Parody Books

Thomas and Cindy Senior are "motivtional speakers" who tell-all about the joys of getting older!

Yep, you guessed it -- all blank pages. If we can't laugh at ourselves, there's no hope!

Another event and my gift brings down the house. Setting up the
recipient by making them read the back cover before cracking a page
makes it even better. The review labeled "worthless book" has a
serious problem as they age due to the blank pages between thier
ears. Goes well with Champaign Toasts, Birthdays, Christmas, and
get well hospital recovery visits. Perfect...definate "Coffee Table"
book.

I think that one of the reviewers missed the point - it is a joke book...and great fun for anyone to receive. A joy!

I rated this book with one star only because zero starts was not offered as an option. I recommend not buying this book unless you want to give it to someone as a joke (not really a very funny one). How can I comment on its contents when it has none. It consists of nothing but blank pages. True, the title as offered for sale has (blank) after it, but I couldn't believe Amazon would offer a book for sale with nothing in it. Maybe Amazon is trying to play a joke on its customers.

I found this book in a shop and simply held my sides laughing ... If I told you more, it would be like telling you the end of a good movie and spoiling it for you. Truth is that this is one of the joys of getting older -- lots and lots of laughing at yourself! Thomas and Cindy Senior are brilliant! Buy it and read it!

This beautifully illustrated book is a reminder that a creative mind using objects at hand can bring (without the aid of computers and digitalized images) characters to life. The lessons are true to life; this little book has depth.

I don't know what it's like in Minnesota, but here in New York "horrible things" do happen: souls are troubled; animals get abused; people walk out on their loved ones; there is roadkill; and children get bored. If, however, you raise a strong child, that child will learn to distinguish between tragic and funny, fact and fiction, and the spellings of homophones. And if you also are strong (which means possessing a sense of humor about how life really is), you and your child will most definitely not be bored by reading this clever, insightful, darkly delightful book.

This book is stunning. The art is amazing and the humor is dark and hilarious. At first glance it appears to be a children's book, but when you look inside you find that while childlike in many ways, the book toes the line into a world that is at once surreal and bizarre, but filled with charm. Similar to the beauty of a Tim Burton film, the scenes created by Chris Sickels are meticulously crafted and intricate. They depict funny word associations such as "kitchen sinks and sinking kitchens" and "an exercising priest and a priest exorcising."

This book is a humor book and an art book at the same time... and it's really cool.

I do not write book reviews often, but after looking at this book (which was recommended to me by Amazon, go figure), I was compelled to write this review. This is the MOST appalling children's book I have ever seen! When I read the synopsis of the book, it sounded as if there would be two children who were bored and upon going outside, viewed their world in a different way. I took this to mean they were thinking "outside the box" and saw things that most people overlook (like the interesting crook in a tree, or something simple and pleasant like that). This is NOT the case. These two children, Ian and Ann, tell their mother they are bored. She tells them to go outside and discover new things. Good advice from a mother. However, these children discover the most horrible things! For example, one of them discovers "A priest exorcizing" and the other child discovers "A priest exercising". Another example, one of them discovers "a person getting their hair cut", and the other discovers "a person cutting their hare" (complete with blood and gore as they masacre a rabbit). I do NOT think this is a children's book at all! It starts out okay, but then every page gets worse and worse (dead bloody frog on the road, someone that has been stabbed - complete with drawings of blood). Oh my gosh! I just cannot say how HORRIBLE, APPALLING, TERRIBLE this book is! I cannot even think of the sick mind the author must have! One of the keyword suggestions for this book was "parody" - there is no decent parody here! I would have rated this book -100 if given the chance! Steer clear from this book. There is no value in it whatsoever! I was able to preview this book before I wasted money on it. Don't waste YOUR money... This is NOT a book anyone would want their children to see!

