Simmons Books

I wasn't a very big fan of Kimora until I saw a couple of episodes of her reality, I didn't actually know exactly who she was. Then I got caught up, read the reviews and bought the book (love her clothing lines, by the way). I haven't finished reading it, but so far, I'm loving it. Not to say that it makes you see the world the way she does, but it does shine some light on things in a different way: the way you look at yourself and the whole "go do something!" attitude to life, that no matter who you are will help you get where you wanna be, as will the drive, self love and self repect I think she hopes to imprint on all of us girls. I like the way she sees herself as part of her brand and compells one to market oneself to the world (it may sound superficial, but when you read the fundaments to her theories, they kind of actually make sense). In all, I think with a little open-mindness, the book gives women some great pointers on how to get where they want to be.

I am a twenty-seven year old aspiring entrepreneur. I read "self-help" and autobiographical books related to the subject for inspiration. I knew about Babyphat and Kimora Lee Simmons but never really considered myself a fan. I watched a few episodes of her reality show and became more interested in Kimora. Consequently, I researched her book. The reviews were on each end of the spectrum and not many readers were in between. It was love it or hate it. That intrigued me even more and I decided that I must read the book and draw my own conclusion. I went to Barnes and Noble and grabbed the paperback off the shelf, flipped to the introduction and read the first page. It told of a time, prior to her success in business, where she took out her checkbook, wrote herself a check for a million dollars and tucked it in a box with her most prized possessions. Her intro was about the fact that you have to dream big before anything grand can happen in your life. I was hooked. So hooked that I put the paperback back on the shelf and ordered a hardback copy from Amazon.com and I am so glad that I did. I was reminded of a lot of good principles to apply to business and life in general. I also developed a more accurate perception of Kimora and have come to respect her moreso as a business woman. Read as many reviews of this book as you choose but the most rewarding thing you can do for yourself is read the book...gather your own opinion.

Bought it as a present, and decided to read it first to get an idea of what Baby Phat brand is like. After reading the first chapter, it made me want to throw it out the window! This lady is very full of herself, and it's a bad read! DON'T BUY IT!!!

Really impressed with the thoroughness of this book. A little redundant in parts but well written and informative. I don't know how some of the reviewers didn't get something from this book! I felt inspired to just be me, whatever that may be and tough cookies to those who don't like it. I have plans to use what I've learned to start my own company (small and from home) and found great information on how to do that. More power to Kimora!

Well, first off, I had always been captivated by Kimora, and figured if anyone knows about being fabulous and could teach us a thing or two, it would be her. But right off after a couple chapters through the book, I felt vibes that it was more about her trying to clearly promote a certain image of herself, one apart from Russell, that she wants us all to have...carefully monitoring her words and repeatedly pounding an image of having "already made it big" in her teenage years way before her marriage to him. She spent so much time ranting and referring back to this great and extensive "50k-a year European modeling career" she supposedly had through high school, where she learned how to keep financial records conduct business, handle grown up problems,etc...Not too believable really, epecially when the age she repeatedly refers to is 13. Then looking at the provided photos in the book, I found it very curious that there was only 1 of her(pre-Russell Simmons) modeling years, a United Colors of Benneton ad, where she looks like an average pug-nosed teenager. So I Googled about 50 pages of Images for her and still found NOTHING of any modeling photos of her in that supposed successful modeling decade before-Russell that she continually touts. It became clearer and clearer that her REAL OBJECTIVE for writing the book was to convince everyone that she had "made it" way before her husband came into her life. (which I dont think anyone really cares about). I'm sure she was beautiful and fabby when they met, and Russell married her and elevated her into his monied life...so what? Now, I am interested and intrigued in the opulence of the rich & famous like anyone else, and I love to hear the anecdotes of the successsful, but Kimora just doesnt appear to really have any real depth from life's lessons, in that she went from being basically a teenager to marrying Russell, and at the writing of this book, where she is in her mid 30's, she still seems rather immature and self absorbed. Its easier to be beautiful and fabby with lots of money, and obviously any of her hardships were always easily overcome with their money. She doesnt portray that there was any real blood sweat and tears involved in anything she presented about her life, thus there was really nothing to teach or inspire us. Russell would probably have given us something with much more redeeming value if HE wrote the book!
With the Baby Phat business, I'm sure she certainly must have gone through the guts of up-starting a business, but once again, the obstacles hurdled and the resolutions she implemented took MONEY to get through, (which she had, and which she did successfully), and so I dont think inspires in that regard either. I would have been more satisfied with the time I spent reading the book hearing about how money can solve alot of problems and how fun it is for a girl. There ARE some profound, inspiring quotes that she includes from OTHER celebrities, like: "The thing women have yet to learn is no one gives you power, you just take it"(Roseanne Barr). These made me want to read books by THOSE people.
I think this book is best suited for early 20-somethings, who need to get a glimpse of how to present a certain image, and possibly maximize their potential opportunities in the business world, or if you just want to become more intrigued by Kimora's self-promotion. Not really for a more matured (not talking 'old' here)audience that is already comfortable in their own skin, but are just looking for inspiration for an "image makeover" out of the soccer-mom lifestyle.
Overall, I came away feeling that Kimora was highly calculative and probably thinks most of her readers were easy to manipulate and that she either didnt care about giving us much, or that she is rather shallow, having lacked experience and maturity to offer us much.

