Stone Books

The Stone Diaries is my favorite book, and I've read a lot of books.It's difficult to put this book into words or to clearly convey the emotion it evokes. It is the story of Daisy, a quite ordinary woman, and the author, who I'm sorry to say recently passed away, shows us how it is exactly that ordinariness that makes every human being so precious. She shows us that people have common threads that unite us. She also shows us that we ordinary folk still have qualities and experiences unique to us. As for Carol Shield's writing: Extraordinary.

This book came out at just the right time! My book group is reading Pulitzer Prize winning novels, and we're scheduled to read The Stone Diaries next week. Imagine my delight when I found Werlock's Reader's Guide in one of our local bookstores....and discovered that she has actually asked Carol Shields some of the questions that our group would like to ask her! This book is filled with great background information, useful interpretation, and thought-provoking questions. If all the books in the series are this good, I'll buy them all!

As a long-time fan of everything by Carol Shields, I was glad to see the United States starting to pay more attention to this Canadian writer, especially for The Stone Diaries, in my opinion her best book. The background information that Abby Werlock provides is incredibly helpful (for instance, Shields is not responsible for the title!). Ms. Werlock's interview with Shields is a plus, especially because she wisely avoids the q and a format and instead spreads Shields's comments throughout the book. I love The Stone Diaries, but now, after reading Werlock's book, I understand it even better!

Even though my Chicago-based book club had already read Carol Shields's The Stone Diaries, we all went out and bought Abby Werlock's guide to our favorite novel. What a help this book has been to us! When we first discussed the novel, we had all sorts of questions, especially about whether Daisy or someone else was speaking at any given time. Well, Werlock's explanation solves it all! And even though she provides many answers to common questions, she asks questions herself, providing even more issues to delve into in this very complex and satisfying book. I recommend it to all devotees of Carol Shields.

Outstanding book for the Johnny Cash fan, as well as interesting and enjoyable for the non-fan. Lots of concert photos in addition to wonderful family photos, which give you a real sense of who Johhny was. The text is both in-depth and interesting, most enjoyable to read. Loved it!

The value of this book is in the perspective afforded by the compilation format. Included are chapters taken from articles formerly published in Rolling Stone magazine, chapters pulled from Johnny's autobiography and numerous other sources. I've got all of the Rolling Stone articles but bought the book so I could have it all together in one source. Not all of the writing is top notch, but there are plenty of gems to be found. A generous sampling of photographs are provided also. I'm being generous with the 5 star rating - it's probably worth a solid 4 but the subject adds a bonus in itself.

This book is factual, well written and a must to fans. I do have to say that Rosanne Cash is not the author. She wrote the introduction. A beautiful one, I might add. She is an incredible writer and does have books out of her own, however, this book was put out by Rolling Stone.
Great book.

Outside of Cash's own autobiographies, most of the biographies dealing with Johnny Cash are none too good. This one isn't really detailed enough but it's good for quick info and the articles from Rolling Stone are very well written. Definitly worth a look if you're a Cash fan.

I picked it up , just by excident . Than , after being shocked by exellency of photography , I loked at the name of the author ... Tom Kumpf ...
I was shoked , surprised , and heart by his work ! As published author , kind of famouse photographer ... all I can say to Mr. Kumpf : WOW ! ... Highly recomended !!!

Tom Quinn Kumpf has written a beautiful book. The photography is outstanding and the narrative reveals an unusual insight into the plight of the children, victims of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Kumpf does not point fingers or take sides. He tells it as he saw it in Belfast.

Like no other before him, Tom Quinn Kumpf has managed to capture, through word and image, the reality of today's Belfast streets as seen by and through the youth that live there.

Kumpf has walked ever inch of Belfast's peace line documenting the lives and stories of this troubled city's youth - youth from both sides of the divide.

Most importantly, and what sets this book apart from others like it, is Kumpf's manner of reporting their stories. Evident in his work, Kumpf has managed to gain trust in a place that doesn't easily trust. He has uncovered and exposed the human side of a terribly twisted political and religious war.

His work is genuine and truthful, and in it you will see both the pain and the hope that lies within the children of Belfast.

