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Book reviews for "Smith,_Jim" sorted by average review score:

The Sporting News Selects Football's 100 Greatest Players: A Celebration of the 20th Century's Best
Published in Hardcover by Sporting News (1999)
Authors: Ron Smith, Carl Moritz, Jim Brown, John Rawlings, and Bill Wilson
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The NFL's 100 all-time best
This book is loads of fun to the NFL enthusiast. All eras of the NFL are included (from the 1930's to the present day) as well as all positions (except kickers and punters -- I guess none of them were among the top 100 players). Each entry gets a full two pages -- one a beautiful full-color picture and one a page-long description of that player's special talents and accomplishments. Each player also gets a "Top 10 list" -- a list by a colleague or coach of the best players, most intense players, smartest players, etc. -- including that individual.

The selection and ranking of players was as unbiased as possible. The editors began with 300 names, which they then reduced to 100, and from which each selected his top ten players, without ranking them. After tabulating the results, the editors then ranked the top 10. Then the voters selected their next 15 players, compared notes, and ranked numbers 11-25. They did this with 26-50, 51-75, and 76-100. Is the book still subjective? Undoubtably. You can't objectively compare linemen to running backs to receivers to quarterbacks and objectively identify the overall best players. But the editors did their best to be objective.

The top 10, in order from #1, are Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Johnny Unitas, Don Hutson, Otto Graham, Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, and Bob Lilly. I would give this book 5 stars, except that John Elway only comes in at #16, which IMHO is about 15 slots too low (but that shows you where I grew up :-) (Also, Bronco fans should be sure to look on the last 2 pages for an extra special treat.)

All in all, this is a fun book about some great football players. Whether or not you agree with the rankings, you gotta admit: all of the top 100 were/are great players!

Great Picks!
How do you go about picking the greatest 100 football players of all time? There are going to be agreements about who should be on it, and lots of disagreements about who should or shouldn't be on it. This book tackles an extremely difficult job and comes out a winner. Whether or not you agree with all the choices here, you have to admit they picked some damn good ones.

Each page contains pics and a bio on the player. They list Jim Brown as number 1. Funny how just the other night I was in a local sports bar, and a man sitting next to me said "Jim Brown was the greatest player I ever saw." Obviously, this book agrees with my "friend." In fact, the book's forword is written by Brown.

In addition to TSN's Top 100 players listed in numercial order, there's also a "timeline" of when these players were active. Also listed are TSN's all-decade teams. Leafing through the pages brought back memories of players I have watched and enjoyed, and of players whose exploits I only read about years after their careers ended.

So do you agree with all the choices in this book? The only way to find out is to buy it and judge for yourself. I guarantee it's well worth the money.

Great Book
I Enjoyed this Book but Lists aren't Important.Cuz you can never say who would rule any given Time Period.I think all People Selected are Winners.of Course their are some who didn't make the list and therefor they should be acknowledged as well.


X-Men: Visionaries
Published in Paperback by Marvel Books (1998)
Authors: Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Allen Milgrom, Barry Windsor-Smith, Jackson Guice, Kyle Baker, Alan Davis, Jim Lee, and Scott Williams
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Great book, but not an ideal intro
This is a really fun little graphic novel, loaded with great artwork and a decent storyline. I wouldn't recommend it as a first-time read for anyone unfamiliar with the X-Men - taken out of context from the overall series - it might be a somewhat confusing introduction. But for those who know the characters and have a general idea of what is going on, believe me, this one delivers the goods.

In the past, I have generally hated the X-Men's adventures in the Savage Land, or whenever they would go to outer space or get into really super sci-fi type situations. I always felt the X-Men stories worked much better when they were grounded in very normal, down-to-earth settings, because it made the X-Men themselves stand out and seem that much weirder. But this book is an exception to the rule. It's a big, crazy, larger-than-life adventure, part of which takes place in the prehistoric Savage Land, and part of which gets hyper technological, and it works out OK.

The artwork is tough and gritty. Jim Lee draws a mean, shadowy, ugly Wolverine who kills lots of villains and looks like he needs to take a shower very badly.

And Lee's women - whoa. This book contains more gratuitous cheescake shots than any X-Men graphic novel I've seen, but it's all very pleasing to the eye. Especially the scenes with Rogue, whose bare skin can kill anyone she touches and thus, understandably, was always the one major female character who kept herself completely covered at all times. This was the first storyline in the series where they finally drew her as a scantily-clad, sexy heroine. A real treat for male Rogue-fans who'd been reading the series patiently for years.

