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Book reviews for "Lebedoff,_David_Michael" sorted by average review score:
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Published in Hardcover by Chronicle Books (1997)
Authors: Michael Criscton, David Koepp, and Work in Progress Studios
Amazon base price: $9.95
Average review score:

The Lost World should have stayed lost
This novel didn't appeal to me as much as the first Jurassic Park.Micheal Crihton should have left Ian Malcolm out of this story because any person who had suffered a life threatening experience like he had to face, would never go back to a similar place to Jurassic Park . The first novel had a plot which connected to everything in the story. This Novel was basically go to the Island, run from Dinosaurs,then escape from the Island. In the begining of the book Dinosaurs were being washed up on beaches in Costa Rica. The only reason they were going to go to the island was to see what was driving these creatures into the ocean. It never came out with why the dinosaurs were swimming from the island. There was some good action throughout the book . I was disappointed with this novel and that is why I only gave it 3 Stars.

Exciting Book; Keeps You Glued To Your Seat
The Lost World is even more exciting than Jurrasic Park. It has lots of twists and turns that should make you lose track of time and miss class. The main thing that made the book exciting is that it has missing links to the first book in the sequel.

I recomend this to anybody that likes blood and horrer.
Like i said before i recomend this book to anybody that likes blood and horrer,i saw the movie and it was scary but when i saw the book i was so amaized that i bought it and i read it over and over again and again.I think the book was better than the movie because they added more action and more of the scarry stuff and I know im going to read it again but i probibley wont right again but you can find another one of my coments in a book cald Desparete Persute,my name is JESSE GALINDO if you can find me.

The Thing About Love Is...
Published in Paperback by Polyphony Press (27 July, 1999)
Authors: Adria Bernardi, Michael Burke, Cris Burks, Jotham Burrello, Robert Georgalas, Jo-Ann Ledger, Sean Leenaerts, Freyda Libman, Janice Tuck Lively, and Nikki Lynch
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Hallmark Doesn't Live Here Anymore
If your idea of love is limited to visions of puppies and balloons, The Thing About Love Is... probably not for you. In Polyphony Press' first effort, the heavy topic of love is tackled in gritty, gutsy pieces that cut to core of this complex emotion. Sometimes it's bliss, sometimes it's bizarre, and quite often it hurts, but regardless of its form, love is always intriguing. This anthology is in keeping with that notion. With a variety of styles and voices, the works featured here are unanimous in their ability to draw the reader in and keep him hooked. It is truly a great read that may challenge one's personal definition of love. Call it an enjoyable experiment in mind expansion!

Armed for Battle
It's difficult to find an anthology that has as much stopping power as this one. Reading it, I was impressed not only by the diversity of the authorial voices, but also by their veracity. Each story, poem and play seems to have come straight from the gut. What's more, the contributing writers help to remove our blinders; particularly when it comes to matters of the heart. Love, they argue, is nothing less than a battlefield on which each of us daily chances victory or defeat.Those seeking to enter the contest fully armed would do well to buy this book.

A Good Book To Curl Up With
Anthologies are not my usual choice of reading material, but as this was recommended to me, I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. While I could not relate to some of the pieces here, I enjoyed the underlying topic immensely. The poetry, drama, and short stories were a good blend. The Thing About Love Is... an enjoyable and fast read, but has a peculiar lingering effect that required that I return to it for further exploration. It's a perfect book to read from the relative comfort and safety of your best chair, where you know that you can dip into the joy and angst of love and for once, walk away unscathed.

Cheese Louise
Published in Hardcover by Graphic Arts Center Publishing Co. (2000)
Authors: David Michael Slater and Steve Cowden
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Cute but not captivating
"Cheese Louise" does indeed capitalize a bit on its "cheese" factor. The characters aren't terribly deep (they look rather too much like the VeggieTales characters for comfort), the situation is rather predictable, and the story as a whole tends toward the tedious. While it does communicate the concept of self-worth and appreciation, it doesn't make much of the fact that when Louise is "chosen," she is, in fact, EATEN and is no more, except in the memory of her compatriots who are left behind. I hope that none of them are left in that back drawer too long waiting to be chosen!

