Stevens Books

As a photographer that loves to photograph waterfalls, I bought this book to show me where I could find more waterfalls to photograph. With over 300 waterfalls listed, this is a must have for any waterfall lover. Even though most of the listed waterfalls are in the backcountry of Yellowstone, it is a great resource to plan trips to see these magnificent wonders. The book lists the location of the falls, most of the time what USGS topo map to use, the difficulty of getting to the falls, and a little history of the falls. The only thing I wish the authors would have included was a brief description of the hike to the falls so that you could know what to look forward to while hiking to the falls.

This is a truly amazing book on Yellowstone. I have not seen one like it. Although much of the book is devoted to newly discovered waterfalls, all the famous ones are in here too. Like Lower Falls, Tower Falls, and the Gibbon Falls. It makes this a great book for any lover of Yellowstone. Whether you've been to the park for a day or visited every year since childhood like myself you will enjoy this book. Even if you just want information on a beautiful part of America.

It has so much information. Waterfall heights, locations, streams and much much more. The hundreds of photos, which are all color, are beautiful; and the numerous maps are very helpful.

If you love Yellowstone, waterfalls, or just great natural scenery you'll want to add this classic to your collection.

The authors of this book have tracked down, and provided color photos, of no less than 250 waterfalls in Yellowstone. While some were previously well known, many are new discoveries or re-discoveries of falls not seen in many years. That so many notable falls could occur in one area (even as large as Yellowstone)is remarkable; that so many significant falls could have remained to be discovered is downright ming-boggling. The authors provide interesting histories and excellent photos of each fall, and the book will be a joy to read and look at for any waterfall lover. My slight quibble is that while they provide coordinates and category of access for each fall, they don't provide directions or hiking distance. (In fairness, it can well be argued that if the information isn't readily available elsewhere for a given fall then the trek is one that should only be undertaken by a hardcore hiker.) Despite the quibble, this is a great book for any waterfall lover, and especially for one planning a trip to Yellowstone.



Waterfalls are one of natures natural high producers. Do a search on negative ions and you will find that falling water creates an abundance of negative ions in the air. Breathing in this charged air mixture gives a body a natural, invigorating, temporary high. In their book, the authors have obviously been infected by this condition as evidenced by there irrepressible quest to seek out more and more sources of the negative ion producing waterfalls.

This book scores high marks on many fronts. With three different authors contributing, the book does a marvelous job of providing a general education on waterfalls. By clarifying the terms and classes of the waterfalls described, author Rubenstein helps to give personality and color to each individual plume.

Author Whittlesey's extensive historic perspective of the park gives each of the known waterfalls a vivid background description. When the authors caution you not to lean over the trail barrier too far to view a particular waterfall, they then follow up with the details of the tourist that died falling down that very cliff at the same site. As a drive guide to Yellowstones' waterfalls this book cannot be beat. All of the easily accessed falls are covered and described in detail including seasonal variations. For the typical tourist driving through the park, this book will appeal immediately because of the revelation that many more falls are visible with just a short car stop and walk to a viewpoint.

As a hikers guide to the Parks waterfalls this book will have even more appeal. Having spent over 15 years researching the back country for this book, author Mike Stevens has been to many of the falls on repeat occasions under a variety of conditions. In this aspect the book becomes a must for anyone hiking in the back country of Yellowstone. All of the standard trail recommendations are detailed along with accurate descriptions of how to find the falls and experience them in their best display. There are so many falls in the Yellowstone region that this book will certainly add color to almost any hike in the park.

Yellowstone Park is like a huge treasure chest of wild gems. By revealing and putting names to some of the previously `unknown' falls the authors have dug a little deeper into the treasures and helped us realize there is a lot more value in this park than any of us realize. For the experienced Yellowstone back country explorers this book is a must. The authors even give GPS coordinates to many falls that have previously not been written about. Many of the falls have no trails and require at least an overnight stay in the back country. Others are so inaccessible that the authors honestly suggest that the strenuous hike is not worth the effort. The authors even give suggested locations for other waterfalls that have yet to be discovered.

