I loved this book! It gives readers a breather in the series, since the most of the books have dangerous situations. This book is not so dangerous until the end, but it is soooo interesting to see the simalarities between the idea's of the people they meet and Christianity. It starts when Dr. Cooper and his kids investigate the apearance of a large, perfectly rectangle stone in a mountain pass. The tribe they meet behind it is very friendly to them. During their stay with the them they discover the tribe is expecting water to come from the stone to help them grow crops, although the army on the other side is terrified of it. Dr. Cooper's family also dicover the people have a religion very similar to Christianity, with some of the same stories that some from the Bible. In the end, the stone saves them all. This is such an interesting book, it was a thrill for me to read.

Frank Peretti is one of the best authors on the face of this Earth. This book, The Secret of the Desert Stone, displays that talent. He perfectly captures the greatness, and soverigntiy of God in a creative way. Once again, I totally admire the Coopers maturity as Christians, and their complete trust in the Father.

This book is a great book for all ages. I am currently 17 and I love it. It is a wonderful testimony of what you can do with faith in God.

When I read the title of the book, I was immediately interested in reading the rest of the book. The beginning of the book is sort of boring and has lots of details, but after you get into the story line you begin to feel for the characters, and you realize that they have gone through alot to get here. This book is based on the authors journey to america, and includes many of the hardships that he went through as well. I would recommend this book to any one who wants a feel good book to read on a rainy day, and if you like the first one there are two more books in the trilogy: "Peder Victorious" and "Our Fathers God." Have fun reading these exellent novels!!

I couldn't stop reading this amazing book once I had started. There is a intricate mixture of folklore, fantasy, and the cutting reality of life in the days of the pioneers. There was something almost haunting about the power that the untamed land held over the characters in the novel. Rolvaag writes his characters with a lucidity and truthfulness that is almost on a mythical level.

Very,very boring in the beggining but then turns out to be pretty good, actually great. I thought it was going to be a horrible book at first because we had to read it for literature class. But read it, it is good!

This is a great tape, what can I say? It works!!

This tape is extremely good. I can't wait to take a risk.
The tape teaches you to take charge of your life!!!

Henry Ford would have loved "Instant Guts!" He said, "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." What a positive and empowering audio. I received "Instant Guts" as a gift, and highly recommend it for friends you know need a little encouragement to grow. Joan Gail Frank obviously understands the frustrations and obstacles--the little things that keep us from doing what we long to accomplish. She also recognizes how the decisions we make to do a thing...or not to...help define who we will become and how we feel about ourselves in this life. Clever, fast-paced, and insightful, "Instant Guts" is absolutely inspiring and whether one is considering a change of jobs...or of hemispheres...there is a universal message in this book: "Go for it!"

Stephen King has written another attention grabber. I read, and listened, as I have both the paperback and the audio book. I found this book great, as it follows both the imaginary and the real sides of life. I found that as I read the book, I really would like to visit the library that is described in the book. This book follows down a strange path, emerging in what could almost be explained as a real story of fact in the past. I recommend this novel, and the audio book as the narrator does a great job, it will not dissapoint as "everything's eventual" did, in my opinion. Good luck and good reading! (Note: The audio version of this book is narrated by FRANK MULLER. Anyone who has listened to Stephen King Audio Books has sure to have been wowwed by Frank Muller. In this audio book recording, Frank Muller's voice is almost unrecognizable and amazing as he plays this roll. Frank Muller and audio books are truly like movies for your mind).

This is an excellent Stephen King story. It's written in an "old-fashioned" style, as though being told by an older, sophisticated man. It almost feels like a Sherlock Holmes story or at least "vedy British". The plot itself is summarized elsewhere, but suffice it to say that it is compelling, mysterious and that the climax is gory and fascinating. DIFFERENT SEASONS (the book from which this novella comes) is one of King's towering achievements, and this story is great.

Frank Muller is one of the best audio book readers around, and so the combination of King's great story and Muller's outstanding interpretation make this audio book VERY worthwhile. It is very highly recommended.

