Although "complete" is an overstatement, "The Complete Parrot" provides information on the personalities, abilities, care, and history of about 85 species of parrot, not including subspecies. It is also generously illustrated with color photographs of most of these birds. There are short chapters on Getting Started, Longevity, Training, Nutrition, Grooming, Avian Medicine, and Breeding. But these chapters are overviews of these subjects more than comprehensive how-to guides. The bulk of the book is dedicated to describing the birds. There are chapters on: African Greys, Amazons, Australasian Parrots, Cockatoos, Conures (only the most common species of conure are covered), Eclectus, Lories, Lovebirds, Macaws, and some additional Smaller and Unusual Parrots. The book seems to be intended as more of an exploration of the characteristics and delights of parrots than as a how-to reference. This probably explains why the sections on each species are not organized into breeding, housing, diet, history, etc. subsections. These topics run together. This does make it difficult to relocate something you have read, but it gives the book a more prosaic and narrative style, which I believe was the author's intention. I think any bird lover will find the information in "The Complete Parrot" interesting, but it would be most helpful to those who are trying to decide which species of bird to buy, or if bird ownership is the thing for them at all. The author gives more details about the personalities and abilities of more species of birds, in themselves and compared to each other, than I have ever seen in one place. He also relates his personal experiences with birds, as well as those of other bird owners. And he frequently gives some interesting history of the species. This information, along with the nice color photographs, will really help you chose a bird that is right for you. If you are considering a conure, you'll need a book dedicated to conures for more detailed information on the many species available.

Recommended for anyone who likes interesting bird stories and lovely bird pictures, but especially to those who are wondering which species of bird they should get.

Besides being a beautiful book, the author shares his experiences with the parrots who have touched his life.

There are profiles of many species, fantastic photos, and my favorite section: Parrot Potpourri which is full of interesting parrot-related tid-bits.

I recommend adding this book to your avian library.

The Complete Parrot is a wonderful book in every way. This book provides colorful pictures useful in deciphering any parrot of your choice, comical anecdotes that contain miscellaneous bits of useful information,and is easily read by any newcomer of the parrot fancy. Being a well-rounded piece of literature,the book may by itself give any person a significant understanding of the psittacine birds.

I did not think that this book offered too good of explanations. After taking the course with this book accompanying it, I did not feel that I went away with anything except for more confusion toward physics. If you are thinking about purchasing this book, you will probably want to try a different text.

...While understanding can come from this book, the numerous typos distract, confuse, and degrade the quality of it. Examples of this include the following: on page 7, the definitions for t_0 and t should be switched (although it's all relative); on pages 39, 40, and 41, there are occasions where a prime ' is either lacking or misplaced; on page 43, a variable dz' should be replaced by dx'. Page 137, example 4.5 (b) gives contradictory exponents. The correct exponents are ^2 throughout. The answer is also wrong! (should be 2.47x10^15 Hz)
These are just a few occasions that I have noticed and have spent hours struggling with.

It points out most of the important concepts clearly. It is an interesting book if you have proper foundation of Maths. However, I prefer the layout and format of its first edition. It achieved good balance between maths and physics.

Andy Warhol always stated about people having "15 minutes of fame" but this book, with its fierce, hard-hitting, sexually explicit, brilliant short take on the man's gay life, passions, and art goes much deeper into Warhol's life than we have ever seen. .
This book is part of the Penguin Lives biographies. The Author, Wayne Koestenbaum, shows how Andy Warhol managed to take classic American images such as Campbell Soup cans, Brillo boxes, and the faces of Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Onassis and made us look at them in radically different ways. The Author offers very interesting and intriguing background into Warhol's childhood (e.g., when his mom caught him playing with himself while looking at Popeye), his boyfriends and gay love affairs, his nights among the disco demimonde of Studio 54, the scene at the Factory, and his obsessions with body image, pornography, and AIDS.

Andy Warhol is a 'secret' gay icon of the time. This is a very interesting book that I would highly recommend to everyone.

As a Warhol scholar, and someone who has read dozens of books and essays about him, I would heartily recommend this as an _addition_ to the other works. It's not really a biography in the traditional sense at all, and it certainly shouldn't be the first or only thing you read.