A spy type story, not really very good. Dan Simmons is delving into something a little Farmeresque, but in this case, you would call it creative biography, rather than creative mythography, I suppose, as this is based around a group of spy types that Ernest Hemingway has put together. How much of this is based on reality, I do not know, but presumably some elements are.

The first word that comes to mind when I think of this book is "different". A blend of many stiles and a testament on how good of a writer Dan Simmons is. Great sense of people and places, a little slow at times but marvelous storytelling.

Join Ernest Hemingway; yes, Hemingway and a group of misfits in an adventure set in a bygone era.

If you are looking for something original, look no further.

First, let me say that I respect and like Simmons works, such as Darwin's Blade and the Hyperion series. I wanted to like this book but it's simply too long a slog through to reach the end. There is nothing wrong with the story, the setting, or the premise, but for whatever reason, it's boring me to anguish. Aside from the Hemmingway angle, (whom I neither like nor respect) there is a brief and 'cute' apprearance by Ian Flemming. This book is about 100-150 pages too long. Believe me, I had to lunge forward, nearly falling, to give this book a 3 rating.
I hope the author decides to return to the main character of Darwin's Blade for other stories.

I am not a big sci-fi fan, and despite the fact that I'm in awe of Dan Simmons' talent, weird creatures and fantasy worlds don't do it for me. However, I am a huge Hemingway fan. When a co-worker recommended this book I couldn't figure out how the guy who created the Shrike was going to pull off a spy/adventure story with Ernest Hemingway as the main character. He did it! Simmons is as gifted and creative a novelist as we have today. This is one of those rare stories I couldn't put down, and didn't want to end. I hear it's going to be made into a movie...sounds like fun. If you're a Hemingway buff read it NOW. Great summer reading.

Going into this exraordinary novel I knew very little about Hemingway's spy network 'The Crook Factory' during WWII in Cuba. It was fascinating & surprising to read author Dan Simmon's note at the end revealing that 95% of what I'd just read was true!!! The book not only offers lots of biographical info on Hemingway, but gives some key insights into his final days before he committed suicide. However, I don't want to spoil what those facts were for the prospective reader. It's clear that Dan Simmons followed Hemingway's immortal advice about writing what you know. He blends fact and fiction seamlessly in this tale of espionage and intrigue. There's even a cameo in here by the master of the spy novel himself Ian Fleming who was also involved with WWII intelligence work. This book is exciting, well written and well researched. It really makes its main subject shine through!

First off, if you are going to be cheap and buy the old book before the editing, then expect to get the errors. I was smart and waited anxiously for D.N. to re-release Desires Unleashed. My friends had all told me how great this series was and I wanted to see for myself, but I hate reading books with a lot of errors, so I decided to wait.

I'm glad I did. I was able to get a clear view of the plot and characters. This is by far, one of the best books in this genre. I really enjoyed the fast paced plotline and I think these are some of the best characters I've ever read. I would have to say Sergio is my favorite, the leopard king. He's sexy, macho and gorgeous. I also enjoyed the sex scenes in this book, there's not as many as there are in some novels, but they were hot and not overly done. I thought the plot was catchy and had some nice action but what really makes this book work are the characters, these characters are phenomenal!

I think if you like Stephanie Meyer's series, Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris, you'll enjoy D.N. Simmons. I order the next 3 books in this series, I have that much confidence. I don't normally do that. I like to read books one at a time.

Great book and I can't wait to read The Guilty Innocent! 5 stars!

I bought this on the strength of it's cover and blurb. It looked very interesting. Maybe it is. I don't know. I read the first couple chapters and threw it in my give away pile. I felt like I was reading a book written by a middle schooler. I couldn't get past the grammar, the spelling. It was just a waste of money for me.

Desires Unleashed is like no paranormal book I've ever read. It's not to be picked up and just skimmed through. Each chapter holds hidden depths, twists and irony that will have you waiting for the next horrifying act or hilarious laugh.

