You need to have this book if you need to take mini-vacations away from your stressful routine. This is a wonderful book. Beautiful design, beautiful photos, excellent narrative. Of my 100+ design/decorating books, this is in my top 5 favorites, a position it has held for over 2 years. Like another reviewer, I also appreciate knowing the homeowners' names. Sometimes I see their homes showcased in other books published after this one, with different photo angles, or perhaps updated accessories, and I feel like I'm keeping in touch with old friends.

This is perhaps my favorite interior design book. Each space featured has a warm, unique and personal style that is not usually seen in the typical glossy interior coffee table books. Many of the homes are vacation or weekend cottages but they all share a feeling of great comfort and individual charm. I not only enjoy the beautiful photographs but the text reveals the personality of the owners and how the spaces reflect their lives. "California Cottages" brings a refreshing view of eclectic, somewhat bohemian living spaces that feel intimate and real. It's also nice to have a West coast perspective among the many interior design/style books that tend to favor East coast locales.

I highly recommend this book if you like the relaxed, and simply elegant cottage look.

Alan Bennett has been called England's National Teddy Bear, so beloved is his work and person. It's a sweet moniker, but misleading to those who may not have yet read Bennett. Insightful and compassionate with a wit so sharp it effectively amputates sentimentality, this is a Teddy Bear with laser eyes and sharp claws that are only just retracted.

Bennett's character sketches in Talking Heads are devastating. The grown man whose safe little existence begins to unravel as he discovers his dear old mum has taken a lover, the vigilent, upright busybody who ends up in prison for invading her neighbor's privacy, the widow of "Soldiering On" whose emptiness of purpose is revealed through her inability to grieve--each uncomprehending character Bennett has created in these astonishing soliloquies is undone by his or her brave and steadfast unwillingness to acknowledge the bare-knuckled truth of human emotion.

Bennett is not cruel in revealing the weaknesses of his characters, but he is uncompromising in revealing those weaknesses. This is the Teddy Bear who brings to the picnic the sharp knives that cut through the bread and fat prepared and packaged by his companions.

Also recommended are Bennett's Writing Home, The Clothes They Stood Up In, and any and all of his other plays, particularly The Old Country; and, for those who just must have the soft and fuzzy version of the Teddy Bear, listen to Bennett's reading of Winnie the Pooh, or go see his stageplay of The Wind in the Willows.

Honestly I thought the story was quite dull he tells us about the dull part of their lives, I'm surprised I didn't sleep reading it. It's the worst book I've ever read. You probably won't put this on display on the computer, but you asked what I thought of it and I told you the truth, I'm sure many others agree with me that the story was boring. . Thankyou

I have been studying Alan Bennett and like many others find it highly amusing. It works remarkably well as a television series and not just on the page. The personalisation and connection to the viewer draws you in and makes it appear that each character is actually talking to you. Excellent work

I agree with all the other reviewers... this is a great book for beginners and advanced (as well as folks somewhere in the middle, like me).

One thing I didn't expect to like, since I can read regular music notation, was their concocted music notation. To my surprise, I like theirs better. It's very intuitive, and after a while, you can pretty much sight-read the rhythms. If I hear/see a conga pattern I like in the future, I'll probably write it down using their notation.

Very recommended! I think Alan Dworsky used a very clear graphic way of teaching the Conga playing, without getting into music reading instead, he uses symbols for the diferent strokes, and easy numbers. It is great for begginers but stil a good book for advanced players, because it goes through many aspects of the conga.
If you are into conga playing, get this book for the price of half a conga lesson I am sure you will get some mileage out of it. I have been playing congas for years and I discovered a few things in this book I didn't know. Go for it! (...)

As a beginning Conga drummer, I was not sure how much could be learned from a book. I keep playing the patterns over and over and I get a little faster and smoother all the time. The CD lets me match the sound. I am starting lessons soon but I know this book will be there during and after the lessons. It's like having a private, personal instructor. Excellent.

