Women Books

I must admit that I have become a fan of Dr. Gina Ogden, and her incredibly warm, helpful and well-received series of books on her sex research. The Return of Desire is the second of three books that she bases on her large survey of what women (and some men) really feel about sex. Following the highly respected The Heart and Soul of Sex, this time she fearlessly confronts head-on the profit-driven medicalization of women's sexuality, employing her unique holistic, positive approach to better understand the rich complexity of desire and sex. She counters the quantitative approach of most sexologists who just like to count organs and their, shall we say, intersection.

From the astounding number of her completed surveys - 3,810!, Ogden gained a nuanced and enlightening picture - one that reveals women's sexuality to be far more complex than the arithmetic of penile/vaginal penetration, one that embraces their physical, mental, emotional and, of particular interest to Ogden, spiritual lives.

Ogden's last chapter looks at "What Women Want," in the context of the belief that desire doesn't always bubble up spontaneously, but often requires "conscious preparation." Based on her decades of therapeutic experience and the richness of surveys that reflect real women's voices, Gina Ogden's The Return of Desire offers valuable, compassionate and joyous direction for women rediscovering or reinventing their sexual passion.

P.S. The book's cover features the sexiest fruit photo ever. Your daily apple will never taste the same.

Is there a 10 star rating? Because The Return of Desire deserves that and more. I purchased this book without any prior knowledge of Dr. Ogden, or her works, based on a general recommendation as a gem of a book. Now that I have finished my first book by Dr. Ogden, I am hungry to read every single thing she has written! The Return of Desire is about so much more than just rediscovering your sexual passion, it is about ALL facets of our tender, sexy, feminine, fragile, strong, luscious sensual, sexual self. This book is nourishment - through and through. A literary version of a much needed daily supplement vitamin for our wellspring of desires. I am now giving this book as a loving gift to all of my girlfriends. Keep em coming Gina Ogden! And thank you so very much.

As a fellow sexologist and author about sexuality, I can tell you that this is one of those "must-have" books to put on your shelf.

Bringing us sanity for sexual competence and compassion for healing this pandemic of low-or-no-sexual-desire among couples today is the crystal wisdom of Dr. Gina Ogden, whose science-based knowledge shows that sexuality blended with true spirituality is what we need for unlocking our dampened desire. She is the voice of the New Truth about Sex.

Dr. Patti Britton, author of The Art of Sex Coaching and host of Your Sex Coach.com

I liked "Return of Desire" by Gina Ogden enormously. It is a generous and courageous piece of work....and a wonderful contribution that will benefit women (as well as men who read it) everywhere. The insights are profound and deeply moving. The scholarship is rich in data and scope. The Druid Vow of Friendship is now on my desk.

In addition, Gina Ogden's writing style is fresh, authentic, delightful and provocative. And through it, she educates and inspires her readers to reach new heights of insight, consciousness and sexual awareness. I recommend this book highly.

A friend recommended Return of Desire to me, and it turned out to be right on target with some of my questions and concerns regarding sexuality in mid life. Gina Ogden's theories and ideas are completely in tune with another aspect of life that I am currently exploring. It's a nice fit. I am ready to expand my own sexual desire beyond the limits that I currently place on it.

I have read the Romantic Suspense books by this author,The Edge of Recall,Halos: A Novel,and Freefall which were all wonderful. I couldn't get enough of her writing skill,so decided to try her Christian Historical Romance.

Mrs. Heitzmann has not disappointed me yet! Her skill amazes me.

This book and the whole trilogy,was almost painful to read,due to the heartbreaking life histories of the two main characters Quillen and Carina. The author goes into great detail letting us in on their sad backgrounds.

However,we are also treated to the development of some new wonderful friendships for Carina,and a few older ones of Quillens,and some genuine humor. I loved Quillen's fascination with Carina's hand gestures and expressions as she speaks,especially when she is annoyed/angry.

There was also some real suspense and mystery concerning possibly fraudulent property deeds. Carina had gone from Sonoma,CA to the mining town of Crystal,CO on the belief that she owned a house she saw and purchased,from a newspaper advertisement,to get away from the man who had betrayed her love.

I believe Kristen Heiztmann is without a doubt one of the best Christian Fiction authors out there,and I am so thankful to have come across her books,which make me doubly thankful that the Lord blessed me with a love for reading.

Her books will also amaze you with how descriptive she is of the surrounding and weather,so that you feel that you are in the scenes.

