This is an exlenet book if u starting out with computer graphics. It takes you through the basic principles of CG and rasterezation of primitives and only than goes into 3d. But if you are looking for some cool GI and NURBS programming techniques this isn't the book for you. This book does it's job well

This book is a great value -- it covers quite a bit of ground in a thin, relatively inexpensive book. While lacking the visual appeal and beautiful color foils of Foley and Van Dam's massive work, this book provides lots of valuable information.

This is a great book. It is for beginners. It assumes some math background. And is discusses the fundamental concepts that apply to graphics development in a platform independent manner. However, there is a great implementation of a game engine (3dgpl) that supports multiple platforms, so you can see the concepts at work. I love it. After this book, I plan on reading a few more advanced books on game development, OpenGL and DirectX. This book is where to start.

While there were some stories and information of interest, the book is very often dry to the point that it's unreadable. I skipped some sections.

There's also a tendency to self-aggrandize. Several time, the authors take a few moments to criticize other works, and then say "here for the first time" is the real story. While undoubtedly they do have some never before seen information, I think they spend a little too much time beating their chests.

Somewhat interesting, but certainly not spellbinding. Reads like a textbook.

The most interesting aspect of the book may be the insight it gives on the interworkings of the Soviet State. While some passages go into detail much beyond what the general reader will want to know, it is worth trudging through the slow passages.

This is the first time a thorough review of post war Berlin intelligence activities has been published. For the professional this is a good compilation of operations (collection, defection, analysis, etc.). For the novice the book is a difficult read - chock full of details but not written in captivating language. Students of history need to add this to their collection of books to keep and use as reference.

I did not like it. It is a bad story. Wolfs are not bad like in the story. Peter doesnt listen to his grandpa, so it is a bad example.

If you are familiar with the Prokofiev symphony, this book makes a good companion to the music. It puts into visual images the story of Peter and the Wolf. What I like most about the book is that, in the end, the duck lives. The ending varies somewhat depending on the version of the recording or book. In this book, it's a happy ending, which is better for younger readers.

We use the book by itself sometimes. Other times, my child will read along while we listen to the symphony.

Our children, 3 year old twins, love the music of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. In searching for an age appropriate book to show them the musical instruments that play each of the characters, we found this one illustrated by Ian Beck. Not only are the illustrations lovely, the colors and clothing of Peter, the hunters and the grandfather are interesting to a child. Also, each page shows the instrument played for that part of the story (find it in the box around the text), and in the back a page illustrates each instrument. We cannot recommend this lovely book enough to parents of young children discovering the beauty of music!

This book will not improve your skills as a filmmaker (I doubt that any book would). If you can actually figure out what Eisenstein is trying to say, you will only find very vague and obscure theories. His ideas are interesting in what they reveal about his films and himself, but you cannot apply them to your filmmaking.

As many of the early film theorists, Eisenstein has a tendency to propose as universals the principles of a specific school. The Soviet school of montage, whose heyday was in the late 20s, finds its most brilliant auteur here expounding not only upon its philosophy of cinema, but on ways in which this philosophy is in fitting with Marxism, the Hegelian dialectic and science. As such, it is a brilliant manifesto, a seminal work of greater value than any of those by Kuleshov, Pudovkin, Vertov, Dovzhenko or other montagists.

Nonetheless, it is problematic in several ways, and an understanding of the nature of its idiosyncrasies is extremely valuable. First, in an effort to "prove" his hypotheses, Eisenstein often attempts to reconcile film and physics in ways that are inappropriate and pseudo-scientific. He presents himself, in that sense, as both Eisenstein and amateur Einstein. Further, case studies are often chosen from his own work, in effect limiting the reader's freedom to disagree with his conclusions. Finally, the manner in which he expresses his thoughts is beyond elliptical. At times, it appears that one would have had to have been living in Russia at the time that these essays were written and to have been thinking about the same issues that Eisenstein was to comprehend what he is getting at. [On the other hand, for those who have had the joy of reading Wittgenstein, for example, this should be a good book to take to the beach.]

