This book is fabulous! You will read it in one sitting because you cannot put it down! A great mystery, quite the whodunit! I recommend it tremendously! Then hurry up and buy The Devil's Cradle and Dark Moon Rising ASAP, because you can't get enough of Kendall O'Dell!

I'm not usually a big mystery buff, but I thought I'd give this one a try and I'm glad I did. Now I understand what the phrase "compulsive page turner" means -- I just couldn't stop reading! It's such an imaginative plot, with so many twists and turns I can't imagine many readers figuring it out ahead of time. A definite must read.

Enjoy Southwest lore? Love a mystery? Recently I read a mystery by a comparatively new and very promising author who resides in the Phoenix area, Sylvia Nobel, which combines both features. Deadly Sanctuary is a fast paced mystery which takes place here in Arizona. The heroine, Kendall O'Dell, takes a new job at a small AZ newspaper and stumbles into an evil conspiracy involving the death of two teen-aged girls. Sylvia Nobel's tale of mystery will hold your attention from beginning to end. Her style is similar to Tony Hillerman. Try it--you'll like it!

You won't find any glitz or glamour in this book, just very intelligent writing about why advertising really works - and how to create advertising that works.

The wonderful part about this book is that it provides you with the key measures you need to use in seeing whether or not your advertising is/has worked. When clients want to justify their budgets, agencies can now help them do this by translating the results of their creative work into hard numbers.

For anyone serious about knowing how to create great advertising, this is a must read.

I have been consulting in the advertising business and have taught
graduate level advertising courses for over 20 years. I have never found a book that brought so much insight to the advertising issues associated with effective selling. I highly recommend this book to all.

The book dissects the advertising process and analyzes the different elements that make up the ad.

Backed by years of tracking TV commercials down under, Max Sutherland has first-hand knowledge of what qualities make an ad work and what others make no or a negative difference in the ad's effectiveness.

The book commences with an introduction to advertsing's facts of life and a clarification of what is substantial and what is not in the public's perception of the industry.

It ends with a couple of interesting chapters that introduce the reader to the basic concepts of ad-effectiveness research. All in all, a good and solid book.

It does, however, use brand examples throughout that are known only to Australian readers and primarily discusses broadcast advertising.

You won't be able to put this book down until you finish it all. Max Woosley is a master story teller and will keep you turning pages to see what could possibly happen next. The fascinating concept of cloning yourself and the multitude of challenges it presents to Dr Kim Rambaugh will hold your complete attention on every page. I can't wait to read the sequel. Amazon should start a six star rating beginning with this book by this bright new author. Tom Clancy and Steven King better be looking over their shoulder.

Best science fiction novel to date! This book is a must read by this great, new upcoming author!

A great read! It has it all: romance, action, intrigue, humor, and most of all, suspense. This is great science fiction. I particularly enjoy the way the author puts the reader right inside the thoughts and emotions of the main character, Dr. Kimberly Rambaugh, and the inner conflicts that arise because of her discovery. A great depiction of the pitfalls mankind can encounter in the journey towards revolutionary technology. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

This book is a fantastic example of how all computer text books should be structured - Step-by-step tutorials that demonstrate experienced solutions to real-world projects. I know I speak for many people when I say that I learn by DOING, not by reading paragraphs upon paragraphs of text and lengthy descriptions of "what this app can do for you". No one likes to attempt to digest a "features description" manual and try to piece together the various complexities of a high-end application like 3DS MAX from various disjointed sources. I need a seasoned, talented professional, with years of industry experience, to step me through exactly how an application performs various industry tasks, e.g. how to make a 30-second TV spot from scratch, how to make a highly-professional News program opener, or how to make robotic-looking voting machines animated together in a 3-camera shoot. John Chrismar performs this tasks with a detail and finesse that is extremely hard to find in the computer textbook industry. I look for this style in every computer book I pick up, but don't often find it, if at all. The industry giants on the programming side of the industry, like Wrox Press, should use John's book as an example of how to write an effective computer textbook. Don't waste my time with information overload, stuffed together losely by a quasi-team of 6 geeks. SHOW ME how you solved a problem with the application or programming language, from start to finish, while I follow along, bit by bit, line by line, click by click. Show me how to build a genuine and valuable creation using the tool you are teaching me to use. This is exactly what John does.

