I saw the book in a bookstore and bought it on a whim. Interesting, funny, and also educational. Some of the issues of infringement into your privacy are scary. A very, very good read!

This book makes it really clear that privacy doesn't exist. McKeown uses some very funny stories to illustrate the techniques the con men use to steal people's identities. Not only is this a fun read, it also has great reference information as to how to protect your credit, secure your privacy, and make it so you are NOT a target for the criminals. This is a book for everyone -- if you don't think you could be a target for the identity theives, you're wrong. If you're not careful, they can get enough information just from looking at your car parked in a parking lot to rip you off -- scary stuff.

I work with research and the Internet all the time. Nonetheless, it was still amazing to me what people can learn about you. I found the book useful for the everyday person, who should learn this.

As a late 50's and early 60's surfer growing up in Imperial Beach, CA. I could have used this book on our excursions north to surfers paradise, take your pick, this book list them all. Gosh what can I say what a trip, I found my book at a flea market and paid 50 cents for it. I would pay easy for this book what they are asking for it. Original price 8.95 for my 2nd edition. If Ida only known. My son moved to Ventura last year and I loaned him the book and he was so jazzed. He found all the places mentioned and got to surf a lot of them. He wants me to win the lottery and move to Hollister ranch. I had forgotten about sneaking into Hollister back then. Awesome Surf and a very special little book. Thanks to the authers for a great trip down memory lane.

[Amazon people: On July 8 I sent you the following revision of my review, but it still has not appeared on the website. When will it appear?]

When Bill Cleary and I lived three houses away from each other at Topanga Beach and he began to write this book, we never dreamed that it would become the appreciated classic that it has. I simply want to thank the surfing public for having expressed their appreciation to me many times during the 38 years since we wrote it.

In March of 2002 we brought out the second printing of our "35th Anniversary Nostalgia Edition"; the first printing (1998) sold out.

And then, on July 4, my friend Bill died. Of a heart attack. At age 64. He was the first surfer I ever saw (it was 1959), and he was then one of the fittest athletes I'd ever seen. The last 15 years he had Parkinson's Disease, which destroyed his coordination and made his life hell. May he rest in peace.

I don't surf much any more, but I do count myself a surfer -- by my own minimalist definition, which is that if I catch at least one wave per calendar year I'm still a surfer. Otherwise I'm an ex-surfer. At age 66 I'm a surfer, in Israel, where I live. And Bill doesn't.

Nevertheless: Happy surfing!

I've probably spent more time with this book than any other, except for the Bible. That's because SURFING GUIDE is the Bible of surfing guidebooks. For me, it's more than nostalgia. I actually used it quite a bit when it first came out, and I found its information very accurate. Of course, since I've been away from the Pacific for lo these many years now, it has become essentially a nostalgia trip. And since the surfing scene is so different now than when it was written, unless you're a full-bore retro longboarder (and I know there're lots of you out there), it's probably almost per se an exercise in nostalgia. But don't let that put you off. Cleary and Stern are very clever fellows and shrewd observers. Their wry observations and sly sensibilities propel this book out of its homely little genre and into the vast ocean of truly great reads.

"Home is the Hunter" is truly one of the better written Star Trek numbered novels. The premise: The Enterprise is dispatched to Cragon V in order to compete with the Klingons over mineral rights. (One side note, this being a pre-warp culture, why were they there?). Once the Enterprise arrives they discover that the Klingons have been there for sometime and have been giving the locals some weapons and combat training. They also discover that they have to wait for the world leader, Weyland to get a decision as to who gets the mineral rights. Weyland himself is an interesting creature. Since this classic trek novel was published in October of 1990, the author obviously had been watching Star Trek The Next Generation and has come up with a creature who seems to be of the Q Continuum, but without blatantly stating he is. While on the planet, Captain Kirk, his crew and the Klingons finally meet with Weyland. The meeting doesn't go well for either side and they decide to depart. A skirmish begins between the opposing sides and an innocent child is killed along with a one of the Starfleet officers. Thus begets Weyland's reasoning behind disabling both the Enterprise and the Klingon vessel. He also hurls three of Captain Kirk's crew into the past. Scotty finds himself in Scotland in the year 1746. Sulu is in Japan in the year 1600 and Chekov is in Russia in the year 1942. Along with Scotty, Chekov and Sulu being thrown back in time, there is a very good story going on between Kirk and the Klingons. The Klingons seemed slightly out of character for Klingons. But not to worry, their characterizations only go slightly off the trail as far as how they are perceived as a culture.

As stated above, this is a wonderfully well written and thought out novel. The only odd thing about this is the author him or herself. It seems out of all of the Star Trek novels written, this seems to be the only one with this individuals name on it. Such a shame, she or he writes very well. Thank you once again to Chapulina R for the reading suggestion.