As indicated above, these problems can be explained. Communists have always had a complex relationship with the Social Darwinists. On one hand, Marxism was born out of progressive, evolutionary thinking; on the other hand, Marxists dismiss the idea of "survival of the fittest" as primitive and untenable. Soviet biologists often found themselves in the unique position of having to reconcile their theories with the party line, supported by hand selected data. In the end, of course, the value of art and science were measured by the rigid slide rule of the Communist Party. Science that did not promote its agenda was considered "anti-revolutionary."

Eisenstein is the Comrade Lysenko of cinema. He hoists high the myth of science (i.e., the systematic study of physical Truth), reduced essentially to propaganda, and borne along on the shoulders of dubious examples. The most convenient (and most incontrovertible) of these are taken from his own films, the full meanings of which belong to his own demesne. The language Eisenstein uses to construct his arguments is wisely selected: The more clearly one understands his propagandist averments and the less clearly the logic upon which they are based, the more likely one is to accept them as fact. Somewhat hypocritically, then, Eisenstein selects the voice of the intellectual elite to speak to the masses, hiding his true political intentions behind a veil of empty esotericism. Like the soothsayer, the illusionist and the ringleader, "Film Form" operates in the realm of baseless belief in which arguments gain validity relative not to WHAT they say but the WAY in which they say it. For this very reason, it is an important read... the very dogma of Bolshevik art.

As many of the early film theorists, Eisenstein has a tendency to propose as universals the principles of a specific school. The Soviet school of montage, whose heyday was in the late 20s, finds its most brilliant auteur here expounding not only upon its philosophy of cinema, but on ways in which this philosophy is in fitting with Marxism, the Hegelian dialectic and science. As such, it is a brilliant manifesto, a seminal work of greater value than any of those by Kuleshov, Pudovkin, Vertov, Dovzhenko or other montagists.

Nonetheless, it is problematic in several ways, and an understanding of the nature of its idiosyncrasies is extremely valuable. First, in an effort to "prove" his hypotheses, Eisenstein often attempts to reconcile film and physics in ways that are inappropriate and pseudo-scientific. He presents himself, in that sense, as both Eisenstein and amateur Einstein. Further, case studies are often chosen from his own work, in effect limiting the reader's freedom to disagree with his conclusions. Finally, the manner in which he expresses his thoughts is beyond elliptical. At times, it appears that one would have had to have been living in Russia at the time that these essays were written and to have been thinking about the same issues that Eisenstein was to comprehend what he is getting at. [On the other hand, for those who have had the joy of reading Wittgenstein, for example, this should be a good book to take to the beach.]

As indicated above, these problems can be explained. Communists have always had a complex relationship with the Social Darwinists. On one hand, Marxism was born out of progressive, evolutionary thinking; on the other hand, Marxists dismiss the idea of "survival of the fittest" as primitive and untenable. Soviet biologists often found themselves in the unique position of having to reconcile their theories with the party line, supported by hand selected data. In the end, of course, the value of art and science were measured by the rigid slide rule of the Communist Party. Science that did not promote its agenda was considered "anti-revolutionary."

Eisenstein is the very Comrade Lysenko of cinema. He hoists high the myth of science (i.e., the systematic study of physical Truth), reduced essentially to propaganda, and borne along on the shoulders of dubious examples. The most convenient (most incontrovertible) of these are those taken from his own films, the full meaning of which belongs to his own demesne. The language Eisenstein uses to construct his arguments is wisely selected: The more clearly one understands his propagandist averments and the less clearly the logic upon which they are based, the more likely one is to accept them as fact. Somewhat hypocritically, then, Eisenstein selects the voice of the intellectual elite to speak to the masses, hiding his true political intentions behind a veil of empty esotericism. Like the soothsayer, the illusionist and the ringleader, "Film Form" operates in the realm of baseless belief in which arguments gain validity relative not to WHAT they say but the WAY in which they say it. For this very reason, it is an important read... the very dogma of Bolshevik art.

