I hesitated a long time before buying this book, doubting that it could add anything to the great short story by Eric Frank Russel it was based on. Eventually I decided to buy it anyway because I loved the short story so very much and in years of searching had not been able to get a copy of the original which I had borrowed from a friend.

Though all elements of the orginal story where there, what I feared was proven right, the extension from short story to novel became boring. The lengthening of the story without really adding anything to it made it awkward rather than captivating and in the end I paged to the latter fourth of the book, no longer able to finish it.

The sad thing about it all is that it's not a bad story, just one that does not manage to capture the grandeur of the original. My advice: If you read the orginal story, don't read this one, try to get hold of one of the `flinx' books instead which are far more worthwhile.

The story covers what sorts of things might happen when different cultures, er "species", encounter each other. War, obviously, is one possible result. The really interesting aspect that Foster delves into is fanatical narrow-mindedness. The antags in this story can't really see how to make use of their resources to prosper. The protags very much can, and do. Also, the protags are very open-minded - in more ways than one. Plus they are quite intelligent and quite well-equiped to deal with intergalactic relations. Prosperity in this book, doesn't come from power or wealth but in a state of mind, a noble pursuit, and the willingness and ability to communicate and cogitate.

The plot is very upbeat and yet at the same time not without its share of suspense. The characters are interesting and likeable.

Classic Russell material, fun and witty, using social and political avenues to defeat bad guys who could almost be government but portrayed as aliens instead!! If you dislike big government and being controlled by it, you will really enjoy this book!

I was just looking for cna testing guides. I ended up just getting a copy of a novell course book and returned this book instead. You'd do better if you just bought testing software from bigred testing.

Overall the book is good, but this is not the only book that you should rely on studying the CNE. This is a good practice review. You can't pass all the exams relying on this one alone.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has 'real world' experience/knowledge. There are precious few wasted words here; If it is in the book, it is on the test.

Last Thursday night at 8:00 pm I completed my research on what book(s), and chose this book, and only this book. While no book is perfect, this one plus CNEQUIZR 4.5 (yes pay the unlock codes) filled the bill.

NOTE: An inexperienced person should not expect to acheive the CNE that quick, however this book does fit the bill.

Hit cramsession.com, and the CNEQuizR sites for very helpful and accurate test requirements.

I give this book all thumbs up!

The whole attitudes of the guys who wrote this book borders on bad taste. They should wash their mouths out with soap.

As an instruction book this one's useless. It's full of finished drawings and sketches, but it has exactly zero instructional material -- it's perhaps nice to look at, but you won't learn a thing from it. Most of this series is this way, btw, a lot of stuff is being offered that's flashy but useless for a student. I suggest working with a more basic drawing books, like drawing human figure, face, etc., the ones that deal with anatomy and movement. Then, this one perhaps can be good to add a style. Iow, at best, this is not a beginner's book. At worst, it's good for nothing at all. Definitely peruse it in a store, don't buy it off the web without looking at it first.

I buy most every art book on how to draw comics, and leapt at the chance to purchase this book, sight unseen.

My biggest beef with this book, is the lack of diagrams and real drawing reference. Instead we get a lot of 'figure drawing' style sketches accompanied by an occasional full color illo. Not bad, but not what I'm looking for in a drawing instruction book.

This book needs more diagram style drawings with art measured in head lengths (muscles) we women have them you know...(Grin). And step-by-step instructions. Regretfully, this book is composed of nearly finished illustrations. The "turnarounds" that exist are small and amateurly done (page 12 & 13), and should reflect MORE body types and have better details in the arms and legs.

Also the artist seems to have trouble drawing arms. The arms seem disproportionate, and at times are drawn so long, they appear almost ape-like, other times they hang at awkward angles as thought the artist doesn't know quite what to do with them.

Additionally, many of the illustrations in this book, look like they were done in figure drawing class, and don't look like comic book women.

The sections on faces needed to be expanded and improved. Women are drawn with staring eyes and open snarling expressions, making them look like they are suffering from a bad hangover.

What I DID like was the fabulous use of color. Some art is quite good, such as the art used to head each chapter.

While this book is not likely to provide you with anything new in the way of art reference, it has some decent artwork overall and may be able to give the beginning artist some insiration.

