Ware Books

This book is very well written and kept me up at night reading it! I've never read a book like it so even I am surprised that I can't wait for Ray's next book to come out.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters were well-defined and the plot was subtle, gradually building in depth and complexity. It was hard to put down.

I have read a lot of Sci-Fi anthologies and short stories from the 30's and from the 70's. I felt I was having a flashback! Ruppert does a good job of placing you in an future world without holding your hand with a long backstory. The book contains very thoughtful and fascinating looks at the millenium. I have never read this subject matter in novel form and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a Christian who enjoys Sci-Fi I felt I was getting the best of both worlds.

I'm a long time reader of vintage American newspaper strips and have purchased many books over the years, from Toonerville to Little Orphan Annie. My favorite reprint volume was a collection of "Poly & Her Pals" by Cliff Sterrett -- until now. This book is officially the best reprint volume I own. To see King's brilliant Sunday pages printed at their actual size is in itself remarkable. The added details and touches of the printing and binding just add to the luster of this amazing book. The real goal here must have been to recreate what the strip looked like the day these panels were first printed, and they have succeeded admirably. The paper stock and colors are true to the printing style of a newspaper -- not the garish overly saturated re-coloring that is done so often with reprint books. The extra biographical detail is first rate. Chris Ware and his associates are to be congratulated on this wonderful book.

I've never expected my son (who is 4) to take an interest in the crusty old comics I enjoy, but this book has really pulled him in. He asks to see it almost daily. Frank King was an amazingly visual story teller, and each Sunday page really takes one's imagination somewhere. That seems to transcend the vast generational differences between my 21st century kid and those who loved this comic nearly 90 years ago.

I have snapped up the dailies of Walt & Skeezix as quickly as they come out. The sunday spreads are well known for the magnificent artwork, and as soon as I found that at least some of them could be found in book form, I knew I had to have it. I am not disappointed, and have marvelled at the artistry of Frank King. Too bad comics today cannot be as well executed as these (with the possible exception of "Mutts" by Patrick McDonnell).

This gigantic collection is worth every cent. Fantastic art - in it original size - great color and the warm and wonderful characters that Frank King vividly brings to life. This and the first three volumes of dailies are musts for any collection of classics.

The level of detail in this novel astonishes me. I felt like I was in Leningrad in 1980! At times it reads more like an ethnographic study than a standard thriller. And yet the action moves at just the right pace, the characters avoid stereotyping, their dialogue always seems convincing and the plot never seems predictable or stale. It is, apparently, based on a true incident that happened in the twilight years of the communist system. If I have one criticism it is that the book feels a little like a "novelized" screenplay (no doubt with John Malkovitch as the mysterious soft-spoken KGB general and Nicholas Cage as Mels Katz, the hero). Altogether an impressive debut novel.

Interesting book set in the first year of the Soviets' Afghanistan incursion. Time and again, the hero, Mels, bumps into veterans of the Afghanistan war (complaining about the quality of Uzbek troops) or conscripts on the way to Kandahar. The streets of Moscow and Leningrad are full of soldiers and the second hand shops full of goods brought back by diplomats expelled since the invasion. We find out soon enough that Mels is embroiled in a secret KGB plot (apparently based on a true story) using the cover of the Moscow Olympics. He finds out the details of the Kabul coup that triggered the whole crisis. I found it fascinating--well written and certainly timely.

The level of detail in this novel astonishes me. I felt like I was in Leningrad in 1980! At times it reads more like an ethnographic study than a standard thriller. And yet the action moves at just the right pace, the characters avoid stereotyping, their dialogue always seems convincing and the plot never seems predictable or stale. It is, apparently, based on a true incident that happened in the twilight years of the communist system. If I have one criticism it is that the book feels a little like a "novelized" screenplay (no doubt with John Malkovitch as the mysterious soft-spoken KGB general and Nicholas Cage as Mels Katz, the hero). Altogether an impressive debut novel.

A wonderful book, beautifully presented.
For various reasons, they don't make comic strips like this anymore. There is something magical and captivating about the world of the Willett's. Once you start reading, it's hard to put down.
It brings to life a long gone time and place. It's amazing how those little squiggles of characters can become so real. Wonderful art, and brilliant writing.
Anyone with even a passing interest in this, will NOT be disappointed.

