I first heard about this book on the CBS Sunday Morning program, telecast just before Christmas 2000 (write to CBS for a copy of that tape, if you missed it. It features the book's authors and some of the women they photographed. You won't regret it!) I fought Christmas crowds to go to the nearest bookstore to see it firsthand. I was blown away! I'm getting to "that age" when the mothers of the church are wondering when Miss Esteen's girl is finally going to start wearing hats to church. This book is pushing me closer to that day! Don't let the fact that the photos are in black & white, not color, deter you from buying this book. In a lot of ways, the black & white photography helps bring out the true beauty; I think color photography might have actually been a distraction from that. The only thing more beautiful than the hats in this book are the women that are wearing them! Pride, dignity and strength are on each page. If it were only about fashion, I wouldn't recommend this book so highly; it's the women who wear the hats, their spirit and their thoughts and that make this book. To the ladies photographed, I have only one thing to say: I want to be just like you when I grow up!

I am called the "Hat Lady". I relate to the queens in the book. In fact, some of the ladies made comments that I found to be very profound, i.e, wearing a hat in a coffin. I wear hats and love them. Like the ladies, when I put on a hat I stand taller, walk with a strut, and feel I am invincible. It's something about a hat that seems to add to my stature. "Crowns" gives a lot of insight into why we look so good in hats. It's true it's all about attitude and self-esteem. I try to wear them at all times. "Crowns" is relative. I felt so good about myself after reading it. The queens really put hats in their proper perspective in relation to African-American women. I always get a compliment like, "Girl, you're wearing that hat" from one of my sisters and from strangers I hear, "That's a bad hat you got on." (Mostly males) Several times I saw myself in those. I smiled and shook my head at the comments. It is a story that needed to be told. I commend the author & photographer, for I found no fault with "Crowns". A good read.

I live in Atlanta and for years I have driven by African-American Churches getting out on Sunday morning. When I pass these churches I often slow down and gaze at the uniquely dressed women coming out the doors -- all dressed to the nines, and most of them are wearing their crowns. For the African-American churchgoing women hats are not mere fashion statements they are integral expression of faith and cultural identity. The Apostle Paul should be thanked daily by all milliners for Paul furthered the fashion of wearing hats to church by writing "Every woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head" (I Cor. 11:5).

The hats in this book are as unique and alive as the women that wear them. Michael Cunningham, using black & white film, has beautifully captured the panache that these women and their chapeau's express. Just as every hat in this book has a woman, so every woman in this book has a story about her hats, and I think you will love their stories. This is a refreshing, original book that is not only is captivating but anthropological educational. Highly recommended.

After reading Free The Children I feel as though my eyes have been opened to another world. Craig Kielburger managed to keep me interested while successfully telling his story.

At times I laughed while I read the book. However at times I was horrified by what I was reading.

Free The Children has shown me that one person or a small group of people can make a difference, it has also given me the inspiration that I needed to get on with my life. My problems are nothing compared to what others in the world go through.

All over, Free The Children is well worth the read and I would strongly recomment this book to adults as well as children.

It has been my pleasure to recently read "Free the Children," an autobiography/travelogue from Craig Kielburger, the founder of the youth-run Free the Children organization based in Canada. It tells of the morning Craig first heard of and was made incredulous by the realities of child labor around the world. The book follows his strong desire to get together with fellow kids and try to learn more about the state of children and hopefully be able to change it somehow. Through his amazing commitment and dedication, along with his burgeoning public speaking skills, Craig was able to motivate two dozen of his schoolmates immediately to the cause and soon earn several speaking engagements in local schools to spread the word about child labor.

With the help of a family friend Craig was able to travel to South Asia to see first hand what working children's lives were like and to speak with the children themselves to hear how they lived, what their working conditions were, if they ever went to school, and if they had any ideas for their own futures.

It is a truly inspiring book for adults and children who can always be reminded that one person can absolutely make a serious and badly-needed difference against child exploitation.

