This book is awesome! I purchased it for my mom who is a huge Hitchcock fan and loves San Francisco. She read it from cover to cover and enjoyed every minute of it...The book is written in a way that conveys the brilliance of Hitchcock and how he used the city to enhance his plots and characters...I recommend this to anyone who is a film buff or just loves a good read on a dark stormy night..

This book provides the intricate details of the filming of a number of Hitchcock classics in the SF Bay Area. The book covers the locations and filming of Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, The Birds, Suspicion, Psycho, and Family Plot, and explores the ways in which the Bay Area provided an inspiration for the movies as well as a wide variety of settings. It served as a reminder to me of the wonderful diversity of the Bay Area and the keen eye Hitchcock had for what could make a movie.

Henry Kiyama created this terrific book in the 1930's, chronicling the lives of four young Japanese immigrants and their struggle to find work and acceptance in San Francisco at the turn of the century. It was unearthed and translated into English, giving us all the rare privelege of a glimpse into the immigrant experience of that era. Drawn in a simple and lighthearted style and told with insight and depth, Kiyama, along with the rising popularity of Japanese Anime and Manga, reinforces the notion that comics are not just for kids anymore. A great read for a comic lover, a hyphenated-American or anyone interested in the multihued experience of our country.

If you're not used to reading comics, this will seem rough and not particularly funny. Readers more familiar with the form will recognize that this book is more subtle and better crafted than your typical comic.

It's of special interest to Japanese Americans and others interested in the immigrant experience in the USA.

Of the many aspects of mystical theology Osuna addresses, I particularly like his description of an "inflaming of the spirit." He writes of experiencing "... such sweetness that the soul would like to be consumed... it is exceedingly gladdened in the Lord, [and] its tranquil conscience witness to our feeling of being loved by God..." (p. 71) If you are drawn to such a state, you're likely to appreciate Third Spiritual Alphabet, a gem of 16th century Spanish mysticism with expert introduction by translator, Mary E. Giles.

An early 16th Century Spanish mystic, Fr. Francisco de Osunacontributed six spiritual alphabet's for humankind's spiritualgrowth. The Third Spiritual Alphabet being not only a treatise on love and how to enjoy a recollected life in the midst of the chaos of this world; but as well, the very book that that strong cookie, St. Teresa of Avila, chose to use as her "bible" throughout her intensely productive and deeply committed life. One look at the cover of this paperback with Liam Roberts' excellent painting of this very beautiful priest gives one a clear sense of his own personal struggles and the satisfaction he must have felt in overcoming them. END

Hopefully young readers will come away with more of an understanding of the art of Francisco Goya from Mike Venezia's book than the fact he started painting witches and other strange creatures in his final years. Of course, Venezia emphasizes much more than that, such as Goya's gift for showing not only how people looked but what kind of people they were in real life. Several of the almost 20 works of art by Goya included in this Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists volume evidence that point. It is much harder for Venezia to show how Goya did not always paint with brushes, but used small sticks or reeds to paint. Venezia does a nice job of covering the various phases of Goya's career; I find the paintings he did as models for tapestries to be as fascinating as his drawings. As always, Venezia uses his own cartoons to illustrate the artist's life and provides basic art appreciation for many of Goya's most famous works, such as "The Colossus," "Third of May," and "Don Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga." Not only young readers but any adults who stumble across this fun series will enjoy finding out about these famous artists.

This book, like the others in the series, is enjoyable and educational for young and old alike. The artwork selected shows a variety of styles and the accomanying cartoons are very entertaining. Venezia gives simple insight into the painintgs to help kids connect the man with the art and creates a mini artist history lesson.

