Curtis Books

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Curtis Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

HOW TO BE YOUR OWN AGENT

Published in Hardcover by Houghton Mifflin (1983-02-18)

Author: Richard Curtis

List price: $12.95

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Collectible price: $22.95

Average review score:

writers beware

Helpful Votes: 15 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-19

Don't buy this book if you're still trying to sell yours to a publisher. Though it does have invaluable information on how to negotiate a contract, it spends the first chapter or two telling you how hopeless your attempts at selling your own book without an agent are. More agent propaganda and self-aggrandizement.

Business Side of Writing

Helpful Votes: 17 out of 18 total.
Review Date: 2000-03-14

Richard Curtis--a successful literary agent from New York City--tells writers what they must know to get published and to not get taken advantage of by agents and publishers. Mr. Curtis has been around the publishing business for many years and his commentary shows it. He discusses literary agencies, rights, money matters, agent clout, movies into books, multibook deals, advances, book clubs, taxes, publication dates, and the matter of fees, royalties and expenses. As one of the leading literary agent he covers approaching the various markets, negotiating successful contracts, benefitting from agents, handling legalities, and strategies and skills that will benefit writers in today's publishing market.

A must for anybody seeking a professional writing career. Even established writers will learn a few things about the book business.

AVOID this book until you actually have a deal on the table

Helpful Votes: 26 out of 32 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-13

This book has a lot of interesting info and "real world" statistics. Also useful information on what you can negotiate for in a book deal and what's standard and what isn't, etc. But all in all, it is totally discouraging. His first chapters are so depressing that you might never overcome having read them if you haven't finished your book yet. For example, he says that stats on unsolicited manuscripts sans agents are at least 5,000 a year per publishing house and he says it is simply not economical for them to hire readers, because less than one in a thousand amounts to something the house might want to publish. They all get sent back without being looked at. That is, if you send a self-addressed stamped envelope.

And he says agents don't want anyone who is not already published. Next to no chance of getting one unless your cover says something like "I invented the submarine and have written a book . . . " So--you can get a loan if you have money in the bank. And you can get a literary agent if you've been published. The same old story. It sounds very certainly impossible.

From what Curtis, an agent of 20 or 30 years says, there're tons of manuscripts that can't even get read and it has no relation whatever to what is good and what isn't. I'm ready to quit the entire idea and I'm only 1/3 of the way thru the book.

According to Curtis, it takes an agent. Period. And if you have no way of finding one of those without the same blind mailings you'd send to publishing houses, you may as well put the "grand novel" away and hope in 4 or 5 or 10 years, by some luck, you run into someone who is connected.

So I'm left wondering, why does anyone bother to write at all, much less buy Mr. Curtis' depressing book? There must be SOME way to get through, right? He offers precious little hope, I'm afraid.

I don't know if this writer-editor-agent meant to be so discouraging, but wow! Completely! Avoid this book if you want to keep writing.

Needs updating urgently!

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2000-12-16

I found the book informative, but it lacks the current information--like the fact that publishers of fiction now want at least 70,000 word manuscripts before they will even look at it. Curtis's book is discouraging, I agree, but the fact is that it really seems to be like he depicts. If it were more up-to-date, I would've added two additional stars to my rating.

Ignore the doofuses below who didn't like it.

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-01

Take it from me, a multiply-published author (three major books) with two of the best houses in New York: Curtis knows what he is talking about. The title of this book is ironic; he clearly believes that writers benefit greatly from agents. This book will teach you what you need to know before you hire one. Excellent work, and timeless advice.

Using SANs and NAS

Published in Paperback by O'Reilly Media, Inc. (2002-02)

Author: W. Curtis Preston

List price: $29.95

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Average review score:

Great for folks new to this area of IT

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-18

This book gives great description of SANS and NAS. In addition, a clear comparison of SANS and NAS technologies is given which is helpful in deciding what is right for your own organization. This book is not exhaustive on the subjects, but do point the reader in the right direction. I thought the time spent on the topic of backups was especially nice.

