Collins Books

"An American Postal Portrait" is a visually engrossing cultural history of the postal service. My father, a letter carrier in Kansas, was fascinated. It renewed the pride he feels in his job. It was a positive reminder that despite our techno age's slurs against "snail mail," the image of the letter carrier remains a powerful cultural--human--image. The book is a reminder that "technological advances" are poor substitutes for the power of human interaction. This book would be the perfect gift for anyone you know who proudly labors to ensure that our country's mail will be delivered despite rain, or sleet, or snow....

This is a wonderful book that reflects society and postal history on a parallel through time. Check out the section on the dog that was a mascot and traveled all across the world via airplane and earned his own medals! I learned a lot about our postal system and the photos were great. This was purchased for my husband who collects stamps. He really enjoyed reading about the "other" side of stamps.

I have this story on audio 8cds Bolinda Audio. wow wow wow. Flo the child 4 yrs old who is mute is actually the clairvoyant who portrays to her mother through her scribbles on the wall what the ladies are asking her mother about without realising the child is actually the clairvoyant.

They own a boarding house in Kings Cross Sydney with an incredible cast of people boarding there.

I have listened to this audio about 6 times. Can never get tired of it.
anyone into clairvoyants or australian stories its a must listen.

TIM also her book is Great.

I'm a 70 year old man and I loved this book. So did my 30 year old daughter. I've been reading McCullought for a long time and she just gets better and better. Can't wait for her next release.

In this book one will find dramatic buildings and spaces of amazing beauty and grace, especially nice are the many color photographs of the Spencer Theater for the Preforming Arts, and many other important projects as well. Accompanying the photos are wonderfully written, almost poetic texts describing the architect's philosophy and process. This book will not be put away and forgotten but read and viewed over and over. Predock's forms are elegantly simple, but rich in texture, color, material, detail and meaning.

Predock is really a brialliant architect. The book also inspiring most in my design process. For student, you must have it, for your emergency.

This is a beautifully produced book with wonderful photographs that capture the essence of Predock's work, the magical interplay of light and shadow. A characteristic of Predock residences is the interdigitation of the house and the land so that it appears as if the house almost grew out of and/or grew into the earth (pp.46-7, 82-3). The siting of the Boulder House (pp.46-7)against the majestic barren New Mexico environ is bold and assertive but at the same time is pitched in perfect harmony with its surroundings(pp.38-9). It embodies the primordial purpose of a domicile, a shelter from the harsh elements of nature and a haven where the inhabitant inside feels snug and protected. A unique feature of Predock's buildings is his almost metaphysical approach to design so that the structure seems to morph into a kind of mythic place, evocative of some distant place/ancient times/primordial culture. This is exemplified by the Fuller house as illustrated on pages 86-7. The Fuller house is classical without appearing derivative. It is timeless in its suggested monumentality. Predock's designs should withstand the vagaries of time. Though he is a gifted master of modernism, he is a universal architect of all times and all places because of his almost mystical reverence for the land and his profound appreciation of the "geological strata" of culture encoded in the place where his building is situated. Because he also understands stage craft from his background in dance performance, he is a clever stage master and understands the emotional impact of well choreographed presentations. (See the boulders spilling down to the pool on pages 100-1.) He is also a brilliant colorist, as exemplified by the elegantly tinted exteriors of his houses which blend in so seamlessly with the background landscape without the artifice of mimicking nature (pp. 86-7, 104-5, 120-1). This book does an admirable job of capturing these special attributes of Preodock's designs.

Predock is the George Jetson of our day. He ia a prime speciman of a spaceman. The man knows space. This is not so much a review of the product I received from Amazon as it is a prelude to a Predock. As you move yourself toward the crafting of your space and before your space craft blasts off, go for a test drive with Predock. He will put the rocket in your proverbial pocket. He will put the capital D on your dreamhouse. Predock is not the product but all props to Amazon for hooking me up with the man and his work. I am feeling deeply satisfied and inspired.

Orrell's work on the science of prediction begins with a review of humanity's historical quest to predict the future. From the Oracle of Delphi to astrology to modern scientific modeling of climate systems and stock markets, Orrell looks at predictive models from the point of view of a mathematician. This is a "must read" for anyone interested in climate change, market systems analysis, and health care predictions.

Apollo's Arrow: The Science of Prediction and the Future of Everything

This is the best, clearest explanation of the implication for useful predictions in areas governed by power law (as opposed to Normal) statistical distributions I've come across so far. It is intelligible without being patronizing. It manages to explain complex concepts without resorting to mind-boggling lists of arcane mathematical expressions, and as an added bonus it is laced with a fine, dry humor. David Orrell is, IMHO, the obvious intellectual successor to the late, great, Isaac Asimov.

I read this book under the title of Traveling Shoes. Was wonderful.

