This is by far the best Fender book I have. It is very well written, and it makes for some good reading. He doesn't only describe the great things about Fender but the bad things and mistakes as well.

This is a very un-biased book and it's very nice to read. The pictures in this book are awesome, and this is only one of the books I have that I trust the facts on. Kudos to Mr. Smith!

I have a half dozen books on the Fender company and this is by far the best. The typical vintage guitar book serves two functions. It gives information on the history of the instrument - guides to production dates, etc. In addition there are usually lots of pictures for lovers of vintage instruments to salivate over ("guitar porn" as I've seen it described before). This book delivers in that regard, but does not stop there.

It goes on to serve as an excellent study of a small business struggling to survive and then coping with its own success. I found it hard to put down. Even though I knew the outcome, I found myself carried along with the story. Enough "insider detail" is provided to reveal character and move the "plot," but not enough to bog the book down. The book also serves as the best biography of Leo Fender that I have read. He is revealed as an inspired man with significant flaws. Importantly, "revealed" is the operative word here. Smith generally does not preach or make pronouncements. He describes actions and quotes interviews. The reader is left to his own conclusions.

Smith does a great job of telling us who Leo Fender really was: a simple man with a complex mind. The pages of this book are loaded with lots of interesting stories and facts about the man who developed the solid-body electric guitar. Not always complimentary, yet never vicious. An honest presentation of the man who provided the tools that helped create rock-and-roll. Obviously well-researched with many great photos of Fender and his "offspring".

i'm not a math student, but this book is very readable. it's short(150 pages) but many illustrative examples and exercises cover chief topics and facts, i assume. at first, i tried Eisenbud's "geometry of schemes" but it was too hard and Hartshorne's was somewhat alien to me. then comes this book. it helped me through the Eisenbud's, and convinced me algebraic geometry is an intriguing discipline.

This could be your only book on algebraic geometry if you just want a sound idea of what algebraic geometry can do. If you actually want to know the field, and you do not already have a lot of expert friends telling you about it, then the advanced books will go much more easily with this expert around. It is a terrific guide to the key ideas--what they mean, how they work, how they look.

The only book like this one in brevity and scope is Reid UNDERGRADUATE ALGEBRAIC GEOMETRY--with its highly informed, highly polemical, final chapter on the state of the art. Both are very good. This one is more advanced. Beyond what Reid covers, Smith sketches Hilbert polynomials, Hironaka's (and very briefly even De Jong's) approach to removing singularities, and ample line bundles. You do need a bit of topology and analysis to follow it. Smith has very many fewer concrete examples than Reid. They are beautifully chosen classics, like Veronese maps and Segre maps, so they teach a lot. And the more you know to start with, the more you will see in each.

The book does geometry over the complex numbers. It is good old conservative material, with terrific graphics of curves and surfaces. The proofs and partial proofs are very clear, intuitive and to the point. But, in fact, just because the proofs are so clear and to the point they usually work in a much broader setting. Long stretches of the book apply just as well over any field or any algebraically complete field. This generality is only mentioned a few times, in passing, but is there if you want it. Smith describes schemes very briefly, and mentions them at each point where they naturally arise. You will not know what schemes "are" at the end of this book. You will know some things they DO. She has no time for fights between "concretely complex" and "abstractly scheming" approaches--for her it is all geometry.

On the back of the book, it says "Few algebraic prerequisites are presumed beyond a basic course in linear algebra." This is not, in fact, true. It uses a lot of ring theory (and the review of commutative ring theory in ch. 2 is a bit fast for someone unfamiliar with the subject), and a fair amount of topology. When I first got it, I read the first several pages and found them readable, but when I read more (on the car-ride home) I was confronted with the fact that the Zariski topology is coarser than the standard topology on C^n, and is not even Hausdorff. Several questions came to mind (What's a topology? What does for one to be coarser than another? What is a Hausdorff topology?). Still, after I learned more topology, I found the book a delight. Everything is light and interesting, and does a good job of portraying algebraic geometry without technical details. All mathematics looks nicer when you do that, but it takes away from rigor. Hence this should not be your only text on Algebraic Geometry, but I would suggest it as one of them...

Dr. John F. Crosby's "The Mystery of 'Fair Love,'" contained in this collection of essays, is one of the best introductions to Pope John Paul II's theological anthropology, "theology of the body," and thought on human sexuality available. Rarely does one find such insight and concise clarity in one place. Follow up this essay with the Pope's works collected in Pope John Paul II on the Genius of Women and/or Theology of the Body, both available through Amazon.

So much coverage of John Paul II presents him as a politician or a superstar. This book explains his role as a thinker. And it does a good job showing the theory behind the battles at the UN and the battle to restore orthodoxy---or just a little sanity---within the Catholic church.

John Paul II, the philosopher pope, is the most intriguing thinker of our time. But it's not easy to plow through the mass of encyclicals, adresseses, and books. This work provides an excellent study of the Pope's thought. Special kudos to John Crosby for showing the phenomenological side of the pope and to Joseph Koterski for unraveling the Thomist side.

