Definitely one of the better books in the series. Discussion of common corporate issues. Provides good solutions. I've read 4 in the series and like this one the most.

If you only have six qud and want an great introduction to Hardy then this is the one to buy. Brilliant but simple section on modern crit.

I've used Director for 5 years and i found this book full of good examples. I found the Object Oriented Programming chapter so exciting...Probably one of the best book on Director i've read (i'm waiting for Gary's new Book - Using Macromedia Director 8.5).
Buy it, non ve ne pentirete !
ciao

This is awesome! I've used Director for 2 years and was really excited about the new 3D features in 8.5 but thought I'd have to spend months learning how to use the engine. In 1 week of reading this I made my first user activated 3D projector that plays sound relational to my world.

I know why this book is so good: I looked at these guys sites in the front of the book for these authors - these guys really know how to create. Examples are inspirations!

This is the juice. I want more. Give me more.

PG Juice.

In order for senior Steve York to pass English and graduate he has to write a 100 page essay about anything, he chooses to write about his own life. Rats Saw God tells his story from being a Texas freshman to a California senior. Rob Thomas does an accurate job of depicting high school life through the eyes of his characters. Thomas uses humor to create a more interesting and faster-paced story about the high school trials Steve and his friends are put through. From Steve's first love, dates, buying condoms, stumbling through first sex ("I resisted the urge to cover the titanium love barometer between my legs. Was it the right size? The right shape? The right color?"), the events surrounding the Dadaist club, and Steve's relationship with his father-the astronaut. Rats Saw God is a humorous book for high school students to read. It's easy to relate to certain aspects of the book such as the first time relationship experiences, and parental relationship problems. Plus the way that Thomas relates humor into the certain situations helps make the book more enjoyable. Dub adds a lot to the plot line, she's the sensible part of Steve much of the time in Texas. Plus with characters such as Sarah and Doug the story is true to teenage life. Thomas weaves several themes throughout Rats Saw God, such as getting along with parents and setting your mind to getting something accomplished. By the end of the book Steve has transformed, and adds for a bit of variety for the reader. All in all, Rats Saw God is a good book depicting high school life and the way one students, Steve York, handles his problems.

It all started when Steve York, the son of the famous astronaut, Alan York, failed English in his senior year. In order to be promoted from high school, Steve was required to type a hundred-page paper; or, he could choose to go to summer school. Steve went for the paper. He decided to explain how he came to failing English with several 4.0's in his freshmen year for his hundred-page paper. Through the paper, Steve discovered all the phases he had went through before failing English. He gathered valuable memories and experiences from the neglected past. He remembered his first and second girlfriend, the Dadaist club he went to, and the life he had living with his father, of whom he referred to as "the astronaut." By typing the paper, Steve learned from his mistakes, managed to put himself together, and began an entirely new life in the University of Washington.
This book is one of the weirdest books I have ever read. Its contents aren't really exciting, but it has many interesting ideas and ways of describing. For example, the title is Rats Saw God; what does it stand for? As I progressed through the book, I found out that Rats Saw God is the reverse of "Dog Was Star." Other than that, the title doesn't stand for anything; it's just there to be there. As for the interesting ways of describing, "I could almost hear him smile," "written in the sissified script no male can duplicate," and "he could have been sharing clothes with Gandhi," are just a few of the phrases used as descriptions in the book.
My favorite part of this book was when Steve finally realized how much "the astronaut" cared for him. His realization occurred during Alan York's second wedding. Alan asked Steve to come to his wedding and be "his best man." At first, Steve thought that since his father was a world-known figure, he must want him to be there on his wedding to put on a show. He was reluctant in doing so, but he went there anyways because his sister persuaded him. However, he found the truth when he saw with his very own eyes his will-be-stepmother and Alan York being declared wife and the only people to witness it was his sister, his stepgrandparents, and himself. He realized that his father's invitation to his wedding was out of pure sincerity, not out of wanting to have a perfect wedding. He had known his dad for all his life but it was then, in the split second that his stepmother was married to his dad, that Steve finally got to know his dad.