I have been concerned about finding an analytical book on "The Undoing Of James Jesus Angleton," as counterintelligence has been one of the strongest enemies which clear thinking had to face during his lifetime, and for far too long since then. Trying to understand this on an individual level which is much more familiar in the literature of our time, SPYTIME by William F. Buckley, Jr. uses the style of the typical mystery detective to muse on the inner confusion which drove the ideology of secrecy in search of "The Golitsyn Epiphany: the United States Government continued unaware of the lengths to which Soviet policy was based on persistent, systematic, dogged disinformation and deception." (p. 144). Chapter 56 covers Angleton's last 45 minutes on the job, from DCI Colby's "Effective at noon today you are relieved of all duties," (p. 299) but Colby didn't actually say that his job was being terminated, so naturally James Jesus Angleton kept thinking along the same lines as throughout the book, obsessing on what is going to happen to things in his safe at "almost two in the morning." (p. 302). The final chapter is clearly from Angleton's point of view. "I am doing an important exercise." (p. 303). In the end, the nature of Angleton's personal obsession is made perfectly clear, but the vast stretched time in which the book is set, skipping from December, 1962 (Chapter 36, p. 205) to January, 1966 (Chapter 51, p. 271) to November, 1972 (Chapter 52, p. 276) to February, 1973 (Chapter 53, p. 281) to 1974 for the final chapters, manages to miss the length of time the agency lost to confusion in unnecessary disputes, as: "On the matter of Nosenko, for instance, I [Angleton] ruled that his credentials were suspect." (pp. 291-2). If ever an agency did not want to believe what a Soviet agent was saying (the best example of a perfect failure since the great tragedy "Oedipus Rex"), it was whenever Nosenko was talking to the CIA, but the ability of intelligence to defeat itself is not what this book is about.

A very decent book and an interesting read, but Buckley's
fictional account of some of Jim Angleton's anti-communist
work lacks enough detail to really prove engaging.
As a mystery, the story seems a little weak, but passable.
A more glaring omission is Buckley's usual detailed knowledge
and background, and we are allowed only the slightest insight
into Angleton's thinking and motivation. It's especially glaring here because the author has significant knowledge
of the events and eras covered, but he has chosen not to share
it with the reader.
Angleton was the CIA's Chief of Counterintelligence for 20
years, and he was one of the leading anti-communist fighters
of all time, and he devoted his life to that cause, and we
have to wish Buckley would have shared significantly more of
his insights and knowledge. Even in a fictionalized account,
the author could have easily added far more interesting details
and stories.
This work is barely an introduction to either the life and times
of the famous Angleton or to the enormous anti-communist
effort so many Westerners made for decades.
This is a book to read in between more serious pursuits.

William Buckley has in his later years developed a surprising talent for fiction, and he couldn't have picked a more intriguing subject to focus it on with this book than James Angleton. How does one portray a man like Angleton? The spy novel genre, as epitomized by writers like John Le Carre, tends towards heavily convoluted plots, language, and characterizations in the effort to force the literary vehicle itself into a representation of the dark and twisted ethos of espionage. And one might have expected Angleton, as the quintessential cold-war spymaster, to have inspired just such a brooding study. However, Buckley will have none of that with his book, and taking the opposite tack, he crafts his novel with the same crisp lucidity that animates his political commentary. Employing spare sentence structure, sprightly characterization and fast-paced narrative, he draws a portrait of Angleton that has nothing sinister or even particularly mysterious about it. The legendary CIA counterintelligence chief emerges from this as entirely human - flawed and quirky, but brilliant, loyal to friends and motivated by a sincere patriotism. Underlying the story, however, is a kind of sad commentary by Buckley on the tragic nature of espionage as a profession. Much like a good cop corrupted by the violence of a high-crime neighborhood, Angleton by the end of his career seems helpless against the pressures driving him into a paranoid pathology. Frustrated by his failures to detect genuine traitors in his own ranks, Angleton becomes suspicious of everyone and begins voicing reckless accusations. This being historical fiction, of course, we all know how the story ends. When the CIA comes under hostile scrutiny during the post-Watergate period, Angleton has few friends left able or willing to defend him from his detractors, and he is sacked from the Agency he had devoted his life to. In what must have been the bitterest of ironies for him, attacks on his own loyalty are among the charges that doom him. Buckley touches on all this only very lightly at the end of this short work, but the simple brushstrokes paint a poignant picture. Spytime is a very good book and I recommend it.

