Richard Books

This is not only one of the most informative books ever published on the history (as opposed to the geography, geology, anthropology or wildlife - if you want those, go elsewhere) of Death Valley and the mountains surrounding it, it is a thoroughly amusing and satisfying read for any student of Western history and does for Death Valley what J. Frank Dobie did for territories further south. One gets the impression that in spite of its inhospitable nature, there may have been more frauds per square foot committed around Death Valley than any other American soil west of Wall Street. Lingenfelter traces them all, and one of the charms of his book is that while he is admirably even-handed in puncturing the inflated claims of bull-shippers like Death Valley Scotty and George Graham Rice, he seems to have a sneaking affection for all the boodlers, grifters, con men and watered-stock-artists he chronicles, as well as for the hopeful dreamers totally unprepared for Mother Nature's crueler side who seem to have populated the region ever since the first California-bound covered wagons stumbled into it. In fact, the only thing missing from this book that I would have found useful is a record of what is still there to be seen of the colorful boom towns he chronicles - for example, according to the National Park Service, Rhyolite still has quite a bit to reward the sightseer (even though it has had to be fenced off to keep tourists from carrying it away bit by bit as souvenirs to decorate their dens), while the once-flourishing mining towns of Greenwater and Bullfrog have so totally disappeared that there is nothing at all to be seen there today.

With a fifty-five page bibliography and a hundred pages of endnotes, you'd expect this closely documented history of this region, published from a university press by a professor (of physics!) to read like most academic texts. It does not. It's witty, insightful, droll, while remaining relentlessly focused not on the feel of the area (for that, see his "Death Valley Lore" edition of century-old tall tales and/or journalism or John Soennichsen's lively personal take "Live from Death Valley"; both books also reviewed by me on Amazon)-- but on its discovery by pioneers, its promotion by hucksters to gullible investors, and the sheer difficulty of getting its mineral and ore riches out of the Valley due to the lack of water and wood. No matter how tempting the surface finds might promise prospectors and speculators, the fact remained that more borax than gold came from there, and perhaps more lead than silver, and the enormous labor and climatic peril meant that, less than a century after it was stumbled upon by gold-rushers seeking a shortcut west, it became more lucrative as a tourist attraction rather than a mother lode.

Lingenfelter assembles his considerable data primarily from newspapers and government archives of the time. Maps both early and later help you visualize the places, and period photos give you a peek into a few of the sites. I wish more of these had been included, but it's a minor flaw. Chapters cover chronologically the pre-European settlers; the miners of the 1850s and 1860s; the Pocket Miners' boomlets that sparked buying frenzies for gold, silver, lead and later the humbler but savvily-sold borax; the copper and lead profits; and the rise of the auto, rail, and bus excursions that in the wake of Scotty's endless PR set the Valley indelibly on the map and on the silent screen. His opening paragraphs for each of the chapters and sub-sections serve as models for expository writing in their command of image, style, and intrigue.

The author wrote most of his account based on the contemporary reports from the area, and the abundance of press from the California and Nevada mining towns themselves must have rivalled dueling bloggers who try to cash in on the staked-out domains of the Net in our own feverish commercial marketing campaigns. Death Valley's Scotty and his lesser-known real-estate snake-oil rival C.C. Julian emerge from these closely printed, but largely engrossing, pages as larger-than-life promoters of their own image and of the dreams of avarice that they kindled in their readers all over the country. The narrative leaps energetically into such characters' humbug, and your patience for all the data on stock prices, lists of claims, and dutiful attention to grubstakes and legal battles, while all necessary for the foundation of such an informative text, is rewarded with a chance to feel the repelling yet fascinating charm of the salesmen who sold the spirit of the Gold Rush or Klondike or Comstock to later, more citified, folks, and delighted in the con all the way as much as perhaps many of their willing victims seemed to do. Likewise, the manipulation of Leadfield by Julian as the profits rose and fell on his considerable talents in advertising what his reader wanted can be rivalled by earlier, less-known efforts such as the Panamint and Bullfrog and Ryan mines that crested and tumbled their value on the stock exchanges in roller-coaster fashion.

