R Books

You can't beat this book on Giger's art as a general showcase of all of his achievements over the years. It's also great value for money at what is really chump change for everything you get.

It's allure is it's broad spectrum covering his phases of art production, but at the same time this also becomes this book's only weakness. Because it covers everything in passing, it also lacks in-depth coverage of the aspects of his art. It's good starting point for anyone that would like to get to know his art in detail, and from this book you move on to more specific books that showcase certain areas.

I have been looking for a Giger book for some time and most of them were pretty expensive, even though great looking. Finally I found this great book from Taschen that portrays Giger at its best, painter, sculptor, architect. The book is amazing and the 3D images are spectacular. This is a must for any Giger fan. Cheers and enjoy his work.

I picked up this book at my local Borders. I was there on a whim, browsing the art section, when I saw this gem. After noting the VERY attractive price, I decided on the spot it had to come home with me, as I'm a fan of Giger's work.

As I perused this volume, I fell in love with more than just the art (admittedly, Giger is just not to everyone's taste...if you're not a Giger fan, then this book and this review will do nothing for you, and it's not an attempt to convince you to otherwise). Designed and penned by Giger, it contains prints of finished art and sketches, photographs, selected images from Giger's personal collection of art (that is, art by other people that he collects)--which I think is VERY insightful; it's interesting to see what kind of art an artist appreciates.

As an artist, myself, I revel in the collections of sketches... Sketches can be a chronicle of how a finished work comes to be, and it's interesting to get a glimpse of how other artists--especially masters, such as Giger--work through their ideas and arrive at a final product. Sometimes sketches are just a fleeting idea that gets caught on a page. These are just as fascinating, because they are an insight into how an artist captures a thought and translates it into something visual. Excellent stuff!

Another detail I want to elaborate on are the "3D" versions of a few of Giger's paintings. I hesitate to say "Magic Eye", because those are often horribly muddy, chaotic and nonsensical when viewed normally, and the Giger images in this section are not at all like that. These images are crisply defined and look "normal" at a glance, but nevertheless have that 3D "popping" effect when you view them correctly. Of course, they're accompanied by commentary from Giger. It's an unexpected and delightful treasure to find tucked away in these pages.

Overall, if you're a fan of Giger's work, this is a very worthy addition to your collection. I've poked around, and there are other versions of this title available, some of which are very limited (and expensive) editions. If you haven't the luxury of purchasing one of those, this "no frills" edition is still very solid, and will be a pleasure to thumb through again and again.

While browsing sale books I found an amusing little item. With a title like WWW HR GIGER COM I was intrigued.

This book was designed by H.R. Giger and contains commentary from the artist about his various interests and his art. Among the pages of art and commentary is a section devoted to the Giger Bar in Tokyo. Giger designed all of the furnishing from the front door all the way to the lavatories. Now, I don't know about you but the idea of being in a building designed by H.R. Giger while getting drunk sounds like a hair raising experience.

This book, having been designed by the artist, is a bit different than others portraying Giger's work. If anything, this one is superior in the detail it provides. I recommend this book to Giger collectors and if you can't find a copy just log on to www.HRGiger.com like the title suggests.

I own the first print of www.HRGiger.com book & I wasnt sure if I needed buy this updated edition but after scanning thru the entire book I realized the answer was Yes! Lots of cool new stuff has been added & the book is laid out better & even more informative not to mention the amazingly cheap price of this book. I own every book Giger has ever put out including the hard to find stuff from the 70's I've been collecting his stuff since the mid 80's. If you're new to HR Giger there is no book better than this one as a starting point into his creative genius. Buy Now!

For some reason yoga has been presentated to those of us who live in the west as a passive and meditative activity only. Yoga is really a science that allows you to tap into the unlimited creative powers of your subconscious mind and is capable of building great physical strength and a powerful physique. The yoga monk Bodhidharma taught the principles of yoga to the Shaolin Monks centuries ago and converted them from a weak group of passive meditators to the legendary warriors that they eventually became. Dr. Young was a pioneer in teaching the potential of yoga to develop real world strength that is applicable to all parts of your life and not just a relaxing passive applicaton. This is a great book.

I'd Like to know how to contact Franck R Young.
Is he alive?
Give me an answer at
jps@wanadoo.fr
Thank you
JPS

Wonder of wonders, how comes this book is still not being published already?! I purchased this amazing book at a used bookstore in uptown Whittier, CA... 24 years ago; and, it holds within its covers little known keys not just to improve health, but solve life's little riddles of how can I give this life given to me as a gift my best. I especially think the dynamic chest expander exercise to be one of the best that RY writes of since not only does making one's chest huge, improve one's appearance, but enhances one's stamina, voice projection and yes, improves self esteem!
You see, my dad, 78 years old, is a prominant singer for the master choral, Los Angeles, and I can attest even he unknowingly practices this exercise daily, just by virtue of his having to force tremendous amounts of air through his voice box, even he has the stamina, youthful go get 'em outlook and large chest RY writes about. Buy the book!
P.S........YOU will not regret your purchase...this book I consider as sharing and caring as a beloved and trusted amigo.