Great book on the theory of NAS and SAN

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-14

I found this book to be very helpful in sorting out the differences between the two technologies that have started to blur in many ways. I read this book from cover to cover and the layout was great. The book starts with a good overview of the past technologies that most IT people know and then begins to compair them to NAS and SAN and shows how those old technologies are evolving to fit into the new design.

As someone who has not had exposure to Fiber Channel hands on the book did a great job of explaining the technology and what part it plays. It gives a real nuts and bolts explination of the peices and what they all do.

The book then goes into describing SAN. It gives some typical uses along with the advantages and even the disavantages of SAN. In the next chapter it describes one of the major advantages to SAN in terms of Backup and Recovery. It doesn't go into detail and tell you what the commands are to do these things but more what you need to get the job done and what role each part plays.

The next three chapters are on NAS. The first one gives an overview of NAS and goes into uses along with the advantages and disadvantages of it. The second chapter gives information on how to manage NAS and is a bit too specific but does give a good foundation for the things that you need to look for to get the most out of NAS. The thirst chapter is on Backup and Recovery in a NAS environment. It gives a good overview of the technologies that exist but again gets into a little too much detail and is hung up on specific technologies.

Overall I would suggest this book to any IT people who have a solid background in server and network technology but are looking for what storage solutions exist and how they can be leveraged.

This is a entry-level book. Too general for serious work

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-15

This book focuses on general concept and structure. No vendor specified information is included. It is a good entry-level book. But serious SAN/NAS users will need more detailed information.

Good introduction

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-06

Hi,

This books serves as good introduction to SAN and NAS. It covers backup and recovery for SANs very nicely and at appropriate level. As far as NAS is concerned, it skims the topic.

Its a good introduction to various technologies. The details will have to found elsewhere.

Overall review - worth reading it.

Good Overview

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2005-01-27

This book has a good 10K foot overview and basic groundings for beginners. Also is good at comparing and contrasting SAN vs NAS. But, very light on detail especially in the area of NAS. If you don't know anything about SAN/NAS give it a read. If you've much experience it'll be mostly review.

4-CD Set for use with Music: An Appreciation, Brief Edition

Published in Audio CD by McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages (2005-03-03)

Author: Roger Kamien

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Average review score:

Good deal

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-05

The book arrive as described. I thought the audio CD's were included but its still good.

good

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-05

easy to understand and learn from, it is a textbook so that's what you are getting. Good pictures and diagrams so far. I bought here because it had the best price.

Music: An Appreciation

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-10

I ordered this book/ cd set because it was required text for a college class. It is well organized and clearly written. I especially like the way the listening guides in the book refer to specific portions of songs which are recorded so that the entire work can be played seemlessly in its entirity, or specific portions can be accessed individually.
The only thing this work lacks is impossible for any work that attempts to offer a complete appreciation of music to achieve, complete scope.
I recommend this set.

A Good Overview of Music in Context

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-10-22

This book does a good job of putting music in an overall historical context. For example, it notes how Baroque productions, whether sculpture or music, meant to "fill space." That accounts for elaborate melodies in music, and movement in painting and sculpture.

Music used to be written as much for the mind as the ear. In some vocal pieces, lyrics correspond to melody. For example, if the word "ascending" is used in the song, the notes of the melody also go up. Vice-versa for descending. If the song mentions one person, a single voice is used--three voices come in when three people are in the storyline.

The musical selections are varied and enjoyable to listen to.

great shape just as promised fast shipping

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2006-02-25

would buy from again everything just as promised and recieved book fast

Microsoft Excel Version 2002 Step by Step (Cpg-Step By Step)

Published in Paperback by Microsoft Press (2001-07-06)

Author: Curtis Frye

List price: $29.99

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Average review score:

teaching microsoft office

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-09

After researching many different books, I picked the Step by Step Excel for my class. This is an extremely easy book to follow either as a class or on your own. It comes with a disk of practice exersices. The author has made it very easy to learn new consepts. This is the first time I have taught an Excel class and this book has made my adult students feel comfortable and confident in learning something new since most have not been in a classroom in many years. I will continue to use this book as a learning guide and would also recommend the Word Step by Step book. This would definately help anyone learning Excel as well as a review for someone who already uses Excel.

