I bought this book when I was new to woodworking and read it cover to cover. Completed a couple projects inside and now keep it around for reference on jigs, manipulations etc. I think this is the best of the router books currently available. It has info on every relevant topic including how to use a router for different types of cuts, making jigs for specail applications, explanations of bits including history, detailed plans for tables, jigs, etc. The best part of this book is its organization. As explanations of a certain type of use are covered, side bars are used to explain important related information like how to prevent an undesired effect, a safety consideration or an explanation of bits used. I highly reccomend this book to beginners and experienced woodworkers alike.

More so than any other single tool, jig, fixture, or accessory in your shop, this book helps you solve problems and get the job done. Starting with the basics of selecting and using routers and bits, you'll believe by the time you're halfway through this book that the router can do every job all your other tools do. By the time you finish the book, you'll understand how to do it all for yourself. The reason is simple: a router is simply a powerfully driven bit that be be guided with great precision. Bill Hylton taps into its potential by exploring the various ways to hold and guide it, performing jobs normally associated with other tools, as well as the exciting and mundane traditional routing jobs. Whether you're a beginner or expert with a router or woodworking, this book has something of value for everyone. It is well illustrated with photos and line drawings, bringing life to Bill's clear and easy to read writing style.

I am an absolute beginner having just bought my router and table this week. I knew I could make nice edges on wood projects but I never new of all the other great effects I could do with the router until I read this book. It covers all the basics, as well as some advanced techniques, and has all the necessary jig designs a beginning woodworker needs to become very effective with the router in a short amount of time. I would call this the "Routers Bible" and recommend it 110%. If you only get one book on routers, then it better be this one.

I was deeply moved and touched by this book. Miep Gies is perhaps the last person alive who knew the Frank family well during that pivotal time when the family were in hiding. As someone who has followed the Anne Frank story all my life it was something special to read this story about someone who could add more pieces to the puzzle of Anne's life.

Miep and her collaborator Alison Leslie Gold have done a wonderful job in bringing to life in clear crisp prose Miep's role in helping the family during that terrible time when barbarity had stood the world on its head. One point of interest is the inconsistency of Miep's report of events, with others, on that awful day of the family's arrest in August 1944. Chapter 15 of Miep's book should be read closely with the very precise account of that day contained in "The Diary of Anne Frank: the Critical Edition."

This is not to imply that Miep was in anyway involved in the betrayal of the family. Clearly, she wasn't. Miep's inconsistences just make her book more realistic, more readable, more earthy. Her book becomes an account not of a hero, a saint or a fighter for a cause. Miep was simply a friend who cared.

Be prepared. This book will take your mind and body back to the war years. You will feel the suffering, not only of the Jews, but the Dutch people under German occupation.

It also serves as an independent witness to many of the events Anne described in her Diary. This was dramatized in a made for television movie about 10 years ago.

Miep and her husband Henk opened their home and hearts to Otto Frank for seven years after the war. They helped preserve his post-concentration camp sanity and gave him strength to live.

Had Miep read the Diary after Anne's capture, she states that she'd have had to burn it since it implicated people as hiders of Jews. Thankfully, Miep did not read it until years later. Even with Otto Frank's post-war encouragement, it was simply too painful for her to read. The miracle of the Diary's survival and gift to the world is due to Miep's remarkable courage and mysterious fate.

Miep Gies has done an astounding job and written a really wonderful book. I own this book, originally having bought it when it first came out 14 years ago. I read it then, put it away, and recently got it back out when the Anne Frank miniseries was on t.v. I reread it, and it was just like reading it for the first time! You get to know more about the Frank family and those in hiding with them. You learn more about them on a personal level. Miep also tells us about herself and her background. She really helps us feel what it was like to be a Jew in hiding. And she describes the days before, during and after the war so vividly. It's a great lesson in the circumstances and political atmosphere of how Hitler's Third Reich came to power. Miep says that she is not a hero; that she only did what a lot of people did, but after reading this book I cannot agree with her. What she and her husband did was extremely heroic and the Frank family was truly blessed to have them. She and her book are truly a treasure.

The book is the definitive source on the Guadalcanal campaign. It covers all three aspects (air, land, sea) of the 6 month campaign in detail. It is obvious the Mr. Frank has done his homework and it was very refershing to see that Japanese sources were also used extensively. This is something that is sorely lacking in other books that discuss campaigns in the Pacific.

He provides interesting breakdown tables of casualties after each major battle. I especially liked the way the author analyzes mistakes that were made by both sides. His critiques of Adms. Ghormley and Fletcher was especially interesting. The final concluding chapter was als very excellent as it gives a good tactical and strategic summary of the whole campaign.

