This is a very interesting look at Dostoyevsky by one of the writers most similar to him in temperament...

As being Russian and living in the Western world this book gave me the best explanation of the difference between east and west morals and human values.

Those Bailey School Kids are at it again! This time, they're off on a field trip to a verrrry strange museum! This museum seems to have a mad scientist and a very strange character named Frank! Frank is about 7 feet tall, has quite a few thick scars on him, loves flowers and seems only able to say "unnnnhhhh"... Sound like any horror monsters you know?? Is it possible that the Bailey Kids have found FRANKENSTEIN? Is it possible they've discovered some sort of terrible secret? Will they escape with their lives...??

"Frankenstein Doesn't..." marks the 6th book in this quick-moving series where supernatural creatures and strange characters abound. The third grade's classroom teacher seems to be a vampire. The camp counselor seems to be a werewolf. Santa Claus seemed to be their janitor for a while, and now here's this massively tall guy named Frank in this spooky old museum. What's going to happen next?

All the books in the series are quick-paced and quick-witted. The class clown, Eddie, is also the one character who refuses to believe that their teacher is a vampire (though the evidence is beginning to grow on him by this book!), there are werewolves running amok or aliens have invaded the school (that's in the next book, "Aliens Don't Wear Braces"). Indeed, Eddie functions as the only voice of reason (albeit a very sarcastic voice!). Part of the fun of the series are Eddie's wisecracks but also the way that everything isn't 100% spelled out for the reader. Maybe Frank really IS Frankenstein, maybe he isn't. The evidence points that way, certainly, but who can really tell?

"Frankenstein Doesn't..." is a tad creepier than some of the other books in the series, but not what I would call scary or horrifying. Therefore, it's a good selection for beginning/intermediate readers who are looking for something that will hold their interest but won't scare the daylights out of them like other books in the horror genre. The text reads quickly (as an adult, I can polish off a "...Doesn't..." book in about 20 minutes) and the pencil illustrations augment the story wonderfully. It's really an addictive series! Try it! You'll like it!!

"Frankenstein Doesn't Plant Petunias" is a great book.
It is about four chilldren that think this guy named Frank is Frankenstein! I could read it 100 times. My favorite is when a boy named Eddie says all these jokes that make me laugh.
YOU SHOULD GET THE BOOK!

What if you could be granted 3 wishes... The Bailey School Gang is convinced they can do just that after they find an old bottle wedged in a tree in the school yard. They uncork it, a horrible smell issues forth, and the next day a very tall bald man named Gene shows up riding a purple bicycle. When the kids wishes suddenly start coming true (or is merely just a coincidence??) they become convinced that Gene is really a genie!!

The Bailey School Kids is an addictive series. This is number 8 and already I'm working my way through the next 5 or 6, and I'm an adult! Less creepy-spooky than others in this series ("Werewolves Don't..." and "Aliens Don't..." are more spooky than this one), this book is nevertheless a lot of fun. Gene mysteriously appears and laughs a loud laugh every time one of the kids offhandedly wishes for something. Then, that wish comes true! While our buddy Eddie doesn't believe that Gene could be a magical creature (does Eddie EVER believe anything??), readers will be very hard pressed to explain that he's not when they find out what happens to the Kid's normally boring, work-driven teacher!

The "...Don't..." series (as I call them) are all quick reads that weigh in 'round or under 100 pages. The story is easy to read and the plot catchy--what would YOU do if you wishes seemed to come true from a purple bicycle-riding genie? This makes "Genies Don't..." a good choice for beginning-to-intermediate readers or children/students who are normally reluctant to read. I wouldn't classify it as MY personal favorite, but I still enjoyed the book a good deal and would recommend it.

This story is about a group of kids who find a lamp. But after rubbing it things start changing! Amazing things happen! I highly recommend this book for you not just to read, but to EXPERIENCE the magic! I also think that it brings out the imagination in a kid. Especially a kid who is just starting to read chapter books. When I was just starting to read chapter books, I'd always wanted to read the Bailey School Kids books. Now I can't stop!

If you are into mysteries you would like this book. It is full of adventures and kids getting into mischief. It was great book to read.

this book is a good book to read if you are into the eletronic world.

This book includes Incredible Hulk: Return Of The Monster, Incredible Hulk: Boiling Point, and Banner.

The first two parts of this book are a change from what we've expected from the Hulk in the past and let me tell you that change is sometimes a good thing. In this case, it's a great thing. Bruce Banner/the Hulk gets caught in a web of a secret organization's conspiracy and he is on the run from their notorious agents. While this sounds like a cliche, it's really not -- a big part of why it's not is, well...how many cliched conspiracies include the Hulk in them? Yes, the Hulk and Bruce Banner are strong enough characters to make even an ordinary-seeming plot really, really good.

It's a new twist on an old concept that just works out well.

As for those looking for the classic "HULK SMASH!" version of our brute, this book's got PLENTY of that in here thanks to Banner (by Brian Azzarello and Richard Corben). There are also a few scenes where the Hulk destroys many things in the other portions of the book, too.

