Finally, a compilation of Howe's fantasy, and 144 pages, at that! I admit that this review is premature, but I am totally excited to snag this new arrival...

John Howe and Alan Lee are the indisputed masters of "Lord of the Rings" artwork. And this fantastic compilation of Howe's artwork, of all kinds, is a wonderful collection of artwork by an immensely talented artist. (And a cute part at the end has photographs of Howe in armor)

A great deal of the book is devoted to Middle-Earth and J.R.R. Tolkien's works. There are the creepily reptilian dragons, spiders chasing hobbits, the majestic Elves, several different incarnations of the Balrog and its battle with Gandalf, the black-armored and evil Morgoth, the dwarves dining in Bilbo Baggins' hole, a misty Treebeard, Smaug asleep on his glowing gold, the Dark Tower of Mordor with a hissing Fell Beast in front of it... all sorts of goodies. The pictures come from book covers, book illustrations, game boxes, and so forth.

But Howe's artwork is not just for "Rings" and Middle-Earth. Oh no. There are sketches (uncolored) and previously unpublished artwork. There are illustrations from picture books like "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Rip Van Winkle," Howe's fascination with armor and Arthuriana, which includes lots of solid horses, armor, and sword-wielding knights; his illustrations for books by Anne McCaffrey, Robin Hobb, Charles de Lint, Guy Gavriel Kay, Jan Siegel, Margaret Weis, a compilation of Merlin-related stories, and much more.

Howe's artwork has a lot of variety, and many of them look almost like photographs. While you can tell that they're paintings, they're frozen in one second, often in the middle of an action scene. So you almost expect them to start moving. He uses light and shadow expertly, such as in the pic where we see Smaug on his gold -- under his wings, the golden reflection of his treasure is lighting up his face and scales. Or when he is shown attacking Laketown, where everything is dark and shadowy except the fire.

When the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy was given the go-ahead, Howe (along with Alan Lee, ) was hired by filmmaker Peter Jackson to help with the sets and landscaping and other designs. Now Jackson has written a foreword to this book, in which he talks about what a fan he is of Howe's artwork (and was, even before the movies!), and how his artwork served as a guide of sorts to how certain things should look. (Such as Ian McKellen's "Gandalf" look, which was based on Howe's famed picture of the wise old wiz) And the afterword was by fellow artist and friend Alan Lee, who describes how they met in New Zealand in 1998, starting work on the movies, and praises Howe for his energy and skill.

This is a fantastic read for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, not to mention people who enjoy good artwork and fantasy/SF pictures. A lush, fantastical book of dragons, halflings, Elves and suits of armor. Marvelous.

I shall just get right to the point: if you are fascinated by the world of Tolkien or just like to read books with some extraordinary fantastic art, this is the book for you.

This book shows you a collection of the art of John Howe, a well-known artist of fantasy art, and someone who designed a lot of visual aspects in the Lord of the rings movies. It contains lots of artwork that has to do with the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, but also some of Howes other work with various subjects.

I can really recommend this almost everybody,because it's just fun to have this for the pretty pictures. The impressive things are not only the detail, the design and the colorscheme, but also the fact that the work really seem to show a certain greatness and movement. They make you believe that those moments were keymoments in the history of some other world.

This a MUST-HAVE.

The 9th Edition of the "Comic Buyer's Guide Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide" for 2003 covers comic books from 1961 (i.e., the birth of Marvel) to the present. The basic purpose here is to includes individual listings for more than 100,000 comics broken down by Good, Fine and the proverbial Near-Mint. Most of the time you will find out both the month and year of publication for particular issues. With most of the superhero comics, especially those from DC and Marvel, there is information about specific guest appearances by other characters (so this will tell you about Spider-Man crossovers but nothing about Betty and Veronica). Abbreviations identify artists from Alfredo Alcala (AA) to Wally Wood (WW), as well as issue information on everything from O (Origin of) and W (Wedding) to 1 (first appearance of) and D (Death), as well as HOL (Hologram cover) and N (New costume). In other words, there is a lot of information available from Maggie Thompson et al. besides the basics.