This refers to the CD version of the book - but it is frighteningly and amazingly Stephen King at his best. I use audio books to help me on my exercise walks, and this one was so intense and so dripping with drama, I did extra laps just to see what would happen. Stephen King's extraordinarily ability to take the mundane and add the creep factor reigns supreme here. An unwed pregnant woman goes to her OB-GYN, at a time when unwed mothers were a huge taboo, and her OB-GYN is impressed by her strength and her fortitude and determination to go through with this birth. He is so impressed in fact, that he follows her carefully through each stage of her pregnancy. When it is at last time for her child to be born...well, then there comes a dark and gloomy night at a men's club, years later, where this certain OB-GYN proceeds to tell this tale. The club has been meeting for years, each member telling extraordinary tales, some old war tales, some cigar smoking tales, the usual, but THIS story, well this story is called "The Breathing Method", and the OB-GYN who chooses to tell the story begins by recalling that at the time of this woman's entrance into his life with her illegitimate pregnancy, he was just beginning to introduce the Lamaze technique (not yet called that) to his pregnant patients. He was adamant that it worked, and he was nearly called a fool because of the little pamphlets and booklets he encouraged pregnant woman to read and to try and use during labor. His unwed patient takes the breathing method to heart. So focused and so determined is she to use this method, it becomes almost a part of who she is. But I will leave you there, so as not to spoil the ending for you, however, I will say, the ending is shocking, and you will think about it long after you are finished this story. The reader, Frank Muller is perfect, just right for what Stephen King wants to say. Enjoy the breathing method, if you will, it's power will amaze you.

This is an excellent book! I teach an antique porcelain class and found it useful to gain expertise quickly. This book is successfully used by appraisers, dealers, collectors and teachers. I have read many porcelain books, and this one was one of the easiest to read and understand. It was well organized and contained a good variety of the styles and characteristics of RS Prussia.

All four volumes are needed to identify pieces, although Ms. Gaston provides a shape guide to help date pieces not pictured.

What I'd like to see in the next book is 1) clarification on how the marks were made, i.e., printed over or under glaze, 2) the types of glazes used (and were pieces refired) 3)repeat of history with changes incorporated, verses the new and updated info section. The history only appears fully in the ist volume.

Okay- I admit it. I did not have a room full of R.S.Prussia china to reference when I bought this book. I just loved the pictures and had to have it! I can dream a little dream and imagine finding a portrait bowl or vase at a small town flea market for next to nothing...and then I can look up its worth and smile as I place my prize in the china cabinet ( a coveted possession NOT for resale!).

Wonderful book with full color pictures. Also pictures of the marks. Great price guide! Will use this over & over.

The quality of this book is what first grabs you. The paper is thick, glossy and has weight, it reproduces 19th century photographs beautifully. The text is ancillary and never intrudes upon the primary focus here, which are the photographs of Lincoln, his family and the people who shaped his extraordinary life. The text illuminates and expands upon the photographs, giving dates and other pertinent information.

If you're looking for a full-scale biography of Lincoln, look elsewhere, this is primarily a visual treat and one of the better photographic compilations on any President.

Kudos to the publisher Knopf and all involved on the quality of this book. The reproduction of the 19th century photographs is first rate. The sepia toned image of the great man inside the front cover is exceptionally gorgeous - just breathtaking.

John Updike said Knopf publishes the most physically beautiful books in America, and this book leads me to believe he's right.

This is not a comprehesive, scholarly biography of Lincoln, nor does it pretend to be. But the text reads well, and the Lincoln photographs are beautiful, all-inclusive and presented in sound written context. The large size of the book works particularly nicely here. Well done!

Philip B. Kunhardt is to be highly commended for this outstanding photographic history of Abraham Lincoln. Not only are the photographs captivating, but the narrative of Lincolns life and the important events during his lifetime are interesting and enhance this book. Many interesting stories go along with the photographs of Lincoln from his 40's to his last days, however the most interesting part in my opinion is the month by month account of his presidency and the important events that occured. So much about the man has been written, but until this book was published not as many photos of President Lincoln were circulated or published. Just as important, are the events and stories which swirled around Lincoln. From his habits and humor to his history changing decisions are written in clarity and interesting form. His life and his loves are given with compassion, and his impossible losses of his sons and his mentally unballanced wife Mary Todd Lincoln is given unflinchingly. The last chapter of the book is about the assassination and the controversy surrounding Lincoln's remains, a very interesting and informative chapter to close with. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in U.S. History or 19th Century U.S. History.

The first copy of Mad I saw was issue 29 in September 1956 (still got it too) and I was hooked. How could a magazine be so funny and be so spot-on with its satire? Easy, just employ the 'usual gang of idiots' that's how. I kind of grew out of it when I discovered the National Lampoon, how could a magazine be so funny etc, etc. But I have always had a soft spot for Mad and this book of covers is a super addition to my back issues and other Mad books.

All 399 (up to November 2000) covers are in this well designed and printed book Mostly one or two covers to a page sometimes with Frank Jacobs' commentary and with a lot of the latter covers you get to see the preliminary cover roughs. As the years go by you can see how the covers changed from simple visual gags into ones that are much more graphic and busy because they have to work harder on the newsstand. The ideas are still very funny after all these years though. My favorite is issue 35 (October 1957) a wraparound that celebrated the fifth anniversary with a great painting from Norman Mingo showing a few dozen very famous American merchandising characters seated round a dining table, Alfred's at one end grinning. I would love this as a poster.

