As an art student, I personally found Fineberg's Innocent Eye highly inspirational and enlightening. Fineberg really puts his finger on the correlation and source of many modern artists expression in the visual arts. Innocent Eye is becomes successful by showing modern artists work alongside the childrens' art that inspired them. It is often difficult to tell the difference between the children's art and the highly accredited artist. A wonderful book for the first-year art student or modern art enthusiast.

i found fineberg's research in the correlation between childrens art and that of the successful artist to be quite compelling indeed. i myself often return to childish doodles and renderings to keep a fresh approach to my artistic style. fineberg should be applauded for this this excellent retrospect being applied to the modern art movement. buy it and enjoy!

There are many modern artists' works illustrated in this book I have seen for the first time. The book provided new insights into the inspiration of a number of prominent 20th Century artists. I highly recommend it.

A terrific book with no-nonsense down-to earth advice especially for women but for anyone who's been intimidated by investing. I read it and bought them for my mother & sister!

This is a great book! Anyone interested in learning about investing would benefit from reading this since it acts almost as a primer for the beginner. Definitely a must read for any beginner, not just for women.

I picked up this book out of a dozen other investment books, because it was written specifically for women. It does respond to our special needs. I liked the clarity of the language, how the information was organised, and the many examples of real-life women who have begun taking more control of their money. This is a quick read and yet very informative. Since reading this book, I now understand and enjoy the business pages of the newspaper. I've even passed the book on to my husband so he can become more investment-savvy.

This is one of the best in the series. Gash successfully brings together plot, pacing, setting and character. Often his plots are convoluted, but this one moves surely, and without sacrificing entertainment. As in the Gondola Scam (in Venice), Gash limits the region to explore to great effect. We lovingly follow Lovejoy through Hong Kong, meet up with the requisite number of baddies, but also the quirky and unusual characters that assist Lovejoy in his quest. A tightly and carefully constructed book, and a great introduction to the entire series.

Dashing Lovejoy is at it again--this time in Hong Kong! Running from the law and some small time hood, he's off to the orient, loses everything, becomes mixed up in a huge antiques swindle, and is locked into serfdom. Jade Woman is one of my favorite Jonathan Gash books. Even when his life is on the line, Lovejoy never runs out of witty things to say. Murder, intrigue, antiques, and the spell of Hong Kong mix together to bring you a real page-turner.

Though high-brow reviewers may consider the work of Jonathan Gash to be just a character line of intrigue pot-boilers, there is much to be learned from the deep research put into antiquities in the series. This is far and away the jewel of his work, in a wonderfully woven story that reveals Hong Kong to the novice. Though common perception viewed Hong Kong as glamorous, it is not, but exotic it is. Every human condition from spectacular wealth, to depravity, to honor, to despair can be seen at any given street corner. Gash strips away the veils, while keeping you involved with our hero at the same time. The TV series should have closed with a four hour screenplay of this benchmark effort.

I listened to this again for the first time in over a year. It has lost nothing. Every humorous incident is just as funny the second time around. Wodehouse has an ingenious way of pulling you into comedic situations and you're suddenly there before you realize it. Jonathan Cecil is one of the best of the Wodehouse narrators.

To the ever growing Audio Partners catalogue of complete books on tape can be added yet another of those hilarious Jeeves novels, this one called "Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit." Written in 1954, this Bertie Wooster epic brings in many characters familiar from earlier works (Roderick Strode, Aunt Agatha, Uncle Tom, Frances Craye, Stilton Cheesewright) and many all-too familiar situations. Yes, Wodehouse does repeat himself, but I look upon it as ringing the changes. A line of bells is a line of bells, but their various combinations are what make things interesting.

Again Bertie is trying to avoid both marriage and having his spine broken in an increasing number of places, again having to purloin a valuable object to help out his only likable aunt, again depending on Jeeves first, middle, and last to extricate himself from dilemmas of his own doing and (at least in this book) those of others.Of the four actors assigned to read these novels and short stories on Audio Partners tapes, I think Jonathan Cecil is the best. He gives Wooster just that goofy intonation and all the other characters their due, making this set of four audio tapes a real humdinger. I have grown to realize that it is not so much that Wodehouse says funny things as that he says ordinary things in a funny way. That is why almost all of the Jeeves adventures are narrated first person by Wooster himself.