MS Excel Version 2002 Step by Step

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-10

I bought this book hoping it would have a better discussion and help with writing formulas in Excel. It let me down.

Helpful

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-09

I bought this to help teach myself Excel 2002. It has been very helpful and I would recommend it to anyone.

Pretty good, was expecting more

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-08-21

Although I've used Excel for at least 10 years, I've felt that I could get more out of it, hence the reason that I bought this book. I do like that it comes with a CD with practice files, which gets rid of the tedium of entering reams of data just so you can manipulate them.

Even with all my years with Excel, the first chapter was a complete mystery to me. It consisted of opening files, making minor changes, then immediately closing them again. The next couple of chapters were much better, especially the ones on filtering data, changing the look of a workbook, and summarizing data. The chapter on Pivot tables was another mystery; though I could see what they are, I couldn't fathom exactly why I would use them.

I was especially hoping that the chapter on creating charts would be full of info and helpful tips. However, I feel that this one glossed over a lot of detail, and completely missed how to make a chart easier to comprehend. I've learned more previously about chart making by just using the 'Help' feature that comes with Excel.

Still, I'm glad I got the book; I now know more about Excel than I did before.

Less quantity, but more quality

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 13 total.
Review Date: 2003-05-28

The 2002 version is much more user-friendly with its color pages and helpful organization than the bigger and less-organized 2000 offering. An added bonus for those looking to take the Microsoft Office Specialist Exam is the fact that this edition lists which core and expert objectives are covered when covering a lesson. Also, the interactive practice files make it extremely easy to follow and learn - for anyone.

This book, in conjunction with the one by Barbara Clemens, helped me to not only garner Excel 2002 proficiency, but to become an Excel 2002 Expert. Now that I'm an Expert, I can tell you this book might be too easy for me - but maybe not for you. And that's the real deal.

The Seventh Mountain: Chronicles of a Magi

Published in Hardcover by Lulu.com (2006-05-02)

Author: Gene Curtis

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Average review score:

Okay, but...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-07

Very much like the Potter books and lacking the originality of, say, The King's Blade. But still a decent effort, though it took a little while to get going. The story is of a twelve-year-old boy who tells his parents about this dream that he has. The parents tell their child that he is to go to a special school and that he is in danger. Yawn.

After that the story progresses nicely though I can't help relating several things to the immenesly popular Potter books.

Still, it might be worth a shot. But if you're in the mood for something a bit more original you might want to try the book I recommended above.

A Great Story

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-31

I thought this was a well-written and fascinating story. The only possible disappointment I see is its extreme similarity to Harry Potter, at least on the surface. However, by the middle of the story it sets itself apart and draws you in. I can't wait for the next book, which Gene Curtis is working on.

Simply put, I liked it.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-12

As the author of, The Second Virgin Birth, I have to say that this book is very believable, with well developed-characters with amazing dialogue that surrounds an action-packed story that will keep you guessing the entire time. It's an easy read, and extremely well written. Yes, I thought that every now and then, this could be a Harry Potter story, but don't let that spoil a good read.

Mayra Calvani -- TCM REVIEWS

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-03

For twelve-year old Mark Young, it all begins with a strange, surreal, and somewhat frightening dream about long dark corridors and a booming voice that tells him, "You're going to die." The next day he relates the dream to his parents. To Mark's surprise, his parents were expecting this moment to arrive--the moment when he would have to face his destiny. Over a series of flashbacks, his parents tell Mark the bizarre circumstances of his birth. Soon Mark realizes that he is no ordinary boy, that he is being protected by a series of ancient beings, that he must go to a special school to learn his path, and that he is in danger.

The reader will follow Mark's adventures as he learns to be a Magi at the Seventh Mountain in the company of friends, who, like him, were born under the protection of other supernatural beings. Will he find his fate and fulfil his destiny?