Finally, there's a glimpse at such later figures as "Bob" Eichbaum, who built a toll road, sensibly, to found a resort smack in the middle of the Valley when his horses refused to go any further with his supplies for construction. He and the last to get rich off the Valley managed to do so by convincing Hoover, just before he left the White House, to protect the interests of those who had already cornered the market for the automobile-bound visitors. These developers wished to keep the mining going, while heading off any real-estate boom, and they succeeded in cornering their control of the concessions and sights, while getting the taxpayers to take over the bill for roads, maintenance, and upkeep.

Still, as Lingenfelter concludes, this may well be a great bargain, for in its appeal as a supposedly deadly, noxious, forbidden, or hellish place, its own Hollywood-fueled scenario makes it the largest National Park today. It also was spared the dispiriting subdivision of Palm Springs or the tacky sprawl of Las Vegas. In its not-quite pristine but still rather primitive state, it's a place where yearly one that half a million of us drive to, winter or summer, in search of the curious lure that impels us to look high up to Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the 48 States, while far below sea level at fittingly named Badwater.

This book provides incredibly thorough coverage of the history of Death Valley. For my interests, I wish the emphasis had included more information about Panamint Valley, Searles Valley, and the Darwin area, but these, somewhat peripheral, areas do get some coverage. The details provided by the author are very helpful and it is obvious throughout the book that the history presented here was carefully researched and authoritative. On top of everything else the entire story of Death Valley is presented clearly and in a style which is enjoyable to read.

This is much more than just a social or human history of Death Valley.

It's also a highly in-depth natural history. And, it must be.

No human history of the hottest, driest, lowest, and certainly starkest place in North America could discuss human history without examing both the climate and geology behind it.

And Lingenfelter does an excellent job of doing just that.

Learn more about early treks across this land, the Native Americans, precious metal and borax/chemical mining and more.

In the Preface to this definitive history of Death Valley, Richard Lingenfelter writes, "This is the history of Death Valley, where that bitter stream the Amargosa dies. It embraces the whole basin of the Amargosa from the Panamints to the Spring Mountains, from the Palmettos to the Avawatz.... This is the story of an illusory land, of the people it attracted and of the dreams and delusions they pursued.... But mostly it's the story of the illusions - of the shortcuts to the gold diggings, of the deadliness of the land, of the bonanzas and immense riches ...." The history spans a period of time from its earliest recollections to 1933, when Herbert Hoover designated it a National Monument.

Apparently Death Valley got its name from a group of Argonauts passing through on their way to the California gold fields in 1850. The name first appeared on a map in 1861. Paiute and Shoshone Indians frequented the area, of course, long before whites showed up, and lived off crops they grew. The earliest whites were prospectors, looking for gold and silver. Ironically, the most valuable resource would turn out to be the white substance anyone could find just by looking: borax. Millions of dollars worth of borax was shipped out of the valley, first by the legendary 20-mule team wagons, and then by train. In the early 20th century gold was discovered in the valley and soon gold camps and boomtowns, places like Bullfrog, Beatty, and Rhyolite, were attracting miners and get-rich-quick schemers from all over the country. Copper and gas frenzies followed, but the next big change to the area was brought about by the automobile: tourists in their Model Ts were invited to "see Hell firsthand" and to experience the mysteries and uniqueness of this unforgiving area with Death in its name. And soon there was Scotty's Castle to ogle. Then in 1933, after years of wrangling, President Hoover declared Death Valley a National Monument.

Lingenfelter's book is dense with fact and incident, but it's a fascinating read from beginning to end. Although a previous book published in 1940 had attempted to be a history of Death Valley, it was incomplete and selective, and mixed fact and fable without distinguishing the two. Lingenfelter's book is thus the first to cover the ground completely and factually. (100 pages of endnotes attest to his serious intentions.) The book is authoritative and, as I mentioned earlier, definitive. Highly recommended.

Den of Deception by Richard Nelson is one of the best 'who-done-it' books I have ever read. The writing and story line is in the 'big-league' class. It is a quick read, as the story flows very well. I highly recommend this book to others.

Den of Deception is a fast-paced story that reads like it was written with the big screen in mind. The scenes are all so visual and easy to picture being played out to the accompaniment of a dramatic score, sound effects, and lighting.

Jon Roman is definitely leading-man material. He's rich, good-looking, witty, and trained as a highly efficient killing machine by the Army's Special Forces. When he's hired by beautiful doctor Brianne Richard to help find her mother's killer, he soon discovers that he needs all his training for the job. He stumbles onto a decades-old conspiracy involving government agencies, organized crime, and Brianne's family.

