This well-written, extremely thorough book takes the reader through the steps needed to build your own large Dobsonian telescope. More than a simple cookbook-type how-to book, the book takes you into the reason and motivation behind design details so you can make your own trade-offs for your own needs.

The book also takes you through the steps of building an 8 inch Dobsonian for your "small" telescope with the same detail and precision.

I am not a hard-core ATM, but read the book to understand the design and construction of Dobsonians in general, and to get an idea of how to make my own small, 8 inch Dob work better.

The book can be read at least 2 different ways: First, how to construct a large Dobsonian telescope. Second, what to look for when *buying* a large Dobsonian telescope. While the book makes the design, building, and construction of a large Dob seem both exciting and interesting, the entire time I read the book, I teetered between getting enthusiastic about building my own telescope, and the sinking feeling of truly understanding the enormous number of considerations, trade-offs, and important apparently minor details that make the difference between a good telescope and a great one. With all that goes into making a good telescope, you might be better off just buying a good quality telescope.

I recommend this book to owners of *all* size Dobsonians as an aid to truly understanding the Dobsonian design for both using, and modifying your own telescope. And to be clear, you *will* modify your telescope, even if it's just adding a finder and having to rebalance the scope. Contains and excellent section on collimation.

Excellent, interesting, and practical treatment of how you can build a state of the art, large to "giant"(8" to 40"+ aperture!) portable telescope. Uses the right amount of thorough well written engineering theory to justify the surprisingly simple component designs, materials, and construction techniques. The authors clearly want you to succeed. If your contemplating building a telescope based on your preconceptions, forget them, and read this book. The dobsonian approach featured here is a relatively recent major breakthrough in telescope design that few in the general public are aware exists. I can't imagine a "hotter" garage project for a dad to get into with his son or daughter.

Any astronomer with even the remotest interest in Dobsonian telescopes MUST buy this book.

It doesn't matter if you want to build one, use one, or buy one pre-built. David Kriege and Richard Berry do an absolutely tremendous job of taking the reader through all the construction steps of a large-aperature Dobsonian telescope, of describing how to use it, how it will impact your life and your family and what's the best size for you.

"The Dobsonian Telescope" is extraordinarily well-illustrated, contains a wealth of technical data that generations of astronomers found the "hard way," yet is very easy to understand and apply.

Kriege and Barry also realize that not everyone can afford or has the space for the monster scope of their dreams, so there's even a good chapter on building a much more modest scope from off-the-shelf items. Best of all, all the "big scope" information is still useful for the smaller one (8") and just a plain, good, read.

Finally, the book is fun. Both authors have a dry wit that livens up what otherwise could have been a rather boring, technical monologue.

For anyone who's ever craved an owner's manual that tells them what they really want to know about their purchase, "The Dobsonian Telescope" is a "best buy." Even better, you don't have to buy the telescope to enjoy the book.

Natsama loves visiting his grandmother, Holima, the medicine woman. On his seventh birthday, she tells him about dreambirds. "At the beginning and ending of every day, dreambirds spread their wings. One wing reaches out to the sun, and the other reaches out to the moon. Whoever finds a dreambird receives a great gift." As the seasons come and go, Natsama never forgets his grandmother's story about dreambirds. Determined to find a dreambird and claim his gift, he seeks out the best hunters in his village, who teach him the ways of animals, birds and fish. In his search for the dreambird, Natsama overcomes many obstacles and finally discovers the power and wonder of his own spirit. Jody Bergsma's beautiful, powerful artwork perfectly compliments David Ogden's uniquely engaging story.

Dreambirds is a children's book with a message--a spiritual message. It tells of an admirably close, loving relationship between a Native American grandmother and her grandson. As the story develops, little Natsama's appreciation of grandmother Holima, a medicine woman, also develops. (Holima--I see the words "holy" and "holistic" in it. It is an excellent name for the loving, wise grandmother of this story.) There are great truths in Holima's teachings.