Here is one of the few Star Trek novels I recommend reading. Like "The Final Reflection", it is not typical Trekkie fare. This fast-paced but intricate adventure begins with a dispute between the Federation and Klingon Empire for possession of Cragon V, a remote, mineral-rich planet. Little do Captains Kirk and Kral know that an omnipotent being from an unknown and unnamed Continuum has appointed himself "god" of Cragon's primitive population. Disdainful of the barbarism of the two 23rd-century powers, the capricious deity throws both of their ships into peril and their crews into chaos. For extra measure, he hurls Sulu, Scotty, and Chekhov into the distant pasts of their ancestral Terran homelands. He then amuses himself by observing how these lower life-forms will acquit themselves under their severely trying circumstances. This Trek novel distinguishes itself by its well-researched historical settings, as Sulu finds himself a Samurai in feudal Japan, Scott a Keltic clansman battling the British, and Chekhov a Soviet airman in the Battle of Stalingrad. At first desirous only of returning to the Enterprise, all three time-refugees become immersed in their warrior roles and the moral choices they are forced to make. Meanwhile, Kral and his courageous consort Vladra must survive a mutiny, then somehow form an alliance with Kirk to convince the Omnipotent One of their respective species' capacity for honor. "Home Is The Hunter" is outstanding among Trek novels for its characterizations, particularly those of Scotty, Chekhov, and Sulu, who are too often overlooked in favor of the "Big Three". Unfortunately, Uhura is almost completely ignored in this story. Personally, I wish she had also been sent time-traveling. She probably would have found herself among the Dahomeyan Amazons facing the French Foreign Legion!

I am an avid Star Trek reader. This book is an excellent choice for someone looking for a book with the support characters featured. I Liked the time travel theme, but with a new twist. The story line sticks in the readers mind long after you put the book down. This is a must title to add to your collection.

As an introduction to making sense of Wittgenstein's work (and his contribution to 20th C. Philosophy), or as a scholarly apparatus, this is a superb collection of articles. It places the reader square in the middle of current discussion in Wittgenstein studies, and this anthology is a good entry into the threshold of that research. With this, you enter into a world of pain [I just had to say that. Somehow it is appropriate to juxtapose W. with quotes from the The Big Lebowski (a film)].

Wittgenstein is a difficult and at times obscure philosopher. However, this anthology and Crary's New W. (Routledge) makes the best case for W's relevance to the philosophy of math and the philosophy of mind.

Some of the more important articles included here are: Stern, "Availability of W's Philosophy," Cavell, "Notes and Afterthoughts," Stroud, "Mind, Meaning and Practice" (excellent), Sluga (on W's subjectivism), Fogelin, Ricketts on W's Tractatus, and the following figures on math and math necessity: Diamond, Gerrard, and Glock.

I highly recommend this anthology. I also recommend: Crary's New W; W. in America; McDowell's articles on rule-following; Stroud, Mind Meaning and Practice (Oxford UP); Dummett, Putnam, and Diamond's Realistic Spirit. Also see David Stern's book on W, as well as Diamond's Realistic Spirit.

Wittgenstein is considered among the most important philosophers of the 20th century, he is certainly among the most difficult. But he is also among the most worthwhile. He was concerned, among other matter, with the relationship of language to the world, of the ontological status of mind and consciousness, and of showing how language itself helped create false philosophical problems. "When language takes a holiday," as Wittgenstein puts it, we can create all sorts of philosophical problems - the mind-body problem may be one of these if Wittgenstein is correct.

There are a number of good essays in this collection, but Hans Sulga's "Whose House is That?: Wittgenstein on the Self" may be the best. Sulga explores how Wittgenstein's analysis of language led him to a rejection of Cartesian substantialism - or the idea that consciousness, the soul, or the mind, was an immaterial substance - a "soul atamon" as Nietzsche would put it - tethered to a physical body and capable of existing independently of that body. But Wittgenstein also rejected opposing views such as materialism, behaviorism, and reductionism as well. Indeed, he shows how such opposing camps actually share some of the same underlying assumptions. All this leads Wittgenstein to a radical and important new way of understanding subjectivity. For those interested in an accessible introduction to Wittgenstein's thinking on these matters this volume is a good place to start - particularly Sulga's essay.

Being a former student of David's, I have used many of his Acting with an Accent packages. They are easy to understand. The exercises are broken into managable parts, and the concepts are retainable for the long term. Using the tapes are almost as good as having David there in person!

This book helped me to perfect a Yiddish accent for the musical "Fiddler on the Roof". After going through the lessons, I'm more confident on stage, and the accent is lending so much more to my dialog. This is a wonderful book for anybody wanting or needing to learn a Yiddish accent. Haha, look at me going on about this book... a regular Yente. Mazeltov to Stern!

David Stern is amazingly good at conveying how to shape your tongue/month to produce certain sounds. I have been trying for years to imitate a northern british accent, but within minutes of listening to his intructions, the accent was 100% improved (this, of course, will take some practice however). I highly recommend any of his courses.

This book is a well-written and enjoyable summary of what we know about Pluto and its relatively huge moon Charon. However, the fact of the matter is we don't know much because we have yet to send a spacecraft to this fascinating double planet! Stern and Mitton do a great job presenting the timeline of our discoveries about Pluto as well as the latest theories on the compositions and origin of these bodies.

