Animation fans be warned--this is anything but light reading.

While I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent person, I must admit I had considerable trouble slogging through the dense, polysyllabic prose. Once I did so, however, I found the book did contain some interesting observations:

In one installment, one of the book's many co-contributors examines the deconstruction--and reassertion--of gender roles. No news to those of us who are transgendered--the book points out things that many in the TG community find obvious. Namely the main premise, that gender roles are ridiculed (as with Bugs Bunny's crossdressing) in order to reinforce them. Whether the animators themselves had this intention is questionable--they were merely following a formula as old as vaudeville-- but it does make one think. A related essay covers the lampooning of heterosexual behavior in the Pepe Le Pew cartoons. The contributor noticed what I discovered many years ago--that "gay panic" in straight males forces them into the same sort of blissful denial as poor Pepe. They, like Pepe, try to convince the world they are irresistible to women, because that is what defines them as men. Most of all, however, they're trying to convince themselves.

There is also an excellent overview of the portrayal of blacks in Warner Brothers cartoons--it contends, as I have always believed, that the animators themselves were not necessarily racist even if their cartoons sometimes were. The fact that Bob Clampett went so far as to take his animators to a black jazz club in L.A. (as preparation for the brilliant "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs") shows a sincere, if naive, sensitivity on his part. Rather, it was the enforced racial separation of the time--and the resulting ignorance of whites toward black people--that were the real culprits. Those who participated in the making of such cartoons now wish they hadn't--they would hardly have been so contrite if they truly were racist. It is a period they--and we--are now trying too hard to live down.

Given the sometimes insightful essays contained in this book, I wanted desperately to give it a higher rating, but it is weighed down too much by wordy "pedagoguese" for me to give it a higher recommendation. The whole in this case is less than the sum of its parts, and no book that requires one to have a dictionary within arm's reach is fun reading.

Over the last few years, academics have discovered the joy of writing about pop culture phenomena. Some (like the contributors to the book Enterprise Zones, a collection of papers on Star Trek) get lost in a fog of postmodernist critical/cultural theory, churning out abstruse and obtuse collections of quotations from French philosophers, ignoring as much as possible the text under study.

Thankfully, the contributors to this book don't do that. They're writing some serious history and commentary, but the Warner Bros. cartoons remain the focus, not what Jameson said about what Derrida said about what Foucault said. More to the point, even when criticizing elements of the cartoons (as in the paper on representation of black characters), the reader senses that the writers are fans of the Warner Bros. cartoons, flawed though some may be. There's always the sense that, no matter how serious the discussion, this is ultimately about something fun.

Oh, and the editor's comments in the introduction, about the recent dumbing down of the classic characters into friendly TV commercial shills and merchandise movers, is right on the money (so to speak).

This is a great book for anyone who likes warner brothers animation. This book covers many interesting topics that you normally wouldn't think of. Some on the topics cover Gender Evasion of bugs bunny, African-American:Images and portrayal, temporary Disneyfication of Warner cartoons and fans verses Warner Brothers and even talks about the fans erotic fantasys (some people actually think of that ?)on the internet. It's a really interesting book and I really recomend it. It's not boring like others i've read. Each chapter is also written by a different author ( Kevin Sandler only edited them)so it keep it interesting.

The book is very difficult to follow and the plans for the jigs are quite poor. The prose is often distracting and it feels like this is either the author's first book or he was in an hurry to finish it. The pictures are all black and white and too close to the subject. You really get the sense that the author is more concerned about showing off his jig making skills rather than helping you make your own. I also dislike his blatant plugs for both Porter Cable routers and his offset subbases that he wants to sell you.

...

This is one of those rare woodworking books that combines plenty of great technical information and an inspirational, even challenging, message. Regular readers of magazines like Fine Woodworking and Woodwork know Warner as a highly knowledgeable if occasionally doctrinaire (witness the scorn he heaps upon table-mounted plunge routers!) router maven. Oftentimes such a personality wears thin over the course of a long book; not so with Warner. Having bought the book to learn about a specific jig I had heard about, I found myself reading page after page with attention and growing excitement. My routing (a daily activity in my woodworking business) is going to change for the better thanks to Warner. I'll be building several if not all of the jigs in the book within the next few weeks. I am convinced that, 10 years into my life as a router user, Warner's approach is going to make my work faster, more accurate, and even more enjoyable.