Maybe the format/presentation is a bit campy but after reading this book a half a dozen times and expermenting with the routines I realized there is something very powerful embodied in this work. I now own all 11 of his books.

The simple, effective exercises taught by Frank Rudolph Young are nothing short of amazing, a word that fails to do this book justice.

We have a real anomaly here, because while this is not Yoga as normally disseminated (as one reviewer mentions), "Yoga for Men Only" IS the best book on yoga ever written! Richard Dowell's review (below) is correct in every regard. The educational value of the book alone makes it worthwhile (especially the author/ Chiropractor's well-illustrated information about the spine and nerves).

However, the real value of this book lies in what it will do for you if you suffer from back pain; or if you would like to breath more deeply and naturally; or if you are aware of how even small defects in body alignment can affect your mental focus, confidence, behavior, and performance in the real world when it comes to interacting with other people. I've benefited in all those areas recently, when I began to use Mr. Young's exercises in earnest. As F.R.Y. would probably have put it, I felt like "a washed up has-been at 52, with the stamina of wet cardboard and all the appeal of a sliced turnip in a bowl of ice." That's how I felt, anyhow, but it only took a few days to "feel eighteen" again; especially my back and quality of breathing. And I'm still only dabbling -- using less then ten of the exercises daily after I rise.

The author's writing style is rather dated and odd, which can make it troublesome to extract all his information about each exercise; I carried around one of Young's other books for 20 years, but used only a couple of the exercises for that reason. Nevertheless, that book also gets a five-star rating from me. Recently, I followed one reviewer's advice and made an index chart listing the individual exercises. Sure enough, I found two exercises that have changed my life over the course of only a couple weeks.

It's a shame that Frank Rudolph Young's books will probably never be republished; the two I have belong on the Great Books list. I kind of hate to post this review because I hope to acquire the other books and would hate to see them vanish.

AS an instructor of both pilates and yoga- I found this a great and simple way to apply both practices to my classes....the author really explains nicely...

This is a great book, but I have a lot of trouble following books and so I bought the video, which allowed me to learn better. Both the book and the video are great. Yogilates is a calming yet invigorating workout. Not too easy, not too hard. And one of the few exercises I've actually been able to stick with consistently. Enjoyable and well-taught.

I own many pilates and yoga books and think that this offers a good resource for a person that wants to see positions detailed for a home practice combining the two disciplines. The only objection that I have is the choice of model demonstrating poses for the book. One in particular is an older woman with a long, gray, messy ponytail and awful looking feet. Not exactly an inspiration. It isn't necessary to put a covergirl on the pages of the book, but her disheveled images are a distraction from the intended purpose.

If you buy this DVD, you won't disappointment.
It's easy to learn and fun.

this book is extremely well written and easy to follow for anyone who has the desire to learn pilates and/or yoga. while it is usually more effective to meet with an instructor, if the instructor isn't Jonathan, buy this book. having taken a workshop with the author, it would be difficult for me to be instructed by anyone else, therefore having this book to refer to is completely necessary. I encourage anyone who has the desire to do something that will give incredible results, to get this book and follow it several times a week. you will not be disappointed!

`3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated' by computer scientist extraordinare and lifelong Lutheran, Donald E. Knuth is one of those truly unique books which seems to be perfectly composed to illuminate a subject virtually everyone takes for granted. The best analogy I can think of in another field is the little book `The Elements of Style' by Strunk and White, which provides a brilliantly concise set of instructions on writing better.

Knuth's book is a wondrous amalgam of at least three different interests, Christianity, Computer Science, or more exactly, meticulous scholarship, and the art font design and calligraphy. The very title of the book has a dual meaning in that Knuth's commentary illuminates the 59 selected verses from the bible, plus the very artistic renderings of these texts by 59 of the world's greatest calligraphers, in much the same way that they may have been `illuminated' in Medieval hand-written copies of the Bible.

I am tempted to call this `Bible Commentary for Dummies', but it does not have the glib, simplistic tone of the `Dummy' franchisee. What it does share with this series is that it is a superb introduction to the world of Bible scholarship and the fact that the history of those words on the printed page of your Bible have a density of meaning and penumbra of alternate interpretations which will boggle the mind.