I was especially impressed with the discussion of Pluto's atmosphere changing as a result of the planet's greatly elliptical orbit around the Sun. In addition, the authors give a great detailed breakdown of the discoveries gleaned from the mutual occultations in the late 80s. Also, this book was written several years ago but we have since indeed found many more Kuiper Belt objects that lend great credibility to the theory of Pluto simply being one of the largest of that family.

Too much time was spent on describing the birth and continuing struggles of the Pluto Express project. This discussion would have been more appropriate if the spacecraft had even launched, let alone successfully completed its mission. But the fact is that NASA's funding issues have kept the project grounded for now. Hopefully it'll fly in the next couple years. If it doesn't, much of the mission may be compromised because Pluto is getting farther from the Sun each day and as a result its atmospheric activity is dying.

Overall a great effort and worth your time. Don't expect incredible revelations and photographs though, because we still have yet to visit the place!

If you don't know much about the "King of the Kuiper Belt", read this book, and you will have a very clear scientific description of this "massive comet"...

This book is complete, starting from the historic discovery (blind luck, really) of Pluto, the subsequent observations that kept on shrinking the planet, then the suprising discovery of Charon, the fortuitious Pluto/Charon occultation, and the latest HST results.

Easy to read, and yet technical enough, this book will probably make you love this planet, even though it's only a big comet saved from destruction by its orbital resonance with Neptune... and will make you hate NASA (or the US Congress) for not going forward with their Pluto Express probe.

A well written historic perspective on our outer-most-planet that by books' end will change your view of our solar system.

A thoroughly enjoyable easy-to-read book. More hard science/discovery books should be written this way.

It's not just the facts that are amazing but the proven-wrong theories we use to have on Pluto. Too bad we're still waiting for our first encounter with this mysterious planet. If history proves right, the Voyager probes were just another step in our discovering the 'real' solar system.

I just bought another copy of Runnin' Wild, because mine had gotten worn out from being loaned to my friends. People who told me they don't normally read biographies told me that they enjoyed this book. Mr. Stenn does a remarkable job of making Clara Bow, and a rare period in Hollywood history, come to life on the page. If you enjoy a well written story, you will enjoy this book... if you enjoy a well researched bio, you'll like it even better... and if you love movies and the people who make them, it's one you'll like for sure. One of my favorite books. Mr Stenn, please write more!

There she is, Clara Bow, the most magnetic presence to ever come across on film (if you haven't seen her, you don't know what you're missing!) The icon of 1920's flare and flash. We've all heard the nasty, whispered rumors about Clara. Then you read this book and you finally understand she's just another pitiful abuse victim trying desperately to find some love and affection in this world. Takes all the air out of that wild flapper image...
But don't think its all just a pity pot story. This girl is strong, sweet, independent and puts up a real fight to the crazy forces whirling around her. If she had never been the Queen of Gibson Girl mold breaking, the human struggle of her life
still makes an incredible story. READ THIS BOOK!

David Stenn has done a remarkable job of giving life to the story of silent screen star Clara Bow. From her humble beginnings in the Brooklyn slums, to being the most popular movie star of the day, to her lonely death - this book covers it all, yet it is not a trashy gossip book. To many, Clara Bow is associated with lurid sex scandals, stealing womens husbands etc. Through extensive research of documents, letters and interviews of her comtemporaries Stenn presents the tragic figure behind the flapper image, and debunks many of the myths surrounding her. Without employing rank sentimentality or hero-worship, he allows her to shine through in all her human, rebellious, vulgarity. Stenn's writing is clear and quick paced. Written in almost novel form, Stenn reserves a few surprises for the end. I couldn't put this one down and am now of the search for her movies, and Stenn's book on Jean Harlow. A+

I found very interesting this book. The author explains the destiny, the identity, the history and the theology of the Messianic Judaism, as he understands it, without beeing an official delegate of it. He explains also correctly different passages of the New Testament which were used against the Jews by an antisemitic spirit in past centuries. The chapter about Torah (Law) is very elucidating. Many Christians will feel a revolution in their Christian thought and theology if they accept the presuppositions of thought of this chapter. Perplexing thoughts and opinions of apostle Paul are explained and commented aptly. Personally, I would like to read more explanations of other passages of the New Testament that seem denigrating the Law. But for this end the author made "The Jewish New Testament Commentary". His appendix "Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel" is also very interesting. It is very helpful the "Glossary of Hebrew words and names" at the end of the book. The author is very punctilious in his references and footnotes. I think that this is the book for every Christian and/or Jew that is open-minded and longs for further biblical truth, even if he doesn't agree in everything written in this book.

I discovered Messianic Jews within weeks of discovering Jesus. I have straddled both the church and (messianic) synagogue ever since. This book helped clear up much of the history I was missing and seemed to lay out the entire discussion in a great way. I highly recommend it for "Christians" to learn about how we ended up in 2002 with the kind of church culture we have.

I disagree with those parts of this book that endorse a two track system: one for Jews and another for Gentiles. But David Stern is not negative with regard to Gentiles following a Torah life as long as they do so for the "right reasons." This book covers a lot of ground and can be read for great profit by those interested in the Messianic Jewish movement.This book is essential for those who want a broad understanding of the issues. David Stern is a giant among Messianic Jewish teachers.