Here there be dragons of a wonderfully inventive new breed that transcends the notions of myth and legend to take on a thoroughly modern form. Dragon Moon picks up where Troop's earlier novel, The Dragon DelaSangre, leaves off, with a widowed Peter DeleSangre caring for his young son on an island off the Florida coast, overseeing his lucrative business remotely while he waits for young Henri to reach a level of maturity sufficient to allow for his introduction into the world of humans. To all appearances, The People of the Blood, or dragons in this venue, are -- aside from their brilliant green eyes -- indistinguishable from humans, able to shape themselves into whatever form they desire. Only when they are safe from human eyes do they assume their natural dragon form, free to fly and hunt as they please. They do feed off humans out of necessity, but those who serve them well are rewarded and taken care of. It is not an easy life, but Peter's absolute devotion and love for his young son come before his own natural desires to find a new mate. For the five years following the death of his wife Elizabeth, he thinks only about her younger sister Chloe, waiting for her to come of age before journeying to Jamaica in an attempt to make her his bride. While most female dragons, upon reaching sexual maturity, mate with the first male they come in contact with, Peter truly loves Chloe. It is, in both human and dragon ways, an unusual courtship, one that leads Peter to the brink of either joy or sorrow. Little does he realize at the time that this moment of emotional truth marks only the beginning of his stresses and travails; soon, he will find himself poisoned and at the point of death, Chloe locked away from his reach, his beloved son taken from him, and another Person of the Blood impersonating him back home on the mainland in an effort to steal both his company and his horde of wealth.

While I have not had a chance to read Troop's first book containing the first-person account of Peter DelaSangre's earlier years, I can safely say that Dragon Moon is eminently satisfying on its very own. While Peter is a dragon by birth, he is remarkably human as a result of his experiences among men and women, and aside from his occasional slaughter and eating of humans, he is quite the dashing hero. His deep love for his son and for Chloe, as well as his interest in human pursuits, marks him as a very distinctive dragon; the fears, loves, regrets, dreams, and other emotional feelings and wishes he communicates are universally understood, making him an incredibly sympathetic character.

Troop inevitably draws comparisons, both good and bad, to Anne Rice, and I for one am at something of a loss to explain why this should be so. It is true that he has basically invented a brand new concept and history of dragons, remaking them in a thoroughly modern form, one which this book apparently explores in more detail than Troop's previous novel. Peter and Chloe also do spend a lot of time mating, but this is essentially just an expression of their love for one another. While Rice luxuriates in her prose, however, Troop maintains a riveting pace that manages to explore his characters rather deeply without ever impacting on the action and suspense. Ultimately, Dragon Moon is a work of fantasy about loss and love, the importance of family, honor, and bravery, making this tale of modern dragons a thoroughly human story.

Peter returns in this fast paced sequel to The Dragon DelaSangre, and the characters, if anything, are deeper and more realistic than ever. In this novel, we are taken even deeper into dragon "society" and the "People of the Blood." Every step of the way, Troop creates the universe of the dragon, missing little and touching on every nuance. Few book series today have anything original to offer, but Troop has created a plausible anti-hero for the masses in Peter. I actually find myself cheering him on as he eviscerates the ruder of our population to feed his adorable son/heir, Henri. I strongly recommend reading BOTH books in this series and look very much forward to the third, fourth, and so on :>) of this hopefully continuing series. Wonderful stuff, Mr. Troop!

They occupied the Earth long before man existed and still interact with humanity when it is necessary. They can look like humans when they choose but in their true form, they see Homo sapiens as prey and food. Peter DelaSangre is a wealthy dragon living on Caya Dela Sangre, an island he owns off the Florida coast with his four-year-old son Henri. His wife is dead, murdered by humans who betrayed him, which is why he has little to do with humanity as possible.