I was at a friends house the other night and they had a copy of this book, The Look Book. I at first picked up the book wanting to be polite. It was a book written by my friends former student, Chris Sickles. When I started through the first few pages it seemed like any other ordinary childrens book, until Ian and Ann started running across very morbid and outlandish characters. I appreciate the first review written, the fact that this book is not your oridinary childrens book. That is true. I can be completely honest when I say, as an adult, I could not put the book down. The puppets that Chris Sickles created were amazing. The imagery, the story line and the gore involved were a perfect mixture of fairy tale and truth. I bought the book through Amazon the following day after I read it at my friends house and I've shared it with other friends who also agree that the book is something they'd like to have in their collections. The book itself should be cherished as a breakthrough in its simple look at the world. Stop sugar coating the truth and see the beauty in the puppets, color and imagination that Chris Sickles has brought to our attention.

My boyfriend is a Mad fan so I ordered this for xmas. He hasn't put it down. Very entertaining for the price!

The guys are fast in shipping the product is shipped as descibed

Well, I guess it is a good thing that they downsized "MAD About the '90s: The Best of the Decade," because otherwise there would be little to complain about. It is not like the result is a conventionally sized paperback. Besides, if you put this up on the shelf with "MAD About the '80s," "MAD About Superheroes," and the like, it would nice if this one did not look like a poor relation.

I picked up an issue of "MAD" a couple of times during the 1990s, specifically to check out the parodies of "Titanic" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (the former is here, but not the latter). Now, I cannot speak to the overall quality of the humor magazine during the decade, but when the Usual Gang of Idiots get to cherry-pick like this the results are pretty impressive and you might find yourself wondering why you wasted hours watching "Saturday Night Live" during that decade when you could have been hiding out in the bathroom reading "MAD" again.

There is actually a chronological pattern to what is found within these (undersized) pages, dividing the decade into thirds. Section One: 1990-1993, offers 19 choice covers (e.g., Jack Davis' "Beverly Hillbillies 90210" a choice example), a great ad parody for the Blank Video Club of America, "Where's Waldo? For Complete Morons" by Sergio Aragones, and an ad for a whitetailed deer who has joined the NRA (to avoid being "the deer-ly departed"). For parodies we have "Buried with Children" and "Star Bleech: Deep Space Swine" for television and "The Oddfather Part III," "Home A-Groan," and "The Violence of the Hams" for movies (if you cannot figure out what things are being parodied then you clearly slept through the decade). The standout pieces would be "Superman R.I.P.," "A MAD Look at Jurassic Park," "MAD Raps U Shakespeare," and "The ABC's of Rock." But my favorite has to be "When Roadside Signs Overlap," using real company signs to humorous effect.

Section Two: 1994-1996 highlights are Mort Drucker's cover of "The Clintstones," the MAD mini-poster of "Washington Cross-Dressing the Delaware," another nice Norman Rockwell painting of the 90's ("Last Parking Space at the Mall"), and a couple of nice MAD Fold-Ins. "Fairest Shlump" is the one movie parody, while the tube is done in by "Eech-Files," "SickER," and "Swinefilled." But clearly the greatest fun here is with Bill Clinton and the gang, with "Books to Make Children More Politically Aware," "Only a Republican/Democrat Could Possibly Believe...," and "It's a Blunderful Life," from the Tip of the Capra Dept. Of course, if you really want to know how much things had changed back then, then check out "If James Bond Were 'Updated' for the Politically-Correct '90s."

Finally, Section III: 1997-1999 has choice covers with Kenny from "South Park" killing Alfred who is greeted by Seinfeld with the telling line "Hellooooooooo Neuman!" There are also covers for "Martha Stewart: Dying" and "Entertain Me Weakly," the Latrell Sprewell Maneuver for pretending you are a choking "victim," and a nice Generation Crap piece on the "60's and the 90's," which spells out significant differences. On the parody front MAD does in "Star Bores: Epic Load I, The Fandumb Meganess," "Trypanic," "The Faketrix," and "The Bland Witch Project" at the movie theater, while having plenty of ammo for "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Moves to South Park," "Ally's Appeal," and "Everybody Loathes Raymond." But they could really do an entire paperback collection just for Clinton-esque pieces such as the "Starr Wars: Monicagate" movie poster, "Proposed Features of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library," "The Special Prosecutor's Official Report on Mister Rogers," and the "White House Internship - Official Application."

