This is a very nice addition to any Star Wars collection. The C-3PO doll is just wonderful and the display box looks great with my other Star Wars collectibles. I would've given it 5 stars if it wasn't for the high price. But anyway, here in Amazon.com it is cheaper than in any other site I searched for it.

When this C-3PO was first released, I was quite pleased with the quality of the product but was equally aghast at the price it carried. This, like any other Masterpiece Edition, debuted at an eye-popping seventy-five dollars, a ransom heftier than even the most successful bounty hunter would dare demand (and few seem willing to pay). I do admit that I was tempted by this, but the temptation was a fleeting thing that has only returned now, in the wide world of clearance items. Yes, with the series falling into relative obscurity, the remaining shelf-liners can be found at a fraction of the original cost, making the hesitant consumer a happy one. Now, to the set itself:
First, I like the gimmick boxes that these Masterpiece Editions are released in. The odd shape, coupled with the fact that (a) the design work is fantastic and (b) the book edition nestled within conforms to these specs, make some really catchy packaging that catches the eye and frequently makes me look again.
Second, The C-3PO figure itself is a nice edition to the 12" lineup, with removable limbs that match the "old school" figure. Also included is a backpack mimicking the one used in the movie to secure his various appendages (his head, arms, and two section legs detach from the torso), giving it that added depth I've always loved.
Third, the book is interesting enough (if you're into 3PO), telling you about character concepts and the various toys 3PO's that have been released. Personally, I wouldn't have bought it for this facet alone, but I'm not a huge droid fan either.

Reduction in price = Something too nice to pass up. Now is the time to consume.

This C3PO master edition displays very nicely. It includes a C3PO 12" figure. The detail off the figure shines greatly, almost as if it were real gold. The book itself offers some wonderful insight on the Golden Droids collectables as well as character. The display case really brings this true peice of Star Wars artwork togehter. This would make a fantastic gift for any true Star Wars fan.

This is the best book I've found for those of us who have only a vague concept of what feng shui is, and how it is practiced. It covers the historical background and application to modern living perfectly - clear and concise. The analogies the writer uses are very helpful for us narrow-minded Westerners.

I read this book and I want to ask the autors a question about the Pah Kwa. I didn't find their email address, so I'll post it here. They said that the fame enrichment is always positioned over the font door. I got other information from other authors, and different Pah Kwa plans. I don't know which is right. I study architecture and I'm very intrested in Feng shui. I'll make a diploma degree out of Feng shui and I must make it right. Maybe I can get an email address of them here. Please contact me.

This is the first book I've read front to back on feng shui. I knew a bit about the subject before I read this book, but was uncertain how to apply it to my life. This book held my interest and is clear and informative without being dry. It takes you step by step through the process (with many easy to follow diagrams) on how to analyze your living and working space--and even your garden. I was fascinated by feng shui before I read this book; now I'm hooked. Even if you don't completely believe it, by applying even some of the principles, i.e., wind chimes, plants, less clutter(!), more (or less) color in your home or office, you can create a more harmonius and peaceful environment away from the frantic pace of life. And, do it without a spending a lot of money. Great book!

I picked up this book, interested in some of the photographs on the front cover. Immediatley, when I opened it, I was drawn into the book. It had fabulous graphics and layout. I paged through first, reading little bits of information that interested me. That was really the extent of my experience with the book, until I recently sat down with it and decided the read through it all. I found it absoulutely intriguing. I read every "mini-biography" and after I was done, I went to find out more information about the amazing women I had just been introduced to. My curiousity lead me to fantatic discoveries, but what displeased me was the short extent of people that this book covered. Only briefly did it cover the suffragist movement, and other important events in AMERICAN WOMEN'S HISTORY. Although I know that Americans are not everything, we were pioneers in freeing women from cultural and social restrictions.
This was a great introduction to a broad topic. I reccommend it to young girls that do not realize the extent of what their great sex can do, but also to boys. I believe that they,too, should be introduced to the fact that men and women are equal. It doesn't cover everything, but it may lead you to great things.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for the youngest daughter of a friend of the family. I was looking for something I knew her mother would never buy her, something that would make her learn about women as unique and wonderful human creatures.

