"Chase Complete" more than lives up to its title; it is a comprehensive reference for the Chase collector and for anyone interested in the consumer products manufactured by Chase Brass in the 1930's and early 1940's. It is a meticulously researched book, richly illustrated by professional photographs of almost uniformly top quality examples. It is well written with wit and humor. No self-serving author-collector rhetoric here. Five stars for sure!

EXCELLANT! THE most comprehensive and thoroughly researched book on the Chase Brass & Copper Company available. Wonderful information on the history of the company and the industrial designers responsible for the innovative & modern designs. Also included are reproductions of original Chase sales brochures and the retail sales sites. High quality photography along with detailed identifications make this book extremely helpful to collectors. Looking forward to seeing the follow up book on Chase lamps.

As a collector of Art Deco, I really enjoyed this book. Very good photogaphy and very well written. The author did a lot of homework in preparing this. A great book for Art Deco collectors.

Although there is really nothing revolutionary about "Revolutionizing IT", this is a good book for seasoned and war-torn IT professionals as well as end-users frustrated with their IT departments. It offers some *evolutionary* ideas on how to improve project and support methodologies based on the experience of the Andrews Consulting Group.

Several principles put forth are those many of us already knew but never mentioned out loud.

•Despite how much time, money, and attention given at the outset of the project, it is impossible to create a complete plan and cost estimate for an IT project.
•Any complex design will be imperfect.
•Scope control, although unpopular, is absolutely critical.
•There will never be enough resources available to build the optimum solution.

Some insightful tenets I took away.

•Those most familiar with an existing system/design are in a poor position to lead the recommendation of a new one (because of a bias)
•IT professionals like complexity and by their nature tend to bring more complexity into projects.
•Endusers should be 100% accountable for projects.
•Time is a project's worst enemy - as more time passes between approval and deployment, the number of things that can go wrong and the number of assumption that can change increases.

The authors discuss their "RITE Approach", which again is not revolutionary ... or contradictory to other methodologies, but rather offers some common sense best practices that complement waterfall, Agile, and RUP methodologies. The authors self-admittedly bash the waterfall paradigm, but then come back and confess that the waterfall is the foundation of all PM methodologies.

Good book to read to insure you're on the right track ...

This is one of the most practical books on the topic I have read, and I have been following and participating in this field, and following writing on the subject, since Fred Brooks taught us fledgling programming managers in IBM about the mythical man-month and other programming project realities.

This book is being routed throughout my IT department -- managers, developers, infrastructure and support people. I suggest they read the last chapter first as it is an excellent summary and reference checklist of the points Andrews and Johnson bring to the reader.

Key reminders and points made and expanded upon, for me, include:
1) Just do it -- the perfect solution is never available.
2) Know what goes wrong and what goes right and manage accordingly.
3) Control scope creep, probably the greatest weakness of all of us IT managers who want to be loved by our customers.
4) Managing programmers -- "junior programmers run the world" making those detailed, seemingly low level decisions that can compromise a project implementation.

This is not only a great read but an excellent reference manual for experienced and new IT managers alike -- one of those books we should each read every year! Well done, guys.

You have to like any book that is what it claims to be, and Revolutionizing IT is exactly what it claims to be. After reading this book and recently completing a 10 week course based on its contents I can say happily that it will "change the way you think about the management of any complex task, especially if it involves Information Technology."

Written for a non-technical management audience, its best attribute is the multitude of genuinely useful examples that illustrate the principles of the authors' RITE approach in detail for serious understanding. Unlike many books, especially college textbooks, these concrete examples keep the book, which is filled with good project management theory, from becoming merely a set of entertaining but impractical and vague remarks on IT as some books are.

Of course, while these qualities are helpful for the non-IT managers at whom this book is aimed, I found it to be invaluable for college students planning on entering the business world upon graduation with aspirations toward higher management. Not only does this book help future mangers understand IT, an important task in and of itself, but more importantly it's simply good advice for anyone who will be managing people and major projects in the future.

