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Book reviews for "Hargarten,_Stephen_W." sorted by average review score:

Far Side Gallery 3 Paperback
Published in Paperback by Andrews McMeel Publishing (01 January, 1988)
Author: Unknown
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Better masterpieces here than in that museum in Paris
With a cow Mona Lisa painting on the front cover how can you go wrong? The cartoons in here are from Hound of the Far Side, The Far Side Observer and Night of the Crash Test Dummies. It may be cheaper to buy these books individually instead of this gallery so compare prices before purchasing.

The advantage of owning the galleries is that some cartoons are full page size which is three times the size of the original books. Not all cartoons are full size though just some.

The classic cartoon set in an exam with the bonus question (50 points) "What's the name of that thing that hangs down the back of our throats?" The caption underneath states "Final Page of the Medical Boards," is in this edition.

Another has Noah saying "Now Listen Up. We're Going to do This Alphabetically," the Zebras are thinking "Damn!"

The Classic "Drive George! Drive! This One's Got a Coathanger!" with a lion trying to unlock the car door to eat the woman.

Should you buy it? Of course you should.

Humor and Biology--A Good Mix
Gary Larson has teamed up with Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist and taxonomist --Harvard University, to create a biologically funny book. Humor has a purpose in this book. It is used in an attempt to cause the reader to think biologically on a macrocosmic level. Social interaction of all animals on the smallest level effects the bigger picture. I enjoyed this book very much; however, a few cartoons were biologically "over my head." With some critical thinking, all readers may be able to get the message of all the cartoons.

He has a amazing mind to be able to think up such comedy!
I loved it!! It was soooooo funny! I hope he keeps writing these books


Flowers: The Book of Floral Design
Published in Hardcover by DK Publishing (01 September, 2000)
Authors: Malcolm Hillier and Stephen Hayward
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Difficult to top!
This book is tops! I am trying to find another book on flower arranging as a gift for my mother-in-law who loves the subject, but I keep coming back to this one. Creativly inspired and visually stunning, just browsing through it is amazing.

Just Great Book
This book is just great. If you love flowers, I think you will absolutely love this book. The pictures are remarkable. Just buy!

Flower Fantasy
Malcolm Hillier is an acclaimed flower stylist who combines his passion for flowers with elegant design. I have never seen such a lavishly illustrated book on flower arranging. Over 2,000 photographs will inspire you to arrange your own flowers.

There are hundreds of ideas for using fresh and dried flowers. The step-by-step sequences make the techniques clear and simple. When you start arranging flowers, you quickly find out you need an "essential kit" in order to complete even a basic flower arrangement. This is where "Practical Techniques" comes into play.

You will want to buy a glue gun, floral wires, pruning knife, florist's scissors, etc. All the essential supplies are listed with pictures. This book is filled with pictures! The first chapter discusses Flowers In Civilization and shows flowers in history and art.

Elements of Design is a visual guide to flower colors and the pages are filled with piles of wonderful petals in every color. I loved the Container Shapes section. There are two sections, with one further into the book.

This book is SO INCREDIBLE! .....Shall I continue..?

Then, we get to Inspiration. You will find page after page after page of mini-floral displays with the page number so you can learn how to make the arrangement with precise instructions. There are arrangements in this book you would not even imagine in your wildest floral dreams.

For instance, on page 96 there is an underwater floral arrangement. There are upside down glasses, with flowers in them, floating in the water and facing outwards in a huge vase. Then, OH MY..I happen upon page 212 and there is a hanging upside down Christmas Tree dangling dangerously from the ceiling. I am not sure I approve! Decorating the tree looked a bit dangerous, but it sure was creative.

A Floral Ice Bowl on page 248 is one of my favorite ideas as the flowers are suspended in their original beauty in ice. Then, in the summer...how about a "watermelon vase?" The Floral Place Setting is a way to beautifully decorate each place setting is a wonderful summer idea or dried herbs could be used in the winter. The mini-christmas trees are an idea even children could help make.

An A-Z plant guide is a huge section. This visual guide will introduce you to just about every flower you would ever want to use in an arrangement. Some useful addresses complete with Web site addresses gives you even more information. An easy-to-use Index helps you locate your favorite flowers.