If you prefer a clinical, detached, "just the facts, ma'am" approach - skip this. If you are terrified by 20th century philosophy and psychoanalysis - skip this. If you find it easier to disparage strawman concepts like "postmodernism" rather than actually reading and thinking about continental philosophy (yes, I know it's difficult) - skip this. And judging from the reviews, if you're terribly uncomfortable with sexual themes or "swishiness" in art or writing - forget it.

The book is excellent. The prose is often rich and compelling - my copy is dogeared from all the passages I've marked - and the philosophical and psychoanalytic themes, while not developed, can be very suggestive. Koestenbaum has an excellent reading of many of the films - perhaps the most important and underexamined aspect of his work. Warhol's art is certainly not reduced to postmodernist cliches (as it has been so often elsewhere) nor is it reduced to being "about" his sexual identity. In a striking change, Warhol is not considered as a celebrity or a monster, but like the frail yet determined individual he was, the complex and multifaceted life he led, and the gorgeous, troubling, powerful art he produced. If you don't know anything about Warhol, if you've haven't seen much of his work or any of his films, don't start with this book - you'll be confused and dissappointed. But if you already think you know all about Warhol, and you read this book -slowly - while looking at his work, I think you've find it an incredibly helpful guide.

For real reviews, ...read Hal Foster's review in the London Review of Books

This is an important book, the first biography of Warhol to put his films at the center of the vast project that was Warhol's life and work, life transformed into work. Rather than rely on received ideas, Koestenbaum has availed himself of the overwhelming Warhol archive (from time capsules to scrapbooks); actually watched and considered all the Warhol movies currently restored and available for viewing; and looked at the paintings and sculptures--which is how he can, in lightning bright prose, provide a new beginning for thinking about Warhol. No familiar folksy "Andy" but an artist as strange and daunting as any other this country has produced. Few writers on Warhol ever bother to LOOK AT (and READ) what Warhol did; Koestenbaum does look, and his looking becomes the basis for his illuminating, trenchant commentary. (The electric chic of his sentences is as theoretically bracing as his critical observations.) Too many think they know who or what Warhol was/is. Bravely, Koestenbaum allows his thought as writing to be as new..., estranging and probing as Warhol's art. "Ur-sexual" Warhol working non-stop to negotiate the glamourous nothingness and Ronellian stupidity called being or "life": this is the Warhol Koestenbaum pushes, star-like, into the klieg light, finally ready for his close-up.

I should have known when I unwrapped is and saw the cartoonishly bad block lettering on the cover of this poorly written piece of Reaganesque agitprop. Hell, I should have known by the ham-fistedly longwinded title. But no. Instead of a careful, thoughtful discussion of Tocqueville, what you have here is a gussied up religious pamphlet. Bah humbug.

A.M. Ledeen's A.Tocqueville 's analyses of American spirit - relevant today?
The original "Democracy in America" is a well known university source of reference even now .In 1826 a French nobleman A.de Tocqueville devoted himself to study the American ideas concerning life under American Democracy started 200 years ago by the Pilgrims. He found the American character did not fundamentaly change, and the success of America is a direct result of its principles, which remain stable even when circumstances change. Ledeen 's analyses of them in today's conditions ( he describes the important characteristics and ideals ) as alive and well. The dynamic mindset for continuous improvement is more then materialism. Initiative is a permanent state of mind, esteem of personal liberty results in individualism and deep religious conviction gives a base for morality in dealing with the neighbour.
Equality is taken for granted in spite of status or wealth. This is true in the west as well as the east where the original settlers started. Northern neighbour Canada, is different, regimented and respectful of old world systems even though the nature and climate are similar. Americans created something new an free, left behind old habits and goals. Having lived in Europe and Latin America it impressed me as liberated from burdens of superficial formality .
He detects that Americans drive for a change. Every generation adopts new discoveries, destroys the old system and obstacles ruthlesly, expecting their sons to do better then the fathers.However they do respect the basic principles. There has been a confirmation by many that America can stay good even if there are many risks.

Tocqueville's insights into the American worldview and its application by the wide public led him to forecasts and warnings about the future expressed in detail by Ledeen. The future developments will bridge over fads like American feminism, Africanism and other trends ,as well as views of "intellectuals" who are considering themselves culturally superior and try to influence the political elite . They are for controls of centralized state and, as one of the powers of the expanded state they advance, removal of religious discourse from public forum. Tocqueville found and the recent polls quted by Ledeen still confirm it, that that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not agree with the anti-religious intellectuals and judges. The advice is: religion is a guarantee of freedom, as his native France has tested by trying to supress it.
...
Ben Benda
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Many people in America have not read Alexis de Tocqueville's brilliant analysis of the American character, as he experienced on his trip to the United States in 1826. That's too bad, because his work brilliantly defines what is different about American society from any other one on Earth. As an aristocratic Frenchman, perhaps it was easier for him to see us as we are, by seeing how different we are from Europeans, Canadians, and Mexicans.

