News and Media Books

This book is really a great book. I couldn't stop reading it. This is a good book because it tells you what its like for a divorced parent to get married again. It tells about the struggles and the ups and downs of a parent getting remarried. I liked this book because it was very well written

"To Have and to Hold" is a very good Madison Finn book. I really enjoyed it, and had to keep reading. I finished it in three days! This book is mainly about Maddie's dad getting married with Stephanie, in Texas! Madison doesn't want to leave Phinnie, her friends, and her mom. And then, Maddie finds out that she has to do a reading in front of a hundred people! Meanwhile, back home, something very bad happens to Fiona's father, and Maddie wishes she could be back home. Maddie doesn't want to meet Stephanie's huge Texas family.....especially a Posion Ivy like cousin. Will Maddie get through this wedding? What about everybody back home?

This is the BEST Madison finn book EVER! Madison;s dad and Stephanie are getting married! And Madison is a little overwhelmed, and then, she is asked to go and be a bridesmaid in Texas! So she turns to Bigwheels for advice, then, Fiona's dad has a heart attack, and is in the hospital! Will this wedding turn out okay, or will this New Yorker get more than what she can Have and to Hold?

Summer Vacation is on and Madison's dad drops a bombshell. He is got engaged to his girlfriend, Steph and they are getting married in two weeks. Plus, they want Madison to be junior maid of honour and recite a poem at the wedding. Dad says that there will only be 30 people at the wedding. Then Steph's mom gets carried away with the guest list. Before long the wedding goes to 300 hundred people and about five different affairs. How is madison going to survive?

Madison Finn is back! And in a whole new, exciting way. On the first page, the book just sucks you in, wanting you to read more. It begins with Maddie's Dad announcing his engagement to his long-time girlfriend, Stephanie. Suddenly, Madison's world turns topsy turvy, and she's become part of the wedding rush. As if her Dad getting married wasn't enough...it's going to be far away from home...in Texas! Think things can't get any worse? Well, it does. Stephanie's niece, Tiff, acts like a total spoiled brat towards Maddie. Will Madison's luck change? Or will this whole ordeal turn out a disaster...just like Madison thinks it will? Find out in 'To Have and to Hold'.

This is without doubt the best of all Star Trek stories, both in film and in print. It touches on many grand philosophical, scientific, and technological themes: machine intelligence (both in Commander Data and in the Borg), space-time engineering (the first time humanity has done this, via the efforts of Zefram Cochrane), the first contact from an alien civilization (the arrival of the Vulcans), the confrontation with true history (meeting Cochrane and finding out just who the man really was), and the ethics of highly advanced civilizations (the contrast between the Borg and humanity). This book and the film will without a doubt inspire many a young reader to take up the practice of science, and thus it will do the best job of all. Science fiction has the habit of coming true sometimes, but it also has the fault of underestimating. The future of humanity, as exemplified by the Star Trek crew of the year 2367, is a grand one to contemplate, but the true future will be much better: a world populated by humans and machines striving to be the best they can be; a future that is never static, for stagnation to intelligent life is an abomination. We will do genetic engineering of humans, to be the best we can be; we will do space-time engineering, to travel beyond any immediate confines; we will create intelligent machines, to be our friends and allies. All of these things we will do, and much more. Humans and all other lifeforms, organic or not, will be very different in the time frame set in this novel. But they will be restless, ambitious, and always yearning for more understanding, for more insight, for more knowledge: these traits will characterize the beings of the 24th century...and beyond.

"And you people...you're all astronauts on some kind of...star trek?"

That line, uttered by Dr. Zephram Cochrane in both movie and novelization, has to be my all time favorite from the Trek film series. The most interesting difference between movie and book, as far I am concerned, is that despite James Cromwell's fine performance I found the film's Zephram Cochrane incredibly annoying. I never developed a shred of sympathy for him, because the background the film gave me - the Third World War and its chaotic aftermath - wasn't sufficient to make me understand him. I don't know, not having seen the script from which J.M. Dillard worked, whether she added "Zef" Cochrane's tragic battle with bipolar disorder (a disease that before the War had an effective treatment), or if it was among the elements that inevitably got cut as the film took shape. But I do know that for me, it made all the difference in being able to care about this character and root for him.

The book follows the film with little filler added except for background on Lily Sloane and Zephram Cochrane, which gives it a similar pace. They complement each other well.