The way that this book is written, you can't really say that you are going to stop "at the end of this chapter." There are no actual chapters. Taking place in two different years- one of which is the present time of the book, and one the essay that the main character is writing- it goes back and forth, sometimes with as little as two paragraphs in a section.
The book is mainly about Steve York, a San Diego senior in high school, who is failing, bummed out about life, and at the beginning he has a constant high. It goes back and forth between him in the present, and him as a sophomore student in Houston, Texas, who is popular at school, and is liked by everyone, who has a great girlfriend, and a lot of close friends- the only bad thing about his life, is that he lives with his father, Alan York, who is a world famous astronaut. Steve almost always calls his father "the astronaut".
A no-nonsense counselor, Mr. Demouy, tells him that if he writes a hundred page paper on the topic of his choice, that he can graduate from high school, and get his missing English credit. Through out the book, Demouy and Steve become close.
The book takes place in two different times and places, the late eighties, in Houston, Texas, and about nineteen ninety, in San Diego, California. In Texas, Steve lives in a suburb, in a large house, that has boxes that were never unpacked scattered through out it. And in San Diego, he lives with his mother- who is never home, for she travels with her husband (a pilot) almost all the time- and his sister, who turns out to be a major part of the story. Steve hates it at his dad's house, and doesn't care- mainly because he is (or was) high all the time- about where he lives in San Diego.
I loved this book, but it isn't for everyone. With the many sexual and drug innuendos, some people wouldn't be able to handle it. The book goes by quite fast, I read it in two days, and I'm not the best of readers. It is definitely written for teenagers in mind, although some adults may like it.
I learned many lessons from the book. One of which is that for two people to truly have a connection, words don't have to be a major thing in their relationship. As Steve finds out, a person who you might say a few words to on an occasional basis, and who your conversations never last more than a few sentences, may have one of the biggest connections to you out of any one in the world. Sometimes words aren't needed to have a connection.
The author developed the plot very well, although not in the most conventional of ways. The characters were also developed very well. I felt as though I truly knew Steve and his family. The situation is something that could definitely happen in the real world.
The book mixes humor, romance, life learned lessons, and serious subject matter all into one big web that somehow all fits together perfectly. I highly recommend every one to read it.

Patrick is the editor of his high school newspaper and he is looking forward to a career in journalism, so when he gets a chance to enter a contest to become a TV reporter for Classroom Direct, a national TV shoe beamed to school by satellite he jumps at the chance. He figures it's a long shot, so why bother telling his parents, they wouldn't let him leave his dusty Texas town anyway. But Patrick is selected and convinces his parents to let me go out to LA and build on a promising journalism career. After Patrick realizes no one read his application(he was selected on looks alone), he becomes disillusioned and ultimately runs away on a soul searching journey. The book ends with Patrick very cynical and leave you with just a mirror to take a look at yourself.

After the publication of _Rats Saw God_, I waited with greast anticipation for the new book by Thomas...after a few years have gone by, this book _Satellite Down_ has placed Thomas back on the top of he list of auhtors for teens. If you get a chance to listen to Johnny Heller narration of any of Thomas' books it's the perfect voice.

I finished this book several days ago and find myself still thinking about it. I highly recommend it to teens and adults who want something they can mull over for a while, as well as those who simply want a good read.

My conclusions? I found it interesting that Thomas treats Patrick's disillusionment almost as a natural progression rather than a series of choices. Patrick doesn't seem to debate much about whether to do the things he does; he simply does them. Maybe living in Hollywood is like that for everyone--I've never been there--but I can't shake the feeling that this book tells us more about the author than it does the main character (no offense, Mr. Thomas). That's MHO; y'all read it and see if you agree.

Satellite Down is, quite simply, the best Young Adult novel of the year. Patrick Sheridan, the main character, is brilliantly captured at the exact moment in time when he comes to understand once and for all that life is not a free ride. His adventures in the tainted, corrupt, and vapid world of television news, both in front of and behind the camera, are right on the money. The knockout punch of Satellite Down, however, is Patrick's soul searching journey for his roots through the rugged Irish countryside during the latter part of the novel. It is, in a word, flawless. The final sixty pages do more than represent the best writing in Thomas' canon. The closing stands as one of the finest examples of writing in the Young Adult genre, period. While an entire cottage industry has evolved around catering to melodrama and tidy sitcom closure in teenage "literature", Satellite Down dares to wander down a different path. The path of truth. The truth of how awfully life can treat us sometimes. About how it can be difficult, and messy, and without concrete answers at certain points in our complicated, ever changing tenure on this planet. Few authors choose to wander down this path, and with good reason. The possibility of rejection is enormous when you write about the emotional trials of life, especially when you fail leave a pot of gold at journey's end. In past novels, Thomas has masterfully portrayed the language and the urban rituals of the age group he has adopted as his own. With Satellite Down, the author broadens his trajectory by unflinchingly portraying the ambiguities of growing up in an age of constant media bombardment and rootless family angst. Rob Thomas would have done a disservice to the reading public, and the adolescent reading public in particular, had he made the choice most authors would've - pulled a rabbit out of the hat to make everything all right on the last page. Thankfully for us all, Thomas did not. And even more thankfully, he is good company. Would Rumble Fish remain the same powerful allegory to the devistating nature of fate had S.E. Hinton herself ignored the Wheel of Fortune and saved the Motorcycle Boy? Would The Chocolate War be revered as a landmark testament to teenage cruelty if Jerry's resistance to the Vigils had ended with anything other than those shattering blows in the ring? Rob Thomas is one of the few individuals writing for adolescents today who could legitimately follow in the footsteps of those YA authors we have seen fit to canonize. Satellite Down is the next big step toward securing his place in that pantheon.

