I guess I can not agree with the previous reviewers. Although the book does have it's high points, I felt the author padded the book with too many unimportant and unrelated personal opinions. I was expecting something better. Save your money.

The men of a Hunter-Killer task group keeping the sea lanes clear for the Allies in 1944 meet up with one of Hitler's dreaded
Uboats off Africa in this factual and entertaining read by the commander of said task force, Capt. Daniel V. Gallery. The Navy's version of a renaissance man, Gallery demonstrates by his own personal history during the war (as well as the history of the U505)that there are no accidents in wartime, merely opportunities lost or gained. I would heartily recommend Adm.Dan's book to those in high school or above who might not
know this bit of naval history, who enjoy the sea, and who honor
those (as Adm. Dan did) who "go down to the sea in ships". The Admiral was a "friend by correspondence" in the 1970's prior to his death...just as lively then as when on the bridge of his beloved USS GUADACANAL! Enjoy all ye landlubbers and real sailors!

This book would be a great addition to any submarine/naval history library. I've read quite a few WWII to the present submarine books, and this one did not disappoint at all.

Although not a submarine man himself, Captain (later Rear Admiral) Gallery commanded a hunter-killer force of surface ships and carriers in charge of tracking down German U-boats. Although the cover of the book makes it sound as if the focus of this work is on the capture of the U-505, it really is much more than that (in fact, the capture itself doesn't even begin until chapter 17!!). It talks about almost every aspect of WWII submarine warfare. I really appreciated the fact that he managed to inject a very human touch to sub operations, describing what life was like on submarines, their history, the commands etc. He described just enough technical details in order for you to understand the basic science in sub design. A number of submarine books, especially the more recent ones) have tended to get bogged down by excessive technical fineprint. If you're like me, and are more into the human/adventure/historical aspect of submarines, you'll really love this book.

Like a true sailor, Captain Gallery has a deep respect for all those who have served at sea, even when they happened to be wearing the enemy uniform. He gives credit where credit is due. There is no excessive jargon in this book. The author is very direct in his language, which added to the honesty of his words. The only parts that I didn't care too much for were when he gets a little "preachy" in professing his complete faith in the divine, but thankfully that's not a huge portion of the book at all.

I finished reading this book within 2 nights. You'll come away with a deeper appreciation of the brave men who served on submarines during WWII. You'll understand the reasons behind the decline of the U-boat campaigns as the war dragged on. It's a great read!

Disregard the "star" rating: An author can't, and shouldn't, presume to rate his own work. That said, I'm happy, overall, with this book. I've done companion books on Michael Jordan, on censorship, on Stephen King, on Anne Rice -- and not on Vaughn Bode, as BOOKLIST erroneously stated. (The Bode book was an art index with the artist.) ... This 300-page companion book was by necessity cut: half the text and around 200 photos were intended for the original edition, scheduled for publication by Renaissance Books; the book was subsequently re-edited, and rewritten, by me for this edition from St. Martin's Minotaur. ... Info on Cornwell is difficult to find: I used virtually nothing from Cornwell's website (despite what BOOKLIST asserted) and I drew heavily on resources at the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, at Davidson College (an archive of published material exists on her and her work) and resources in Richmond, Virginia (notably the local newspaper), where she has spent most of her writing life. The book itself pulls together a lot of information that took me years to find--don't kid yourself: You can't find all of this on the Internet, despite what some people want to believe. I believe Cornwell should tell her own story, hence my biographical information in this book is short; I've reprinted some litte-seen but illuminating interviews with Cornwell; I've pulled together quotes gleaned from dozens of hard-to-find sources; I've provided a chronology to her life and work, a book-by-book look with reprinted reviews, an "A to Z" of her life (real people, places and things), and a detailed appendices. Had the book included the original text, it would have been 600 pages long ... and I still had hundreds of pages of additional research material on hand that nobody has ever seen. In other words, this is a general overview to Cornwell and her work -- the first, and only, book of its kind on her. (Cornwell, it should be noted, declined to participate; I have used my own resources for research and I alone am responsible for any errors herein.) ... The reason I wanted to write this book is simple: After reading about her life, I felt there was much to celebrate -- her life is, in fact, as interesting as her fiction. The theme in all of my books is that we can overcome adversity by believing in ourselves and pushing ourselves to our limits; Cornwell has done this spectacularly well, and this book celebrates not only her life but her body of work. This book is not a hagiography; I call them as I see them. So, in the end, let me call it a literary celebration and leave it at that. I hope you like it.