I met Tom this past weekend in Dublin, OH and talked to him for quite a while. Being a photographer, I was interested in hearing his thoughts on process and technique and other techie stuff. While talking to him I looked through his book and realized that this was much more than technical work. When I got home and started reading it I realized the importance of his work. I highly recommend this book not just for the photos but for the stories that go with them. Excellent work.

Very few longtime civil servants write their memoirs. This book shows that this is a mistake. The author makes the every day conflicts of civil service life live and breathe and shows how they can be overcome to serve great purposes in the public interest.

Introduction writer Tom Peters quotes Peter Drucker's aphorism that "Ninety percent of what we call 'management' consists of making it difficult to get things done." He produces "12 Lessons in Stone" which summarize his approaches. Stone used (1) Demos and Models; (2) Heroes; (3) Stories and Storytellers; (4) Chroniclers; (5) Cheerleaders and Recognition; (6) New Language; (7) Seekers (of change); (8) Protectors (of innovators); (9) Support Groups; (10) End Runs (around hierarchies)/Pull (from outsiders) Strategy; (11) Field/"Real People" Focus, and (12) Speed to push his goals forward.

The author himself describes his goals as "decentralization, deregulation, and devolution of authority in a value-centered organization." These were goals gradually developed after years of frustration mixed with achievement in the Defense Department, to which he had been recruited by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis in 1969. He quickly clashed with the centralization of all authority for planning imposed during the seven plus years of Secretary Robert McNamara.

His first work was to research the question of how big the army should be. He led successful efforts to change the evaluation formula from on tons of artillery ammunition fired times lethal area per ton to one that applied informed military judgements to the weapons on both sides, what the army dubbed the Weighted Effect Indicators/Weighted Unit Value method. The effect of this change in formulas was to demonstrate the feasibility of NATO surpassing the Warsaw Pact in effectiveness, something later accomplished in the Carter and Reagan Administrations. From this effort, the author learned the power of asking naieve questions, such as "Why? What's that mean? Says who?"

The author subsequently went on to become assistant secretary of defense for installations, where he rapidly shrunk regulations and improved the quality of life for residents of military bases. This raised hackles which put him under a glass ceiling for awhile, but he recovered with the Clinton/Gore election in 1992, when he got appointed to the National Performance Review staff, and ultimately became its leader in reinventing government.

This book demonstrates his struggles and his triumphs and is essential reading for anyone seeking to aid in the cause of responsive government. "Some people look for things that went wrong and try to fix them," he said. "I look for things that went right and try to build upon them." He called himself "Mr. ReGo" (Reinventing Government) and "Energizer in Chief." His critics had undoubtedly had other words for him, but this book is a very clear record of his vision and accomplishments.

It is an extremely useful introduction to the whole field of Reinventing Government, with its orientation of customer service and customer satisfaction and the eliminations of excess regulation and bureaucratic red tape. It is one man's anecdotal summary, but it provides a firm basis for more rigorous empiricial investigations by others. It is a call to action as well as a memoir, and as such it will likely be heeded by dedicated professionals for many years to come.

This excellent book is a light and easy read filled with many personal stories and observations from a career civil servant who `fought the good fight' to apply common sense and effective business practices to the federal government for thirty years. Anyone with any government experience, or business experience dealing with government organizations, will enjoy this book and probably get some ideas about how to overcome government bureaucracy and over-regulation.

If you are looking for new business, management, or leadership concepts, theories, or practices, you will be disappointed. What was new, and what made this book interesting and inspiring to me, was how Stone repeatedly applied sound business, management, and leadership concepts, theories, and practices to government organizations that had been institutionally insulated from such `distractions.' Stone's constant mantra of putting customers first, empowering employees, and cutting red tape helped lead many federal government organizations to a paradigm shift from a focus on regulations and violations to customers and helping them with compliance, and even the practice of federal agencies partnering with businesses to achieve mutually supporting goals.

As a retired career Marine officer, I particularly enjoyed reading about his efforts in the Department of Defense. His very first chapter, "Tackling a Job When You Haven't a Clue," clearly set the tone for the rest of the book with its honesty and humility. His initial experiences in the Pentagon (where he initially did not have a clue) were very similar to many of the jobs I had during my Marine career, and now with most of the government and military projects I have supported as a contractor. The lessons at the end of this chapter, and at the end of the next thirteen chapters (of sixteen total), were `right on target' and did a great job focusing on the main points to be learned from his stories and observations.

