I used to love Spider-Man--and for the same reasons that everyone else did. He was fun, daring, brave and most of all, human. He failed at times, he had doubts--he was just like us. But somewhere along that way, the character changed. I lost that connection that I once felt for Peter Parker and it never seemed to return. Up until ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN was released, I hadn't read a Spidey comic since he was flying around as Captain Universe (I remember the days fondly when the true identity of the Hobgoblin was a predominate concern). But for some reason, the other current Spidey titles didn't seem to interest me.

But that changed with the release of PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN: A DAY IN THE LIFE. Written by Paul Jenkins, this collection of two separate Spidey series (WEBSPINNERS: TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #10-12 and PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN Vol. 2, #20-22 & 26) has rekindled that interest. With the same contemplative and insightful style that made his take on THE INHUMANS such a compelling read, Jenkins manages to inject poignancy and humor into this classic character again. We see the personal struggles that have weighed heavily on Peter's conscience. We relive the tragedies that besieged his life and the events (and the people) that shaped it. And best yet, we see him persevere and continue fighting the good fight.

If you like Spider-Man and would like to maintain a sense of history, especially in the wake of the "Ultimate" Spidey reboot and the film, or just want to read one of the best Spidey stories in years, I strongly suggest you pick up this TPB (trade paperback). And I'm not saying that you should disregard ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN--you shouldn't. It's a great series, too. What I am saying is that this collection is one of THE definite Spidey stories that I've read, and a great way to get back into a character that had seemingly lost his way.

Check it out!

What makes Spider-Man a fascinating character is not his great powers, but the man behind the mask, Peter Parker. Spidey has enjoyed tremendous success ever since his conception nearly 40 years ago. Throughout all this time, the most unique thing about him was not the colorful suit he wears while swinging, but the simple average, all-so human Peter Parker. Stan Lee, his creator, knew that a long time ago and what better way to bring this character to life but through mastery of one of the hottest British writers of all time, Paul Jenkins.

Jenkins became a household name with his unbelievable work on the INHUMANS, but it is here in his take on Spidey that he truly does shine. His characterization is par none, he takes you on a trip into the Spider-Man saga and fills in points of history, with original art of that time, but never truly changes anything for the old reader. He makes things come to life with his words. The take on going back and forth in the past sure does display his powers as a writer. This is a man that was set to write any hero and make him out to be more human than the people you see walking the street everyday while going to work.

The whole story delves completely on Peter Parker and how his life as Spider-Man has come to be in the recent years. This is a man who has been through much and still persevered to tell the tale. He is your average guy who you might bump into while playing softball in the park or the guy next to you in the movie theater. He is a living, breathing human being and not a comic book character. At times, a person might think that he's probably too human with all his flaws and gestures. The TPB starts off with how the Chameleon, one of Spidey's first foes views him. This trip goes without saying is an in-depth look at Spidey and Peter Parker that has never been explored before. This culminates in Chapter 3 where Spidey is defined as the true character he really is. The following 4 chapters take you on a ride of how Spidey came to be through the eyes of Peter Parker. Flashbacks on his life as a child help create the man he is now and the hero he then later becomes. Jenkins takes you all the way, with a day in the life. The witty humor and the pretenses don't leave you laughing out loud, but keep giving you that smile that you carry on throughout the story. Anyone could be Spider-Man given the right circumstances, but it is only Peter Parker that makes the character who he really is. You feel the loneliness that he feels and the sadness that he carries each day with him. The loss of his loved ones, his uncle and his wife. You just learn that no matter, to be who you are, you have to learn how to laugh. In the end, that's what helps us being ourselves. That's what makes us appreciate our life for what it is. This is a smart piece of fiction, superbly written by Jenkins and drawn by the industry's top artists.

Spider-Man is a comic character, but Peter Parker is a real man in all sense of the word.

I used to love Spider-Man--and for the same reasons that everyone else did. He was fun, daring, brave and most of all, human. He failed at times, he had doubts--he was just like us. But somewhere along that way, the character changed. I lost that connection that I once felt for Peter Parker and it never seemed to return. Up until ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN was released, I hadn't read a Spidey comic since he was flying around as Captain Universe (I remember the days fondly when the true identity of the Hobgoblin was a predominate concern). But for some reason, the other current Spidey titles didn't seem to interest me.

