CRYSTAL is a fine book with an important message. I love the vivid pictures of the modeling world, and the way Crystal herself is such a real girl. She's beautiful, but you won't hate her for being so lucky, because Myers keeps her real and presents the downsides of modeling and Crystal's life being devoured by it. While it's aimed at girls ages 10-14, older girls would enjoy it also.

The only reason I took of half a star is the ending. I won't spoil that for you, but if you've read it, maybe you noticed that Crystal has no ther talents, as far as we know, besides her modeling. If Myers had developed her poetry more, or schoolwork or acting or anything, given her a talent besides being gorgeous, then I would be more satisfied. Perhaps she could have gone into a different, less sexy kind of modeling; cereal ads, TV commercials, whatever; or maybe she could have a talent like poetry (which she has, but it's not mentioned very often) that she could turn to.

But I really loved this book. Myers is so good at thinking as Crystal would: for example, Crystal is meeting a new person, and it says something like "In her mind, Crystal made the woman up. Powder, a less ridiculous lip color, mascara...it didn't help." Of course, a model would think of make up. It's so perfectly told. I also like the fact that Crystal is black, and beautiful. It teaches African-American girls that they don't need pink apple cheeks and golden hair to be pretty--and also, that your looks are tiny compared to what's inside you. All in all, it's a terrific book, well-researched and brilliantly told. Read it!

Crystal Brown is just beginning to achieve success in the competitive glamorous modeling profession. She is a high school student by day and a participant in a fast-paced lifestyle in the evenings. The direction of her career forces her to decide which is more important to her - fame and fortune or self-respect. Athough the universal appeal of Crystal might not be as strong as other works by Myers such as Bad Boy or Monster, his character development and narrative are of high quality.

This was a nice book. It really made you see the modeling world from a whole different point of view. I liked it!

Since I've visited Antarctica, and enjoyed its haunting, indifferent beauty as well as the spectacular wildlife, I was interested in reading an account of someone who had lived, studied, and conducted research there.

Campbell's strength is writing about the science, the wildlife, the extremes of weather and of living in a difficult place. His weakness is his utter lack of self-analysis. He berates the tourists who come to this place (does he think he owns the Antarctic area himself?), and laments the loss of microscopic and macroscopic life that is lost when the loutish tourist dares step on the fragile landscape, yet he is blissfully unaware of the far greater damage he does to the ecosystem when he powers up the hills to work on the weatherstation, and when he pulls up marine creatures and watches them burst, dying, under his microscope.

I guess anything is fair game when done under the guise of 'science', but woe be to the ordinary person who dares to learn about one of the farthest reaches of the planet.

It would be hard for this book to be uninteresting, covering as it does the natural history and present teeming life, as well as the everyday life of a human community, in this remote area. My only objection is the use of some scientific biology words which may be common enough among scientists but which are curveballs for us lay folk. Otherwise it's a fine read. This really made me picture myself there, and want to visit Antarctica, and appreciate its role in the world environment.

This book is elegantly descriptive of the history, both natural and anthropogenic, of one of the last true frontiers - Antarctica. Dr. Campbell presents an interesting history of Antarctica before the human invasion as well as after, which provides the reader with a better understanding of the environment in Antarctica.

This is an excellent, easily usable guide that helped my six-year-old Jackson and I collect all 100 shards and get to the end of the game...

Except that it's NOT the end of the game. There's one more level -- the Dark Star -- that isn't even mentioned in this guide! And since it's not mentioned, we were left on our own in defeating the final boss, O2 and officially beating the game.

Which we did, of course.

WOW! if you have Kirby 64 (like me!) you MUST order this! It will help you finish the game in no time!That's why I ordered it....

Kirby 64 : The Crystal Shards is a very complicated game that is truly a bit hard to master. But with another book in a series of Prima strategy guides will help you. This strategy guide is complete up to date and has everything from how to get all the shards and how to master Kirby's moves. It will teach how to successfully block, swallow, and destroy all the enemies the gamer will face.

Prima's guide will fully explain each of the 6 levels and the final boss level. Colorful pictures show where each and every single shard is. It even comes with a list of enemies an friends. Easily understandible and never a bore to read.

The guide also explains each of Kirby's 30+ moves and tells you how to master them, use them, and vary them. This guide is definetly useful for anyone stuck on a level or boss or planet. With 6 planets and at least 3 levels on each plus a boss battle, most gamers will get stuck, but its time to get unstuck! Kirby 64 : The Crystal Shards : Prima Official Strategy Guide is a gamer's must have!