D.N. Simmons spins a tale of paranormal horror in a breathtakingly visualized world. Envision our world a few years in the future. Paranormal creatures are now living among us. They are no longer hidden, but have to be believed in. They own companies, have jobs and many humans have prejudices against them.

When people start showing up dead, more than dead, S.U.I.T is called in. S.U.I.T also known as the Special Unit Investigation Team is a police task force that deals with supernatural crimes. The dead victims have been heinously killed and not in human ways. Obviously these deaths are not natural or human inflicted. Detectives Warren Davis and Matthew Eric are set-up as the detectives to find out who is killing these peoples. Soon we find out that one of these guys is not human, that there are underground death matches going on and that there are paranormal factions. Will the killer be found? Is it someone that the detectives know? How is the super hot and super old Darian the vampire involved? Will humans learn to not be as biased against their fellow ...man... creature... boss ... partner ... coworker?

From page one D.N. Simmons entrenches you in a paranormal world like you have never experienced before. The people and creatures are real. They have cravings that you feel, watch out you could be their next meal. Desires Unleashed held me enraptured from front to back. Each chapter held bits of information that kept me thoroughly interested in what would happen next to the characters. There are many stories going along all at the same time and D.N. weaves them all together without giving too much away. You will be surprised, haunted and mesmerized by Desires Unleashed.

Special Notes: This is an urban fantasy novel and includes erotic interludes that will keep the erotic romance reader enthralled.

Tammie King, Owner - Night Owl Romance Reviews

© Night Owl Romance 2007-2008

I'm one of the fans that bought this book when it was first released in 2004, read it and loved it in spite of the errors. When D.N. announced she was re-editing it, I was willing to check out the new 2008 version and it's even BETTER than the first! The writing technique has improved even more and I found some new additions that really bring out the story.


The KOTDC is not your ordinary erotic supernatural series. D.N. takes the eroticism to a whole new level, D.N. doesn't just hint at what we all have wanted to experience, this is not some PG13 rated series! The characters are extremely realistic and believable. They are unapologetic, bold, intelligent, funny, sexy and extremely interesting, which is different from the depressing one-dimensional characters I have read up-to-date. The dialogue brings them to life, and we can identify with their situations. The mistrust between supernaturals and humans is thought-provoking, unique and quite real if you look at our world where there is mistrust between those of different races, religious beliefs, sexes and sexual orientations, not to mention cultures, this novel hits home in a different and extraordinary way, it make one reflect on the story itself. Also, I really enjoy the author's wittiness with certain situations making the reader see the humor and identify with the characters reactions.

When I first began to read I found myself unable to put it down, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, I was not disappointed, I was taken into a supernatural world that I could relate to, be engrossed- in and enlighten-by. This story had all of the perfect elements. It was horrifying, gory, extremely erotic in all facets of the word. It is sexy, thrilling and funny! The dialog will have you thinking "OH MAN, THAT'S WHAT I FEEL TOO" or "HELL, I DON'T BLAME YOU, I'D DO THAT TOO!" You will definitely find a connection with these characters, who believe in fairness and family values, who are not detached from the world but are out there trying to make a difference, trying to make the world a better place, who can communicate at a level of intelligence that I have not read before in novels of this genre.

It is impossible for me, because I love all of the characters, to pick a favorite, but to mention one, Xavier Richards, who is a vampire in love with his male lover and maker and a female human. I am overly anxious to know what's going to happen. I can't wait for Hostile Territory to come out, that`s the fourth novel and after reading the first chapter, I KNOW it`s going to be off the chain! I'm holding my breath until then.

This series is something special and a fan of this genre, especially, owes it to themselves to read this novel, it's a gem. I could go on and on about this series but I believe you will find it as exciting and gripping as I did, I highly recommend reading Desires Unleashed first, the Guilty Innocent after that, the Royal Flush.

Humans now know that they are not on the top of the food chain. The supernatural races of the world do not want humans to fear them, so they agree to living with some special laws (many of which are still in the making). The government has created the Special Unit Investigation Team "S.U.I.T." to deal with all supernatural crimes. Each member of S.U.I.T. is recruited from the best-of-the-best-of-the-best.

S.U.I.T. Detectives Warren Davis and Matthew Eric have been partners about five years now. For the past three of those years, Matthew has known that his partner is a shape-shifter. No one else has figured it out and the partners wish to keep it that way. Warren's extra abilities have come in extremely handy on tough cases before, but their new case will put the abilities of both men to the ultimate test. Headless bodies are being dumped near the Desires Unleashed dance and strip club. The heads are missing, blood is often missing, and the bodies seem partially eaten. Is this the work of a supernatural or a human group intend on shifting blame on the supernaturals though?