The book provides great insight into Stalin's almost paranoid fear of a Sino-American rapprochment, even before the end of WWII. In fact, the book dedicates the entire first section to detailing this concern of Stalin's. And, it is well-researched. The problem is that when assessing Stalin's interests in getting China to enter the Korean war, the authors list vague and anecdotal reasons as to why Stalin might want a direct Sino-American conflict on the battlefield. They even acknowledge that this was the result, but oddly never consider that this was Stalin's intention all along. Otherwise, a useful work to understand how the war fit into the larger strategic calculations of all three players.

Interesting book. Focuses on the evolving relationship of Mao & Stalin. Both men had immense egos. Fascinating to understand that at one time even Mao had to rule thru consensus. Stalin by 49 rules thru fear, having already had shot anyone whose consensus didn't jive with his. But the title is misleading. The decision for war in Korea is only a factor in the last couple of chapters. These chapters are fascinating, to the point one wishes the book contained more info on the Korean war and less on the political relationship that developed from 45-49 between these two evil men.

In an overall sense, this is an outstanding book. Uncertain Partners deals with many of the issues surrounding the nations of China, Russia, and Korea immediately following WWII. The authors, a Russian presidential advisor and two Stanford political scientists, reveal and report about many of the confidential documents of Stalin, Mao Zedong and Kim Il Sung. These documents, never before seen previous to the 1990s, describe the inner-workings and deep-seeded relationship between Stalin and Mao. In many ways, Stalin and Mao were uncertain partners. The authors makes the reader understand that Mao was simply a puppet of Stalin and his form dictatorial communism. For a greater understanding of this partnership, I would undoubtably recommend this book. Concerning the topic of Russian and Chinese relations, this book has to have profound implications. With that in mind, it's a must read.

If you want to improve your own films, this book will not help you (I doubt that any book would). If you can actually figure out what Eisenstien is trying to say (which would probably take 3 readings, but who has the time?) you will find only obscure and vague theories. They are interesting in what they reveal about Eisenstein and his films, but they will not help you as a filmmaker!

Though no book will make you a filmmaker, some will help you refine your vision. This book, for me, added some poetry and texture to the imagery already in my mind. Pretty much the only thing that will improve your film skills, is making them.

Eisenstein thoughts on montage and how the mind interpets film is invaluable when creating films of one's own. Read the book 3 times to learn it for the first.

First of all let me preface my review by saying that I loved the author's first work. Loved it. However, this is not the author's first work. I don't know what Sergei was smoking, or who he was smoking it with, but it fried the parts of his brain responsible for plot and character development. First of all he spends way too much time with f sharp. I mean it's constantly f this or f that and always sharp, never flat or just plain f. Too many freakin' f's. I can say one good thing about the 'Complete Piano Sonats'. It did get me away from the computer. Unfortunately it didn't create anywhere near the stir amongst the ladies that was promised in the infomercial.
In conclusion: buy this only if you enjoy playing music on the piano more than I do.

Though, in general, I could not agree more with the previous reviewer's abhorence of the note f-sharp - I for one would love to see Mr. Prokofiev further explore the use of the vastly underrated note g-flat, I could not disagree more with his enthusiasm for Mr. Prokofiev's first piece. What is here to love? What is its great attraction - its naivite, its sophoristic cleverness, its innocuous unctuousness? My only regret is that he had already published it before it was too late - certainly second thoughts that would have led to aan appropriate final resting place in the living room fireplace were to arrive not too soon after that fateful day. And as for being a babe-magnet, the chicks today are much too sophisticated. No longer are women swooning at the mere intonation of that previously-thought-to-be dangerous f-sharp. Sure, we men all regret the day when a couple of deftly composed f-sharps would throw a woman into one's arms, and have her throw caution to the wind - life was so simple then. But today's modern 21st-century woman is way beyond that. Today, no single sexy note will do. For this I recommend, Mr. P's seventh. Sure that old-fashioined f-sharp is still present, but now the chromatic approach says: "yes, or course I'm unctuous - but in a good way." And those d-flats!!! Those show the depths of one's inner nature. And finally a g-flat!!! So delicious. We can only thankful that Mr. P lived long enough to finally see the light and incorporate that most luminous of notes - the g-flat - into his compositional bag of tricks.