To contact me please use the email address silver4000@go.com

October 25, 2002

Hoddeson & Daitch, "True Genius" (Bardeen)

Our university bookstore (809 S. Wright St.) kindly informed me of your listing of Hoddeson and Daitch's John Bardeen biography, "True Genius," and, of course, I read the brief "Publishers Weekly" review, as well as the more cryptic but more positive comments of others. From the very first sentence I knew that the "Publishers Weekly" review would be superficial, and maybe even wrong, which then is of what help to a reader and potential book customer? Living in the U.S. democracy, how can we not be curious and not read about the Founders? Similarly, how can we be immersed in all the new electronics (computers, cell phones, DVD and CD machines, MRI's, digital machinery---in fact, Si here, Si there, Si everywhere) and not be curious about how all this happened, what sort of ingenius mind, or minds, might be at the beginning of it all? Imagine the calamity on the planet if the transistor vanished for a day. Does that help in understanding the scale of a Bardeen, of "True Genius"! I knew John Bardeen for 40 years (as my teacher, friend, colleague) and still I learned something further from Hoddeson and Daitch and the material they unearthed for "True Genius", a fascinating biography (a different kind of story). Hoddeson and Daitch do not disappoint in their biography of Bardeen and in elucidating over many chapters his kind of genius, which "Publishers Weekly" doesn't seem to appreciate. Genius is a diamond of many facets, and Hoddeson and Daitch reveal a Bardeen facet. It isn't the last chapter of "True Genius" that matters. It's the whole book, all the chapters, that reveal an American hero---if you will, a genius.

Nick Holonyak, Jr.
John Bardeen Chair Professor of
Electrical and Computer
Engineering and Physics, and
Center for Advanced Study
Professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering

This book is very well written, and does a good job of telling the history of the invention of the transistor. The book focuses on the technological aspects of the invention, but also does a great job of telling the story of the personalities, and (now multi-million dollar) businesses that were involved with the invention.

Who would have thought a book about the invention of the transistor could be so compelling? And yet here it is. The authors tell two parallel stories, one about the inventors, and one about the developments in physics that led to, and followed from, the invention of the transistor. The interplay between pure science and technology has seldom been explained as well.

I'd put this book alongside "The Invention That Changed The World" as the two best popular histories of science an technology of the decade.

After reading the other reviews, I decided to give this manual a try. I have never written a review myself, but this one drove me to it. I found this title to be a poor choice, based on the following factors:

-The content of the book is little more than what is in Crystal's own training course. It looks like they copied it verbatim.
-There are gaps in the presentation of material covering commonly used features.
-I would not call it a "book" per-se as it is photo-copied and spiral bound
-The content is designed for a training course and is not well-written.

Having said that, I did set my monitor on it (along with an old DOS manual) and now it is just the right height.

As an independent technical trainer, I must say that I was a little concerned after reading such positive reviews, then read one that was so contradictory. Since I was under the gun to provide some Crystal Training I thought that I'd give it a try. I've always considered myself one to not follow the crowd when it comes to teaching. However after reviewing an initial copy of this book and subsequently using it in the classroom, consider me converted! The courseware - and that's what it is, not a coffee table book - is exactly what FastPlanet said it would be. My students raved about the book and all of the hands-on-real-life-exercises. I enjoyed the fact that the class was cohesive and relatively simple to deploy. One of the things I found in the first copy I purchased was that FastPlanet offers all of the exercise results as free downloads from their website. Note to FastPlanet - you should mention that, it's important to the training community. I can now pursue other Crystal Reports training opportunities with confidence!

As a Systems Consultant and Educator for the past 21 years, with experience in Crystal Reports since version 1.0, I came upon Fastplanet's courseware for our Crystal Reports Training Courses. I do not need to tell you about the quality of their materials because I have the achievements of our students to prove it. Fastplanet's books are straight to the point, roll up your sleeves type materials which take you through the steps of becoming proficient at the use of Crystal Reports. Heavy on the practice side and with good coverage of the material. In short, you WILL learn Crystal with them.

What better person to write a collection of short fictional stories about
the lives of African American women who're struggling to survive in the
rural South than the author, Crystal E. Wilkinson whose debut novel,
Blackberries, Blackberries is a winner. Wilkinson self-described Black
Country girl was born and raised in rural Kentucky and teaches creative
writing at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington,
Kentucky.

This book is compiled of eighteen stories in which African American
Southern women speak about their trials, tribulations, sorrows, laughter
and tears. Each story told in narrative form has its own level of
emotion with uniqueness. It's about truth telling and how each woman
deals with her problems. You can feel the emotions of these women as you
read their stories. Some of my favorites were Humming Back yesterday a
story about a woman who looks over her life from twenty years of hiding,
Waiting for the Reaper about a lady who is old and is still waiting for
ole man death, and the best story Peace of Mind about a single mom who
has a couple weeks to herself from her three young sons who are away at
summer camp. This story is hilarious and seasoned with soul.

