I read this book about a year ago and then picked it up again and tried one more time...no luck...I just don't get it. I've really enjoyed Anne McCaffrey's other books, such as the Pern Series, the Crystal Singer books and the "Talented" series. I was very frustrated with "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" because I wanted to read more of THAT story...not the others in the book. I felt like I was left hanging.

The Girl Who Heard Dragons was one of the best books I've read by McCaffrey! I loved the way she wrote each story and the way it all came together. There was a lot of science fiction, rather than fantasy; though, it was still the quality that would you expect from Ms. McCaffrey. I haven't read all of her books, but I've read about 5 or 6 of the Pern series. Read This Book!!!

The book "The Girl Who Heard Dragons" is NOT a Pern book. There. Maybe that helps a bit. See, this book is a collection of SHORT STORIES. Only the FIRST story takes place on Pern. The other fourteen are a collection of fasinating and extremly diverse group of stories. One of my favorites was "The Greatest Love", which is about two children being born in the womb of their aunt, not their mother. This is done all the time now; women unable to have children find proxy mothers to help them. But this was written years before the procedure was done. Anyway, the point is, this is NOT a Pern book. It's a collection of Anne McCaffrey's writings. The first Pern story was excellant, but the other stories were just as great. And to you confused readers out there . . . take a closer look!

For those who have become fans of Cameron because of Titanic, this book might be a pleasant introduction to this filmmaker. But to others who have read Cameron interviews/stories in magazines like Premiere, Esquire, Movieline, etc...this book is an outright bore. None of the information is new and the quotes are all ripped from past interviews. This book is on par with the Leo DiCaprio books that litter the Times Best Seller list right now, which isn't saying much.

If you've done any significant reading on James Cameron through magazine articles or seen him speak in interviews, you've already gotten most of what you'll get out of this book. It covers more personal background, and gives more detail on the early work (Pirahna II) than is usually discussed, but there is far too much Cameron worshipping in this book and not enough thorough details.

I have to agree with the comment by SVK, it may not be worth buying if you've read too much of all sources Chris derived to use for his so-called "unauthorized" book. Other than that, it's more interesting to learn more about the man who blew the audiences away and held Hollywood hostage at his feet. Paula Parisi's book would be a safe bet to satisfy your appetite for knowledge of the wildly successful and most recognized filmmaking genuis since Spielberg.

Longhorn Bob wrote a book. It's a massive tome from a massive tool. The old photos and clippings make it worthwhile for the football buff, the Texas fan, or the OU fan who wants a glimpse into the past.

However, I wouldn't recommend actually READING this book and thinking you're going to get anything other than Longhorn propaganda. It's sooooo biased and over the top it makes one question everything the writer says. As one reveiwer mentioned..he hates Oklahoma so much he even attacks the OKC zoo. Seriously, dude, you've got a complex.

So the fact of the matter is that Longhorn Bob hates Oklahoma and hates that Oklahoma has more national titles than Texas. When he wrote this book in 1980, Oklahoma only had two more titles than UT. Now OU has added two more in 1985 and 2000, with Texas still left wanting, hoping, and praying for a championship season.

Meanwhile, their coaches, players, and fans continue to spew vitriol at Oklahoma and make every excuse in the world why OU wins and Texas doesn't.

Buy the book for the pictures, but cut them out and burn the rest. It's trash.

Interesting topic for football fans, but the Texas-bias is evident. It's too bad. This is a rivalry really worth exploring from an objective viewpoint.

I was shocked at the author's lack of journalistic integrity. Mr. Heard covered Texas football during an era in which Texas fans were deeply frustrated. This book (apparently some houses will print anything) is nothing more than the work of a tired, bitter, frustrated old man. It shows on every page. Objective reporting? -- No. He was so desperate to lift Texas, that he even took a cheap shot at the Oklahoma City Zoo. I am not joking, go to the library and see for yourself. The redeeming value of the book is that it can serve as a reminder not to allow anything to obsess us to the point of public embarrassment. Don't waste your money on the last gasp of a pitiful life. Woody Hayes, call your office.

