As someone who hasn't been studying Zen for very long, I sometimes find Zen writings to be a bit elusive. Kwong's book, however, is a welcome change. His prose exudes wisdom, simplicity, sincerity, sensitivity, and warmth. Kwong's chapters gracefully navigate through various topics and bring the reader full circle, gently reminding him of the lesson he is bringing to the table. No Beginning, No End is written with incredible clarity; it is unadorned and highly accessible. Kwong has a lot to say, and he brings his collected thoughts to readers with an impressive degree of compassion and love. Quite simply, this is a beautiful, beautiful book.

This work is a wonder-filled accomplishment. Jakusho Kwong has succeeded in writing a book that not only does a masterful job in communicating the essence of Zen Buddhism - but he writes in such an arresting and accessible voice that readers on all paths will be able to relate and apply what they find here.

Kwong writes that "if you come to listen to a talk as if you are going to hear something great from somebody else, this is a big mistake." And yet I found that, in reading this book, truths buried deep within myself began to emerge. I have already applied stories and lessons learned from Kwong's work to my daily life - in the business world, with friends, and family. I feel as though this book has helped me access a place inside of myself that is calm, vibrantly alive, and simply feels true.

My grateful thanks to Jakusho Kwong for putting to paper words that have the transformative power to touch readers the world over.

This gem of a book truly offers us a glimpse into the heart of zen. Kwong Roshi's words are as down to earth and accessible as they are thought-provoking and profound. It is clear that his is the voice of experience and that his teachings are based on years of personal, devoted practice of Dharma. This book would be helpful for those wanting to learn more about the practice of meditation or for any seasoned student of zen. His teachings are pithy and can be applied to the obstacles and challenges we face every day in our lives. We are fortunate to have the teachings of this living master available to us. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested enriching their lives through the practice of meditation and the cultivation of wisdom. What a treasure!!!!

I was thrilled to discover The Magical Land of Noom back in print. I was given a copy by my grandparents in 1944 when I was five years old. I read it and reread it as a child. I read and reread it to my children. Our copy is now just loose pages kept in a binder. I have now ordered two copies of the book, one for me and one for my grandchildren. Thank you, thank you to the folks who have made this book available. I hope many people are made aware of the beauty of the illustrations and the gentle goodness which the story imparts. I will certainly spread the word to my friends and acquaintances.

I am so thrilled that this book is available again!! My twin sister and two brothers have commented many times about our fond memories of bedtime when our parents would read to us about the Magical Land of Noom. Even today, some 30 years later, we each look at the moon and think of Johnny and Janey and laugh with amazement that our innocent children thoughts remain so sharp in our adult imaginations. I have an old copy of the original publication, somewhat torn, tattered and crayoned, which has reminded me periodically to try to find this book. Together with the help of my siblings, we have searched bookstores from Chicago to Cleveland to NYC to Salt Lake City, and have been disappointed to learn that it was not in publication. So, today, I just happened to log onto Amazon.com, and here it is!!!! I have ordered six copies for my family and expect to be reordering for many years to come when I need a gift for special friends with little ones. The Land of Noom shoul! d be a standard for all children, along side such classics as Pooh and Christopher Robin, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Charlotte's Web, The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 101 Balloons, and so many others. I am looking forward to sharing the enchantment with my niece and nephews, and hope this book remains forever in publication.

I read this book approximately 40 years ago. The story and concept made such an impression on me that I have searched for the book through-out my adult life. The details have grown fuzzy except for the cow, the dark side of the moon, and the flying machine. The overall concept, however, is still fresh in my mind. Children really can accomplish good things. They are important and have a place in the world. I felt very brave and adventurous when I read this book, and it gave me hope for the possibilities somewhere for me. It helped me escape and it brought me wonderful dreams. I'm so grateful it is being published again.

I loved the book, but I think that they should've included more about Sonny and Brenda's love story rather than stuff about Lucy and Kevin. Sorry L & K fans!

