This book has lots of useful info. for those interested in Crystals. It gives a brief overview of the science and mystics behind crystals, as well as a brief description of the properties of 20 common crystals. It also has a short section on healing layouts. There are lots of beautiful pictures! However, this book doesn't give a very detailed description of any of the crystals, and is very limited in the amount of information it supplies. A great 'diving board', though.

The Book of Crystal Healing by Liz Simpson is one of the most comprehensive and informative books I have read dealing with crystals and chakra energy. It is a wonderful guide for new explorers and presents scientific beliefs as well as the ancient and spiritual. I especially loved the photos, art and all the references to ancient healing practices.

Liz Simpson was straightforward in describing the various aspects of crystals and their metaphysical properties. She brought enlightenment and inspiration to my practices. I definetly recomend this be the first book for a beginner!

If your're looking for very brief facts this book is fine, and there are a huge number of obscure entries you won't find in similiar volumes. But if you need a more in-depth approach or bios about important contempory figures still alive and active in world affairs, then look elsewhere.

Everything you need to populate your stories with people, places, and things. History lives. These things you would want to know.

This biographical encyclopedia sacrifices depth for breadth, and on most occasions that's just fine. It provides the basic outlines of why people are notable, their years of birth and death, and cross references them with other relevant figures. For me, that's an important mission, and ample for 90% of the people who are listed here. It is true that some figures receive more detailed treatment in other encyclopedias, but I'm guessing that for 95% of this book's reader (or more) the outlines are sufficient.

'The Caves Beyond' may be responsible for getting more Americans interested in caving than any other single piece of literature. For a long time it was the only work on caving, a sort of informal bible. The book is both a work in itself and a prequel to its now better known cousin 'The Longest Cave'. Along with 'Trapped', these two books form an informal history of Mammoth Cave, one of the most celebrated caves of all time. The writing style is easy and free, bringing the reader into the events. By the end of the book, you feel as if you've been along with the C-3 Expedition, shared their hopes and dreams and their failures too. 'The Caves Beyond' is a book by cavers for everyone and a great introduction for anyone who has harbored hidden desires to go caving.

I am a college student, and after reading this book I have considered learning to cave. The authors write in away that pulls you into the story. Anyone who even remotely likes caves should read this book.

While stationed at Ft. Knox, Ky. in 1954 I learned of the National Speleological Society intent to explore Floyd Collins Crystal Cave. Having done explorations in Indiana caves as a boy I thought it would be interesting to go to the site in Kentucky where preparations were being made for the exploration. My knowledge of communications was quickly put to use when someone was needed to operate the switchboard. I volunteered to give it a try and was asked by expedition leader Joe Lawrence if I'd like to stay and help out. Somehow the leaders of the expedition managed to get in contact with my commanding officer and arrange for a special leave from the Army. My wife, Barbara, and I both served on the expedition. It was a difficult time for Barbara since she was soon to become a mother. Our first child, Kathy Lynn, was born just two months after we served on the staff. The book chronicles not only the small contribution that we made, but the yeoman service and dedication given by the many who were behind the scenes. One of the reporters who went into the cave spoke to his editor from deep inside the Kentucky hills. That reporter has since made quite a name for himself -- Robert Halmi, Sr. At the time he was doing an article for True Magazine. Before I left the expedition site to return to Ft. Knox I made sure I joined the National Speleological Society. Although I am now in my late 60's, I still have wonderful memories of the days spent both above and under the ground on this expedition. The excitement generated by Caves Beyond may tempt younger people to try "caving" or "spelunking" but a caution needs to be made -- Never go caving along! That is what Floyd Collins did in the 1930's. He became trapped and died in the cave that the book describes. Difficult photography was carried out on the expedition. Many of the photographs you will find in the book were done by technicians whose hearts went into their work. Joe Lawrence and Roger Brucker accurately depict the discoverie!s and dangers of one of the most unusual and interesting caves in America. I am pround to admit that I lived the book -- or a part of it.

After reading so many of these book reviews and wondering if they were accurate, it's time to contribute, help others and affirm that reviews regarding this book are indeed accurate.
While I resented buying anything that says ..."for dummies" on it and have absolutely avoided doing so in the past, I must say that when I got my hands on this particular dummies book I was pleasantly surprised. While the others are mindlessly verbose for filler, this one is not. The writer sticks to what you really need to get started using this powerful application.
It's was a classic situation: I needed a fast start and had to produce something useful in an unreasonably short timeframe. It worked. I've used this book as the starter and also purchased "a very heavy" book for the advanced work I yet need to do. It's a useful two-pronged approach that works. Thanks to Doug Wolf for some very nice, concise work!

