I know what you're thinking...Ummmmm - another Marilyn Monroe biography...there are 100's of them, & no matter how much you love Marilyn, some of them are monotonous and repeat each other...but Marilyn the Last Take is a WONDERFUL~WONDERFUL~WONDERFUL book - I can't stress that enough. It gives you sooooo much information and proof of what happened during the last 5 months of Marilyn's life as well as detailed accounts of her experience on her last movie, "Something's got to give". It shows how and WHY the studio lied about Marilyn's behavior on the set, then fired her. You won't believe the information you will learn from this book. I can't believe how 20th Century Fox just used her to their convenience. It also gives us info on how former President John F. Kennedy, as well as his brother, the Attorney General Robert Kennedy, USED, manipulated, and threw Marilyn aside as if she were a piece of garbage without even a lousy goodbye. But through all of this Marilyn prevailed, threatening to blow the lid off of the Kennedy scandal since Robert wasn't man enough to break off his affair w/ her face to face. Also Fox was in works of REHIRING Marilyn a little before her death. If you ever believed the hype of the so-called "SUICIDE", this book WILL change your mind! I'm surprised that this book doesn't seem to be as popular as some of the others...people claim that its not researched, and that it's not "believable"? I totally disagree...No, it's not your average Marilyn biography...this is the account of her last months (starting at April all the way through to August) it was well written also. I URGE you to get this book - the TRUTH needs to be heard! Not only does this tell about Marilyn, it also includes 2 chapters on Elizabeth Taylor and the whole Cleopatra scandal. Anyone who is a fan of Marilyn, this book is A MUST for your collection!! Even if you aren't a fan, this book tells you about the corruption of the movie business! Too bad its out of print, do whatever you can to find this book...its worth it!

I bought this book at a used book store and loved it. Now, of course since most of us weren't there we can never really know what happened to Marilyn for sure now can we. After reading this book I was satisfied in knowing that it was at least 100% believable, unlike some of the other Marilyn books that end up being 400+ pages of seemingly random gossip from friends of friends of Marilyn strung together to make a half-baked story. This is a great book and worth at least one read through.

As the daughter of a Marylin Monroe fan (my father was a real Marylinholic as well as my brother) , I have to say that the image of Marylin Monroe always pursued me. She is a model of feminity for me. In fact, this is the very first book that I read about her...I had started with the biography of the Kennedy's clan... What I have to say is that she is more than a human being, she is a concept already established in our society's mind. This book makes us understand why a mythological person was killed and how our culture can destroy the most complexed icons it can create and glorify. Marylin is portrayed as a normal person who became a victim of what she terribly pursued all her life : celebrity! Nobody judges her low morality and little honest behaviour but it is discouraging to see how a life loses its bright due to suffering and depression. This a terrible story because one more time the United States powerful and public persons do not want to deal with mercy, tolerance and love. Marylin was the heart of this love and they couldn't resist it. That is the reason why she always thanks her public, that unknown and beloved mass that never applicated treason onto her... The part dedicated to analyze the celebrity and scandalous private and cinematography life of Liz Taylor is just fantastic. It is true, she is a legend but Marylin is a myth. Really.

Dorothy L Sayers provided some of the great treasures to be found in the so-called "Golden Age of Detective Fiction". A classical scholar with a formidable intellect, she was an eminent practitioner and an eloquent critic of detective fiction. Her feisty, detective fiction writing character, Harriet Vane, and her aristocratic, monocled, amateur detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, may be found together for the second time in her 1932 novel "Have His Carcase".

On a walking holiday, while recovering from a court case in which she was alleged to have killed her lover, Harriet Vane discovers the body of a man. It is lying on rocks on a beach, close to low tide level. The evidence suggests suicide. After taking photographs with her camera, finding a cut throat razor and removing a shoe from the corpse, Harriet vainly tries to enlist help in moving the body before it is washed away by the incoming tide. The local police force is alerted and so is Lord Peter Wimsey.

This is a long novel. Interest focuses not only on the solution to the mystery but also on the likelihood of Wimsey succeeding with his wish to marry Harriet. There is witty dialogue, there are fulsome reports from a range of eccentric characters, there are descriptions of the human anatomy and how it responds to the throat being cut, there is an interminable attempt to decode a ciphered letter, and there are classical quotations provided at the start of each chapter. There is little dramatic tension, no suspense, and no thrills. Dorothy L Sayers was a cultivated, fluent writer, sometimes boring but never banal.

