This book is mainly a photography book. There are pages after pages of lettering of "vernacular" typography. Interspersed are a few pages of hand-drawn lettering by the author. We're talking about 8-10 pages total of typography by Ed Fella himself. I would have preferred to see more of the author's own work with fewer photographic references.

Edward Fella's book of 1134 Polaroid shots of vernacular signs gives a flavor of what can be seen in most US public places, these are the roadside typographic shouts of local commerce. Because the business of America is business signs are everywhere, usually colorful and just asking to be captured by any passing photographer. To avoid looking like other photo books of public lettering and signage the author deliberately goes for a tight shot and most of the photos only show letter parts but as Lewis Blackwell says in his introduction, Fella is not interested in what the letters say.

With the tight photo cropping and a dull layout (all the photo pages are the same: nine, three by three inch Polaroid's, including their white border, butted up to each other, no captions or page numbers) I think this ends up as a very boring looking but nevertheless intensely personal book of public typography. The best images are the ones that have been produced by sign makers, or are obviously commercially printed. Vernacular signs, where someone has painted or scrawled some letters, are mostly produced by amateurs, who given the choice (and money) would much prefer to have something that looked professional, where any repeat letters look identical, have even spacing and all sit on the same base line. Vernacular neon signs do not exist because they can only be made by professionals.

Between the photos there are twelve sections showing the author's own creative typography, loosely based on the vernacular letters he has photographed and consequently showing the same amateurish feel and more critically in my view, a high degree of un-readability. This individuality to type is also reflected in the books production. The few text pages with two columns per page appear to have been pasted up so that paragraphs do not line up, the imprint page and the cover flaps have type that is deliberately unaligned This silly messing about with the text stops short of doing anything to the back cover barcode though, commerce wins in the end!

If I hadn't been so lazy, or thought this had been done already, or thought maybe no one would care to publish this, then I might have done this book myself a few years ago. I wanted to do something similiar but didnt.
However, I don't think I would have done as good a job as Ed did here. This is NOT a bunch of random snaps. The continuity of the medium and the cropping are what makes this a discplined, artful and well-done study. Nice work , Ed!
(So-follow your dreams like Ed did)

I was expecting something that would be very good here by Mr. Bloch. Instead, I was treated to a horrible and boring story. Is this the same Robert Bloch who wrote Psycho? The characters had absolutely no development and it was confusing at times to follow the plot. So where is Norman? The book was no better than the bad novel to Psycho II, which the movie was a lot better anyway. I would have rather read a novel of that horrible TV movie Bates Motel from 1987 or even the better Psycho IV's screenplay than this boring book which in fact I loaned to a friend and never asked for it back.

With the novel Psycho House author Robert Bloch created a trilogy that closed with a typically witty examination of the obsession America has with its serial killer 'heroes'. Norman Bates has been quite dead for years, the insane killer from the previous novel is safely tucked away in an asylum, and the infamous Bates house and motel is set to become a wax museum that recreates the gruesome details of the crimes committed there. Too bad a teenaged trespasser has just been stabbed to death on the property. With all the usual suspects accounted for who can be killing now, and why? Geared more for fans of the novels than the films, this is recommended to old fashioned Bloch fans. Those looking for thrills with a harsher edge should look elsewhere.

There was no beating Psycho. Psycho II came close with the "is Norman dead or not" clause. Psycho House says, "Yes, Norman's dead, but try telling Norman that." Even after the death of Robert Bloch, Norman Bates still lives on. Psycho House shows us that. It shows us that even if the body of a person is no more, his legend lives on forever. An Excellent novel with a few loose strings that now, since it's creator has died, only our imaginations are left to fix.

This book is disappointing. The title IS misleading.
This is NOT a COMPLETE GUIDE to improving eyesight.
The author is a Bates practicioner and gives you alot of theory and opinion until page 104. In Chapter 8 first paragraph the author even agrees with me by saying " This is not a 'how to' book. A book can explain an idea, but practical skills need to be learned in practice. A book will tell you what, and to some extent why, but only a teacher can show you how."