Annette Balfour (human) is a dancer for Desires Unleashed. Her roommate, Natasha Hemingway (human), has just landed a new job for the "Chicago Word". During their night of celebrating, the two are in a car wreck. Annette's boss, Daniel Alexander (master vampire), has just promoted Annette to daytime assistant manager. Regretting that he is unable to visit her in the hospital, he sends his right hand man, Xavier Richards (vampire). When Xavier meets Natasha, his lust goes off the radar.

Natasha does not take her medicine while in the hospital. It is there that Natasha learns that the medicine she has taken since age five is not to help migraines. Instead, it is to repress dreams. As the reasons for this unveil, Natasha realizes that she can help S.U.I.T. with the killings.

**** There are typos in the story, but only a few really jumped out at me. All-and-all, I could ignore them, but felt my review would not be complete without mentioning the errors. I also feel that I should warn potential buyers/readers that this is not your typical paranormal. A large part of the story is filled with HOT scenes. These scenes contain people that swing both ways.

This story crosses genres. I would label it: Supernatural Erotica Mystery Thriller. The beginning chapters of the book help readers get acquainted with the characters and any special abilities they may have. I would say that there are six major characters, in sets of twos. Scenes shift between the two detectives, the two roommates, and the two vampires of the club. There are some secondary characters, but I will not go into those. The groups slowly merge together as the case progresses. This is a stand-alone novel, meaning the mystery is solved; however, the story is left open for future tales of these characters. I only wish more attention was paid to the plot (case) than the erotica sections. A very good foundation for the "Knights of the Darkness Chronicles".

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is for the audiobook. I read the print version a few years ago, & quite enjoyed it; print version would get more stars. When I got the audiobook, I was looking forward to many hours' worth of chores being vastly more entertaining....but. The audio version bogs down occasionally, such as during the longer, more detailed CDC research discussions (& I'm a biologist & researcher myself!). The real problem with the audio version is the narrator. Mr Ralph has one of those whiskey/smoky gruff voices, which I usually like, but his leaves me wanting to cough & clear my throat repeatedly. Also, he never pauses at appropriate spots --such as when switching chapter to chapter or drastic scene jumps-- and it can leave the listener disoriented for a moment. Worst of all, his voice changes for several of the male characters turn them into sounding just like Rodney Dangerfield. I kept waiting for ex-husband Tom, who shows up a lot, to say "I don't get no respect!" or "Take my wife --please!" Jerks one out of the dark, suspenseful world of the book, to say the least.

Moving from Science Fiction to Horror in both my reading and writing, I picked up Children of the Night on a whim and was thoroughly enjoyed. Just like his Hyperion or Endmyion series, Simmons comes up with a very interesting idea and develops it well.
It begins in Romania shortly after the fall of Communism and the destruction of the Berlin Wall. The Romanian despot, Coseceau, is removed from power. The collapse of the Soviet Union is imminent, and the consequences its bloc are becoming visible.
Kate is a physician from the U.S., working with local native Lucian, and Father ORourke in providing health care for thousands of sick, starving, and dying abandonned orphans. She finds one unusual orphan she becomes attached to. She adopts him and takes him back to the United States.
At her labs in Denver, she discovers his unusual blood qualities. First, Joshua can absorb foreign blood. Second, it can eliminate viruses. Third, it perfects hemoglobin for oxygen transport.
Seeing this as a possible cure for many virul infections, she works to discover the secret. However, some mysterious strangers show up, taking the baby from her. They leave her for dead, burn her home, and kill her ex husband and baby-sitter.
With Father O'Rourke, Kate returns to Romania where she discovers a plot, a conspiracy, and that Joshua is related to Vlad Tepes, or Count Dracula. He wants his baby back for nefarious reasons. A strange Vampire cult, the Strigoi, are the major players. Can she get her baby back?
This book was enrapturing, engaging and entertaining on all levels for me. I will warn readers there is excessive use of medical terminology. While I found it entertaining, some might not.
As a history buff, I was also impressed that Dan Simmons also mixed the historical aspects of Vlad Tepes so well with current Romanian and world history.
The story is also brutal and vicious. For the first time, I cringed and shuddered in some scenes ... especially when Kate is shoved in the dungeon of Vlad Tepes. Another gruesomely effective and tense scene was an attempted sexual assault. I had not felt such tension reading a book in a long time.
Finally, Simmon's prose is magnificent. It chimes with me, allowing me to see, feel, smell, hear and experience everything he describes. This one was a real gem page turner for me. I could not put it down. It was my favorite read since Stephen King's Pet Sematary.
Dan Simmon's continues to be one of my favorites. I can't wait to read more of his works soon.