As usual, J.M. Dillard does a fine job of remaining true to the source material, while still elaborating on it. The story is an excellent one, with plenty of action and plenty of interesting science-fiction concepts for the more thoughtful to consider. It gives us a bit more insight into the "future history" between the near-collapse of civilization and the beginning of the Federation that has been hinted at but rarely detailed in various episodes of Star Trek, in various generations of series.

The plot and characterization are both excellent and the writing is fluid and professional. The book is a pleasure to read.

This is, of course, the novelization of the highly successful Star Trek: The Next Generation film of the same name. First Contact refers not to first contact with the Borg, for, six years later, Picard still bears the mental scars of his assimilation in the form of Locutus, but to Earth's first contact with an alien civilization. It is a story that had yet to be told, although Captain Kirk and his crew had met the extraordinarily old Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, in an episode of the original series; additionally, there had been hints that this pivotal event in human history took place some time after a terrible Third World War on Earth.

As the story begins, the Borg have attacked the Federation, with one of their massive cube ships making a bee-line for Earth herself. Picard and the new Enterprise-E starship defy Starfleet orders and rush to the battle, after which they follow a small Borg ship through a time portal which takes them back to 21st-century Earth. The Borg plan is to destroy the Phoenix, the spacecraft which Zefram Cochrane launches and, by way of its successful warp drive test, captures the attention of a Federation scout ship. If that pivotal event does not happen, the Federation we all know and love will never come to be. While half of the senior staff is planet-side trying to make sure the Phoenix launch happens on schedule, the rest of the crew find themselves battling a Borg infestation onboard the Enterprise herself. Data is captured, Picard is in danger of letting his hatred of the Borg overrule logic and reason, and we get to meet the Borg Queen. Personally, I've always felt that the introduction of the Borg Queen was a disservice to the greatest Star Trek villains of them all. The Borg Queen is a complete contradiction that introduced a level of individual vulnerability into a collective that was, up until this time, faceless and seemingly invulnerable.

This is an impressive novelization of the film, making it a worthwhile read to those of us who are already familiar with the onscreen story. In particular, it provides a great deal of insight into the erratic nature of Zefram Cochrane himself; in the movie, he came across as basically a drunk, but the novelization does a much better job of explaining his behavior. That alone makes this novel a natural and extremely beneficial corollary to the movie.

Star Trek First Contact by J.M. Dillard was an excellent book. it showed emotion, fear, dispair, and anger. IT was a well written book considering it was made after the movie. I encourage all Star Trek fans to read this book and watch the movie.

This book is the best tutorial for learning 3ds Max that I've read. It is not for novices, in that it assumes you know the 3ds Max interface. However, it is a step-by-step guide for creating professional quality animations for broadcast media. The author works for MSNBC. He breaks down 3 real-world projects in an easy-to-understand way, from storyboards to final output. This single book jump-started my understanding of complex modeling and animation techniques using 3ds Max. Although this book was made for version 4 of the program (the program is currently in version 9), the interface has not changed significantly in that it would make this book obsolete. I used it using version 6 and returned to it in version 8 with no difficulties. Well worth your time.

I am a beginner user of Viz and Max and will be using it for architectural 3D rendering. What I look for in a text book are lengthy tutorial exercises. I want to know step by step everything that I have to do to reproduce what the author is showing. This book is great for that. There are three main excercises that go the full length of the 550 pages of this book. As an example the 2002 voting machine tutorial goes from pages 182 to 315, covering each step of the construction. Chismar even includes alternate means of construction to show why one method works better than other methods.

I am looking forward to an updated book by Chismar on the lastest release of Max. I have not heard if one is being made.

One slight drawback...Chismar does not deal with the possiblities of drawing and rendering for architecture. If the new release of Max does include the architectural functions of Viz, then there will be a need for tutorials on those items. None the less the command structure of the software for Viz and Max is virtually the same, so learning that part from Chismar's book is still very important.

The most important feature of this book is the lengthy step by step tutorials. This is the first thing I look for in a computer book - to see that the tutorials are long. to me this indicates that the writer is very thorough with all steps in the project and does not leave out important steps along the way.

If you buy used make sure the disk is included.

Overall, it is a good book with clear instruction for intermediate user.

I give it 4 stars since it doesn't tell you the detailed procedures to reproduce the cool special effect described in the Part 4 (Real World Case Stuides).