I loved "Free the Children", it's one of the best books i have read in a long, long time. Craig has a way of bringing what he saw and did to life, he makes you feel like you are there with him on his journey across Asia. I have got to see Craig in real life at a NCYC conference in St.Louis, Missouri. From the moment i heard him i had to get his book. This is an inspirational book, i think everybody should read this book to see how big of a problem child labor really is, and how FTC is helping children around the world. I definatly give this book 5 stars.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare edited by David Bevington

Bevington's edition of Shakespeare's plays is a popular choice, and not without good reason. But that doesn't make an ideal choice. The introduction to this one volume edition is ample with chapters on life in Shakespeare's England, the drama before Shakespeare, Shakespeare's life and work. These are good, but they tend to rely on older scholarship and they may not be current. For example Bevington repeats Hinman's claim that there were 1200 copies of the 1623 Folio printed. However later scholars think the number was quite a bit lower, around 750. It should be said that we don't know for sure how many copies of the 1623 folio were printed and either number could be correct.

Bevington's edition prints the plays by genre. We get a section of Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, Romances and the Poems. He puts "Troilus and Cressida" with the comedies, though we know the play was slated to appear with the tragedies in the 1623 folio. The play was never meant to appear with the comedies, and all the surviving Folios that have the play have it at the beginning of the tragedies.

Let's get down to brass tacks. You are not going to buy an edition of Shakespeare's works because of good introduction. You're going to buy one because the quality of the editing of the plays. Is it reliable? Is it accurate? For the most part this edition is reliable and accurate, but that does not mean it is accurate and reliable in every instance.

Modernized editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems are norm. Since the 18th century (and even before) editors of Shakespeare have modernized and regularized Shakespeare's plays and poems. There are good reasons for this modernization. There is the reader's ease of use and the correcting misprints and mislination. I have no problem with this regularization of spelling or punctuation. But when an editor goes beyond normalizing and modernizing--when an editor interferes with the text then I have a problem.

Let me give two examples of the editorial interference that I am writing about:

King Lear 2-1-14 (p. 1184)
Bevington has:
Edmund
The Duke be here tonight? The better! Best!
This weaves itself perforce into my business.

The Folio has:
Bast. The Duke be here to night? The better best,
This weaues it selfe perforce into my businesse,

Even allowences made for modernization of punctuation and grammar would not account for Bevington's "The better! Best." Bevington glosses this to mean "so much the better; in fact the best that could happen." Nice try, but "The better best" of the folio is a double comparative, (which is a regular feature of Early Modern English) and not two separate adjectival phrases. Interestingly, the Quarto printing of Lear prints this scene in prose, and there is no punctuation between "better" and "best" in that version either.

A few lines down Lear 2-1-19 Edmund continues
Bevington has:
Brother, a word. Descend. Brother, I say!
Enter Edgar

But Bevington has reversed the order. The Folio has:
Enter Edgar.
Brother, a word, discend; Brother I say,

Bevington does not say why he changed the order, though to be fair other modern editors have done the same thing.

These two changes just a few lines apart go beyond regularization or modernization. They interfere with the text as presented in the 1623 Folio. And Bevington does not explain the changes. So next time you pick up this or any other modernized edition you should ask yourself "am I really sure what I'm reading is what Shakespeare wrote?"

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE. Updated Fourth Edition. Edited by David Bevington. 2000 pp. New York : Longman, 1997. ISBN 0-321-01254-2 (hbk.)

As complete Shakespeares go, the Bevington would seem have everything. Its book-length Introduction covers Life in Shakespeare's England; The Drama Before Shakespeare; London Theaters and Dramatic Companies; Shakespeare's Life and Work; Shakespeare's Language : His Development as Poet and Dramatist; Edition and Editors of Shakespeare; Shakespeare Criticism.

The texts follow in groups : Comedies; Histories; Tragedies; Romances (including 'The Two Noble Kinsmen'); Poems. Each play is given a separate Introduction adequate to the needs of a beginner, and the excellent and helpful brief notes at the bottom of each page, besides explaining individual words and lines, provide stage directions to help readers visualize the plays.

