Nowhere in the history of our planet has one place given the world's population such a bounty of harvest like the San Joaquin Valley has. Rollin Pickfords paintings are a historical record of this place; a place where beauty may not always be apparent, but nonetheless, exists. This is not only the work of an artist, but the work of someone who truly sees the world around him. A true lesson.

Mark Arax and Joel Pickford capture the spirit of Rollin Pickford's work and the connection with that great valley. The technical information on Pickford's work is interesting, but I find the biographical and background info on the valley and how Pickford's paintings and life are intertwined with it the most fascinating. It is a life lived well. Not only is it a wonderful treat for the eyes, but a good read as well. The valley is a hard sell; this book makes me want to go back.

This astonishing book contains 120 watercolors selected from more than 12,000 Pickford works spanning 60 years, creating a painter's workshop of styles and experiments. A collaboration of owners, art lovers and even commercial photographers and printers (using digital techniques), it is professionally edited by the artist's son, Joel, himself a photographer, writer and filmmaker. The quality could not be higher. I wish I had had this book open in my house when my children were growing up.

I liked reading this book here in America because it revealed that lesbians and gays exist in Ireland and that same-sex encounters in Ireland can be as exciting as anywhere else. The stories about our warrior past are as interesting as the present-day stories of life in Dublin. The writing is excellent and the book has beautiful graphic designs based on our Book of Kells. The stories are about pretty boys, drag queens, and the kind of leathermen and bears who belong to LUBE in Dublin. I'd appreciate a volume 2 for reading on my return trip.

This collection of Irish and Irish-American fiction shocked me because it is so brilliantly written. It's also hot. Finally, the Irish come out of the closet. None of these stories--t'anks be-- are stage Irish stereotypes, and there is no sentimental "How Are Things in Gloccamora"--more like "How Are Things In (Sodom and) Gomorrah." Actually, the sex is tasteful, and so arousing Irish papers probably will not review this book, dismissing it as gay, when in fact it's more Irish than they will admit. The cover photo of famed Irish-Brit brat-pack author PP Hartnett is worth framing. Inside, thumbnail glossaries help the Yankee tourist out-on-the-slum with the bits of history and a couple o' Irish words used. If "Chasing Danny Boy" can be this much fun, then what fun "Catching Danny Boy" could be--only there ain't one, but if there were a sequel, that could be its title. I only wish my experience in Temple Bar in Dublin was what it is in the wonderful title story. And God bless that Irish jewel, Neil Jordan, for supporting this important book--without his name on the cover, I might have missed this collection. I'LL NEVER SING "DANNY BOY" AGAIN WITHOUT THINKING OF THIS BOOK THAT REVEALS THAT SONG'S PANTING SUBTEXT!

Chasing Danny Boy is a wonder of a book!This collection of short stories is that rare thing- the combination of intelligent and steamy.The settings of the stories range from modern Dublin, to the mythic past, including some with Irish-American settings and people. Many aspects of the (now) global gay culture are represented.The characters range in age from late teenagers with other teenagers, to men in their forties. There are decorative sketches at the beginning of each story, and brief biographies of each writer.Every time I re-read this book I am startled again, at how very good it is.

This is such a great book-i would reccomend it to anyone! It is uplifting and after reading it you'll want to read it over and over again!

This book is a definite "feel good" book that I have passed along. It's a book made of love. Many stories helped me to remind me of the power of Christ.

I laughed, I cried, and then I cried some more! All in a good feeling sort of way. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter what their belief system is. It definitely will impact them in many different ways. There are memories that come flooding back as they relate to the stories told. It makes you want to make sure you take advantage of all that is good and positive that we miss day to day by being to caught up in ourselves! I loved the book.

There are just about 100 stories of fun, sadness, family, love, hope, and courage. I stayed up way too late reading and it's just a book you can't put down. My fav one was on friendship. just because you're ugly or disabled doesn't mean you're not loved. and the ones who stick up for you are the real ones. you really have to think. It's not the movies or a game, It's real life.

I liked this book very much because some day, I'll know I'll be in that situation or need to help a friend or family or stranger through it. This book teaches me that it's my own life and no-one can boss. And to listen to your parents and GOD

I reccomend the book, Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul by Jack Canfield(ed.) It is a good book with 101 stories of Courage, Hope, and Laughter. I thought it was a fun and exciting book to read. One of the good things about this book is that you can read a few stories, stop, skip around, and read somemore. I think that any kid that likes to read a good, fun book would enjoy this very much.

Since first reading this book over 14 months ago, I've found it a constant source for information and resources. It addresses the problems I encounter on a daily basis AND gives sources for products that I can use to provide better care for my loved one.