If you want inspiration and information, this is the book for you!


Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art
Published in Paperback by J. P. Tarcher (1991)
Author: Stephen Nachmanovitch
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Deep and satisfying
A feel for the deep insides of creativity, no matter what path you walk in life. Life can be lived as art, and this book shows you how. Every page a blessing.

Passion Unveiled
Reading Free Play is a journey; and as such, it is not an easy one. That is its most enduring reward. When a good friend gave me the book to read in 1993, I doubted what I could possibly gain from it, since I considered myself hopelessly awkward compared to her. Through such a toxic prism, I couldn't make any sense of the book, much less embrace it. It read like one big abstraction, with no relevance to me or my life. After a month of fitful starts and stops, I returned the book to my friend in frustration.

Something about it, though, made me buy my own copy in 1998. I started taking voice lessons for singing early last year, and am preparing for a major performance next week. Two weeks ago, I decided to take another stab at reading Free Play. In doing so, I found my key to appreciating the book, and relishing all it has to offer, from beginning to end. Although Nachmanovitch is a musician, he beautifully expands the idea of Improvisation to include any medium through which we express ourselves, and live.

Some friendly advice: When sitting down to read this book, get rid of all negative thoughts and judgments about yourself. While reading it, think of all the things in life you love to do, regardless of how well you or others think you do them. Whoever you are, and whatever you do, this book will help you discover what creativity is, where it comes from, how we block it, and how we can make it sizzle. If you stick with Free Play, you will get to know what's possible when you conquer fear and self-doubt just long enough to do what you love, for its own sake and on your own terms. Stephen Nachmanovitch has written a labor of love, and encourages us to see and live our lives this way. For that, Free Play is a true classic.

Excellent Overview of a Fascinating Subject
I am currently using sections from this book to teach a course in creativity. It is a superb overview of the subject; both motivational and rich in anecdote about the creative process of high-level artists and scientists. Great for breaking through any blocks you may have and extremely well written as well.


His Natural Life (Penguin Classics)
Published in Paperback by Penguin Books Ltd (25 October, 2001)
Authors: Marcus Clarke and Stephen Murray-Smith
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Marcus Clarke's Penal Colony Masterpiece
This was without question one of the most gripping novels I've read in many a day. I first ran across this work in a brief mention by British travel writer/popular historian James Morris, where he thought it akin to the gulag novels of post-Stalinist Russia in subject matter and philosophical content. Add to that a wealth of striking narrative detail, immensely memorable characters (Maurice Frere, Sarah Purfoy, and particularly James North leap to mind), some truly transporting (no pun intended) and incredibly creepy passages, mind-blowing plot twists and turns, and a persistent refusal to provide too pat solutions to characters' problems... Clarke wasn't better than Dickens or Eliot, but neither of the latter could have written this book.

Clarke's masterpiece was published in 1874, after being serialized in 1870-72. Critics have lambasted a few of the less believable elements and some of the pat characterization of a number of supporting characters, but these are flaws to be found in most novels of that time (and ours). Clarke redeems himself by taking the cliches and mannerisms of the nineteenth-century English novel and using them to illuminate a whole new society, one practically mythical to the metropolitan consciousness of the Victorian Anglophone world. This work is a great counterpoint to all those English novels of the day where the hero or villain gets packed off to the antipodes and returns mysteriously changed. The main thrust of the novel, though, was the need to tell the true story of (white) Australian society's beginnings. Clarke, in telling the story of the unjustly convicted Rufus Dawes (aka Richard Devine), provides a panoramic view of early Victorian Australia, from the hellish convict settlements of Macquarie Harbor and Norfolk Island to the nascent frontier towns of Hobart and Melbourne, from the aging memories of the "First Fleeters" (the original convicts who arrived in 1788) to the controversial Eureka Stockade Uprising of 1854. The narrative frequently moves at a deliciously whirlwind pace to accomodate the exciting interaction of characters and history.

