Be aware that this product is 25% information and 75% sales catalog. It provides a brief overview of a particular technology and then presents the reader with many pages of products addressing that technology. Whilst this is a useful introduction to (say) wind generators for home use, $... is a lot of money to charge for a catalog. This book/catalog tries to address everything from passive solar to hydro-electric power generation, but doesn't really do a great job on any of it. Not a bad introduction, but certainly not a "must have' kind of book.

At least for anyone looking to cheese off the oil and power companies!! I'm not a bleeding heart, but I do kind of have to live on this planet! If I can do so without mucking it up, well, that's probably a good thing. This book made it easy to clean up at least my own act!

This book has paid for itself a dozen times over in the money I have saved in electrical costs! The tech chapters were over my head, but my electrician understood them and (thank God) was willing to try something new! A fine book!!

From novices to pros, this book explains Renewable energy and efficient building practices. Great reference to start design and cost estimation from each section. One of the best features of this book is the addition of the National Electric Code for RE systems. It's possible to pick a building material to build a house, design a solar electric system, decide on appliances, determine the use of a greywater system, and more from 562 pages. No more looking up pages on the net!

After about four of these stories I had had about enough. Because this book contains nothing but the same basic short-story premise done over twenty times, and who needs that?

This is what goes on in every short story involving Gavagan's Bar:

A few regulars sit at the bar (these regulars are ciphers, completely interchangeable, a few with cutesy names like Professor Thott), and discuss some topic that leads to a couple...jokes, and another round of drinks. Then, some stranger, usually a young fellow looking worried or haggard, pipes up in agreement with whatever the barhounds have been discussing, and then launches into a strange little story that relates to the theme of the evening. The stories always involve some supernatural element--often a mythical beast has put a cryptic curse on the storyteller, or some magical object has been found by a friend of the storyteller, and has turned the victim's life upside-down. The stories endlessly put forward the idea of "be careful what you wish for...", and also repeatedly hammer home the idea that, even if a supernatural being grants a gift, not a curse, the wording of the fine print should be checked thoroughly, or suffer supernatural humiliation.

There are dryads, dragons, leprechauns, lycanthropes, magic glasses, and even a few madcap mechanical contrivances; but the sheer repetitiveness of the stories just obliterates all humour right out of them. This is, essentially, the same story told almost thirty times--with only a few blessed exceptions. I mean, the best story is probably the first one, Elephas Frumenti, if only because it doesn't feature the exhausting story-within-a-story pattern, but simply features somnething that actually happens right in the bar. But even then, said story is just a needless expansion of an old joke that starts with "How do you know when an elephant has been in your refrigerator...?". And who needs an old, two-line joke stretched out to eight or ten pages? No one. Just like no one needs one story retold as close to thirty stories.

Sorry, can't recommend this collection.

Ham tastes wonderful.
This book is wonderful.
Mmmm....Gavagan's Bar

Far superior to that one trick pony "Spider" Robinson.. no rabbits out of hats, no SUPER group unable to deal with one little old lady next door, no whining, for gohds sake!,... NO WHINING!

Get it, love it, it's a bit dated but at least THIS book is SUPPOSED to be.. [and probably knows it unlike the losers at Callahans who long ago lost their cachet...].

Many of Manaras books are outstanding, not only because of his great art, but because the story is smart and funny! Ahhh...but i am afraid this one is no masterpiece. Is the art good? Yes, but even here it's not top notch. The story in this one is just not very smart...if this is the first book you purchased by Manara (and of this nature), you might like it...but comparing it to the first Butterscotch, it falls very short. Sometimes youre just going to say, 'this is stupid' and these situations hurt the book. If your looking for something nice and funny by Milo Manara, I would recomend: "Butterscotch", "Gullivera", another hot title is "Click 1-3", and "To see the stars".

Another nice story by the grand artist, Milo Manara. The plot of the story is nice and "tastefull"...not overly explicit or extremely perverted. The reason the plot is good in my opinion is because Milo Manara worked with another artist, Pratt Manara who makes his stories work. The art is really nice, and the story is pretty funny...but what keeps me from giving this 5 stars is,[like with many other adult stories, the author has nice pictures but "nothing smart to say". This makes some situations seem very stupid if you actually read it! HaHa...

"Il profumo dell'invisibile" (the real italian name for Butterscotch) is a funny and sweet comedy about a girl named Mel (Miele, "Honey" in italian) and about a genius who invented a great potion to become invisible. Manara dives into every people's fantasy: the power of becoming invisible! This comic book is a real masterpiece: don't miss it!

If you expect a book about sex and people, this ain't it. This is pretty much just a story about soldiers in the wooden ships and muskets age, with some women thrown in for bonadage slave sentiment, with a few sex scenes - those mostly sordid. The art is okay. See his other titles for truely sexy books - Gullevera is a quick, neat, sexy, fairly clean romp for adults who like naked women but also enjoy women who aren't always naked.

