The story seems a bit slow at times, but it's a good one. The characters are extremely well-developed, and Mr. Anthony has infused them with a touch of humor, which really encourages the reader to care about them. The ending was *particularly* delightful.

I THINK THIS IS A GREAT BOOK. OUR TEACHER HAD US READ THIS BOOK IN 1998. BUT NOW A NEXT TEACHER WANT US TO READ IT AGAIN . I NEED TO REVIEW THE BOOK AGAIN.

An amazing depiction of Hopkins, I got what I wanted out of it! Unlike most biographies, this one was a keeper. It was a page-turner, especially if you are interested in Hopkins. I just wish it was more up to date!

I've always found biographies to be a bit on the dry/boring side, this one, however, is not. There was not a boring page in this book. I enjoyed it immensely and could barely bring myself to put it down. This biography covers Mr. Hopkins life from birth through his success in Silence of the Lambs. It gives you an in depth look at his youth/childhood/formative years, as well as following his every career move. It was definitely a worth while read.

Ashby et al have made a timely and very useful contribution to the literature of metal foams. The book will provide an essential resource to designers, developers and researchers in this exciting emerging field. The coverage is very thorough with material on manufacturing methods, design, economics and current applications. The section on web resources is very topical.

I have been using this book for my research for the past year. Over all the this design guide by Ashby is excellent. It is well written for those who do not have any background in design using metal and polymer foams. The chapters are short and concise. If, after reading this book, you want to dig deeper in the world of foam, then read Cellular Solids by Lorna Gibson.

Wow!Dog days of the West was a great book.I couldn't put it down. It was so exiting, the suspense of finding out who actualy owned The Oakdale Chronicle was fascinating.

I think this Wishbone book is better than others of its kind because the story plot is better written and the book is longer. It introduces more younger kids, now that Joe is going into 9th grade (same as myself). My favorite part in this book was when Wishbone found the deed with the winning hand! Another part I enjoyed was the story where Wishbone is Long Bill back into the Wild West Days. It has inspired me so much that I'm going to read books by O. Henry, because this Wishbone book was based on one of his books. I really enjoyed this book, and I'm in 8th grade!

This is a good book for kids who want to know the story of the book it is based on, Heart of the West. It also has another story worked into it, switching back and forth every two or three chapters. It is also funny, and has a small dictionary of unfamiliar words and phrases with their meanings. I highly recommened this book.

After a few very, and I mean VERY, disappointing Star Wars novels, I looked forward to the New Jedi Order. I wasn't all that pleased with Vector Prime, however, for various reasons, not including the shocking passing of one of our beloved heroes (Hey, I didn't want him to die, but I thought it enhanced, instead of took away from, the plot). Anyway, Dark Tide I: Onslaught was superior to Vector Prime, and was a good book on its own, in many ways. There was a lot of great action, including some cool lightsaber battles featuring Luke (Sadly, I find him severely underused in today's Star Wars books) and Rogue Squadron (also cool). Also, we got to see a better look at these Yuuzhan Vong aliens. The use of living creatures instead of machines is a good idea (although this was established in Vector Prime) and, although I'm actually torn on this subject, I thought it was a good idea not to include scenes from the aliens' point of view until the very end. This gave me the feeling that these new invaders were very dark and mysterious--a phantom menace, almost. And, of course, you can't go wrong if you include Corran Horn! But, however, I still had a few problems with Onslaught. Luke was still underused, in my own opinion, and the inclusion of Kyp was pointless (but this may pay off in Dark Tide II). Danni Quee is boring as hell, and Lando certainly needed more attention. And why are the Solo kids the big heroes all of a sudden? Don't they have their own series? It seemed, like in pretty much every Star Wars novel, our heroes end up running from instead of defeating the enemy. Nevertheless, I did like Dark Tide I: Onslaught. The New Jedi Order series has promise, I think, but I'd like to see a big epic novel involving the grand end to this Yuuzhan Vong invasion (I certainly don't want this whole debacle to be carried on long enough for us Star Wars fans to be bored to hell). In short, I'm feeling more optimistic to Star Wars literature, and am looking forward to Rogue Planet.

