This book is Ruth Plumly Thompson's first foray into Oz writing (and it is entirely hers, despite the publishers' initial story that she had written it based on notes left by L. Frank Baum), and it is hardly her best work, but it isn't her worst, either. She does a good job working with Baum's characters, and the premise of the book is an attempt to solve one of the greatest mysteries left behind by Baum: why the Scarecrow is alive. I know some people have been dissatisfied with the explanation, but I have no problem with it. A weak point to this book is that it isn't especially tightly plotted, with some moments where the action stops for no reason.

Thompson seemed to want to make Oz more multicultural than Baum left it, and, to this end, she used this book to introduce an Arthurian knight and an Oriental kingdom. While this is admirable in a way, Thompson uses a lot of stereotypes in writing about foreign cultures. The Scarecrow considers the Oriental Silver Islanders to be "stupid," and is disturbed to find out that they eat cats. The illustrations are even worse in this respect. I would say these stereotypes are the only potentially offensive part of the book, though (unless you're of a similar mind to the Wogglebug fan who posted an earlier review, in reply to whom I can only say that the Wogglebug might be slightly meaner here than in Baum's books, but overall, he's just as Baum introduced him: a stuffy, stuck-up academic, who is rarely intentionally mean or unfriendly, but often rubs people the wrong way). I would say any Oz fan should read this at some point, but, if it's your first Thompson book, keep in mind that she gets better.

On a quest for his family tree, the Scarecrow travels to the Munchkin farm where Dorothy originally met him. He falls down a magic beanstalk (the pole Dorothy rescued him from) and finds himself in a strange land, the Silver Islands, where he is proclaimed to be the re-created Emperor Chang Wang Woe. Meanwhile, when Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion realize that the Scarecrow is missing from the Emerald City, they go off in search of him. In this story, you'll meet many delightful new characters, such as the Doubtful Dromedary, the Comfortable Camel, and (my favorite) Sir Hokus of Pokes. Like Ruth Plumly Thompson's other Oz books, this one is as lively and at least as funny as L. Frank Baum's series. Thompson wrote 19 Oz books, so if you like this one, there are lots more to enjoy.

This book in its initial release was instant an Oz classic, but now Books of Wonder rereleases Thompsons first installment in Baum's Oz Series. In "The Royal Book of Oz " Thompson recaptures all of Baum's Oz magic and addes some of her own. In this 15th Official Oz Book Thompson revives the series by bringing back such classic characters as the Scarecrow(who finally comes to understand why he is alive, who is family is, and faces a lot of serious dangers along the way)and brings us all new Oz characters to enjoy such as Sir Hokus of Pokes(a vallent knight), and the Comfortable Camel. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an Oz Book with a Thompson twist.

Bill Hylton's first router book, "Woodworking with the Router", is a tough act to follow, apparently even for the original author. Where the "Woodworking with..." book is a discussion of routers, routing, woodworking, and problem solving using the router, this edition is, as its title suggests, a collection of the jigs and fixtures discussed and illustrated throughout the earlier collection. The emphasis here is answering your question of "how can I build a flumfungwoozle to do XYZ?"; it presumes you already perceived the need for the flumfungwoozle. The first volume starts on the other side of the problem: "How can I do XYZ?", and presents the flumfungwoozle along with other ways it can be done. (I hope that makes sense.) Given this difference in organization, the "Router Magic..." book is more suited to the advanced woodworker, while "Woodworking with...", I think, is suitable for all levels.

I own both. I read "Woodworking with..." for fun and for inspiration, and then maybe refer to "Router Magic..." to see other variants of how else something might be done. I would recommend both, but "Woodworking with..." gets the nod if you only intend to get one or the other. In either case, beginners should start there, instead of here, for the basic why's, what's, how's and everything else.

I've just received this book today and must admit that there are a lot of jigs in there. This is no router initiation book that teaches bit maintenance and such but focuses on jigs to make the work easier. Although certain jigs are a bit more complicated than others, I find that I could easily build any of the jigs (except the turning table) in a weekend. I think that the person who wrote a review saying that this book is complicated must really be under confident. This book contains plans and instructions to build every possible jig for a router! I recommend it!

The router table plans are worth the price of admission. Simple design, instructions and operation. And, just to show us all that no one's perfect, he included a photograph of some "pot metal" he broke while tapping an existing hole in a router base. The technique for assembling the router table also serves as an excellent instrucional guide on how to build a counter top and apply and properly trim laminate. It won't make you an expert overnight, but when you're done with the router table, you'll feel more confident about building and laminating countertops. Lot's of other small gems throughout the book. Highly recommend to beginners and intermediate woodworkers.