The concept of the book is to summarize de Tocqueville, and then to test his observations against what has happened since. I have not seen that done before, and looked forward to seeing the results.

When Michael Ledeen is describing de Tocqueville, or political thinking of that time, the book is superb. If the book had stopped there, it would have been a five star book. So if you want to read it for that background, you will be well rewarded. Alternatively, you can read de Tocqueville directly. I would prefer the original, but either would serve.

In his contemporary commentary on America, Mr. Ledeen is basically giving us a political sociology analysis. For such work, it is helpful to have facts that look from various perspectives and dimensions. The first problem with this book is that Mr. Ledeen prefers to give just one anecdote or one fact, and build his observations from that. That approach works well for stimulating debate, but falls short of being convincing about our unique character. I found this approach very suspect.

Second, Mr. Ledeen prefers to always come at the problem from the perspective of being paranoid about losing our ideal character. I think his point of view is a valid one, but there are others. For example, one can also talk optimistically about how we routinely avoid certain traps (like having the best people decide to become politicians, or failing to use private institutions to serve important social needs). Those other perspectives are missing. The result is a book that seems like an anti-Democrat (as in the political party) rant in many places.

The third problem is that the book seems to have been weakly researched. Facts and details seem just a little out of focus, as though drawn from long-remembered impressions, rather than real knowledge or research.

For example, I rarely see Jack Welch's (the famous CEO of General Electric) name misspelled in any publication or book. But in this book, he was "Welsh" all the way through. Now, I believe Mr. Welch is an Irishman by background, so I don't think it's an accurate description of his familial history, either.

Then, the book goes on to describe his Mr. Welch's pronouncements of 1980 as creative destruction. The ideas that Mr. Welch advocated in that year were well established and broadly in application throughout American business when he pursued them. He primarily was advocating that the company stay in businesses in which it could be the leader or have the second place in market share. He solved the company's deficiencies by simply selling the lower market share operations, not by destroying them. For example, Utah International (a mining operation) was sold within months of his taking the helm. It was only later that Mr. Welch began to downsize the remaining General Electric operations to get rid of excess layers of bureaucatic fat.

The ideas Mr. Welch advocated later in his career were actually more important to General Electric's success, such as freeing General Electric Capital to be very entrepreneurial, focusing on leadership training, and implementing Six Sigma. So at best, Mr. Welch is misdescribed due to misfocus in Mr. Ledeen's example. At worst, Mr. Ledeen simply doesn't seem to grasp the example. There are several other sections of the book that display these kinds of fundamental flaws about contemporary observations.

As a result, I have to grade the analysis of current society somewhere in the two to three star range, creating an average of three and a half or four stars for the whole book.

After you finish reading this book, test its thesis by thinking about the evolution of American business. De Tocqueville did not have too much to say about that institution. Mr. Ledeen has somewhat more to say, suggesting it is an inheritor of the free association tendency of Americans. But I wonder if it is not something more. Is it not the case that business is replacing many of the other institutions in its effectiveness and broader social focus? Now that theme would make an interesting book.

Guard your liberty jealously, from all who threat it . . . including a greedy or thoughtless majority, sloppy thinking, or corrupt leaders. Trust must be earned.

This text is absolutely inadequate in the gastrointestinal physiology area for the level it proposes to teach. They really need to get someone who understands this area to help them out.

The book is an easy read enough for an introductory text, but the details for many chapters are really inadequate.

I found this book to be invaluable for learning physiology. It was in-depth and has excellent illustrations. A must-have for the physiology student.

After Pinnock et al's "The Openness of God" one was left wanting a far more substantial exposition of Openness Theism's tenets. In "Most Moved Mover" this is precisely what we have got from a distinctly theological vantage point. This is particularly helpful in that it puts to rest the charge made in the aftermath of "The Openness of god" that these neo-evangelicals are captive to philosophical logic before all other thological authorities. Pinnock blends in his unique way a thoroughgoing scholarly study with personal conviction which, in my mind, satisfied both head and heart. The subject matter is debatable and in the author's view more attention should perhaps have been paid to the reinterpretation of hellenistic concept of divine immutability necessitated by the incarnation. Nonetheless taken alongside Bloesch's "God the Almighty" we have in Pinnock's work a rich resevoir for the evangelical theology's articulation of the doctrine of God in the Twenty First century.

