Independent Books

This book is a wonderful resource, and full of great book report ideas. I like the pages that can be photocopied and distributed to the students. I have already used four of the projects, and found they are really well done.

I am a middle school teacher who was looking for a way to get my English students to even DO a book report. This book was an answer to whatever prayer I had. The diifferent genres helps them figure out WHAT genre of book they are reading and choose accordingly. The rubrics are easy for them to follow and understand and make my grading a breeze.

This book is a timesaver in every way: the ideas are great, the pages to photocopy are well thought out, and the scoring rubrics are very helpful! I'll use this book alot in my fourth grade classroom this year!

This is a wonderful book. It is a great resource for teachers and offers a variety of reproducibles for use in the classroom. I would recommend this book to anyone who actively works in the classroom.

.... "It has seventeen new essays and 37 new book lists added to the second edition mentioned here. Forty six essays describe how individual groups are organized and portray thier strengths, weaknesses, and unique characters. Special-interest groups, groups with professional leaders or sponsors, new groups, and groups that have been meeting for decades are all represented. Readers discover what makes a good group tick, from how to organize meetings, select members and books, and stimulate discussion to turning a flagging group around. More than three dozen reading lists supplied by the groups themselves help to provide insight and inspiration for all who currently belong to a book group or are tempted to start a group of thier own....

From Fall 2000, but Amazon does not carry it yet. Hopefully soon. "It has seventeen new essays and 37 new book lists added to the second edition mentioned here. Forty six essays describe how individual groups are organized and portray thier strengths, weaknesses, and unique characters. Special-interest groups, groups with professional leaders or sponsors, new groups, and groups that have been meeting for decades are all represented. Readers discover what makes a good group tick, from how to organize meetings, select members and books, and stimulate discussion to turning a flagging group around. More than three dozen reading lists supplied by the groups themselves help to provide insight and inspiration for all who currently belong to a book group or are tempted to start a group of thier own. This book replaces 1-55652-246-0" catalog

I was looking for information about starting a book club when I found this book. At first I thought it would be useless because I was looking for guidelines, and this is a collection of essays. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the essays here not only provided the information I was looking for but were enjoyable reading in their own merit. The collection reads like a book of short stories. The compiled book lists are also very helpful.

A Thoughtful Guide to Forming & Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group with essayss written, often collectively, by members of many & varied groups together with a What To Read section. With a foreword that only Margaret Atwood could write, this collection of quirky, humorous & serious essays gathered from book groups around the country, enchants, entertains & had me plotting how to start a group out of our local library. A really neat read. ................

I have bought & tried several D'Nealian handwriting books with my son and this one is BY FAR the best I've seen! It doesn't just have letters to trace & practice like the other books, it also works on other skills. It starts off by showing pictures of children sitting correctly in their seats, how to hold your paper & pencil, etc. The book provides various exercises to work on good penmanship, including circling letters in a paragraph that are formed incorrectly. Later, they edit their own writing. Since trying this one, I've bought the 2nd grade level book for next year (which introduces cursive gradually) and the K book for my daughter...I wanted to be sure to have them on hand!

This book is wonderful for someone who has not written in D'Nealian before because it does not proceed alphabetically. It builds off of each letter. For example, the letter "d" follows the letter "a" because the motions are almost the same and the child can build the words "add" and "dad" in the second lesson. Very well thought out.

Once I found out what book my son was using in school. I had to purchase for home. Since the teaching of printed letters has changed since I was in school. I figured it was time for me to learn all over myself. So I purchased the Independent practice book/1. This way I was learning as well as my son. I found once I knew how to print, I then could help him a great deal more. Thanx D'Nealian Books

This is an excellent practice book with well-spaced lines, clear starting points, and easy-to-follow samples.

I can take a picture using my digital camera and I can even use the software, but the pictures looked horrible. So I broke down and bought this book. Wow! Now I know what I was doing wrong - lots! It's the technical information about resolution and working with the software that makes all the difference in your pictures. This is a must buy. If you've spent the money to buy the camera, spend a little extra, buy this book, and do it right.

I recieved this book as a gift and I snickered, thinking I already knew a lot about digital photography. Boy, was I wrong! This book is full of great information about things that really matter (resolution for example). This is a must buy for anyone scanning or using a digital camera. Really, there's a lot to learn!

