Arts Books

I am just an average mom who does not have one crafty bone in my body!
This book is well written, easy to follow and has great ideas! We spent a rainy afternoon doing craft after craft out of this book and never got bored!
My daughter is a little over 2 years old and typically gets bored after a few minutes. She took delight in seeing her "creations"!
Some of these crafts can be done with things that most of us have on hand too! (Flour and Salt!) No need to go purchase specific items to do a craft!
Simple crafts that can turn into great gifts for family and friends!

Great book!

Good craft book from Multiple Emmy Winning former Talk Show host Rosie O'Donnell, who has done much in her career, from running her own Magazine to being one of the Star Hosts on "The View", with Barbara Walters. She's done stand up comedy, acted in movies and sung with Cher on "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). New Yorker Rosie has also gotten political from time to time - Interestingly, in the 2008 Presidential Primary race, New York Senator Hillary Clinton earned more Votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in the history of America (hillaryclintonforum, the denver group)

THIS IS A WONDERFUL CRAFT BOOK FOR ALL AGES.
I WORK IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM AND USE
IT FOR STORYTIME CRAFTS. I WAS SO IMPRESSED
WITH IT I BOUGHT ONE FOR MY GRANDKIDS AND MY
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW WHOM IS AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
TEACHER.

This well written book with great illustrations is the perfect solution to keeping kids active and busy during the summer vacation or rainy days.

I really like this book. From it I've been inspired to do the tie dye and the Royal (Icing) Sand Castle. Note to anyone trying the castle, be careful of your icing. I used Betty Crocker's Rich and Creamy and it was too soft, it didn't stick well. For the tie dye I did buy a kit and didn't follow Rosie's instructions, I stuck with the one's in the kit, which made the project a little longer. But it was helpful to see what the t-shirts looked like according to how you tied them. The pictures in the book are great. They really show you what the finished product will look like. I do think making the crafts are a little expensive. I'm starting from scratch so I basically have to buy everything for each project. I don't watch Rosie's show. I just chanced upon the book while browsing on Amazon and bought it because of the great reviews.

After reading the reviews I knew this book would be great... It greatly surpassed my expectations. If you are a Star Wars fan, you should order it right now!

I bought this book for my husband. He really loves it. Its like a scrapbook collection of 30 years of Star Wars. Very neat! I was disappointed because the shipping caused the book to be dented in the corners. I know its a heavy item, but Amazon should make sure to accomodate.

My husband LOVES all things 'Star Wars' and I don't think there's a single day in his life that goes by without him making at least one daily Star Wars reference. This collection has so much to offer. So many little gems that will surprise even the biggest Star Wars fan. It's so masterfully crafted and quite a show piece! It's like a modern heirloom, and sure to provide hours upon hours of enjoyment.

STAR WARS VAULT BY STEPHEN J. SANSWEET AND PETER VILMUR: Celebrating it's thirtieth anniversary this year, the Star Wars franchise is in a similar predicament to the time after the release of Return of the Jedi: no plans for future movies, apart from a continuing animated series of the Clone Wars. By the same token, fans are in the same state with little to nothing to look forward to. Thankfully, to commemorate the third decade of the blockbuster, internationally bestselling movie series, there's the Star Wars Vault: "thirty years of treasures from the Lucasfilm archives with removable memorabilia and two audio CDs.

This is not just a nicely decorated picture book in a sturdy slipcase; it's an experience, a journey that one is immediately taken one when they open up the cover. Star Wars Vault is part of the new style of picture being published, like that of 1776: The Illustrated Edition, where the book goes beyond glossy, colorful pictures and photos, but incorporates all types of media, and with the rich heritage of the Star Wars franchise which literally revolutionized the world with merchandising, Star Wars Vault is a gift that would make any fan of the series, no matter how old or how much of a fan, respect you greatly in your choice of gift.

Sansweet keeps his story short, taking up little room on the page, and leaving the evidence reproduced here in various forms to speak for itself. He begins with the fascinating tale of how the first movie, Star Wars Episode IV, barely made it to release, and with little support, until the enormous numbers of audience members proved that the studio executives were very wrong. While Sansweet spends less time on the development and release of the rest of the movies, the experience as one turns the pages and relives the history of the Star Wars empire is unlike that of any other. With unique photos, movie posters, and a plethora of pictures from around the world, there are innumerable insets and handouts of unique items like patches, stickers, collectible postcards, film cells, and even two audio CDs with a variety of different pieces ranging from the mid-eighties radio ads, to special interviews, to a recording of the song sung by Carrie Fisher for the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special.