Clarke's novel is generally cited as nineteenth-century Australia's greatest and points the way towards more nuanced examinations of the colonial experience in the twentieth century (Peter Carey's JOE MAGGS, about the "off-stage" life of Dickens antihero Abel Magwitch, is apparently very much in this vein). Don't read it just for this reason, though. Please be sure to find the longer, original version, as I was fortunate enough to do. Clarke was forced to produce a revised, shortened version for the original publication, one dictated by his editors that turned the novel into a much more "conventional" Victorian literary production (and has a longer title--FOR THE TERM OF HIS NATURAL LIFE). I understand a TV series was made in the mid-80s with Anthony Perkins as North. If this was the case, then it badly needs to be remade on celluloid, because I can't seem to find the series. It's a magnificent novel whose flaws, I think, are amply counterbalanced by its unexpected joys.

The horrors of the Transportation System
The well-known phrase 'for the term of his natural life' is used by Marcus Clarke to bring home the horrors of transportation and the Tasmanian penal system in the 19th century.
Richard Devine, an innocent man (under an assumed name of Rufus Dawes) convicted of a crime he did not commit, is sent for transportation and assumed killed in a shipwreck. In reality, he is heir to a vast estate (unbeknown to him) and the convolutions of the tale that evolve from this are wonderfully written; the gradual demolishing of Dawes, the unspeakable duality of Frere, the calculating guile of Sarah and the gullible innocence of Sylvia are woven together in a plot that does not end happily ever after. This I think, serves to underline the barbarism and futility of the transportation system.
Based on actual events, Clarke uses his 'hero' to illustrate the depravation and privations that prisoners (and their guards) had to endure. Graphically showing how degradation degrades and power corrupts, the narrative never dwells on gruesome details, instead it relies for effect on the imagination of the reader, which can be more terrifying.
A book that deserves a wider readership.

"His Natual Life"
It's a collation of events by various persons involved in the penal settlement of early Australia. Marcus Clarke has interwoven these events into a novel of fiction. These are stark facts; and show, as far as I've researched, very detailed. L.P. Hartely said it all,in this case.."The past is a foreign country.They do things differently there." The more you read on, the more you want to know..


I Ching Deluxe: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change, the First Complete Translation With Concordance
Published in Paperback by Element Books, Inc. (1996)
Author: Stephen Karcher
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the best i ching out there
i love it, it is far superior to any other i ching i've ever looked at. my friends are constantly asking to borrow it because their i ching's suck. i use it all the time.

most readable
The most readable of the translations I've used. My friends ordered it after they saw my copy.

PRACTICAL, CONCLUSIVE,NON-"MYSTICAL" AND EXACT
An exelent translation! It is the freedom of mind and choise encorporated here that is important: Keeping one's symbolic patterns autonomous in growth when useing the text is an oppurtunity of mind-enhansment in tactic/stategic action on one hand, while keeping a critical-historical bottumline on the other. even with scarce chinese (if at all) background but whit just some phylological trainning in the Classics and Hebrew and judeo-christian culture, and as an eager practical-western-modern "divinator" - I'VE FOUND THE USE OF THIS BOOK A GUIDE IN WIDDEING THE HORIZONS OF MY INSIGHTS EVEN AS A TEACHER AND CONSULTANT IN OTHER AREAS OF SYNCHRONISTIC PRACTICE (SUCH AS ASTROLOGY). IT SHOULD BE A MUST FOR ANYONE PLANNING A PROJECT OF TRANSLATION OR EXCHANGE OF CULTURAL CANONS ONTO A UNIVERSAL ARENA. Nevertheless, The most blessed of Barriers, the one of NON-DETERMINIZM present therein, ENTAILING A GREAT DEAL OF PRACTICE IN ANNIHILATING "DEAD-END UNDRSTANDING" OF THE TEXT.

Thus, it could take some time until this book is regarded as it should be: A UNIVERSAL SOLUTION FOR AN ALMOST "RELIGIOUS" CANON. READ AND USE GRADUALY; COMPARE IT WITH ANY OTHER TRANSLATION IN THE PROCESS. YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF TRANSFORMED!