Want to know the difference between image, monitor and printer resolutions? This book is a great intro to the world of digital graphics. The author writes in a witty, nontechnical manner, and manages to make even a technical topic a joy to read. The chapter on Internet images, however, lacks coverage of online photo albums such as ecircles and clubphoto. Perhaps the accompanying Web site at wambooli can pick up the slack.

I don't own a digital camera (35mm buff) but just couldn't get the hang of achieving even decent scans of my 35mm shots. This book follows Adobe Photodeluxe to the "T" but is very useful for anyone with a scanner. Changed everything and frequently use the book as a reference tool. Best bet for the price!

High Doses Of Wisdom, Low Doses Of Advice: A Collection Of Essays About Doing The Right Thing by Marian Chiesa (Director of Behavioral Science at a Residency program for Family Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), is a fascinating selection of candid essays presenting the author's reflections on the crucial virtues of thoughtfulness and ethics. Filled with honest, sensitive, candid and often humorously conveyed advice for taking other people's feelings into account during day-to-day ethical dilemmas, High Doses of Wisdom, Low Doses of Advice is a solid read and a highly recommended compendium of essays for students of ethics and contemporary values.

Marian Chiesa's High Doses Of Wisdom, Low Doses Of Advice is a fascinating, informative, occasionally inspiring collection of highly readable essays about "doing the right thing". She draws upon her many years of experience as a practicing psychologist to comment on the practical skills that hone one's ability to make consistently better decisions in every aspect of life and relationships. These characteristics, skills, and relationship maintenance necessities include listening, generosity, friendship, ethical actions, commitment to marriage and children, and solitude. High Doses Of Wisdom, Low Doses Of Advice is enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone seeking to improve themselves, their relationships, and the emotional qualities and rewards of their daily life.

Dr. Chiesa's message is clear...follow the golden rule and the world will be a happier place. Her advice on listening is the best in the book, and her quiet wisdom will help anyone looking to change their lives for the better. A must for anyone who avidly reads self-help books looking to improve their relationships.

In "High Doses of Wisdom, Low Doses of Advice" Dr. Chiesa provides a concise series of essays on living an ethical life as well as dealing with some of life's problems in a mature, ethical and positive way. For example, she has an excellent essay on dealing with the death of a child. How would you feel? How can you be truly helpful and understanding if it happens to a friend. Digging deep into the reality of the situation, she offers positive, effective wisdom. How long should it take for the person to recover and get back to a normal life? There are no rules, some may not take but a few months, others may not recover for years, some may not recover at all. The chapter defines how to be a real friend.

Other essay subjects include solitude, friendship, listening, generosity, alcohol, betrayal, psychologists and other mental health providers, etc. Throughout the text her values come shining through - commitment to family and friends as well as responsibility for your behavior.

Strong, effective and yet sensitive reading, it is highly recommended to anyone interested in improving themselves or their relationships with friends and family.

Very good and easy to read. I wish I'd known about this book earlier. I'm going to keep it close at hand.

I got this book from Frank some time ago and still refer to it from time to time. Well worth the money!!!!!!

I have just finished reading your book and I have found it a very interesting read. My only regret is that I did not have a copy four or five years ago, as many of the areas you point out as possible pitfalls, I have already managed to blunder into through trial and error. I have a lot to learn about the music industry and what I have learned has only been from some very costly and time wasting ventures on my behalf. I hope to avoid many of these in the future. As I read through your book my empathy increased and each chapter seemed to echo some of my more bitter disappointments, but I also began to see some of my triumphs stemming from similar ideas that you had proposed, so I know that I am at least heading in the right direction. All in all, a good concise, practical book that I will refer to for further reference. Thank you Frank Fara and Patty Parker.

"How to Open Doors in the Music Industry: The Independant Way" is the best book there is for anyone starting out in the music industry. Whether you are an artist, songwriter or industry person, you will find a wealth of information in this book. Frank Fara & Patty Parker really made an easy to understand publication that you will want to refer back to again & again. This book is a Hit! As a songwriter and artist manager myself, this book really got me going in the right direction by enabling me to understand the market and therefore charting in Europe and the U.S. In my opinion "How to Open Doors in the Music Industry" is a must read and will help you along in your career.