This storyline also chronicles the transformation of innocent young Psylocke into a mature woman trained in the art of Ninjitsu, and she becomes an ultra-violent, sexy bad girl. And then there are cameo appearances by other Marvel superheroes, namely Captain America (from the Avengers series) and The Black Widow (from the Daredevil series). All in all, it's a satisfying, action-packed, well-drawn, crowd-pleasing comic book in trade-paperback format.

A great X-Men Jim Lee graphic Novel!
X-Men Visionaries Jim Lee trade paperback Is a great X-Men graphic Novel by Jim Lee! the book reprints Uncanny X-Men issues #248,#256-258,#268-269,#273-277 are reprinted together in this wonderful Marvel book collection! This book contains the early Uncanny X-Men issues that made Jim Lee famous! All the issues are written by Chris Claremont with artwork by Jim Lee. These issues lead to the popular Claremont/Lee colaboration on X-Men#1 in 1991. Most of the artwork was done by Jim Lee. Uncanny X-Men #273 was done by various artists. Buy this book if your fan of X-Men and Jim Lee. Highest Possible Recommendation!

A great X-Men Jim Lee graphic Novel!
This is a great X-Men: Visionaries Jim Lee graphic Novel! This is Jim Lee's early work on the Uncanny X-Men series! This Marvel Tradepaperback reprints Jim Lee's early years when he was the comic book artist on Uncanny X-Men. In this book reprints Uncanny X-Men#248,#256-258,#268-269, #273-277. His early work on the Uncanny X-Men in the early 1990s, lead to to the critically aclaimed Clarmont/Lee work on X-Men #1 in 1991. All the Uncanny X-Men issues are written by Chris Claremont. Most of the artwork is drawn by Jim Lee. Unncany X-Men#273 is drawn by various artist. Buy this book if your a big fan of X-Men and Jim Lee. Highest Possible Recommendation.


How to Drive an Indy Race Car (Masters of Motion)
Published in Hardcover by John Muir Pubns (1992)
Authors: David Rubel, Jim Finnell, Gregory Truett Smith, James Westwater, and Edward Keating
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Wish I'd had this book when I was a kid!
If you know a kid who's interested in racing, there's no better introduction to big-time motorsports than this book. It takes young readers (probably age 8 and up) inside the world of Champ Car racing, with thorough discussions of the drivers, cars, teams and events. When I was a kid, I had little concept of racing beyond the Indy 500, but a book like this would have added immensely to my understanding of the sport. The book's only shortcoming is that the information is somewhat dated now, but its young readers probably won't mind a bit.

Very Hepful!!!!!!!!
This book helps you understand goes on in Indy Car racing. I recommed this book alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Purple Hearts and Golden Memories: 35 Years With the Minnesota Vikings
Published in Hardcover by Quality Sports Publications (1996)
Authors: Jim Klobuchar, Bud Grant, and Susan Smith
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35 years is an interesting trip for even the newest fan.
This book, which looks as if it will not be available for too long, is a must for any collector of Viking history.

With large sections given to all the coaches in this franchises' 35 year history, it quickly shows the character of the teams throughout each era

From the drill sergeant-like coaches, to the laid back genius of Bud Grant

Extensive interviews and quotes from previous players are everywhere.

Essential
"Purple Hearts and Golden Memories" is essential book for any serious fan of Minnesota sports. It is by far the most complete and comprehensive source of Viking information. You will not find a list of say, every Viking who has ever been in training camp along with their jersey number/numbers worn in any other text available. The only thing it lacks it complete game by game statistics. But I know of only one other reference that includes such info, and that is an extremely rare 15th Anniversary softcover publication which I believe was only sent to season ticket holders. This book is a must have. Like the reviewer listed above, I believe this book will be out of print shortly.


Shiloh 1862: The Death of Innocence (Osprey Military Campaign Series: 54)
Published in Paperback by Osprey Pub Co (1998)
Authors: James R. Arnold, Jim Arnold, and Carl Smith
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Concise and informative
Fans of the Osprey Campaign series will enjoy this volume. The writing is clear and there are good maps. Unlike many Civil War books were are little more than a ctalog of the actions of individual regiments, the author gives a good view of the big picture of the battle, and how it helped Grant rise to prominence, as well as a good sprinkling of personal accounts by participants.

An excellent summary on the battle of Shiloh
This book manages to explain in simple terms the complex struggle at Shiloh without going over the layperson's head. The illustrations are excellent and useful. It is one of the best books in the Osprey Campaign series I have read to date. The author goes into logical detail about the events before during and after the battle and keeps an exciting pace. I highly recommend this title to anyone interested in the battle of Shiloh. It is good enough to stand alone or as an excellent addition to the Campaign series.


