Difficult to disagree that religion is pure superstition, that ethics are mostly unrelated to organized religion and that we must take responsibility for our individual actions.

I am thoroughly impressed by this new theory of evolution and its applications in the development of society. I highly reccomend this book to all those that are interested in biological evolution and its effects on social developement. a great book.

Halberstam's theme remains constant through out this tape. The theme protrays Michael Jordon as competitive and a tough player with a fierceless tenacity to raise the standard of basketball transforming the NBA into big business. Michael Jordon intelligence, hard work, and vision helped him lead his team to six championships and a three repeat. Probably one of the worst days of my life was when Michael Jordon hit a three point shot over Bryon Russell in the 1998 championship final game against the Utah Jazz. One word imprinted on my brain, "No!" as Jordon crushed Utah's dreams of a championship.

The Bulls under Jackson had created the perfect weapon. The perfect weapon being the triangle offense: Jordon, Pippen, Rodman, and the center - synergistically integrated to destroy the opponent's defense. The perfect weapon was not easily formed and Halberstam compliments Jackson's ability to bring all the talent, personalities, and ambitions together into one focus, another championship. Despite management irritation and desire to split the team, Jordon and Jackson managed to negotiate another season, to stay together, one of the greatest seasons of Bulls history. Halberstam details the struggles of Scottie Pippen and his eventual emergence as physically gifted player, the rebounding threat of Rodman, and Jordon's williness to work with Pippen creating the perfect weapon. Jackson would saw Pippen as a critical component to a third championship but struggle to achieve control.

Fierceness on both ends of the court characterized Jordon with him winning both the MVP and the defensive player of the year. Jordon was not happy unless he was winning. The era of Michael Jordon represented increases in crowd attendence, quantum leaps in player contract pay, more spectacular moves, new emerging talent emulating Jordon, and increased media coverage. If you love basket trivia and want to learn more about the formation of the Chicago Bulls during the Jordon era this is an excellent historical documentary.

Halberstam chronological spans events ,such as, Jordon's family life, his father, mother, and brother Larry; Jordon's high school years, his speed and growth; Jordon's player years at North Carolina and respect playing for Dean Smith; Jordon's leadership as he lead his team to a victory capturing the NCAA crown; Pippens defiance of management and arguements of devaluation; the strange behavior of Rodman and his importance as a rebounder; The championship defeat of the raining kings, Los Angles Lakers, and the fustration expressed by Magic Johnson; Jordon's first championship, his joy and relief of winning a championship; the battle, defeat, and conquer of the NY Nicks; and Jordon's retirement.

One of the rare portions of the documentary is Halberstam's insight into Michael Jordon's intelligence, such as, the secret weapon to build strength without increasing significant mass creating a stronger Bulls team. Jordon knew strength was necessary because the game of basketball was become more physical. The strength training payed off as Jordon was able to finish shots after being hit.

Halberstams work represents a change in American culture as basketball came onto center stage. The battle for our minds leaves basketball, Air Jordon's, Spike Lee, and Michael Jordon jumping skyward with arm outstretched ball palmed with tongue out epitimizing one of the greatest players and era's of basketball. Michael Jordon's vision, fame, and hardwork have transformed basketball into the modern sport we know now, black athletes worshipped as Gods of the court with price tags to match.

The stories about Rich in his day-to-day life moved me beyond what i can express. This is the only book besides Brutchko that i've ever read in one evening. It is that inspiring and life giving.

Without giving away too much, some of the personal stories that moved me were: His pulling over the van at 11:11 p.m. to pray for his friends; his always helping with the set-up at his concerts; the writing of a song about a little girl who wasn't supposed to live; his literal giving of the shirt off his back to Mr. Foster; and his giving of all the profits from one of his tours to a church in Bogota.

I simply don't love Jesus the way Rich did. He struggled, wrestled, gave, and prayed like no one else I've ever met. Thank God for his life. Thank God the Mullin's family let Smith write this book.

