I was thrilled when I first came across this book, someone finally did a price guide for the kind of LP's I was collecting. Unfortunately the book didn't turn out to be all I was hoping for when I bought it. It is useful as a discography for the artists listed and seems very complete in that respect but I wish it contained more and better examples of classic LP cover art and more biographical information on the artists. I suppose this may be asking too much from a price guide type book. But even as a price guide this book seems a bit off. Although there are exceptions, almost all of the records are listed as being worth $3-5 or $7-10. Now as a collector I think it would be great if record dealers would adopt this as their official pricing guideline, but if you are buying these type albums anywhere besides your local thrift shops you are probably forced to pay more than that for these records, sometimes a LOT more ( at least that has been my experience). In fairness, I guess it wasn't too long ago that you could pick most of these records up for under a buck almost anywhere, but original LP's of lounge and space age bachelor pad music seem to be going for premium dollars these days and a recent price guide should more accurately reflect that. BOTTOM LINE on this book...Should you buy a copy if you are into this type of music? Yes! by all means. While this book does miss the mark a bit (in my opinion) there is precious little information published about this type of music and this book is one of very few available on the subject. While I was initially somewhat dissappointed when I first read the book I have gone back to it on numerous occasions to look something up and I am glad to have it on my shelf. The discography type information alone is worth the price of the book and there is a bunch of other pertinent information included which is also useful (websites, etc.).Most of the book is taken up by the price listings but I did enjoy reading the text that is there and found it informative as well. Now if I could just convince my local record dealers to sell me those Esquivel and Three Suns albums at this book's prices.

Anticipating a great catalogue and price guide for lounge music, I was somewhat disappointed in this publication. Too much page space is given to the discography and price listing and too little to a beautiful presentation of the covers which are so essential to this style of music. All the good stuff(photos and text) inhabits verticle strips on the edge of the pages. The covers are poorly printed with a dull look. The pricing seems pedestrian and not detailed enough. Too bad because the list of artists is large and largely accurate. Sort of a 70% effort.

This volume is cleverly as composed as the best of lounge entertainment

The authors attempt to portray financial strategies that many CPA's and financial planners agree are questionable if not illegal.

One of the easiest to read estate planning books that I have read. I recommend this book for anyone with a taxable estate that needs to understand the issues/concepts of estate planning.

I was looking for financial planning advice that was not intimidating and easy for someone not in a "money & numbers" profession to understand. I found just what I needed in this book. The authors provided information in a common-sense, conversational manner. It was arranged so I could find exactly the topics that apply to me and my family. I found good advice, answers I was looking for and learned alot along the way. I was pleasantly surprised that a subject I had always veered away from could really be presented in such a "user-friendly" format.

The new edition of this book fails to deliver in every aspect. I've used Lonely Planet books in the past, and they've proved to be reliable and useful, but not this one. I live in Banff, and so the observations are from this region.

Firstly, the "new" edition is terribly out of date. I purchased it after seeing the publication date was October 2002. It's accepted and understandable that things change, but there is information that was wrong well over a year before the publication date. A hostel that burnt down in 2000 (Hilda Creek, page 701), and reference to Banff and Jasper as "townsites" (Banff was incorporated in 1991, Jasper in 2001) are examples.

The description of Banff is laughable. There is no possible way anyone could describe the town as a "small, alpine-style village that consists of essentially one main street" (page 686), as this book does. The following history section doesn't get better: "The Bow River forms a class-distinctive boundary that is still evident today." In the first instance, the side of the river that LP tells us "caters to the wealthy crowd" comprises mainly of subsidized housing. And "Many people complain that the townsite is too crowded and argue that more hotels and streets should be built." Aside from the fact a 12 year old could have written the sentence, it's just simply not correct. In an effort to include an environmental slant, the authors have touched on current issues. Readers are informed that a convention center at Lake Louise is controversial because it's "in grizzly bear habitat-good goin' guys" (page 696). Bad goin' I say-it's controversial due to water issues, not bears.

The book is riddled with inaccuacies. Not information that is out of date, but straightforward mistakes. Page 688 talks of canoe rentals at Banff's Central Park. There has never been a canoe rental place here. How could a trained writer even imagine there was? Golden is "just outside the park" (page 692) No, it's over an hour's drive away along a treacherous road. There are literally dozens of similar mistakes in just the few pages on Banff. This is also reflected in the maps: Banff has no "Mamoth St." (page 687). As all Banff streets are named for animals, I guess they meant "mammoth" street, but there is no street of this name either. The mapmakers can't even correctly spell an incorrect name, or something along those lines anyway.

