James Reviews

The Astrolabe

Published in Paperback by Janus (2007-11-15)

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A sundialer's view

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-10

As a sundial enthusiast, I enjoy puzzling over the geometry of the heavens and have always admired astrolabes, though never really explored them. Armed with this book, I have been able to do so with huge enjoyment.
It covers the history, though not in great depth, and the engraving of all the scales on every variety of astrolabe and all related devices - quadrants in particular but also some sundials and astronomical clocks.

This book is all about the geometry - how the scales were divided and so on, not how they were made, where or by whom. There are few photographs of astrolabes.
I have found some errors in the mathematics, and have found the author very grateful for my pointing them out.

The book covers an immense number of topics in great detail but can be difficult to navigate. The organisation seems to assume rather a high level of knowledge, or patience. Many items are eventually explained, but perhaps not when first raised. Cross references, the Glossary and Index are poor for a 400 page book. The Bibliography lacks ISBN numbers. Many older books and exquisite photographs of museum collections are now available on-line, so URLs would be useful, though they can date rather quickly.

Bringing the subject right up-to-date, Morrison includes code fragments (in Basic and C) for all the calculations needed to get a computer to draw an astrolabe, but they are so long that a CD or Web link would have been welcome.

If, as I do, you already own books on the history of instruments you may wonder if you need this book. I'd say yes, if you have any interest in the geometry and certainly, if you want to make an astrolabe. But no, if you're interested in decorative styles, want a coffee-table book or a guide to prices.

As other reviewers have noted, the binding and paper quality are poor. The value in this book is in what's written on the pages, which, in my experience, do make it the definitive book on the astrolabe.

THE astrolabe book to have

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-07

I've been waiting for this book to be published for years, so I was very excited to get it, though $60 for a paperback is pretty steep. It's well worth it though: almost 400 pages of detailed information, including over 200 diagrams. I've been following Mr. Morrison's website, http://astrolabes.org/ for many years, and corresponded with him briefly several years ago when I had some questions about how to lay out an astrolabe geometrically. He was very gracious and helpful.

This book is THE astrolabe book. It's a modern treatment that includes computer code as well as ancient methods for laying out astrolabes. It includes all kinds of variations, including a "linear astrolabe" that consists of a marked stick and three strings, which the Arabs used about 800 years ago. It's amazing what the human mind can do with very little in the way of actual material stuff. He also includes the "universal astrolabe" that works at all latitudes, and several versions of the "quadrant astrolabe" that is essentially an astrolabe folded in quarters and printed on a card. There's a fair amount of history, and lots of math (nothing beyond high-school trig). He takes both a geometric and analytic approach, with diagrams as well as formulas. His explanation of why and how the linear astrolabe works was amazing.

I have both of John Lamprey's books (both highly recommended. I think he's still selling them: lamprey at frii dot com) and have also read Chaucer's book. I'm very glad to have added this one to my shelf.

A Definitive Reference

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-22

This book is the best reference on the subject of astrolabes I have been able to find. It is detailed, in-depth and has something for every reader. For the student looking to find an overview of the history and uses of this marvelous tool, it covers the basics. For the interested researcher it delves deeply into the design, history and functionality of both European and Islamic astrolabes. For math nerd there is delightful detail on the elegant geometry behind the design of the various parts. This is the best book I've seen come out this year.

Excellent book

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-14

This book summarizes 300 years of knowledge found in previous books, in a clear style and with accurate drawings. I use to read Henri Michel's treatise on astrolabes, and D'Hollander book. Both were interesting but more difficult to read and use, even though they are in French, my language.
Morrison's book allowed me to understand how astrolabes work and are drawn. I applied this knowledge to my shareware program Shadows that draws and animates astrolabes on screen. Thank you James Morrison for making this possible, thanks to your excellent book.

Fantstic *Modern* Astrolabe Book

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-11

First, if you're interested at all in astrolabes, this is the single best, most informative, most comprehensive book I've found. It's clear, concise and well illustrated. I'm very tempted to use the chapter on stereographic projections in my GIS classes.

It doesn't have many illustrations of historic instruments, but that's not it's focus. You can find those in the Time Museum or Western Astrolabes book and get more nuts and bolts info about the production process from Scientific Instruments of Elizabethan England. But for creating and using an astrolabe, you can't find a better reference- UNLESS you really want to use period processes. He doesn't even try to show how it was done, dismissing it with "Readers interested in the mathematical approach used in the Middle Ages are referred to Thomson for a thorough treatment"- that would be the translation of de Plana Spera. As I keep telling my daughter, life gets boring if you don't have anything to long for. I'll start saving the (argh!) $150 for that next.