Not everything here is great and I fully admit that the verdict on the O.J. Simpson trial took the wind out of a lot of humor on that particular subject, but the movie and television parodies alone make having this one worthwhile. Who gets tired of Mort Drucker's caricatures, "Spy vs. Spy", or Dave Berg's looks at the lighter side of anything he wants to look at? Besides, there are 48 pages in full color for what appeared on the covers, both front and back and inside as well. Hopefully you will find as much here to be offended by as you will to laugh at, otherwise "MAD" will be tarnishing its sterling reputation as the "short-lived satirical pulp" that "TIME" declared it to be in 1956. All together now: "What--Me Worry?"

The publishers have ruined this book by making it in a small format instead of maintaining the size used for the previous books in this series. I didn't realize that they had changed the size or I probably would not have ordered the book. The content is OK but not the size.

If I don't rank this book with 5 stars it's only because of the size. I don't know why the publishers who made an excellent work on Mad about the fifties trough mad about the eighties, didn't follow the same pattern and for this jewel they decided to make it short. I don't mean the number of pages; I mean the size, the height, the weight. But anyway, it is a very good compilation.

I saw the author of this book, Scott Rubin, on TV this morning and he literally made me spit my coffee out I was laughing so hard! I ran out today and picked up a copy of his book. Just thumbing through it at the check out line had me cracking up! The losing weight through botulism advice is my favorite so far...although I'm not done yet so I'm sure they'll be more!

I need Help! from laughing so hard. Rubin's observations on life totally hit the mark. His observations on clutter made me pack up some books on my shelf to make room for this marvelously written comedic tome. I saw so much of myself in Help! that I began to wonder if Rubin was watching me with a pair of binoculars. Getting through a typical day can be so taxing. That's why Help! hit the mark so precisely for me. We all need to take a lighter look on life, and Rubin delivered big time. Kudos to the Lampoon for publishing such a humorous gem. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Also the perfect gift for friends and family!

that the two 5-star reviews were entered on the same day, and that neither of the reviewers have reviewed any other product except this book... seems fishy.

That should give you the best indication of how funny this book is.. it's not. Written by someone who obviously thinks he's funny, but no one else does. Skip it.

`National Lampoon Help' is a fun, funny read for those looking to laugh at themselves. What is truly genius about this book is that if you actually followed some of this crazy advice it might really work! (Although I wouldn't recommend it, `cause you may be arrested.) This book is a refreshingly twisted take on the self help genre; from creating a new `star calendar' based around celebrity meltdowns, to `bridging to your inheritance' (where the author describes how to wait for your parents to die and collect the inheritance.) -I recommend it to everyone.

The funniest LOL book I've read all year. The book is a scream and at the same time, the author's out of the box ideas are extremely thought provoking. Whether you need assistance in any of the "Self Help" categories, you will come away with a new perspective on yourself and others you know. On the surface many of Mr. Rubin's thoughts are completely outrageous, but given some thought and time to digest each idea, there is much truth. I for one have begun to re-evaluate a few of my related issues. Help! is another great work in the National Lampoon tradition!

I've read the book.
I enjoyed the book.
I laughed so hard it hurt! :D
Then found out that laughter causes weight loss. :(
I bought 10 copies and will place them throughout stategic places
around my personal universe.
Remember...Eat and grow large with food.

Thank you and Enjoy this delicious treat.

Finally here is a book that will appeal to almost everybody. I bought 20 of these to give a gifts and so far, everyone has loved it! The writer knows two things: how to eat and how to laugh. I am so tired of reading about how I dont eat right, I dont exercise right, I am going to get cancer from practically every move I make. This book just brings back fat, carbs, and
and sandwiches them (no pun intended) between good laughs and
wholesome homespun stories. I am sure that it will eventually be in the top 100 best-sellers. Everyone enjoy!

If that was a picture of the author of this book, who decided to finally let himself eat ... and eat ... and not try to exercise his monumental weight gain off ...

Gosh, I miss food!

Well,this book is some kind of guilty pleasure. Had to really fail at this diet due to health reasons. Still I do like a laid back, easygoing, man of substance ....

And there are times I can't stand being a failure at this diet--just goes to show when there is a gym or two so close by I could practically crawl to it ....

In any case, we all have to lighten up (pardon the expression) and laugh at ourselves once in a while. If you like your parody straight, you can't do much better than this book. Not once does this book let me down with any pathos, moaning or self-obsession.