Ages 3 and up say Cheese!
Our 7 year old daughter was able to hear the author read this book. She was so enthused by the reading we bought the book as a way to support our school library. The book has become a favorite in a short time with my husband and I reading each sometimes several times a day to our 2 and 3 year old sons. Our 2nd grade reader has to work at it a bit but is able to read this aloud to her brothers and is very proud. I have purchased additional copies of this book as Christmas presents for family around the country.

Louise Triumphs Over Captain Underpants
In the elementary school where I was a librarian, Cheese Louise beat out Captain Underpants in a poll taken of our 2nd graders who were asked to list their top ten all-time favorite books. That, in itself, should tell you great this book is. We all know how popular Captain Underpants is!

Witchblade, Vol. 1
Published in Paperback by Image Comics (01 January, 2001)
Authors: Christina Z. Wohl, David Wohl, and Michael Turner
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Loved it!
LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT! If you enjoyed the television series, you will really love the comics. This one tells you how it all began. Although the story is similar to the series, there are enough differences to keep you guessing. Also, amazing graphics!

My first comic book read
I loved the Witchblade series on TNT. Recently TNT announced they would be canceling the series. I've never read a comic book before in my life but I thought I would give it a try. I loved this book. I didn't realize that such an interesting story could be told via a comic book medium. I was very pleased with the book and will be ordering Vol. 2 soon. If you aren't sure if you would like a comic book but like the series, rest easy, the comic books are every bit as good as the series. By the way, I am a woman and did not find it offensive.

A Book Worth Your Time
Just a comicbook? No. Never. The Witchblade is one of the best blends of story and artwork that I have ever seen and believe me when I say I've seen plenty. Christina Z, David Wohl, Michael Turner, D-Tron and Jonathan Smith have truly done a great job and it is a pity that the team broke up. This book is definitely worth every cent!

An American Family
Published in Paperback by St. Martin's Press (2002)
Authors: Michael and Jon Galluccio and David Groff
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A Touching Story, Not Told So Well
This book was a difficult read at first, the reason being that the writing style of the Messers Gallucio left a bit to be desired in the area of style. Still, the heartfelt urgency of the story of their nurturing a sickly baby into a healthy, rambunctious toddler drew me in and kept me interested. Their story is an inspiration not just for gays and lesbians, but for anyone who wishes to have a family.

Truthful and Beautiful
An American Family is the true story of two gay men, Jon and Michael, adopting two children, Adam and Madison. Joh and Michael are a kind and loving couple looking to become parents when they are introduced to Adam, a baby boy who has drug problems and is HIV+ due to his soon deceased mother. Michael and Jon put incredible work into caring and bringing there new son back to normal health. But before long they discover they are not aloud to adopt Adam together as a couple. Soon they are fighting a hard battle to make Adam their true son.As there love for Adam grows they decide to care for another baby, Madison, while still trying to make Adam leagully theirs. And so they journey begins as two loving men fight for the children they truly love.
An American Family not only moved me but showed me just how much someone will do for the people they love. The book is beautifuly written by both parents, Joh and Michael Galluccio, and includes a heartwarming photo album at the end of the book. Belive me, you won't be disappointed by this incredible and loving stroy. Read An American Family as soon as you can.

just so wonderful
Maybe these guys aren't going to win any Super prizes for their writing, but I thought this book was just so wonderful. Their story is great, their persistence and their committment to their son was so inspiring. And frankly, I found their somewhat casual story-telling style to be perfect. I so related to Jon being at home with the baby for the first time and having a semi-complete-hysterical-meltdown! And I loved the back-and-forth way the chapters went, so that you had both points of view...

One of my favorite reads this year so far!

