If you are a fan of the "Some Girls" album, this is the book to read, since the author was there when some of the album was recorded (and writes about it in this book). This biography was done with Keith's consent, too, so the author spent time with Keith, and witnessed and writes about many interesting things (like Keith actually shooting up heroin in front of her, for one).

I am probably one of Keith's biggest fans, so I have read everything I can get my hands on about him. This book is currently out of print, and I am so glad I have a copy of it. It has fabulous pictures of Keith, Anita, Marlon and of course the rest of the Stones. I believe this book is more 'real' than the Victor Bockris book (although I liked that one as well) since Ms. Charone actually lived at Redlands for a while. She pulls no punches. I'ts the good, bad and busted. Snatch it up while you can. A must for any Stones fan.

I read this book more than fifteen years ago and still rate it among the best biographies I've read, in no small part due to the fact that Keith is the quintessential rock star. A really good read, but it may prompt you cut your own hair, throw televisions off of balconies, and buy every Stones album you can find.

I was given this book as a gift and think the photographs in it are absolutely great! The text that accompanies all the photos is interesting, but I've noticed more than just a few spots in the book where the captions to the photos stops in mid-sentence. I still love the book and if those captions were complete; it would rate 5 stars.

This book was given to me as a Christmas gift this past year. As a writer of Spy Fiction ("The Malagasy Tortoise"), this book has given me a wonderful and exacting insight to the many gizmos and gadgets being used in the field of spying. From weapons to decoding devices "The Ultimate Spy" has it all. I recommend this book to anyone interested in anything clandestine or who is looking to expand their knowledge of the CIA, the FBI or the private sector of spying. This book is loaded with excellent photos of spy personalities, guns, secret hiding spots, good guys and bad guys -- everything is in here to make yourself a fantastic investigation. An exceptional book, one that I now keep right next to my computer.

This book--by a real expert in the field--has a unique combination of pictures, words, and topics. It is magnificently illustrated, making it easier to understand a complex subject. The text is accurate and informative, but not too wordy, and the reader can skip around to whichever topics interest him or her the most. The topics covered in this book range from the basics of espionage to the history of spying to examples of spy gear used over the last several decades to the latest in spy technology. This book will interest both those with little background in the world of spying and those who have already studied it a great deal. The collection of illustrations in this book is definitely the best available anywhere.

I found this book highly insightful and would recommend it for any philosophy/logic course in higher education. I did find that the online companion []slightly grating in its' acceptance of certain grammar and punctuation. This aside, I would recommend the book as a whole to anyone interested. It runs the gamut from formal to informal, and adds mighty descriptors of the information along the way. One point deduction for the companion site functionality that this book uses. The book by itself is easy to grasp with enough toughies to keep the average logic student going. I highly recommend it.

As a college philosophy teacher I have tried many textbooks for teaching informal logic. I am very happy with this book. It presents the material thoroughly and clearly and has tons of useful exercises. I don't need the chapters on symbolic logic for the course I teach, but the material on informal and Aristotelian logic is working very nicely. The publisher maintains an interactive website with additional exercises and review material for students. My students use it and appreciate it.

Keith Abbott was a friend and, as much as anyone could be, a confidant of the late neo-beat author, Richard Brautigan. This is one of surprisingly few biographical and/or critical works on this unique American writer. Lately there seems to be a mini-renaissance of interest in Brautigan's work. Internet sites, notably Jen Leibhart's, " The Brautigan Pages" will provide the interested surfer with contacts of other aficionados. This writer has received e-mail from Finland and Germany where Brautigan's work is becoming known (again?). I know of only two other works dedicated exclusively tothis author, Terence Malley's "Richard Brautigan", a 1972 publication in Warner's "Writers for the Seventies" series and Marc Chenetier's 1983 more inclusive "Richard Brautigan". The Abbott book is far more personal and, for thiswriter, more interesting. It is the only work that makes a serious effort at a biographical approach to this enigmatic writer. It may be some time before Brautigan's significance as a man of letters can be agreed upon but the recent resurgence of interest suggests that he will not fall into obscurity. By the way you can e-mail Jen Leibhart at jen@cnct.com. So until some enterprising writer attempts a true literary biography Keith Abbott's book will fill this unjust gap in American letters.

This book is packed with information that you need to know about guitars and looking through the book is as good as being in your local guitar shop, absolutely fantastic showcase of guitars throughout the years. Paul Trynka did a nice work on the book . If you love guitar then this is the book for you.

Seelie and Unseelie elves trying to eke out an existance in Banal world, battling invisible chimaeric toys in the streets of Frisco, clinging tenaciously the nobility of the Middle Ages. I found this book quite refreshing from the run-of-the-mill fantasy books one can find. Unlike many of the novels about the faerie people, this one actually takes place on present-day Earth, and the faeries have to juggle two lives (human and faerie) besides trying to keep from losing their memories to the cold, unbelieving Banal world. All in all, a refreshing take on the faerie folk, and all in all, a great read.