Just the ticket to cheer one up after a hard day or during a long boring drive.

As a PS, there is a very good life of Wodehouse by David A. Jasen put out by Schirmer Trade Books, "P.G. Wodehouse: A Portrait of a Master." It makes an easy read and brings you closer to the creator of the dreamworld in which lives the Woosters and the rest.

P.G. Wodehouse writes in a Dave Barry meets Agatha Christie style which makes you laugh out loud. P.G. Wodehouse was Agatha Christie's favourite author for a good reason. He gives you a visit to England in 1930 (or thereabouts) and plots with every twist you can imagine. In this one, Bertie, the upperclass twit, gets himself into the usual fix, and Jeeves finds a way out. The plot carries you along and keeps you in both suspense and stitches. Please listen to it if you have even a smidgen of the blues! If you have kids who are intelligent teens, this is a great family car trip book.

This biography is much more than just a story of Jonathan Edwards' life. It shows much of his thoughts and is chock-full of quotes from his sermons, books, diary, and letters. It not only tells you the history behind Jonathan Edwards but shows the evolution of his thought. I highly recommend this book; then go out and get the Jonathan Edwards reader.

This biography of the great Puritan, Jonathan Edwards, is a scholarly yet sympathetic account of the man who was at the heart of the Great Awakening. Edwards was a pastor, theologian, philosopher and author whose influence on American history and the Christian community cannot be denied. The book is well-written and enjoyable to read with much documentation of Edwards' writings and correspondence. Any student of American history, as well as any Christian, will benifit from study of this inspiring man.

This well-written biography is an excellent account of the life and times of the philospher-theologian, Jonathan Edwards. The much maligned Puritan outlook is examined in the sympathetically truthful light of a modern day pastor. This book explains the renowned "Great Awakening," with an emphasis on Edwards' role in this revival and his thoughts about the revival. The author demonstrates solid scholarship by making extensive use of source documents of Edwards and his contemporaries.

Jonathan Edwards is a moving depiction of a great man of devotion.

This book is a wonderful tale for children, young and old. It is a great way to learn how to talk about your feelings and emotions. All children should have this book, especially when they are trying to deal with any stressful situation and when they are upset. It's great!

This is a lovely book that teaches empathy for others and lets children realize that they have control over their own thoughts and actions.As a mother of three I would love to see this book read in all elementary school classrooms.

Jonathan's Garden is a tenderly written and beautifully illustrated analogy of life. Readers discover along with Jonathan an age-old secret -- that our thoughts, actions and beliefs shape our "gardens," our view of the world and the reality that we live. Readers discover young Jonathan bogged down in a world clouded by darkness, anger and spiritual emptiness. Through the guidance of the Keeper of the Garden of Thoughts, they, along with Jonathan, discover a magnificent garden of hope, beauty and fulfillment -- the creation of their thoughts and deeds. Jonathan's Garden is a story for all ages, offering a refreshing take on one of life's most important lessons. It teaches that what we sow is what we reap, and most importantly, that each of us has the power to live a positive and happy life.

An excellent book on the value of open inquiry and the threats it faces. I would also recommend Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" for a related perspective on scientific vs. unscientific reasoning.

This book is superb. A well-written, exhaustively researched treatise on the philosophy of "liberal science" and a look at the attacks made on that philosophy by (mostly) well-meaning advocates of inclusion, equality, and civil discourse.

I'm somewhat at a loss to try and describe how important I think this book is. I rarely comment on books I've ordered, but I feel that EVERY educated person should read this book and understand the reasons why an open, critical, unfettered exchange of ideas is of central importance to civilization and to the progress of human knowledge.

Read this book. You'll be glad you did.