His wife's sister Chloe is coming into heat so Peter's journeys to her home to mate with her because he cares for her. Once the mating is accomplished, they tell her parents who are displeased but allow the mating ceremony to begin. Midway through the rite, Peter is poisoned. By the time he's recovers, Chloe's brother is masquerading as him and holding his son as hostage. Both Chloe and Peter risk their lives to save Henri with the latter forced to battle his wife's father and brother to the death.

Although the hero of this book is non-human and thinks of us as fodder one can't help but admire the man who loves his son so much. He can't be judged by people standards though personification makes him seem somewhat human but he remains at all times (though it is sometimes hard to remember) another species. Peter has a good heart and his mate is his match in every sense of the word. There is a lot of action in DRAGON MOON but it is the characters that will win the hearts of the reader. Alan F. Troop does for dragons what Alice Borchardt has done for werewolves.

Harriet Klausner

Anyone curious about Weston or wanting to own a representative selection of his work should buy this book. This IS Weston. This is not a few selected prints of his on a single theme, this is a wide representation of the best of Weston's work. One will find for oneself that ALL of Weston's pictures are about passion, that's what makes a picture a Weston. Here in this book are beautifully reproduced plates of his finest images, every one exuding shape and energy, and exquisite composition, none just ordinary. There are images of factories, fields, sand, wood and also the human body, all of which have been captured in all its glory by Weston. He teaches us that there is energy, art and passion in an amazing number of ways. Don't miss this fine book.

It was a nude Weston's photo of Tina Modoti, layed down on a rural house floor, in México, that had put me on the trail of both. Since then I've been delighted with the sensibility and the astonishing "color" of the B&W photos of them, nudes bodies, "nude" nature, what ever... It was the first time, almost ten years ago.

Review Summary: Edward Weston was trained as a portrait photographer and expanded his vision to include many natural shapes, including seashells, nudes, vegetables, trees, landscapes, and eroded rocks. He also did a little industrial photography, where the forms he saw also revealed pure shapes of interest to him. These shapes usually had a modernist feel to them that brings to mind Plato's theory of forms, pure ideas behind what we see every day. This book is fine overview of all phases of Mr. Weston's career, and contains many interesting and valuable essays about his career. The book is improved by having over 80 images that had not been published before this volume. The 320 duotone images are on very fine paper and are extremely well reproduced. Many would have benefited from being printed in larger sizes. If you decide to own only one book of Edward Weston's work, I suggest you choose this one.

Viewer Caution: This book contains many nude images of women, men and children that would surpass what would allow the material to obtain an R rating as a motion picture.

Review: Edward Weston's photography reveals a personal fascination with form, shape and shadow that provide a unique vision into the natural world. He was especially intrigued to see how the shapes of one object or subject could complement another. For example, his female nudes are often posed outdoors in sand dunes or beach settings where the gentle curves play off of one another. Where he focuses on eroded rocks, each one combines with another to express the equivalent of an abstract sculpture, standing out exposed by the erosion around the harder rock that forms the image.

While his landscapes could be every bit as majestic as Ansel Adams's best work, Weston's tastes and interests developed mostly independent of the leading photographers of his time. That independence gave him a greater versatility as a photographer and a more personal style. Few would mistake his ability to locate the patterns within nature and human-made objects for the work of any other photographer. To me, the artist closest to his vision was Georgia O'Keeffe.

My favorite images from this book include: Ruth Shaw, a portrait, 1922; Armco Steel, 1922; Nude, 1925; Dancer, 1927; Chambered Nautilus, 1927; Cypress, Point Lobos, 1929; Bedpan, 1930; Pepper, 1930; Soil Erosion, Carmel Valley, 1932; Church at "E" Town, 1933; Nude, 1935 (first one); Bug Tracks in Sand, 1935; Whale Vertebrae, 1934; Dunes, Oceano, 1936; Nude Series of Charis, Oceano, 1936; Zabriskie Point, 1937; Tree, Lake Tenaya, 1937; Point Lobos, 1940; Dillard King, Monteagle, Tennessee, 1941; Civilian Defense, 1941; and Nude, 1945.

