Lions and tigers an bears? Oh my! Add Munchkins and Winged Monkeys and a Horse of a Different Color to the list. This is Oz Country, and things simply don't get better than this. To celebrate the centennial of the publication of L. Frank Baum's novel (and the 60th anniversary of the classic MGM flick), preeminent Oz historian John Fricke has written a glorious homage of all things fun and fantastical. Not only does the book offer a fascinating chronicle of the Ozian phenomenon, but the illustrations, culled from Willard Carroll's priceless collection of more than 10,000 museum-quality pieces, are breathtaking. Oh Auntie Em, there's no place like home . . . provided you're snuggled up in front a fire with this gem.

With Willard Carroll's Oz collection as a backdrop, John Fricke has cataloged the fabric of Frank Baum's stories of Oz. I am certain that Frank Baum could not have been aware this fabric would become a great tapestry upon which the world could identify what it meant to be human. Oz has permeated our society with its influence. It is found in our languages, our politics, human behavior, and is probably used more often as a simile than any other imagery in our language.

From the opening pages of this book to the last, the book is a compelling journey through Oz. The collection of Mr. Carroll's Oz memorabilia is so large that it is like trying to comprehend the distance between stars or that a few people actually have a billion dollars. This colligation of Oz collectibles somehow unites every civilization, geographic location, and human condition. It is one of the few things that have true universality.

After reading John Fricke's take on Oz, of course, based on Willard Carroll's collection, I am left wondering how history would be different were it not for Frank Baum's Oz?

The pictures are glorious, the layout intelligent and thoughtful-I will never see Oz in quite the same way again. John Fricke's writing is stellar. Willard Carroll's collection ---what can I say, WOW! 100 years of Oz is entertaining, educative and provides a new look at Frank Baum's Oz through the other end of the spyglass. This is a visit to a museum with a very knowledgeable guide through an unforgettable exhibit. Thanks for the tour. I'll be back again.

This book is a must for all collectors.

"100 Years of Oz" is a delight for everyone who has ever fallen in love with "The Wizard of Oz" (which includes just about everyone.) The success of the book lays in John Fricke's capabilities as a writer. His words are consise, thoughtful, and honest. The photographs, likewise, catch the eye like flashes of brilliant light. It is not easy to take one of America's most chershed series of books, its favorite film, and 100 years of mechandising and condense it all into one volume. Thankfully, Mr. Fricke has done that- impeccably. Buy this book today. I highly recommend it to everyone as an example of first class research. Above all, it is a time capsule of memories. Fricke will long be heralded as "Oz"'s best friend. Congratulations to all who made this book such a beautiful addition to my library.

Not that the author is telling anything new. Most politicians have always been vermin, addicted to money, power and fame at the expense of the public. But every once in a while people needed to be reminded of this. This book is somewhat disjointed, so much so that you might as well not even try to follow it chronologically. But he makes many important points, the most important of them being that most politicians do not care about anything except themselves. What was an epiphany for Jackley when when he realized "they do not care about the children" (which is one of politician's favorite lies). Jackley, who worked for three Democrats, never comes out and says it, but from what he writes it is apparent that Democrats are by far worse than Republicans. He should know, with first-hand experience. This is a scary book. Most politicians don't even know what they are talking about; they spend all their time trying to enrich themselves and stay in office. They pass laws they know nothing about. They leave everything up to their assistants (the "Hill Rats" of the title). After reading this book it's obvious the only solution for the federal government is to shut about 75 percent of it down. It's never going to be reformed. Jackley points out the best way to look at anyone in Congress is to think, "He's a liar only out for himself." This is a truth that I doubt will ever change.

Jackley writes an unsmiling portrait of the modern congressional office. His anecdotes from the Hill feel real and will make you feel ill. Once you read this book, you'll really appreciate why so many people feel disaffected from government.

After having read the book, I saw Jackley on CSPAN. He gave an address where you could write him and said that he would try to answer. I did write him and he did answer -- in longhand!