The Anotated A.A. Handbook packs a lifetime of A.A. into one easy to use reference source. With cross-references, footnotes and easy-to-understand indexing, it's a MUST for anyone involved in 12-step recovery! Now, when minutes are often crucial, I can quickly and confidently get my hands on the exact phrase or concept I need - WHEN I need it! "More will be revealed" never made more sense than it does today with the release of The Anotated A.A. Handbook! Thanks, Frank D. Five stars!

I just purchased my second copy of this book. I gave my first copy to a woman I have sponsored for 10 years. I have learned so much from this book about how to actually work the steps. Comments are tied to passages in the Big Book explaining the meaning and page and sentence links tie ideas together throughout the book. This must have been an incredible amount of work to put this book together. I especially liked reading the first edition stories. While my first copy was worth the work it took to read it, my new copy has all the typos fixed and is really much easier to follow.

I was very impressed by the Annotated AA Handbook by Frank D. It was very clear in its message and easy to follow. I have been reading AA books and other related materials for 16 years and will definatly include this in my collection. I have also highly recommended this to my friends and group members. Once again Thank You!!

This is an excellent text for the heat transfer novice, both as a supplement to a class and as a personal teaching tool. The writing is easy to understand, and the chapters are arranged logically. The examples are well chosen and usually demonstrate how the theory and equations can be put to good use.

I have only two complaints about this text: There are far too few sample problems (and no problems with only answers provided) and the mass transfer is not taught in a useful way. The prior is a failure of many text books, but the latter is a major drawback. Incropera and Dewitt basically say "Mass transfer is the same as heat transfer, except use these units and equations." All of the mass transfer is tucked into a few chapters, as if it was an afterthought.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the fundamentals of heat transfer, but look elsewhere for a useful introduction to mass transfer.

I thought this book covered conduction and convection heat transfer well, but I thought a better job could have been done on the section about radiation heat transfer. Perhapes more examples of radiation problems could have been used to make the subject more clear. I thought the mass transfer sections were well written and easy to understand. The solution guide to the problems are not available to the students. As with all engineering books, I think the solution guides should be available to the students to promote quicker and more efficient learning.

This is the best all around book on heat transfer I have come across. I have owned the 3rd edition for nearly 10 years and refer to it almost daily in my job (doing heat transfer and fluid flow analysis for a semiconductor equipment company). The theory is clearly explained and well illustrated by many worked examples. The extensive tables of thermal properties in the back are nearly worth the price themselves. I don't think the serious student of heat transfer can go wrong with this book.

I'd heard Peter David was good, though I was never really impressed by his work on Star Trek - Also I never really liked Supergirl, though the current version is a vast improvement on the original. Somehow though, I diecided to give this book a try, and was very impressed.

Peter David has taken one of the wettest superheroes around, and through a couple of neat plot devices, given the comic a really quite dark edge. The stories are consistently top notch, and the artwork is totally polished.

This is no Dark Knight or Watchmen. What this is is great superhero stuff, with a bit more depth than the norm and done to perfection. I highly recommend this book

Supergirl was always been a misunderstood comics character, not only with the public, but with many creators over the years who unjustly made her out to be a lightweight. But acclaimed writer Peter David not only brings back the Girl of Steel's long lost essence, he thrusts her into a contemporary setting that's as mysterious as it is thought-provoking. Gary Frank and Cam Smith's art compliment with a dark landscape that sparkles with surreal energy.

This is the collection of the first nine issues of DC Comics's monthly book SUPERGIRL. The story and artwork are briliant. Peter David redefines the Girl of Steel. Gary Frank's artwork is the best I have ever seen on comics. Frank's Supergirl, in my opion,is the best. Fans will be suprised and interested in the new direction of the post CRISIS Supergirl. Supergirl's new direction makes for fun, interesting, and thought provoking reading. There are also lots of guest stars from the DCUniverse dropping in from time to time; including one that also wears a big red S on his chest. This is a must for all Supergirl fans.