Anyone interested in the life and works of Patricia Cornwell will definitely want to buy and immediately read THE UNOFFICIAL PATRICIA CORNWELL COMPANION. The first section is a mini-biography on the author, highlighting the high points of her life. Two interesting sub-sections are "The Quotable Patricia Cornwell" and a reprint of an interview with the author.

Section II looks at the works of Patricia Cornwell with reviews of each book stating what the critical thought about each novel is. This is a treasure chest of information and shows that the author went two steps beyond a mini-synopsis to give the audience a feel for each novel. If there is one criticism of this novel, it is that there is no interview with the author specifically intended for this biography.

Harriet Klausner

Not since Beahm's Stephen King Companion has a book made a writer so accessible. Much like the earlier title, the Patricia Cornwell Companion is an equally fascinating read for folks just getting into Ms. Cornwell's work as well as for experts. Each chapter goes into depth about each book in Cornwell's canon, presenting a breakdown, listing each edition and awards won, reprinting reviews and interviews, and (my favorite) presenting an "A to Z" glossary of each book. The best feature of this book, though, are the Appendices, discussing the facts and details of the life of real-life forensic investigators.

A terrific book by a consistantly terrific writer, The Patricia Cornwell companion is a worthy addition to anyone's Cornwell collection.

-Kevin Quigley

[THIS IS A REPLACEMENT REVIEW FOR AN INCOMPLETE REVIEW THAT I ACCIDENTLY SENT EARLIER TODAY.]

Here's a bad sign: Laura Schlessinger PhD ("Dr. Laura") gives herself top billing in "Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Where's God?" her children's book about prayer. God doesn't appear in this book as a character. He's the topic of discussion between a pop-eyed, misshapen creature named Sammy and Sammy's grandpa, who resembles a normal human being. (I can't say that I find Daniel McFeeley's illustrations charming: Sammy is too grotesque.)

Sammy wants to ask God "to go to the hospital and help Mommy's knee get better so she doesn't need surgery and can come home right away." (Well, prayer IS more effective than arthroscopy.) Sammy says he's figured out that he has to know where God is before God can hear his prayer. (Grandpa doesn't think that makes sense, either.) Sammy suggests that God may be in church or in heaven. Grandpa ignores these suggestions but leads Sammy to an answer to his question.

I'll give the author one star for not getting bogged down in a lot of theology. According to this book, God is at one with the universe, God hears our prayers, "God works through all of us." The author presents God as a good habit we can't quite break: whether we choose to be good or to be bad, God is always in us, "loving us and being patient." I'll give the author another star for daring to approach the problem of evil -- but she backs off promptly, with reassurances that this is the best of all possible worlds. Grandpa says we "must trust God" even when He says no to us, even when we're not satisfied with His response.

This approach does have its limitations. A bit ominously, Grandpa tells Sammy that God "let" Sammy get punished because he "earned that punishment and needed to learn from it." Is the implication that when bad things happen to us and the people we care about, we have it coming? That fear of punishment in this life is all we have to keep us honest? As for Sammy's mother, God is helping her through her doctors, and God expects her "to help Him help her by doing the exercises." Uh-oh: divine sanction for working out. This might not be the best book for a child whose sick or disabled parent doesn't have a good prognosis.

Parents who are trying to impart religious doctrine to their children will find a few aspects of this book unsatisfactory. That "Don't Bother God" sign on the wall of Sammy's church must be intended to elicit a chuckle. But what IS Sammy doing in church? Prayer is more than wishing. But there's no hint in this book about prayer as worship or gratitude. Sammy says he felt "funny about eating my salad" after the greengrocer told him that "God was in all growing things." How would Sammy feel about eating a communion wafer? Heaven is just something Sammy heard a TV preacher mention; as Sammy describes the concept, it seems absurd. (Hell doesn't exist for Sammy and Gramps; neither does Satan.) Although Grandpa describes God as the Creator, some may balk at his statement that "everything is part of God - even the weeds." People of a particular faith aren't quite so inclusive and vague in their concept of God.