Any descriptions of "the Bates Method" are just an outline. This book DOES NOT teach you how to properly use the method and should not have been called a COMPLETE GUIDE.
The outline of the Bates exercises are in Chapter 8 and only 27 pages long in the 164 page book.
BE WARNED, DO NOT BUY THIS ONE. Get it from the library like I did if you really want to look but he pushes being TAUGHT by a Bates teacher more than anything else.

Garbage!

This book purports to be a complete guide to improving your eyesight, but turns out to be little more than a commercial for practicioners of the Bates method. The author is one of these, and gives some cases where he was successful, but there is little info of practical use in improving your eyesight by exercises and whatever mental shenanigans the author discusses. If you are looking for the actual methods to apply yourself to improve your own eyesight, look elsewhere.

This is an excellent introductory text to the Bates Method. The author, Peter Mansfield, goes over the behavior of the eye and various visual problems (a pretty standard practice in Bates books), then he goes over what the Bates Method is and isn't.
The previous reviewer said that this book does not offer practical "exercises" and "mental shananigans". But that reviewer may need to read the text more thoughtfully, for I think the author makes a good attempt at dispelling wrong ideas the reader is likely to have about what to expect from this book, a Bates teacher, or the Bates Method in general. I recommend this book to people new to the Bates Method, as people too often approach it completely wrong.

A couple quotes from the book:

"This is not a 'how to' book. A book can explain an idea, but practical skills need to be learned in practice."

"We have to learn a different way of thinking, a process that may take a little time, for the simple reason that if our thinking were right we would have nothing to learn."

THE LONG SHADOW OF LITTLE ROCK is an interesting book. The story of Daisy Bates, civil rights activist, newspaper writer, officer in the NAACP, is a story of hate and bitterness and constant battling against the whites in her state of Arkansas. It is supposedly the story of the intergration of Central High School in 1957 by 9 black youths under the sponsorship and "guidance" of Mrs Bates and the NAACP yet it more often reads as a chronicle of Mrs. Bates's successes and failures and her importance in the intergration. It is a one-sided view of an important occurance in the civil rights battle.

The reader must always keep in mind that the book was first published in 1962 (there is a preface by Eleanor Roosevelt) as the civil rights movement began taking on a more violent tinge. If you read it knowing the time period it was written in and the circumstances in the country and in the civil rights movement you can get through the pervasive hate and bitterness. Even Mrs. Roosevelt, herself concerned with the civil rights issue, comments on the bitterness of the volume.

It would be interesting to read Melba Beals WARRIORS DON'T CRY in conjunction with this book - because perhaps then the real truth of the Little Rock experience would be known. Beals did not care for Mrs. Bates and her experiences at Little Rock are covered in a very brief paragraph in Bates' book while other students, such as Minnijean Brown, enjoy pages of coverage. It makes you wonder whether Beals's story is true or a conglomeration of all the acts committed against the other students and if Mrs. Bates truly was concerned for the children at Little Rock or the press coverage.

A good read but one that must be read with the knowledge of the times, the attitude of the times and an open heart. Mrs. Bates recently died - and her book is an important read in the study of civil rights despite the anger, hate and bitterness of the writing.

Daisy Bates work is a very important document from the era of civil rights. Although it is not an actual account of one of the nine students who integrated Central High, it is very close. Bates was right there directing the operation, making sure the students were protected, and made sure that the children were encouraged to go ahead with their duty. I don't think I would have been able to send those kids in to that school, with all those hateful students. I hope Arkansas and the citizens of Little Rock apologize every day for what they did to those nine children.

Daisy Bates was an integral figure in the integration of Little Rock Central High School. As president of the State Conference of NAACP branches, she was very active in the fight for black rights. Hers is an eloquent account of a highly volatile situation. She effectively compares her views with other accounts of people that were there, and the writing is very fluid and moving.

I was really looking forward to this book. I thought it would be a fresh perspective on the Asian immigration, but I found the characters and stories to be uninteresting and pretty dull all around. It felt like an attempt at a Canadian version of "Joy Luck Club",which I also did not like. Each story felt sloppy and incomplete. I didn't get a sense of life in Canada aside from the fact that it is cold and filled with Caucasians. I much prefer "Troublemakers and other Saints" by Christina Chiu for Asian themed short stories.

