This is a fun book, and excellent family together time. The illustrations captivate the reader making each poem and rhyme come to life. My eight-year-old daughter enjoys reading these at bedtime on her own. From beginning to end you will find true enjoyment from this book.

My children received this book as a gift. The clever illustrations immediately captivated them and they were clamoring for me to read it to them. From the very first poem my children were laughing out loud and begging me for more. A great gift for children of all ages.

Guy Gilchrist gives his characters life and meaning. He manages to pull you into his stories much the way Steven King and Dean Koontz do for their readers. A definite "don't miss" if you have children and read them bedtime stories! ~Karen Poserow

A real pleasure from start to finish.

This book is an entertaining and informative story of life in a small fishing village located along the coast between Montego Bay and Negril, Jamaica. It is told in a series of humorous short stories, all centering around the villagers of the fictional town of Angel Bay. Much of the book is written in Jamaican dialect, which may take some decoding if you are new to the island (I had to use a dictionary to figure out what some of the expressions meant). While the predicaments which the villagers encounter are self-created through greed, shortsightedness, and ignorance, these are common human failings, and the author throughout shows respect and affection for the Jamaican people. The book is similar in its tone to "The Milagro Beanfield War", another book which provides humorous insight into the unfamiliar culture of a small ethnic community. I highly recommend the book to vacationers heading for the Negril coast, readers having a casual interest in Jamaica, or indeed, anyone looking for a humorous and well-written look at life in a small, intimate community of rogues, schemers, and friends.

I've read a few books of fiction set in Jamaica - Banana Shout, Book of Jamaica, but this one is by far the best. It was given to me by a friend who has lived in JA for 12 years and I tore through it in hours, couldn't put it down.

The book is made up of several short stories but must be read in sequence as the stories build on one another. The characters are vivid and so real. The use of patois is a great addition to the stories, adds to the genuineness, if you will, without making the book hard for non-Jamaicans to read.

I'll buy copies for all my friends who love Jamaica.

I've read a number of books regarding how to be successful with women, and some of them have been quite good. But what I found lacking in all of them is that they offered very little information as far as ideas on where, when and how to actually go about meeting or picking up women. Whereas, the main thrust of this book is just that. The over 200 ways and places to pick up girls in this book will give any guy more than he can handle.

As a regular listener of the Howard Stern Show, I can tell you that Howard is rarely ever shocked at anything. But he was indeed shocked when Steve Pell told him about some of the ways he went about picking up women. That alone was enough to make me buy this book. And I'm glad I did because what I found in this book are some of the most imaginative ways and places to pick up women I've ever heard of in my life, and, so far, they are working for me.

Part One of this book, "Getting You Ready for Part Two", is about the best thing I've ever seen written when it comes to giving a man the confidence he will need to go about picking up women. After reading Part One, I felt as if I could pick up any woman, any time, any place! I especially liked the following chapters: Pick Up Attitute, The Art of Conversation, Imagination, Nerve, Move Quick - Don't Hesitate, How to Turn a Turn Down into a Turn On, Asking a Girl Out, and Successful with Women - Successful with Your Career.

I also gained a lot of knowledge about women in general from the "64" thoughts and suggestions given to help make you more successful with women.

Now that I've finished reading this book (for the 3rd time), I'm more than ready to get started trying out some of the pick up ideas given in the book

The Perfect Guy was an International Reading Association/Children's Book Council "Children's Choice" winner
American Library Association "Recommended Book for Reluctant Readers"
I highly recommend it!

Perfect story... It is true - even after more than 10 years, I have fond memories about this book. Highly recommended for the young at heart and romantics -- a simple, adolescent search for love.

I read this book about ten years ago and I have been searching for it ever since then. I read the book over and over. I still enjoy it. I am looking for a copy for my little cousin. It really is a great read. I was in blended family and I was in a familiar situation. It really helped me out and it also was a great love story with an unexpected twist at the end.

This anthology, actually the first issue of what one hopes will be a highly successful literary magazine, is chock full of treasures. One could do a lot worse to discover the voices of tomorrow than look herein. Let's hope this issue garners its contributors some recognition, some prizes and careers to make readers heads swim for decades to come.

I absolutely love this book. It is a fine collection of stories by current, up and coming, new and established, honest and intellegent writers who write because they have always written. And while I've read it cover to cover, I still flip through for inspiration and laughs. Keep it by the bed, keep it under your pillow, but keep it near by if you can't read it until later, like after dinner, or whatever, just keep it around, because this little gem deserves a read.

