I found myself completely embroiled in this book. To me it was excellent.

In this text, Colleen Craig brings a new set of core strength exercises using inflatable balls. Note: this text not only uses a Swiss Ball; it also uses a Gymnic Overball. You probably won't find the Overball at local stores; you'll have to purchase online at somewhere like balldynamics.com or just put "gymnic overball" in a search engine for a list of vendors world-wide.

The 9-inch Overball is used for 3 things: as a Magic Circle for inner thigh/core strength, a small ball for balancing on, and a means to provide support and feedback on a variety of exercises (like a mini roll-down with the ball behind your pelvis). Colleen has created some innovative exercises here. Some of the exercises are done with a mostly-deflated Overball, so it really makes sense to have at least 2 of these guys.

Colleen makes a compelling case for the use of inflatable balls for core training in the Introduction. She points to some state-of-the-art research as to why the crunch-oriented "core training" isn't really core-oriented at all. The first three chapters are must reading for any Pilates students and for anyone who wants to understand the nature of core training and why Pilates hits the target so well for these exercises.

For beginners with Pilates, I still strongly recommend getting 10-15 group or private classes under your belt before trying any of this on your own. Core training really is a horse of a different color; we do not naturally know how to do it. While the balls give you great feedback for your proprioception, there really is no substitute for a live instructor to start you off with these kind of exercises. And many Pilates instructors have picked up some training on these balls.

This is a great book for any serious student of Pilates/core strength. If you follow these exercises, you will get stronger in the most important muscles in your body. And this are total-body exercisees: the advanced exercises presented here will involve all the muscles in your body. This is some kick-abs stuff!

This is one of the more thoughtful books I have read in this field with careful and precise analysis. Highly recommended.

The best book available on this intricate subject. Peter Craig's book on Accounting and Finance for Magazines is the best (and I believe ONLY) book available on this subject. Yet it is of vital importance for any publisher who receives subscription income. Most accountants do not realize that subscription income is DIFFERENT!!! And neither do most CPA's and auditors. With this book you can show how it is SUPPOSED to be handled.

The title of the book is a clever allusion to Stanislavski's 1936 bible of performance technique, An Actor Prepares. "To survive the ups and downs of urban life and the acting profession," according to Wroe, one needs "equal parts confidence and cunning, stamina and stability, tenacity and even mendacity." He has devised a guidebook, practical as salt, that points the reader to goods and services essential to the daily grind: opening a bank account, establishing credit, eating out and eating in, keeping fit (or getting buff), locating bargains, and finding clean, safe places to pee and freshen up in a city plastered with the warning that "Restrooms are for customers only."

An Actor Prepares...To Live in New York City is clearly aimed at those who wish not merely to persist but to prevail. Its grandiose subtitle is: How to Live Like a Star Before You Become One (A Guide for Actors and Everyone Else to Getting the Best for Less and Surviving, Thriving, and Living the Good Life in the Big Apple). The author says that, during his 18 years in New York, he has been "unwilling to sacrifice quality of life to my tight budget" and has "become the master of living above my means without paying above my means."

Wroe's authorial voice is benevolent and lightly paternal. He understands the rhythms of the actor's existence, with theatrical gigs interspersed among spells of "survival work" and unemployment. He's sympathetic to the fact that "downtime can be brutal," wounding the ego and exacerbating insecurity about "our talent, our place and ourselves in the business." He's practical: "[O]ur rent bills must be paid and we must eat." But he understands that "survival work," if it's unpleasant, "exhausts us emotionally and physically and bashes our egos that much more." Most of all, he understands the exaltations of the performer's life: "[W]e get that acting job and [we] are back on top of the world."

The author has ample advice for coping with the combined stress of city and career. He recommends sundry forms of recreation and urges the reader to take advantage of New York's cultural riches -- and he tells how to do these things without spending a fortune. Wroe has created a thoroughly accessible guidebook which is distinctive among similar products on the market.

A highly recommended read....for those trying to sort through the confusion of modern Mormonism.
The authors views on the doctrine of Mormon deity was a refreshing alternative to the monotony of mainstream Mormonism and mainstream Christianity. I was thoroughly impressed with the apparent attention to historical accuracy.
Mr. Tholson's passion for the truth in everyday living for the common Mormon has compelled me to explore further into his works, writings, and inner thoughts. Intimate thoughts and arguments into the historical context of which Adam-God relates to the teachings of Joseph Smith and the revelations which define Mormonism have awakened my blind eyes.
I recommend this book to all Mormons and Christians alike searching for a deeper truth...

This is a great book in so many ways...

1. Some great step-by-step how-to sequences that show you how these designers created some truly impressive work.

2. Enjoyable insight into the creative process of the designers. This is an important area that goes way beyond the mechanics of the production process.

3. Beautiful page design! This book is not designed like most books with a rigid template of predictable layouts. The designers obviously took the time to design the pages of this book based on the text, screenshots, and photographs. Very well done!

4. I can't think of anybody better than Deke to pull all this content together and Russell Brown to stir the creative juices!

The first joke, and one that Craig himself would appreciate, is how many other literary Craig Browns there seem to be and the lugubrious and unlikely titles they're responsible for. This one is the non-pareil parodist who gave us the superb "John Thomas" and which I'm surprised keeps being returned by the appreciative Americans I've civilizing and amusing with its loan. This collection of Wallace's musings should never have been allowed out of print in the first place and is a gloomy reflection on the state of publishing's number counters.

Bluff, hearty, and never without an opinion, Wallace Arnold was the main reason I kept up my subscription to the Spectator - and now they've let CB loose on the diary, I may renew it yet again. If you're up to literate touch-in-cheek teasing, WB is your man; otherwise, hound the publishers anyway to bring him back into print and buy 6 for emergency gifts in case any wits suddenly swim into your ken. (Go on, even you ... even in America.)

every person needs to learn more.,by reading this book you can be closer to this goal.

This is one of my son's all time favorite books. He's 3 1/2 and we have checked this book out of the library about 15 times in the past year and a half. My daughter (his twin sister) also loves the story of how Alexander befriends the dragon he was once so scared of. It's exciting and the illustrations are wonderful. A must have for any child's library!