Jon and Brianne are kidnapped as a warning to drop the investigation, and they barely manage to escape with their lives. When Brianne is hurt in the process, the case becomes personal for Jon, because he and Brianne have fallen in love.

Richard Alan Nelson writes with a voice that manages to be witty and engaging even when writing nail-biting, violent scenes, and his storyline never drags. He made me genuinely like his characters and I hope he'll let me visit them again in future books.

As we follow Brie on her hunt for revenge and retribution against the man that killed her mother, we are taken on a journey. The ups and downs of the hunt, the man she meets along the way and all the sordid family secrets, keep you wondering what will happen next.
Great job Mr. Nelson, I can't wait for more books from you. Two Thumbs Up!

Recommendation: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Lynn Young is the Managing Editor of MWLA, A reviewer and an Editor.

Den of Deception will keep the reader turning the page as they experience a compelling and intriguing story filled with danger and romance. Bravo, Mr. Nelson for deftly weaving this exciting novel with believeable characters and sizzling romance that gripped me from the start and never let go.

L.C. Martin

It's a deadly combination this second time out for author Nelson. Once again Nelson demonstrates he can put words together well, and even mix genres a bit resulting in this winning combination, guaranteed to satisfy men and women readers. For me there is just the right amount of dialogue and detail in "Den of Deception" and without giving anything away...the title is perfect...trust me... Keep the good reads coming our way, Nelson. Outstanding!

This book brings back the Remo Williams series to its original flavor while adding new dimension to the Smith Character. A must read for Destroyer fans. The series is back!!

I thought the series was on its last leg. But the new guy seems to know what he is doing. Keep up the good work!!!!

The writing is tight, the plot develops and like the very best of the series, I simply cannot stop reading. Remo is himself he is no longer a marionette "karate dancing" for hack writers. Chiun is the reigning master bringing awe not, "aw no". I still have issue No.1 purchased many years ago. I have read all of the Destroyer series and I know that the series now has a chance to surpass it's own roots. There have been continuing themes before but never as tightly scripted and well plotted. The new author is not only extremely well versed in the sun source but he is expanding the legend. It may be heresy But this could be the best yet.

after a momentary lapse of reason it seems that Remo and Master Chiun have come to their senses and returned to the characters that we know and love. Although time seems to have tempered the biting sarcasm that was so common in the earlier scrolls of sinanju, it still remains as one of my main attractions to this series. I highly recommend this book and my hat is off to Jim Mullaney, Thank you sir, you do justice to this series.

I have to say while I haven't been thrilled with the Destroyer series lately, it is still a must read. I am esctatic that GE can get these books out on time. I like the story in this latest installment and I like the fact that it is going to arc into a miniseries. Remo's adventures have always been part political satire part history lesson rolled into an adventure story. This book goes back to what made this series so enthralling to begin with.

I bought this book for a class, and although we were only required to read sections of the book I ended up reading the entire thing, including the extra two essays (Immortality of the Soul & Suicide). The entire thing was extremely well-written and thought-provoking, even to a novice philosopher such as myself.

This isn't a book you can fly through. Hume requires the reader to slow down and really think about what is being said. The main section of the book (Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion) involves four characters, three discussing theories, and one student (technically the narrator) listening and occasionally commenting. By using this dialogue technique, Hume is able to present several sides of each argument in a unique way, and not simply expound his own theories. The method is most effective.

I won't go into depth of what this book discusses, the theory of design, arguments about God's nature and being, the argument from the existence of evil, and whether a posteriori or a priori arguments are best suited for proving God's existence. Overall this book is interesting and exciting, even for a 200 year old publication. Even if you're interested in modern philosophy, this book still offers some interesting theories. And obviously if you're interested in philosophy at all, it's a good book to check out for some history on the subject.

The introduction offers a good deal of information about the essays included in the book as well as Hume himself.

While being a theist I do not accept Hume's conclusions, he is no doubt the finest philosophical skeptic in the West since the time of Sextus Empiricus.

Hume, the philosopher who woke Kant from his 'dogmatic slumbers', takes a very empirical approach to reality and philosophy. In Hume's mind, the pretensions of the human mind to certain truth and knowledge do not accord with the way things are. Many things are believed on insufficient evidence or sloppy thinking or for reasons of emotional need rather than on evidence and reason. The task he set himself was in many ways like that of Descartes, except unlike Descartes Hume did not believe that either the methods of science or God (Hume was an atheist) could give us grounds for certain knowledge.

