Want to add an excellent reference to your collection of books dealing with the Hollywood Musicals? Then this book is it. Just like those musicals from the golden age of Hollywood, this book has it all. Beautiful photographed images, lots of (techni) colours, stars in their greatest moments. Truly an Oscar winning performance! The book is printed in good quality paper and images are very clear and of good size on each page. Of course it's impossible to include a poster from every musicals in any given year, but the selections Bruce Hershenson made are excellent. A page may contain an average of 5 images while some are giving the full page treatment (e.g. Grease, Singin' In the Rain). Definitely an excellent addition to your library of movie books.

With the notable exceptions of Oliver! (1968), Cabaret (1972), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), Tommy (1975) and Evita (1996), Hollywood has essentially turned its back on a genre that this book re-captures in all its glory. The images are superb, the color and quality are sublime. Though the book is straightforward, a thread of sadness runs subconsciously from its first to its last pages, as one ruminates about what this genre was all about, what it could have been and why it is, for all intents and purposes, dead except on the New York, London and Toronto stages. From Astaire and Rogers to Gene Kelly, Streisand and even the Beatles, it's all covered here. Though it seems awkward to most of today's audiences to see a person in the middle of a scene break out into a song with no band playing behind him on screen, this was the accepted norm and was often the the portion of a film that had an audience soaring in their seats. That such a feeling has all but disappeared makes this book all the more precious, preventing this genre from fading into the wisps of memory. The beautiful thing about this book is the unexpected. Rather than delve into the expected great musicals with the standard American images (which are included in great detail nevertheless), this book includes artwork from other countries, art that is more "in your face" and thought provoking. Who can forget the image used for the Polish version of the 1972 release of "Cabaret?" (Joel Grey's face in the center of four stocking legs bent into the shape of a swastika?) This is the kind of thing that you would never have seen printed or distributed in the U.S., works of art that can only be bought for thousands of dollars today at many of America's biggest auction houses. If you are the least bit interested in the jaw-dropping beauty of what has become a lost art -- the exercise of drawing images associated with the advertising of a Hollywood film -- this is the book to have. This book is part of movie poster maven Bruce Hershenson's exhaustive multi-volume series of books highlighting the history and beauty of what much of mainstream America has only in the last ten years begun to recognize. And that is movie posters are a "popular art" form that can stand proudly next to all other styles of art from gothic to modern, from expressionist to impressionist. Great film art borrows from all of these styles and this volume, which focuses only on posters associated with musicals, illustrates innumerable examples whereby despite the restrictive nature of the genre (musicals), not all posters went in the same direction in terms of style and presentation. From Shall We Dance to A Star is Born, from 42nd Street to Yellow Submarine, Hershenson and Allen have built an incredible archive (and legacy) of images in all of their books, capturing a period (when all posters were drawn by hand and then printed, as opposed to today's method of using photographic stock and manipulating them digitally and printing them by the thousands) that would otherwise be lost forever. A fine book for any collector (get the hardcover edition if you can, it's harder to find; if Amazon doesn't have it, it's available from Mr. Hershenson directly at mail@brucehershenson.com).

The best Musical Movie Poster book available today! This book has it all. Beautifully photographed and reproduced in great color this book reveals the outstanding artists, designers and photographers that created movie poster "Works of Art" from the early days of movie musicals to the current. A"must have" for the movie memorabilia collector and movie musical fan. Superb!

This book helped me learn to use this package in just a matter of days. The book is loaded with exercises that enabled me to learn by doing. I highly recomend this book.

This is one of the best technical books I have ever read. It helped me learn this complex topic in a short amount of time. The examples were clear and the provided exercises were great. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about parametric solid modeling.

This book will take the ACAD expert 1 step beyond. If you are proficiant in ACAD, this book will easily transform you into a Mechanical Desktop Pro!!

In modeling there is no other book I would have at my desk than the Mechanical Deesktop 3.0 Assembly Modeling Manual from the Technical Learningware Company. The authors really know there stuff.

This manual has been the standard for the training that I send all of my employees to and the return on investment cannot be beat.

This is a wonderfully funny book, which appeals to all children -- but has a special magic for families affected by cancer. Bruce is a loveable character, who is embarassed when his antlers fall out. His friends offer lots of suggestions, which result in the ridiculous and amusing, made even more comical by the pop-up illustrations. This book was recommended to us by a social worker as her favorite for reading with her children when she lost her hair during a course of chemotherapy treatment. Humor is healing! This book would also be instructional for children (or adults!) who are embarassed by their appearance for whatever reason.

An excellent 3D surface modeling course. Easily assimilated material. Allows both student and professional to quickly familiarize themselves with the functions and commands, then continues to serve as an online/offline reference. All of the examples within the textbook are on the cd -- complete with multimedia demonstrations.

