I received Companion to Narnia, as well as a boxed set of the Chronicles themselves, as a birthday gift. I must say it was one of the best gifts I have ever received.

I initially read the Chronicles as a young child, then again in Jr. High. I'm afraid I let my passion for the stories slip through my high school years, just when I needed them most, but now, after my third year of college, I have renewed my interest in the works of Mr. Lewis.

The Companion is easy to use, extremely informative, and actually fun to read straight through, even without using it as a reference. The entries are encyclopedia-style, alphabetically listed, with the page numbers the entry appears on in the Chronicles, related entries, and often very extensive footnotes referring the reader to books and articles by Mr. Lewis and other renowned Fanstasy and Religious authors, as well as background into what specific uses could have meant to the author, or his inspirations for them.

There are annexes at the end on everything to how old the Pevensie children and others are in the books, Narnia time vs Earth time, the age of Lewis during the writing of the Chronicles, maps of Narnia and more. Wonderful illustrations are distributed throughout the book, just waiting to surprise you when you turn the page.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any lover of Narnia, whether it's your first time around or your fortieth. A lot of questions I remember having when I was younger are answered, and you gain a deeper meaning of what it "behind everyone's story".

If you think that the Chronicles of Narnia ought to be required reading for children, then the Companion to Narnia ought to be required reading for us adults that fell in love with Narnia as children. Yes, I'm sure that if you had to write a paper or do a report on any of the Chronicles for school, this book would be invaluable. But the fact is, it goes far beyond that to a much broader audience...

C.S. Lewis's Chronicles represent some of the finest high-Fantasy novels ever written, period. But for most of us, at least at the first reading, this is all they were. As we grow older, and read the Chronicles again and again, we begin to discover more of the meaning behind the writing; this book guides you further along that path of discovery. It is well-organized and very thorough; I have had little difficulty finding any of the references I wanted to explore.

If you want a person to love the Chronicles, buy the series for them when they are a child. If you want them to appreciate it the way you do, buy them the Companion when they grow a bit older...

corpus-callosum's [Amazon.com] review mentions "At the end of the articles, Ford has placed in parentheses an abbreviated reference to the specific book and page number that coincides with the topic being discussed. "

There are two numbers separated by a comma- the first is the tradepaperback/hardback HaperCollins or Harper Trophy page number, the second (after the comma) is for the Harper Trophy rack sized (mass market) paperback editions.

Examples from the Companion book listings to check pagination of the Narnia editions you have to see if they match up on the correct page:

Lion Witch Wardrobe: Hosea 11:10 "at the sound of his roar" 79,85
Prince Caspian:Isaiah 9:1"the people that lived in hiding" 72,75
Dawn Treader: Isaiah 6:6 "a little live coal" 207,224
Silver Chair: Psalms103:9 "I will not always be scolding" 236,250
Horse & His Boy: Daniel 4:24 "not a donkey!" 219,235
Magician's Nephew: Job 38:7 "stars themselves singing" 107,117
Last Battle: Deut.33:27 "between the paws of the true Aslan" 121, 134

I have the trade paperback Harper Trophy "full-color collector's edition of Narnia, boxed set ISBN: 0064409392 and the first number of the two (the one before the comma) matches perfectly in all the Narnia books.

I enjoyed Paul Kidd's book very much. His characters are well developed, allowing the reader to vividly picture them, as well as their surroundings, with the help of the great illustrations provided. The reader learns to love these characters and relate to them personally as the story develops. The plot continually develops, maintaining the reader's interest until the very last page. This great work evokes emotions in the reader that may be surprising. The quick reading book contains everything from love, war, terror, tragedy, triumph and power. Try it, you'll love it !!

This book is one of the best books I've read in a long time. In fact, it may be among the best in my collection. From the moment the characters revealed their unique personalities, I fell in love with them, and I was driven to find out how the story of their lives would unfold; I wound up reading the entire book in two sittings.