While the price for Star Wars Vault is considerable, no one will regret it when they turn the page and discover the world within. It is a book that will immediately be quickly read, the stickers and patches possibly used, and added to the shelf to be rediscovered over and over.

[...]

My 8-year-old, who is a huge Star Wars fan, loves this book. Unfortunately, because it's so cheaply made, it fell apart shortly after he got it. The pages have completely separated from the hard cover, probably because the materials/methods used in the binding are too flimsy. For a more-than-$50 "collector's edition," the publisher should have made the book to last more than two weeks. It will cost me $85 to have it repaired.

I am new to making armor, but not so much to metalworking. This book gets you started on techniques (although a few could have a little more attention), and has terrific sections on measuring and padding. The illustrations and photos are a big bonus, and most are helpful to some extent. Overall a great example of a master passing on some of his knowledge to the apprentices of his craft.

I have yet to find a better book for armoring. Nearly every fundamental is covered.

Tools, stock, techinque, buying tips, and even history is covered.

The Maille section is somewhat lite but there are other books that are fully dedicated to that discipline.

It's worth every penny. You can't go wrong with this book.

This book is an awsome read, very interesting and the info on constructing armour is just incredable. Every aspect is covered even lining the armour to make it more comfortable, if you are intersted in medieval armour this book is second to none.

Good book. BUT compleatly failed to mention safety glasses. These are IMPORTANT. you need to get a good pair and wear them when you are working in your shop. unless you think you will look good with a eyepatch.

This is a book on how to build armor. Tools, techniques, materials, workspace needed, cost estimates are all part of it. I make leather armor for re-enactors, so much of what was taught here was not directly applicable. However, there are chapters on how to measure, pattern, and cut. These are useful even if the material used isn't metal but leather. There are even some basic instructions on leatherworking. Overall, a pretty straightforward work. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in armor construction, collecting, or re-enacting.

If you like the description on the back of the book you will not be disappointed.

I purchased this book on impulse at an airport kiosque shortly after it first came out, in a very clunky home-drawn sort of cover. I was feeling it was high time (around age 48) that I learn or try to re-learn a few basic facts and concepts about electricity that I'd been exposed to all my life but never quite absorbed. Why? Maybe to be a little more savvy about doing electrical home repairs, to grok a little better what was going on inside computers, but mostly because I just want to understand how things (and nature) work around me. Like reviewer Godfrey I'd dawdled over this for a long time, unable to get over the hump of reading some dry explanation of this stuff. And this book worked. I got the basic feel of electronics I'd been lacking and really enjoyed the book itself, outlandish as it is. I'm guess I'm just nutty enough myself to have enjoyed Kenn's nutty little-green-men approach. Nutty to Meet You! Dr. Peanut Book #1

This is by far the best beginners book on electronics that I have ever read. The book uses metaphors to teach about electronics from conductors to transistors. So simple that anyone can get a basic grasp of electronics. It's a great book to launch your study of electronics if you really want to understand what's going on in the circuit instead of just memorizing theorems.

There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlings is an engaging and educational introduction to the science of electronics for lay readers. Written in a narrative, storytelling style, There Are No Electrons covers basic electron theory (and why it's the "Easter Bunny" of science), voltage, current, resistance, magnetism, and much more. Written to be accessible to readers of all ages, from high school science students to the fortysomething who wonders how his computer is really powered, There Are No Electrons blends entertainment with solid information into a clear winner. Especially recommended for public and high school library shelves.

My physics/chemistry teacher in high school recommended this book over ten years ago. I read it during college and it helped demystify all the mathematical descriptions by giving me an understandable picture. It's a bit more difficult to visualize electron behavior in electrical components than it is to picture a bunch of wild, crazy green people doing stuff. Highly recommended for physics or engineering students for improving conceptual grasp of basic electrical theory.

I enjoyed sharing this book with our children. The story spoke to them in ways their father and I haven't been able to. Thank you.

My children received this book as a gift, and our 5 and 3 year olds really enjoy the story. The illustrations are very well-done, and the story is beautiful.

This is more than just a children's book. It is something very special and beautifully illustrated that caters for the child that lurks inside all of us. The simple story touches not just on human faith but issues of the heart that will promise to bring a lump to your throat at the end of it. If you have young children, read it to them. If you don't, find a quiet moment and read it aloud to yourself. I promise you, it's really good for the soul. A wonderful gift this Christmas or any time.

I have ordered several copies of this book and given them as gifts, and I will order many more I am sure. It is a terrific First Communion gift, providing a very tangible example of the value of going to Mass, it is a message which resonates with parent and child alike.