This book is a must for caregivers and professionals facing the challenges of Alzheimer's. It is the first book I've read devoted to Alzheimer's care that offers something more than reasons to institutionalize our people. Caregivers need information, options and where to access tools and resources before they can make informed decisions about their choices or their role as caregiver. As someone who spent 25 years designing rehabilitations plans for handicapped people and another 10 years facing the care of my husband, Tom, who died of this disease in our home, this is the first volume I've picked up that speaks of caregiving in positive, life-giving, do-able terms and not the drudgery that we are all led to believe consumes the process. While it offers pragmatic, workable, affordable solutions to caregivers, it never loses sight of the continued humanity and needs of our family members for love and regard in spite of their loss of cognitive skills. My experience as a caregiver was met with nothing but obsticles in my quest to keep my husband home, a journey I relate in my book, "He Used to be Somebody." I found Tom's care problems were 75% attitude and 25% tools, resources and help. This book offers both to families. I highly recommend it.

Mark Warner's book on Alzheimer's proofing your home is more than a how to book. Mr. Warner gives an in-depth description of the ways in which Alzheimer's disease affects a person's life, and the life of the extended family. By understanding the disease in depth and the changes that take place in a person physical and emotional need, there is a context to understanding why modifications and alterations are needed. He explains what to do and why to do it. His approach is that of a loving caregiver who not only wants to make the home safe and secure, but also wants to raise the quality of life. . Modifications are practical, but also designed to bring comfort. Even after over two decades of working professionally with people with memory loss, many of his suggestions caught me by surprise. I kept saying to myself, "why didn't I think of that?" He addresses all the behaviors associated with the disease, from wandering to agitation, and suggests environment solutions that could ease the situation. Not only will this bring a higher level of comfort to the person with the disease, but many of the suggestions are a benefit for anyone who wishes to have a safe and barrier free home. I recommend this book to anyone caring for someone with Alzheimer's, anyone involved in home care, and anyone who is interested in altering environments to meet specific needs of unique individuals. Like any thoughtful book, his ideas about adapting environments to the needs of people with Alzheimer's disease also stretches one's thinking about changing environments for anyone with specific needs, or who wants to think about the highest level of safety for family members.

Mark Taylor's new edition of his book gives great insight on what to look for when shopping for a computerized shipping system. The chapter about "free" shipping systems is definitely eye-opening. A "must-read" for everyone in logistics management. The information on savings in the shipping department that can be realized through a computerized shipping system is simply amazing. I was very impressed with Mr. Taylor's knowledge. The new case study in this edition shows us in details how companies save large sums yearly by using a computerized shipping system.

While shipping of packages is important to so many businesses, it's getting more complicated every day. The author has done his homework and explains the many advantages of a computerized shipping system in clear terms. This is also a consumer-oriented book: you learn what NOT to do. I like the honesty and passion of the author. He's packed a lot into a concise book; share it with staff at all levels of your business. At 25 bucks, what a bargain.

This book really explains what to look out for if you are in the market for a shipping system and how a carrier supplied shipping system can actually cost you money instead of saving it. Easy to read and easy to understand for everyone.

Warning, you have to be just a bit morbid to pick up this book. The dust jacket says it all, this author has dug through the autopsy reports of some famous people to find the "real" cause of death. Keeping the tabloid effort of the publisher aside, this is a somewhat interesting book if only from a "looking at an accident" form of macabre curiosity. As far as the writing goes, the author does a good job of keeping the complex medical terminology down to a minimum and when used is careful to explain them in layman's terms. Overall interesting and well-written if you are in to this type of book.

The book is a easy and intreging read. Every chapter is devoted to a different crime, so it never gets boring. This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who works under Cyril Wecht at the Allegheny County Corenors (?) Office and after hearing all the tales he had from his time learning from Dr. Wecht, I had to learn more. I recommend this book as a breather when your in the mist of a tough semester and you to relax

The Foreword by F. Lee Bailey tells of his friendship and admiration for Dr. Cyril Wecht. He also "highlights a truth which most Americans do not readily comprehend: that our legal system is not in its essence 'a search for truth' at all. The system is in reality a search for those truths which at least one of the lawyers want to bring to the fore, and not those truths which are too hot ... for either of them to dare to handle" (p.xvi). The Introduction tells of his personal history, experience, and expertise. "Cyril Wecht is the Sherlock Holmes of forensic science" says Alan Dershowitz. Or a Dr. Joseph Bell?

Chapter 1 deals with the assassination of JFK. The single bullet theory, from a scientific standpoint, is a deliberate attempt to cover up the truth (p.22). It was one of the worst investigations of a homicide he has ever seen. The autopsy was done by a inexperienced military pathologists. He attempted to get the autopsy reports, which are public records, for the Garrison investigation; but the Federal government would not allow it! Page 35 tells of his examination of the physical evidence. The preserved brain of JFK was missing. Page 43 points out that the forensic pathologist who disagreed with him had economic dependencies with the Federal government. He tells of a computer program that can analyze photographs to show details not observable by the human eye (pp.51-3). It detected alterations in the autopsy photographs. Dr. Wecht helped to develop the scene in the movie "JFK" that demonstrated why the single bullet theory is silly. He found the attitude of the Kennedy family "completely incomprehensible" (p.74). [Perhaps they were authoritatively advised of a shameful genetic disorder that must be kept secret?]