Being a Yellowstone park fan myself I give this book my highest rating and only wish it would have been available when I was employed in the park. The authors show a true enthusiasm for the whole park not just the waterfalls. This book will make you want to get out and get some of those negative ions from the cascading waters. From the text and photos it is apparent that the authors have already had a healthy dose of their own!

It is remarkable that in the 1990s, in a place as frequently visited as Yellowstone Park, the authors could discover (and rediscover) nearly 300 waterfalls. And some of the discoveries are amazing: 400-foot-high flumes, waterfalls that begin at a cliff-face and disappear thirty feet later, cascades that twist 180 degrees in their descent.

The photographs range from adequate to stunning, and the descriptions of locations--complete with UTM grid coordinates--make the guide useful to hikers. A summary description explains the place, type, and height of each waterfall, along with a quick evaluation of the effort involved to find each one. As a result, it's a useful guide for everyone from tourists to car campers to serious trekkers.

But the main impact of The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls is to reinforce the majesty of Yellowstone Park. Anyone who has spent any time in Yellowstone knows its unique combination of serenity and wierdness: it is a land of oxymorons--and waterfalls.

Similar to the first reviewer I also know Steve, my wife went through the CSU MFA program with him and is a fellow member of the Minions writing group. Steve's school and open mike readings were something we all looked forward to because we knew we would soon be laughing hard enough to puke. We all hung out at the same bar trading stories and tales with one another, this particular bar was also the birth place of the "Rules of the Buffet" story.
However, I have digressed, Steve's book is full of the wonder, magic, pain, and growth we experience in childhood and teen years that makes us who we are as adults. Our youth leaves an unmistakeable stamp on us that we carry, either as a source of pride or baggage it's our choice, and it's also something we have to come to terms with. Steve illustrates this extremely well in his book. Having grown up in southern New Hampshire not at all like Kansas, I felt the same kinship with Steve's writing I have found during many long nights with Steve himself. I also found myself mourning the end of the book because it left me with no more chapters to read and hoping for another book to come out as soon as possible. Steve's writing is refreshing, sad, and inspiring, I can't recommend this book enough. Long live the Minions and late nights at Surfside.

I am an avid reader and a woman. I lean toward great contemporary fiction written by women these days, not sure why. . . so when someone handed me this hot off the press book, I flinched. I try to read male authors, and while I can glean good writing nods from the best of them, I don't reach for them again years later, Most male books don't become best friends. By best friends, I'm talking, Barbara Kingsolvers' books, Monk's The Secret Life of Bees, The Lady who wrote the Pilot's Wife . . . those books. You know . . THOSE BOOKS (I say this like a drug addict talks about his next hit). They're hard to find. The Guinness Book of Me will. I can't get it out of my head. It smacked with honest, strong writing and for the first time, I felt like I honestly got inside a man's head. Hurrah for Steven Church, his first novel. I'd be willing to bet this book is going to go BIG. Be one of the first to read it. Be the one at your reading club to suggest it. You can't go wrong. Male or Female. I can't wait to give it to my 15 year old son to read. There was "chick lit", right? What's this? "Bro Books?" I loved every single written word in it. And I can only say that about a handful of books I've read.

This book is sensitive. Church has a way of approching the sadness in his life (brother's death, for one) that is simple, but not overly sensitive. But there are enough male-bonding episodes and inevitable scars to make it a guy book. Refreshing, in a sea of chick lit. *And* he gets the girl.

I read this book in just two sittings, it would have been only one, but I have 2 small children. I pick it back up and re-read sections again and again. Steven Church is a fabulous writer. Steven Church makes me wish I could eat dinner with his in-laws and visit Kansas. I love his writing and I can't wait for more. I am buying a copy for my dad, one for my brother, and I am keeping my copy. Steven Church, write more soon.

I read this book (indeed, I became aware of this book) because Steven Church is my husband's cousin (there, full disclosure). I've met him a few times, but I couldn't say I know him. I didn't necessarily want to love this book. But I did, and I devoured it in one sitting.

So why read a memoir of someone who is not your husband's cousin, someone who has never committed a serious crime or slept with movie stars or been present at a Big Moment in History? Someone whose physical scars all come from silly accidents, someone who grew up in Kansas, for goodness' sake? The facts of Steven Church's life would hardly qualify him for a one-page piece in People Magazine.