It's a wonderful book with some beautiful pictures. A lot of the book is derived from the book "My Sergei". However, there were a few new things learned about Sergei Grinkov. If you are a G&G fan you will enjoy this book.

This book was one of the most fantastic books that I have ever read! I know the title sounds a little weary, but it's not. I read this book to my 11 year old daughter, and we both enjoyed it. She said it was a great read too. If you are ever boared with your book, go to the library and check it out! Trust me, it's worth it!!! Maddie

Zernov and Pain (the editors) have excelled in culling these excerpts from Sergius Bulgakov's writings. Anyone who has the least interest in Russian intellectual history, Eastern Orthodoxy, or in ecumenism should become familiar with his thought.

Bulgakov offers thoughtful insights in the realms of philosophy, Christian doctrine, humanitarian ideals, and even economics. In light of the current (Spring 2000) re-evaluations of the roles of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), his economic idealism offers suggestions which remain fresh -- even 56 years after his death.

For those interested in Christian ecumenism or even world peace, Bulgakov's essay "The Orthodox Church" should be considered. In it he develops the principle of conciliarity, or _sobornost_. Although conciliarity is offered as a solution to Christian disunity between East and West, it has serious implications for inter-national relations as well.

The anthology includes five autobiographical essays, eight reflective essays which interact with the cultural and philophical mileau (and often turmoil) of Bulgakov's day, ten excerpts related to Russian Orthodox Christian doctrine (including an excellent offering entitled "The Orthodox Church"), a sermon delivered to an American audience on "Social Teaching in Modern Russian Orthodox Theology" (in 1938), and five "Festival Sermons" centered on themes of joy.

The nine page Introduction by James Pain is informative and fair while Lev Zander's seven page Memoir is a fitting tribute to Father Bulgakov. This collection deserves to come back in print.

I read this book when it first appeared some ten years ago, having read much of the other work on P. (books by Israel Nestyev, Victor Seroff, etc.). Indeed there is a lack of good literature on P. in English. Unfortunately, Robinson's book is sadly written-down and dumbed-down for a sub-TIME-Magazine reading public. It is not necessary to do so to write a good, readable, un-academic biography (compare the superb bio of poet Marina Tsvetaeva by Viktoria Schweitzer). So this book wasted a fine opportunity: its evaluations of both life and works are simplistic. Robinson claims to be "above" the ideological divisions of Cold War Prokofiev scholarship (e.g. pre-Stalinist vs. Socialist Realist Prokofiev), but he does not engage this problem at all, at least not in any thoughtful way, and blurs over it with bland cheery platitudes. Disappointing!

Harlow Robinson's book is excellent; well worth reading. He strikes the right balance between the composer's personal charateristics and the body of his musical creation. The book is rich in detail, yet to-the-point; it is objective, yet reflects the complexity of this sometimes very unpleasant genius. It is perfectly comprehensible for the interested non-expert who has invested a good deal of time listening to Prokofiev's music, and seeing his movies, ballets and operas. As a Russian speaker familiar with every day speech and everyday life in the Soviet Union, I can say that Mr Robinson has a keen understanding of that culture, right down to having a very fine ear for transliterations. The composer is the Beethoven of the twentieth century: the one who has created the musical language which is so much a part of us that we take it for granted. Robinson brings us the man and the mind behind that language.

Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography by Harlow Robinson (Professor of Modern Languages and History, Northeastern University) is an exhaustive, detailed, scholarly, and documented account of the life, times, inspiration, and personal history of acclaimed Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953). A handful of black-and-white photographs and a brand new foreword and afterword by author Harlow Robinson enhance this reprint of the most thorough Prokofiev biography to be found in the English language to date. A superbly written, insightfully informated, and ighly recommended for anyone with a keen interest in the evolution of individual musical greatness as reflected in the life and work of a seminal European composer, Sergei Prokofiev is a core addition to any Music History supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.