On the surface, the story seems rather simple, like your classic fairy-tale. But that face eventually vanishes; no fewer than five times during this book, I found myself thinking, "I knew EXACTLY how the story was going to end...until I read this last page..." And with every shift in the plot, the story becomes more engaging, more real than it was before.

Spread through the book are illustrations by artist Terrie Smith. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in this case it could be true. Though they aren't numerous, the simple yet beautifully composed drawings add marvelously to the story, fixing in the reader's mind images of the people, and the landscape of this world. The cover illustration, pictured above, is one of my favorites, and I've always been impressed by how alive Terrie can make her drawings seem, simply by the expressiveness in the characters' eyes; no mean feat in flat black and white.

For any fan of fantasy, this book is as close to a "must-read" as I could ever claim. The proud but declining society of the Kashran, quiet yet expressive Shadarii and her ambitious sister Zhukora, and all of the lives they touch, weave together into a story of love and war, of hope for a brighter future, and fear of the damage the transition could bring. I can't praise this book enough, nor explain how highly I recommend it without revealing too much of the story.

I will have to say that A Whisper of Wings is one of THE best novels I have read in years. I would say Paul Kidd comes close to writing as good a story as the late, great Tolkien (and that's a great compliment!). Along with beautiful illustration by Terrie Smith, and the constantly evolving plotline...you will feel much a part of the story. As Vision promises, they definately pulled all the stops on this one. It is a story about two sisters, related by birth and not much else. They both have a vision, and the pursuits of these visions leads to an epic, dynamic quest for justice, fairness, and peace. This does not meant that there are no tradgedies in this book...by all means no! There were many parts I was brought to tears by the moving events, many will leave you wondering if the characters ambitions were worth pursuing. I did enjoy how the author did not embellish in the bloodshed that occurred during the course of the tale...keeping it tasteful for younger readers (though I do not reccommend it for pre-teens). I fell in love with the book from the moment I started reading as a whole world not much differant from my own was woven before me. Aside from the fact the Kashra were a canine-like race with butterfly wings and antennae which could sense Isha (i.e. auras)...they were not much differant from most normal people. I found Whisper to be a book I could identify with and I plan to make it a gift to everyone I know. This is definately a book that will stay with you forever. Trust me.

If you have already taken a few law school exams, or are about to take your first law school exam, this book will be extremely helpful. It is unlike any of the hornbooks or study aids out there. While it is not class specific, it will explain in clear and precise terms what you should do to understand the themes and concepts in all of your classes. It will enhance your understanding of why your professor went into one specific area and explain what you should have gotten out of the class so that you can be better prepared for the next class.

Getting to Maybe should be required reading on every law student's list! The authors take the mystery out of writing great law school exams. They tell you what the professor wants, and how to deliver that message. I wish I had had this book in law school. I spent the better part of 3 years wondering which coins the professors flipped to give grades. This book also is helpful for anyone taking a bar examination. The investment of $19.95 is a great deal!

I love this book. It has provided a clear indication of what is necessary to do well on law exams. I read this book after doing a number of law courses. This book made me realised why I got all those B grades.

This book shows you how to think like a lawyer. How to analyse. How to develop argument and counter argument. How to work in policy arguments. How to tie in themes of the course to answer questions. How to develop the skill of issue identification.

This book tells you what your law professors shroud in mystery. I have been there, where the professors tell you to analyse and argue, but give you no clear indication of what this entails in an issue laden question. This book should be read by every law student who wants to understand better what the study of law requires of them. It is not a substitute for hard work and the authors state very clearly that success in law school can only be achieved through your own hard work.

Any one who turns their thumb down on this book, probably grasped from day one what was truly required of them as law students. For the rest of us, this book will be an incredible find.

Have You Truly Been Born Again of Water and the Spirit?
by Paul C. Jong is the best christian literature I have ever read.

You can not miss being born again after reading this book. You either believe it or not believe it, for this is the book which explains to the best of every one's understanding the truth of God's words and plan for our salvation. No one can miss this truth after reading this book.