This was my introduction to Dan Simmons. After being told what an excellent writer he is, I picked up the first book I could find by him. Normally I do not like Vampire novels (Other than Bram Stoker of course) mainly because they tend to drag, be self indulgent, and overly sexual. This novel grabbed me... grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I won't go into a great synopsis since it has already been done to death on here.

In late 1980's early 90's Romania, people are poor, medical attention is lacking, and orphans abound. AIDS and Hep C plague the children and there is no medical attention for them. We then follow a doctor who specializes in blood disorders who is working in Romania on behalf of the CDC. She adopts a child with a litany of rare medical disorders and returns with him to the states. She discovers there that this baby's rare condition may actually hold the cure to AIDS, and possibly other diseases. The problem is that his condition seems strangely similar to vampirism. When the baby is kidnapped our story kicks into high gear.

There is a TON of medical jargon in this book, particularly when they are working on the baby... fortunately for some reason; even an idiot like me was able to follow what they were talking about. The descriptions and history of Romania was brilliant, and obviously well researched. The characters were, for the most part, believable in what they did and their motivation. There are a few that at the end you will scratch your head and wonder now why on earth would he have done that... but then again you do that about real people every day. I loved the explanation of vampirism and how it came about. Dracula was brilliant. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a decent Vampire novel that isn't all about romance and lust. Excellent action, brilliant settings, a real page turner. 4 out of 5 stars!

I thought this was an entertaining, original, and generally well written horror novel. The only thing I could not get past was the end which was a little too much like an A-Team episode for my liking. I almost expected someone to light a cigar and say "I love it when a plan comes together." But that aside it was a good book and I have yet to read a Dan Simmons book I really did not like.

More of a standard vampire tale than Carrion Comfort, a scientist working on AIDS adopts a Romanian child. She finds out that its blood has unusual properties, not realising that the baby is a vampire child.

This gets a few people killed, and with some help from the usual sort of vampire book allies she sets out to find out what is going on, and perhaps cure a disease.

I have really enjoyed reading this book. Richard has led a good life. It is a very interesting book. Some other biographies that I have read haven't been this good. I would encourage you to read this book.

I absolutely LOVED this book and sailed through it. I laughed out loud several times and actually cried a few times, too. Gave it to my sister to read (who was not a Richard Simmons fan at all) and she loved it too! Thank you, Richard! Please write another!

I purchased this book thinking that I was going to get an intimate look inside the life of Mr. Simmons but instead all he gives you are accounts of his battle with weight loss throughout the book so far. The book started off pretty interesting with the lives of his brother, mother, and father and his interesting upbringing but it doesn't tell you much about his personality,fears, desires, goals, etc.. Hopefully the book gets more interesting as I get closer to finishing it, whenever that will be.

This was a really fascinating book. I've read it a few times. Richard Simmons had such an interesting life. His parents had been vaudeville performers before settling down to raise a family. He writes about how much of the family's life revolved around food and how he came to equate food with love. His mother would hold him on his lap and say, "I love you" and give him a bite of food. So when she put him a diet, he must have felt totally unloved. Especially when he was having liver and the rest of the family was having New Orleans feast. Actually, food was a major part of his life before he was even born. His mother went into labor at a Chinese restaurant!

Simmons majored in art in college and went on a study abroad program to Italy -- a choice based solely on the fact that he liked Italian food better than English or French (England and France being the other two options). The book also talks about his early career as a weight-loss guru, his Slimmons lunch/exercise venture in LA and the work he did with what he calls the "hidden obese," those who were too large even to leave their homes. This book isn't deep or scholarly, but it's a very entertaining read.

Richard Simmons was born in New Orleans' French Quarter, to a doting mother and cold father who had both been vaudeville performers. His earliest and happiest memories were of food - too much food. Richard was overweight from early childhood and always felt different and alone; he found comfort in his mother's love and in food. Morbidly obese in college, Richard spent two years studying art in Florence where he went on a starvation diet, loosing over a hundred pounds and ending up in the hospital. From then on, he was determined to maintain his new weight with a healthy lifestyle - portion control and exercise. In Los Angeles, he opened a gym that catered to overweight people; that led to a career inspiring millions to slim down.