One extremely useful feature of the layout is that instead of being given the usual style of line numbering - 10, 20, 30, etc. - numbers occur _only_ at the end of lines which have been given footnotes - e.g., 9, 12, 16, 18, 32. Why no-one seems to have thought of doing this before I don't know, but it's a wonderful innovation that does away entirely with the tedious and time-wasting hassle of line counting, and the equally time-wasting frustration of searching through footnotes only to find that no note exists. If the line has a note you will know at once, and the notes are easy for the eye to locate as the keywords preceeding notes are in bold type.

The book - which is rounded out with three Appendices, a Royal Genealogy of England, Maps, Bibliography, Suggestions for Reading and Research, Textual Notes, Glossary of common words, and Index - also includes a 16-page section of striking color photographs.

The book is excellently printed in a semi-bold font that is exceptionally sharp, clear, and easy to read despite the show-through of its thin paper. It is a large heavy volume of full quarto size, stitched so that it opens flat, and bound, not with cloth, but with a soft decorative paper which wears out quickly at the edges and corners.

If it had been printed on a slightly better paper and bound in cloth, the Bevington would have been perfect. As it is, it's a fine piece of book-making nevertheless, and has been edited in such a way as to make the reading of Shakespeare as hassle-free and enjoyable an experience as possible. Strongly recommended for students and the general reader.

Last year for Christmas I asked my parents for some William Shakespeare's plays.Boy was I suprised!Not only does it have all of the plays,but also his Sonats,poems,and illistrations.Despite the fact that it's a large valuem and will need quite a bit off book space from you're self.You wont regret getting it.You will never need to get another book on William Shakespeare's plays and everything else ever again.It also has a list of dictonary for understanding the words better.

The author of the book, Kaile Warren, Jr., is also the owner of the Rent-A-Husband handyman business. As such, he has real life experience concerning what the target audience for this book wants and needs to know. It is a handy basic primer covering a myriad of topics on simple household repair problems, storage solutions for all areas of the house, and home safety and security tips. All in all it is a really nice book to keep as a handy quick reference.

The first section of the book concentrates on basic terminology and provides information on which tool is right for a particular job. Everything from power tools to nails gets a quick explanation. Also included in this section is advice on how to tackle common household repairs to faucets, toilets, electrical outlets, faulty lamps and switches, and tips on installing floor tile and sheet viny. One other thoughtful addition is the discussion of when to decide not to take on a repair job and instead call in an expert.

The section on storage solutions for all areas of the house is well done. It includes buying tips for a variety of modular and other units. There are even instructions for the adventurous who want to build some units for themselves.

Part three of the book discusses and illustrates several facets of home security and home safety considerations. For those living alone, this section of the book alone may well be enough justification for buying it.

If you fall within the specific target audience (the title will give you a clue as to whether you do or don't), this is a very nice book to have.

As a new homeowner and a woman, this book arrived just in the nick of time! It is incredibly well-written, and completely captivating in its style. Most importantly, it provides the key to the previously forbidden, male dominated world of home repair. I hope the team of Warren and Craig provide many sequels. I can't wait for the next one!

I have just completed one of the most enjoyable reading experiences I have ever had in THE OFFICIAL RENT-A-HUSBAND GUIDE TO A SAFE, PROBLEM-FREE HOME. Since I am a recent home owner, I was forced to enter the relatively "new waters" of the home repair book arena. Based on my past experiences with such books, it was not something I was looking forward to. But what an utterly delightful surprise I was in for. The writing here is so tremendous, it sets a new standard for the entire "home" sector. An outstanding accomplishment!

I believe John Skipp and Craig Spector never quite got the recognition they deserved. "Light at the End" was both applauded and dismissed as "splatter punk" at the time, but it's a story that has much more merit than that. Yes, the authors paint a harshly realistic picture of what might happen if vampires infested New York -- and it ain't pretty. But there is a richness of characterization in this story that works to balance the gore. I rank this one right under Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" as a story that continues to haunt you long after you put the book down.