This is a fine collection of new writings. Jeff Boison and Whitney Pastorek have outdone themselves. The selections by Bob Beier, Thisbe Nissen and the novelist Tom Bradley particularly stand out. Tom Bradley takes us deep into the Chinese jungle, to the lair of a witch who listens to Lennie Tristano on a transistor radio. PINDELDYBOZ is a must-read!

"Rock Dreams" perfectly captures the synapses between fantasy and reality that give R&R its emotional appeal. It is a tribute to the overwhelming power of the music that two non-Americans have so perfectly, obsessively captured the quintessence of R&R and its pull on American and British hearts and minds. Peelaert brilliantly juxtaposes American and British images--for example, putting Gene Vincent in a "teddy boy" bar. In other parts, he uncannily captures American iconography--the teenager's bedroom that accompanies the image of Fabian is absolutely, perfectly 1959. These are just a few examples; the book abounds in others, using contemporary images and photos in creative, dream/reality settings, often with stunning details. Nik Cohn's text is just the right accompaniment, an admixture of fact, supposition and poetry. Unforgettable.

This is wonderful. The illustrations and the captions complement each other so well. I loved the depiction of Dylan. Best of all is the description of the brilliant Del Shannon: 'Del Shannon may have looked and sounded like a lumberjack but he cracked like a sodajerk. He was incessantly on thr run, broke and alone and his trueloves all betrayed him. In the naked city there was an eternal thunderstorm and his teardrops mingled with the rain.' Wonderful!

I found this book in my father's collection back in the 70's before I was even a teenager. Each Icon of rock, soul, pop, country from the 50s to the early 70s is painted perfectly by Guy Peellaert inhabiting their own imaginary world. Such as The Beach Boys on the beach, the Drifters under the boardwalk, Otis, sitting at the dock of the bay, The Beatles being chased down Liverpool backstreets. Nik Cohn adds succint passages that captures the essence of our early rock heroes. Pouring over this book as a kid, kick started a life long love of rock 'n' roll. From Elvis to Oasis it all makes sense now, having attended the Peellaert and Cohn college of rock dreams. Highly recommended for all music and art lovers.

A collection of 100 or more short stories by O. Henry? My mouth waters already! It's hard to imagine any literary treat that can be enjoyed in small doses more pleasurable than this. I have spent over a year savouring these stories, reading them one by one, tasting his delightful choice of words, digesting his fascinating story-lines, and the warm satisfying afterglow that comes after a typical twist at the end. His stories are superbly outstanding in at least four ways, each illustrated with five of my personal favorites.

Firstly, his brilliant use of language. These stories were written in the first half of the twentieth century, and O. Henry's use of language easily surpasses that of most contemporary writers. Not only does he have an extensive vocabulary, but his writing abounds with similes and metaphors that breathe sparkling life and depth into his stories. "Ulysses and the Dogman" is a fine example of his skills with a language, metaphorically portraying dog owners as victims of Circe, in a hopeless enchantment to their leashed pets. Also exemplary is "Madame Bo-Peep of the Ranches" where a ranch manager has a heart fenced by barbwire just like the ranch on which he lives, and yet the twist at the ending suggests that perhaps we were completely mistaken. "A Comedy in Rubber" uses wonderfully elevated language to farcically portray a class of people today known as ambulance chasers. And "Sisters of the Golden Circle" revolves around the profound bond that exists between two married women who are strangers but yet sisters "of the plain gold band." "An Unfinished Story" employs profound metaphors of angelic hosts to tell the tragic story of poor Dulcie's struggle for survival.

Secondly, his unique insight into the social conditions of his time. O. Henry has a great understanding of the trials of the lower class, frequently picturing the lives of ordinary people of early twentieth century America with sympathetic colours. His characters are frequently the overlooked: the struggling shop girl, the unsuccessful artist, the impoverished. Admittedly, some of his images can be hard to comprehend for modern readers, and the distance that time has placed between us and O. Henry's beloved New York means that some of his verbal pictures will be harder to identify with. But his genuine sympathy for the oppressed cannot be missed. "The Gift of the Magi" is the signature O. Henry story, probably his most famous tale which recounts a poor young couple who both give up a prized possession in order to purchase a gift for one another - but ironically a gift intended to complement the other's prized possession that they have just given up. Another story which displays his ability to picture the social conditions of his time is "The Pendulum", a wonderful portrait of the daily routines of an poor couple and the bursting anxiety of a married man, until the bubble bursts. "The Cop and the Anthem" was the first O. Henry story I ever read, and humorously recounts the unsuccessful attempts of a man to get into jail for the winter. "The Furnished Room" is a tragic and shocking story of suicide, depicting the depths of despair and desperation of the impoverished.