This book is a fantastic example of how all computer text books should be structured - Step-by-step tutorials that demonstrate experienced solutions to real-world projects. I know I speak for many people when I say that I learn by DOING, not by reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of text and lengthy descriptions of "what this app can do for you". No one likes to attempt to digest a "features description" manual and try to piece together the various complexities of a high-end application like 3DS MAX from various disjointed sources. I need a seasoned, talented professional, with years of industry experience, to step me through exactly how an application performs various industry tasks, e.g. how to make a 30-second TV spot from scratch, how to make a highly-professional News program opener, or how to make robotic-looking voting machines animated together in a 3-camera shoot. John Chrismar performs this tasks with a detail and finesse that is extremely hard to find in the computer textbook industry. I look for this style in every computer book I pick up, but don't often find it, if at all. The industry giants on the programming side of the industry, like Wrox Press, should use John's book as an example of how to write an effective computer textbook. Don't waste my time with information overload, stuffed together losely by a quasi-team of 6 geeks. SHOW ME how you solved a problem with the application or programming language, from start to finish, while I follow along, bit by bit, line by line, click by click. Show me how to build a genuine and valuable creation using the tool you are teaching me to use. This is exactly what John does.

I started with the last of three tutorials and worked backward through the book, because the News Program Opener tutorial looked the most intriguing. I learned more about 3DS MAX after that one tutorial then I had by reading the documentation or from any of the other three 3DS MAX books I own. I saw someone else mention that there were some small mistakes and missed "figure" numbers on the screenshots here and there, but this did not detract from completing the tutorials in the slightest. Two extra seconds of thought got me passed these minor editing oversights very easily, and they were very minor in comparison to most computer textbooks.

It was beyond refreshing to witness and practice along with a professional at work from beginning to end: from importing your vectors from Illustrator, to cleaning up the splines, to extruding, modelling each piece, assembling, naming conventions, creating materials, shortcuts, to animating, adding a soundtrack, right down to post-production and final render. I absolutely can not stand books where Step 1 is "Import our half-finished Design #643.2 from our accompanying CD-ROM". Not the case with this book. You are stepped through the process, end to end. When you are done with each tutorial, you have a finished work of media art THAT YOU CREATED and a head full of usable, retainable 3DS MAX knowledge that can be carried into any job or hobby.

Excellent job, John. You have gained a new fan. I will purchase your other books, regardless of topic. :D

Thank you.

Reading books about cats to a preschooler, you come upon many books with more wishful thinking than actual knowledge of how cats behave. I'm thinking of those sweet, sweet books in which cat 1 happily accepts cats 2, 3, 4, etc. and they are all best buddies. Alas, that is not how real cats interact. But Charlotte Voake obviously knows cats better than that. Her story of captures the territorial instinct of a cat confronted by a newcomer as perfectly as her illustrations capture the marvelous range of expression in feline posture. Despite the realism, she manages a plausible happy ending that made me laugh out loud. A little gem for cat lovers aged 3 to 300.

I have read many books to my two children over the years (we love to read together) and this is one of our favorites. It is especially good for the younger ones. The story is sweet and gentle and yet full of humor. The illustrations are really engaging -- for both adults and children. Charlotte Voake draws the best cats ever! Funny and warm, this is the perfect bedtime book.

Here is another good book by Charlotte Voake, a woman who obviously knows something about cats.

In this book Ginger gets a new 'friend'. The kitten though proves to be more friend that Ginger can handle and Ginger stocks off to pout.

As a mom I like that this book can be used to teach sensitivity to the needs of others. And though it's not a problem we have, I could certainly see using this book as a segway to discussing certain impending family changes... such as a new child coming.

Four Stars. [B+]. Artwork is even better than in "Ginger Finds a Home". [Ginger is a fat cat now.] Very good read-aloud. Very good art. My two children (boy and girl) love this book.

This is a book about Ginger, a lovely orange tabby who belongs to a little girl who loves him. However, she rocks Ginger's world by bringing home a new kitten, who wants to play with Ginger, eat his food, sleep in his basket, etc. Ginger takes the slightly implausible way out of going and hiding in the garden in the rain (behind the refrigerator is more like it.) But all's well that end's well, with everyone friends.