The first half of the book is engrossing and entertaining, detailing Richard's traumatic youth and early success. His relationship with his parents is the keystone of the story; he adored his mother but felt he was never good enough in his father's eyes. The second half is a rather breezy account of his life in the public eye, his many businesses, and a few encounters with friends and celebrities. This section is slightly less satisfying because one is left with many unanswered questions about the man today (as well as the significance of the title). He describes in detail his love for his dogs and the heartbreaking loss of his mother, but beyond that the real Richard Simmons is kept hidden behind the public persona.

This is a quick read, often humorous and poignant, about Richard's journey through life. There are no recipes or meal plans and he does not proselytize about weight loss. I enjoyed it a lot and I'm sure his many fans will, too.

This picks up where book one leavs off.
With some new characters and a highly detaled plot.
If you enjoyed the first book then you are in for a real treat.
While this is more detaled than the last one, it is well worth the read and a must for any fan.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. Although it drags in places, for the most part the pace is steady and enjoyable. The author has a wonderful sense of humor and the unexpected. A discussion of what good and evil are during a bullets-flying car chase? This author got more than one laugh from me. Good details, interesting characters, plots and twists, and witty snark. I'm going to purchase the rest of this series.

The follow-up to One Foot in the Grave, and as far as this reader is concerned even better. Chris's character has developed and while dealing with ancient history from hundreds of years ago he is also faced with bio-weapons of the future right here and now. All of the characters are so expertly developed and Chris continues to be the reluctant hero you keep cheering for. There are enough reviews giving you pieces of the story line, I am just simply stating the obvious. Read this series if you want a new twist on vampires with a hero who has a wit sharper then his fangs.

In this rather longish second episode of Chris Chejthe's adventures we are presented with nearly every possible fantastical creature: even an archangel and a rusalka make a short appearance.

Add to this many debates about the nature of life, of good, of evil, of ethics, of war, of religion, etc.: Mr Simmons has done his research and invests his readers with heaps of knowledge ranging from pop culture to philosophy through voodoo and American literature.
This should not bode well but Chris manages to remain a very interesting and likeable character, a little wordy at times, with a little proneness to being judgemental but alive and ***-kicking.

Our author plunges him in a perilous adventure and is certainly unafraid of using every conceivable plot twist.
His writing is in the main neat and only from time to time does the reader need to check energetically occasional deluges of words that threaten to overwhelm him/her.

Our author does not comply with the unwritten rules of this genre: there are violence and gore but they are not the book's main course; sex (straight sex - no homosexuality here) is mentioned more in passing than indulged upon unless it is to open a moral debate.

A pleasing if excentric -so to speak- read.

Okay, I have to admit that it's somewhat fun. The author throws in a pop culture reference almost every other page.

However...

Most of the references are rather dated. Buckaroo Banzai, I Dream of Genie, Martian Manhunter from Marvel Comics, Weebles Wobble, Northern Exposure, The Sixth Sense, Ghost Busters...at one point he looks at the students he's teaching at a University and says "Bueller?" The author must be my age.

There are points in the book that are a little disjointed. For example, our hero, Chris Csejthe, just had a staggering battle with a vampire, and lost, [the battle is very well written]. Then, as he staggers home, he reflects for many pages on his Slavic roots and blood connections with the Countess Bathory from the 1600's. This figures later in the book, but at first it seemed soooo out in left field. ...like a visit with the History Channel.
He goes on about the Countess a number of other times, for multiple pages at a time. I would have been much more satisfied to know that she was one very mixed up Hungarian Royal with freakishly sick sanguine practices. Or better still, have Chris actually stop somewhere and review his research. Sure, it would be cliché, but it would be far better then having these historic interludes pop up while he's driving or walking. It just didn't work for me.

Then there is a chapter where he saves a baby in a hospital maternity ward by explaining to the medical staff what Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria is [sunlight sensitivity] for a number of pages. What? That came from too far out of left field. So far I haven't found a plot thread where that was important.

It's a quirky novel. I'll give it that much. I didn't catch that it was a 'book 2' of 3 for a few chapters.

I don't intend to finish the book.

If your into the culture, then this is definitely a great read. I say that because you'll notice throughout this book that Russell Simmons' has had a hand in the development of almost every artist that emerged into the mainstream in the mid to late 80's. From Kurtis Blow to the Fresh Prince himself he's gotten paid. After reading this book, I'm convinced that Simmons was born to be who is.

This book was fun to read, Russell details some of his adventures very well and intorduces us to the world of hip-hop from his point of view. I recommend it if you're at a beach somewhere having a corona or at starbucks and want to just read. If youre looking for business insights, not that many.