Life is hard, but God is good. Rich embraced that contradiction and mystery with reckless abandon. "From the place where morning gathers you look sometimes forever 'til you see what time may never know, what time may never know..." I long to see the sunrise and see beyond time to the pulsing love of God like Rich did. May God increase the wideness in all of our heart's to behold Him as clearly as Rich Mullin's did.

I have been a Christian for a little over a year now. During this past year, I was introduced to Rich Mullins through his incomparable music. It spoke to my heart, which I thought couldn't be touched. Over time I learned more about his extraordinary life, most especially through this book. The more I learned, the more at-peace with my myself I became. Rich Mullins did something with my soul that no one else could. He helped me to appreciate what's really important in life. He taught me that worldly things come and go, but God's love is not only eternal, but unconditional as well. He taught me to see the beauty of God's creation, and to reject the glamour of wealth and power. Rich loved God more than anyone else on this earth, so it's understandable that God would want him a little bit closer to home. This book isn't just a biography, it's a devotional, an instrument to help find peace, and a gateway to God. A must-have for anyone seeking peace.

Unlike many other biographies of public figures who died young, Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing Towards Heaven by James Bryan Smith is a moving celebration of the man Rich Mullins. It also reflects the ideals he held dear.

One such ideal is simplistic living. Mullins firmly believed that all he had belonged to God. So he lived with few material possessions and was happy to share what little he had. Despite his success, for the last several years of his life, he hired an accountant to give him a stipend... and gave away the rest of his earnings to deserving charities.

Smith, a veteran writer, was also a close friend of Mullins for many years. When Mullins moved to Witchita, Kansas, in the early 1990s to earn a music education degree from Friends University, he lived in the attic apartment of Smith's house for three years.

The Mullins family asked Smith to write the book, because he knew Mullins so well. Because of Smith's friendship with Mullins, readers will enjoy how he shares Mullins with the public. He relates not only the highlights of Mullins' life, but also the struggles.

Even as a close friend, Smith did not rely on his experience alone to write this biography. He interviewed 40 of the people who knew Rich best-both friends and family. Their stories-as well as the words of Mullins himself that Smith culls from interviews, lyrics, and stage recordings-add to the breadth of the book.

Reading Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing Towards Heaven gives you a greater knowledge of the life of one amazing man. It also encourages you to live a life abandoned to the "reckless raging fury that they call the love of God."

Bach has written a nine-step plan for couples that should not be overlooked by any couple doing financial planning. The book is written on two premises: (1) that the issue of finances cause couples the most stress of any issue in a relationship; and (2) everyone can become wealthy, no matter how much you currently make. The nine steps walk you through what you need to do to set up emergency reserves, and start investing, so that you can retire a millionaire. His plan is not revolutionary - it is essentially the same mantra of dollar cost averaging, invest in mutual funds, and invest at least something on a regular basis. But Bach adds a new spin by gearing his book to couples, and encouraging people to do financial planning with their partner, rather than independently. This is not a hard book to read or understand, and it is a relatively quick read. People who have read other books in this genre will recognize the theories and themes, but I think you will find that Bach adds enough new information and new slant on old ideas that you will learn from and enjoy this book.

Investing for your future is sound, strong advice at any age. As a teacher of business management and having counselled an overwhelming number of people in the area of finance, I believe investing is particularly critical for young people today. I am so happy to read that previous reviewers, in their twenties, have learned from this book and are planning for their future. If you are starting your career and in your twenties, now is the time for financial planning, even though you might not be able to put a lot of money aside, "every penny saved, is a penny earned."

There are many books on the market today on investing and financial planning. Some I would highly recommend, others are not worth the time it takes to read the book - save the money you would spend on those "guaranteed get rich quick books" and invest the money where it will guarantee a return. "Smart Couples Finish Rich" is filled with a wealth of information on money management, retirement accounts, living trusts, types of insurance and investing in general. After reading it, you will be better equiped to manage your money and save for the future. That not only makes "smart cents," it makes smart sense. Hopefully, with some financial peace of mind and stability, couples will not only finish rich, they will finish rich... together!

