Aside from the illustrations, I don't find much to recommend this book. There are no commentaries about the making of Wayne's films, no discussion of Wayne's working methods, no critical analysis, and nothing about the films' financial impact in the theaters. No character names are included in the cast lists, so they are basically useless in finding out who played who. Much of the information is inacturate. In the introduction the authors state that in his early days Wayne appeared in several Ham Hamilton comedies, but no such films appear in the main body of the book (in fact, I've never heard of a screen comedian named Ham Hamilton, although there was an animator by that name working for Walt Disney at the time). The plot synopis to many of the films are incorrect, listing wrong character names and describing incidents that don't happen in the film. And I'm still trying to figure out why Ward Bond is listed twice in the cast list of DAKOTA. There's a really great blooper in the write-up to CHISUM: The authors state that the true-life characters of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid are included in the story and that Garrett is gunned down by Billy! Say what? (No, this doesn't actually occur in the film.) Oh, yes, if this book is the "complete" films of John Wayne, then why isn't COLLEGE COACH (1933) included?

My final verdict: Skip this book and seek out a copy of Allen Eyles' far superior (and, unfortunately, now out-of-print) book JOHN WAYNE AND THE MOVIES (re-issued as simply JOHN WAYNE).

If you are looking for John Wayne films this is the book to have. It tells what the film is about, who also starred in and what year it was made. It also has plenty of photos to help you recognize what movie it is and if it is the one you are looking for. The book has some interesting facts about some of the movies.

The real testimony to the value of a resource is whether it occupies eternal space on your shelf, gathering dust, or if it becomes so worn out that it bears replacement. I have dogearred, destroyed, or otherwise "used up" two complete paperback copies of TCFOJW over the past twelve years since it first appeared. It was not until the last replacement that I finally relinquished and went to a hardback copy. This book is an indespensable (if not exhaustive) resource for any serious John Wayne film buff. My only complaints (and, subsequently, suggestions for future revisions) are that the cast and tech lists are not complete; and that Wayne's appearences on radio and television are not documented. Another helpful feature would be to show which films are available in video and letterbox formats. You need this book

This book by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin I've read for the first time probably in 1956, in Russian. I remember the contents because later on I've been reading it to my children in Polish. The original version did impress me much more than the translation. Right now I'm living in Canada and have just a few books in Russian. I'm not a wealthy person, but very sentimental. The reason I'm writing this "review" is in fact an attempt to find out about the unexpensive way to get a few more books in Russian, not necessarily by A.S. Pushkin.

This wonderful book contains four stories by Russia's great Aleksandr Pushkin, brilliantly illustrated by Boris Zvorykin. Originally published as a limited edition in France, in 1925, it has been translated from the French by Jessie Wood, with good reproductions of the brightly colored illustrations, which resemble illuminated manuscripts, and have much intricate detail.
It also includes a lengthy introduction by the noted dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who gives an overview of Pushkin's life, and his influence on the ballet, with many stories that became the basis for works performed by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (like "The Golden Cockerel", or as it is better known, "Le Coq d'Or"), and of course opera, with the likes of Eugene Onegin, and Boris Godunov.

The first story is "The Golden Cockerel", about a magical creature who is given to the Tsar for protection, but has dire consequences; # 2 is "The Tale of the Tsar Sultan", and is the longest of the stories, about a simple peasant girl who marries the Tsar, her jealous relatives, and her hero son, who saves the life of a swan that later turns into a princess. # 3 is "The Dead Princess and the Seven Heros", which one will recognize as a version of "Snow White", and # 4 is "The Tale of the Golden Fish", about a man with an avaricious wife, and the fish that grants him many favors.
These stories all have a moral to them, and the evil ones get their dues; it is also written in a style that would take some maturity, so this would be recommended for a child old enough to appreciate Pushkin's language, and the complexity of Zvorykin's art.

This collection of Russian Fairy Tales is not for bed-time stories. The tales contained within this book are wonderfully true to the stories passed down from the old world. The violent images within most of the tales hold true to those found in the original tales. Refreshing and invigorating, there's very little "once upon a time" in Russia, and the illustrations and characters make this book a must-have conversation piece.