Excellent book!!!!!
In my opinion the beggining of the book was a little boring, but when I was around page 100 the story became very compelling, a page-turner, full of action, suspense and even romance !!! I highly recommend you to read it.

When Carina DeGratia finds out her fiancé has been unfaithful, she leaves her beloved Sonoma, California and heads for Crystal, Colorado. With the deed to her dream house in her hand and little else, she quickly finds out things are not always what they claim to be. Once in Crystal, Carina grabs the attention of two men. One a town leader, the other a man she just as soon wished she'd never met. Again, Carina learns a hard lesson in trust when she begins to realize neither man is who he seems. When violence begins to escalate in this small mining town, Carina must decide who it is she will turn to for help.

THE ROSE LEGACY, the first in a three part series, was a very enjoyable read. I'm glad I already have book two so I can plunge right in and see what else is in store for Carina, her husband, and the town of Crystal.

I have looked at Kristen Heiztmann's books on the bookstore shelves for years now, and never once bought one, thinking they were just the run of the mill historical Christian fiction, with not much meat in them. However, when I recently bought her books Secrets and Unforgotten when they were on sale for half price, I couldn't put them down! Upon finishing those two, I immediately took the Rose Legacy series books out of the library (whose storyline precedes that of Secrets and Unforgotten), and had them read in less than a week (ignoring other important tasks at times!) I love them even more than the first two I read. The characters are real and it was easy to hear the voice of the Lord in my own ear as I read their words. The Lord knew when and where I needed to read these!

I hadn't read Heitzmann before tackling this series, and I've got to say: she's good. The names struck me as a mite corny, but what did I expect from a historical, romance series? Once I got over Quillan, Flavio, etc I thoroughly enjoyed reading the series.
Only buy it if you're ready to put in the time though, cause you won't want to put it down for anything mundane like eating or sleeping:-)

Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."

Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.

Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.

"For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.

At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.

Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.

She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.

While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.

A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."

The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."

Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.

While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.

At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.

I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.

Lori Arviso Alvord walks in two worlds. Raised on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico -- "the rez" -- she is the daughter of a Navajo man and a white woman. Carrying this dichotomy into her education and career, she went from the reservation high school to Dartmouth College, then found her path to Stanford University School of Medicine and a surgical residency in New Mexico.

As the first Navajo woman surgeon, she learned to integrate the science-based world of medicine and the spirit-based Native American culture. The importance of the singing cures, native healing practices, and other spiritual traditions was brought home to her when she observed her patients' outcomes. Surgical skill was often not enough when delivered without respect for the language, culture and spirituality of the Navajo patients.

The main focus of this memoir is Dr. Alvord's path to acceptance of the first Navajo principles: balance, harmony and wholeness, known as "Walking in Beauty." Along the way we learn a great deal about Native American history and culture, sensitively presented.

Dr. Alvord speaks of the cultural bases for Native American alcoholism and the prevalence of gang culture, monumental threats to the health and well-being of her people. The healing of these ills will never be achieved in the operating room alone, and many patients' stories illustrate this lesson effectively.

The outcome of Dr. Alvord's journey is signaled from the beginning, as is often the case with a memoir. While this may dilute the dramatic tension of her story, we're rewarded with a thoughtful and inspiring look at one woman's life and work, in all its contexts. I recommend this book to readers young and old who have an interest in the cultural aspects of medical care.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list

--Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
--On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
--On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
--The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
--This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
--Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.

Maybe my hopes were too high due to the previous reviews, but I found it a little dull.

I loved the McKettrick's, every book I have picked up I cant put it down until I have read through, and cant wait till he next.

I love all the McKettrick Series stories, they are all different, but many of the same characters throughout. I really enjoy these type of books because it's almost like a continuation of the same story that I liked in the first place! Currently I am reading The Last Chance Cafe by the same author, and it is not about the McKettrick's, but is a wonderful story that's different but in the same style as the others.

One of the best books I have read, I have read the Trilogy and loved all three.

This is great book if you read the other two books of the McKettrick family you will enjoy it. Dont forget to read about the last or should I say first brother of the McKettrick Cowboys. Title: "McKettrick Choice".

The Sequoia Seed is an invaluable toolbook inspiring us all to take the all-so-necessary next steps in our Life; of how to make that quantum leap to live our passions.