I have read nearly all of the star wars novels except the X wing series and the young jedi series. This book would have to be in the top five with I, Jedi and the zahn titles. Althought I like all aspects of star wars, what has always truly excited me was Jedi, and finally that is what we are getting. Luke always seemed to be a difficult character to portray by authors. Some of them even made luke seem weak and almost ordinary to me. This guy could defeat darth vader, but seemed to have trouble dealing with so many other weaker villains. But in this book, he truly acts like a Jedi MASTER. He is truly powerful but still has limits. Also it is great to see other characters becoming competent Jedi as well. The Solo kids can hold their own. I love the way Jacen's character is being developed. He is questioning nearly every aspect of the jedi and the force, but his questions are legit and do deserve some thought. Mara Jade is powerful and in character even through her illness. And it is nice to see some romantic interaction between her and luke-they are married after all. Just because she is such a strong and reserved character doesn't mean she can't show love to her husband and family. Corran Horn is my new favorite character since I, Jedi. It was nice to see him used in a significant way. It is interesting to see the rift growing within the Jedi. Clearly a confrontation between the factions is in the future. Either that or the differences in the groups will be an exploited weakness. For all the readers who complain we dont see enough of han, lando, and others, remember the title of this new storyline: The New Jedi Order. Now that the jedi are once again becoming powerful and numerous, they need to have an enemy. And the Yuuzhan Vong are the epitome of evil. They truly are a worthy opponent. I do think that Leia seemed a bit weak and out of character. And this book was definitely too short.

Dark Tide I: Onslaught lives up to it's ominous title from page one onward. The New Republic Senate refuses to believe that the Yuuzhan Vong are a real threat. So Leia takes it upon herself to help evacuate the refugees in the path of the Vong's merciless invasion of the Outer Rim worlds. Anakin Solo accompanies Mara on what is supposed to be a restful vacation for her on peaceful Dantooine, but the two end up having to fight for their lives. Luke and Jacen Solo go to Belkaldan to see what is left of the research facility attacked in the first New Jedi Order book, Vector Prime. Jacen's twin sister Jaina, who is a super pilot in addition to being a Jedi, joins Rogue Squadron (the Solo kids are starting to get really cool now that they're growing up). Corran and Ganner investigate the wherabouts of students on an archealogical dig. And here's where the real action begins. Most everyone ends up on Dantooine, fleeing from the Vong. Now they begin their desperate battle. If they lose, they all die. I loved how this was action packed all the way through, and didn't drag at points like some of the Star Wars books. I'm looking forward to reading Dark Tide II, Ruin.

If you're looking for a book that will give you a good bird's eye view of the kind of investing currently going on in .com land, as well as a historical overview of past (mostly technology) bubbles, this one fits the bill. Better yet, if you're at Buck's restaurant in Silicon Valley, waiting for that venture capitalist you're trying to pitch on your latest business plan, you can pick up a copy and start reading right there! The Internet Bubble is a handy compendium of the history of previous technology bubbles, and the roles venture capitalists, investment bankers, and institutional investors -- as well as over-eager entrepreneurs - played in them, and anecdotes (some new, some already known) about the similar funding frenzy of today's .com stocks. It's meant as a caution to individual investors, and explains how they tend to end up holding the hot potato when companies are sent to the public markets too soon (as even some of the venture capitalists who fund those companies admit). Useful knowledge for any individual investor in .com stocks to have....

The Internet Bubble provides a lucid exposition and analysis of the high flying internet stocks which the authors warn are about to crash. Surpisingly blunt and revealing, particularly about the high stock prices and values, are the many quotations from industry leaders and venture capitalists. This expose' provides insights into the financing and control of startup companies before a public offering and the maneuvering by key players as well as the pressures and timing to harvest the wealth.