Additionally the opening section of the volume answers a series of fundamental questions (e.g., What is the "Silver Age"?) and tells you want to pay attention to if you are new to collecting (cover variants, issue condition, etc.). There is also a Photo Grading Guide and Guide to Defects that will help you grade your comics, along with a system for maintaining an inventory of your collection. Each two page spread includes one small comic book cover in the upper right hand corner of the right page, which give you glimpses of both classic issues of Batman and forgotten titles like "Gold Key Spotlight" featuring Tom, Dick and Harriet. Consequently this is a solid volume that can be used to keep track of what you have and what you need to track down: already I have been using it to make a list of issues I need to pick up because stories begin in comic books I am collecting but then get continued in some title I pass on. At 800 pages this might be a bit much to tote around to Comic Book shows and conventions, but the alternative is copying all this information into some other format.

I want the prices to the comic books

The Growing Edge is a magazine designed and published for readers with an interest in gardening, horticulture, and hydroponics. The Best of Growing Edge II: Popular Hydroponics and Gardening for Small-Commercial Growers and Hobbyists is a compilation of the best of the magazine's articles originally published between 1994 and 1999. The various articles are grouped into chapters: Introduction to Hydroponics; The Basic Elements of Hydroponics; Building Your Own System; Plants You Can Grow Hydroponically; Breeding and Propagation; Pest & Disease Control; Greenhouse Management; Organics and Hydroponics; Beyond the Basics; Small Commercial Growers; Hydroponics in Education and Public Service. The Best of Growing Edge II is an essential title for personal, professional, academic, and public library hydroponic gardening and horticultural reference collections.

The Best of Growing EDGE is a collection of the best articles, by twenty four different authors, from the first five years of Growing EDGE magazine. It covers hydroponics, greenhouses, nutrients, lighting, and other new and innovative techniques to use in high tech gardening and horticulture. Since the articles are from the first five years of Growing EDGE magazine, each chapter is a comprehensive compendium of cutting edge horticulture without going over the edge! New and innovative seems to be the keyword here. The mainstream gardening magazines and books cover the tried and true techniques of gardening; The Best of Growing EDGE covers the new and innovative. The information can be used by both hobby home gardeners and large commercial growers. The techinques are the same, it is just the scale of the operation that is different. Gardening is possible year round with the information contained in this book

Mr. Jackson did excellent research for this book. I have numerous ancestors mentioned in the book and even had a picture of one that I had never seen before. Anyone interested in the history of the Western Mt, Idaho and Eastern WA area, will need to read this book. I hope that the Author publishes more material from his research.

From the book, I found out that the Metis of the Pacific Northwest formed many communities in that area. My great-grandparents were born in Walla Walla, WA. and we were told that they were French- Canadian and "Black Irish". I read that in Walla Walla, is where they founded communities and that they hid there ancestry and called themselves French-Canadian. So, on reading this, I found out that the missing part to my full heritage was actually a mixture of French and Native American Indian. I owe a great gratitude to Mr. Jackson. Thank-you!!! Sean

Harlem is the center of black culture and history: Harlem World reveals a probe of the region which uses interviews with a cross-section of Harlem residents to offer new insights into the lives and attitudes of modern Harlem dwellers. What evolves is a multi-faceted examination of new Harlem lifestyles.

Jackson's Harlemworld examines Harlem, both as an actual place and as a mythical "hyperscape," to assess the ways in which concepts of racial and socioeconomic identity are conceived, articulated, and performed in contemporary America (19). For Jackson, Harlem is a site that illuminates the ways that people employ multi-layered ideas of racial belonging, being, and doing in their everyday lives. Here, people "do" race and class; for Harlemites--residents of the actual Harlem and African diasporic subjects who inhabit Harlem as an imaginary home--black identity functions not as a static, coherent essence but rather as a set of "skills and cultural practices" that people act out in distinct ways (63).

Jackson's theory of social identity situates itself somewhere in between (or decidedly outside of) recent academic debates about culture and identity. His notion of performative social identity works through and against Pierre Bordieu's habitus, Michel Foucault's discourse analysis, and Judith Butler's performativity. Jackson's field research--involving interviews with both long-time and new residents of the neighborhood--uncovers a community in which black people move between socioeconomic echelons, building and maintaining both complex social networks and complex notions of what constitutes blackness.

Harlemworld is a refreshing and extraordinary addition to a growing discourse on identity and everyday life in America. Jackson's fascinating prose allows Harlemworld and its readers to navigate a complex field of theoretical formulations with grace. It will easily get added onto sociology, anthropology and cultural studies reading lists, as it makes possible new and interesting readings of race and class in this country.

