I'm not a huge Knicks fan, but I really got into the whole story about the team. It also told me lots of inside tidbits about the NBA that I didn't know. I couldn't believe what Michael Jordan said to Jeff Van Gundy in Chapter 3. Like I said, I'm not a huge fan, but it was a wild read.

I liked the book. It told me a lot about the Knicks and the background politics that I didn't know. But I wanted more history about the Pat Riley days. It's not just about last season. There's a lot of unbelievable stuff leading up to the Knicks getting Sprewell. It could have been better if it had gone back into the team over the last 10 years or so, because there's so much stuff from the Riley era. Overall, the narrative holds up and the authors give some good insight about the reality of NBA life.

I read Bill Bradley's 'Life on the Run' about 20 years ago and had sworn off sports books since. This current group of Knicks did nothing to make me want to start reading again, but I got the book as a gift and after reading several pages became mesmerized by all the characters on the team. They're not my beloved Knicks from the Seventies, but this book really helped me to understand what the current NBA player is all about. It wasn't always flattering, and I liked that. I'd recommend this book for any old fogey like me who has trouble relating to the new guys.

There is a lot to say about this one: I first thought it was a sort of New Age hippie book, but it is not. This book, written by 2 scientist, mainly deals about the question whether the universe is as it is, exactly because we are here to observe it.
This book should be famous but it isnt, wrote one reviewer. I totally agree.

Every chapter you can read separately, therefore you dont have to be an Einstein to catch the full graps of all formula's presented, but each chapter adds more and more you could say evidence that maybe the theory that we are unique really is all too much of a coincidence NOT to be true: I started really sceptical, but in the end I almost had to agree that maybe the universe and us are really connected much more than we think. After all, science is so separated in disciplines now, e.g. we cannot explain biology with physical laws, so we are not really ready yet to fully understand whats going on in the universe, if we ever will. This book gives a nice objective! opinion, with load of interesting facts in all kinds of disciplines that allow you to make up your mind yourself about it. And a a reviewer also said, along the way you get a nice education about science, astronomy, chemistry and biology!
A very good book.

I have read a lot of science books dealing with cosmology, consciousness, experimental physics, and philosophy. To explore the possibilities of Anthropic Principle with these authors has been really fantastic. Great historical perspective gained with so many 'new' ideas. It's hard to believe it is some 14 years since written as there seems to be so many places to go with this nugget of balast - it all seems fresh and interesting.

I want to buy 2 more copies - but all outlets say 'out of stock'-
Hope it's available again soon!!

This book is a revolutionary treatise on cosmology and the fate of the human species. It is frankly the most breathtaking book I have ever read.

While quite technical in parts, other parts are definitely within the grasp of anyone who learned high school science well and is comfortable with algebra. For instance, it argues that we are probably the only intelligent species in the Milky Way, and that it is our fate to colonise our home galaxy. That, and other arguments in this book should have led to a cover story in Time and Newsweek. It did not, presumably because the astrophysics community views Tipler as being beyond the pale. This book also contains a superb and lengthy discussion of many fascinating topics in the history and philosophy of science. This discussion remains valuable regardless of the future evolution of our understanding of the universe.

I should grant that if it is the case that the expansion of the universe is accelerating and that there is not enough mass in the universe to reverse the process, as astrophysics now suspects, then parts of Barrow and Tipler's argument are in trouble. Also, the other great visionary among modern physicists, Freeman Dyson, has been known to disagrees with Tipler. But I still agree with the authors that the stars are our destiny.

I had never thought about how difficult it is to define a person clearly. Most biographies seem to concentrate on a dominant theme in a person's life. The life of a statesman, businessman, or military leader each provide the reader with a focus, that is the kind of story they are about to hear. This book has a devil of a time with this man Brandy because he is so hard to define. Frank Brandstetter has been an American success story of the type romanticized more than a century ago-but he is very much a real person! The book could easily have focused on a single aspect of his life. His WWII, pursuits which in part helped define the modern role of airborne forces or the fact that he was perhaps the best hotelier in the world thirty years later-each story would have made a respectable biography. It must have been hard to define a man who excelled at so many things in a life of intertwining interests and pursuits. Several months ago I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Brandy. In the hours of talk we enjoyed I was struck by the fact that though he appreciated the full complexity of the world (and was very much up to date on current affairs),he was able to distill and express the simple principles at work. Whether in a scientist or statesman this elegance is the mark of genius. The energy and electricity that surrounds him is coupled with a kindness and generosity that is remarkable. In this day of systems and focus on the group, it is inspiring to see what an individual can accomplish. Brandy's story should be read by everyone, students and adults, to remind us that committment to principles, hard work, and never ending creative forces can make a difference in our lives and those of others.