For those interested in decision theory, the author does a sterling job of tracing the impacts that different approaches to decision-making, by different parties, has on the development of a complex and unique mixed use project:

"But like it or not, the power to make these final decisions rested with the various public bodies overseeing the compliance with the city's regulations" (p.106) "It was that an architectural decision had been made by a political body that appeared to care little about archictecture..." (p.105) "Still undecided, however, was the shape of the atrium. This delay was having troubling consequences for the entire construction schedule because the city refused to issue a demolition permit until it saw the final design drawings..." "The developers knew they were unhappy with the atrium but they did not know why" (p.154) "They bungled it because they wouldn't do anything without having three decisions" (p.184) "The debate over the colour of glass dragged on for months" (p.202) "Mancini said he would take the matter under advisement. He was not ready to make a decision on the spot" (p.209) "While Johnson applauded group decisions intellectually, he felt strongly that there was not always a 'right' decision for every dilemma" (p.229")

The book clearly articulates the dialogue between the different decision-making parties and makes for an interesting case study.

My students - this was, for years, the best-liked textbook in Berkeley real estate courses - saw this well-written history of an actual commercial development as a sure-fire hit movie. We selected the cast - not too difficult: incompetent and corrupt contractors, sublimely ignorant city officials, totally dense bankers, a brilliant artist who got ripped off, shady lawyers, venal professors - well, they lost forty million dollars or so. Reporter Frantz covered the (subsiding) ground with hearty humor but without serious libel. The reader is supposed to do the numbers.

The volume brings an outstanding presentation of the major issues, ideas, concepts and algorithms to design and develop fuzzy systems using gentic algorithms. A field of major relevance for researchers and practioners, genetic fuzzy systems provides a major methodological substract of significant impact in practice. The book is unique in its contents and presentation. Chapters begin with the key concepts and smoothly grows to advanced concepts in a clear and very understandable and motivating way. The material mirrors the state of the art in the area of genetic fuzzy systems and contains the most recent results available until its publication. Written by renowned, internationally recognized researchers, the book is mandatory to all who are interested in the field of computational intelligence, its foundations and applications.

In recent years, a great number of publications have explored the use of genetic algorithms as a tool for designing fuzzy
systems. Genetic Fuzzy Systems explores and discusses this symbiosis of evolutionary computation and fuzzy logic. The book summarizes and analyzes the novel field of genetic fuzzy systems, paying special attention to genetic algorithms that adapt and learn
the knowledge base of a fuzzy-rule-based system. It introduces the general concepts, foundations and design principles of genetic fuzzy
systems and covers the topic of genetic tuning of fuzzy systems. It also introduces the three fundamental approaches to genetic learning
processes in fuzzy systems: the Michigan, Pittsburgh and Iterative-learning methods. Finally, it explores hybrid genetic fuzzy systems such as
genetic fuzzy clustering or genetic neuro-fuzzy systems and describes a number of applications from different areas. Genetic Fuzzy System represents a comprehensive treatise on the design of the fuzzy-rule-based systems using genetic algorithms, both from
a theoretical and a practical perspective. It is a valuable compendium for scientists and engineers concerned with research and applications in
the domain of fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms.

I liked this journal because it was lined. The lined pages are good for those of us who can't write in a straight line when we're angry, excited, or upset.

This journal was perfect. Spiral bound is really nice when looking for a journal, then you can easily flip the pages. It's lined, which is great! And the paper is pretty thick, pens won't bleed through to the other side! I highly recommend this journal!

"An important contribution to our understanding of the Bay Area and its history.... An indispensable guide to this vital region."

"Here at last in a single volume is the interwoven story of the San Francisco Bay region.... Authoritative, readable, compact, the first wide-angle portrait of a vast and vigorous urban substate"

What an amazing set of stories - I thoroughly enjoy each of the segments and felt like I was brought into each of these people's lives. The first hand accounts along with the pictures made it a very captivating read. Enjoy this book!!

This poignant and entertaining collection of oral histories was among one of the most satisfying reads I've had in a long time. These first person narratives really highlighted the beauty, majesty, and diversity of life in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This book has been invaluable in selecting the best restuarants from the thousands to choose from in San Francisco. Every time I've used this book I've discovered yet another gem of place with unique and outstanding food. The reviews are extremely accurate, right on down to the specific favorite menu items. It's easily portible, well organized and very informative and up to date. Highly recommended!

good fun and useful. i really agree with what they say about places. they tell me about the restaurants, good and bad, not themselves. covers lots of places out in the neighborhoods. maps are useful for finding places. it's nice looking, too.