I started with the last of three tutorials and worked backward through the book, because the News Program Opener tutorial looked the most intriguing. I learned more about 3DS MAX after that one tutorial then I had by reading the documentation or from any of the other three 3DS MAX books I own. I saw someone else mention that there were some small mistakes and missed "figure" numbers on the screenshots here and there, but this did not detract from completing the tutorials in the slightest. Two extra seconds of thought got me passed these minor editing oversights very easily, and they were very minor in comparison to most computer textbooks.

It was beyond refreshing to witness and practice along with a professional at work from beginning to end: from importing your vectors from Illustrator, to cleaning up the splines, to extruding, modelling each piece, assembling, naming conventions, creating materials, shortcuts, to animating, adding a soundtrack, right down to post-production and final render. I absolutely can not stand books where Step 1 is "Import our half-finished Design #643.2 from our accompanying CD-ROM". Not the case with this book. You are stepped through the process, end to end. When you are done with each tutorial, you have a finished work of media art THAT YOU CREATED and a head full of usable, retainable 3DS MAX knowledge that can be carried into any job or hobby.

Excellent job, John. You have gained a new fan. I will purchase your other books, regardless of topic. :D

Thank you.

"Another Winner" (for ISBN 0-7357-1059-7)

In his latest "3ds max 4 Media Animation" book, award winning animator John P. Chismar demonstrates once again that not only is he extremely skilled in the use of 3D Studio MAX, he is also a superb communicator and teacher, and is able to transfer effectively his knowledge to others.

There are several features that move his book to the front of the pack and make it one that most MAX users will truly enjoy. To begin, the projects are fun, and that's important when you're learning new techniques. When you reach the end of a section, the results of your efforts should demonstrate not only what it is hoped you've just learned, but also verify the professional skills of your instructor. In every chapter, it's obvious that the author has paid a great deal of attention to the small details that make the reader's life easier. Step-by-step instructions are meticulously designed, and complimented by an abundant collection of screen shots that ease you through procedures that otherwise would appear extremely complicated.....allowing you to focus on learning and creating, rather than wasting time trying to guess what is required to complete each step. Repeating a procedure several times during the course of a project is an effective technique for 'painless' learning, and more useful than simply studying a manual, and the author utilizes this approach to great advantage. While this would appear to be a logical idea in any book of tutorials, the author has mastered this art better than most. This is not a book for theorists, but one for those who wish to expand their practical knowledge. In addition, maps, sound files, and everything related to the project, except MAX and the will to learn, are provided on the CD that accompanies the book, so the reader can focus entirely on the tutorials and not spend time creating maps and audio files.

After a number of years of working with 3D Studio MAX, I feel reasonably comfortable with the program and can usually generate what I require. Why then would I be interested in purchasing another book of tutorials? The answers to that question are simple. First, I don't work in media animation, but it's something we see everyday and most MAX enthusiasts I know are always eager to expand their horizons and learn new or different things. The author takes the reader into his world, and, after only a few hours of working on one of his projects, one begins to appreciate what a fascinating world it is. Second, if one works somewhat independently most of the time, it's often easy to acquire sloppy habits such as moving the mouse to a menu instead of right clicking or not using an appropriate key stroke. I'll admit that I'm guilty of this sometimes. Working through one of John's books helps me improve my efficiency, and rediscover better ways to approach a project. Often there are several paths one can follow to accomplish the same goal in MAX, and because the program has so many features that improve and evolve on an ongoing basis, constant diligence is required to remain efficient. Most MAX users will probably agree that they would benefit from a little 'tune-up' once in awhile. One painless way to achieve this goal, improve upon or sharpen your techniques or refine the way you work, have fun and learn something new is to follow the carefully laid out and well designed instructions in "3d studio max 4 Media Animation".

I've mentioned some of the things that, in my opinion, are beneficial for the intermediate to advanced user, but is this book for the absolute beginner? The answer is yes and no. The author's instructions are extremely clear and well written and probably most MAX users could follow them successfully, but still, it would probably be to one's advantage to at least have had some basic experience with the program before attempting some of the more complex projects. I expect that the user who will benefit most from the book will probably be at the intermediate level, but there really is something in it for everyone who owns MAX.