We-ef Lighting co.,Ltd. 57 Moo 5 Kingkaew Road, Bangplee Samutprakarn, 10540 Thailand.

You can hear the compassion and conviction in Bobby's voices. I have listened to these two tapes many times over... I've read the speeches in text ... but nothing is like listening to Bobby's voice, slightly shaken, slightly rushed, but always genuine and sincere. Bobby Kennedy is an American leader. Though his short life span did not allow him to accomplish enough, his vision and integrity examplified what spiritual growth could be. Even with all the mistakes he might have made, you could never doubt his conviction and his good will towards all mankind. Listen to his voice, not just his words ... and let his voice give you a desire to give more than what you are required ... to live for something greater than ourselves. Even in death, Bobby left the youths of every generation the challenge, a torch to carry on.

I bought and read this book with enthusiasm because of my 35 years living and travelling in Africa, where sunbirds predominate. The illustrations are excellent and the text is as well. This is probably the most colorful of all the family books being issued by Yale, Princeton, and Oxford. Following Sibley and Monroe's DNA analysis, they have finally but the two African sugarbirds in the Sunbird family, with only generic status. They have previously been put as far away as Honeyeaters and Starlings. It would be lovely if the range maps could be put on the pages facing the illustrations, to help differentiate birds of similar appearance, but I guess this was not possible. The maps themselves are very good. Altogether, one of the best family books and a must for collectors.

A Day Late and A Dollar Short delineates the trials and tribulations of the Price family. The story is told through the eyes of each member of the family. Viola, the headstrong matriarch is the centerpiece. She's opinionated and very involved in the lives of her kids and of course she knows what's best for all of them. Cecil, her estranged husband, whose trying to find his way, with a new woman and a new family. Lewis is the trifling son of Viola and Cecil with a high IQ and a penchant for trouble. Janelle, the youngest and most spoiled of the bunch prides herself on having a fit body but whose mind appears to have a screw loose. Charlotte who shares a birthday with her mother, has a "stable" marriage, but happens to believe that her mama and her sisters are constantly trying to one-up her and rub her nose in it. Finally there's perfect Paris, the first born, a single divorced parent, well off, and always doing the right thing in the eyes of folks, but isn't truly happy.

McMillan allows each person a clear voice in the book and each is able to reveal their insecurities, their fears, their loves, their talents and of course their secrets. All of them really just want to be loved and hold a special place in the heart of their mama Viola. This story touches on universal themes that can affect families of any race, chronic illness (Viola's asthma), molestation and sexual abuse, deadbeat dads, loneliness, sibling rivalry, and the affects of birth order on personality. The central character Viola, is like most our mothers, she may work your nerves but you love her and she's almost always right

This book reads quite differently from McMillan's previous work. Though still conversational in tone, the story is more complex due to the viewpoints provided by each of the characters. Any reader of this book will see traces of their own family within it and will laugh and cry as they watch the Price family fight, reconcile and learn to love each other with the mother serving as the glue that brings them all together.

Viola price is the matriarch of a fairly typical family. Now that the children are grown and moved away, husband Cecil has left her in search of lost youth. Her only son Lewis is the family scapegoat, always in trouble, not living up to his potential. Paris, the first-born is trying to be the perfect one, while Janelle is trying to devine her place in the world, and Charlotte is just plain mad for being overlooked all these years. As it has been all her mothering life, Viola knows that she doesn't have enough time or energy or money, and heavens knows she can't make her children's lives better. If anything, Viola's plainspokeness has made it even harder for her to reach her children. Each family member is struggling to cope with their own life, and their worries about their mother and her asthma. It is an acute asthma attack that first brings this family back together, and sets in motion the events that shake them out of their comfort zones. Terry McMillan has written an energetic tale of family life. It is a compelling read, very character driven and each character has a distinct voice. It is a tale of the bonds that tie families together and the love that can't fix everything, but can make a life worth living.

Beginning with "Mama" ( 1987) and on through "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (1996), few have plumbed the richness of contemporary African-American experience as ably as Terry McMillan. She has done it with grace, humor, style, truth, and an exacting ear for dialogue.

Those with ears to hear will listen and re-listen to this superb rendering of her latest tale, which unflinchingly deals with many of the ills that beset us - sorrow, unfaithfulness, addiction, self-deception, untruthfulness, anger. Yet, over and above all of these tribulations, Ms. McMillan shows us the astounding power of resiliency and love.

Viola, a seemingly-impossible-to-capture family matriarch and the mainspring of this story, is indelibly captured by the performances of TV actress Desiree Coleman and film and TV actor M E. Willis. Ranging from razor sharp to coy to vitriolic to forgiving, their voices bring this family drama to life.

