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Book reviews for "Pennekamp,_John_David" sorted by average review score:

Building for Air Travel: Architecture and Design for Commercial Aviation
Published in Hardcover by Prestel USA (1996)
Authors: John Zukowsky, Koos Bosma, Mark J. Bouman, David Brodherson, Robert Bruegmann, Wood Lockhart, Leonard Rau, Wolfgang Voigt, and Kisho Kurokawa Gallery of Architecture
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A top-flight book of a complex subject
A truly comprehensive book, enjoyable to both read and look through. It covers the history and scope of air travel, including airport and aircraft design, corporate identities and marketing in a thorough, extensive and compelling manner. It is distinctive in how it successfully melds a global scope and a focused perspective.

Excellent
This book is an excellent overview of the history of civil aviation, terminals, and airfields. The attention to detail, both photographic and linguistic, is marvelous and provides a wonderful account of airport design. The faithfulness to the original traveling photo exhibit allows readers the opportunity to experience the cultural presentation alongside the historical reconstruction. All in all, a wonderful book for any aviation fan.

Building for Air Travel: A must have!
BfAT is one of the most intriguing books you'll find about airports. It covers a lot of airport design aspects- but it is not an engineering book. In other words, you won't have to face boring charts and graphs. All you get is interseting texts, divided into differnt issues, and many rare and beautiful pictures. If you really like airports- you should have this book.


Dr Who I Am the Doctor: Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir
Published in Hardcover by London Bridge Trade (1900)
Authors: Jon Pertwee, David J. Howe, John Pertwee, and David J. Lowe
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Pertwee is more than just the Doctor.
When I first flipped through this book at an Albuquerque bookstore in November 1996, I was shocked to learn that Jon Pertwee, my favorite Doctor Who, had died back in May, twelve days after he had finished his memoirs.

I finally got the book a year later and it was a treasure trove. One learns a lot more about Jon Pertwee behind the role of the Time Lord. He's a man overflowing with anecdotes and he has at least one for every Doctor Who story he made. My favorite one is when director Lennie Mayne, a colourful Australian who constantly swore a blue streak, told him and the cast of The Curse Of Peladon to react with more feeling at a monster. Instead of "oohing and ahhing like a bunch of fairies," they were to say, " me, will you ing well look at that?" Well, they did just that at a rehearsal. Unbeknownst to them, producer Barry Letts had invited a priest friend of his to watch, so needless to say... Another is his remembrance of working with The Time Warrior's director, Alan Bromly, in a play back in the 1930's.

He sure knew a lot of people. Most of them liked him, there were a few who didn't care for him or his acting technique (e.g. Nina Thomas, Anthony Ainley), but even so, he never hated them back. He was fond of people. Many that he knew died young, such as directors Douglas Camfield and Lennie Mayne, actors Neil McCarthy and Duncan Lamont, and his good friend Roger Delgado (the Master).

The rapport he had with Patrick Troughton was interesting, in particular the anecdote of how the two of them went places where they were given free gifts, much to Troughton's delight. He himself was shy, but so was Troughton, and he helped his predecessor overcome his shyness and enjoy public appearances. Given that Troughton died of a heart attack during a Who convention still in his Who costume, Pertwee's help was invaluable.

What really made the Pertwee years work was the team and the rapport they had. There was Jon, of course, then the UNIT family of Nicholas Courtney, Katy Manning, Richard Franklin, and John Levene, and on and off, Roger Delgado. Producer Barry Letts and Script Editor Terrance Dicks rounded things off. The Daemons is a perfect example of that camaraderie. The end came when first Roger Delgado died and Katy Manning left. With the news that Letts and Dicks were moving on, it was a good time for Jon Pertwee to leave. He played the Doctor for five seasons, second to Tom Baker's record seven, so that wasn't bad.

Other things: his hobby of nurgling, i.e. taking stuff from abandoned houses, which extended to props from Who, such as the polystyrene statue of Bok, made him quite a pack rat. His practice of giving his fellow actors notes on anything they felt they could improve during rehearsals, etc. all for the sake of improvement, is actually a useful idea. I thought that the melody of the lullaby he used in The Curse Of Peladon was familiar until I read that it was "God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen." Well, duh! I should've known that! He liked the action that arose from the earthbound UNIT stories. Me too.