Design Basics
Published in Paperback by Wadsworth Publishing (29 July, 1999)
Authors: David A. Lauer and Stephen Pentak
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A wonderful book for hs seniors and college freshmen
this book is the foundation for understanding composition, but it is no substitute for continued research in art and art theory...this book is a superb starting point...if you're in high school i suggest starting your reading in art with this...if you are in high school and you have already read this...then GOOD, you're going to need to continue reading, and start by rereading this...if you're a freshman in college, read this and goto the library and check out every book you can by an artist that you enjoy and read what they have written about their art and other peoples art...and in the meantime read this book...another hint, write down the name of every book you hear mentioned in any art text that you think might interest you, hell write all of them down...and then read those books...and keep reading...read read read, and when you're not reading, work on your own art or whatever you want to call it...and do not neglect your other classes, ie english 101, math 101, sciences, history, etc...those classes are just as important as any art class you will ever take...we're all students for the rest of our lives (it's just that some people prefer the term "artist" avoid them if you can...) and we'll keep learning for the rest of our lives...so get used to reading...and get used to taking criticism about your work..

Clearly written, well-illustrated book. Very useful!
Design Basics is well organized, the chapters are clearly written, and the graphics illustrate the text very effectively. This is the best general introduction to graphic design that I've seen.

simple, useful & moneyworth book for all art student
easy to read format, great visual examples, things you ve been taught from school but sometimes forget to think about.


Encyclopedia of Volcanoes
Published in Hardcover by Academic Press (1999)
Authors: Haraldur Sigurdsson, Bruce Houghton, Stephen R. McNutt, Haxel Rymer, John Stix, and Hazel Rymer
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The state of the science
Great compendium of volcanology. Especially thrilling to an older geologist to see the advances in knowledge since we got out of school; for instance, seismic tomography has mapped actual magma chambers, which were semi-mythic suppositions in my undergrad day; and lo, there is the anatomy of the very volcanoes I grew up under. The book comprises dozens of specially submitted articles by diverse international authors, so you get many perspectives, not just of different disciplines, but of authors' sense of how they relate to others.

Flawed by abundant typos. The editing of this book is a great advance over say The Solar System by the same Academic Press, which was a mangled turnip; but they still have a ways to go. It is disappointing to see major scientific works bungled by bottom line that slashes proofing. NASA is probably largely responsible for the Solar System mess (Sally Ride, take a course in remedial english!). Geologists are a lot more meticulous than astronauts. But the buck shd stop with the publisher.

So buy this book and complain to Academic Press. Buy it before it goes out of print and you have to kick yourself; it will be long before the like comes again.

...from a student's perspective...
I found this text to be incredibly useful, especially considering the noticable dearth of textbooks dealing with volcanoes. The encyclopedia is comprehensible, yet in depth, and covers a broad range of topics. Whenever I have a volcano question I start here first!

EXCELLENT
An excellent book. Written by some of the worlds most renowed experts-one of whom I am fortunate enough to know!
The book is well worth the money as every aspect of volcanology is covered.
I would recommend this book to anyone with a serious intest in volcanology.


Fatal Freedom: The Ethics and Politics of Suicide
Published in Paperback by Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade) (2002)
Author: Thomas Stephen Szasz
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How suicide has been viewed down through the ages
Fatal Freedom: The Ethics And Politics Of Suicide by Thomas Szasz (Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse) is a thoughtful and persuasively written defense of the individual's right to voluntarily choose the time and manner of their own death. Criticizing the inhumanity of the established legal and medical policy prohibiting suicide for any reason allows extensive and widespread suffering, Fatal Freedom also reveals how suicide has been viewed down through the ages alongside other social practices about which public perception has changed. Very strongly recommended for academic and community library social issues collections in general, and psychology/health reference sections in particular, Fatal Freedom presents an emphatic presentation not to be ignored.