If your tolerance of boredom is low, but your credit balance at the bank is high, then invest in the audio tape reading of the book provided by Ian Carmichael. English actor Ian Carmichael has had great success associated with various adaptations of the novels of Dorothy L Sayers. He brings wonderful energy and gusto to this full-length reading, enough to keep you delighted for more than fifteen hours.

All of Dorothy Sayers' mysteries are worth reading. She has a command of English and a story-telling ability that makes her, in my opinion, one of the two greatest mystery writers of the twentieth century. Most of Ms. Sayers' mysteries feature Lord Peter, second son of the Duke of Denver. He is one of the most delightful characters in English literature and well worth meeting in any of Ms. Sayers books. Most of the Lord Peter mysteries stand alone and can be read without worrying about sequence. However four of the mysteries involve Harriet Vane, and for maximum enjoyment, those four mysteries should be read in order. Strong Poison describes the first meeting between Harriet and Lord Peter. Have His Carcase explores the relationship between the two of them as they investigate the death of a man whose body Harriet discovers while hiking along a deserted beach. The interaction between the two of them can best be understood and appreciated if Strong Poison is read first. Have His Carcase may be the least enjoyable of the four romance-mysteries involving Harriet, but this book leads to the final two books in the series, and those two books are the finest romance-mysteries ever written.

Personally I have always been an Agatha the Christie fan. My first encounter with Dorothy L. Sayers was the Mobile Mystery Theater series showing on PBS. Unfortunately I did not realize that my video player was also a recorder until the "Gaudy Night" was on Mystery Theater. In that sense I was lucky to copy the complete three hour "Gaudy Night." However it was too late for "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcase". They never produced "Busman's Honeymoon".

Naturally the TV media cannot fill in all the details that you would pick up from reading the book. So I read the book. This added more depth to the story, but now I appreciate Dorothy L. Sayers more than Agatha Christie. But Dorothy not only fleshes her characters out better but her side trips into philosophy and psychology make the story that much more interesting. And just when you say what is the relevance to this conversation it is wrapped up in the final solution.

We are in luck as this is an unabridged tape of "Have His Carcase" The reader Is Ian Carmichael the first TV Lord Peter Wimsey. It makes a good compliment to the book.

This is the second of the book series. The story is complete and can be used as a stand-alone story. The notorious Harriet Vane is out for a walk and takes a nap. She wakes up and finds (you guest it) a body. If not for her trusty camera no one would believe her. As it is the authorities think it was suicide. Wimsey thinks it is murder. Naturally everyone, especially the main suspect has an airtight alibi. The real interests is the interaction between Lord Peter and Harriet.

After lifelong Bible study, someone has finally explained the Bible to me. Thank you, Professor Gomes.

Gomes takes the Bible off its pedestal and presents it to us as a tool for Christian living. This book is a must read for any Christian struggling to read and understand the Bible in modern terms. He explores many of the controversial topics of the Bible, including race, homosexuality, women's roles, anti-Semitism, wealth, and more. He challenges the reader to accept the Bible as an interpretation of fantastic religious events with historical and sociological significance. He teaches the reader to deal with contradictions within the Bible, even within individual books of the Bible. He helps the reader to discern for himself what facts are crucial to an individual's belief in Christianity and what facts enrich the stories of the Bible. This book challenged my beliefs in positive ways and taught me to never "idolize" the Bible again.

I have spent the last two years reading dozens of books on the Bible (and the Bible itself) and can say that Peter Gomes's "The Good Book" was the most fascinating, comprehensive, and thought-provoking. As he states in his intro: "The theme of this book is the risk and the joy of the Bible: risk in that we might get it wrong, and joy in the discovery of the living Word becoming flesh."

Although a Republican and an ordained Baptist minister, Gomes spends the first part of the book debunking the damage done by conservative Protestants, who in their moral certainty have at times appeared to hijack the Bible as their own. Gomes effectively makes the case that conservative Christians are wrong in their estimation that the Bible is anti-Semitic, anti-gay, and anti-feminist. I haven't seen a more effective argument anywhere else, and this section will be soothing antidote to much of the misinformation that is pervasive in the media. (Where are the liberal Christian voices in the media?)