Attention General Hospital fans everywhere! Finally a book has been written to unite viewers all across the globe. The General Hospital Complete Scrapbook contains everything you'll ever want to know from the first season to the 90's. Impress your friends with your new-found knowledge (or scare them with your obsession). Contains drool-worthy pics and tear-jerking tales. A must have for every fan!!!

I thought that the General Hospital Complete

Scrapbook was a real interesting book. I really

liked the pictures and the updates in the book.

It was a real good book.

This book is great! It all starts when the dark magic lures innocent mouse Arthur into the sewers. In the sewers you will find rats with mousepeelers instead of hands, rats wearing mouse coats as a trophy of slaughtering an innocent mouse, and a dark rat god. It will keep you on the edge of your seat in suspense.

Normal, peace-loving mice and dreadful, war-bound, evil rats mix in this amazing book called The Dark Portal. This book is sad, exciting and scary all at the same time. This might sound like a crazy mixture, but in the mind of Robin Jarvis, this mixture would make a magical life-and-death story.

This is one of the most amazing books I've ever read!! Robin Jarvis does an excellent job of writing a gripping story about a small group of mice confronting an evil band of rats in the sewers under Deptford. It may also please you to know that the main character (and the hero) is a girl. It has lots of action and the climax is genuinely scary! If you like animal fantasy you will LOVE this book (though I should warn you that it gets near-impossible to put down!)

This is an incredible book. I have owned it for several years and each time you pick it up to revisit its pages it makes your feel wonderful all over again. If you aren't a dog lover, you will be after you read this book. It stays on my coffee table in the den and has been the topic of many interesting conversations with fellow dog lovers. I guess this book is so close to my heart because we are fortunate enough to have a "found dog". I am looking forward to Ms Lufkin doing a second book and perhaps including our "Found" dog in it. Buy the book - you'll be glad you did.

This is a wonderful book, buy one as a gift and one to keep for yourself. I bought it as a gift for a friend who volunteered at our local shelter. The volunteers are true heroes, and so are the ordinary people highlighted in this book. After reading this book, I knew it was a keepsake I could not part with. One page stories of extraordinary bonds between owners and the homeless dog they took the risk to adopt make for easy reading that you can pick up, put down, and walk away feeling better about the world. This book is the finest gift for the dogs lover in your life as well as the volunteers at the shelter, your beloved veterinarian, the Dog Control Officer that saves the dog lost in traffic, for your favorite dogsitter, and for anyone who understands there are wonderful dogs out there in need of a home and a person to love. The best part is, profits from the book benefit animal related organizations and shelters. You will feel better having read this book, and a homeless dog somewhere will benefit.

Elise Lufkin has managed, in her book Found Dogs, to move without cloying, to educate without preaching and to make us laugh. This book is a compilation of photos and stories of dogs who have been rescued by caring people and many of who have in turn "rescued" their new owners. These stories range from the amazing; the dog who can detect her owner's oncoming seizure, to the heartwarming; the dog who has they same big brown eyes as his owner's late husband. Diana Walker's photographs capture the connection between each "found dog" and his savior. She shows not only the uniqueness of the dogs but also the varied roles they play in their owner's lives. Useful information on adopting and adapting to a pet is provided. This book is a must for all the animal lovers on your Holiday gift list.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from its technical standpoint of working between the program and the supporting 3D theory/thought process that Mr. Ratner provides.

Finding that balance of an artist and technologist from where to launch one's vision and future visions of creativity starts with good knowledge. Ratner gives many facets of where to see this vision and tutorials to follow through with your own creative projects.

I commonly work with many high-end graphics programs, Lightwave 7.0 being my newest program on my plate. Peter Ratner's 3d book getting me from a begining user from just reading the index to a 3D artist ready to start the new facets of my own portfolio. Mastering 3D Animation helped quite a bit everything from the Modeling and subdivides to the theory/progress.