The authors back up their instructive and provocative narrative with a calculation of the magnitude of the "price bubble" - the improbable earnings growth that would be necessary to justify internet stock prices.

The candor of the book is refreshing. The economic data are not ponderous; they are brief and to the point. The book kept my interest throughout even when it touched upon familiar matters. If you own internet stocks or are tempted to buy, you should read this lively and well written book.

Some in clandestine companies combine; Erect new stocks to trade beyond the line; With air and empty names beguile the town, And raise new credits first, then cry 'em down; Divide the empty nothing into shares, And set the crowd together by the ears. - Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731)

The Internet Bubble documents the latest incarnation of the world's second oldest profession: separating gullible investors from their money. Not since the 1920s has the US seen such a highly evolved stock mania machine involving media outlets, market pundits, bankers, brokers, pension funds, venture capitalists, and legion uniformed investors taking it all in -- and getting taken in. This has been going on for years without much notice. At last we have in Anthony and Michael Perkins, founders of The Red Herring, working as investigative journalists who use their insider contacts to go out and get the story.

As the founder of iTulip.com in November 1998, a parody of an Internet company created to draw attention to the Internet stock mania game, I take a special interest in the Perkins' excellent new book. Just as we do on iTulip.com, Anthony and Michael Perkins believe that the Internet offers tons of valid investment opportunities. But over time as the mania machine evolved, a perfectly good investment opportunity has turned into a circus for suckers.

What is not explained in the book is how such a financial mania starts in the first place. So let's back up a bit. Nearly every mania was sparked by the convergence of four events:

1) The nation hosting the mania survives a traumatic crisis such as a war or depression -- in the current instance, the Cold War ended. Optimism rules the day. 2) Following the crisis, tensions among nations decrease and international trade booms. 3) A discovery, new invention or technology offers unmeasurable benefits, creating a sense of limitless possibility. Without precident, the market has no guideposts to help investors set a fair market value for securities issued by corporations that manufacture the new technology. Hundreds of businesses crop up to capitalize on the flood of money available to fund the new businesses. Some of the optimism is justified. Imagine what the first railroads meant to commerce? Suddenly goods could be shipped inexpensively over long distances in a set time period at relatively low cost. A huge boon to the economy, but in 1857 a bust to investors. The benefits of the new technology turned out to be great but not infinite. 4) Interest rates fall in the rapidly expanding and deflationary economic environment -- deflation driven by global competition and rising productive capacity. The money supply is permitted to increase rapidly in the absense of apparent inflationary pressures. The excess liquidity does not show up in the so-called real economy as higher priced goods and services, instead inflation arises in the asset prices. Why? Because increased competition and rising capacity lower profitability. Financial assets become the only profit game in town. Speculation ensues. Starting in 1996, the money supply in the US began a precipitous climb, and with it the stock market in general and Internet stocks in particular.

Which brings us back to Anthony and Michael Perkins. They explain the actual workings of the mania machine from the inside through interviews with key players. They explain where the mania started and how it evolved, the participation of venture capitalists and investment banks, and they lucidly compare the Internet bubble to the Biotech bubble that popped in 1992. They debunk the New Economy. Finally, they tell you where to look for real value in Internet investing.

This is an important book if you're in the stock market and especially if you own Internet stocks. Buy it.

Shrouded in a cloak of mystery and full of intrigue and complexity. The author weaves the most enticingly detailed plot. The books characters are fully 'alive.' Certainly a rare treasure of a talent. The author is destined to become a GIFT to the literary arts.

Published in 1996, "Charles Dickens on the Screen" surveys the filmed works of Dickens from the silent era, including TV adaptaions. The book is rather silm in volume, and not so much a thorough discussion on the cinematic skills employed on the screen as an introduction to the vast field of Dickensian films (more than 100), but still Michael Pointer keeps his book always readable and immensely interesting.