This book is a text book for an upcoming class I am taking. I have read most f it already, and I find it to be VERY informative. I have been in the film industry for almost 10 years now and I am impressed to see how much information is in this manual.

They have pictures of a lot of the forms, contracts and legal documents you will need to get stuff done. You can easily emulate them on Microsoft Word. The only thing that would make this book better would be to include photocopyable versions of these documents.

The producers who wrote this book produced SWINGERS and KISSING JESSICA STEIN. If you haven't seen them recently or ever, I suggest you pick them up as supplemental material.

This was my textbook for a film production class I took at UCLA. It has so much information and is essential for anyone looking to produce their on films. It takes you through every step of the process.

I'd like to thank the authors from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to put their hard won experience into a book. It is chock full of great information and will help so many aspiring filmmakers.

If you are a big fan of the movie Swingers, this book provides some interesting behind the scenes information, including a couple letters that Jon Favreau's grandmother wrote thanking the producers for helping her be a part of the movie. You can use Amazon's "search inside the book" feature to search on the word "swingers" to see what I mean.

One small problem: the videos on the DVD only work with Apple Quicktime. That's no problem for Windows users - you'll need to download it and install it from the Apple website. All the other media players make the videos run at double speed.

Now in an updated and expanded second edition and nicely enhanced with an accompanying CD-ROM, the IFP/Los Angeles Independent Filmmaker's Manual is the collaborative work of independent film producer Eden Wurmfeld and Nicole Shay Laloggia (Professor of Production at the North Carolina School of the Arts). As "user friendly" as it is comprehensive, the Independent Filmmaker's Manual covers every aspect of film production including preparations, the script, financing, breaking down a script for shooting, scheduling, budgeting, pre-production, production, post-production, film festivals, and film distribution. With it's Resource Guide appendix, glossary, and index, the Independent Filmmaker's Manual is a complete and comprehensive "how to" instructional text and a highly recommended addition to film school reference collections and aspiring independent film producer reading lists.

"Indispensible for a novice producer of independent movies. This book helps one to understand the way distributors think, which is absolutely essential for getting your movie to audiences. The discussions on business plans and presentations to investors alone is worth the price of the book." --RMS

"This could be the most important single book I ever read. Over the past few years I have spent several hundred thousand dollars putting together a series of digital videos on all seven continents (including one video with my daughter and I biking on all seven continents in one trip).

This book is the absolute perfect guide on not only helping me evaluate the marketability of these tapes, but also helping me determine HOW to, and to whom to market. Mark Steven Bosko is a brilliant writer whose insightfulness will be invaluable to those trying to get their film to the market.

Bill Kizorek - producer, filmmaker, Two Parrot Exotic Travel Videos

The Independent Film and Videomaker's Guide

If you are interested in independent film making, this is the BEST starting point in your research. It could very well be your last. This book not only answered every question I had, it raised and answered some I had not even thought of! Mr. Wiese's writing style, while professional, is very personable as well. He is very focused on discovering your creative side while balancing the necessary business practices to get your project done. Well worth the money.

This is a fantastic book! It covers everything, and I mean EVERYTHING from Pre-production, to Distribution, in great DETAIL! Is this the only book you should ever buy...of course not, but it's one you have to own.

I read this book because of a great review in the NY Times. I agree with the 2 other reviews, so won't repeat their comments. I have to say that the book is laugh-out-loud funny. I consider it to be a farce, which is normally not the kind of book I'd seek out. But Henry Cecil was so clever & witty in defining his characters & situations, that it was irresistible. It didn't matter where I was when I read it: restaurant, hair dresser, etc. No matter how hard I might have tried, I couldn't keep from laughing aloud. I wouldn't try, even if I could; why keep all that delight to myself?

This is a humorous legal British mystery first published in 1963. A car and a motorcycle collide and after a brief pause, the car driver leaves the scene of the accident. Many folks at a nearby pub are on hand to help the injured motorcyclist and to speak to the police about what they saw. None of them has any connection to the men involved in the accident (i.e., they are independent witnesses) and all claim the car driver ran the halt sign. An M.P. confesses to being the driver but insists he stopped at the sign, albeit briefly. He claims he left the scene because he had just had a panic-inducing call from his sick wife.