That Stanley Booth is one of America's finest profile writers AND a close friend of Keith Richards should have ensured this biography would be a moving, essential read. Instead, it is sloppy and a little sad.
Most disappointing is the fact that a significant chunk of the material seems lifted from Booth's far superior "True Adventures of the Rolling Stones." Admittedly "True Adventures," is great source material, even when cannibalized. Unfortunately, Stones fans must still endure Booth's account of his first meeting with Mick Jagger in which songs such as "Backstreet Girl" and "Connection" are linked to the album "Beggars Banquet" rather than "Between the Buttons."
To be fair, accounts of Keith's childhood and adolescence are enlightening, as are some anecdotes from the '70s and '80s. But this is a book that needed re-thinking, or at least savvy editing. Those who want a fresh, revelatory biography on Keith, or a worthy example of music writing from Booth, will have to look elsewhere.

Stanley Booth bases his capability of writing keith richards' life on the fact that he 'lived in social intercourse with him'. although he manages to create few moments of intimacy, his book is more like a glance on the stones career through richards' eyes, rather than a true biography of keith. if you like to read the story of the stones, you would find Booth's previous book - 'the true adventures of the stones' - more complete. if you are interested in keith's biography, Victor bockris' book ( 'keith richards - the biography') is more focused. most of 'standing in the shadows' is based on conversations with keith. when not recycled, some of the quotes are valuable for those who, like me, find keith richards interesting.

Stanley Booth is overqualified, to say the very least, to write this biography of Keith Richards, the muscle behind the music of the Rolling Stones; having toured with the band in 1969, he chronicled the events leading up to their December, 1969 brush with darkness at Altamont. His focus here is not on the whole band, but on the Keith himself, the Human Riff, "the world's blackest white man" and the creator of such rock classics as "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Happy." This book draws heavily from previously published material - that's a drawback; however, said material is superior in almost every respect to just about anything else you'll find about the place, concerning rock music, American culture, sex, drugs, religion, and politics. Booth, a Southern boy, obviously loves how this Englishman took to his own heart the Mississippi Delta blues of black American musicians, and made it into something...else. Booth is not incapable of being critical towards his subject; he is unsparing in his criticisms of Keith's bull-in-a-china-shop lifestyle, his drug addictions and self-denial concerning his addiction problems, but mostly, this book celebrates the life, music, and adventures of the greatest living symbol of rock's defiant spirit.

I'm not sure about just what this book is trying to accomplish. The cover announces it as a guide to directX 3, however nearly the entire book deals with the author's "wrapper classes" with only sparse mention of actual DirectX or Direct3D functions or their theory. In addition to this, the author spread uses so many wrappers and typedefs, spread over so many files that you will find your self constanly asking, "what the hell does 'lpDD3DTHISHEADERISWAYTOOLONG' stand for? There are much better books on DirectX out there, skip this one.

This book presents experienced programmers with some help in understanding how to use DirectX. It assumes you already know how to program in Windows. Examples are concrete for the most part, with line by line descriptions of each one. Some take a little time to get through your head, though. The book tends to focus on the programming itself and not on how a certain item might be useful in an actual game. But all in all, it's a rather helpful book. One thing that's missing, though, is a handy reference of all DirectX functions briefly explaining each one. The one included with the DirectX SDK is none too helpful..

I've scores of programming books, this one maintains a prominent position on my bookshelf. Some may have a problem with the informal style in which the topics are presented; personally I much prefer it over the typical and unwarranted formal pedantics that are found in too many texts. This is an exceptional choice for DirectX programming. I can't help but think, based on some of the other reviews, that some may be intimidated by the coding level. The book's really not for a novice; but as a complementing text for the programming professional or hobbyist it's a great choice

I think this is a great book

I read the other reviews, 2 of them raved about the book and one sounds like it was written by a dolphin catcher with a Phd... I read this book and then went to the Flipper Productions Dolphin Encounter near Nassau in the Bahamas, even encountering at least one of the dolphins mentioned in the book. Every celebrity you could think of had their picture in the photo shop with dolphins. The Phd was right about the book jumping around too much. It would have been nice for continuity to hear more about his wife and how her role in his quest for example after we are introduced to her in the begining and then she is hardly mentioned through the rest of the book. This said I have to say that he is right about dolphins in captivity. I had a blast, selfishly, swimming with, dancing with, kissing and hugging dolphins- I can't wait to visit again... but it quickly becomes obvious that they are way to intelligent to be doing tricks for Katie Couric for fish. And they are better off being free to swim in the open ocean than being trapped in penned in areas for "research" and "education".

A wonderfully compassionate look at dolphins in captivity from an ex-industry insider; inspiring story that makes you want to change the world for the better.

Although it has been several years since I read this book, it made a lasting impression on how I feel towards captivity of marine and other non-domestic animals. In addition, it opened my eyes to animal neglect and, by my defination, cruelty. For those that love animals, it's worth finding!