"This is an exhilarating book, full of spirit and spark. It vividly and
passionately describes the author's groundbreaking, bureaucracy-busting work
as head of the National Performance Review. Ignited by Tom Peter's In Search
of Excellence,
Stone became Al Gore's right hand in working to reinvent government. His
book is filled with wonderful stories of revolutionaries from every rank and
level. It contains many great tidbits of advice and wisdom. The author used
to refer to himself as Energizer in Chief. His book is just that: an
energizer. It breathes the soul of civic revolution. It is full of fun as
well, an easy read. Stone is totally devoted to action that breaks down
ridiculous and often absurd barriers from getting the job done right. But
the book is full of humanity as well, as when Stone decides to retire so he
can live closer to his young grandchildren. If you want to touch clear,
decisive, humane leadership, if your soul needs a spark to re-ignite itself,
run -don't walk- to get this book."

This tell-it-like-it-was gem about the author's thirty years of public service is nothing less than remarkable. Adroitly written with good humor, Stone's quiet, but dogged steadfast nature is wonderfully evident in every page and makes you count your lucky stars that people like him actually join the ranks of our government. These experiences should serve as a guide for future generations of civil servants tackling the often thankless and misunderstood job of government service. But more than that - there is a lesson plan for all of us who navigate the treacherous waters of small and big organizations alike. I for one, plan to give this book to my twenty-one-year-old college graduate to read.

It is a shame this work is out of print. I really enjoyed it. It is deeper than most of Bond's work, with more thought-provoking material, but not so thick that it is tiresome

One of the best books I have ever read--about a feud in Northumbira ending in disaster, and Penelope (the main character) learning a valuable lesson about good and evil.

I found this book a little hard to get into but once I did, it was marvelous. I felt like I was in the story. Read it. It's worthwhile.

I randomly picked this book off a library shelf as something to help a boring afternoon pass by, and was surprised at how enthralling it was. I was surprised to learn this title was out of print, because the colorful palette of characters and their problems are so thought provoking that I wished to own the book myself. Nancy Bond introduces the two families of the Ibbetsons and the Prines who are forced together when the divorced Prine mother Valerie maries the widowed Ibbetson father Edward. Their children must accept eachother and they all must learn how to get along as a family, parents included. But that is not the point of the book, that is merely one of the layers that this book takes you to. Valerie is an archaeologist who is excavating the ruins of a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in the Northumbria region of England, and that is why all of the family must move to Wintergap, a gloomy house built in the harsh climate of northern Britain. Penelope, the only Ibbetson daughter is the main character, and she is the first to sense the dark history of the house. I could go into deep details through the multiple layered plot leading to a horrible accident but that would ruin the story. The suspense makes you keep reading to find out how everything turns out. The most interesting part of the story in my opinion is the friendship that forms between Penelope and a local farmer boy whose family has been feuding with the previous residents of Wintergap, where Penelope lives, and despite her families warnings to stay away from the troublesome Robsons, Penelope must learn how to bring back together the divided land, and somehow make amends. This is a must read for children ages thirteen through adult as it is thought provoking, suspenseful and full of historical accuracy and astonishing details, but because of some minor language issues I wouldn't reccomend it for children under thirteen.

This is one of the best books I have read on crystals. This is a must have, reference book, for anyone involved with crystals. Gives great detail for various forms and types of crystals. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Crystal Wisdom is definitely on my "top ten" list of books I reccommend for crystal lovers. Whether you're looking for a good introduction to the crystalline realms, seeking to deepen your knowledge of individual crystal properties or even looking for material for you own crystal workshops, Crystal Wisdom offers abundant, well written material. This book contains easily the best crystal meditations and exercises I've found to date: the section on how to attune oneself to crystal energies is superb, the chapter on healing a masterpiece , and Dolfyn's advise on how to encounter the Crystal Teaching Spirits is elegantly simple. The entries on individual crystals definitely expanded my understanding of each named crystal's nature and my only complaint would be that he author has not (to date) published a second volume!

This book is a compilation of pamhplets that Dolfyn had previously published in six volumes. Crystal wisdom reflects the total essence of her work with the mineral kingdom, which has been highly influential on my own path with crystals. Dolfyn gives a very good explanation of the basics of working with crystals, including and alternative to 'programming.' Instead of treating crystals like lifeless tools, she reccomends the euphemisation of 'inspiring' them to work with us.

