"The Discontuity Guide" is typical of the works written by hardcore British Who fans--they adore the show, but don't let that get in the way of tough (sometimes harsh) criticism. Even such sacred cows as the Tom Baker years get the same tough love as the worst of the Pertwee years.

What really made this book interesting for me was the authors obvious well-read background, which came out in the "Roots" sections. It's here that you can see the sources for some of the many tropes of Who (and all TV SF, for that matter).

I was a bit put off by the insistence of the authors to find a gay subtext in virtually every Who episode. Apparently British Who fandom has a very vocal guy section, some of who are intent on proving that many Who characters are gay. Whatever floats your boat.....

If you're a Who fan...well, you probably already own this! If you're not, you still will get a chuckle out of this book.

Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping really must have taken a year's worth vacation days to come up with this book, and they spent all that time watching Dr. Who stories over and over. Some people get all the fun! However, their purpose was to examine programs, stories, or movies that influenced certain stories, and more important to point out goofs and links, both within a story and the entire series, which is where the C-word comes in--continuity. They also write down dialogue that have double meanings, makes one (well, them anyway) cringe, and those that are positively memorable.

Example of a Dialogue Triumph: "Listen to that! It's the sound of the planet screaming its rage." That was from Inferno, where the Doctor is referring to the parallel Earth that will soon become engulfed in molten lava. From Colony In Space, when Jo asks on any other living things on Uxarius, Mary Ashe answers: "There's no animal life, just a few birds and insects." Now that's a Dialogue Disaster!

And finally, to find out what they thought of it, there's The Bottom Line section. While I see pointing out errors useful, there is a clear border between justifiable mistakes and petty nitpicking. In the latter case, well, there could be an unstated explanation. Why, does everything have to be explained for the benefit of the viewer? When I was in the now-defunct Friends of Doctor Who fan club, one member disparagingly referred to it as the Disco Guide.

One justifiable "goof," for example, is the in The Three Doctors, where UNIT, being a top secret establishment, has a sign advertising its headquarters, as well as Lethbridge-Stewart's name listing him as commanding officer. That's understandable. I mean, to use a similar example, would the powers that had Kennedy killed have a sign reading "Military Industry Complex-Assassinating JFK since 1963" on their headquarters? Puh-leeze!

An easily explained "goof" is when Tegan speaks to Kukurtji, the ancient-era aborigine, in Four To Doomsday. Cornell and company complained that Tegan responded in the correct language and era. Well, pardon me, guys, but remember The Masque Of Mandragora, when the Doctor explained to Sarah that her ability to understand foreign languages was a Time Lord gift he shared with her? Surely it applies there? So there!

Which of my favorite stories do they give the highest honors to? Spearhead From Space, Inferno, The Pirate Planet, Remembrance Of The Daleks, and The Curse Of Fenric, to name a few. Lowest honors? The Time Monster, Monster Of Peladon, Planet Of The Spiders, The Android Invasion, Time-Flight, and Time And The Rani. Well, actually, there aren't any Who stories I totally loathe but I do admit there are some that are worth watching but aren't as good as others.

The troika also do not look favorably on Dalek and Cybermen stories and go out of their way to find flaws. There must be a full page of flaws listed in Resurrection Of The Daleks! The Invasion doesn't get shredded as much as Earthshock and Attack Of The Cybermen, or Silver Nemesis. It's very generous in rating Timelash, surprising considering its reputation as the worst Who story ever.

There are elaborate histories on the Daleks and Cybermen in here. They also point out that Loch Ness is referred to in two stories, Terror Of The Zygons and Timelash. One can assume that the Zygons, with their obviously superior power, killed the Borad. Well, maybe they did.

Still, I use this as a valuable reference guide, and a work comparing analyses of various Dalek, Cybermen, and Earth Empire histories with other Who works. I've gained an appreciation for program continuity.

I bought this book because the title intrigued me. Now I can't sit down to watch a video without this trusty tome by my side. The book is interesting, informative, painstakingly detailed and often hilarious in its observations. I was also pleased to see that when the authors disagreed on a rating, it was noted in the text. (Poor Creature for the Pit!) While some of the goofs need to be watched frame-by-frame to catch, others are so glaringly obvious I couldn't believe I'd missed them.

