I was lucky enough to find a 'new' copy of this book. It is wonderfully and appropriately illustrated, though not necessarily for children. I recommend this to fans of Coleridge, and to fans of eclectic books in general.

All right, you may not be terribly fond of Coleridge. Or you may think he was a poet-god. In either case, I recommend this pop-up version of the "drugged-out classic" (as a prof. of mine once called it) to everyone over the age of, say, 17. Bantock's imaginative use of the familiar pop-up genre, as well as his distinctive art style, accentuate the poetry perfectly. I'm still kicking myself for not buying that beaten-up copy I found in New York. This is definitely worth the search.

LAPD is one of the greatest Motorbooks I ever read (and I read and have a lot of Motorbooks).

Unlike some Motorbooks, LAPD is a reader...not something you can read overnight. It took me a few days because it's pretty heavy on text...and a bit depressing too to see such rampant crime in a city.

Samuel Katz is truly a professional author and the way he describes information in this book is outstanding...every sentence is information, almost every page a case story.

Sam Katz also wrote "LAPD SWAT" in a 1997 Popular Mechanics issue and a Concord "Special Operations Journal #1" but his Motorbooks expands and covers many facets of LAPD. This Motorbooks is/ has the full story. Popular Mechanic's SWAT article doesn't.

Reading the book, you get a sense of how large and apparently dangerous LA really is. The book covers all the above sections but unlike some Motorbooks, Sam Katz doesn't just tell you what the cops do, but how, why, when, where, and for what reason. It's similar to a journal of where he went with whom...just like the "COPS" TV show from start to arrest. Sam keeps his opinions to a minimum and let's the cops do the talking which is refreshing since Sam is a visitor to the city of LA and LAPD.

Each section gets it's fair shake of information and presentation. Sam isn't biased. He doesn't spotlight SWAT and downplay K-9 for instance. Best of all, the photos are mainly action and go with the case stories Sam went along for the ride. Like Concord's book you'll see actual SWAT busts with Sam snapping the camera, K-9 posing for Sam, Sam's in the helicopter shooting photos, etc. The photos are not something pulled from a file and captioned "LAPD." There are some photos of weapons and vehicles but most is about the people and the cases. This is not a "LAPD Equipment and Vehicle" reference book but more of a "what happened crime-wise this 1997 week in LA?" journal.

Also, Sam's been many places with LAPD and the book takes you along. From the wealthy "too loud" parties in Hollywood to the dangers of Nickerson Gardens Projects in 77th Area. From Venice beach with its problems to the skies over LA tracking a carjacker.

All true battle stories about real cops and their suspects. The dialogue isn't filtered...only the swear words are bleeped out. The cops talk and so do the suspects...Sam writes their quotes all down in the book, preserving it for history and telling you the reader what the cops and suspects think.

A must read about the best cops in a dangerous city. One of the best Motorbooks I have. Worth every penny in text and photos.

Finally--a book that tells the true story of the brave men and women who protect and serve the citizens of Los Angeles. The author has, through top-flight original photographs and a no-holds-barred narration, taken us on a tour of the dangers and excitement of law enforcement in Los Angeles. This books is a must read.

Written by Samuel W. Taylor (John Taylor's grandson), The Last Pioneer: John Taylor, A Mormon Prophet is an extensive biography of John Taylor, a Mormon prophet and the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who lived in the 1800's and was responsible for developing the Mormon communities in Utah and the American west after the death of Brigham Young. Drawn from his personal letters and speeches, his diaries and the memories of those who knew him, The Last Pioneer provides a vivid and fascinating account of a unique religious and community leader's life, visions, belief and struggles on the American frontier.

It is often difficult to trust the credibility of a religious leader's biography when written by one of his descendents. Nevertheless, Samual W. Taylor has made every effort to be fair to both Mormons and non-mormons as he explores the complicated times and issues surrounding the establishment of the Great Basin Kingdom of the Latter Day Saints. Some of his insights were paradigm-shifting, particularly shedding insight on the mindset of the men who were willing to deceive the world and live underground in defiance of the law of the land, in order to abide "the principles of heaven." This book brings to life one of the lesser-discussed prophets of early Mormondom, and is a must-read for those interested in a fair, but gentle treatment of "The Last Pioneer.":

I can't believe this treasure is out of print :o( It completely changed our lives - laid it all out, what the Bible says - God wants us to give control to Him, whether He chooses to give us children or not, when to give them, and how many. Showed us that it is selfish, even sinful, to tell God to stop blessing us with more children - would we ask Him to stop blessing us with good health? Or money? Then why with children, whom the Bible calls "blessings"? I will search for a copy of this out of print gem for each of our children.

Easy to read format, very thorough. This book opened up our eyes to what the Bible says about children - that they are to be considered "blessings", and gifts from God. Brought us to the realization that it wasn't our place to tell God "when" and "how many times" to bless us. Samuel Owen, my sons, #4 and #5, thank you for writing this book - without it, they might not have been born!

What a treasure trove of information is to be found in the three volumes of this biographical account of the life of the most important individual in the political fight against the British empire for American liberty.

The author (Wells) does a splendid job of weaving firsthand knowledge of his Grandfather (Adams) with historical fact. To say that Wells didn't lean toward the opinions of his Grandfather would be less than honest. However, after recently reading the story/biography of Samuel Adams written by Harlow, I am very glad I read Wells' account first.

Adams was truly one of the last Puritans in his time and to allege anything about him beyond true Christian patriotism is completely false.