Warner's approach is open-eyed and creative. Several of the jigs bring the router to the work in directions (and tool-path-shapes if I may be forgiven a gaucherie) that appear bizarre to someone used to the standard manufactured jigs. Bits in unusual shapes and sizes abound in this book, too. Warner's prose is also occasional eye-openingly unfamiliar, but almost always in a satisfying way. This man has obviously thought long and hard not just about routing, but about how to describe it precisely and without a lot of the hackneyed jargon that often conceals a writer's limited mastery of the subject. I kept coming upon concepts like "handedness" and being reminded of Russian Formalism's "defamiliarization" or "enstrangement."

I must share a few cavils about the book. Two of them are about perspective. Every page of the book is full of close-up photos and clear diagrams. However, there is a frustrating lack of wider-angle views. "Okay," I found myself thinking time and again, "Here is a great shot of how this template, this router bit, and the workpiece come together. But how does the whole assembly get held to the bench? Where does the man stand as he moves through the work? And how tall is his workbench?" Leaving aside even such practical matters, it would be nice to see what Warner's shop looks like. A similar claustrophobic feeling permeates the text. Warner seems in such a rush to get us into cutting the joints that we lack a sense of the whole scenario-we don't know what router (or routers), or bits, or jigs we'll be using until they appear without introduction in the process narration. As a matter of fact construction of the key jigs is discussed after their use is described-as if by afterthought....

For a simple, even low-tech approach to router jointmaking, I recommend Gary Rogowski's Router Joinery. For those ready to make the step to a more sophisticated and involved, but safer and more accurate approach to the router, this book is a great introduction, and I say again, I am sure that my approach to routing will change for the better thanks to this book.

Nuances of router operation, router bits, and router use are described which provide important insight that any woodworker needs when using the router. It is the best of several books on routing that I have found. Several jigs for joinery are described that really work well. These jigs and an offset router base have increased my router use and work quality. I recommend this book to everyone, even if you are experienced with the router.

I really enjoyed the help in decorating ideas! The games and ideas of different types of parties was also very helpful!

This book had a lot of neat ideas and and game suggestions for different holidays and gatherings. A must have if you are out of holiday ideas!

I understand that children love these books and love mysteries. I did too, when I was young. (actually, I like some now too. :-) )

Sadly, I found the characters to be very shallow and too cheerful. When the art supplies were stolen, the children basically said, "Oh darn. Well, let's buy some more." When their work was destroyed they said, "Oh, shucks. Well, we'll do it again." When they started their business to raise money for the hospital (which I though was a great thing to suggest to children), they *instantly* had a full load of clients and the ability to carry out every task perfectly.

The kids are just too perfect to be realistic. Other than that, my 8 yo seems to be very enthusiastic about the series. If they are properly researched, children may learn a few snippets of information with each one they read. If the child puzzles over the mystery, they might serve a little purpose of stimulating creative though.

The dissipearing friend mystery is an exellent book and once you read it you can't put it down. The boxcar children find a new friend but for some reason she keeps dissapearing! Watch out for the very peculiar ending! I'd addvise 6-8 year olds to read this book.

I was hoping to find some help in the snack dept, as I have a limited variety of ideas for my partially food-allergic kid. He is allergic to a few items -- one happens to be peanuts, the other egg whites, but that's it. And unfortunately, 80% of the recipes in this book include peanut butter, nuts, or eggs! Nothing more original. I expected some of this knowing kids love PB, but most of the recipes are inclusive of one of the 2 allergens my son has, so this book was a huge disappointment.

If you're child is allergy-free, this book is for you. Nevertheless, it's still peanut-butter heavy. Given the incidence of kids with allergies in today's world, it would be great if more cookbook authors gave a section/chapter of their work to allergy-free recipes for kids.

The recipes in this book have been wonderful for my home childcare business. Not only are they nutritious, delicous, quick and eye appealing, they are fun for the kids and they satisfy a variety of ages.

This book was written by a Japanese doctor who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the bombing. It was interesting reading an account from a survivor. Since it comes from a diary and not just memories, in the beginning the people were not even aware of the nature of the bomb. There is more of a technical medical nature than the average reader would prefer, but it's still worth the read. Most surprising to me was the attitude of the people once they knew what kind of bomb it was.

This is an accurate and first-hand account of the bombing of Hiroshima as well as the Japanese attitude during World War II. Although medical in nature, I did not find this book at all overwhelming or too scientifically detailed. It was a quite easy read and allowed me to relate the Japanese citizens of this traumatic period.