As the only extant full-length bio of ELP, "Welcome Back My Friends" serves the purpose of telling their story in as straightforward a manner as possible, going year-by-year and covering all of the high and low points with a fair amount of detail and research. It could be much more detailed, and as mentioned it is somewhat of a whitewash, since the authors are so clearly in love with the band that even low points like "Love Beach" and "In The Hot Seat" are given positive spins.(Ironically, one of ELP's best projects, the "Pictures At An Exhibition" film from 1971, is one of the few things that is harshly criticized here).

As a basic resource and information manual, the book does its job by providing in-depth song analyses, a very complete discography and complete concert date list. The song analyses are interesting, although some tracks are reviewed in much greater detail than others. The information on the bandmembers' personal lives if perhaps the weakest, although there is as much as could be gleaned from interviews. Until Emerson's elusive autobiography is released, this is the best way for ELP fans, both old and new, to read up on as much info as is currently available on the group. However, the best rock bios tend to put the artist in question against an overview of the era they influenced and were influenced by, and this is largely ignored outside of passing references to other prog acts, making it seem unusually insular.

At long last a book on the greatest band ever to ever exist.This book will not be a disappointment for ELP fans.It digs deep into the band's creativity and what drove them to make the best music possible.It also delves into the personal histories of the band;upbringing,musical influences, earlier bands and musical projects outside of ELP.The book also includes an excellent analysis of their music album by album.This section alone is worth the price of admission.It explains in great detail how ideas for songs came about and how they developed as well as paying great attention to technical detail.Also included are tour dates and a discography unlike any other seen before.Make no mistake,this band produced the most creative music ever heard.They defied traditional rock music by combining it with elements of folk,jazz and of course the classics.As individuals they excelled: Keith Emerson,who single-handedly brought keyboards to the forefront and is a master composer.Then there's Greg Lake,whose voice and lyrics-some written with King Crimson bandmate Pete Sinfield-were the perfect compliment for Emerson's adventurous music.Also notwithstanding are his skills as a bassist,guitarist and producer.Last but by no means least is Carl Palmer,quite simply the greatest drummer in rock history.This is a book that belongs on every fan's bookshelf.It is a complete and thorough history and it will not disappoint.As a longtime fan,I thank the authors for a job well done and highly recommend this book

George Forrester, et al, have created a straightforward and earnest look at Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, a band incorrectly reviled for their musical excellence, showmanship, and pretentions. In the early 1970's, few events were more exiting than hearing a new ELP release, and then seeing them perform live. In an era plagued with boogie rock, nascent glam, and the brewing punk, ELP plunged ahead towards a modernist reading of music. Combining their classical chops, jazz free-styling, and heavy-metal sound, they created not just a sound, but a world around their music.

George Forrester's book explains the history of the band, their musical steps, and mis-steps in clear, straightforward prose. While other works such as Paul Stump's The Music All's That Matter seems written with a distain for Prog and ELP, ELP: The Show Never Ends is an unabashed love letter for the devoted fan.

The books concludes with a musical exegesis of Keith Emerson's work, and to anyone who understands music, these analyses are enlightening, and thought-provoking.

If you want to learn about ELP, this is the place. If you want to relive the salad days, this is the place. If you want a picture of the rollercoaster ride of 1970's rock, this book will show you how a band was greeted with great hope and then dismissed into oblivion mostly because they knew how to play their instruments well.

Having been a researcher of the James family for the past 25 years made reading this book a great pleasure. Mr. Yeatman is the "John Newman Edwards" of the 20th century. (For those who don't know who John Newman Edwards was, he was a great writer friend of Frank and Jesse who literally kept the James story alive.)

Being the owner of the largest collection of actual James Family artifacts, I have read just about every book authored about the James', from "A Terrible Quintet", "Noted Guerillas" to the best one by Robertus Love entitled "The Rise and Fall". Mr. Yeatman's "Frank and Jesse James: The Story Behind the Legend" should be ranked among the best.

His research for the book was impeccable-This subject is not an easy one to write about as there are so many different aspects to the story. It is a story that transcends the human experience.

I have been friends with the great-grandson of Jesse for many years and have seen just how difficult it is for him, as a descendant, to have the fakers tell him he is,in truth not related to Jesse James-that he really died in Texas in 1951. In fact, DNA testing proved that Jesse James was buried in Kearney, Missouri just as any elementary James historian thought.

THANK YOU TED FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. It's a WONDERFUL book.