While Bible commentary is a major field of professional scholarship, my sense is that the average Christian is not nearly as caught up in the discussion of scripture as their Jewish brethren. In fact, the Hebrew embraces one of the classic methods of enlightenment, which is deep study of the Torah and Talmud and the many historical commentaries made of these sacred books. Where the average devout Jew will spend much time reading his Maimonides, I suspect very few Lutherans spend much quality time reading the writings of Luther, let alone St. Augustine or even Jonathan Edwards.

These 59 verses, the 16th verse after the beginning of Chapter 3 of each book were basically chosen at random to be the text for a Bible study class conducted by Knuth at his church several years ago. The only verse not chosen at random was this verse from the Gospel of John, which is arguably the most important verse in all of the New Testament. Knuth picked this number because he wanted to be sure that at least one out of all the verses would be interesting and important. He was probably as surprised as his readers to find that every verse had much to offer, as long as Knuth gave each his thorough scholarship that placed the words of the text in their context.

Of course, one can wonder, which translation did Knuth use? It turns out that Knuth did original translations of all the verses from the original Hebrew and Greek, and, he says this was one of the very best decisions he ever made in his intellectual live. This is primarily because there is literally very little consensus on the correct translation of the source text, assuming there is even agreement on what the source text should actually be. The second and possibly more important reason for his reader is that a new translation, especially of the more familiar texts, will give one a new and better perspective than the same old King James quote or some other of the dozens of modern translations.

For each verse, there are three pages of text plus one full page of art giving the calligrapher's interpretation of the text. All of the calligraphic works are beautiful to look at. Most are pretty standard, letting the ingenuity of the font and standard transformations of size and coloring to convey emphasis or special effect. Some, however, are far more imaginative, incorporating pictures and even mirror images of text to help `illuminate' the words. While the range of styles is great, my first impression is the work of Ben Shawn with mixing words and pictures.

My only argument with this volume is that Knuth does little to explain much of the reasoning behind his selection and his method of scholarship. Fortunately, he has done this in a more recent book, `Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About' which dedicates much of his six lecture to the background to this book, both its art and its scholarship. In this book, for example, we learn of both the many pitfalls to accurate translation, and how a person with no knowledge of either Hebrew or Greek could go about translating these texts. The secret lies in the enormous body of concordances compiled over the years which detail everything you will ever want to know about each and every Hebrew and Greek word in the Bible.

I found it ironic that while Knuth indicated that a really good translation had to go so far as to pay attention to the way the author of a particular chapter used their words, in the commentary, he jumps thousands of years to use references to the New Testament (originally Greek) to explain concepts in the Old Testament (originally Hebrew).

While I think this is a superb introduction to the material and techniques of really diligent Bible study, one will get much more out of this book if you have at least two other books at hand. The first is a good, modern Bible translation to look up the hundreds of verses cited in the text. The second is a set of really good maps of the ancient lands of and around Palestine and modern Israel. `The Oxford Bible Commentary' has an especially good set of maps covering various periods of the Bible texts.

While I may not be the best person to judge this, I do believe there is no particularly strong Lutheran bias in the scholarship, although Luther is cited more often than many major Christian commentator.

This book is a real gem. Read it from cover to cover!

This is a truly unique work. Knuth has obviously studied a lot in order to produce this study and it shows. The concept in and of itself, composing a book of 3:16 of every book of the Bible that contains the said verse, is unique. And the word art is truly wonderful touch. And the overview of each book of the Bible being covered is great.

I don't necessarily agree with every single thing that Knuth says here, but generally I found his comments to be very deep and insightful. Knuth here shows that many of the good attributes of a computer scientist can be applied to Bible study, with great results.

Truly one can be a man of faith and a man of reason, logic, and science. I highly recommend this book for any interested Christian who also is involved in Computer Science. If for nothing else, it is a worthwhile on the basis of the scripture word-art alone.

I just finished reading "3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated" by Donald E. Knuth, a computer scientist, and found it to be an interesting book. His introduction talks about his process of selection for a verse in the Bible to study and it is clear, especially here, that his mind functions very mathematically. However, his choice of the 3:16 verses is not entirely random, since it is inspired by the well-known John 3:16 ("For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.") Interestingly, Knuth translates his own 3:16 verses for this book and it is clear that he has done a lot of research into biblical scholarship for this book. Although his approach and ideas seem clearly Protestant (he's doing it for a Bible study, he refers to a Bible class that he gave at Bethany Lutheran Church that inspired this book), he does draw on a variety of sources for his analysis (Luther and Calvin most frequently, but also St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and other early Christian writings). I also really liked the style of his writing. This book was clearly not intended to find a place in the academic study of theology and the Bible, but to open up the eyes of those who did not pursue that path and give them a detailed introduction to the scholarship in biblical study.