Most surprising for me, the good, solid travel information these books were once renowned for has been replaced by useless, fluffy text that serves no purpose at all. For example, the restaurants listed are not recommendations as such, but simply listings. And where there is a description it does little to inform. Four lines are used to explain the source of the name of an Irish pub (page 694) that has absolutely no relevance to Banff or the mountains, including that the original Guinness Brewery is still open and that it was "founded by 34 year old Arthur Guinness in 1759." The next listing is for Bruno's, named for one of Banff's most famous and respected mountain men. This name isn't explained, just that the restaurant has a "wide-ranging menu." There is an excellent reason why renting a vehicle in Banff, as opposed to Calgary or Canmore, is a bad choice (no unlimited mileage is offered, even by the majors), yet, this important and useful information isn't included (page 696).

My original purpose of buying this book was for travel around my own country, not so much to rely on every word in print but to get a feeling as how Canada is portrayed by these books. The litany of inaccuracies and uselessness seems to continue beyond the Rockies section. On page 34 readers are told brown bears are "actually a black bear but brown in color." I just wish I could ask the author how he came up with this unique theory.

I imagine picking a Lonely Planet book as the guide of choice is habit more than anything for many travelers. It's reflected in the attitude of those I meet on the road and the reviews I see here at Amazon. It seems somehow ironic that Lonely Planet has evolved from the likes of an Africa book I relied on for every word in the 80s, written by a guy whose biography had him living in a hut brewing mango wine somewhere I can't recall, to this worthless tome that relies on name rather than content to generate sales.

Lightbody, Huhti and Ver Berkmoes have produced the definitive travel guide on Canada. Up-front, this review is based on my trips to B.C. and Nova Scotia. To say that Canada is vast is an understatement, but, if these, to polarized Canadian provinces, are typical of the rest of the guide, this is a "must have" purchase.

Lightbody, Huhti and Ver Berkmoes' writing is both engaging and descriptive. "Lonely Planet Canada" has a solid introduction section that covers Norway's history, government, economy, ecology, climate etc. An informative practical travel section and, most important, a reliable and up-to-date listing of recommendations that each of the contributors has checked out (lodging, restaurants, entertainment, places to see and things to do). At the start of each section is a regional map, more maps, and a list of highlights or "must see" for that region. Great!

In my "must have" list to qualify a guide as "excellent", are easy to read maps. This book has the best maps found in a Canada travel guide. High marks go to the city maps that help the reader by numerically locating the recommended restaurants and accommodations on the maps.

The superb information and recommendations are reliable and though the publication date is 1999 (thus the information is pre '99), I did find some restaurants and inns closed or sold. As a whole, accommodations prices have increased an average of 15% to 20%.

A weak area, which I am sure will be corrected in the next edition, is the sparse use of email/web site addresses (Halifax, N.S. had no addresses out of the 20 accommodations listings). As computer users know, website and email addresses are very helpful, especially for hotel quotes and reservations.

Lonely Planet Canada is comprehensive enough to have even if you are just visiting one province and, with its excellent introduction and reliable accommodations and restaurants recommendations, you find that this may be the best buy in Canada Guides. Strongly recommended.

I used this guide while travelling on the east and west coast of Canada. It's most complete and accurate and also fun to read. The recommendations are all very reliable and good. If you don't want to carry around a handful of guide books, this book helps a lot. Even if it might not go as much into detail as a guide that zooms in on a particular city or region. But you'll find everything a backpacker's (and budget traveler's) eye is looking for. Highly recommended.

If this book weren't the last of the excellent "Way of the Tiger" ninja series, it would deserve 4 or 5 stars. Unfortunately, "Inferno!" seems to have been the final book of the series. The problem stems from the fact that the book's "ending" is not really an ending. The hero's main quest remains unfulfilled at the end, robbing the story, and the entire series for that matter, of a satisfying conclusion.