On Natsama's seventh birthday, grandmother tells him of the dreambirds and explains that whoever finds one will receive a great gift. Naturally, the child determines to find his own dreambird and claim his great prize. In Natsama's years of searching for it, Holima teaches him much about the natural world of plants, birds, herbs and animals. Under her guidance, the boy learns to hear with his ears and to listen with his heart. Holima's legend about the dreambirds is a teaching method, leading Natsama to eventually discover, on his own, his spiritual being and its guidance for his life.

Dreambirds is a marvelous story, well thought out and well written. The illustrations accompanying it are fascinating and beautiful. Children will love the story, and will be intrigued by the complex paintings. The book contains gallery quality artwork that might best be appreciated by older children and adults. ALL ages will learn from this delightful book.

This book reminds me of a story I tell to young children. My husband is a "retired" pastor who continues to conduct church services as needed. For many years he has asked me to give the "children's sermon" whenever he is preaching. I gather the children around me and this is one of the stories I tell.

"Close your eyes and don't peek! Let your arms and hands dangle. Be very still and listen."

Then I click together two spoons several times. "Now open your eyes. Did anything happen while you were still?" Someone always answers, "Yes, a small noise--something hitting something." I click the spoons again for them to see. "Did it sound like this?" "Yes!" they respond. I continue, "If you had been watching a loud noisy football game with a loudspeaker telling about the game and people shouting and cheering, could you have heard the spoons clicking?" "No," they say. "If you were in a big city with lots of traffic noices and a policeman whistling and an ambulance siren going, could you hear it then?" "No," they answer.

I show them a picture of Jesus praying alone and ask what he is doing. I inquire if there is a crowd of noisy people or noisy animal herds with him. Then I talk about how Jesus went out alone to a quiet place to talk to God.

We live in a very noisy world and we can't hear God over the noise. It is important to take time to be QUIET and LISTEN. I tell them that God may talk to them and may want them to reach out to someone new at church or maybe God wants to tell you to help your tired mother.

Dreambirds is a brief story. The large paintings illustrate every page of the legend. It is an important story for our time. It teaches children to be quiet and listen to find their own special spirit.

The author is Donald Ogden, a licensed physical therapist and a published author. He says this book was inspired by legends and myths read to him by his mother and grandmother. Jody Begama, the illustrator, is an internationally noted artist and owner of a gallery.

Natsama loves visiting his grandmother, Holima, the medicine woman. On his seventh birthday, she tells him about dreambirds. "At the beginning and ending of every day, dreambirds spread their wings. One wing reaches out ot the sun and the other reaches out to the moon. Whoever finds a dreambird receives a great gift." As the season come and go, Natsama never forgets his grandmother's story about dreambirds. Determined to find a dreambird and claim his gift, he seeks out the best hunters in his village, who teach him the ways of animals, birds and fish. In his search for the dreambird, Natsam overcomes many obstacles and finally discovers the power and wonder of his own spirit. Jody Bergsma's beautiful, powerful artwork perfectly compliments David Ogden's unique and engaging story.

Dancing on Quicksand was an incredibly inspirational book. Reading it has made me want to be a better person, listen more carefully, to love others unconditionally, to work harder at loving others where they are. In a culture where we want to get rid of anything difficult, it was refreshing to see what Marilyn Mitchell gained by sticking with David and loving him through his illness. Although this is a book about a person who has helped someone with dementia, it is far more than that. It is a book about what real love looks like. I am just about to open up my copy one more time and read it again. Thanks Marilyn for sharing this rich experience with us!

I love this book! It is one of those books that I constantly wanted to share with others as I read it. I stopped many times and shared bits and pieces with my wife and family. The magic of this book, for me, is that it is focused on David and friendship and not on David's disease or the minutia of care giving.

The book, like the disease, is not linear. This is not a slow spiral down to a depressing ending. Far from it! At the same time, there is no attempt to shield us from the often-harsh reality of David's experiences. We are, instead, subtly assisted in recognizing our common humanity through the recounting of David's very human condition. This is never just an abstract story about a man with dementia.