David Scoma

I thought the movie was really cute and was anxious to read the book. Unfortunately, I was VERY disappointed. The book spent way too little time developing the romance between Nicole and Chase.

After seeing the movie I was very anxious to read the book. It was so good! The plot basically the same but with some new and different things. It also gives you a lot to really think about, which I found to be good in a teen book. Also, the WAY it was written was fun and something I haven't ever seen done before. If you liked the movie, you will most likely enjoy the book too!

very well done with the alternating characters. I can't wait to see Drive Me crazy' it looks so good

"Slave Day" by Rob Thomas is an excellent read for teenagers and young adults. If you were a childhood fan of the Sweet Valley High or Babysitter's Club collections, you'll enjoy how this novel takes high school life to the next level. Focused on Lee High School in South Carolina, the book offers insight to the minds of eight different people: seven students and one teacher. Rob Thomas tells the story of a controversial school event, "Slave Day", where participants can purchase Student Council members as their complete and utter servant for 24 hours. However, conflict arises when Keene Davenport, an African-American student, is angered by the degrading affair and plots to put a permanent end to Slave day. Each character falls under a typical high school stereotype: there's the popular cheerleader and football player couple, the computer geek obsessed with sci-fi, and the history teacher who doesn't cut you any slack. But the characters aren't over-exaggerated or unbelievable. Thomas's authentic detail and description allow you to relate to the individuals. I found myself thinking, "Wow, I know someone exactly like that person". Another aspect of this book that I enjoyed was the humor. There was a scene where Mr. Twilley, the aloof history teacher, was chasing a student while wearing an Indian headdress and carrying a cap gun; all in the strange spirit of slave day. There were several other amusing episodes that kept me snickering to myself throughout the novel. I'd have to say the only shortcoming of this book was its abrupt ending. Overall, I give it a 9 out of 10 for the fun time I experienced reading it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Slave Day. This fast-paced novel held my interest from beginning to end. I especially liked the Rob Thomas' unique style of writing in which each chapter was told in first person, but alternating between eight characters from chapter to chapter. It seemed as if characters took turns writing about their experiences during Slave Day. Although I thought this approach to writing took away from the suspense building around one character at times, all characters were equally interesting, and the author was easily able to hold my interest between chapters.
The book contains many contrasting characters yet the author is able to make them all very down-to-earth and "real" in the reader's mind. They all attend high School, except for Mr. Twilley, the strict and seemingly heartless teacher, and most appear to be stereotyped characters from different groups found in all high schools: the geek, the football player, the cheerleader, the rich girl, the freak. Yet Rob Thomas is able to give each character a distinct personality and motivation.
The plot, which takes place entirely in one day, centers around a school holiday called Slave Day. The student council members and those teachers who are willing are auctioned off as slaves to the highest bidders from the student body. Those auctioned must then be the bidders' slaves for the duration of the day, doing just about anything their masters tell them to do.
The central theme of the novel is one of standing up for one's personal rights as a human being. An obvious example of standing up for one's rights lies in the actions of Keene Davenport, a black junior who speaks out for equality of blacks and whites, primarily by opposing the idea of Slave Day. Another character who displays the author's message is Brendan Young, the computer nerd who is almost invisible to the popular people at school. After the Tiffany, the rich girl is forced to bid on him, she treats him like dust, only being courteous to him at times when it is for her own personal gain. Toward the end of the novel, he finally stands up for himself by treating her as she has treated him.

During the course of this book, Rob Thomas never failed to teach his readers anything. Reading this book was definitely a good choice. I could relate to each one of the characters, although some more closely than others. Tiffany is one of the characters that I barely connected with. She is a "poor little rich girl", and since I am not, I could not connect with that aspect of her life. However, since she is the mayor's daughter, she is somewhat of a role model whether or not she wants to be. Throughout this book, I pondered what would become of each of these students and Mr. Twilley long after Slave Day is an erstwhile tradition that everyone in Deerfield has forgotten about. Ironically, Mr. Twilley was one of the best characters in the book. He managed to stand the test of time within the school system by refusing to conform to the belief that athletes are super people that deserve special academic treatment. All in all, Slave Day was one of the best books I have read and is right on the level of Thomas' other books.