As a baby boomer, the only personal connection I had with WWII, was that my father worked as a chemist on the Manhattan Project in Washington State.

So when a friend sent me a copy of Brandy: Our Man in Acapulco: The Life and Times of Colonel Frank M. Brandstetter, I thought what does this book have to do with my life?

The answer is everything. The authors of this compelling historical memoir, Dominic Monetta and Rodney Carlisle, brought WWII and the Cold War to life for me.

Colonel Brandstetter's life reads like a Hollywood screenplay. this book has everything fiction has: espionage, movie stars, strong American values, heroic rescues and escapes. It is refreshing to know, in a world where sports figures are amongst the few heroes our young people admire, that there is a living war hero who saved hundreds and hundreds of lives as a human intelligence officer - a humble man with the courage and passion to make a difference.

I would urge teachers to request Brandy: Our Man in Acapulco as required reading in high schools around the country.

Brandy, Our Man in Acapulco; The Life and Times of Frank M. Brandstetter, is a fascinating account of the never-dull life of Brandy, a colorful WWII hero, intelligence officer, and hotelier. The co-authors, Professor Carlisle and Dr. Monetta, engage the reader with tales from the interesting life of a Hungarian immigrant who was at the center of some of the century's most memorable and important events. The authors recount Brandy's heroic escapades, from D-Day and helping to foil a massive breakout of German POW's from England during WWII, to ensuring the safety and rescue of hundreds of Americans from Cuba after Castro's rise to power. Following his retirement from active military duty and his "semi" retirement from intelligence work, Brandy went on to create and manage Las Brisas, the number one resort in the world during the 1970's. Many of his innovative management and motivational techniques are predecessors of current day employee motivation and hospitality management principles. The book's enticing Foreword is written by Astronaut Jim Lovell, of Apollo 13 fame. An excellent choice for history buffs and WWII enthusiasts, "Brandy" is quite a story and one that I highly recommend.

If you've read The Coming Plague (or some of the other books like Dancing Matrix) Virus X is a very interesting exploration of why viruses do what they do. Ryan's theory of symbosis as the "natural" state for viruses seems to explain why viruses wreak so much havoc when they cross species. It was also a revelation to realize that every species (all multiple millions of them) carry their own viruses. That's one large potential pool of what could erupt at any time...

Defintely worth reading if you're interested in the subject.

As a teacher who has a strange fascination with viruses, I use my summer to catch up on the latest books. While this book was in part a review of information presented in much more detail elsewhere (the endnotes are thorough with sources), the author's theory was new to me and kept me thinking for weeks. Even if you are quite familiar with the viruses discussed, I encourage you to read Dr. Ryan's conclusions.

British science journalist and physician Frank Ryan covers a lot of ground in this extensively researched and engagingly written trek into the world of emerging viruses. These viruses, indigenous to disturbed areas of the world, particularly in the tropics, are now being sprung loose to threaten humankind.

The first third of the book covers the story of the "Four Corners" hantavirus that jumped from deer mice to humans with fatal effect in the southwestern United States in 1993. This is science journalism at its best.

In the next third of the book Ryan takes us to the jungles of Africa and traces the origin and effect of the horrendously brutal Ebola virus. Again he tells an engaging story with a pictorial vividness. One is amazed at the courage and dedication of the health care workers and medical scientists who risked their lives to treat the sick and dying and to find the source of the deadly disease.

At the beginning of the last third of the book, Ryan reprises what we know about HIV, its origins, its spread, the political and social stupidities involved in its spread, and the prospects for combating this terror. Again he makes the personalities and the nature of their work come to life. Then beginning with "Chapter Sixteen: The Aggressive Symbiont," Dr. Ryan discusses in general and theoretically the evolutionary nature of viruses, where they came from, why they exist and what we can expect from them in the future. Most pointedly he explores the possibility of a doomsday virus that is simultaneously as easily spread as influenza and as deadly as Ebola.