Read this memoir because it is a true (although maybe not always factual) story. Because it is funny, inventive, touching, real, tough and beautiful. Read it because it will make you want to know Steven Church, because it will make you feel that you do. Read it because his musings about Guinness Book record-holders are as real and intimate and fine as what he tells you about his own battered heart. Read it because it is superbly crafted--WRITTEN, not just WRITTEN DOWN (I do not have the luxury of italics here).

So READ it for all those reasons, but BUY it because someday you will be proud and glad to own a first edition of the first book by Steven Church.

A simple book based on the chapter of ones life. Dealing with family, the family of Christ, and ourselves are all seen in this book. With absurd stories with happy endings, funny as well as heart-warming, this book takes us into our own lives and opens it up for us. A great read, as always, to delve into other lives and compare them to our own. Steven Goad delivers a heart warming story similar to the ones in Grace Centered Magazine.

There may be a better storyteller than Goad running around loose, but he'd have to be awfully good. If you're like me (and a jillion others), you love good stories really well told. In "Gullible's Travels" you'll find plenty of that. Goad's style is unaffected; there's no attempt to be elegant and it has that appealing 'gossipy' texture, on the order of Samuel Clemens, another purveyor of stories not unlike these.

Steven's humor doesn't keep him from probing diseased places with a sharp knife or making a reader feel wistful. So, expect some real candor along with the warmth, openness and wisdom that Steven Clark Goad delivers so beautifully. One other thing--better bring along tissues for some tears and perhaps a glass of water to east the pain you'll have from laughing 'til your sides hurt. Jim McGuiggan, Author Belfast, Northern Ireland

Opening a story book by Steven Clark Goad is like embarking on a rollicking ride. Hold on tight and get ready to be transported backwards in time, jackknifed on freeway overpasses of the mind, airlifted to astounding heights of truth and hilarity, then plunged, reeling, into the lowest depths imaginable, only to be elevated once again into the stratosphere of thought.

Brace yourself, to think and to feel, to live and to re-live, to be born and to be born again and then to meet God face to face. Rich and riotous. Fun and fantastic. Serious and silly. All of these and more describe the infectious style of this parson who has become a master storyteller. "Gullible's Travels" will take you on a journey of delight that you will not soon forget. Jere Allan

(From the publisher's website:) Hamburger technicians who speak every language but English - and are deaf to boot!

Mechanics that know exactly what is wrong with your car, but can't figure out how to fix it. Brothers and sisters in Christ who have never heard of a word called, "encouragement" - preferring the testing-by-fire method, instead!

Gullible's Travels is one of those rare books that entertains, while teaching, comforts while confronting, challenges while changing. You won't be disappointed, as you laugh your way to a better understanding of the Kingdom.

Admitting taht he "grabs for everything with Goad's name on it," Joe R. Barnett says, "Somewhere in the pages of this book, you'll find yourself. And somewhere you'll see the Savior, gently beckoning you to come closer." Seldom is extreme praise justly heaped upon a relatively new short story writer, yet "Gullible's Travels" by Steven Clark Goad is a surprising delight.

With irresistible charm and irrepressible humor, this Hoosier lad turned preacher transports you with him on an unforgettable pilgrimage. From Bean Creek's old swimming hole to Jimmy's candy wagon, from the Margaret McFarland school yard to the church house basement, from encounters with sister Jackie on the home front to Lady Barbara, a steely-eyed sister at church, we find ourselves woven into the fabric of a fascinating lifetime in an amazing and unmistakable transformation; the author's memories become our own. This is virtual reality without cyber technology.

In a favorite story of mine, the author challenges Thomas Wolfe's premise that one can't go home again. He does it with such gumption and clarity that it never occurs to the reader to question his conclusion. Listen! "Thomas, you can go home again. I've done it a hundred time and more.....in my mind. Memories. Memories of kith and kin, of puppy loves and heartbreaks, of long departed adored ones, of moments not constrained by the passing of time and the revolving of planets. Yes! I can go home again. I have and I will."