This book is often pigeon-holed as the book for introducing toddlers to the idea of a baby brother or sister, but it also speaks to the cat lover in all of us. We have a cat and a 21-month old, and this book is right at the top of her list. The illustrative style is whimsical without being saccarine, and the kitten's penchant for muscling in on Ginger's food, bed, etc. is true to cats as well as babies everywhere. We both love this book, and look forward to its 101th reading. You will too.

This book is so sweet and the illustrations so simple that I enjoy it as much as my son. It is also a very calm and tender read, perfect for bedtime!

This book is great for boys and girls alike, but especially poignant for young boys who still want their sleepy pals but also want to be thought of as grown-up! If you can get them to read it with the attitude of the characters, you'll smile the entire time you're reading. Dont' let this one get by you!

These books are perfect. His ear for spoken language is dead-on. It's a joy to read aloud.

This is one of the sweetest bedtime stories, getting kids ready for sleeping over with a reassuring message. Best of all, it features two little boys. There's not a lot of gentle message kids books out there that feature little boys.

This is timeless kiddie lit story: Ira is invited to his first sleep over. Ira's older sister, however, casts doubt in Ira's mind. Will Reggie laugh because Ira sleeps with a teddy bear? Should he go with or without his beloved teddy? His parents are supportive and Ira makes his decision, only to change his mind once again.

Jim Trealease, of Read-Aloud fame, read this story, with appropriate voices to a group of teachers. I was so enchanted with it that later, when I taught high school, I asked permission of my seniors to tell them Ira Sleeps Over. They loved it!

Not having read the book nor able to check it out from a library, I relied totally on reviewers 5 star comments when deciding to purchase this book. Just about 1/3 the way into the book my parental radar piqued at the conversation between Reggie and Ira concerning ghost stories, "scary, creepy, spooky ghost stories." To my sorrow, no mention or even allusion of this was in any of the reviews.

My youngest 3 children (two 5 year olds and a 7 year old) are from a culture that emphasizes ghosts, the boogie man, evil spirits, etc. in a demonic fashion. Prior to becoming part of our family, ghosts were used as a form of disciplne to terrorize them to comply and obey. Even after having them in our family for a year they still struggle with the memories of these demons. Since the ghost story is the climax in Ira Sleeps Over, I do not recommend this book.

Sabrinas Aunts apply her for a Summer camp consellor job. They put her down as having many other jobs alike elsewhere which is a lie. So welcome the highest consellor theyve ever had. So shes put in charge of cabin 13- the troublemakers cabin. But when they get too much she puts them under an obedience spell. Can she keep it up though when they are losing every competition?

Sabrina's lonely. Harvey's away to Europe with his Mum + Dad and Libby's flanting it in France.So her aunts zap a counselor résumé that makes her sound brilliant. So Sabrina and stowaway Salem are off 2 Camp Bearclaw.Then there's the bad news. She get cabin 13. the trouble-maker cabin.So food fights and running aways are a daily occurous.But so Sabrina finally loses her temper and cast a spell to make her camper act like angels. But her campers are 2 good. Can Sabrina win the Tug of War competition? And can she remove the spell? Read and find out!

This was definetly one of the best Sabrina books. It wascreative and funny. I really liked it a lot, and if you read it, youshould like it too.

ive read about 15 of the sabrina books and this is my favorite it even beats showdown at the mall. Its so good like all of john vornholt's books, as my favorite buffy the vampire slayer book is 'coyote moon' also written by john vornholt hes a great orthor. i think what makes the book good is it has comedy,romance,fun ect all in one book also its easy to relate to if you have been to summer camp. This is definatley my favorite and ive read many.

This is THE best Sabrina book of them all. Sabrina uses herwit, diplomacy and just a little magic to tame the wildest bunch ofkids at her summer camp. If you like Sabrina, read this book first.

I have to say, volume 5 has the best story and action. Alita finally faces up to Zapan, and the action grows and grows until the entire scrapyard is at risk from Zapan's new Berserker Body (once Alita's).

Very gruesome and deranged as well; Zapan carries his girlfriend's head in a glass container, the girlfriend he killed after remembering Alita, and the ending is my favorite out of all of them =D

The quality that I got the book and the time it got to get all the way to Eygpt was... awsome.