A Day in the Life of India
Published in Hardcover by Collins Pub San Francisco (1996)
Authors: David Elliot Cohen, Michael Tobias, and Raghu Rai
Amazon base price: $45.00
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Good captions. Poor quality photos!
I was thoroughly dissapointed by this book. The photos aren't too interesting or unique. The only good point of this book is that all the photos come with fairly descriptive captions. Most of the full page photos are so grainy, they could have been taken with a disposable camera. I don't blame the 2 dozen photographers who contributed to the book. Just seems the publisher decided to use a lower print quality in order to sell the book at a lower price. If you want a much better book with photos that will blow you away, check out Steve McCurry's South Southeast.

Very Nice Book
For anyone who isn't intersted in India to see the Taj Mahal and leave, this is for you! Photographs that show how life really is in India, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Wonderful photographs, that will draw you in again and again. A coffee table book that will actually get read!

If you love India, you will love this!
This book is a definate "Coffee Table" book. It will shock you by its large size, let alone its stunning photographs. I have been to India and am traveling again in one week. I just can't get enough. This book will practically take you theretoo. Enjoy!

Magic Prague
Published in Hardcover by University of California Press (1993)
Authors: Angelo Maria Ripellino, Michael Henry Heim, and David Newton Marinelli
Amazon base price: $40.00
Used price: $35.00
Collectible price: $24.00
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Morbid Prague? Turgid Prague?
This book isn't great, but it could be a lot better if cut to, say, 50 pages (from 281, plus 40 pages of footnotes.) Ripellino is a modern pedant who floods his disjointed essay with adjectives, metaphors and literary quotes; not necessarily a bad thing, but not good when endlessly rehashing the same idea. The idea is that Prague is a melancholic, Kafkaesque city haunted by the ghosts of 4 centuries of disasters. There're fragments of (heavily interpreted) history, quantities of literary allusions, and perverse descriptions of eccentric art and science, but its all so poorly organized and repetitive that it makes for a bore of a book.

'Magic', for Ripellino, means atmosphere; he has NO sympathy for occultism and to him Prague's Golden Age, the late Renaissance period, is a period of fools (Rudolf II and other alchemically-minded aristocrats), swindlers (Edward Kelley and all other alchemists), quacks (John Dee and other mystics), and knaves (Rudolf's ministers.) Half the book is spent archly ridiculing the period and its passions.

In Part Two Ripellino paints an equally grim picture of the period from Rudolf II's abdication in 1612 to, oh, sometime around 1946. But it's still all bits and pieces. We get a gloomy look at a few historical figures, some poets and writers, maybe an artist or two.

Kafka is the dominant spirit of Ripellino's Prague and what he gives us is a dismal, victimized city. There are no maps or pictures (except for 4 on the hardback's book jacket.) This suits the essay, which is more about Ripellino's mental image of Prague than of a physical locale.

So that's why it's called Magic Prague
I tried to read this before my trip to Prague and found it inaccessible and its language pretentious. Then, after a week in the city, I started reading again. And couldn't stop. It is only when you visit the Jewish cemetery or Prague Castle that the myths, ghosts and executioners of the past come alive. Although a tough read, it is exceptionally rewarding for the traveller who wants to take more home from Prague than just Bohemian crystal.

Prague for the deeply romantic, literate traveler
The late Mr. Ripellino has amassed a tribute to Prague like no other. It breathes. Anyone that has ever visited the "Golden City of a 100 spires" must have had an inkling deep in their soul of what the author has magnificently put down in words. The "Old Crone [Prague] has claws", as Kafka put it, and Ripellino shows exactly why that is so. The research that went into this book is simply astounding, with my edition having 44 pages of tightly spaced notes, of 333 pages total, including index. The book takes us from one extraordinary Prague tale to another, with myth, legend and reality all melting into one pot of magic. Anyone that plans to visit the center of Europe should read this book in advance, or at least skim it on the plane. It is a tough read, being full of poetic phrases and meticulous details, which often beg for multiple readings. However, the time spent is well worth it. The book will serve as a beautiful bridge between the soul and the mind, as the traveler wanders along the cobblestones of thousand year old "Praha." p.s. I bought my edition (Picador) in Prague for 315 Kcs, or about US$ 9. The price on the back of the paperback is 9.99 British Pounds, which is about US$ 17, depending on the day.