Jon Pertwee's final memoir reveals an actor who enjoyed what he did, whether it was the Navy Lark, Doctor Who, or Worzel Gummidge. Heck, he enjoyed life itself. Like Troughton, he died as Doctor Who, in spirit if not in costume. The last sentence of his book is poignant: "I don't want to rust away. I want to fade away. Like the TARDIS. But not just yet." Below, he signs his name with "Who?" Under that is printed 7 July 1919-20 May 1996. Thanks for the memories and memoirs, Jon.

A great companion for any Doctor Who fan.
I'm not sure what is better in this book. Jon Pertwee's rememberances or the photos that come along with them. Either way this is a must for any fan of Doctor Who or Jon Pertwee. Jon was a wonderful story teller and he lives up to that in this his final words on his years as the Doctor. Besides the great stories about his years in the show the book is full of many photos from it as well. Many I personally had never seen.

An excellent memoir, from a very gifted entertainer.
This is a wonderful final memoir from the late, great, Jon Pertwee. This book shows his accounts of his Doctor Who days from his own memories and it does not disappoint. A good plus is that it reveals other parts of his long, storied career. But the main focus is, of course, Doctor Who. Its very exciting to read his memories behind each story of his time on the series. The best parts are the funny moments that he recalled. Other things are that we learn where the cool Whomobile came from. It was Jon's idea. Its very heartbreaking to know he died after shortly completing this book's manuscript. This book leaves behind an excellent memoir from a very gifted entertainer. This book also helped me learn more about him. I'm from Canada and the book really helps someone like me as I'm not familiar with his career beyond Doctor Who. This book accomplishes that. From the Navy Lark to Doctor Who to Worzel Gummidge, Jon Pertwee entertained us in every way. What a fitting tribute from this man, in his own final words.


A Field Guide to the Birds of China
Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press (1900)
Authors: John Mackinnon, Karen Phillipps, Fen-Qi He, and David Showler
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A bible for birds in China
A Field Guide to the Birds of China is a must for any traveler who wants to identify birds in China. De Schauensee's earlier Birds of China is not really a field guide although it provides useful background reading. A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan includes a lot of the species occurring in eastern China, and the Beijing area is included in most of the range maps, so if you don't have the MacKinnon-Phillips new guide, this is second best.

All species of known regular occurrence somewhere in China are illustrated in excellent drawings by Karen Phillips, all but a few in full color. Colored range maps are on the page facing each of the 128 plates. The text for each species provides a detailed description, voice, distribution and status, habits (useful), and in some cases a note on taxonomy.

I used this book for more than two weeks in China during October 2001 and confidently identified every bird I got a decent look at. (Regrettably, eastern China is not exactly overrun with exotic birds, but you can find some interesting species even in the cities.)

The most noticeable problem with this book is its sheer bulk; at 256 pages of plates, 586 pages of text, and some front material, this monster tops out at well over 800 pages and won't fit in most fanny packs, not to mention pockets. So taking a utility knife with a new blade, I sliced the spine following the last plate and taped the last page to the spine, creating a book of front matter, 10 pages of introduction and all the plates and range maps--a tad over a third the thickness of the whole book. A few species are illustrated in black-and-white in the text, so I xeroxed those (with their black-and-white range maps) and pasted them below the range maps of appropriate plates. I left the text home.

The book is not without minor errors, of course. For example, the range maps on plate 35 mistakenly call the Red Phalarope the Red-necked Phalarope, with the same error in the scientific name (although, curiously, the Chinese name appears to be correct). Both species are illustrated. On plate 56 the illustration of the Red-throated Loon is mistakenly marked with the species number of the Common Loon (which is also illustrated and correctly numbered on the same plate). On plate 72 the female Japanese Paradise-flycatcher is so marked but the symbol for the male is missing. Most users can figure out such slips.

...