I have been churning about some Life decisions for the past couple of years now, and this book has probably been the most influential of all. ...And I've read several books like these, searching for answers and confirmation about moving upward and onward toward my precious Vision.

Karen Wright is adamant that it's too important to ignore what that small, still voice is crying out for us to do, and to go for it. ...For to not live our dreams, visions and passions is 'too horrible to even contemplate'.

So, if you find yourself stuck in the not-so-merry go-'round of Life, this is the very prescription you so desperately need to help you on your path to realizing your fondest dreams and aspirations.

A very important book. You will be inspired!

Reading Karens book just when I needed the reassurance that I could be that person that could dream and knew it was okay,to make my own choice in how to live my life the best that I can. Learning to let go of my past and make decisions that are best for me. I love how she has put her own slant and interputation on others quotes. It puts things in perspective and guides you thru your lifes journey. I have given this books to friends and I refer back to it quite often. Its diffently a keeper.

Ms. Wright's book is a great tool for women on their spiritual journey. Each chapter is very inspiring and encourages the reader to look inside themselves and compare that with the outer world that surrounds them. We have all asked if we were on the right path...this very partical book helps us to answer that and even chart a new path if necessary.

I have just finished reading The Sequoia Seed for the second time. For anyone who is seeking understanding or guidance,inspiration or clarity in his or her life, I recommend reading it a second time--perhaps even a third. I know I will read it again as time goes by, when life presents challenges or simply to reaffirm the truths the author demonstrates so clearly.

Well-written and engagingly structured, Wright lead me through chapters I was sure were "written just for me." But then I thought of friends and loved ones who would greatly benefit from reading it and realized The Sequoia Seed was written just for them, too. It's universal. The Sequoia Seed is not merely about dealing with life's challenges; it's a wake up call to embrace life and live it to the fullest. That it helps offers options and solutions to the difficulties we encounter is just a bonus.

I liken Wright's book to a road map that makes you stop, look around and take stock of where you are in your life. It's about thriving, not just surving, in this warp-speed world we live in. Anyone who finds him/herself at a crossroads with important decisions to make,The Sequoia Seed will help to recognize the possiblities open to you.

I highly recommend The Sequoia Seed. And, I strongly recommend reading it a second time...the discoveries are just as plentiful and the insights even clearer.

Karen Wright's "The Sequoia Seed" is a spiritual journey carefully divided into short lessons of internal awareness and empowerment. Wright speaks to the soul in transition and provides gentle, profound advice for those seeking guidance through periods of personal growth or significant life change. It could even be said that this book offers a flashlight for those who feel lost in the dark. Wright's wisdom and empathy makes this book a comforting read for anyone experiencing transition in their life.

Dear, Ms Ross
I, loved your book, I first would like to say a heart felt Thanks so very much! for attending our book club meeting on Sunday Sept 14, 2008. You have such a beautiful glow. Your story let me know with all the strugles of life you can still perservire. I want you to know, I cried many times reading your story.
Thanks, so much to your Knight in shining armour.

Rochelle

Hello, Thank you very much Mrs.Mary Ross Smith for attending our book club meeting on September 14, 2008, Sunday. Your book was very inspiring
to let me know no matter what may happen in life I can survive. Your determination then and now is encouraging. Please continue to grow and believe that God has many things in store for you. Thanks again Mary and of course I cannot forget to thank your Knight in Shining Armor.

Dearest Mary,

I attended the book reading you gave in West Adams; I also took your
book with me on a trip home to the Bay Area. I read it with a clenched
heart. Oh the pain of having a mother who cannot give you what you
need! And oh the pain of being a mother who, in the end (and perhaps
always), is aware of this. In telling your story, you conveyed the
sheer terror, confusion, and uncertainty of being such a child -- while
also extending your mother moments of generosity and compassion. In
this way, I came to see you as not just the powerless but highly
imaginative and present "Lil Mary," but also the resilient and
open-minded Mary Ross Smith of today. I can't thank you enough for the
gift of your lived insights... Bless your heart and writing hands.

I was "hooked" from the first page. A wonderful story of survival and triumph over adverse conditions. I am lucky to know Little Mary personally. What a wonderful, kind, forgiving, warm person! This story shows anyone with a strong will can overcome adversity.

After having read this book, it makes you appreciate the "normal" upbringing you yourself have had. Mary's early years were anything but normal and it's a miracle that she ends up being happy, content and finding true love instead of an adult alcholic, on drugs or in another abusive relationship, which all too often hapens to young women in similar situations. Her story is a true triumph of the human spirit, an inspirational must read for anyone with similar life experiences.