I've had the 'pleasure' of experiencing numerous calculus texts over the years - starting in high school in 1987 and until now (mutlivariable calculus) and, as a math major, I'm sure I'll get to see a few more. I witnessed the growth in the use of graphing calculators and Computer Algebra Systems (CAS - MathCAD, Mathematica, Maple). Thomas' Calculus makes good use of CAS applications and even includes a CD with some 'good stuff'. But it left out all the historical text from the book, expecting the student to find it on the web. Personally, I enjoy reading about the development of mathematics in-line with the presented material and knocked off a star accordingly. The second star I took off was because the reference materials in the front and back of the book are not as helpful as they had been in other texts I've used.

I've used this text to teach myself calculus, basically reading the text cover-to-cover and doing about half the exercises. I've found it fairly easy going - the text is well written and contains enough worked examples that you can do most exercises without too much trouble. I would advise against spending money on the Student's Solution Manuals (Sharf/Weir) though - these do not contain enough detail to be of much help with the exercises that you get stuck with.

This book is the best calculus book I ever had in my possession. It is very detailed and it also gives you lots of examples. There are also a lot of problems that you can work on for practice followed by the odd answers at the back of the book. This book can take you from calculus I & II to Multivariable Calculus. I think that this book should be recommended to anyone taking calculus in college.

ANY HISTORIAN WHO CONFUSES THE NAME OF A GREAT GENERAL WITH THE ANCIENT PLYING OF HUMAN FLESH, AKA, HOOKERS, SHOULD BE FIRED FROM HIS POST AND REDUCED TO THE ENGAGEMENT WITH SADAM HUSSEIN. PERHAPS THE CONTEMPORY WORLD WOULD BETTER SUIT HIS KNOWLEDGE BASE.

Thanks to 2/14 "Sad" Review for piquing my curiosity, I got a copy and found Vandiver's 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the Civil War to be a lot of fun, breaches notwithstanding! In fact, I checked the entry "Sad" complains about with the source, Francis Miller's outstanding 10-volumn series, Photographic History of the Civil War. Miller too has General Sherman leaning on the "breach" of the gun! Misspelling aside, the book is a good one, and I am grateful to a scholar of Vandiver's stature for taking the time to do a popular work of this nature. 1001 Thanks!

I must admit that the seemingly conflicting reviews here encouraged me to read this book, and I discovered that the negative reviewers did not take the larger view that the author obviously did, and look at the war as a cost to both sides, and a tragedy and loss to both the North and South. (thus a battle is both a victory and a defeat...)Their comments seem mean-spirited and obviously not thought out; nor was the preface read by some of them! This author has done a difficult task- reducing the war into 1001 things- extremely well in my view; the biographical sketches were insightful and poetic and all of the battle descriptions were vivid and exciting. Excerpts from diaries and military papers and miniscule details show the depth of knowledge and the scope of research of this author. I would recommend it.

I love her voice and sytle, however this psysobable is intolerable. I had to stop reading and listen to her sing just to regain my sanity. Sorry to say but stay away far far away

This is a fact & fiction portrait of one of the great operatic artists. Maria Callas as daughter, sister, wife, lover, thwarted mother & prima donna assoluta.

Do take out one of Maria Callas' CDs as you read this author's fictional autobiography of this darling of the rarified reaches of haute couture, drama & music.

Dr. Bond comes by her ability to see inside another person's mind, honestly. She spent 40 years doing just that as a Freudian analyst in the Mother of All Cities, New York!

A golden voice is no guarantee of a golden life, & if you have no idea who Maria Callas was, then this novel, written in the first person, will go a long way to re-creating this woman with a divine voice who had a leaden private life. She was, when all is read & done, a child of her era & a woman of her time.

Did I like THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARIA CALLAS: A novel? Not really, then I'm not a huge opera fan nor a Maria Callas aficionado. Do I admire Dr. Bond's effort? Absolutely! Is it a work of art? You betcha!

