I bought this book before I spent a summer in Spain. When I got to Spain, I had to buy a different travel guide because so many things in this book were not correct. Many of the hours they listed for museums and other attractions were wrong, the prices they listed for restaurants, bars and clubs were wrong, and many of the places they suggested to go were absolutely terrible. I bought the book because I though it was geared for college students, but their attempts for this were way off and it feels like it was written by older people who do not know have fun traveling around Spain.

When I picked up Hanging Out in Spain, I hoped for an informative guide that would help me find my way around Spain. I went to Spain last year with several guides because I couldn't get the information I need from one guide. When I read Hanging Out in Spain, I realized this would be the only book I will be taking with me on my trip to Spain this year. Not only is it loaded with very useful information, it's written in a casual, comical style. The book addressed all the questions a hip 20- something traveler would need to know, from the coolest night spots, to a concise overview of the history and culture in every region of Spain. They tell you what the local crowds are like, what their interested in talking about, and where to get some edible food. I highly recommend any traveler with plans to go to Spain to pick up Hanging Out in Spain.

Frank Herbert produced a number of pot boilers, such as the "Whipping Star" series, before creating "Dune" which, excluding some of its sequels, must rank as the definitive alterntaive future history with a unique depth of characterisation and "world building". This book has a couple of gimmicks to it, some salacious imagery, but the metaphysical value of it all escapes this reviewer (apologies to our Dutch contributor). There is a good point about the comparative difference between human/organic potentials and closed, mechanistic systems, but that isn't enough to sustain the read. Read "Dune" or "Dragon under the Sea" (a.k.a "Under Pressure") for better Frank Herbert.

The feel to "Heaven makers" is similar to that of "Godmakers" and "Whipping Star". Herbert again manages to bring to life a complete future world. In true Herbert fashion, he continues to surprise and fascinate as you try to get your mind around his wonderful, amazing ideas. The Chem are an immortal species, whose greatest fear is boredom. The story focuses on one of their ways to amuse themselves by "experiencing stories", a sf- version of watching movies. Only these stories are the real lives of people, who are being manipulated by the Chem to provide a good "movie". One of the countless people manipulated in this fashion are humans on Earth... As the story unfolds around these main ingredients, Herbert manages to put forward some fascinating, mindboggling views on life, deah and immortality, as well as creating a great deal of suspense. If you like Herbert, you will like this book the same way you liked his others, although still nothing tops "Dune". If you don't know Hebert, here's an excellent way of making your acquaintance.

Barron's guide for State trooper and Highway Patrol exams is way off base. I just got done taking my California Highway Patrol test and found out that I just wasted my time using the Barron's guide. There was literally probably only 5% of the material off of Barron's guide actually on the test. Do not buy this!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is for anyone who wants to be a State Policeman. It has all of the necessary information for studying, hints for the test day and your interview, things you should and shouldn't do during the interview. It prepares you for actual test questions on the test,ie: what kind of test questions to expect. This is the study book of all study books. Highly recommended to the individual who wants to really be a police officer.

"I Can Blink" has an animal pictured on each page. Each animal has a hole cut out where the face should be. The idea is to use the hole to display your own (or the child's) face to make the animal faces as the book is read. The original was a stroke of genius in its design and simplicity. It was a wonderful, interactive way to read a book with a small child but, this version of the book falls short. The hole for your face is two inches in diameter. There is a mirror on the last page so that your face will show for the child (if you see the child's face) and if you hold the book a little distance from your face. Only half of the pages can use the mirror. I have read this book with several children between two and three years old (one child at a time, of course). I have not had a child attend to the fun of making animal faces with this version of the book. The only book that I know to compare it to is the original "I Can Blink" which measures 12"x8" and the 4" hole goes through the entire book, no mirror. The idea was to hold the book up to the face of the reader (or the listener) and do what the book describes the animal doing (I can sniff like a dog. I can shake my head like a horse. etc). The book could be read in front of a mirror so that the child could watch the fun while making the faces. The original was my son's favorite book (he's 17 years old and I still have it, held together with clear tape). I had so looked foreward to reading this book with other children. I was disappointed when the focal point of the book (the hole through which the mirror shows your face) was too small to hold the attention of the children that this book was meant for. This book lacks to ability to provide interaction as the original did. It would probably do for a child to play with alone or with toy animals. The original "I Can Blink" is a Five Star publication that encourages interaction between adult and child, but this version gets thumbs down from me.