Beth Moore is one of the best in her daily walk with the Lord!! She has many Bible studies in which I had read her poems, so I thought this book was a must!! Well worth the read!! Verleen

Having read everything Beth Moore writes, I was again touched by the sensitive way she portays a woman's heart and soul. I believe God annoints her words with a whisper of His.

As always, Beth Moore delivers in her honest, engaging and encouraging way. She is an interesting and intelligent writer who shares her life journey with you. Any woman would be able to relate to her stories and insights. She's one of my favourite Christian writers.

I wish she'd come to Australia so I can see her in person...

A great buy!

i love poetry and these are some of the best poems Ive ever read. They are very deep yet very easy to understand.

If you love Beth Moore, you will not only have a compilation of some of the wonderful personal writings she has shared in her studies, but you will also learn more about Beth and the challenges she has faced in her life that has made her the inspired woman of God that she is today. God uses her mightily to minister to others, and her tender heart and love for God comes through so beautifully in this additional gift of creative writing and poetry. A delightful, heart-provoking read.

Okay,This is this best book I have EVER read! I could relate so well to this book because I grew up poor myself.My mom and I actually had to sleep in a car because we had no where to go.I read this book a few years ago and I still think of this book all the time.I had to struggle with buying it because when you grow up poor,you cant fathom spending money on something like a book.I may be 33 yrs old now and not the poor teenager I once was but my poor conscience kept telling me "25.00$ for a book? you could buy 3 days of food for that" Well the adult me won out in the end and it was the best 25.00$ I ever spent on myself.I would rush through my job just to get home a little earlier,to have more time to read this wonderful book.I cant recommend it enough.I cannot wait for more books by this talented storyteller and author,hopefully I wont have to wait for long!

I was so very moved by this book. I am an avid reader and I found myself right smack dab in the middle of this story, from beginning to end. Rarely have I felt as I was actually experiencing this young girl's struggle with life, as I did in this book!
Sometimes when I read a book, I know that I will immediately reread it. That is this book. I am delighted to hear that Sandra wrote another book and I will purchase that also. Sandra has a real gift and has portrayed the story of her life with utter clarity and simple and moving honesty.

This book moved me to tears and I highly recommend it to everyone and anyone.

From the time I started this book, I could not put it down. I usually have several books going at the same time but I read this start to finish uninterrupted. What a wonderfully personal story of a girl growing up in America. For me, it elicited the full spectrum of emotions. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

When the smiling younger woman in my porcelain doll making class answered my question, "I'm a writer," I already wanted to read whatever she had written. I was not disappointed. The third doll-maker was Sandy's mom who figures strongly in the book. The family dysfunction painted in the book is familiar, although it will enlighten anyone who still isn't clear on codependency and what children do to be perfect and thereby smooth out family trouble. I wanted to lay the book down when it seemed they had to move yet again, or when the father was particularly cruel. I wondered how on earth the mom kept them all in clean clothes or fed, considering the dramatic ups and downs. The papa was a seeker of instant riches, pie in the sky schemes. Evidently he was also a charmer. Mom and kids followed. At one point they drive off into the sunset to pursue an unlikely plan; hours later they have returned to the home they had abandoned, finding the dog hungry and watching for them. Sandy interweaves great beauty with the difficult passages. She paints the natural scenery, idyllic summer afternoons, love among siblings and mom -- and even the dad at times. They were dreaming such elegant dreams and a few mistakes pushed them into humiliating squalor more than once. There's a hilarious passage involving a snake that the editors wanted cut from the book. I was very glad for the laugh. This isn't just a "how I found my lost sister" story; it's a pithy growing up story about a girl who had stars in her eyes -- and still does. The other reviewers have said it for me, but I wanted to add 5 more stars and say I look forward to whatever this talented writer does next.

Leigh's book is simply put, a long vibrant poem. She brings the hills of West Virginia and the housing of Northern California to life in a way that puts the smells in your nostrils and an empathy for the people in your hear. The characters she creates sourround you and for a moment become your family. I say creates because, though they are born out of reality, Leigh breathes new life into the ghosts of the past allowing all of us a glimpse into her unusually large heart.

She writes in the present, a task that many authors attempt but few succeed, which draws the reader into the story and makes them grow with Sandra and her siblings. Her diction is astounding as she recreates the voice of a young girl. In fact, her words grow with the character and by the time Sandra is a teenager, Leigh no longer uses heck and darn but hell and damn.