Chapter 2 deals with the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The fatal bullet was most likely the first, which hit him behind hi right ear. The other two bullets were fired into his right armpit. [As if he threw up his right arm as he fell.] Sirhan was shooting from the front, and could not have killed RFK. The appointed defense lawyer never mentioned this. Chapter 3 deals with Chappaquiddick, the accident that killed Ted Kennedy's political future. No autopsy was done on Mary Jo Kopechne. The accident was considered just another weekend car crash (p.94). Any wooden bridge could be slippery with dampness. Page 101 teaches that you shouldn't tell Polish jokes when your judge is Polish; he denied their motion.

Chapter 4 deals with a Doctor convicted of murdering his wife. Dr. Wecht says for a jury to find a person not guilty, the jurors must feel that the defendant was framed by the police, or that it is possible that someone else committed the crime. Chapter 5 tells of the case of Jeffrey MacDonald. When a case is tried several years after the crime, the determination of what happened is limited to the evidence collected at the time. Jeffrey started a new life, then his father-in-law started a crusade to convict him. The old scars could be either self-inflicted or the result of multiple attackers. Jeffrey's psychological profile did not suggest a person who would suddenly snap and kill his wife and children

Chapter 6 tells of his review of the toxicology report of Elvis Presley. Many drugs were present; the levels suggested accidental death, not suicide. Dr. Nick was indicted for over-prescribing drugs for the King, but acquitted (p.147). Other chapters deal with Jean Harris, and Claus von Bulow. They are warnings against the recreational use of drugs. The other interesting stories deal with lesser known people. In dozens of cases a person appeared guilty, but the evidence was circumstantial and the person was innocent (pp.180-1). Page 196 explains why a defendant should not testify if they are "very self-confident".

This is a very decent introduction to Cg and shaders in general. It starts off by describing the programable pipeline, and then introduces the shaders. The chapters describe how shaders can be developed for most of the common stuff in real-time graphics. But the best aspect of this book is that it does not cater just to the cutting edge(cineFX/DX9) but also demonstrates how the shader can be developed for a baseline hardware system. Performance and cineFX tips are sprinkled throughout the book along with a collected Cg reference section.

Overall a very good way to start learning Cg and real-time programming using shaders.

I couldn't put this book down. Its the only Cg book out there as of now, and its written by the minds at nVidia; the creators of Cg. It does a fantastic job of explaining the language and the all-important vertex/fragment concepts in a good amount of detail. There are also many example effects featured in the book that you can try out yourself and see in action(providing you have the appropriate hardware support).

This book provides a solid introduction to Cg which is identical to microsoft's HLSL except that the compiler and runtime interface support both OpenGL and DirectX profiles. Chapters 7 and 8 on environment mapping and bump are very good and really cleared up the mysteries of tangent space and normalization cube maps for me. Chapter 9 is a bit sparse and tries to cover too much with not enough detail (Fog,Projective Texture Mapping, Shadow Maps and Composition of layers) in my opinion. Still an excellent book and seeing the picture of virtual Dawn and the possiblities that were once only available to Hollywood and Pixars Renderman is really inspiring.

This book has become my "bible" for exploring the most beautiful and wild areas in Colorado from my home in Colorado Springs. My original copy of the book was destroyed when it was left in a soft-top jeep with the windows off, during a rain storm (while hiking one of the trails in the book, nonetheless). That is why I am back here to purchase another! One word of warning: the author seems to underestimate, vs. overestimate, the trail distances. Be prepared to hike an extra mile or two! This book is great!

I'm a native Coloradan. No matter what I want to do, be it a quick day hike up to a 4 day backpacking trip, this book has it. I own other hiking books, but this one gets by far the most use. I love the historical descriptions of each wilderness area. The maps are good enough to get your bearings and find the trailhead. Plus each Wilderness Area has a "John Fielder's Favorite" hike which always spectacular.

One thing, though. A reviewer below said the maps are inadequate... If you plan on anything more than a day hike, you should have topographical anyway. This is true for most if not all guide books.

As one of the few Colorado Natives, I have seen much of the state. But our local boy John Fielder has seen much more. His ratings, descriptions and maps have been 'right-on' with what I have seen thus far and with the Fielder photography, it provides a great additional perspective on the already detailed descriptions. I 've gotten lost in the book a few times just dreaming of my next outing!