I bought this book a few months ago and I'm still not sure what to make of it. It's purely subjective, and it definitely could have standed to have some stronger editing. (Must every verb be abbreviated with apostrophe's, i.e., fixin', rockin', ridin', standin', etc, within the basic context of the author's narrative?)

While I found the book enlightening, I also had a difficult time reading it for more than 15 minutes at a time. The author frequently goes out on tangents, like when he discusses his biker-gang relations, or his crush on every female rockabilly singer, etc.. It's kind of choppy in its outline, construction, and overall writing. He asserts his opinions on most every circumstance, whether it had anything to do with him or not.

The book does provide a personal reflection on many of the rockabilly artists that we know little about. His personal observations are what they are, he sometimes brought out the best in people, and sometimes the worst. His depiction of Gene Vincent is probably the most touching and personal.

Overall I was rather disappointed in the book because it had such great potential. With stronger editing this could have been a great book. His taste in music is definitely right-on and he has a great passion for his topic, but he seems to get in the way of his own story. I found Go Cat Go! by Craig Morrison to be a more enjoyable read, even though it has a broader subject range and no pictures. Billy Poore's book is more of an enlarged fanzine than anything else, which is a shame because I don't think that was the intention. The odd mix of factual history and the author's opinions left me scratching my head on numerous occassions.

Dates covered range mostly from 1954 - 1994, so don't expect to find anything after that. Certainly it still seems he could have discussed The Cramps and Rev. Horton Heat, who have probably done more to promote rockabilly and its history in the past 15-20 years than most other artists.

It should be noted that only the Foreword is written by the late Danny Gatton, and the index is very poor.

Rock-a-billy fans around the world owe alot to Billy Poore.He has fought to keep Rock-a-billy in the mainstream of american music his whole life.This book is the climax of that lifes work.This book is written from the heart by a man driven by his love for the music and the artists who perform it.I hung on every word,the stories are great,the pictures awesome.Get the book,read it,you won't find better.If you get the chance to meet Billy,talk to him and catch the passion in his voice and eyes when he tells you of his journey.No other book compares!!!

This book is an excellent chronilogical history on the subject of Rockabilly. I don't think anyone has ever covered so much on the subject as Billy Poore has. Good pictures and many items to learn if you think you knew everything on the subject.

This book offers very detailed information about american and allied operations, it starts in a very interesting way but the central part of the book is almost impossible to read. And why? Because it's an hipnotic list of allied bombardments and easy air victories, there's no references to german successes, all victories of the german fighter squadrons seem like never had taken place and its pilots were flying ducks. In this very american perspective, and the way in which the writer puts it, the comparison of losses is highly doubtful or incorrect.
Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book to your collection and also, that you go investigate and buy more books about the air war in europe to form your oppinion.

Parker is a dedicated historian. He has researched the records of the USAAF and RAF squadrons, and of the Luftwaffe Staffels involved in the last German offensive of World War II. In TO WIN THE WINTER SKY Parker faithfully reports their many actions. The book is rich with maps and photographs of the planes and personnel whose battles Parker chronicles. The text describes the many difficulties presented by that tough winter, as well as the uncertainties of operating from Belgian bases only a few miles from advancing German divisions. The battle was a brutal slugfest, in the air as on the ground.

I know no better history of the crucial roles played by the air forces throughout the 1944-45 winter battle over the Ardennes. Its detail answers many questions. For instance, I have long wondered whether the new Douglas A-26 Invader had been involved in the Battle of the Bulge. In "Winter Sky," I found my answer. The A-26 was employed by the 409th and, if a caption is correct on p. 274, the 416th Bomber Groups of the 97th Combat Bomb Wing. (I was curious because of my admiration for that great airplane, which went on to serve in the Korean and Vietnam wars.)

My only criticism is that Parker's approach to writing history is almost too thorough for me. Parker sacrifices readability for consistency, being careful to pay attention to all involved squadrons, and the book becomes monotonous as it chronicles so many daily actions, as taken from so many squadron reports. Hence, as a reviewer I am torn between four stars and five. I have decided to rate the book on its contribution to the history of WWII. As such, "Winter Sky" earns top marks.

I bought this book in 1995. Mr.Parker wrote an outstanding book that relates the air and ground aspects of the Battle of the Bulge, of course giving enphase to the former. He deals with both American and German air units involved in the operation, placing the action under chapters according to the date of the events (for example, December, 16th, 1994), and makes a high opinion of Ninth Air Force units who really helped to stall the German advance through the Ardennes.

This book will invite the obvious comparisons to "The Glory of Their Times". That book was a collection of memories of men long since gone about a time in Baseball even longer gone. There was a reverence apparent in the recollections of those men that conveyed an image of a game uncorrupted by modern outside distractions. Of course, the iron rule of the owners and the "whites only" standard are just two contradictions to that image. However, there was a poetry to "The Glory of Their Times" that stays with you and clouds away those inconsistencies.