Leave it to the splatterpunks to serve up a glorious, visceral reminder that vampires are not a bunch of heroic, black-clad figures with picky appetites.

Light at the End is one of Skipp & Spector's best works. The story of the brief, but violent life of a nihilistic vampire in New York City, and told primarily from the point of view of his would-be killers, this novel runs seamlessly from start to finish. It is both well-conceived and well-actualized, with interesting characters, lots of action, and most important, lots of thought-provoking plot.

This book is the best remedy I've found for a litarary world overflowing with Anne Ricean-clone vampires. Van Helsing would be proud.

First off, if you are sick of the Anne Rice vampires who have a cheesy accent, and whine and complain about the "dark gift" of being a vampire, then this book is for you. The vampire in this book is anything but whiny. However, if you like your vampire books with a ruthless vampire that kills without compassion, morals, or even a second thought, then this book is for you.

Skipp and Spector have a very strong writing style. Strong in that this is a real page turner filled with violence and gore around every turn. For example, just wait till you read what happens in a movie theater.

This book is pretty much out of print. I was lucky enough to find my copy at a used bookstore. I urge you to go out and hunt for this book. I can promise you that you won't be sorry.

If you like your vampires to kill without reason, then you have to start this book. You'll love every page. That I can promise you.

The Black Dog Opera Library Series had outdone themselves once again. In this 1972 recording of Mozart's last opera, we are treated to a fine performance by fine singers, a fully illustrated book with liner notes and commentary, as well as information useful in biographies on the composer and his time. Mozart was close to his death bed at the time he composed The Magid Flute. He made an opera that could be enjoyed at many levels. At one level, it is a comic, brilliant fairy tale for children, at another level, it is deeply symbolic and layed with Masonic ideals of universal brotherhood and love. Mozart and his librettist were both Freemasons, a religous "sect" that was under hot water in 18th century Vienna for its pagan origins and its advocation of ideas of the Enlightenment. The story is about Tamino, a prince who is lost in a strange land (originally, a mystic Egypt), who is rescued from a serpent by three mysterious women and promised the hand of the daughter of the Queen of the Night if he saves her from the wizard Sarastro. Together with the help of the comic bird-catcher, Papageno, he sets out on his adventure. But halfway through the opera, he discovers that he has been deceived. The Queen of the Night is the true villain and Sarastro is really a holy man. After many trials, the forces of evil are defeated and the opera ends blissfully with a victory.

Musically and dramatically, it is Mozart's greatest opera. From the striking Overture to the use of dark strings, trumpet and soaring flute passages, the individual arias which express intense emotions to the neverending theme that good triumphs over evil, the Magic Flute stands out as a great opera to begin with for newcomers and a favorite for old time opera fans.

In this recording, conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch leads the Bavarian State Orchestra in a highly effective, thoroughly dramatic and sentimental, full interpretation of Mozart's score. Tenor Peter Schreir as Tamino is exceptional, passionate in his aria "Dies Bildnis" (This portrait), and again as he plays his flute in "Wie Stark ist Nicht dein Zauberton" (How powerful is your music, magic flute), his individual lines in the ensembles and his duet with Pamina as they undergo the final trial of fire. Annelise Rothenberger, a sublime German lyric soprano, is moving in her portrayal of Pamina. She has her moments in this recording. Note how her high, melodic voice seems to come from nowhere as she confronts Sarastro and Tamino for the first time "Herr! Ich bin zwar Verbrecherin ! (Sir! I am the transgressor). Her aria "Ach Ich Fuhls" (O, I feel that happy days have passed) is the finest interpretation, full of pathos and a kind of melancholic madness, as well as her lines in her suicide attempt, finally, she is sublime as a strong woman ready to face trials with Tamino, especially striking when she sings the line "Tamino!".

