I knew that the executives who run the television networks are almost always shortsighted pea-brained idiots, but I did not know originally "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was cancelled at the end of its first season. Granted, the show finished in 80th place in the Nielsen ratings and during that first season Carl Reiner was clearly writing more for himself than Dick Van Dyke (which made sense since Reiner wrote and filmed the original pilot "Head of the Family" for himself), but we are talking about coming "that" close to losing what is one of the classic situation comedies in the history of television. After that first season "The Dick Van Dyke Show" finished 9th, 3rd, 7th, and 16th in the Nielsens and won the Emmy for best show in its category all four years (it was just that the category changed from Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor, to the Field of Comedy, then in Entertainment, and finally as Outstanding Comedy Series).

Ginny Weissman and Coyne Stevens Sanders bring the sensibilities of both fans and television historians to this look at "The Dick Van Dyke Show." They benefited from writing with the complete cooperation of every member of the cast, who heartily endorse the end product. This revised and expanded version contains over 130 photographs, synopses of all 158 episodes, and a 500 question trivia section that tax your knowledge of the show. You will also find lists of all the awards won by the show and its cast during its five-year fun, an update on where everyone was as of 1993, the revival of the show on "Nick at Night," and the complete script of "That's My Boy??," the episode always cited as receiving the longest laugh in the history of sitcom taped before a studio audience when Rob opens the door for the couple he is convinced has taken Richie home from the hospital (if you do not know why the audience explodes long and loud in laughter, then you are completely unfamiliar with the show and have no business reading this far into the review).

This book is written for the fans, which explains why the synopses of each episode is provided "in brief," which means a single sentence. The point is clearly not to describe the episode, but rather to remind you which one it is in the grand scheme of things. Given that the cast list for each episode always includes all of the principles every single time, I admit I would have rather had the descriptions of the episodes include choice moments. I would rather know what songs the cast sang on "'The Alan Brady Show' Presents" or be reminded about the big diamond (next to the glass doorknob) Rob and Laura found in Hezekiah's desk in "The Great Petrie Fortune," instead of knowing what episodes did not have Buddy and/or Sally or featured Millie and/or Jerry Helper. I especially liked the details about the original pilot and how Van Dyke and the rest of the stellar cast were eventually assembled for the show. In fact, Weissman and Sanders repeatedly provide insights into some of the most famous episodes on the show. Finally, what makes it clear this book knows what it is doing, Richard Deacon is included on the front cover along with Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam, and Rose Marie. Case closed.

I've had my copy of this book for almost a decade now and I absolutely love it. The authors Weissman and Saunders have covered their subject well and brought together a fabulous treasure trove of information about one of television's most loved golden oldies. You won't find much gossip or other unsavory "warts and all" type material in this compendium, but you will find everything worth knowing about the show and it's stars. You get a good feel for the warmth and personal friendship that the cast has shared with each other since they began working together; each of the regular cast members as well as some of the show's writers and directors were interviewed and they add immeasurably to the book's enjoyment.

Contained inside the pages of this tome is a detailed but concisely written history of how the show came about, beginning with Carl Reiner's original idea for a television show titled 'Head Of The Family' with himself in the lead; his redesign and recasting of the show; his working relationship with Sheldon Leonard, Dick Van Dyke and the rest of the cast members and beyond. Also included within is a complete synopsis of all 158 episodes including guest star appearances, a complete script from one of the shows, over 100 photos, an excellent trivia test with answers in the back and a list of all the awards that the show won during it's initial network run.

Long after it first aired in the early 60's 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' still continues to enjoy phenomenal -but not surprising - success as one of the shows currently seen on TV Land as of this writing. I know people ranging from preteen to senior citizens who list it among their favorite TV shows to watch, even favoring it far above contemporary television programming. Nearly all of them are able to recount the series' most popular episodes to any one who will listen as well as recite the memorable lines of dialogue from each one. If you know someone who truly appreciates this show then this book would make an excellent gift; or if you're a fan don't go another day without it!

This is an excellent resource for new and experienced engineers. A very handy resource for those of us in the consulting or plant engineering business. Highly recommended.

A significant contribution to the technical literature of our profession. A must-read for younger people coming into the field and an insightful refresher for those people who have been in it for a while.

For those martial artists who admire Morihei Ueshiba and fans of the editor/writer John Stevens. I appreciated the interesting portfolio of ancient aikido art, photos of the founder of AIKIDO and his "dynamic quality," DOKA. I very much enjoyed Ueshiba's japanese poetry and the valuable interpretations of his exotic poems. One may imagine learning some new insights into the fascinating art of aikido and spiritual poems of Ueshiba. World Class Aikido book! Mostly about the ESSENCE without the

aikido instruction type of book!

A venture into the mysterious depth of Aikido. A must for all serious scholars interested in the study of O-Sensei's work and art. Unsuitable for half-hearted novices as most contents require critical study.

This book is a great read for the major films of Spielberg. It is done with a great deal of research by the author, who puts together a very good story line of the producer/director and how he and his films progressed over time. The author also provides excellent background information on the films, from both a technical point of view and also the creative story line. The text layout, photos, and great front and back cover photos are there to flesh out the films. It is also a fun book to read. All put together, this is a very good book to understand Spielberg, his movies, his life, and his impact on very successful creative and commercial 20th century movies.