In my personal experience, Revolutionizing IT has made me very aware of the risks, and how to manage them, involved in any change to an organization that will fundamentally alter the way current staff will be doing their jobs. While this is a good reminder for experienced managers (who should be aware of this already), this advice both on how to look out for and how to deal with potential resistance and hostility toward business process changes is invaluable for future business executives. In fact, as I read the book I found myself wishing I had read it before I embarked on a particularly difficult internship which involved my writing an efficiency audit report for a department within the organization. The report ultimately culminated in the firing of the department manager.

This is a great book, easy to read and full of wisdom hard won through the experience of its authors. Put it into the hands of non-IT managers, especially the ones who are uncomfortable with IT. But first put it into the hands of young business people, even the ones who think they understand computers, because they will need the advice on project and people management.

Justin Swift
Principia College

When I was growing up during the time this show was airing, one of the standard questions among my teenage friends was, who did you have a crush on, Ginger or Marianne? Interestingly, there was almost universal agreement that, although Ginger was hot, Marianne had that girl-next-door wholesomeness and sex appeal, and so she got the vote.

Almost 35 years later this same question came up at a lunch with a bunch of my work associates, most of whom are middle-aged computer geek types or engineers like me. The funny thing was, everybody agreed they still liked Marianne. I guess some things never change.

But after her, the Professor was my favorite character on the program, and years later, when I was a college instructor briefly myself, I attributed it at least partly to the example Russell Johnson set on this show, as silly as that might sound. That maybe, and the original Star Trek, which made science and technology glamorous and sexy and very ungeeklike.

Well, for all those who loved this show like I did and were in some way inspired to do something in their lives because of it, this book is full of great behind-the-scenes stories and trivia about every aspect of the show and characters. This book will be appreciated by all fans of this classic American 60's comedy series.

The first page of my book reads: "To my Great neice Kim--from your Uncle--Russell Johnson The Professor, Love to you" This is a wonderful book and the behind the scenes info is so way cool!!

Of the books on GILLIGAN this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. It's written by a pro who knows 60's TV (Steve Cox) and from an actor's viewpoint, which is a must. The other books are barely readable; this is a quick, fun read and one which is surprisingly moving. Worth the search for it and worth the wait to find. If you love the show, this is your book. Find it!

Any author who tries to su up the life of Robert Johnson is going to have a hard time. The life of this man is a mystery beyond belief. The one thing that stands out is the music. I really feel that owning Johnson music is better than any book. Pick up the two CD set that has the booklet. Read that booklet and then put the CD's in and get ready for an experience this book can not give you. This book is good after you have done this. The music helps explain things a little more.

It's a long way from the Mississippi Delta to Australia but this screenplay allowed me to visualise and feel the passion and raw edge to the music and landscape of Robert Johnson. It seems a shame that no Director has been brave enough to attempt to put this tale onto film as it could surely be an outstanding work if properly attacked. The comprehensive attached notes provide the reader with an opportunity to fill in any gaps in their knowledge to the point where one can almost picture the juke joints with their duelling musicians. The brutality of life in this community was shocking to me and the early death of Robert Johnson now seems to be less of a tragedy and more of an inevitability.

I never read anything like this before--it was like watching an amazing movie in written form. This unique book is an undiscovered gem.

This book was cool man! It's like forget everything because nothing exists, right? I think the only other time I had this much fun was when I whooped Gabe's arse in Power Stone 2.

In regard to the two seminal essays that make up the 100 or so pages of "Plato's Pharmacy" - these are reprints of articles published in the late 1960s, and presumably based on research dating back even earlier.