Tube: The Invention of Television (Sloan Technology Series)
Published in Hardcover by Counterpoint Press (1996)
Authors: David E. Fisher, Marshall Jon Fisher, and Cornelia Michael Bessie
Amazon base price: $30.00
Used price: $1.98
Collectible price: $7.93
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An accessible history of television technology
Tube is easily the most accessible history of television's early years (its "prehistory"), and a good read to boot. The great Zworykin/Farnsworth technology battle is pretty well presented, and the men themselves come alive in the text. Color television's development gets easily the best treatment I've seen anywhere in the non-technical press. However, the final chapter on the future of television was mostly worthless; historians (along with most of the rest of us) do not do well in predicting the future. In a few years that chapter probably will be seen as an embarassment which the rest of the book does not deserve

La personnification de l'histoire

L'auteur du livre nous a raconté une belle histoire, celle des principaux protagonistes de l'invention de la télévision. Il a su vulgariser les notions scientifiques complexes qui intervinrent dans la réalisation du téléviseur moderne. Il s'adressait à un large public. C'est pourquoi son histoire est personnifiée.

Nous retrouvons les principaux inventeurs indépendant qui orientèrent leurs recherches dans le cadre du paradigme mécanique, Jenkins, Baird, Ives. D'autres figures peuplent les recherches dans le cadre du paradigme électronique, Zworykin, Farnsworth. L'auteur entre dans le détail biographique propre à nous illustrer les conditions de l'invention. La personnification de l'histoire permet d'attirer le lecteur.

Par ailleurs, le livre rend bien la complexité du développement de la télévision. Ce n'est pas un seul individu qui trône au dessus de l'histoire. En effet, l'invention de la télévision va d'au moins 1880 à 1939 et elle a mobilisé des chercheurs de partout dans le monde : Allemagne, Japon, Canada, Italie, URSS, France, en plus des États Unis d'Amérique et de la Grande Bretagne. Des inventeurs indépendants, des chercheurs universitaires et des chercheurs de grande compagnies y investirent nombre de jours. Plusieurs brevets furent déposés. Il n'y a pas -le- brevet décisif, mais plusieurs connaissances, savoir faire.

Cependant, pour le spécialiste de l'histoire des techniques, il ne s'agit que d'un livre de vulgarisation respectant avec intelligence les règles de l'art. Les livres publiés antérieurement sur l'histoire de la télévision (et il n'en existe guère peu) étaient soit trop rivés sur les faits, soit trop techniques, soit trop concernés par les débats entourant la télédiffusion de l'apprés seconde guerre mondiale.

Or, nous sommes toujours en attente d'une histoire de la télévision sous l'angle de l'histoire des techniques. Une histoire qui répondrait aux questions suivantes : quelles sont les contraintes exercées sur l'innovation technique par l'option paradigmatique des chercheurs? quel rôle a joué la présence de l'industrie dans le passage de l'invention à l'innovation? comment des inventeurs indépendants, tel Farnsworth ont-ils pu tenir tête à des industries telles RCA? pourquoi les Bell Lab., disposant de compétences techniques et de savoir faire éprouvés, en plus des ressources financières nécessaires, se sont-ils lancés dans l'aventure de la télévision mécanique plutôt que celle électronique?

A surprisingly likeable and interesting book.
This fine work has many of the qualities of a suspense novel, and is probably one of the best books of its kind ever written. It is written with a heart, and the reader easily feels what some of its subjects endured in this fascinating tale of the development and evolution of television, and later, color television. After this read, the reader will want to immediately order the equally excellent book about the development of HDTV by Joel Brinkley.