And for the author to come onto this site to defend his malodorous slapped together quickie bio is contemptible. Heard, the author, "takes offense" and makes claims of having spoken extensively with mssrs. Woo and Chow, and yet these "talks" are not included in the book. All we get are the same story beats featured in mainstream magazines such as People and Time. Anyone who buys this odious ripoff will, in fact, receive nothing but quotes featured in articles posted on www.chowyunfat.com, or www.johnwoo.com, or bullet in the web or any number of other sites available by typing the words 'John Woo' into any search engine. Available for free, mind you. Christopher Heard, unfortunately, is a hack who did not put in the necessary legwork, and who now feels the need to attack his critics and defend his own deficiencies as a writer and "reporter." For all the "authoritative posturing," where is the interview with Kenneth Tsang, who has starred in almost every post ABT Woo work (including Chow's American debut The Replacement Killers)? the detailed examination of Woo's work (how the two-gun stance was swiped specifically from The Shootist and Taxi Driver)? details about his gun-happy works before 1986's A Better Tomorrow? Why didn't Ti Lung become Woo's leading man? why Chow? and who is Ti Lung anyway? and what about the many other projects Woo was supposed to do once he got to America? Band of Assassins? Full Circle? Tears of the Sun? Metal Machine? the sequel to Hard Boiled? Who wrote these? How did they come to Woo's attention? Christoper Heard doesn't know any of this because he didn't know what questions to ask Woo (or Chow). He focused solely on the well known movies, as opposed to the person behind the typewriter and camera. Where was the discussion about how Woo (and later Chow's) work suffered once they reached America? Why is this happening? These answers are not in this "book." This slapped together quickie's contents can be found, free of charge, on the aforementioned sites, where ironically, amateur webmasters offer more answers than this so-called biography. Don't bother with Heard's hackwork. He didn't bother trying to write a real book; he slapped other peoples' quotes together and called it his own work. Don't bother buying it. A better book has yet to be written on John Woo.

This book, though very informative, is taken from so many other already available sources that it reads more like some student's book report. The most inaccurate passage being that Jeff in "The Killer" wears white gloves like Jeff in "Le Samourai". I own "The Killer" and do not remember seeing him wearing gloves. Also, Christopher Heard claims that some scenes from "The Killer" match "Le Samourai" shot for shot. That is completely untrue. Obviously Mr. Heard has not done his homework and thoroughly researched his subject matter. All in all, it is an interesting read if you are unfamiliar from where some of the material is plagerized.

Think of this book as a really extensive magazine article. If you're looking for some behind-the-scenes information on the second half of John Woo's career, look no further. However, if you're a film student looking for a complete in-depth critique of John Woo as an artist and director from both a technical and biographical perspective, this book will leave you a little hungry.

This book is not helpful for auditions, I ordered it thinking that they were selections from plays not written by the author, everyone knows that these type of monologue books are not useful to an actor as far as auditions, AMAZON.. can you please be more specific on these books! we need to know if they are excerpts from plays before we buy them!

This book contains 30 female speeches written by the author, each averaging 2 minutes in length and summarized by one or two sentences, such as "Frances recommends homocide as a means of retribution for blatant promiscuity." While Pomerance cleary intends to create fresh, new monologues that are free for interpretation, the result is a collection of rather flat pieces, centered around unmotivated characters with no real dramatic context. The content (sex, violence, profanity, politics, crime) makes it inappropriate for youngsters, and the form is too superficial for most adult actors. From this perspective, the title seems ironically prophetic.

As a student, I found this book to be very unhelpful. First, there are no age ranges or ethnicities given as guidelines to help you select a monologue. Secondly, since they are original peices, I wasn't able to research anything about character, relationships, etc. I found them unusable because as a student, I am unable to audition or work from unpublished scenes/plays in class. However, Pomerance's writing is interesting and poignant for those who want an original monologue:just unpractical from a student's prospective.

With much interest in studying Disney, I appreciate the author's different opinion towards the Disney company. But as a book itself, the author seems to have put up a lot of irrelevant stuff into it, such as where did the word "boycott" in English come from, and what does the Bible say about the act of boycotting, which all seems unrelated to the Disney's issue. The author should have gone deeper into the issue, such as to provide more evidence and analysis to support his argument. But the author has not done that. As a whole, I will instead recommend you only to read the first chapter of the book!

The potential contribution of this little volume cannot be overestimated: Imagine the joy of visiting a Disney theme park unspoiled by the repugnant bigotry that drives Land and York's calls for boycotting Disney. If they are successful in convincing fellow bigots to avoid Disney, then the rest of us will surely have added reason to take our children to "The Happiest Place on Earth." Thanks, Dick and Frank!

If you are looking for a book to helping you get the most from your experiences with the Disney company like I was, this book is not for you. The book was written by members of the religious right and is all about boycotting Disney. Don't waste your time with it.