In Doing Time- Notes from the undergrad, Rob Thomas who is the author tells 10 differant stories by using various student narrators. The students all have in common the fact that they have to do 200 hours of community service for their requirement for their school in order to graduate. In one story "Shacks from Mansions", a football player named Preston plays for the Dallas Cowboys. He is tutoring a boy named Randall. Preston was Randall's big brother. Randall learned a great amount from him. In another story there was a boy and a girl who worked for the library near them. The lirary held meetings every Wednesday. The meetings were about people discussing their emotions about their passed-away pets. One Wednesday when the boy was working he went into the backroom to get something. He accidentally overheard them talking. He looked through the shelves and saw a picture up on the wall of a dead pet. He learned that he did not want to go back to that library. This book was not recommended for children under the age of 12. Some of the language was explicit. I learned that it would be very difficult to do 200 hours of community service.

As usual, Rob Thomas is dead-on with the voice of his YA characters. The stories are funny and focused around a common theme that is familiar to most high school students. My only complaint is that the book feels unfinished since Thomas doesn't use the end of the book to return to the character of Randall, the college freshman he uses in the beginning of the collection to frame the stories.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I think that Thomas is fantastic at using perspective as a key, without making anything too unclear. I'd like to start an e-mail kids book club, so spread the news and e-mail me (Lucy) at the above adress, with your thoughts about this book.

I just returned from a month in India, traveling with both the Lonely Planet (9th ed.) and Rough Guide (3rd ed.) If you are considering a long trip across the breadth of India, I would strongly suggest taking BOTH books. The Lonely Planet is great for practical details (train times, phone numbers, etc.) but spends too much space reviewing individual restaurants and hotels. Even though the book tops out over 1000 pages, the sections devoted to actually explaining the sights and the wonderful culture and history of India are very short.

In contrast, the Rough Guide spends much more space discussing the background and culture of individual locations, and is packed with lots of interesting details not found in the Lonely Planet. The RG spends less space on restaurant/hotel reviews, which was perfectly fine - I'd rather know more about the places I'm visiting than worry how much chicken shahjani costs at some particular restaurant.

The tone and approach of the books are different too - the RG takes a much more optimistic, romantic view of India, while the LP is often so terse and cynical that it doesn't really inspire you to visit many wonderful places.

Get the LP for the listings. Get the RG to appreciate the beauty of India.

This is the second time to visit India.Both time I took the same Lonely Planet. Always I choose hotel from it and felt not bad. In some small city, hight rank hotel means good servie and the price was not so high as you image it. First all the price listed in the book is as same as in the hotel, so try to cut off nearly 30% off is the very important thing to do during the trip.
Also I visited Jaisalmer on May, but if you following the book you will never go there in such cray summer. In fact, the summer was high enough, but still interesting. No more tourist means you can enjoy alone, and only myself in the hotel you can get nearly 50% discountdown for low season. If you read you can find a lot of things from the book, but on the trip everything is changed, you never image the book can guide you everything. Try to ask person around you, and get the most reasonable price.
I will plan to go to india again, by the guide of Lonely Planet, but I think I need a new version.

I used the 98 edition while travelling in Sept/Oct 99 and found it extremely informative even though the prices were outdated. Prices may change overnight but 1,000 year-old temple ruins probably won't. It did seem as though every other traveler (and hotel owner and rickshaw driver...) owned a copy, yet it provided an excellent orientation to the places I visited and served as a great reference tool for further exploration.

The maps were better than anything I found locally and the cultural info was very helpful.

The book is bulky/heavy but tearing out key sections can easily solve this. I cut my book in half this way and got lots of envious stares from others lugging their entire LP or Rough Guide around and actually referring to maybe a third of it.

Get this book, get the LP Hindi-Urdu phrase book, but skip the LP travel atlas unless you want to walk across India.

It is an Ok book, but it is very boring and not very active. I didn't like it much, but it is pretty good. When kids look into books, they look for excitenent and lots of chapters, like in HARRY POTTER books. Once again, this book was OK but I've seen MUCH better! ROCK ON... PEACE OUT

This book was very good. It was a tragic story about a young girl's life in Mississppi in the 1920's. She moved to Chicago and all kinds of things happened to her family. This is a great book and we liked it! You should read it!

BFFL SV&AN

This was a wonderful story for students in the fifth grade. We used this novel to link music class, art class, history, and reading. The story painted such a vivid picture for the students. The author, Dorothy Hoobler, beautifully took us on a tour of the 1920's.