Independent Books

Linoleum?! Why would anyone send a celebrity a letter written on linoleum? This is but one of the many unique writing surfaces on which Johnny Carsaon received fan mail. During his nearly 30-year reign as the "Tonight Show" host, Johnny Carson's devoted viewers sent him an array of tokens of appreciation, from stuffed rodents dressed as Carnak, to spray painted cow dung... and that's only the beginning!

"Dear Johnny" is a behind-the scenes look at some of the most hilarious, bizarre, scary, confusing, heart-rending, heart-wamring, and inspired fan mail and gifts received by Johnny Carson while hosting the "Tonight Show."
--- from book's back cover.

This book is awesome! I can't believe the things people send to celebrities! It's nuts! An entertaining read for any Johnny fan! Highly recommended!

This book is a great "tool kit" for all parties involved in software development. It gives equal time to current methodogies, and offers suggestions for how to create blueprints others can read for application systems, in the same way architects and engineers design a home. Makes complete sense. Great information with rationale behind it.

This is a great book. I refer to it often and have used many of the ideas in it to build software. It is especially good at addressing software architectural issues which are seldom talked about in a coherant manner. The book takes an approach that is more apt to be of benefit to the desktop application designer. Although, being an embedded firmware designer, I found it to be very helpful anyway.

Some of the complaints that I have about it is that sometimes you have to hunt for the information you're looking for. It could have been organized a little better and the index certainly needs to be beefed-up. It could also use more treatment on how to do architectural design with operating system services such as tasks, threads, etc... in mind. Sometimes, the author uses several terms for the same concept which forces the reader to go back and say "oh...he meant such-and-such..." But these items are a small price to pay for the overall amount and depth of information covered.

A great book. Definitely on my top ten list!

If you're keen to shoot a digital video feature and make contacts, check out this book for hot tips, horror stories and useful phone numbers. . . Shari Roman, film editor for Flaunt magazine, swings open production company doors to investigate the past, present and future of digital video cinema and looks at the vague possibility of film's decline. Reading something like a thoughtful film professor's stapled-together classroom packet, the book compiles essays by and interviews with an impressive list of producers, directors, cinematographers and critics (Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmusch, Lars von Trier, and Variety's own Todd McCarthy, to name a few) . . . Roman's writing style is admirably enthusiastic, and she asks questions in rapid-fire rhythm . . . This collage of opinions is a pioneering survey of the inchoate digital landscape. Roman promises film is far from finished, but she schools ... that DV is cheaper, holds up longer on movie screens and is getting better all the time.

Los Angeles, CA - We live in a Digital Babylon, a world saturated by hard data, new technologies, insatiable for the pleasures of fresh images of ourselves and our universe.
With an irreverent intro by Dogme bad boy Harmony Korine, a perceptive riff on the DV future from Jean-Luc Godard and tasty details from the eccentric personal life of Lars von Trier, Shari Roman delivers a vibrant exploration of the influence of Dogme 95 style filmmaking and the new technologies that have brought film and video making within everyone's reach.

Conceived in 1995, Dogme 95 has become a cinematic movement and revolutionary cause, kicking up more media fuss than any film "movement" since the French and Czech New Waves, and the American underground movement of the '60's. In a series of interviews and essays this entertaining, insightful account on Dogme's impact on digital filmmaking introduces the personalities and philosophical scuffles behind the doctrine. Then connects it to American DV filmmaking through the POV of key players such as Wim Wenders, Thomas Vinterberg, Miquel Arteta, Scott Macaulay (producer of julien donkey-boy) and Rick Linklater.

Roman is the film editor of Flaunt Magazine & the L.A. correspondent for The Face (UK). Her documentary short, on the Dogme of Lars von Trier, "Lars from 1- 10" premiered at Sundance 1999 and has since screened at film festivals around the world.

I bought this book because it was the only tour book in the one book store we came across. I didn't expect much. I was thrilled. A nice amount of history, flora, fauna and a great description of the various parts of the island. We used it when we went on driving tours of various stretches of road. It also has some great recommendations for resteraunts.

My apologies -- I haven't read "Explore Maui," I read Mr. Pruitt's other book, "Explore Kaua'i," but I didn't see that one for sale on Amazon. But I just wanted to tell those folks looking for Maui books that if "Expore Maui" is anything like "Explore Kaua'i," then it's GREAT! Mr. Pruitt does a wonderfully detailed job and the book is beautifully produced with lots of great color photos and maps, and detailed reviews of places, restaurants, etc.

And it goes without saying -- if you're also going to Kaua'i, if you can find "Explore Kaua'i," you should pick that up. Another great Kaua'i book is "Ultimate Kauai."

As the co-author of this book, I just want to thank all of our students who inspired the writing of this book with their hunger for practical knowledge on FCP and the great questions they ask in class.

So often, the nature of these questions went beyond the technical text and sample projects that we were using in class. It is also frequently difficult to answer real-world questions about FCP in the classroom context. So many of these answers "depend on the project you are doing . . . "

Consequently, we took to using a series of real-world anecdotes - experiences of our own in postproduction that could illustrate the larger points regarding process and decision-making.

