As a teenager, I can relate to almost all of the fiction in this book. Every story provides at least one bit of comedy. I recommend this book to anyone purchasing a gift for a teenager.

Do you know a teen who would like to be a writer? Or do you have ambitions to write? I highly recommend this book for both groups, as well as for young adults who just love short story collections. The first story about a high school fencer, by Jerry Lubar, was my favorite. It appeals to that part in all of us that loves to root for the underdog, and see him come out on top. It's also delightfully funny! It reminded me very much of Chris Crutcher's writing. Not all of the stories are as strong as Lubar's, but I love the collection anyway. Each story is prefaced by a note from the author, telling what inspired the author to write THIS particular story. It helps budding authors to see where writers get their ideas and, perhaps more interesting, WHY they get their ideas. It also shows the aspiring writer that there are many different ways to tell a story - whether in a straight forward format (most of the stories), a prose poem interview (Mel Glenn's Kids in the Mall), or an unconventional nursery rhyme (John Scieszka's Thirteen Diddles). The prefaces also allow the reader to see the authors as real live once-upon-a-teen people, who just happened to grow up and make their living by writing. A word of warning, however - THIS IS NOT, as a previous reviewer said, a book for the Harry Potter lover. I love the Rowling books, but this is not designed to serve the reader in the same way. Don't buy it thinking that it is similar in any way to the Potter books. Do buy it if you are intrigued by the process of writing, if you like short stories, or if you enjoy learning about how authors work their magic on readers.

Thirteen authors of books aimed at adolescents contributed a story based on a true event in their lives when they were in school or, as in one case, observing students as an adult. The tales center on showing how the writers get an idea for a story based on an experience even if that incident(s) is turned into something supernatural or science fiction in nature.

The well-written stories are clearly designed for the younger reader. This collection would make a wonderful follow-up to fans of Harry Potter (the most influential books in many years by virtue of bringing literature to youngsters). This anthology provides a writer's focus within interesting stories to that same Potter age group. Along with the Weiss' previous book (see the award winning FROM ONE EXPERIENCE TO ANOTHER), young readers will gain another perspective on the non-programming written word.

This is an excellent condensed version of the full text. It is the only medical field guide I have found that is written for a medical doctor instead of an EMT or paramedic in an austere environment. I am a physician in a military special operations unit and carry it on all deployments, whether in the U.S. or other countries. It is the perfect size to carry with my field gear and trauma pack, and is quick, easy to use, and reccommends very up to date and rapid treatment plans. A must have for all medical professionals practicing in the pre-hospital environment! For medical professionals going to remote locations that are limited by what they can carry on their back, very few texts/guides can be brought along. The solution to this limitation is simple; pack your Sanford, your Pharmacoepia, and THIS BOOK. It is the best text for it's size and weight available.

If you consider Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine text to be "The Bible of Outdoor Medicine," then this will be a welcomed addition to your reference library. The fieldguide takes many of the most important topics from the original text(such as high altitude emergencies, envenomations, and trauma management) and paraphrases them just enough to be of benefit to both the weekend outdoor warrior and the expedition medic. I particularly was interested in the various ways to utilize common outdoor gear and improvise traction devices for orthopedic injuries. This book is also great in that it is small enough to fit comfortably in your backpack or glove compartment, readily accessable when needed. I highly recommend adding this book to your home or office library.

WOW. I read this play for an english class and irght now we are watching a production of it. As an activist I have to say this play captures many of the tensions in all schools of the left. Performed in the early 60s, it reveals the debate that raged between the 'old' and 'new' left. All I can say is unbeleivable.

Written in the early sixties, the play frequently abbreviated as Marat/Sade is set in 1808, yet many of the comments are distinctly directed toward current events, notably the upheavals in Eastern Europe. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Union behind us, the play takes on even greater significance. Despite the reassurances of the asylum director, whether a mere fifteen years or well over two hundred years have passed, the nature of revolutions, and the fanatics who cause them, has not changed. Combining historical events with modern theatrics, Weiss has produced what has been and will continue to be one of the most disturbing, as well as one of the most important works ever to be performed on stage.