I have always enjoyed the marvelous line of Manara; it's so simple yet exquisite. And admittedly this is my first experience with anything by Pratt. The story has a lot of potential given the setting and the characters, and moves along rather well, but everything sure seems to end abruptly. So, I enjoyed it, but it shouldn't be rated 5 stars.

You could just pick the up the book, browse and enjoy the art of Manara.
After you settle down, the story is engaging and it makes you feel for the characters: Tom Browne, an english drummer boy; Molly Malone, an irish prostitute; Matthew the hunchback and Aureliana, an argentinian girl.
All these while Argentina dreams of freedom from Spain and the British empire profits from it.
Manara does superb art, teasing the eye while Pratt keeps the story going.
A must have for Manara lovers!

This is an excellent book for getting up to speed quickly on GL 6. I would not call it for the advanced user, but it's excellent for beginners or intermediates with Golive. The tutorials are clear and concise, and the book is exactly what it advertises itself to be - it gets right to the point.

I wish there was also a good advanced book on GoLive that covered using scripting such as Java and CSS and dynamic content in detail, unfortunately there are none yet that are any good. Maybe Sams can do that too? But for beginners or intermediates with GL 6 who want to start using the software today, this is the book to get!

I found this book to be a very good introduction to Web design using Golive 6. The lessons are short but well presented, they are fast, and they can be used immediately to my own practice projects. Although the GoLive interface seemed so unassuming when you first open the program, it can get filled up quickly once you begin working. The authors made sure that you don't get lost amidst the plethora of palletes. There is also the confidence that I am reading the work of competent Golive designers who can actually communicate what they know and teach an unknown audience cleverly. Sam's formula, if I may venture a guess works well for this book: plain English, competent authors, short but lively presentation and an exciting software. In only a few hours, I was already making my own web pages and amazed my friends. This book is a very good start in Web design using Golive 6. It is one of my best and most useful books!

I had never used GoLive before and was kind of freaked out when I first opened the program. Then I went to an Adobe seminar and one of the authors of this book was a presenter. He was really excellent and knowledgeable, so I decided to buy the book. I'm glad I did! I've now created two Websites and am starting my third. This time I'm getting paid! I know I still have a lot to learn, but this book got me up and running FAST. The best thing about GoLive is the way it works with my Photoshop files. If you haven't used this yet, check out the convert to banner trick!!!! Saves you tons of time!!!!!

Although I agree with most of Dr. Pratt's ideas and beliefs, I found this book extremely toilsome and, in some points, downright bland. I agree that it is good preparation for an intensive study of the Old Testament, but at the same time, I must admit that Dr. Pratt goes into too much detail on some minutae of the Old Testament.

In He Gave Us Stories, Dr. Pratt introduces Old Testament interpretation in an approachable way. His aim, as stated in the preface, is to provide "motivated lay people and beginning theological students" with a method for biblical interpretation that is more practical and less technical. Through this approach, He Gave Us Stories appeals to a wider audience than a more scholarly volume would.

The principle idea of He Gave Us Stories is that the Old Testament narratives provide not simply a history of the Jewish people, but a revelation of God and the imperatives He has given man. However, because these truths are in story format, they must be interpreted to be of use to God's people today.

The backbone of the book is Dr. Pratt's three-fold approach to Biblical interpretation. The first four chapters cover the subject of "Preparing for Old Testament Narratives," the middle eight chapters deal with "Investigating the Old Testament Narratives," and the final four chapters are on "Applying the Old Testament Narratives." Dr. Pratt likens this approach to an archaeologist, who much invest a great deal of time, thought, and effort as he prepares for his project, searches for his treasures, and transports his discoveries home.

He Gave Us Stories provides more a simple method of hermeneutics than a formal system of biblical theology. With the exception of Chapter 12: Overview of Old Testament Narratives, the purpose, structure, and content of this book are pointed toward the exposition and application of individual texts.

This book is a useful tool for students and teachers of the Bible alike. Dr. Pratt has succeeded in making it accessible to those who are not textual and hermeneutical scholars. In particular, his focus on the stories of the Old Testament make the overall approach to understanding all the more appealing. Surely no person, learned or not, would be uninterested in stories. And certainly not these stories, since they are from God himself and teach us how to live our lives. The thread of stories weaves its way throughout the book.

The structure of He Gave Us Stories is also commendable. Dr. Pratt takes the principles of hermeneutics - a very complex subject indeed - organizes them, and states them in an uncomplicated way. And the ability to make the profound appear simple, according to C.S. Lewis, is the mark of true genius.

