This is an enchanting book, so well written and beautifully illustrated and it includes a CD narrated by the author and his niece and nephew. It has a very positive message of the value of perseverace in the face of obstacles. I love this book and have given it to every child I know!!!

Our three-year-old son received this as a gift from Grandma and has been requesting it for reading sessions or listening to the CD version several times a day for the last week and a half. And amazingly, I am NOT sick of it yet.

Very enjoyable encouraging story but not at all preachy. The CD story is one of the best quality pre-read stories I have heard. It has music, sound effects, and several different and very expressive voices participating. At the same time it is not over-the-top detracting from the story itself.

My only critique is that on the CD the page turn signals are very subtle. But my son quickly memorized the book anyway and learned exactly when to turn the pages. Also, unlike some the books-on-tape there is no audio version without page turn signals. Both very minor issues.

This is a great value for both a beautifully illustrated hardcover book and an audio CD. A great gift!

Charming and delightful, Leo encourages self-confidence and perseverance while entertaining its audience. Children that don't usually enjoy books can play the CD, follow the pictures, and hear the story--good for those beginning to read and visually impaired. (Parents will enjoy it too.)

Eric Martin's "Luck" was given to me as a gift for Christmas. On the plane ride home I began to read it, and couldn't put it down. It's one of those rare books that stirs something inside you, where by the end you feel the hot North Carolina sun beating on your back and the dirt of the tobacco fields underneath your own nails. It is not often that you find a story so moving and vividly written that you feel as if you are there with the characters.

As a Duke student, reading this book was truly a gift. Coming from Santa Rosa, in Northern California where migrant workers are part of a very segregated wine-growing community, and also having experiences in North Carolina and Duke, this book really hit home. The drive to help others, the frustration of feeling that the "system" supposed to help you is only working against you, the tragedy of the deck stacked against people born into poverty despite their potential, falling in love....these are all things beautifully crafted into a touching story in "Luck" and coincidentally, things I have experienced during the last couple years I have been at Duke. At times I felt this book couldn't be closer to the experiences I've had.

Even if you have nothing in common with the themes of this book, read it. It is as amazing and touching a novel as you will find. Eric Martin, thank you for a wonderful novel, it has helped me answer questions that previously I felt no one understood.

It's always a treat to find a writer who can tell a good story, but to discover one who can also weave magic with words is doubly so. But perhaps what struck me most was the author's social vision, not a simple idealistic dream or a cynic's rant but a carefully crafted picture of the complexities of life in our multicultural society. An excellent read.

The characters, whether good guys/girls or bad (and sometimes it is hard to tell who is which) are beautifully presented. The reader cares about them, while knowing an inevitable conflict looms to explode their lives and their community. Lyrical, terse writing meshes with a dramatic, tense plot to keep the reader engrossed. What a find!

This is the only book I know of that will give me goose bumps every single time I look thru it. Mark Seliger captures something brillant in every photograph in this book. What an amazing gift he has. If you or anyone you knows is a fan of photography or of music this book is a M-U-S-T!!!! You just CAN NOT go wrong with this book.

Physiognomy is "discovering temperment and character from outward appearance." Mark Seliger in the epilogue talks about how he sees his role as a photographer as to "deliver the essence." These portraits of celebrities magnificently fulfill that mission.

Before going further, let me note that this book contains much discrete male and female nudity, some violent images, and one impolite gesture. If this book were a movie, it would probably receive an "R" rating.

Mark Seliger is one of the very best of the current celebrity phtographers, a talent that has won him the role of chief photographer for both Rolling Stone and Us. You will enjoy both Mr. Seliger's epilogue, where he describes the development of his career, and Eric Bogosian's introductory commentary on the book's contents. Both explore the notion of finding the reality of the person's character.

Mr. Seliger has a particularly playful side that is wonderfully displayed in the book. For example, his portrait of Keith Richard makes him look like a jealous wife flirting with the image of a brooding Mick Jagger. In another case, the energy of Ringo Starr's drumming is captured by displaying him with four arms, hands, and drum sticks! One of the most humorous is an opening sequence of a bare Ben Stiller, first as an ape-man, then as a human.

The facing pages are brilliant. In most situations, they mirror each other by either portraying the same image, but with a different style, or having the two images interact as though they were one image.

One of Mr. Seliger's strengths is that he has a wide range of talent. His color photographs are powerfully effective in ways that most photographers can only accomplish in black-and-white. He can also do simple face shots, or complex compositions. I can think of no other currently popular photographer with nearly this range of effective style. One of my favorite examples of this range is that he has a beautiful shot of Jennifer Aniston in the buff, discretely displayed. At first you are inclined to think of it as a "beauty" shot, and then suddenly you realize that it's really a play on all of those photographs that parents take of their young children lying bare on a rug.

Mr. Seliger is equally adept at the dark side. Sean Penn's volatile personality is nicely captured in a brooding photograph of him pulling on a cigarette. Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg show up looking like they are relaxing during a rumble looking for trouble. "Don't mess with me" is written all over their faces and bodies.