The only thing that really irritated me was his repeated use of Jehovah instead of Yahweh in his analysis. I kept thinking: come on, you did all this research and nobody told you that Jehovah is a made up name? He does, however, explain his choice (and the origins of the word "Jehovah") in his analysis of Ezekiel 3:16: "Today's Bible scholars almost unanimously prefer the name 'Yahweh', which better reflects the ancient Hebrew pronunciation, to 'Jehovah', which has been called a 'morphological monstrosity.' However, I've tended to avoid the name 'Yahweh' in this book, because it still sounds too academic" (113). Whatever.

... and shares his findings with us. This book is in fact a very readable and highly original introduction to the bible. Though it has its focus on exactly one verse of each book of the bible, it manages to give on just three pages a concise summary of the book and an in-depth interpretation of the verse with plenty of cross-references. Knuth has read the scholars, but does not burden us with extensive citations. Instead he forms the material in his own way and this gives a refreshing impression of independent thought. Knuth also speaks as a computer scientist and draws several connections to this field. Therefore this book is also of special interest to all scientific minds who are invited to reread and rethink the bible. Last, but certainly not least, the book if of highly aesthetic value since each verse is pictured by world class calligraphers drawing the connection to Knuth's long standing interest in typesetting and calligraphy.

After being aware of this book and also recently having read "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About", I was eager to read this book. My expectations were high, possibly too high, but this was a decent book. Yes, some of the theology is light, but many of the text exegesis are right on target. There are three pages of comments for each of the 59 verses, which a good variety of detail without making it overly complicated. A good read.

The second installment of one of the best scifi anthologies around and also the first where my all-time favorite Joker of all time Jube the Walrus is introduced (or is he a joker or something else entirely you will have to read to find out.

The story forces on an invading force from outer space dubbed in typical pulp fashion "The Swam" the stories focus on the attempts by Aces and Jokers to fight it and by a tyrannical cult to control it in the mistaken belief that the swarm's arrival is for the greater good of all humanity.

There are also appearances by other Aces including Cord, the Great and Powerful Turtle Captain Trips and an unfortunate teenager named Kid Dinosaur who can change into any of the long dead reptiles that he has knowledge of...unfortunately his mass doesn't change.

This is another time where my powers of description do not measure up to how great this book is

If you are a fan of

Lewis Shiner
Walter Jon Williams
Pat Cadigan
George R.R. Martin
Roger Zelazny

Then do yourself a favor and find a copy of this book.

Aces High is a high class, and high up restaurant catering to the Aces, the Wild Card victims with powers. It is expensive and snooty, run by one of their own, a man named Hiram Worchester, who has the ability to control weight.

The Aces have two serious problems in this book, and the stories all relate to these somehow, the menace of the alien Swarm, and the crazy black magic style power use of the Astronomer, a geeky crazed black magician type.

The other memorable nasty, Demise, with his death gaze and regeneration abilities, also is introduced in "If Looks Could Kill".

Wild Cards 02 : 01 Pennies from Hell - Lewis Shiner
Wild Cards 02 : 02 Jube: One - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 03 Unto the Sixth Generation: Prologue - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 04 Jube: Two - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 05 Ashes to Ashes - Roger Zelazny
Wild Cards 02 : 06 Unto the Sixth Generation: Part One - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 07 Unto the Sixth Generation: Part Two - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 08 Jube: Three - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 09 If Looks Could Kill - Walton Simons
Wild Cards 02 : 10 Jube: Four - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 11 Unto the Sixth Generation: Epilogue - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 12 Winter's Chill - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 13 Jube: Five - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 14 Relative Difficulties - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 02 : 15 With a Little Help From His Friends - Victor Milán
Wild Cards 02 : 16 Jube: Six - George R. R. Martin
Wild Cards 02 : 17 By Lost Ways - Pat Cadigan
Wild Cards 02 : 18 Mr. Koyama's Comet - Walter Jon Williams
Wild Cards 02 : 19 Half Past Dead - John J. Miller
Wild Cards 02 : 20 Jube: Seven - George R. R. Martin



Fortunato meets a nice girl to go along with his geisha collection, but his pursuit of the Masons through rare coins has terrible consequences.

5 out of 5


Walrus boy ain't what he seems.

4 out of 5


An ally makes a desperate teleportation attempt to warn Jube of the Swarm.

4 out of 5


The death of his alien ally and the loss of the singularity shifter and a garbled message of warning distracts Jube from the xmas cheer.

4 out of 5


The death of his alien ally and the loss of the singularity shifter and a garbled message of warning distracts Jube from the xmas cheer.

4 out of 5


Jube hires Croyd to find the alien corpse, and anything with it. Devil John biffo.

4 out of 5


Modular Man made, Swarm invade.

4 out of 5


Singularity shifting. Don't try and mind-control androids.

3.5 out of 5


When Jube realises his ally meant the Swarm, he knows he needs the power of the Singularity Shifter rather more urgently.