I just wanted to make the comment that it DOES come to a conclusion of sorts, just not the one one would expect. Basically, the character takes on an impossible mission--going into the Rift, and pays the consequences, so basically any decision you make, you will end up dead (even at the end, apparantly, as you are trapped and about to die). I read this book years and years ago, and was trying to find out if they ever continued the series (the black widow could spontaneously croak or something, or the hero could make a miraculous escape, or even better, the series could continue, except 30yrs in the future, with avenger's son reclaiming the throne and fighting evil, or something like that). Overall its a good book, although not quite as good as some of the other superb books in the series. I was definitely disappointed to see this series come to an end.

It would be great if someone turned this series into a video game...

This book is nothing at all like I was expecting. I read one review and thought it would be great but it is a typical "see Jane run" book. About three sentences on a page with very BIG letters. I thought it would be a great stocking stuffer for my 9 year old dancer who is competing but she would be very bored with it. It will , more likely, be given to my 5 year old as she is just learning to read. It does state ages 4-8 but be aware it is for VERY early readers.

When i bought this book at the book store, i really didn't think it was going to be that great, because i am an Irish Step dancer, and i can tell if what he was writing about was real or fake. But i understood every thing he was writing about. and i love this book, if your an irish step dancer..... get this book!!!

This is a small staple-bound but full-color booklet with attractive pictures and simple text. Perfect for my preschooler beginning Irish dance!

While the pictures might interest older readers, the text is very simple: "Irish step dancing is danced to Irish music. I move my feet to the music. I keep my arms at my sides."

Half the pictures show girls in street/exercise clothes, the other half in dance costume. There are no boys pictured, unfortunately. There are two pictures of hardshoe, the rest is softshoe dancing.

Recommended for ages four to six or so.

Hmmmm.... J.I. Packer, Thomas Oden, and Timothy George giving "advance praise." My first question, after seeing that Intervarsity Press was the publisher of this series, was, "What are conservative evangelicals doing reading the Fathers?" After perusing the Mark commentary, I can see that they haven't, at least in any diverse way. The idea that the "Fathers" were a monolithic entity who were in agreement on "exegesis" runs throughout this book, as well as the Romans volume. Any trained exgete will know that this is madness--there has only been one period in the church when views and scholarship were more multifarious than the present age: the Patristic period!

The particular sort of scholarship as well as the conservative (read: unrepresentative of biblical scholarship as a whole) intent of the series is indicated in a cover blurb from Richard John Neuhaus (NOT a conservative evangelical). Can you detect the ideological underpinnings of the ACCS from this perjorative sentence?: "In the desert of biblical scholarship that tries to deconstruct or get behind the texts, the patristic commentators let the pure, clear waters of Christian faith flow from its scriptural source." Goodness, is that really what is going on in the ACCS? Which Fathers, may I ask--Origen? Universally ignored or maligned in conservative seminaries (the largest of which in the world I am a product), Origen is one of the few really interesting voices in the ACCS, but only his least "dangerous" commentary is allowed in the series, it seems. Same for the Cappadocians, and many others. In any event, it is no "commentary" at all--which manuscripts were being commented on? Were these all from exegetical works, or were the exerpts from the Fathers taken from letters, sermons (polemics) and such? Why these comments, and not others? Is this ALL the Fathers had to say on the issues? Certainly, only a selection could be presented, but again, why these comments arranged in this way? A possible answer: these support the readings of the biblical texts the editors wanted to promulgate.

Sadly, these questions go unanswered, I am afraid. None of the diversity and dissent of the first centuries of the faith shine through in this volume, and that is what is needed in any deeper reading of the Fathers. Early Christian writings can indeed shake up our complacent scholarship and our spiritually devoid lives, but not if they are packaged in such a mundane way. Ideologically-driven scholarship is immediately suspect. I predict that this laborious project will gather dust on the library shelves of mainstream centers of scholarship and seminaries, if they bother to spend budgeted money on it at all after the IPOs hit the bookstores of the world, blaze for a while (nice, slick covers on these volumes), and fade away.

In all, avoid the steep price for these books, unless you want high-dollar Sunday School literature. And it's too bad, too--this is a great idea for a commentary set. Maybe Doubleday ought to take over the idea from IVP; they gave us the Anchor Bible series and dictionaries. Now THAT would be something to be reckoned with.

Next.