But that changed with the release of PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN: A DAY IN THE LIFE. Written by Paul Jenkins, this collection of two separate Spidey series (WEBSPINNERS: TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #10-12 and PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN Vol. 2, #20-22 & 26) has rekindled that interest. With the same contemplative and insightful style that made his take on THE INHUMANS such a compelling read, Jenkins manages to inject poignancy and humor into this classic character again. We see the personal struggles that have weighed heavily on Peter's conscience. We relive the tragedies that besieged his life and the events (and the people) that shaped it. And best yet, we see him persevere and continue fighting the good fight.

If you like Spider-Man and would like to maintain a sense of history, especially in the wake of the "Ultimate" Spidey reboot and the film, or just want to read one of the best Spidey stories in years, I strongly suggest you pick up this TPB (trade paperback). And I'm not saying that you should disregard ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN--you shouldn't. It's a great series, too. What I am saying is that this collection is one of THE definite Spidey stories that I've read, and a great way to get back into a character that had seemingly lost his way.

Check it out!

Aquaman has been one of DC's most difficult characters for years. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he was an adequate counterpart to Marvel's resident water-based hero, the Sub-Mariner: while Prince Namor was intent on destroying surface dwellers, Aquaman sought to bring peace between the two races. However, during the turbulent 1960s, Aquaman's cleancut appearance and rigid morality made him seem more and more of a second string hero, good for rounding out the Justice League of America's roster, but not much else. While some good stories appeared in the 1960s about Aquaman's personal crises, these never led to a sginficant story line, resulting in a vapid, rather bland character.

"Time and Tide" attempts to rewrite Aquaman as a rebel from the beginning, with a deep distrust of the surface world. Unfortunately, this has been tried before and revisionist histories are often hit and miss propositions. "Time and Tide" fails dismally as it re-introduces Aquaman as a Sub-Mariner wanna-be.

The writing is derivative, while the illustrations are barely adequate. The creative team is not wholly to blame, since Aquaman has been out of sync with the comics culture for years. A better effort would have been to flesh out and humanize Aquaman's existing background, not start from scratch. Pass this by.

If you read the Aqua-Man stories of the 1950's and 60's, he was a very dyanmantic character. A young king of the sea who defended his realm from any and all evil. Today Aqua-Man acts very much like Namor; The Sub-Mariner, he hates air breathers, attacks those who pollute the sea, and he can't seem to get his personal life in order. That pretty much desribes these new stories in this volume. Aqua-Man has not been treated well by comic book writers for much of this decade, with him loseing his right arm and becoming more and more of a character that walks the line between right and wrong.

If you're looking to discover the origins of Aquaman as imagined by Peter David, this is a fine book. Here you'll meet baby Aquaman raised by dolphins, you'll discover how he got his name, and how he came to be a hero. If you're looking for political intrigue from Atlantis, a lot of villans, and action then this book is not for you. This is Aquaman when he had both arms, was clean-shaven, and was just starting out.

I had to buy this book for a class; if you're interested in a historical perspective on instructional technology, you might find this interesting. I didn't.

Winograd brings together a mix of software designers, computer scientists, graphic artists, architects, scientists, and consultants, and their conceptions and methodologies for software design. Each describes their design situations from his or her position of expertise. Each of the "designers" has a similar message, ease of use and interaction must be relevant to the user, not only to the hierarchical structure of the software. Another point in the book is, if software is designed in such a way as to have the user append knowledge, as opposed to throw all daily logic of how things work in their world out the window, the learning curve for new software would be minimal.

The designer's involvement needs to be invoked from the beginning of the software project, and should not be considered as just a "final coat of spray-on aesthetics". Thought and design energy need to be given towards the capabilities of identifying the skill level and needs of the user, so that the user can accomplish his or her tasks while enduring the least amount of frustration. Hopefully the user will also learn something through his or her experience with the software, which would then bring them up to a new level of mastery. The use of design teams, with members encapsulating differing points of view, is emphasized as a successful methodology for the development of such software applications.

