McDonald's Books

If you like zombie/supernatural type themes, the story is interesting enough. However, the art is inadequate. I don't expect fantastic "top shelf" art from a book like this -- but if some panels are so blurry and poorly defined as to be nearly worthless, what's the use? I would rather have crisper black and white art (ala "Walking Dead") than poor color art.

Combining supernatural horror with a sleazy and dangerous present-day Los Angeles and a hero who seems to be equal parts James Woods and Charles Bukowski makes "Criminal Macabre" something very special indeed. Buffy this ain't, although there is humour here (of a much darker tone). The grim scratchiness of the artwork perfectly complements the ass-kicking storyline, and gives it a hallucinatory quality that will have you hooked from page one. Creepy, action-packed, seedy, drunken...what more can I say, it's brilliant.

I love Steve Niles' other work but why one star for Criminal Macabre?

It has terrible, scribbly, inconsistent art and the story is both derivative in general and derivative of Niles' own work. Disappointing and not worth the money.

Funny, scary, and everything good about Steve Niles and Cal Mcdonaldm even the author's commentary and the intro was funny and interesting, and that's saying a lot because, who EVER reads those?

The illustrations though, they could use more definition. Sometimes it was hard to understand what was going on because some of the pictures were either not clearly defined enough or too small, like the Producers told Steven and Ben to shorten the book and make the illustrations smaller. That's kindof what it seems like.

Well, Steve, Ben, GREAT BOOK!!! BUT COULD YOU TWEAK THE ILLUSTRATIONS A BIT PLEASE?

Nothing less than THE best horror comic I've read in over a year, Criminal Macabre outshines it's distant cousins, 30 Days of Night and Dark Days. Though they are good, solid comics, this is so much more than that. It's created out of love, and it shows.

The story revolves around a down on his luck supernatural private detective Cal McDonald, who finds himself in the middle of a gang war between various monsters. The story unfolds quickly, sucking you in. Once you start reading this, it's impossible to set down. Though the subject and the monsters are horrific, Niles, uses humor as an offset to remarkable effect. There were times when I was laughing out loud, I couldn't help it. Niles's dialogue is also at it's peak, as it is flowing and natural.

And Templesmith's art perfectly suited for this story. With it's assortment of classic monsters, his wicked art, a combination of Jae Lee, Bill Sienkiewicz, yet beautifully his own renders the characters perfectly for the mood of the story.

If you like monsters, if you like Sin City, or 30 Days of Night, if you're looking for a book that's different and way better than average, then give this graphic a try. I promise, you won't be disappointed in the least.

Highly recommended to new fans and established comic collectors alike, but it is for mature readers.

This graphic reprints Criminal Macabre #1-5 by Dark Horse Comics.

This is a fun read - especially if you have some down time by the beach! I enjoyed the antiquated writing style, and the fictional encounters with larger than life personas from the 50's. A unique tale that is fun to read, but not overly brainy.

This was a fun book to read, full of real history and leaving you wanting more.

Heads roll, get duffled around, and blown apart. Hard to believe this is McDonald's first novel. The absurd plot has some historical twists that kept me reading more. This book is out there...far out. Congratulations on having a wicked imagination, Craig!

This was a hit in my book. Reading Head Games was reminiscent of reading some of the great crime noir of the past, especially the author's namesake (sic), John D. MacDonald. Such a cool feeling to read this stuff again. And with the backdrop of 1957, the New Mexico-Mexico border, the set of A Touch of Evil and sex with black and white bombshells, this debut novel really left me satisfied, smiling and wanting more.

So if you don't know what Pancho Villa used the cactus for, read the book and you'll never look at a cactus the same way.

Craig McDonald's first book is a winner. It has a lot of things going for it: originality, great dialogue, a dark streak of humor, and probably most important of all a main character that is, in this day of dime a dozen protagonists who seem interchangeable, a breath of fresh air.

Hector Lassiter is many things: a one-time pulp writer, a novelist, a screenwriter, an adventurer, a lover of fine women, and a man who is willing to do what it takes to get the job done. In this case the job is to thwart the bad guys and return the long decapitated head of Mexican legend Pancho Villa to its true resting place.

