I appreciated how the book helped me "think" like Ray Dream. The first chapter explains all about thinking in 3D. More sections cover the though processes of modeling, lighting, mood, shading, composition, & animation.

The are some wonderful step by step tutorials on modeling. A few include making rocks, foliage, an easy spiral staircase, and a gazebo. There are many lighting, camera, animation, and rendering technique tutorials as well.

The are also some nice shader recipes. Some include rust, marble & glass. I loved how the artist profiles section took me through the artwork of several artists. Many striking color photos of the artwork are shown. Later chapters focus on postproduction, special effects, the internet.

The guide does live up to what it mostly says it contains. Detailed Maps, complete walkthrough for both games and all. The heart pieces are revealed, and so are the secrets of linking (some of them anyway), and does cover both games.

The good thing about this guide is the organization in the walkthrough. They do that little number thing pretty well in the Ages section, but its better organized in the Seasons sections (The Ages section was written by Casey Loe and the Seasons section was written by Craig Keller, as a little FYI). Both sections have a ring appendix (but they only needed one and they printed two that are exactly the same), a table of contents and the walkthrough. Thats it!

But what about Heart pieces? And secrets of Linking? That is all in the walkthrough. You have to either read the walkthrough or use the table of contents to find all the Linking Passwords and all the heart pieces. It probably would've been easier to have a section dedicated to both of them separately. But you only have so little time to do things.

The boss strategies and mini-boss strategies are done very well in Seasons but not as well in Ages. Where as Ages does a good job in guiding you through dungeons the Seasons has better boss strategies. Overall they get the purpose done. But they don't cover "Hero's Dungeon" in a linked game, and there is artwork in both sections that sometimes gets in the way of Maps and screenshots.

As another reviewer mentioned, its all about the walkthrough. I actually read the entire walkthrough. (Look if it helps you understand why I did that I'm a big collector of game guides so its a hobby of mine I read the walkthrough before I actually use it). Anyway, I read the entire walkthrough and believe me Almost everything you needto know is in the walkthrough! So truly this is a great guide since it actually does detail all that it says it does. The only really big gripe with this guide (but there are plenty of little gripes if you look below) is that the guide has no enemy list.

Also, on the number system they use. Next to point 1 it'll say something like "bomb the cracked wall" but it isn't clear enough because they don't have a screen and the "1" just so happens to be covering up what they're talking about. Also, this isn't as important but the Ages section of the guide looks a little rushed.

Overall:
On the positive side:
+Great Maps
+Great boss strategies in Seasons
+Good organization in both sections
+Linking game Finale is covered OK
+Complete walkthrough discusses everything
+Crystal Clear screenshots
+Walkthrough explains everyhing in a simple easy to understand form.

But on the negative side
-Artwork blocks maps and screens at some places
-Ages section looks too rushed making tons of errors (but still lives up to the purpose and VERSUS BOOKS name)
-Hero's Dungeon isn't covered
-Heart Pieces and Linking Passwords must be searched for in the Walkthrough
-Ring appendix is the same description that Vasu gives you...not very helpful
-Lastly, Enemies aren't listed in the guide also forcing you to read the walkthrough for them too.

OVERALL: This is a great guide. Even with all these little tweaks the guide is stil a good guide to look at.

Pros:

Fine Walkthrough with clear instructions, mostly

Nice, big maps (way, way better than Prima's)

Good artwork, put in where it is relevant (unlike Prima's)

Tells where password givers are in a Linked Game

Very lively and humorous, but not so much that it interferes with the walkthrough

Lots of good, clear screenshots that are reffered to in the walkthrough sometimes

Fine boss strategies

Doesn't try to be too extravagant or fancy; in Prima's guide, all the weird borders and cartoons and things got in the way of the real objective

Ok ring list

Cons:

No enemy list

Instead of coordinates, this book uses a number system. On the map, there are numbers over doors, etc. and the book says sonmething like "bomb the cracked wall at 5). This would be ok except it doesn't always tell how to get to the next number location.

