There's no effort to hide the fact that this book is basic, but perhaps it's too basic. The authors scurry through the full set of design principles, but often move too fast and touch too superficially to allow for real learning. Deeper analysis of the basics, substituting thoughtful examples and exercises for the many one-liners, would make this more helpful. On the other hand, it's probably useful for the part-time desktop publisher who needs to browse three "sample brochures" before four p.m. and couldn't care less about theory.

Although this book is basic and concise, it is very well organized and visually appealing. The principles and elements which are discussed in the book are applied to its design and content. The information is sound, but it simply introduces the topics without much elaboration. It covers the design elements and principles, layout, logos, brochures, etc., and has quality examples to illustrate key concepts. This book provides a good introduction to the subject of graphic design.

I am very satisfied with this transaction. The seller shipped the book on May 1 (as promised). I received it on May 6. It is in very good condition (as stated).

A book consisting largely of senseless, desultory, inept prurience. Save for Burroughs and Ballard, the editors presume much in claiming for these nobodies a place approaching the original Lovecraft's style and wit. No Bloch or Clark Ashton Smith here, these are all lurid, incontinent emulators of weird fiction, and undeserving of that rubric. What's curious is that Lovecraft influenced many a great author, from Michel Houellebecq to Will Self. Why be laden with posers and third-raters? I returned this book with in 24hrs. or receiving it. Buyer be warned.

This anthology, overall, is IMHO quite horrible. There are so many disgusting sexual references and appearances of excrement that one wonders if it was a requirement for the stories' acceptance for the book... In particular, "Walpurgisnachtmusik" brings to mind the ludicrous over-use of the [f word] in the first 10 minutes of Tarantino's "From Dusk Till Dawn."

The ONLY reason I don't condemn it entirely is that there ARE a few good things in here. Most notable is Coulthart's graphical adaptation of "The Call of Cthulhu," an excellent adaptation indeed. Some others stand out- Lumley's "The Night Sea-Maid Went Down" (a reprint, admittedly), Conway's "Black Static" (just ignore the unpleasantness at either end), Webb's "The Sound of a Door Opening," Moore's "The Courtyard" (again, dodge the few unpleasant bits, which seem especially superfluous here), and Mitchell's "Ward 23." Campbell's "Potential" is tolerably good, as well.

In short, if you can buy this book cheap, it's probably worth it; otherwise, give it a pass until you CAN find it cheap. If nothing else, buy it for the Coulthart segment, the one part that Lovecraft might have truly considered a tribute...

Within the confines of Lovecraftian tributes there are sometimes successes that combine elements of the fantastical with the bizarre, mixed results that couple the failings of one author with the successes of another, or - in the most rare instances - there are failures that can be found utterly without merit. These are the wonderful worlds that we throw ourselves into whenever purchasing a set of names attributed to a larger creator, and its something I normally fear because I've touched the eye of the proverbial oven one too many times. Still, within The Starry Wisdom, you have something of the middle man of the bunch, giving you pieces of the lore that are actually well-written and concise, as well as pieces that have no redeeming qualities, however. Unfortunately that is the lifeblood of many collected pieces, however, and everything has to be taken as such because of this. Happily, though, I have to say that there are some things in the book that I wouldn't want to be without.

Of all the stories within the chronicled tales here, there is an artistic adaptation of Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu done by John Coulthart that is immaculately done. The quality of the work is fantastic and captures the visions within the madness so very well. Few things merit praise as much as this does, and it truly makes the book worth buying by itself. Still, there are other noteable contributions that add to this as well, including a little Robert M. Price (A Thousand Young), some Brian Lumley (The Night Sea-Maid Went Down), David Conway (Black Static), Ramsey Campbell (Potential), William S. Burroughs (Wind Die, You Die, We Die) and a little Allan Moore (The Courtyard). There are also pieces from Grant Morrison (Lovecraft in Heaven), James Havoc and Mike Philbin (Third Eye Butterfly), Henry Wessel (From This Swamp), JG Ballad (Prisoner of the Coral Deep), Dan Kellet (Red Mass), Simon Whitechapel (Walpurgisnachtmusik), DF Lewis (Meltdown), John Beal (Beyond Reflection), CG Brandrick and DM Mitchell (The Exquisite Corpse), Micheal Gira (Extracted From the Mouth of the Consumer, Rotting Pig), Adele Olivia Glawell (Hypothetical Materfamalias), Don Webb (The Sound of a Door Opening), Rick Grimes (Pills Fro Miss Betsy), Peter Smith (The Dreamers in Darkness), Stephen Sennitt (Nails), and DM Mitchell (Ward)that can be hit-or-miss depending on what you demand from your authors. Many of these titles have come and gone through various books in the past, some more than others, and there are many that I really didn't like in the set. Still, the illustrated portion of the book was done in ways that made it seems so wondrously worth obtaining and I'm glad I put it into my collection because of it.