Much of the book consists of the courtroom examination and cross-examination of the independent witnesses. Some of them are quite eccentric, and their testimony is a hoot. The only sour note is struck when the author briefly goes off a tangent that minimizes the plight of domestic violence victims. I grimaced but kept reading. As Cecil was a judge, I especially wish his views were more enlightened. Yet the passage could very well be somewhat *less* offensive than a typical judge's view of domestic violence four decades ago. That bit aside, this was a quick, fun, and amusing read.

You can get the whole book by reading the first chapter and the last, but if you do that then you'll miss the oddity of the book. The humor is excellent. I caught myself laughing on the metro a few times. Every person should read Henry's books because they help you learn the legal procedures not only of UK but also of the US. What does it mean to be a witness to an accident? How do you know if what you saw was really what happened? Through the legal proceedings you will learn to ignore some faults you may have in the way you may present your very case as well (if you should end up in the court room for any reason). The ending will surprise you.

I stumbled upon this book quite be accident and boy, am I glad I did. This takes you through the events following a collision between a car and a motorcycle. It records the event as seen from the point of view of eight different witnesses, all who may or may not have seen what they think they saw. This may not sound like it would make for fascinating reading, but trust me on this, it really does! The writing is superb, the plot speeds along (no pun intended), and the characterizations are often hilarious. Suffice to say that this is not your ordinary mystery. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!

Eugene V. Debs the socialist revolutionist was fond of saving, "it is better to vote for what you want and not get it, than to vote for what you don't want and get it." Malcolm X was fond of simply pointing out that at every key point in the history of Black people, the Democratic party "has sold us out." This book explains why real revolutionists are trying to chart a course of indepedence for workers, farmers, and the oppressed from the twin parties of capitalism, the Demnocrats and the Republicans.

Can the Republicans and the Democrats help us. Or do we need some new kind of party like the Green party, whichis a more liberal or more progressive party but still built on the model of the Democrats and the Republicans.
The responses that leaders of the Socialist Workers Party give here to people who believe that working people can work in the Democratic party or build other capitalist political parties answer these questions. They point out that the fundamental problem in this society is not liberal ideas or non liberal ideas, but the existence of a capitalist class, the big corporate leaders, and a capitalist system. They explain that politics is a question of taking power out the hands of those people and that system.

What strategy is needed to advance the cause of the working class and progressive people? Since Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s, many labor, Black, and other progressive movements have supported the "lesser evil" -- usually the Democratic party candidate. Debated here is whether working people should dump this course and seek instead to replace the system which is alternatively administered by "lesser evil" Democrats and "greater evil" Republicans. Read the book and consider the consequences of "coalitionism" vs. independent working class political action.

A lively and thought-provoking book. Lively because of the format -- the actual transcripts of live debates -- and because of the importance of the questions posed: should activist and militant workers fighting to change U.S. society work for or within the two-party system, specifically for the Democratic Party (the so-called Lesser Evil)? In each case, leaders of the Socialist Workers Party championing independent political action take on prominent social democrats arguing for working within the Democratic Party.

These debates took place in the midst of political struggles in 1959, 1965 and 1976. They are shaped by the tremendous labor upsurge of the 1930s and 1940s that forged the industrial unions of the CIO, the massive civil rights movement and the movement against the U.S. war in Vietnam-- times when millions of working people and youth took to the streets and challenged the policies and rulers of this country. I find the historical examples cited and the lessons drawn very relevant for today.

Read these debates, weigh the arguments, and decide for yourselves! I'd also recommend some further useful reading including: Labor's Giant Step: 20 years of the CIO, by Art Preis; Out Now! A participant's account of the movement in the United States against the Vietnam war, by Fred Halstead; and the collection of speeches by Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary.

This book chronicles a series of debates between supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties and leaders of the Socialist Workers party who believe that working class people, Blacks, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, women, and all who fight for change need to break from the Republican and Democratic parties and the wanna be capitalist parties like the Greens to form a working class political party, a labor party, a party that can fight for power to be placed in the hands of workers and farmers in this country and the world. Its simple, a system is something that seeks to preserve itself. The SWPers demonstrate that Democratic party and other capitalist parties are part of the capitalism system and are not vehicles for liberation, but traps