In a sense this part of the book, originally published in 1996, predicts the SARS outbreak, but does not stop there. Ryan argues persuasively that, because of increased international travel, because of increased disturbance of natural environments, especially equatorial forests, and because of lack of sufficient preparedness, we are in mortal danger from a horrendous pandemic caused by an emerging virus, a virus he dubs "Virus X."

Part of his argument comes from the realization that every species on the planet harbors viruses. Most of these viruses exist in the host in a relatively benign manner. Ryan believes that virus and host are in a symbiotic relationship that has developed over the eons. The host shelters the virus while the virus, when shed into the environment, attacks other species with a deadly ferocity that protects the ecological position of the host. He calls this virus the "aggressive symbiont." It is here that Ryan's thesis is somewhat controversial.

For my part I think it is better to explain the deadly ferocity of an emerging virus by observing that the virus is killing its new host not to protect the old one but because it has not yet fine tuned its relationship so as not to kill the new host. Also the new host has not yet developed mechanisms for dealing with the virus to prevent it from doing egregious harm. Yet, it is valuable to see the virus as an "aggressive symbiont." Clearly the viruses (and other diseases) of the African rain forests are one of the reasons, as Ryan points out--perhaps the most important reason--that those jungles are still standing. It is clear that the AIDS virus that jumped from chimpanzees to humans would, in the pre-modern world, have the long-term effect of keeping humans from successfully usurping their territory. Perhaps it is best to say that viruses help to maintain the existing ecology.

However, to resolve this controversy will require predictive scenarios and experiments by scientists in the field. We should have a better understanding (and perhaps some more precise terminology) a few years down the road. For more information on symbiotic relationships see Ryan's recent and very excellent, Darwin's Blind Spot: Evolution Beyond Natural Selection (2002). Another excellent book on a closely related subject is Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures (2000) by Carl Zimmer where the emphasis is on the parasitic stage of symbiosis.

One of the most interesting ideas Ryan presents is that of "genomic intelligence." We are accustomed to thinking of intelligence in terms of computer chips or neurological growths, but perhaps the most important intelligence on this planet is of another kind, something like that of the ant colony or our immune system or that contained in the form and "behavior" of the virus. Consider, as Ryan does, that the virus has been co-evolving with its hosts, beginning with single-celled bacteria for perhaps a couple billion years or so. During this vast expanse of time it has "explored" the "landscape of the genome" (p. 226) and come to "understand" it so well that it is able to use the genome of virtually every creature on earth for its reproduction. Yet, the genome itself has its intelligence that has allowed it to continue to reproduce itself despite what the viruses are doing. This sort of intelligence cannot be discerned from examining the virus or the genetic code alone because such intelligence exists in concert with an environment at the molecular level of shapes and surfaces that is only expressed through the dynamics of growth. As in an ant colony there is no centralized "authority" where this intelligence exists; indeed the intelligence is an emergent property of the entity's interaction with its environment.

This book is therefore more than just a compelling report on the threat we face from emerging viruses, but an exploration of the evolutionary significance of our place within the viral environment. It is so well written, so well thought out and still so entirely pertinent to what is happening today that I would like to see Ryan revise it to include material on SARS and other outbreaks and to bring us up to date on what is now being done by the World Health Organization and other institutions to fight the grave dangers we face.

Northwestern University journalist professor Noella Wright invites highly regarded newspaper reporter Tom Douton to provide a lecture to her students. Cynical Tom, who champions the working class, refuses to step into the fantasy world of academia until Noella erodes away his reluctance.

When they actually meet, he begins to fall in love with the rosy-colored professor, who is his diametrical opposite in outlook. Their relationship grows until Noella begins to wear a pendant that she insists was given to her as a child by Santa Claus. He refuses to be associated with an educated lunatic and ends their relationship. Needing an article for his part of the newspaper's annual Christmas edition, Tom flies to the Black Forest in Germany to learn more about the heritage of the holiday. His plane crashes and he is mysteriously rescued even as Noella is willing to suspend her beliefs in order for them to find happiness together.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE may not be quite THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, but fans of seasonal romances will devour this interesting (though far-fetched) tale. The lead protagonists may be total opposites in perspective, but share much in common, which is why their relationship seems plausible. The story line is clearly and purposely a grand canyon of a stretch. However, fans of Yuletide romance who suspend reality for a few hours will simply enjoy Jerry B. Jenkins' fantasy love story that leaves no one left behind when it comes to feeling good.