Kurt Moll's Sarastro is without question the best. His voice is suited for God. So divine and sonorous and full of grace, his voice is especially noticeable in the aria "O Isis and Osiris " and "In deisen Heilen Hallen"( In these holy halls). Finally, and not to be missed, is Edda Moser's incredible interpretation of the Queen of the Night. You have not heard the true Queen of the Night, until you've heard Edda Moser. She has a Wagnerian intensity and neurosis in her lines, apt and effective for the role of a Queen bent on deception and the murder of her rival, Sarastro. Her aria "O Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Son" (O tremble not, beloved son" is full of lyric dramatic passages and coloratura at the end. The vengeance aria "Der Holle Rache Kocht Meine Herzen "(Hell's Anger Burns Within My Heart) is full of fire. The way she attacks the dramatic, powerful lines is out of this world and the high F's she escalates are unsurpassed.

The re-release of the legendary 1972 recording of Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, is a great blessing to all who know and love this great work. Edda Moser's interpretation of the Queen of the Night is justly celebrated, achieving not only transcendently perfect delivery, but also a chilling portrait of pure evil. All of the other cast members are excellent. The spoken role of Papageno is particularly striking, sounding sufficiently pungent to remind us that the role was originally played by Emanuel Schickaneder himself. The tempi are, for the most part remarkably well-chosen. In addition, the Masonic gravity of the subject matter is constantly respected. The chorus of the armed men is properly alarming, the cantus firmus stridently insistent above the counterpoint of the strings. Even more uncommon is the treatment of the secondary scenes of Act II, especially the chorus Welche Wonne, in which the evocation of the candidate's future "new life" is infused with the trepidation inevitably attendant upon any trial of life and death. All too often, this work, which is gravely serious in its intent, is presented as a fairy tale. This recording successfully conveys the philosophical context, and does justice to Mozart's attachment to Masonry. [The only flaw which I could detect is the inclusion of a very questionable musical fragment, inserted into Act II, Scene 11 ("Pamina, wo bist du?"). I could locate no reference to this anywhere in my extensive library on the subject, and can only speculate that it might be some unacknowledged retention from one of the infamous "reworkings" of the opera which occurred after Mozart's death....At any rate, it requires an explanation....]

In view of this, it is sad to see this beautiful recording issued in association with a perfectly vile and disrespectful book about the opera. The author has the temerity to liken this work to "a Broadway musical", "a rollicking entertainment for the common man" simply because it was composed as a Singspiel, or German opera with spoken dialogue. This is equivalent to likening one of Shakespeare's comedies to a street farce. The book also suggests that Zauberflöte was composed for purposes of pure entertainment, unless it is, perchance, a "work of profound insight" dressed up in the trappings of a "cartoon". Obviously, the writer is ignorant of the significance of the Egyptian setting in the time of Mozart, when it was a clear symbol for rational ideas and liberal politics. The details of the setting delineate the struggle which was then taking place in Europe, over the true nature of Masonry, philosophy and music, and which soon came to a terrible end, for that time at least, with the banning of Freemasonry in Austria, and the loss of much of the learning about ancient philosophy which had been so laboriously gathered in circles such as that frequented by Mozart. It is largely on account of Zauberflöte, which alludes with precision to much of that learning, that it was not entirely annihilated in the chaos of the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Rather than misrepresenting this vitally important work, those who have the privilege of coming into contact with it should do all in their power to contribute to the very difficult, vital, and continuing attempt to understand it. While the availability of this recording is of great value, it is scandalous to see it associated with a contribution to the generally prevailing ignorance about this extremely important, and very difficult, work.

