For those who wish to extend beyond the wisdom of the typical movie buff -- knowing how much a particular film grossed; memorizing the dialogue of a film word for word; spotting discrepancies in plots -- this book is for you. Do you know how films came to be? Who and what were the catalysts that aided the popularity of the motion picture industry? What's the story on the current Hollywood studios? Although sometimes tedious, this book is the complete guide for those who are curious about both motion pictures and the interesting history that entails.

Isn't this more than 'the definitive work'? One could imagine its insights and grand scope to be inspiring and instructive for the later reflections that were to shape the concerns that became the American Museum of the Moving Image. As in along the lines that society shapes the individuals who shape society, we have here no less than "media shaped culture". Forwards, or backwards to the future, these illuminations give us sober pause to consider those powers -- and so by extension -- to be afraid of our forthcoming "videogame savageries". When you and I look back to those early inventions which are now mirrored by today's electronic magic, we might be both tickled and informed -- and afraid for Columbine.

I bought this book for my sister-in-law and after looking through it almost decided to keep it for myself! (But it's a Christmas present.) Very informative without being boring. Great movie stills. Non-threatening to the cinema novice. Can't wait for the sequel!

I enjoyed this book, and read it in one day, pouring through the various chapters and one tragedy to the next. My only complaint is that many of the chapters were excerpts from other books, and the stories sometimes felt unfinished. Those excerpts would cover the hit (or near miss) of the summit, then cover some sort of trial to the participating climbers. The climbers may or may not survive the trial, and then that would be the end of it. I actually craved a little bit more of the post-expedition soul-searching.

this is a really great compilation of a bunch of different climbing stories. Real climbers own and read this book. in fact, you can be like them if you read this book. Experience the magic, live the dream.

This book contains the greatest short stories about climbing that I have ever read. Each story is unique and as entertaining as the other.

Like all of you who read this review,you're Everest junkies who probably won't even get near this mountain, but are hooked on all books about it.
High; Stories of survival from Everest and K2 is NOT what you're looking for. This book is nothing but one-chapter excerpts from other books. It's like walking into a movie half way through: You have no idea what's going on. Also, there are no maps of either Everest or K2, so if writers of these chapters (and some of them are BORING writers!) describe trouble on Everest's north col or K2's Abruzzi ridge, we can't picture these places in our minds.
This book (unlike all the other Everest books I bought and immediately read) has been sitting on my bedstand for months. I only read it when I wake up at 3AM and can't go back to sleep. Just reading from this book puts me back to sleep reeeeeal fast!
Don't bother with this one. The Everest season is happening right now. Maybe more books will come from this year's hikers.

I very much enjoyed and highly recommend this book. I've read many of the books from which these chapters are selected, yet there was much fresh material for me. The editing was so masterful that even though the chapters are from different writers, mountains, and times, they flowed together seamlessly

High does for climbing what the movie The Thin Red Line did for combat: It explores not the details of the event, but the inner thoughts of the participants. You read what it feels like to have a climber dying in a tent next to you. You learn about the humilation of having frostbite while back at home. You are with the widows who trek in the paths of their husbands to glimpse the mountain graves of their loved ones.

While I can understand that some reviewers felt the selections dropped one into the middle of a big problem high on a mountain without the broader context of the expedition, I didn't feel this was a problem. I don't need the beginning, middle, and end to enjoy a brief tale. There are plenty of books that give all those details, yet few that are gripping to read from the first page to the last.

This is the first book i've read that was a collection of excerpts from other books. The only thing i didn't like was that the book itself was big and bulky. Well anyways, just buy it. you won't be disappointed.

This is one of the weakest links of the Diamond Library. Attempts to be entertaining (sometimes) and the data base is nonexistant. The information consists of mostly repetitive one liners, most definitely not worth the money. The John Benson A To Z Book is a far better book, even though it may cost a little more. This book may have been written by "the Founding Fathers" but it will surely not help you in Rotisserie League. While I have bought and enjoyed previous versions of this book, I probably will not buy the 2002 version. Their day is done.

Where to begin to critique this effort of the Diamond Library (John Benson's boutique) to separate you from your money.

There is a tremendous difference between publishing statistics soon after the end of the season, as STATS does with some of their books, and publishing analysis soon after the end of the season. Because this book was published in November, the player comments apparently were written before the season ended. For instance Tyler Houston's blurb mentions his Wrigley Field advantage, even though he was traded to Cleveland late in the season. None of the early off season transactions are addressed. The player comments also suffer from terminal cuteness, as the authors try to emulate the light tone of earlier editions by Waggoner et al. The current editors are just not as consistently clever, although they occasionally get off a good one-liner or pun.

Nor are they as attentive. There are numerous typos in the book. These range from simply annoying misspellings, to transposing entire stat lines between players (Dave Veres for Billy Wagner, Chuck Knoblach for Jeff Kent to name two). This really limits the book's utility as a reference.

If you buy the book intent on using its prices for your draft you will certainly lose. Most are unrealistic, perhaps partly due to the early publishing date.

The section on minor league prospects is the most informative section of the book, and is probably a part that many readers will skim over.

Essentially all of the information in this book is also in earlier editions of the same book (the rules) or appears with minimal modification in other books written or co-written by John Benson. If you have never before played rotisserie baseball, you should buy the book once, for the rules. If you are an experienced player you should look elsewhere for helpful analysis.

This book has been surpassed by the Benson A To Z Scouting Book for rotisserie purposes. However, there are a lot of useful tidbits and funny one liners to make this a worthwhile purchase, especially during the off-season when we are baseball starved. The book is in the same format as previous years with no dramatic changes. This book is usually not as thorough or as accurate as the John Benson A To Z Guide but it is usually better than the plethora of fantasy baseball magazines that come out each year at this time and certainly is a lot funnier with all of the capsule reviews and one-liners. This book has been around the longest of all of the rotisserie books and it is probably because of the wit and humor that goes into making this.

This is a fairly good introduction into international film. Its relative brevity is perhaps a plus for beginning students of film, who do not want to buy several books. But I found it inadequate. It only briefly mentions the major names, films, styles, themes, movements, etc, and as a survey its approach is too linear. Supplemental books are needed to get a satisfactory understanding of the history. The book is a summary that works to increase your curiosity.