Having solved that (although I'm sure not all readers were as satisfied as I was), Gomes turns to what the purpose of reading the Bible can be. Many people have turned away from the Bible out of fear, but others have turned away because much of the Bible seems irrelevant today. Drawing on his skills as a preacher, Gomes uses the second half of the book to talk about why the Bible is relevant to our lives, as long as it is read correctly. It is true that much of the Bible was relevant in and of its time only (which is why such archaic laws as administering the death penalty to children and adulterers have fallen away, and why the stident attitudes about animal sacficice, slavery and women's roles have fallen away) and that many myths and legends have been literalized by unintelligent people (which is why many of the myths and legends in the OT have been debunked by science.) But, even with those limitations, Gomes makes the case that Bible still has relevance to life today. His argument is intelligent and persuasive, and makes for a delightful read.

Professor 'Isa Ben Adam (nice name in translation), a Palestinian Arab scholar and Absolutist, is interviewed (and debated) by Moral Relativist Libby Rawls, a black journalist and former wife, psychological social worker, surfing instructor, actress, alcoholic, and PI. What a marvellous debate ensues as Libby throws every relativist argument at the learned prof, only to have them roundly and soundly demolished! This easy non-academic read is a useful guide for those engaged in dinner-table debates on this most crucial of issues. Obviously born from years of experience as an embattled Absolutist in American adademia, this Kreeft work is a delight to read as it sets out the arguments for and agin. As everyone who's ever debated this subject knows, it's very hard to avoid ad hominems and other flesh-cutting retreats from reason, and they're here just as in real life. Another step towards the Restoration of Metaphysics. This is the book you'll want your Relativist friends to read (but which they'll probably ignore because refutation has too many implications for their personal lives). Get it.

Fantastic book, a tough read for those unwilling to give truth a chance; like a good philosopher, Dr. Kreeft makes you think. This book will challenge your relativism and help you see that absolutes are not a thing of the past! Great read if your willing to take an honest look at your moral disposition. Perhaps it will change you, perhaps it will not. Reward yourself, approach this book with an open mind. Don't pay attention to the critic who wrote the review: "One-sided and poorly written". Read the book and decide for yourself. This person reminds me of Plato's cave- once confronted by light all he can do is recoil from it. Don't simply claim that the book is one-sided and poorly written, prove it, refute the ideas in the work. It is very easy to dismiss, but not so to refute! If your looking for an author that will challenge you with ideas in a clear, brilliant, and easy to read style, Dr. Kreeft is for you. His style embodies the phrase: "If you can't say it simply, then you don't know it"- Dr. Kreeft knows his stuff! He introduces very complex ideas in simple terms- how many philosophers do you know who do that!

Peter Kreeft manages a very solid refutation of moral relativism, covering virtually all possible angles. The diologue format is very easy to read (and re-read) and the arguments are not so complicated as to confuse the reader. If you are a believer in objective morality, and you desire logical arguments to back up your beliefs, this is the book for you.

Don't get me wrong, this is a good book. It covers advanced preloaders, which is always nice, creating smart clips, and more advanced actionscripting which is what all serious Flash 5 designers need to know. Plus much, much more.

Since I own Foundation Flash 5, Foundation Actionscript & Dynamic Content Studio (plus 23 other web design/flash books) some of the information is rehashed from other FOED's titles.

I purchased this book with hopes of receiving light-intermediate information on video integration within Flash 5. Most specifically for Flash 5 and Quicktime/Real Player video integration (...)--which this book DID NOT cover. It does a wonderful job of covering Flash 5 and Adobe After Effects (the video program discussed)--but after buying this book, who can afford the close-to-a-thousand dollar Adobe product. I know that serious web designers must know/use Adobe products since the MAC is far superior to the PC when it comes to print & web design/image software & hardware/video software & creation, but video editing/creation can also be achieved (to a moderately satisfying degree) on a PC.

The author should have considered more than one type of video player application and video editing program. Very good applications can be created with Quicktime and Realplayer and some of us up-an-coming Flash designers/users cannot afford the heavywieght Adobe stuff.