Though the book is technically well written and edited, I found the beginning somewhat slow, probably because of all the flashbacks and explanations about what happened in the past. The real action doesn't begin to catch up until about page seventy, when the young protagonist goes to the Magi school. But perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this book is its resemblance to Harry Potter in terms of plot and characters. Indeed, the `copycat' plot doesn't do justice to the author's smooth prose, well-thought descriptions and natural dialogue. There are just too many similarities between the Magi school and the wizard school found in Potter's. Readers looking for an original story won't find it here. However, those who love Potter-like books will find Mark Young's adventures entertaining.

Great Start

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-12-16

It intrigued me from the first and I have to say, it's a darned good story. I believe some people will say that it's a Christian Harry Potter knock off but I can't say I agree. True, at first I wondered if it was indeed a re-telling of a Harry Potter type tale with a Christian twist but as I got deeper into the book I found it was something quite different.

Curtis does a good job on the magic system in the Magi world, making it understandable and realistic. The setting of Seventh Mountain and it's surroundings is also very well developed. To be honest, the characters were a bit wooden at times and the dialog was awkward in places. I often felt that Mark understood concepts and acted far beyond the scope of his 12 years of age. Yet I was still engaged and my interest was held to the very last page.

There are enough questions in the book that you want to keep reading, want to find the answers. The bad guy is really bad and the good guys are really good. This work should appeal to a wide audience. It's young enough that a child will understand and enjoy it but it's got enough depth that an adult will enjoy their time reading it as well.

Bravo to Gene Curtis and well done on his first published novel. I look very forward to reading future installments of the Chronicles of a Magi series.

WATCH THE SKIES

Published in Hardcover by Smithsonian (1994-03-17)

Author: PEEBLES CURTIS

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Average review score:

Kook-free history

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-29

Nice to read something on UFOs by someone who looks at the science and history of sightings and then draws his conclusions. Most UFO "researchers" decide what they want UFOs to be and then go looking for only what they think proves their case. They are not interested in truth at all but in book sells and UFO convention fees.

The best book on UFOs

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-31

Forgive me for being brief, but if you have only one book on UFOs, this should be it. A through examination of the history of UFOs.

An excellent "Skeptical" History of the UFO Phenomenon...

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-26

Curtis Peebles is a noted aviation journalist and historian. In "Watch the Skies" he presents one of the best historical accounts of the UFO phenomenon that I've ever read. The book begins in 1946 with the sighting of mysterious "Ghost Rockets" over Northern Europe and then follows the creation of what Peebles calls the "Flying Saucer Myth" in the USA. In June 1947 a successful businessman and private pilot named Kenneth Arnold spotted nine strange "flying disks" speeding over Mt. Rainier in Washington State. A baffled Arnold clocked the object's speed at over 1200 MPH - far faster than any human aircraft could fly at the time. His story made headlines around the nation, and soon the "flying saucer era" was born. Peebles methodically traces the UFO phenomenon from the "glory days" of the forties and early fifties - a period when even the US military thought there might be something to the UFO mystery and took it seriously - to what he calls the "darker myths" of the modern era, with its emphasis on alien abductions, government coverups and conspiracies, and the like. A confirmed UFO skeptic, Peebles at least states he's a skeptic at the beginning of the book, and unlike many UFO debunkers (such as Philip Klass, Robert Sheaffer, and other CSICOP-style critics), he is fair and sympathetic to UFO witnesses and UFO researchers. However, he does tend to explain away many baffling sightings and incidents without looking at all the evidence (like many UFO skeptics, he sometimes falls into the "armchair investigator", or "toilet-seat thinker" categories). Peebles believes that just as witches and fairies represented the "myths" of earlier historical eras, so UFOs are a "modern myth", and he treats the UFO phenomenon as a present-day "mythology-in-progress". Peebles covers all aspects of the UFO mystery over the past 56 years: the most famous UFO cases, the government investigations and coverups, UFO crashes (such as Roswell), the efforts of leading "ufologists" and UFO research groups to gain recognition and respectability, the leading debunkers, the "contactees" and other con artists who have tried to get money and publicity from the UFO phenomenon, the growth of the alien abduction and cattle mutilation mysteries, etc. As someone who has read many UFO books (both pro-and-con), I believe that "Watch the Skies" is one of the best books on the subject that I've ever read. If you're interested in the history of UFO sightings and cases, but are wary of reading books with dubious stories of alien abductions, cattle mutilations, "contactees", and the like, then this book will be a delight. It's serious-minded, well-written, and (mostly) well-researched - albeit from a very skeptical point of view. Recommended!