The only minor quibble I had was with the comparatively short (comapred to the land and sea) coverage on the air aspects. More personal details on the airmen who particpated would be better since the author himself stated that control of Henderson Field was instrumental to the Japanese inability to resupply their land forces, and the eventual win. The daily listing of air casualties over-claimed/suffered by both sides gets a bit numbing after a while.

Thoroughly researched, and utilizing both American and Japanese field reports, Frank has written the definitive account of America's first offensive struggle of WW II. The seven naval engagements are given the same detail attention as are the multiple land clashes. Most vivid among the latter were the days and nights along Edson's ridge and the Battle for Henderson's Field. Of particular interest were the accounts of the taking of Gavutu, Tanambogo and Tulagi, adjacent islands that several works overlook altogether. This invasion should never have succeeded; we lacked both air and naval superiority, two prerequisites for any amphibious assault. In those first few months, when the enemy could have swatted us like an annoying bug, he hesitated and committed resources piecemeal, a mistake the Japanese would make over and over. The monumental strategic importance of the Solomons seems to gradually dawn on each side as the campaign progressed. Unusual for a book of such detail, from the Tenaru to Edson's Ridge to the final escape of the decimated remnants of the Japanese defenders sixth months later, the action never slows. A liberal sprinkling of front line troops' reflections would have made this a truly remarkable read. Admittedly, I've been spoiled by Ambrose.

After the Americans defeated the Japanese at the battle of Midway, an offensive was planned for the Solomon Islands. The primary target was the island of Guadalcanal. In this book, Mr. Frank describes the landings and the capture of Henderson Field in vivid detail. I was also impressed with his descriptions of the fateful battle of Savo Island, where the Allies lost 4 heavy cruisers to an inferior Japanese force. Admiral Fletcher's decision to remove the carriers is discussed, along with the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, where the 5 Sullivan brothers died on the U.S.S. Juneau.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this book to me was how Mr. Frank not only provides the American viewpoint of the battle, but also the Japanese viewpoint. It was interesting to read about how aircraft and casualty claims were greatly exaggerated by both sides. I also felt that the final chapter was interesting in the way that everything was summarized for the reader. I have been reading books about the Pacific war since I was in the 4th grade, and this is the most comprehensive account of the entire Guadalcanal campaign that I have come across. This book is a must read for any World War II reader.

My husband received the first installment of the Green Mile as a gift. We drive alot of miles back and forth to work every day and listen to tapes to make the time pass more quickly. We were not familiar with Stephen Kings work, because we don't like "Horror." We were totally suprised and pleased that this was not what we thought of as horror. We were totally hooked by the first 15 minutes of the tape. Paul Edgecomb, John Coffee and the other characters on the mile are brought to life by King and the terrific reading of Frank Muller. If you want a tape that will make you want to sit in your car and listen even after you get home, this series is a must. I have not found another author and reader that keep you wanting MORE! MORE! MORE! like King and Muller. You will laugh, cry, and curse and be totally absorbed from from beginning to end.

I must say " the green mile " series was a nice change from Stephen Kings other books. It made me laugh and it made me cry, none of his other books have ever affected me like that!!! I'm really glad I bought the whole series at one time, if I would've bought them one at a time I would've been crazy by the time the last one got here!! I couldn't put them down, I read one after another!!!!My heart will always be with his HORROR stories though.....because I like the "things that go bump in the night". Thank you Stephen King for giving me a chance to see another side of your writing ability.I'll be waiting and looking forward to getting my next book in the mail.

I wonder if there are more books like the Green Mile by Stephen King. First book I have ever listened to that was written by him. I thought he wrote about strange events. I was spellbound. I was transported into the story and couldn't wait until the next tape. What a great writer. Any suggestions on which one I should read next?

This book is perhaps the most engrossing book I've ever read, with the possible exception of the Gaiman/McKean MASTERPIECE, Mr. Punch. This was the 2nd Sandman book I read, though I have since completed the series, and trust me, though it's amazing on its own, once you recognize the themes and motifs that have been continued throughout the series (The triple Goddess/Kindly Ones theme has been in every single Sandman collection; look it up if you don't believe me.) as well as the insights into the motivations of all the characters, this is nothing short of a masterpeice. I can't possibly say enough good things about this book, or the entire series. Added bonus: for the first time, the art is ALMOST equal to the story. Don't get me wrong, Jill Thomson, Shaun McManus, Mike Dirginberg, etc, did some great work, but up until now that kind of "comic book-y" style has dominated the series, whereas Mark Hempel's smooth lines and more abstract, angular style compliment Gaiman's writing much better, to my mind. Overall, this is, I'll say it again, an AMAZING book. Buy it. Please. For your own sake.