One small warning.....the book was written for MAX 4.0 and everything works well if you have installed versions 4.0, 4.01 or 4.02. However, if you've already upgraded to MAX 4.2. you may run into a few problems when attempting a video post rendering. In fact, I reverted back to MAX 4.02 when I couldn't get the Funhouse scene (Project #1) to render in video post without crashing. The bug, present in version 4.2 but not in previous versions, appears related to the use of VP glow and rendering while using a background image in the Environment slot. Remove the image, and all functions normally. But it must be stressed again that this is a little MAX problem, and not one that should be attributed to the author.

The first book in the series was excellent but, as New Riders reported, this one is even better. It is seldom one can recommend a book without hesitation, but this is one of those times. Buy it, enjoy it, learn, polish your skills, and have fun. I've discovered several good books (and some not so good) related to 3D Studio MAX over the years, but the books written by John P. Chismar, and also Jon Bell's f/x series, remain at the top of my list of favorites.

........................................Frank E. Lancaster

The most important feature of this book is the lengthy step by step tutorials. This is the first thing I look for in a computer book - to see that the tutorials are long. to me this indicates that the writer is very thorough with all steps in the project and does not leave out important steps along the way.

If you buy used make sure the disk is included.

This is the best mnemonic vocabulary book I've come across. Most vocabulary books expect the reader to simply memorize dozens of words from a definition, an etymology and a sentence, then use fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice to reinforce and test you. As most know, it quickly becomes overwhelming. Vocabulatoons visual representations are truly memorable and I still remember the picture for the word for fjord (tourists looking at Ford cars in a Fjord).

The words are definitely geared toward high-school vocabulary and the SAT (as the book cover suggests) so I found myself already knowing about 75% of the words (e.g. gloat, legacy, phobia, vocation, ajar, aftermath).

I'm hoping the sequel to this book will have more advanced words, however, it never hurts to reinforce what words you *think* you already know.

Like many of you, I have used lots of other methods in memorizing vocabularies, and only found that it is totally useless. Even though you have learned those new words one day, you forgot them the next day. It is because we do not make the best use of our brain in memorization. If you know psychology, you know that human memorize by association, that is, you link up a new fact with the old information already contained in your mind. The success of this book is to help you to form association with other English words that you have already known. For example, according the book, the word "Giddy" is associated with an easier word "City", because they have similar pronounciation. Then a picture showing a village farmer getting dizzy with all the complicated roads in the city remind you the meaning of "giddy": dizzy, frivolous. The mnemonic method are based on psychological research, and that is why it is a good source in learning new words. I have tried Princeton Review Word Smart Cassette Programme before, and found that I forgot those learned words within a few days. This book has better methods, and the cartoon makes the whole learning experience less stressful.

This book offers a much easier, funner, faster, and better way to learn and to *REMEMBER* vocabulary than most other vocabulary books (including those by Kaplan, Princeton Review, *for Dummies, Arco, and Barrons). What makes this book an excellent buy is the unique method that is employed in teaching vocabulary: humorous CARTOONS that serve as visual mnemonics! You will rarely find this strategy utilized anywhere else! Verbal mnemonics for each word are also incorportated into the book. This ensures that you will not forget the words you've learned!

The words used in this resource emphasize focus on attaining a better score on the verbal section of the SAT I. I have come across most of the 300 words in this book on sample SAT Is. I would recommend this title to those who would like to effectively increase their vocabulary in a short amount of time, especially to those with weak vocabularies.

A sample word used in this book is "ubiquitous". The verbal mnemonic is "as big as us". The visual mnemonic is a cartoon that features two extremely heavyset people who claim: When you're "as big as us" you feel "ubiquitous". (Ubiquitous, by the way, refers to the quality of being everywhere at once.)