Essential
This book is absolutely essential for any birder who plans to visit any of the regions covered in this guide. The plates are very good and the descriptions are detailed. This is probably the most up-to-date guide for the region. The taxonomy is based on Sibley and Monroe, and nearly all subspecies and their ranges are listed. There is even an edition in simplified Chinese available in China and Hong Kong. However, covering such a broad region has its drawbacks, and at least in Taiwan, I recommend that this book be used more as a reference than field guide. A bird's voice often varies across its range, and the status of a species in one location can be completely different in another. For example, the White-bellied Green Pigeon, described by the book as "very rare," is in fact common in Taiwan. The quality of the plates is sometimes inconsistent (e.g. the geese and swans on plate 7 look very small!). Also, errors I've noticed include where the range map does not correspond with the descriptions (e.g. Eurasian Jay, plate 67), the bird number on the plate does not correspond with that of the range map and descriptions (e.g. Varied Tit, plate 88), and some typos (e.g. Pygmy Wren Babbler subspecies, plate 105). Although Appendix 2 lists the species endemic to the region, it left out at least three species from Taiwan (Yellow Tit, Collared Bush Robin, and Taiwan Whistling Thrush). In general, this book is excellent and highly recommended, but I do hope a new edition will be published in the future that fixes the errors and include new discoveries made since publication (e.g. Chinese Crested Tern, Taiwan Bush Warbler).

Well Done Field Guide
This field guide is a well done book introducing the birds of China to its readers. It is fairly standard as far as field guides goes in content. The book contains 128 color plates depicting the birds of China with the corresponding range maps opposite the plates. Next, the descriptions of the 1329 species are given. Herein lies the major problem with the book, the descriptions are not adjacent to the plates; however, had the book been arranged in this manner, the number of pages would have at least doubled and the book is already a bit cumbersome for use as a field guide at its present size.

A couple of other bits of useful information in this book include a map detailing vegetation type and an introduction to the region. Also, a list of protected and endangered species is included. For researchers, a nice bibliography is also included. Whether you just want to look at birds from a country you never plan on going to, or if you intend to go birding in China, this book is for you.


Foundations of Finance (3rd Edition)
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (07 March, 2001)
Authors: Arthur J. Keown, John D. Martin, J. William Petty, David F. Scott, William J., II Petty, and William J. Petty
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Review of Foundations of Finance by Arthur J. Keown
This is an excellent text. I've read it thoroughly. The material , as presented, assumes a robust course in accounting at the college level. This text is for a student desiring a complete rendition in basic finance topics and techniques. The text is replete with many examples and challenging problems of various complexities. The presentation is easy to read. The book is directed to students perhaps majoring in economics or finance. It is not a purely descriptive rendition of finance. A

considerable amount of so called "numbers crunching" is involved in reviewing this text. As such, the book serves the analytic student optimally. The text is devoid of the most complicated analytics inherent in "quantitatively oriented texts". There is a good appendix on the use of financial calculators ,as well as, present value calculations and other useful knowledge supplemental to the study of finance. This book would be most useful to students planning their careers as financial analysts, corporate planners or private entrepreneurs.

Of all those Management books...
This was the best. A very clear and concise book for the serious student being introduced to the subject of Finance. Other books on the subject I've seen are very abstruse or just plain hard to read aside from weighing a ton. I had another book twice as thick to complement this one and my class abandoned it in short order. This book is comparatively light and chalk full of useful ideas and examples laid out in an organized and methodical manner. The generous use of charts and tables was executed well. Probably as simple as finance can possibly be put while still retaining the rigor and teaching the processes necessary for making financial computations.

Topics included are on basic valuation of various securities and projects using discounted cash flows, capital budget management, liquidity management, etc. I'm still learning from it after school. There simply wasn't enough time to fully cover everything in the book that I would have wanted. Now I'm ready to tackle more advanced corporate finance books/materials.

This is an introductory book for someone who may be interested in becoming a financial analyst but is obviously geared to the educational market for use in schools. The academic slant limits its applicability somewhat. Although it may give a stock market player who wants to start understanding the systematic process involved in the valuation of securities on a cash flow basis some insight for example, discussion on valuation by multiples like P/Es is virtually absent.

Nonetheless a great book.

Best Finance Book It will help You Make $$$
I use this book at the University of Wisconsin Stout. I think this book is excellent. I'm taking a copy with me to London. "A must" if your a Finance major.