I think it is worth mentioning for Mad fans the seven CD-ROM 'Totally Mad' set, every page from the issue one thru to December 1998, the interface is very user friendly and the discs have a lot of additional aural and visual surprises.

BTW, Robert Silver's photmosaic book cover, made up from the magazines covers, is stunning.

I loved this book , mostly because Im a mad magazine FAN!!! BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!!!! GREAT BOOK

"Mad: Cover to Cover" is a glorious full-color collection of the cover art of "Mad" magazine, from its founding as a comic book in 1952 to 2000. The outrageous covers are accompanied by witty and insightful commentary by Frank Jacobs. Since "Mad" has satirized so many aspects of American popular culture throughout its existence, this book also serves as an ironic look at five decades of United States history.

Most of the covers feature Alfred E. Neuman, the goofy red-haired kid who, as the symbol of "Mad" magazine, has become an instantly recognizable (and, dare I say, beloved?) cultural icon in his own right. We see, over the years, the many crazy incarnations of Alfred: on Mount Rushmore, as Baby New Year, as Batman's Robin, as Uncle Sam, as Michael Jackson, as a Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtle, etc.

The running commentary offers fascinating glimpses behind the scenes of "Mad." Particularly interesting is the story of the long-suppressed cover depicting the first President Bush burning a flag; with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War, the "Mad" team decided that the incendiary cover was inappropriate for the time.

This is truly a marvelous book, full of color, laughs, and memories. Even if you're not a regular reader of "Mad," you may find this book to be a fascinating mirror on American fads and foibles.

This was my text for an astronomy class for non-science majors that required the use of algebra but not calculus, the latter of which I had forgotten in the 3 years between my last math class and this one. Due to a rekindled interest in astronomy, I'm now revisiting the book and am struck by Dr. Shu's fine writing and the way the text can be used by those who are comfortable with advanced mathematics (yes, there are problems featuring calculus for those so equipped) as well as the nonmathematical reader or student. Beginning with the building blocks of physics, it is a fine reference for those who want to explore the theoretical side of astronomy.

My one quarrel with the book is that it doesn't include or offer a solutions manual for the problems. An explanation of how the problems are done would greatly add to its value.

Yes, I nicknamed that book like the well-known The Feynman Lectures on Physics. With regard to Feynman, I have no doubt that if Richard Feynman himself is to write a book and give lectures on Astrophysics, he will end up wrote a book similar to this book.

I am a graduate physics student working in experimental high energy physics, but I have always found myself curious about astrophysics. Back in my home country, the literature on astronomy is so rare that I only can manage to borrow and read an old edition of Abell's Exploration of the Universe. It was a good book, but I need more physics to cater my curiosity in astrophysics.

I've heard about this book quite some time, but not until I arrived in USA that I can buy this book through Amazon and start to read it. With my background in graduate level physics, this book is quite an easy read for me.

The book was written with multiple audience in mind: humanities and liberal arts majors who are interested in astrophysics but don't want to use too much mathematics; freshman students with great curiosity but not much mathematical skills; biology, life-science, and pre-med students with interest in astrobiology and the origin of life; general science and engineering students with strong math and physics background but have no intention to have a career in science; and ultimately to those thoughtful, astronomers-astrophysicist-physicist-wanna-be students. Perhaps those are exactly the same kind of audience Shu ever has in Berkeley: Berkeley is famous for diversity.

The book is self-contained, in the sense that (almost) all the necessary scientific concepts and backgrounds are explained: mechanics, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, microbiology, genetics, even there are some discussions in supersymmetry and grand unification. There are some parts and problems that requires calculus and advanced undergraduate physics but the reader doesn't have to read those part to understand the results. I was lucky to have all the necessary physics to fully understand the book, but this should not stop laymen and common people to read this book.

The book is divided into four parts.

Part I (Chapter 1-4). Basic Principles.

This part explains the origin and history of astronomy and astrophysics, and the basic physical principles behind astrophysics: mechanics, relativity, optics, telescopes, quantum mechanics, atomic theory, and thermodynamics.

Part II (Chapter 5 - 10). Stars.

This part discuss stars as a basic constituents of our universe. Starting with the Sun as an example, the book goes with the energy generations and physical mechanism behind stars, birth, life, and death of stars, star classifications, stellar clusters, and binary stars.

Part III (Chapter 11 - 16). Galaxies and Cosmology.