A great book but you should know: the Vibe Mag quote at the top "...Learn how the godfather of hip hop did it...." only applies to a small portion of the book. For a book that fulfills this promise, check out: Hip Hop Inc (Richard Oliver)

Like you, I always thought Russell Simmons was a bigger than life, take no prisoners kind of personality. Who knew that Russell is as sensitive as Oscar Wilde and as munificient as Greg Louganis? Oh sure, he acts all tough in interviews, but this book peels away the layers and shows that Russell's heart beats just like yours and mine -- maybe more -- definitely better.

For example, did you know that Mr. Simmons was voted "Top Alto" in his high school glee club? Did you also know he was the ghost writer of "Wind Beneath My Wings"? What about the notion that Russell Simmons will never tip less than 14% -- even if the service is bad?

And what really suprised me, is that he curiously names REO Speedwagon as the band he admires the most.

I salute you Mr. Simmons and hope that this is just the first of his many, many super intelligent and unbelievably insightful self-serving books.

Life and Def is a great book that shows that you can do anything if you try. This book is about Russell Simmons who lived in Queens, New York. He had an decent life and his parents were well-educated people but he still got sucked into the street life. He was a drug dealer on 205th street. He sold many different drugs though out his drug career but his main drug that he sold was marijuana. Russell Simmons was one of the first hip-hop promoters ever. He now owns big companies such as Phat Farm. He also has a share of Def Jam records and is a member of the rap group Run DMC. Russell Simmons is a remarkable person because he made something out of himself even though he made bad choices when he was a kid. I gave this book four stars because of his excellent writing as he shares the details of his childhood.

Miss Shannon Tweed holds absolutely nothing back! From her childhood to the present she represents what it takes to make your life what you choose. A terrific mother & longtime lady love of Gene Simmons.

This one is most definitely not to be missed!

Miss Dark

I really enjoyed reading this book, an in fact read it in a day and a half. Shannon has a personality all on her own, without Gene, but the two together, make a great family. Easy reading, and very lighthearted...

Strictly a lightweight book, but interesting if you're a Shannon Tweed fan. Too much time on her pre-teen years and not enough on her film sex goddess years. But her rise to Playboy Mansion hostess is interesting and then her story kind of fizzles out after she meets Gene Simmons. But the middle hundred pages are fun.

This woman's confidence and intelligence are admirable. She has incredible insight into maintaining a healthy, long term relationship based on love not obligation only. An honest and interesting read. a great book!

First, why would'nt Gene Simmons be in the book? He has been the focal point of her life for at least half of it. For those who like pictures, this book will please you. I like an autobiography that gives more details & the individuals deepest held beiefs. There simply was not enough of that here. But, this autobiography does give some clear insights into the Canadian born playmates upbringing in Newfoundland, her later career in B movies, the Playboy experience, & her life with Kiss star Gene Simmons.

On the positive side her meeting the latter at the Playboy mansion clearly changed her life for the better. She stopped abusing drugs & alcohol for him. He basically is a good guy who deserves credit for saving her life. But, if you want to see the deeper interaction & dynamics of their relationship with each other & their two kids, you should watch their show "Family Jewels."

I'm working as an assistant IT admin and recently got certified under Proxy (I was already MCSE/A+). I bought this book, as well as a few others, to educate myself on the product as well as prepare for the exam. I was disappointed with this book for two reasons. First, the book spends the first 100 pages or so (almost a third of the book) on things other than Proxy: TCP/IP, IIS, etc. While comprehension of these topics is an absolute necessity for installing, configuring and maintaining a proxy server, the author did not cover them in sufficient detail to make their inclusion worthwhile. When the author does get around to Proxy itself, he gives thin descriptions of the issues. Which leads to my second problem. The book isn't really appropriate for the NT novice, but then again, it's not meaty enough for someone who's not. Most of the needed topics are covered, but only just. Much more could have been said about client installation, performance monitoring and common errors associated with arrays and chains. The step-by-step instructions are well-written and there is a PDF version of the book on the CD that's included, but the end of chapter questions are even worse than most books. Also, don't let the lure of extra test questions on the CD fool you; you'd have to fork over an extra $100 to get enough of them to do you any good. Keep looking.

Don't listen to nay sayers who don't like this book. If you want to learn about firewalls, proxy'ing, and the like this book is for you. This book changed my life insofaras it taugh me advanced TCP/IP. Firewall functionality is all about TCP/IP really and if you want to pass the MCSE exam it's a MUST HAVE. Great job Curt! I just purchased Curt's ISA 2000 book. I can't wait to read it.