Once again another worthless book. This is what one can expect when they buy a book unseen. I didn't find much of anything very useful.

This book I believe is primarily aimed for those new to sys admin. Even experienced professionals would benifit though because of quite a many tidbits of valuable insight. This mainly though walks you through the many wizards providing usually more explanation that that is given by default with the OS. A new admin under my wing, has been using it and he finds that it provides confidence as he works his way through many of the tasks. Well written book with lots of pictures.

but not something that I was looking for. Don't have real life examples in detail.......

Much of Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Application Development will be a discussion of technologies and ideas with examples to demonstrate specific techniques. Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Application Development will also contain case studies to illustrate real-world examples of specific topics. ColdFusion 5 is a massive upgrade, and it adds lots of new features, including some designed specifically for advanced and power users. Advanced Macromedia ColdFusion 5 Application Development will address these issues and technologies, including: using clustering and fail-over technologies to ensure server uptime, using the new archive and restore features. server monitor and benchmarking, creating secure applications and integrating with existing security system, extending ColdFusion using COM/DCOM, CORBA, and the ColdFusion C and Delphi API's, using the Java integration options, customizing and modifying the client environment, writing custom tags and functions, ISP ColdFusion hosting issues, and working with XML and XSL. User Level: Advanced, 600pp

Within 1 chapter, I was already able to increase performance and get a quality return from this book. A must for every Cold Fusion Developer. It's part 2 of the Cold Fusion Bible!

yes, 2 stars, and i'm being too generous also.. that'll teach me to buy everything with a dragon on it, in the future. something like 90% of the stories are too damn laaaaame.
it's that boring and uninspired. try the 'doom brigade' instead. or any other dragonlance book! this one only has a nice cover. and not that nice when i got to take a closer look at it. my dragons are nicer :P hehe... next!

Some of the stories were stupendous, but some of the other stories were just depressingly boring. If your a diehard dler and a dragonlover go for it other wise hold off.

Here's a collection of Dragon stories. Some very good, some just so-so. Interesting pieces include "The Final Touch", "The Best", "Kaz and the Dragon's Children", "Dragon Breath", "The Middle of Nowhere." "The First Dragonarmy Bridge..." introduces us to the pitiful draconian brigade whom one will meet in greater detail in "The Doom Brigade". Some of the stories end abruptly ("Into the Light" is one) while I find "Honor..." a bit tiresome to read. The rest of the stories are worth reading. All in all, this is a good book to get acquainted with the most popular and most awesome creatures in Krynn - dragons.

It's been said that the ultimate compliment you can extend to a tv writer/producer is to do an adaption to his material. Well, "Close Encounters" does that to Steven Spielberg, Chris Carter, and the filmmaking team behind ID4. First the timing and premise of the book struck me as peculiar. The story of alien encounters was obviously written in response to the popularity of INDEPENDANCE DAY. The fact that the story takes place in the California desert close to the infamous Area 51 seemed to contrived. The male/female duo of FBI agents who investigate paranormal phenomena is straight from Carter's X-FILES. And at last, the title is lifted from Steven Spielberg's monumental 1977 film. In short, the story was a quick, fun read; but it needed a good dose of originality---beginning with the title!

One of the best alex mack books! I especially liked the part where the ravine flooded!

This is a small book about 130 pages with large print. But don't let this put you off making you think it contains little of importance. Paul Weiss was a great American experimental biologist and in conjunction with Kurt Goldstein and some few others forms a group who through their observations, and the growing realisation that what standard theory taught was simply not adequate to explain living beings in terms of dead matter, not through speculative philosophy are forced to take into account the whole organism and its interacting parts. These parts are not parts as and of themselves but rather integral aspects of the whole, in fact that through which the whole becomes visible.

Weiss, in this book asaults the usual genetic determinism idea with a full frontal attack laying out good arguments against a one way gene to organism determinism. In fact he states there may be macro-determinism without necessarily having to have micro-determinism, ie the genes themselves do not necessarily have to act in a strict mechanical way but rather are allowed freedom of action which on the whole results in determinism. By this is meant the development of the organism as it grows from an embryo and this is shown plainly through observations by the fact that cells which are present in one particular configuration at the start of development do not necessarily have to be in the same place or acting in the same way after a little time. Weiss proposes interaction between the environment<->organism<->tissue<->cytoplasm->nucleas<->chromosome<->gene, a chain of intercation which goes both ways.