Well worth the purchase price and more. Some liken Goad's writing to Mark Twain. Others have suggested a Lincolnesque quality. Dr. Leroy Garrett, historian and author, has even gone so far as to compare S.C. Goad to C. S. Lewis. A streatch? We think not.

You'll find yourself doing some unusual things: reading the stories to family and friends, laughing out loud, thinking more deeply about the preciousness of life, plus expanding your heart. But most importantly, you'll find this master storyteller's homespun (and often riotous)recollections weave a remarkably delightful pattern - on that points our way to heaven. It's no wonder author Charles B. Hodge can assert with such confidence: "Steven Clark Goad truly does play a 'tap dance' upon our hearts."

Whenever I encounter a situation involving anger, I always run to get this book. I have reccomended it to all of my friends, and they have all raved about it. Dr. Herschkopf taught me how to deal with my anger, and how to help others do so as well.
I have never seen a shrink, and now, thanks to this book, I never will have to.
This book changed my life, and I am glad I found it!

My shrink gave me this book. She said that Hirshkof was the best professor she ever had. I guess he teaches as thoroughly and entertainingly as he writes. The only problem with the book is the cheap quality of the paperback edition. The cover curls. I gave it to my husband to read the chapters on Sex, Marriage and Divorce. I bought myself a hard cover copy. I felt philanthropic since all the profits go to charity anyway. It read even better the second time. I recommend it very highly.

I really enjoyed this enlightening book. The info and advice is direct and to the point. FYI, this book is a fabulous bargain considering Dr Herskopf is one of New Yorks top Psychiatrists. Save yourself 1000's in shrink bills just read the book.

I wish I had read this book twenty years ago. My life would be so much better today. I will give this book to each of my children and insist that they finish it before they go back to school. If my ex-wife will speak to me, I will humbly suggest that she read it as well. I will leave two copies at my parents' graves (but I'll take them back after they're done). Seriously, without question the most useful book I have ever read.

At first, I didn't think I would, but in the end, I liked this book a lot. Book 1, the "what, how and why" of anger is interesting, but predictable, like a good college course. Book 2, the author's original theories, is much better. Book 3, "Anger & sex & kids & teens & mobs, etc." is awesome. I re-read each chapter several times. It blew me away. Kudos to this shrink!

I have always had problems in my personal life being honest and upfront with those close to me.
By reading steven gaffney's "honesty works" and "just be honest"
books not only have helped me to communicate effectively in my professional and personal relationships, but also have saved me a whole lot of time. The books are easy to understand, clear and precise to the point. I would reccommend this book to EVERYONE !!!!

As a professional facilitator, I found Steven Gaffney's book to be a powerful message on communicating honestly with all the people in our lives. He provides clear, concise insight into many of the issues that impede clear and honest communication. More importantly, he suggests specific techniques to deal with these barriers, as well as the perceptions that get in the way. I have used several of his techniques with my workplace teams with extraordinary results. I highly recommend this book to any group of people who want to improve their communications!

This book is a must read for anyone who has "must communicate effectively" as part of their job description. While many of the points Mr. Gaffney makes seem like common sense, he presents them in a way that forces you to apply them to situations that you might normally overlook. The bullet points and descriptive chapter titles make this an easy reference guide. I highly recommend it!

This book will help anyone improve their communication skills both at home, dealing with personal relationships, but more importantly dealing with relationships at work--bosses and other co-workers. The exercises were practical and helpful. Everyone deals with difficult people, this book shows you how and shows you how to do it in an unhostile way...it has helped me already! Put down your fiction for a little while and pick up this book!

I am not a "self-help" book expert--I actually try to stay away from self-help books. A friend convinced me to read Steven Gaffney's "Honesty Works!" and I can "honestly" say that I enjoyed it. The book is a great read. There are practial examples and bullet points to follow. I highly recommend it.

As an Old West Re-enactor for 5 years, I have taken a particular interest in costuming. There are few resources that accurately dispell the many questions and myths that come into play about the cowboy gear in the Old West. I refer to this book often when researching particular subjects such as hats and boots. As a seamstress, the diagrams and details are invaluable in recreating costumes for my husband and fellow actors.