Hardcourt Upset (Chip Hilton Sports Series, Vol 15)
Published in Paperback by Broadman & Holman Publishers (15 May, 2000)
Authors: Clair Bee, Cynthia Bee Farley, Randall K. Farley, Dean Smith, and Jim O'Brien
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Hardcourt Upset
Tre explains almost exactly how I feel about this book. Except for one subject, when Tre says that you should worry about your problems I think that in this situation you should help your friend out first. Because the two of them had been best friends since youth.

Awesome
The Chip Hilton series is a series of sports books. In the early books in the series a young man named Chip Hilton is in High School. Later in the series he is in college. Chip is an extremely bright young man who is also a star in baseball, basketball, and football. Chip is a leader on and off the court. These books teach children about morals and ethics.
In the previous book, called Tournament Crisis, State wins the Holiday Invitational Tournament. However, during the last few minutes of the championship game Chip hurts his knee.
This book, called Hardcourt Upset, begins where the last book left off. Chip is still injured from the tournament. He is sidelined for the first two games after the winter break. Because Chip is such a great athlete and mental leader and cant play, the team loses both these games.
Basketball however, is not his only problem. In Chip's college town of University, there have been several convenience store robberies. His best friend "Soapy" Smith is being accused of committing these crimes. Soapy is taken into custody of the police and detectives to see if the convenience store employees recognize him as the robber. Eventually Soapy gets a chance to explain that he is innocent because he was changing a tire at the time of the robberies. Chip decides to help find the people who helped Soapy change his tire.
At the next basketball game against Tech, Soapy recognizes the people who helped him. The Tech team players tell the detectives they were the ones who helped Soapy change the tire. Now the detectives must look further to find the robbers.
Chip and his pals from college agreed to watch the local convenience stores every night. One night when it was Chip's turn, he saw a man with two flat tires. When he asked the man if he needed help, he responded with a gasp as he heard some police sirens. Then he said in a deep nervous voice, "no, I'll just drive home with the two flats."
Chip thought this was very suspicious and jumped into the trunk of the car. When the driver parked the car in the garage, he jumped out and looked around. He saw a bag full of something he could not make out and got out of there. He called the detectives and they were there with Soapy in ten minutes.
When they rang the doorbell, an old man answered the door. Chip knew immediately that this wasn't the man had been driving the car. He asked, "Do you have a son?" "No, but there is a teenager who lives here." So they woke up the teenager and then asked him a few questions. After a few questions it was clear. This was the thief. He had a red wig and a mask in the garage. They also found all the money stolen from the stores.
Hardcourt Upset was an awesome book. It shows that if you think you can you will succeed in your goals. It also shows that even a small school can be a big school in some things.

j's review
This book was awesome!!! It is a very good book if you like sports books. However, it does not only have to do with sports. It shows how much Chip Hilton cares about his friend Soapy Smith. I deafinitly reccoment this book!!!


Operation Sorespot
Published in Paperback by PublishAmerica (2002)
Author: Jim Smith
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Cardboard characters and unbelievable plot!
After reading all the glowing reviews of this book I was sadly disappointed!
Cardboard characters and unbelievable plot, hardly worth the price of the book. A major sorespot indeed!!!

Operation Sorespot
This is a great book. It really gets you hooked from the very beginning. The book is fictional but based on fact, so I learned a lot about the events that lead up to the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in governmental corruption and conspiracy theories.

WOW - Operation Sorespot - what a book!
Living through this time, we knew there was more to the assination of Martin Luther King! Operation Sorespot, although fictional in some areas, sheds the most light on this assination than any other written. As the daughter of a retired homocide detective from NYPD, it's written in the investigative-style that states the facts yet is fast paced in an incredibly captivating style. Thank you for a wonderful book that gets us to the 'meat' of the matter - what actually was taking place?


Clerks: The Comic Books
Published in Paperback by Oni Press (30 March, 2000)
Authors: Kevin Smith, Jamie S. Rich, Ande Parks, Phil Hester, and Jim Mahfood
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Great stuff
The only bad thing about this collection of the Clerks comics is the drawing style. I really didn't like it. I wish it'd of been one in the style of the cartoon, but these came out before it...so I shouldn't ask for that. But still...the drawings really bugged me. Ok onto the actual comics-

They're hilarious. The stories seemed like they were things that would have actually happened in a Kevin Smith movie. Dante and Randal are just as funny as ever (especially Randal), especially in the story of what happened when they were at the funeral from "Clerks" (you know...when Randal messed things up).

If you liked the movie, you'll like this book. It's that simple. There's the personality of the characters, the cussing, and the jokes that were in "Clerks" thankfully. Kevin Smith fans and followers: get this now.