Wilkinson's stories may be fictional but feel so real. Only a true
Southerner could write such stories. This book is one in which all
African American Women can relate to.

Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood

'The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice' is a phrase that is certainly applicable to the nectar that flows from Blackberries, Blackberries.

The short stories of this succulent read are rich, sweet and satisfying. Though the tales are short, they last forever in your memory. After each bite, you'll find yourself saying, "aahhh", "mmm", and other expressions that signify that your appetite has been quenched.

Blackberries, Blackberries is a collection of short stories of beautiful Black, southern women whose ages range from 8-80. Each woman is as uniqe as the tale she serves readers. The stories are creatively seasoned with wisdom, humor, romance, and other flavors that awaken your senses. Wilkinson arrests your attention with vivid scenes, animate characters, soothing sounds and tantilizing scents that will have you going back for 'second helpings'. Don't panic when the images leap from the pages; they are designed to make you feel at home in Kentucky.

Some of the delicacies that had me returning for seconds include: "The Awakening", "Chocolate Divine", "Mine", "Women's Secrets", "Tipping the Scales", "The Wonderer", and "Need". Wilkinson has prepared a delicious feast of stories, and there is plenty for everyone. No sharing please!

What an amazing book. This tome is filled with short stories - some long, some only a page or two - all of which capture the attention and fill the senses with the beauty of the "country".

I loved this book. I'm only disappointed it took me so long to discover it. Perfect gift material. I am going to snatch up a copy of her second book as soon as is humanly possible!

W.A. Bentley spent fifty years painstakingly recording snowflakes, frost, rime, sleet and ice in all its forms. Even before "Snow Crystals" was published in 1931, his work was well known, and so popular that eventually a donor provided the (apparently large) amount of money needed to assemble this beautiful collection.

There is a small amount of text at the front of the book, which is moderately interesting. It contains a description of how to take these pictures for yourself, if you'd like to; and a classification of the kinds of snowflake and other ice forms depicted here. The bulk of the book, however, is made up of well over two thousand black and white photographs, the vast majority of them of single snowflakes. You can get an idea of what they look like by clicking on Amazon's image of the cover picture, above; in the book, the images are white on black. You may also want to visit snowflakebentley.com, which contains more examples, and more information about Bentley himself (there is almost none in this book). In most or all cases, Bentley went to the trouble of making a duplicate negative of each snowflake and then cutting out, by hand, the finely detailed image, so that the background to the picture would be pure black.

The results are spectacular. The snowflakes are ethereally beautiful, and the variety is just stunning. However, in case it's not clear from what I've said so far, this is a contemplative book. It's not a book to read: it's a book to browse through, put away, and get out again another snowy day. Children will like it, but just to glance at, not to go through steadily.

Recommended.

Bentley's work is a classic and shows that good science is persistence with attention to detail. Bentley's methods are reproducible by student scientists, professionals and the public.

The book helps challenge the stereotypical "snowflake" (a spatial dendrite) reproduced in K-12 classrooms and commercial store windows. The International Classification of Snow has 80 "basic" types of snow crystals. This book helps everyone make sense of all types. Snow is unique in that it is the most unstable substance on Earth - constantly changing while it is forming, falling and continuing to change once it reaches ground. Even those areas that never experience snow (falling during a storm or accumulated on the ground) actually receive much of their precipitation as snow - the crystals just happen to melt on the way down to the ground.

A 10-year boy once provided me with a simple explanation of what snow really is: "Dead clouds!" Bentley helps us see inside the clouds and inside snowflakes - a special, long-term gift.

I love this book because it gives me a unique feeling of spiritual unity each time I open it. It may be that you will appreciate it for different reasons, but for me, it is a graphic reminder that there is a creative and benign intelligence moving the Universe. Originally published in 1931 this unique book contains 202 black and white plates of snow flakes mounted and photographed with painstaking effort under difficult circumstances by W.A. Bentley aka Snowflake Bentley. Maybe you won't want to sit down and look at each and every one because, of course, they are nearly all the same even though each one is unique, but that's another reason I like the book. It demonstrates so simply and eloquently the unity in diversity.
The photographs are very beautiful and they will be interesting to anyone who is fascinated with weather or with graphics in art, perhaps for textile patterns or silk-screen ideas. The images are copyright free and you can use up to ten of them without fees, permission, or acknowledgement.
There is a very small amount of text at the beginning of this book that tells about the different kinds of snow crystals and a little bit about how the work to capture them on film was done. There is one nice photograph of Bentley at his camera which is charming, but for the most part, this book is dedicated to the snow crystals themselves. Anyone who has stood outside on a cold, crisp snowy day and caught snow crsytals on an upturned mitten and marveled at their exquisite beauty will enjoy this book. The crystals speak volumes and we have Mr. Bentley to thank for cummunicating their message to us.

