This book is realy not just called michael jackson.It's called michael jackson and the jackson family.It has colored pictures though they're mostly all black and white.It has information on michael jackson and the rest of the family including jackson 5 and janet jackson. It shows all the albums and songs.It is realy a great book.It also shows what year everyone was born in.

Although Monty Python's Flying Circus is still the most celebrated British comedy TV series to hit the states, I've yet to see any other BBC show match 'Are You Being Served?' as the funniest. The 'Inside Story' companion book is a helpful guide for American fans of this landmark BBC sitcom.

'AYBS?' has many of the distinctions that make it a notable TV show. It boasts both a black-and-white episode (the pilot) and a 'lost' episode. It's been made into a feature film and a stage play. There's a spinoff series, 'Are You Being Served? Again', known as 'Grace and Favour' in the UK. An Australian version of the series was produced, as well as a pilot for an American rendition that never saw release. These little factoids and many other things are in the book for the fan's reference.

Also given are very brief synopses of the episodes, as well as mini-bios of the show's main characters and the actors who portray them. There's Mrs. Slocombe's (Molly Sugden) discussions about her... pet cat, Capt. Peacock's (Frank Thornton) marital woes, the biting wit of Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), and other details. Then there's John Inman and his effeminate and flamboyant portrayal of Mr. Humphries, the quintessential "campy over-the-top allegedly gay" character. A good portion of Inman's bio talks about the controversy regarding Humphries's implied homosexuality. As for Mr. Humphries himself, he has stated many times on the show that he's "neither one way nor the other"...

Another neat addition is the glossary of British terms- the slang and vernacular commonly heard on the show. It's good to have when you're watching the show on the west end of the pond and you're not quite sure what a "till", an "electric fire", or "sacking" is. Unfortunately, not all of the various terms heard on the show are defined. I'm still trying to figure out what an "argybargy" (I think that's how it's spelled) is. And just what is a "bloody palaver" (spelling again) anyway? Can anybody help me out on these ones?

'Late!

'AYBS?' has many of the distinctions that make it a notable TV show. It boasts both a black-and-white episode (the pilot) and a 'lost' episode. It's been made into a feature film and a stage play. There's a spinoff series, 'Are You Being Served? Again', known as 'Grace and Favour' in the UK. An Australian version of the series was produced, as well as a pilot for an American rendition that never saw release. These little factoids and many other things are in the book for the fan's reference.

Also given are very brief synopses of the episodes, as well as mini-bios of the show's main characters and the actors who portray them. There's Mrs. Slocombe's (Molly Sugden) discussions about her... pet cat, Capt. Peacock's (Frank Thornton) marital woes, the biting wit of Mr. Lucas (Trevor Bannister), and other details. Then there's John Inman and his effeminate and flamboyant portrayal of Mr. Humphries, the quintessential "campy over-the-top allegedly gay" character. A good portion of Inman's bio talks about the controversy regarding Humphries's implied homosexuality. As for Mr. Humphries himself, he has stated many times on the show that he's "neither one way nor the other"...

Another neat addition is the glossary of British terms- the slang and vernacular commonly heard on the show. It's good to have when you're watching the show on the west end of the pond and you're not quite sure what a "till", an "electric fire", or "sacking" is. Unfortunately, not all of the various terms heard on the show are defined. I'm still trying to figure out what an "argybargy" (I think that's how it's spelled) is. And just what is a "bloody palaver" (spelling again) anyway? Can anybody help me out on these ones?

Fans of this long-running series and mainstay on American public television will appreciate this excellent reference guide to the actors and episodes. The book is 212 pages and is full of color and black and white photos. All the leading actors are featured in mini bios (there is 8 pages of text along with several pages of photos on John Inman, alone) as well as short bios on supporting actors such as Arthur English (Mr. Harman). Info on the chief writers Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, a brief history of the series, behind-the scenes look at the taping of the shows, AYBS trivia, and a glossary of "Briticisms" are also included. The most valuable section of this book, however, is the lists with plot details on every episode of the ten-season series. The information on each episode includes a list of the extras, the date it first aired, trivia (in most cases), plot description and rating on a one to four-star scale. I am not sure how the ratings were ascertained, as they often differ from how I judge the shows, but it is fun to watch an episode and then check the guide to see what they thought of the show. Keep this book handy whenever you enter the world of Grace Brothers.

