Sorry to be destorying Carlo Collodi's famous book, but Disney has won me over. No major violence is softened in the 1883 Collodi version. The cricket is intensionly killed. Geppetto is a JERK in the oringnal beginning. I do not advise "Pinocchio" unless it's Disney.

This book is very short and is written poorly in a summary. It does not tell important things that happen. It has no Jimminy Cricket, no going to school, and Pinocchio finds Geppetto by accident which is not so. He is supposed to get a note telling where Geppetto is and Pinocchio is supposed to go to him. This book is not written very well. Take my advice. It's a third graders point of view. I don't recommend this book and I don't think any other third grader will.

The story of Pinocchio as it was meant to be, he wasn't a sweet innocent puppet, more a selfish brat. There's a good moral slant here though, and of course, the story being told by Bill Pullman in that wonderful slightly gravelly voice makes for easy listening.

Since the collapse of Soviet communism it's much easier to laugh at the dogmatic, unsubstantiated, absurd theories like the one presented here by Mr. Chase-Dunn. It seems hard to believe now that people actually believed in this intellectual detritus, actually studied it, pondered it, discussed it around cocktails. It's been exposed now, in the real world, as worthless left-wing flotsam, but just to refresh the potential reader's memory, let me point out a few of the most ridiculous, obvious, shout-in-your-face errors of Mr. Chase-Dunn's theory of the "capitalist world-economy":

(1) the interstate system is not a result of capitalism. If anything, it's the other way around. National sentiment and territorial integrity, hallmarks of the interstate system, provided the necessary stability for long-term capital formation and its resulting technological progression. These two factors are essential elements of capitalism.

(2) Mercantilism is not capitalism. Mercantilism as an economic theory posits an effective use of territorial resources (e.g., exporting); capitalism posits an effective use of capital (i.e., investment of capital in ever more efficient means of production).

(3) Warfare is not the result of the capitalist world economy, as Mr. Chase-Dunn claims on page 108. Rather, warfare is a fundamental part of human nature, and existed long before "capitalism" was even a word, let alone a viable economic order.

(4) Mr. Chase-Dunn cannot claim that there are multiple "semi-peripheries" and still maintain a coherent theory that examines the relationship between the "core" and the "periphery."

(5) The scramble for new periphery states is not the only cause of WW I; rather, WW I was caused by the confluences of a variety of unique circumstances, only some of which were economic and none of which were attributable to capital per se. WW I was caused by such things as: German nationalism and the unique structure of the German state (e.g., becoming a state after the other Great Powers and thereby missing the opportunity for colonial acquisitions); social Darwinism; nationalism; and advances in military technology.

(6) Mr. Chase-Dunn conveniently forgets to explain how supposedly peripheral states like Japan could, and did, progress to the level of core states, because to do so would contradict his doctrine of a permanent core-periphery dichotomy. This doctrine is really nothing more than a rehash of the "dependency" theory, a faddish doctrine popularized in the early 1970s by Fernando Cardoso (who has subsequently repudiated it and is now president of free-market Brazil).

(7) Mr. Chase-Dunn's economic analysis (to use the word loosely) that attempts to tie together four centuries of warfare is the dumbest exercise in pseudo-intellectual reasoning I've ever had the displeasure of being forced to read. Idiographic factors are just too common in warfare, and the known factors just too large and amorphous, to be able to draw *any* sound economic conclusions from their occurrence, except the obvious one that a lot of money and lives were wasted.

So Mr. Chase-Dunn should ensconce himself in some fashionable liberal East-Coast University (actually, he's already done that) and, together with his other fellow Neo-Marxist pointy-head friends, collectively mourn the fact that reality did them the discourtesy of totally, finally, completely, and crushingly destroying their economic theories.

And Chase-Dunn proves it. The anonymous August 11, 2002 reviewer critiques my old review but doesn't bother with specifics. Typical.

Back to Chase-Dunn. Any idiot can say that something is the cause of something else just because it either (i) precedes it in time or (ii) has similar elements. Neither is conclusive of cause and effect. Although Chase-Dunn's "world systems" theory is more riddled with contradictions than a Valentine's Day Massacre corpse is with bullets, the mmost egregious of his errors is to tie four centuries of warfare to capitalism.