This part starts with discussing materials between stars in our Galaxy, then our own Galaxy the Milky Way, further galaxies outside Milky Way, an introduction to Einstein's concepts of gravitation, cosmology, and ends with the Big Bang theory as the current Standard Model of Cosmology.

Part IV (Chapter 17 - 20). The Solar System and Life.

This part discuss the Solar System and the Planets, origins of the Solar System, and finally: the origin of life on Earth, and later the Life and Intelligence in our Universe. In my opinion, not much astronomy/astrophysics book discuss this subject, and in this sense this book make itself clearly stands out among the other.

Although it's 20 years now after the original publication, about 90% of the material are still relevant and interesting.
I personally suggest that Shu take a thorough revision and include some latest results on astrophysics in his book:
the dark energy and cosmic expansion, cosmic microwave background anisotropy, quark stars, extrasolar planets, large extra-dimensional particle theory, genetic engineering etc.
This would certainly bring the book back up-to-date for the 21st century.

I, without doubt, heartily recommend this book for all of you who are interested in astronomy and astrophysics, whatever background you have. A special recommendation is for physics student who wants to do astronomy in grad school but never take any astronomy/astrophysics courses. By buying, reading, and studying this book alone, combined with a mastery of upper-level undergraduate physics (analytical mechanics, thermodynamics & stat phys, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, and math methods), I believe you will be ready for your grad-level astrophysics courses and even may have some advantages due to your physics background.

This is a great book for anyone interested in astronomy. It is fine for anyone who is knew to astronomy, although you would be better off with some background in it first. For people who know more about astronomy, it has optional calculus problems, so it covers people with any level of knowledge.

This book treats the First Class area of the Normadie in great detail and lush photographs, but I was slightly disapointed by the lack of information about the 2nd and 3rd classes. From what I have heard, these two classes were far superior to any other liner of the 1930's, and it was a bit let-down not to see any photos of these areas of the fabulous Normandie.

On the other hand, I had never seen some of the 1st Class photos before--- In general, a great visual(but slightly limited)find.

I'm a big fan of the famous, luxurious old transatlantic liners. The Normandie is perhaps my favorite, as the most beautiful and gracious of the pre-WWII ladies of the sea. The fact that the Normandie was tragically and negligently destroyed well before she'd passed her prime has made knowing her much more difficult than her still-opulent rival, the Queen Mary. This mystery shrouds she was REALLY like...and remains a big part of her attraction. This book really helped me get closer to the Normandie, with lovely pictures of her construction and her glorious career, as well as saddening photos of her destruction. Though depressing, one sight I'd longed to see was her first class dining salon post-fire, which this book includes. I just had to know what fire and salvage would do to it...and know I know!

Though you'll never get to step on board this wonderous ship, you can learn an awful lot about her in this book!

So many pictures, so little time... the book is totally awesome. Pictures of the Normandie from conception to the moment when the last piece of her is lifted from the water at Lipsett document this grand lady of the sea "at every waking moment" of her life. If you don't have this book, and you like the Normandie, what are you waiting for?

I wouldn't say I am person to read fantasy books nor a ficton reader to begin with. My father has a huge collection of books. I was looking through his books one time I saw four books with really cool covers. I was looking at the books to read one for a High School Book Report. So I picked up the first one because of its awesome cover. Read the book in one day! Couldn't put it down. Then I read the 2nd one the next day and so forth till all four were done. It's a shame the books are not easy to come by any more. I was fortunate my dad had already had all four. This is by far the best series I have ever read or will read!

i am a fantasy buff to the max and have read literally thousands of books in the fantasy sci fi genre. i own quite a bit of money and spend the majority of it on books. but one day while looking in a used book store in san antonio texas i purchesed the death dealer series and have not bought another book since. i feel now that no book will ever compare in shear brillance of imagery and wording. James Silke is a true artist and genius. i would do anything to read more books from him. i have tried to purchase the mint condition set of these books but to no avail. and to this day my original set are my most prized possesions. if Mr Silke is reading this please publish more on the tale of Gath of Baal and Robin Lakehair and Brown John. i would seriously do anything to read more stories. i had thought at one time you may write an off branch of the years Gath left Robin between book 2 and 3. but i am afraid not. to anyone looking for the perfect book this whole series is it

thank you, kyle whiting

I am not an avid reader who spends time reading books. I like to do other things with my time. Then one day i was at the library and saw the cover. I said,"I'll get this one." Before you know it I had finished the book in 2 days, no other fantasy books have ever kept me readin like this except for the dragonlance books and so i looked for the 1st and 3rd books in the series to complete my readin but to no avail. All in all this book is fantastic, so if you are looking for a great fantasy novel this is the one to get. Dont take my word for it, read the other reveiws(and the book)and you'll see what i mean.