I'm a long-time metaphysicalist and a collector of mineral specimens. I regret wasting the money on this book which is more New Age puffery than a serious book on either metaphysics or crystals or any combination of the two. It is indeed imaginative but not much else. A far better investment would be "Crystal Power, Crystal Healing" by Michael Gienger, ISBN0-7137-2677-6.

I have thoroughly enjoyed studying Stones Alive and have discovered stones I never knew existed. Also, enjoyed the combination sections at the end. There's only 3 things I find missing in this great book: pictures of the stones; whether or not they are projective or receptive and information on where interested parties, such as myself, could purchase them. Otherwise, it's wonderful. Hope to see more from these authors on gemstones in the future.

After answering the call of the sacred stone spirits themselves, we found ourselves in communication with the two brilliant beings behind this multidimensional work. Naturally, after realizing the scope of the work Marilyn and Tohmas Twintreess are engaged in and the exquisite stone beings they have, we were curious to read their book.

We have likely read nearly every book in print on the subject of crystals and their spiritual dimensions, but this work is truly above and beyond anything we've ever read before. It was clear that this work was produced through a loving communion with the stones themselves, a work from the heart and spirit vs. one created within the mind alone. Like Marilyn and Tohmas themselves, this work comes from a great alignment with the divine around and within all of life.

This work is unique in that it discusses stones that have been found nowhere else and shares so many different ways these stones can teach, guide and nurture us. After working with stones for over a decade, they even shared some that we've never heard of before!!! Their information resonates deeply and the stories of the stones themselves are well worth the price of the book alone!

Also of great interest is the "combination section" at the back of their book. They give brilliant and magical equations of stonespirit for people to work with in so many different ways. This could have been an entirely separate volume altogether, so consider that you're really getting two books in one.

We can hardly wait for the second volume to come out - another step forward in putting us in touch with the sacred stone beings and the beauty of divinity that can be held close in each breath.

This book is a perfect present for anyone that loves stones, whether they have just started out or have long standing relationships with crystals and stones.

Marilyn and Tohmas - thank you for this offering. It is a wonderful work that evokes a greater knowing on so many levels.

Ire O O O,
Fabeku & Amy

Maybe I am a slow reader, but I actually took more than a year to complete reading this book! I have read the Chinese version some years ago, but that was for a book review for Chinese lessons. Now, almost five years down the road, I read the English version and found that some aspects of the original version was lost, namely the Taiwan-ness of the language (you need to have a knowledge of the Taiwanese dialect to appreciate Pai's work), the validity of this work to today's gay community in Taiwan and the whole meaning of New Park (after being renamed 228 Peace Park).

I suppose you must read it while remebering that such things don't exist that way in Taiwan anymore. Pai's work shows us the early stages of the gay community in Taiwan, and also the sad parts, especially the deaths, the heartaches and the loss of minds. Thank god, things are getting better now in Taiwan, and even in several big modern cities in Asia. So a word of caution to the Western reader in the US or Canada, or even Australia and England, Pai's work is about old Taiwan, a Taiwan that is relevant up to the mid 1980s. The Taiwan of today (2001) is a very, very different place as Pai describes, as regards the gay community.

Feel touched, feel sad but also feel happy that such sad stories are fewer now, thanks to more openness in Taiwan today.

I read this book because it was in my husband's collection when we married. Hsien-Yung Pai was his professor at UCSB, for whom he had much admiration. I was impressed with the fact that Professor Pai did not feel a need to resort to describing the physical intimacies between the characters to get an audience, but relied on descriptions of their emotional connections. I was deeply touched by A-Qing's relationship with his brother. Not being a writer, I can't come up with the right words to say why it should be read. Just that when I finished it, I will always be grateful the I had the opportunity.

Crystal Boys has been written for a series of TV play recently in Taiwan. The TV series is now playing on Taiwan Public Television Station. Some of the scenes are different from original story written and I would say that it's quite a success. However, the story told by author Mr. Pai still touches me deeply after all these years since I first read the novel.

I was pretty disappointed in this book, and was glad I only spent $11.00 on it...The author's opinions about diamonds, especially, seemed very cynical and negative to me, after all I have read elsewhere about the spiritual qualities and healing properties of these stones. Also, there was not a word about two of my other favorite stones, Iolite or Tanzanite. She did say in one part of the book "Always select gems and stones that make you feel good, never ones that someone else forces you to wear." I take this to mean that I can keep wearing the gems that make me feel good, and not take her as an authority.

The books contains excellent information on some stones and metals. Very practical also. It's not "The Complete Guide to Stone Power" due to it's limited amount of listed stones. But with the ones that are being explained the author did a great job. Great for beginners, or the very busy business person interested.

I just started to learn about gemstones for use with the chakras, and healing, etc. This book was recommended to me and I'm glad it was.