The world "capitalism" wasn't even *created* until the late 18th century. Capitalists like world stability in order to invest money. Why do you think every country in Latin America has a "country risk" premium, for crissakes? Capitalism and capitalists *hate* uncertainty because they have to make ROI (that "return on investment" for you communists out there) decisions and the uncertainty war creates makes for unprofitable investment decisions. Now, communists like Chase-Dunn on the other hand, they love war, because like radical Islam, it's a violent, universal ideology.

This book is by far the most comprehensive discussion of the structure of the world-economy from the world-systems perspective. Chase-Dunn builds his theory and analyses on the earlier works of Wallerstein, Arrighi and others but takes a critically important step by emphasizing the interactions of economic, political, and military power and how they impact the structure of the world-economy and reproduce certain structural constants of the modern world-system. With all due respect to the previous reviewer affiliated with a law school--this is directly a message for you--your are wrong and your historical analysis is completely faulted. Furthermore, your critiques illustrate either your lack of understanding the text or your ignorance of history.

This book would only be useful to a person just starting to use PhotoImpact 7, because it does not reveal the power of the program. I wanted a reference book that would answer the questions I had after already using the program for a month. But I didn't find them in this book. For example, how do you get rid of lens distortions? how do you apply fadeout gradients to masks you make yourself, and how do you add and subtract from selections. I did not find the answers to these questions in the depth I needed in this book, and took the book back the next day.
The manual that comes with the boxed version I found more useful. It also can be downloaded with the help files with the trial version, but then it is hidden in the program files so I didn't know how to get to it.
The book would be good for someone just starting out in PhotoImpact who was unable to download the massive trial version files, because it includes a CD with the trial version on it. But that is only good for 1 month, and PhotoImpact 7 is such a good program, I think most people would be unhappy to only use it for a month.

I sat down in Border's for an hour over a cup of coffee and perused all three books on PhotoImpact 7. I ultimately purchased this one as I think it works best as a supplement to the manual as opposed to rehashing what already is in the manual. After purchasing the book and having gone through it at home with my computer, I went back to Borders and relooked at the other two to see if maybe they offered something else, but they really didn't.

I buy romance books for romance between two PEOPLE not sickly, sentimental, cutsey animal stoies. I wish Zebra would stop with the kitten books already.

I think the Kittens series are a lot of fun. After all how many times can you read boy meets girl, boy doesn't get girl till the last pages. The Kitten series adds a fun new twist to this tired old genre. I suggest if you are tired of the kitten books you stop buying them, but please don't insist that those of us who like them, not be allowed to get them.

This book is mainly an incomplete rehash of information found in more complete form elsewhere. Loving Ganesa by Satguru Sivaya is one that jumps immediately to mind. As for the statue, there are much better ones available, or read about the iconography and make your own -- making images of the gods is said to be pleasing to them.

This book/statue combination is fabricated in China. By purchasing it, you are supporting a government that represses the religious freedom of countless MILLIONS of people.

This marvellous package of a book and statuette of the Hindu god Ganesha - Remover of Obstacles (the elephant god), is better yet than the Buddha Box that Manuela Dunn Mascetti published a couple of years ago. Stand the elephant god on your desk and all obstacles to progress will vanish!! Wonderful and ingenious.

I don't always mind a romance book that has some kind of a theme going but this is just too darn silly! I picked this up by mistake in a used book store while getting a bunch of romance book companions, the type that have short love stories by several different authors and I simply just didn't like it! I have a relative who's always saying don't judge books by their covers and don't judge stories by their titles but in this one you sure can! They are just so hokey and quite ludicrous! These authors can and have done better! Sorry but I just prefer a themed romance book companion that doesn't insult my intelligence!