And yes, the real North Beach exists--bounded on the south by 71st Street, the North by Surfside, and Biscayne Point to the West--(actually a part of Miami Beach, Florida). Used to live there and that place abounds with Kim Bailey types and the women who love them.

This book is pure genius! Mr. Bailey does a masterful job of turning the entire diet craze inside out and he does so in such an entertaining way.
I am very thankful for him and his humor. To those who think he he has gone too far, lighten up for crying out loud.
Settle in with a bag of chips, some french onion dip, a coke and a box of tissue. Between bites you will be dabbing your eyes because you will be laughing so hard.
Thank you for the North Beach Diet!

With the onslaught of low-carb diet books, a backlash was bound to happen. But the timing of this parody of "The South Beach Diet" is questionable, not to mention irresponsible and, if people don't get the joke, dangerous. There's only one joke at that and it's overextended, with emphasis on a regimen of high-fat, high-carb junk food; some choice "motivational" messages include "Desserts: Stressed spelled backward," "Always use food as an emotional outlet" and "Indulge your children's food consumption - they know best." While the book may be good for a quick laugh, it does it at the expense of America's obesity epidemic, which has been at critical mass for some time. And unlike humor books that can be read and enjoyed for the time being, this includes real recipes, encouraging people to get up and actually make beer-battered deep-fried Snickers bars; potato chip and Miracle Whip sandwiches; double-sucked-and-filled jelly doughnuts, which suggests removing the jelly and filling the pastry with ice cream; and the triple-decker Mama Cass Elliot ham sandwich.To say this "Diet" is in bad taste doesn't even come close, especially when $12.99 can buy a good pedometer instead.

I liked reading this book. It was as informative as it was entertaining. Unfortunately, after just one read, the cover fell off, and the pages became loose at the binding. The book was constructed very poorly. I suppose for a gag gift it might serve the purpose, but I couldn't reccommend this product to anyone that actually wants to read the book more than once.

the book came in great condition and i read it its a great read as well

this book is fun reading, the fact that it is not written by an MD makes it lacking, if it goes on sale for 5 bucks take it, otherwise hold off.

I didn't read this cover to cover, but thought it was pretty entertaining and also educational. I think it would be a fun informal supplement to an abnormal psych class. The descriptions are vivid and funny, and that makes it easy to remember them. Instead of an abstract, stark, clinical description of symptoms, you get the "gist" of the disorder.

This is an excellent addition to the DiClaudio's "Hypochondriac's Guide..." This book is significantly larger than its predecessor (at least three times longer!), yet maintains that same biting sense of medical humor without. A warning - if you're like me, you'll find at least three or four mental disorders in this book that you very well could have. Of course, it's always good to have a reason to give for your erratic behavior. If you could handle the grossness of the previous book, you'll probably be mostly unswayed by the unnerving disorders in this one. Use this book to diagnose all your friends! :)

The author should have taken her own advice after writing the first precious, superficial paragraph of this apparently overrated work. A bright sophomore might have offered a more sophisticated treatment of the subject (in fact, I know a couple who have done so). A definite pass.

The Quit couches its philosophical arguments and practical advice in wry humor because its opinions of life are so decidedly in the minority at the moment. However, in a society that valued calm, circumspection and complexity over multi-tasking hyperactivity, Evan Harris would be hailed a major philosopher, and this book's humor would be considered common sense.

The Quit is indeed funny, but it's valuable mainly as a desk reference of practical ethics and a guide to living a sane life. It reminds us that there are always options, and many inviting options begin only when you quit others.

Where else can one find a formal discussion of the simple act of not doing something anymore? of leaving a place? of leaving a person? Perhaps we spend far too much time thinking about all of the things there are to do, and not enough time thinking about stopping those things when they are no longer appealing.

I have always been ashamed of quitting but, as an avowed and now self-celebrated quitter this book was perfect to validate and analyze my methods. Ms. Harris has showed me that quitting is an art with wit and humor

While I know that this book was meant to be funny (and it is), it's really a reminder that there's such a thing as sticking with a bad situation too long. My favorite quote from the author is "The more things you quit, the more things you'll have the opportunity to succeed at." Here's to saying enough's enough. Here's to quitting the old and starting something new. If you're in a rut, buy this book to remind of why quitting isn't so bad.