The dialogues on Natural Religion are one of his supreme masterpieces. Published after his death, this dialogue features a conversation between two philosophers about the nature and existence of God and the proofs for his existence. One philosopher is a skeptic, Philo, and the other is a theist, Carneades. Demea the Deist provides a third interlocutor in the dialogue. Carneades states several popular arguments for God's existence in Hume's time, including the teleological argument, moral argument, and argument from design. Philo responds to this arguments, mostly using the argument from evil as well as appeals to the rule of regular law in nature, to refute ideas about miracles, providence, and evidential design from a supreme 'architect.' Hume states the counter-arguments in extremely powerful terms, essentially completely demolishing the position of Carnedes and concluding that at best, only a very weak inference can be made for God's existence from the structure of the world.

Hume's arguments have been recently re-stated by several atheist philosophers, including J.L. Mackie and Daniel Dennett. For Mackie, Hume was right in arguing theism is philosophical nonsense, and for Dennett, God is a redundant hypothesis when the order and beauty of the universe is readily and clearly explained by science, and at best a kind of Spinoza-style pantheism is where the sacred can enter into the cosmos. While I disagree, the adoption of Hume's arguments by many leading philosophers shows both the power, beauty and logical coherence of Hume's position, which should be read carefully by any philosopher who wants to offer a rational proof that God exists.

For me it is not the order but the beauty of the universe which suggests God exists, but perhaps for others this beauty is marred too much by suffering and evil to come to such a conclusion, and Hume would surely agree.

David Hume, a philosopher of the period often classified as British Empiricism, is the intellectual associate of philosophers John Locke and George Berkeley. Born in Edinburgh in 1711, he attended the University of Edinburgh but did not graduate. He went to France during his 20s, and spent time there working on what would become his most famous work, 'An Enquiry into Human Understanding', first published under the title 'Treatise of Human Nature'. However, Hume was a prolific writer, and dealt with many areas of philosophy, including politics and ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. He wrote in the area of history as well, and had a politic career as British ambassador to France and a post as a minister in the government for a few years. His final work, 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion', was published posthumously in 1779, although work had begun on it as early as the 1750s.

Hume was very concerned about rationality. Hume was never publicly and explicitly an atheist, but his rational mind, concerned about sensory and intelligible evidence, led him to question and doubt most major systems of religion, including the more general philosophical sense of religion and proofs of the existence of God. The primary arguments in his 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion' deal with the Argument from Design, and the Cosmological Argument. There is an assumed distinction here between natural religion and revealed religion, an especially important distinction in the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment philosophical structure.


- Natural Religion and Revealed Religion -

Natural religion is the idea that we come to know and understand God (and, consequently, what God wants or expects of us, if anything) simply from nature and our sensory perceptions, as well as our interpretations (emotion and rational) of this kind of understanding. From very early in his writing career, Hume attacked the idea of natural religion and most of its conclusions, drawing a sharp line between what we can actually know and what ends up being fanciful extrapolations based on other-than-rational ideas and evidence. Revealed religion is primary what most religions base themselves upon - the burning bush to Moses, the resurrection and post-resurrection appearances to the Apostles, the Buddha's enlightenment under the tree - these are examples of revelation. While Hume does take on the idea of revealed religion in his other works, this particular text does not concern itself with that topic, and stays in the domain of addressing natural religion.


- The Argument from Design -

Arguments from Design have always had a strong appeal to believers within religious frameworks; they have often been used as tools of evangelism, as attempts to show that beyond the revealed doctrines, the very nature of things points to a creator. In very short order, the Argument from Design in Hume's newly-industrial time might have read like this:

- Machines are designed by beings with intelligence.
- The world and the universe it is in resembles a machine.
- Therefore, the world must have been created by means of intelligent design.

This is an argument by analogy, and is convincing to some, but often more convincing to those already inclined to believe in the existence of God.


- The Cosmological Argument -

The Cosmological Argument is at once both more subtle and more simple. The most simple way of stating it would be that God is the 'first cause' of everything. If everything has to have a cause (even the whole universe), then that first cause must be God. In the twentieth century era of thinking of a universe that began with a Big Bang, it seemed to some that the Cosmological Argument was confirmed.