The ACCS is a unique achievement in the world of biblical scholarship. In an age in which legitimate scholarly commentaries seem to be limited to the "current" and "relevant," the ACCS reaches back to the roots of not just biblical scholarship, but biblical piety, and it is there where it makes its mark. With the ACCS, we read of the role of scripture in the lives of faith of great men such as Augustine and Chrysostom, and we thus come to realize that any "scholarship" done on the bible in their day was done out of faith. Anyone current in modern biblical scholarship can see how this is a far cry from the detached scholarship coming out of so many seminaries and graduate schools today. As a catechetical tool for parish religious education programs, the ACCS comes highly recommended as a means by which the believer can come into contact with the Christian past. However, the merits of the ACCS stop here, in the face of more than a few criticisms and obstacles which it ignores.

First of all, the commentary on Mark, and I might suspect the whole series, over-simplifies the Christianity which it seeks to present, giving the impression that the "Patristic period" was a time of consensual thinking void of serious conflict. Often, certain passages of Mark will be commented upon by church fathers who did not even consider each other as "orthodox" (a loaded term in need of qualifying), or who were only considered by many to be orthodox in their own time, or only years after their deaths.

The less critical reader may come away with the idea that patristic theology was a school of thought not unlike reformed or existential theology, which we know is not the case. By offering examples from third century fathers like Origen (deemed a heretic after his death and hardly an example of "consensual thinking"), fifth century fathers like Augustine, and eighth century fathers like John of Damascus, there is a tendency toward anachronism in the ACCS, which can only paint an artificial picture of ancient Christianity, a picture which seeks to ignore (and I would wonder why) the diversity and conflict so common in the church during late antiquity. Also, given the method by which certain texts of the fathers were chosen (and not chosen) for the ACCS, I would wonder at the criteria: do we only hear from the texts of the fathers which agree with the agenda of the editors, or do we really get a full picture of the ancient church?

Second, I would question the editors' choice of sources, of examples which are supposed to serve as representative of patristic thought. Many of the sources cited were not even biblical commentaries, and thus any examples of what a church father said about a biblical passage runs the risk of being taken out of context in the ACCS. More often, the writings which the ACCS editors present as a father's comments on a biblical passage were from mere letters, or treatises on topics other than the particular biblical passage at hand. Usually, when a father did quote scripture in such non-biblically focused works (such as catechetical lectures, apologetics, etc.), his goal was to proof-text from scripture in order to make a point, his goal was certainly not scripture commentary. However, in presenting such passages out of context as if they were solely commentaries on scripture, the ACCS again paints an artificial picture of ancient Christianity. You would think that the doctoral students who worked on this project with Professor Oden would know better.

Finally, I would question which biblical manuscripts the fathers were commenting upon when they wrote the works which serve as the sources for the ACCS. As Professor Oden should know, there was no single Greek (or Latin, or Syriac, etc.) manuscript of the New Testament in the age of the fathers which could have served as the only basis for commenting upon scripture (consider here the codex vaticanus, sinaiticus, etc.). However, in presenting all the varied comments by the fathers on these passages of Mark, giving only the English RSV as a referent, the reader again gets the false impression of a mushy "consensuality" among those who only later came to be called fathers of the church, a "consensuality" which is supposed to span centuries as well as cultural/linguistic/geographic boundaries.

The questions the ACCS does not answer are how we are to reconcile the disparity among the manuscripts of the NT used by the fathers, and the basis upon which can we use a ready-made English translation whose underlying Greek text was quite unlike that used by the men whose comments are employed in the ACCS. These ultimately come down to a question of method. These questions are not answered because (conveniently perhaps?) they are not addressed, but shouldn't they be, in the spirit of scholarly inquiry? It is this lack of variant readings and clear articulation of method which, I feel, calls the "scholarly" legitimacy of this work into question.

In conclusion, I would have to add that it is the perspective of the reader which will determine the usefulness of the ACCS. If one's goal is merely to refer to what some of the fathers said about a passages of scripture, in order to find a link between the church's past and present, then the ACCS is a fine reference. However, if one's goal is to probe the methodology and presuppositions behind what has come to be known as patristic exegesis, the ACCS can only serve as a convenient starting point for one unfamiliar with other sources on the subject. Even in that case, the usefulness of the ACCS cannot be expected to last long for those with the deeper questions.