For fans of HP Lovecraft's works, then you might want to look into these titles - provided that you don't own them already. I would also suggest picking it up because of the reason I listed before, noting that the illustrated portions of the book are something done in the most commendable of ways. Even if you aren't a fan of Lovecraft but you love some of the things doe with his ideas, then this would be worth at least looking into because of the tendrils making sweet music in the background of nightmarish dreams. To a point, depending on your ownership already, it comes recommended.

An extremely important work and one that should be read by anyone interested in the uses of Political Correctness for repression. In ordinary circumstances a person like Dr. Barbara would either remain harmless or would swiftly be judged an intellectual fraud and a homocidal maniac. What this woman succeeds in doing, however, is to use the "liberal" predilections of other people against them to contrive dystopic circumstances that are extraordinary, putting her outside the possibility of judgment and allowing her to murder at will. The models for Dr. Barbara derive from such ancient sources as the myth of the Women of Lemnos and such modern ones as Moby Dick: she is a feminist Captain Ahab and is endowed with all of Melville's madman's persuasiveness and executive skills. A brilliant book, which belongs on the same shellf with Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Lord of the Flies.

And I'm glad to say it was easy for him to chew. This is a perceptive and actually pretty nasty take on the more extreme ends of enviromentalism and feminism, the points where the former becomes psychosis and the latter becomes sexism of a virulent and violent sort.

What I love most about Ballard is his willingness to probe the darker corners of the human psyche. It's a rare gift to want to explore these places, let alone use them to comment on our society. This is an excellent book and worth your cash!

I really liked Rushing to Paradise and I don't see how it generated such negative reviews; except to say that it IS a "politically incorrect" book. Author Ballard has strange, almost hallucinatory descriptive powers which he delivers in cool, matter of fact language. Above all, the book resonates with a twilight of the gods atmosphere. Maybe not for everyone, but this doesn't make it a bad book. Quite the contrary.

As a Intensive Care Nursery Nurse, as well as the parent of a former premature baby, Helen Harrison's book is extremely outdated. It was a bible when it was first published in 1983, but the field of neonatal medicine is constantly changing and any book written over 5 years ago is probably outdated, not to mention 20 years ago. My hat is off to Helen Harrison for her pioneering the field of premature parenting,but there are many other more recent books which will be far more useful to premature parents than this one. Linda Cole RN

This USED to be the bible of premie books. Twenty plus years later we have made tremendous strides in saving babies. Even 15 years ago I found many of the scenarios to be too depressing and no longer realistic. I do hope the author will come out with an update since so many people are directed to this book. In the meantime, I highly recommend (and use often when helping parents understand the crisis of their babies premature birth)Newborn Intensive Care: what every parent needs to know by Jeanette Zaichkin and published by NICU Ink. In 1983 we were just beginning to involve parents in their babies care and seeing them as an integral part of "the team". This newer book (1996) focuses on those things that parents can do to maximize their babies outcomes. Don't distress yourself over medical problems that are more easily treated today. Instead, empower yourself with positive information!!!

I am a Mom to a former preemie. My daughter was born nine years ago and this book helped me understand with what was going on with our little girl. This is a great book and I give a lot of credit to Helen Harrison, Ann Kositsky for writing such a great book.

This book claims it is designed for intermediate to advanced users. However, I don't see how it can be of much value to any level of user. The book has 1 or 2 screen shots on each page from the Dreamweaver program and describes what goes in each part, that's it. The screen shots aren't even clear or readable without a magnifying glass. There are no details or examples of the completed item or page.

The Dreamweaver built in help program offers more information and details than this book.

Easy to read, very helpful information - not the most comprehensive book out there. But exactly what I was looking for in terms of learning the basics of Dreamweaver after using FrontPage.