The plot: A deranged ex-fighter Zapan from Alita's past hates Alitain a psychopathic way. When he sees Alita's picture on TV, as she competes in an athletic event, he has a fit of insane rage and accidentally kills his girlfriend. Two years later, Alita has found peace and a group of friend who she loves. She doesn't fight and works by playing music in bars which she enjoys. Zapan catches up with her and in defeated by Alita and other fighters... or so they think. A mad scientist/MD heals his brain and naturally it ends up in a powerful cyborg body. He is still out to get Alita and she fights to protect the city and people who have turned her out on account of the crazy cyborg that is out to kill anyone it meets and keeps inquiring after her.

The plot here is a strong point, particularly Alita's relationships with Ito's adopted children and with the community. Zapan's relationship with his girlfriend, told in flashbacks, also unfolds nicely. She saw good in everyone and is the only person who sees good in him. We are told that Zapan is Alita's karma and in a sense each of them takes the other's safehaven away. The ending has a message of hope despite the fact that Alita has everything (except one of her arms - she is a cyborg so loosing limbs doesn't kill her).

The art is all black and white and done in a realistic style. Layouts are well done and the story flows from frame to frame well. Lots of this book (like all books in the series) consists of fighting scenes. This would normally bother me, but in this case it didn't, mostly because there were little plot points in there revealed in visuals not dialog.

I recommend this book if it at all appeals to you. I hadn't read previous books in the series (well I had read the first book, but this is a few series later), but there was enough info for me to follow the plot. The drawback to the book is that the sequel to it is kind of blah. On the other hand most plot points are rounded up at the end of this book so it won't kill you to stop while you're ahead. This is also a good choice for public libraries because it is clean and holds together well.

With the conclusion of the battle with Jashugan two years elapse in which Alita builds a different life entirely, as a musician at the Bar New Kansas. Even though she protests to Doc Ido that music and fighting have much in common, it is obvious that this time of peace and growth has been important to Alita. She has friends, things to do, and a sense of belonging that has eluded her before. It is a precious time, but one not destined to last.

Perhaps this manga should have been titled Angel's Karma. A moment in Alita's past, her shaming of Zapan that is coming back to haunt her. The hypersensitive hunter killer is unable to move beyond his hatred of Alita, and in a fit of rage accidentally kills his girlfriend. Now insane, carrying Sara's head around in a jar, Zapan is heading for Alita. She joins forces with Sara's father, and the two confront the killer and take him out. Kind of.

Reality, even manga reality, is too harsh to allow such a simple solution. A berserker body that Doc Ido discovered at the same time he found Alita has fallen into the hands of Desty Nova, a Tipharian like Doc, but a lunatic as well. Nova has decided to restore the shredded functions of Zapan's brain hand install him in the berserker. He has equally ugly plans for Ido and Alita finds herself facing a one-cyborg apocalypse.

This story is a tragedy with a grain of hope life a mustard seed held in its core. The fate of everything Alita cares about is at risk, and the beautiful cyborg is called on repeatedly to may incredible sacrifices. Ending Zapan will be, at best, a Pyrrhic victory, and Alita will gain a flash vision of a height that she may never be able to attain. And yet, almost within reach, is a promise of things to come.

Of the earlier "Battle Angel Alita" series, volumes one and two were excellent in all areas, and volumes three and four were still good but a step down in the quality of story-telling. This volume, number five, "Angel of Redemption", raises the quality of the plot back to where it should be.

The story of "Angel of Redemption" takes place two years after Alita's motorball stint, when she has gotten over her loss of Hugo and has regained her life with Ido and other friends. But as we all know, Alita's past won't let her live in peace for long. With teriffic pacing and use of an exceptional story, Yukito Kishiro creates beautiful scenes where an old enemy of Alita resurfaces and where she ultimately discovers loneliness and abandonment.

Kishiro's art is still as good as ever, filled with spectacular atistry that immediately draws the reader into the story. The high violence and gore factor is also still here, so this is still a series for mature audiences. The pacing and quality of the story returns from the slight slump of volumes three and four, back to the level of volumes one and two.

There is, however, one thing that makes volume five totally unique, and in a few ways better, than volumes one and two. The first two volumes don't have very powerful cliffhangers, so while the stories in these volumes are teriffic, they don't give the reader something to look forward to in the next volume. Volume five does have a powerful cliffhanger (although it's not a major plot twist kind of cliffhanger), and the reader will desperately want to know what will happen in volume six.