I have been a collector of all things Skeezix for several decades. I have everything from Skeezix hankies, shoe boxes and all of the Bisque Dolls from the 1930's. But the one thing that put them all together was Volume Three of Walt and Skeezix. This edition has a very nice introduction to the many products that Frank King authorized to sell from his Gasoline Alley family. This section is lavishly illustrated and helped me as a collector to see for the first time a catalogue of what I have and what I don't have...yet.

The book also boasts the second most exciting event in Gasoline Alley history, the marriage of Uncle Walt. The illustrations are at their zenith and the stories are heart warming and true to life. This is the best of the three volumes.

Volume 3 of Walt and Skeezix is even better than volumes 1 and 2 and it's hard to get any better than the first two. And Walt gets married and Skeezix gets a mom. So much happens and there is so much of King's wonderful art that this is a must.

Frank King must be one of America's two or three best story tellers and here he is in his prime. His characters are real people - not just comic strip characters. Walt actually lives! We'd all love to know someone like him. And the other members of the cast are also flesh and blood. This can't be said about any other comic strip. And that wonderful art!

For those that get "Gasoline Alley" fever there is another must - a gigantic 16 by 21 inch very heavy hardcover of selected early Sundays. Here you can absorb King's great art and color and the stories are just as great. It IS expensive but well worth the price. Any of the four volumes would be a wonderful gift foe the one you love or for some dear friends - or even yourself.

With Paintbrush and Shovel is certainly a unique book. The beautiful paintings of wild flowers - 238 in all- really look more like high quality photography, they are so exquisitely detailed. The story that goes with the paintings tells an unknown story about work done by WPA women during the depression. One of the projects fostered by Roosevelt, the WPA gave work to unskilled African-American women and it was these women that cleaned up this willderness and brought the wild-flowers to Bessie Marshall to be reproduced in watercolor. The book is well-worth owning.

The wildflower paintings in this book are absolutely unbelievably beautifully detailed. When you see them you will not believe the artist could so accurately paint the tiny delicate features of each flower and could so accurately recreate the wonderful colors. If you like, forget about the wonderful story documenting the WPA project in the 1930s to create a wildflower park and document the flowers with paintings. But, if you are an artist or a wildflower lover or both you must check this out just for the wonderful paintings.

Additionally, the printers spared no expense. They used high quality paper and achieved exquisite reproduction of the paintings. I'm sure they were fearful they would be totally out classed if they did not.

This book provides a rare glimpes into the WPA projects especially designed by women. The book also illustrates the history of the park and chronicles the work of a diverse group of women who established a botanical preserve in a City Park during the 30's. The project, of national significance, was part of the WPA that provided work for African Americans and White Women during the depression. How intersting to read that the park provided an income for these deprived women, who created a wildflower/bird preserve for a small city. The beautiful botanical illustrations by B. Marshall are exquisite and the story to follow only enhances the charm of this well documented history.

Chris Ware's recent output of work is no doubt his most impressive. Sadly this won't be recognized for a few years. It won't be until these chunks of story that comprise the last few Acme Novelty installments are collected and released in their full form that it will be clear what he is up to. The two books on the horizon are "Building Stories" (a piece of which makes up Acme Novelty Library #18) and "Rusty Brown" which has had now three releases, numbers 16, 17 and now 19.
Rusty Brown himself makes nary an appearance in this volume as the focus is placed instead on Rusty Brown's father, minor science fiction writer W.K. Brown. The work is segmented into two halves, the first being an illustration of one of Brown's science fiction stories, a gripping piece called "The Seeing Eye-Dogs of Mars". There is something very satisfying about seeing Ware tackle science fiction. His art style isn't the most obvious for the genre but the two compliment each other surprisingly well. The novel then progresses into more traditional territory for Ware (which is not to say it isn't emotionally effecting, well observed, and masterfully composed, because it is) and it has the advantage of reflecting back on the opening section. As usual with Ware the book itself is beautifully assembled. Chris Ware is growing leaps and bounds as an artist because he has not lost anything that made his early work special yet has increased his scope as a writer and continues to invent with the form. With each release Ware's status as the best living cartoonist becomes more and more certain while his relative obscurity (considering the emotional power and formal importance of his work) becomes more and more disconcerting. At the very least, this new volume raises the bar for what we can expect from the complete "Rusty Brown."