As a lady I have no business in reading the contents of the Semi-Complete Guide to Sort of Being a Gentleman, but I decided to naughtily peruse the words of Sir Gentleman Brock LaBorde, Esquire.

I find this text to be witty and brilliant- with a gentle dose of dark humor. Each sentence is a wild journey where the end is unknown. This unpredictable creativity has granted me many shocking moments where I lost my breath, but had to find it again in order to express amusement by laughter.

The style of mixing sense with nonsense reminds me of an old favorite, Lewis Carroll. There is usually truth in nonsense, and if there isn't truth then there should at least be great humor (as in the case of Carroll and LaBorde).

The text is a great book to leave on your coffee table, the back of your toilet, or to pass out guised as a Jesus tract to save lives on a street corner.

However you use it, it is definitely a book you should own.

Terrible book that must have been written as a poor joke. Amazon and every similar retailer should remove this book from the shelves. It does not even rank one star although this review could not be provided without a minimum one star ranking.

It was good.
The morality of the Bible is secondary to the narrative revelation of God. In any event its morality is not adhered to by anyone, so it would be well worth reading and living.
I prefer Nobles and Barn to the Jungle people.

Hellos my name Is jethro. Now I may not be the most Attractive man this side of alabama but I sure wasn't getting any help with having one arm. But i order this book with my two weeks pay and boy am I glad I did. The mail lady who gave me this "novel" as some would say was more than attractided to me. But she was my sister and this new law is preventin me and all kinds of folks from that kinda lovin. Any way after a week of reading I was a certified hustler. Now I have women and sometimes men, lining out side my trailer. This book changed my life Now's a days Im drving a ford (yes a ford!) and I have a new house. Thank you gentalmen Brock guy!

Okay. This book! Phew! Wow! What should I say? I'll start from the beginning...

...I met Brock LaBorde in 1999 while waiting for the Gap on highland road in Baton Rouge to open. The summer clothes were put on the clearance rack overnight and news spread through town like SARS in Toronto. By 9:30 the crowd outside had attracted reporters from Tiger Weekly, The Daily Reveille, and the Campus Dirt. Even the cook from "Louie's 24 Hour Cafe" was there (he brought everyone hash browns). Suddenly Brock mentioned that he was writing a book. I was shocked, "A writer? What do you have to write about? You're not oppressed. You're not gay!"

Brock insisted, "I'm a gentleman, and there aren't enough of us out there." He continued to ramble, "I want to class up society! You know; teach men that there are more important things than Golf and Wayne Newton: Bentleys, yachts, and exotic women."

Later, as we tried on cargo pants and argyle sweaters Brock lectured me. I learned more about life and life's pleasures: class, TRUE CLASS, from Gentleman Brock than I had learned throughout my six weeks of study at the Hugh McClintock Men's School for Social and Mental Etiquette.

As we were purchasing our Gap fragrances, I noticed Brock paid with a Platinum ATT student MasterCard. Classy all the way. That's Brock, Gentleman Brock LaBorde, one of a kind.

So, it was no surprise to me, of course, when Brock contacted me in February and offered me a chance to read his book, "Just send me a check or something," he commanded.

Three weeks of mowing lawns and one failed bank heist later, I got my copy of "The Semi-Complete Guide to Sort of Being a Gentleman" in the mail. "YES!" I declared, as I noticed the new issues of Soldier of Fortune and Cat Fancy had arrived the same day. A trifecta. The holy trinity of literature lay on my doorstep. This was one of the greatest days of my life. I believed this to be a cosmic sign that I was invincible that day!

I read all three pieces of literature as I relaxed in a hospital bed following the incidents which occurred on the day I refer to as "the day I thought I was invincible".

I consider myself a well read individual. I've read all the classics, from "The Grapes of Wrath" to "Goosebumps: The Horror at Camp Jellyjam". It is with a well-read authority that I give my full support to "The Semi-Complete Guide to Sort of Being a Gentleman", and confirm its literary genius.

