My 18 month old son is crazy about the moon, and so we went out to buy some books about "Moo". We have several now, and the one he consistently goes back to is this one. The photos are large and beautiful, and the text is short enough to hold his attention and lyrical enough to please us, his writer parents. It's a lovely book, covering all sorts of things about the moon -- seeing pictures of men on the moon, the man in the moon, and a cow jumping over the moon; sometimes it looks very big and sometimes very small... I highly recommend this book. Appropriate for many ages.

This book has been one of my 4 year old son's favorite books for a long time now. He really loves the realistic moon pictures and the city skylines. The idea of being able to play near the moon is one that really sparks his imagination. I think this book has done a lot to get him interested in space in general. I like the fact that it's set in the city, something that not enough kid's book are.

I can't say enough good things about this book.. It covers, step by step, the process used to create 'Timmy's Lessons in Nature - Lesson 3'. In case you don't know what 'Lesson's in Nature' are, they were featured in the '2002 Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation'.

Mark takes you through all aspects of the process.. Budgeting, Timing, Equipment, X-Sheets, Lip Sync, etc... He also provides many demos of the software that they used to make 'Lessons in Nature', as well as some online versions of forms used by the studio, etc..

This Full COLOR book also contains TONS of the preproduction and production artwork for the 'Lessons in Nature' series. The artwork alone makes the book great reference material.

It also has interviews with the people that are the "movers and the shakers" of the Animation Industry both in the US and the UK.. These are people in each facet of the industry - recruiters, producers, animators, etc..

Like I said in the title, this book is a goldmine of information and reference. It is definitely worth the price and is something that you can refer back to time and time again...

Oh, and the ultimate "geek perk" of this book - the really cool flip animations that are on each page..

It really is an awesome addition to my library of animation books and will be one of the most worn out in pretty short order..

The Kirkus Review above did not give Joyner's book justice. I've read many books on Magellan by authors such as Parr, Cameron, Hawthorne, Hildebrand, Zweig, and Silverberg, and Joyner's book provided the intricate detail that I was looking for. Joyner returned to the original sources to provide such details as the ships' rosters --- crewmembers' names, where from, job aboard, salary, etc. --- mini-biographies of key players, lists of supplies, weaponry, etc. It's far more than a biography! In reference to the book not conveying the full impact of Magellan's personality nor of the voyage, I didn't find that to be true. So many biographies of Magellan read almost as fiction, to such an extent that you can't separate fact from fiction, that it was refreshing to have a factual account, interesting, easily read and absorbed. Well done, Joyner.

When I read this book I thought I could be reading a novel, not a historical account. It is fast paced and exciting history. Whether or not you are familiar with Magellan and his first ever global circumnavigation, this is a must read for anyone interested in nautical exploration.

I read this book several times and marvel at its great accessibility. It represents probably the best research effort on the great navigator. Joyner's annotated bibliography is extremely helpful to the serious student of navigation history in general and Magellan in particular. No other work in the past 50 years compares with the scholarly excellence of this book. A scholar who is just starting to get familiar with the story of the circumnavigation will find this book a complete pathway to all that must lie ahead for a thorough understanding of the greatest adventure at sea. This is a must book for both layman and scholar!

This is an excellent Biography of a President that Americans ought to know more about than they do. Beyond that Robert Sobel presents a portrait of a Statesman of High moral character and unimpeachable integrity that is seldom encountered in life, Much less at the summit of political life Professor Sobel is an economic Historian, Consequently He devotes a considerable part of the Book to a discussion of Coolidge's controversial economic policies which rank among the most sucessful in modern times. Consider that Coolidge was President for five years and in every one of those years the U.S. government had a balanced budget with a surplus which was returned to the taxpayers in the form of a tax cut,And that government spending progressively declined over this same period. And all this was done during an unprecedented economic boom.Now liberal Historians like Arthur Schlesinger Jr.whom Sobel gloriously debunks,would argue that ''Coolidge prosperity'' was a ''false prosperity'' which ultimately led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the great depression. Sobel makes a strong case that the prosperity of the twenties was a genuine economic revival based on sound free market principles.Professor Sobel strongly refutes the conventional wisdom that Coolidge was blissfully ignorant of the danger to the economy posed by an unregulated stock market.In fact He clearly saw the danger.But in His Jeffersonian view of the Constitution He believed that federal legislation was unconstitutional.In Coolidge's the regulation of business was the province of the states. This book is not as detailed as it might be. But on the whole it is an excellent biography of an honorable Statesman and a fine moral example. You may expect that this book will be attacked by the liberal establishment as revisionist History...And long overdue!

There aren't too many biographies about the life of Calvin Coolidge. This is an absorbing book that is sure to shatter many myths about Coolidge. I highly recommend it for your reading list.

President Coolidge was not a man accustomed to tooting his horn. He is well known for his economical use of words. Without a doubt moderate or conservative in personal behavior, President Coolidge should not be confused with modern political conservatives. While his personal behavior was clearly conservative, his political beliefs were more identifiable with those associated with modern libertarianism. President Coolidge was one who believed that government should exercise restraint and not limit liberty. Despite this belief that government should exercise restraint, President Coolidge's Administration suffered very little from scandal.

Modern historians often portray Coolidge as a minor figure and trivialize his time as President. Often portrayed as a lackey for big business and for not doing anything to prevent the Great Depression, this biography puts holes in the myth that he was in the pocket of big business and responsible for the Depression. President Coolidge was neither lazy, unintelligent, nor an accidental President. Coolidge understood the concept of restraint and approached life as President from that perspective. Not concerned with the outward trappings of power, Coolidge stayed true to his Vermont roots.

You will find that Coolidge was neither indolent nor unintelligent after reading this book. President Coolidge is just the kind of President we need today.

As an ardent admirer of FDR and the New Deal, I'd never read any more on Coolidge than his "Keep Faith in Massachusetts". This book didn't change any of my major beliefs about Coolidge, but certainly filled in countless details about his life and work. I admire Mr. Sobel's efforts to make a readable book despite the lack of Coolidge's papers.

As is ably demonstrated, Mr. Coolidge was popular as much for what he was as for what he did. His integrity and moral rectitude served him so well in those pre-TV times. A man such as this would stand no chance in today's prettified, telegenic politics.

Mr. Sobel is able to illustrate the injustice done to the memory of President Coolidge as being cold and remote. Mr. Coolidge was a child of his time, region, and upbringing. His deep love for his family is refreshing.

This eminently readable book will give great enjoyment to those interested in Presidential history.