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius is one of the best non-fiction titles I've read in a long time, and will likely be one of the best books I'll ever read. Berg (with the help of his own editor) truly is a genius: he pulls us directly into the story, introducing us to Scribner's Max Perkins at the zenith of his editorial career, then plunges us into his first acquisition -- F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned -- before taking us, methodically, through Perkins's life. An intrepid biographer, Berg tells us only what we need to know about Perkins's early life, getting to the good stuff: his discovery of Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe and his work with Ernest Hemingway. We also find out about Perkins's work with other remarkable authors, including Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling), S.S. Van Dine (the Philo Vance mysteries), and Arthur Train, creator of the mythical DA Ephraim Tutt. I laughed out loud at the story about how many believed that Tutt existed after the publication of his "autobiograhpy," complete with photos.

We learn of Perkins's patient relationship with the frustrating Thomas Wolfe, a mammoth talent and physical specimen who could not contain his own enthusiasm. Berg suggests that, as Perkins discovered, Wolfe wasn't writing "books," he was writing one book, which would have encompassed thousands of pages if he had not died early -- a profound insight into the heart and soul of a dynamic author.

We learn much of Papa Hemingway as well, including some insights into the macho author's home life. Elements of Hemingway's unpublished fiction suggest that the bullfighting fan, fisherman, and big game hunter might have enjoyed switching gender roles in bed with one of his wives.

Fitzgerald comes off as one who excelled in being pathetic, a man who suffered desperately with his wife, Zelda, alcohol, and simply living large. Berg gives us a tender portrait of Perkins's greatest find.

As with all excellent biographies, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius examines only what made Perkins who he was: the editor of the twentieth century. Perkins preferred to sit on the sidelines, championing his authors. Often, he sits on the sidelines in this book as well, but this only makes sense: he was famous for his work with his more famous authors. It wasn't Max, it was his interaction with these great authors that made him all great.

As some reviewers have pointed out, Max would have enjoyed thsi book.

What greater praise than the fact that I have spent 2 full day and into the night reading this book about a wonderful person who was a friend and confident to so many wonderful writers. I have read biographies of Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Wolfe and I had a paperback on Perkins but it became mislaid. I have read so many of their books and now want read them again as this biography has whetted my appetite.All the wonderful letters that are printed tell so much about these revered writers and tell how much they needed their wonderful editor.Wonderful book!

If you are an admirer of F.Scott Fitzgerald, Ring Lardner, Thomas Wolfe, Earnest Hemingway, Marjorie Rawlings; basically any significant American writer of fiction during the first half of this century--buy the book. Here's how I would put it: If those authors could send ONE, just one posthumous request for you to purchase a particular book, "Perkins: Editor of Genius" would be my sincerely expected choice. Why? Because he wasn't just the "editor of genius": he was their friend. Maybe in some cases like Mr. Wolfe's, the only REAL friend of a lifetime. Fitzgerald wrote in his last years, " Max, you are the only person who has never lost faith in me." Even after Scott Fitzgerald's too short existence, Max was a warrior for a reputation which he confidently predicted would survive the fads of that time. This is a study for those of us who can only regret never meeting him, a study in accepting the short-comings of others with understanding; and demanding the best from ourselves. Words are cheapened by their use in describing Max, because their cousins are seen so often where the object is so less deserving, but buy the book. Mr Berg paints a wonderous, living picture, whose thousand words I believe venerable Perkins would have approved--if somewhat sheepishly.

You can't deny the love that this book protrays. It is very warm and comforting. The analogy was good, but it was missing a very special character, Jesus. Shaddai represents God the Father, the children represent mankind, and the dark forest represents sin. These are all good representations. However, I would liked to have seen Shaddai have a Son who guides the lost boy back to the Father. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I don't think that you can adequately represent the love of the Father if you omit His Son.

