It was like reading a high school term paper. The book that was used for a constant source is a better option.

I found this book invaluable in my research on the play, The Elephant Man, by Bernard Pomerance. It is objective in ways that most work on this subject is not. I highly recommend it.

Have you ever seen one of those action movies where you have pretty much figured out what's going to happen after about ten minutes: who will die and how, who's going to be in trouble, etc.? This book reads like that. It's like a rejected Ah-nold movie script, completely lacking any joy, imagination, originality, etc. In about half an hour, I had pretty much guessed how the book would turn out and I got it all right except for one guess.
[SPOLIERS AHEAD]
The main character is a mercenary, but don't let that make you uncomfortable. He was a GOOD mercenary: made a lot of money, killed bad people only. He goes back to his boyhood hometown after thirty years or so only to find everyone has made a pact with the devil except for a few key characters like the plucky teenage girl / sidekick (I'm sure the character had a name, but it doesn't really matter). Luckily, Our Hero is a military expert (not much of a tactician, more of a "let's just shoot people and blow stuff up real good" sort of action hero). Still, even though he is warned that he is fighting the Supernatural Forces of Evil and that guns will not be the answer, it turns out that guns and explosives really do a pretty good job.
There are no surprises, no suspense, things pretty much work the way the characters think they will, they don't seem to be surprised by anything, scared of anything. I know that actors in a movie can look like they're sleepwalking through a role, I didn't think it was possible for characters in a book to do the same thing.
You may have seen the cover of the book, with the skeletal guy playing a piano. There is a possessed piano that we are introduced to early in the book. In a Stephen King book, there would be some doubt to the ultimate outcome. The piano would seem possessed to only one person or that person would have other problems that would make them question what they are seeing. After all, a haunted piano that plays by itself, rolls around the room and tries to kill people is pretty out of the ordinary. But in this book, you are told right off the bat that the piano is possessed. No question about it. It doesn't really figure in the plot except as a conversation piece to anyone who comes over and it does play songs with foreshadowing titles which leads me to believe that the authors scoured at least several albums looking for record titles that would fit. Probably the only original bit of thought in the entire book.

This is the first and hopefully only book that Mr. Johnstone writes with a co-author. The story is fast pace and very scary for the reader. It has some humourous moments and at other times seems a bit disconnected but overall the story leaves the reader wishing that the sequel would be written and released soon.
The story deals with a old mercenary returning home to retire and relax. The problem is a old friend of his is having a problem with a old upright piano he bought. The hero agrees to investage the history of the piano and the horror ride starts for the reader.
I hope that if they ever rerelease this book they won't change the cover. That skeleton dressed up in a tux peering at you (the reader) over his right shoulder promises you a wild and scary ride in the book. If you can find a copy of this book I would recommend that you read it in a well lit room because it will give you nightmares.

My 2-year-old son loves trucks and has several truck books, including this one. This particular book is pretty disappointing, unfortunately -- the illustrations are poorly drawn and the text is written in a hard-to-read italic font, which frustrates him because he's recognizing a lot of letters now and can't spot the letters he knows when they're in italics. The story lacks interest, too. I recommend "My First Truck Board Book" edited by Constance Robinson (DK Press) as a much better alternative.

My 2 1/2 year old son loves this book. He requests it every night before bed. He got it for Christmas along with several beautiful picture books, but this one is his favorite. He loves to identify the different kinds of trucks in the book, and he points them out when we are out driving now, too.

Mr. Bosco has evidence that can clear Bill Fontanille but will not release this information unless he (Bosco) can profit financially from this information. Bosco claims to be an author one day than a journalist the next. What are you Joe Bosco? Journalist strive for truth. You have let an innocent man sit in prison because of your greed.

This is a strange story, to put it mildly. According to a coroner, Janet might have lived if Kerry and his buddy hadn't sat around and discussed what story to tell. The coroner said that while there was a lot of blood, it was an air embolism that killed her.

Dr. Henry Lee's testimony was terrific, logical and easily understood. Of course it helped the prosecution that the jury liked Dr. Lee.

Hansen is a fine writer, and this is a good collection, but the reader should be warned that it has only 6 stories, 3 of which appeared in his earlier collections --"Surf" in Brandstetter & Others (1984), and "An Excuse for Shooting Earl" and "Molly's Aim" in Bohannon's Country, 1993. Moreover, another story, "Home Is the Place," later appeared in Bohannon's Women, 2002. The publisher should object (to someone or other) that "Home is the Place" was reprinted so quickly.

I found Joesph Hansen's Blood,Snow and Classic Cars to be a good read over all. It's not the kind of stories where you try to figure out who "the killer" is, which i'm not very good at. They're just regular stories and the fact that there is gay characters is never used as a shock value. Though i did'nt think all the story were great my favorite ones were Molly's Aim (great), An Excuse for Shooting Earl and Son of the Morning. So over all i would say give then a try. It would make a good book for along the beach or pool side.