You can read a detailed summation of the plot here already, so no need for me to go into that. But what I would like to impress on a curious reader who is thinking of giving this book a try is that Hector is not like many other crime novel protagonists. He's a man with flaws and a definite dark side. He does some things that will make you wonder about his moral compass, but definitely make him more human and believable. For those of you who are sick of so many of todays crime series heroes who never seem to age or change or develop this book is for you, because Hector ages, changes and develops right here in this one book.

I loved the book and wait with much anticipation for the prequel which is titled Toros & Torsos and is due out in late Summer/early Fall. I hope Mr. McDonald will treat us to many more of his imaginative works because he is simply a first rate writer.

Too often, health problems are treated with magic pills, and this is especially true of mental health problems. Now here is a book that pays proper attention to both the causes of much mental illness and helpful things people can do in place of or in addition to drugs to improve their mood and mental health. The authors are a nutritionist, Gary Null, and a respected writer, Louise Bernikow. I was really surprised by the some of the information here-and troubled that I hadn't heard about it already. For example, it turns out the drugs that are used to treat kids diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit) disorders are associated with risk of violent or suicidal behavoir, and that the diagnosis itself is very blurry. So kids are being treated with dangerous drugs for a condition they often don't even have! And there are alternatives, nontoxic nutritional approaches, that usually aren't even considered. As usual, a big part of the problem is that doctors aren't adequately informed about exciting nutritional approaches, and doctors can only employ treatments they know how to prescribe, so it's a bit of a catch 22-with patients the worse off. But this book can help. I hope people read it, and, especially, that doctors and other mental health practitioners read it.

Although "The Food-Mood-Body Connection" teems with interesting information, its format robs it of instructive value. It takes the form of a long series of interviews with alternative-health practitioners, with occasional (and I mean occasional: more than half the book is paragraphs quoted verbatim) comments from the "author," Gary Null. If such a style appeals to you, you'll love this book; if you prefer knowledge in a usable context, however, turn elsewhere.

With real editing, this may become a valuable resource. Until then, most would be better served with Elizabeth Somer's "Food & Mood," a truly useful guide to this important subject.

There is a lot of interesting information in this book, and it's in a field that could use some more interest than it generally gets. Unfortunately the information appears in the middle of a huge mish-mash of every kind of alternative therapies. Reflexology occurs right beside various vitamin therapies, lithium treatment of manic-depression, food allergies and sensitivities, and heavy metal poisoning.

The various causes, and therapies discussed have little or no evaluation of their effectiveness, or history discussed. A fair number of individual cases are discussed, but nothing that would allow a reader to distinguish the obviously helpful from the promising from the complete hookum.

Another problem is that while good nutrition is discussed, and various ways in which supplements (vitamin & other) can help people achieve better health, there is no way given to try to sort out what kinds of supplements might do you some good. There is an exception for a couple of disorders (like alcoholism), where there is a more general discussion of what supplements a heavy drinker should take, particularly if s/he is trying to quit, but in general, no.

Last but not least, the discussion of toxic environments goes beyond unhelpful and into downright alarmist. While maintaining a healthy environment is admitably difficult in this day and age (if not impossible), it does no one any good to be looking at everything they eat, breathe, or touch as a potential toxin. So doing only raises stress levels - which as this book points out, is an environmental/lifestyle problem all its own.

In short - there's some interesting information in here, but it's not worth the effort, and the resultant paranoia from reading the book, to extract it.

In this book you can see that the solution for treating depression is not in a prescription... I'm going to try and find a doctor here that practices what this book is all about. They say that you might get depression symptoms from some food, from things in the environment, deficiency of minerals, etc. That is what needs to be found out and treated and when it is, your depression will go away. The book makes a LOT of sense. PLEASE READ IT, you won't be sorry.

In this book you can see that the solution for treating depression is not in a prescription. Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Remeron, etc are all pills that any doctor will give you without considering what might be causing the depression and treating it. These pills have many side effects and I know because I've taken all of them, and many times they don't even work. I'm going to try and find a doctor here that practices what this book is all about. They say that you might get depression symptoms from some food, from things in the environment, deficiency of minerals, etc. That is what needs to be found out and treated and when it is, your depression will go away. The book makes a LOT of sense. PLEASE READ IT, you won't be sorry.

I purchased the book for a child development class. I use it constantly for evaluating program, activities and observations of children for educational purposes. It's a great reference.