This well-written tale, reportedly based on a true story, demonstrates to young children how the Mass ought to "outweigh" life's supposedly finer things -- in this case the delicacies of a baker. As others have observed it is beautifully illustrated by Katalin Szegedi; her watercolor drawings help children develop an early appreciation for the three transcendentals: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. The book takes about seven minutes to read, so it's perfect for reading to young children (7 and under.) "The Weight of a Mass" deserves the fine praise it has received here and elsewhere, and it makes one look forward to other titles by the publisher Gingerbread House. Highly recommended.

Initiation to the steep learning curve for Adobe After Effects is eased considerably by this volume of scaffolded lessons that include extra tips and keyboard shortcuts.

This is a must have book along with Mark Christiansen's Studio Techniques. So well explained, step by step tutorials, thorough explanations of why things happen. Highly recommended!!

The only real downfall of this book is that you really have to have the included disk to really get all this book has to offer - of course the best way to learn anything is to do it, but I am a fan of manuals that just walk you through the steps of how to do something. This isn't a good book to just sit down and read but if you want to jump right in and read this AS you do the exercises from the disk (which I find sometimes inconvenient) this is a great manual.

It covers pretty much all the basic functions that you will commonly use in AE and is full of instructional images.

This is a fantastic book to get started in after affects. Adobe CS4 is coming out in October 2008 so this book will be out of date just a little. Saying that though if you are just starting out with motions graphics this is the place to start.

Fantastic book.

This title has a wealth of information that is geared mostly towards beginners, but can still be used by those familiar with the program. The slightly non-linear arrangement of information makes certain topics hard to locate, but otherwise this is definitely a good book.

contrary to what is listed, The Americans is by Robert Frank, the photographer. the photos are timeless and i still use them to teach photography to college students
jack kerouac only wrote the forward.
set the record straight for non-photographers.
thank you.

Looking at this again after many years ( I first came across it about 25 years ago) the images are as poignant as ever. This is truly a great book of photographs and is perhaps the best photojournalist's collection ever published. The new edition has all the gravity and attention to detail that the work deserves.

Excellent print quality.. A glance at common people in random daily-life shots. It's a book worth a place in your hands

This book was not by Jack Kerouac. It's by Robert Frank. It's one of the seminal books in the history of photography. Many see it as a hate letter to America, but that's a shallow reading of the book. It's some of the best documentary done by a non-documentarian of the American culture of the period. If you really want to see great photography with a point of view, this is a good start.

I find lots of listings get authorship wrong when the book is about a photographer's work. Amazon needs to fix this basic flaw in their system.

We're lucky to have this edition. Robert Frank is an old man with health issues now. That he is healthy enough to oversee this work is wonderful. Everything about this edition - especially in comparison to the 2007 Delpine edition I purchased earlier this year - is first-rate. I wish I had known this was coming out!

The book is a little smaller than the Delpine, but that's the only real negative (if it is one) I can think of. The main thing to me is that the photos themselves are how Frank intended them to look. Gone are the overly-lightened faces that plague the Delpine book. This is a pet peeve of mine that kills many photos in this Photoshop age. This is very obvious in the New Orleans trolley photo. In the Delpine work, the faces of the white passengers are totally washed out, and the black faces are awkwardly lightened (someone apparently thought they were helping Frank's work). That's all corrected here. In this Steidl edition things are shown as they were intended. One can even see details in the face of the man at far left, even though it is partially obscured by a window reflection.

Also, on several photos more of the frame is visible. This was most noticeable to me in the Butte, Montana photo of the woman looking out the car window, with several children in the back seat. A good portion of the left side of the photo is now visible, along with more shown on the top and bottom. The new crop just seems more "right." Not too mention that the face of the child in the middle of the photo is too light in the older edition.

Simply put, comparing the two editions is an eye opener. I first saw these photos years ago in a much earlier edition (I believe it was the 1969 Aperture work) and I still marvel at the depth of the images in that printing. I don't have that edition in hand, so I can't do a direct comparison, but I believe the Steidl images are much closer to that ideal. Franks prefers his images a little on the flat, low-key side. Another difference is that the photos are now printed on a non-glossy paper. I was surprised at this at first, but now I believe it works much better for this book.

In short, if you want an accurate, lovingly-printed edition of The Americans at a reasonable price, this is the one. Highly recommended.

This compact volume is a compilation of realistic and ethical insights about the foibles of human relations. Just reading a few entries at a sitting offers thoughtful and encouraging tools in our dealings with one another.