Hume would have been familiar with Leibniz's more subtle form of the Cosmological Argument, which argues for a world of infinite contingent causes. However, there has to be something outside of this system of infinite causes that produced the series - thus, even in a universe with no set beginning or ending, there would still need to be an overarching cause.


- Hume's Arguments -

Hume argues on many levels. His first criticism of the Argument from Design is that this analogy (as are most arguments from analogy) is faulty and not exact; we have no idea if the universe is like a machine. Even if it was, machines are often designed and built by several designers - why argue for one God rather than several? How do we know that matter and the universe don't have their own, internal self-organising principles?

With regard to the Cosmological Argument, the argument is a little more strained. Hume argues that, in any series of causality, once one knows about each cause, it makes no sense to inquire beyond the sequence of causes to some other effect. This is a very Empirical argument, to be sure, and while perhaps not entirely satisfying, it still has merit in philosophy to this day.


- Hume's Structure -

This is a dialogue, set up in the classical way of people talking with each other about the subjects. Hume draws primarily from Cicero, whose work 'On the Nature of the Gods' uses characters of the same names. However, whereas Cicero was concerned about the nature of the Gods (their attributes, powers, etc.) and not their existence, it is the very existence of God that occupies Hume's thoughts.

Hume, despite many years of work on this text, probably never quite thought it was finished. He left the work to Adam Smith (the noted economist, and friend of Hume in Edinburgh), who also thought the arguments against the existence of God were too strong, and likely too damaging to Hume's overall reputation. The tug-of-war over the publication makes for interesting reading in and of itself.

These are important arguments, worthy of discussion and dialogue in philosophy classes, theology classes, and among others who ponder the existence of God.

This nearly pamphlet sized book is pretty dense with things to ponder. Hume speaks mostly about how a deity would function as the head of the world. The reviewer is not intent on being cute here. Hume addresses many notions about "God" through a series of dialogues amongst three intellectuals. They are intent on convincing each other of their individual views. Essentially those three have to come to terms with the anthropomorphism associated with the God of Christian belief system. It really is more complicated than that but this is a short review.

In addition to the Dialogues are a short essays on the Immortality of the Soul and the rationality of Suicide. Finally there is a discussion of Miracles. The latter three are well placed with the Dialogues as they address the philosophy of religion in much the same manner but come from Hume rather than the fictional characters of the Dialogue.

This book as short as it is, requires a considerable amount of time to consume. Not only are the concepts that Hume presents detailed and valuable, but the language is particularly arcane and often requires re-reading in order to understand where Hume is going.

The two excellent reviews of this book , one by Kurt Messick and the other by CT Dreyer outline the background to, and the principal content of the work. Hume takes apart the argument from Design as proof of God's Existence, raising objections to the analogy between Machine- design and world- design. I do not believe however that Hume in the work really considers two other major arguments for belief in God. One argument might be called the existensial - personal decision argument , in which the individual out of his own need and will decides for belief in God. This decision can be a rational calculation as Pascal suggests that we should make in order to give our own immortality a chance, or it can be a profound deeply moving conviction something that grows out of our own deepest being and need. Another path to belief in God is through the kinds of mystical experience that thousands of human beings from all cultures have had. William James collects some of these testimonies in 'The Variety of Religious Experience'. Another path is through the path of accepting the Tradition given us by our ancestors.
Now it might be said that these alternative paths to belief in God do not deal with the kind of ' proofs ' Hume is talking about. Hume is really talking about the ' rational way' to God through mind and reason. But I believe that every reader should have these other ways to God in mind , if only not to be devastingly shattered by Hume 's demolition job of the Design Argument.
It is well to remember that there are other ways to God aside from the ones spoken of and questioned here.
I write this as a believer in God who also believes that a very great share of Mankind needs God, needs the belief in God to make their own lives ultimately meaningful. And this when I would also keep in mind the following idea. If the Proof of God were certain and absolute , then there would be no test/ trial / challenge for humanity in its belief in God.
And here I add the idea central in the Jewish tradition, and probably important in others, that God wants our decision for God, our free choice of God, and not a slavish obedience even to an airtight logical principle.

Very entertaining and enlightening. Pepys gives us a glimpse of what life was like in that period before the "Glorious Revolution" in England which was so important in the developement of democracy in England and the United States. Pepys was on the wrong side of that revolution - a loyalist to King Charles II, although he was never convicted of treason. Good thing, since there seemed to be a lot of beheadings, etc. in that era. Occasionally, it is not absolutely clear what Pepys is talking about, and sometimes the vocabulary is not easily understood,as language and customs have changed, but that is to be expected.