I stumbled across this book and was attracted to its magazine-style layout, with photos and blurbs in sidebars as well as a main, brief narrative on each of the diverse women profiled. It drew me in immediately - in fact before I wrapped it, I had read it myself! It also offers, in the sidebars, ways for girls to start imagining themselves in roles like those of the women written about, but without that cheesy condescending tone of voice that so many educational books written by adults for kids take.

The book offers women throughout history, many of whom may not be known to adults (!), who achieved much on their own. Artists, politicians, soldiers, writers, inventors and businesswomen all are represented. The text avoids serious revolutionaries, which is, I think, age-appropriate. The book is targeted for girls and boys ages 12-14, and it fits well within those age groups, using colorful layout and a conversational tone to talk about these "cool women."

This isn't the text to choose for your burdgeoning Socialist, as many of the women celebrated within its pages are female entrepreneurs and monarchs (all, arguably, quite rightly chosen by the editors). However, many of the stories also chronicle women who rise from adversity, giving it a real sense of balance. One might also argue that there is a smattering of racial and ethnic tokenism at work, but I choose to view it as merely an attempt to speak of at least one woman from each group as promotion of multiculturalism (of depth) rather than tokenism (for appearances only).

All in all, this book is an excellent tool for teaching young women about the valuable contributions their sisters before them made, and what they too can hope to accomplish. Highly recommended.

This book bridges the gap in educational books for young readers. It helps young girls specifically to understand that women have been achievers throughout history and in doing so can serve as inspiration for modern young women who may be short on confidence or direction. This book is a "must" for the 12-18 year age group, and adults like myself will also find it interesting and educational.

The high point of this book is an extensive collection of algorithms and an excellent set of references for further research. Each topic is dealt with in an orderly fashion so that the simple (and usually chronologically earlier) proposals in an area appear first, followed by more complex efficient algorithms.

I have been through the first six (of the total nine) chapters in good detail. The chapters on FFT (1 and 2) and Linear prediction (chapter 3) are well done and serve as an excellent platform to get into the subject. The material is easily implemented in MATLAB using the description in the chapters.

Chapter 4 presents a detailed introduction to least-squares algorithms with a pretty good theoretical treatment. The material presented motivates the merits of least-squares approaches and lays out the various numerical approaches to solving such problems in practice. Chapter 5 and 6 follow up on this introduction to present the specific algorithms for Recursive Least-squares, Lattice-ladder algorithms, stabilized fast RLS etc.

The book gets only 4-stars because of problems with presentation. In the chapters 4,5,6 there is an inconsistency in the symbols used. The symbols used are also not readily related to the quantities they are supposed to represent. Instead of repeating a simple equation, the book often refers to equation numbers in some other part of the chapter or sometimes in other chapters. In some sections algorithms and alternative strategies just appear one after another without a good "big-picture". A flow-chart or some kind of a schematic to help classify the various techniques would enhance the utility of this book manifold (e.g., see "Fundamentals of Statistical Signal Processing" by Steven M. Kay).

Overall, I recommend this book as a very useful starting point for anyone (with a basic DSP background) interested in implementing statistical signal processing algorithms. It is also an excellent survey of existing literature.

This book is a must for any one who wants to read about Advance topics in DSP. Very informative book. It is a book of Proakis.

detailed review of emergency thou suffers from a lack of information on certain key areas.can be verbose at times thou is a generally a good read

The book comes in 3 hardback volumes, well worth the price. I am a practicing Paramedic with a desire to know more about the how's and why's of patient care. The book is well organized, with a reading level of college sophomore. The section on resucitation takes ACLS just a little bit further. I consider this book recommended reading for Paramedics who want to stay on top

Originally translated from the German in the late 1950's, this book leads off with the tale of the great decipherments of the nineteenth century: Egyptian hieroglyphs, the various languages using cuneiform, and the Hittite/Luwian native script.

It goes on to give a glimpse at some texts in languages which had not yet been fully figured as of the date of its writing, including languages for which much progress has been made, like Carian, and languages that still baffle readers, like the Rongo-Rongo script of Easter Island.

The information here is dated, but its chief value is to whet one's interest in the intriguing world of archaeological decipherments. It's no wonder it went through many reprints and is relatively easy to find.