Joseph Arthur
Information Architects, Principal

I liked reading through "Mastering 3D Animation" very much. In the first few sections the author Peter Ratner describes the basic need to know stuff of 3D computer graphics in an easy to understand way. Even though I knew most of it already I found parts of it quite interesting. Starting with the section about special effects it becomes helpful even for advanced users. I especially liked the advanced modeling and character modeling part. There are examples and howtos on modeling, animating, shading and lightning for the reader to explore. As an autodidact I buy nearly every 3d book I can lay my hands on and my collection has grown noticeably. This book is definitely one of the better ones!

Jörg Flügge, Munich, Germany 02/25/2001

Peter J. Ratner's second authoring effort, Mastering 3D Animation, is a 333-page softcover text that is a comprehensive, detailed and practical tutorial guide addressing nearly every aspect and segment of the 3D graphics genre. The book's 14 chapters-and accompanying follow-along CD for PC and Mac-speak to modeling (beginning and advanced), animation, special effects, lighting, surfacing techniques, facial animation, elements of action, figure movements and composition and cinematography. It's an exceptionally capable complement to Ratner's first book, 3-D Human Modeling and Animation. (Ratner currently is updating the latter text with a wholesale rewrite.)

Make no mistake: This is no cursory guide to constructing simple geometry, slapping on some stock textures, animating basic movements along spline paths and rendering to AVI while you're sipping on a latte, watching the Discovery Channel. A full-time professor in the 3D Computer Animation department of James Madison University and the program's founder, Ratner relies on the broad and substantial digital and conventional art experience that has rewarded him with artistic entries in more than 80 national and international juried exhibitions. Ratner is well-versed in most aspects of 3D art creation, choreography and cinematography. The results of his industry experience are a splendid collection of detailed and refined insights and experiences assimilated into a thorough tutorial guide. I have no doubt-as many experts agree-that Mastering 3D Animation is equipped to serve as a collegiate-level textbook for 3D computer animation curricula.

Spanning the many processes related to generating 3D digital art, Ratner illustrates his critical techniques with 658 black-and-white line drawings and grayscale screen captures. The images vary from basic and sketchy but illustrative black-only perspectives, steps and graphs to grayscale representations depicting character renderings, particle systems, height fields, geometric displacements, facial close-ups, rendered environments and more. Of particular interest to those having cinematography or traditional art backgrounds are the commentary, instructions and grayscale reproductions of painted and sketched art dating back multiple centuries.

Those attending to a more technical emphasis and interest are accommodated in every respect, however-minus superficial references to hardware specifications. Early on, Ratner clarifies his intentions in composing this text: "[The book's] purpose is not to create button pushers who can boast about megahertz, abundant RAM, big monitors and software with all kinds of bells and whistles. It is hoped that aspiring 3D artists will learn some valuable lessons from the great art geniuses that have preceded them." (Foreward/vii) Yes, Ratner does wane philosophical, at times, but his contemplative tendencies bring a refreshing and purist perspective to a field frequently inundated by overly technical meanderings and functionally pointless rambling. Thus, Ratner blends an in-depth artistic and technical knowledge with a practicality and philosophy altogether forming a well-rounded perspective-one catering to persons of various inclinations and backgrounds.

The companion CD contains 200-plus 3D models in a variety of formats: LightWave 3D's .lwo and .lws; Wavefront's .obj; Maya's .ml and the generic .dxf. Tutorial project files are archived in QuickTime (.mov) and JPEG (.jpg) formats, and Ratner also includes a Photoshop brush file (.abr) for creating "grime" textures.

As for the text's informational composition, chapters one and two explore the basics of 3D modeling-polygonal and spline-based (NURBS). Chapter 3 addresses basic 3D animation, while the fourth delves further into animation by considering the role of deformation tools: skeletons ("bones"); kinematics; lattice flexors, etc. In Chapter 5, Ratner explains special effects, including the use of spheres, particles, collision detection, voxels, fragments, displacement mapping and more. Part II of the text, Advanced 3D Modeling, begins with commentary about the human head's structure and composition, including muscles and bone. Ratner explains both the NURBS- and polygon- based methods for modeling the head. Special attention is allotted to features, such as the eyes, eyelids, eye sockets and ears. There's no lack of detail, here, and NURBS fans will experience a rare sensation-a feeling of belongingness.