I've long been a student and a collector of information on the personalities of Restoration England, growing out of a desire to know more about the background in literature classes. The Restoration crowd loved life, and in this volume (and presumably the next) you see how tenuous their lives were -- 5000 a week in the City of London dying of plague, two fleets of 100 ships each at war in a narrow sea, everyone so intent on feathering their nest and getting their next place, and an honest man rarest commodity of all. I love all these diaries. I've learned to ignore a lot of the textural (not text) notes that tell you if there was a blot on the page, or the symbol was not quite clear, but the footnotes are amazing and so is the information. Love Sam; he could have done pretty much as he pleased with me, I fear. But in his daily strolls of 5 miles and more I fear I could never have kept up as he went up and down the town, up and down the river. I've been to London and took the boat tour on the Thames from the houses of Parliament down to Greenwich to see the naval museum and Queen's house -- and he would walk, day or night, from London to Depworth, to Woolwich, to Greenwich (though he'd borrow the boat if he could) and pay attention to all he passed. What a companion!

Unfortunately for my budget's sake I started buying these in 3s and am now having trouble filling up 1666-1669. I will persevere, though, and anticipate a re-read of all or part probably every summer (while TV takes a dive and there's good light to read by until long into the evening). The only thing I have wished for is more portraits of the people he is speaking of--and the portraits by Huysmans and Lely that he reports having seen fresh painted. However, financially that may not have been doable. Will have to keep searching for a companion Restoration Portraits volume to keep me happy.

Great reading - do start from the beginning to get into the swing of things. A random paragraph doesn't put you "in the life" like the unrolling panorama does. A better map of London at your elbow (though there is one in the back of each volume) will also increase your pleasure.

It is kind of hard to match up these reviews of the Pepys' Diary with specific volumes, probably due to the nature of ISBN numbers. However, this review is about Volume 10, the Companion to the 10 vol. set of paperbacks (complete edition) by the University of California Press. IT IS a valuable book indeed, being 1700 entries, alphabetically arranged, on the details about the people and places mentioned in the Diary. It has 626 numbered pages and genealogical tables and maps.

When I started reading the diary, I expected it to be extremely boring and very old fashioned (seeing how it was written in the 1600's) - how wrong I was!!!
Samuel Pepys (pronounced 'peeps') is a human, funny, moody man who has his ups and downs like the rest of us. His narrative during the plague records his concern about neighbors, and his real sorrow when people he knows succumb to it. He also records his experiences during the great fire of London in 1666 and his first mention of it strikes me as entirely human - he says that his maids wake him as they have heard of the fire and as it is not near his doorstep he simply goes back to bed as he's tired. He has arguments with his wife, and has cast a lusty eye upon the kings mistress for years! He also has, what I call 'mini affairs' where he kisses and fondles women quite regularly, (including his own maids) and seems to have no guilt about this whatsoever. Most mornings he 'drinks' his breakfast and at one point is outraged that his new wig is teeming with nits! An historical and very human read. Makes me realise that after 450 years we are all no different at all........

There are on the Amazon site two excellent, informative reviews of the Pepys' diaries. They say far more than my own contribution.
I have read in and out of the Pepys' diary more than once. I did this in part because I have read many times that they are the ' best diaries' ever written. Without contending with that I found that they were not for me the most interesting. This probably shows more about my own shortcomings than it does about the work of Pepys.
Pepys' work is filled with description of the life of the time. It is rich in perception of the great city of London in Restoration times. It is filled with personal anecdote, gossip including that relating to his prodigious sexual appetite and activity. It is a busy, businesslike work. And it tells more about a world outside than a world in.
In the diaries I most love there is the quest of the soul to deeply understand itself and its relation to other people, and God. I find that the flurry of activity in the life of Pepys does not lead to this kind of reflectiveness. And thus for me the 'diary' is not a highly significant work personally.

This is a superb book-- I found it useful for both instruction as a reference on the syntax and form of doing things in Matlab with images and also as an in-depth text on the subject of image processing. Illustrated with easily followed examples and explicit description of the math involved in image processing operations, it provides a handy edge of explanation beyond what is available in the Matlab help files. This book is almost always signed out with a lineup at our university library, and is useful across many disciplines.