An irate Mozartian

The re-release of the legendary 1972 recording of Die Zauberflote, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, is a great blessing to all who know and love this great work. Edda Moser's interpretation of the Queen of the Night is justly celebrated, achieving not only transcendently perfect delivery, but also a chilling portrait of pure evil. All of the other cast members are excellent. The spoken role of Papageno is particularly striking, sounding sufficiently pungent to remind us that the role was originally played by Emanuel Schickaneder himself. The tempi are, for the most part remarkably well-chosen. In addition, the Masonic gravity of the subject matter is constantly respected. The chorus of the armed men is properly alarming, the cantus firmus stridently insistent above the counterpoint of the strings. Even more uncommon is the treatment of the secondary scenes of Act II, especially the chorus Welche Wonne, in which the evocation of the candidate's future "new life" is infused with the trepidation inevitably attendant upon any trial of life and death. All too often, this work, which is gravely serious in its intent, is presented as a fairy tale. This recording successfully conveys the philosophical context, and does justice to Mozart's attachment to Masonry. [The only flaw which I could detect is the inclusion of a very questionable musical fragment, inserted into Act II, Scene 11 {"Pamina, wo bist du?"). I could locate no reference to this anywhere in my extensive library on the subject, and can only speculate that it might be some unacknowledged retention from one of the infamous "reworkings" of the opera which occurred after Mozart's death....At any rate, it requires an explanation....]

In view of this, it is sad to see this beautiful recording issued in association with a perfectly vile and disrespectful book about the opera. The author has the temerity to liken this work to "a Broadway musical", "a rollicking entertainment for the common man" simply because it was composed as a Singspiel, or German opera with spoken dialogue. This is equivalent to likening one of Shakespeare's comedies to a street farce. The book also suggests that Zauberflöte was composed for purposes of pure entertainment, unless it is, perchance, a "work of profound insight" dressed up in the trappings of a "cartoon". Obviously, the writer is ignorant of the significance of the Egyptian setting in the time of Mozart, when it was a clear symbol for rational ideas and liberal politics. The details of the setting delineate the struggle which was then taking place in Europe, over the true nature of Masonry, philosophy and music, and which soon came to a terrible end, for that time at least, with the banning of Freemasonry in Austria, and the loss of much of the learning about ancient philosophy which had been so laboriously gathered in circles such as that frequented by Mozart. It is largely on account of Zauberflöte, which alludes with precision to much of that learning, that it was not entirely annihilated in the chaos of the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Rather than misrepresenting this vitally important work, those who have the privilege of coming into contact with it should do all in their power to contribute to the very difficult, vital, and continuing attempt to understand it. While the availability of this recording is of great value, it is scandalous to see it associated with a contribution to the generally prevailing ignorance about this extremely important, and very difficult, work.

An irate Mozartian

This book is a unique collectors item. Many recent films have come out with a companion "Art of ____" book. There have been many special effects books that focus on one company or another (ILM, Digital Domain, etc). But the content of Invisible Art spans the entire history of film itself.

The focus of the book is matte painting, a specific branch of visual effects. It is a technique that has been used in films from the beginning. Over the last 10 years, matte painting has been transformed by the digital age. Before computers, many of the most stunning and beautiful effects were hand painted. Sadly, most of these paintings have been lost or destroyed. At the time of their creation, the paintings served a practical function. Looking at the pictures in this book make you realize that these paintings should have been saved and displayed in museums.

This is an outstanding document of art, film history, and some of the personalities involved in this branch of visual effects. It follows the history of film through artists working in the industry. In the last chapter, it bridges that history into the digital age. A major achievement.

The Invisible Art by Craig Barron and Mark Cotta Vaz is without question the definitive reference text on the fascinating art form of matte painting. Lavishly illustrated with B&W and color photos, The Invisble Art chronicles the history and present digital technology of creating matte paintings for films ranging from the silent era, and up through present-day filmmaking. I could not put the book down, and read every word and feasted on every photo. This book is a must-have for anyone even remotely interested in film production, and how one can save millions of dollars in production costs by using matte paintings and/or hanging miniatures to expand the scope and spectacle of a film's art direction and set design. Film producers especially should read this book.