If you want a great Tutorial on how to use Crystal Reports 8.0 or 8.5 this is the book for you. Once you get a good feel for the product and you need to delve into more complex reporting needs and scenarios the product manual would be your next step... or other reference books such as CRYSTAL REPORTS 8.5 - The Complete Reference, published by McGraw Hill/Osborne.

Well this book is just what it professes to be, a book for the people who said "I've got this big program, now what?" It'll get you going on creating your first reports and getting productive on Crystal reports rather nicely and quickly. Especially if you already have reporting tool experience (just as simple as knowing how to use MS Access reporting tool or something else) you'll find it so easy to follow along!

However if you're a power user, such as an Enterprise administrator or developer looking to add Crystal Reports data to your apps this book won't completely satisfy your needs, be prepared to step up to one of the more complete references after you're done with this book. Still though you'll want to start here.

(Just as a side note: the price for Crystal Reports 8.5 the Complete Reference is cheaper here at Amazon.com than anywhere else including shipping).

I thought the book could be done a little better. If I wasn't familiar w/ Photoshop 7, then I would have been lost on several occasions while following the examples in the book.

Photoshop to Dreamweaver, or should it be called Photoshop to Image Ready to Dreamweaver to Really Cool Site published on the Web. This book does exactly what it says it will do, geared toward Intermediate PS users and Beginning DW users. I found the section on Image Ready most helpful. IR was not an application I ever found much use for. Well, I have been doing some things the hard way. This book demystifies IR, slicing, and quick cool rollovers. I found the DW sections to be a little novice, but it is designed to be. I also found myself thinking a bit ahead in the PS chapters, but you are always being led in a direction for a reason. So, follow the steps... Having complete and accurate tutorials in important. This book is complete and correct. If you create and think in Photoshop and then want to put your creations, interfaces and navigation on the web, this book is for you. If you are new to web design, it is standardized on the best applications for the job, Photoshop/Image Ready and Dreamweaver. By the way, this was a very fast read. You will be shocked that you have finished the book and have a nice site mock-up to show for it.

Great designers, aren't always great writers. Colin & Crystal are rare exceptions, blending engaging design with virtual story-telling ability. Well Done...

Ok, who is this book for? If your like me you've used Dreamweaver and fireworks for web sites and jumped around to Photoshop, or PS7 as they call it, to manipluate the images from time to time, then this may be for you, especially if you have created websites with Dreamweaver/DMMX.

Also, you are at a loss as to how some websites place images and slice them up to place in dreamweaver tables. I mean, c'mon ,how did they get that line, small color 1 pix image gif as a background as well as a rounded boardered image jpg to line up? Fireworks? Dreamweaver? I'll never understand this.

Maybe I should look at GO-Live? Maybe fireworks can do this? What is the story here?

Well the story is this. (according to these authors), photoshop is best for design, and dreamweaver is best for web publishing. You heard me right. Did you ever think we would see a book, and a book from Friends Of Ed no doubt, that placed to of the top selling software authors in the same book???

Well they did and the reason being, that these two programs are the best for what they do.

I've been building websites from Dreamweaver and Fireworks but to be honest, wouldn't it be cool to just draw what you want and then publish it? Well now you can.

This book takes you from the design stage (PS7) to editing (/slicing via image ready - although I'm sure fireworks would have worked) and then to dreamweaver where you then set up the tables for the pages you just created. The photoshop section is so good that I used it myself for a tenative client, and changed the text and images to say what I needed them to say.

Also, what I'm really enjoying is that having built websites from MX Dreamweaver, I now feel the freedom that I've been searching for with a book that puts it all together. i.e. how to get something from your mind (PS7) to Dreamweaver.

I've also found that the PS7 example, creates the whole page in PS7, but once you have the general concept down, you can create just the sections you need, i.e., just the nav bar or side bar... AMEN and AMEN. The dreamweaver section is easy and they show you how to replace, or import what you've done in PS7 to Dreamweaver.

Lastly, since you learn to work in Layers in PS7 (pre-dreamweaver), you now have a numerous pallet of templates that simply by turning off one layer, or changing another gives the site a fresh new feel, all with the click of a few buttons.

Excellent excellent book.

I also recommend Crash Course in Dreamweaver MX and make yourself complete the whole book to grasp the basics of dreamweaver. I also like Photoshop Studio Techniques, VTC online training and Fireworks MX Bible.

I would also like to see them (friends of Ed) put out a FIREWORKS MX and dreamweaver, just to see the results. There doesn't seem to be that many Fireworks books on web publishing with real work (classy and clean) examples.

