This isn't meant to replace Edwards' outstanding books, including the classic Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. But it is helpful with its exercises, drawing tool, and current research. Don't expect miracles, but do expect improvement in your drawing skills! ...

I have loved every book that Betty Edwards has published, and this workbook is an excellent "companion" to those. If you already know how to draw and want to brush up on your skills, this book has some excellent tools and tricks to support you. If you're just learning to draw, it is a supportive guide. Buy it along with THE NEW DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN, and they will change your life!

If you are taking a drawing class, or using Dr. Edwards' book, "The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain," you will find this a very helpful workbook. It features lots of new information, and expanded exercises and projects that will help to reinforce your drawing skills and abilities, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned expert. I also highly recommend the video of Dr. Edwards' actually teaching her class - there is an order slip in the Workbook that you can use to get the video. She is a gifted teacher, and it is great to see her teaching "in-person."

I initially decided to read this book because I had heard mention of its historical importance in the field of young adult work. Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find that Margaret Edwards was a dynamic, funny writer whose issues in the sixties regarding the state of young adult services has numerous parallels in today's world of teen services! While the text is certainly dated in terms of language and the books discussed, the refreshing attitude of Edwards can still be seen in many public libraries all over the country. This is a great read, intrinsically and historically, and I think many librarians will say, "How little has changed!" Let's hope we all work to further the work that Edwards began.

Edward Gibbon left only six incomplete manuscripts detailing his life and efforts at the time of his death. The editor, B. Radice, surpassing all previous efforts has edited them into a concise, remarkably fluid narrative. She has wisely included the various self-criticisms that his first editor, John Holroyd, left out of the first 1796 edition of the Memoirs and they reveal Gibbon to be not merely a formidable intellect and perspicacious observer of both English and Swiss society but also witty, a bit vain, self-indulgent, and more approachable than his reputation would suggest. Occasionnaly the odd sentence or fragment is repeated to ill effect and the fragmentary nature of this work provides its own frustrations: Gibbon will start discussing an intriguing subject such as the writing of the Decline and Fall and then suddenly shift to another subject. And even though Gibbon avoids the embarassing candor which crops up in Rousseau, one could argue that even in its unfinished form, there's a bit too much polish on the surface- Gibbon obviously sees his life as something of a finished product and the self-reflection of the earlier part becomes a bit too self-congratulatory later on. Moroever, the editors have provided two sets of footnotes for the seventh and eighth chapters - theirs and Gibbon's, which makes for a lot of back and forth reading. Still, Gibbon's account of the difficulties in finding time to read, to research, and to cultivate his intellect in the face of outside engagements, as well as his lucid observations on his family life, his friendships and his decision not to marry make for compelling reading. Rarely has such a figure provided so thorough an account of his life in so little space. For anyone who wants a clearly written and forthright account of why Gibbon came to be the man he was would surely profit from a persual of this engaging little work.