Thirdly, his warm humour. O. Henry has an uncanny ability to portray the mundane and the ordinary in the most elevated language. Frequently he pits two characters together in a remarkable way so that one outshines and complements the other. On other occasions he crafts the most ingenious and humorous schemes for outwitting others. One of his most popular stories is "The Handbook of Hymen", the tale of two men in a winter cabin, one armed with the hilarious Herkimer's handbook of Indispensable Information. And then there's Jeff Peters, a man who comes with the most ingenious money-making schemes, two shining examples displayed in "Jeff Peters as a Personal Magnet" and "The Exact Science of Matrimony". "Let Me Feel Your Pulse" pokes fun at doctors, while in "Next to Reading Matter" an overly eloquent character wins the heart of a senora with streams of articulate talk about the mundane.

Fourthly, his ironic twist. One of the distinctive characteristics of O. Henry's short stories is the ironic twist at the end, which never fails to surprise and entertain, sometimes reversing the entire story line in a concluding one-liner. O. Henry's suspense and trademark ironic twist ensures that readers who have a good literary taste in short stories will not be disappointed. Like the Jeff Peters stories, "The Love-philtre of Ikey Schoenstein" also feature a brilliant scheme, and the way the romantic scheme backfires is unforgettable. Other delightful examples of the glorious ironic twist include "Witches' Loaves" and "While the Auto Waits". The twist that comes at the end of "The Hypotheses of Failure" is so perplexing, that you'll have to re-read the entire story after reading the ending - but completely delighted at the way in which O. Henry has misled you. Perhaps one of O. Henry's best uses of the ironic twist comes in "The Last Leaf", a warm and tragic tale describing how a dying artist proves as resilient as the last leaf on the wall outside, and through the self-less sacrifice of another.

The Wordsworth collection is superlative, because it contains more than 700 pages of literary gems. It consists of 100 stories, showcasing a wide range of O. Henry's short-story talents. A few popular favorites are missing, such as "Schools and Schools", "Shearing the Wolf", "The Green Door", and "The Pimienta Pancakes." But the reality is that nearly all O. Henry's stories feature his trademark ironic twist, as they do his warm humour, his unique insight into the social conditions of the time, and his brilliant use of language, and that every story in this collection is a literary delight worthy of inclusion. The inaccessibility of some references for modern readers does not prevent these stories from being always entertaining and enduring! Don't pass up on these!

O. Henry began writing short stories as a prison inmate, and he quickly fine tuned his skills behind the bars and developed into an excellent story-teller.

The distinctive characteristic of O. Henry's short stories is the ironic twist at the end, which never fails to surprise and entertain. O. Henry's suspense and trademark ironic twist ensures that readers who have a good literary taste in short stories will not be disappointed.

These stories were written in the first half of the twentieth century, and O. Henry's use of language far surpasses that of most contemporary writers.

His stories also demonstrate his unique insight into the social conditions of his time.

This collection is superlative, because it consists of 100 stories, more than 400 pages, and is offered by Amazon.com at an excellent price! Don't pass up on this one!

What an excellent book! I recommend it all who love short-story works

This book goes way beyond the usual movie companion book genre or the groupie can't get enough photos of the leading guy (or gal) genre for a very simple reason - its terrific design.

After flipping through a few pages, I knew I was in for a visual treat. Great layouts - the more powerful images rightly stand alone in a spread, while background and other less important photographs appear side by side. Creative use of color - Black and white photos are often on wonderful purple or red backgrounds that make them jump and don't distract. Great graphic and type choices are everywhere. Congratulations go to the book's creative team. The credits from Vision On Publishing list "Book Design by Nuisance" and "Reprographics by AJD" - great work.

Of particular note was the well-balanced choice of photos and interviews to include. Normally, movie books have way too many shots of the name-brand stars. Of course we hear from Guy Ritchie and Brad Pitt in Snatch, but great coverage of extras, production people and even Holly the Dog (who gets a two-page spread) make this more than the usual fanzine. In fact, its more like a coffee table art book.

If youv'e not yet read this book, you need to do so now, to put it simply, although difficult, is that it is an amazing insight into the creation and the characters that star in the film, from their character traits to their own personalities comming through into the making of the film. The comical attitude of each character is an exception to the book, giving it a humorous yet serious and 'real' content. This book is definately a must buy for Snatch fans, and espcially for those who have not yet seen the film.