This book is a collection of chapters focusing on design and design topics. The chapter authors are from a variety of disciplines including software and product design, technology, architecture, graphic arts, and philosophy. This diversity adds to the richness in which the book addresses "design," expands the notion of the "designer" community of practice, and illustrates the importance of multifunctionality in design by taking lessons of practice from a variety of disciplines. After each chapter a "profile" of a product or situation is provided as a real-life example of the key points of the chapter.

The following themes appeared throughout the book:

· There needs to be a move from product-centered design to user-centered (or maybe use-centered) design. Talking, observing, interacting and listening with the users are key activities in making this happen.

· The move to a user-centered design can be aided by recognizing and professionalizing the role of a designer in the software development process. (in this book people are variously referred to as software designers, interaction designers, artist-designers, software architects, etc.)

· There is a need for tools and materials developed for software designers to create a language of design, and to develop prototypes and models. These things are needed for use in the design process to allow for a "conversation with the materials," --to create opportunities for exploration of the design, which may lead to unexpected characteristics and surprises. These, in turn, allow for reflection and lead to the development of better questions about our design and design process. These tools and methods also allow for communicating ideas, changes and goals to others involved in the design process.

· Design is a team-sport. Successful designers will be familiar with the roles, language and concerns of everyone involved in the design process so as best to include them, and their contributions, into the overall design effort. It's also true that the design process resides within an organization, whose values, culture, management and business concerns have an impact on the success of design efforts. A skillful designer will be aware of (and perhaps challenge) the impact of the organization on the design process to allow the design effort to be as successful as possible.

This is a good thought-starter for anyone interested in broadening their definition of designer and incorporating additional perspectives into their design practices.

The age range of this book is stated as 4-8 and nothing could be further from the truth. I am 61 and have been in magic for 35 years. This book works for all ages and skill levels.

It features basic skills (double lift, etc.), applies them into interesting effects and adds the history of magicians for continuity. This is an ideal text to teach or learn from, or as a quick reference when you need new material.

This book I use all the time. There are so many magic tricks through out the whole book. The steps are easy and it teaches you all different magic tricks. If you read this book you will want to put on magic shows for your family. It also reveals many amazing magic tricks that catch your eye. If you like magic this is the book for you!

Paul Jenkins presents four storylines in Spiderman: One Small Break...one of them is good. I'm a huge fan of Spidey but he has been portrayed in a much better style (both plotwise and artistically), look no further than J. Michael Straczynski's Spiderman: Homecoming for a perfect example. Jenkins stories seem to slide back-and-forth between serious and cartoonish way too easily, the artwork only emphasizes the cartoonish nature.

The storylines presented here cover Peter Parker: Spiderman issues #27-28 and 30-34. They include...

#1 - Spiderman battling his arch-enemy Stromm...and then being placed into a situation where he has to decide, "Is it right to kill someone if thousands of future lives will be saved?" Interesting question but it could have been presented in a much stronger light. The villain of Stromm is also not one of the stronger antagonists that Spidey has battled.

#2 - Spiderman battling a revenge hungry foe called Fusion. This storyline takes several interesting turns, the most interesting being when Spiderman receives that "One Small Break" of the title's name. Overall an average outing but there was plenty of untapped potential.

#3 - The best storyline of the bunch (and the only one worth reading in this collection) is a story dealing with Peter Parker (not Spiderman) and his past relationship with his Uncle Ben. The story focuses around an annual attendance of a Mets game and it works on several levels. Again there is some cartoonish nature that detracts from it and keeps it from reaching a "Best of..." level, but overall this one is a great read.

#4 - A silly and stupid and underdeveloped story about a man cursed with dangerous powers and who is being chased by some friendly monks (in the Monk-Mobile!). UG! Why was this story written in the first place...much less included in a TPB? What a waste of space and it doesn't say much if this is the higher level of story to be included into a mainstream TPB.

If you're "Jones-ing" for a Spiderman read then you may want to pick up One Small Break. But if you want to read Spidey in some of his top storylines then look for other TPB's available such as: The Death of Gwen Stacy, Power and Responsibility, or Untold Tales of Spiderman, you'll have a better time there.