The historical research behind these essays has dated badly. Much of the argument rests on the notion that, for the Greeks, "pharmakon" signified remedy or poison. It did, but it also could mean painters pigment, perfume, magical talisman (both medical or non-medical, as for example for spell-casting) or intoxicant. The Greek understanding, which continually blurred the understanding of these functions is so significant that is requires extensive analysis (perfumes were frequently added to wines, for example). It is certainly true for Plato. And is not the Republic's "noble lie" described by Plato as a pharmakon? How could Derrida miss that? Plato's Pharmacy, ironically, with its emphasis on this false "remedy" vs. "poison" dichotomy, reproduces Western binary "logocentric" reasoning that deconstruction supposededly circumvents, evades, folds back upon itself, or whatever. For anyone who has followed the current research in cultural anthropology, the history of pharmacology, medicine, and the like, "Plato's Pharmacy" cannot but produce a mix of mirth and annoyance. The Phaedrus, the Platonic dialogue discussed throughout most of "Plato's Pharmacy", is permeated with language and allusions drawn from the Eleusian Mysteries, yet Derrida doesn't even mention the "potion" of Eleusis, the "kykeon" which many ancient sources indicate produced visions, and is now widely believed to have contained ergot of barley, a substance similar to LSD-25. So read these essays only after having taken a pill - of extreme doubt. "Plato's Pharmacy" may be a classic of deconstructionist methodological form, but any connection with Plato's world, or the substance of Plato's thought, is at best tenuous, and certainly suspect.

Reading most of Jacques Dierrda's body of work is a task akin to Chinese water torture. Dierrda's project is to debunk the foundation of Western philosophy by subverting it's classic texts. Dierrida uses deconstructive readings of these texts to point out logical flaws, indeterminate meanings and self referrential errors which call into question all that we understand about the structuralist notion of the relationship of the self to the other. In short, Dierrda may be the most radical thinker in modern history, because the success of his project would leave western civilization in the lurch. If Plato was wrong, then all we have learned from the beginning of philosophy is rendered useless. Barbara Johnson's translation of this difficult text is the best grip on Dierrda's project that I have ever read. Stay away from other intrepetations of Derrida, Johnson's translation is elegant and erudite.

This is a great book, even though it is a copy of the Starlog 3 issue SW technical journals, it is worth the money. I have a problem with this book. It doesn't contain any pictures of Vader's Tie fighter, lightsabers, Vader's helmet.... But what the hell....it contains a lot of other spacecraft and vehicle photos.

The facts are out! This book gives a wider understanding on various aspects of the Star Wars Universe. A great addition to any collection and a helping hand to the confused. BUY IT!! I really recommend it.

This is a wounderfull book for the hard core Star Wars fan. It gives technical maps of everything you would want a technical map on. If you want to know how the sublight drive on the Millenium Falcon works, or the parts of a light saber down to the power cell, this is the book to get. Please help to get this book back in print, it is really worth it!

When I first looked at the title, I thought,"wow, someone has a great understanding of the movement from the Shoalin to other places of Asia, and eventually America." But that was not the case. I feel that the title is misleading, for it hardly describes that at all. The author i felt was way to bias to his style of martial arts, not only, the original forms created in the Shoalin temple. His agruments is basically that all martial artists should learn the traditional Shoalin forms for they hold "special meaning," or that they were created for a "better purpose." In other words, no one must forget them. This is a kind of contradiction to the buddhist thought which is change is inevitable. I have a question, if the purpose of forms a state of focus, a state of meditation, and phyical training, than does it matter what form we as martial artis do? I feel that he is trying too hard to promote his style he trains. Had some good concepts in the book, but the rest has nothing to do with the title, therefore, i feel you need to retitle it. My opinion, Also i found many other things that seemed contratictory to the taoist, buddhist and zen thought, but i will let everyone else figure that out themselves.

Here Nathan Johnson presents his treatis for the relationship between Buddhist philosophy (primarily zen) and martial arts practice. He considers authenticity in forms, and examines meaning and concepts related to shaolin. I don't fully agree with all of his premises, such as the idea that it is more likely a form is "authentic" when its practitioners credit a Buddhist or Taoist creator (many forms were assigned mysterious origin to make the school or founder credible), has a Buddhist name or title (like Ji-on in shotokan), is simple in its movements, etc. However, Johnson is one of the first who has had the time and energy to research his topics, and formulate theories based upon the how and why, as opposed to simply regurgitating and not questioning older information (the tiresome old "sensei said it, so it is true!" routine).