I purchased the "Pocket Essentials" recently and was extremely dissapointed. With this volume to compare it too...well, actually, there is no comparison. The "Guide" is quite simply better.

After the first few poems, I thought I'd made a mistake and should have borrowed another book from a friend who had pushed this one on me. You can tell that the first few poems were written by a teenager, and I was at the point where I was just going to put it down and watch tv instead. But then I read "Where Once There Was a Cage" and I found myself going from my cranky mood to just having a complete tearburst, and then I was hooked. I realized that the poems before that WERE written by a teenager, and that is the POINT of the book. It takes you from that awquard stage of adolescense and moves you forward, as if you were developing (not aging, so developing is the only word I have)from the perspective of the writer. Like, these are his thoughts and emotions from the most personal perspective that you can get in a book, as if you had the driver's seat in his heart and mind. And the book brings you places that I as a woman don't think men go to often enough, or at least I don't see it often enouth, but that's my issue!

There was some stuff that I thought he experimented with that didn't quite work for me. There are two poems that he frames into shapes, one of a dollar sign and one of a skull. I thought the dollar sign one was very funny, but it was gimmicky. The skull one was too bitter, but I guess that's an emotion too. The "Ode to a Rag Doll" poem was very touching, and for my whole life I wish someone had written a poem like "Forbidden" for me. And there are a couple of others in there like that, really good love poems. The two haiku poems were really good; one was very amusing and the other I just adored because my mom was Japanese and she loved eastern poetry and she would have liked that one alot. Theres probably more than 80 poems, so I can't review them all, and I'm not even mentioning my favorites (except for the Cage and the Forbidden poems).

The closing was very fitting. Someone else wrote that now she wanted to know what happens to the man next, and I hope I don't have to wait more than a decade to find out, either.

To summarize, I gave this book four stars because I think five star books should be classics or staples on everyones booksehelfs. But I am very glad that I read past the first couple of poems because it was so worth it, and it took me on a ride that I was in no way expecting. It was very emotional and fun. Each poem made me think about my experience through life, and like my life I didn't know what the next poem was going to be about, or how my life would turn. I related to it FAR more than I thought I would relate to a book of poetry written by a man. It wasn't an artsy-phartsy collection of poetry, it was just very open, honest, and I have to say really brave for the man to let you in the way he did.

I have read the book twice, and my advice is to pick up a copy and do the same. Bring kleenex and let a friend borrow it.

Fran

Read it. Loved it. Bought it. So that sounds backwards, but sue me, it's America. :)

I found so much of myself in this book, I thought it was about me. Sadness, happiness, rage, I related. I borrowed it from a friend at work, and it was really funny because the poems that she thought were going to me my favorites were really good guesses, but not my favorites. Poems like "Forbidden", "Saturday After Work" and "Antihero" hit me like a ton of bricks, but the ones I liked the best were the ones like "Day 11,736", "Regret", "Pretzel" and "Collusion" (oo, and "The Forgotten Words of God" too, very existential) were my favorites because they were a little more abstract and mysterious but still descript enough to draw conclusions by.

Anyway, I need to say also that although the title makes you think that the book is all about relationships, that might be a little deceiving. Some relationships are parent/child or other family relationships, some are about relationships with friends, pets, nature and experiences. There are a few poems that are just about fun. All of them put together are like reading a person's life as they grow up.

Anyway, pretty cool, and I think that this kind of writing should be looked at by high schools and colleges as a project for there students. I highly recommend the book because it's kind of like a movie that you can go back to and feel comfortable from watching it. I hope that made sense.

At first, I thought that "While Searching for Love and Self" was going to be some kind of "Sex in the City" style diary, denoting the author's experiences in dating. When I received my copy, I was surprised to open it up and discover that it's actually a poetic depiction of important moments in a man's life as he enters adulthood (I suppose the subtitle, "A Journal in Prose and Verse, 1986-2003" should have given me a clue). I was hardly disappointed! I read through it at a leisurely pace in two days. Then I read it again, from introduction to the back cover. I had at least a half-dozen epiphanies each time I read it. It didn't matter that I am not a man; the book centers on his (the author's) experiences, yes, but its themes are universal. It focuses on relationships, not only romantic, but also with family, relationships with friends, community, with pets (a poem that made we weep until my tear ducts were sore), and a rag doll he had as a little boy (which made me cry even though my tear ducts were sore).