Weiss leaves systems open to some degree allowing plasticity which is still controlled in the large allowing the organism to adapt to its environment in a more fluid way. He notes, as have others, since his time that the science of life does not possess the same kinds of order as does say physics and thereby anticipates Robert Rosen who went much further in this direction. He then notes that in order to change this standard view which is confined to extreme ends of a spectrum great changes must be imposed in education reform.

A worthy book with many points made which can lead further.

This book is a great read from start to finish. Weiss takes a concept never before written upon, and delves completely into it. He starts off so simply so as not to lose the reader even with one single assumption. A credit to Weiss' diligence and persistence. He does not miss a single thing.

Although a little out of date by todays standards, it is still a good basis with which anyone writing or reading about sports philosophy should start.

The Marat Sade is truly misery made beautiful, where else can the hero be made to suffer as much as Marat does. Through the course of the reading one can not help but desire to emulate the characteristics of Marat, this and the conflict between Marat and Sade are the elements of the story that keeps interests and stimulates thoughts. Weiss argues both the points of view of Marat and Sade well and ultimately delivers an interesting message.

The Marat Sade does have a captivating message, but much of the beauty in the delivery of the message may have been lost in the translation. Translations are difficult to accomplish, especially when many words do not translate from one language to another, and when verse or meter is concerned, especially verse or meter that rhyme it is nearly improbable. However, the story did have its moments of intrigue especially some of the monologues. To be truly understood The Marat Sade needs to be seen. This realization is probably what inspired someone to make the play into a film.

The film about was not stimulating aside from a few moments of irony in the simplest form made out to be humorous. The story is meant to be seen on the stage. The time period that the film was made in was not equipped well enough with special effects ,not that there was need for this in the Marat Sade but it could have made some kind of impact. The Low budget appearance of the film added to the melancholy of the film that appeared worse than the disorder of the mental patient playing Charlotte Corday and defiantly makes the viewer experience moments of sudden and involuntary sleep. If done today and well budgeted as well as directed the play could be portrayed through cameras in a most pleasing manner. Still, the play is meant to be seen on stage, this is the true way for the audience to feel the experience that Weiss wanted otherwise he would have written a film script.

I do not claim to be an expert on Marat Sade or some official critic or well read for that matter but neither is the general public and that is who an artiest should want to reach considering they are the majority, even though they fall to rule. This play is a product of the past. I feel that most American people would not be able to relate to it and they would fall to be lured into the story. The martyr roll has been over used - after all many people were force fed a similar story since birth.

When the character of Marquis de Sade shouts out at Marat, "Can't you see this patriotism is lunacy/Long ago I left heroics to the heroes/I turn my back on this nation/I turn my back on all the nations. . ." the reader can truly sense what the play of Marat/Sade is all about. As the reader gets lost in the production of a play within a play, the idea of surrealism presents itself almost at once. The reenactment of the killing of Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday seems to be a secondary plot alongside of the chanting and screaming of idealism concerning the revolution and liberty. A division of strategies regarding revolution develops between Marat and Sade. Marat advocates fast action, while Sade preaches that it is hopeless or fruitless to even bother to act. Of course, the cries of the asylum patients tend to distract, but it all adds to the surreal, bizarre nature of the play. I felt that one of the aspects the play touches on is how the revolution affects those living within it. The ideas of liberty, freedom, and revolution all make for interesting debate, but I felt one of the themes that struck me was the reality of revolution as it affects those who live around it day in and day out. One of the more striking scenes of the play, for me, came when Charlotte is in the middle of a monologue, describing children playing with toy-like guillotines. The very idea of children treating such a deathly object as a toy is disturbing, but also brings to life the desensitization that revolution brings about. The play reminds the reader that the death of masses makes the value of life and the impact of an individual death meaningless. That alone is a very somber and surreal thought. There are literary techniques throughout the play that seem to remind the reader that the dramatization depicts things which took place in the past, but threaten to become a part of our future. Marat/Sade attempts to mock the aristocratic classes that seem to catalyze such mass movements of revolution in the first place. The play seems to slap the hand of those in power through the action that takes place throughout. Every time that the characters in the play (the asylum patients) seem to become too excited or outspoken, when the truth behind their madness seems to get out of control, the "Herald" of the play speaks out to placate Coulmier, the director of the asylum. I believe that Weiss tries to make the play more socially acceptable by presenting it in a way that mocks and brings out the weakness of the debacle of government that followed, in this case, the French Revolution, but actually cuts across so many more layers than just one isolated revolution.