My copy is on its way back to Amazon as I write this. I tried to tough it out through Chapter 2 after gagging on Chapter 1, just for the sake of gleaning some information, but it was no use. Each page is rife with grammatical howlers, bizarre self-contradictions, and needless "jokey" humor that simply makes it take longer to get to the next mistake. What a disaster! And I really need a book on the topic, too...

So far this is the only VRML book I have found that is written at a level which is useful to serious graphics programmers. If you've programmed graphics applications using some other API and would like to learn VRML, I would strongly suggest buying this book. The topics range from the incredibly simple (here's what VRML is) to topics like subdivision curves and procedural modeling (they have some neat Lindenmayer / fractal plant demos). I actually lost my copy, and am somewhat upset that the book is now out of print.

This was the best book to get me started writing VRML and Java. If you know Java and want to integrate it with VRML, then this is the book for you.

For a person who needed information on growing Irises outside England and the Pacific Northwest, this would be not be the best first purchase. I can't judge how well it would describe cultural best practice in England but with Irises climate is extremly important. What works in one climate will not work in another, Iris Borer, for example, only lives in North America but it is a terrible pest there. It would make lovely winter reading for most of us because of the artistic photographs and excellent botany of the various Iris species. However don't expect to be able to buy many of the varities shown, the English have their own set of Iris varities and only rarely import the American ones.

"The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises" by Geoff Stebbings is more readable and less usable than many of the gardening books I own. It is a wonderful book to curl up with in the winter when your garden is covered with snow. The pictures are beautiful and in color, although I wish there were more of them (I think I've been spoiled by the photos in the Iris catalogues that show up in my mailbox every Spring). The author has definite opinions as to which varieties work best in the garden. In his chapter on "The Value of Iris in the Garden" he states the following:

"Perhaps it is because the bearded iris show such variety that many gardeners do not look elsewhere in the genus for garden plants. This is a mistake, however, because although the deep, blackcurrent purple of 'Superstition' may have a velvety sheen, a ruffling and size that are hard to match, the deep purple of forms of 'I. Chrysographes' are augmented by bright golden markings on a flower of refinement and poise that makes the other look clumsy and almost grotesque."

The tall, bearded Iris also gets short shrift in the popular "The Well-Tended Perennial Garden" by Tracy DiSabato-Aust, but I would venture to say that theirs is the minority opinion among gardeners. Most of us love the bearded irises for their gorgeous colors and perfumes, and in spite of their short season of bloom. This book's longest chapter is on the Tall Bearded Iris, so it can't be said that the author neglects them. There are also chapters on the Siberian Iris, the Pacific Coast Iris, the Water Iris, the Spuria Iris, the Stinking Iris, the Dwarf Bulbous Iris, and "Iris for the Specialist".

As interesting as this book is to read, it is not really organized to help you locate a quick paragraph on what to do about the Iris borer grub that you just discovered in your 'Beverly Sills' rhizome. In fact 'iris borer' isn't even listed in the index. If you flip to the lone page on 'pests', you won't find them there, either-just a few miscellaneous paragraphs on aphids and wet rot.

Buy "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises" if you love irises and would like to learn more about them. However, you might want to look elsewhere for a straightforward guide to growing and caring for these lovely flowers.

for each official release, an introductory statement is provided. a commentary on each song follows. essentially, geoff brown likes "purple rain" and that's all....he hates every proceeding prince song; and...and he lets you know all about it for the remainder of the book. NOT a good book for those who don't already have an opinion or other basis for interpretting prince music. it's basicly another piece of my collection that i never take off the shelf. clyde