DW4 is a well-written, friendly voiced technical manual. What a relief from the tomes of dry, technical material that the average user cannot understand!

I used the book for version 3 and was able to setup a very functional web site in a weekend and my sales were good. Now, with this release, I plan to update my site with the new features and tools; sales will soar.

Thanks, Brenda Ballard and Prima for caring about the "little guys" out here who need help every bit as much as the "power users".

Ken Blanchard, one of the most successful business authors of all time, teams up with Terry Waghorn in this clear, concise guide to surviving and prospering in a time of great change. The authors show you how to guide your business through the present while simultaneously preparing for and implementing changes for the future. This well-balanced book, which focuses as much on vision, intuitive processes and thinking as it does on nuts-and-bolts strategy, is a valuable guide for working and leading in the twenty-first century. We [...] recommend this book for everyone in business, and find it particularly essential for leaders, managers, and business owners.

Mission Possible... is a book about surviving today and recreating your organization for tomorrow. The authors use the analogy of a sand castle which faces the incoming tide. Does one leave it alone to face certain destruction and hope that it doesn't happen for a while; or does one take immediate action to build barriers along the beach for protection, which may or may not help; or does one plan for the future by redesigning the structure as well as relocate the castle? People are the key to an organization's success and the way a leader can best encourage them towards this goal is to allow them to become involved in improving the present or inventing the organization's tomorrow. It's all about the journey and the understanding of what is possible.

I used this for a reading assignment for a class and found it to be interesting. It certainly is easy to read and while others may find it's message too simple, I feel that it is the simple message that gets across easily and stays with you the longest.

Buy the book because there is far too much useful information to take in at even two listenings. Although it starts as typical 'heard it all before' the last two sides are remarkable in their depth and panorama. There is advice and guidance for everyone here. We need to ask questions of our customers and competitors. How would our customers redesign our company? Three steps: vision - picture of what we need to become to better serve existing customers, prepare - what is the shortest path from where we are to where we need to be, deliver - change organisation to match vision. Customer facing people need to be empowered to solve problems on the spot, not refer to their managers. Your organisation is evaluated by how quickly it can respond to customer needs and problems. The person they care about is are the ones they talk to and they want top service from these people. Making all your people your business partners is a way of raising financial awareness and therefor cutting costs (story of 5c margin in restaurant). Divide into cost centres and profit centres. What is the strategic reason for performing the function of the cost centres? Should the work be outcourced? Should be spending more time managing profits not costs. Profit results from keeping needs of customers and employees paramount. 4 key managerial roles: producing - technical skills in field, make things happen, implementing - planners and administrators, maintain order and control, innovating - entrepreneurs, future looking and integrating - motivators, good at teamwork. Also 4 mismanagement styles: lone rangers - producers who cannot delegate, bureaucrats - implementers who focus on administration, process and rules, arsonists - innovators who never follow through or implement the ideas of others, super followers who cannot provide direction. In times of change are leaders willing to: relinquish 'parental control; look at both long and short term; supply resources and support; communicate and remove obstacles; help others overcome uncertainty and fear; admit that they do not have all the answers. Control kills learning, invention and commitment. Bossidy - burning platform principle, people 'jump' only when they see flames themselves. Leaders need to help people see the flames. Long term provides focus not on survival but the future. When in doubt communicate more, not less. Nelson Mandela - "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us." In order to help people manage change we need to keep everyone informed so they know what is in it for them. Change means that people feel awkward about needing to act differently, they focus on what they will lose, (what you resist, persists), they feel alone, they feel overwhelmed if there is too much change so they need to experience some successes before taking on more change. Readiness for change varies. Although people feel that they need more resources to do more - we have to do more with less. Need to keep everyone encouraged by catching people doing something right, but leaders need sufficient self-esteem to help others feel good about themselves. Discipline required managing perpetual churn (whitewater). Catch yourself doing something right - managing your self-talk. What do you want to be doing? Our problem is not what we see, but what we see with. At the brink of the 21st Century we cannot see the future with 20th Century spectacles.

As a fan of Michael Crichton, Stephen King, and the works, I was hoping the book would incorporate more action than I expected. There were many occassions where the technical terms were difficult to understand, but thankfully the notes at the bottom of the pages helped. The only part where I think was most interesting and exciting was when the crew discovered the Submarine and ventured into it to look for the secrets that it held. The rest is kind of, well, boring. And it was difficult, trying to make a deep sea expedition sound interesting. I mean, looking for core samples in the Hellencian Trench is not exactly the kind of thing you hear everyday. But overall, I'd enjoy Mr. Ballard's Non-Fiction works better. By the way, Lieutanent Haddix sounded more like Superwoman to me than a regular 1800.