Here are some of my other favorites:

Fiona Apple, Los Angeles, 1997

Bob Dylan, Los Angeles, 1998

Michael J. Fox, Burlington, Vermont, 1993

Merle Haggard, Lake Shasta, California, 1994

Billy Bob Thornton, Toronto, 1997

Bob Dylan, New York City, 1995

Pat Conroy, Charleston, South Carolina, 1995

Charlize Theron, New York City, 1997

Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1998

Will Smith, Los Angeles, 1997

Winona Ryder, New York City, 1997

Jerry Seinfeld, Los Angeles, 1994

Drew Barrymore, Bell, California, 1994

There is another way to think about Physiognomy. People who have studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming argue the opposite way, that physiology becomes psychology. Repeated psychology becomes a habit, and the build-up of habits becomes a character. Spend some time thinking about how you hold your body. Test out how those positions and facial expressions affect you mentally, and how that influences your behavior.

Pose for best advantage . . . to others and to the development of your own character!

this book is incredible. if you are a subscriber to rolling stone magazine, and have ever noticed a photograph that is simply amazing, it is probably the work of mark seliger. if you buy this book, you will be able to see hundreds of pages of these intriguing photographs, some involving vivid use of color, and others utilizing the intimacy of black and white photography.

when you first get this book, you will set it down, read it from cover to cover, be solidly amazed, and then promptly read it again from cover to cover.

i know nothing about photography, but you don't need to in order to appreciate seliger's appealing, beautiful pictures. i would suggest that anyone buy this book.

This book is great for teenagers who are in the midst of dating. Eric and Leslie Ludy bring an enlightening new view to the way romance should be taken, as a gift from God.

This is a great book for kids who have not started dating, or even for those who are. I took my kids to a seminar the Ludy's put on and bought the book. I like that my kids are hearing the same stuff from another source besides their mom. Great Book!

The book is wonderful!! They realy know what God wants from the marriege and every relationship!! I love your books !! Here I just read this book and the first one (I don't know the english name)... But they are awesome!!!

This book is on my mandatory reading lists for my students from 5th kyu through yudansha. I find it the best book on explaining the "why" Sensei do what they do, think like they think, and teach like they teach. It also refocuses sensei to "remember" what it is that they are doing. This book gives insight and understanding to every martial arts practitioner on the way that it "should be" and is in traditional karate training. I applaud Mr. Klein and hope to see other books by him. Buy it.

There is linear (external) balance and non-linear (internal) balance; there's speed, power and focus, from a physical standpoint and a mental/spiritual standpoint. In years of study, one would be lucky to learn all of this in just one of these standpoints--not just because they're taught differently, but because their backgrounds are different. OR SO I THOUGHT! In this book, Sensei Klein teaches us that the internal and external are parts of each other, that one leads to another, that one can compliment another. And the result is truly LEARNING EXCELLENCE. He also discusses how teachers and Sensei can be better communicators, and how students can be better learners. The book isn't all philosophy, either: Sensei Klein gives exercises to improve ourselves physically and mentally, and it works. I am a better Sensei AND student today, for having read this book. Good job!

Rarely do we hear teachers talk about the relationship between Martial Arts and life, that balance in one is not possible without balance in the other--and that a life lived in balance, in our work, relationships and Art, is walking the path of the Sensi. This book does just that--while teaching the reader the truths about the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of Martial Arts excellence, it is almost also a "self-help" book about life. A life lived in excellence is not solely a product of practice; its practice and honor, integrity, passion, compassion, humility and confidence and self-respect. Anyone who reads this book will come away with precious tools for excelling in their Art--and if they're smart and read the book closely, they'll come away with precious tools for living a full and happy life. Here are the words of a great Master, and I recommend that anyone who took the time to read my words read the words of this Master in this book.

The war in the Pacific was a bloody confrontation for the resolution of opponents and the straining combat environment. Flying under such pressure was undeniably a great feat and sustaining a proper level of operational capability was a superb example of airmanship. In this book all aspects of air combat come alive with the intriguing personal tales of the pilots who served in this theater. Each account reveals the insight of lifestyle, tactics and training that led to amazing results in aerial battles. From their personal experience, it is possible to catch the feelings the pilots had about their machinery, climate and combat methods before actually flying the missions in their harsh frontline.

Beatifully written, this volume is really easy to read, even if some accounts disclose a predilection to be stylish or glorifying from time to time.

In Aces Against Japan, military historian Eric Hammel provides the reader with riveting first-person accounts from thirty-nine American fighter aces who fought their way across the bloody skies of the Pacific and East Asia from December 7, 1941 through the final air battles over Japan in August 1945. An effective interviewer, Hammel presents fascinating and informative air-combat tales and anecdotes from the men who were their. Vivid, superbly presented, Aces Against Japan is enthusiastically recommended reading for all military buffs and a very welcome addition to any World War II history collection or reading list.

A truly great book. I recommend it for anyone, not just history enthusiasts. The first hand accounts are well written and bring the stories to life. Equally as good is Hammel's other book, ACES AGAINST GERMANY.

Peter Urs Bender writes in such a refreshing way that it's hard to stop reading his books once you start.