Discussion in general regarding the subject matter of this book seems to be yet in its infancy: concerned parties from most all perspectives seem to still have a certain amount of difficulty separating emotional reactions from thoughtful dialogue. While this book is to a certain extent no exception to this, it is still a well-presented case for open theism.

In this volume Pinnock focuses on and highlights the relational and responsive character of the Biblical God; he proffers that such a relational, responsive character does not weaken God's status as God, but is rather indicative of one of God's most distinct and even praiseworthy characteristics: responsiveness (thus "openness") of the Biblical God is a cause for praise, not concern. As such, the Biblical God is quite different from Aristotle's idea of God as the "Unmoved Mover," as the title suggests. To this end, Pinnock has included a cursory overview of some of the ways in which our conceptions and understandings of God have been informed (and somewhat diluted) by Greco-Roman metaphysical philosophy.

By default, this book is somewhat reactionary. However, this would be true also of any contemporary discussion surrounding this matter. Open theism in its contemporary context is still coming into its own, and this book serves as another step towards that end. A disclaimer must be issued regarding the apparent emotion behind this work, but it comes recommended for anyone honestly interested in the major thinkers behind this perspective.

Pinnock offers a fuller expression of the Openness of God position he and others drafted in their book 8 years ago. After a chapter relating some of the ways in which openness theology has been critiqued (both positive and negative), he uses the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience) to argue his openness case.

There is much to admire about this book. I consider myself an exponent of open theism, and this book provides open theists like me with a meaty offering to consider and to recommend to others.

My main criticism (despite giving Most Moved Mover a 5-star rating) is that Pinnock does not go quite far enough in conceiving of God as truly open. The God he envisions is still capable of acting coercively (by totally controlling some situation, event, or individual) and occasionally does so act. This coercive power was expressed most powerfully in the creation of the universe from nothing and will be expressed at the eschaton.

A God who totally controls -- even though only occasionally -- is not essentially open to others, however. Because of this, my criticism is that the open God he envisions is still culpable for failing to use the kind of controlling power that prevents genuinely evil occurrences.

In sum, while I commend this book to readers as a moving vision of a loving deity, I encourage Pinnock and others in our openness community to think deeply about reconceiving divine power in such a way that this vision of God eludes being susceptible to a crash upon the problem of evil rock.

"Plots Limited" would be a more apt title. There is not that great a variety, unless you want to limit yourself to the cliched, the hackneyed, the predictable, or the downright silly.

I've been through this book several times and have yet to find it useful. What I find instead is that I can actually name the TV movies, miniseries, and bad TV shows where these plots have already appeared. (And time has not made them any more palatable.) This makes it more of a trivia game than a writer's reference.

However, if you're looking for a nostalgic journey through The Worst of 1970s and '80s Television, this book is for you.

This is a good book for writers who are stuck on a dead-end plot point and need a nudge in the right direction. A previous reviewer complained about the book's ineffective qualities with science fiction, but it's the writer's job to manipulate the basic conflict situations provided in the book. This book will not give you EXACT PLOTS for your story. But it WILL offer suggestions on directions you could take with your story. On Page 126, the second part of "Conflict Situation - #953" reads, "Jack, wanting peace and quiet, assumes a false identity and finds a distant retreat." The retreat could be a dilapidated apartment in Queens, a rural farm in Montana, or a distant planet in the Andromeda Galaxy. Those creative souls who look at the contents of this book in LITERAL terms will find nothing useful because it's only intended to spark the writer's imagination, NOT provide easy plots for lazy writers. I think this is a wonderful resource, and I recommend it to any aspiring, or professional writer out there who needs a little nudge to get their story moving.

The problem with this book is that each of the plots lead to odd endings. I have a hard time findig a good story line that could be used for fantasy or SF. I don't see any chance for horror writers. The plots also use a lot of cultural stereo-typing. The use of the word primitive is primitive. I still find the book useful as a springboard for non-cliche ideas.

Provided you can sift through the large amount of text this can prove a useful reference tool for most occult studies. The section regarding the art of necromancy leaves a lot to be desired. As to the '72 Spirits of the brazen Vessel', how much can you trust the opinion of a 'Christian Demonologist'?

