This is a very solid, consistent work. While nothing stands out as being "supreme", nothing is a letdown. The poems range from the humorous to the naturalistic. It's definately a work worth checking out for fans of modern poetry.

Because John Stone has had considerable success (and continued to add fans) with his previous books Renaming The Streets and In All This Rain (among others), many of us have become familiar with his style, so his very special insight and (as one reviewer said) his ability as a master choreographer of words were not new to me. I suspect anyone who reads this book as their first contact with Stone will add the joy of these discoveries.

This one has "This Kind Of Thing Doesn't Happen Often...." another Stone classic....soapbubbles in traffic with his signature stab at your heart; his hand poem to Delese Wear (I don't think there is such a thing as a Stone anything without a hand reference - and Delese probably still sends him poems); American Gothic (I too love the Art Institute...eventually Stone will have written a poem to every painting in the building); but I too think this book will be remembered for the Oxford poems.....they are typical Stone....finely crafted, imagery you can taste/smell/feel, and with that patented twist at what makes you tick.

If you want to know John Stone I would start with Renaming The Streets or In All This Rain, or even with the short stories of Country of Hearts...then, when you know the man add this one to your bookshelf. I keep my Stone books on the shelf in my office where I can see them in my daily work.....it makes me feel good to know he's in here with me.

this is exquisitely beautiful work, immediately accessible, immediately relevant to all of us. His finest collection of poetry.

I'm a massage therapist and found this book to be a helpful resource in a number of areas (detailed below), but was disappointed that it didn't include any pregnancy massage techniques. (Instead, the author simply suggests using the same massage strokes used for other clients.) The author is a midwife, and the book is written from this perspective, rather than that of a massage therapist. That said, I found this book to be a good reference on the anatomy of pregnancy, the mother-to-be's experience through each trimester, safety precautions for massage, and some comfort tips to address symptoms such as headaches & nausea (for the mother to use at home.) This book is an excellent pregnancy education resource, rather than a pregnancy massage instruction manual.

An excellent book about prenatal massage. It is good for massage therapists and anyone else interested in relieving some of the discomforts if pregnancy. There is even a mail-in test so that you can become certified in prenatal massage. I've taken classes in this subject and found the book to have comparable information plus you can use it as a resource.

Michelle Wright, CMT

I am a Massage Therapist and I loved this book! It has a lot of information but is still a very easy book to read. I would recommend it for Massage Therapists, as well as expectant moms and anyone working with them (Doulas, midwives, etc.)

You do have to separate bull from actual facts tho. He tends to embellish. And he is flippant. And a bit full of himself. He talks about one incident involving a Canadian being attacked by a pirate in Mexico but fails to mention the well known fact that the whole thing was a hoax. When the author runs that loose and fast with the truth it makes you wonder how much of this is bull and how much is fact. Also this author, who is a good writer, very good in fact, can't make up his mind if this is an investigative "facts based" piece or a compelling piece of fiction. He darts back and forth between the two styles further blurring the line between fact and fiction. He also fattens up the piece by repeating himself. I take books like this with a grain of salt and jaundice eye, cull what seems to be credible facts from the minefield of bull. And he never pauses for a second to ask why are these "pirates" so desparate in the first place? What is behind the economic conditions that drive barefoot natives to risk life and limb to board a 8 foot high oil barge anyway? He talks about them taking synthetic rope so their wives can make fishing nets? Why would they need that if they can get 40K from a ship safe? I mean there is a whole load of unexplainable stuff here. He has a very interesting topic here but doesn't seem to have enough information to truly flesh it out. He would have done better writing a novella peppered with facts rather than a non-fiction piece speckled with fiction. He is taking what would have been at best a good feature magazine article and fattened it up into a book.

This book starts out like a house on fire, interesting and for me something new. Unfortunately the author could not keep up the pace of excitement and the middle of the book drags a bit. The author takes the reader through the world of modern day pirates or at least the ones in Asia that attack large oil tankers. The author does tell us this type of activity takes place all over the world and to all different types of ships but the book only focuses on oil tankers in Asia. He does a good job of telling us the overall issues like who is doing it, why and where, but I think he fell down on the excitement of the actual events.

The author just did not hold my attention with the different dangers and types of highjacking. I think he really could have made the book more exciting by focusing more on many different events instead of a 10 day trip on an oil tanker talking about on deck rail patrols and the food in the mess. I do not want to sound too negative; the book was overall entertaining and interesting. I would suggest it if you are interested in the subject. It just could have been more fun and exciting.

This book is extremely well-writen and contains both first and second hand accounts of piracy. More important than the individual tales that Burnett weaves together is the overall theme. Virtually no ship is completely safe from piracy and piracy has been increasing at alarming rates.