Harriet Klausner

Northwestern University journalist professor Noella Wright invites highly regarded newspaper reporter Tom Douton to provide a lecture to her students. Cynical Tom, who champions the working class, refuses to step into the fantasy world of academia until Noella erodes away his reluctance.

When they actually meet, he begins to fall in love with the rosy-colored professor, who is his diametrical opposite in outlook. Their relationship grows until Noella begins to wear a pendant that she insists was given to her as a child by Santa Claus. He refuses to be associated with an educated lunatic and ends their relationship. Needing an article for his part of the newspaper's annual Christmas edition, Tom flies to the Black Forest in Germany to learn more about the heritage of the holiday. His plane crashes and he is mysteriously rescued even as Noella is willing to suspend her beliefs in order for them to find happiness together.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE may not be quite THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, but fans of seasonal romances will devour this interesting (though far-fetched) tale. The lead protagonists may be total opposites in perspective, but share much in common, which is why their relationship seems plausible. The story line is clearly and purposely a grand canyon of a stretch. However, fans of Yuletide romance who suspend reality for a few hours will simply enjoy Jerry B. Jenkins' fantasy love story that leaves no one left behind when it comes to feeling good.

Harriet Klausner

Northwestern University journalist professor Noella Wright invites highly regarded newspaper reporter Tom Douton to provide a lecture to her students. Cynical Tom, who champions the working class, refuses to step into the fantasy world of academia until Noella erodes away his reluctance.

When they actually meet, he begins to fall in love with the rosy-colored professor, who is his diametrical opposite in outlook. Their relationship grows until Noella begins to wear a pendant that she insists was given to her as a child by Santa Claus. He refuses to be associated with an educated lunatic and ends their relationship. Needing an article for his part of the newspaper's annual Christmas edition, Tom flies to the Black Forest in Germany to learn more about the heritage of the holiday. His plane crashes and he is mysteriously rescued even as Noella is willing to suspend her beliefs in order for them to find happiness together.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE may not be quite THE GIFT OF THE MAGI, but fans of seasonal romances will devour this interesting (though far-fetched) tale. The lead protagonists may be total opposites in perspective, but share much in common, which is why their relationship seems plausible. The story line is clearly and purposely a grand canyon of a stretch. However, fans of Yuletide romance who suspend reality for a few hours will simply enjoy Jerry B. Jenkins' fantasy love story that leaves no one left behind when it comes to feeling good.

Harriet Klausner

Tired of always seeing super-heros fighting the same old menaces, put them in jail, only for them to escape again later? Can't stand how no one ever stays dead anymore? Sick of seeing all these stupid codenames? Well, then the Authority is your answer. I remember when I bought my first issue of Authority. It's in this TPB, #13. I originally bought it just because I really like Frank Quitely's art, but after reading it, I found something more than that. The reason why the Authority is so popular is because they're not your average super hero. Some of them don't wear spandex, some of them don't have super hero names, but they're all relatable. When you read these characters, you say to yourself, "yeah that's what I would've done," or "right on!" I know what you're probably thinking, super heros shouldn't kill. But you know what? The villains they fight are so evil, you feel it's justified in the end. Like one of the lines in this book, they're just doing what any person in their right mind would do. If you had the power to stop a dictator from sanctioning rape and torture on their country, would you do it? If you had the technology to cure cancer, would you try and find it? That is what these people do. Do yourself a favor, don't just buy this book, but also get The Authority: Relentless, the first TPB. Trust me, you won't be disappointed

The first half of this book finishes up Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch's run on the book and in their final storyarc we can really see why they made the Authority great. After this the new team of Millar (also a good writer but not as good as Ellis) and Quitely take over. Quitely is a good artist, I just feels that he draws his people too chunky. Overall still a great read and though I was sad to see Ellis and Hitch leave the book, Millar and Quitely do an excellent job.

This volume is made up of two stories, "the Outer Dark" representing the end of the Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch first year run of the book, and "the Nativity" the start of the controversial Mark Millar/Frank Quitely run on the title.