If you have a conservative, moral or Christian bone in your body, this book will sicken you beyond your wildest imagination. If you fall into any of the above described categories, then this book will classify you as a "European male," or of "European Ancestory". This book preaches strongly a so called "diversity" but if you are a white male the "diversity" of opinions stops. (unless of course you decide to agree with the author.) And if you are a Catholic, you have even more to digest, as the book reaks of anti-Catholicism.

I have used this book for two different child development classes now. If I read abut being culturally sensitive (which to the authors apparently means forget you are an anglo saxon christian american) I will truly be ill. I'm all for accepting everyone for what they are, and abhor racism, but come on, are we supposed to forget that we may be Christian white americans???? The book seems to want us to forget holidays, in case you may offend one person somewhere along the line, and wants you to accept it as okay if some children are brought late to class, because in their culture, being late is okay??? Please.

Finally, a book that offers sensible and realistic approaches to child development which departs from "mythical" ideas of past and archaic culture. Luckily, this volume isn't afraid to address the homogenous fallacies that have plagued our society and discusses significantly the exploration of truly modern theories embraced around the world. People of all walks of life, education, and backgrounds will rejoice in an important concept that this book teaches: genuinely nurturing children as opposed to treating them like pets.

Beginnings and Beyond is still the best Early Childhood Education text out there.

I enjoyed this book pretty well. I've seen the Fletch movies and I'm a huge fan of both, but I've never read the Fletch books. I thought I'd start with this one. The author seemed to begin to delve into some other storylines and then stopped. We were intorduced to characters that were unimportant to the story. I think maybe he was trying to use up page space or something. Anyway, the book was entertaining at best. I gave it 4 stars because I don't think the author meant it to be anything other than entertaining!

I bought this book because I love the movie Fletch, and I heard that Kevin Smith plans on making this book into a new Fletch film.

My problem with this book is that it is all dialouge. This is more of a screenplay than a novel. The writing is very boring, completely undescriptive.

The story is at times amuzing and may make a funny movie, but it is not a good novel. My advice would be wait for the movie.

I hate reading non-fiction books, but I loved Fletch Won. As a fan of the Chevy Chase flicks and a fan of Kevin Smith (who will write and direct the movie version of this book), I took a chance on Fletch One to see what the fuss was about the Fletch books. If you are looking for a great mystery, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an entertaining book that is hilarious and an easy read, pick this book up. I can't wait to put my hands on the other Fletch books.

I don't like it when reviewers reveal plot points, so I won't. Suffice to say, if you like other Fletch books, you will like Fletch Won. If you haven't read any Fletch books, you might want to start with Fletch, which was adapted into a funny movie starring Chevy Chase.

Gregory MacDonald sure wrote the Fletch books in a confusing order. Despite this being about the 8th Fletch book, chronologically it's the first.

In this story Fletch has only been working at the News-Tribune for a few months and is getting less and less respect from Frank each day as his sarcasm and pranks are riling everybody up. Frank shifts Fletch from one section of the newspaper to the next, never knowing where he's going to cause the least trouble. Some local lawyer wants an interview to announce that he's giving 5 million dollars to a museum and Fletch is to run the (small) story. Trouble is, the lawyer, one Donald Habeck, is killed in the News-Tribune parking lot almost that very second.

Frank pulls Fletch of the story right away gives it to a big bully who's been with the paper for years. Fletch is now left with investigating some whorehouse and that he does. But he's not giving up on the Habeck story as the circumstances seem mighty suspicious, especially when he finds out that the firm Habeck worked for is probably the most crooked law firm on the planet.

It's fast-paced and full of witty, and sometimes odd, dialogue and neat little gimmicks and ironies. Fletch's detective work and level-headedness provide a sense of balance in relation to all the wierd and eccentric characters around him. And the crooked cops and authorities seem right out of a James Ellroy book. I did find a few anachronisms though. If this is set before the first Fletch book then surely there wouldn't be carphones and computers in every office. At least not a computer thats not as big as the office itself. It's a tiny little complaint though.

A good read and an involving mystery. Fletch is the best unsung hero of crime fiction.