After the brief introduction, the book begins with a discussion about "Dickensian" elements in original books, and their relations to visual media. The agrument at first is a bit too general and obvious, but you should just read on. After the third chapter the writer speeds up his discussion, giving well-researched comments on the films, backed up quotations from various materials. Though the materials might not look rare in the eyes of those who are already versed in film history -- autobiographical writings, comtemporary reviews, the synopsis, etc. -- they help those who do not have knowledge on movie history to gain the historical viewpoint to glance back the current of many films.

Chapters 2-4 are devoted to discussion on the silent films. It is now a nearly impossible thing to make a perfect survey about this era, because many of the films are lost forever (the reason is explained by the words of director Frank Llyod in the book), and considering that fact, Mr. Pointer did a very good job, even though the argument often seems to lack in power, relying on second-hand knowledge. But that cannot be helped.

After Chapter 5, the discussion is about "talkies," and the book gets better and better as you read. His discussion covers the films until the 1993 "Edwin Drood," and, instead of displaying tedious scene-to-scene analysis which might have done harm to the book by its slow tempo, he gives each film concise summery of its characteristics and his opinions about it, which may disagree with yours, but mostly fair and to the point. Mr. Pointer does not neglect the more recent TV products, and gives fair judgement on them. There is even a section where the author deals with parodies! (such as British cult TV series "Avengers" -- remember Mrs. Emma Peel?")

The book also contains a list of films (until BBC's "Martin Chuzzlewit"), which is now superceded by our internet source like imdb. Of more interest is the cluster of clear stills (21 in all) which includes a rare one that shows Charles Laughton as Mr. Micawber in the 1935 "David Copperfield." After one-week shooting, he left the film, and as you know, W.C. Fields took the part. Though not a perfect book, since so many have been released after its publication, "Charles Dickens on the Screen" is a good book to know more about the area of filmed classics, which should be given more attention from both academic and non-asademic people.

Strange animals have been found in Costa Rica, animals that are burnt to remove evidence of their existence. Dr. Ian Malcolm is called upon to return to a world that he thought he would never have to face again. This time they are traveling to Site B, a second set of InGen labs, a place where the infant dinosaurs were hatched and then raised before they were released into Jurassic Park. For years the dinosaurs have been living in a natural environment, with no fences and no men - this is their home and humans enter at their own risk.

The movie that was based on this novel was pretty close, but the book is even better. On site B the animals are completely wild and most of them have never had any interactions with humans. Into this wild landscape comes Ian Malcolm and Sara Harding. As with the first novel it is interesting that Crichton decided to include children as part of the main cast of characters. It is also interesting that in both novels the children end up partially saving the day.

If you decide to read this novel then put aside the movie and read the novel for the sake of reading the novel. If you have not read Jurassic Park (only seen the movie) then don't worry because you should still be able to enjoy the story. I have read this book twice and still enjoyed it the second time around. I would recommend this book if you liked the movies and if you liked Jurassic Park the book.

I've just finished this and its a good read. Not Crichton's best by any means, but nonetheless a good book. I like the way that it links with Jurassic Park but actually uses a different set of characters (apart from Ian Malcolm). It did annoy me a bit that Malcolm was in the novel since he was supposed to have died in the last one. I also felt it unnecessary to include more kids for the sake of it. Also, the story was a bit one-dimensional compared to Jurassic Park, and it didn't have quite the same bang. A bit like comparing Hollywood with the Welsh Film Industry...

Anyway, what I will say is that I don't like the accusations about Crichton writing this for commercial value because the film was released at the same time. Firstly, the set of characters is almost completely different. Secondly, the plot is also very different. This isn't Jurassic Park, it's not Sphere, its not even Timeline. But nonetheless, its still worth reading if you're a Crichton fan, especially if you liked the first book. But, as other reviewers have stated, it wasn't really a needed sequel, neither did it match up to the first book. The only real reason I gave it four is because it was entertaining enough.