Are you a believer? You won't after reading this.

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 9 total.
Review Date: 2000-10-12

Is Peebles a government stooge? Is this book an attempt at disinformation to throw of the scent? If you believe that, you'll believe anything.

Apparently some people do.

This book is a fine attempt to show how the crackpot theories and people gain prominence through fraud, misunderstanding, or desperately wanting to believe that something other than us is out there. Sceptics will love it, believers will hate it, but only because they are shown to be the fools that they are. Peebles shows that there is no proof of UFOs, EBEs or secret governments. The UFO industry has too much invested for people to believe in anything else.

One of the Best Books by a UFO "Skeptic"

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 11 total.
Review Date: 2001-04-02

"Watch the Skies" is simply one of the best books by a UFO skeptic that I've read. Unlike debunkers such as Phil Klass and Robert Sheaffer, who unnecessarily ridicule witnesses and often ignore evidence which contradicts their "explanations"(which, of course, is a failing of many "believers" as well) Peebles is fair to both sides. What makes this book especially appealing, to believer and skeptic alike, is that it is one of the few "historical" works on UFOs - it treats UFOs as a historical phenomenon and not simply a random series of sightings and photographs. The only other work to do this, to my knowledge, is David Jacob's "The UFO Controversy in America" which was published a quarter-century ago. My only complaint with this book is that Peebles' "explanations" for most UFO sightings lack depth and often are of the "armchair investigator" variety. Anyone who has read a great deal about the sightings he describes will find plenty to argue with. However, as a synopsis of the skeptic's viewpoint (that all UFO sightings can be explained as weather balloons, birds, mirages, stars, ball lightning, and, failing all else, hoaxes), this book is as about as good as it gets.

Java Man

Published in Hardcover by Little Brown & Co (T) (2000-08)

Author: Garniss H. Curtis

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Average review score:

I liked it...

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-21

First, before you get the book, there are three stories within the covers -
1 - The history of the study of human evolution, focused on the debate between single origin and multiregional origins.
2 - The discoveries made by Carl C. Swisher III and Garniss H. Curtis about Homo erectus and how this changed many of the ideas (or just clouded things even more).
3 - How science really works, with the egos, the money issues, the insults, the old guard against the new ideas and how each side slams into each other till somebody screams uncle and somebody wins. Logic seems to have nothing to do with it.
At only 235 pages it does seem small, but the chapters are clear and simple, with more than enough details and examples to make everything easy to understand. They did a great work at explaining how technology has changed over the years when it comes to figuring out the age of an object. Yet I never felt like I was being talked down to.
The only problem is that having been published in 2000 it makes you wonder what the 'hobbits' would have done to their ideas.

If only Java Man could see us now...

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-05-22

Java Man mixes history, paleo-anthropology and journalism. It discusses the history of the Java Man find in Indonesia early last century. Then the paleo-anthropological significance of the find and it's associated historical controversies. I think the authors tell us that Java Man has variously been pigeonholed into as many as nine different species since he was dug up. And to round off they provides us with a blow by blow account of the modern controversies surrounding Java Man.

In particular they outline the recent ding dong battle between geo-chronologists (scientists who date dead things for a living) and anthropologists (the 'traditional' custodians of our knowledge of pre-humans). A new age tribal turf war with money, prestige, organisational loyalty and big man reputation at stake. Interestingly enough Java Man himself was probably modern enough to understand all that sort of thing. A worthy read for anyone interested in the real world of bruised ego science.