While you look at these works, you will imagine that Edward Weston is at your side . . . pointing out details that you might not have noticed. His photography always has that character of being a reflection of his eye, rather than what the casual observer would naturally see. Both realities have equal validity, but your mind and eye will prefer Weston's.

In the biographical material, you will learn about his weakness for changing partners and how that helped to provide his muse. Many of the models for his female nudes are his lovers (including his second wife, Charis) and his nudes of children are of his son. His passion for Tina Modotti brought him to Mexico and helped draw his attention to many fascinating scenes.

After you finish enjoying this work, I suggest that you think about what inspires you. What would you be happiest and most proud being remembered for as your source of inspiration? How can you express yourself in more personal ways that show your most inner self?

May your passion inspire the goodness in others!

I purchased this before taking a spur-of-the-moment trip to Paris with my boyfriend, based on its excellent reviews on Amazon. I was not dissapointed!

This guide provided an incredible wealth of information about everything Paris -- from sights to see, places to eat, and things to do. Almost every site is accompanied with a nicely written description, map, and full-color photograph.

Here are a few notes: 1.) The information (allbeit interesting and informative) is about the touristy stuff. If you're interested in going to visit lesser-known sites, you may want to get a supplemental guide. 2.) Make sure to look up every place you go/have gone. I was surprised to found out that many of the seemingly understated little cafes we visited have long, rich histories, which the book very colorfully described. 3.) The restaurant guide, while good, is not entirely complete. If your visit will center on the French culinary experience,you may want to do a little additional research beyond the confines of this book. 4.) This leather bound special addition also contains 4 laminated, easy-reference information cards (menu reference sheet, address finder, Metro map) and a full-size city map, all of which were incredibly helpful and can not be purchased separately. 5.) The section about customs is good, as it contained valuable information on topics such as tipping and using the bathroom. (Interesting Fact: In many restaurants you have to *pay* to use the ladies room -- even if you have already purchased a meal or snack. Make sure to carry a handful of 2 Franc pieces with you at all times.) 6.) The book, though helpful, weighs a ton. Be prepared -- or beg one of your travel mates to carry it for you!

Bon voyage!

This guide is wonderful - I have never flown anywhere before and was very nervous about going to Paris, but after having this book for a week now I feel MUCH more confident! I am always opening it to look up more info - Theres so much in it I can't imagine how all that stuff can be in Paris!! I researched quite a few travel guides to Paris before buying this one and I am SO glad I chose this guide... it has detailed descriptions of each region, each monument, each street! Even comes with a menu card to help you figure out what you're about to order! haha... It gives detailed walking tours, bus routes, best times and price differences for visiting museums,... The very best part of this book though is the PICTURES!! There are pictures of everything and THAT makes it the best for me... What else can I say - if you're going to Paris - BUY THIS BOOK!

Dorling Kindersley makes the best travel guides hands down. They are extremely well illustrated, have extensive and detailed maps (thank god, because I tend to get lost very easily), up to date information on hotels (rates, rooms etc), restaurants (costs and reservation policies), and sites to see.

The travel guides have wonderful pictures, well researched histories and facts about France and more specifically Paris, what wines to look for and taste (not just by region and vineyard but also by year), sample dishes that one should try, detailed walking tours, information on famous art (there is a great section on the Louvre and all how to speed thru if you only have a limited amount of time).

The guide covers customs, money changing, travel information - you name it! Most importantly, it shares with you the best places to shop (and there are SO many in Paris), where to get good deals and SOOO much more. The book give you wonderful ideas on how to see the city in a limited time or really enjoy it if you are there for more than a few days. The book also covers things to do that many tourists might over look as well as telling you what is worth your while and what to skip. The guide also has great ideas for day trips beyond the city itself.

This is one of the best guides available on the market. It is perfect if you are planning to go to a few cities in a limited time or for more in depth information when planning a longer trip. We always lend this out to people before they plan a trip and everyone else has agreed it is top of the line.