This book tells the story of Dream's death. Dream fights his fate, but almost absent-mindedly. He seems resigned to watch that which he knows he could change. This is where his fatal flaw is revealed--his sense of responsibility. Had Desire had this happen to him/her, she would have done everything in her power to stop it. Yet Dream barely wants to, and in the end gives in to the Furies. This book is beautiful, and I have read it perhaps 5 times. Each time something new pops up, something unseen. It is subtle, and it shows the dire consequences of accepting one's fate without action. This is Gaiman at his personal best in the series.

This is an order of magnitude better than the rest of this already best-of-the best comic series known as the Sandman. Gaiman takes every single plotline he's ever touched on and weaves them all together into one fiery coruscation of pain and joy and love and hate and comedy and tragedy and death and birth and...well, I could go on forever! Even better, for once it's a story arc that can last quite a long time (that graphic novel's nearly an inch thick!). It's the most immensely satisfying read(graphic novel or normal printed book!) that I've ever set eyes upon. PLEASE take my word, if you haven't read the Sandman, and read from the beginning to the end. Not only do you get the ingenious works preceding this, but you get THIS!!! Sorry for the capitals, but I feel more strongly about this than any other creative work I've ever seen.

Now, here's a more analyzing, less gushing side to why I love this so much. Let's start with the art. The art is amazing. It's a big change from the basic comic style of the other Sandman novels. This one is very expressionistic and the lines are very simple and nearly abstract. It makes a few characters hard to recognize until they're called by name, but it adds wonderfully to the drama, and a few characters look better than ever before(Delirium especially, not to mention ole Murphy and Death). The overlying drama is in the form of a towering tragedy, and it is in The Kindly Ones where we finally see the developments of everything that came before match up to drive home a truly powerful feeling. And the elusive, "is it good" criteria? This one went off the charts for me. And the end...oh, what an end. I _don't_ cry(Not because I'm some overly macho guy. I wish I could, but I'm so dead inside...thank you Neil for making me FEEL.), but I felt those tear ducts on the verge of pouring out years of unshed tears of pain and joy and affirmation and...didn't I already list those off?

In short, though short will never do justice to it, The Kindly Ones is the best story from the best series by my favorite author: no mean feat at ALL to be all of those. Please, pick this up after the first 8 Sandman graphic novels. Comics aren't just for kids anymore, and this one is too achingly beautiful to go unshared. Neil Gaiman is truly a god in his field and must be worshiped accordingly :). Enjoy!

Though I first read this book nearly 50 years ago, it still remains one of the best books I have ever read. Adults may feel that it is a kid's book, and of course it is perfect for kids, but believe me, it can be enjoyed by people of any age. All you need is love of a good story. For many years Ozma was my heroine--I dreamed that I would meet her somehow, somehow be transported like Dorothy to the Land of Oz. Though these dreams faded, I still often think that this book might be the favorite book of my life. Dorothy's new adventures, the rescue expedition from Oz that crosses the Deadly Desert, and the spooky confrontation between good and evil in the caverns of the Nome King. The Oz characters have accompanied me through life. Try them---you will never forget them.

Ozma of Oz is the 3rd book in The Wizard of Oz series and follows The Land of Oz. In this book, you will be reunited with many well-loved characters and be introduced to characters you will soon love.

Dorothy, who was not in the last book, again comes into this story. After being shipwrecked, she and Billina, a yellow hen, arrive on land. They wander around to see where they are and discover a new friend, Tik-Tok, a wind-up, mechanical man. They also find a castle. Inside, lives the family of Ev, who have been captured by the evil Nome king. Only a princess who can change her heads lives inside. Dorothy, Billina, and Tik-Tok decide to rescue the Ev family with the help of Ozma. --I won't mention who Ozma is because you may not have read The Land of Oz. You will find out in a later review.--

I would highly suggest this book, along with The Land of Oz because of the adventures and fun.

After Baum's success with the first book, he penned the sequel "The Marvelous Land of Oz". It was a decent book, but it was missing one important element. Dorothy. He corrects that oversight in this one, and the book (and the rest of the series) is all the better for it. Dorothy makes her second trip to Oz, this time with her chicken Billina (don't worry, Toto would also return in later volumes) and the action is non-stop. If you planned on reading the series and had a tough time getting through book 2, don't stop. They keep getting better and better as Baum develops into a first-rate author. Read them in order and don't stop until you've finished book 14 (and then even dip into the books by other authors, none are as inspired as Baum's, but some of them are pretty good).