I was looking forward to this book, hoping to see a fresh Asian American novel. I was pretty disappointed with the characters and storyline. They were both uninteresting and superficial. The stories left little to think about and I felt like they were an attempt at a Canadian "Joy Luck Club" (which I also did not like). We do not get a sense of life in Canada aside from the fact that it is cold and there are a lot of Caucasians. There is nothing special about this book.

Judy Fong Bates is a talented writer-someone who was born in China but moved to Canada as a young child.

Her keen eyes expertly capture the immigrant experience in the collection of short stories: China Dog and other Stories from a Chinese Laundry. Bates has done a brilliant job here in describing the closeted lives of the Chinese communities living in and around Ontario. Her short stories tackle ground that will seem familiar to many immigrants. Marriage outside the community to a lo fon (non-Chinese Canadian), aging elders and their place in an increasingly rushed life, the relevance of superstitions in modern-day life-these are but some of the issues addressed in Bates' collection.

In "The Lucky Wedding", the protagonist, Sandra, has to break the news of her wedding to a lo fon, to her family. Sandra can do nothing right it seems. She has chosen Victor, whose "livelihood was suspiciously unreliable. He was an artist, a painter, someone who worked with his hands, like a laborer." In addition, Sandra makes out reception invitations on cards with just one bird on the front-a definite ill omen for the Chinese. The fine line that Sandra has to tread between the Chinese and mainstream Canadian worlds is done very well here.

The immigrants lead extremely claustrophobic lives. In "The Good Luck Café" for example, a newly wed Chinese wife talks to nobody but her husband and brother-in-law all day long. Despite this, many of the characters in Bates' stories worry that they or their offspring are becoming "too Canadian." "Our lives in Canada are overrun by gwei, ghosts", is a strong complaint, "gwei men, gwei women, gwei children. We served food to gwei customers, bought from gwei shopkeepers, were treated by gwei doctors and taught by gwei teachers."

Bates' stories are a compassionate look at people still very much on the fringes of mainstream Canadian society. Theirs is a world where cultures collide, where the old meets the new, and something has to give. China Dog is an incisive look at the immigrant experience up close. Its insights are valuable to us all.

I bought this book thinking it would be a great reference. It isn't!

What They Are: If you're looking for work in a museum chances are you've done a museum course or you've volunteered in a musuem. Therefore, you know what people in the various jobs do.

How To Prepare: Education, training, and experiece are listed in this section. If you're looking for a Curatorial posistion you've already got this so it's nothing new. I was expecting more information on what techniques I could use to prepare for interviewing for such jobs. Or perhaps an example on preparing a portfolio of work, but there was no such thing in the book.

Where to find them: I was expecting something more indepth than learning museums, arboretums, historic houses, etc. hire people to work in various job. No kidding! What I thought I was going to get was a comprehensive list of places broken down by category and/or location.

In short, this book did not tell me anything I didn't already know. If you know absolutely nothing about museum jobs it would be great for you. However, if you think it's a good resource to use to help find a job, don't bother!

If you want employment in a museum; then this is must reading! Erma T

Had hoped to see more sexual content with upbeat stories of older folks having regular sex and engaged in vigourous exercise. By and large there is just too much depressing content consistent with stereotypes. Use it or lose it? If youth only knew...and if age only could. Short on sexual success stories.

Dr. Matsen has a unique writing style. He has defined the process of aging in a wonderful human light that is not depressing. Your attitude and outlook on life is what carries you through.Dr. Matsen has a very different expression on the aging process. His looking glass deserves to be read. A wonderful read!