The poetry is not complicated. It is easy to read and enjoyable, vivid, and what made it fascinating to me was that in reading it from cover to cover, you saw this man evolve from a seventeen year old to a mature adult. I have kept journals since I was 13, and reading this book made me wish that I had kept mine in poetic form too, or even better, made me think about taking my writings and converting them into poetry so I can relive my life in my words as I have relived his as an observer.

I highly recommend "While Searching for Love and Self" not only because I enjoyed it and will certainly enjoy it again, (and find more layers in it each time), I also recommend it because everyone will find forgotten memories and emotions in it. It's impossible not to.

Working in public accounting for a long time, but beeing new to the accounting world in the U.S., I found this book very instructive and helpful to resolve practical questions on one hand and finding access to the underlying "World of Statements", the scientific backbone, at the same time.

First it offers a red thread through most of the relevant areas of accounting and financial reporting. But even more important, the book contains a reliable and quick guidance to find solutions for a lot of different actual practical issues, occurring in specific industries and situations.

This set is the most comprehensive, informative, and complete writing on accounting. No other book is necessary! These are hard to find though. Good luck!

Jack the Ripper (Letters From Hell), by co-authors Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner, is exactly what it purports to be in the subtitle. It is a discussion of all the letters sent by people purporting to be Jack the Ripper to the newspapers, police and assorted individuals followed by a section printing all of the letters in the police files (there is little variety in the letters themselves showing the lack of imagination shown by most of the copy cat letter writers and this could prove a little dry for some). In addition, this volume is generously filled with photos of the letters themselves. This book is not for the beginner in the Ripper mythology as it focuses strictly on the letters and will be of most interest to those who have a basic understanding of the case already. This volume is a worthy addition to the Ripper books and will keep the legend alive for the next generation.

This book was fantastic. Where at first there was some kind of, irratic, and clouded judgement, but then the book sheds some light on the hard issues of the ripper case.
The victims... the suspects...
This book is amazing.
But i dont want to spoil the ending. Enjoy.

This is a pretty cool guide to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. For each episode they list the stardate, any new planets, aliens and technology encountered, quotes, a plot summary, and many more tidbits. The only reason I gave it four stars is that after episode #52 of DS9, the entries have no detail and are abbreviated to just a few lines. It's as though they didn't have time to finish it!

There are also a few interesting pages at the back that explain how Star Trek is a metaphor for the American way of life.

Overall: If you watch Star Trek TNG and DS9 a lot, you will defintely not regret buying this book.

This is a very informational book for all Star trek NG Fans. It contains a synopsis of each episode. All though a few of the Episodes are a bit out of order, the book is a great guide, espicially if you own the entire series. The only enhancement I would make is an author's rating of each episode.

The author provides us with beautiful photographs of Vietnam, a thousand year old country. Pictures of mountains, seas, paddy fields, towns and villages alternated with those of children afflicted with war induced deformities and a veteran amputee receving treatment. What makes the book interesting is the juxtaposition of black photographs of the war and colored images of the present.

For the past is interwined with the present. The horrors of the war have left indelible marks on the people and country alike as Raymer has shown us in his book.

The authors do an excellent job of transposing the "American Image" of Vietnam into the beautiful and complex country that it really is. It draws from that "American Image" rooted in the drama of the war years, and gradually leads us to a clearer understanding of just what the country is today (and what it was before the intensity of the U.S. involvement)and where it may go in the future. It is encouraging, and very hopeful, to see the country and its people re-anchored in their traditional values--in spite of the current relic of communism--and to appreciate the renewed emphasis on education, family, business, and integration into the world economy. Clearly, it has been a long hard row to hoe, but it is moving in the right direction. Jack Smith's introduction lays this out, and it is reenforced by the text and Mr. Raymer's revealing photographs. The result is a far better sense of place and people.

Jack Smith's introduction says it all -- Vietnam is a beautiful, peaceful land that is going places. Doing this book brought back a lot of memories and was a tonic for the soul. Enjoy it!