There's a lot of financial advice books on the market, but I really think this one is the best. The best for couples anyway.

One of the key concepts of the book is for both you & your spouse to read the book, get you to start discussing your values, finances, and future, as a couple so you're on the same page. Not being on the same page as a couple is probably one of the biggest reason for couples splitting up. My husband is not into self-help books, but this was one book that he did read. It has many helpful exercises, as a couple, to get you to realize some of the why's of your finances & to get you to plan better for your future. For example, it makes you start planning goals. Funny, many businesses have goals, but how many couples have established goals for their futures? And I'm sure most people would agree that their relationship with their spouse is more important than their work.

Before I read this, I read Suze Orman's Financial Guidebook, which was also a great book. But I feel I got greater value out of Smart Couples Finish Rich.

After reading this, I've actually started tracking all of my finances & have a much better understanding of how I'm doing financially & what I need to do to meet my newly established goals.

This book is a must for any couple to help plan for their futures.

Mr. Weddle is our Virgil taking us on a tour of some of the poshest circles in the world. Lifting the curtain he allows us access to a world we can only dream about, to discover a nightmare world of bloated egos as well as bankbooks, that sadly proves ephemeral. Intriguing, eye-opening and fun!

As a twenty-year resident of Beverly Hills, I found Among the Mansions of Eden fascinating. It's the first book I've read that actually talks about what happens here. Throughout his investigation into the checkered history of Beverly Hills, Weddle's wry pen skewers a series of what seem to be over-the-top archetypes, but by the time he's finished, he's deftly revealed them as very human beings driven by understandable demons. I expect his penetrating look into the drug scene and quiet racism of this town to draw intense criticism, but his observations match my first-hand knowledge. And his observations concerning the corrosive effects of too much "success" resonated long after I put the book down.

I found "Among the Mansions of Eden" to be a hilarious and riveting study of the rich who go to Beverly Hills to build their personal monuments. David Weddle lays bare the fallacy of materialism. He does this not by simply ridiculing the materialists--though god knows they ask for it--but by getting inside their heads and understanding their doomed aspirations. He sees that materialism is a romantic impulse, heartfelt and desperate. The wealthy erect their impossibly oversized palaces in the hope that they can build a perfect world and thus bring grace and contentment to their lives. By looking to the outside world and material achievement instead if within for fulfillment they of course end up failing, but do so spectacularly.

This book is full of unforgettable characters: greedy real estate hustlers, aging movie stars, porno kings who aspire to emulate Hugh Hefner, Iranian refugees who arrived in Beverly Hills with millions of dollars stuffed in their pockets, high school druggies, body guards to the stars and snake oil salesmen who struck it big through infomercials. It is not just about the wealthy, but all of us who are endlessly fascinated by their outrageous exploits. It is about one version of the American Dream that Beverly Hills has come to represent--a twisted and corrosive dream but one that has a everlasting hold on the American imagination.

I would recommend this book to anyone but especially to women. The story of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is about a public figure who is very different from the private person. It tells the inside story of her life. There are many things she was holding from the public. Her life behind the camera as the wife of the president is particularly interesting. This book reveals many secrets about the life of Jackie and her family. There are also many good lessons to be learned. I think that this book is well written and holds you attention. Morgan Bush

I really enjoyed this book. It was very refreshing. There are so many books out there on the Kennedy's that are there just to sling mud, portraying rumors and myths as facts. It was nice to read a book about Jackie, the person. It's an uplifting book about a remarkable woman.

They were the odd couple of cinema: Hitchcock's spry, intelligent thrillers were very much at odds with Selznick's adaptions notable for their fidelity to their source. Hitchcock, in contrast, was anything but faithful to the source material of his many film adaptions. Both adaptions and original material focused on key visual images around which the plot was built. Selznick was the opposite of Hitch in that his productions were focused more on the narrative. Their collaboration managed to enrich each other's skills.