I read this book a while ago and am trying to convince my parents to buy it for me. It is a really compelling and dear and sweet story about a violinist, and his brother and sisters, who are all tired of traveling. One doesnothing at all but is just lovely and a perfect housekeeper, one is an actress andd composes and the youngest dances. I won't spoil the ending for you, so read and figure out whether or not they end up living happily at Appl Bough . . . or whether their parents will misunderstand them forever and make them tour the worlduntil they are old and gray!

This is one of the earlier Dalziel/Pascoe books and is devoted largely to Andy Dalziel's exploits while he is "on holiday" at the same time Peter and Ellie Pascoe are on their honeymoon. Reginald Hill's series does an excellent job both in plotting and in character development, and if you are intrigued by Fat Andy, then you really need to read this to see a side of his character you may not have seen before.

This book is a little different than most in this series because it focuses on Andy Dalziel on his own. It also shows a side of Andy that we have never seen before. We see him at his most vulnerable - in the middle of a love affair with a widow. It is also a story set in an old crumbling country house (a la Agatha Christie). But there the similarity ends. This book has more twists in it than a small English country road. It is filled with wonderful eccentric characters and Dalziel knows that at least one of them is a murderer. He sets out to find out, hoping that his paramour is not the one. The book is also very funny. This is a must-read for any Dalziel and Pascoe fans. It gives the best picture of Andy Dalziel that you'll find in any of these books. Hill is a master storyteller, and he has used his considerable skills to pen a nice country manor mystery that isn't like any English country manor mystery that you'll find anywhere else.

Many good chuckles for any technically oriented reader (Geek, Nerd, etc.) A few were stretches, but to get the ten cubed count it's not surprising.

Nerds are everywhere! They just don't own up to it. Here's your chance to prove once and for all where on the nerd spectrum you lie.

A lot of the question here are amusing that they would even be asked (i.e. You've read a dictionary for pleasure 1 point). The questions are categorized so you can pinpoint just how nerdy you are in various aspects of your life (and you can laugh at those nerdier than you).

It's not foolproof though; I received 0 points for being in my high school and college chess clubs. And I only rate as geek (as opposed to übergeek, nerd, or the feared nerdmeister general). But still highly amusing.

Question I'm most ashamed I had to admit to:
You can count in hexadecimal. A points

I am in the middle of reading this fascinating book and it just occurred to me that, aside from Alison Saar, I had never heard of any of the artists mentioned in the book before. The solutions that these artists have found to answer many of the problems in image-making as it pertains to the black female body are intriguing and profound. Sadly, I am a black woman and I graduated from a BFA program a few years ago without being taught any of this. It should be on the course syllabus for any comprehensive survey of art history.

I read this book in two sittings. Lisa Gail Collins does a beautiful job of opening up a world I did not yet fully understand. I am a southern, white, visual artist and photographer, with complicated ties to a black culture that has contributed very much to the way I think, and work, and live. Certainly my art history courses in college taught me none of this. This book illuminates the work of Renee Stout, Carrie Mae Weems, and more, and lays out the background of negative image making in the history of women of color, particularly, which, she argues is reason for the avoidance of the visual in black studies in the United States. She illuminates the value of the visual arts of black women and I came away, after reading this, with a stronger common bond to women's experience in general, and with a deeper desire to illuminate the truth in my own art.

Anyone who has not read the mysteries of Roderic Jeffries is in for a real treat. In An Artful Death, the main character, Inspector Alvarez, is presented as a loveable, humane, and underrated detective.He loves his food and his cognac and solving intricate murders. The descriptions of the island of Mallorca are charming, as is the dialogue replete with local idioms. The reader will especially enjoy the phone conversations between Alvarez and his superior, Salas, who treats him as an idiot. Justice comes in and unusual way in this novel.One must read it to see if he or she agrees with it. One thing is sure. Inspector Alvarez comes out smelling like a rose.

Mallorcan Inspector Alvarez is a laid-back policeman, one might even say lazy. He likes a peaceful life, well lubricated with good food and drink. But when arrogant foreigners treat him with undue disrespect, Alvarez becomes tenacious, even stubborn.

In his 23rd Alvarez novel, Jeffries, who lives on the Spanish Island of Mallorca, gives us a couple of English villains. Keith Vickers, a womanizing playboy with a string of shady business deals to his name, one day disappears off his yacht. Alvarez, though assuming an accidental drowning, notes several anomalies in his dicussions with servants, ex-wives and girlfriends and is chagrined but unsurprised when the body turns up murdered. His chief suspect is the obnoxious British politician George Lovell, who refuses to admit to an angry argument with Vickers and complains to Alvarez' snobbish superior in an attempt to have him fired or at least taken off the case.

Intuitive and thorough in his meandering way, Alvarez resists the browbeating as he eats and drinks his way through a list of suspects, unearthing numerous unsavory nuggets from Vickers' life. While the inspector comfortably navigates the gulf between ex-pats and natives on his beautiful island, few others do, preferring to remain mystified (Mallorcans) or ignorant (British). Good-natured irony, a clever mystery, and a gorgeous setting make this another enjoyable and witty outing for the much put-upon Inspector Alvarez.