Ultimately, we can never know what goes on in another's mind, but psychologist and author Bond does a lyrical job of imagining the inner workings of one of the best singers in history. She's not a musician reviewing Callas' musical life, but a therapist imagining her inner life - and it's a good read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This book made me quite skeptical at first. It made claims of reading speeds in excess of two and three thousand words per minute. After finding out that these speed are only attainable after the overview technique I regained confidence in the book. It contains valuable advice and information on the use of techniques contained within its' covers. The skills an individual can expect to develop from this book are; faster, more efficient reading, higher comprehension and retention, better note taking, and better preparation for deadlines. These skills are essential for any student and individual in a professional occupation. Based on the benefits I have received, I would recommend this book not only to anyone wishing to improve these skills, but also to any educational curriculum.

The techniques shown in this book as well as the effort you put in to using them. There are alot of success stories, but they are motivating and, well, it's the perfect way to practice what you are taught! I liked it.

I am an advocate of "right-brain" thinking but had never considered using this approach for reading. I had never seen the way I currently read as linear. This technique opens a whole new fontier in learning for me. It has helped me considerably in a very short time. The advise for studying and note-taking are real time savers.

I learned Sign Language several years ago so the idea of letting your mind grasp the concepts rather than reading each word out loud appeals to me in the same way that I believe Sign Language is actually a faster way to communicate rather than speaking each word.

wow,this brings back memories.the first time i saw the cover of this book was way back in '94, in batman nightquest days,azrael days.and after nine years ,i managed to get hold of a copy,thanks to amazon.
about the book:good art,good coloring,but bad story.
the book says it's a companion piece to dc's the dark knight returns. a frank miller story.batman in it has the same feelings as in the dark knight returns, old and grumpy,minus the great story of course.and it's about illegal military weapon experiments with robots,which batman accidentally discovers,and takes him to new york,were he collides with spawn for vigilante methods differences,until the obviuos end. spawn looks great and angry as usual .mcfarlane's art is good.and there is a nice surprise on the last page.but the boring story...
for collectors only.
p.s can somebody asks dc to print more azrael graphic novels?
there is only knight's end knightfall,and the sword

Let's face it kids: Miller and McFarlane are two of the most talented (or at least popular) people to ever work in the comic medium. And this is, hands down, the BEST Spawn/Batman crossover there is. Is it a bit short on plot? YES. Is the artwork a bit too flashy in places? OH, YES. But, as a crossover book, this is definitely top draw for my dollar. Nobody writes either Spawn or Batman as well as Frank Miller, and he manages to pull through in most cases here. McFarlane's artwork is, well, McFarlane's, so if you don't like it, don't pick this one up. But if you're a fan of either Miller or McFarlane, and if you have a real interest in how these two characters would interact (which is really what this is about, not the villian), then this book is definitely worth your money.

This story had all the hallmarks of a great Batman tale. The dialogue was fresh, gritty, and totally Batman--Frank Miller style. Plus, with McFarlane's art, how can you go wrong? When you try to include the plot. While the dialogue and interaction between Spawn and Batman make this a must-read for diehard fans, the plot is severely uninteresting. Ironically enough, in the other crossover, War Devil, the plot is the only good point in an art-poor, dialogue-poor story. So if we could just find a way to combine the two, we'd have a seriously good Batman story. Anyway, the comic's worth the money, just to see Batman go toe-to-toe with a demon from hell and hold his own. Not to mention all the great one-liners and Batman quotes. Oh yeah, and Mr. Arrogant's art isn't too bad, either.

Let me start by saying I'm a big Frank Miller fan, and I absolutely love "Sin City."

If you have heard about how great "Sin City" is, and want to check it out, I'd recommend you read this one last. If you're going to skip one, this is the one.

Basically, there's nothing to it. It had my interest early on, but then it just turns into one absurd action scene after the next. While that may sound cool, it gets old real fast.

If you're a diehard "Sin City" fan, nothing I say will stop you from buying this. I don't think you'll hate it. I didn't. It's just mediocre when compared to the other "Sin City" stories.

It's Sin City; it has to be good, right? Well...yeah. Not too heavy on meaning (although the family overtones are fairly obvious), just a good story that made a little less sense than most of the other Sin Citys. Still, it's all good when we're talking about Frank Miller.

Miller once again has another masterpiece on his hands with Family Values.It's Sin City at it's best. The Art is a little rough, sort of like the stuff in Sex and Violence.Lynn Varley's cover colors are a work in itself. The Story was superb, with all the family tones. Miho on Rollerblades is one of the books most memorable scenes in there. It really doesn't tie in with the rest of the series but look for two verbally expressed individuals making a little scene.Great art Great Story, keep it comin Frank !!!!!