My curiosity was peaked as I settled in with this book. I didn't plan on spending my entire day off reading, but one thing lead to another. "Just one more chapter", I kept telling myself. In the late evening, after reading the last page, I found myself going back through the book, ear-marking the "The Angel's Voice" segments with little post-its. I've been re-reading one section a day for the last week.

As I began the book, I carefully evaluated the spiritual lessons almost like challenges, testing what the author was saying with my own interpretation of reality. As one insight lead to another, I noticed even more curiosity building. I continued to read, and found myself trusting instead of challenging, comforted by the ring of truth; as though I was remembering, not learning for the first time.

The lessons are both simple and profound, evoking questions and answers at the same time. In the end, whatever I say about this book will not quite be it. Because what I had was an experience, which always turns out to be beyond description.

Undoubtedly my insights moved me in the direction of higher spiritual awareness. And yes, I have found myself recommending this book to co-workers and friends. My daily conversations keep coming around to one or more aspects of the basic questions addressed in this book.

This novel is a unique combination of mystery and adventure with spiritual messages inter-woven at regular intervals. Although I normally choose spiritual books written in the straight style that Dr. Chopra usually uses, I found this book appealing and reassuring, generating a message of hope and clarity. The "angel voice" is an invitation to the reader to banish doubt and see themselves in the light. I believe that any medium which provides such an opportunity should be gratefully embraced and accepted, for the sake of humankind. Read this one and pass it along!

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in angels, spiritual development or the attainment of your hearts desires. Throughout this novel, the reader observes the infinite choices the characters are confronted with each moment. As the vivid characters in the story, we see that our own personal dramas unfold according to the choices we make.

As we slowly wake up to this fact and begin paying attention to the deep inner wisdom which is always softly whispering, we experience magic; wonderful outcomes which we could never have imagined.

From the first chapter, as my attention turned more to angels and spirit, my perception changed and my routine experiences shifted as well. As routine "breakdowns" occur around me I notice myself asking about the nature of this particular "miracle"; looking deeper until I see the truth. Words I may have used in the past (like "problem") are simply MY words, not reality. Not God's words. While watching the rippling effect this perception is having on the people around me, I need to say this: Read this book! Or get your hands on anything by this author! And start watching for miracles.

I just finished reading The Judge by Steve Martini. I checked the book out of the local library on the advice of a friend. I had a hard time getting into the first four of five chapters and thought perhaps it wasn't going to be any good. But my friend assured me that if I stayed with it, I'd become fixated with it. He was right. I couldn't put it down. I could kick myself for not being aware it was a television movie and I missed it. That's what I get for being a reader instead of a tv watcher. I can only attest that if the movie was anywhere as good as the book, I would have thoroughly enjoyed it. Martini's style of writing is a little different and it took me a while to get used to it. But once I finally was "fixated" on the story, then I didn't seem to notice it any longer. Attorney Paul Madriani is truly the kind of attorney a client hopes to find for representation. Martini proves his character to be full of intelligence and wit in a world where attorney's have to stay on their toes. Only a master of story-telling could have written such a story, unless of course, Martini might be drawing on real life experiences. I have already checked out another novel by Martini, The Attorney. I can't wait to get started on it.

Great characters and a great plot. wow what an ending! I had to read all of it until I ended it. I simply could not put it down! Great plotting through out this great legal thriller. Grisham better look over his shoulder. Martini is simply a great Rival in legal thriller writing! The beginning is what I am looking for and the middle is perfect. The best part is when they put the judge on trial. The greatest work by Martini. warning: Don't start this on any weekend if you plan to read this book all week long. start it on a week day and plan to end it on a weekend!!

If you are a fan of 'Legal Thriller' books, and have NOT readSteve Martini, NOW is the time to get to know attorney Paul Madriani.Like most people I enjoy Grisham -- however NOBODY writes a better clear-cut legal thriller than Martini. I first caught the bug with 'Compelling Evidence' and I've been hooked. I'm not a big fan of novels written in 'first person' but I don't mind it in this case because of how GOOD Martini's writing style is. And 'The Judge' is Martini at his best. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I can't say it any better than that. And the ending, what a GREAT way to wrap up a story. I DO recommend reading the earlier Paul Madriani novels before getting into this one, however it DOES stand on its own, but one of the characters is developed in the earlier books to the point where you appreciate the situation Paul is in better if you 'know' his relationship with the murder suspect from the other novels. Even though, don't put off reading this story. Legal thrillers don't get any better than this. And Grisham's talent notwithstanding, Martini's least entertaining legal thriller is superior to anything Grisham has written -- and that isn't to say I DISLIKE Grisham, it just shows how MUCH I enjoy Martini. Give it a shot, and thank me later (I KNOW you will). Let me know what you think, e-mail me and tell me what YOU thought of the book. I welcome positive AND negative responses, although I can't IMAGINE someone NOT completely enjoying this book. Enjoy.

