The Great War, largely unknown to most Americans today, was one of the great turning points of history. In addition to millions of men, other victims of the War were Faith, Hope, and Glory, and the comforting sense that all would come right in the end. Twentieth-century despair and cynicism were born in the mud and blood of Flanders and Picardy.
The remarkably persistent pull of the conflict is represented here by works prepared for a 1994 joint seminar by the Great War Society and the Western Front Association. Papers include explorations of the role of forts in both World Wars, a splendid analysis of the German soldier by Dennis Showalter, and an inquiry into the death of von Richthoven. Desmond Morton recounts the experiences of Canadian POW's, (they were shamefully mistreated by the Germans - Hunnish excess did not originate with the Nazis), and Paul Fussell presses on with his familiar themes, most of which will be of limited interest to the average reader of military history. A very worthwhile collection overall, however.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score' books.)

This book is a wonderful, moving chronicle of one of Broadway's most famous long-running musicals. With a wealth of information about the show and the people who helped make it so successful, told in their own words, The Longest Line is something everyone who loves A Chorus Line should read.

This is a really touching tribute to what some feel was the most powerful moment in Broadway history. The shared thoughts from cast members and others involved in this glorious production are really heartfelt and are a joy to read. I enjoyed all the trivia throughout the book and also was pleased with the awesome pictures posted. This is the perfect book for any Chorus Line fan. I would really recommend it.

Such a beautiful coffee table book, I love it slightly more than the show it's about! The pictures are unbelievable: Ann Reinking as Cassie! When she could still dance! And talk! The only down-side is its immense cost: I actually had to prostitute for a week and sell my roomate , but I guess that's cause I'm an actor. Even if you're not an ACL fan, this is a really great tribute to the men and women of "the Line." (that sounds so military! MMM!)

Paul Rand was a giant among designers, and one of the key reasons that graphic design exists as a profession in the United States. Heller, obviously a great Rand fan and friend(not to mention a prolific author), has given his subject his due, tracing Rand's evolution as an artist and the arc of his career. From a 1942 Autocar annual report whose design is astonishingly current to some work for Dubonnet that perhaps hasn't stood the test of time as well, Heller's choices of accompanying materials is excellent, illustrating as well as telling Rand's core philosophies: Effective graphic design is straightforward, purposed, and well-reasoned. This is a straightforward, well-assembled book that falls short in two very minor ways: While much is made of Rand's European influences, none of this work appears in the book, and select examples rather than just mention of Rand's contemporaries would have done a better job of placing his work in a more historical context.

I just received my book today and have not been able to put it down. Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated, Paul Rand by Steven Heller pays true homage to a man who was blessed with true talent, wit and intelligence. An amazing talent, and a fascinating book. A must-have for any serious design student or professional.

a book to keep for designers. heavy with ideas and great graphics. having known paul rand and being inspired by him the book also presented some graphics i have not seen as it was before my time. a book to refer to about design in general. solid text and research. miho

I found this book not only to be filled with the wonderfull works of Claude Monete but it also has a great insight to his life and the imprssion he left on modern art today. This book also contains full fold-out pictures of some of the artists best works. For anyone who has ever enjoyed any of Monets work you will love this book.

This book is a perfect addition to any art library. Having seen "Monet in the 20th Century" in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts, I was well prepared for the exhibit by having read the book first. I found the exhibit to be an extraordinary example of Monet's achievment in his later years. This book focuses on the works of Monet starting at the start of this century right up to his death in 1928. All through this period of Monet's life and including the representation of the body of work produced within those years, this book never skips a beat. Although not an all-encompassing look at his complete works of that period, this book offers the best look out there of his paintings as well as his development throughout the last quarter-century of his life. I found it to be in keeping with what is already known about Monet's later years, but certainly not devoid of interesting insights. The quality of the book, it's contents, including all of the color plates reproduced within is very good. I would not have an art library without Monet representation, and this is the ideal book for an addition or a starter.

Steven Pressfield has done a remarkable job in telling the story of the Spartan Three Hundred who stood against the massive Persian-led force at the Hot Gates in the 5th century BC. Told from the perspective of the squire Xenios in retrospect, a captive of the Persian horde as it advances on Athens, the tale recounts the heroism of Leonidas, the Spartans, and their allies. We learn of the life of Xenios prior to Thermopylae and, thereby, are exposed to the culture and customs of Sparta. The tale culminates in Xerxes naval defeat at Salamis as Xenios quietly expires from his wounds received in the final, furious stand behind the Phocian Wall.