I thought this book would be about what you can tell about people from what kind of truck they drive. But it turned out to be a very good reference on historic Western garb.

A friend shoved this book in front of me during research for a historical novel, and I found it fascinating! It is a comprehensive guide to the real garb and tack of real cowboys in a real frontier, not a Technicolored Hollywood wardrober's fantasy. I found it expertly written and illustrated, detailed and enormously helpful. This isn't the kind of amateur historical pap you see so often in this category, it's the Real McCoy. Anyone who wants or needs to know how cowboys and frontiersmen dressed needs to pick up "I See By Your Outfit."

I loved this book. A comprehensive guide to real working cowboys' -- not in the movies or on TV; on the open range of Wyoming, in the old days -- clothing and equipment. Hundreds of black and white photos and drawings; illustrations from historic catalogs; schematics of tack; diary entries and contemporary descriptions; history and the reasons behind the specific gear of the cowboys (and girls) of the Northern Plains from 1870 to just until the Great Depression. The authors are historians and give us the names of, and the stories behind, the people and the great stuff; Levi's of course, but how about 'Rodeo Booger Reds'? -- a would-be competitor. Underwear -- you can imagine how important Union Suits were before central heating. (They could be ordered in white, grey, ecru, light blue, and, finally, in 1909: pink.) Shirts, jackets, leather goods and fabrics. Horse gear. There's even a chapter on Camp Equipment; now you can build a chuck wagon. Loads of well-captioned photos, many portraits; you're 'there.' Best of all, the tone is enthusiatically academic rather than 'nostalgic.' This is the real thing -- a scholarly, well-organized and well-written book about a vanished world.

This is the real MCoy. The authors appear to know their subect well and have done their homework. I thank you for that because this is my first read on the subject of real cowboy clothing and I wanted facts. The detail was very good and in some cases too good as in the section on horse bits. What cowboys acually wore and why is fascinating. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the Hollywood costumes but it's nice to know the real story and this is it.

My 5 yr old has been riveted by this book since he got it at the age of 3.....we have given it as gifts to 4-5yr olds and always got a call or email commenting on how great the book is. The story is imaginative and well written, with interesting details, it is actually educational but mostly fun. The pictures are what take your breath away. It is a great birthday gift for boys and girls!

My 5 year old has so much fun with this book. It is written in a way that makes the child feel as if they are traveling to the moon. It talks about what it would be like. The pictures are my son's favorite part of the book. Highly recommended.

This book arrived at our library last week, and I was immediately blown away by it! Faith McNulty and Steven Kellogg have done a great job of showing and telling children what a trip to the moon would really be like.

One thing that is great about this book is the way experiences and things that are familiar to children are used to describe extraordinarily UN-familiar experiences and ideas. The book is written in the second person point of view -- directly addressing the reader. I thought it was brilliant the way McNulty captures what a child's (or anyone's) feelings might be as they hurtle through the dark expanse of space, far away from the comfort of Earth and home. ("Up here in space you may feel very alone. Don't look back at the Earth. It would make you even lonelier.")

Kellogg illustrates a variety of moods, experiences and concepts from eye-catching perspectives. There is whimsy: an astronaut floats weightlessly around inside the capsule amidst a swarm of playing cards, and, later in the book an unexpected herd of hypothetical moon cows makes an appearance! There is quite a lot of loneliness in Kellogg's space: A lone astronaut hops around and explores the strange, barren, black and grey moonscape for several pages. In a compelling two-page spread, Kellogg depicts a lone astronaut, standing on the Moon under a lonely black sky -- the scene is printed with the darkest jet black ink I have EVER seen printed in any picture book. At the end of the journey, the astronaut returns to an exuberant fold out frieze of Earth's magnificently varied biodiversity, under a shining sun and clear sky with children swimming in fresh, clear water -- the essential element that makes our planet habitable. I was especially pleased to see this book, since another excellent children's book about the Moon, E.C. and Robin Krupp's book, The Moon and You, is not readily available anymore. I highly recommend this book for any elementary school library, or for the book collections of Kindergarteners to second graders. I also would not be surprised if it wins some children's book awards in the months to come.