"We Played the Game" concerns a more recent time with the recollections of retired players, many of whom are still with us. It has the first-person history that "Glory" has but they apply to events that many people still recall. Where "The Glory of Their Times" is poetic, "We Played the Game" is active and interactive. It follows each season in each league through the eyes of at least one player on that team. There were 65 retired players who contributed their recollections. Due to the different tenures, military service, and trades, there are some teams in some years without a first-hand perspective. However, there are very few such omissions. The greatness of this is how the reader comes to taste the whole season in each year and in each league. Not just from the point of view of who won but also from the point of view of who lost. There's a lot of history in this book and it reads very well. Take one season at a time and enjoy a more vivid picture of the past than any newsreel would ever show you.

Reviewer Brislen has done a fine job of highlighting the virtues of this baseball compendium, and I recommend that readers read his review first. I have only a few points to add. Because the number of contributers is limited (65) and unevenly spread across the 17 year period, some teams and years are better represented than others. So readers wishing to follow the course of a single team or concentrate on a particular focal year may be disappointed. As to the negative side of the game--when they occur, the dislikes, criticisms, or revelations by the players are usually aimed at management, not at each other. Thus, for better or worse, those readers looking for a gossipy Ball Four writ-large may also be disappointed. Among players, there are two other recurring topics in addition to salary concerns : (1) drinking, some teams and players (usually unspecified) had a history generally unmentioned on the sports pages, and (2) race relations, the narrative presents an inside look at another subject generally untouched by sports columns of the time.

The year 1964 may mark the end of the great Yankee teams and the end of the Golden Age as recounted in the book, but its political context is also relevant. It's one year after the Kennedy assassination and one year before the great Vietnam build-up, two epochal events that have come to define an end to our national innocence. They also usher in a generational change marked by a greater willingness to challenge authority and the rules. In baseball, this rebellious spirit leads to an overturning of the restrictive reserve clause that tied players to a single team, and more subtlely, to an undermining of the working class ethic that so many fans found endearing. The pluses and minuses of these two key elements comprise something of an underlying theme that weaves in and out of the narratives, and lends the book broader historical significance.

Still and all, what lifts this work above so many others is the opportunity editor Peary provides to so many marginal and obscure players to tell their story, ones which really do constitute the fabric of the game, and how basically decent and attached to baseball these men are. Coming away from their stories, the reader begins to understand why this game alone, with its very unfashionable appearance and rhythms, has worked its way into the soul of a nation.

Danny Peary has compiled an oral history that is simply as good an effort as has been done to date. The sixty-five players interviewed range from a few stars like Brooks Robinson, Del Ennis, Lew Burdette and Don Newcombe to solid career players such as Hank Sauer, Andy Seminick, Eddie Joost and Gene Woodling to guys just trying to hang on like Coot Veal, Ed Bouchee, Al Kozar and Bob Cain. The book covers the years 1947-1964 which many, including Peary have labeled the "golden era" of baseball. Most of the seminal changes of postwar baseball have been covered before of course in other works, but seldom in the words of the players themselves. At least not in the words of non-superstars. As you read the stories of these players you begin to realize the pressures they were all under in a time before free agency, long term contracts and huge endorsement money. Almost all of these guys, even the best, needed to have winter jobs to make ends meet. To understand the politics that could deny talented players opportunity in age of the reserve clause, read and reread the story of Al Kozar. In spite of the obvious disparity between today and then, one gets the feeling that ballplayers in that era seemed to enjoy the game more than their current counterparts. For all the inherent problems with the reserve clause, there seemed to be an innocence to the game that no longer exists. Any serious historian of baseball should not be without this book.

My wife and I were really struggling trying to give our dog good name that would also be a little creative. A variety of lists on web pages didn't do the trick. Ten minutes with this book and we had our name (Lira). We also came up with several other really good ones I would have never thought of otherwise. If you want to name your dog something other than Max or Maggie (though those are good names), give this book a try.

I bought this wonderful book to settle some arguments about names which have erupted in our household after we recently bought a bulldog pup. My son Jonathan wants something "ironic", though his suggestions owe less to irony than inappropriate buffoonery and disrespect (viz Schlong, which isn't in this book) and my daughter Stephanie mysteriously says it has to be something she can work with if she doesn't make it in mainstream films. Still, there are over 2000 naming suggestions and I'm sure we'll find something that suits.

This is an excellent book if you want to name a puppy or kitten. There were some really cool names in here, though some were kind of stange. (Bombshell, Meatloaf, Knickerbocker, you get the idea.) Most of the book was rally cool though. If you need a name for a dog, buy it!