The Heart Of Christmas
Published in Hardcover by Thomas Nelson (25 October, 1999)
Authors: Max Lucado, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, David Jeremiah, Rick Warren, and John C. Maxwell
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The Heart of Christmas
This book is a powerful reflection upon the circumstances & events surrounding Christ's birth. Within each of the (6) author's section, there are a multitude of heart provoking directions for the Holy Spirit to take you. It has touched me deeply, and also touched the life of a friend I gave a copy to for Christmas. I highly recommend this for personal reading and gift-giving.

touches a pastor's heart for Christmas preporation
The collection of sermons in this book provided a springboard of ideas for themes to preach this Christmas season. Max Lacado's sermon provided the background for our Christmas program this year.

This goes past the hype and into the core of Christmas.
"The Heart of Christmas" employs the writing talents of six inspirational authors, with the message they would most like people to learn and see at Christmastime. John Maxwell relates the wise men following the star and finding a lowly stable, to our search for greatness and finding instead disappointment, in our lives. He allows us to understand that we can find God even in our lowest moments. Bill Hybels challenges us to really look at the nativity, and God's purpose for choosing the location of the Christ-child, this season. Hybels parallels the nativity to our relationship with God. Max Lucado ponders what Joseph's thoughts were on that wonderful night and how we oft-times questions God ourselves. David Jeremiah writes about the name and significance of Jesus, the reasons God may have chosen to give his only son that common, yet most revered name. Rick Warren encourages us to seek that which we want to find this year. He gives us special insight and tells us what we should really be seeking for. Jack Hayford examines the Mary Miracle, as he calls it. He shows us how God is still "birthing" his holy word in us, today. If you are like me, growing weary with all the hype and stress of Christmas as society defines it, year after un-inspirational year, this is a book that will offer you a new vision and understanding of this wonderful holiday. It will put Christmas back into your heart so that it may shine forth, just like the star that marked Jesus' birth.


A History of the World's Religion (10th Edition)
Published in Hardcover by Prentice Hall (04 January, 1999)
Authors: David S. Noss and John Boyer Man's Religions Noss
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Have used earlier editions for years.
I have used earlier editions of this book, then named Man's Religions, since 1989 as the basis for lectures on World Religion for a community college class. I definately want to get a copy of this 10th edition! I hope in the future to be able to have this textbook for my class because then I will not need to supplement with handouts - everything I need will be right there in the book.

Alive
A truly excellent, penetrating, work. David Noss provides an opportunity for the reader to personally shake hands with each major religion: each is introduced with unobtrusive eloquence and exactitude; each is treated with the utmost respect; and so is the reader accorded this same, unpretentious, sacred reverence. One might gain the impression that a very sane and learned scholar in each religion covered is laying out for you the fundamentals and origins of his beliefs and faith, in a non-proselytizing way, for you to see. Excellent!

The best book about religions!
The key words for the book could be as the following -- Tactful, sophisticated, academic, reader's friendly, accurate, intriguing, inspiring, comprehensive. One can get proud of the Mankind history - not only wars and dirty politics did we have but the heights of spiritual life, in many forms and manifestations.


How Good is David Mamet, Anyway?: Writings on Theater--and Why It Matters
Published in Hardcover by Routledge (1999)
Author: John Heilpern
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It Matters, It Matters
I read this book, found some of the most entertaining, informative and lively criticism I've ever encountered, and came to this page to see what others were saying about it. Reading the slams by Booklist and Kirkus made me wonder if I'd completely misunderstood "How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?" But then I read the raves from Salon and Tony Kushner and other readers, and wondered who the heck is reviewing for Booklist and Kirkus. Booklist calls it "daily journalism," but then the NY Observer apparently is a weekly. It's amusing that Kirkus ends its review recommending a trip to the theater--if their writer got out more, he or she might notice on a theater marquee that it's NOEL Coward, not NOL. (Sorry, my keyboard can't make the little double dots to go with the correct spelling.) A howler like that basically nolifies the rest of the review. You won't be seeing the collected works of either of these critics appearing in bookstores anytime soon.

Can't Beat This One from the Theater's Number One Critic
John Heilpern is without question the best critic of his generation, and his reviews in the weekly "New York Observer" can't be beat! Make plans to buy this collection from the most important living theater critic and England's best export since Archie Leach!