The next two chapters, six and seven, are devoted to modeling the human figure. The latter stresses finishing-hair, eyelashes and clothing. Chapters 9 and 10 comprise Part III: Preparing for Animation. Lighting is the focus of Chapter 9, and Chapter 10-another that may appeal particularly to conventional artists-deals with surfacing techniques. The author goes beyond the typical texture map types-cylindrical, planar, spherical, cubic, etc.-and the use of photos to address alternative surfacing methods, such as transparency (alpha) and displacement maps. In short, Ratner extends well beyond the conventional surfacing methods most highly publicized, deeply exploring what might be categorized more aptly as upper-echelon trade tips than as common genre knowledge: creating sophisticated bump maps; using grayscale gradients in displacement; and more.

Part IV of the book, Character Animation Fundamentals, includes chapters 11-14: Expressing Emotion with Facial Animation (11); The Elements of Action (12); Movements of the Figure (13); Composition and Cinematography (14). Once again, the author uses an expansive knowledge of choreography and anatomy to help quantify how human emotions are exhibited: body posturing; eye wideness; lip contour; eyebrow position; even directional muscular pull. Each of these considerations can be projected in a 3D figure, and Ratner shows the reader how. "A muscle is composed of a bundle of fibers that work in mutual association to perform common duties," Ratner writes on Page 248. "... It is this combination of movements that results in the complicated harmony of the facial muscles."

The Elements of Action chapter confronts those issues pertinent to a convincing human portrayal by a mere collection of polygons or surfaced curved lines: timing; sound syncing; weight and recoil ("squash and stretch"); walk cycles and more. Chapter 13 addresses concerns complementary to those in the previous one, including body mass motion, pace and impact, equilibrium, action lines, rhythm and still more. The final score of this harmonized tutorial prose pursues line composition, spatial arrangement, blocking (proxy geometry) and all manner of photographic issues and techniques. The reader will learn practical cinematography terminology-camera techniques and movements, transitions, more-and the fundamental tenets of motion depiction utilized by artists centuries earlier.

I loved this book and found a lot of useful training information in it, it was very comprehensive. However, this book is geared toward a coach or a very serious player, I am a rec player who gets to play one hour a week with no practice time on the ice at all, and I am lucky to squeeze three hour workouts a week into my busy schedule. I don't have time for aerobic conditioning 2-3 times a week, lifting wieghts, doing speed drills, etc, etc, plus taking rest days, not to mention actually practicing skating and really playing hockey! I would love to quit my job and condition for hockey all day, but it isn't likely to happen. That said, I was able to use the information in the book to develop my own workout program within my time constraints, to get the most benefit from what time I do have.

Peter Twist says it right in the beginning, there is nothing quite like hockey. That makes it really tough to get in shape to play. Even if you're already in great shape, you're game could improve dramatically if you got into hockey shape. That is exactly what Twist tries to do.

The book is organized in such a way that the later chapters build upon the previous chapters. He begins by talking about energy and how we burn fuels different ways when playing hockey. Then he goes into stretching and strength training. If you have ever spent any time around a gym, you'll already know how to perform these movements. The payoff for this book is the plyometric. These are techniques used to help improve your agility and explosive movements. Let's face it, the team that can consistently get to the puck first usually wins. These exercises will provide you with a quick jump giving you an extra step over your opponent and the puck.

Twist writes simply, and his instructions are easy to follow. He uses photos generously when trying to explain complex movements. Both on-ice and off-ice exercises are provided so you don't have to be at the rink or have precious ice time to get into shape.

This book is fantastic. The book is very complete, from beginning to end on the training and conditioning aspect. Not only did it include the fitness portion, but also nutrition, which I was surprised to see.