Quite Possibly Too Funny For Some
This is so funny you may laugh yourself unconscious. You may want to check with your doctor first. Composed of several episodes from the Clerks comic book series, Kevin Smith authors some of the most laugh outloud comic adventures I've ever read. Reprising the characters from the Clerks movie and guest appearances from Smith favorites Jay & Silent Bob, Clerks: The Comic Books is a highly recommended good time.

If you love the movie, you'll love the book!
Kevin Smith has done it again. After writing the film classic, Clerks, Kevin follows up with a comic book that has me wanting more. The artwork isn't the greatest, but the stories are. I can't wait until I read Jay and Silent Bob: Chasing Dogma.


Tim Burton (Virgin Film)
Published in Paperback by Virgin Publishing (2002)
Authors: Jim Smith, J. Clive Matthews, Martin Landau, and Rick Heinrichs
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I found out that I actually like Tim Burton.
I came by this book by accident, and enjoyed it immensely. I have not even known before that my favorite movies had Burton in common.

By far the best book on Burton
It covers everything you could possibly wish to know about the films, and even provides a summary of one I'd never even heard of - Luau. This isn't even listed on the IMDB, and no other books on Burton mention it, but they've got an interview with Rick Heinrichs (the guy who designed Sleepy Hollow and worked on Luau) about it, so it must be for real!

It's really well written too, and pretty amusing in places - the level of research is amazing - they even give notes showing where they got all their info from, so you can check it out for yourself. The stuff they got from Martin Landau and the two guys who wrote Ed Wood is incredibly interesting - a load of stuff I'd never heard about that film - some that isn't even included on the DVD's commentary.

Basically, this book's great. I'd read Burton on Burton (which is very good), that Pocket Essentials one (which is pretty good), that biography (which is really poor), and the "CHild's Garden of Nightmares" one (which is interesting, but doesn't cover nearly as much detail as this). NOne of these other books on Burton come close to this one.

Fantastic and Informative!
I'd recommend this book to anyone.
It is a great analysis of each of Tim Burton's movies. It is written clearly and has information which I haven't read in any other Burton book.
I'm not just becoming a Burton fan, I have every other book on Tim Burton and I believe this one to be the best and most informative.

The book may not have the authors comments, but it is written in so much detail about each Burton movie that it doesn't matter.
If you want to find out more about Burton then this is the book you should get.
The book also includes quotes from people who have worked with Burton and from the man himself.
The length of this book proves that much time and effort went in to write this, and I think it was worth it.
I have found out some new things about some of his movies from reading this book.

So in my opinion I think this book is really worth buying!


The Book of Outdoor Gardening (Smith & Hawken)
Published in Paperback by Workman Publishing Company (1996)
Authors: Smith, Hawken, Jim Anderson, Sara Godwin, and Smith & Hawken
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Best for beginning gardeners, useful for experts
Gardening books for a broad audience are rarely successful. It's extremely difficult to present basic information for beginning gardeners that doesn't bore more experienced plantsmen to blindness. On the other hand, how many beginners have had to plod through chapters on advanced topics in so-called "general" gardening books - such as grafting rootstock or the family tree (no pun intended) of a minor succulent - just to find basic information on when to plant potatoes? And how often does one find right-way, wrong-way statements in basic gardening books that directly conflict with the statements made in the next book on the shelf, with no attempt to explain the rationale behind the recommendations?

Fortunately for all gardening addicts, Smith & Hawken's Book of Outdoor Gardening is the exception to the rule - at least the first half. Each chapter and sidebar successfully blends basic horticultural information with unique tips and techniques for the master gardener. This book is a handy reference tool for any gardener as he moves through the various stages of his craft. And where conflicting recommendations exist, the authors take time to explain how BOTH ideas are correct, but are dependent upon the circumstances. Good examples include the proper planting depth for roses, and the wisdom of using chemical fertilizers and soil amendments.

I've given this book 4 stars, for two reasons: First, as I've noted above, The Book of Outdoor Gardening is quite a worthwhile read for most gardeners. However, a novice would probably find it most useful, and for this audience the book should receive 5 stars. Expert gardeners will still find good information, but since this type of focused data can be found in specialty books, my rating for this audience would be 3 stars. Hence, a compromise 4 stars.

My second reason for giving 4 stars is the plant list that forms the second half of the book. This is a personal issue: in general, I find plant lists woefully incomplete and inadequate. In trying to please novice gardeners, who usually want information on traditional plants, and experts, who want detailed content regarding hard-to-find or hard-to-cultivate plants, the authors left out a number of important species in both categories. This is most likely due to space considerations; however, since purchasing the book - and using it frequently for the information in the first half - I've often had to refer to other books for plant information.

The Book of Outdoor Gardening
I found this book to be very helpful when setting up my landscaping at my new house. It was a useful guide in determining what plants would work for my area. The beautiful pictures were also great examples of what to expect.


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