One truly astounding realization is that this book is for all people. It is not the cryings of one person for their hard life but a look into human nature and the awsome power that is born out of adversity. We all have ghosts in our past, this book allows us to look back with a fresh perspective and see our own lives for what they are.

I originally read this series years ago. They have a great sense of adventure and a fast paced reading style. LOVE THEM!! Get all three in the series!

I love this book, i read this one forst one first not knowing that it was the last one in a trilogy. This is the classic story of misunderstood love. Rosie loves Raider, but thinks he loves someone else. He askes her to marry him on the excuse that he wants to make sure she is safe. Now Raider is Half Mad! will love triumph over all, or will she go back to a quiet life without anyone to love her? Guess you'll have to read to find out! :-)

I loved this book! It was the best out of the three and when I was done I found myself wanting a relationship (not all the hard times they had) like Rosie and Raider had. it really ties together everything and you can't help but be happy at the end of the book for Rosie and Raider.

I loved this series. I had to buy it. I have read them over and over again. I am so hooked on them. The perfect romance and mystery book. The first time reading it, I was taken by
surprise by the cool ending. I LOVE IT!!

i bought the 2nd book by chance at a used-book store, i gave it to my daughter, and she loved it, soon we after, we went to the library and requested the 1st and 3rd books, funny we fought over who got to read what first. it was SOOOOO good, since then both me and my daughter have read the entire trilogy more than once. i wish some holywood hot shots would get a wind of this and make a movie, gotta love it :)

Though I sometimes find Alex Ross's art to be a little TOO realistic, there are infinitely more instances where his painted work here is majestic and iconic beyond words. And speaking of words, Paul Dini demonstrates a deep understanding of each character represented here and tells their tales capably, thoughtfully, and emotionally. It's a gorgeous volume for a killer price. Grab it.

As the title says this book is a must have if you are a fan of the staple DC heroes at all.

The World's Greatest Super-Heroes is part comic, part encyclopedia giving you a good story as well as the background on some of the oldest super-heroes in the industry.

If you haven't yet seen the book in person let me make sure one thing is abundanlt clear: It...is...big. It comes in a hard-cover sleeve (the same sort of system you get full season TV shows on DVD) that measures in at 9.5" x 13". This information is readily available but people may still be in for a shock when they receive the book.

Once you pull the book from it's housing you will find a fantastic hard-cover book with an artistic sleeve over it. Why do I bother commenting about he artistic sleeve? Well, because it is painted by Alex Ross, a man who I think should be heralded as one of the "World's Greatest Comic Artits".

My first fun in with Alex's work was the Kingdom Come series. If you have ever picked up and read a comic in your life then you know the medium (style and materials of art) has changed over the last century. Modern comics are actually computer shaded and coloured for the most part. Before that was the great days of the sketch artist, inker, colour artist system. Jump way, way back and we had the basic sketch artist to colour-dot print colouring system.

Well, Alex Ross doesn't use a single one of those systems. No, the man uses oil paints. Having as many artists around me as I do in my life I can appreciate the skill required for this sort of work. In fact, I have watched Alex paint real-time on a few television shots. He brings the comic book, which is really a hard set of words to use when it comes to Ross' work, characters to a new photo-realistic quality. Seriously, if you are reading this and you have never seen a single piece of Alex's work stop reading and Google the man. You just might be impressed.

It's funny, I own over 700 comic books myself, some 40+ years old. I was a Marvel fanatic when I was younger, but I find as I age that the DC universe actually holds more for me. I blame this partly on Alex Ross, Paul Dini, Marv Wolfman, and Mark Waid for bringing me such deep stories with true emotion then presenting them in brilliant form. I know I have harped on Alex Ross' work but the authors mentioned above should be lauded for their work as well (with the respective works being The World's Greatest Super Heroes, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Kingdom Come).

Either way, if you love anything DC you should own this book.

Read More at www.GameTechWorld.com

I am not a knowledgable comic person but the art work and the information for me was just outstanding.

Ross and Dini did a fantastic job in delivering powerful and heartfelt stories surrounding these great characters. Its A+ work from some of comicdoms most fantastic creators. A must own.

Alex Ross is an incredible artist and this is the type of book that really showcases his art. If you are a dc comics fan and a fan of incredible art work get this book.