As a fan of Clancy and Cussler, I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, it comes up short. There is a decent amount of technical information, but how exciting is an underwater sled with a camera attached to it? (not nearly as exciting as a torpedo bearing down on a captain desperately trying to make evasive maneuvers!) As for the action, it's okay. The ending is quite good, although the "secret" didn't live up to my expectations. A decent book, but you won't stay up until 3:00am reading this one.

Today we are dealing with families and aging parents. When a parent becomes ill with no hope we may consider physican assisted suicide. This story is about a family that deals with right and wrongs of assisting a beloved member of the family to die with dignity and the turmoils of life with other family members. Easy reading and a very good story. Check it out.

This book purports to take the reader "on a tour" of Pacific warship shipwrecks. What a complete crock.
There are probably not a dozen wrecks covered here; all the photos save one are very small and mostly boring (unless you're really keen to see portholes underwater). Two photos come from the Japanese merchant wrecks at Truk, some of the most-photographed wrecks in the world (and offered in exceptionally better quality in other publications). The only large wreck illustration is a lovely Tom Freeman painting of the YORKTOWN wreck. Nice, but by no means worth the space on your bookshelf.
If you're someone who knows nothing about the Pacific war, then this is a reasonably good primer of some of the major actions. If you already know what the Battle of Midway was and have some idea that the Americans and Japanese each had aircraft carriers, this book will tell you nothing about the war you don't already know, and the photos, while nice, are available in dozens of other books. If you're looking for some interesting views of the shipwrecks Ballard has made his reputation on finding, you will find nothing of interest here.
Save your money, and pass this one up.

In 1960, A T-33 from Hickam crashed into Hilo Harbor while making a practice low approach one night to Hilo VOR. A surface search was non-productive. Beyond that, no effort was made to recover the bodies of the two pilots. Subsequently (this year, in fact) I attempted to have the Air Force look for the airplane and its two pilots. However, I was told by General Hess, acting for the Secretary of the Air Force, that because the T-33 is no longer in the AF inventory and that underwater searches are difficult, nothing could be done. I must say that the General most likely reached his conclusion without looking at the radio logs from Hilo Approach Control which narrows down the point of impact, without looking at the water depth in the most likely area where the T-bird crashed and without considering the technical advances made in the past 42 years in the subject of underwater searches. . So, the Air Force looks after its own? Well, maybe not all of its own. ... The USN? The Coast Guard? The University of Hawaii in Hilo, private agencies? Thanks for reading this and for any help you can provide. Jackson S. Wallace, Colonel, USAF Retired.

Very interesting account of World War II Pacific wreck sites. However, I was hoping for a detailed photographic examination of the wrecks.

I regret that I cannot recommend "Hello America." In fact, it got so silly at times that it was embarrassing. J.G. Ballard is a British writer whose perception of America is, to say the least, a little too broad. The book's premise (the whole population of the United States flees to Europe in the 2030s, then the whole continent is turned to desert when the Bering Strait is dammed) and characters (nutcases all) were totally implausible. The attempted humor falls flat because the author is taking his premise so seriously, but the premise falls flat because the characters and their adventures are so ridiculous.

Wonderful premise! Awful execution! It's a tough experience to be 50 pages when one realizes that a book does not live up to expectations....at page 75 realize it shall not get better...at page 100 see that one is so bored there is too much temptation to give up. Listen to that temptation. It is unfathomable how a well-regard novelist wrote such a poor book and that no editor saved or stopped the book before it consumed several hours of my time with no gain to me.

The start of the book is good, besides it is hardly beliefable that things are still working after 100 years in the hardest conditions. The psychology of the characters is not very deep but the ultimate adventure that awaits for them made me read further after the first 50 pages. However when Ch. Manson appears in the story everything turns to the bad, worse, worst direction. The whole adventure becomes "forced" like the author had to make an end to the story (time pressure ?). The storyline becomes idiotic and completely boring. Actually it is a book you only read by "accident". I can not imagine that one is actually looking for it (unless she/he is forced to).