Wagner Books

What an amazing piece of work! Both fans of comic books and classic illustration will find a lot to glean from in this book. If you're not familiar with Gary Gianni's work, check him out at GaryGianni.com and look at some of his amazing pen and ink samples. The guy clearly stands on the shoulders of some of the pen and ink masters like Coll and Booth and yet he still manages to bring a new spin to the techniques of the masters.

Basically, what you'll find in this book is a behind the scenes look at the creation of the Prince Valiant page that Gianni and Mark Shultz have been helming for several years. There's lots of drawings and studies depicted in the making of this masterpiece. There's also some examples of Gianni's other works from Batman, The Shadow, and his comics translation of 20000 Leagues Under The Sea (which is going to be released very soon by Flesk Publications). Gianni gives a lot of insights to what he uses to create this work including his pen nibs and paper as well as his thoughts and his thinking behind some of his artistic decisions on the series. One thing that I thought was kind of neat were the notes that Gianni received from the former Prince Valiant master artist when Gianni was just getting started assisting on the strips. It's kind of like seeing George Bridgeman grade Norman Rockwell and reminds me of the Famous Artist School where you send your art lessons to a master and they put an overlay on top, critique them, and redraw portions to show you how to do it better.

There's also several full color foldout Valiant strips that I believe have been specially colored for this edition only. The entire book is very well made and the paper is heavy and beautiful. The tones of Gianni's work are reproduced in ways that I've never seen before. Usually, reproductions of Gianni's works (Batman, The Shadow, Conan, etc.) are specifically black and white, and yet this book gives you the tones that Gianni creates in his work that are often missed by standard reproduction. So anyway, buy this book and you won't be disappointed. And while you're at it, buy some of the books of the masters that inspired Gianni from the same publisher. Franklin Booth and Joseph
Clement Coll Legacy in Line are tremendous, and Mark Shultz's work (co-writer of Valiant and creator of Xenozoic Tales) is also available. I can't say enough about these works. Having started reading comics with Todd McFarlane's Spiderman and Jim Lee's X-Men (which I still insist are fun) I was completely floored when I saw an inking demonstration by Mark Shultz. The guy took comic art to new levels. Anyway, following Shultz' work lead me to Gary Gianni, and both of them lead me to other great artists like Hal Foster, Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Al Williamson, etc. Alright. I'm done gushing. To end all, this book is really terrific. Buy it and enjoy it.

Gary Gianni, a gifted pen and ink artist in the tradition of Franklin Booth, began to rejuvenate the "Prince Valiant" Sunday strip as assistant to the soon-to-retire John Cullen Murphy in 2004. Noted for this remarkable illustrations for Wandering Star's editions of Robert E. Howard's Conan, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn stories, Gianni's work in comics include THE SHADOW: COILS OF LEVIATHAN and a "Hellboy" backup series, titled THE MONSTER MEN. Gianni was soon joined by writer Mark Schultz, who helped restore the element of the supernatural to the strip, which had in past decades gravitated toward mundane historical detail. Worthy heirs to creator Hal Foster, Gianni and Schultz have restored "Prince Valiant" to its status as the best-drawn and written adventure strip in America.
While recent years have produced fine comics-related retrospectives such as Barry Windsor Smith's OPUS, and Alex Ross's series (such as EARTH X) have been accompanied by "zero issues" with sketches and character designs, never before has there been so lavish an exploration of the making of a comics series. As newspaper printing fails to do justice to Gianni's exquisite line, the razor-sharp black and white reproduction in THE PRINCE VALIANT PAGE brings with it a sense of vindication. (Though designed as a full-page, The Boston Herald crops and rearranges the panels and text into a quarter page.) The book is so packed with intense visual detail that I can't take in more than about 30 pages in one sitting.
Beautifully designed, this 9"x12" Flesk Publications hardcover is a exemplary work of the art of publishing, with elegant touches such as the gold-stamped title on black cloth boards. Highly recommended to fans of the golden age of illustration, Mark Schultz's XENOZOIC TALES, Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, Michael Kaluta, and Frank Frazetta.