Great text for learning image processing and using it with MATLAB. Hopefully the instructor also uses its mathematical insight as well.

I bought this book for two reasons (a) I needed an overview of IP and (b) I wanted to examine different pattern analysis algorithms with a practical twist. On both counts, as an non-IP researcher, I was very satisfied. The book is very well laid out, so well in fact that it would put to shame many of its rivals. It served my needs. I can't comment on whether it will meet the needs of a broader community. I would certainly recommend it based on my experience.

This book has been really helpful to write my own tools for image analysis, such as leaf area index estimations from digital images and microscopy imaging analysis.

I think that for people involved in image processing and analyisis, this book is a must.

This book educates the reader in image processing and MATLAB. While I am experienced in both, I found the book to be an extrememly useful reference book for projects involving image compression and image representation. The book offered practical descriptions and useful code for computing the fast wavelet transform. It was especially useful in describing how the edges should treated. This is a big issue that other textbooks gloss over. I had never seen it described in a textbook, and it was described so well.

The color image processing chapter is excellent, and the image processing chapter is pretty good. Lots of explanation and code.

While the book stands alone, it can also be seen as a useful companion book to the more theoretical "Digital Imaging Processing" by Gonzalez and Woods (2nd edition). This is a different book even though it has close to the same name.

The book looks fine i haven't read it yet, I was expecting a novel but it insists of screenplay (dialogues) of the movie and alot other info and interviews about the movi, and there are good scetchs and illustrations..

If you are a fan of this great flick, this book goes right along with it. It has an interview with the director/writer and also Jake G. (cannot spell his name).

It also contains numerous pictures from and inspired by the movie.

My favorite part is that it has the actual pages from Roberta Sparrows book, so if you're interested, this is a killer movie memoribilia to own!

A very good book that gives excellent insight into the mysteries of the movie. Includes interesting art work drawn by Richard Kelly that you can also find in the movie. Overall I found this book to be highly entertaining.

I like how popular films can cause a demand in which the screenplay is released in book form for all those inspiring actors and screenwriters out there to read, act and learn from. Most of them are just the screenplay and nothing else, so its a pleasant surprise to see one like this, which includes a lengthy interview with the writer/director, some drawings, and a peek at the prop Time travel book by Roberta Sparrow. Some overzealous fans mistakenly thought it was a real book and on the Director's Cut dvd, you see a special documentary by one such fan who demanded of the director the rest of this fictional book. Give Director Richard Kelly a break...the book was nothing more than a prop for the film's characters.

This book is worth having for any Donnie Darko fan. For me, the best part of the book is the interview, as it is nice to hear the thoughts and ideas of Richard Kelly about his famous first movie. What he says embodies a lot of our generation in terms of cultural influences and how we grew up...a world perhaps vastly different to the current generation growing up in the hip-hop drenched, corporate universe. This book will be a keepsake for that distant future, when Richard Kelly will be known as our generation's Steven Spielberg, with a library of unique films. Don't expect to find this book then, because it'll probably be out of print and hard to find. Get it now when its still available! Donnie Darko is probably the film that will still be remembered 25 years from now.

This book doesnt provide a whole lot of new material, but does offer much insight into the movie based on the actors and director commentary. If you're a fan of the movie, it's definitely worth the purchase - by the way, has anyone seen the producer of the film Sean McKittrick? What a hottie!

This was a magical, powerful book for our son when he was learning to handle bad dreams. He kept it for years--still has it in fact, though he's long since grown. The Dream Eater is a creature who comes to the village to rid young and old of their nightmares. It's an empowering talismanic tale, simply beautifully told and illustrated. It's the kind of book that having created it, the writer and artist can both be proud of what they've done in their lives. Try it out with your child when bad dreams come. It may help you to talk about the dreams, too. Take Me With You When You Go

This was one of my favorite books growing up and became one of my daughter's as well. She's now 18 and has decided that she isn't going to share her(my) book with her little brother, who's not quite two. I have to buy another copy for him. I really don't mind all. I believe she'll end up passing this book down to her children and they can then decide who's gong to keep the book and who gets the new copy. I highly recommend this book!

this book is the best one i've ever read the baku and the dragon where sooooo cute!
the only sad part would be when the baku ate the dream about the dragon and the only scary part whould be when the baku fell into the river

This was my favorite children's book growing up. I am so excited to have found it. It is a wonderful book to read to kids.