Because Zero Stars Wasn't an Option

Helpful Votes: 18 out of 19 total.
Review Date: 2005-02-24

Here we have the magnificent tale of a "geochronologist" who gained access to one of the world's most interesting hominid fosils ("Java Man"), makes the acquaintence of several the world's most renowned paleoanthropologists, and whose ego screws up everything. You would think that if Carl Swisher planned to make a living in one of the technological backwaters of paleoanthropology, he would make himself useful as a team player. Instead he has managed to become a pariah at the Institute of Human Origins, and gave them the finger as he walked out the door (his side of the story). To be sure, Teuku Jacob, the Indonesian scientist who summarily confiscates all Indonesian finds to make himself indispensable, is a tough customer. So, Carl, use someone else's fossil, or (here's an inspiration) find your own. What Java Man is all about is how Swisher wasted his sponsors' money in an increasingly acrimonious effort to promote a technology ("advanced potassium-argon dating techniques") which might have been very useful in the hands of an eager-to-please summer intern. Perhaps a more charitable view is that this book is meant to show the sponsors of his research why he failed to have the slightest (positive) impact on his objectives. Honestly, folks, if you are animated by hominid evolution, you'll learn more from any ten consecutive pages of Ian Tattersall than all of this 235 page rant.

Politics, Anthropology, and a New View of Man.

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2004-01-04

(...)This book contains three stories; and as a result none of them get the attention they should have. It is the story of Garness Curtis's retirement from the University of California at Berkley, and the subsequent disasters that followed as he attempted to continue his research outside the proactive environment of the university. It is the story of the evolution of the theories of the evolution of man, and it is the story of the discovery that Java Man was not one of many steps early man made in his evolution from an earlier ape like creature, but in fact a parallel evolution of a second homo species that died off around the time of Neanderthal Man.

All three books were worth writing; it is unfortunate that, for whatever reason they got clumped into a single small volume. I should mention that all three stories were to a large extent interwoven. Much of the more scientific information was presented at conferences, and in journal articles. Nonetheless, it is the only place that two of these three events can be read about.

The result is a readable book, accessible to any reader that allows a view into the messy world of real scientific research.

To Criticize Garness Curtis for not being an anthropologist is a little bit like making the claim the Einstein was a physicist and not a mathematician. Any man who dedicates over 40 years of his life, working with, studying with, and publishing with the anthropologists investigating early man becomes an anthropologist, if not by degree, then by vocation.

The overall quality of the book is far less than I had hoped for, however it is still worth reading if you are interested in the development of man, and the politics of academia.

Wanna date me?

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2004-10-21

In studies of human evolution, dating fossil finds is of paramount importance. Since the fossil bones themselves carry no signature indicating their age, the placement in time must be done by inference. The clues lie in the rocks surrounding the teeth, jaws or skulls unearthed. Ever since Raymond Dart's finding of the Taung Child in 1924, the mysteries surrounding human evolution have been painstakingly revealed. Dart's discovery, which should have confirmed Darwin's predictions of African origins for humanity, had already been usurped a generation before. Dutch army surgeon, Eugene Dubois, had already found fossils in Java. The discovery confirmed what many believed, that human origins were in Asia rather than the Dark Continent. This new collaboration examines the evidence while making a detailed analysis of the controversy that emerged over our evolutionary track in Asia and Africa.

Lewin's hand in this narrative is readily apparent. He's done many books on anthropology, each one as a close collaboration with the actual researchers. He evokes the human side of each trip to fossil sites - storm-tossed aircraft, jungle road trips, the frustration of pinpointing older finds, the clash of personalities. In this case, a fossil unearthed along a riverside seemed to evade identity. The failure of precise location means the dismissal of dating practices. Lewin and his team spend much time going over the ways a site is dated and what it meant for another Child, this one known as Mojokerto.

Amidst the complications of pinpointing sites, verifying dates and the immense burden of funding multi-national investigations, we are suddenly transported into a maelstrom of professional acrimony. Curtiss and Swisher's team had been forced into an uneasy association with Don Johanson's [he of "Lucy" fame] Institute of Human Origins in Berkeley, California. A private establishment, very loosely tied to the University, contributions to keep it running were, as always, the subject of priority discussions. The story Lewin relates is reminiscent of theological disputes, with backstabbing, character assassination and explosive temperaments. While the casual observer would assume the players in this scenario would be working in the same cause, small events exploded into destructive schisms. Lewin's writing is Swisher's voice, yet the hurt feelings are vividly related. You are almost sitting at the table witnessing the vituperation.