THE INVISIBLE ART is written by two special effects experts Mark Cotta Vaz who wrote two volumes of books about Industrial Light and Magic and by Craig Barron, a master matte painter who worked for Industrial Light and Magic. Together they have collected some of the most amazing artwork ever done because this art has to be good enough to make audiences believe it is something real and not just a painting. Some of the paintings are astonishing in their realism. All the great matte painters are represented here and the book is chock full of incredible paintings and behind the scenes photos. The book is sturdy hardcover and is printed on high-quality paper so it will last a lifetime. This is a must-have book for anyone interested in movies and visual effects and the best book on special effects since the last volume on Industrial Light and Magic.

Everyone who has fibromyalgia (or a loved one with fibromyalgia, like I have) has heard of Dr. St. Amand. It's a known fact that anyone seriously interested in recovery finds a way to get into his very busy practice for a visit with this compassionate man who happens to have fibromyalgia himself and truly understands the symptoms firsthand. This book brings the good doctor into your home. Buy the book, take it to your own doctor, and INSIST that he or she help you follow this plan. It will give you your life back. An added bonus: The book was coauthored by Dr. St. Amand's angelic nurse (and fellow fibromyalgia sufferer, as well) Claudia Marek, who brings years of personal anecdotes and lots of nonclinical advice and understanding to this book. Run, don't walk to the bookstore or simply buy it on the Internet. Just buy it and read it.

I suffered from pain and fatigue for most of my life. After 20 years of making the rounds of dozens of doctors, I was finally given a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Then I was told, no one knew what it was, what caused it or how to treat it. The only solution was to treat the symptoms, and only then if you could find a doctor willing to give you the drugs to make life bearable.

Then I read Dr. St. Amand's book, and knew my instincts had been right all along. There was something in my body, actually causing this pain, and it was getting progressively worse. This is the most logical explaintion I have seen.

I have been on this protocol for 6 months and feel better that I have in several years. I can now look forward to a pain free future. This is a must read for everyone with fibromyalgia and their families.

This book is the culmination of 40 years of Dr. R. Paul St. Amand's work with fibromyalgia. He and his nurse, Claudia Craig Mareck, the co-author both have the disease and are in remisssion with the Guaifenesin protocol. They teamed up to write this book and now millions of lives will be saved.

I have been on the protocol for almost two years. I am 75% improved. I could only take a shower hanging on to the towel bar get dresssed and get back on the bed before Guaifenesin. I was so sick I don't even want to think about. The pain was everywhere. I know now that everything that has ever been wrong with me was fibromyalgia. Pain, allergies, infections, IBS and the list goes on. I had visited some of the top doctors in the country for fibromyalgia. I was no better.

The protocol seems very hard at first but if you read the book and follow the directions exactly you can reverse this terrible disease. I am making slow steady progress with the Guaifenesin protocol. IT WORKS! This protocol is not a band-aid cover up, it reverses the illness.

I'm not much of a book reader, so I normally don't get excited over autobiographies. But I must say that I read the book from cover to cover in one sitting and enjoyed it immensely. It's well-written, humorous, and offers insightful information on Hollywood through Campbell's trials and tribulations of making ends meet in the business. He discusses not only the Evil Dead movies, but also touches on the range of his work from Crimewave to the Hercules/Xenia TV shows. Campbell mentions little of his personal life, which is actually refreshing..allowing fans to get a sense of who he is through his writing and his film/TV work. He comes across as a "down to earth" kind of guy, sort of as someone who'd be chronicling his experiences in a diary. Avid Bruce Campbell fans will enjoy this book, as well as mainstream book readers who are looking for something fun and entertaining to read...oh, and two high points of the book: tons of photos and drawings; and short chapters (I don't know how many times I lost interest in a book because the chapters were 20-30 pages long). Highly recommended...