If you've read the first four volumes, you won't be disappointed by volume five. If you haven't read the first four volumes but enjoy beautiful art, beautiful story-telling, and can stomach high levels of violence and gore, then "Battle Angel Alia" is for you.

an excellent, thoroughly researched book on the media and it's lack of involvement with ufo reporting. mr. hansen painstakingly goes through the politics of media manipulation from censorship, deception, distortion and news reporting as media entertainment. this book is an excellent companion to ben bagdikian's books on media monopoly. even if ufo's aren't your forte, missing times provides an insightful look into the lack of thorough journalism research and how journalists take information on face value only. especially if it provided by the government. this book is an enjoyable and great read.

Bought this book as a Yuletide gift for a relative. He wanted this book and gave me the title and author's name so I would get it right. I love it when they make it so easy to buy for them. It must be a good book because it was all he wanted. This or nothing. Glad Amazon had it.

This is an excellent book on both media coverage of UFO's and media censorship in general. The author uses excellent research to show the overwhelming pattern of government interference in news reporting since World War I, and from there goes on to look at the way UFO reporting is managed by government influences. The book also includes excellent bibliographic references for those who want to read further. I always wondered why US media seldom reported UFO material without ridicule whereas the Belgium Air Force has seemingly been forthcoming with information and photographs regarding military contacts with UFO, and how the US media could ignore some of the persuasive evidence out there that something of importance is indeed going on. This book clarified things for me and, frankly, frightened me a little in the sense that it does appear public reality is heavily managed by the government and media. I guess I was more naive than I would have thought. I can't see the final picture yet, but this book is an important piece for those of us trying to assemble the UFO jigsaw puzzle. Buy this book!

Everyone knows that especially sensitive knowledge and information are managed by censorship, classification, suppression, concealment, and obfuscation through dis- & mis-information, etc. We may be free to say what we think; but we are not free to know everything nor tell everyone everything we know. The fact that this holds true in the realm of UFO's and encounters with aliens only tends to validate the fact of their existence. Once one accepts the premise that there really are ETs more advanced than we (human) earthlings that are free to come and go (and jolly well do so), one can infer all sorts of other things which would (and arguably should) be systematically censored or otherwise controlled. In the case reported, the fact of UFO's hovering over missile sites was perhaps not as sensitive as the fact that they were "dudding our nukes." Who wants to divulge that one piece of our multi-billion dollar MAD triad was good for nothing but shooting a big blank? Who wants to divulge that a nuclear warhead can be rendered ineffective by relatively cheap beams of em energy discharged from an intelligently controlled vehicle that employs some mysterious source of energy to travel in such a way as to violate the "known laws of physics." (Only now are the facts of em techniques to decontaminate radioactive material emerging into the public realm. Likewise, the physics of field propulsion. Do you imagine nothing remains classified? Do you still believe in Santa Claus?) This book is an excellently fashioned piece of the holographic mozaic that would lead one to recognize the truth of a number of things and the plausibility of even more. The media are information and entertainment outlets which, as they become increasingly centralized become increasingly more mangeable. (The bigger the edutainment empire, the easier it is to influence its management and editorial policy.) Does that help one understand FCC and DOJ policy in this area? It is not only the "news media" that are controlled in this way, the very same phenomenon occurs in the scientific media that are broadly circulated. It seems that the wider the distribution, the more carefully managed the information. In other words, if you want to understand the "exotic" (actually mid-20th C) physics behind UFO's, you will not find them in New Scientist, Scientific American, Discover, etc. So, where does that leave the internet?

"If UFOs were real it would on National Public Radio." Have you ever heard someone say something to that effect? If you are interested in the role of our media in the coverup of the existence of extraterrestrials then read Terry Hansen's "The Missing Times." Hansen's book is an excellent presentation of the history of governmental manipulation and control of the media specifically in regards to UFOs in the news. Hanson covers the history of psychological disinformation campaigns in warfare and more recently in the area of UFOs. He clearly demonstrates how our news media are censored and controlled so as to spread government disinformation about extraterrestrials and other high-impact topics. This book is a wake-up call to those who believe in democratic ideals and the idea of a free press. It also heralds a forthcoming era of openess if a full government disclosure about the extraterrestrial phenomenon were to occur. (Dr. Simeon Hein is the author of Opening Minds: A Journey of Extraordinary Encounters, Crop Circles, and Resonance and his latest work, Planetary Intelligence.)