I looked at every book available on PROXY SERVER 2.0 before I decided to purchase Curt Simmons version. My main reason for choosing his book was the copy of Proxy Server 2.0 (30-Day Trial) and the Quizzer program to help prepare for the test. Unfortunately the 30-Day Trial version needed at least Windows NT and a copy of IIS for it to work, so it was worthless to me. The quizzer program was very helpful although you do need a password or key to open it up. The key is suppose to be hidden in the book somewhere, but I had to call the company to get it (they didn't know where to find it in the book either). The topic is dry and you have to force yourself through it all, but most of the MCSE books are that way. All in all, I might have bought another book on the topic had I known the 30-day trail version would not be accessable to me.

If I'm just studying to pass a test, I read a book through once, answer all the chapter questions, maybe pass up the labs for now, then either turn around and read it again and work the labs on my humble home network, or start reading through another similar guide first, and then going back and working with the product through the labs. Polish all that off with one of the readiness reviews for the last few days and the test is passed.

This time I needed to learn Proxy Server so I can better understand the live system I actually work with, and worry about the test later maybe. I've read through this book once already, and it is clear and understandable, very well written. In one read I've gleaned a lot of information for my day-to-day use, and know that the second pass through, working the labs live, will tighten up my understanding of this technology even more. Some technical books are so poorly written I can't finish them so I just move on to the next one, but this one is pretty well done, and suits my needs just fine.

There are a few little errors but they are obvious and not too distracting; a diagram reference # wrong or a silly misspelling like HEKY_LOCAL_MACHINE as the correct answer on one of the chapter assessment tests. I've seen much worse.

This book is a great learning tool for Proxy Server 2.0, whether to pass the MCSE test or to learn it for work. If I were going for the test, I'd not stop here; but just to use it for knowledge, review and reference, it's great.

It lists and covers all the certification requirements, and even gives a good cross reference of which chapters cover which test objective, as well as a convenient appendix containing all the collected Mini-Labs from each chapter. I haven't tried the BeachFront CD yet so I don't have an opinion, but the book itself is solid.

I recommend it.

Joe Buchberger

I am an MCSE+Internet, CIW, A+, Network+, and I-net+ professional.

I made an incredible score on this exam, and this book deserves all of the credit. It thoroughly covers every aspect of setup AND each and every aspect of administration. MOST OF ALL, it includes great screen shots and incredible labs.

The earlier version of the book included a large number of mistakes, according to the earlier reviews, but I only came across a small few in this version. He went WAY too much into IIS, but didn't cover Winsock administration any where near enough.

The beachfront quizzer is poor--very poor, so don't even bother installting it. BUT the PDF version of the book along with the evalution version of PROXY came in very handy.

This book is all that you need to certify yourself in proxy.

I used this to get me started using my first view camera. I've also read several others, including Ansel Adam's "The Camera" and Jack Dykinga's "Large Format Nature Photography." While the others are outstanding, they have different a focus than this one, which in my opinion, homes right in on the meat of what you'll need to get started.

Simmons, in this book, is much better at simplifying and going through the fundamental movements showing images to accompany each description of the movements. It also covers basics such as different types of cameras (monorail, field, view), lenses, lensboards, shutters, etc. The only problem I see is the types of film discussed is a little dated since the film market has changed since the publication of the book. Otherwise, it covers everything you need to get started and makes a decent reference after that.

It's also more straightforward than the other books mentioned. Ansel Adam's book on "The Camera" is more of an overview of 35mm, medium format, large format, and covers reasonable detail on each, but does not get as thorough on LF cameras, so frankly I found his description of rise/fall and tilt/shift rather confusing. Dykinga's book is also fantastic but focuses (as the title implies) on specifics for landscape photographers and thus skirts over the fundamentals a bit too much.

I give this book 5 stars for doing what it's intended to do, and does it very well. That said, if you're looking for something that goes well beyond the fundamentals, this one isn't for you.

I'm glad that I bought this book. The other large format book that I own isn't this informative, this book clearly explains everything. A great buy.

I found this very helpful being old to photography but new to large format. Illustrations are excellent as well.

A very nice introduction to large format. Gives more then a few a-ha moments that I needed badly after reading The Camera. Good to have around while starting your LF journey :-)

God damn it. Amazon you have ways to drive a person insane. I'm trying to reach you to obtain a copy of the latest edition of "Using the View Camera" that you listed on the page that I ordered from. You sent me about a 1982 edition. The page I ordered from listed it as about 1993. I am demanding you exchange the the '82 for the '93 as listed. Stop ignoring me or give me some channel to which you will respond.
I've been shopping @ Amazon for 10 + yrs, & in general I've been quite happy. But boy when there is a problem you put up so many barriers as to be maddening. This is unacceptable. I have the distenct feeling that you deliberately raise these barriers to make it impossabile for wronged customers to receive justice. This is the 2nd time I have written about this, J. McGraw