Pressfield has managed to pull the reader into the martial comradery of the Spartans. We share their courage in the face of certain death, their rare moments of fraility and, so, we quickly become enamored of the characters Pressfield so exquisitely develops. He spares no sensitivities in his violent depiction of warfare and ancient Greek life. He offers a frank, engaging, deeply enjoyable narration of one of the epic battles of all time.

This book is one of the best historical reads I've stumbled across in a long time. The "voice" is right, never once slipping into anachronistic modernisms and supplying a truly "transparent" medium, easily accessible to moderns, which yet conveys the immediacy of historical time and place. The tale is not plotted in any formal sense but proceeds in flashback, a hackneyed but effective mechanism here, as we see the story unfold, both on the level of a life remembered by a fallen Spartan warrior and through the eyes of the Persian court in the midst of their final Greek campaign. The battle scenes are redolent with all the misery and gore of real warfare, too, yet reverberate with the mystery of transcendence -- the real stuff of living and, of course, dying. There is both an earthiness and a metaphysical element to this finely told tale of heroism in the face of overwhelming odds in a place and time which changed the flow of history as we know it. The characters, too, are as real to us as the flesh and blood we see burning and wallowing in death upon the fields of Thermopylae. And we care about them, which, in the end, is what a book like this must be about. I did note that, while the final denouement resonates powerfully long after the last drop of blood has been spilled, the characters themselves did seem to fade a bit and some of the derring-do seemed a bit outlandish to be believed, even in the throes of the adrenalin-driven combat Pressfield describes. But, on balance this was an excellent addition to the corpus of historical fiction and well worth all the praise Pressfield garnered from it. -- SWM

Herodotus and Plutarch immortalized Spartan society in their histories; but today, little is left of the ancient city or the social structure of this momentous culture. One of the few antiquarian marks of the civilization that has survived lies scores of miles away from Sparta, at a narrow Greek mountain pass called Thermopylae.It was there that three hundred of Sparta's finest warriors held back the invading millions of the Persian empire and valiantly gave their lives in the selfless service of democracy and freedom. A simple engraved stone markstheir burial ground.Inspired by this stone and intrigued by the lore of Sparta, author Steven Pressfield has brilliantly combined scholarship with storytelling. Narrated by the sole survivor of the epic battle--a squire in the Spartan heavy infantry--Gates of Fire is a mesmerizing depiction of one man's indoctrination into the Spartan way of life and death, and of the legendary men and women who gave the culture an immortal gravity.Culminating in the electrifying and horrifying epic battle, Gates of Fire weaves history, mystery, and heartbreaking romance into a literary page-turner that brings the Homeric tradition into the twenty-first century. The tale is not plotted in any formal sense but proceeds in flashback, a hackneyed but effective mechanism here as we see the story unfold, both on the level of a life remembered and through the eyes of the Persian court in the midst of their final Greek campaign. The battle scenes are redolent with the misery and gore of real warfare, too, yet reverberate with the mystery of transcendency -- the real stuff of living and, of course, of dying. There is both an earthiness and a metaphysical element to this finely told tale of heroism in the face of overwhelming odds in a place and time which changed the flow of history as we know it. The characters are as real to us as the flesh and blood we see burning and wallowing in death upon the fields of Thermopile. And we care about them, which, in the end, is what a book like this must be about. This is a must read!

We all love parts of Star Wars, but why settle? For example, he could take a novel like Defenders of the Holy Grail and make it as magical as Lord of the Rings. His fantasies miss connections with the modern world His studio could be making real statements about the human condition instead of lightweight _______.

Wonderful book about the great filmaker who gave us such masterpieces as THX 1138,Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars. . . .very rich and well done with beatiful colored pages, and comments from other filmaker on the movies of George Lucas. . . . a wonderful edition that would look great on anyone cofee table,so go out and buy it today.

This book gives you a sequence of events in Lucas' creative empire. It also contains interesting quotes from the man himself as well as other significant contributors to his work. It may come as a surprise to some of us that Lucas' goals are quite similar to our own; the only difference is that he has a very strong will to make it all come true.

Contained in this book are his projects that touched many who will never imagine the same way again.

"Gremlins" is one of my favorite movies, about a furry little creature (a Mogwai) named Gizmo who is adopted by a young man, Billy Peltzer. Billy's given three simple rules to abide by: don't expose it to sunlight (or else it will die), don't get it wet (or else it will multiply into more Mogwai--or Gremlins, depending on its current stage), and never feed it after midnight (or else it will metamorphosize into a killer Gremlin).