At a time when God has been kicked out of our schools, offices, and even many of our religious institutions, it's a refreshing change to find a children's book that invites Him back in.  Dr. Laura's book teaches our precious children the power and beauty of prayer.  Her unique writing style and adorable illustrations make this book a special treat for bedtime; and the story is the perfect way to get your kids excited about a relationship with their creator.  I think this book is a must-have for every child's personal library.

This book is terrific in helping me talk to my children about God. I was actually quite amazed at all the different issues that arose from the "plot." It really opened my eyes to the different concerns my children might have about God. Also, I'm frankly annoyed by the person who gave this book only two stars and gave stupid criticisms - like the first one: Dr Laura's name is on the cover. What is that? I'm tired of those people with knee-jerk hate of religious principles. Loved the book.

Continuing in the style that made the "Now you See it, Now you don't" series of books so valuable for the reader, Bill discusses a series of platform tricks ( quite a few can't be done with ordinary objects i.e. the linking rings and the Chinese wands to name two ) with accompanying hand drawn illustrations by Frank Daniel. This is the system he used to such great effect with illustrator Barry Ross in his other books to show the intricacies of sleight of hand, the drawings were able to show details that would be covered up or obscured in photos. Unlike his other books, which were long on method and short on tricks, this book has a great many tricks often with little thought to the routining of them. And at only 101 tricks he seems at times to be reaching, and missing in the quest to include something useful. I can only recommend about half the book, but in that half is some great classics of magic explained in an easy to follow and understandable manner. The format of the book with its many drawings is useful for but a few tricks (most notably the linking rings). While with many of the others the illustration seem to only waste page space, but then we might have been treated to more tricks like "relit" which is simply the relighting of a just blown out candle by having the flame of a match travel down the smoke.

Continuing in the style that made the "Now you See it, Now you don't" series of books so valuable for the reader, Bill discusses a series of platform tricks with accompanying hand drawn illustrations by Frank Daniel. This is the system he used to such great effect with illustrator Barry Ross in his other books to show the intricacies of sleight of hand, the drawings were able to show details that would be covered up or obscured in photos. Unlike his other books, which were long on method and short on tricks, this book has a great many tricks often with little thought to the routining of them. And at only 101 tricks he seems at times to be reaching, and missing in the quest to include something useful. I can only recommend about half the book, but in that half is some great classics of magic explained in an easy to follow and understandable manner. The format of the book with its many drawings is useful for but a few tricks (most notably the linking rings). While with many of the others the illustration seem to only waste page space, but then we might have been treated to more tricks like "relit" which is simply the relighting of a just blown out candle by having the flame of a match travel down the smoke.

My intent was to buy a complete tutorial that could give me every single explanation about the software. Well, these CDs contain about 70 lessons on modeling, lights,animation, materials etc, but they sure don't cover it all.

This pair of training CD's is for both 3DS MAX Release 1 & 2. I bought it because I have one and planned to get the other. I received more than 100 models, more than a hundred in depths projects, and access to more training online. This is an amazing product! Better than any of the other books - and I have them all. Great for new users, or for people who have had MAX for a long time but just can't get into it.

As a collection of photographic portraits of contemporary African men dressed and posing for the photographer (i.e., not engaged in kingly acitivities) in astonishing and fantastic historic garb, usually shown among their retainers or wives, this book does not disappoint. The fabrics and outfits are pretty incredible, and invite you to stare at the goods. The kings look variously dignified, stately, and occasionally mildly hostile to the photographer's gaze. Some seem plainly overdressed, even to themselves. To the author's credit, the reader is told (briefly and somewhat perfunctorily) of the often complicated political, cultural, and kinship machinations that surround a king. In today's African nations these men have little (or no) conventional political power. In some instances, their claim to royalty is viewed, for a variety of reasons, as wholly illegitimate. The clothing and accoutrements of their position is fascinating to look at, although little information is supplied regarding the meaning of the clothes. Unfortunately there is a stiffness to both the portraits and the commentary, and that distances the viewer from the diverse and likely very interesting subjects of this book.