Johnson also examines karate in the greater context of cultural relativity, pondering such oddities as the esoteric meaning of Sanchin kata ("Sanchin is a mandala..."), and tries his hand (well) at debunking many myths and mistaken notions common in karate and kung fu today. Johnson offers advnanced concepts. You don't have to buy all of his theories, but reading this book will definately encourage you to consider your forms and martial arts in general in a new light.

This second volume is also a great improvement upon the first, as Johnson explains all of the things that I felt were lacking in that book. He relates experiences, correspondences, and includes footnotes and a bibliography of sources, crediting quotes sources. Johnson again demonstrates the fundamental forms of Sanchin and Naihanchin with their applications as in his first book "Zen Shaolin Karate", but the reader has the opportunity to consider his ideas in a wider context. Throughout the time I spent reading this work, I was convinced that this is a highly personal effort, sincere and honest to its heart. Not a grain of arrogance or pretentiousness did I encounter in my reading. Johnson is not trying to force feed us, on the contrary I felt he was encouraging the same spirit of research and discovery among those who consider his words. A worthwhile read for the martial artist who is weary of the mundane and repetitive.

I really enjoyed this book. The author, Nathan Johnson is an eloquent writer. The book is written in a narrative that provides detailed historical lineages of the most popular martial art disciplines (Kungfu and Okinawan systems) known throughout the world. Most of the book focuses on the principles of zen. Mr Johnson, demostrates numerous katas and shows how the posture translate into arm twists, throws, and strikes. The application was not design inflict permanent injury rather control. Control rather than injury seems to build his case for the actual intrepretation and purpose of the martial art system. He effectively defends his intrepretations of these kata with philosophical discussions about their historical origins, religious buddist intent, and zen application. It is clear that Mr Johnson believes that spiritual and moral development is the core belief of the Shaolin Martial Art system teachings. He convinces the reader of this fact by dedicating a chapter to discussing why the shaolin martial art system was not a system of combat. Mr. Johnson demostration of pushing hands conveys the message, the tao is the middle way, "not agressive and not passive." The hand transformations where used to understand how to blend with resistence or force, neutralize it, and return it to the sender. The book is about the desire of enlightenment, kindness, and hard work and how to achieve lasting meaning in the study of the martial art system.

The basic storyline is somewhat compelling, but poor grammar and appauling punctuation make it impossible to read this book with any enjoyment. It was obviously published by an independent publisher because the font isn't even consistent throughout the book! I've seen student rough drafts more polished than this book.

Wow-What a great book. Once started I could not put it down. It has it all. The story takes place in KY but it could be any where small town USA. The caricters were well defined and easily relatable.

This book was great! I couldn't put it down. The story line was so intriguing. The characters were well developed and true to real life.

This book is very helpful for starting to learn sign language, but truth of the matter is, all deaf people sign somewhat differently. No matter how much you try to learn, unless you actually communicate with a deaf person who will correct your signing, it's useless. It is a good place to start learning English Sign (uses alot of initialization). I do recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn, but I even more recommend immersing yourself in the deaf culture.

I checked this book out from my local library and I'm enjoying it so much, I'm considering buying it. I have just completed a 4 month American Sign Language course and I found this book to use as a study guide. I have to admit that I find their method of teaching Sign confusing. But I think this is particularly due to the fact that the book incorporates ASL and Exact English (my class instructor was very against the use of Exact English). However as I work through the book, I enjoy that they show both forms of Sign. Particularly since I am interested in becoming an interpreter myself someday and will need to know both. I find the chapter reviews to be excellent - very helpful. An additional plus is the set up of the reviews that give you quick reference to where the signs can be located in the book plus memory aids for the signs. I wouldn't recommend this book as your only tool for studying the language, but I would highly recommend it as an additional tool.

My daughter had the first edition of this book and we had enjoyed working with that. Yet, when we received the second edition it was more compatible to American Sign Language, deleting many of the incidental words (the, to, a, etc.)The review exercises at the end of each lesson offer focused practice on the signs already learned. This enables the reader to quickly use the new words in actual conversation. Although just learning, I have been able to converse somewhat with hearing impaired friends.