Superheroes (Titled "Titans" in it's hardcover printing) mainly covers the art Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell produced for the Marvel Masterworks trasing card series in the mid-80's, with a few covers and misc. art thrown in for good measure. While it's nice to see the art at a larger size, the limited variety of poses gets old after a while. Boris and Julie use each other as models, so most of the faces look alike; The ones that don't look like them are based on bodybuilders, so the female characters have a very hard look to them, facially speaking. The colors are gorgeous, though. The real problem with the book is the text, by Nigel Suckling, who manages to live up to the first syllable of his last name. The book is riddled with spelling errors (Ogum, instead of Ogun), characters have the wrong names attatched to their paintings (Mariko and Yukio's names are transposed, as well as Yukio being called by the wrong name). The text passages show that Suckling didn't bother to get more than a passing familiarity with the comic characters; He describes Spider-Man as being bumbling...? His passages about Boris & Julie's views on time-travel & Geography are hilariously bad.
Superheroes is a nice book for fans of Boris & Julie; I would have liked more information on their techniques, and their opinions of the pieces, though. Anything to save me from Suckling's turgid prose....

90% of Julie's work is stunning. 60% of Boris's work is stunning. By far, Julie is the better artist. Turn to any page and if there is a beautiful picture on it, chances are Julie did it. If the picture looks odd like the person's face or body being deformed, chances are Boris did it. They both have their share of throw away paintings. Some of them are down right terrible. But when they get it right it really is a feast for the eyes. One downfall for this book is the information on the comic characters. Why does it say Storm has gray skin? Like time I checked she was African American and they don't have gray skin. There are a ton of mistakes on the characters but it doesn't really matter since the paintings are why you're buying the book.

The artwork, featured on a very popular series of Marvel trading cards, is powerful and brings a certain amount of realism to our favourite comic book heroes. The problem is, some heroes benefit from a more realistic look, while stylised characters such as the Hulk, tend to look a bit silly in such glorified detail. I tended to prefer Julie's style, more in proportion and more recognisable. The text describes Boris and Julie's relationship and their approach to their art, no doubt of interest to the budding artist but a bit dull for the average reader. However, all in all a powerful and exciting set of super hero artworks.

This is the most comprehensive recent history of Brazil by a Brazilian to be translated into English. Its having been written by a Brazilian academic makes it a useful read for those who are also reading books by Americans (Skidmore, Eakin, etc.) But this book founders on Fausto's deep historical understanding and thorough research. There was no factoid too minute or political movement too mundane to leave out. Result: only the most tenacious reader will be able to plod through this leaden work.

Arthur Brakel's translation is mediocre, particularly in the early pages. The prose gets clunky and uses a lot of academic words oddly out of place ("insure" vice "ensure", a situation always "obtains" rather than exists). The maps are a major failure, as the first one is on page 86 and is outdated and inaccurate (failing to show either the country's capital, Brasilia, or states such as Toncatins) yet showing useless details of railway spurs. The next edition needs a dozen strong historical maps, showing the progression from colonial captaincies to modern state. Maps on the conflicts with Uruguay and Paraguay are particularly lacking.

The overabundance of detail about obscure 18th and 19th century political movements merely bogs down the reader. For despite the author's disclaimer in the Preface, this work is really is a chronological narrative only thinly based on underlying themes (such as slavery and regionalism). While Fausto claims to reject "inertia theory" of Brazilian history, the book is really a testament to those ideas. The book is not a complete failure, there are strong and detailed discussions of the coffee economy, a good (though mapless) description of the war with Paraguay, and a particularly insightful discussion of Brazil's long-term, complicated relationship with Great Britain.

The author deliberately made the arbitrary and unhelpful decision to eschew discussion of cultural themes because, he claims, they deserve their own book. Thus readers are deprived of essential material on art, sexuality, family, and sport that are integral to understanding Brazil. These themes are more usefully described in Eakin's book. Sao Paulo's "Modern Art Week", one of the crucial events in Brazil's modern history, is not mentioned even once. The author is excessively Sao Paulo-centric. Most of the text focuses on minor details of Sao Paulo's development to the exclusion of other regions.

While Fausto provides more detail, clarification, and insight than Eakin or Skidmore on many topics, such as the impact of positivism on military thinking, the book gets bogged down in dry recitiation of economic statistics without real analysis and in discussion of minor historical events without real import. It is finally defeated by its dry, uninspired prose, by a parade of chronological details and economic data that make great watershed events and minor political hiccups seem equally (un)important.