With "If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B-Movie Actor," Bruce Campbell proves that his standard wit and charm, two of the qualities that make him such a delicious addition to any film or television project, translate just as well onto the printed page. The book gives a thorough look at Campbell's life, where he waxes nostalgic about everything from his early childhood and family life to his recent experience on the sets of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess." The detailed examinations of his work on the film "Evil Dead" will be a great pleasure to read for any Deadite, and the photographs that appear throughout the book offer a candid look at Campbell and friends, a nicely added touch that isn't seen in all autobiographies. Campbell's funny and irreverent look at life could make anyone laugh out loud, even those unfamiliar with his work, but this is certainly a must have for any fan.

Read this and then watch Evil Dead (again). It is unbelievable. I see the movie from a totally new perspective. Oh, that opening scene on the water is Bruce Campbell pushing Sam Raimi on a raft, there's where they rigged that lever to make that deadite look like she was floating in the air, there's where there's two people under the floor to look like scattered body parts wriggling. Behind the scenes stuff like that is amazing to me. Since obviously Evil Dead as Bruce Campbell's first movie gets the blow-by-blow treatment, I got the feeling that no other movie experience has ever been the same for him. The whole thing from financing to final edit was solely left to the filmmakers with total creative control. I wished I could've been a part of that hellish shoot for the craziness they must've experienced! And that's only one portion of the book. I work in a bookstore, and I read almost the entire thing on my shift one day, bought it and finished it the next day. I still re-read my favorite parts, and I usually don't like biographys. Buy it, read it, make Bruce Campbell sign it when he comes to your town, and cherish it.

You will laugh, cry and be confused when you read this book. This book can teach you that what you think is good is not always good.

There is a boy named Peter Pan. He sprinkles fairy dust in Wendy and her two brothers. Then he shows them how to fly. He takes them to Neverland and shows them to the Lost Boys who live there. Wendy becomes their mother. She makes up rules, like any other mother would do. The boys have to follow these rules. Everything was fine until Captain Hook came with his crew to where the boys and Wendy were. While Wendy and the boys were at the lagoon, where they go every day after dinner, they see a girl named Tiger Lily, princess of her tribe. She was captured by Smee, one of Captain Hook's men. Then Peter saved her. A few days later Wendy and the boys were on their way to Wendy's house when they too were all captured by Captain Hook. Then Peter saves them. Then the lost boys, Wendy and her brothers go home. All except for Peter.

It is mostly about what the people in the book think is right with childhood. The kids in the book think that if you grow up it is bad, but in our case it is actually good.

Peter Pan is a violent book not really made for children under the age of 10 but people 10 and up can read it. It is violent because of the language that is spoken and the idea that killing could be fun. Also, the vocabulary is very difficult for children under 10 to understand. Even if you're older it is difficult to understand.

Overall, it is a good book but watch out for the violent ideas if you are reading it to little children.

When talking of literature, people tend to look solely at books they read today but forget what they used to read, namely the ones we read as children. It is a common misunderstanding that children's literature is to be read by children and children only, but when we come to think of it, which one of us are not children, at least in our hearts?

One of the best books any child, young or old, can read is Barrie's Peter Pan. Although written in the past century, it has something for any generation at any time. Its humorous views at the world from a child's mind left me rolling over the floor, laughing; the exciting storyline kept me busy with reading until the end; and the serious undertone made me think of whether the world wouldn't be a better place if we realised that deep down, however deep, we are in fact all children. So if YOU are a child, which you most certainly are, get yourself a copy and enjoy your ongoing childhood.

This is an utterly charming work. It has been retold myriad times, but nobody else has done it as well as the original teller, J. M. Barrie.

It's difficult to know what to say about a book like this... everybody knows the story. But I guess that unless you've read this book (not just seen a movie or read a retelling), you don't really know the character Peter Pan, and without knowing the character, you don't really know the story. So read it.

By the way, if you enjoy this, you probably would also like "Sentimental Tommy" and its sequel "Tommy and Grizel", both by Barrie. There are differences (for one thing they're not fantasy), but there are also compelling similarities. Anybody who found Peter Pan a deep and slightly bittersweet book would be sure to enjoy them.

-Stephen