Next time you are trying to think of an inspiring book to give as a gift, don't turn to the positive thinking or self-psych books. Give somebody Dancing on Quicksand. Reality can be inspiring. Sometimes, in real life, there is no quick fix and sometimes there is no "fix" at all.

After reading this beautiful book, it stayed with me for days. I laughed, cried, and shuddered (see Riding the Light Rail vignette, page 64) but couldn't put it down. David's struggle with Alzheimer's validates my own mother's story and the challenges we had in finding good care for her. Even the title connected with me. My mother loved to dance and one of the dearest memories I have toward the end was dancing with her in the kitchen of the group home to "String of Pearls." How blessed David was to have Marilyn in this part of his life, and how blessed I feel having read their experience. What a gift she has for being so perceptive and seeing such love and beauty in human kind. Thank you Marilyn Mitchell for sharing that gift!

I first heard about this project through a colleague in the publishing industry. Apparently this renegade group of people (from Toronto I think) put together this whole thing completely on their own, after everyone in the publishing industry turned them down. They went ahead with it anyway and organized the whole thing on the Internet using amateur and enthusiast photographers from around the world. I was skeptical of what the final quality would be like but decided to order one to see for myself. I have to say I was blown away when the book arrived in the post. The pictures are astounding and very very different from any photography book I've ever seen before. They are incredibly 'real' - that's the best way I can think of describing it. Lots of ordinary people getting ready to go out, meeting up with old friends, celebrating at home, praying and so on. Basically the book is a visual feast that focuses heavily on the human experience. It is simply fascinating to see how different people from all different cultures and backgrounds celebrated the same event. My favourite photo is of a Masai tribesman standing on the plains of Kenya, where the human species is thought to have first evolved. It is a stunning and poignant image that should perhaps have been considered for the cover. But that is only a very minor criticism of what is overall an astounding achievement. The top art book publishers in the world (Phaidon? Taschen?) would have been immensely proud to have put a book like this together. The fact that a bunch of amateurs did it on their own makes it all the more remarkable. Whoever in the publishing industry turned this project done must have been out of their minds. Kudos to the sheer guts of the people who went ahead and did it anyway! Bravo!

Dawn of the 21st Century is a phenomenal photographic expression of the 24 hours surrounding the change of the millennium. A tremendous project undertaken by one man(Alx Klive) and his volunteers to collect and cull the best of over a quarter of a million pictures taken by thousands of photographers as the millennium dawned over a year ago. The pictures, however, remain timeless and serve to remind us what a wonderful art photography is for capturing an eternal moment. I'm proud to have been chosen as one of the Millennium Photo Project photographers and hope that you enjoy the book as much as we enjoyed producing it.

My copy recently arrived and I'm greatly impressed. I'd first heard of this book from its web site, but nothing seemed to be happening there so I'd assumed the project had failed. Suddenly, while searching for photography books, up it pops. I had to get a copy. It has a great range of photos which really capture the feel of a world in celebration. The range of people featured makes it great to pass from page to page and dip back into the new year

Halberstam really gets into the minds & hearts and gives names and faces and histories to these traditionally anonymous competitors. Very deep and probing and moving, and the racing/action scenes are well-written. Glad to see a focus on a minor sport, where the athletes aren't stars or icons (unlike Halberstam's latest offering on Jordan).I compete in lifeguard rowing events--much different style of rowing than sculling, but I use an ergometer to help train. While reading this book my 2500 meter erg times dropped by 10 seconds or more, not from any form or style tips but just by recalling the focus, dedication and motivation of Halberstam's rowers.

Someone recommended this book to me one day during the Olympics. I read it straight through at one setting. It is the story of a lonely sport, rowing, and the men who endure incredible pain and sacrifice just for the chance of competition. These are not men who party at night, sleep late and wave to the cameras. No, they are dedicated, serious students who have been called to wield an oar.

The author shares a trait with Paul Johnson and Daniel Boorstin- that is the art of intertwining personal tales within the plot of his story in such a way that both complement each other. If you want a good beach book, this is the one.