The first part of LaBorde's literary masterpiece contains lessons meant to ready us for the adventure that is life. There are over two thousand topics discussed, including:

- How to put on your pants two legs at a time. While wearing shoes.
- What three words are never appropriate when one attends a dog fight at a NASCAR race?
- Cheap Wine vs. Malt Liquor: Which is appropriate when?
- How to hunt down terrorists.
- How to extort money from terrorists.
- How to escape terrorist sponsoring nations, money in hand, and not let the Internal Revenue Service] know.

The second half of the book includes harrowing stories of international intrigue and epic tales of love, hate, dislike and marginal acceptance. I'm particularly fond of the legend of "Sergi", the one eyed Russian who ran Baton Rouge's largest dumpster diving ring for over 30 years.

LaBorde uses a language as most use a metric wrench set. He's graceful, but scornful; poetic but not vigorous; stern yet ultimately altruistic.

Lee Harvey Oswald once said, "Man, this movie is great! Oh man, the fuzz!" I think that's the best way to describe LaBorde's book. Sort of "Hey, great!" But also sort of, "Hey, not so great?"

What about LaBorde's book is "not so great"? It's simple. LaBorde points out the faults which encompass our miserable lives. We are horrors. We are the worst of the worst, and LaBorde confronts us. He shoves a pile of "us" in our face and shouts, "Fill your nasal passages with your wretched essence!"

OH, THE STENCH!

This brings me back to the Gap on Highland Road in Baton Rouge on that brisk morning back in 1999. When the cook from "Louie's 24 Hour Cafe" brought those hash browns for those waiting in line, what did Brock do? He confronted the cook:

"You fool! Do you not realize this is the Gap? Do you think we want your cholesterol packed carbohydrate nuggets here? What are you trying to do? Kill us? We're the elite! We shop at the Gap! I think you're looking for Old Navy! Now walk your second hand Reebok pumps back to Louies and make us all salads. Bring some diet frescas too."

I think you may begin to understand now; LaBorde can be summed up simply. He is Life's Essential Avant-Garde Philosopher, a Philanthropist, Academician, Writer, Poet, Brahmin, Purveyor of arts, Jude Law stand in, and an American Hero.

In some far off time, perhaps a few millennia, when all the world is cosmic and collapsed, and unimaginably changed, but maybe, conceivably exactly the same; an alien or a human, or some sort of alien-human hybrid master race shall discover LaBorde's book in a clay jar on the barren shores of Lake Borgne and through whatever manner the master race reads, be it through osmosis or visually, or however, it shall discover the genius that is "The Semi-Complete Guide to Sort of Being a Gentleman" and shall hold it in high esteem, possibly as gospel, and shall worship LaBorde as a god.

I suggest, if you want to act as the future alien-human master race that shall shortly conquer our quickly shrinking home planet will act, you get on the LaBorde bandwagon quick. Because Gentleman Brock is a cold-hearted, callous jerk, and if you don't worship his work soon, he won't have mercy on you when the invaders come.

I dunno who Scott Beatty is, but it's certain he has never tried anything in his book. The info on page 2 about "stopping bullets" is riddled with errors. Go ahead, give his advise a try. If you survive, sue him. If you don't, maybe you'll get a Darwin Award.

Guys like Scott Beatty should not be allowed to play with a word processor. By the way, SAPI stands for "Small Arms Protective Insert," not the nonsense he writes.

While Superman may be the greatest superhero ever, this book shows how you can emulate his heroics. The intro states that while Supes has many superpowers, his greatest power is his ability and desire to help mankind. This isn't a book on the lines of others that are humorous in assuming the world of superpowers are real. This book is more of a good samaritan's survival guide on how you can help out yourself and others in certain types of emergencies such as saving a drowning victim, stopping a runaway car, and help someone choking to mundane events like jumpstarting a car, changing a tire, fixing a leaky pipe, and rescuing a kitten from a tree. While using pretty simplistic scenarios, this book tries to help instill in mankind how to emulate the kindness and heroism of the likes of Superman. Thrown in for the Superman fans are little comic facts about our last son of Krypton. It's a great how to help people guide but extra training is obviously needed for some of the situations presented.