More than a medical documentation, this was a dramatic tale of real people, real situations and real feelings. Surprisingly, it was not depressing and did not leave me riddled with guilt over being an American. I was impressed by the heroic acts of regular Japanese citizens and dumbfounded over their undying allegience to thier plight and country; AT the same time they did not express morosness or hatred twords the incoming American soldiers- instead they welcomed them as notable collegues and almost friends. Despite the disparity of thier people and thier country they were able to see past all feelings of disdain and recogize that the most important thing was family, love and friendship. In addition to it being a beutiful story, I also gained vast knowledge of the effects of radiation and the Atomic bomb-- a seemingly gaurded secreat amoungst American history lessons.

a good book to study AND RECOMEND

This book is a nice introduction to the subject of metallurgy. It's well written and clear. Although it's not an in depth treatement of the subject, it should be a good introductory text for the technologist.

I think it's wonderful that someone took the time and effort to write a book about the mysterious green, glassy mineral known as moldavite. Claimed by many to be the result of a meteorite impact that occurred 15 million years ago, moldavite is intriguing by itself. Add to this the fact that the stone is said to possess powerful metaphysical properties boasting thousands of advocates world-wide, and you've got the makings of a best-seller (at least in the "New Age" catagory).

This book could have been a killer with the potential to break out of the tiny "New Age" market and challenge the typical American reader to rethink their entire existance and purpose. Hey, it's happened before - remember "Dyanetics"? One of the reasons I feel so strongly about this is I personally own a piece of the gemstone known as moldavite and take it from me - it is NOT your typical rock...

The book's major failure is in it's presentation. It's so saturated with "bliss" and new age sci-fi fantasy that it only has credibility with the existing holistic crowd. The book should have been more objective. The only opinions we get are from people that are already deeply immersed in some form of metaphysical practice. No credible scientists, physicists, geologists. Nope, it's all light and love and spaceships...

Do I recommend this book? Absolutely. As far as I know it is the only book of it's kind on this bizzare subject. So if ancient, green, glassy rocks from outer space that possess the power to "change your life" makes you curious, go for it.

NOTE: Word is out that the same authors are doing a follow up book. Maybe in this one they'll present their story in a manner that the rest of us can relate to and take seriously. Hope so.

This book only talks of the Tektite form of moldavite. It does not mention the African Moldavite (a green translucent stone mined near Kilamanjaro) at all.

Much of the information here about moldavite is correct, and matches my experience with Tektite moldavite. Many people are under the impression that tektite Moldavite is the most powerful stone on Earth. From my experience with 60+ different kinds of rocks in my collection; Moldavite is the second most powerful stone on earth. In April; I saw two Rainbow Boji stones that were far more powerful than any of the peices of moldavite in my collection.

I did not care for the chapter of Channeling readings about moldavite. I DID find chapter 10 "The Moldavite Letters" very interesting because I too have noticed changes in myself in the last two months of carrying a peice of moldavite in my pocket; Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

After reading Badlands , Goldfield and Sierra, and becoming quite a fan of Richard Wheeler, this latest work was dull to say the least.

Second Lives left me feeling hollow and found it difficult to get through the unimpressive and boring storyline given. I had no connection to the misplaced characters.

Second Lives is not the typical Western fare. Superbly written, this book is much more character driven than most other offerings from this genre. Incident is not the major emphasis. Here, instead, are very real people who shift and change as a result of forces both within and outside of themselves. Those readers who appreciate fine writing, sharply delineated characters, and a novel that causes the reader to truly care about its players will find much to admire here. Each person in the book is pushed into examining his or her existence, and the choices necessary to achieve some sort of fulfillment. Most of the characters seem to have arrived at a rapproachement with themselves, and with the vicissitudes of life by the novels end. The title here suggests a certain rite of passage in which the old rules and landmarks these characters used to guide their existence no longer work. It is now up to these people to fashion a future based upon the abiding lessons that experience has painfully taught them.

I read this selection for a genre fiction class I have in a graduate Library Science program, and this is the best book I've run across during the course of my assignments. Based upon the evidence of what I have just read, Richard S. Wheeler is one very fine writer. Quite frankly, I did not anticipate such a richly rewarding reading experience.

yerma is a book with a lot going for it from a literary point of view, but is difficult to read as a non-native speaker.

Esa obra no es el mejor de Lorca. La Casa de Bernarda Alba es el mejor.