So, with that said, if you want to learn video and sound for Flash 5 from a more inclusive and more in-depth source try FOED's other book also/instead, Rich Media Content, as the book covers Final Cut Pro, RealPlayer, Quicktime, Abode After Effects and a score of other applications/programs.

Also, the first chapter--design principles--is bland and useless if you remotely know what a non-hideous website should look like.

Otherwise, this is another good title from FOED.

Keep in mind that Friends of Ed targets these books to designers, and that the books are written by both designers and programmers!
(Programmers already know how to do this stuff, maybe just not in the flash environment.)

So if you are a designer who doesn't have a programmer working the ActionScript side of flash for you, this book would be a great desktop reference to complete a range of flash projects!

Also, While all sections are not perfectly written or perfectly coded the book is packed full of code and information for the person who is truly willing to put the time in and learn the many aspects of flash!

"flash 5 magic" is a good book because its the only one up until now which effectivly deals in any way with actionscript...but i think this one is better...the examples are cooler and the explanations are better and more thorough . if you got "new masters of flash" and thought it was kind of lame - a bunch of self proclaimed gurus trying to sound self important [okay one or 2 were very good] - you wont think the same of this book which sort of is what i expected "new masters" to be - tutorials... not some phony philisophical bs...i mean do we really care about mano's world view?

I took this book off my shelf because it had been there since I was in college (and doing drugs) and I wanted to see what it was like before I sold it. I knew it'd be the standard drugs=spirituality which sounded so impressive in college and so dumb now. I figured it'd bore me in the first 50 pages. It didn't.

Instead it angered me at first. It's Noble Savage arrogance coupled with its 60s "drugs are so cool" aesthetic just bothers me. A prime example would be the narrator going to visit one of don Juan's friends that "knows how to dance like a NATURAL man". Castenada visits the guy's house, finds out that he's working in the field, and then comes back just as the guy has finished working. Castaneda says that the Indian seems tired, blitzed out of his mind, like he was on drugs. Castaneda apparently was too stupid to realize that a person picking grapes under the hot sun for 10 hours straight isn't going to seem very coherant. Castaneda then wonders why the migrant worker won't show him his magical dance steps and shoos him off the front steps.

Several other scenes like this abound, such as Castaneda getting sad when he sees begger children, but being told that they are more free. Or Castaneda laughing at the "gentle ironic humor" of his subject telling him that he'd probably use his first book as toilet paper (oh ha ha - poverty is so cute.)

But then I realized that Castaneda is telling all these stories second-hand, while don Juan and friends keep pushing peyote and psichlobin mushrooms on him. That's when the book was funny. If you are smart enough to realize that it's the story of a bunch of Indians annoyed with a smug white guy and decided to mess with his head. Sadly it's told from teh white guy's perspective, but it is funny just how clueless he is about the ways in which he's being mocked, ridiculed and played with throughout the book...P>So if you are into the drugs=spirituality kick, read this book because it will open your mind. However, if you have a modicum of intelligence and enough experience and perception to get over the Nobel Savage stereotype, you'll find this to be one of the funniest books ever -- a classic in Indian humor.

A separate reality was a great book. Carlos is the greatest Author of all time and I know that isn't what he set out to be but that is what happend. I'm 15 years old and I stumbeld on to Carlos's writing on acident I dont even like reading but when i first started reading The Teachings of Don Juan I couldnt pout it down I try to get as much as i posibly can get out of reading his books just like Carlos I try to learn from Don Juan to. As many of you know Carlos Castaneda past away some time ago so he will never be able to read these reviews. If he was still around there is one question i would like would like to ask him "are these stories fact or fiction?" if anyone out there can help me with this question please E-mail me.

One of Carlos Castenada's best writings. An absolute classic. Reading this book is like participating in Castenada's experiences first hand. His descriptive writing and narration couldn't have been better. If you're looking for a universally philosophical book, this is a must. Castaneda dives in and out of Don Juan's teachings, giving the audience a taste of Yaqui tradition and knowledge. It's a definite eye opener for those who are able to piece Don Juan's "thematic puzzles" together. But, some may have trouble comprehending what may seem like B.S. throughout the story. There may also be some confusion in pieces of the book if you haven't read the prerequisite (Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge). Don't hesitate to check this book out. It's incredibly powerful.