This is by far the best book I have read (and keep re-reading) on ancient languages and their decipherment. Johannes Friedrich is obviously a master of his subject, and yet he and his gifted translator - Frank Gaynor - put that deep learning into easily accessible prose. The book is hard to put down, even on a second or third reading, and yet it does not achieve such readability by over-simplification or omission. It is more than a book on antique languages, it is an opportunity to visit with a very great mind.

This book is used as the text for an introductory linguistics course at the University of Montana. While it contains basic linguistics chapters, it also has fun stuff about animals and language, historical linguistics, computers and language, and acoustics. The book is ideal for anyone who is interested in teaching an introductory class or just interested in finding out what linguistics is all about. There are many exercises since this is a text book and some answers in the back of the book.

This new edition is a much improved version of an old standard. When I first used Language Files, it consisted primarily of a workbook of exercises accompanied by tersely worded handouts. The exercises are still here, and they've been added to and improved. But the text has been greatly expanded and updated so that the book can now stand on its own as a course textbook rather than as simply a workbook supplement. The glossary is excellent, and there is a separate language index in addition to the general index. The book still retains it organization as separate short files, which makes it very easy to find readings on specific topics; the reader feels free to skip around within the text. The brevity of the files adds to their readability. I would recommend this book as a either a course text or supplement for any introductory linguistics course.

Ling is in desparate need of someone to popularize his work. The model of cell structure and operation he has put forth is nothing less than a complete revolution in the field of physiology. Further, if it were recognized and explored it would usher in revolutions in many related fields such as biology, pharmacology, neurology and others.

Unfortunately, even when Ling tries to write to a more general audience than other cell physiologists, he comes up far short. In the introduction he suggests this book is appropriate for high school biology students. I can say that I've taken high school biology, and college biology, physiology, chemistry, neurology, anatomy, biochemisty and others. And this book is very challenging reading.

One wonders if Ling has been engrossed in his technical world so long that he doesn't realize the level of expertise needed to fully understand his thesis. Or perhaps he has simply lost the ability to convey his ideas without continuous reference to all the equations and chemistry. Of course those aspects are important for advanced researchers who might replicate his work. But embedding them in the text virtually assures that his ideas will remain obscure to those who might otherwise be persuaded to learn more about his work.

I'm spending time on these criticisms in order to prepare any potential readers. It is a difficult book to read.

That said, it is full of fascinating information if one is willing to sort through the data to find the jewels. By the end one has no doubt that Ling's work is founded upon the most rigorous science possible. Further (and most importantly), one is left with little doubt that Ling is on to something huge. The model of the human cell and how it works has been wrong for 50 years; Ling shows why, and how, and meticulously outlines a better model, one that actually fits the experimental data.

I highly recommend this book, but not to individuals interested in reading popular scientific writing. This book is for people with a pretty extensive background in basic life sciences. I hope someday Ling's work will be put into a package that is accessible to a wide audience. This isn't that book.

As a beginning note to the readers states, Life At The Cell and Below-Cell Level is a book about "the in-depth and extensive experimental confirmation of the essence of the physico-chemical theory of life." Life At The Cell and Below-Cell level is a unique, informatively guided tour through the biological and physical processes in our cells that create and perpetuate the miracle of life. It was specifically written to be accessible for everyone, from the lay reader to the college student, who really wants to know what is going on at the cellular level of life and isn't afraid to do a little hard-core learning to find out. An extensive super-glossary is included for readers who have forgotten most of their basic biology. While Life At The Cell And Below-Cell Level contains college-level science, it is self-contained and takes the time to explain and detail each new concept as the reader learns it. Black-and-white figures, diagrams, and graphs occasionally illustrate the scholarly text. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about the cellular building blocks that create life itself.

...

In referencing some of the facts, the descriptions proffered seem to be fairly on the mark, but not always. While it is nice to read a book written with conviction, as this book is, you always have to be careful as to what is true and what is a stretch. Also, as a side note for the authors, it would be nice to not have to hear over and over about the husband's martial arts penchant.

I think the authors portray the average Taiwanese person as a bit more anti-Westerner, rude, harsh, and unforgiving than they really are. My experience with many Taiwanese is that they are more than happy to talk to you (if they spesk English) as long as you are willing to smile and open up. This is not a population of money-first, anti-white people. Sometimes I think the text intones this sentiment.