I heard this author on the radio, and was so capitivated by the subject matter that I later bought this book. I was not disappointed. Burnet opens with his tale of pirates boarding his sale boat. He later travels on two large commerical ships. While traveling on these boats, he blends firsthand accounts of piracy prevention and secondhand accounts of attacks on commericial ships.

That these pirates have success while using very primitive tools and methods is very alarming.

As for shotcomings, I would have preferred more information on piracy in the caribbean. The book focuses on the biggest hotspot, the Malacca Straights near Singapore.

For those who doubt the authenticity of the subject matter, I suggest you type "piracy report" into google and check out the weekly reports provided by the International Chamber of Commerce. The link was provided by the author.

not gonna do back flips for a math book

I am a college student and the math book that was at the bookstore was $100.00. I went onto amazon.com and found the same book in new condition (looked like)for $56.00. I was kind of weary about ordering on-line for the first time but was pleasently surprised. This was a great first experience and plan on ording all my books through amazon.com.

"Ideas" is the key here as we have calculators, computers, and what not to do any real number crunching or comparing. This book carries you from zero to the edges of most any mathematical discipline. The information in the margins ties the theories back to reality. At the appropriate locations in the margin are postage stamps from around the works are shown commemorating the individual mathematicians and scientists relating to the subject being studied. There is a section in the book with the answers to all the odd questions.

The translators used the least popular copy for their translation(There are several different versions of this book, this being the least popular because of the poor quality of the last 50 chapters). Not only is the version a poor one, but the translations are poor as well. Compared with Sydney Shapiro's translation(The Outlaws of the Marsh), you will find that this is more like the work of a student. To rate the three different translations, I give Sydney's 100, 50 for Pearl Bucke's and 15 for this one.

Another reviewer complained that this is based on the 'least popular' version of the story. They're right in only the loosest sense. Fashions change: that 'least popular' version was the dominant version of the story for most of its history! Moreover, the full (four book) version of the Shapiro text also draws on that version.
But the sure clue is that Pearl Buck's piece of orientalist flim-flam, which distorts the story and squeezes it into an unnatural idiom, gets rated higher (and the J H Jackson translation, which while poor, is nevertheless preferable to Buck's, is unmentioned). The Dent-Young's version is immeasurably better written, and it is clear that they have been at pains to try to capture the immediacy and wit of the original: no easy task. I think in the first book they succeed admirably. While later books have some problems (the names are always a sticking point) the first book has a verve that draws you in. They have also smoothed out some peculiarities present in previous translations so that there are no 'blips' where you can't work out why something happened or where something came from.
American readers with an intolerance for anything but US culture may have a problem with the British idiom occasionally employed in a desire to capture the naturalness of the original, but in that case why would such readers want to read a Chinese book?

It's too bad that this translation doesn't get more attention. The father and son team brings this classic to light in a fun and engaging manner. Even better, unlike many translations, they manage to keep the poetry at the same level of aptitude as the prose.

The original itself is a classic of Chinese Literature, although not as powerful and comprehesensive as Dreams of Red Mansions. Still it's a fun read.

Before reading this book, I knew little to nothing about John Waters. I'd only seen two of his films, Pecker and Cry-Baby, and I enjoyed both. One day I was shopping at my local bookstore when I noticed a announcement for a reading of this book by its author. I decided to attend. I'm glad I did. Not only did I get a couple of autographed copies, but I became introduced to a whole new world of trashy films.

I am a person of patterns. I like order. The way this book is set up chronologically really appeals to me. Robrt Pela did a great job setting up a description of each Waters project, along with a background on each of the players and Mr. Waters himself. I had no idea how disgusting John Waters really was (and continues to be). And how willing he was to put it all on film. In a trashy way, that appeals to me. Can't be perfect all the time.

The interviews with the bizarre Waters fans were well done. One would have to be pretty brave to converse with some of these folks. I liked how these interviews were set in-between the rest of the back story on Waters and his camp. I enjoy Robrt's sassy approach to his over anticipated introduction to Baltimore, and how at every turn he was disappointed that it wasn't more trashy.

My two favorite chapters are six and ten. I like six because it is nothing but quotes about one tiny scene. And ten because its the, "guide to recurring imagery and motifs in Johns Waters film." In this chapter, all the work has been done for the viewer. What could be better?

The filmography at the end is one of the best I have ever seen. I am constantly seeing and reading about movies. So to be able to read one as thorough as this one was, was a pleasant surprise. It was the perfect introduction to Waters world.