While I love the movie, I wasn't too pleased with this loose novelization of the film. The author seemed to want to write his own version of "Gremlins"; he barely stuck to the script--dropping, adding, and altering several scenes along the way. This is evident right from the beginning with the prologue--a quick but unimportant explanation of the Mogwai's origin as alien beings on the planet Enz. (Since when?)

The one good thing about this book, though, is the dozen or so color photos taken from the movie. The cute black-and-white illustrations of Gizmo and Spike at the beginning of each chapter are also a nice touch.

The intended audience for this book is apparently preteens, though it's appropriate for all ages. However, I'd recommend sticking with the movie instead.

*spoilers included*

He did a superb job on BACK TO THE FUTURE, and he did just as well on GREMLINS. As he did in BTTF, here he takes us *inside* the characters, where he reveals more of their background, secrets, and ambitions. In particular, the origins of the Gremlins and the conversations between Gizmo and Stripe were excellent additions.

The only flaw is the same one that haunted the novelization of BTTF--it seems that Gipe was not given the final draft of the screenplay to work with. In the book, Mr. Futterman dies. In the actual movie, however, he was only seriously injured; the filmmakers apparently decided to spare him at the last moment. But this is a minor flaw that does not detract too much.

Recommended for GREMLINS fans, and anyone who wants to see how movie novelizations should be done!

Meet Gizmo the Mogwai. A cuddly little creaturer which comes with a list of three rules:

1) Keep him away from bright lights. They could kill him.

2) Keep him away from water. A single drop will bring you another Mogwai.

3) Don't feed him after midnight. A single bite will bring about a terror like no other...GREMLINS.

Author George Gipe turns a fun B-movie into a literary masterpiece of equal parts terror and laughs. This book contains much that the movie was missing. We learn the origins of the Mogwai and Gremlins. We hear conversations between the creatures. And we hear about past incidents of Gremlin escapades.

The best part of this novel is the start of the Gremlin invasion. We jump between reports being relayed to the local radio stations and the terrifying experiences of the hero's neighbors.

George Gipe only wrote three novelizations in his career: GREMLINS, EXPLORERS, and BACK TO THE FUTURE. All were excellent, but left you hungry for more of Gipe's work. Where did he go?

If you are lucky enough to find this book, by all means pick it up. You'll love it.

Three cheers for a great read AND a great life - once you've read this book, you'll understand why Gen. Robert E. Lee still stands today as the most beloved and respected military leader of all time. The simple truth is the man was motivated by honor, duty and most important of all, faith, and everything he did was premeditated by him with those ideas in mind. How refreshing a story after one has been bombarded today with stories of those our children look up to who are motivated by greed and ego and talk about somebody "disrespecting" them - it is very difficult to respect someone spouting obscenities, covered with tatoos, hair dyed eye-popping colors, and sporting metal earrings dangling from various parts of their face! They say "I'm not a role model." I think that is a cop-out spoken by someone who decided he wanted all the glory and money and fame without living up to the responsibility that goes along with it. It's too bad strong and moral leaders, men who stood up for what was right and were willing to pay whatever price that cost, who knew they were role models and did their utmost to be good ones, whose stories we've read about in history class about men down through the years from earliest history through the colonies and the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, seem also to be "Gone With the Wind".

The account of a great historical figure---a gentleman of duty, truth and spirit---a man of God. Yankee carpetbaggers, scalawags and liberals alike, be forewarned: this book may shake you from your nihilistic mind nap. As Robert E. Lee so aptly put it, the Southern States had "sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend, for which we were in duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavor". Long live the South and those who have fought and died to keep alive her character and ideals! Indeed, those readers 'educated' on a strangulation diet of revised history may be enlightened, perhaps even intellectually emancipated, by this grand book. Five stars Mr. Wilkins, 100 stars General Lee!

This book reveals a side of Robert E. Lee that is not explored as much as it should be. The character and Christian testamony exhibited here should be an example to us all. I found the reading to be spell bounding and very hard to put down. Thanks to the authors for a non-bias view of this great American hero.

This is an excellent book, but the information is about 3-4 years old (Probably 4-5 years if you consider the time to publishing)! That is pretty dated information for this field, especially with the MANY newer agents. Make a new edition guys!

Excellent choice! If you buy this item you will acquire the basics of psychopharmacology psychiatry students need. I am a second year postgraduate student and found it very helpful, concise and updated. It presents the major indications, therapeutic uses, side effects, and mechanisms of action for every drug. The tables give you an easy way to compare each medication caracteristics and the book offers the facts that will help us choose the best drug that fits our patients needs. Its format let us carry it with us everywhere so we can take a quick look and review the information anytime we need it. I highly recommend it!