Greg Capullo is the definition of a selftaught master. Would get that last star if Todd McF had done the inks.

WOW!!! I am a big fan of Greg Capullo's artwork in the "Spawn Saga" of comics, so when I saw this graphic novel, "The Creech:Rage Against Death" that was written and drawn by him, I absolutely went wild and bought it!
When I read it, my great expectations were fulfilled! This is a brilliant sci-fi graphic novel with an excellent story and spectacular artwork!!
It's a story reminiscent of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Chris Claremont's "X-Men". It's about this corrupt leader of a shadowy government organization called "The Agency" who creates this biological mutant war-machine known as the Creech, and thus, because of all the cloning and genetic procedures he had done on the creature, and with all the controversy on cloning going around the world, he and his fellow associates have gained several enemies, such as the notorious religious radicalist group known as "The Voice of God".
But the scientist who was responsible for creating the Creech is determined that no matter what the Agency thinks and does to him, that he is somehow going to give the Creech human instincts and stop it from becoming a war-machine. But, before the scientist's procedures and expirements are fully completed in order to transform the Creech, the hideous creature escapes, leaving a bloody trail of death and destruction throughout the city!!
So just who is the Creech? What is his secret origin? Will the Agency be able to stop his bloody, hellish rampage? And what's more, will the power of humanity itself catch up with the Creech and show him the true way of existence?
I urge every comic book and sci-fi fan out there to pick up this great, groundbreaking graphic novel and find the answers to these dark mysteries!! You definitely won't regret it!!
And I myself can say, that without a doubt, that this is the greatest graphic novel that I've ever read!!!

Peaches Smith's "Danny's Got a Gun" is an interactive story that tells the tale of a young student by the name of Danny who is full of pent up anger and after several months, decides to release this anger in a violent way towards people at his school. It is a stark reminder of what has happened in recent years and what can continue to happen unless we begin a discussion on violence in schools and getting children help before tragedy occurs.

The story is interactive because Smith leaves pages blank at the end and ask readers to imagine being someone who is in a situation where someone is threatening their lives. What do you do? Who are those people involved. Smith, through her book, makes her own attempt to help this dilemma, and I think she's done a commendable job at it.

Danny's Got a Gun is a story for students, parents, school officials, and authority to read, so that they all can be educated and realize that this epidemic will not end until discussion is brought forth.

Shon Bacon

This is a really book. When I read it, I loved it. The little boy in the story just needed some attention. But his parents didn't give him that. He did a really stupid thing. He went and got his father's gun. He was late for school and he took it to gym. He was going through some bag things at home and at school. The best thing about this book is that you get to finish the book yourself. I would make Danny take the gun and go home and put it away. Then, I would make Danny go back to school and explain to everyone about the gun. He should go home and explain to parents too. He shouldn't even touch it.

This book reminded me that killing is really bad and guns too. You should not even think about stuff like that. Thank you Miss Peaches for another great story!

I just received this mornin' the fresh flash book, i already own the Flash Math Creativity book, and i have to admit that this fresh flash book is a great source of inspiration for designer, or good programmers, as the Flash Math Creativity, the authors still does not explain very well what they "paste" in the book, full pages of code with // explanation if you begin do not get this book, if you have solid knowledge of actionscript so this book is for you !!! you will scratch your head while reading the book, and that is the GAME !! Even if it is, a little bit more explanation in the book would have been a pleasure that is the reason why i would give 4 stars, because some parts of the code are very hard to understand...

Finally, this book is divided into 9 parts, one for each author, each one got his own way of coding and that is funny to see how they solve different problems, they got their touch !!

So, designers, coders get this book !!!!!!!

This is a _very_ nice book. I have recently changed my field of study at my university to design and media. Lately I've been wanting to break in Flash so that I could add motion to my art. This book was perfect. I didn't need to learn how to create a tween or any actual respect of Flash really, but instead how to explore the creative potentials that permeate from Flash. It was quite incredible.

Particularly, I found the chapters on video and 3D, runtime 3D, "bezier creatures", and the set interval enticing. You should see the chapter on runtime 3D! A _full_ library of 3d code that is extremely easy to use (including incredibly insightful comments in the code). You do not need to know much math to make some crazy effects. Also the chapter on video and Flash enlightened me as I did not know of flash's capabilities in this field.

So, in the end, get this book! It is awe inspiring.

I really only want to let the publisher/author know that we liked the book, in general very much. However, we took his advice and went out to the village where Hemingway left his boat. We went to the restaurant there that they recommended (where Hemingway hung-out) The service was BAD and the food was BAD. I would not recommend it anymore in the book unless you check it out again. The seafood looked old and sick. You were right in that the private homes were great, cheap and fun. A bit intimidating when the family watches for the cops. But worth it! Thanks, Patricia

Although off limits to American tourist for over four decades already, Cuba has always fascinated American travelers since the early 1900s. The island, which has some the Caribbean's most beautiful beaches and friendliest people has seen tough economic times due to the unjust economic embargo placed by the United States after the Cuban Revolution of 1959.