At least in the West we don't tell people how to think, unlike Catholicism and Communism. Besides what has religion ever done for anyone on this planet anyhow? NOTHING! Fear of going to hell is the only thing which compels people to "believe" in Him. Also what kind of omnipotent God would create Satan? Wouldn't a perfect God know that Lucifer would turn evil before he created him, and shouldn't God be able to destroy him then? It doesn't seem like God is very omnipotent. Why did God have to instruct Noah to build an ark to save everyone, couldn't God have just snapped his fingers and made it happen? And how could Noah fit two of every insect, bird, clam, sperm whale, grizzly bear, polar bear, arctic fox, penguin, and whatnot on this planet into his boat? And how did all these animals find their way to Noah's Ark? And where did all these different races of people come from? Did Noah take a black man, white man, yellow man, red man, or whatever on his boat too? Lastly, what kind of fool would believe the Bible is actually God's word? The bible was written by people, and it's been hacked-up, edited, re-printed, and re-translated countless number of times throughout the ages. Bibles are printed in dirty factories and then later sold for profit at KMart, they didn't come from God.

To quote a certain philospher: "There was a time when religion ruled the world, it was called The Dark Ages."

As a lapsed fundementalist, I read this book with some detatchment yet not without interest. I 100% agree with martin's analyis of Marxism/Leninism which is not dead but has for some time now been operating on a cultural front. Martin's take on the reforms of Vatican II, likewise was enlightening --I had only heard about them through the media. I find nothing controversial about this book. If the Christian faith is true, it is to be expected that duplicity and falsehood and worse come with the territory; was not Judas one of the twelve? If on the other hand there is no God then the Roman Catholic church (heirarchy) is the prize, for as Martin suggests it is the sole organization capable of uniting the world. Consider the example of Auguste Comte, one of the founders of sociology and professed atheist, he promoted 'science' and hated the christian religion yet at the same time, he venerated catholicism. (Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor (the Brother's Karamazov)also comes to mind regarding the Roman Catholicism's unique position in the world. Reading this book has not only, increased my admiration for Pope John Paul II, but I also am thankful for the author.

Malachi Martin's work is a veritable "tour de force." With authority (he was one of the world's foremost Vatican Scholars), skill and erudtion he meticulously traces the geopolitical ambitions of Rome from beginning, i.e. Christ's alleged comments to Peter that upon him the church would be built, to end where the Vatican winds up in charge of the One World Government. Martin posits that anyone who was under the age of 70 at the time this book was written would be alive to see the day when the nation-state, as we know it, would cease to exist.

What will be most surprising to most readers is how intimately involved the Papacy is in world politics, all for the purpose of establishing the Catholic Church as the One World Government. (See Revelation 13, 17).

Whether or not Pope John Paul II turns out to be the eventual ruler of the One World Order is irrelevant. Dr. Martin's book goes into exhaustive detail how this Pope, more than any of his predecessors in this century, has worked feverishly to keep the Vatican on the world stage as a major player. Karol Woytila has had a clear-eyed view of what the church's role should be in world affairs dating back to the time when he was a priest during the Second World War working undercover for the US Government. He learned well at the feet of the master in this regard; Stephen Cardinal Wysinzski took the young cleric under his wing during the formative years of his priesthood, and the account of his tutelage of Woytila is spellbinding.

Readers will be fascinated to learn just how much the Vatican was behind the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and just how closely the US and Vatican work on foreign policy issues.

This book could very well be subtitled "Prophecy Made Clear by Modern Events." John Paul II is the "Servant of the Grand Design;" papal hegemonist ambitions are in plain view. A blockbuster!!

....