3.5 out of 5


Astronomer hires Demise eyes.

4.5 out of 5


Jube enlists the transparent infobroker.

3 out of 5


Punks find Shifter.

2.5 out of 5


Girl shy Turtle.

4.5 out of 5


Astronomer, Swarm, Takisians all prove to be a little overwhelming.

3 out of 5


Captain Trips drops back in, as Tachyon's relatives show bad timing, capture them, Turtle, and others.

5 out of 5


Tachyon and Trips vs Takisians and Swarm for the fate of the world.

5 out of 5


On the Mason trail.

3 out of 5


Astronomer has hostages and Shakhti machine, but the Aces rally for a raid.

4 out of 5


Swarm sighting.

3 out of 5


Yeoman finds the Singularity Shifter while taking out Egrets. When Tachyon learns of this, he has a plan to take the fight to the Swarm.

5 out of 5


Jube tells Red about some aliens and decides his allegiances are local.

3.5 out of 5

This is the second book in the Wildcards series. This book focuses on the lives of many of the aces of the wildcards universe, with the main unifying plot of the stories being the threat of an alien invasion.

Aces High is a more focused book, dealing with a smaller group of aces and returning to them more often rather than the sampler that the first book was. Many of the favorites return; Fortunato, Dr. Tachyon, The Great and Powerful Turtle, but there are some really nasty villians that appear in this book, as well. The villians are not nice people, so be warned, but they are interesting characters. The leader is pretty much evil to the core, but his hirelings are much more human, each with their own motivations which are explained pretty well in the book. They aren't all evil; many are just looking to get ahead and backing the team that they think will win. Well, and perhaps are a bit more accepting of the "win at any cost" mentality.

I can't think of a story I didn't enjoy in this book, either. All were well written, and were tied together well. I think my favorite story may have been the exploits of Modular Man, but Captain Tripps is a very interesting character as well. I hope to see more of them in future books.

So far, it seems that these books should be read in order, so if you skip Wildcards 1 and start here, you may be lost. Just a word of warning, since I know the books can be hard to find.
I recommend this book to all Wildcards fans and any superhero fan that has not read this series yet is doing themselves a disservice.

A great installment in the Wild Cards universe. An alien swarm is headed on a collision course with earth and the Aces must unite to fight the impending doom of the world. However, "the Astronomer" - a super-villain- is trying to stop the heroes, and employs any devious methods to reach his ends... There are new characters presented such as Demise - who can look in your eyes forcing you to relive his death, and thus die yourself...and Jube, the walrus-like newspaper salesman with bad taste in jokes and equally bad fashion sense... who knows what motives he has?

This is a great story, and I can't help but think that the wild cards would make an excellent series on the sci-fi channel.
I look forward to the next episode!

Relic113

The continuing short story collection set in the shared world as introduced in 'Wild Cards,' this is the continuing stories of those Aces and Jokers (and sometimes plain old natural humans) in the fallout of the genetic Wild Card virus. We're in the eighties now, and a new menace looms on the horizon - a dark alien organism is on its way, and the Swarm Mother sends terrible creatures down to attack earth in many places - and who else can stop them but the super-powered Aces?

The nice thing is the story-arc merely starts with the swarm assault, and from there, the weaving in of new and old characters is superb. We revisit some of the best characters from the first volume (The Great and Powerful Turtle is my favourite so far), and the story of the Swarm Mother certainly doesn't end in that single attack. This is solid stuff, and very well organized to say that it's a shared world.

Now I've ordered book three in with the last of my online gift certificates, and hope it arrives soon! Nothing quite like a new literary addiction.

'Nathan

This is an outstanding book. What I appreciate most about it is its thoughtfulness. Where other books present statistics and give only brief attention to very important topics, this book presents a fair, smart, and thorough account of the World of Admissions and encourages you to sit down and think about things, guiding you along each step of the process.

"Admission Matters" attracted me for a number of reasons--the background, experience and knowledge of the authors is compelling, but moreover I chose this book because as the parent of three with two already in college and the third an applicant now, I was hopeful that I would find new details and advice regarding the competitive hurdles that my youngest will be facing. My hopes were more than fulfilled! This book is an engaging and informative resource that blends just the right amount of humor, candor, anectodal details, encouragement and reality for parents and their college bound kids. It is also organized to facilitate quick reads of sections and question areas of greatest interest. This is a refreshing and valuable guide in the high-anxiety sea of college planning.

The best book I read so far. As an admission consultant, I think it covers the basic information that parents and kids should know. I even met her in person this year. There is one little problem about this book - it is two years old. So new things happened within these two years have not yet been covered, such as the SMART grant (new for year 2007).