This is a beautiful book that my 3 year old loves, but, despite being appropriate for a 3 year old, it is a pleasure to read to him, because it is full of provocative ideas that adults enjoy. I suspect we will both continue to enjoy it for years to come. It is a great companion to 'On the Moon' by Anna Milbourne and Benji Davies, which is essentially a re-telling of the Apollo mission for kids, whereas this book is a re-imagining of the Apollo mission. It follows an imaginary modern journey to the Moon, where, among other things, the young astronaut finds the flag left by the Apollo astronauts blown over by their blast off, and re-erects it. It ends by comparing the richness of life on Earth, made possible by air and water, to the desolation of the Moon. It is also beautifully illustrated.

If you have a child like mine who loves scientific minutia then this is the book for you. It is technical and not appropriate for younger preschoolers.

This is a great book if you are trying to figure out referred pain patterns or ways for your client to help themselves at home. Good book to have on hand.

This book is a gem of simplicity and usefulness. It integrates anatomy, myofascial techniques, holistic thinking and traditional Chinese medicine meridien theory and also provides simple stretching and strengthening exercises to help patients move from pain to recovery. It's beautifully designed and illustrated; I especially love the calligraphic drawings of the exercises. As a massage therapist, I can say that it is now one of my favorite reference books.

great book that emphasize on learning to build one's skill in touch. great illustration pictures to master location of muscles. easy reference book to refer to in regard to figuring out possible trigger points for pain.

I am a massage therapist, who does deep tissue, sports and medical massage. I find this book to be a great guide. It is not as complete as the Janet Travell manuels, but it covers the main points of pain.

I'm a personal trainer and wanted the information to help me develop exercise programs for post-rehab clients. I was amazed at the quality of the book and the ease of use. The charts are great and the information is organized in such a way that you can find what you need very quickly.

I thought the first half of this text was very boring and I found it difficult to stay interested and focused. However, as I started into the second half I found myself unable to put it down. I think it took me two weeks to read the first half and two days to read the rest. The subject is absolutely fascinating and everything comes together in the end. This was a requirement for an MBA class I was in and certainly a must-read for present or future managers. The book is a story about how a company is nearly driven out of business but then saved by implementing a knowledge management strategy based on pragmatic knowledge. It shows what happens when too much emphasis is placed on technology in KM.

Inside Knowledge is a fantastic presentation of real world processes and creative resolution to many business concerns enfolded into a very entertaining story. The fiction holds your attention while conveying brilliant ideas useful to professionals at all levels of management and in nearly any industry. Worth every penny!

As a senior operations professional and practitioner for over 20 years, I found this book to accurately portray the interrelation and organizational challenges that companies grope with on a continual basis, and yet provide the tenets to foster collaborative best practices in an interdisciplinary environment. It is richly humorous and straight to the point. Written in a fictitious manufacturing setting, the authors provide incredible connectivity across their main characters and a compelling story of leadership and management to exemplify their points and hypotheses, wise sages they are indeed. A very poignant look at management innovation, and lessons for furthering it. A must read for anyone intent on unlocking the true value of their enterprise by leveraging the knowledge, synergies, and functional dynamics of their organizational assets.

This book should be read by entry level to experienced business professionals who seek to assist their company in overcoming challenging situations through the use of knowledge management. "Inside Knowledge" is a useful guide for how to achieve employee peformance improvement & customer service oriented goals because it clearly explains how theoretical knowledge differs from pragmatic and profound knowledge and why theoretical knowledge does not best serve us in the workplace. One of the aspects I liked best in the book was how it unified owners, managers, and employees with concise approaches for how to get key players to work toward a common goal. The lessons provided by Fearon & Cavaleri are not only excellent business lessons, but also great lesons to be learned & applied to daily life.

An easily read description of the idea fostering a learning organization. Not only that, but a nail bitting story that demostrates how continuous improvenent through practical learning and experimenting can unfold. I would recomment the book to anyone who has faced a complacent workplace.

I haven't read the whole book yet, but so far, I've learned a lot. I'm only a second year illustration student, but I feel like I'm almost ready for the freelancing world just after reading some of this. Tons of insider information that I gather most illustrators don't learn until they've been working 5 to 10 years.