This first book in a series of commentary on the scriptures is highly recommended. Many modern commentaries are concerned with historical background, sources, etc., which are useful in their way, but once you get past that and want to just dwell on what it means spiritually, this is a great way to do it. This book includes the text of the gospel of Mark in short sections, so you don't have to flip back and forth between the book and a copy of the Bible, but can just stay with one book. Underneath each section, the commentary proceeds verse by verse with selections from different early Christian writers. This structure makes the book easy to use in slow, meditative reading of both the Bible text and the commentary on it, so you can dwell on it a verse or two at a time, or you can go at a faster pace if you wish to. And while it's very good for devotional reading, it is not sugary or overly sentimental, as some modern devotional writing can be sometimes. It's just good, solid stuff from intellectual and spiritual giants who had pondered the meaning of the scriptures for a long time before they put their thoughts on paper. Some years ago, I had occasion to see a Jewish commentary on the first five books of the Bible that included sections of quotations from ancient Jewish rabbis commenting on the meaning of the passages. I remember thinking at the time that I wished Christians could have a commentary like that too, using ancient Christian writings. So it's wonderful to see this first volume and I'm looking forward to getting others in the series.

I studied out of 7 different preparation books, and this one, by far is the worst one! The questions in this book are really difficult, tricky and unlike the CLEP exam! The questions in the actual CLEP exam arent tricky like the SAT or GRE, they are straightforward. For some reason, Peterson's has decided to put in SAT-like questions on their practice exam. This book should be thrown out of the market because its NOTHING like the real exams! I would recommend Princeton Review's Cracking the CLEP, and Review for Clep Examination by Comex Systems. The REA also writes really accurate practice exams. If you are taking English, I also recommend you purchase "The Writer's Reference" by Diana Hacker. That was probably the most helpful book in brushing up on your English.

I found the practice exercises in this book to be very helpful, and I did really well when I took the CLEP afterwards.

Looking to maximize my ability on the CLEP tests to avoid taking numerous classes that I have no interest in. If you'd like to get practice on these tests, than this book may help.

This is volume 1 of a 3 volume set, covering Matthew, Mark, Luke, and apparently also James and Jude. It appears that amazon.com doesn't have the other two volumes, so unless you are interested only in the first part of the Gospels, you may find this volume a problem. Fortunately, amazon.co.uk carries all three volumes. Look for author first word = Calvin, title word = Harmony It won't be immediately obvious that the first volume is the same as this book, because the set is jointly published by Eerdmans and Paternoster. This is volume 1 from Eerdmans; amazon UK has all three volumes from Paternoster.

New Testament Explorer does an excellent job of mapping out the arguments of all the New Testament books. The sections which survey each book's contents are considerably more detailed than most survey books. However, the outlines are much more brief and general in comparison to the detail of the surveys. Some outlines are so general, they do not seem capture the distinctives of the Bible book. Also, the book deals very lightly with introductory matters (authorship, date, historical and cultural background). So if your desire a expedition through the content of the New Testament books themselves, New Testament Explorer is a wonderful guide. Just don't expect many extra excursions.

I have been designing Web sites for years, and was a Network Engineer for years before that. This book is well written and talks about great examples, but it doesn't work. I know Flash. I know a bit about Flash Action Scripting, but I have not been able to get one single script to work correctly. You shouldn't have to read a second book just to get the one you bought to work right. Like someone else said, even the finished examples don't work right, so you can't look at that code to see what's wrong.
I expect much more than that from any book, and I would return this book if I still could. I spent too much time thinking I was doing something wrong to be able to return it now, though.
In summary, buy another book. You will probably be happier.

like so many books of this ilk, Flash MX Magic prommises to show you how to create dazzling Flash effects.

It does, but a lot of them are style over substance - if you're looking for inspiration then maybe this book is what you need, but don't expect it to teach you useful techniques.

If you've mastered the basics of Flash MX and are looking for more, then Flash MX Magic really delivers. Rather than providing tiny chunks of Flash functionality, the book gives you 15 full Flash projects to demonstrate the features of Flash MX. Yep...actual projects you can tinker with, break apart, break entirely, fix again, and eventually create something brand new!

The book comes with a CD containing all the FLAs and files you need for each chapter project and the chapters themselves are very easy to read with plenty of illustrations. It's always great to see how other Flash developers handle code, and the authors of this book are really among the best in the business.

You'll certainly want a good foundation in Flash ActionScript before diving into this book, but it's definitely one to put on your list. Also, the illustrations make it much more accessible for users who tend to shy away from books that only have lines and lines of code. And let's face it, you can never have too many books on Flash or samples of ActionScript code!