THIS BOOK IS WORTH FIVE TIMES THE COST. THE AUTHOR NAILED THE HUMAN SPIRIT ON THE HEAD. FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS AND YOU WILL LEARN THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE EGO CENTERED, ILLOGICAL AND GREEDY. LESSONS THAT HAVE TAKEN ME DECADES TO LEARN.

The book contains 300 field-tested behavioral rules for an honorable and successful life. The credibility this Jesuit needs in order to tell us how to live comes from his instant truth and usefulness. Most of the maxims have the urgent clarity of tough times, but some show you how to enjoy your adventures best. His perspective is balanced and subtle.

When you use this experiential knowledge you deliberately err on the side of caution, graduating to reality faster than your peers. All of life is covered. Some maxims are explanations on character and common sense, while others advise on how to deal with people. For example, he tells us to keep matters in suspense and to be skilled in conversation. You essentially learn how not to screw up in a complex world without fairy tale endings.

A few readers will say that this "prudent" Spaniard from the 17th century is outdated, and I agree that nowadays you could survive without him. But then don't complain when your superficial person is ignored, your illusions are painfully shattered and former friends leave you in the mud. You could have saved the day if you had only listened!

This knowledge was hard won, like gold, by a reflective man who's life's work was to tell you how not to be a fool. If the advice was bad, this book would have gone out of print a few centuries ago.

Throughout the years, I've read various philosophers and grasped their differant ideologies. I haven't read too much of Gracian. After reading the Art of Wordly Wisdom as traslated by Maurer, I feel as though I've been deprived of this great Philosopher. I wish I had read more of Gracian's work earlier on. This book details various compilations of conduct and thinking. It truly is a gem. It is a Highly recommended book.

This is a beautifully produced book, and on the whole the translation is at least satisfactory, and frequently elegant in its own right. But the oracle's original train of thought within each half-page aphorism (probably hard enough to follow in the original Spanish) often becomes totally unintelligable in translation.

Perhaps annotations would have helped, but without either the original Spanish or any notes to refer to one sometimes has to simply give up trying to understand the gist, and move on to the next aphorism.

Overall it's a rewarding read, and certainly a book to keep at hand and dip into again and again, but also somewhat frustrating. This is not the ultimate translation.

ALL THE CROC STRIPS ARE FUNNY.......HOWEVER I DON'T CARE FOR THE RAT...
WAY OUTSIDE OF MEAN AND PIG.....WAY OUTSIDE OF DUMB

This is a great collection of Pearls before Swine cartoons. I would recommend it to everyone.

I don't agree with ALL of the political junk, but the Crocs are a riotous laugh fest.

I just bought this book because I love the strips and I found it really good to have them printed on a book like this. They are really fun!

I love his work! It is a great read and everyone can relate and appreciate his political/satirical humor.

I actually bought this book from a Museum of Fine Arts bookstore (for more than it cost on Amazon, but I digress) simply after glancing at it. I am an admitted cat lady and I couldn't resist such a playful yet respectful study of a cat. What a personality! Highly recommended for cat people.

This book was very well titled and illustrated. It looked as if my own cat ERNIE posed for many of the pictures himself. If you have a black and white(tuxedo cat), I strongly urge you to purchase this book. It will mean so much to you later when you lose your cat(to death) like it did with my ERNIE. I highly recommend it.

I was recommended this book by a colleague as I was starting to get into photography. My first thought was that it'd be boring - I mean photos of cats?! If I wanted that I'd buy a calendar. However I ordered it and it is brilliant. The photos are outstanding - nothing like your typical cat-calendar shots, but rather they capture the essence of the subject, which in this case just happens to be a cat. Add to that, the fact that it is beautifully presented, it could only be 5 stars.

I encountered Ernie while visiting the Tate Modern bookstore here in London over the weekend, and was instantly won over by his crazy, self-possessed ways. The genius of Mendoza's work lies in his ability to faithfully capture the personality of his feline subject, with the same amount of detail and devotion one would expect to see in photographs of people. As a filmmaker and photography enthusiast, I have accumulated a library of photography books by those renowned in their field, and Mendoza's masterful memoir deserves its place amongst them. Sure, he is not a Pulitzer Prize winning war photographer, the subject is light-hearted but it is also sincere, which is the most you can ask of an artist. Ernie is a fine example of what photography and portraiture should be: an engaging and revealing insight into its subject, one that compels the viewer to revisit the photographs again and again, delighting and inspiring with each subsequent reading.

I love this book. As a cat lover the book captured this cat's character perfectly. Loved the narratives of both the photographer and especially when he wrote on behalf of Ernie!! If you love cats, you will definitely enjoy this book and its pictures. I love Ernie!