How Good Is John Heilpern, Anyway?
At last, readers beyond the subscription list of the New York Observer have the opportunity to read one of the most gifted--and funniest--writers around. As it happens, this book is a collection of his writing on theater (save for the non-theatrical, though rivetingly dramatic, account of Heilpern's struggle with a murderous roommate named Jack the Cat), but this work is a delight for anyone who appreciates finely tuned yet uproarious humor, a handsome prose style and a sensibility that is at once erudite, entertaining and inviting. How good is John Heilpern's "How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?" anyway? Peerless.


John Stanley's Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again: An A to Z Encyclopedia to the Cinema of the Fantastic or Is There a Mad Doctor/Dentist I
Published in Paperback by Creatures at Large Pr (1995)
Authors: John Stanley, Kenn David, and Kenn Davis
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An excellent survey for avid movie-watchers
This science fiction, fantasy and horror movie guide provides an excellent survey of the genre to fans who are avid movie-watchers: chapters provide capsule reviews of thousands of films, provide a rating system and guide to obscure and rare as well as mainstream titles, and include distribution and mail order information. Outstanding.

A Must Have For All Horror Movie Fans
I own MANY film reference books, including many inclusive to horror and cult films. This is by far the best one I own. It gives extremely detailed entertaining descriptions of each of its ,many films. It has many hard to find titles. I was extremely impressed with this book and recommend it to everybody.

A Must-Have for all genre fans!
This book is a Genre fans dream! I happen to be one of those people who like Horror, Sci-fi, and Fantasy movies. I own several books on each subject. When I found this book in a used book store, I never imagined that I would find something that so perfectly matched my taste in movies. There are 5,614 reviews with intelligent descriptions behind each one. I take my copy to the video store with me! That way I know I'm not renting a total turkey. Some of the major pluses included in the book are: TV movie reviews, 1,709 cross references to secondary titles, direct-to-video reviews, and the fact that an estimated 30% of the titles listed in the book cannot be found in most major movie guides. The last fact is entirely true! I have also noticed that there are little if any errors in the reviews. Other books I have read , have many noticeable mistakes that tend to irk genre fans like myself. Try it out for yourself, this book has never done me wrong!


The Legacy of Pope John Paul II: His Contribution to Catholic Thought
Published in Textbook Binding by Crossroad/Herder & Herder (2000)
Authors: Geoffrey Gneuhs, David L. Schindler, William B. Smith, Geoffrey Gneuhs, and Fritz Lobinger
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Very helpful
Dr. John F. Crosby's "The Mystery of 'Fair Love,'" contained in this collection of essays, is one of the best introductions to Pope John Paul II's theological anthropology, "theology of the body," and thought on human sexuality available. Rarely does one find such insight and concise clarity in one place. Follow up this essay with the Pope's works collected in Pope John Paul II on the Genius of Women and/or Theology of the Body, both available through Amazon.

Why the Pope's Right
So much coverage of John Paul II presents him as a politician or a superstar. This book explains his role as a thinker. And it does a good job showing the theory behind the battles at the UN and the battle to restore orthodoxy---or just a little sanity---within the Catholic church.

Papal Coronation
John Paul II, the philosopher pope, is the most intriguing thinker of our time. But it's not easy to plow through the mass of encyclicals, adresseses, and books. This work provides an excellent study of the Pope's thought. Special kudos to John Crosby for showing the phenomenological side of the pope and to Joseph Koterski for unraveling the Thomist side.


Lighting for Film and Electronic Cinematography
Published in Paperback by Wadsworth Publishing (1992)
Authors: John David Viera and Dave Viera
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Must Have
Anyone interested in Ciinematography sholud have this book. It is full of practical examples, and the apendix is a very useful reference. Lots of information you will not find elsewhere

no better introduction to the craft
I have had this wonderful book since its first imprint. It demystifies the art of cinematography and lays a good foundation for the reader to understand both the craft and practice of cinematography. Those who have struggled to read American Cinematographer will have no problems after reading this excellent book. Highly recommended. But why the price increase? I paid only $30 in 1992.

EXTREMELY HELPFUL
This book absolutely helps the beginning cinematographer in every sense of the word. It is not only helpful for the amateur cinematographer but its also a useful and resourceful book at any stage of your profession. There are diagrams that help you duplicate lighting situations explained in the book. This book truly attempts to teach you.


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