An honest and compassionate defense of suicide
Thomas Szasz is one of century's brilliant social thinkers. He's best known for his criticism of psychiatric pseudo-science and coercive practices, but his intellectual reach is vast. In this remarkable book about suicide he defends the right of individuals to control their bodies and lives -- including the ways they choose to die. He takes issue with physicians having the power to determine our fate and places the choice and responsibility for suicide into the hands of the individual. He would end drug prohibition (including limits on access to prescription drugs), and permit adults (not children) to obtain the drugs necessary to commit suicide. He presents a convincing argument that physician-assisted suicide takes us farther from personal autonomy, making us more dependent and vulnerable. He notes that about a quarter of physicians in Holland, where physician-induced euthanasia is common, admit to having killed a patient without asking for the person's permission. As I write this review the American Medical Association is enlarging its interest in suicide prevention, but Szasz points out that doctors and psychiatrists commit suicide at much higher ratest than the general population. Szasz asks readers to look to the historical record of physician participation in euthanasia (Nazi germany, for instance) to see what moral depravity and mortal mayham have resulted. Szasz flatly supports the right of an individual to commit suicide without interference from physicians, psychiatrists or government. As is always true with Szasz writings, this book is tightly reasoned and beautifully written. It is a work of great compassion and honesty.

Szasz clarifies ethical and practical aspects of suicide
If you are bewildered by the debates over physician-assisted suicide, suicide prevention, and the legal right to suicide, then this book should answer your questions. Szasz demonstrates clearly and logically what a mess we have made of dying and how we can choose ethical, compassionate options that give power to the dying rather than to government and physicians. Why should individuals be deprived of the right to the means of dependable, dignified suicide? What are the dangers of giving doctors the power and tools to kill people? Why are physicians --who are themselves three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population-- the appropriate persons to engage in "suicide prevention"? How is the "war on drugs" stripping us of the power to control pain and death? Szasz tackles these and many other questions. He points out that in Holland, where physician-assisted suicide in common, 23 percent of physicians say they have participated in the killing of a patient WHO DID NOT AGREE TO BE KILLED. Is this compassionate medicine or nazi-style euthanasia? Szasz provides convincing answers to the complete array of questions surrounding suicide.


Glutathione (GSH) : Your Body's Most Powerful Healing Agent
Published in Paperback by G&S Health Books (01 May, 2000)
Authors: Stephen Schettini and Dr. Jimmy Gutman
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Good book, but felt like I was being sold Immunocal
This book has great descriptions of GSH and it's synthesis but Immunocal plays a big part in this book. Since my child cannot tolerate the whey in this product, it didn't help me get any answers.

This is one amazing read!
The increasingly difficult journey to better health starts and ends with glutathione. This critical information is a must for anyone interested in prevention of disease or for those needing information on an existing condition, which may be a result of GSH depletion.You don't have to be a physician, scientist, or involved in the medical profession to grasp a clear understanding of the body's master antioxidant and it's critical role in cellular health, optimum immune response,and as a major detoxifier. It is my Bible to better health.

An incredible synopsis of glutathione research
I have had the pleasure of reading Dr. Gutmans first work with Stephen Schettini, "The Ultimate GSH Handbook." This book helped to dispel a lot of the misconceptions of raising glutathione in the cells and brought to light an incredible amount of research on the subject of glutathione modulation in health and disease. It was, and still is a brilliant piece of work! This newest edition "Glutathione, Your Body's Most Powerful Healing Agent" takes that work to a whole new dimension. BRAVO to Dr. Jimmy Gutman and Stephen Schettini for a profound, penetrating and truly remarkable dissertation on the importance of keeping glutathione levels at an optimum level if you want to remain healthy. Written to be understood by the layperson and yet a practical reference for the medical professional whether they embrace allopathic or naturopathic medicine. This book should be in everyones health library.


Godzilla
Published in Audio Download by audible.com ()
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Godzilla was da Bomb!
I liked this book because it has a lot of action and you never know what will happen next. It makes you jumpy and sometimes gets scary. I really would recommend this book to someone else. (Trust me, You'll love it!)

godzilla was da bomb
it was so exciting yhay i could not put down the book.i liked the part when they were in the tunnel & they turned on the bright lights & honked the horn and scared godzilla. then these f-18's killed godzilla!

Godzilla is one of the best books i ever,ever read!
It's really interesting book.It's much better than a movie,although the movie is not bad, either.This book is going to be interesting to everybody,who loves to read science fiction.I like this book very much.


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