Being Superman isn't just wearing your underwear on the outside, putting on a cape and attaching a giant S to your chest. You've got to know how to knock out a villain, break down a door, tackle a runaway goon, tie up henchmen, dodge and block bullets, leap in a single bound, perform various rescues such as runaway cars, cars teetering over an edge, quicksand, wild animals, someone drowning or caught in a rip, trapped under heavy objects and many other things. This manual also teaches the reader CPR, treat cuts, bites, burns, broken bones and other first aid although you really should do a first aid course to get the latest (how to save a chocking victim Heimlich Maneuver is not what you do these days). The manual also has instructions on how to change a tyre, put out a fire, stop a leak, fix an electrical outage, save a kitten from a tree and other handy skills to have.

As long as the reader can differentiate between when the novel is speaking specifically about superman and when it is the real world, then this actually is quite a useful and helpful book if ever faced with these problems. It isn't as good as competitors such as The Action Hero's Handbook by David Borgenicht and Joe Borgenicht if learning these skills is the sole purpose of buying the book, so if you are not much of a fan of Superman then get that instead. However there is not much difference and the background info on Superman and comics will sway the decision to The Superman Handbook for fans. There is is also a Batman Handbook if you prefer the caped crusader.

If you know nothing about Superman except that he wears red and blue tights and fights for truth, justice and the American way, you'll still enjoy this book. Like Beatty's equally brilliant Batman Handbook, the Superman Handbook explains all the techniques regular people can do to save lives. At the same time, it also gives you a primer on Superman's abilities, allies, villains and more, and it even teaches you how to speak Bizarro. So on that note, me hate this book and me not recommend it to no one. (If you don't get it, you will once you read the book!)

The introduction dutifully notes that The Superman Handbook is a work of fiction. That it is, but still with honest to goodness, real, and accurate advice for aspiring heroes everywhere. Yes, you will learn how to block and dodge bullets, break down doors, rundown a bad guy, and rescue those in dire need from floods, fires, avalanches, and more...all without the aid of real super powers.

The book is cleverly written by Scott Beatty with art by John Delany, Dave Cooper and Terry Beatty. The book combines a look at Superman lore with real life advice on survival and life-saving techniques and proves that you don't need to be faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive to be a superhero...you just need to know what to do in a given situation. For example, do you need to break down a door? The handbook tells you how. Don't waste time banging your shoulder into it...as the book explains a well placed kick exerts far greater force than your shoulder. You're also advised to find the door's "sweet spot" where the latch meets the door frame...all the better to bust it down don't you know.

How about blocking bullets? Yes, you too can block bullets provided you have the proper equipment such as a riot shield made of unbreakable Lexan polycarbonate (bullet proof glass) or a Kevlar vest, or ceramic body armor. The book explains each of these items in laymen's terms.

The section on Super Rescues tells how to save people from such predicaments as rip tides, quicksand, floods, and burning buildings. It even includes more exotic rescues like saving someone from a teetering car or hanging from a building. The Next section on Saving the Day includes practical first aid advice on how to perform CPR, treat cuts, animal bites, burns, broken limbs, help a victim who is choking, having a seizure, or been poisoned.

Throughout the book bits of Superman lore are introduced on his various powers, greatest villains, most super saves, and more, just to keep things light. Whether you're a Superman fan or not, you'll find solid advice in the handbook, related in an informal style. Great job.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

Tamagotchis are cool, and it is too bad that there are no more. Great Book!

i love tamagotchies and this book is very funny, i espically like the name section! I DID IT FOR A SCHOOL BOOK REPORT AND THE TEACHER LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!

This book lives up to its' title in full. There is nothing in this book that could be useful. It does have a Tamagotchi name section, but they are all spelled wrong. It is a waste of a reader's time. I would not recommend it to any one.

I am a faithful Tamagotchi obsessee and bought this book in 1997. I enjoyed it's great humor, and even took some of it's sarcastic suggestions seriously -- just for fun! The book is amusing, and a fun way to indulge in your own obsession, and to laugh at yourself. :o)

This book is a great and humorous book for a new owner of a Tamagotchi. It teaches virtual parents how to raise their virtual pets from an egg, to childhood, to adolescence, to adulthood, and to death. It tells how to prepare for this glorius, yet tragic moment. This book contains many songs, rhymes, and other useless, but entertaining information.