Yet another fossil, with yet another dating crisis, brought what should be the resolution of yet another dispute. For many years the idea of human "origins" in Asia persisted, although in different guise. Dubois 1892 artefacts ultimately fit into a species later termed Homo erectus, an early precursor of ourselves. A school of anthropologists, led by Milford Wolpoff, has argued that H. erectus evolved into H. sapiens in parallel tracks in Africa, Asia, and perhaps elsewhere. Known as "multiregionalism", it is one way of explaining human "races". Lewin continues to follow the two researchers as they pursue the dating of an H. erectus specimen that proved only 50 thousand years old. There's not enough time to produce our species from one so recent.

Lewin and his associates have produced a fine overview of a contentious and difficult area. Lewin's writing skills keep the narrative lively and readable. He's to be commended for his clear presentation and full detachment in the account. A collection of old and recent photographs, plus some explanatory graphics adds visual enhancement. The historical background is ably woven into the science, providing meaningful background. A book that provides an intimate view of the life of anthropology. stephen a. haines (...)

Your Pregnancy For The Father To Be: Everything Dads Need to Know About Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Getting Ready for a New Baby (Your Pregnancy Series)

Published in Paperback by (2004-07-06)

Authors: Glade B. Curtis, Judith Schuler, and Glade Curtis

List price: $13.95

New price: $7.16
Used price: $6.73

Average review score:

Excellent Book for 1st Time Fathers

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-07-03

I am reading this book now as a first time father and its great, lots of information both pratical and helpful with you as a father to be as well as good advice on how to help the mother, what she needs, suggestoins on how to make her pregnancy easier and safer. I hehly recommend this book
thanks
Joe

If your husband knows nothing about children...

Helpful Votes: 11 out of 24 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-13

This one isn't funny. It isn't very light-hearted. And if your husband/father-to-be already knows much about kids and babies, it probably isn't very helpful either. But if he's a clueless dolt who's never held a baby, and never thought about your needs in any other area of your lives or relationships, and yet you still think he might come 'round to being helpful and sensitive with respect to your pregnancy and birth, this is a fairly straight-forward guide that will offer suggestions such as that he exercise with you, help change diapers, and be sensitive to your needs.

But if you really need this book, you might also consider picking a new father. It starts at the basics and, as another reviewer wrote, assumes the worst. I hope you're (both) starting off ahead of that.

Some useful info, but based on a 1950's relationship

Helpful Votes: 11 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-12

I skimmed this to screen it before passing it off to my husband, and decided not to ask him to read it. This book seems to assume that (a) the woman is dim and helpless, (b) the man goes to his tough job in the day while the woman does the housework and shopping, and (c) the man is relatively clueless or uninvolved in the housework department. (Does this remind you of that "How to be a Good Wife" guide from the '50's?) For example, the book suggests that the man "help with the laundry." More useful would be "learn to do the laundry if you don't already know how." In many cases, the book describes a situation or condition (e.g., your wife craves unhealthy junk foods), and suggests that the man "encourage her" to do something (make healthier food chooices), which sounds like a contrived way to make yourself involved. More useful idea: volunteer to do the shopping, and then buy veggies instead of cookies. The anecdotes about actual couples range from cute to why-didn't-you-slap-these-people? Unless your relationship is very traditional - they guy really doesn't do any housework and is emotionally reserved, and the woman really does stay at home and has trouble making her own decisions - you may find this book condescending or even insulting. As an rather independent, self-sufficient engineer who got married at 27 and pregnant at 30, I was insulted.