It's well balanced between the Hulk's classic destructiveness and fugitive ways. The only difference is that it's seen through a new, fresh perspective. It's different. It's cool. But, most importantly, it's good. And that's reason enough for you to buy it.

This hardcover collects the recent "Incredible Hulk" storylines "Return of the Monster","Transfer of Power", and "Startling Stories: Banner" mini-series. What a great compilation! You have the suspenseful, masterfully-paced writing of Bruce Jones, and the powerful artwork of John Romita, Jr. The Hulk has not looked so, well...incredible, since Dale Keown's run in the early 1990s. This storyline is a perfect place to re-acquaint yourself with the Hulk since it begins a new run, and presents a much more believable Hulk than has been presented in the comic book in recent years. Fans of the Lou Ferrigno TV series will enjoy these stories. Nuff said! Buy it!!!

I bought this book last week from a mail order. However, I was kind of disappointed about this book as a young portrait photographer. 1) This book talks nothing about photography lighting. (Because of the name called "Light and Illusion") It only talks about Ray Jones' photography life. 2) The quality of the photos in this book is not very good (Except few of them have great quality.) I also read "Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits" which has very good quality of pictures. (I am not too sure that is because George Hurrell always used 8x10, 4x5 camera so his picture quliy in that book is consistency). Anyway, this is my opining.

During the 30's and 40's, Hollywood helped America climb out of the Depression by painting glamourous fantasies with stars who were larger than life. As the head photographer at Universal Studios during this important time in American history, Ray Jones was instrumental in creating and defining this "Glamour Era" of Hollywood. The book goes into some detail about how Jones created his special look, but the true joy here is thumbing through the numerous examples of Jones' exceptional talent. The photos span the three decades of Jones' carrer in Hollywood (from the 30's to the 50's) and the featured stars read like a Who's Who of Hollywood. Also featured are Jones' six Acadamy Award-winning photos (the award has since been discontinued) including a memorable one of John Wayne. For those who long for the good ol' days of Hollywood, this is a wonderful look at how the stars were made.

I think this was a really good book and I know that a lot of other kids would like it too! I really liked the part where the kids went into the Hauntley's house and saw eye balls and other neat stuff!

"The Monsters Next Door" was a funny also kind of scary book in the beginning. This book is about a boy named Ben and a girl named Annie they also have a friend named Jane. Monsters move in to their next door from Transylvania. Their names are the Huntley's. The lady and her husband moves in with their son Kilmer. They have a Inn called Hauntly Manor Inn. Kilmer's dad loves to bury things in the mud. They get to meet them more and start thinking that they are very nice people!

I liked the book because it was a hair raising story. It was the best book I have read out of the super specials. I liked when the kids were on the plane to Transylvania because the kids thought Mrs. Jeppers was a vampire and she was going to suck their blood until they were nothing but skin and bones. I also liked when they were in Transylvainia and they saw a secret passage that went to Melody and Liza's room. Melody and Liza started hitting Eddie and Howie on the head with pillows. That was funny I liked the book alot!!!

My name is Leigh and I liked the part when they met Uncle Boris, and Mrs. Jeepers said, "The only time when you have to beware of Uncle Boris is when he's hungry." And they all got scared because they thought he was going to bite them on the neck.

This is a classic book describing a simple method for achieving outstanding results in the stock market by investing in a selection of five stocks from the Dow Jones Industrial average. There is one little problem. The method hasn't worked very well recently. Taking some data from the table on page 204 of the O'higgins book we see the % gain or loss of the selected five stocks compared with the Dow Jones Industrial Average: (Year, Five stocks, Dow Jones Average);(1994 8.6 4.9),(1995 30.5 36.4), (1996 27.9 28.9), (1997 20.5 24.9), (1998 12.3 17.9). The method has faied to Beat the DOW every year since 1994. My own calculations shows that this under performance continues into 2001. The Motley Fool Group has done extensive research on this method and after their initial enthusiam they have recently terminated their recommendation. Serious students of the market should buy this book. Further study of this approach may lead to new methods for "Beating the Dow".

Michael O'Higgin's investing classic holds up as well in the New Millenium as it did when it first hit book stands 10 years ago.

He maintains that it is still possible to beat the DOW by buying the 10 highest yielding stocks and tweaking your holdings each year, with correspondingly greater rates of return with a two- or five-stock selection from the group. O'Higgin's admits in the new eidtion that the strategy has been muddied by a drop in the relative importance of dividends as a part of total yield of the DOW. Dividends and payouts have lost lost out to stock buybacks, in part because dividends are taxed at a higher rate than long-term capital gains from stock sales. Changes in the DOW have also reduced the overall dividend payout. Of the most recent additions, Microsoft pays no dividend and Intel and Home Depot have nominal payouts. O'Higgin's strategy may also be less effective because it's simplicity and past returns attracted the attention of Wall Street money managers and of many, many individual investors. There is at least one web site devoted to the Dogs of the Dow and a number of similar investment strategies were profiled for several years on the Motley Fool website.