These experiences made the conceptual basis for this book, and those anecdotes became the case studies.

Robbie and I hope that you enjoy what we think is a unique approach!

As a user of Final Cut Pro, but a relative newbie to postproduction I've struggled to understand the "Big Picture" of postproduction workflow.

Final Cut Pro Workflows is an awesome resource that doesn't cover all the same button pushing techniques that every other Final Cut Pro book does, but provides insightful and thoughtful workflow techniques that I've been able to apply to all my projects.

What I found particularly cool, and what I think separates this book from others is the 3rd part of book which is a collection of case studies. These case studies are great because they're written as a narrative and explore quite a few different workflows using Final Cut Pro.

This book is a must have!

I was walking into this store and the author was out front selling her books. I love supporting authors but the one thing that stuck out to me with this author is how real she is. I knew I was in for a real treat and I was not disappointed. From the first chapter I was engrossed in a world that is a reality for to many of America's youth. The perseverance shown by the main character is what should be taught in our schools because it will not happen in the home. I thank the author for a story that is gritty but sprinkled with enough fairy tale to make this enjoyable read. I recommend this book highly only if 1. You love suspense, 2. Like just the right amount of drama, and 3. Looking for an author you can rely on to deliver more great books.

This book was outstanding from start to finish....hard to put down. Engaging characters and flowing story line. An excellent read.

This book has many good 'independant reading center' games for children that are learning to read. The pictures are clear and easy to copy and color. I reviewed this book with our reading specialist this spring, and I went home that night and bought it.

As a kindergarten teacher who is expected to have her students do independent literacy centers, this book is great! Good ideas, with very few materials to buy. Self checking, and leveled, too!

This book manages to smoothly move along several tracks. The historical track captures vividly the amazing
risks taken by families during that brief period of western expansion before the golden spike changed it
forever. The contemporary journey with Braden's family is full of hilarious observations of various things and people found along what's left of the Oregon Trail. The stops in what pass for "campgrounds" and the characters
encountered there made me put down the book to laugh. The third track, which was perhaps the most compelling, was the author's attempt at chasing down and describing some aspect of the American character that still permeates modern living, an ongoing search for deeper resonances than appear on the surface. I was struck by how he managed to conjure up intimations of this in me. Little shadows of epihanies hiding between
the words in this casually told but utterly engrossing tale.

This is a wonderful intermixing of a contemporary family and a historical account of a journey west following the trail of the early settlers as they traced the path of the 1840 wagon trail to Oregon. It fully recognizes the tragedies and challenges of the early settlers while sharing the humorous adventurous of the struggling efforts of the author's own family. A very good read!

Basically this book is a three part book. The start of the book goes into the film making process, what it is about, why bother and how to get started. It gives you a general air of what is going on before a film starts shooting.

The middle part of the book is extremely technically useful. Don't be put-off by the fact that it is a British book, most of the standards are the same and the writer covers both US systems and UK systems. Anyway the value of this book is in that the writer interviews very important people that work in the filming process - actors, special effects, film lab, cameramen, editors, sound editors, legal agencies, projectionists, marketing people, producers, directors... etc.... and they all give very profesional tips on what you should do and what you should NOT do.

The third part of the book deals with CASE STUDIES and various filmmakers talk about their projects and what went right and what went wrong.

Overall this is a very good book with lots of information from the people that matter in this industry. There is a lot of information on what NOT to do when shooting your first film. Anybody who wants to get into to film making should not miss out on this writer/director's account of his experiences with film making.

I am only Half of the way thru this book so far, but this is INCREDIBLE. Its actually giving me a head ache, how much information this guy has crammed into his book. The graphics, illustrations and photos are all excellent, and even the cartoons (which I normally HATE) are good. It helps that the chick is kinda cute!

Every chapter gives you a "blueprint" of what you need to know about that specific part of movie-making. Sound, camera, make-up, music, setting up a company, editing, casting, it's all there. There's even a chapter on catering which includes recipes for film crews, it's brilliant. Another good thing is that the writing is laugh-out-loud funny sometimes, you can really tell that this guy has been thru the mill when it comes to making no-budget movies. This book is a breath of fresh air. If you don't believe me, go to a book store and flick through it. If you walk out without buying it, I'll be amazed.

THE INDEPENDENT CAROLINA BASEBALL LEAGUE... is a masterpiece of regional history. Sure, it's about baseball and the almost religious nature of its practice during this time and place. But there is so much more in the details about social structure , convention and the fine line between the public and private.

Utley and Verner were quite diligent with their research. The collection of photos and the league statistics corroborate the many anecdotes and colorful player profiles. The linear narrative is perfect and puts some rails under what might have otherwise been a haphazard assembly of good yarns. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about baseball, the pioneer spirit, and well-documented history.

This is a wonderful book. Not only is it a story of baseball, but it is a story of the Depression-era South and life in the textile mill towns of North Carolina. Incredibly well researched and full of great photographs, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in history even if they are not a baseball fan. As a baseball book it relates the great stories and legendary expoits of small town heroes from the Golden Era of the sport. As a social history it shows how textile mills were the lifeblood of dozens of small towns, a part of Southern life that is all to often forgotten today.