Excellent Resource

Helpful Votes: 203 out of 209 total.
Review Date: 2006-07-23

As a first time father this book was very helpful. It did not go into nearly the details that some of the other books did. It was very specific about what a man can do to help his wife through the process. It also looks at some longer term items, like saving for school, planning for the first few weeks after the birth and even packing a travel bag for you to take to the hospital. It is nice light reading in an easy to read format and style. This book will definitely be a benefit to you and your partner. The 5 sections are: the three trimesters, labor & delivery, and at home with the baby. These authors also wrote a number of supporting or complimentary books:
Bouncing Back From Your Pregnancy
Your Pregnancy Journal Week by Week
Your Pregnancy After 35
Your Pregnancy Questions and Answers
Your Pregnancy Every Woman's Guide
Your Baby's First Year Week by Week
Your Pregnancy Week by Week

States the Obvious, Assumes the Worst

Helpful Votes: 9 out of 15 total.
Review Date: 2004-09-03

This was the first book I got for my husband upon learning we were pregnant, and he found it to be quite condescending. For example, it has sections entitled "in the doghouse" that give men helpful hints like not calling one's pregnant wife a whale. Of course, this has become a running joke in our house...but do most husbands really need a book to tell them not to insult their wives?! It focused more on telling men how to behave towards their partners than on helping the understand their own journey towards fatherhood. Overall, this book seemed to assume the worst about its readership, whereas I would assume that men who choose to read books to prepare for fatherhood are already caring and committed to being good husbands and fathers.

We found a lot more useful information and a much more respectful and supportive tone in "The Expectant Father," and I would recommend that book instead.

Gentlemanners Collection

Published in Hardcover by Thomas Nelson (2003-09-03)

Authors: John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

List price: $39.99

New price: $39.99
Used price: $39.99

Average review score:

Great and entertaining books

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-02

I really enjoyed reading all three of these books, they were entertaining and offered some insight into things that more people should do more of. Although not ground breaking by any means, it did offer some tips that I've incorporared into my personal life and especially at work when a more formal situation is required. For what it is, it's a light read and entertaining.

Handy to have

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-26

The box set will look very good amongst some of the other books in my library. Having all three of these books is a good idea for the purposes of self-improvement, etiquette and style, even if some of the information in the books are duplicated between the different volumes. I look forward to keeping these as handy references if nothing else.

poor choice

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-13

This should not be sold as a set -- there is a great deal of identical information throughout the three books

Clear, concise and easy to read and implement

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-12

Written for everyman, these can be kept at your bedside, by your favorite chair, at the office or on the back of the toilet - easy to read a page or two whenever you find a moment to check out a few tips for a more gentle life.

Gentle-Manners For Every Man

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-01-21

These books are an absolute for any/every man. For a refresher or to learn anew a Gentlemans library won't be complete until he has them. They are Direct, never having to read endless dialog to get to the answer. A Gentleman has an obligation to keep his enviroment classy yet comfortable, Gentlemanners Collection will sum up every situation for any/every man.

When You Wish

Published in Paperback by Bantam (1997-09-02)

Authors: Jane Feather, Elizabeth Elliott, Patricia Coughlin, Sharon & Tom Curtis, and Suzanne Robinson

List price: $6.50

New price: $1.98
Used price: $0.01
Collectible price: $12.99

Average review score:

grinch

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2002-12-21

I mainly bought this anthology for Sharon and Tom Curtis' story but I was really disappointed. The characters were fine and the story was interesting but I just couldn't for the life of me figure out why Henry Lamb would fall head over heels for this girl. One minute they meet, the next he's enchanted. What? Why? She's full of joy? When? I tried to read the other stories but none of them caught my attention --- couldn't get all the way through a single one.

Sorry to be so harsh --- starting to feel like the guy in green. Guess when it comes to this book, my heart was just two sizes too small.

California Girl

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-24

Skip the first story by Jane Feather which is awful. If you don't you may never read the rest of the wonderful stories.

Oh so good...

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-11-20

I agree that Feather's story was one of the weakest. However, Sharon and Tom Curtis' THe Natural Child more than makes up for it. It's funny, chronologically accurate in ambience and setting, but so sweet and romantic! The other stories are solid as well. Good reading.

Very Enjoyable

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-07-24

Skip the first story by Jane Feather which is awful. If you don't you may never read the rest of the wonderful stories.

WONDERFUL STORIES!!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-01-18

All the stories in this book will capture your heart and make you start the book again when you reach the last page. My favorite is the story of Lucy and the man of her dreams. It will truly cause you to smile.