The contents (with the exception of using trig instead of geometry to create the layout) are exceptional. The physical book is less so. I plan on using this heavily and I don't think it's going to hold up. The paperback cover is glued to the front and back pages to try to give it some stability, but the glue is already losing its hold. The pages themselves are glued in rather than bound. I know there wasn't a real choice in that, but it's a thick book and it's not going to hold up well- think of the Calvin and Hobbes collectors' editions. The paper is already yellowing and I just got it last week. I *know* these choices had to be made to keep the cost of the book down to something that wouldn't make people scream, but I'm going to take it to Kinkos and have it drilled so I can capture it inside a 3 ring binder. I'm not going to risk losing any of the pages. It has enough white space to make that feasible and still have room left over for notes.

Bangs and Whimpers: Stories About the End of the World (Roxbury Park Books)

Published in Paperback by Lowell House (1999-10)

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Is this is the Way the World Ends...?

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-13

These stories of the apocalypse or resulting dystopia that occur from either man-made or naturally occurring phenomena are drawn from across the twentieth century. From Frank L Pollack's 1906 "Finis" (which is considered to be one of the classics of short stories in any genre) to Robert Sheckley's 1998 "Emissary from a Green and Yellow World" we are treated to a plethora of ways to destroy a world.

My two favorites just happen to be the first and last tales in the book. Arthur C Clarke's 1951 "The Nine Billion Names of God" is a haunting tale of what happens when technology gets involved with the metaphysics of religion. Isaac Azimov's 1956 "The Last Question" goes to the other side of the coin and asked what happens when technology becomes a religion.

In between there are stories about little people visiting from other planets, super-bugs, atomic wars and their aftermaths and other stupidities that man perpetrates on their fellow man. Some are funny and others are silly (when compared to the current technology and situation in the world) but they are all interesting.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Its the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...

Helpful Votes: 16 out of 16 total.
Review Date: 2003-10-22

This book was a magical find, first of all because it is so hard to get your hands on a copy and second because there are so many shorts from the All Time Masters of Sci-Fi. Plus, who doesnt love a good old end of the world story? Great midnight reading!

The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke - What if someone really discovered the key to the end of the world and how to unlock it?

Killing the Morrow by Robert Reed - bizarre family tale of strangers forced together to nurture delivered embryos in their bathtubs.

You Can Get Them Wholesale by Neil Gaimen - be careful what you ask for...

Fire Catcher by Richard Kadrey - Whose finger is really on the button?

Not with a Bang by Howard Fast - What if you knew for a fact the sun would never rise again?

Lost and Found by Connie Willis - bizarre twist on the search for the Holy Grail

The Wind and the Rain by Robert Silverberg - Long after pollution suffocates and kills off earth, people from other planets will take tours of the destruction left behind.

The Year of the Jackpot by Robert A Heinlein - Potiphar Breen has been studying the cycles of the earth, not the seasons but more the human lemming cycles as the earth strives to cleanse itself. Can you plot against the end of the world? Will you be able to escape it or hide from it?

Expendable by Philip K. Dick - If insects could talk and you could hear them, would you really want to know what their plots were?

Finis by Frank L. Pollack - A new sun is born and its warming light reaches the earth. Is it too warm?

A Guide to Virtual Death by J.G. Ballard - Futuristic TV Guide

Emissary from a Green and Yellow World by Robert Sheckley - If another race from another planet really did want to help us earthlings out, would we believe them?

The Portable Phonograph by Walter Van Tilburg Clark - When the only comfort left is doled out from a battery operated phonograph.

Fermi and Frost by Frederik Pohl - As the bombs fall a prestigious doctor is offered a seat on an escape flight, and takes a sick, orphaned young boy with him.

Ultimate Construction by C.C. Shackleton - Who will the last man on earth be?

The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged) by John Varley - Were you in New York City when the bombs fell?

The Man Who Walked Home by James Tiptree, Jr. - An accident at a Particle Acceleration Facility causes a man to start walking home, but in what dimension does he walk and how long will it really take him?

Interview With A Lemming by James Thurber - What would these furry creatures have to say?

The Last Question by Isaac Asimov - Can entropy be reversed? Mans best computer evolves as it contemplates this question for over 100 billion years.

"The End Is Near!"

Helpful Votes: 5 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-09

Published just before the turn of the century--when quite a few people were contemplating the Apocalypse (I wasn't one of them)--"Bangs & Whimpers" does a great job of offering 19 various scenarios about the end of the world, as summarized below:

"The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke -- A Tibetan monastery uses a computer to find "all the possible names of God", in order to discover His purpose. >> "Killing the Morrow" by Robert Reed -- An omnipresent voice instructs people to hatch human-like embryos in their homes--but for what purpose? >> "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale" by Neil Gaiman -- A man hires a hit man to kill his fiancee's lover, but being unable to pass up a bargain, he gets a little in over his head. Without a doubt, my favorite story here. Love the ending. >> "Fire Catcher" by Richard Kadrey -- A military assassin plays his part in the Apocalyptic third World War. >> "Not with a Bang" by Howard Fast -- One evening, a man sees the sun get snuffed out, proclaiming to "The Hollow Men" quote: "This is the way the world ends / not with a bang but a whimper." >> "Lost and Found" by Connie Willis -- The search for a church school teacher's missing cup turns up a far more important utensil.