Imagine taking a handful of very busy paintings. Take dozens of photos of each. Now add very generic comments about light, shadows, colors, etc. and you have this book. If you are a skilled artist who lacks formal training then the generic tips in this book might be of some slight benefit to you. However, if you are a beginning or intermediate artist who is looking for solid advice, detailed tutorials, or tips on painting specific textures then you should look elsewhere.

Before Modernism, oil painters were interested in developing their abilities to depict real or imagined images. In order to accomplish that goal, they needed 'technique'. Starting with the workshops of the Renaissance, young painters (e.g., Leonardo Da Vinci) learned how to represent the differing textures of objects (viz., silk fabric, satin, Persian carpets, shiny and dull metals, flowers, fruit ,vegetables, animal fur, human skin & hair). Only after gaining such facility in their painting technique were they allowed to join the guild of professional artists in their community.

In this book Joseph Sheppard shows how to paint the textures one sees. This liberates the artist who is willing to put forth the effort. Also, Joseph Sheppard painstakingly illustrates the steps one goes through in building an oil painting, from beginning to end. We see his accomplished paintings being built up layer by layer. He shows the importance of blending and how to attain sfumato. Note: I disagree with his insistance, in the book's introduction, on the use of toxic lead white (e.g., I have found that Old Holland titanium white is both more opaque and lean than lead white).

Sheppard starts with thumbnail sketches on paper to develop and optimize his composition. We are shown the various sketches he makes to reach a successful composition.

Using a toned canvas or panel, Sheppard begins the iterative painting process that follows upon the heals of laying in the drawing (i.e., with burnt umber and turpentine).

Joseph shppard is a comsumate teacher. This book is holds great potential value for the serious oil painter who wants to develop his or her painting skills to a high level.

This book is useless. I purchased it to prepare for the CET certification exam and found it of no value whatsoever. I found errors and ambiguities. The book does not sufficiently delve into topics for one to prepare for the exam. It merely touches upon very specific minutia rather than a broad conceptual understandinging of testable material. Reading it is a waste of your time as all information can be found in an elementary electronics book, and buying it is a waste of your money. After purchasing and reading the book, I still am not prepared for the exam. I tried to give it away free but no one wanted it.

I do not understand what the hell the reviewer on January 13, 2003 is thinking. You have to be an electronic tech to take the test (with hands on-training). This book will clear up the cobwebs to take the test that a tech might not use everyday. I read the book and passed the CET (ETA and ISCET) associate test with ease. If people want to be handed the answers without learning the trade need to find a different career.

Started using this book to set up win 2K-server. found that what the book showed and what I saw on the screen were two different things. This book was probably written with an early beta of Win 2K server. I am bringing it back to borders.

Great book... I set up a couple of different labs (several servers) with the info in this book. I also really appreciate the chapters on Active Directory and Group Policy. I didn't know anything about these (being an NT person) and this book explained their setup and use better and quicker than some of the bigger reference books on Windows 2000. This book is really useful as a starting place for getting up to speed with Windows 2000 Server.

I've never chucked a book out before in my life, but this one I did. The basic writings by Arthur Wesley Dow are very good, however the introduction written by Joseph Masheck occupied most of the books pages in a stilted language that was obviously written to put a check in one of this person's achedemic requirements boxes. It got me so riled that I had paid considerably for Dows comments and got Mashecks voluminous dribble, that I cut out the introduction with a razor blade and kept the small informative portion by Dow. If you're impressed with disjointed, convoluted, achedemic banter, buy it, you'll love it.

Having read the earlier review, I felt it necessary to chime in. The introduction, which I skipped, was lengthy, but there's a lot of information in the main text of the book- enough to warrant the price. It's as much a workbook as a text since there are suggested exercises to follow. There are also lots of pictures of examples which I found very helpful. Dow "wrote the book" on composition, and this is it!

This text was purchased after seeing a colleague's earlier edition. I liked the thoroughness with which each subject was handled plus I found the illustrations and variety of techniques described invaluable. Hence I bought the book for my own library. Imagine my surprise when I used my new book for the FIRST time and found that there was NO section on eyes or eyelid surgery. There was a large chapter on this in the previous edition. How could any text on surgery leave out such an important subject? The editorial decision to drop this chapter was a serious mistake. Dogs and cats DO still have eyes and eyelids that require surgical attention! Thank goodness I had other texts to refer to. Now I have lost faith in this book. What will it be lacking the next time I go looking for information?

Everybody knows that Slater'sTextbook of Small Animal Surgery is the best small animal surgery book of the market, but for students and veterinary surgery beginners it may be complicated to read or too expensive to buy. Thus, Current Techniques in Small Animal Surgery may be the best choice as a first surgery book.