This book starts off as so many other programming books do,with a few exeptions. The history is brief and to the point. The first chapter is dedicated to getting you ready for hands on Work with Visual Basic 6, and assumes a prior knowledge of basic Windows expierience. I find this book the be an exellent
resource for anyone wanting to learn Visual Basic. The few problems I found, was the constant repeating of "How to do his..." For myself this is rather annoying but for the beginner this "feature" will help you to remember simple things such as changing properties. When you complete this book, you will be ready to start writing you own Visual Basic programs with ease. One Word of warning, chapter 4 is a very in depth look at variables. Im now sure what the auther was thinking by putting so much information in one chapter, but at least is makes for easy refrence. The way I got through chapter 4 was to take lots and lots of notes, and refer back to them as needed. How ever after working with variables through out the book there's no doubt you can master them.

This book is an outstanding introduction to Visual Basic. Itis designed for someone who is already familiar with some programmingskills but no knowledge of Microsoft's Visual Basic environment. The lessons progress rapidly and are taught with easy to follow programming examples that demonstrate the concepts well. Useful topics are discussed, including Active X programming, OLE, ADO, DDE, and database programming with VB. This is an all-around primer to the language that won't bore you.

By the time I made it to the end of this book I knew how to program VB 6. I was used to Java but new to the world of Visual Basic, a huge and complex world at that. To take on the task of writing a tutorial that can cover such a topic must have been daunting indeed, but this author has done it really well! The book was perfect for me because it assumed I knew nothing about VB, yet didn't bog me down with general programming fundamentals. The code exercises touch most all the areas a professional programmer is likely to encounter on the job. He both holds your hand through the exercises and lets you make some steps on your own, which I thought worked very well. If you want to learn Visual Basic 6, buy this book and work it through to the end...it's worth it.

This book at one time was good I am told, but the 8th edition (2002) is now outdated with many errors. The CD on heart sounds which is included is insulting to medical students. The book has terrible photographs which make the patients look jaundiced or cyanotic. I am sorry I bought it. There is no question that Swartz's book on physical diagnosis is the best. Swartz has a great free CD on the complete physical exam which is included with the book.

I would not recommend this book. On techniques of examination of the Nose and Sinuses this book shows and tells you to use an otoscope with an ear speculum to examine the nose. This is wrong. The correct way to examine the nose is with a bivalve nasal speculum and a penlight or a headlight. Also an ear speculum should only be used to examine the external auditory canal of the ear. When Dr. Barbara Bates was the author of this book this correct information on the nasal examination was in the book. Dr. Bickley should not have taken correct information out of this book and inserted wrong information. Also this book does not have posterior rhinoscopy(examination of the nasopharynx with a nasopharyngeal mirror), indirect laryngoscopy with a laryngeal mirror, anoscopy, and sigmoidoscopy. I recommend Textbook of Physical Diagnosis 4th ed. by Mark Swartz, M.D. for Physical Diagnosis courses not Bickley's book.

I am a first year medical student and use this book in our physical diagnosis course. I found this book easy to read with good illustrations. Diagrams were useful in understanding the text. I found the heart sounds CD to be extremely useful in understanding the cardiac cycle and how it relates to heart murmurs. I haven't seen other physical diagnosis textbooks but I can say that this one is very user friendly.

This book makes a decent attempt to describe the relationship between genes and behavior. Its cover describes this book as "groundbreaking", but it's not. In fact, it's really quite light. In a fashion typical of psychologist, it tells many quaint stories about people that the authors seem to believe makes their discussion more interesting, but really just insults the readers' intelligence.

It's a good place to start. But it reads like it were written for first-year college students, and merely restates things that are much better stated elsewhere. If you want a book that does a MUCH better job, and is much better written, try Matt Ridley's excellent book "Genome", or his more dense "The Red Queen". And for serious books that truely are groundbreaking, try E.O. Wilson's "On Human Nature" or Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene". Each of those books are significantly better than "Living With Our Genes."

Dean Hamer, while working in his laboratory at the National Institute of Health, made headlines around the world when he discovered a genetic link to male homosexuality. From such notoriety comes this book, the essence of which is that ones behavior is much more a function of nature/genetics than it is of nurture or whether mother's dominance warped you for life.