I was blown away by this book. Having just returned from a trip to West Africa (Mali) I was on the lookout for something that did not play out cliches, and I found it here. The intense variety of self-presentation seemed to me both to reflect different tribal histories as well as different individuals, chiefs and kings often with refrigerators in the background or flourescent lights overhead, and yet, to my mind, glowing with cultural vitality---even when tired or, on occasion the text tells us, dying. A previous reviewer noted the stiffness, and yet I felt good about that sense of decorum, presentation, bearing, sometimes with a bit of fun along the way. The cover picture, I might say, doesn't offer the best sense of what is inside, for it offers few surprises. The African photos of the great West African photographer Seydou Keita are, I guess, more works of art, but this book gives me a greater sense of something sometimes wild and frequently noble in African culture, and a glorious and unsettling sense of an undeniable aristocracy: I'm glad to have both books.

American Music: A Panorama is a cd that has many different tracks from American Music History. I think that it contains many good examples of this, but there could be so many more. Elvis, the artist of the century, has no songs, as well as many other influential artists from the 50's and 60's. The booklet in it also had many errors in track numbers and song title numbers in it. Overall it was good but could be better, and I definitely do not think it was worth the money.

I teach a course in United States music history at the high school level, and this college text is a good stretch for my students. It is clearly written, well organized, and provides great points for departure in my lectures. The accompanying CD set, though not perfect, is a convenient way to bring in examples and allows for some independent study. Music history teachers can augment the examples with their current CD holdings.
The text surveys "American" music, not just music of the United States, although that is in the majority. The distinction of American versus U.S makes for a good discussion point throughout the semester. We do not take the chapters in order (we begin with music of the early European settlers), and the book lends itself to that flexibility.
Although there may be better texts for specific music history topics, (i.e., Jazz or contemporary "serious" music) this is an excellent survey text for the advanced high schooler or college music history survey course. Term paper suggestions, questions for additional research and bibliography are included at the end of each chapter.

This is a fine novel on college basketball, and one that makes a great, quick read on a summer day. Mr. Doyle clearly knows the sport very well, and he lets that knowledge show through in some of the game descriptions and behind-the-scenes action. I'm sure he coached at some level, or was an administrator. Regardless, his respect for the game should please the loyal sports fan, and the multiple plots and convincing suspense are enough to make this book a treat for those who've never bounced a ball. In fact, my girlfriend knows next to nothing about the sport and she breezed through this novel right after I did. Thumbs up from both of us.

I enjoyed this book immensely due to my obsessions with athletics and a passion for the Irish. Mr. Doyle has an insider's perspective on the mechanics of creating a "winning program". Although the outcome is fairly predictable, the plot twists and character development put the game action on the back burners. The focus of the lessons, integrity and perseverence, come through loud and clear in a very enjoyable way. Recommended reading for any schoolage hoop star preparing for their shot at the next level.

Tad Crawford has written many useful books for working artists. This book primarily focuses on the state laws for all 50 states. It has some info on the nuts and bolts of gallery/artist interactions and good examples of sample contracts, but overall I was disappointed.

Most of the book focuses on reciting the state statutes. I would have liked more "juice" on navigating the minefield that can occur in artist/dealer relations. Of course, a contract should allow an artist to avoid such messes, but more examples of things going wrong even with contracts would have been useful. It is a good reference book if you are past the point of no return and need to know the legalities of your particular state so you can proceed accordingly. I found Tad Crawfords other books more useful.

I own a small gallery because I love art and artists, but I was not prepared for the variety of business and legal headaches that this field could produce. During yet another frantic call to my attorney, she recommended this book to me and life has been considerably calmer ever since.

Let's face it: art is a business and if you are an artist or a gallery owner, you can't afford to be without this information. I use this book to maintain records; I check paperwork against it before visiting my accountant; I use its sample forms and agreements every time I get the place ready for a new exhibit; and I follow this book's advice with every sale and display we make. This book should be required reading for everyone who has anything to do with art consignment...

This text is a must for the NRRPT exam candidate. It is excellent reading and gives the technologist a decent background on matters concerning radiation use, incidents and accidents and such. I have not seen a better book to date for preparing for the NRRPT registry test.

It is nice to see a book designed for the average radiation protection technician that presents the material in an understandable and straightforward manner. I am a trainer at PPL's Nuclear Power Station (SSES) and I use your book often during my RP technician continuing training. The only suggestion for improvement that I can think of is for you to update the instrumentation chapters as there seem to have been many advances since your last edition. I suppose that I notice this because I did work in this area for a number of years. Please do not think that this comment is meant to detract my overall comment this is an excellent general training aid. You've done a great job.