Mr. Lavender recently died (April '03)and his obituary in the Los Angeles Times prompted me to go out and buy this book. I could not put it down...just as the Times stated, Lavender is a wonderful writer who knows how to describe the west. This book has it all, mountains, mining, cowboys and history with a nice personal touch. I would recommend it highly. It is an "easy" read and one that will leave you feeling satisfied once you complete the book. I am going to search out more of Mr. Lavender's works.

An excellent book! Ranching and mining, rich history, not to be missed.

David Lavender is a historian whose personal account of growing up in Telluride and Ouray, Colorado is captivating. Mr Lavender documents the arrival of the 1950's "modern age" to western Colorado and Utah. During his youth, the open desert and mountain lands evolve from a setting for silver mines, lone cowboys, and vast cattle ranches into the garden of the atomic age. He documents the arrival of uranium prospectors, the departure of independent cowboy spirits, and finally, the eventual return of the nuclear boom towns to dust. It is fascinating to read him today and to see what the southern Utah desert was like 50 years ago. If you visit these areas, I recommend that you read "One Man's West" as you pass through them. It will give significance to the sight of decaying farm or mining equipment by the roadside, and fill you with appreciation for those who make an effort to preserve the wilderness. I buy this book in multiple copies and give them to my friends. It has no particular bent for environmentalism or even "wise use" in the wilderness, but gives you some historical insight. I have never met Mr. Lavender, but I admire him as an author and historian. He has authored several other books incouding and account of the Lewis and Clark expedition which, I have heard, is quite good."One Man's West" was written in the 1940's then updated in the 1950's. The New York Times published a glowing review of the book in the mid 1940's or 1950's. Its age has only helped to enhance its significance to a contemporary reader of western history.

Compared to so many other dull-reading license manuals that one has for introducing newcomers to Amateur Radio,'Ride the Airwaves with Alfa & Zulu' is a one of kind book for becoming a ham- and it's an excellent learning tool for students of all ages. Every question in the FCC Technician License Pool is covered, and all the information is worded and portrayed in ways that make learning a lot of fun and very easy to comprehend. The best feature of this book are the hundreds of illustrations that explain what's going on. Without question, anyone who is interested in becoming a ham ought to read K6YB's excellent book-for the book is one of kind when it comes to showing one 'what ham radio is all about' - and helping them to earn their first ticket. Amateur Radio Instructor- N6MV, Dr. James R. La Frieda

Hi, again, John Abbott has again produced a "SUPER" book that will assist those non-technical types, kids, and (older) kids (chuckle) open the door to Amateur Radio. I have used each of his A&Z texts since they first came out. Each time, my students and adults use it new Hams result. Amateur Radio is a great activity for ALL! Others who publish manuals should take a lesson from John and realize everyone does not have to be a tech'y to enjoy the fruitful activities of Amateur Radio. School starts in late August, 2000 for me. Alpha &Zulu will be on my desk and at the radio table. It will shown to my grade-6 class. It will become dog earred, written in, and studied by several of those eager minds. There will be more smiles at test time. There will be more Hams as a result. This book opens the door for future Hams. The more the better!

Conrad Ekstrom WB1GXM/KB1CCA(GEARS) ADVISOR GOSHEN-LEMPSTER EDUCATIONAL AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY EST 1989

This is an excellent book to either teach or learn enough about amateur radio to get your license. It breaks complex concepts down into ideas presented in a cartoon format. I used it as a teacher with great success. There is an updated version called "Ride the Airwaves with Alpha and Zulu" (as opposed to this older version "Riding the Airwaves with Alpha and Zulu")that is both current and readily available from amazon.com This version does not have the latest changes for F.C.C. tests.

Sepia Dreams is definitely a MUST HAVE for one that has a great appreciation for art/photography. The affirmations are inspiring. The book is a great gift to give to loved ones.

Beautiful. Intelligent. Inspirational. Sepia Dreams is a work of art and aspiration! With so many stories of the people we love the most, you can't put it down. A great gift, and a must-have addition to your home library!
--LLOYD BOSTON, author of MEN OF COLOR

From the moment I first opened this book, I haven't been able to stop talking about it to my co-workers, friends, and family. Never before have I been so proud to own a book . At a time when we could all use something upbeat and positive, this book is inspirational, motivational, and uplifting. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

Called OUT: The Voices and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Presbyterians, edited by Jane Adams Spahr (Chi Rho Pr; ISBN: 1888493003), can also be bought on Amazon.com. Called Out With, excellent as it is, is the companion to this first book.

This is a wonderful book from the straight-allied point of view to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered ordination rights in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Yet it is meant to be a companion piece to an earlier book published by Chi Rho Press entitled Called OUT: The Voices and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Presbyterians, edited by Rev. Dr.Jane Adams Spahr. Shouldn't Amazon carry this book as well?

Very well written and practically laid out. Superior to Novak's, Kistner, or Danforth.

I found Comprehensive Gynecology to be the best text I have read in this field. It is clear and consise yet comprehensively summarizes the current literature on each topic. Each chapter begins with a glossary of terms and ends with an excellent point by point review of key concepts. The text covers basic sciences, comprehensive evaluation of the female, general gynecology, gynecologic oncology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility. The chapters are well organized and include a synopsis of the current literature. I would recommend this text to anyone studing for fellowship exams. I have also read Copeland's Gynecology and in comparison found Comprehensive Gynecology to be superior in organization and readability.