While it isn't quite the breathless trip that the first two Authority story arcs were (collected in the see "the Authority: Relentless" trade paperback), it represents a fine ending to the Ellis/Hitch run and features the last bow of a memorable character, one after my own ex-leftie heart. (By the way, they take on God, but not the diety you're thinking of,...)

"The Nativity" starts off with the Authority lashing out against the government of Indonesia, which had hired "irregulars" to brutalize East Timorese into sanctioning their abusive regime in an upcoming election, and sending a message to the governments of the world: "we will not tolerate the human rights abuses by anyone, be they invaders from other worlds, "supervillains" or even, soveriegn states",... and this triggers the first of a series of counter strikes, this one launched by the ultimate cold warrior, a creative genius with his own plans for humanity. Both a satire of the conventions of the comic book superhero genre; the culture of celebrity in the this country; and an indirect indictment of abusive governments everywhere; "The Nativity" made both Mark Millar and Frank Quitely's careers in the US, and both rapidly moved onward and upward to far more lucrative assignments; but to date this remains some of thier finest work for American publishers, and its well worth a read.

As one of the reviews says, this can be a good book for some interested in the life of one of the most famous players of all the time. Although, even in that aspect, it is not entirely satisfying. My interest in Fisher is more in his games. And for his games, I would strongly advise the reader to look elsewhere. The notes and annotations are superficial and not at all helpful. The aim of the book may not be to improve your chess, but Fischer games deserve far better treatment than this one does. I was very disappointed.

An excellent and very detailed biography, complete with strong insight into the unique personality of the greatest American chess player of the 20th Century. I found this book to be a quite interesting pleasure to read. The chapters on the 1972 World Championship Match were satisfying indeed. This book gives you a good background to the present ongoing Russian/Soviet domination of the game at it's highest levels. It makes you think of the pity inherent in Fischer not defending his hard earned title.

Eminently readable, but strangely unrevealing. Full of details about all sorts of Fischer tantrums, negotiations, etc., but somehow the real Fischer is absent. Noteworthy is Brady's refusal to write a single word about Fischer's sex life or lack thereof. Brady outlines his career from age six to the end of the World Championship match with Spassky in 1972. One gets the sense that Fischer was unconsciously a master of the psychology of intimidation, but gradually became more of a paranoid schizophrenic. As the book ends and Fischer has secured the world title, the reader can see he is about to leave the world of the sane. Also absent was any explanation, or quotes from Fischer on why he embraced the fundamentalist World Wide Church of God faith and dumped his nominal Jewish identity. I mean, does Fischer pray to a personal God? Does he actually believe in hell fire, etc.? Brady gives no hint. The details about Fischer's incredible work ethic and maniacal devotion to the game, however, help us to see how he became at the time the greatest chess player in the history of the game. Also good were the many glimpses of the chess players and personalities of the times, including Evans, Cramer, Edmunson, Reschevsky, Petrosian, Tal, Spassky, and others.

The other thing that Brady is mum on is Fischer's famous prejudices. Brady spares us Fischer's anti-Semitism, etc. There are almost no quotes of Fischer's famous stupidities. When Brady talks about the article in Harper's Magazine by Ralph Ginzburg in 1961 he says that "Bobby is depicted as a monster of egotism, scornful of everything outside himself and the game" who has a "hopeless vulgarity." But Brady quotes nary a word to show us what Fischer supposedly said. I guess the real problem with Brady's biography of Fischer ("profile") is that he was tiptoeing around Fischer's prejudices as though afraid to offend him, as though it was essential to stay in his good graces. Brady writes that when Fischer was displeased with anyone, he just cut them out of his life completely and ruthlessly. I think Brady was trying to write a true biography while staying within Fischer's good graces, an impossible task.

The guy who should write a Fischer biography is Grandmaster Larry Evans who knew him very well, who played at Fischer's level, and a man who was instrumental in helping Fischer achieve the success he did. Without the patience, understanding and guidance of Larry Evans it is likely that Fischer would have gone off the deep end long before he began, let alone finished, the historical match with Boris Spassky.

The Destruction of Atlantis offers an unusual and thought provoking theory regarding the famous lost land. I found most of the author's evidence compelling and his arguements well reasoned, though they are not the conclusions most readers of books on the subject have come to expect. Most scholars still insist Atlantis is an allegory created solely by Plato, though they vary about what he intended with it. Joseph dissagrees, putting him in the 'believer' camp.