This book is one of the few that are geared perfectly for infants. Each page is a mask for you and your child to make believe you are an animal with. My youngest could make a noise for each animal in the book by the time she was 9 months old.

I recently purchased this book so I could get a better edge on marketing my online business. After spending a couple of days reading this book and researching some of the information presented I can conclusively say that this book did not teach me anything that I did not already know.

I will also add that some of the most important areas of Internet marketing were not even focused on for more than a single sentence or paragraph; leading me to believe that the gentlemen that wrote this book are not versed in online business, as much as they are with the brick and mortars.

I would strongly recommend not purchasing this book if you want to learn more about Internet marketing. I'm sure there is a good book out there for this, however I have not found it yet.

Regards,

DK

Internet Marketing for Dummies Internet Marketing for Dummies is a must read book for any small business person new to online marketing. There's a lot of hype about marketing on the Internet, but the book's authors Frank Catalano and Bud Smith - do not hype your expectations. I knew that Internet Marketing for Dummies was not going to be another "let down" when I noticed that the authors included many of the online marketing resources that I frequent on a daily basis! Catalano and Smith begin their book by explaining that "Internet marketing" is "marketing" but using the Internet - and this is very important to understand. So many businesses want to rush into "online marketing", but don't have any clue about how even to market at all. The fundamentals of marketing, apply online as well as off line. Internet Marketing for Dummies walks the user through a fast over view of the Internet - explaining what AOl is, as compared to full access to the Internet. This chapter is very helpful for the many small businesses that are really not so sure what the Internet is all about. Chapter 2 and 3 of Internet Marketing for Dummies realy lays in to the nitty gritty of marketing, with a consentration in chapter two on developing an "Internet Marketing Plan" I was very impressed that the authors of this book took a whole chapter to also discuss and help the reader decide their domain name. Your business name, may indeed be "Faulkner, Grade and Berkmenstein" - however, you may wan to try out "greatlawyers.com" for a domain name! There's a lot of gems in Internet Marketing for Dummies , such as a nice section on effectively using email as a marketing tool. On page 155, chapter 8, Internet Marketing for Dummies lists "techniques for gathering visitor information" on your Web site. See, Internet marketing is more than "just" Internet marketing, but its a blend of leveraging your own Web site, reaching out to others, adveritising on Web sites, building an email list and etc. Internet Marketing for Dummies is one of those books you just keep as a guide on your desk and refer to daily. After you've launched some successful online marketing campaigns you'll be a pro and can then refine what you've learned in Internet Marketing for Dummies.

I am being charitable to have given this book a 1 rating. If you want a reliable book, try to find BACKGROUND OF A BANDIT: THE ANCESTRY OF JESSE JAMES by Joan M. Beamis and William E. Pullen. Otherwise this will have to do. Steele's book has a chapter on the "Tennessee James Family" that should be taken with a barrel of salt. There are plenty of James families scattered across the country, but it's a subject of question as to whether there is any relationship with Jesse James of Missouri. I have heard that the errata in this particular book would be substantial.

This is an execellent resource book for James family researchers. All background information appears in order. Very detailed and full of family knowledge. A book worth investing in for any James Family historian.

Perhaps my view can be attributed to the inherent skepticism of being a Philadelphia sports fan, but the tone of this book rings more like a political endorsement than biography. It's very thin on Bunning's early life, devotes very little space to his time with the Pirates and Dodgers, and spends an inordinate amount of time on the campaign trail. About the only time I got a sense of the real Jim Bunning was in the chapters devoted to his minor league managing career. As the Phutile Phillies were apt to do during Bunning's career, Dolson doesn't get enough run support and does an admirable job with very thin material.

My name is Chad, and I'm a Philadelphia Phillies' fan. Yes, that's correct. I'm the one.

Having followed the Phillies my entire life, I was already a fairly big Jim Bunning fan. So, I went into reading this book slightly biased. Unfortunately, the book leaves a bit to be desired as far as a biography goes. I would say it's more of a baseball memoir.

There was very little about his private life, and his childhood and early life was practically skipped. However, the professional baseball chapters were, by far, the best. Bunning has an incredible knowledge of the game of baseball, and he was one of the smartest pitchers in the history of baseball. His hard work ethic could not be matched, and he truly did a lot for the game.

His pitching days are nicely summed up in the book. I was captivated by his recounting of the perfect game against the New York Mets. In all of the baseball chapters, the detail was phenominal. I could almost feel myself being at the game in person. The personal stories (i.e. - Ted Williams' 3 strikeouts)were nicely mixed in.