Carlotta's Kittens by Phyllis Reynolds Nichols

Read this book. It's a mystery about cats and kittens and tails. This book is about a girl cat who has kittens and her friends from the alley. When she got back with her kittens her friends taught the kittens to do cat stuff, until one of the kittens got kidnapped by a one-eye cat. And some of Carlotta's friends go rescue the kitten by tricking the one eye cat.

I liked this book because it was funny. This book kept making me laugh. When I was reading this book it reminded me of a cat that fell off a tree and landed in my dad's arms.

I think the author wrote this book so that kids should find baby animals a home so they could know some animals are in danger.

Carlotta's Kittens is an awesome book! It's exciting, adventurous, and hilarious! I rented it from the library and once I started reading the first and second chapters, I started loving it! I haven't read the first two books of the "Club Of Mysteries" series, but I still think it is one of the greatest books I've ever read! My favorite characters are Carlotta, Polo, Catnip, and Elvis. I loved all the characters, actually...but anyways, why don't YOU read it? I think you'll love it too!

This, is one of my favorite books. One day in Westport, Connecticut, my aunt Sally offered to buy me and my sister a book. I was having trouble choseing and then, she showed up and gave me a book to look at. After I had read the flap, I knew this was the book for me. I like cats, and adventure. My favorite cat is Elvis because he's a good singer, like me. Also he is black and I'm going to get a male black cat too. I also liked Carlotta and Sugar. I also like Catnip. There was one thing, everyonce in awhile, Scamper was a girl, and then, all of a sudden, a boy. I always thought she made a good discription of Steak Knife. If you like adventure, cats and kittens, get this book.

I contemplated buying this book a few years ago when the original edition was still available, but put it off until earlier this year. The book is now available only as a reprint and the quality is nowhere near as good as the original. For a $185 book, I was somewhat disappointed. Still, at least the content hasn't changed.

Topics in this book include cryptanalysis of substitution ciphers, polyalphabetic ciphers, playfair and rotor machines. It has a chapter on the design and analysis of the DES block cipher. The final part of the book concentrates on key management.

The approach is mainly from a statistical angle, as opposed to combinatorics or number theory (which is more common in crypto textbooks). There is not a lot on public key crypto (or even modern cryptanalysis methods) in here, but it is a nice introduction to cryptology from a well-respected cryptographer.

Prof. Konheim's book is, well, fun to read. While I took the class in UC Santa Barbara, he essentailly followed the book. It covers classical as well as part of modern cyrptography. Needless to say, we have a lot of programming and deciphering a lot of crypted text as homework.

The knowledge is basic and essential for crypto-analysis. You will find this book indispensible, even though it doesn't cover topics such as interactive proof system which is more theory than practice as you find very little real world implementation in action.

Read it, program it, decrypt it and enjoy yourself.

Konheim tried in 1981 to do what Helen Gaines tried to do in 1939; to provide a basic working knowledge of the state of the art in cryptology to people with little or no previous knowledge. By and large, Konheim succeeded admirably. He had to overcome two major hurdles. By 1981 the amount known in the public domain about cryptology was very large: too large for a modest-sized book like this. And the basis of the topic had become largely mathematical, which is a put-off for many readers. Konheim copes beautifully with both problems, selecting important material and skipping less important material, and limiting the mathematics to what can almost all be followed by a high-school science honors student (although it helps to have at least three years of college math.) I would love to use this book as the text for a one semester course.

Having said that, I'll offer a few minor criticisms. The whole art of cryptology (as distinct from the mathematics) lies in dealing with the fallibility of people who design and use (or don't use) crypto systems. Konheim doesn't emphasize this enough. For example, cypher-text-only cryptanalysis of a good modern cypher is apt to be extremely hard, but it is often unnecessary. Konheim does not discuss the enormous diversity of ways in which the cryptanalyst may hope to acquire plaintext or probable plaintext. Professional designers of ciphers and codes know all about this, and their choices are heavily influenced by the need to limit damage when, for example, a general sends a back-channel message in a weak cipher that has the same content as an official message in a strong cipher.