"The Wind and the Rain" by Robert Silverberg -- A group of futuristic scientists visits a destroyed Earth in order to restore it. >> "The Year of the Jackpot" by Robert A. Heinlein -- A statistician tries to prove his point that the incidents in our world occur in cycles. Feels more like a novella than a short story, but it does pick up at the end. >> "Expendable" by Philip K. Dick -- A man, unlucky enough to learn the truth about an army of ants, becomes their next prime target. Quite amusing in a surreal sort of way. >> "Finis" by Frank L. Pollack -- With the arrival of a new star in the Earth's galaxy comes the unexpected, fiery end for this world, which was a nice change of pace, since most of the authors in here rely on the freezing factor. >> "A Guide to Virtual Death" by J. G. Ballard -- A brief, 3-paged TV itinerary proves that television is one of man's most destructive tools. >> "Emissary from a Green and Yellow World" by Robert Sheckley -- An alien from a distant planet comes to the President of the U.S. with a warning--that the sun is going to nova in 150 years and all the people of Earth must prepare for escape.

"The Portable Phonograph" by Walter Van Tilburg Clark -- Set in a post-holocaustic winter, four men connect with the past via a portable phonograph. Very flowery writing, almost too much so. >> "Fermi and Frost" by Frederik Pohl -- A nuclear attack leaves the world scrambling for shelter. >> "Ultimate Construction" by C. C. Shackleton -- A 2-paged story in which sand covers the face of the Earth. >> "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged)" by John Varley -- Several paragraph-long bios of people in the Manhattan phone book, just before a bomb kills them all. Strange, morbidly humorous story. I liked it. >> "The Man who Walked Home" by James Tiptree, Jr. -- A "monster" in a crater makes his annual appearances as the world changes around him. Confusing. >> "Interview with a Lemming" by James Thurber -- The title explains it all: a scientist's 3-page conversation with a lemming. >> "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov -- Over time, a computer is asked the same question of how to reverse entropy. An appropriate ending to this book.

I've never been very interested in science fiction, or end-of-the-world stuff for that matter, but I do like a few of the writers in "Bangs & Whimpers" (Neil Gaiman, for instance), so I had to give it a try. Overall, the book was pretty good. It became a little heavy and dismal at times (but what do you expect from a book about "the end?")--though there are a few humorous exceptions, like "We Can Get Them for You Wholesale," "Expendable," and "The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged)" (all favorites of mine).

What a great collection

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 2002-09-25

At turns funny, sad, triumphant, poignant and everywhere in between, this anthology is probably the best I've ever read. Just great stuff.

Highlights are Nine Billion Names of God, Manhattan Phone Book (abridged) and We Can Get Them For You Wholesale.

All of the best authors are here

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-18

This is an anthology of some of the best apocalyptic short stories, by the best authors around. If "the end of the world (as we know it)" is your bag, you'll certainly want to read this one.

Beginning with Arthur C. Clarke (The Nine Billion Names of God) and ending with Isaac Asimov (The Last question), all the great ones are here--yes, Heinlein, too (The Year of the Jackpot). Even James Thurber (Interview With a Lemming.)

Nineteen of the best apolcalyptic short stories ever to appear in print.

Of course I recommend it.

Joseph Pierre

The Battle for Bond: The Genesis of Cinema's Greatest Hero

Published in Paperback by Tomahawk Press (GA) (2007-08-10)

Author: Robert Sellers

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The Difficult Birth of 007

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-09-22

This is certainly a good book for the James Bond fan (I include myself).

It's probably worth reading for the general movie fan as well since one can see the roles of chance and chaos in any creative endeavor.

The simple story of producers Albert R. Broccoli & Harry Saltzmann finding the 007 books by Ian Fleming and creating the biggest franchise in movie history just didn't come about that easily. In fact, Broccoli & Saltzmann don't play very big roles in THE BATTLE FOR BOND.

The first third of the book meticulously chronicles Ian Fleming's attempts to get Bond on the silver screen, quoting or just reprinting the letters and cables between Fleming, his friends/business associates, the producer Kevin McClory and screenwriter Jack Whittingham. It quickly becomes a mess.

The middle third discusses the filming of "Thunderball" with plenty of interesting tidbits from actors and crew.

The final third follows the chaotic set of McClory & Sean Connery's "renegade" Bond film, "Never Say Never Again," as well as McClory's attempts to hang on to Bond to his dying day.

What jumped out at me while reading THE BATTLE FOR BOND was just how little happiness 007 and "Thunderball" brought to the principle personalities. Ian Fleming, already in failing health from 60 cigarettes a day and heavy drinking, slowly burned out and died of a heart attack just a few months after settling with McClory. Jack Whittingham also suffered from severe heart problems and risked death to participate in a trial that profited him nothing.