At the time that I read this I was in the middle of a missionary training school. I was learning so much. It was at night and my group was staying in our director's house. This book was on the table beside where I was sleeping. For some reason I was unable to sleep and I thought that this would help relaxe me. Instead this book made me think. I learned so many things that night about God and His great love for me. This booked put many of the things that I had learned about being God's child into ways that even a child can understand. This book allowed me to "become like a child" and come closer to Christ adn understand more of His love for me. This book is a must for anyone who is having trouble understanding why God allows some things to happen

This is a great book that speaks to young children about God's love, mankind's freewill and God's forgiveness. I have never seen my four year old so intent as when we read this book together; he actually had tears in his eyes. It is a simple story told in a way that kids can grasp. The illustrations are also wonderful, my child pointed out characters that resembled a number of his friends. This is a good book to help build the fundamentals of faith, and a good addition to a family library. I have also caught my pre-teen kids reading and enjoying it.

must read! action pack and you won't put this book down. just as good as the movies. one of my favorite books.

This book is funny and witty, and there is plenty of action. Indy still has his girlfriend from the last book, Indy and the philosopher's stone, so there isn't a lot of gross romance. The book is really fabulous, and everyone should read it!

This book was fabulous! It had that kinda'temple of Doom' twisted feel. with a chubby chinese man who eats human hearts, packs of wild man eating dogs, people who force Indy and his group of travelers to gulp down something a LOT worse than anything i could imagine...This book is just AWESOME! I think Max Mycoy is just the BEST Indiana Jones author out there. He catches the perfect qualities of Indy, and Marcus Brody. I more than definantly recomend this book. Although I think it was a notch lower than the Philosipher's Stone (A book that Lucas and Spielberg MUST make into a movie) This book deserves a perfect 5.

TREVOR

My two-year-old son loves this book but he has already destroyed more than fifty percent of it after two months of use.

This book has many interesting features, from radio sets connected by string, to "radar blips" on a screen in a cockpit, little planes "flying" through the sky, to a steering wheel that changes the view out windscreen as you "come in for a landing--and that isn't even half of the activities in the book.

The problem is that it requires a high degree of fine motor skill to operate many of the activities. The "radar blips" were difficult for me to spin, for example, and the steering wheel kept getting stuck until mommy tore it in one of her many attempts to "Fix it!" under pressure. My son also removed all of the little "flying airplanes" in less than a week of play.

Don't get me wrong--my son still LOVES this book, despite the fact that it is now falling apart! He has a blast using the things that still work, and explaining to me how the things that are broken used to work.

I would recommend waiting until a child is at least four before buying this book for them unless they are very careful players or there will be parental help all the time it is in use.

And, I would like to add that the girls in my son's playgroup loved this book as well--it is DEFINITELY not just for boys!

I am writing in response to the reviewer who said that the book is especially great for boys. (let's not gender-type!) This is our daughter's favorite book. She is 13 1/2 months now and it has been her absolute favorite since we started reading it to her when she was just a few months old and we just ordered a second copy because hers is so tattered from use. Highly recommended for girls as well! :)

This is our daughter's favorite book. She is 13 1/2 months now and it has been her absolute favorite since we started reading it to her when she was just a few months old and we just ordered a second copy because hers is so tattered from use. Highly recommended for girls as well! :)

If you're a fan of Lucado, you should find each story to be a unique jewel. However, if you've read many of his other books, you may be disappointed as this book is actually a collection of stories you probably remember from his other works. However, the title of this book captures the theme so precisely; a gift. The gift of Grace, there is no greater gift. And this title explains the purpose of this book: to be a gift to others...for those who would feel comfortable with a smaller book... for those who may only have the time to ocassionally read... or where a story needs to be precise in its brevity. This is such a book. One book that sets out to be a gift, one book that succeeds.

Simply, this small treasure is a Greatest Hits collection of Max Lucado's previous writings. Pulling the best snippets of wisdom from books such as The Great House of God and In the Grip of Grace, Lucado creates a melting pot that consists of a Reader's Digest version of all his books.

If you are swamped with his list of available titles, this is a great place to start. You will be able to decide what book to read next after spending time with The Gift for All People.

It's best to read a few stories either in the morning as part of a devotional or at night before going to sleep. The stories will help you examine you're own life and grow closer to Christ.

I received this book as a gift and have much enjoyed it. Max Lucado has a wonderful way with words and it's apparent on every page just how much he loves God. I would recommend this book to anyone, I'm planning on purchasing it as a gift to a friend. The last chapter is especially important as he talks about what it is to be a Christian. Definitely a lovely book, a gift to us from Max Lucado and God!