God planned it from the foundation of this world that Jesus would be baptised by John the Baptist to take away the sins of the world, would die on the cross to pay for the wages of sins for all mankind and would resurrect to give new life to all mankind. All that God expects from all of us is to believe this truth and receive His Holy Spirit who then directs our lives. This surely summarizes the God's message in the Bible, the word of God.

AS a born christian,I was trying to be well submitted to God for all my life. But the more I would be submitted to His word, the more serious sinner I became with time. I was always embarrassed by His law especially John 3:5. I was a hopeless sinner who destined for hell just like Nicodemus. Oneday While I was reading this book,I assured All MY SINs was washed away through His baptism at the Jordan and I was truly born again of water and the Spirit. I see His word-"It is finished "(John19:30)-come true in my mind. What a grace of God it is ! Now I am free from sin,darkness,void,chaos suffering my soul. I sure anybody reading this precious book will be in His grace and peace. Thank you, heavenly Father.

In this book, Rev. Paul Jong has has taken the inspired word of God and has shown us clearly a fail safe way to eliminate the sins of the past, present, and future. Rev. Jong reveals the common misconceptions that most christians make in believing the false doctrines of justification and sactification. He clearly shows the reader how to accept the gospel of the water and the spirit to recieve elimination of all sin, and how to know if the Holy Spirit dwells with you. I have been a Christian for yrs. I believed I was saved by the doctrine of justification. Rev. Jongs books pulled me away from that path leading to hell and placed me in the light. I prayed to the Lord to know if The Gospel of water and spirit is true and I was answered. Now Im eager to share it with the world. I recomomend this book to Christians of all ages to read and I pray that you will accept the True Gospel of Water and Spirit.

The real question in this book is who is the idiot--the author or the corporate types who answer his crazy letters. I vote for the latter. This book is a collection of letters ranging from the amusing to the hilarious bizarre. Paul writes from the persona of his cat, a fourth grader, a hillbilly, just to name a few. I especially enjoyed the rule changes he suggested to the NFL--moving goalposts, a pentagonal field, etc. I liked this book much better than Letters from a Nut because each letter is different and funny in an original way, rather than written in a format. People searching for deep hearty laugh should buy this book.

I picked this book up just yesterday in the Humor section of a local bookstore while reading some Far Side comics. I didn't expect to read Paul C. Rosa's Idiot Letters much since I am a big fan of Larson's comics. However, I found myself reading letter after letter written by Paul on his "relentless assault on Corporate America." This collection of letters written by Paul during 1993 is an example of comedic genius. Paul Rosa wrote to a plethora of corporations that head various franchises/products. Each letter follows the same basic format -praise for the company/product, obscure questions/concerns, and finally a humorous closing of anticipation for a response. However, Paul makes each letter unique by addressing his humorous questions/concerns specifically to a company's product, or in the case of a letter to CITGO, an advertisement. Paul wrote a letter to the Consumer Relations departement of CITGO concerning an actual advertisement by company. In the advertisement, a Bald Eagle hovers, for the lack of a better term, over a CITGO station with its wings fully extended. The eagle is digitally made as large as the gas station and the advertisement reads (not accurate): "Get a ahold of the power" or something like that. Paul writes to the company as a idiot and expresses concern and fear of such a large animal flying over his home state of Colorado. He writes that he and his wife are both concerned and says he will take action if needed to protect himself and his family from this "monster". He mentions that he will use his gun however, "it'll take a canon to take this it down!" CITGO's response? Well, that's for you to find out by reading Idiot Letters.

Dear Book Browsers,
Get this book now!! I stayed up late and finished it the same night Ibought it! Two weeks later, and I still laugh when I think of some of his letters. You'll definitely be sharing this book with your friends. I hope Paul does a sequel.
A few gems:
Letter to Imodium -- fixed diarrhea problem, but haven't "had a call from nature" in 18 days.
The CITGO ad with the giant eagle.
To Victoria's Secret -- why don't you have any fat or short models, or any with big feet or noses? -- a tremendous turn-on for a lot of fellas.
...plus many more that are even more outrageous. His stories about his large family are a riot too. And he always asks them to send a T-shirt.