Also included are chapters detailing many of the more common gemstones and even a listing of concise information relating to many uncommon minerals that were becoming only gradually more popular. Several entries include poetic messages from the stones themselves, lending a playful sense of authenticity to Dolfyn's work.

Written in a simple, easy to understand style. Does not take itself too seriously and is very enjoyable reading for fans of crystals.

What a great followup to Hazard's Price. I hope Mr. Stone continues this series, as he has suddenly become one of my favorite authors.

This is a refreshingly fast and fun read, with lots of action, twists and turns which kept me guessing. Also number of interesting surprises. The ending is a real cliffhanger (pun intended).

The ending really pleased and surprised me... I expected a treatment like an X-files episode, where the alien/psychic/mutant/whatever gets away at the end and the viewer is left somewhat unsatified since there is no "resolution"... In this book, there is a surprising and unexpected resolution at the end. What could be next! An even greater and more mysterious story has just begun...can't wait for the next book in the series!

Stone's gripping fantasy series comes to it's own in this
novel his world-building skills are impressive as he once again takes us to a world reeling from a horrible mage war and how mages created a spell to take the magic out of the world and NOW a sorcerer called Madh and the assassin, Hain seek to undue the spell!
Brandt Karrelian, the former spy turned Idustrialist is obsessed in hunting down the sadistic assasin called Hain who crippled his best friend.He is aided by childhood friend and thief called Marwick, the chaldean spy Elena Imbress and seasoned forest, Callom Pell. This novel has it all: plot twists as you see power-hungry chaldean general Amet Pale schemes to control the country.
Our heroes must battle mythical monsters, bloodthirsty cult of immortal killers.Stone's action sequences are violent and mesmerizing as you see magical battles and scenes of brutal hand to hand combat and the final confrontation between Karrelian and Hain a top of a stone Island! I look forward to reading the next book and If Robert Stone is reading this review all I got to say is: Hurry up and write the next book! :)

This book is great and should be recommended to anyone. Robert Stone strikes just the right ballance between a fast-moving plot and interesting themes to keep readers from putting the book down. You won't want to stop reading once you pick this one up!

I especially liked the shocking scenes of violence, which had me on the edge of my seat. Also, "Unbinding" is a great word play on unbending and the German-Yiddish word for "unconditional." This is a work of genius.

In this second book in the series, Mr. Stone's writing really seems to come into it's own. The entire story is a pressure cooker with just a few brief respites for the characters (and reader). I really did not expect this book to develop such a powerful feeling of being a global epic involving military coups and bids for continental mastery as a backdrop to the very personal battle that the main characters engage in. Even some truly thought provoking passages as a bonus.

Great tension between the characters, both those working with one another and those working to destroy one another. Some great new monsters have been thrown in (the druzem) along with the traditional (a manticore, for example).

But best of all was the incredible ending that left me wondering just how big the "boom" is going to be when Mr. Stone decides to blow the whole thing wide open!

A great read and more than worthy follow up to Hazard's Price.

As the author of "Relief for Hurting Parents," I read other parenting books with care to detail. I found "Daughters Gone Wild, Dads Gone Crazy" to be a well-written book that gives instant help and encouragement to parents who are doing their best to survive adolescent challenges and to recover and preserve their children. I sank to the depths of father-daughter pain with authors Charles and Heather Stone, but I also found myself laughing with them at the inadvertent funny things that occur when family matters are so-o-o serious. Their candid admission of mistakes allows readers to learn from their mistakes. Their successes and recommendations offer new hope to families who are still in the jungle from which the Stones have broken free. My counseling clinic is recommending this book to clients. -Buddy Scott

A couple of years ago the movie Thirteen, staring Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, had people talking with its frank depictions of early adolescent drug use, sexual promiscuity, and emotional angst. Media outlets picked up on the public's level of shock that the movie would show 13-year-olds engaged in such behavior. "Maybe 16- or 17-year-olds, but surely not kids so young?! And not middle-class white girls!" seemed to be the general feeling.

It didn't take long for adolescent psychologists to make the talk show rounds and confirm that this was, indeed, an accurate picture of how many young girls are starting to act out as they enter the teen years. And the movie only confirmed what pastor Charles Stone and his wife had learned the hard way, just a few years earlier, when their oldest daughter, Heather, turned 13.