Sean Connery, the actor who would become the biggest movie star in the world in perhaps the most iconic film character of the 20th Century, was sick to death of Bond by 1965's "Thunderball" and miserable. He then returned to the role in 1983's "Never Say Never Again" and was even more miserable shooting that unorganized film.

And Kevin McClory, who begins this saga as a scrappy underdog but ends as a disgraceful, greedy thorn in everyone's side, ends a broken, bitter man, his last tenuous grasp on Bond finally wrenched from his dying fingers by the courts shortly before his death.

I wouldn't call it "The Curse of Bond," but it doesn't look like any of the leads really savored and enjoyed the success of James Bond and "Thunderball."

(Financially, Broccoli & Saltzmann would benefit the most but they don't play major roles in this book. There are plenty of people who complain about how cheap they were--Sean Connery first and foremost--but the author doesn't go into much detail about them.)

A worthy entry in the Bond lore.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-08

The book features not one but two villains, but they are so beautifully brought to life you can see their characters in the round, as it were, humans with failings just like the rest of us. One was Ian Fleming himself, who comes across in THE BATTLE FOR BOND as a pop genius like Warhol with a great invention, the James Bond character, and yet a weakness for trampling over the rights of others out of his sense of clubby privilege which is fairly sickening after a few chapters. So when he employs others to help him sketch out a screenplay that will feature his Bond character, he doesn't even think twice about novelizing their joint effort and publishing it under his own name. He had what became the modern equivalent of the old fashioned "droit du seigneur," and the others were just pawns in his game.

The second "villain who's not really a villain" was the crazy swinger Kevin McClory, technically he was used and abused by Ian Fleming but he sure wound up with his pound of flesh didn't he! Author Robert Sellers, the one man who was able to pick up and tell the whole wretched and confused saga from beginning to end, makes you eventually loathe Kevin, even though he started out as the underdog. Kevin was the type of friend than which you'd rather have an enemy, so you hold him in your embrace just so you can see what he's doing with his hands.

The hero of the book winds up to be Jack Whittingham, a venerable and talented screenwriter whom BOTH McClory and Fleming took up, then cast aside. AND his daughter, the beautiful singer and office manager Sylvan Whittingham, who kept all the papers together for forty years and then finally, with the help of a faithful lawyer, Peter Carter-Ruck, brought all the pieces together to tell a strange and disturbing story of genius gone mad. As Sellers points out, the saga of Carter-Ruck is like a Shakespearean tragedy, but the same can be said for the sad and wasted life of Kevin McClory. At the very end of the book there's a great photo of a little girl, Jack Whittingham's granddaughter, Aimi, inspecting with all the unconscious grace of a child, the neatly cared for grave of her grandad. It's in Malta, of all places, an island he loved.

I did not know a thousand facts that Sellers lets on: that Julie Christie was considered for the role of Domino; that Luciana Paluzzi considered Claudine Auger cold and calculating; that Dirk Bogarde might have been James Bond--or Rod Taylor--both of them I guess, not so bad choices. The angry figure of Sean Connery permeates the flavor of the book like a simmering stew of bad feeling that will not go away. He's great, but like everyone else in the book bar the Whittinghams, his life has been misspent chasing money and licking wounded pride.

A saga big as BLEAK HOUSE and as captivating as CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, except for grown ups.

battle for bond

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

A brilliant, well researched indepth study of a ongoing war between two rival film companies on the greatest film hero of all time JAMES BOND and the movies THUNDERBALL and NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN. Buy it now...because in ENGLAND the book has been through the law courts and consequently has been banned from sale, it will be reprinted minus a few items that caused quite a fuss. So buy it now from amazon usa

For Bond Fans

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-05

Alot of the history of THUNDERBALL isn't new to me but Sellers writes a really entertaining and fascinating bit of history. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it -- in one seating. Great treasure of previously unseen material (Connery scouting the State of Liberty for the never made WARHEAD, production drawings, rare photos, etc). As it has been pulled off the market because litigation from the Fleming Trust (who could they be? Fleming's been dead since 1964, his wife died years ago and his only son died from a drug overdose in the early 1970's) so it is going to be harder to get. Worth the effort!

Top Marks!

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-15

There are many of us who do care to know the true story about Thunderball - have a look at the uk reviews! This is a landmark book and contains fresh information on this fascinating subject. Top marks to author Robert Sellers who tells an unbiased factual story about the origins of the Bond movies

Being and Becoming

Published in Hardcover by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (1987-11-26)

Authors: Myrna Loy and James Kotsilibas-Davis

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A True Hollywood Legend

Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2002-08-08

I couldn't put this book down from the moment I started reading it. It's written from Myrna's own point of view, and it's intresting to get in the mind of Ms. Loy just a few years short from when she died. It has great insight on her relationships with such legends as Clark Gable, William Powell, Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow, and even Alfred Hitchcock. It's a great read for anyone who is intrested in the Golden Age of film.

Lady of Hollywood- NoBody But Myrna Loy Deserves That Title!