For those of you who have read Dick's first book, and endured his earlier sequals, you should find this book easier reading and very entertaining. The plot follows the same formula as "Green Team", but with much less of the history and explanations contained in Richard Marcinko's first two sequals to the original "Rogue Warrior". Nevertheless, a first time Marcinko reader can thouroughly enjoy the action without the earlier background, but I advise you to read the Rogue Warrior as a pre-cursor to reading "Task Force Blue". You'll find nestled in this book the admission that this book, as well as the earlier sequals are pure fiction (hint you must read the first one, or doom on you). As a collector of the hard bound editions of all his books, its hard to be critical. Dick, if you read this, you know the direction to go in now, just don't include a section where you consider e-mail book reviewers to be targeted pus(nuts)

This is another thriller in the Rogue Warrior series. Through his experiences as a U.S. Navy Seal Marcinko has been enabled to write some very entertaining books. His vast knowledge of types of weapons and special operations manuevers make his books quite believable. In this book Marcinke and his troops are matched up against an evil ruthless billionaire. Despite the man's over- whelming wealth Marcinko is still able to prevail. As usual there is nonstop action. The ending of this book is also very unique. Be sure to read this book. You will be greatly entertained.Dick Marcinko has written another good book.

Dick Marcinko and his band of merry men continue the legacy of beer drinking, nasty talkin', hard hitting action in the pursuit of the evil doer's of the good ole' U.S. of A. Just so I don't give away the plot and have Dickie visit me at my own abode some night with a C4 suprise package, I'll just say this adventure tracks right along with his usual style of commentary and Navy SEAL tactics until the bad guys end up properly chastised (and dead). If I didn't have it on good authority that Marcinko really is as nasty as he presents himself to be, I might wonder if these guys really are presented in a realistic manner. Since I DO know an ex-SEAL that IS acquainted with Dick, I guess I have to believe these guys really are nasty bad a-- m----r f-----s that I hope never to meet except maybe at a book signing fair. (Please Dick, if this review offends in ANY way, I profusely apologize and promise only to read the book and never write again.

I felt that Boss of Bosses was a great Mafia book. If you enjoy The Godfather then you'll love Boss of Bosses. I think my favorite part of the book was when the FBI had to plant a bug in Castallano's house. The tricky part was that Paul never left his house. One thing that was nice knowing, was that the authors were the actual detectives assinged to the case. This means it's true to life, no embelishing! One slow part in the book was the hours of tapes that were meaningless to the story that the FBI explianed. This is what kept me from giving the book five stars. I love hearing about mafia and this book was great for that. I knew I wasn't getting rumors I was getting the real scoop on things. I think everyone should read Boss of Bosses by Andris Kurins and Joseph O'Brien.

Thanx to these two FBI agents, I have a pretty good idea now on how this agency works. I approve of the tactics used when it comes to bring to justice this organizations of crime. Joe and Kurins sure knows how to get your attention. Their book, based on a real story is addictive. What in the world were they doing chasing people instead of writing. If they worked like they write, they gotta be the best the FBI had to offer. They must keep writing. Not only was their book an encyclopedia on how the FBI does their work, but also on the sacrifice an agent has to put and go through to get their work done. Thanks to these 2 pro-writters, for sharing with the world what it takes to be the best in your class. KEEP WRITING GUYS, PLEASE...

I have read alot of mob related books over the years but Boss of BOSSES is one of the best.It is written so well you are drawn into the story and can feel like you are there.I was so drawn into it i read it in one night and i am ready for more.Joseph O`Brien is truly a sensational writer.Keep them coming please.

The book is pretty boring. The text is lacking, and skips anything in depth about these twin dudes. The pictures could be so much better. They really skipped over the Joe Magazine affair of their lives. Too bad, as that was the best of the Brewer boys as far as I am concerned. It was real, and heartfelt - this book is not.