This is a well-produced book and was worth the wait (I first placed an order for it in October). This book features many photos I had never seen before on nice thick pages. Some of the photos were full page and some covered two pages. There were over two dozen pics featuring Brad Pitt. Most of the photos are pretty good resolution though some are a bit blurred. Overall, a pretty good book. As for what it says ... the text was very little but always very amusing. Since I bought it for the photos, this did not matter. Buy it while you can!

Song of The Sky; An Exploration of the Ocean of Air
by Guy Murchie
First Published by Houghton Mifflin 1954

Simple descriptions or labels cannot capture the essence of this eclectic and well-researched book, which proved a popular award winner in its day. The recipe includes one part meterology, one part navigation, one part history of early flight, one part bird flight, one part flying lore, one part travel log, one part war story, seasoned with a dash of Ripley's Believe It or Not. Six pages detail the names of the planet's various winds, in the native tongues of the people who encounter them. In trying to comprehend how the book came to be so varied, it helps to understand that the author was a mariner, a school teacher, a pilot, a navigator, a musician, a war correspondent, and an artist. He has illustrated the book with pen and ink renderings of art deco C-54 transports, majestic sky scapes, and technical sketches of snow crystals. In all, it is as rich and comprehensive response to flight and the sky as any author has recorded for us.

Murchie was obviously a great influence on Richard Bach's early flying books. His narrative style of framing topics about navigation within a flight across the Atlantic must have been the inspiration for Bach's "Stranger to the Ground," another great book about flying. Murchie takes you on journies through the evolution of early ocean navigation, celestial navigation, and flight. Fascinating even for non-pilots and non-science oriented readers. A master of explaining complex phenomenon, "Song of the Sky" will leave the reader with an appreciation of man's long struggle to conquer the ocean and sky. If you like Richard Bach or Ernest Gann, you will absolutely love "Song of the Sky."

Guy Murchie is extraordinary: a wartime flier who knows the world of science intimately, yet describes it all with the soul of a poet. Go aloft with him: feel the air currents lift your body, yet know why the air molecules move as they do. Whether you are interested in airplanes--or meteorology-- or navigation--or not, this book belongs in your library. Illustrated with numerous tiny drawings by the author.

Tired of hearing all the bad news about our environment?
Feeling hopeless about your ability to change anything?
Wondering how so many people can ignore such big problems for so long?

So was I. Until I got my hands on Guy Dauncey's book. It's a solution-oriented cure for the Global Warming blues. It's written in short, clear, visually appealing sections, so it's easy to find the information you need. The 101 solutions aren't just a long rambling list, they are organized according to their level of application - from individual and local through national and global. I found the many concrete examples of people and communities that are making a real difference very heartening. So wether you're in the market for an environmentally friendy car, or you're an elected official trying to formulate a policy on fuel additives, or you're in a general state of despair like I was, this book is for you!

This book is a gem! It takes the most urgent of environmental issues, global climate change, and translates the science and the complexity into simple language that is understandable and interesting.

But it really excels when it moves beyond the problem, which can be paralyzing, to solutions that work. The book is chock full of simple and profound actions that can be taken to reduce our impact on the earth's atmosphere, in ways that save money and would be politically popular.

If you want to find out more about wind power, it's in here. If you're wondering what your city or town could do to become more climate friendly, there are websites and contacts galore within. If you want to take personal action, look no further.

The global climate crisis is real, impending, and scary. But a time of crisis is also a time of opportunity. This book shows what the opportunities are. It should be on the desks of every policy maker and politician.

And it deserves a peace prize for illuminating the way out of the climate mess we have created.

When I read this book my first reaction was to feel great relief.
Most predictions about the long term effects of global warming
are to say the least disheartening.

Yet this book is filled to overflowing with practical solutions for dealing with the global climate challenge positively.

Most infomed scientists would agree that the consequences of the
terrorists attack on the World Trade Center, whilst horrific, are
minuscule in comparison to the long term effects of gobal warming.

Hunger; massive food, fuel, water and energy shortages will likely reap a terrible human toll, but rather than take up room in this insightful book by attributing blame or by being overwhelmed, Dauncey's entire focus is on finding practical solutions, --in the most part by utilizing technologies which already exist.
Dauncey is no Pollyanna, he is a pragmatist and a realist.

I am indebted to him for providing concrete solutions which can if we will only take note rescue us from the abyss.
This contribution provides clear guidance on climate solutions delivering a road map which can help move us forward.

I am spellbound by the breadth and depth of research required to produce this remarkable volume.

This book has succeeded in addressing and tailoring its message to non scientists, business people and governments.
I highly recommend this book
Roger Colwill,