In the late 60s, when I was ten or eleven years old, a kindly aunt, knowing me to be an oncoming airplane enthusiast, gave me a copy of the 1968 edition of Ray Wagner's original opus, "American Combat Planes." I devoured that book so thoroughly over the years that it finally became a "paperback" when the covers fell off. (Not too long ago I got a "new" copy through Amazon's used-book-finding capability.) I have continued to recommend this old book to younger enthusiasts looking for an encyclopedic reference on this subject. But it has been getting hard to find, and "the plot" stops in 1968.

Fortunately, Wagner's new book on the same subject is not only updated but improved in every way. There are more photographs, more data for each entry, and improved editing. Some of the photos, not just of the strange, rare prototypes but also of many famed front-line aircraft, I have never seen before (which is saying something, if I may breach modesty). There are enhanced summaries of the service effectiveness and even brief unit histories of the more important types, plus greatly expanded information concerning the use of many US machines in foreign service. (It makes one feel better about our unloved P-39 Airacobra, for example, to learn of how much the Soviets adored it.) Included now is information on the quirky but interesting "observation" class of aircraft, completely missing in the old classic. And as near as I can tell, even with all of this new information, nothing at all has been left out. This new book is even more thorough than the old - and of course it has the great advantage of being current up to and including new ships like the B-2 and the F-22.

I recommend "American Combat Planes of the 20th Century" to anyone who wants a compendious reference on this subject. This book should be on the shelf of every airplane enthusiast.

This is the best "Airplane Book" to come along in a very long time. Speaking as the widow of a pilot, I can tell you that he would have been thrilled with this book. The information and pictures are outstanding. It's the perfect Christmas, Birthday, Father's/Mother's Day or any other day gift that you can give a pilot or anyone interested in aviation. Ray Wagner is a legend in aviation and put an amazing collection of photos with all the information about them together. Jack Bacon is also an outstanding publisher who has an impressive list of books published by his company. I'd give this book 10 stars if I could or more! I guarantee you will enjoy this book if you like planes at all. L. Wicksten, Sparks/Reno, Nevada

I highly recommend this book to nuclear medicine and radiology residents and attending physicians. It gives detailed explanations in a question and answer format. Unlike some other nuclear medicine Q&A books which give one word or one line answers, this book gives a detailed explanation. I especially liked the section on solving nuc. med. math problems towards the end of the book. I wish these authors would publish a second edition and cover more material as they are great teachers!Questions And Answers In Nuclear Medicine

It can help to do quick basics revision for Nuclear medecine resedents who intend to get into the final exam .

"A Rainbow for Your Eyes" is the most imaginative collection of short stories by a single author I've ever have the pleasure of reading. I found myself transported into the stories, believing the thoughts of the story tellers were my own, feeling the love or sadness, joy, pain or fear as belonging to me. The imaginings of du Cunha's mind are so distinctly unique and often provocative that it is difficult for me to comprehend their beginnings, leaving me to wonder in awe at the origin of such visions coupled with the poetry of words to bring them to life. An incredible small book with a powerful tale.

Since the most ancient times, human beings crowded their solitude's emptiness with Nature's beauties, in spite of simultaneously building aggressive machines, destroying animal and vegetable life, and revolving earth mercilessly. Always invoked they, too, the strength of myths, in order to protect themselves from their own metaphysical weaknesses.

From within his profound sadness, Narcissus makes his days longer, plunges into deep flowing waters and searches for Rose. Not even his mask could stop their explosion of love? Or does Rose and Narcissus's love masks itself behind poetry?

And what about you, reader? At which mask do you mirror yourself?

How do you keep your children safe in the world today? Unfortunately,it's a question most parents often wonder. The book "Raising Safe Kids In An Unsafe World" is a wonderful resource that takes a parent's most worst nightmare, and step-by-step, breaks it down into simple prevention methods that any parent can employ.

Jan Wagner, Founder of The Yello Dyno Child Safety Program, has done an outstanding job of organizing and planning safety procedures and checklists for parents and children. She explains everything from educating your children in a non-fearful and non-threatening way, to giving them ways to escape difficult situations. A frightening thought is turned into a useful and easy-to-read safety tip. Parents shouldn't be afraid to discuss safety with their children. With this book, and the other products that are available from Yello Dyno, parents and anyone concerned with children's safety can easily learn and implement this information into their own lives.