Sams Teach Yourself Acid 3.0 in 24 Hours
Published in Paperback by Sams (14 August, 2001)
Authors: Gary Rebholz, Michael Bryant, and David Was
Amazon base price: $20.99
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are people that dumb?
ok, an instructional book on Sonar or Cubase i would understand.... Are people that dumb that they have to buy a book on ACID?... with an obviously intuitive user interface.

b4 you impatiently buy a book on ACID or any other program, try it out first... I don't think a book on ACID is necessary; it can easily be learned on your own... waste of money.

Essential to fully understanding the "intuitive" interface!
As a Sonar user, a Sound Forge user, a Vegas Video user, I was completely amazed to discover the power hidden within Acid--whose very name unfortunately causes scornful and undeserved ridicule as with the review below.

Many see Acid as a toy, and it is anything but as anyone who digs beneath the surface will quickly discover.

Acid 3.0 is a professional tool used in professional environments to achieve professional results faster than ever before and where time is money, Acid shines.

For anyone wanting to push this tool past it's apparent limits, using it as the ultimate tool with which to bring together tracks from various sources (including Cubase) this book is essential to understanding its hidden strengths, and workarounds for inherent weaknesses found in some extreme BPM and pitch-shifting tasks. "Acid 3.0 in 24 Hours" is essential to understanding track management, bus usage, FX options, video scoring, and timing adjustments to name but a few.

Do not be fooled. Acid is a most powerful non-destructive digital audio construction tool, although its name may draw prejudice. This book is as worthy a companion and reference as exists for it.

Buy this book. Even the Acid experienced will learn from it.

Way Better than Owlsley !
This is a carefully-written explanation of a complex piece of computer technology. It takes way more hours than the title promises. But it is a wonderful introduction to the fascinating world of audio recording technology. Super Dooper!

The Secret Lives of Alexandra David-Neel: A Biography of the Explorer of Tibet and Its Forbidden Practices
Published in Hardcover by Overlook Press (1998)
Authors: Barbara Foster, Michael Foster, and Lawrence Durrell
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Read Alexandra's own 'My Journey to Lhasa'
The best chapters of 'The Secret Lives of Alexandra David-Neel:'
owe much to Alexandra's own account of her journey to Lhasa. Her own books are wonderful to read, all of them , but in particular her 'My Journey to Lhasa' Beacon Press republished it as a paperback in 1993, ISBN 0-8070-5903-X
I can guarantee you will have a most enjoyable read.

Fascinating Biography
It is my great pleasure to let Amazon readers know about the exploits of Alexandra David-Neel, the explorer of Tibet, which the Fosters chronicle so vividly in the biography, THE SECRET LIVES OF ALEXANDRA DAVID-NEEL. This bio reads more like a novel or adventure tale due to the wonderfully-detailed scenes with such authentic touches I felt as if I were truly there, and often worried about David-Neel's ability to survive. Obviously the Fosters have done their research incredibly well and write graceful,lucid prose; I was captivated from the first sentence and actually resented having to put down the book to take care of chores. This is is one of the best biographies I have ever read. The story cries out to be told visually on the big screen.

Unique Woman Explorer at Turn of Century
Little known crossdressing Victorian Frenchwoman undertakes a dangerous journey of discovery in forbidden country disguised as a monk and lives to tell her tale to the world. Thoroughly well researched,and well crafted The Secret Lives of Alexandra David-Neel is the biography of a remarkable woman. A woman born to the mannered and circumscribed Victorian era who chose to strike out on her own initiative to explore the spiritual secrets and she was among the first Europeans to report about it from inside to the rest of the world.
I found it a fascinating read about a remarkable woman of whom I knew nothing, a woman who accomplished amazing things in her life. I recommend this biography by Barbara and Michael Foster to anyone interested in tales of high adventure in exploration, in the golden age of exploration and of unknown exotic lands. If the story of resolutely fearless woman pursuing her dream of exploring Forbidden Tibet whets your appetite I recommned you read this well crafted biography. I can recommend it without reservation. ZaneMason

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