And if you've read all the Oz books and are looking for other titles that are just as magical and just as inspired, try the Chronicles of Narnia, King Fortis the Brave or Abarat. All will introduce you to other magical worlds that are every bit as fun to visit as Oz.

Cancer Ward is often overshadowed by its predecessor, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and its successor, the immense memoir, The Gulag Archipelago. While the worldly impact of those two works is perhaps greater, the aesthetic power of Cancer Ward is stronger than both of those works. The story is poignant and powerful, reaching out and probing deeply into the essential questions that are never answered by not only Soviet society, but western culture as a whole. The religious message that emerges is stunning and unique, recalling the works of Dostoyevsky. Overall, this is an excellent book, and any reader who enjoyed One Day or Gulag will be blown away by this work.

Those were the words that Dorothy used to describe Oz after waking up in the bosom of her family. The same intense feeling came over me while reading this book, a task that spanned several years, as I often put it aside for other things, always returning, drawn by the power of the author's prose in opening his world to us. The realness of Solzhenitsyn's worlds makes him perhaps the most accessible Russian novelist. As he described the village where Kostoglotov, the protagonist, lived, or in recounting how Ruasov, the villian/fellow victim ruined lives while justifying his actions, a vivid portrait fills the reader's imagination.
The human struggle to find hope and beauty in the most tragic of settings is what this novel evokes so well. Soviet medicine, cancer, a Zek fresh from the Gulag, and in a twilight turned dawn, Solzhenitsyn finds for his semi-autobiographical protagonist happiness, not only in winning victories against a malignant tumor, but in thoughts of perhaps one more summer to live, with nights sleeping under the stars, of three beech trees that stand like ancient guardians of an otherwise empty steppe horizon, a dog that shared his life there, and of a young nurse and spinster doctor, both of whom he hoped at times to love.
The picture one often got (accurately) of the Soviet Union was of greyness, gloom, uniform drabnes, and of a totalitarian police state. This book serves to remind the reader that, despite such circumstances, even desparately sick human being might still seek, and find, happiness in his own, private world. Along with that, Solzhenitsyn never lets us forget the utter corruption of the Soviet state, often in the person of Ruasov, an ailing bureaucrat who has managed to turn personnel management into an exquisite art form, as an instrument of psychological torture, slowly administered.
Of all Solzehenitsyn's works, this is my favorite. The people one encounters are vividly real, and the ending isn't what one would think (or hope), but is fitting, nonetheless.
-Lloyd A. Conway

At first Cancer Ward exposes the dull horror of succombing to the terminal illness -- the x-ray therapy, the injections, the pain. These treatments seems particularly archaic by today's standards, and help to intensify the despair. But long before the middle of the book, the characters - a group of a dozen or so men in the ward - begin to drive the narrative. They argue party affiliations and politics with a false bravado, trying to believe these things matter, that they'll leave the Ward alive. But it is Kostoglotov (who may have been an inspiration for Kesey's Randall McMurphy, from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) who becomes the life of the novel. A prisoner of the State and a desperately ill man, he nonetheless continues to live fully in the Ward, persuing nurses, ruminating on the nature of illness and exile, and daring to hope. The reader dares to hope, too, as Kostoglotov shows flickering indications of health. A fabulously engaging book - and, inthe bargain, one of the only pieces of fiction that will make you consider a healthier lifestyle

Frank Miller's renowned storyline tells the tale of the destruction and rebirth of a super-hero. This is a story that has never really been seen before in comic books so Miller deserves kudos just for attempting it. The storyline is mired in realism with the protagonist facing all too human villains and all too human inner demons, which makes it far more satisyfing than the usual superhero vs. supervillain fare. Organized crime, drug addiction, rekindled love, and heavy religious imagery are all skillfully layered into this one of a kind comic book. Yes, Miller's "Dark Knight Returns" and "Batman: Year One" are superior but that may be because Batman has had a longer, richer legacy for Miller to draw from and play with than DD has had. Let's face it: Miller pretty much re-invented Daredevil, evolving the character from another Stan Lee wisecracker in a union suit, to a morally-conflicted, fully realized character who just happened to be a superhero. "Born Again" is a wonderful, adult interpretation of this rediscovered Marvel icon.

Frank Miller... the words fail me. I'd have to say that anyone who reads Miller just once is more than likely missing half the story! There're just too many instances when you're reading one of his masterpieces (The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One, Daredevil Born Again, Sin City , 300) for that second or third time, when you stop, read back through three or four of the prior issues, and come face-to-face with the fact that you've been set up!!!