Douglas Brode's biography of the films of Steven Spielberg is an informative and interesting book that covers the life and films of Hollywood's most commercially successful film director. From his early T.V films to Saving Private Ryan, this book covers all the facets of Spielberg's work including unknown facts about the production of his films and supplementary information. With rare color production photos and stills, this book is a must- have for any Spielberg or film enthusiast.

After reading this book I wanted to find out more about the art of designing club flyers. I especially liked the work Nicola Ackland-Snow had done herself, and I admire this work...well done Nicola, Nathan and Steven!

I am, in fact, Nicola Ackland-Snow's sister, and you may think that because of this, my review would be biased, but in fact I thought it was amazing. I'm not an artist, actually, I'm useless, unlike Nicola, but this book provided a different perspective to this kind of art. I really liked it!

It was a 23-year-old graphic designer who invented the illustrated album cover for phonograph records in 1939: before that they came in plain wrappers. For The Record documents the life and work of Alex Steinweiss, gathering over a hundred of his original graphics and providing a lavish color display of his works along with a history of his involvements in the music industry.

This book does credit to a great man. Steinweiss was a true artist and a pioneer. The man created the concept of album cover as art. McKnight-Trontz does a masterful job of celebrating the artist through dazzling illustrations and informative, entertaining narrative. The casual reader will enjoy this book, as will the academic: it's all there between the brilliant covers (Steinweiss design - of course); it is the individual reader's choice as to how deep he or she wants to delve into this fascinating subject of a true twentieth-century art form.

If you are looking for one book that does it all, this is it. Don't confuse this book with "Side-by-Side" just because it has the same author. It is an entirely different beast and everything "Side-by-Side" is not. I use this book as a main textbook with community ed ESL classes and as a supplemental textbook with some workplace ESL classes. My level one students loved this book so much that all the other level one classes at our site gave up their textbooks and switched to this one. It presents the material in appropriate, manageable chunks and it progresses through topics which are extremely appropriate for adults. It's organization is excellent, varying the skills used, and each lesson leaves students feeling like they are learning. This is a good general textbook including conversation, listening, speaking, grammar, TPR, and writing activities. It is a general ESL textbook and not a literacy textbook, however, so for students with low L1 literacy, I supplement this textbook with Molinsky's book "Access" and Linda Mrowicki's book "Pre-reading Resource Book". I have also used Mrowicki's "First Words in English", and "Starting to Read" (Linmore Publishing) as companion texts or as supplemental texts, depending on the class.

One of the best way to learn communicate an English Language. The kids enjoy talk and listen new languages, and learn too!!! Foundations has a lot of exercises with fun and really situations that invite the conversation together. Is the Foundation for new conversation, for new students at English.

This is another first-rate collection of deco commercial art that you wouldn't see elsewhere, and it proves that graphic design was in a kind of golden age at the time. The work here is rich and appealing, as in all the books of the series, and if you're a designer, you'll find it very inspiring as well, and a handy reference tool.

The book itself is a fairly small paperback, though very nicely printed on glossy paper. The work inside this and other volumes in the series certainly justifies a larger, hardcover treatment.

Chronicle's Art Deco Design Series, is one of the best series of design history books on the market. Steven Heller, one of the world's most prominent design writers, has created a masterpiece in this series. There are three which I believe stand out among the rest, and French Modern is one of them. Perhaps this is due to a personal interest in the material, but nevertheless, this book is fabulous. The images are beautiful, the design is good, and the text is informative, accurate, and interesting.

I love Janet Stevens' work and this one is no exception. The illustrations are delightful, as always, and the concept of showing readers how a book is made is terrific. I'll enjoy sharing this with classes. It would be a great lead-in for students to do writing of their own, too. It's a winner!

Stevens has created a delightful story, complete with fabulous illustrations, in which she models for the reader how a book/story is written. This is a valuable/must resource for any elementary teacher wanting to introduce or reinforce the elements of a story or who just wants her students to enjoy a well-written, fun tale

For almost a decade, New York Times art director Steven Heller has contributed a column to PRINT magazine called "Separated at Birth," inwhich he features twin-like pairs of otherwise unrelated designs. In 1993, he and Julie Lasky wrote an entire book on "appropriation" in design, titled Borrowed Design: Use and Abuse of Historical Form (Van Nostrand Reinhold). This book is in part an extension of that, in the sense that it unearths and juxtaposes examples of graphic design that seem to be indebted to earlier efforts in art and design. It is shown convincingly, for example, that the abstract crosses in the work of the Russian Constructivists were probably inspired by the clerical garb of Russian Orthodox priests in the 15th century; or that the famous pointing hand in James Montgomery Flagg's "I Want You For the U.S. Army" poster (1917) was anticipated by a ubiquitous advertising display for a drink called Moxie (1911) and a World War I recruiting poster (1914) in which Lord Kitchener (in a pose identical to that of Uncle Sam) "points a finger" at unenlisted British males. For good or bad, this book has very little text: Other than a brief paragraph that introduces each icon, its only commentary is a well-written opening essay. But it offers an almost unparalleled wealth of more than 500 full-color illustrations of historic examples of graphic design. -Roy Behrens, Ballast

This book illustrates the recurring ideas, themes, styles, and forms that graphic designers have used over the past century. It shows me that nothing is really new, but it takes a talented designer to make the old seem like never before.