This book requires mental work, but it is rewarding. Dr. Pratt's hermeneutic is revolutionary in the sense that it allows the reader-student (you must study it to get the meat of it) to unlock OT narratives like never before. His three-prong paradigm for interpreting a OT narrative text (and any narrative text) is simply profound. His hermeneutical adjustments from original meaning (epochal, cultural & personal) are very useful and helpful tools in the quest to rightly interpret any OT text. I heartily recommend this book to any serious student of the Bible. If possible, it would be best to read the text along with Dr. Pratt's audio or video tapes as he teaches through the book, if those are available. Soli Deo gloria, David Sims

Ticket Home is a wonderfully written book. James Pratt's talent for drawing his readers into the story is remarkable. He presents various aspects of love; from brotherly, to familial, to marital; and invites his readers to discover their own understanding of love and compassion. Ticket Home is a romantic saga and much more.

I have read everyone of James Michael Pratts books and have loved everyone of them. I love the romance between the people in every book. This one touched me and I think I cried almost through the whole book like I do with all of them. Paradise Bay was the same way. I enjoy Mr. Pratts work and will continue reading as long as he writes.

I highly recommend reading this book. I really enjoyed it. It has romance in it, and you also learn about what it was like living during the war. It was a very interesting story. I really enjoyed reading James Michael Pratt's other books too: "The Lighthouse Kepper" and "The Last Valentine." I highly recommend these too! They teach good values and a lot about relationships as well.

I do not agree with everything this author states. Overall I think this to be a well done book.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BULLMASTIFF,READ THE BOOK FIRST AS LYN PRATT IS A VERY KNOLEGABLE BREEDER AND GOOD JUDGE IT,S A BOOK YOU CANT PUT DOWN UTILL YOU READ IT FROM COVER TO COVER

Lyn's work spans years and years of work the value of which is often missed by novices. When you learn to walk, you first must crawl. If a person reads this book as a foundation of the Bullmastiff breed, s/he will be able to hold his/her head up with the best. If you don't you will forever be stumbling through the halls of Bullmastiff fame. The building blocks are here in her book, enjoy them and the years of work Lyn has put in to attain this knowledge, you'll always be glad you listened to Lyn, I am, she has always been my Mentor - thank you Lyn!

In the churches defense Orson Pratt had a habit of getting a little out of hand with his views. If memory serves correct Brigham Young had this book banned from being printed at first because of it being controversial.

On the other hand a lot of the information is accurate to early mormon belief. Such as polygamy and the roles of man and woman in marrige but, Pratt does have a habit of elaborating and putting his own spin on early dogma a bit too much. After all he was a man of science and tried to take Joseph Smith and Brigham Youngs concepts and explain them as "scientific" as possible (like the reason for celestial marrige was so when your dead and in heaven as a god with your wives (godess's) you can mass produce enough children to populate your own planet to be judged..he then gives figures and numbers as to how long this will take and how many children will be needed).

I would approach this book with caution and view it as Orson Pratts views and not the views of the whole body of the church during that time. I would recommend reading something like 'Mormon america' or 'The Mormon experience' and get a good over all view of the church and its history before approaching these more 'sensational' books. After all you should always try to be fair..even if you don't like an organization:)

anyway I give it 3 stars for being interesting in subject matter and 0 stars for being well written (the constant referral of the body being a tabernacle is enough to drive you mad)

adios

... Read it for yourself in this book or ask your Sunday SchoolTeacher, Bishop or other Church Leaders. If You have taken time toread the Book of Mormon or Doctrine and Covenants I urge You to readthis book. Granted some of the beliefs or teachings supposedly have been changed through "Modern Day Revelations" but a lot of them still hold true. I believe in God and I am not trying to promote any particular religion. I think that this book explains a lot of the beliefs in a broad light and that You will find that you haven't been given all the facts on Mormonism. We have all heard the saying that witholding information can be as bad as lying. Well then "Why didn't the Missionaries or your various Teachers tell You the whole story of the conception of Jesus as they believe it happened?

This book has taught me alot about the pre-existance and also about the importance of being married by someone holding the proper athority. this athority is now being given to men in our day, and can only be controlled in rightousness. this book talks about the athority of the priesthood and how by it, Christ created this earth and worlds without end in our vast universe.the lady that gave the other review can't even spell Mormon's right and I'm shure has never read or even tried to understand what the book and the Holy Ghost have to teach. many people try to destroy the testimony of others, the testimony of Christ, and the atonement he has wrought. I hope whoever reads this will seek the truth with an open heart and determination. another book that I suggest to read and pray about to know the truthfulness of, is a book called "The Book of Mormon" another testament of Jesus Christ. this book containes the fullness of the gospel. It contains the dealings of Christ with the Native American people after his acention into heaven,(when he left Jerusalem after he was reserected, and his 40 day ministy among them).I know The Book of Mormon is true and of God. It is the writings of prophets as God allways has chose to work with his people. there is a prophet on the earth today at the head of his church. check out other things about The Book of Mormon, nobody's looking, you don't have to worry about what your friends think of you but what GOD feel for you. You will find your eternal potential. but be warned of the oposition. Satan doesn't want people to worship God correctly or receive joy in this life. The book of mormon brings joy and this is my testimony that he lives and these words I leave in his name, even Jesus Christ, amen.