using "new" numbers-based analytical methods to promote their agenda and dismiss others'. Eventually, as they occupied executive suites at Ford, several went into other business and government postions, spreading the "gospel" of "if it's not in the numbers, it's not real." As we now know, this "dispassionate" method's shortcomings become painfully evident when a field is open to increased competition (the auto industry) and/or faces an adversary who doesn't desire to "play by the rules" (the Viet Cong). Byrne takes the time to tell the story of all 10 men to varying degrees, and lays out a vivid picture of how we **will** fall short if we mindlessly follow management styles that have been around for so long that they are ingrained in some companies' cultures, but still are no more effective today then they were 30 years ago.

This is a great read for today's corporate watchers (think Enron, Qwest, Tyco, WorldCom). After WWII, the early speadsheet types, geeks, nerds and whiz kids went on a roll in the 1950s and 1960s. They created holding companies (we call it today "synergy") like the electrical and railroad guys did a generation (30 years) earlier. The names were great: Teledyne, Litton, LTV, etc. The holding company or parent owned lots of divisions or profit centers. Think of it as a mutual fund, like the Sage of Omaha has today. Government contracts, the cold war, all helped them grow. They flew Braniff 707s and AA Convair 990s between LA and Dallas and NYC, drank martinis, dressed like the movie "Down with Love." They used computers to figure out market share and P&L, big IBM and Sperry Univacs. Like all parties it ended with Vietnam going south, Nixon taking away the punch bowl and the NYSE dropping. Like the 1920s, the 50-60s needed this book and many will be done, all the same as this one, on the Roaring dot.com 1990s, with the same nonsense: holding companies, synergy and over paid executives. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

This is a convincing look behind the scenes at Ford, as Robert S. McNamara makes his mark in big business, after figuring out how to manage logistics for the U.S. Dept of Defense during WWII. It was novel of these guys (the Whiz Kids) to insist that they all be hired by Ford as a group. Kind of a Japanese team spirit at work. Then different ones fell by the wayside, and one even committed suicide (no Japanese connection intended).

The counterpart to any given U.S. whiz kid for the British during WWII was one Lord Leathers, appointed as material and logistics chief by the war cabinet, whose exploits were referred to by Churchill in his 6 Vol. history of WWII.

For the Germans, we had Albert Speer, seeking to wring gasoline form coal while still promising the Fuhrer that he could still have his new boulevards and buildings in Berlin. I'm not sure who ran this end of things for Stalin, but whomever that was, they must have been pretty smart as well.

The interesting thing is the way the Whiz Kids took what they had learned about moving material to feed soldiers and blow things up, and transferred those skills to rescuing Ford from the predations of Henry I just in time to save the industrial neck of Henry II (since in this tragedy we skip over Edsel I as irrelevant, since Henry I pretty much snuffed him out, emotionally anyway).

This is all living history, and envy of the Whiz Kids is probably what drove GM to hire Peter Drucker from Vienna to analyze itself, leading to Drucker's first major work describing management of a major public corporation. This in turn egging on Alfred Sloan to reply with his less readable "My Years with General Motors."

So a lot happened after these Whiz Kids hit the scene in Detroit. Overall, their quantitative streak seems to elevate them well above trivial "guru" status achieved by so many modern management consultants. McNamara had an interesting feedback into government, by rejoining DOD as a Kennedy guy, from which I guess he repented after the fact to assuage whatever damage he did to his soul by egging on JFK and LBJ beyond the limits of American power, if not authority. That's a lesson for businessmen, too.