This is a very interesting book on the History of Brazil. Concise but nevertheless satisfactorily comprehensive.

Brazil is surely a unique occurrence in South America. It was colonized by the Portuguese instead of the Spaniards, it maintained and even expanded its territory while the Spanish South America was fragmented. The ethnical and cultural formation was less influenced by the original inhabitants having received a much more important contribution from Africans. The historical process in Brazil was rather bloodless with little change on the power structure. The few exceptions on Brazil's bloodless history were the violent repressions to popular upheavals that were fiercely opposed before a major national conscience could be formed. Nowadays Brazil presents a strong industry but is still very unfair on the wealth distribution.

The reasons why Brazil became what it is today are brilliantly presented in Boris Fausto book. Each major episode is analyzed on its origins and consequences making the book very well connected. Very useful demographic and economic data is presented throughout the book.

The main problems I see on the book are the lack of simple geographical background information and the writing style that is sometimes very academic and dry. The book presents at least two maps but the use of historic location names without a better explanation can sometimes cause confusion to readers that lack a basic understanding of Brazil's geography. A brief overall introduction to nowadays Brazil regions covering geographical, ethnical, cultural and economic aspects would be welcome in future editions.

Cultural aspects were deliberately ignored. That could make the book concise but it forces the reader to search elsewhere for information on this important aspect in a country's history. A few glitches can be found here and there as it usually happens in translated books, for example magnesium is reported as an important export product during the first 20th century half instead of manganese.

Overall this is a very good book, a great way to have an introduction to the history of such an important and unique country as Brazil.

Great way to learn about what has happened in Brazil since the Portuguese invaded it in the 1500.

This book is badly written. It contains many useless comparisons
between different methods without telling you how to achieve the
best result. You still on your own.

This is one of the most informative books I've found on the subject of mathematical modeling of financial time series. The book is largely a review of the 'state of the art' and frequently expects the reader to be familiar with or willing to 'find and read' relevant articles, but we can all do that, can't we?

The book sequentially studies
1. Standard ARIMA (autoregressive models) which are closest to familiar linear regression techniques.
2. Neural nets and Bayesian trees (as a category called 'relational data mining' by the authors)
3. Fuzzy logic approaches (described as 'membership functions'. Membership functions are defined in terms of linguistic practice, whatever that is.).

In this way, the authors develop a seemingly comprehensive outline of the field, describing fields of study in terms of increasing abstraction. Of the three, I found the fuzzy logic discussion the most interesting.

I have to express some reservations regarding the perspective taken by the authors. Their view is that of the Newtonian physicist observing the interactions of bodies entirely independent of the viewer. At no point do the authors examine the implication of 'self participation' in the marketplace. For example, what happens to probability distribution 'X' when a trading entity uses the probability distribution 'X' to take a significant position in a security? If this seems interesting, you might try looking at "Theory of Financial Risks: From Statistical Physics to Risk Management", by Bouchaud or "An Introduction to Econophysics: Correlations and Complexity in Finance" by Mantegna and Stanley.

It is a very informative book with all major data mining methods and their comparisons compressed into 300 pages. Therefore, a significant part of the book is not leisurely reading. This is typical for the books from Kluwer Academic Publishers. One has to be ready to spend enough time to go through algorithms' details, pseudo code and comparisons of algorithms to get a serious benefit for the design of one's own model.
For instance, understanding the power of first-order if -then rules over the decision trees gained from the book can significantly change and improve design.

I do not think this book is good for self study. The computer tutorial was slow and the text was not clear on several critical areas like using tables. The only reason to get the book is for the compiler which is pretty good. Get the book for the compiler then get one of the better books written by English speakers. The teaching style of the book is better suited to Eastern Bloc students than Americans. I write this as a former cobol instructor.

The book contains a lot of information on the features of the COBOL language. Being a novice COBOL programmer, I found the book difficult to follow at times. It discussed in depth many features that are either obsolete or not implemented in the included compiler. Also, I would have liked to seen a discussion on how the compiler handles the SCREEN SECTION and trapping of function keys. However, the included compiler is great tool to use to learn the language and is worth the cost of the book alone.