I always wondered why some people I know at school were totally into crew. All that training, winter on the rivers, getting up really early - why? Now I know.

Yes, I live to climb and climb to live. But rowing is unbelievably more intense. David Halberstam sure brings it alive. Not only the pain, the training, the loneliness and solitude at the top of an elite and obscure sport, but also the intense clash of personalities - the limited glory, the pain of loss, the pain of not even getting to row.

Who would think that one of the best books I've ever read is about rowing? Now all I want to do is go out and row, row, pull, pull, harder, harder...

"Ancient Egypt" is the perfect antidote to those Time-Life books about ancient civilizations, where you look at the pictures and read the text and wonder, "is that all there is?"

Well, of course there is. The problem is finding it. This collection of essays uses words, pictures, artwork and imaginative reconstructions to describe the ancient world ruled by gods and which built monuments that have lasted millennia.

The book's 15 chapters opens all aspects of the Nile kingdom's world. In addition to the expected sections on the pyramids, its hieroglyphs and Pharaohs, "Ancient Egypt" also delves into religious beliefs, political campaigns, the role of women, the development of towns and trade and the daily rituals of its people.

Wrapped around the text are superlative photographs, shorter articles about equally fascinating subjects (a profile of Ramesses the Great in the section on Pharaohs, for example, or on the "letters" to the dead, written on simple pottery bowls and deposited in the tomb or coffin), plenty of colorful reproductions of Egyptian art so vivid that the course of individual brush-strokes could be seen, and commissioned drawings giving theories of how pyramids were built, and what the Temple of Karnak must have looked like at its height.

But what really shines are the little touches. A closeup of an Egyptian artist, his scruffy hair and scraggy beard making him look like a New York bohemian, using an odd-shaped tool on a wooden beam; the vivid face of a long-dead woman painted on a board and included with her mummy wrappings, gazing at the reader with the poise of nobility; a piece of prose passed among the scribes that mocks all other trades ("the potter is under the soil, although he stands among the living / He grubs in the mud more than a pig in order to bake his pots"); a drawing of a fortress built to impress the Nubians in southern Egypt, looking for all the world, with its towers and crenellations like something out of medieval Europe.

So much about ancient Egypt seems so familiar, but, really, we were just watching "The Ten Commandments," or remembering the villain King Tut from the old Batman TV show."Ancient Egypt" shows us what we were missing.

This is by far the best book I have yet found on the subject of Ancient Egypt. Generously illustrated and excellently written. A seductive, beautiful work that towers above the dozens of other major books I've read on Egyptian archaeology and ancient culture.

Used this book during a visit to the ancient sites of Egypt and found it superb as an extension of the information provided by local guides. Really helped to bring ancient Egypt alive, even returned with a replica of the blue hippopotamus shown on page 219. Occasional cross reference errors such as Page 115 ref to 'illustration, p126' is actually on p122, and (I think) ref to tomb of Ramesses IV on p114 should read Ramesses VI, having visited the actual tomb in The Valley of the Kings. This however did not detract from the overall superb value including first class details of Egypts real treasures,'The Temple of Karnak' p208-208 and 'Inside the Great Pyramid' p182-183. These diagrams alone make the book worth taking on a visit.

I bought this book as a birthday gift for my fiance. We have been together over 2 years and are getting married in about 100 days.

I thought that this book would be very sweet if I filled out everything up to the wedding/marriage part. However, I think that this book might be a bit hokey if just bought and given to someone blank. However, if you're willing to start filling it out, it gives your companion an interesting way to look at memories and will encourage him/her to fill it out further.

I would not suggest getting this book if you are only dating or if you are newly dating: it defines and confines your relationship too much. But this is a great book if you are a couple who are not always together. My fiance lives in England, and we often enjoy sharing memories of our courtship, our vacations, etc. This is a perfect way for your partner to hear your voice and cherish memories when he/she is alone, or when you are unavailable.

A good gift for someone/a couple who is romantic, nostalgic, and interested in a little project or creativity.