As a high school senior, I've been having the usual problems with finding a college that I feel is right for me, and then actually going about the process of applying. Not only was this book helpful in answering nearly all of my questions, but it is written in an interesting, friendly manner that I found heartening in the midst of a process that has been incredibley stressful! I recommend this book not only to high school students but their parents as well - my Mother read it and she loved it too!

This book is clearly written and an excellent guide for the high school student and parents.

This book gave me the information that I was looking for regarding starting a doggy daycare.

I bought this as a birthday present for my best friend. She says she loves the book...it has some very helpful information. I loved that I could buy her birthday present & not have to worry about when to ship it.

The book came in warp speed and was even better than described.

Bennett does and excellent job of giving an overview of how to run a daycare facility. I have found this book insightful and useful in my day-to-day operations.

Robin really knows the daycare business and if you are even remotely considering this challenging but rewarding field, this book is a must for your library!! some additional advice... (my pet business dot com) offers a Doggie Daycare bundle featuring Robin's DVD along with some additional business information ;)

Thayne Davidson Miller, III, is, to his way of thinking, the very self-embodiment of "the poor little rich kid." As the only child of billionaire parents, he has been afforded every advantage in life except one - the ability to actually be a child and do the things other children do every day. His parents take him with them wherever they go, and he has already mastered such subjects as law and medicine by the time he becomes a teenager, but he hates being isolated and allowed to interact with only a few select adults. Life as he has always known it changes irrevocably on the day of his thirteenth birthday, however, when both of his parents are killed by terrorists.

After a year of mourning and isolation alongside his only friends (Jacque, his "gentleman's gentleman," and his dog Chopsie) Thayne is determined to do what any other teenager would be doing - attending school with students his own age. Not just any old school will do, of course; it has to be a school where his advanced intellect is allowed to soar. While he considers the Scorsos International Academy and University, it's really a foregone conclusion that he will choose GODA (Global Optimum Development Academy) on the island of Demeverde, for it and the mysterious man who runs it played an important part in his parents' lives. GODA is much more than a mere school - even calling it an academy of learning is to do it a disservice. Only the best and brightest are accepted there, each with a special talent all his/her own, and learning is an active, all-encompassing endeavor.

With his parents' killers still unidentified, Thayne's personal safety is paramount, so he can't enroll as the famous Thayne Davidson Miller, III - in fact, Thayne really can't leave home at all. Fortunately, one of his family's businesses is able to build a lifelike robot to assume the role of Thayne, while "Arnie Carver" jets off to Demeverde. He quickly makes the first real friends of his life and loves the challenges and opportunities the school provides for him. His new life would be ideal were it not for a rare and terrible sickness that comes to be associated with the island. At first, it's just a child here and there across the globe that becomes sick, each of them having visited Demeverde at some point in the previous couple of years. When the disease strikes one of Arnie's friends, however, the Demeverde connection can no longer be dismissed out of hand. That's when Arnie and his friends set out to discover the source of the plague for themselves.

Undoubtedly, Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde will be compared with the Harry Potter series. After all, you have these extraordinary kids going away to this extraordinary school to learn extraordinary things, they play an invented game called coca that elicits the same sort of excitement as Quidditch, and the main character is a young protagonist with a dark history that robbed him of his parents and perpetually dangles a potentially deadly threat over his own young head. Arnie Carver isn't Harry Potter, though, and this novel forges a story that is really quite its own.

I loved the book. Thayne is a wonderful, sympathetic character, and I warmed up to his new friends and classmates just as quickly as he did. The wonderful technologies employed at GODA are a treat to visualize, and I have to believe older children and young adults will find such extraordinary things as SlipDiscs fascinating. I would even go so far as to call the book inspirational - were I a couple of decades younger, this is just the kind of story that would have gotten my intellectual juices flowing. It never hurts to see true friendship put on display in front of you, either.

On top of everything else, author Kenneth R. Besser lays a solid foundation for future books in the series, leaving us to wonder what the real story behind the unsolved murder of Thayne's parents' might be, question the motives of the man behind Scorsos International Academy and University, and yearn to know more about Unius, the mysterious, seemingly all-knowing, head of GODA. This has all the makings of a great series.

Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde is the well-told tale of a boy named Thayne Davidson Miller III, a genius and the heir to a fortune. He's the richest kid in the world, who has everything in the world, but needs "to learn how to be a part of the world."

After his parents are murdered, early on in the book, young Thayne has his chance. Although grief-stricken by their deaths, he is looking forward to a few changes in his life. For the first time ever he is now allowed to attend classes (under the assumed name Arnie Carver) with other kids - although the school he chooses turns out to be quite different from the schools you and I are familiar with!

Besser writes with the confident ease of a good storyteller. The wit, the humor, the adventures, and the legal hi-jinx will delight precocious young readers and teens. Combining elements of sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, and political thriller, the author at times seems to parody these genres as he relates the adventures of his young hero. And because of that it's a book that adults can enjoy as well.