I think that this book is good for anyone who knows Cobol. This book is a great refresher for what you have previously learned. Great Syntax Help.

Dr. Beizer appears to use the medium of a textbook on black box testing, which is the domain of testers without knowledge of source code or design, to promote the opinion that independent testing is useless except to protect the independent tester. Later, he admits that 80 percent of an average product lifecycle is maintenance phase, which he admits is an appropriate use of independent testers, as he admits also their use for specialized testing tools such as performance tools. His techniques may be effective but an executive level review of this book could be dangerous to the future of quality software engineering practices.

While this is a well put together book, it's reliance on the US IRS Tax Form for all examples, makes it doubtful that anyone not familiar with the form will gain much. This book is probably fine for a US Citizen, but for the rest of the world, his other books are far more accessible.

I agree with the review above: It's a little dry. However, it is certainly thorough, and if you're willing to sit and work through the examples, it's extremely informative. Ironically, I found a number of errors in the examples. Guess he should have applied his own methodology...

You can tell right off that Edward Hannibal and Robert Boris are obsolete, liberal hero worshippers. Robert Kennedy, who is idolized in this ... claptrap, was a ruthless ideologue and self-promoter who supported and worked for the great Red-baiter, Joseph McCarthy. It was Robert Kennedy who authorized the illegal wiretapping of Martin Luther King's telephone conversations and who used J. Edgar Hoover to rid the civil rights movement of authentic activists. The ultimate disapparance of Hoffa remains a mystery, but the assassination of Robert Kennedy no doubt came about because of his persecution of numerous people in organized crime,who provided him and his brother Johen with useful support earlier in his career. He had his henchmen wake up innocent people in the dead of night to hall them off to be questioned, abusing his power as Attorney General as no other Attorney General in history, including A. Mitchell Palmer and John Ashcroft. Compared to Kennedy, Hoffa was a saint. It was Kennedy who orchestrated the attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro as well as the murder of Che Guevera.

This book is a travesty.

This book will certainly arouse the team spirit in all who read it.

The Players:

Jimmy Hoffa, Teamster and Mafioso

Robert Kennedy, young attorney and future Attorney General & Senator

The arena: their respective work places and court

Jimmy Hoffa, a notorious teamster scores one point early in the book. The author provides information about the man's background, all but complimenting him on becoming a self made man with requisite leadership abilities. Hoffa is clearly intelligent, but he is also underhanded and wily.

Enter Robert Kennedy. A hard working, driven man who will stop at NOTHING to see Hoffa indicted. He feels Hoffa is the living definition of evil and that organized crime is social malignancy. He moves in on Hoffa with the skill and precision of a fencer, waiting to make that final jab. He scores points in the courtroom interrogating Hoffa, et al. and incurs the wrath of the mafia.

The heat is on...the tension is felt on both sides. Spectators are, thanks to the sympathies portrayed by the author, rooting for...Robert Kennedy! One cheers his harsh questioning of Hoffa and other mafiosi; one smiles at how he and Hoffa feuded over picayune things such as who left the lights on in their offices longer. Both men engaged in spitting matches such as this. The spitting matches escalated as the "blood feud" between the Teamster/mafioso and the attorney became more public.

I rooted for Robert Kennedy.

I found the book to be a good read on the subject of the Kennedy-Hoffa feud. I noticed that towards the beginning of the novel, the author tried to portray Hoffa in a, not favorable, but sympathetic light. But towards the end Robert Kennedy was clearly the one the readers are to root for. Many of Kennedy's famous quotes can be found through out the dialog. All in all, a good way to spend an afternoon.

It's all very well producing a book about Mr. Becker's tennis exploits, and granted, he was quite good, for a time, until his balls dropped, but I feel that a lot was missed from this oeuvre, which, had the publishers stopped to think, could have turned it into a big fat cash-cow.
For example, I, for one, would have liked to have read how Becker's relationship with his black partner threatened to undermine the very fabric of German society.
I'd have like there to have been a Boris' tips section, as well, in which Mr. Becker recounts the best ways to avoid tax fraud, and also his hints as to how to hide in a wardrobe.
An opportunity missed, quite frankly.