Thus the notion that the average foreigner will not be liked is not true, at least in my opinion. It has been my experience that in Taipei, where you will likely spend some (if not all) of your time, you will not be ogled and thought of as a freak, as plenty of non-Taiwanese exists there. In more rural settings, this may certainly be the case, as it was for me. (As a side note, if you are black you likely WILL be ogled no matter where you go.)

I think the issues discussed with saving face would make the visiting business person very careful in not [messing] up, as it were. While there is the notion of face, certainly, it is not the be all and end all of the Taiwanese lifestyle. If one were to proceed with such caution, the timidness of the traveller would certainly be poicked up and would cause judgement to be made for the worse.

Those are some problems I have with the book. All in all, there's not a ton of material written about Taiwan, so stacked up against its competition it fares rather well. As an absolute comparison, it could be more inclusive.

I did like the book. It does touch on a lot of issues that would be helpful for someone visiting the country. As a learning tool about Taiwan, this is just as good a start as any short of marrying a Taiwanese man or woman and spending time there. Many issues are briefly covered, but not too briefly to get any substance out of them.

All in all, I recommend it.

I recently spent Thanksgiving week in Taiwan, visiting relatives, and brought my American fiance along. We both enjoyed this book because of its humor and usefulness.

I liked the fact that it pointed out certain things/practices/habits that are exclusive to the Taiwanese culture. For example, it talked about the traditional "wet market" (a.k.a. farmer's market). So, my fiance asked if we could go to one, which turned out to be very fun. It basically gave me some ideas of places to show him for tourist spots.

This book helped him to be better prepared for adapting the Taiwanese style of living for a week. As for me, it helped me appreciate my own roots more. I truly recommend this book. The usual sight seeing tour guides are dispensable. This one is just the opposite.

While I haven't visited Taiwan, I did work for two years for a company owned by Chinese folks from Taiwan. From what I have been able to observe, culturally speaking, this book is right on.

The breadth of topics covered is impressive. A bit of language, enough history to teach you why things are as they are, information on doing business and entertaining, what you should worry about and what you should not, climate, traffic, politics, religion, philosophy, the culture of the small business owner, and even varieties of food are addressed. I would recommend it strongly, not only for the traveler to Taiwan but for anyone with close friends or co-workers who hail from it--if I'd had it years ago, I'd have committed fewer faux pas and had a better time.

I read through the storybook, and was a bit disappointed that there was not more written about Darth Vader's past. I guess this will show up in the new Episodes. The book did a good job of filling in Darth's history between Episode 4, 5, and 6 of the Trilogy though. It's interesting to read, but if you're a die hard Star Wars fan it's mostly review. On the other hand, the 12" Anakin figure is a must for any collection (tip, he's looks great standing next to the Electronic 12" Vader figure w/ removable helmet - revealing Anakin). Overall, this set is a definite must for all collectors, but priced a bit high in my opinion.

Most people who end up with this set are probably more interested in the Anakin 13.5" figure than the accompanying book. Anakin is quite nice, with a high level of articulation and a pleasing expression. The book is smaller than you might think from the size of the package. The first section covering the development of the Vader character is interesting reading. The second part is essentially a summation of Vader's role in Episodes 4-6, which is familiar to most everyone. The third is a fairly detailed look at Vader collectibles, which is fun reading for a Star Wars collector, although intense fans may already know about most of it. The presentation is gorgeous throughout, from the massive outer box to the attractive merging of photos and text in the book itself. All in all, a different sort of Star Wars piece well worth picking up.

The Anakin Skywalker figure was a major total bonus!!! He is a total treasure! The book was excellent in the beginning in discussing the McQuarrie formulation of Lord Vader. The middle section, about Anakin and how he became Darth Vader didn't tell me anything new. I was hoping for some new and interesting info on the Dark Lord, but...... The third part, the collectible info was pretty good if not frightening....especially when you realize that you posess 2/3 of the Vader stuff mentioned therein. Overall, I give the book (and, mostly, the Anakin figure) an enthusiastic 2 thumbs and 2 big toes up!!!! Thanks.