This is great! I was looking for something unique for my husband for our upcoming Anniversary (on Valentines Day). I wanted to do something more than a box of chocolates. I can't wait to present my beloved with this nice-looking journal, all filled out with the many wonderful memories and stories of our courtship, wedding, early years and now middle years together. The prompts on each page really helped get my memories flowing, so it was easy to fill out. What a great way to say I LOVE YOU!

I have several friends getting married this Spring so I've been looking for inexpensive yet nice, thoughtful gifts. This book really fits the bill. I'm buying one for all the showers I'm going to. It's a wonderful way to show your support for the couple's future together. It's a lovely, touching book that shows you care.

"We can always find another widow for Lenin." So threatened Stalin to Lenin's real widow Krupskaya, whom he hated. So absolute was the Communist Party's hold on all aspects of public life in Russia in Stalin's reign, that famous people, who had been praised to the skies just the week before, could be utterly effaced from the public's mind through sheer terror. Once someone fell from favor with the dictator, his name and picture were erased from the public record--even books critical of the person could be proscribed--and to even mention his name might mean prison or worse. This book is the author's attempt to trace the trail of falsification through Stalin-era photos and artworks.

It is a testament to the censor's thoroughness that the trail is quite incomplete. In many cases, the author hasn't been able to find even the name of the extirpated individual in the before-and-after photos. Some of the examples given here were taken from the folio albums of the Soviet photographer Rodchenko. After the bureaucrats he had photographed were arrested and shot, he went to work inking and scissoring out his own work, the images of the new non-persons.

The heroic photomontages, with the jut-jawed Bolsheviks vanguarding the masses, are appalling when you think of how many would later be arrested, tortured into accusing themselves of the most heinous, yet baseless, crimes, and then shot. The damned were airbrushed out of the picture, replaced with a stripped-in comrade, or a painted-in pillar or staircase, sometimes leaving a shoe or elbow that the retoucher missed. The Western mind shudders at the slavish worship that Stalin had at his command, to cause such colossal lies to be perpetuated. Read this big, lavishly illustrated book, and get the real picture.

This is a great book for all readers interested in how modern totalitarian propaganda works. My family comes from USSR, so I learned much from my grandparents about the events of the 1930s. They told me stories of people "taken in" at midnight after telling a lunchtime joke two days earlier. My grandfather was, in fact, one of those people. Luckily, that was the time when NKVD chief Yezhov was himself "disappeared" and replaced with new chief Beria. My grandfather was later released without permanent physical damage.

This makes it even more interesting to see how cleanly were the NKVD ranks decimated after each purge. There is a 1922 picture on page 90 of the 12 of the top leadership of Cheka. All of them have been executed before 1940, except the few who were lucky enough to die on their own earlier. Makes it easier to understand the secret of a successful dictatorship - eliminate all potential rivals before they even realize who they are.

The only problem I have with this book is that it needlessly glorifies the victims of Stalin's purges. All those "good" Communists ascended the ranks of Soviet government because they themselves killed millions of Russians, Ukrainians and others. An example of this is a note on page 100 about Sergo Ordjonikidze. It says that "he committed suicide in 1937, ... in protest against Stalin's murderous policies." Right above this line, it says that he was a "political commissar in the Red Army during the Civil War." He led the Red Army to destroy a moderate left-wing government in Georgia and killed most of its leaders in 1920-21. Also, he was "a key figure in the massive Five-Year Plan." Plus, he was in charge of collectivizing southern Russia and Caucasus mountain regions. He must have been responsible for tens of thousands of murders of innocent civilians during his career. It obviously did not bother him to send non-Communist peasants to Siberia when the Party directed him to do so. So I don't think he and people like him deserve any sympathy for the suffering they were dealt.

These people wanted to play God and rebuild the world in their own image. They obviously had to destroy the existing world before they could rebuild it. To that end, they happily killed many people. To their surprise they found out they could not control the monster they unleashed. Oops, tough luck. This book shows the kind of behavior that such efforts lead to.

What would it take to make Hell on earth seem real to you? This profoundly disturbing book had that effect for me.