His minor league managerial career is also nicely documented, and I liked getting a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a professional baseball organization. I was amazed at the amount of politics involved in the front office.

I realize that the chapters on his politcal career had to be included, but they seemed a little long winded. There also seemed to be too much of a do-or-die situation involved every single time he ran for office. It was made out to be more dramatic than it probably was. In all honesty, the end of the book (the politics) got quite dry and I had some trouble staying completely interested like I was with the exciting baseball sections.

Overall, Jim Bunning's book is a pretty decent read. The flow for the first 3-quarters of the book is really smooth, and fairly exciting. The personal stories peppered throughout the book keeps you wanting to read on. It is a must for any fan of the game of baseball.

Certainly one of the most puerile, self-serving, and monotonous uses to which words have ever been put.

Go back to your lit crit day job, Mr. Lentricchia. There's no future for you in real writing!

The two compelling novellas that make up this volume trace how the past haunts us, tracks us, shapes us even when we think ourselves beyond it. Lentricchia's probing of his character's memories and personalities is ruthless and brutal, his prose exacting so that it can cut deeper. But despite being immersed in the violent fantasies of the protagonist of "The Knifemen" and the toxic remembrances of "Johnny Critelli," the high quality of these works ultimately makes reading this a cathartic experience. There are also quite a few funny passages that leaven the darkness. Ambitious, lyrical, and moving in its unflinching depiction of people haunted by the very things that keep them alive. Call it a demonology with a heart. Highest recommendation.

Also worth seeking out: Lentricchia's next book, "The Music of The Inferno," a savagely funny tour-de-force that re-imagines the historical novel as revenge fantasy, complete with an unforgettable dinner scene that turns "Babette's Feast" on its head.

John Rattenbury's 'A Living Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright and
Taliesin Architects' is the kind of 'coffee table' book that gives the
concept of the coffee table book a bad name. The publisher's
advertising blurb seems to promise an intelligent and inclusive
examination of Wright's Taliesin Fellowship, founded in 1932. Instead
we get a brief mention of only 3 of the many apprentices who studied
at the architect's elbow, and little else regarding an in-depth
history of the movement. The blurb goes on to promise a substantial
survey of the designs of the fellowship's numerous graduates since
Wright's death, again to concentrate instead on the work, much of it
mediocre indeed, of only a few, the author himself getting the lion
share of the mention. Rattenbury also spends some considerable length
in a rehashing of Wright's definition of organic architecture, a
definition that can be found in dozens of published tracts by Wright
himself, all available for far less cost than this tome demands. The
definition presented is general, simplistic, often derivative, and
offers nothing fresh to the veteran admirer of Wright; while someone
coming new to that great architect would be far better served to
expose himself to Wright through far better - and far less expensive -
introductory works such as those by Scully or Hitchcock or Twombly. As
a former apprentice and now teacher for Taliesin Architects,
Rattenbury limits himself to mainly uncritical press agentry for that
group, in a format almost totally devoid of depth or
scholarship. Strongly not recommended for anyone but the most satiated
Wright fan looking for yet another expensive, 'skin deep' presentation
trading on Wright's name and glory.

I had no idea of the quantity and quality of the work that has been and is still being brought forth by the Taliesin Architects! Projects that were not realized in Mr. Wright's time have been brought forth lovingly and true to his vision of "organic" architecture. Not to mention the breathtaking original homes, churches, auditoriums, nursing homes, banks, hotels, mobile homes (YES!) and other moderate cost housing. Not copies of the works of their inspiring teacher, Mr. Wright would not have that! They have found their own way of "organic" architecture that would make Mr. Wright proud!

Joseph's book is interesting, but only as a piece of fantasy. His jumps in logic are enormous and difficult to believe as a serious work of science. Certainly, there are more intelligent and reasonable explanations for pyramids in Rock Lake, that could be answered by scientific investigation. Linking civilizations of the New World with the Canary Islands and Egypt are yet another attempt to trivialize the important and complex communities that have existed in North America for centuries. This book definately has entertainment value, but that is all it has to offer and should not be taken for more.

Ancient Civilizations are a mystery almost as deep as the mystery of what tomorrow will bring, and almost as deep as Rock Lake. In this narrative the Author takes you scuba diving in search of ruins in the heart of America. From pyramid builders to Ancient Mariners hoarding copper, this book answers many questions but leaves the reader dangling by the thin thread that ties us to an unknown past.