Although they made few films together during their ten year "collaboration" (in reality Hitch was under contract so his status was more as suborindate than equal), most of them are hampered by their lack of cohesive styles. As producer/director they didn't hit their collborative stride until Hitch's Notorius in 1946. Most of Hitch's work was with other producers and studios for which he was loaned out like any other actor or director of the time.

Nevertheless, Hitch learned valuable lessons in structuring a film for the American audience. He also managed to reach an audience that he could only have imagined before coming to America. Selznick's most valuable lesson was learning to let his directors occasionally have their way on projects.

Leff's book is a bit too scholarly in tone for the average film fan but is well written and researched. It's also quite expensive given that it's a large format paperback (this probably has to do with the small audience imagined for it and the fact that it comes from the UC Press). Many of Leff's more interesting observations have turned up as commentary on a number of Criterion DVDs (particularly the Spellbound DVD released last year).

There were many classic films produced during their time together but just as many misfires (Spellbound, despite it's many attributes is a good example of the disasterous turn their collaboration could take). Hitch hadn't hit the height of his powers as a director yet. His most powerful films (Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo, The Trouble With Charlie, Strangers on a Train, Psycho and The Birds)loomed in his future. Nevertheless, his films from this time frame are, at times, revolutionary in one way or another (Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Lifeboat among many others).

This book details their work together from uneasy partnership to the truce that allowed Hitch to produce one of his most magnificient films (Notorius). Although Hitch's work has come to dominate our culture more than Selznick's (with the possible exception of Gone With The Wind), neither man would have achieved his goals without the other.

You probably couldn't find two more fascinating personalities in the history of cinema than Hitchcock and Selznick, and Mr. Leff does an excellent job providing background information and behind-the-scenes details on their collaborations. The book tends to slow down at times, mostly due to expositionary passages which are essential, but which delay getting to the good stuff.

One thing I would have liked more of would have been more information on what each of these characters did away from each other. I realize that gets away from the main thesis, but I think that Mr. Leff tries to involve as many of those details as he can into his narrative but is forced to pare it down to stay on course.

What's particularly interesting is how Hitchcock and Selznick virtually switched places in the Hollywood hierarchy over the course of their time together. Knowing what we know about each man in his later years lends an extra creedence to Mr. Leff's work.

For any serious fan and student of Hitchcock, this compellingly readable book is a must. Should be on the bookshelf along with Donald Spoto's great book "The Dark Side of Genius." Where Spoto's book provides excellent detail on the Hitchcock side of this strained but dynamic collaboration, Leff's book fills the gap on the Selznick end, providing both an historical perspective (Hitchcock on the rise, Selznick at the beginning of his decline) and an insightful look at the filmmaking methods of both men, striving to push the envelope in the repressive era of Will Hayes' Hollywood code. Hitch may have bridled under Selznick's heavy-handedness, his obsession with using name talent and his emphasis on dialogue and character development. Yet, many of the great Hitchcock films that came after their colloaboration bear the mark of Selznick's influence in all these areas. Mr. Leff's book offers an eminently fair rendering of each man's creative contributions and personal angst in their 10 year association, and is an important contribution to mid-20th century American film history.

A couple of years ago, the American Film Institute called Citizen Kane the best movie ever created. If the revival of Citizen Kane (based on Hearst) never happened, it is unlikely that this book would have been published. Still, Nasaw writes a compelling work. It's intimidating at 800+ pages, but it is interesting enough to get through in a few weeks without prodigious effort.