My only complaint is that each and every exersize should have photos. Most do, but not all of them. There are some exersizes that are not 100% clear on the proper technique.

Other than that it's great.

I was startled by the idea of signpost event because I thought about it many times but never saw it in a book before and I always thought people would say I'm nuts if I talked about it. Great book!

The only thing, I heard Peter talk about the Combination Strategy for success on the radio but it wasn't in the book.

This book offers a different approach than the usual motivational stuff out there because Quinones is almost an academic, highly schooled in the humanities, but at the same time his nuts and bolts business acumen as a car salesman comes across as well. It's weird, but refreshing, to hear someone talk about Emily Dickinson and leasing a car to Joey's brother-in-law in the same book. Some of the concepts (the "projection principle" ) seem very hard to implement but are probably worth the effort. All in all, this seems a totally different approach to motivation then the usual rah rah stuff.

This is a good book which will help you to perform better in basic troubleshooting but it's not great as I was expected. The best part of this book is easy to read and understand. However for anyone who is preparing the CCNP, this book will be very much useful.

This book is well-written and accurate. The writing is easy to follow. I read it very quickly, but didn't notice any errors. I plan to keep it as a reference for when I need to troubleshoot particular internetworking problems. I think it will be quite useful for typical problems. (It's somewhat basic, so may not cover the more bizarre problems, but that's OK. No book can cover every possible problem.) I have never met the author, but he seems like a wise fellow, with a lot of good advice to offer to the Cisco networking professional. This book is an accomplishment that he should be proud of.

Normally, I wouldn't buy a text that involves Cisco routers/switches from anyone else other than Cisco Press; but, after researching the author's background (and since this was backed by IDG books, which has a pretty good record of publishing quality texts), I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed (well, only that I didn't purchased it sooner).

The book is excellent! When a book is about troubleshooting, I expect it to contain real-life situations that can help me at closing time, on a Friday afternoon. This book does not lack that, as opposed to Cisco Press' CIT guide. If you're a network engineer or administrator in-charge of administering and maintaining your Cisco environment, buy this book! I am sure you would not regret it.

Book - Son of Web Pages That Suck: Learn Good Design by Looking at Bad
Design
By Vincent Flanders with Dean Peters
Publisher - Sybex
List [...]>ISBN: 0-7821-4020-3
Rating - 5 out 5

Son of Web Pages That Suck is the follow up to the very successful book Web Pages That Suck by Vincent Flanders. The book consists of 279 pages, broken down into 14 chapters. The book also comes with a CD containing links to the websites listed throughout the book. Son of Web Pages That Suck is my first book on web design and will probably be the only one in my library for quite some time (until Daughter of Web Pages That Suck comes out). As the title suggests, Son of Web Pages That Suck teaches good web design by having the reader look at examples of bad web design. Throughout the book, Flanders explains why a web page does or does not suck.

The book's best quality lies in the very humorous and understandable way it's written. This is one computer book that isn't going to put you to sleep or bore you to death. One of the key points the author stresses throughout the book is "web design is not about art, it's about making money." Each chapter begins with a short introduction explaining what's going to be covered in the preceding chapter and ends with a summary covering the key points discussed in that chapter. One of the not-so obvious things Flanders covers is that you can make a web page that sucks without using tons of flashy graphics or other crazy design elements. Thankfully, he also discusses how to avoid making these same mistakes. Some of the more obvious web design topics Flanders covers include things like appropriate page and image size, how to stay on the right side of copyright law, professionalism, and why things like splash pages and "Welcome to my page" lines are bad. Another important point Flanders discusses is that while a certain theme or design might make one web page suck, it may make another rock-- depending on the target audience .If you've ever visited a Flash intensive website on a dial up connection, you'll appreciate Flanders chapter "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

I could continue to talk about all the great topics Flanders covers in his book Son of Web Pages That Suck, but that would take far too much space for a book review. I highly recommend that you go and buy the book and read it for yourself. I give Son of Web Pages That Suck a highly deserved 5 out of 5 rating.