Like Mr. Ware's other additions to the "Acme Novelty Library" series this book never fails to amaze with it's superb use of colors and layout twinned with his sensitive and thoughtfully poetic writing style. This book almost literally comes to life through perfectly executed panel timing and mood appropriated hues that are sure to sweep you away into the lives of the beautifully constructed characters and settings. Always breathtakingly elegant and subtle whilst being highly honest and thoroughly entertaining, this latest volume will make an excellent addition to your other comic books or a thrilling gift for a loved one.

Ambrosia contains some of the most amusing anecdotes about the South. With the Sweet Potato Queens, and the Ya - Ya Sisterhood so popular, this is a great companion!! The photography of Vicksburg Antebellum and Tour Homes entice you to spend your next vacation visiting the city, touring the homes, meeting the contributors, and sampling the food. I have yet to discover a recipe contained in this book that does not elicit raves from all I serve them to. We never have a cocktail party without Checkerboard Cheese and Crawfish Struedel. The South as a culture is exemplified by the homes and locations featured, the delightful stories told by the residents and the food which one friend of mine says "Everything has cream cheese, whipping cream or some equally rich ingredient". She's a dietician, but at my table her plate is always clean and seconds are a must for her. Ambrosia contains something for all book lovers.

This book displays both the homes and recipes of Vicksburg, MS. Full color coffee-table book with wonderful stories and recipes of the Deep South. Highly Recommended!!! ...and the #1 cookbook of 1997!

The best silver book i have ever seen. I have never seen those models before. No more words , just buy and see yourself.

In addition to being a fabulous portrayal of a time gone by, this is the working bible for collectors of WMF, a turn of the century German mass producer of silver-plated holloware in the Jugendstil (art nouveau) style. Because the products were plated rather than sterling, the manufactured items were easily affordable. This is a reprint of the company's 1906 English catalog. not sterling, or pure, silver, the

Bruce Webster's interpretation of The Art of War is a jewel. The truths he gleaned so well from Sun Tzu will shine long after this or last years fadish corporate "catch phrase" programs have grown dim and have been forgotten.

While Socrates, Plato and Aristotle generally get the most and best press in the Western world, there is another philosopher who has a more significant contemporary impact. Sun Tzu was a 5th century BC Chinese military genius who wrote about matters of conflict rather than the mind and nature. Now known as the The Art of War, his statements of strategy and tactics are now required reading in many corporate cultures as a preparation for the competitive global business climate. And have been required reading in military academies for decades. In this book the author takes those musings and adapts them to the creation of software. However, most of the ideas can be applied to business in general and not just to software.
Like most pearls of wisdom, the comments have a self-evident truth. Taking a paraphrased Sun Tzu statement, the author then expands and clarifies the point, adapting it to the culture of software creation. Sadly, but truthfully, most of those points are about failure rather than success. As he points out several times, the point is obvious and it is amazing that so many managers and CEO's fail to grasp it. Ideas such as:

1) Know the strengths and weaknesses of the competition.
2) Gather intelligence to track market and product trends.
3) Grab and retain the best people.
4) Aggressively defend your critical markets.
5) Ignore weak markets.
6) Know your own strengths and weaknesses.

are things that everyone agrees on but many ignore.
If you are a component in any phase of software development, you must read this book. Read it with one eye on the pages and your other, critical eye focused on a mirror reflecting your image. Like it or not, at some point you will read of some error that you have committed. I cannot improve on the phrase from the jacket, "utterly relevant."

Published in Mathematics and Computer Education, reprinted with permission.

This book is a wonderful reference, especially when preparing reports for submission at the university I attended. It provides all the details for the various reporting styles and formats which I found very useful. Even though I am no longer a student, I still refer to this book for writing letters, etc.

This book is a great resource from Grammar. It outlines it in an easy to follow fashion. I would suggest having your own copy of it in order to take notes and study the really important areas. Other parts of the book are very helpful with writing. Please E-mail me if you know of any other great grammar books.