I have always liked the Brewer Twins. How fortunate they are to be blessed with such great looks. This book is for their fans - I for one. If you are a fan, or simply enjoy a double dose of yummy blondness, then this is the book for you.

If you like the Brewer Twins, then this book is a must-buy!!! Two reviewers evidently dislike the Brewers and falsely gave bad reviews. Trust me, If you love looking at Beauty, and want to know more about the twins, then this book is a must have. If you don't like gorgeous twins, then why buy it expecting a literary masterpiece??? :P

I first got this book when I was learning guitar, but since then have shifted my emphasis to the piano. Amazingly enough, I still use this book often because of the great theory it provides. But for a guitar player, this the THE BOOK to have. I mean, it has everything. First, the design is so easy to follow, and so intuitive, that it makes learning fun. The book begins with an appreciative history of guitar, then gets into everything else, and I mean everything. Theory, scales, chords, progressions, improvising, keys, modes, substitutions, reading music, playing styles, transposing, the entire fretboard, practice methods, and a lot more I am not mentioning. Then there is complete information on how to take care of your guitar, and some examples (well, more technically, equipment) of how to get into home-recording. The greatest strength of the book is the "lesson like" format, where each two pages constitutes a central lesson, and the complexity builds as you go through it. The computer-generated pictures are easy to understand and do not get overwhelming. There is unbelievable organization in the theory (especially keys, chord progressions and impovisation), which is why I still use it even though I don't really play guitar. If God owned a guitar, he'd probably have this book.

I have played guitar over 30 years, played in bands, built guitars and lutes and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. After a hiatus of several years in my playing, I started to re-visit guitar when my son wanted lessons. I recomend this book to anyone who wants to better understand guitars, thier history, thier uses, music and music theory. While the book could benefit from a CD for beginners so that they could hear the concepts presented, it has served as a wonderful refresher and general exercise book for scales, picking, and other areas which I have paid $25 / hour for to get less information during a one hour lesson than from a single page in the book. I use this book to explore areas outside of my usual players rut, such as jazz progressions, site reading, substituitions and the like. This is a book with real meat in it for anyone who will take the time to chew the information presented.

Lavishly and beautifully illustrated with color pictures and diagrams. My favorite part: full page description and pictures of classic guitar/amp set ups - quite wonderful. A visual history of the development of the guitar is well done - but less interesting to me personally. An incredibly comprehensive coverage of guitar music theory, including sections on Jazz, Blues and Rock from beginner-level to expert -- quite overwhelming really; I dip into it from time to time - there is just so much. Any guitarist would love this book. DK Publishing seems to be years ahead of the competition creating by far the best books available in many fields. This book has the looks and the content. ***Highly recommended***.

This book has a much better layout then the previous book: C++ Builder 5 developers guide. Smaller print and better scaling means that all the book is on print.
It covers all the basic of using C++ Builder, + writing custom components. All of it well written. Most of the book is talking about SOAP/.NET/BizTalk/Datasnap and so on, all stuff that is only relevant for people that has the enterprise version of Builder. That does take one star from the rating, it is simply not relevant for me, since I only do engineering calculations + nice 3D plots.
People looking for a book on Builder should get this one (the documentations that comes with Builder is full of misprints) so the book fills a huge gap, even if they have the previous version. The layout + the low prize + the previous book is included, makes it a bargin!

I have been looking around for C++ Builder 5 books and only managed to find this book. It is well-written but certain chapters are on the CD-ROM instead of being printed which I find very inconvenient.

This is the only C++ Builder 5 book available in book stores. Fortunately, it is a GREAT book. It covers the topics (see Table of Contents by clicking on the hyperlink) well.

As pointed out, the PDF file could be improved. Certainly if hyperlinks are included would make it easier and more practical for the reader.

As for some chapters being available only on the CD-ROM, I would say that it is a matter of personal preference. Would you mind buying another book or just leave it as chapters on the CD-ROM? But it is great stuff and I personally find it easily to look for stuff printed in book form rather on CD-ROM.

If you are using C++ Builder 5, you will find this book useful.