Since I also think it had an historical mode. I was greatfull he was not some academic out to trash it.Because I'm fascinated by the so called Bronze Age [ ca.4000-1200 B.C.] I enjoyed his attempt to set it at that era, rather than the literal dates [ ca. 9593-9420 B.C.].lt meshes with my own resaerch over the last 30 years. Still, many readers may be startled by the idea and some, already commited to another theory might not appreciate Joseph's reduction of Plato's literal dates and scale.They could be uncomfortably reminded of the theory that Atlantis was Crete or the Aegean isle of Thera, which was devastated by a massive volcanic eruption 3500-3650 years ago,despite the authors efforts to distance himself from it. Others may feel he was too critical of it, given that he dates Atlantis demise to ca.1198 B.C., only a few centuries later and also advocates a reduced scale due to accidental errors in translating the story. But, unless Plato made it all up [ as critics contend ] he could not have avoided the sort of mistakes hypothesized and doubtless alterred or added details to suit his own purposes. Ideosyncratic as it is Josephs thesis is not entirely unique, though no one has proposed exactly the same comination of date, location and scale before, much less his mechanism for the catastrophe. Those seeking a primeval super culture that gave rise to all civilization will come away dissappointed, yet Plato never described Atlantis in those terms. In his day the chronology for earlier times tended to be both confused and greatly exaggerated. For interested readers with open minds the book is a veritable treasure trove and well worth its price. I also recommend 'Alien Rapture,' by Brad Steiger which I just finished and 'Unconventional Flying Objects' by Paul Hill. Check out the reviews. I also highly recommend this book.

Frank Joseph's new book presents a well reasoned if not always flawless arguement that Plato's Atlantis existed during the Late Bronze Age in archaeological terms , being destroyed ca.1200 B.C.. His choice of dates is not entirely unique. lt was first presented by the late Jurgen Spanuth in a series of books between 1956 and 1979. several other authors such as James Baily [ 'THE GODKINGS AND THE TITANS',1973 and 'SAILING TO PARADISE',1994],J.M.ALLEN ['ATLANTIS:THE ANDES SOLUTION',1999],Eberhard Zangger [THE FLOOD FROM HEAVEN; DECIPHERING THE ATLANTIS LEGEND 1992], and Peter James [THE SUNKEN KINGDOM,1995] all accept the chronology but dissagree on the location. (actually P. James is a chronological revisionist who would reduce the date to ca.925-950 B.C.,though for the same archaeological period.) Mr. Joseph tries his best to set Atlantis where Plato appears to put it - right outside Gibraltar. Some, however, feel that he meant directly across the ocean and so in the Caribbean or the Americas. Thus, while well argued his theory will not please those who already favor another location such as the Americas or Antarctica, for example. Nor is it liable to convince anyone who thinks the story to be purely allegorical. lt is an excellent introduction to the subject for those interested but uncommited to any particular hypothesis. The proportional reduction of Plato's dates and demensions may remind some readers of the Minoan-Atlantis theory but the author is at pains to distance himself from the latter.Their ten-fold reductions had little or no ancient backing, especially where the dates are concerned. And yet the years as months solution was cited by virtually every ancient writer who dealt with Egypt, whence the tale ostensibly came.Still, many today are skeptical of the idea, particulary those that require a distantly prehitoric Atlantis. The reduction in scale is plausible but will upset literalists and 'New Agers' seeking a Paleolithic super-civilization 12,000 years ago.To Joseph's credit Plato never said nor even implied that Atlantis was the progenitor of civilization, a basic assumption of many Atlantiists. As for the issue of the scale the unit he mentions, the aroura, was a primary unit of area amongst the Egyptians but was sometimes called a stadia because that was it's circumference. The Greek stadium was a unit of length. Thus the reduction was 1/4th Plato's literal scale but it wouldve' been an easy error to make.Only if Plato made up the whole story, as the critics contend, could he have transmitted it utterly free of mistakes. Even were it basicly historical Plato might well have intentionally altered details for his own reasons. He was a philosopher not a modern jounalist! l might have prefered a bit more detail on the context the author chose but that mightve' proved too technical for most readers.Those more into psychicly obtained information like the readings of Edgar Cayce will doubtless be dissappointed here, as they won't find any flying vehicles or 'power crystals'. Others may not accept the transoceanic diffusion aspect. I appreciated the latter, however, since Mr. Joseph does edit a magazine on the subject [ANCIENT AMERICAN]. So, if your mind is open where Atlantis is concerned l highly recommend the book.l'm glad to have it in my collection.