One of the best journals of the early gold rush that includes a series of letters written by Doble before and during the Civil War. Poor spelling, no punctuation as Doble recorded his day-to-day experiences as a miner. His descriptions of life and times, of bonanza and borrasca, of the wagon trains arriving, and especially his description of his cabin, are classic. I have lived in Volcano, and spent many hours searching out the places described. After reading of his anguish over the death of his good friend, I went to the cemetery and found the tombstone placed there by him.

Living history as many of the places described in the book remain, but written from a perspective long lost.

My father and I got excited when we ran across this book documenting the exploits of John Doble in the gold country of Pine Grove, California.

Doble's Journal documents his search for gold specifically in the Pine Grove, Jackson areas. One could take this journal and retrace Doble's steps to find the best areas to prospect.

I definitly would add this one to my prospecting reference library.

That's Denzel Washington (not Eric Clapton) teaming his prodigious talents with those of blues legend B.B. King in this powerful retelling of the classic American legend. This is another treasure from Rabbit Ear productions: a beautifully illustrated book that can be read on its own, or with the included cassette. Go for the cassette first: You'll be treated to Denzel Washington's warm, rich, folksy, awe-struck, conversational narration.

"So y'all listen up, 'cause I'm gonna tell you the guaranteed, gold plated, ninety-nine-point-nice percent truth about John Henry."

Then, enjoy the inimitable riffs of B.B. King, as he and his guitar (presumably "Lucille") sing out with the pure, clear, authenticity of the blues: "My name is John Henry. I'm a born natural man. I was born one morning with a hammer in my hand . . . " This is collector material.

John Henry's triumph defends the dignity and perseverance of human labor against the encroaching machine. In its own small way, with a low-tech assist from the aural majesty of Washington and King, this volume preserves and extends the pleasures of the written page.

John Henry is one of the best Rabbit Ears titles - which is saying a lot. BB King is wonderful; Denzel Washington is wonderful. I'm not writing this for me - but if my 8 year old goes to sleep to it every (I mean, make sure you rewind that tape) night, then it is a wonderful book

The Journalist's Craft is writers writing for writers -- and aspiring writers. Mark Bowden writes about how he researched his best-selling Blackhawk Down. Jim Naughton, a legend at the New York Times and at the Philadelphia Inquirer, talks about writer insecurity. John Sweeney, whose innovative writer's workshops made excellent coaching affordable even for small newspapers, explains how to tell a story so your listeners will stick around till the end. I especially loved Dennis Jackson's explanation of cadence. It was worth the price of the paperback just to read reporter extraordinaire Hugh Mulligan's recounting of the writing tips James Jones and John Steinbeck gave him.

How can writers produce better stories? The Journalist's Craft provides a writing toolbox filled with tips, first person insights into nonfiction story writing, guides to narratives and influential works of nonfiction, and general surveys of the craft. An important, revealing handbook for any aspiring writer.

"Leading for a Change" by Ralph Jacobson is like having your own consultant working with you. Ralph makes the book "user friendly". He presents the reader with a "bag of tools" from which he/she can pick and choose those that meet their specific needs. Mr. Jacobson has brought together sound theory on leadership with practical approaches for operationalizing change. I would guess he has been able to synthesize theory and practice because he himself has worked both in HR and as a consultant...he seems to know both sides of the equation. This book gives the reader some special insights into "what may work" and what won't in your specific circumstance. He organizes the book in a way that makes it a handy reference book...one you can pull off the shelf and remind yourself as to how you may want to approach a leadership issue. I would recommend this as reading to anyone who has concerns about how to maximize leadership potential...either on a personal basis or for your company.

Ralph Jacobson is among the very top thinkers in organizational and leadership development today. Working in Customer Relationship Management, where organizational change and leadership challenges are everywhere, I appreciate both the wisdom and practicality he offers. I'm going to make this book required reading for all my clients.

This is a must read for those who appreciate interdisciplinary studies and want to understand the global economy, law, and politics. It offers an excellent balance; big enough to offer a lot of detail yet not too ponderous. Although it is very readable (not too technical), it's not a lap read.

This book is one of the best texts about international economic law. This book will help those who study international economic law to understand what is the legal problems of this world of globalization.