Helpful Votes: 17 out of 20 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-07

I can't say this about the other actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood, but I can say it about Myrna Loy, she was a Lady, anyone who wants to learn how to be a Lady, look at this woman, learn, watch and observe her movies, and read this book. She tells about her life, you can get a picture on what type of person she is. She doesn't tell every private thing of her life, but she tells just enough to get us to love her and see she's a lady, I wish she would of kids, she needs someone to carry on her name and carry on the legend. I have to say in my book, she consider one of the beautifuliest women in Hollywood, she had that rare, exotic beauty, and maintained it for years well into her 50s and 60s, a lot of actresses from that era drinked their beauty away, not Myrna. Myrna didn't want to be a bombshell, not a society type, not a glamour queen, she wanted to be all of it, be a lady, be tough, speak her mind, but still have class, dignity, and be a bombshell, high society type, glamour queen all together. She knew her limits as an actress, which a lot of actresses don't. I loved how I read about how she helped blacks and miniorities, and did it publicly, she was sick of the way blacks were treated, especially in movies, she once said, "Why Does Every Black Person Has To Be A Servant, Why Can't A Black Person Go Up The Stairs with A Briefcase or Doctor's Bag" she use to argue with the studio about this realizing that it could damage her career. She spoke her mind, She tells how she once was shy but overcame it, she was referring that to Greta Garbo, she didn't like the way Greta acted, and she said there was no reason for that, becuse she was once shy but worked on it. She talks about mostly all the Golden Age of Hollywood actors and actresses, tells the truth and tells what type of people they really were. She proved that you can be a legend and star and still be talked about and be good without scandals, without sleeping around, without heavy partying or falling out drunk to get publicity. She certainly is the Queen of Hollywood, and Lady of Hollywood. Rest in Peace Beautiful

Best Book I Ever Read

Helpful Votes: 4 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2007-12-28

The title says it all. Am I biased? Perhaps. But there is no doubt that the person who wrote this book was a true lady, in every way. There is none of the snobbishness, ego, lie and most of all, gossip, that may be expected from autobiographies like these. Myrna Loy was a very straightforward, candid and honest woman and this certainly shows through the pages. The only time she even comes close to "bad-mouthing" someone is when she expresses her disapproval of the person's political views. Yet she makes it clear that just because their views seem distasteful does not mean they are bad people. Some of these were her friends, and she says nothing bad about their characters. If anything, she has at least one positive thing to say about each person that has entered her life. If I had to pick the most remarkable thing about Myrna Loy, it would be her gift of instinct, which was what allowed her to be such a great actress and such an understanding friend to all those who knew her.

The book is a truly fascinating read for anyone interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Myrna Loy was either close or acquainted with all the famous people you hear of - Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Carole Lombard, Jeanette MacDonald. She even recounts some stories of Greta Garbo, whose dressing room was next to hers. And that is not all. She was there since the very beginning days of film, and in this book you hear about the famous silent stars - Rudolph Valentino, John Gilbert, Dolores Costello, Conrad Nagel. Because she worked into the '80s on both film and television, she was also acquainted with some of the later stars like Doris Day, Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Lemmon, and even Catherine Deneuve. All these names can take your breath away and I really enjoyed reading about the whole span of Hollywood from its early years to its modern days. She is right in the midst of it all and the amazing thing is, these names are not evoked in a gossipy tone. It's just simply a part of her life. The names are inevitably there, when she and her first husband Arthur Hornblow lived in the Pacific Palisades, the home of the Hollywood elite, and when in her later years she moved to New York, a gathering place for all the playwrights and stage actors.

Everyone who knows Myrna Loy also knows about her political activism. She was very active - like most other Hollywood stars - during WWII, and was concerned with the suspicion and framing that were prevalent in Hollywood prior to the Red Scare. She was part of the First Amendment Committee, an organization founded to counter the House Un-American Activities Committee, and later became the first actress to work for the UN when she joined UNESCO. Always fighting for justice, she questioned studio heads about the portrayal of African American actors in movies and fought against discrimination in housing. As the wife of a politician, she resided in Georgetown, D.C. where she socialized with other politicians and their wives, many of whom she admired. If the big names of Hollywood doesn't impress you, the big names of Capitol Hill may, for she was well-acquainted with them as well. Whoever thinks Hollywood and Washington cannot work together will be proven wrong in this book. Myrna Loy was a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, a favorite of FDR and well-acquainted with the Kennedys. Her political work was always in her mind, even when she worked in films, because she sought to help others instead of dwelling in her wealth.

In conclusion, breathtaking - is the word that can sum up this book. Her life was indeed very rich, and today's youngsters could learn much from this lady.

An Amazing Lady!

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2004-12-06

This is an excellent autobiography. Myrna Loy is a woman ahead of her time. She discusses candidly and with amazing detail her life inside and outside the studio. It is refreshing to see a book that is not a scandalous tell all. She was very political and makes no bones about the fact that she is a liberal and she was very vocal in her involvement politically and on social causes.