Today Heather is 22 and a committed Christian pursuing a career in nursing. But for five years she tore herself and her family apart with behavior that the word "bad" doesn't modify with justice. Emergency rooms, a manual labor camp, mental hospitals, and countless rehab units became the terrain of their lives. In DAUGHTERS GONE WILD, DADS GONE CRAZY, Heather and her father tell their story in a he said/she said format for which a courtroom scene (he said) sets the stage:

"A handful of fidgety people sat in the nearly empty room. We took our seats in the back, and after a few moments the bailiff barked his customary, "All rise!" A dark-haired judge emerged from the side door. He seemed to float to his bench in his ankle-length black robe. I could feel my shoulders begin to tighten as we nervously sat in Courtroom A.

'Charles and Sherryl Stone vs. Heather Stone: Case number 43. Please come forward,' he bellowed.

The bailiff opened the waist-high swinging door that led to the judge's bench. The judge motioned for us to sit at the well-worn Formica covered table in front of him. He peered over his black-rimmed glasses. 'So what's the problem?' he asked.

With a dry mouth I muttered, 'We just can't handle our oldest daughter anymore. She runs away, stays out all night with boys, uses drugs and alcohol, curses us, and skips school. We've consulted a half-dozen psychologists. We've pled with her, fought with her, and grounded her. We're desperate. We need your help.'"

The judge threatened Heather with an ankle monitoring device if she didn't start obeying her parents, but it would take a lot more before she was ready and willing to make changes. No longer opposing litigants, father and daughter want to provide hope, encouragement, and a few hard-earned bits of advice to others facing similar turmoil. DAUGHTERS GONE WILD, DADS GONE CRAZY is divided into eleven chapters, nine of which are devoted to what the duo calls "relational life preservers." They include #1 "Don't Panic at the First Warning Signs," #5 "Reconnect with Gifts from the Heart," and #7 "Chose Your Battles --- And Lose Some on Purpose." The first half of each chapter features Charles speaking to dads and the second half features Heather talking to daughters.

This book is what I like to call a teaching memoir. It doesn't shy away from bullet-pointed instruction, but its soul is that of a narrative. And it's in the storytelling that this book is most powerful and instructive. Both father and daughter display a penchant for writing as they relive, in often emotionally raw and painful detail, their conflicts. Charles speaks honestly about the struggle to continue to love his daughter in the face of her vitriol, and Heather speaks candidly about the jabs from fellow students and friends --- incidents adults often overlook as petty in the lives of their children --- that fed her frustration and rebellion.

DAUGHTERS GONE WILD, DADS GONE CRAZY is geared for fathers and daughters, but many of its lessons would well serve any combination of parent/child conflict. In fact, I'd encourage all parents to read this book, regardless of your children's behavior or age. It will make you a better parent and a better support for fellow parents dealing with out-of-control children.

--- Reviewed by Lisa Ann Cockrel

It's amazing to read of the downhill spiral of the relationship of this father and daughter (Charles and Heather). But then even more amazing to watch God put their relationship back together again. Lots of helpful advice here for parents and for teens (Heather writes directly to the teens while Charles writes to the parents). Read it if you're in a struggling parent/child relationship, or even if you want to just keep your current relationship healthy.

This is a great resource for parents of teenagers who are facing the difficult challenges of adolescence in today's world.

It is co-written from the perspectives of both the father of a rebellious teen and the former rebel herself (she is now an adult in nursing school). There is an ongoing narrative telling about the struggles of Heather Stone starting at age 13, as well as those of her parents, Charles and Sherryl. Along with their encouraging story, there are nine 'relational life preservers' to help those with similar struggles.

There is a Christian perspective throughout this volume. Charles is a pastor and Heather is a prodigal daughter who has returned to her roots.

Although I have been fortunate enough to avoid most of the extremely difficult situations that Charles and his wife faced with Heather, I recommend this book for any parent of a teenager. Even parents of teens who are not totally rebellious face many trying times through the adolescent years. The advice given will be helpful for any parent with teenagers.

A fascinating portrayal of Camille Pissarro. I knew little about this genius before reading this book and afterwords I felt as though I were an expert in impressionism. One of the best books Ive ever read!