I rate the books I read by how well they draw me in and how easy they are to understand. If you want to learn about the lives of such big-boy billionaires as Bill Gates, Ross Perot, Warren Buffet and Sam Walton, then this is the book for you. I'm very picky with the books I read. I like the "How To" books that tell me how to accomplish my specific goal(s). Like the title to my review says, there are numerous biographies in this book about the most famous billionaires in the world. If you're interested in adding some zeros and commas to your bank account balance, I suggest you choose another book to invest in. The wealth-building strategies explained in here are pretty basic. The book was written well though.

This book is an extremely good starting point if you would like to reach the top ranks in net worth. It is not a simple collection of celebrity biographies of Wealthy 100. This is a complete spectrum of business strategies of billionaires -- H.L. Hunt, Ross Perot, Sam Walton, John D. Rockefeller, Bill Gates, Paul Getty, and Warren Buffet just to name a few. Mr. Fridson explores the histories the ultra-successful as actions of extraordinary businessmen operating in the ordinary economy.

Mr. Fridson is a Merrill Lynch Managing Director. An important caution for the individuals in the investment field: author points out and proves that to accumulate billions just by investments is not possible. He proves that to achieve billions in the investment field, one must acquire a substantial stake in a company and control the management and the direction of the company as a whole. This is precisely what Warren Buffet has accomplished, in despite of the common myth that he is just an investor.

If you have intention to try to get billions for the first step read this book. This is a must.

Imagine having the courage to write a book that is aimed at budding entrepreneurs who want to be billionaires. Millionaires, sure. But billionaires? How many of us would be willing to even discuss with our friends the thought of giving it a shot by taking a systematic approach to making billions? It is fascinating that someone would seriously spend that much time researching the strategies that were purportedly used by billionaires like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Ross Perot, etc. Even more amazing that they would write a book about it. That alone convinced me to buy the book. Okay, I also got it during the after-christmas sale at amazon.com for 70% off, but frugality is one of the key principles followed by the billionaires.

When you start reading the book, you realize that the author is very serious about teaching you how to be a billionaire if that is your goal. The book follows this format - the first chapter which is 28 pages long is definitely worth reading multiple times. It introduces the concept of 'Overcoming the Levelers' which in this day and age are the 'Menace of Competition' and the 'Obstacle of Social Conventions' and some ideas to overcome these. This chapter also talks about the obvious and not so obvious paths that have NOT been taken by billionaires, like 'playing the stock market' or 'salary'. The different key principles shared by the billionaires along with some of the strategies they followed are briefly described. Most importantly, this chapter provides some very deep insights into how these very successful people did it.

The rest of the book goes into the 9 different strategies that were employed by the billionaires in reaching their current position. This is a fascinating journey into the details of how they became so successful. There are also a couple of important chapters on choosing the right industry and some tidbits for the readers who are putting their own plans together. For those of us who spend a lot of time staying on top of the world financial news and trying to figure out how certain mergers end up in 'the whole is more than the sum of the parts' situation will find this book a treat. There are examples of these mergers where the author explains the theories behind high stock valuations. And it is all a very easy read. I have been unsuccessfully tyring to figure this out on and off for about 3 years and this book helped me understand this concept in just a few minutes.

As the authors rightly point out, a lot of people on the planet are very interested in making enormous sums of money - as witnessed by the popularity of state lotteries across the country and the world. Of course, most of us don't aspire to actually make this the central focus of our lives (lottery addicts excluded) for good reasons - lack of information on how to do it being the number 1 reason. There may be more certainty in taking the path to become a sports star, movie star or earn a doctorate than in making enormous sums of money. It just isn't clear how one can do it. That is obviously why there are so few billionaires in the world.

But this book is a fascinating read that can help you decide whether to really pursue this dream or set less lofty goals (like making enough money for a comfortable retirement) and stop trying to convince your spouse that you are going to become a billionaire some day, if only the economy would turn around or if only someone would give you a chance or if only ... This book has been helping me set clearer targets for myself by coming to terms with the fact that it is an almost impossible task to make that kind of money from nothing. Instead, it has helped me define a path and set a goal that is in tune with my own capabilities.

Get a copy of this book and read it cover to cover if spend more than 2 hours a week talking to friends about making a lot of money. I wish you the best of luck with this very important pursuit!