Stopsexoffenders.com highly recommends this well-written and inviting book to everyone caring for children. If you're a parent, you should obtain a copy of this book and immediately begin to teach your children about safety (if you haven't already begun doing so). Their precious lives are depending on you. Let's give kids the Power of Knowledge!

Every parent should have this book in their home. It offers simple, non frightening methods children can do to stay safe. Best of all, it stresses that children are often alone when abuse occurs and teaches them how to stay alert and smart to avoid and/or escape the person and situation. Stop hoping and praying it won't happen to a child you love and buy this book.

Today, at least one of out of every 15 children under the age of three has a food allergy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimate that one out of every 150 children has autism (it was one out of every 1,250 in 1996); and childhood obesity is discussed in lunchrooms and boardrooms across America.

Apparently there is something in our food creating this juvenile health crisis, only according to this courageous book, the "complex truth" has been distorted.

This is a must-read for every mother in America.

The editorial reviews have described this book pretty well.

Science, law, and public policy have some strange interactions, and citizens should get informed about them. This is especially important given the number of Orwellian terms like "sound science" or the Data Quality Act, which in practice mean just the opposite.

This is a good source for understanding the issues, which are increasingly important, as we face many public policy issues that need good science as input.

Must-have for anyone involved with oncology, from the medical student to the practitioner levels. Succintly illustrates updated staging criteria per tumor type. Invaluable for pretest preparation (e.g. USMLE, Boards, in-service exams).

This book is great for tumor registrars. The illustations make wonderful tools for determining the extent of disease. Deciding which lymph nodes are regional and which are distant can be tricky, but not when you have this handy book at your fingertips!

Book came quickly and is in perfect shape. Well packaged and a pleasure to business with.
Thank you.

This is an excellent text. Any professor searching for a Cultural Anthropology text needn't look any further. Heider presents the material in a very interesting, concise, and very clear way. Heider clearly illustrates the holistic approach to anthropology and explores that avenue in an exciting way.

I had searched for quite a while for a passing libretto of Wagner when I stumbled upon this gem. Sabors translation is sheer poetry and is a joy to follow along with during the operas. A must buy if you want a fantastic Wagner libretto!

I've read much of Rudolph Sabor's Wagner material, and I want to be sure he knows, from and ardent student of the composer, just how much I love and appreciate all his work. But these four books from Phaidon on the Ring cycle are masterpieces. The extraordinarily elegant presentation not only invites you into another world, but Sabor's clarification and mythic understanding of Wagner goes far beyond anything that is available to the reader so far. In "The Real Wagner",which I have in both English and Spanish, Sabor's deadly sense of humour peeked through whenever irony was appropriate, and even in these translations and notes, he, as a writer and critic, never forgets the subtleties and contradictions Wagner offers to us. If possible, please extend both to the author and to the publishers, my profound appreciation of the symphony they have created together. Let's call these books "collectors items". And in paperback!
And thank you, Amazon, for getting them to me so quickly up here in the mountains of southern Mexico.

Linda

This book was very interesting, informative, and educational. Moffett and Wagner have done an excellent job of giving instructional strategies appropriate to every age group from K-12. Moffett is a visionary whose ideas were ahead of his time. The authors begin by giving a step by step guide to setting up a classroom geared toward student centered learning. The book has three sections, orientation, basic processes, and kinds of discourse. The orientation portion helps the reader to become familiar with student centered learning. The basic processes give different methods of engaging students in activities where they are the center and not the teacher. The book linked reading, spelling, and writing. Moffett and Wagner believe that reading, spelling, listening, and thinking are major determinants to learning to communicating effectively. The section kinds of discourse give innumerable ideas on facilitating the effective use of language arts throughout the curriculum. I would suggest this book for anyone looking to enhance instruction for their students in the classroom or children at home.

As a teacher of language arts for 30 years I could not have survived without this book, which is periodically updated. It has been my bible for teaching language arts and given me not just techniques, but enthusiasm and energy for teaching. My students have certainly profited due to this volume. My most academically-talented students (based on standardized tests), who can be the most critical of a teacher, and who are now in senior high school and even college have chosen me FOUR times--an accolade as rare as hen's teeth--as THE "teacher who made a difference," to be placed in WHO'S WHO AMONG AMERICA'S TEACHERS. I certainly owe much to co-authors James Moffett and Betty Jane Wagner, the latter who has written many other books for teachers.

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up