This book takes you through the research behind CI and the practical steps in getting started with your own group. I recommend that you read it so that you can benefit from their research. This book is joining a growing body of research in how CI can help adults take leadership and develop learning communities.

A nice collection of artists, with some great examples of what they can do. But....
Paper stock is poor and some prints are a bit blurry.

This is a great artbook, featuring many famous furry artists. I love the art, and look at it regularly. If you're a fan of Michele Light, I recommend it.

This book started my physical collection of furry publishings, and still remains the best singal pice I have. Not only is it perfectaly published, but contains excellent examples of anthropomorphic artwork. Its my personal bible.

Though the writer is obviously gifted, and the stories are without a doubt amusing and accurately detailed, the author seems distant from his characters.

The author seems to stay un-involved and to coldly inspect his subjects as though they were fireflies in Mason jars, or butterflies on pins.

The writing is superb, but the lack of involvment in the characters inner workings and lives, leaves these stories sounding like a girlfriend repeating a soap opera in the office, to someone who missed an episode.

I'll lay off with these last words. The author should look into his own heart and write real, breathing characters, not try to bring to life cardboard cutouts. No matter how excellent it is, it must heart. This book does not have heart, though it does have plenty of good writing.

This wonderful collection of non-fiction accounts on the other side of the table is a true and accurate look at what makes the casinos tick: not the people who come with the money, but the people who take it. Lee Barnes has a gift and it is to conjure so many voices into one cohesive book. It is funny, sad, and terrible. If you ever wanted to know who lives in Las Vegas, read this.

This book paints a disturbingly distorted portrait of a people who have been constantly misrepresented by our society. I was born in Eastern Kentucky, in the Appalachian Mountains, and am personally offended by this book. Adams and Smith deliberately sought out to find the most backward people they could, and pass them off to the rest of the nation as mainstream Appalachia. Portraits slaps the face of everyone from the Appalachian area, and keeps the extremely unfair stereotype of Appalachia alive. It is a very culturally biased piece of work, and both Adams and Smith should have known better.

Shelby Lee Adam's doesn't, as some accuse him of, train his camera on the families of Eastern Kentucky to ridcule or expose them in their poverty or backwardness. Instead, because of his devotion to capturing in an authentic way authentic people, he simply and lovingly captures their reality. Is the poverty easy to look at? No. Is the "backwardness" easy to understand? Not very. But Adam's neither condemns nor condones his subjects; he simply and carefully records. We should all be grateful for that.

I grew up in central KY, just 1 1/2 hours away from Appalachian KY. While the stories and families depicted in these photos are quite true to their nature, it may offer a skewed view of Eastern Kentucky life. Not everyone over there lives in the condition that my dad and I jokingly call "Squalor in the 'holler." However, it happens to be the part that is fascinating. I think the purpose of this book was not to represent Eastern KY, but to represent the intense poverty of the region and to share a glimpse of a lifestyle that most of us cannot comprehend. This book shows what people want to see of Appalachian KY. It's what they are looking for, and it is delivered. That is a place that time has left behind. It's one of the poorest regions in the U.S. due to several certain factors and it is fascinating to see how other folks live. It is a different world over there. If you enjoy thinking about human geography and sociology, this book may welllead to hours of thought.