For all those who think that the demands of "creation-sciencists" merely for an equal hearing with evolutionary theorists in science class are fair and reasonable, for all those who believe that people who say offensive and hurtful things in universities and elsewhere deserve to be silenced for the common good, or for all those who are convinced that potentially destructive and divisive ideas (such as homophobia, sexism or Holocaust-denial) should be surpressed to make our society more civil and inclusive, this book is for you. For it will show you, lucidly and elegantly, why you are wrong. Our way forward is through what Rauch calls the "liberal scientific" enterprise, the greatest gift of the Enlightenment, not through demands for the excision or surpression of what many consider dangerous or offensive ideas. That, Rauch, shows is the shortcut from modern democracy to a sort of middle-age regulated despotism. The ideas are stimulating in the extreme, the writing exemplary in its clarity, passion and lucidity, and the message about as important as you can get. A must-read, especially for anyone living or working in a university environment.

This is a useful book for any author who wants to understand the many important issues and details in a publishing contract. As a literary agent I want my clients to be as knowledgable as possible in all aspects of their careers. For those that are interested in understanding every contract clause and detail, I recommend Kirsch's book wholeheartedly.

Please understand, though, that this is an incredibly detailed, expert look at every clause in a publishing contract, which an agent negotiates on an author's behalf. If the nuances of legal language aren't of interest and you would rather just get an overview of key contract issues, I'd recommend Michael Larsen's "Literary Agents: What They Do, How They Do It, and How to Find and Work with the Right One for You" instead, or one of the other books on the business of publishing.

The best way I can think of to describe the value of Kirsch's Guide to the Book Contract is to quote from my own book Successful Nonfiction.

"The contract you receive from your publisher may be in two colors and printed on fancy paper but it is not chiseled in stone. Only new authors sign and return a publisher's first offer. You may make changes to the contract and return it-that is a "counter offer". The contract may go back and forth until someone "accepts it."

"I took a distressing telephone call from an author who had just received a contract from a large New York publisher. There were a total of 21 items in the contract she didn't like or didn't understand. After discussing some of them, I suggested she call her editor and have a discussion. Better communication was certainly required here.

She called back two days later, both astonished and delighted. When she asked about the first paragraph in question, the editor said, "that's okay; you can have it." She got what she wanted on the next paragraph in question too. On one other paragraph that concerned her, the editor said something like, "Well, that sounds like this but in the book trade it really means that; so it isn't a big issue."

The result: she got 19 out of the 21 things she asked for. So contract discussions do not mean pulling the wool over the eyes of your publisher. This was a win-win negotiation.

"Take the contract to a book attorney (not just any attorney, not a contract attorney and not a media attorney). When it comes to literary properties and money, you need professional help. And make a counter offer." Kirsch's book will help you understand the publisher's contract.

Jonathan Kirsch is a well-known book critic and book attorney in Los Angeles.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I highly recommend this book to writers and publishers everywhere. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

This book puts the understanding of the complex legalities of book contracts right at your fingertips in wonderful, easy-to-read language. Additionally, it gives excellent advice on "deal points" for all parties involved--author, publisher, and agent. All would-be authors should familiarize themselves with the information in this book.

an excellent book. sad, funny, always interesting. just enough elements of cinema to draw a reader in, seduce them into thinking they're getting nothing more than a well-written drama--which it is, only with depths that movies don't bother to ever aspire to find. the subtle, sad undertones floating throughout the story make this book a humane but dark book. i wish all adpeople would read it and recoil at how shallow most of our lives are.

Dee's book has a moral weight that you rarely see in American fiction, but the writing is not at all heavy-handed. An excellent accomplishment.

Main plot: retiring professional meets reclusive neighbor who turns out to be a wanted man. Good piece of fiction that develops the characters well. Characters become well known and the main character guides the reader to an understanding of how little it really takes to get us out of our little civilized shells into a bigger, scarier world beyond the US borders and beyond our sense of humanity. The initial smoothness of the reading makes the transition to deeper thoughts all that more involving and tedious.

The 1976 film version of this show has been JUSTIFIABLY panned. Forget it. Listen instead to the soundtrack album and bask in what is Sondheim's most lilting score. An entire musical in triple time written by a composer at the height of his powers: What more could one ask??

I absolutely love this musical, and to own the score of one of the best musicals ever is great! Stephen Sondheim is a musical genius. If you have not heard or seen this musical, you must buy this score!

Stephen Sondheim's lyrics are moving even if you are not familiar with his charming music. Even those who do not like musicals will like the book of this show. It is intelligent....yet moving.