While many people have been dissing Mr. Jenkins in favor of the current "Amazing Spider-Man" team, he actually presents a very good collection of stories. His tale on assisted suicide makes you think, and the baseball story was touchy. I for one also enjoyed the William story, due to it's inspiring ending. However, the highlight of the book is the Fusion saga- Fusion, an cool-looking villian, has a very personal gripe with Spidey, even though they've never met. What's this guy's major malfunction, and why is it driving him to kill hundreds? You'll have to read the book to find out!

Tulku, by Peter Dickinson, was not all that great a book. It deals a lot with Buddhism with an unnecessary lead-in. It takes some knowledge, however, to understand the religious parts but is somewhat enjoyable without the knowledge of Buddhism if an adventure without a lot of details is anjoyable to the reader. A Christian boy joins up with an English traveller and her porter and they eventually end up at the rich monastery, Dong Pe, where an oracle says the English woman is carrying the next Tulku, a person of high rank in Buddhism. This book deals with the powers of spirits and the beliefs of different religions, somewhat comparing them.

There is not specifis information as to when exactly this story was set, but certain sections suggest that it was set in the late 1800s. At the beginning of the story, in China, the main character Theodore(or Theo)is all alonebecause his fundamentalist Christian settlement has been burnt to the ground by the Boxers, or the Chinese anti foreign society. Theodore was the only survivor, and among those dead was his father. With his fathers mission destroyed, Theodore has no choice but to flee. As Theodore hide in the nearby woods, he comes across Mrs. Jones, a fiesty good-hearted woman who likes to collect and classify plants. Mrs. Jones invites Theo into her band of travellers and they head off to Tibet while fleeing bandits. Once in Tibet, they meet the Lama Amachi who rules the Buddhist monastery in Dong Pe. He had set out on a journey, as was tradition, to find the Tulku, or the riencarnated spirit of the late Dalai Lama. When Lama Amachi insists that Theo, Mrs. Jones and her Chinese assistant Lung hold the key to his finding of the Tulku, things started changing for Theodore including his beliefs and what he would think to be right or wrong. This story was nicely written and is a very good adventure-historical fiction combonaton. The author compared the Christian and Buddhist faiths with interesting concepts and ideas that wil keep the pages turning. The author is very discriptive, which is nice because it helps you get into the story more and live with the characters. I felt that this was an excellent novel, although the ending was quite weak and fairly unrelated to the story. I also found that the author repeated some words and ideas more often than he should have. For instance, in the beginning of the book, the words "mocking", or "mockingly" were used quite often. Other than that, I found that this was a great book for those interested in religeon, adventure and descriptive stories and I am glad that i came accross this award winning novel. A wonderful love-adventure story that expresses the true power of emotion and the spirit.

This book explains everything, from Martin Luther King to Bill Gates (well maybe not everything). It contains about a page to four in one chapter about true people telling their lives during that event. This book even has stories from things about world war one. This book does not go into great detail but it does tell the story so this makes it a good history book for 3-5 graders. If you like history then i recomend this book to you.

I own three timelines, and this is probably my favorite of the three. Unlike other reviewers, I don't find this book to be a chronicle of "gloom and doom" exclusively-anyone can see that events such as the invention of the car, the era of movie theaters, the 1969 Apollo flight, and the prosperity of the Fifties are covered as well in this book. The thing that I really appreciate about this book is the testimonies of people who really had a part in the events. I found it interesting to read an Indiana man's explanation of the appeal and seeming harmlessness of the Ku Klux Klan, and thought it enlightening to read a German girl's description how Hitler was allowed to "go as far" as he did in Germany. In between the numerous personal accounts of events are generous portions of factual writing. I think the authors did a great job of thoroughly describing important happenings without moving into too much overwhelming detail. This book really transcends its "ages 9-12" label-my whole family has enjoyed it and there is something new in it for everyone.