This book made me understand the real struggles all impressionist artists had to live with to have their work accepted by the people, and how much they helped each other in their time of need. The author has brought real-life meaning to a story told many times! Brilliantly written. I enjoyed once again his hard facts and real characters. Irving Stone definitely is a master.

This is another good book by Irving Stone, who also gave us Michelangelo in The Agony and the Ecstasy and Van Gogh in Lust for Life, both of which were made into major movies a half-century ago. The movies were good and had great actors, but the books were even better. This book would make a pretty good movie too, probably a psychological drama.

Stone's books are a chance to see great artists up close and behind the scenes. Since he is doing historical fiction, Stone takes you right into Pissaro's home and right up to his canvas as he is working, and right into his conversations with Monet, Renoir, and the rest at the local pubs. You are even in his head as he creates his art, which is a bit risky, but seems to work. You are there at the birth of Impressionism. It was exciting, at least for me, to get close to these legends.

Surprisingly, it was Pissaro who was the prime mover for the Impressionists exhibitions as a means to expose and educate the hostile audience of that day. The word Impressionism was like a dirty word in those days when the public only wanted clearly executed, classical or romantic paintings of such artists as Delacroix or Courbet. It's really hard to imagine today what made the critics and the public so angry in those days. Was it a bad idea to be innovative? Was it worth almost rioting over? What was the deal with being creative or a little different with your expression?

Organizing anything among this wild group of Impressionist bohemians was almost miraculous, but Pissaro possessed exceptional people skills (always a rare quality, then as now) that made it happen. It is very unlikely that anyone else at the time could have done it. At the same time he and his family were living hand-to-mouth, and you have to wonder how his wife put up with him (just barely, I think).

Almost a century after his time, Pissaro finally gets his due, at least in this book.

Of the three books about artists by Irving Stone, this was my favorite (and Pissaro is my favorite artist as well). Stone kept me interested through-out.

After reading the two previous reviews, I purchased this book on sculpture and was surprised to find that "soapstone" carving was dismissed from the very beginning of the book. Liebson makes clear that he does not even allow "soapstone" in his classroom--on the grounds that (his opinion)it is dangerous to the sculpter's health, and also crumbles when worked.
Since I am new to sculpture, this was disappointing because "soapstone" was the only material I had worked with, and hoped this book was going to give me some valuable advise. Beyond Liebson's dismisal of "soapstone" the book is everything that those other reviews said it was. Tools, methods and merchandising are all covered with ample illustrations. I hope to take full advantage of Liebson's valuable lessons once I have graduated up to limestone and the like.
A.B.

Every sculptor should own this book, and it's really the only one you need. Meilach's volume makes a good supplement, but really that's all it is; Liebson's book easily stands on it's own as the standard reference.

Why? Almost the entire book is devoted to the craft and mechanics of carving stone. Liebson looks like someone's dad, and writes like it, too -- this book eschews all discussion of "art" in favor of simple, practical advice on "how to do it." From selecting a stone and tools to using and caring for those tools to finishing, polishing, mounting, and displaying your sculpture, even to gaining exhibitions and marketing your work, Liebson covers absolutely everything you need to know to get started, and to keep going. I've been carving for over five years now, and I still refer constantly to this book.

I am very picky at buying books because of the high shipping costs to South America, sometimes as high as the cost of a book.
I purchased Direct Stone Sculpture because it was well praised at an art forum by highly renowned artists. After reading the book, I must say that I fully agree with them. It is worth reading and enjoying the photographs of many works. It teaches carving and use of carving tools.
I am not only learning to sculpt but also appreciating art made by great "stoners" at the Sculpture Gallery of the book.
The book has many photographs of the carving process, and shows detailed views of many hand and power tools that I found useful.
I think this book should have a special place at any home library even at non carvers' shelves.
HR, Bolivia

This book has aroused in me a great deal of enthuiasm for the process of shaping stone and the creation of art forms out of stone. Liebson is an authority on the subject and he writes extremely well. Manufacturers and suppliers of tools and stone are listed in an index. A list of recommended tools is provided as well as a fairly comprehensive description of how to best utilize these tools. The photographs are interesting and informative. An inspirational book. Of the three books on stone sculpture which I've read, this is by far the best.