It might be possible to view this book as humorous. Mr. King's years of patient scholarship have unearthed unmarred originals of photographs that he presents with little or no comment next to what are frequently crudely butchered falsifications of those who fell out of favor with Stalin. Particularly in the age of computer photomanipulation, the alterations are initially comical to twenty-first century eyes.

As one works through the book, however, the comic effect is obliterated by mute evidence of the sheer numbers of people who were expunged year after year from the historical record. Particularly frightening are the official portraits self-censored by relatives of the now-deceased in hopes of forestalling the same fate.

Although not strictly a falsification, of particular interest to me was a picture of the document officially expelling Leon Trotsky from the Communist Party, complete with angry annotations in the margin by Comrade Trotsky himself.

I'd like to believe that the very existence of this book and its photographic record, despite the Soviet attempt of many years to rewrite history, proves that no regime can stifle all unflattering facts about itself for all time. But then I wonder in how many cases, about how many people, they might have been successful. By all means, read this book. Be a witness. Remember the dead. But be warned. The stuff of this history is indeed the stuff of nightmares.

I am a voracious reader, and love all different kinds of fiction.
This is one of the best books I have EVER read. I will count Mr. Martin as a new favorite author. I can't wait to read his work again!
I cannot remember the last time I read a book that made me cry - not just mist up - but actually boo hoo, sniffle and get all red-nosed!
I just finished this book over the weekend and I am going to get it for my sisters.
What an amazing gift David Martin has.

As with every David Martin novel that I have read, Crazy Love is populated with fascinating and well-rounded characters that live in your memory long after the last page is turned (which happens much too soon). Katherine and Bear bring this gripping story to life in a way that lets the reader feel completely involved with the story. I can't stress enough how much readers of quality fiction are missing if they don't read the books of David Martin. So few authors these days are as reliable for a solid story with gripping characters, plot twists and satisfying endings. David Martin will not disappoint you...

Treat yourself.
Read Crazy Love!!!

This book was one of the most touching sweet stories I've ever read. It's not many books that make me cry, but the last chapter had me sobbing. It was a wonderful story!! It totally beats The Corrections which is on the best seller list and which I could not even get into. READ CRAZY LOVE - ITS THE BEST BOOK!

This book will help you in many ways. It focuses on clear cut things you can do to help yourself be more aware of your surroundings and your mind's own capabilities. As the author states: you don't have to stare at your bellybutton for 6 days to see results or eat only brown rice! Funny light approach easy read....

I saw this book in a bookstore in Atlanta, Ga over 17 years ago in it's first edition. While I had not been impressed with other "How to 'do' psychic stuff" books, and was also under considerable parental pressure not to acquire more (being a young and "impressionable" teen at the time), a cursory read of the text showed what appeared to be quite simple instructions and a fascinating breadth of supposed psychic abilities covered. So, impressed, I snuck up to the counter when my Mom wasnt looking and bought it.

As other reviewers have noted, the most amazing fact about this book is that you start seeing results from the moment you put its techniques into practice. You will have some degree of success with everything mentioned in the book, from seeing auras to table tipping. There will be points during practice of the excercises when you make a breakthrough, and your hair will literally stand on end.

As one of the most easily accessible texts on psychic abilities I have ever encountered, it is indeed a shame that this text has gone out of print. Having said this, a more widespread reading of the text and practice of the excercises would no doubt make many of the "extraordinary" abilities listed in the book become downright commonplace. The author, and the book, are really that good!

I have always suspected a tad of psychic ability in my bloodlines. After reading this book i can attest to the fact that WE ALL DO! It is a known fact that we use only 10% OF OUR BRAIN! This book gives much insight on how we can use the other 90% to benefit our physical lives as well as our spiritual lives. It is not magic and it is not spells. It is nature! EVERYONE HAS THE POWER and this book shows you step by step, precisely how to use it. This is the first piece of literature i have bothered to read on the subject and after getting "hooked" i can find no other which can compare to the genuis of Mr. St. Clair. For the Doubting Thomases of psychic phenomena, this book is a MUST!