Hearst lived an exciting life of wealth and travel since his birth, and this book doesn't leave out an ounce of his peripatetic existence. Although it is easy to tell Nasaw has an obliging respect for the man (why else would he write the book?) and enough new findings to make this worth a book, you get the sense that Hearst just wasn't very good at business. He seemed to succeed by way of his personal charm and off-the-cuff style. Even if you have little interest in business, there is enough in this book about Hearst's personality and his accumulation of property and objets d'art to satisfy you. Overall: Well-written and interesting, if a little bit too much of one man -- you often feel that this is a month-by-month account of his life.

Nasaw does a very good job in turning the life of William Randolph Hearst into the subject of this popular biography. A strong writing style and a balance between section detailing the business, political and personal parts of Hearst's life keep the reader engaged. It's hard to believe the power one man had and harder still to believe that flexed it so often and so unsuccessfully on many occasions. Students of modern politics will find an instructive history about a man who is in many ways the precursor to Michael Bloomberg, Steve Forbes and Ross Perot. Students of journalism will find a man unlike any in the modern, more-or-less objective world of multinational media monsters.

The book only falls short at its end, when Hearst's final years are covered in a rushed manner and his attitudes and opinions regarding World War II and the early Cold War are barely discussed. Also, at no point does Nasaw say when or why Hearst became known as "The Chief." And the chapter on "Citizen Kane," while necessary, is not too well written.

This book is not quite as good as Smith's biography of Colonel Robert R. McCormack, but it again shows that the great newspapermen of the past were far more important than many realize.

David Nasaw has crafted in "The Chief" a brilliant portrait of one of the most important figures in twentieth century America. With the help of never before seen documents, and privileged access to the Hearst family archives, Nasaw closely follows Hearst's life and times through his young life, his Harvard years, and the subsequent rise, fall, and recovery of his publishing and movie empire. It is rare to find an academic work of this caliber. Nasaw combines the serious and diligent research of a distinguished historian with the story telling ability of a novelist to make The Chief a worthy read for anyone interested in Hearst, whose life formed the basis for Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.

I read reviews of various books, and this looked pretty good. I bought it and started to use it, and was finding error after error, whether it was in a procedure or in a shortcut key process. The book is helpful in its tutorial set-up, but it does not cover the newest changes in 6.0 as thoroughly as I would have preferred. I am disappointed in it, but will keep it for its tutorials. I did figure out a number of procedures on my own. Maybe it was written with errors to test one's knowledge of Photoshop, but I don't think so. I already e-mailed New Riders about this. Try Visual Quickstart Guide by Weinmann and Lourekas- just bought it-excellent.!

Inside Adobe Photoshop 6 describes within 1000 pages the new photoshop 6.0 in every detail. This book gives a great introdcution in the basics of picture editing with photoshop and the usage of its tools. But it is one of these step by step books, I mean every tool box is introduced and with sample toturials described. Thus providing no really new information to one who has already some experience with photoshop5. And: it is no effect book and doesn't give any hints at photo-editing.

If you are not new to photoshop, you maybe only need 400 of 1000 pages. 200 pages are dealing with image ready.

The book mainly describes type and layer-effects and the usage of tools. Filters and there combinationes are not mentioned. The pictures in the book are black/white. Semi-Professionals or above do not need the book - they wont find any new information or surprising effects. In fact Bouton sometimes takes the rather difficult way for his pictures.

I personal like the background information and the book's general complexity, but the CD is (in my opinion) unuseful and some really important information (eg. Test new effects on layers u've dublicated before, or ditherbox web effects, etc) are left out. I'd give it 3 and a half stars but have to give 4.

What a FANTASTIC book! I purchased the book BEFORE purchasing Photoshop 6, and it convinced me I was ready to print my photographs from the computer rather than in the darkroom. Being a new user of digital photography, I searched and searched to find information about scanning, monitor calibration, color correction and printing, etc...only to get tremendously confused. I found this book and it was worth every penny. I was able to understand concepts that totally confounded me when reading info on the web and other publications. The tutorials are incredible and easy to follow. I can't imagine trying to learn this without their cd, including examples. Further, it's a joy to read. I am constantly chuckling at the authors comments. I highly recommend it!!!