New Orleans is my favorite season of Real World thus far, and i am a little disappointed in the contents and layout of this book in comparison to editions for later seasons (ie, chicago and las vegas). Instead of putting cast member information in an orderly fashion, they throw around the facts over various pages. castmember david's fact sheet is also suspiciously missing. I didn't like the rw reunion junk at the back of the book to pad its length. they should have included the floor plans of the house and more photos taken by the cast instead of this.

If you watched the Real World New Orleans, this is a great guide to what you didn't see. If you DIDN'T watch the show, well, then there's no reason to buy the book!
My favorite part about the book was the information about the Kelley/Danny and Melissa/Jamie "feud." With quotes from the sources themselves, it adds even more drama than was on the show! VERY interesting!

This book is amazing!! anything you ever wanted to know is answered!! It even goes into a bit of stuff from other seasons, with pictures of Rachel(S.F) and Sean's (boston)wedding! as well as tonnes of pictures what they're doing now etc....etc.....
You will really enjoy it!!

I liked this Real world book a lot in fact I like most of them, all except Seattle which was incredibly boring . But this book gives you a lot of insight into what the camera didn't show. Some of the things mentioned don't seem to make sense b/c when you see the reunions on tv they don't act towards each other they way that you would think w/some of the comments that they have made about each other in this book. Besides that it is well worth your money and time to read it.

It's amazing how much is told in this book that wasn't revealed on the show. This book gives the show and the cast (which I think is the most interesting cast yet) more depth. The thing dealt with most in the book is something that wasn't hardly dealt with on the show, and that's Kelley and Danny's dislike of Melissa and Jamie. There's way more content than that, but that is what's focused on a bit. 'Unmasked' also put to rest the answer of some questions, such as "Why was Kelley not in the house a lot?" and "What did Matt really think of Julie the whole time she crushed on him?". All the cast members let out what they really thought about each other, and some of the results could be surprising. All in all, I found that this season and this book is the best ever. Can't wait until next season!

Just as good as the movie!!! Great book! I recommend it for any reader!

The Perfect Man by Jenny Markas is an exhilarating story of friendship and romance.
The book takes place in a Brookland apartment. Two girls and their mom have been moving from one town to another since Holly, the oldest daughter, was born. When they end up in Brookland, they embark on a wild adventure. Jean (their mom) meets a guy named Lenny, who is a real ditz. When they go on their first date, Holly decides to make up the perfect man, Ben. Holly sends fake e-mails, IM's, letters, and even phone calls to Jean from Adam (her friend`s) house just to make Jean happy. When the plan comes crashing down, Holly has to go to drastic measures to set things right, that's where it gets exciting!
We give this book 4 **** .It was fantastic, and we would recommend it to all our friends.

If you like reading books about romance, then you should read
THE PERFECT MAN by Gina Wendklos.
A girl name Holly Hamilton is tired of moving every time her mom gets dumped. Holly has a perfect plan for her to get an imaginary secret admirer. She borrowed her friend Zoë's charming Uncle Ben. Does mom find out who her secret admirer? Do you think Jean finds out who it really is?
We recommend this books to all our friends because it could be one of your friends or your family that gets tired of moving.
BY Samantha and Devon

My favorite book is The Perfect Man. I think that girls should read it!
The ages i would give is 10-14 or maybe 8-14. I realy think that this book is really amazing and it shows alot about a girls life. I recomend this book to Only Girls!

I own this movie novel, the movie, and the soundtrack and I love them all. The movie is heartwarming and the movie novelization captures its beauty and wit and puts it all into one story. The Perfect Man is a wonderful Hilary Duff movie and will leave you disgusted or happy (depends on whether or not you like the movie). This movie novelization has every part of the movie in its pages, and has some scenes not seen in the movie. This is a quick read, me finishing it in about 3 hours (depends on how fast you read). This is a fun movie novel that will leave you the same way as you finished watching the movie (my grade: A-). If you haven't seen the movie, I would highly recommend it! Heather and Hilary are perfect mother-and-daughter in this heart warming movie.

Hope you Enjoy! If you liked this, you may like
1. Just My Luck movie novelization
2. A Cinderella Story movie novelization
AND
3. The Bend it Like Beckham movie novelization

Jordan
Overall grade* A
Oh, and if you saw the trailer and wondered what the song that is in it is called, it is "Waiting on the sun" performed by Sixpence none the richer. Great song!