I have a great interest in gay life in Japan, so I figured this book would be a helpful resource, though it is a little dated. There are some excellent personal stories that make up this compliation, however I was disappointed to find that it is primarily focused on the the lesbian community. Of course I have no problems with lesbians, however the role they take on and the problems, issues they encounter being gay in Japan are likely far different than mine as a gay man. To be honest, they are probably facing a lot more discrimination than us men!
I didn't feel that there was an equal depiction of the lives gay men lead in Japan - probably 80% of the book is devoted to bi women/lesbians. As the book's title suggests a more diverse collection of the entire QUEER community, I feel it was misleading. Devote an entire book to the bi/lesbian/femminist movement in Japan as I'm sure it deserves atleast that. If you're interested in GAY/BI men in Japan...my suggestion is to keep looking.

Queer Japan is an excellent book examining the real lives of gays, lesbians and transsexuals in Japan. I know the editors of the book personally and attended the book opening in Tokyo. I heard the stories of the Japanese women and men whose personal stories are contained in the book. It is a moving and realistic account of the Japanese people's treatment of transgressors of their mianstream culture. I lived in Japan for 6 years and taught at Gunma Prefectural Women's University with Cheiron (one of the editors); and I know first hand the lives of the lesbian, gay and transsexual people in Japan.
All I can say is "Read it !"

I have lived in Japan for more than twenty years and I was very pleased to read this book. Though I am not gay I have many Japanese and non Japanese friends who are, and I have listened over the years to their stories. This book is a perfect example of what the gay experience is like here in Japan. It's very honest and moving. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Japanese sub culture.

People will stumble upon this book, I think, from their interest in other areas, gay and lesbian studies, or Japanese culture for example. The area of gay and lesbian studies in Japan is still so new and relatively small compared to the United States, for example, that as a discourse it does not quite have the independence and stature to attract wide notice or sympathy.

That said, this is an excellent introductory book, one-of-a-kind, in fact, of Queer Japan. In every story, translated by a trio of non-Japanese academics who have spent several years apiece in Japan and are active in gay-lesbian-bisexual-transexual groups, the author is awash with gratitude, to be allowed finally to speak in one's own voice, of the struggles, pain, and yes, the joys experienced. In such an oppressive culture, where candid, direct speech is not encouraged, or even actively discouraged as being childish and selfish, these essays are all the more remarkable.

My only complaint, which prevented me from giving 5 stars to the book, is technical: there are numerous grammatical errors, as well as careless word use. Sorry, I was an English major in college. I was trained to spot misuse of transitive/intransitive verbs, for example. It makes me sad that such errors suggest to me a lack of attention on the part of the publisher; in other words, this makes me feel that those involved in editing the book did not take as much pride in their own book as their subjects, which conflicts with the heartfelt call for those in the book, and others like them who struggle in Japan, to take pride in themselves, their essential beings.

In short, an excellent, though technically flawed book, for those looking to expand their understanding of modern Japan.

I came across this book three years ago, when I first arrived in Japan. I was reading it just as I was coming to terms with my own homosexuality. It contributed to the opening of my mind, and helped me find courage to come out and start living my life to the fullest.
Queer Japan was, at first, my only way of knowing about Japanese attitudes toward alternative lifestyles, and about Japanese gays and lesbians themselves. Since the subject is never discussed (in either a good or bad light) at work or in the media here, the book helped me realize that there were indeed a lot of Japanese people out there in situations similar to mine.
The book provides an extremely accurate portrait of how homosexuality is viewed in Japan, but that's not really the point. The point is that it allows so many individual gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual Japanese people to tell their stories -- something they are all too often forbidden to talk about.

Cute little book, ok recipes, a great spatula, but I wouldn't buy it again.

We love smoothies in my house, and after I bought this book, I made a trip to the grocery store to stock up on fruits and juices. I spent a couple of hours that evening peeling and chopping fruit for the freezer, and then I was ready to go! We have since enjoyed yummy Mango and Pineapple-Papaya Smoothies, and are looking forward to Strawberry-Mango and Strawberry-Banana Smoothies, as well as a host of others. Although I have a couple of other books on smoothies, this one contains the easiest recipes by far. In fact, I sent a copy to a young friend (age 11) to help introduce her to the kitchen, and she loves it, too!