Well done Mr. Pela :)

In Filthy, Robrt Pela brings many things to life for the John Waters fan including some outrageously funny and far out fans! Baltimore itself comes to life throughout the book as Pela spins the tales of movie making history. But the most brilliant and hilarious resurrection Pela manages to pull off is that of Divine in Chapter Three.

The themes and motifs chapter and the filmography chapter were packed full of odd bits of trivia that were entertaining and fascinating. The book is informative yes, but incredibly funny! And how else could you, SHOULD you write about John Waters and his movies?

Waters himself said, "I pride myself on the fact that my work has no socially redeeming value." Maybe he's right, but he's become a movie icon and pop culture hero to many people nonetheless and Robrt Pela does a good job of explaining why that is in Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters.

There are things about Robrt Pela's book that I really like. For instance, I enjoyed his accounting of his first and aparently only trip to Baltimore. Without knowing it, Pela steps on the toes of nearly every fan who has fun in John's world. Pela missed out on the fun. It took John Waters a lifetime to fall in love with Charm City's characters, so much so that he escaped the suburbs to join them, film them, and present them to the rest of us as a loving parent, showing off his children. As a man who makes his living reviewing theater, Pela's approach is understandable. I guess I like the book because John liked it and who am I to argue with that? I recommend reading it as a guide for the novice, the curious, the uninitiated.

This books does have lots of decent info on the subject, and I learned a lot from reading it. However, the only photos of the fly patterns in the book are on the back cover, and leave a lot to be desired. I have been told that the 2nd Edition has much better photos and tying instructions for the fly (egg) patterns in the book. If I had known in advance, I would have purchased the 2nd edition for a few more dollars!

The [money] you spend on this book will be your single best investment (aside from spending time on the stream gaining firsthand experience) you make. Easy to understand and turn into working knowledge for the flyfisherman new to this fishery.

John Nagy's book is perfect for the steelhead angler living in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Steelhead in Lake Erie are different from other populations of Great Lake's steelhead, because of the shale creeks and rivers.

John Nagy over the years has developed specialized leaders, custom built rods, and proper drifting presentations for these waters. The book goes in detail on weather and stream conditions, steelhead behavior, strategies, and maps of tributaries of Lake Erie. The book also has pictures of the most popular flies used for steelhead. I started fishing for steelhead two years and John Nagy's book has turned me from a frustrated newbie to a stream savvy steelheader. I would strongly recommend this book.

I knew when I bought the book I would not need the tips inside, the reason why I bought it was to find stats for the uniques, monsters, weapons, and spells. I got All of those (although there were a lot of mistakes in the monster section). If you want stats, this is a good book, although I DO wish it had monster stats for nightmere and hell difficulty levels. I have a neat tip that is NOT in the book for you. If you want to play nightmere or hell in single-player mode, just load up a multi-player game, start on the difficulty you like, then start a new single-player game. It only works for version 1.7 though, and I am a Mac owner so I'm not sure if it works for PC.

This book is a good one to become proficient at this classic role-playing game. It's key info is needed to quickly defeat Diablo. I wrote this review after winning Diablo as all three characters; swordsman, archer, and sage, over 6 months as a single player. Diablo won the 1996 game-of-the-year by the computer mags and is phenomenal game that one grows to appreciate its complexity as you get better.

In a nutshell, Diablo is a first person shoot-em-up game against 19 classes of enemies. Diablo stays interesting as the 16-playfield layouts change for each game and the 1000s of creatures have a complex variation of personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. The first 4 levels have sprawling layouts of Dungeon rooms; levels 5-8 have Catacombs which are smaller layouts of rough rock walls; levels 9-12 are Caves with large excavations and meandering streams; and the final 13-16 Hell levels are laid out as interstitial quadrangles. The game play is a nice blend between isometric 3D visualizations, character animations and sounds, and multimedia video clips.

With this book, playing success is an exercise in developing strong Diablo problem-solving skills. Initially looking on the Internet for Diablo cheatz which were few as its a legacy 6-year old game. What this book provides is info and strategy that can help you defeat the myriad of creatures and quests. My book has become a much thumbed, reread, indexed, and enhanced with scrawled notes on how to defeat them.

For example, I found that the easiest character to win was the Rogue archer-woman and won Diablo in 3 games, as archery is a distance scenario. The next easiest character to win was the Warrior swordsman, completed in 5 games, mainly because of hand-to-hand combat experience as a kid. The most difficult character, of course, was the sage Sorcerer, which took me 9 games to win because of the myriad (26) magic potions that need to be mastered. This book gives you an informal discussion and tables of characteristics without all the trial and error. Although it discusses general tactics, it is weak in overall game strategy and specific tactics on specific minions.