"The Lost World" is one of the best books I have ever read. Crichton was ingenious while writing it, although I have head that he very much hated it himself, when writing it, until he read it once again. I have read it 5 times and have seen the movie 6. It is one of my favorites along with "Sphere", "Airframe", and several others of his. His characters, such as Ian Malcolm, Sarah Harding, Doc Thorne, and Eddie Carr are very strong, and it seems as if you could actually meet them once you get into the book. The movie was not as good, but much better than "Jurassic Park". The original had much more research dedicated to it, but when Malcolm describes this information, which he does often, he begins to drone, and becomes especially boring. He is not near as boring in the sequel, but, as one other person remarked in their own review, Malcolm was said to be dead by Muldoon, who would have surely known. The others left the island--Isla Nublar--in helicopters, and the island was obliterated with bombs, unless other choppers came to the compound, taking Malcolm's 'dead' body away, and fixing him up. Anyway, "Lost World" is a magnificent book, and I would advise others to read it.

Shakespeare in this play shows how love is not human but surrealistic. Love does not answer reasonable questions. It is a fundamentally unreasonable attitude that brings the lovers to absurd behaviours negating all logical, political and historical values. Love has no limits even if history will prove stronger and the lovers will be destroyed. Shakespeare beefs up this theme with a language that is so rich that we are fascinated by the words, the symbols, the symbolic value of words and acts. He is particularly rich in his style that is entirely, words, poetry, actions, and even feelings, organized following some simple symbols, particularly numerical symbols. In this play Cleopatra appears as being the core of the symbolism and she carries with her the number eleven that comes from the old English runes with the meaning of fate, of fatal defeat, of a flaw that cannot be corrected or escaped. It is her destiny to bring Antony to his defeat and death, just as it is Antony's fate to be governed by this woman and led to his own destruction because of his love for her. It also shows how the Emperor is able to use this fatal situation in order to capture all powers and to impose his absolute will on the Roman Empire. He seems to be the one who plays not well but with all the assets of the game up his sleeves, and he takes them out one at a time when the situation is ripe for these assts to become the key to is ascension to absolute power by defeating those who may oppose him.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Cleopatra may be a somewhat ambiguous female character, but I totally loved her, and Bill's portrayal of her. I don't know if he expected the reader to judge her, but I suspect not. The harshest criticism of her comes from Octavius Caesar, who himself doesn't do a single noble thing throughout the whole play. She is fully aware of the fact that she is a sensual, passionate woman- which has no negative effect on her ability to rule Egypt. Her biggest faults are her violent temper (which I suspect is just part of her passionate nature) and her tendency to lie when it suits her (either for sport or for serious politics). Antony (I feel) is actually kind of a loser compared to her. His insincerity runs deep- he marries Caesar's sister in a political move, although he had repeatedly pledged his undying love for Cleopatra. She forgives him, because she truly loves him, even though he doesn't do anything to deserve forgiveness. Antony never fully allows himself to love Cleopatra. He constantly is overreacting to the slightest indication that she might be betraying him or whatever. It is one of these overreactions (combined with an ill-timed lie on Cleo's part) that ends up destroying them both. Even in the end, Cleopatra's death is more dignified and better conceived than Antony's messy and fumbling suicide.

Anthony and Cleopatra is one of Shakespeare's difficult plays, and so I suspect the ratings on the play are low because it's a more mature play than Romeo and Juliet. Here we have two middle age lovers who part of the time are foolish with lust/love and the rest of the time are tough minded heads of state. The "tragedy" is that they can't be both and survive. This is not a play for the young folks, I'm afraid. But if you want some heavy drama where the characters are spared nothing and given no slack, read Anthony and Cleopatra (hint: Cleopatra's suicide is more political statement than a crazy wish to die with Antony). Better yet see it performed by some real actors some time.