To relate a century's history and ideas cogently into 241 pages at a level that will involve kids is a tough task. To pull that off with photos and archival images AND first-person accounts is, to me, pretty astonishing. It would be easy to carp about what's left out, but I think this book is a square-on portrayal of the U. S. as it was. We read about the immigrant experience, the emerging technologies, the wars and injustices and what they taught us, the ascendance of movies and sports in our culture, style trends, space exploration, the dismantling of Communism. The authors take pains to show that along with the tragedies and triumphs came valuable lessons that have impact on our lives today. Events are intelligently organized and analyzed without sugar-coating. The photos and illustrations are extremely well-chosen (not the ones always trotted out in history books), and in some cases, breath-taking -- due no doubt to the authors' access to a wealth of news images. In this sense, I think the book benefits greatly from the joining of a major media figure with a respected journalist. My two boys, 9 and 12, find this endlessly fascinating, and we've had some spirited and sophisticated dinnertime conversations. This is valuable stuff and, I think, a brave book.

That said, I've read some of the previous reviews and find them baffling. Kids enjoy reading about the conflicts and drama that have led to present-day life. My own awareness of the complicated horrors and triumphs of WWII as a child, through my father's stories and literature, opened my eyes to what society is capable at its best and worst, in a way my bland textbooks never did. I agree that some of the images and text might be strong for a 9-year-old. But as a parent, I've learned several lessons: (1) common sense must be exercised; it is always a good idea to pick up the book and look through it BEFORE buying it to determine appropriateness; (2) that the term "9-to-12" is a marketing category for booksellers -- to distinguish books from, say, picture books or YA material. To hold the book accountable for being appropriate for every child in this range is plain silly; and (3) if it ain't right, wait. A 9-year-old becomes 10, 11, 12 very fast.

The Green Goblin returns from the dead? Yeah, right and Spiderman has been a clone for the last twenty years. Give me a break. Where do they get their "original" ideas, the Disney company?

Let me set one thing straight, Norman Osborn was brought back from the dead 7 or 8 years ago. And that has nothing to do with this story. Over the years there have been a lot of Spider-man vs. Green Goblin fights, but this one was original in itself. The story starts off with Norman drugging Flash Tomphson (long time bully, but in recent years a friend to Peter), who works for him, and putting him in a truck which he directs toward the school were Peter works. The ensuing accident puts Flash in a coma, and Peter decides its the last straw
Jenkins is a great writer. He's funny and original. Throw in Huberto Ramos' quirky and completely different art style, and you have one great TPB. This one is definitely worth picking up.

'Return of the Goblin is a fun, fast-paced action comic-book. Sure, there's a noce plot, but never ties up the energetic feel this book has to it. But the one of the reasons you should pick this one up is for Ramos' art style. It's cartoonish, inspiring, and just plain cool.

All in all, a fun little comic-book.

This book is basically about the young teen heroes of the DCU trying to fight crime in an adult world. Robin and Inpulse are among the heroes who appear in this book which actually has pretty weak artwork and a story plot that is barely readable.

In a nutshell the basis for this book is as follows. Adults around the world are getting nervous about the Young Justice team and all other teen heroes. The world media, possibly being encouraged by some person or persons unknown, is making this worse by hyping the image of immature kids with a lot of power. Everybody's got an opinion and as things heat up a mix of magic and technology turns most of the adult heroes into kids and all the kids into adults. Everyone splits up into teams to try to find a way to reverse the mess, all the while the unknown factor behind the media is getting closer to their ultimate goal.

The concept is lighthearted and fun, but combining the stories from various titles meant that while some writing was good, a lot of the writing was rather weak. Overall the different writing and artistic styles made the book feel choppy, and not as though the stories belonged together. I don't regret buying it, but I was disappointed.

Try A League of Their Own (Young Justice) by Peter David and D. Curtis Johnson for a good Young Justice book.

Although this book was enjoyable, the abscence of my favorite character Arrowette (the girl archer) kept it from being an excellent graphic novel. It would have been great to have seen her as an adult. Her and Robin bring a little reality to these comics because they could exist in real life although such a pretty girl would probably want to be a supermodel instead. She is in the A League Of Their Own graphic novel which was a little better but just like this one they have to use a goofy artist in one of their stories which really looks odd compared to the majority of their art. Gen 13 also had this problem from time to time. Please stick with the original and best artists please.