By the end of this first in a series of books, the bright young protagonist has not only become a part of the world, he has helped to save it. But there is still more for him to do and discover, and I can't wait to find out what will happen next!

Reviewed by Braine Plach (age 10) for Reader Views (1/08)

Have you ever thought it would be terrific if you had all the money that you ever wanted to have? Can you imagine not having to wait until Christmas or your birthday for presents? For some kids, this would be a dream come true. But Thayne Davidson Miller, III, doesn't think it is very much fun. Instead of being a blessing, it is a curse.

Thayne is constantly being surrounded by security guards. Thayne's parents are billionaires, so having a normal lifestyle as a young boy is impossible. He is a normal boy who would enjoy playing soccer or football with other boys, climbing trees or just hanging out with his friends. Instead he has to fly on his parents' jet to all kinds of far-off places. It's not like he gets to see anything when he goes to these other cities. He is constantly being watched.

When Thayne turns thirteen, his life takes a drastic turn. He has now inherited the 50 businesses that his parents owned. He is an orphan! The murders are unsolved, so Thayne takes the matter into his own hands. He attempts to discover what really happened to his parents.

He has a very brilliant mind and uses it to his advantage. He creates a life-like robot and a personality to live out his dreams of being normal. Arnie Carver is born. Will this make Thayne any happier or only add to his misery?

Kenneth R. Besser is a master at storytelling. "Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde" is just one of a series about Arnie Carver. The twists and turns throughout the story will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. Books like this, with its science-fiction twist, will have kids anxiously awaiting their next Arnie Carver book.

Is being wealthy really worth it all or is it a sure fire way to ruin your life?

Part of the beloved Arnie Carver series of novels for young adults, Arnie Carver and the Plague of Demeverde follows the adventures of Arnie Carver, once Thayne Davidson Miller III. The child prodigy of billionaires, he hated how airtight family security protected him at the expense of keeping him away from other children his own age and everything a child might want to do. But on his thirteenth birthday, he became a billionaire orphan when terrorists allegedly killed his parents. No evidence of Thayne's parents' supposed murderers could be found, though - what really happened to them? To solve the mystery, and experience life unsheltered if not entirely unprotected, Thayne replaced himself with a lifelike robot and took on a new alter-ego, attending an international high school named the Global Optimum Development Academy as Arnie Carver. Just as Arnie gets settled in, a deadly disease starts plaguing the island and the school - what could be causing it, and why? A gung-ho adventure featuring a young protagonist who respects schools and books as well as learning through experience, sure to engage young readers to the very last page.

To those around him in this futurist world of cool gadgets, Thayne Davison Miller III has it all. His parents are the richest people in the world. He travels around the world, and best of all, he is dearly loved. The one thing missing from his life is being around kids his own age. That might sound like a simple thing to ask, but Thayne isn't your average kid. Kidnapping is a real threat and his parents fear for his safety to the extreme degree. So his parents with the help of Jacques Marquis, Thayne's man servant and only friend, decided long ago on home schooling.

On his thirteenth birthday, what was meant to be a delightful surprise turned tragic as Thayne's parents were assassinated on the way to his birthday party. With the exception of his beloved dog and friend, Jacques, he is all alone in the world, but with an added problem. The killer or killers were never caught. He too could be a target.

Thayne devises a plan to set a trap for the people responsible for killing his parents. He sends a life like double called an intellitron as decoy to the local school. In the meantime, the real Thayne attends the Global Optimum Development Academy on the island of Demeverde under the name of Arnie Carver.

Just as Arnie and his friends settle in for the school year, a mysterious and deadly disease plagues the school. At first, no one believes the disease is related to the island until one of Arnie's classmates comes down with it. Now it is up to Arnie and his friends to find out what is causing this disease. And if they do, will it be in time enough to find a cure for Arnie's friend? Kenneth R. Besser kept me guessing until the very end as it should be!

This colorful cast of children with special abilities, keeps the story upbeat and smiling. One of my favorites is Steven "Tinker" Schocken. He has a special knack of fixing things. Then there is Bernadette Rogers who senses what people are feeling. That's not all. With her mind, she can get you to see things her way, unless you know how to mentally block her. (Way cool!) Another unusual person in the book is Choi Guihah, who has an uncanny ability to do things with her muscles, which includes making a soft landing from twenty feet. These are but a few of the characters making this a truly appealing story.

Review by J. Kaye Oldner

This is a wonderful collection of treasures from B.B. King's lengthy career. Besides telling the man's life story, this book provides the reader with ticket stubs to B.B. concerts from fifty years ago, all sorts of crystal-clear photographs of B.B. and other Bluesmen, and other amazing treasures. I picked this up for ten dollars at a local mall, and I can't recommend it enough. It's truly moving and captivating to see how a young black man from Mississippi has become the international ambassador of the Blues and has won all sorts of awards from prestigious universities and institutions. This man is living the American Dream.