The difference between her and the "famous" now is she read about the cause or the political issue before getting up and talking to the public. The blithering that goes on now is amazing; Hollywood can take a lesson from Miss Loy on knowing your subject first then opening your mouth in an intelligent, classy manner.

What a lady in the true sense of the word. Sadly she is gone, but her charm, grace and elegance lives on in her movies and her book. Bravo Miss Loy!

Impressive life

Helpful Votes: 6 out of 8 total.
Review Date: 2002-06-01

Myrna Loy's career spanned the late silient films, through the beginning of talkies, then technicolor, and didn't end till the early 1980's. Anyone with an interest in American cinema will probably enjoy this book. If you are interested in gossip, this is not the book you want. Gossip is not her style.

I was a bit overwhelmed by all the names in the book. She has mixed with so many people, that sometimes the famous names became a sort of mental blur as I read.

My favorite thing about this book is that Myrna Loy expresses her Liberal Democrat point-of-view. She was a very politically active person in the second half of her life, and she uses the book to express her political ideals. People get this notion that everyone who lived through World War II ended up as Republicans. Loy makes it clear that her generation was not all conservative.

The Billy Graham Training Center Bible: Time-Tested Answers to Your Toughest Questions

Published in Bonded Leather by Thomas Nelson (2004-12-16)

Author: Thomas Nelson

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Billy Graham Training Center Bible

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-09

Excellent! Would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a Bible that connects you so easily from one Scripture to the next under particular topics. Yet it is not a Topical Bible. I am a pastor and it is very useful in my ministry.

HAVE A QUESTION? FIND THE ANSWER!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-09-11

Truely amazing bible. Tough questions from everyday life situations answered in the way one would expect if actually talking with Billy Graham. Easy to read and understand, makes finding answers to common questions a breeze. A must have for all Christians.

Excellent NKJV bible!

Helpful Votes: 12 out of 12 total.
Review Date: 2005-11-11

I just received this bible and upon review I have to say it is of very good quality. There is very, very little bleed through of other words on a page which is important because I have trouble reading bibles printed on thin paper. I find bleed through highly distracting. The pages are very easy to turn because of the thicker paper.

Also the type size is very good, I usually read larger print, but this one is very acceptable because the verses are well spread out with meaing there is more space between each sentence, in other words, the verses aren't all smashed together like some bibles I've owned and sold. This also makes for less eye strain and faster reading.

I've owned and do own many bibles, and will have to say that Billy Graham's notes are to the point and easy to understand which can be highly appreciated if you are somewhat confused about some bibles lengthy discussions on theology. It's to the point Christianity in a nutshell!

Another good point about this bible is that the concordance is substantial. On the downside, this bible could have had references in it, that would have made it awesome. But I give it 5 points anyway because I'm so impressed with the thicker paper, minimal bleed through, large concordance and the short and to the point reference material by Billy Graham.

I own the NAS, NIV, NASB, AMP, NLT, GNT, ESV and the KJV and I purchased this one last because of all the bad reports I have heard about it being a poor translation. I have done research on the background of the manuscripts they have chosen, both good and bad research, and am still eager to read it as my sample readings have been very enjoyable. I used to be bent on just picking one translation, the best one, but in many years of studying them all and researching the critics, I have found that none of them is perfect. So I have decided to use several of them to get a grasp on God's word more clearly when I sit for serious study. Since doing so, I have really been blessed. God does protect his word despite man's attempts to develop the "best" translation. Good luck and God Bless.

billy graham bible

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-14

the product was of top quality the shipment of the product was timely

Billy Graham Training Center Bible

Helpful Votes: 7 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2005-10-17

I love this Bible. I highly recommend it for anyone seriously considering a Bible. It answers tough questions with love and biblical insight; it is a true blessing in a world sadly devoid of blessings. You can do worse.

Billy Running Dog

Published in Paperback by Running Dog Productions (1996-12)

Author: James F. Rayle

List price: $14.95

New price: $18.98
Used price: $2.62
Collectible price: $18.99

Average review score:

His (Rayle's) is an original voice.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-18

Billy Running Dog is an authentic and corrosive vision of hell. Alternately funny and tragic, it speaks to and for the forgotten and ignored; the humans that society feels most compfortable consigning to the trash heap. PETER COYOTE, Actor/Author

Billy Running Dog is a MUST read.!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-18

A powerful portrait of aspects of life that need examining. Highly recommended. VVA Veteran..Marc Leepson.

A compelling tale.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-18

Wholly original and provocative. The characters are stikingly vivid and their images stay with the reader long after the book has ended. The Associated Press.

I couldn't put it down and am glad I didn't.

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1998-11-18

...a fascinating and intriguing story. Baffling and enlightening. It combines humor and insight, brilliant writing and a series of mysteries that absorbed me until the last page. I couldn't put it down and am glad I didn't. David Dellinger, member of "Chicago Seven"

Destined to become a literary classic.