WARNING: This "cookbook" does not have "recipes." All it does is list some fruits and juices under generic smoothie names. It gives you some measurements and leaves the rest for you to do. There is a page or two showing you the generalized smoothie making process at the beginning, but there is NO substantial "cookbook" fare. But I mean... what else can you expect from a smoothie book? Nonetheless I was very disappointed with it.

This book is one of the best I have seen for simplicity matched with ultimate flavor. Using ingredients that I can find in the VERY small town I live in, I can make treats that please everyone in the family, including a very picky 3 year old who won't eat fruit otherwise. His favorite is the Peanut Butter Banana and after tasting it, it's very hard to believe there are only 3 ingredients. The most exotic item in the book is coconut milk and that's even available here in the middle of nowhere. Enjoy this book with or without kids. I am buying my second copy today to give to a friend!

I love the book " Smoothies" by Anne Akers Johnson. Smoothies are the new "craze" in our town . They are so expensive to buy at the smoothie "cafe's", so I decided I wanted to make my own.. This book has 22 recipes that are all absolutely delicious! I recomend that you buy it, now!

I work in a library so check out anything books to do with libraries as am interested to see how it is portrayed, especially to kids. The title When the Library Lights Go Out sort of gave me the impression it was going to be a behind the scenes type look at characters from books coming alive and running amok in the library similar to Toy Story or something. I even thought maybe it would be a rip of The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc (book which later became a Ben Stiller movie. But no this book is nothing like those books.

What this book is instead is a tale of two puppets (who we're never sure if are the library's puppets for children's storytime or someone's lost property as they start out in the lost property box where you wouldn't store library property) and their search for another puppet. Pretty boring story which also glorifies the destruction and vandalism of library items which means no school or public library is even going to be able to use this as a basic plot and expand upon it with their own story and questions on things you find in the library. The storyline is pretty weak (I mean where do puppets get a torch and food for a picnic from). Illustrations also indicate the author/illustrators haven't been to a library in as long time. Either that or their local library is severely neglected and under funded and they can't discard or update their material. The stack of books they are sitting on at the end contain books which are dog eared and the pages yellow.

Very average book, give it a miss. A much better picture book about set in a library which also has a lion if that's why you picked this up is Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen.

I recently read this book at my local elementary school library. The students were enthralled with the text, and loved Tillotson's charming illustrations. The subject sparked a lively discussion about what happens in the library at night. This book is a must have for all libraries.

I've always wondered about stuff like this... what happens in the library when everyone goes away.... do the mannequins walk around at night in the stores? I used to especially wonder what happened in my classroom at night. Now I know what happens in the library! Charmingly written, with gorgeous illustrations. I totally got into the fantasy of these wonderful puppets coming to life. Try pairing it with The Librarian of Bosra: A True Story From Iraq for a really interesting read aloud.

My 4 year old nephew first introduced me to this magical book when he whisked it off the shelf at our local bookstore and said that Lion and Rabbit just had to come home with us. And I'm glad they did! This is simply a charming story to curl up with over and over again. Katherine Tillotson's delightful and whimsical illustrations burst with life on every page. This book has become my nephew's favorite and I look forward to the next McDonald/Tillotson collaboration.

What child doesn't love the library? This charming book explores a library after lights-out with some truly memorable characters. My four-year-old loved the adventure-filled search for a friend that ends in a midnight picnic. Katherine Tillotson's illustrations are beautifully rendered and capture the floppy, goofy fun of the two pals, Lion and Rabbit. A lovely book.

This is exactly what I needed before I leave for Europe for the semester. Great book. Excellent quality.

This book was very helpful when studying up on Europe. The manner in which it is writing is very entertaining and easy to understand.

Europe for Dummies is a perfect book for a first or second time traveler to Europe. In March I went on a trip to four countries in Europe and took three different travel guides with me. Europe for Dummies was used much more than the other two that I had brought, and with justified reasons. A previous reviewer said it was too vague, and although I agree with them in some aspects, Europe for Dummies saved us more time and even money in some cases than I ever expected any of the books to. The descriptions are short and full of information, which is what I want when I am traveling. Detailed maps and directions also hellp make Europe for Dummies a great travel guide. Whether or not you would be buying this book to take with you, or to read it before you go on a trip to Europe, Europe for Dummies is a great source of information to prepare and inform you for the many awesome and surreal sights Europe has to offer. Definitely recomended.

