This book is very in depth and yet still finds ways to make the subject interesting. I was amazed at how much was included between this soft cover edition. I was also pleased that the CD was for both PC and Mac formats. The overall flow of the subject matter and presentation ranks this book as one of the best I have purchased. Please let the publisher know that this eternal student has a new faith in the publishing industry again.

John S. Major takes the impenetrable Huainan Zi and penetrates it. The book is very academic and crawls with footnotes, but then I don't think there's any other way to deal with a 2,000 year old encyclopedia from a culture we know almost nothing about. If you're after cool, cosmic Dao, this ain't the book. But if you want to know how and what the inventors of Daoism were really thinking, it definitely is.

"Illustrator 10 - Mastering Art Design" is a very good training book. Similar to the Adobe Illustrator Classroom in the Book which is for beginners, this one is for those in the intermediate level. The book comes with a CD like most training design books.

I was really impressed by the type of projects you learn and some of the things you create are really stylish and cool!

I highly recommend this book but for those with at least some knowledge of Photoshop. This book is intended for the intermediate level. For instance, in the first project, you will need to make ruler guides and rotate the guide to an angle. Also, you will be dwelving into meshing and blending colors. This is not a beginner book to explain what meshing and blending is about.

So, if you are a beginner, check out the Illustrator 10 bible. Then with a bit of knowledge you can dwelve into this book because you will be making really awesome things with this book.

As for the book, it is easy to follow but it really asks a lot from you especially if you are good using the pen tool. I've used Illustrator for years and to this day, I'm not good with the pen tool. So, for this book on certain projects which asked to make something with the pen, I switched to the pencil tool, used a Wacom pen on my tablet and drew it (if you have good control with your mouse, use a mouse)

Otherwise, it's a really good book. The type of projects are very glamorous and stylish compared to other Illustrator books with projects/training.

Check it out!

This book addresses the eternal quest by Americans to learn their beginnings, to reflect on the past, and dream of good times when life was simple. I enjoyed the book even though I was born in the 60's. I look forward to volume II.

I absolutely loved O'Nan's "A Prayer for the Dying," so naturally I had to go back to his first book to see where he began. Although I managed to find a copy...

The twelve stories included in this collection are interesting. O'Nan shows a talent for giving us the same story through different perspectives, and his language is beautiful at times, but the collection seems to be a mixed bag. The two stories that I would consider rather weak are "Mr. Wu Thinks" and "The Third of July." It seems in these two stories mainly that O'Nan gives us something but doesn't really lead it into a pleasing direction. I kept wishing these two stories would go somewhere interesting. Both do manage to give us a lot of insight into their characters, but the ten other stories in the collection are superb and do a much better job of delving into the darkness of the human spirit.

I would actively search for this collection of stories. O'Nan almost had a perfect collection of stories on his hand, but even so, the vast majority of these stories are excellent and worth the purchase.

As a child therapist who works with victims of sexual abuse on a daily basis, I have been thrilled to find a book targeted to this population. I find it most helpful for boys who have actually survived sexual abuse, and are roughly 6 to 13 years of age.

It addresses all the general, important information which survivors need to hear. But it also addresses issues that are specific to boys, such as whether or not being abused by a man makes them a homosexual. (Of course not!)

The last portion of the book contains rather intimate quotes from men who were abused as boys, and how that has affected them. Depending on the boy I'm counseling, I decide individually whether or not to share any or all of these accounts. For younger boys, I usually don't share them at all.

If you have a boy in your life who has been sexually abused, or if you yourself were abused as a boy, or if you work with boys who have been abused, this book is extremely helpful in bringing touchy issues out into the open for discussion.

Dr. Hayes introduces us to the main character, Jacob, just before the halfway point in the seven-year tribulation spoken of in the New Testament book of Revelation. It's amazing, but our hero is totally unaware of God' plan for Salvation and the Tribulation because of the religious tradition he was raised in. This gifted professor/scientist has everything to look forward to; a formula to cure AIDS that's worth billions, a wonderful wife and a darling daughter. But, under the dark cloud of the antichrist system all these joyful blessings are in great jeopardy. I worried about all of them constantly.