It wasn't a shock to find out how wonderful The Crystal Stair is! Grace Chetwin's adventures are magnificent and keep you reading. This book was constructed beautifully and should be a favorite of people who love fantasy. I was so sorry to find it out of print. This third book in the Gom On Windy Mountian series requires nothing but the highest praise!

The beginning of the story is heartwarming with the relationship between Gom and Harga. There is gut wrenching emotion when they are forced to part again. Gom grows up so much during his search for a mentor. There is great imagination about the seven realms and everyones position is defined clearly. Highly recommended.

It wasn't a shock to find out how wonderful this book is! Grace Chetwin's adventures are magnificent and keep you reading. This book was constructed beautifully and should be a favorite of people who love fantasy. I was so sorry to find it out of print. This third book in the Gom On Windy Mountian series requires nothing but the highest praise!

This handy book gives alot of ways for divining the future. It contains scrying, tea leaves, and using regular playing cards to tell the future. Doesn't go into a lot of detail on everything but is a good place to start if you are a beginner. I love the way the book is fashioned, kind of like a personal diary.

another good guide from gillian kemp. with hints of wiccan and romany crafts. this author never fails to impress for the beginner and practitioner.

This is one of the best books on fortune telling out on the market. You'll explore many methods such as, cartomancy (playing cards), using crystal balls, reading tea leaves, and candle divinations. I would suggest this book if you wanted a book of easy ways to tell your future.

The tragic tone of "Crystal's" life could not be made more clear than if one was living it as well. Psychotic and confused, Crystal is all too familiar with an unstable home life. Her mother's boyfriend impregnates her and Crystal, barely out of elementary school becomes a casualty of the system. She makes the rounds of hospitals, treatment centers and schools. At each stop she wonders what place exists for her and her child.

This author provides a calming voice of reason to Crystal's plight. To her credit, she does not villify or condemn even the harshest of people and conditions. She writes in a tone of respect and even acceptance. If nothing else, this book is a reminder of each person's duty to care about the needs of others.

I devoured this book in one night. I was shocked and saddened by the story of this young woman and her family's history with the New York Foster Care system. The thing that surprised me most about the book is the family's unwavering hope that someday they would be reunited, despite the horrible poverty and dysfunction in their lives.

This book was an account of a young woman's life from early childhood to young adulthood. Crystal Taylor and her siblings were shuffled from foster home to foster home, a pattern that was similar to that of their mother's life style. Crystal became involved in theft, drugs, and sex. She became a teenage parent at 14 years of age. Crystal and her siblings were a part of the welfare social system, as well as Crystal's baby boy. "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair" is a moving story of an individual's experience. It is an eye opener of the effects and drawbacks of poverty in a life.

Although I found the content very informative I was too distracted by the number of spelling and punctuation errors to take the author's advice too seriously. Although I'm quite confident that Ms. Wright knows of which she speaks in this field, it marred her credibility somewhat in my eyes that she would allow a book of this poor quality to be published under her name. And as a Canadian might I add that it's spelled "Vancouver" not "Van Couver". Hire a professional proofreader before you release another edition!

The Career Guide is an excellent book for people just starting out or those wanting to fill in the blanks of their already established careers. The information is great for those wanting to pursue a print or film/tv career. Blanks that were filled in for me after I read it were things like the sizing and style of a portfolio, the importance of promo cards and approaching agencies. These are things you would otherwise probably find out through trial and error.

Speaking of errors, the book is full of them - both spelling and punctuation errors. Being a third edition I was disappointed in the lack of proof reading done. It was distracting to read ("a lot" spelled "alot") and makes an otherwise perfect book very hard to read!

Overall, despite the errors, I highly recommend this book!

This book is an artists encyclopedia for the business. The information provided in the pages is pure gold. Anyone interested in persuing a career as a hair/makeup artist or stylist must pick up this priceless reading material.

Despite the tension between the two main characters and a promising premise, The Art of Love doesn't always reach its potential. The intercultural differences between Dakota and Pierce could have been developed better. So despite some very funny passages and truths about approaches to African-American culture and class, "The Art of Love" still comes up short.

This book was a treat to read. Dakota's character was smart, funny,successful and real. The way the author developed her and her relationship with our hero, her sister, and her mother were real. The book was easy to read and the pace was fluid. If you want a good read. Pick it up.

Crystal Wilson-Harris has written about exciting and true-to-life characters who move in glamorous circles. The tension between Dakota and her sister and between Dakota and her lover, Pierce, as a result of her emphasis on all things African and African-Amercan and their "whiteization," adds another dimension to the romance aspect of the book. Dakota is a powerful, intriguing heroine who knows her own mind, and will not be deflected from her values