Steven Heller & Marshall Arisman's guidance is invaluable in today's market, this book is a must have for the struggling professional or for the newly graduate seeking to stake their claim. In fact I'd go so far as to say this book SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING at every art school in the country offering illustration courses.

First let me say that for those of you reading this review who don't know who Steven Heller & Marshall Arisman are, you should, and here's why; Heller is the director of the NY Times Book Review, co-chair of the MFA design program at the School of Visual Arts (one of the best, THE BEST drawing curriculums in the county) as well as author of almost one hundred books in the graphic design field. He's been in the business a long time, seen it from the artist side, seen it from the political side and can help make or break a career at least from the perspective of a children's book illustrator. Mr. Arisman is one of the living legends of Illustration with artwork in major U.S. museums, every national magazine and is chair of the MFA program (Illustration as Visual Essay) at the School of Visual Arts.

The interview-style of the introduction to this book is repeated throughout as each chapter is brought to a close with a discussion between these two legends. That doesn't mean however that the kernels of wisdom and genuine professional opinions are repetitive. First they talk about the decline, and now the re-birth of Illustration in America, the springing up of stock illustration houses, how artists need to position themselves with respect to the marketplace, developing a unique personal voice, and working with art directors. How much risk should there be in a portfolio? How much can or should an artist trust the company they are being hired to work for? "Relating to business, most illustrators are in make up class." And from there, the rest of the book takes off.

There are several sections that outline the do's and don'ts - lots of them. Everything from How to interact with a director, preparing for portfolio reviews, promotional pieces and the importance of professional organizations is the foundation for much of the book to follow.

Chapters include the importance of style, how you develop it and how to show it off, new media, the importance of authorship ("Therefore, it is incumbent to the savvy illustrator to build...a diversified portfolio....Your overall illustraion practice should include both works produced exclusively for clinets as well as for yourself that can be turned into original projects."), licensing & editing your works, self promotional pieces, and ethics. I found the discussions about style ("Style is driven by your view of the world, not by a technical procedure.") and Promotion invaluable. For those two chapters alone the book more than paid for itself.

A third section of the book is a series of short but concise interviews with illustrators and art directors. They include: Steven Brodner, Brad Holland, Leo & Diane Dillon, Robert Parada, Nathan Fox, Ward Sutton, Robert Newman (of Real Simple), Chris Curry (the New Yorker), Richard Winkler (Curious Pictures) just to name a few.

A beautiful speech by Milton Glaser serves as the icing on the cake. He talks in depth about our culture's current state of endless consumption, the effects of television on visual literacy and the relationship it has on everything around us. A totally brilliant ending!

Steven Heller's other book, (which I also have and was personally a little disappointed in) "The Education of an Illustrator" seems much more philosophical and aimed at correcting art school education. If I had to choose between which one to buy, I'd recommend this one hands down, every time. Inside the Business of Illustration is NOT a follow-up, if anything it's the bare bones BIBLE for learning how to survive and thrive in the business.

What more can I say...I found it informative and helpful, and I have now read it more than once and refer back to it as needed. I highly recommend it to any one considering a career in illustration.

If after reading this book you still want to be an illustrator, then you may have enough drive to make it. This book doesn't paint a rosy picture, nor should it. Talent, business savvy and realistic goals are all part of the equation. Understanding the difficulties and learning how to deal with them and staying creative is a challenge. Find your niche. Strive to be the best at it and understand this career will consume you. And if you want a life outside of illustration make sure you have an understanding partner and friends who support your career!

Having worked as a freelance illustrator for over 20 years, I can say from experience that there is a lot of truth contained within this book. I definitely would recommend it to anyone starting out or wanting to learn more about illustration and the history regarding this profession. I wish something like this was available when I was starting out, because it would have saved me a lot of time.

4 stars because it doesn't cover other pertinent business matters such as copyright registration, self-employment issues like healthcare, taxes and such. This is not a bible for illustration, it is more of an overview. I wish it had covered more categories in depth but there are other books available out there.

very good inside information on dealing with clients and getting jobs...it was a required book for one of my illustration classes