Jackley recounts his career as a press secretary for various Democratic congressmen during the 1980's. Congressmen are whores for honoraria and junkets from the industries they regulate, CSPAN time, and enough campaign contributions to ensure that they remain among the 96% re-elected. Their staffers, the "Hill rats", are whores for receptions where the lobbyists buy shrimp. Every few pages, you learn about another perk the separates Congress from the rest of us. Maybe it is the IRS opening an office in the Cannon House Office Building to help members and staff prepare their taxes. Or perhaps the Congressionally-funded FAA traffic controller revoking the landing clearance of a commercial jet so that Congressman Ron Coleman (D-TX) wouldn't have to circle. I grew up in Washington, D.C., so I thought that I didn't have anything more to learn about politicians. Jackley's strangely apolitical work casts a very different light on the people we thought we knew.

(note, I wrote more about this on my site, http://photo.net/philg )

This book is loaded with technical information for the dratsman and designer. A must have for anyone who is in the mechanical technology field.

This text was the basic drafting manual that I used during my technical education; its use did not end with school, however, since I refer to it frequently in my occupation. It tells everything that needs to be explained and described in the general drawing problems that might be encountered in industrial practice. It contains excellent descriptions and illustrations for: Drawing Threads, Fasteners & Springs Geometric Constructions Clear, Concise instructions in using Drafting Instruments, (before the time of Computer Aided Drafting & Desing, in any case). An Excellent overview of the Industrial Design & Development Process, (which I wish my supervisors would read). Sectional Drawing. This book is to drafting what Machinery's Handbook, of the Industrial Press, is to the metal working industries. There are a variety of Drafting Textbooks available, but none are incrementally better, let alone drasticaly better.

it's a complete book, not to deep, but enough to over view advetising.

presents theory and practice in a easy-to-learn form.

i use it with my students, with very good results.

I would like to find out if you have a CD-ROM or on-line of the newest version "Principles of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology"?
Thank you in advance for your response.

The fourth edition of this classic text is now available and it is even better than previous editions. Many chapters have been rewritten and new authors add significantly to the current edition.

After I read this book the first time, I donated it to a local nature center library. But a part of it stayed with me, and I found myself thinking about it and occasionally sharing it with others. So when I saw another copy of this volume in a used bookstore, I scooped it up for myself. I stood there and thumbed through the pages until I found it -- Chapter 10, "Flying Squirrels: Phantoms of the Night," the story of a young flying squirrel named Hepsey. John Terres had the opportunity to keep Hepsey almost like a pet for most of her life. While that kind of arrangement is generally not a good one for human or for wild creature (and would easily have been fodder for a 1960s Disney film), Terres learned quite a bit about squirrels that a more formal study might not have revealed. He wondered about her nut-hiding talent, for example. So he put 100 hickory nuts out on a table and left the house. When he came back, each nut was hidden somewhere -- in a shirt pocket, in a shoe, etc. He put another 100 nuts out that same night, and they disappeared as well. Based on Hepsey's behavior, Terres projected that a typical squirrel could probably store 10,000-12,000 nuts in one winter season. A fascinating tidbit of information like that sticks in your head. But the fun of it all is in his narration of the escapade and of other Hepsey happenings. That chapter is arresting enough to warrant reading aloud during a nature center program.

Terres' ruminations and nature observations are based on his rambles through the North Carolina landscape. "How Vultures Find Their Prey" is another interesting test (by sight or by smell?) that you will remember. But it's Hepsey who will capture your imagination.

Terres, who was editor-in-chief at Audubon, spent a decade wandering the Mason Farm Biological Reserve in Chapel Hill, NC. The former farm was donated to the University of North Carolina to allow students to observe the wildlife there. Terres, likewise, set out to chronicle the life he found there, hiding in blinds, perching in tree stands, etc.. & he offers a wonderful account of his observations.

He describes each of the seasons & then gives detailed descriptions of the lives and habits of some of the farms residents: flying squirrels, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, cottontail rabbits, and the like. He came to know some of these creatures individually, including a heroic black turkey and his own pet flying squirrel. He endows them with personality and character and, like him, we start rooting for them in their struggles to survive.

GRADE: B+

Professor Brinkley has chronicaled the life of Hampden-Sydney, one of the last bastions of rational learning in a sea of trendy educational ideas. The book is not scintilating, but it explains how and why such a unique institution came to by in the rolling hills of Southside Virginia. His attention to detail is mind numbing, as should be expected, I suppose, of a work decades in the making. For Hampden-Sydney alumni, friends and family, it is surely a tome worth hefting