Leadership from Within is full of excellent ideas, interspersed with Peter's own enlightening perspectives and first class expertise.

Any business person (whether employed, or self-employed) can learn something by reading Leadership from Within - I work entirely alone and I even gained some incredibly valuable knowledge.

This is an excellent choice. buy it!

Mr. Bender has written a fantastic little book on leadership style and approach. It isn't overwhelming, one can read a littler here and a little there, the topics are on the mark, the advice is solid and the package is interesting.

It's hard to make the topic of leadership something beyond informative, but Bender manages to make it interesting and fun. The author focuses on 'style' and how one can manage the various personalities that inevitably crop up in the professional world. What's particularly nice about the insight in this book is that it's in no way condescending. Like magnate Mike Hammer says, "the soft stuff is the hard stuff." Managing people is 'soft leadership' while managing process is 'hard leadership.' And it's the soft leadership that is the hardest to do well. Bender will set you well on your way to doing right and doing it well.

...I highly recommend Mr. Bender's works.

This book is easy read, simple to understand. It helped me to make a big difference to my life. I highly recommend it to anybody. English is not my first language. This is the first book I finished to read in English... Thanks for writing it !

I first heard about Mr. Lomax in the "Guidepost" magazine, and was eleven when I read this "the Railway Man". And I must say, it's a painful read. After reading an eye-witness account of the treatment of the prisonners, "Bridge to the River Kwai" seems so...tame. This is the real stuff.

It's graphic, like when he drescribes the brutal treatment at the hands of the captors, the endless interrogations, being swarmed over by red ants when they were put in cages, and about the man who tortured him all those years.

Then he talks about going back to England, marrying, and then the jolt of his former torturer being alive. And that they met up again, and how he forgave.

I'm surprised it's out of print, and I still think it should be more widely read. The story may be gut-wrenching (in more ways than one), but when he survived it all, one can't help but wonder how, when so many have died along the way.

Lomax is a common man has survived and overcome the most brutal of human sufferings. He shows that in all of us is the capacity for greatness. His language is to the point with a tone of a man that is reluctantly telling his story more for our own need to understand the POW experience than for any personal aggrandizement. As others have commented, there is a real gutcheck here. It is a true emotional rollercoaster and worth it.

A rare and wonderful work, full of paradox and hope.

I was reminded of Hannah Arendt's commentary on the banality of human evil, but here it was turned around -- Eric Lomax expressed a profound goodness of character in his decision, yet the background of his life appeared perfectly ordinary.

Mr Lomax discusses an overwhelmingly positive act, but to appreciate the act's depth, the author must also describe his treatment as a Japanese war prisoner in WWII (the Japanese conduct in that war must stand at the most evil and depraved level of human behavior, yet the Japanese have never formally expressed sorrow or apology for this behavior and have, instead, come to be seen as victims in that war). Mr Lomax obviously struggled deeply before making his final decision, yet he suggests it was his only possible choice. I have given this book to a Catholic priest as a parting gift, when he asked for a book which I thought best represented the teachings of Christ.

The book was useful, but if you download the file of source code that covers all chapters, some examples are missing. At least for the middle chapters, you'll find the missing projects in the smaller downloads that cover only a few chapters. I didn't think of that possibility until chapter 12, so for a lot of the code in earlier chapters I couldn't make the comparisons I wanted to when I needed them. Other than that, if you already know GDI fairly well, you'll be able to burn through the material pretty quickly and pickup a good knowledge of GDI+. If you don't, I think this would be a pretty good place to start. It moves right along without a lot of hand-holding but seems to tell you everything you need to know for basic GDI+ and custom controls.

GREAT BOOK! The book was by far the easiest to follow book for GDI+ and Custom Controls using C#. I am very pleased and highly recommend this to all who wish to learn GDI+.

If you are moving up from GDI, you will find that GDI+ is about 50 times slower, but 50 times easier to program.

It delivers what it promises. You will be able to write printing code, make your own controls, etc., after reading this book.

If your going to Fairleigh Dickinson University you will need this book if your taking Digital Design and Graphics Price is GOOD

When I bought this book, I was totally uninformed about printing, period. I needed to learn about printing to complete a project. This is really an excellent book. It explains the different types of printing and their applications, use of color, planning your print job, cutting costs, etc. Everything you want to know, it's here.

My only complaint (and this is my own fault) is that after buying it, I realized it is mostly about offset printing processes, and for my particular project, I need to use digital printing because the quantities I need are too small to make offset printing cost effective. I wish I had understood that before I bought the book. But I'm giving it a "5" anyway because that is not the author's fault.

Having said that, I may eventually need larger quantities; if I do, this is a wonderful reference to have on hand.

As it states in the intro, "this guide helps everyone who plans, designs or pays for printing." It is one of the most complete, well explained and understandable books I have seen on printing. It explains not only the printing process but steps that you can take to make sure a print job meets the needs of the project as well as some ways to save money on your printing costs. This is another one of those must haves for any designer and in most cases any business that wants to understand a little more about the printing process and how they might be able to cut costs in ways that their designer or printer may not have mentioned.