My husband and I went on a tour of Europe, so most of the work was done for us. This book was a great supplement and had great tips for things to avoid on the tour. It was a quick reference and narrowed down sites to see, so we could make the most of the little time we had in each country. It doesn't seem like it would be enough, though, as your sole guide on Europe, if you're not on a tour.

I tried out this book and found it to be very vague. It tells some of the different types of travel but doesn't give you any specifics. It honestly isn't much help if you are actually planning to go to europe. It also mentions too few different ways that you can stay such as backpacking and such throughout all the different countries. It gave very little info on anything. Then at the end to take up space they rate and give short descriptions of damn near every restaurant in europe. Just to fill up space since this book was just about useless! If I were you I'd skip over this book and find another one that fits your needs the best.

I paid half of what I normally would pay for this book in our school book store. Didn't even notice that is was slightly used. Received it quickly.

In trying to decide which book to get for traveling around Europe for a few months by rail, I looked through this book, Let's Go Europe 2008, Rick Steves Best of Europe 2008, and Europe by Eurail 2008. The latter of these was broken down into sections devoted to major cities, and day trips by train from those cities, which seemed too much like a trip organizer for me. Rick Steves didn't really include the practical point-to-point info I was looking for. Let's Go Europe was comprehensive, but the city maps just weren't that clear.

At the beginning of each chapter (one per country), there's a map of the whole country, then in each city's subsection is a map of the city center with the train station clearly marked. There's a paragraph on each city's train station information, followed by information elsewhere and how best to get around the city. This is important to me, as I wanted a book that'd help me get my bearings upon arriving in a city. Let's Go is similarly formatted, and I think Fodor's is too, but this was the only one with this format geared specifically toward rail travel that I came across. This book also includes a nice laminated tear-out rail map, but I bought a separate map with more detailed city-to-city schedule info, and am also supplementing with timetables from eurail.com.

Before buying this, I had read the review mentioning that there's some out-of-date train ticket info in this book, but I feel like that's a risk you run with any book. It's true, though, that this book alone won't give one a clear understanding of specific ticket options and prices. Europe by Eurail gave a better explanation of these; you may want to glance over it in a store, or just visit www.ricksteves.com/rail or wikitravel.org/en/Eurail.

A very well written guide for anyone traveling in Europe. The "Fast Fact" sections are very helpful for getting a feel for the different countries and places of interest. The maps are great, especially, if your knowledge of European geography is weak.
This book is fun and easy to read.

I found this guide very useful in plotting out where I wanted to go, how to get there, and what to visit. It was also nice to know about the student discounts at various attractions. I didn't use it for the hotel recomendations, and I used a few of the restaurant ideas, which were usually excellent choices. I traveled all over Europe (12 countries) using this book, the maps provided, and my Eurail. It was helpful in figuring out the ferry options to get from Western Europe to Scandinavia as well. I definately recomend this book to anyone traveling to Europe, as I found it very easy to use as well as useful.

Not a safe bet, this European rail guide offers a strange mix of up-to-date and completely out-of-date information. It also tries to do too much, providing page after page of hotel, restaurant and museum listings by city but only a page of two of specific rail tips by country. The guide pushes Eurailpasses, as is to be expected from a publication endorsed by Rail Europe, the main stateside pass vendor.

Points to watch out for...

The guide is too optimistic about reservations and supplements. As the various continental railways move toward inevitable privatization, more and more premium services are being introduced. Most of the trips that tourists are likely to take will require reservations and supplements, in addition to Eurailpasses.

The guide doesn't give point-to-point tickets a fair shake, listing full prices and only the most basic discounts. For example, SNCF's "Prem's" specials (advance purchase online tickets to French and international destinations) aren't mentioned. For many tourists, these specials would make point-to-point tickets cheaper than Eurailpasses.

The guide lists only expensive, tourist-class hotels. I didn't see a single listing below 100 Euros in Paris, for example. There are many excellent, if humble, hotels throughout Europe. Use the Web to get current hotel information.

My favorite example of out-of-date information in the guide has to do with the regional express train ("RER") from Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle aiport to Paris. The guide lists both first and second-class ticket prices, even though the first-class designation disappeared years ago.