He also fails to discuss in detail just how hard it is for the designer of a cipher to create a cipher as strong as the designer believes it to be. This is unfortunate, but I can't lay the blame on Konheim. Most of the most interesting anecdotes to illustrate this point (such as the reasons why NSA rejected LUCIFER and instead worked with IBM to create NDES) are sort of known in the folklore, but not really in the public domain, so could not be included in a college textbook. This is also presumably why Konheim chose not to mention the earliest, original discussions about public key ciphers.

I'll also observe that Konheim's discussion of rotor ciphers is remarkably brief, in view of the importance and widespread use of various types of rotor ciphers in many countries for many years. I understand why Konheim decided not to delve into this topic in detail, but it leaves a serious gap in the student's knowledge. Similarly, Konheim's discussion of NDES pays little attention to chaining and related topics, although he surely had access to the NBS unclassified manual on this subject.

And finally, Konheim devotes less attention than I could wish to the problems of generating, distributing and safeguarding keys. There is a popular belief that RSA with a suitably long key is nearly impregnable, for example, and there is good reason for this belief, but only provided that nobody can steal keys or guess them. Stealing and guessing keys is a game not restricted to cryptology (or computing); it has occured to a huge number of people over the years that the easiest way to get at something you're not supposed to get at is to steal or make a copy of the key. How else could so much pilferage from locked storage rooms and "secure" file cabinets take place? The same problem arises in cryptology, and it's one of the most interesting aspects of the field.

All this being said, however, this is a wonderful book.

Second books are often a bit like second musical albums after big debuts. Good, but somehow lacking the magic of the first effort. That's how I feel about "A Dedicated Man". I really debated between giving it three or four stars.

It easily earns three stars as an least average British police procedural. The writing is competent. The clues (or lack thereof) all make sense in in the end. It gets another half star for its many thoughtful observations of the Yorkshire environment - both the landscape and the mentality of the people. I'm pretty much rounding up the score after that. I like Banks and plan to keep reading the series which has received considerable praise in recent years. Still, I haven't found anything so fascinating that I'm going to recommending the book or series to friends---yet.

When the body of local historian Harry Steadman is found buried beneath a dry-stone wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Chief Inspector Alan Banks finds himself presented with a extremely puzzling case. And why is it puzzling? Because, aside from a minor disagreement with his friend and local farmer over his selling of some lad, Harry was invariably liked y everybody, ad even that minor inconsequential argument was no reason to kill somebody. Harry was a kind, thoughtful, and respected man, whom everyone liked and about whom no one can find a bad word to say. There seems to be absolutely no motive for his murder. And yet, buried somewhere, there must be one'

Then, Sally Lumb, a local teenager whom Banks suspects of knowing more than she is telling, alarmingly disappears'

Very much an English 'cosy' in the tradition of writers like Ann Granger, this is another success for Peter Robinson. There seems to be nothing exceptionally challenging in these early novels, but they're very enjoyable reads. Robinson writes good prose, and structures his mysteries excellently. He develops his characters well, even if they themselves are nothing out of the ordinary. Banks is an excellent lead, very real and with a dry humour there is definitely something of Morse in him. But, it would be nice if we got to meet his family a bit more pretty soon'

Anyone who likes a nice, traditional, well-crafted and satisfying British mystery is guaranteed to like the books of Peter Robinson.

When Harry Steadman is murdered, Inspector Alan Banks and his officers are called in to find the killer. Because the murdered man was a genial professor, Banks has a great deal of difficulty finding anyone who might be a suspect. Everyone seemed to genuinely like Harry Steadman. When a young girl is murdered because of what she knows, the search intensifies and when the murderer is unmasked, everyone is stunned. The second mystery in Peter Robinson's series features an interesting mystery and an appealing main character.