Hamer goes through the effects of your genetics as it relates to your personality; your propensity to seek thrills; your tendencies toward aggression, anger and violence; your capacity for addiction; your needs in regard to sex and love; your body weight and eating habits; your rate of aging; and your emotional temperament. And, guess what? The odds are about 70% genetic and 30% upbringing and character as to how you'll turn out as an adult.

This book doesn't try to mystify the reader and is, in fact, easy to read. Hamer weaves in the stories of individuals in order to keep the reader glued to each individual's saga. The sine qua non comes with the twin studies. They've multiplied over the years and today offer an abundant body of proof in support of Hamer's assertions. The factual evidence is overwhelming in favor of genetics as the deciding factor in behavior. Read it and you will see.

This book was published in 1998 which makes it quite old in the rapidly moving world of genetic research. Let me give you an example of what has happened in the interim. Not only have genes for fear and confidence been revealed, but a gene or constellation of genes has been posited for one's proclivity for belief in a higher order being, God. The Darwinian selection for such a trait comes from man's need to organize and work together in groups, in arduous circumstances, over long periods of time. Wow? I knew that profound unshakeable belief had to be genetic after talking to so many "true believer" anti-war protestors. The whole concept gives a new slant to Eric Hoffer's classic, "the True Believer".

I've written often about man's seeming infinite capacity for self deception, but now I have, presto, a genetic component where none was available prior. The other half of this juxtaposition is man's inexhaustible need to feel morally virtuous, a way of puffing one's self-importance or so it seems from here.

After you read this book, and if you've never read much on the genetic influences on your behavior, you might see yourself and many of your friends in a completely different light. I really enjoyed the experience of reading what Hamer has to say, and I believe you will too.

excellent evidence presented to support view of genetic role in predisposed personality development. includes how our genes might influence sex, addiction, hunger, disease, novelty-seeking, etc. conclusion on altering genetic tempermant is incredibly stimulating on the topic of bioethics.

The material in this book is not supported by my ten years of firsthand experience with ADHD. Ritalin is an essential treatment for managing this condition. Abstract statements about the larger society are fine for books and talk shows, but what about the daily lived experience of people suffering from this condition? I don't think Breggin is very much concerned with actual patients.

This book records what I have guessed for the past 9 years in my career in the mental health field: that stimulants do not help children in the long run. Yes, a few children may be helped enough by it--often by its placebo effects on the teachers, parents, and children themselves--but most children do not benefit academically at all. Furthermore, I have seen droves of children who entered the pharmacological factory as 5 or 6 year olds, only to continue in it for 10 plus years, having had so many drugs in their system that the drugs no longer touch them. Whereas they were once little hyperactive "monsters", now they are big hyperactive "monsters". Ritalin and other medications allowed the parents and teachers to skate along happily for years, while totally ignoring the underlying issues. Nothing has been done except to create a culture of children who believe that their brains are screwed up and that drugs are the answer. A recipe for disaster. And I'm seeing it simmering.

I applaud Dr. Breggin for his work. He tolerates a great deal of ridicule for his position, as do those who come to similar conclusions. His writing can be a bit simplistic and propaganda-like, but so is all of the opposition's. I look forward to more research from scientists who don't have the bias that so many have now. I doubt it will happen; the drug culture has sciece by the balls...

Challenging children exist, yes, but we as parents, teachers and others that work with children must step up to the challenge to give them what they need and move away from labeling and drugging--it is not necessary or effective and is in fact extremely detrimental--as this book so convincingly shows. After reading the full gamut of books (20+) on ADD/ADHD including those with conventional and unconventional views and remedies for the associated behaviors, I had doubts about the validity of ADD/ADHD as a distinct disorder. Dr. Breggin's book validates my doubts with pages of scientific documentation and explains how virtually a whole nation--parents, doctors, mental health professionals and teachers--promote and believe in this concept. It's a must read for anyone involved in ADD/ADHD evaluations/treatments. The book focuses on four areas: the fallacy of ADD/ADHD-including the unscientific method of diagnosis and the misuse of studies used by the advocates of the "disorder"; the documented dangers of Ritalin-- what it does to the brain, why it does not help behavioral problems and the damage it can cause; the politics behind the ADHD/Ritalin lobby; and what parents can do to help their children without labels and drugs. This is such an important book. If you've read the others, you must read this!! Another good book is The Myth of the ADD Child by Thomas Armstrong PhD.