First let me say I am in no way a fan of Van Johnson. At best, he was only a slightly talented actor, he was mainly as the author notes a bobby-soxer teen idol who girls of the 1940's briefly made one of the top three box-office draws in America. Teen idols, then as now, are rarely on anybody's list of great actors or of particular interest to anyone outside of contemporary teenaged girls. I only picked up this book because I enjoy reading movie star biographies but I am sorry I wasted my time on this little effort, the very definition of a hatchet job. The author reveals - shock, shock - Van Johnson was a homosexual. Actually, he only manages to be the author of the first biography on Johnson and states this, previous books (including one written by Johnson's stepson) have proclaimed this tidbit and in fact quoting those books is pretty much the limit of Mr. Davis' details on Johnson's homosexuality. Oh, that and a brief, unsourced report that Johnson once propositioned an man in a Texas store. Davis feigns journalistic impartiality but it seems clear his opinion of Johnson as one might expect from a professor at Southern Methodist University or author of book on John Wayne. Practically from the first page it's obvious Davis wants to paint Johnson's as a pathetic, empty life (he certainly gives no evidence on why anyone would be interested in Johnson today, dimissing his talent repeatedly.) Friends of Johnson seem to have been avoided to keep any good words about him out, other than Janet Leigh. One of Davis's main sources is Johnson's ex-wife, from whom he had a very bitter divorce. Davis seems to take everything she has to say as the undiluted truth. Davis keeps up his attack on Johnson right to the last page, proclaiming he is not a legendary figure like John Wayne or Marilyn Monroe (oh no! I thought Van Johnson was one of the five greatest stars ever!!) and as such presumably unworthy of future attention. So what's the point of the book?? He even insults Johnson down to his very last sentence, basically dismissing him as a worthless fake. I never dreamed I would ever have sympathy for a man who has cut off contact with his only child (one of the most unfortunate effects of the divorce) but Johnson's often incredibly sad and hollow life should move many people though clearly not Mr. Davis, who at no point seems to have compassion for Johnson and his life in the closet and the cost of it on him (though he does have sympathy for the other victims of Johnson's private life like his ex-wife and child.) Saddest of all is Van Johnson is still living and around to read this malicious effort. A final word: this book's design and size are appropiately ugly (it's scarcely bigger than a small softcover book, a strange size for a hardcover biography) for such a mean-spirited tome. This is allegedly the first in a series of books on "Hollywood Legends" edited or written by Mr. Davis, one hopes this series ends very soon.

After reading this book, I have come to the opinion that not interviewing the subject of a biography may be the only way to go. Ronald Davis has put together a very objective account of Van Johnson's career and life based upon interviews with many people who had been in close contact with the subject at one time or another. By not interviewing Mr. Johnson, the author has been able to maintain editorial integrity and not present one of those artificially sweet tomes that claw and stick to you like honey fresh from the hive.
The public Van Johnson and the private Van Johnson appear to be two very different people who are diametrically opposed to one another. Is that good or bad? In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. Each reader will come to his/her own conclusion by the end of the book. I walked away feeling really bad about the lousy relationship (or should I say non-relationship) Johnson has with his only daughter and people he should have remained close to. However, I also admire Mr. Johnson's tenacious will to survive and succeed under difficult circumstances.

I grew up watching Van Johnson in the movies, and enjoyed him immensely. The bright, sunny smile, the hair that you just KNEW was red, and the cheerful blue eyes. VJ literally brought out the sun in his films, and for that I thank him. As I grew older, I heard the many "rumours" about him, and essentially dismissed them, feeling it was no one's business but his. At the age of 50, I still feel this way. The book gave us the facts in a caring, considerate way, and there was nothing gratuitous in the way the sexuality issues were handed. Mr. Davis did a wonderful job of research, and told VJ's many fans just how magnificent an actor he really was. Imagine living the role of "Van Johnson", while tormented with confusion, depression and ambiguity.

Kudos to to Schuyler V. Johnson. Her scholarly review and connection to the subject in question got me to buy this book.