Nor is the most valuable part of O'Higgin's book his thumbnail sketches of other value strategies for beating the market with a basket of DOW stocks. Several seem downright ridiculous. I remain skeptical that investing based on presidential election cycles or end-of-year asset sales by fund managers can yield meaningful, long-term results for individual investors.

The value of this book is O'Higgin's championing of value investing in general and his highlighting of the resilience of the DOW stocks in markets bull and bear. Most people aren't professional investors and lack the time and resources to profit from a strategy of active trading. If the efficient markets guys are right, then buying all 30 DOW stocks and holding on long-term will beat returns of most professionally baskets of stocks, with less risk and less payouts for taxes and trading costs to boot. Or maybe buying the highest yielders in any given year and holding. Anyway, you get the picture.

Regardless of whether you think the high-yield 10 is still capable of outgaining the overall DOW, O'Higgin's book is, to me, as valuable in 2001 as it was when I first read it in 1993.

Some people might laugh at this book specially the brokers who make living by sucking the commision out of an average investor. What had happened in the NASDAQ in 1999 before the correction was absolutely mind blowing and this book might have looked like a bad joke i.e. advocating to invest in companies like International Paper! but now that the dotcoms are down the drain, the valuations are somewhat back on earth, the margin-debt bitten people are done crying, maybe it is time that us i.e. average investors read this book.

This book as the name says is all about investing in Dow companies, the giants of the US and global economy. The companies which I truly believe that world could come to an end but GE would still be there. The book covers all the Dow components individually along with their historical financial performance, weaknesses, strenghts and their power to stay in business by being profitable over years and years. There are many different 'low risk' investment strategies covered in this book such as 'High Yielding 5'. These are the 5 Dow stock that you pick annually based on the criteria described, HOLD it for 1 year, redo the math (barely any)and pick your 5 stocks again. You also sell some at this point that didn;t meet your criteria and pick the new ones to fill their spot.

Sounds simple, yes! and that's the way it should be. Not only you can ride out the swings of the stock market in this way but also save a ton on commisions, taxes and most importantly be less stressed.

If you read the Motley Fool, you'll notice some of their strategies are derived from O'Higgin's methods.

A must read for all investors, specially younger people like myself who want to start building the nest yesterday!

I'd always heard that "Apocalypse Now" drew plot elements from "Heart of Darkness", but didn't realize just how closely it was based. After HOD, it will be fun to watch that movie again.

Sentence by sentence, this book resonates with the sound of classic literature. I'm a fan of eloquent wordsmithery, and Conrad was a master. Having read this independently, I probably didn't pick up on all of the symbolism or social commentary about European colonialism. However, the essential themes are clear and persuasively shown: the corruption of power and the potential in humankind for regression to savagery when social inhibitions are absent - much like "Lord of the Flies", which another reviewer astutely noted. Beyond the meanings, I think it works very well as a dark adventure narrative, building premonitions of disaster as Marlow journeys deeper into the continent and closer to the mythical Kurtz. My only criticism echoes many previous reviews: the encounter with a weakened Kurtz is anticlimactic and leaves the reader hungry for demonstrations of the great man's warped charisma.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. While reading it, I really could not become absorbed by Conrad's dense prose, though, while occasionaly eloquent, is very thick, and, well, British. But now that I am finished with it, I can not get the images the novella invokes out of my head. The conquest of Africa by the Imperialist on the surface, and the corruption of man's very morality underneath. The story is deceptively simple, merely a man working for an Ivory trading company, ominously called "The Company", going up the Congo river to meet up with Kurtz, the archetype of Western Imperialism. During this trip, we are shown the inner workings of man and his heart of darkness. The novella is not perfect though. Conrad's condemnation of Imperialism is uneven. Yes, the only discernable cause of Kurtz's descent into evil and madness is the imperialist ethic of master-slave, and it is fairly clear that Marlowe (conrad) is condemning that ethic, but at the same time, he doesn't work very hard to elevate the view of the African natives any higher in the esteem of his western readers. Anyway, as the novella is only about 100 pages, it is something that can be read in a day. Invest an afternoon in it, and decide for yourself.

Heart of Darkness is a novella that really needs to be read more than just once to fully appreciate Conrad's style of writing. The story is an account of one man's simultaneous journey into the darkness of a river as well as into the shadows of a madman's mind. There is a very brilliant flow of foreshadowing that Conrad brings to his writing that provides the reader with accounts of the time period and the horrible events to come. Through Conrad's illuminating writing style we slowly see how the narrator begins to understand the madness or darkness that surrounds him.

I recommend this particular version of the novella because it contains a variety of essays, which discusses some of the main issues in the reading and historical information. Issues like racism and colonialism are discussed throughout many essays. It also contains essays on the movie inspired by the book Apocalypse Now, which is set against the background of the Vietnam War. I recommend reading Heart of Darkness and then viewing Apocalypse Now, especially in DVD format which contains an interesting directors commentary.