Paul Klebnikov brings to vigorous, swashbuckling life Russia from the death of Leonid Brezhnev (11/10/1982) up to and slightly beyond the resignation of Boris Yeltsin (12/31/99) in favor of Vladimir Putin. A principal literary technique the author uses is to contrast various players: politicians Gorbachev and Yeltsin or Generals Lebed and Grachev, for example. Klebnikov presents no more striking Russian "parallel lives" than those of oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky.

Mikhail Gorbachev seems a passably decent, honorable man in the pages of GODFATHER OF THE KREMLIN. Paul Klebnikov's pageant locates, however, almost all his other players at various positions on a wide scale of sheer criminality, venality, murderousness and self-seeking. On that scale Gusinsky is comparatively (and only comparatively) a good guy, while Berezovsky wears a black hat.

Yet the parallels are striking, with the implication that for a time Godfather Berezovsky played "me, too" or "catch up" to Gusinsky. In 1989 Gusinsky partnered with an American, Berezovksy with an Italian. In 1991 Gusinsky established Most Bank, Berezovsky started one, too. Both went after an Aeroflot account. Both reached out for newspapers and TV networks.

But there was one big difference. "In contrast to Berezovsky, who liked to take over existing enterprises, Gusinsky created entirely new companies. He added value to the Russian economy. ... Unlike Berezovsky, Gusinsky could legitimately claim to have played a constructive role in the Russian economy" (p. 148f).

Absent good government and a moral business culture in Russia, Berezovsky and most if not all the other oligarchs found sheer piracy and looting of wealth created by others the easiest way to grow personally rich. Neither Berezovsky nor Gusinsky is remotely as benign or constructive as America's so-called "robber barons" such as Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie and Morgan (who were neither criminals nor looters). But in a brilliant tour d'horizon of Russian society sketched in the author's Epilogue at pp. 322--326, Boris Berezovksy comes across as both criminal and looter, while Vladimir Gusinsky seems merely criminal. Is it possible that the best that can be hoped for of private Russian business in the next decade is that the Berezevskys will decrease while the Gusinskys will increase? Will both dreadful types ultimately be replaced by hard driving but morally upright businessmen more like Steve Jobs, Ross Perot or Don Rumsfeld? -OOO-

I remember my first visit to the Soviet Union in 1986. Gorbachev had
recently come into power and one could sense that dramatic events
would soon take place. The "Evil Empire" was showing cracks
and strains of trying to keep up with capatilists. The Russian people
for over 70 years were asked to sacrifice for the glories of
Communism. Five short years later Yeltsin was standing on a tank and
America's hero, Gorbachev saw his power come to an end. Hope sprang
eternal. Glasnost and perestroika. Then came the Yeltsin years which
were witness to the wholesale rape and pillaging of of a great
country with an educated public and vast resources. How did it
happen? Mr. Klebnikov's important book meticulously outlines how in
less than a decade tens of billions of dollars were stolen by a bunch
of unscrupulous men who could care less about the effects their acts
would have in devastating the country they lived in. By concentrating
on the most successful of these "oligarchs", to use a polite
term, the brazen rise of Boris Berezovsky is detailed courageously by
Mr. Klebnikov. He describes the murders, the methodology (steal low,
sell high), the willing and unwilling accomplices, and the total lack
of morality. What a tragedy. One thinks of the some 700,000 orphans
now in Russia mainly as a result of mothers being unable to feed their
infants. And where is the money? Sitting in European banks and
elsewhere outside of Russia. At least the robber barons of the 19th
Century rechannelled their millions back into the U. S. economy and
left us with Carnegie Hall, the University of Chicago and the Frick
Museum.. It may be some consolation if Putin is able to arrest a few
of these criminals. Or is he too, bought and paid for? Read this
book.

This is a good book about the situation that occured in the Russia after the collapse of communism. I found the book to be an entertaining read and found the book more interesting because of its discussion of the looting of Russia than about Boris Berezovsky. The one misconseption that a person might walk away with from the book is that Berezovsky is some sort of a criminal when, in fact, he is a very talented entreprenuer that was able to use his mind in order to come to the top in a very difficult situation. The way he does business is the only way in Russia. Overall, this book is a good peice and the author has obviously done a good deal of hands on research on the matter. I would reccomend the purchase of this book to anyone interested in learning about the economic reforms of the Yeltsin era and about those who profited from them.