In reading this book you will join the ranks of Joseph Warren, John Hancock and Josiah Quincy as they battle the most virulent British Administrations ever cast against our founding fathers as they battled for our God-given rights. Wells puts you at the scene of the massacre of March 5th and the backroom meetings of the Caucus club. You can almost see the fire in the fireplace that warms them as they steer a course toward independence.

If you are a student of history and a patriot I highly recommend reading all three volumes.

Signed,

Determinatus

THIS BOOK WAS REALLY AWESOME. MORE PEOPLE SHOULD BUY IT. BUT THERE ARENT ENOUGH PICTURES

Adventure, courageous effort, dedication, humor, tragedy, magic, and enlightenment. Must reading for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism and Tantra in particular. Read the biographies of Naropa and Milarepa to get a larger picture of this lineage of masters. For those involved in Dharma practice reading these biographies gives a clearer sense of what hard practice is, and what a life in Dharma may be like for sincere practitioners. It is always refreshing to hear about the actions and words of truely clear headed masters.

Nearly every spiritual aspirant has read about Milarepa, the master yogi of Tibet. Now there is information about his guru Marpa, the translater and actually importer of Buddhism from India to Tibet. Marpa stands in the lineage of Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, Gampopa and then the Karmapas. But Marpa was no regular saint or yogi. He was married and had an awkward personality. His tough and difficult character made it possible to persevere unbearable hardships of traveling, finding a guru in a remote country and following that gurus path. And it was no easy task to become accepted by Naropa as a pupil. And it was no easier to deal with his own pupil Milarepa. Marpas power has proved to outlast history: The Karmapas are still around and they are no easier to deal with today.

This beautiful man so tortured, lost,and lonely is on a path of self-destruction. Denying all that is in his genius. heart, and soul. He could hear music in raindrops, the rustle of leaves and in so many different emotions. He could make a stone weep with and for his pain. What a magnificent story, with so much sensitivity written into the words. I am so happy I won the bid for this book at auction. I hope more will be able to find and read this very special story. I can only say it kept me up until 4:00 a.m. to finish it and I still can't get it out of my mind. Naturally I highly recommend this hard to find book. I know this will sound too dramatical but I must start another one to find what they call "closure". Please, read this book.

You will fall in love with Lucien if you like your heroes dark and tormented. Ms. Samuels use of music in this book is hauntingly beautiful. Not to be missed.

Margaret Mitchell's Models in Gone With The Wind is a thoroughly original detective story. Its author penetrates a delicate web of fact, fiction, old (very old) rumor, myth, and fantasy. He proceeds unhurriedly, with sympathy and cool judgment. As he journeys into the living backgrounds of Mitchell's novel, Hardman introduces new truths into the rarefied, elusive climate that has traditionally surrounded Mitchell's great romance. After reading this work, I can never again view Gone With The Wind in quite the same way. The author has made Margaret Mitchell and the Gone With The Wind subject much more interesting.

According to Samuel Hardman's new study of Margaret Mitchell'smodels the first enthralled readers of Gone With The Wind foundMitchell's magnificent characters and their story much too real to be fiction. They assumed that she must have based her work on the lives of real people. Who were they? Where was Tara? Thousands of her readers demanded to know.

Some of Atlanta's most prominent citizens thought they knew who Mitchell's models were and where they had lived. The regent of a local D.A.R. chapter told Mitchell who she had been talking about in her book. In 1939, using Gone With The Wind as his sole guide, the distinguished Atlanta historian Franklin M. Garrett published the location of Scarlett's Peachtree mansion in an Atlanta newspaper. The new mega-star Mitchell responded to Garrett's model by denying the content of her published work to heap scorn on the historian and to silence him on the subject of Gone With The Wind models for the next fifty-six years.

From Hardman's work it appears that
Mitchell's famous characters and their homes were indeed drawn from life; further, it appears that when writing Gone With The Wind, Mitchell plagiarized the published work of another Atlanta writer, Miss Ella May Powell (1863-1955).

Margaret Mitchell's Models in Gone With The Wind seriously questions the veracity of Margaret Mitchell's statements concerning the origins of her famous novel and brings to light a persuasive and heretofore unknown literary model for Gone With The Wind; explores Margaret Mitchell's early reputation and history of plagiarism, dating from her school days at Washington Seminary, and inquires into the sensitive race issue by recording a fresh sub-text of anti-Semitic sentiment.

Here is literary skulduggery of the highest order. Hardman's unique view of Mitchell and her work is very much that of the ultimate insider. His fascinating portrait of Mitchell as an irreverent chain-smoker addicted to hard pornography is startling.

END

Samuel Bland Arnold was the only one of the convicted conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to later write his memoirs. Mr. Kauffman has done an excellent job of editing in this fascinating account of Arnold's time in the prison at Fort Jefferson.

Fascinating account of John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy told by a co-conspirator. The "Notes" section alone is worth the purchase price of the book!

This book has changed my life. It lucidly and starkly illustrates that we act in a way that maximizes our own interests, based on our perceptions of the world. I now know so much more about myself and have a better appreciation of my motivations after reading this book. Mind-Set Management has helped me in my relationships with family, friends, clients, and coworkers.

Sam offers a very comprehensive approach to good communication. His approach is explained with excellent cases that make the reading a very enjoyable experience. Although most of the applications are in the business setting, the approach is very applicable to all aspects of life. This book is definately a must for those managing people and a key to success.