SOWPTS is entertaining but never enough so the core principle gets lost - "Don't do anything that gets in the way of the sale". How easy this point is missed, even by professional web designers and in-house artists.

The essence: the most valuable aid in designing sites that appeal to your audience is first understanding what turns them off. Turn-offs are a dreary subject, yes, but Flanders excels here. He should know, running a site like "Web Pages That Suck" for a half-decade. You should tap into his knowledge.

Web design is new compared to other media, and the rules still aren't clear. "I want 12 point Garamond!" doesn't fly on the pop-star-of-the-month's site, while perfect for a "Mumble, Stumble, and Fumble at Law" site. Or maybe not so perfect - see Chapter 11 on Text (and fonts).

Understanding the people you're trying to sell is crucial - Flanders provides solid research on things like platforms/browsers, and links that will guide you long after the book is published.

This book should be the first thing you should read, either if you're on your first web project, or an experienced designer who's facing a client/employer about to make serious mistakes. You know, the CEO who insists on putting his face on the home page of your company that makes ball bearings for the lawn-mower industry. But on a site for the (unnamed) pop star mentioned above - not putting a face on the home page is death - and Flash is nearly expected. Flanders understands all this, and doesn't dismiss any technique - until you "get in the way of the sale."

The CD-ROM with the book ain't bad, but there is better. I vastly prefer WS_FTP to Voyager, but my company buys me tools that best several packages on the CD. For a price, of course. But the CD is a good starting place.

Put it on your bookshelf (or better, your hands) today. Let your competition wind up on the "Daily Sucker" at WPTS rather than you.

Vincent Flanders' new "Son of Web Pages That Suck" is the sequel to his best-selling book "Web Pages That Suck." WPTS arose from the site he founded by the same name in 1996, WebPagesThatSuck.com. It seems that WYSIWYG editors have just made it easier for designers to create bad web sites faster, so Flanders felt a second book was needed.

Flanders takes a different approach to teaching usability than the likes of Nielsen and Norman. Through over the top humor and outrageous examples of bad web design he manages to teach good design while keeping us entertained. Flanders uses humor as a teaching aid because he's found that that people tend to learn better when they are entertained.

You'll find yourself laughing as you read this book. The book is peppered with full-color pictures of Flanders and friends in various getups: a devil, an angel, a mechanic, a flasher, and even in the tub ("Splish Splash Pages" chapter). It's all in good fun, as Flanders doesn't take himself too seriously. He makes his points without condescension. He even uses Johnny Cochran-like sayings to illustrate his points:

"If the Bits Don't Flow, People Will Go."
"The Top's Gotta Pop or They're Not Gonna Stop."

The author is a marketing showman, using carnival-like PR:

TREMBLE at the horror that is Mystery Meat Navigation
RUN SCREAMING from splishy splashy Flashy pages...

The book is a hybrid design and usability book aimed at beginning to intermediate designers. The book teaches good design practices through bad mistakes with scathing commentary on numerous really bad web sites. Through his web site's "Daily Sucker" and thousands of email suggestions Flanders has plenty of material to choose from.

The actual advice is common sense stuff that advanced users will already know like keeping text contrast high and file sizes low. However, even after years of preaching the gospel, usability experts are finding web designers repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Flanders shows what not to do, and offers suggestions on how to do it right.

Web design is about working within limitations. Unless you have what Flanders calls "heroin content," make your pages fast loading, easy to navigate, easy to read, and minimize extraneous features. He gives useful pointers throughout the book for graphics optimizers, validators, browser simulators, and includes a CD chock full of useful utilities to shrink and shape up your pages.

Flanders likes to say, somewhat tongue in cheek, that this book is for everybody. It is not quite in that category, but it will have a broader appeal than most web design books with its splashy graphics, non-technical approach, and Flanders' trademark humor. Some college professors have even adopted his book for their Web design courses because it doesn't put their students to sleep. Highly recommended.