Our society will always have people who have large amounts of material wealth, and those who do not. That is an injustice that we must rise above, and change ourselves. Whether our means of change is reached through violence and upheaval or through escape within oneself, this is the core dialectic that the play tackles. Although at times this play is a little hard to follow or even outlandish, the play offers a look at how society deals with its corruption and injustice once it escalates to what may seem to be a point of no return. The element that seems to be the most surreal in my mind is that the ranting of the characters within the play, although they are asylum patients, reveal more truth and brutal honesty than the audience would like to admit. I think Weiss is clever to choose some very clear and controversial themes and present them in a way that is socially appropriate. He does this by blatantly speaking out against established forms of government and rule, but discrediting the characters speaking by placing them in an insane asylum. It is true to say that there are many elements of the play that never seem to completely gel in the end, or come together nicely as in most plays. But to be honest, if the story had come together neatly in the end, the essence of the play would have been lost. I think the point of the play is to show that although people may have conflicting ideals of how to handle a revolution, whether of government or ideology, things do not always work out as we had hoped. People may preach liberty and justice, but when the reality is murder and riots, there are two conflicting messages being handled at once. I believe that is what this play shows rather well. In a very surreal and bizarre way, Weiss enables the reader to see that society hardly ever practices what they preach, and although our goal might be change, in the end, upheaval and disarray may be the only things truly achieved.

Marat/Sade, by Peter Weiss, is a play centering on the murder of Jean Paul Marat. Weiss sets the play in the Asylum of Charenton, where both Marat and the Marquis de Sade are inmates. Before reading this play, I did not have much knowledge of Marquis de Sade or Jean Paul Marat. The French Revolution was a topic that I had studied, however not these members specifically. For the reading of this work, not much understanding of these ideas is needed. Some knowledge of Modernism would be helpful for insight into the motivation and reasoning of the play, however that is not needed either. The plot of the play is very thin and does not do much for the reader. There does not seem to be much action involved in the play. The characters mainly discuss and wax philosophical about the French Revolution and whether or not it was successful. It is the characters themselves and the dialogue that are most intriguing. Characters that are patients in the asylum are the driving force of the work. Many off the wall topics and rants are shouted by any number of patients. Clever use of the director of the asylum gives the reader a better sense of how a play produced in an asylum might work out. The format of the work is what seems to be an extended poem. The rhyme scheme, which is at points non-existent, can be carried from one character to the next. This is at times confusing, however it does give the work a somewhat psychotic feel. The work is a relatively easy read, however it does at times get to be a bit confusing. Because the plot is so thin, the reader is bombarded with confusing dialogue, rather than constant flowing action. The work leaves something to desired, as the reader waits for some twist of fate or action that may create some interest. Personally, I was not impressed with the work as a whole from an entertainment aspect. However as a writer I could see the work is definitely that of a talented author. There is a political aspect to the work that focuses around Sade. The many conversations between Marat and Sade focus on the Revolution and its positives and negatives. Commentary is given on the state of affairs during this time, as well as the idea that revolutions do not work on a general basis. Other such ideals are discussed throughout the work, however Sade seems to be more of a reactionary and Marat seems to be more of an idealist. On a whole this work does accomplish its goals in discussing sadism and other such ideas. Modernistic works such as this, often do not have much entertainment value, however they are quite intellectual and original; the two best points of this work.