The "Insight Guide to Cuba" is a beautiful, informative guide to this island nation. As an American planning on visiting the island in the future (it is not illegal to visit Cuba for Americans; U.S. law prohibits Americans from spending money there) I wanted to have an idea on how the island appeared like in photographs, and read more about the history of its' people, cities, towns, and sites. This book perfectly captures the island's spirit in beautiful color photographs and well-researched articles that cover everything about the island. Although it is not resourceful when it comes to resourceful information such as emergency numbers, addresses, etc., ... like a Lonely Planet guide, this guide is a must have for anyone who appreciates the island's beauty in photographs.

Handy, well researched and compiled, the "Insight Guide to Cuba" rates a ten in my travel book collection. I stare at the book's photographs and almost feel that I am on the island. Until I get there, this book will do.

This book was put together in order to fund the defence of cartoonist Danny Hellman whose freedom of speech is being attacked by the subject of a harmless satirical e-mail (cartoonist Ted Rall) via a $1.5 million libel suit. Hellman created his satirical e-mail as a response to Ted Rall's accusations, published in the Villiage Voice, that Art Spiegleman is some sort of dictator who controls the cartooning industry in New York (apparently Rall reserves greater freedom of speech for himself).

Considering that the contributers include Doug Allen, Gary Leib, Sam Henderson, Johnny Ryan, Michael Kupperman (AKA P. Revess) etc. (see above for some more impressive names), this anthology should be a lot better than it actually is. Unfortunately, much of the book is taken up by reprints from publications that are likely already owned by anyone interested in this book. The Allen and Leib work is mostly reprinted from Idiotland, the Doucet is from Idiotland and Dirty Plotte, most of the Millionaire is from Dirty Stories Vol. II, etc. Also, most of these reprints are not even the various artists' stronger works. As for the new stuff, when it isn't taking (often funny) stabs at Ted Rall, it tends to be lightweight and silly. For example, James Kolchalka has a series of useless one page stories about a frog getting an erection while looking at various inanimate objects (like a phone), and many others are dumb stories about "Dirty" Danny Hellman playing (neither real nor realistic) pranks. Thus most of the strips by, e.g., Sam Henderson (normally a hillarious cartoonist) are just plain stupid.

There is enough standout material (e.g. Michael Kupperman's strips (although for some reaons they print one of his really short strips twice) and Johnny Ryan's) and it is for a good enough cause that it is definitely still worth getting, but most fans of its fantastic lineup will be disappointed. Ultimately, this book reminds me of one of the Small Press Expo's annual anthologies: thick and worthwhile, but still very hit and miss.

Despite the aforementioned flaws by fellow reviewers, i.e rehashed strips from earlier publications, Danny's compilation is a triumph. For a guy like me, a late-bloomer in perusing the alternative comix section at my trusty neighborhood Zanadu Comics, Legal Action Comics served as usher into a new realm of art and stories.

What struck me most about this work was while Danny originally envisioned this as a 32 page compilation to support his legal costs, this volume merely demonstrates, by the sheer artist and writer response and subsequent expansion into its present format, that Hellman is a rich man indeed, wealthier than any amount of cash Ted "Knee on his Throat" Rall could ever hope to squeeze out of him. That the comic community rallied around him in such fashion speaks volumes.

My hat's off to Dirty Danny. Can't wait for Volume 2.

I recomend the book. Written well. Nice and factual. Fun. Good at putting the reader in the place and time.

An excellent document of a time long-gone, "Sniffin' Glue: The Essential Punk Accessory" takes you back to the days of attitude, spit and projectile pint glasses. In existence for a mere 12 months, the UK fanzine "Sniffin' Glue" rose from humble beginnings (an initial print run numbering just a meager 50 copies) to a circulation into the thousands, just by the third issue. Of course, Mark Perry, S.G.'s creator, urged readers to tear their copies to shreds in reaction to this sudden success. I assume they didn't, and now we've got this handsome and distinguished volume, which is a welcome addition to any self-loathing punk's bookshelf. They're all here, from well-knowns like the Clash, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, to more obscure but equally excellent bands like Eater and the Adverts. Even the layout and design of the book is spot on: the front half is chock-full of glossy pix of the bands and informative texts to go with them, and the back half is every single issue of the zine, printed authentically on smelly newsprint-ish paper. All in all, this is a gloriously raw and authentic trip back to punk's heyday, and one of the better punk books to come along in a while.