The so-called "Book of Black Magic" is more or less a compendium of some of the more infamous medieval grimoires such as the Red Dragon, the Grimoire of Honorius, etc. The book is worth the price for the sheer ammount of knowledge contained within. The general occult public is sometimes hardpressed to gain access to medieval manuscripts and grimoires or is not willing to pay an exorbitant fee for copies form the Bristish Museum. Even then, one must contend with the Middle English dialect (although a company called IGOS sells translated copies of many noteworthy grimoires) and the occaisional swear, crack, or scorch mark on the document. It is for this reason that the "Book of Black Magic" is a worthy addition to your shelf. Although the information is presented lucidly and translated the reader must still contend with the horrible illustrations of Waite (a true disgrace to produce a book with such poorly drawn sigils and seals), not to mention his sheer verbosity. In effect it is a trade-off......we gain this pure compendium knowledge at the high price of reading the pompous (and often inane) outpourings of A.E. Waite. Had this book been written as a sheer compilation without the annoying commentaries by Mr. Waite it would have been a 10. If you can filter his footnotes (which are longer than the book) it is a most worthwhile experience. --Maofas

Waite spent all of his life exploring the studies of mysticism, the occult, the esoteric. I find the book difficult to access, but know that it is an absolute must have in terms of the complete library on magic. I had no problems with the illustrations, myself. Most curious. I can't claim to understand all that's there, but I intend to spend some indepth study on this book.

Poorly written book with very poor pictures. I hoped to find there much more information than in very compact (but as I now could see much better written) manual of F100. Instead I found unclear "explanations", not finished desriptions and much less technical information than in the manual. (e.g. no errors description at all)
Don't buy it! Read carefully the manual, you will save some time and money.

I consider myself an advanced novice. I bought an F100 and was looking for a book with some depth. This one disappointed. Yeah, it explained the features to a point, but there was minimal guidance on how to effectively use those features.

This book is basically a glorified instruction manual, but that is not a bad thing. The text is easy to understand, the photos are helpful, and the book will last much longer than the original manual. Worth buying, especially for the beginner.

"Shadow Box" has received quite mixed reviews: some positive; others critical of its reliance on a biography of Mina Loy by Carolyn Burke. It overall "suffers" (if such be the word)from a failing critics find in modern, especially UK (by extension Ireland)literature: a reliance on already-established characters and history. Apart from those possible faults, I found the book interesting and well-written. Being unaware of Loy, and only vaguely having heard of Arthur Cravan, I found their characters believable;their epoch and milieu in which they lived colourfully-drawn. I do know something of Jack Johnson. The boxing scenes, the hostility Johnson received when entering the ring, were strong. The author has, apparently, never been an actual boxing fan. Her descriptions of the sport's technical aspects were thus impressive. Boxers fought differently then.

I never liked epistolary romances but I found myself fully immerse into this one. I know Carolyn Burke's biography is a lot deeper than Logue's but here, and only here you find yourself completely involved in this intimate exchange. I cought myself reading in a different internal voice Mina and Jack's letters, a rare feeling of guilt and curiosity as if I had found someone else's mail, I could not stop reading it.

A beautiful and heartrending tale of love, friendship and tragedy. I was at first disappointed at Arthur Cravan, the shadowy subject of the novel, not appearing more frequently; by comparison Jack Johnson`s boxing career occupies a more important place. However the second part of the work, leading to its tragic finale, more than makes up for this initial disappointment. The pain of loss, especially the loss of a soul-mate as important to Mina Loy as Cravan was, is so realistically portrayed as to make this book unforgettable to the reader of any sensitivity whatsoever. Antonia Logue`s fictional conclusion, in which she has Cravan still alive in 1946, his existence unknown to Mina his wife due to the death of Johnson in a car accident (the boxer was hastening to inform Mina of her husband`s existence after his disappearance at sea in 1918), is arguably even more tragic than the doubtless reality of his having drowned in 1918; Mina remaining forever in ignorance of the truth. For someone who has come to love Cravan also for all he represents, this book is a godsend. I recommend it to all who wish to discover more about this remarkable man, the nephew of Oscar Wilde. May readers of "Shadow-Box" resolve to rectify the ignorance of Cravan, still today, in the English-speaking world, when he remains such a well-known and time-honoured name in the annals of French literature!