Strap on your seat belts because the action is swift, the scenes constantly change. What I liked most about the book is the author's ability to make the scenes so real, the people so alive, the tension so dramatic that I hated to lay the book down. I suspect that all fiction novels will become more real...more intimate if you read them in long settings. If I were a reader, I wouldn't start reading "Jacob" again unless I could have two or more hours to devote to it.

It is obvious that a lot of research went into the writing of this book. The author's knowledge of the Eschatology she used is reflected in the plot and subplots with great detail. Her knowledge of the Vatican, Israel, and the Italian and Yiddish langue is impressive.

We are privy to several Machiavellian conversations between the charismatic Anti-Christ and his ruthless False Prophet. And we cringe anxiously as we endure our hero's opportune and prophetic moments with them.

As Jacob goes through his fiery trials in these worst of times he meets several new Christians who keep showing him in the Scriptures that they are watching end-time prophecy become living history. I kept wondering when Jacob would ever receive Jesus Christ as his Lord, Saviour, and Messiah as the non-Christians had. For someone so brilliant, Jake was sure was slow about believing in the Truth while seeing, and sometimes even participating in, the fulfillments of prophesy. I think the author wanted her readers to identify with our hero as he struggled between what he had believed for over 60 years, and what the Bible was clearly revealing as living history. Traditions die hard, but God is gracious and merciful.

The ending caught me off guard. That is not what I expected at all. In fact it caught me so off guard that I gasped....I cried. What an ending!

I happened to come across this book while actually in Koror, Palau (Koror was the capital of the Nan'yo, the Japanese governing body for Micronesia) during a vacation and read it while I was there. In general, it is worth reading if you are are a student of Japan's occupation policies of southeast asian countries during the war. It is very detailed but could have focused more on military strategy, but the book is not really about that, its about how Japan built up, governed, then lost its colonies in Micronesia-- colonies which would most likely be in a much better economic state than there are in now, arguably, if the Japanese were still there running things.

In 1872 Galveston, Texas, septuagenarian Maxwell Lacey nears death but needs to right the wrong he committed when he tossed his pregnant unmarried daughter from their home twenty-five years ago. Maxwell cannot do anything for his deceased daughter, but wants to see his granddaughter Marietta Stone before he dies. Only her poster as a diva in the Central City, Colorado opera house keeps him alive. Maxwell uses his wealth and influence to save former confederate officer Cole Heflin from the gallows. Cole agrees to bring Marietta to Maxwell in exchange for $10,000 that the pardoned felon will provide to the widowed mother and sister of a deceased friend.

In Central City Cole attends the opera where Marietta performs. He is stunned by her beauty, but shocked when she sings in front of the packed house because her voice stinks. Cole learns that a middle-aged patron sponsors Marietta and three of his henchmen guard her around the clock. Cole abducts Marietta from underneath the protection of her local patron. As she tries every trick, including seduction, to gain her freedom, he safely takes her past her patron's chasing guards, Comanche, mountain men, and buffalo. On the trail they fall in love but she resents his forcing her to see her detestable grandfather.

This is a fun western romance that is loaded with non-stop action though Marietta's protectors seem a bit too pathetic. The story line is absolutely superb when Marietta and Cole battle one other for control of a relationship that changes from captive to forever love (no Stockholm syndrome with this couple). Sub-genre fans will have a good time reading NAUGHTY MARIETTA.

Harriet Klausner

This durable board book has bright colorful drawings of the animals on the ark (along with Noah and family) and the pages slide open to reveal hidden animals. For example, the first page says "What's hopping to the ark?" The page slides apart to show a picture of kangaroos. The illustrations are very attractive and cute, and they hold the attention of my toddler. She loves to open the pages herself to see what's hiding inside. The sliding mechanism in this book works better than the ones in similar books I've seen. My 16 month old toddler is able to open the sliding pages herself and with a little bit of "steering assistance" from me (helping her line the page up right) she can close the pages too. The sliding pages add extra interest and keep her entertained for longer than a regular book.

The text is simple but cute.

Overall a great book for home or to take to church. Don't let the lack of a photo of the cover here scare you off. It's really cute and worth the price.