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-07-15

I would ask that all my supporters make an effort to read my brother James Rayle's book Billy Running Dog.

Biofilms II: Process Analysis and Applications

Published in Hardcover by Wiley-Liss (2000-04-21)

Author:

List price: $206.95

New price: $42.00
Used price: $42.00

Average review score:

Expert Review

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-11-14

"The book fulfills its promises and covers most, if not all new insights achieved in the field over the past ten years, and is to be recommended greatly for all those studying biofilms, both microbiologists and engineers. The book is written by authors from various disciplines, but carries the strong signature of the engineer." --Henk J. Busscher, University of Groningen

Expert Review

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-11-14

"The book fulfills its promises and covers most, if not all new insights achieved in the field over the past ten years, and is to be recommended greatly for all those studying biofilms, both microbiologists and engineers. The book is written by authors from various disciplines, but carries the strong signature of the engineer." --Henk J. Busscher, University of Groningen

Expert Reviews

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-05-17

"well-written, well-illustrated and very current...The editor is to be congratulated for bringing together many diverse areas of biofilm technology to a coherent and meaningful form in this book." --AM Chkrabarty, University of Illinois at Chicago

"careful integration of the biology, engineering and applied aspects of biofilm research and development. Bryers has achieved a well-balanced view of modern concepts of the microbiology (including relevant ecology and molecular biological advances), process analysis (including stoichiometry, kinetics, reactor design and transport phenomena) and applications of biofilm technology in a wide variety of fields. He has achieved this by carefully condensing basic concepts...and selecting authors conversant with and contributing to concepts evolved over the past decade. Biofilms II is a welcome addition to modern biofilm literature." --Kevin Marshall, The University of New South Wales

Expert Review

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-08

A welcome addition--the selection of authors is first-rate. It is very well-edited and constructed. The book is highly recommended for anyone interested in biofilms. In fact, it is a must for biofilm researchers. --Ron J. Doyle, Professor of Microbiology, University of Louisville

A new light for Biofilms

Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-06-03

This amazing new book opens a new doorway to biofilms for me. An excellent book, with new technological ideas that other books leave out. If bacteria could read they'd be breathless, which they are anyway for they don't have any mitochondria. Can't wait for the movie!

Bittersweet Revenge

Published in Paperback by PublishAmerica (2005-03-28)

Author: Aja James

List price: $24.95

New price: $27.95
Used price: $31.39

Average review score:

New Author Worth Reading

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-11-14

Very entertaining, the well developed characters grab you early and run you through a very well thought out story line. A historical romance that makes you wonder how much of the information is accurate. I'll read it again and again.

fantastic story!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-17

Ms. Aja James is a fantastic author. It's amazing how she totally changed her writing style from her first to her second book. You really feel sorry for Diana at first, then it turns around so that you almost hate her, and then you feel sorry for her again! Troy is fantastic as the perfect guy... so strong, (handsome - of course!), and completely noble. You just have to love the guy. The side story romance with Maia was absolutely fantastic as well. Read this book, but be warned, it is heavy at times.

It will make your heart clench

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-07

If you want a light-hearted read, you probably shouldn't go for Bittersweet Revenge. But if you want passion, intensity, and all-consuming love, then go for it. Bittersweet Revenge is certainly a departure from Ms. James' first novel Viking's Princess, which was almost fairy-tale-like in its innocent simplicity. BR is quite dark and stormy, a mood that is reinforced by the ancient setting and turbulent time period. Although I liked Viking's Princess for its light-hearted humor, I appreciate Bittersweet Revenge more for its depth of character development, really focusing on the interaction between two individuals from opposite worlds, drawn together by a force more powerful than social and political pressures. In the end, I'm certainly a believe that love really does conquer all.

Made me cry... several times

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-02

If you're looking for an emotional roller-coaster, this is it. Ms James really tugs at the heart-strings with this intense, deep-feeling, heart-clenching love story. I love the fiercely strong heroine, the noble, man's man of a hero, and the enchanting historical landscape in which the story is set. If you're looking for a light-hearted comedic read, this is not it. But I promise that you'll remember this story long after you've read it. Now this is True Love.

Fantastic!

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2005-06-06

They need to make this into a movie. Reading Ms. James' Bittersweet Revenge was a lot more fulfilling than watching Troy or Alexander or Kingdom of Heaven. If you like that sort of ancient historical backdrop for romance and intrigue, you can't go wrong with BR. I like the powerful female character. Maybe it's a stretch to have a woman lead an entire Roman legion, but I'm prepared to indulge in this bit of fantasy. And I absolutely LOVE Troy, the hero of the novel, whose unwavering loyalty and strength and compassion would make any woman fall in love with him. Truly, no other man could have saved Diana's soul. I like the fact that the usual romance stereotype with the sweet, angelic woman saving the ruffian, the savage, or whatever is flipped, and it's the MAN this time saving the woman from the clutches of emotional and spiritual hell because of all the suffering she's endured in the War. It's a great read. Definitely a keeper!