This book, and the conference organised by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research on which it is based, asks a question which is fundamental to Asia's future: how did Taiwan ride out the 1997 financial storm when Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia were almost capsized by the wave?
Several essays in the book note that small and mid-sized firms make up nine-tenths of Taiwan's economy, with equity financing being the norm rather than debt financing. This meant that there was far less opportunity for speculative funds to sweep into and out of the economy, and also meant that the business sector was much more stable than in some of Taiwan's neighbours.
The capital sector was also strong, with a minimum of exchange rate controls and most financial institutions in private rather than government hands. When the crash came, non-performing loans accounted for less than five per cent of credits, compared to 16 per cent in Malaysia and 19 per cent in Thailand. Taiwan's financial institutions had also been markedly more successful at mobilising private capital and channelling it into productive investments than its neighbours.
At the macroeconomic level, Taiwan's performance had been solid, with growth at over five per cent and a current account surplus of about 4.5 per cent of GDP. Not spectacular, but the point is that Taiwan had been turning in good results for a substantial period, rather than looking like an overheated economy heading for a fall.
In spite of Taiwan's sturdy foundations, the meltdown still had a punch. There was a 15 per cent currency depreciation in 1997-98 and a steep drop in the stock market. But this did not translate into an economic free-fall, mainly due to decisive action by the Central Bank. It stabilised the exchange rate with sales of foreign reserves and then, crucially, let the domestic currency float. In 1999, the Central Bank buttressed its success by promoting growth with low interest rates and new investments. Credibility was a key asset, with the Central Bank being widely seen as prudent and competent, run by technocrats rather than political cronies.
In some ways, the retreat of government may have gone a little too far: several contributors to the book note that Taiwan might have fared even better if the Central Bank had had a wider range of monetary instruments to use. But the bottom line for Taiwan remains: a solid base and a swift response meant that the '97 storm was mostly distant thunder.

Weathering the Storm sets its points with admirable clarity, but there are subjects which are not covered. The underlying issues of macroeconomic/currency policy are hardly touched, and there are comparisons (such as with South Korea) on which there is insufficient depth. Perhaps these issues were discussed in the conference, but they are not in the book.

As with many conference volumes, the quality of papers collected in this book varies. Some (Frank Flatters on Thailand, for example) are informative, some less so. None of the papers considers the financial crisis as a regional or systemic crisis -- instead the focus is on country by country analyses. Oddly enough, none of the papers on Taiwan deal with its decision in the fall of 1997 to devalue its currency, the New Taiwan dollar, which arguably intensified the crisis, at least with respect to Hong Kong and South Korea. One can find some interesting material in these essays, but one will have to look elsewhere for an in depth analysis of the Asian financial crisis, even with respect to Taiwan.

More self-righteous tripe from a Leftist nag. Novick has convinced himself through the compilation of various incidents that White racism is ominpresent and all powerful. The solution? Socialism. That's right, more government, more regulation. The fact of the matter is, the world is becoming homogenized under the banner of the global economy. Ethnic and cultural identity (especially White) are seen as obstacles to this process and such feelings are being criminalized through indoctrination and various pieces of legislation. But hey, what's a Leftist going to do without White racism? It pays their bills. So if they have to, they will see it where it doesn't exist. This foolish book is a perfect example of that.

I have no idea what the first rambling review was, but anyone who actually READS this book will find it an exhaustive and meticulously researched volume on the activities of the extreme right, particularly the white-power and 'patriot' movements that were on the upswing during the time the book was written (1994-95ish). At some points depressing, at others powerful, Novick makes a point of touching on virtually all the extreme-right trends of the period. If you are interested in understanding the ideologies and players among the racist right, Novick's investigative volume is a valuable reference.

"Be Brave, Baby Rabbit" is really not a tale about Halloween although it takes place at that time. But dressing up and going trick or treating is just the middle part of this tale. it begins when Baby Rabbit tries to jump over a basket of apples in the orchard just like Little Rabbit. But Baby Rabbit does not make it and bangs his nose. On Halloween night Baby Rabbit dresses up as a lion and Little Rabbit is an Indian princess. That night they see a witch and a monster and Baby Rabbit learns to be brave, which means another attempt at jumping over the aforementioned basket of apples. However, the beginning of the story sure makes it look like the problem with jumping over the basket of apples is not that Baby Rabbit is scared, but rather that he is even smaller than Little Rabbit. So while I certainly appreciate the attempt to tell a funny and tender tale about overcoming his fear and tries again, the set up here just does not warrant this particular lesson. More importantly, young children might think the lesson to be learned from this story is that they should try to do things they are not old enough or big enough or agile enough to do. So while the pictures by Diane De Groat are pleasant and the sibling relationship is nicely captured by Fran Manushkin, I would be careful reading this book to young children.