I read it and immediately gave it away.

~~~~~~~~Aladinn's Lamp by Carola Dunn~~~~~~~~~ "There was once a threadbare young Oxford scholar named Alan Dinsmuir, who was enamored of a rich and beautiful young lady of quality. Now only the genie who lived in an old brass lamp he'd brought could turn him into an eligible suitor."

Cute secondary characters, major ones were ok. The genie is wonderful and makes for interesting and amusing complications. The plot is mostly ;) sensible. I enjoyed it.

~~~~~~~~~The Seven Ravens by Karola Hocker~~~~~~~~~~ "It was bad enough that her father's will dispatched Lady Emily Marchmont on a quest for seven brothers she'd never heard of. Even worse, the key to their whereabouts lay with Sir Alexander Raven, once the object of her innocently bold overtures. And never did she imagine that his teasing eyes held the answer to her secret desires."

This one is ok. It was my least favorite. Hearing about her previous "innocently bold overtures" made me squirm. The plot really isn't. She trots off to Sir Alexander's home and that's all there is. Learning about her family's history is definitely interesting. The hero is nice enough and I could live with the heroine. Unlike the other two stories, there is no magic in this one.

~~~~~The Emeror's Nightingale by Judith A. Lansdowne~~~~~~ "The ducal estate of Julius Caesar Crofton was overrun with visiting young ladies and their matchmaking mammas. But Julius didn't believe in love...until an enchanted nightingale gave him a change of heart."

My favorite. It's by Judith Lansdowne so need I say more? Once I got past the first few pages of description I was hooked. As always, ALL the characters are wonderful! I love them all. Julius, his cousin, the servants, the young ladies. Correction: I liked them all except his mamma (who I barely tolerated). The plot is charming (its a little slow at times, but oh well), the events funny, the *people* well-developed, real, amusing. I laughed out loud several times. Read it. Enjoy it. Love it.

Yes this book is pretty dumb, I picked this book because I liked the title but later on I wish I hadn't bought it at all, I love romance books but this one just didn't cut it and I wish I had never read it and if I could rate it a 0 I would.

I don't always mind a romance book that has a theme going but this is just plain silly! I Made the mistake of buying this along with Once Upon A Kiss while in a used book store looking for romance book companions that have short stories by several different romance book authors and I just don't like Once Upon a Kiss or Once Upon A Time but especially Once Upon A Time, now I really like fairy tales but making Rumplestilskin which was about a nasty and scary little troll who wanted to take a woman's baby away into a romance is ludicrous and the other stories are ludicrous too! What's next in ludicrous romance book ideas, Snow White's evil step-mother and the magic mirror turned into a real man? Now I have a relative who's always saying don't judge a book by it's cover and don't judge a story by it's title but with this and the other book you really can, they are just too hokey! These authors have done much better! Sorry but I just prefer a themed romance book companion that doesn't insult a girl's intelligence!

I loved Carola Dunn's version of Rumplestiltskin. The hero is literally a child of a fairy with uncertain magic, the heroine is a country girl with her nose to the figurative spinning wheel who seems to almost realize she is reliving a story she once read somewhere. It's a neat little retelling of a familiar story. Lansdowne's retelling of Repunzel isn't quite as successful. It's cute but a bit silly. And Hocker's Little Match Seller made the least impression of the three novellas.

These "skits" are more like one-act plays with lessons. Quite a bit of dialogue to memorize, so they're more for teenagers than younger children. Also, they're obviously preachy, which would be okay if they were at least a little humorous, but they're not.

Like James Dunn sytle, with careful exegsis on selected passages from epistles of Paul. However, discussing that kind of living issue, more real life observations and applications will surely enrich the content and make this book more enjoyable and useful.

Aside from an attractive dustjacket and artwork within, this book is not worth buying. I got rid of mine as fast as I bought it. If you're looking for a pictorial, gift-type book with an easily understandable overview of Christian mysticism, then I recommend Ursula King's Christian Mystics. For more indepth, non-pictorial, introductions to Christian mysticism, I highly recommend Bernard McGinn's "The Foundations of Mysticism" and Evelyn Underhill's "Mysticism." The latter is a classic text and the former (along with the other four volumes in The Presence of God series) is soon to be. - Brad Clark