Blues for Bird

Published in Unknown Binding by Alpha Beat Press (1998)

Author: James Martin Gray

List price:

Used price: $37.99

Average review score:

A poet's ear!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-26

Great book! This book, Blues for Bird, is worth all the other biographies of Charlie Parker combined. A concise and direct evocation of the jazzman's life, it tells the tragic story of his rise and fall, and the tragic decline of his later years--it censors nothing, it tells the story better than a more detailed biographical volume, And does it with a poet's ear and eye! Alright! Be-bop!

Epic/anti-epic

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-27

How can you write an epic today when the world is no longer 'story-shaped'? You can go back and translate 'Beowulf', as Seamus Heaney has done, or you can be like Martin Gray and write an epic life in quantum bursts of three-stress energy.

Accessible poetry

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-30

Somebody ought to make a bunch of CDs, with an actor reading these highly accessible poems against a backdrop of Charlie Parker's music. They'd be a wow!

A poet's ear!

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2000-02-26

Great book! This book, Blues for Bird, is worth all the other biographies of Charlie Parker combined. A concise and direct evocation of the jazzman's life, it tells the tragic story of his rise and fall, and the tragic decline of his later years--it censors nothing, it tells the story better than a more detailed biographical volume, And does it with a poet's ear and eye! Alright! Be-bop!

Epic anti-epic

Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-27

How can you write an epic today when the world is no longer 'story-shaped'? You can go back and translate 'Beowulf', as Seamus Heaney, has done, or you can be like Martin Gray and write an epic life in quantum bursts of three-stress energy.

The Boxer & the Poet: Something of a Romance

Published in Paperback by Black Lyon Publishing (2008-03-15)

Author: James Thayer

List price: $17.95

New price: $10.97
Used price: $14.28

Average review score:

And now for something completely different!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-08-05

I have been a fan of James Thayer novels ever since I read Pursuit in the mid-late 80's- and have read all the prior and all since... This one is very different and as usual, very very well-written and entertaining. Most prior novels/fiction involved intricate spies and thriller scenarios- and I have enjoyed them all. The Boxer & The Poet involves "Something of a Romance" (literally) as well as awesome boxing details, intricate New Orleans scenery and community, an enticing plot with bizarre bad-guys that you just want to slap (punch actually!) Add in some mystical voodoo (hoodoo voodoo- We Do!) and the whole book stirs up like a witches brew of unusual ingredients. I liked it so much that I savored every chapter and took my time reading it - thinking about and pondering what I had just read.... I can't wait for the next Jame Thayer novel.. no matter what genre!

The Boxer and the Poet: Something of a Great Read!

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-07-09

James Thayer has done it again! Witty, fast-paced, engaging, intellegent writing at its best! Thanks, Jim!

A Super Read

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-16

James Thayer's thrillers have all been must read for me. He is at the top of his game in that genre.

Yet THE BOXER & THE POET is the best book he's written. Super characterization, wonderful plot, and best of all, a voice which is unique. It is a romance; however, it is so much more. Character study, really fun plot which derives from the characters, and some of the best dialogue you'll ever read. One thing it is not: it isn't your basic romance novel. One thing it has that it does not flaunt: literary elements--but you'd never know it.

What it is: it is a fusion of romance, action, adventure and character development. You'll love Dennis Jones, alleged washed-up boxer. Dennis attends colleges wherever he happens to be. Isobel Autrey is a college professor of poetry who learns to be a stripper. Toss in the mix some gangsters, some real character characters, and some voodoo and Thayer bakes for 273 pages and ends up with the most satisfying close of any novel you'll ever read.

A unique romance

Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-10

John McAdams (Fort Worth, Texas)
James Thayer has hit the jackpot again. After writing 13 successful "thriller" novels, Mr. Thayer has changed genres to a unique romance. Using a first person voice of a washed-up boxer who has an offchance encounter with a strong-willed poet, he sends the readers on a journey through the streets and Garden District of New Orleans in search of an Edgar Allen Poe original manuscript of one of his poems. With each succeeding chapter providing a surprise and a new twist in his tale, the author uses humor, insight and an even prose to weaver his tale of boxing and poetry. Each new character adds to the already amazing plot that finally ends in an unsuspecting conclusion. Nothing is given away to the reader and it is the guess of what comes next that keeps the reader entertained and cativated. A must read for anyone and especially a Thayer fan.

Impossible To Put Down

Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-19

..... a fantastic and fast paced adventure filled with so many interesting and fascinating characters. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, wondering what will happen next. The chemistry between the weary battle scared boxer Dennis and the beautiful socialite Isobel is mesmerizing. If you've enjoyed James Thayer's books in the past then this one, his first but hopefully not his last attempt at a romance will delight you. I found this book almost impossible to put down and James Thayer has a brand new fan in me...

James Books