Author McMillan joins actors Alfre Woodard and Richard Allen to read the abridged version. As vibrant as her prose, Ms. McMillan's voice adds impact to these adaptations.

"Right As Rain" introduces private investigator Derek Strange, a middle-aged black ex-cop hired to investigate the death of young black cop Chris Wilson at the hands of young white cop Terry Quinn. The story takes place in the racially divided inner-city neighborhoods of Washington, DC, and the author places racial issues front and center throughout, adding to the tension inherent in encounters among characters existing on the fringes of society. The Washington streetscape is described in such detail that I feel like I would recognize every city block were I to find myself in Strange's neighborhood. It's not an idealized capital city but rather one in which vibrant ungentrified neighborhoods give way to filthy ruins dominated by the drug trade. The story is told in tough, spare prose, and even the good guys are men of action, not introspection. They place great importance on musical tastes, but otherwise are more likely to express their feelings by hitting someone, taking a drink, or visiting a prostitute. In the course of the investigation, Strange and Quinn develop a tentative friendship across generational and racial lines, and much of the book involves their negotiating boundaries of trust. Which leads to my complaint - there is an awful lot of driving around listening to music relative to the amount of plot and character development. Perhaps future installments, in which Strange and Quinn's relationship will already have been established, will have more real story.

Oddly, no one from DC has thrown in their 2 cents on the latest Pelecanos book, so I guess I'll give it a shot. I've lived in DC for 20 years, my family is from here, and Pelecanos is only the second author I've come across who writes about the DC that I know and recognize (the other Edward Jones, check out his story collection "Lost in the City" if you can find it). In this new book, he steps away from his established characters Nick Stefanos and Dmitri Karras, and launches a new duo, black, middle-aged PI Derek Strange, and younger, white ex-cop Terry Quinn. Through them, and the story of Chris Wilson, an off-duty black cop shot by Quinn, Pelecanos displays the racial awkwardness and tension that pervades Washington, D.C. The central message of the book is that everyone, regardless of race, carries preconceptions with them about other groups. That doesn't make them racist-that term is reserved for those who carry hatred in their hearts.

Strange is hired to investigate the shooting of her son, Chris Wilson, leading him to Quinn, who works in a little used bookstore in Silver Spring (Like all the locations in the book, the store really exists, it's a few blocks from my office and I sometimes swing by on my lunch break). The two men fall into an uneasy partnership as this discover more about he events that led to Quinn's killing of Wilson. They make an engagingly effective odd couple as they verbally spar with one another about race, underneath their respective flaws, they're good men. At the same time, both men are struggling to make relationships work, Strange with his divorcee secretary, and Quinn with a Latina student/waitress. As with most of Pelecanos's men, they often make selfish or simply clumsy moves in looking for love. And like most of those same guys, they have well-defined tastes in music, cars, movies, and books.

Following the tone of Pelecanos's previous work, what is gradually revealed is a sordid tale of drugs and corruption, with some powerful drug pushers, and a few violent rednecks. All this unfolds in a world instantly recognizable to Washington natives, where drug dealers work in the open, neighborhoods revolve around local restaurants, and corruption has spread to even the upscale oases (the well-known high-end restaurant Red Sage being one example). As we have come to expect from Pelecanos, everything comes together in a cinematic violent climax offering some attempt at justice. If you've read and enjoyed previous books of his, you're likely to enjoy this one as well. It's got two great new characters, and is a bit more explicit in examining racism, but is otherwise very much in keeping with his previous work.

This is the first story I've read by the highly regarded George Pelecanos. It is found in an "Advanced Reading Copy" that also contains "Hell To Pay", his next book, which is scheduled for publication in February, 2002.

"Right As Rain" is gritty, often humorous in a perverse sort of way, but still able to seriously address the issue of racism. Set in the mean streets of Washington D.C., Derek Strange is hired to find the daughter of a Black cop who, while off duty was killed by White policeman, Terry Quinn. Derek meets Quinn and wonders if he is racist or if he is being judged unfairly. Quinn and Strange begin to work together and uncover a father son duo that brings out the best of Pelicanos' descriptive writing skill. They are Earl and Ray Boone and are working for Colombian drug suppliers by delivering product to Afro American dealers. The Boones are portrayed to a T in appearance and dialogue as poor white trash; anti-social personalities who aren't too bright and let their basic human drives govern their crass behavior. Without spoiling the story, I'll just say that all the pieces, including themes of trust, friendship, and justice are expertly brought together in the book's climax and the stage appears set for future Strange-Quinn interactions.