I have read any number of books about the notorious James boys and this one is no doubt the best. There are other books that would deceive you with made-up dialogue, and dubious "facts". I think there's probably a market for that sort of book, though, unfortunately, and some who are disappointed by this book may be expecting more of the same old legend, dished out for over a century, with a few more ruffles and flourishes. This is typical for many areas of the story of the old West, not just the James story. The author doesn't get into long-winded descriptions of the weather the night that a robbery was pulled, or what was going through Jesse's mind as he waited for a train. He wasn't there, can't read minds over a century, and the accounts usually don't say what the weather was like. Some lesser writers would have made it up out of whole cloth. You are not going to please everybody. The story is fascinating, once you get into it. Some people with a limited education or attention span may find parts tough going, though. I found it fairly easy reading, but it's a 480 page book covering over a century and a half of material. This is a complex story and there are plenty of characters that play their respective part in what is an American epic. The James boys did not leave memoirs of their deeds. There are only a few letters that survive. Much of what we have comes from court records, and newspaper accounts, as well as some scattered correspondence. It's truly amazing what other writers failed to locate in the historical record. If I had one book on the subject, this would be it.

This book is a well written, thoroughly researched, and highly readable biography of the James brothers. Mr. Yeatman presents the known and the speculated in the context of Frank and Jesse's life and times, without a noticeable agenda of his own. He is neither apologist nor critic; rather, the facts and fictions are presented as such, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions regarding the heroism or lack thereof of the two outlaws. Unique among biographers, he spends considerable ink on the years following Jesse's death, when a good bit of the history was written and rewritten. If you can only have one book on this subject, this is the one to have!

A little book that is filled with the whole cosmos. Follow the yellow brick road to a higher consciousness. You'll know why The Wizard of Oz movie has remained your favorite all these years, after reading just a few pages of this book. It takes you way beyond the simple lesson "there's no place like home." Joey Green takes you over the rainbow with Dorothy to experience "satori", the Zen word for awakening.

The Zen of Oz is a book worthy of both the Tao Te Ching and The Wizard of Oz. Both of these famous philosophical tools can be used as a guide for following the Yellow Brick Road toward a greater understanding of self and life. Joey Green masterfully applies the wisdom of the East to demonstrate the profound power and simplicity of the wisdom contained within the most popular film ever made in the West. As the author of a book about the Wizard of Oz myself, "The Oz Factors", I applaud Joey Green for his marvelous, magical book. If ever a Wiz(ard) there was, there was...

Wizard of Oz has always held a fascination as a metaphor of the human situation. Mr. Green takes that metaphor several steps further with equating Dorothy's Journey to that of the student of Zen, searching for enlightenment. Each of the characters comes alive in personifying the ten lessons to be learned in life. Get the book and answer the question, "Are you a good witch or a bad one?"

During his reviewing days at The New York Times, Frank Rich's love of the theatre was evident and contagious. Now we learn why: How could he not love an institution that had given him so much solace, excitement and escape when he was growing up? His remembrance of his 1950s childhood and the theatre (mainly musicals) that paralleled that troubled boyhood is special. It has much in common with Moss Hart's "Act One," another autobiography that traces redemption and lifelong devotion to the theatre. Rich's book will resonate most with people who recall musicals that thrilled and with grown-ups who began life in "broken homes" before divorce was as ordinary as an Andrew Lloyd Weber score.

I heard this book on audio tape in my car and found myself longing to go to work or do an errand so that I could get to the next chapter of Frank Rich's fabulous memoir.He remembered so many details of his life and presented them in such a candid way, that he endeared himelf to me. We listen to his feelings intenetly because he doesn't hide a thing. His joys and fears are all there and we experience them with him. I felt like I really got to watch him grow up, and I could feel his passion for the theatre grow along the way. I greatly identified with Mr. Rich because I also came from a divorced family with a very difficult stepfather. My only regret with this book is that it ended! I can't wait for the sequel.

Fifty years ago, legendary playwright and director Moss Hart published an authobiography entitled Act One that instantly became a classic and held its place among the greatest theatrical memoirs ever written. This month, former New York Times Chief Drama Critic Frank Rich published his own story, full of passion, literacy, and wonder, that at once pays homage to Act One and transcends it. Rich has crafted the definitive stagestruck story, and there is no more significant book on growing up in the theatre. Rich's boyhood becomes a spellbinding play, a story that is joyous, crushing, funny, moving, and indelible. Anyone who cares for the American theatre, who has ever been shaken by the pulse of an orchestra begining an overture, who can find in himself even a glimmer of the passion bursting from Rich on every page, must read this book.