"The Destruction of Atlantis," written by Frank Joseph, is by far the best book I have read concerning the fall of the lost city of Atlantis. The book brings uses evidence from several civilizations worldwide to futher its claims and is terribly compelling. Jospeh starts slow, first recounting the story of Atlantis as he sees it and then elaborating his details with scientific fact. This book is definantly one that is hard to put down; it coherantly brings together everything scientists know about the city and everything they are afraid to pursue in a manner that is understandable to anyone.

The book is centered around the idea that Atlantis sank to the bottom of the Atlantic during the early days of November 1198 B.C.E. after a meteor struck the ocean setting off a huge cataclysmic event. Joseph explains how the world was reaching the height of civilization when a horrific deluge ensued, knocking back humanity and destroying the Bronze Age.

This book is wonderfully written and I encourage any Atlantean fanatic OR skeptic to check it out; it is definantly worth it.

A bit more in-depth discussion of the effects (and more importantly, some of the unconventional backlot techniques used to achieve them) would have been greatly appreciated. After watching the series I was personally impressed at the depth they were able to establish with such a (reportedly) small budget.

As stands, this book gives a great overview of the process and challenges that went into creating the excellent cable miniseries 'Frank Herbert's Dune', and I highly recommend giving it a read!

This is a great addendum to the Dune miniseries on the Sci-Fi channel. I thoroughly enjoyed the color section in the middle of the book and reading about the director and production of the expensive series. The DVD that came with it was fun but long winded at times when the interviewees went into what they 'believed' to be Frank Herbert's desires. But how could they know? Anyway, a good book for the Dune fan to pick up.

I don't have a DVD, so that part didn't make much difference to me. But I am a fan of Dune the book and a hater of Dune the movie. So I wanted to know what was going on with this television adaptation. Even though it's mostly a picture book, it still has a bunch of information. I really liked seeing all the photos. And I'm very happy they had a color insert so we could get an idea on how the sets really look. I liked this book a lot--it made me want to see the show.

I agree with the author. I find many of the creative attempts of the mainstream Christian culture very bland. I feel that we have lost many of the traditions of great writers like C.S. Lewis and artist working in a myriad of other genres. However, aside from communicating his premise and a few morsels of truth this book falls on its face. I was left to puzzle out specific examples of mediocre art, no specific examples were given. Further the author also jumps into tirades about abortion. Abortion is wrong, but what does that have to do with the arts?

I wish that the author had some training in classical argument, or had hired a ghostwriter to present his arguments. If he had I might not be left with the irony that his book is mediocre.

An excellent book with a lot to offer the continually diminishing world of quality Christian art. Lot's of opendendedness in my opinion--do this, but how. His book is where practicality and creativity collide. I don't think he INTENDED to give any answer about how to do it other than: CREATE. He did draw some excellent conclusions about how we (Christians) have compartmentalized almost everything in our lives and placed certain values on different vocations and ways of life. Necessary reading for Christian actors, writers, visual artists, and housewifes wishing to raise children that think.

This book is a rare treat because Schaeffer does what few others have the courage to do: take Christians to task for their flawed views of God, art and man.

If the book is at times stinging in its criticism, that is only because it is so accurate that it makes us wince, and rightly so.

Schaeffer's discussion of the utilitarian approach to art which the Evangelical community has adopted, and the further discussion of how the effects of that have crippled the church in some significant ways, is sobering.

The often abrasive tone is reminiscent of the prophets in the Old Testament who challenged and prodded God's people. Schaeffer serves that same purpose here. Much like Leyland Ryken's book The Liberated Imagination, Addicted to Mediocrity urges us to recapture the Imago Dei - the truth that we are created in God's image and that therefore we are all creative in some fashion.

For the past 20 years, at least, artists who are also Christians have been pushed farther and farther to the fringes by the evangelical community, force to justify their art to skeptical evangelicals who search for an exact accounting of evry line in a poem, or every brush stroke in a painting.

This book is encouraging to me as as artist, and opens the door for further exploration with the understanding that "Art needs no justification" as Schaeffer says.