Miller subtly drops these apparently irrelevant scenes on you halfway into the stories, which serve as a preamble to some of his most powerful lines/images... [among my favorites: In DK Returns, Commisioner Gordon's speech to Captain Yindel "Roosevelt knew about Pearl Harbor but didn't stop it because 'it was too big'" only to have Yindel return in that single frame on the last book to say [about Batman]: "He's too big" - [she finally "gets" Gordon!] second-favorite: The splash page in every issue of DD Born Again, showing Matt's sleeping journey, from the lap of luxury down to the gutter, and then back to the most comfortable bed any of us will ever know - must've took me three reads to click, and realize what Miller was doing (you just don't see that too often in this medium, and by all means NEVER as masterfully executed!). I won't even go into Sin City, "it's just TOO BIG")

Do yourself a favor. Pick up Daredevil Born Again and read it at least twice, then pick up Dark Knight Returns, Batman Year One, Sin City (all of 'em), and 300, and READ THEM SLOWLY, cause, believe me, when you're done with them, you'll be sad... because you'll have to wait, like the rest of us... patiently... for Frank's next work of art. And make no mistake, this is art of the highest form!

This book ranks among one of the greatest graphic novesl ever. It is, along with watchmen, one of the best told stories about superheros. Without giving too much away, it embodies everything that is good about Frank Miller's Daredevil and the reason for the reemergence of the horned one. A classic story of good and evil and the triumph of an ordinary man over his arch nemesis. The way Frank Miller develops the characters of Kingpin, Matt Murdock, Karen Page and the dramatic introduction of other super heros is wonderous. This book, especially the final chapter, is all the more relevant after the events of last year. Any fan of the comic book genre will love this book.

John May has written one of the best Bj books in years. While much of the content is new and seemingly difficult to comprehend, May does a fine job in boiling down advanced advantage-play techniques into understandable language. Luckily, May is a player and he understands what advice to give real players of the game. he thankfully does not fill up the book with endless charts and graphs to show off his genius. Instead, he explains most of the difficult concepts in clear English.

I would say that some of the techniques written about in this book would be very tough for players to use in a casino without a great deal of practice. However, some card cutting techniques I have already used and they do work!

Blackjack players who are looking to add to their bag of tricks some really great maneuvers will want to have this book in their libraries.

John May is an elite blackjack player and this book gives you information that I have not read anywhere else. While it does discuss and explain the theory of card counting, the revolutionary stuff that is advertised on the cover concerns methods of play such as glim, stacker, ace tracking and the like. Some of these are "do-able" by mere mortals like myself and some seem extremely hard to pull off.

I think the book is very well written and organized and May's writing flows. He explains very difficult concepts in a way that is understandable. I believe this is one of the top books ever written on blackjack and is definitely worth buying.

This book blew my mind. John May is one hell of a blackjack expert. I don't think I've read anything quite like this. His approach to the game is that just about anything the casinos come up with, we players can counter, be it the shuffling procedure, the dealing of the cards, even those shuffling machines. This book is about advantage play with a vengeance! I think if you already know how to count cards and are looking for the icing on the cake, this is the book for you.

I've read all the reviews you are reading now. After a careful comparision with other trueSpace books, I bought this one, and at the same time I bought Inside Softimage. These two books are among the best books I've ever read. You will learn a great number of skills. There are a lot of great illustrations that will help you go through each step. More than that, you will learn what the Pros know. If you really want to learn trueSpace, buy this book.

I found this book very informative. Fans of trueSpace will appreciate this well written, and informative book. Anyone can benefit from this top of the line CG guide to one of the most popular programs around.

Like the book cover says, "No one is more qualified to demonstrate the power of trueSpace than Frank A. Rivera" and it shows. The character master himself illustrates the power of TrueSPace. If you don't have it get it.

I have been a fan of Frank Rivera's work since he first appeared on the CGI scene wowing everyone with his Softimage and POV imagery many years ago. He has never disappointed me with his arwork and tutorials.

I have been waiting years for him to write a book, and had given up since he suddenly vanished without a trace only to find that he has been using and supporting Truespace for the past few years. I don't use trueSpace but I had to see what made Frank leave the highend arena and write a book about Truespace. Well, I have to say the program is terribly easy to grasp with Frank's book in hand. I was creating great work in no time.

Frank deserves five stars for his efforts in this book. He gets down to business and with real world examples that can be appriciated by pros and beginners alike.

Please don't make us wait no more than a year to write another exceptional book on CGI my friend.

Timothy