If you are thinking of reading this because you want to read new stories by Peter Dickinson, be my guest. If you want to read this because you've heard that there is a new story about Damar, or you love McKinley's writing don't get your hopes up. This collection is flawed with any number of problems, the two largest being -

Problem number one: Peter Dickinson. I've never read any of his novels but from the short stories I read here, I won't be buying anything by him anytime soon. Boring, plain and simple. Assessment: Taking up valuable space that should feature McKinley.

Problem number two: McKinley is a very gifted writer, her Damarian books are among my all time favorites because she knows how to use language and she creates compelling,action-oriented female protagonists who get to have their fairy-tale wishes come true and have some adventure too. Aerin and Harry are both troubled girls, partly because of who they are. They both go on journeys of self-discovery where they rely on themselves (with a little help from their friends) and conquer their fears as well as their enemies. And that is why her last story, A Pool In the Desert is such a disappointment.

We have a down-trodden daughter Hetta, in a patriarchal household who is being suffocated by her souless existence of cleaning house, taking care of her mother and giving up everything she wants in deference to her father. In a classic McKinley tale, the daughter would discover that she needs to do something, would screw up her courage and take some action to make things better, preferably by getting herself a good horse and a magical sword. Instead she drifts around, passively accepting until she has a dream where she somehow ends up in Damar. Discovering this wonderful escape she longs to return, but isn't able to summon up the resources to do much about it.

So basically she moons after this guardian she meets and mopes around until she manages to fall head first into a pool of water, is magically transported to Damar (back in time, too)and lives happily ever after.

McKinley's newest Damar story basically betrays the wonderful and strong heroines of her past novels and for that there can be no excuse. Hetta is pathetic. She escapes yes, but she doesn't confront her circumstances, actively seek a way out or seem to worry at all about the fate she abandons her younger sister Ruth to. She is the apothesis of everything McKinley's previous heriones have stood for and I can't understand why she chose to write this lackluster, heretical story set in, of all places, her beloved Damar.

The only partially redeeming thing about the story was the twist at the very end, which I won't give away for future readers, as to how her sister discovers that Hetta achieved her escape. The rest of McKinley's stories rate equally low on the disappointment scale in that I didn't care an iota for any one of the characters and was bored.

Assessment: Strictly for hardcore McKinley fans who must read everything she's written.

This book contains six short stories, three by each author. They all have something to do with water and the spirits or powers therein. "Mermaid Song" tells of poor Pitiable, who lives a wretched and abused life with her grandfather, and who discovers a mermaid trapped in a shallow pool by the receding tide. "The Sea-King's Son" tells of a land girl who falls in love with a water man. "Sea Serpent" relates of the woes begotten by a viscious serpent conjured by a woman on her betrayers. "Water Horse" being another oppressed girl who is chosen to apprentice one of the Gaurdian's of their island. "Kraken" relates the tale of a merprincess who rescues a man and his lady love from drowning, only to have to give them and herself up to the Kraken. "A Pool in the Desert" speaks of yet another oppressed girl, who dreams her way into Damar.
I personally had never read any of Peter Dickinson's work, but if these stories are any example, I wont be. His stories are oppressive, and his characters are colorless, his descriptions unenthusiastic. I dutifully read each story in turn, but it was very difficult to keep from skipping his. I absolutely adore Robin McKinley on the other hand. Unfortunatly, her work also seemed to contain a very depressed vein. Her other books make you feel for the characters and the land. They are rich and vibrant, I never wanted "The Hero and The Crown" to end, while I felt like I was slogging through these stories. "Water" should not be used as a judgement of her talent. For the die hard McKinley fans, it ought to be read simply for her contributions which, while not her best, far exceed Dickinson's attempts. If you are looking for Mckinley's short works I highly recommend "The Door in The Hedge" or "A Knot in the Grain". Both of these easily surpass "Water".

I read a lot and most of the books are good, but this one is Awesome! It is cool because it has fantasy and reality combined together to make the most loved tales. It makes you have this feeling inside that you are actually IN the book, not on the couch reading it! I hope you will enjoy it too.