Christian Garrison and Diane Goode did a very good job with this book. The Dream Eater is an interesting tale of a boy who lives in a town full of people who are plagued by bad dreams. The book itself is very pleasant to read, as delightful pictures match the detailed writing fluently and perfectly. The story is calming and fun to read. It makes for a great bedtime story. Wondeful for lulling young ones to a sleep with few bad dreams.

"The Blood of wolves flowed through ten generations of Wolfrider Chiefs and their Tribefolk...It tied them beyond all untying to the world and it's cycle of life. And if the price was mortality then no one knew it, for rare indeed was the Wolfrider who died peacefully of old age." Once again, the Pini's proved that Cutter was the exception to that rule! The Son Ten Chiefs carried his tribe into a future they were never meant to see, in the name of love. Elf Quest is a classic story, well told and immensly inspiring, proving noone is truly bound to a single fate. I hope Elf Quest will never really go away. I hope Cutter and the Wolfriders will continue and beat the odds and carry us along with them on their incredible journey!

I love it when the characters, plot and storyline all flow as nicely as this one did. Great Job!!!!

I thought that it was a wonderful story full of our favorite characters. It was one of the best of the elfquest books that I've read in a while.

The plot of this story was great! The art was great! It was Wendy's best work!!!!!!!! Buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet another masterpiece by Wendy Pini. I had only just finished "Forevergreen" (I constantly read them out of order), and to see the crisp, smooth drawings was like a breath of fresh air. This is in no way an insult to Barry Blair, or any other Elfquest artist; I merely mean that Wendy knows best what her elves look like, and captures the essense of each personality. The artwork looks three-dimensional, so that it seems to have a depth that some of the other Reader's Collections lack. I look at each page, marveling "That's how Shenshen and Cutter look like!"

Dreamtime's story wasn't skimped on, either. The dreams add new insights and facets to each Wolfriders' personality, and were told in an inventive way. In favorites, i'm torn between Pike's story and "Dreamtime - Pt?" I don't want to give too much of the story away, though, so I won't tell you too much about it: Just that it's terrific!

The Encylopedia of American History is a wonderfully detailed and comprehensive reference book on almost everything to do with American history. Practically every conceivable aspect of America's history is within these pages; if you have a query concerning anything about the USA, then look no further than here. Neatly laid out in mainly chronological form, the book varies through subjects from politics, military, literature, science and many more. The biographies section contains brief biographies of over 400 influential Americans, from presidents and scientists to Stephen Spielberg. Whether you want to become a walking reference on American history, or are already familiar with the subject and require a reliable reference source, then this book is for you.

As a student of American history, I have not seen a better book that gives you an overview of American history. No this encyclopedia will not go in-depth on everything you want, but is merely a general look at our nation's history. If you want an in-depth study you do need to look for a book that deals with that issue, but if you want a good general book, this is the one to get. I believe it is a must get for any student of history, especially American history. And if you just like American history as a hobby, this book is still a must get.

The Encyclopedia of American History by Richard B. Morris is an outstanding source of information for the student of history or the professional educator. It contains factual information for the consensus historian. It is not revisionist. I highly recommend this book.

Individuals interested in purchasing an American History book for the sole purpose of quickly researching a specific historical happening need to look no further. Scarcely illustrated, this is a fully encompassing text which provides a brief description of each event. Most descriptions range in length from one-quarter to one-half of a page. For example, it required less than two-hundred words to recount the assasssination of President Kennedy. Lengthy historical events such as the Vietnam War are also discussed in a concise manner. The Vietnam War required seven pages, including the full page map, to educate the reader. Those interested in an American History book that can be enjoyably read cover to cover must look elsewhere. Brief, fragmented event depictions cause the reader's attention to quickly wane. This book is being awarded four stars for its use as an encyclopedia.

II am a professional corporate historian. I research the corporate histories of many companies. I have very few things on my desk that are permanent, of which, three are books--the Chicago Manual of Style, the newest Merriam Webster's Dictionary, and the Encyclopedia of American History (7th ed). Whether you are a professional in the history field, a history "buff" or just an amateur social scientist, this is a book that you need to own. The four sections of this book are extremely helpful when looking for grand historical events or the smallest tidbit of information. While the internet is great for finding some of these items, this book is the most comprehensive volume of American History ever put together. I highly recommend this book--it is worth the money.