This book provides details on the power of weapons and armor and strength and weaknesses of enemies. It also covers the 17 special Quests quite well. The author writes in an entertaining prose and presents key info is in complex tables. I found that Blizzard's production release of Diablo v1.04 and internet update download to v1.08 was very stable and reliable on a P5/233MMX, Socket7 PCI mobo TX chipset, ATI Rage PCI video, 64MB RAM, 52X CD, 10GB HD, and SB16 running Win98SE.

The book is divided into 10 chapters including the making of, but has no index or glossary, which is a serious beginner's omission as the game's jargon is voluminous. There could have been a List of Tables too. And these tables could have had summaries or group breakouts so that the many character(s)(istics) are better organized. The screen shots could be larger and less dark. I bought it at a local used bookstore and the game at a garage sale. Of course, certain key subjects and data tables had erroneous or omitted information.

Each game is saved in the game folder as single_X.SV, where X is 0 to 9; ten games max. Thus create a historical archive subfolder and keep old and partially played games there. Second, game files vary from 200KB to 3MB. So burn game files onto a CD, email, or save on a Zip to impress friends and foes. Finally, do judicious saving for replaying level(s) that eventually went sour. Use the keyboard Ctrl+Alt+Esc to toggle to Windows for making notes and performing file maintenance.

To win maximize building experience points and accumulating gold and key special weapons. Finding, identifying, and redeeming EVERY single weapon, armor, chest, scroll, staff, book, ring, tomb, library, and shrine on every level to maximize your power. Often the first 5 levels and what you accumulate therein can give you a premonition on the final outcome of the game.

For example, the Sorcerer is quite vulnerable in the beginning and the player must strive to play almost perfect levels. Waste the least amount of resources on the minions and don't let them touch you. Learn to run away and lead them into a trap. Accumulate and convert your operating weapons and armor from standard to special ones. Sell as many of the std weapons for health, mana, and ID scrolls from Adria, the Witch. Buy ID scrolls from her as much as possible compared to paying Cain to ID. Categorize the specials and unique weapons and armor into red and blue (fire and lightning resistant), in rows on the ground so that best combinations can be easily selected. Run a pre-level scouting expedition to find what's new on each level. Return to town near the beginning of each level and always re-visit Adria. Apparently attacking minions on a new level triggers her to provide a new list of scrolls, books, and staffs. Accumulate and deploy key fire, lightning, and mana shield spell books rapidly, compared to duplicative staffs and scrolls which are redeemed for more gold. Spell books, and their cumulative power from multiple units, will affect later quest outcomes. If it is taking too much to finish off a minion; its probably because you are doing it wrong. Finally, Quests do not have to be completed serially; do the first five levels without doing the Butcher and King Leoric. Then when stronger and with Arkaine's Valor armor, return back and efficiently finish off the buzzards. Use fKey to Holy Bolt for dealing with skeletons, zombies, King Leoric, and finally Diablo.

This book is very helpfull with Diablo. The most helpfull thing about it is the shrine listings. This book also helps alot to get through the single player game very well. It list all of the items (even unique and enchanted) and lists their stats too. In short, this is a very helpfull book for playing Diablo.

The best thing about this book were the stickers attached to the inside back cover. Besides that, I must say, I really liked the entry on "Black Hair".

The ultimate cool, hip guide to Pop Culture icons! I'm having so much fun reading this -- and there are even free PAPER stickers included with the book. It's a fun trip down memory lane for those who have lived in New York City (or kept up with it)during the 80's and 90's -- it totally covers the downtown art, fashion, club and entertainment scenes. Amazing how many street trends PAPER covered early on have gone mainstream. Don't miss this one!

From Abfab To Zen is a must-read for anyone who yearns to be inside the mind of New York's pre-yuppie downtown. This summary of Paper Magazine's in-your-face visuals, sly takes on the media and seditionary stance on fashion, is a valentine to all the people and institutions that have been thinking outside of the box for the last 15 years. If you dare to be hip, buy it and refer to it.

The author has indeed found and printed some wonderful illustrations, especially the paintings, but his text cannot be relied upon. This book needed much more rigorous fact-checking.

This book contains among the best illustrations and the worst-researched text imaginable. It is truly recommended for the images, the prints, the photos... but DO NOT pay any attention to the captions or the words, which are inaccurate at best and wildly misleading at worst. A good coffee-table book, but a lousy history.

As you may have gathered from some of the other reviews of this book, the text could stand some improvement. However, the beautiful paintings and graphics make up for this somewhat, and are valuable for wargamers wishing to paint accurate miniatures, and for creating shorelines and fortifications.