B.B.KING IS CALLED "THE KING OF THE BLUES" BUT THIS BOOK IS NOT ABOUT THE BLUES THIS IS ABOUT THE MAN HIMSELF FROM HIS HUMBLE BEGINNING AS A SHARECROPPER TO THE LEGEND HE IS TODAY. THIS BOOK DIGS DEEP INTO THE HEART AND SPIRIT OF "THE MAN" THE PHOTOS AND THE MEMORIES ALONG IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE BOOK. IF YOU LOVED THE BLUES AND YOU KNOW OR LOVED B.B.KING THEN THIS IS THE ULTIMATE BOOK TO HAVE. AFTER READING THIS BOOK I KNOW MORE ABOUT THE LIFE OF B.B.KING THEN I EVER KNEW. IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THIS MAN WHO IS A LEGEND IN HIS OWN TIME CAN BE SO HUMBLE TO THE MANY PEOPLE BOTH FAMOUS AND ORDINARY

Hello all! I am from India, residing in Singapore. I enjoy listening to blues. Being a big fan of BB, i couldn't resist this treasure when i came across it at the Borders bookstore.The book is great, with replicas of tickets etc. 1 hour cd with BB's interviews and 2 songs is a great treat. BB is an inspiration, having moved from cottonfields to become world's greatest blues singer. Just wait for the clouds, and read this with a cup of coffee when it starts to rain. When you finish with the accompanying cd, put in your own BB collection and read the book along. Lucille won't let you down. The thrill isn't gone afterall! 5 stars indeed.

Though possibly a bit unlike adults my age, I am a bonafide blues lover and THE B. B. KING TREASURES: Photos, Mementos & Music from B. B. King's Collection is a remarkable look into the background and life of legendary blues singer B. B. King. In it he details his early childhood and growing up on a farm, to his young adult days, touring various parts of the country and his candid views on segregation and the Civil Rights era.

While the book itself is a wonderful collector's item and can be displayed proudly as a coffee table book, the best parts to me were: the included CD which has a collection of interviews with the singer, as well as two unreleased songs, the numerous pull-outs of old letters, photos, programs and posters, and the respect he shared with and bestowed upon others. THE B. B. KING TREASURES succinctly depicts the life and times of B. B. King, his thoughts on many issues, including race relations, and especially music. It is perfect for the blues lover in your life and a great tribute for B.B. King's 80th birthday celebration.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Those looking for a present for a blues lover (or themselves) could do far worse than purchasing an absolutely wonderful new coffee table book plus more devoted to the King of the blues. The B. B. King Treasures : Photos, Mementos & Music from B. B. King's Collection is by King, Dick Waterman and Charles Sawyer. Sawyer, who wrote the first book-length biography of King, The Arrival of B.B. King, contributes a concise biography from King's days growing up in Mississippi to his days as an ambassador for the music. The remainder of the book is filled with King's recollections as given to Dick Waterman who supplements these recollections of growing up, working on the farm, moving to memphis, touring and crossing over. There are not only some terrific photographs (many are very rare), but also some reproductions of memorabilia including his sharecropping account from 1940, mostly tickets, programs and posters for his shows, along with sheets shoqwing how much he was earning prior to Sid Seidenberg taking over King's management in the late sixties. You can see him from his WDIA days to receiving the musical equivalent of the Nobel Prize in Sweden with the King of Sweden handing the award to him. In addition there is a cd with King's verbal recollections and some unissued tracks. This is a multi-media feast for fans of one of the true legends of world music. Compiled in part to celebrate his 80th birthday, The B.B. King Treasures, is a treasure.

This is my favourite book on this subject - heaps of ideas, tips and assistance to inspire me on a landscape quilt. Everything is well set out and clearly explained. Lots of examples to try out too.

Highly recommended book that is great for anyone wanting details on how to take their landscape quilts to a new level. Joyce has shown what and how she is inspired and how this is translated into a beautiful quilt. Great book for teachers and students.

Easy to read and full of excellent information for the Landscape Quilting Artist

I am enjoying this book and I want publishers to know that I purchased it because I was able to preview it.
Thanks, L. Shell

I bought this for a friend who has never quilted, but had an idea of a landscape quilt in her head. After reading it, I realized that this is just the right book to start-jump a "newbie" from the starting point to where ever her imagintation will take her. Also, after reading it I am buying another copy for myself. I quilt and do some art quilts also, and this book gave me many wonderful ideas. . Highly recommended [[ASIN:1571203605 Beautifully Embellished Landscapes: 125 Tips & Techniques to Create Stunning Quilts