Has no map of what Hero's Cave is like in a Linked Game

Has no hacked passwords, and Linked Game changes are not well detailed on the whole, if at all

Is all about the walkthrough; there is no section telling where to find all the rings, or Gasha Seeds. Rather, it is all incorporated into the walkthrough, making such things hard to find at times

While the Ring List is ok, all the descriptions are the same as Vasu's, which doesn't always really tell you what the ring does entirely. They could have added some tips on how to use these rings, and also, the locations are not always there, or, if they are, they are sometimes mixed up

The associations between this book and Red Dwarf are as follows. It was written by the guy who plays Lister. There are pictures of Craig Charles in his Listerwear throughout the book. The set up of the book is that if he was the last person on earth (like Lister), here's a little information that some other civilization should have about humans, as well as some best guesses as to what's going to happen. And he refers to Danny John Jules when he's discussing cats. THAT'S it. If you are interested in this book because you feel compelled (as I did) to own all things Dwarf- don't bother. This is essentially Dwarf-free.

The other problem is that, well, it's not that good (or original). I've probably seen at least a quarter of this material already- as some sort of forward in my email inbox. For example, there's a whole section called "What the Human Race is All About"- and it's the Darwin awards (he doesn't call it that, but that's what it is)- and all the stories from the Darwin awards are in here- The guy who strapped a rocket to his car and splattered himself into a mountain, the whole family that drowned trying to save a chicken who survives... they're all here.

I can't tell you how heartbroken I was when I read this book and had to admit to myself that it stank (generally- there were some funny bits- but overall- stinkaroo). But I spent [that kind of money]... and I was all excited, and well,... it was Dwarf-free and not that great. Charles is clearly a funny guy with a great sense of humor, and I'm still gonna get his biography, but this... well, if you see it at auction [for way less money]... go ahead and get it and leave it on the back of your john to read periodically.

However, any reader should keep in mind that this is not an historical text of the issues of the philosophy of religion, it is a contemporary text. But, this is actually one of its greatest strengths, since it provides the reader and student some of the most up to date writings available. The topics themselves are 'historical' (for lack of a better way of putting it), but the work is very contemporary.

Some of the topics (or sections) in this text include: Religious epistemology; the Existence of God; Coherence of theism; the problem of evil; soul and immortality; and Christian theology. Some of the philosophers contributing to this volume include: William Lane Craig; William P. Alston; Alvin Plantinga; J.P. Moreland; Eleonore Stump; Quentin Smith; Alfred J. Freddoso; Keith Yandell; Richard Swinburne; Peter van Inwagen; William L. Rowe and many others. This text is a great reference tool, it emphasizes the Christian tradition, it has some first rate introductions, and offers the reader a list of suggested titles for further study. The only downfall, if you could call it that, is the fact that this text is geared toward the student of philosophy and the reader who already has a background in the issues at hand. Some of the articles are quite advanced, but this makes for a great challenging read and will only aid the reader in expanding his knowledge.

I don't really understand what the criticism of the earlier reviewer was with regard to Dr. Craig's opinions concerning morality. Dr. Craig has successfully defended his beliefs on morality against his foremost opponents. (I don't know how you can argue for an objective and non-arbitrary morality if you hold a naturalistic worldview.)

I recommend this book to anybody interested in current discussion of philosophy of religion topics. Just be warned if you are not already well versed in elite philosophical terminology: it may take you a while to make it through!

For a more detailed and better treatment on this subject I would recommend Craig's section on Natural Theology in this text. See also Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by Craig and Moreland ( 2003 ).
The rest of the book is pretty good also. Although it is a little rough at times.

The book has lots of text, but it needs more examples and more pictures; I can't really grasp a particular subject on Excel, if there's no picture to show what it's supposed to look like on screen. Some of the subjects aren't explained fully; these areas need more explanations, examples and pictures.

The book gets four stars, because I did learn some things I've never learned before; also, the book's layout is excellent.

Like the one of the reviewers below, I suggest you get the "Microsoft Excel 2000 Learning Kit". The kit contains the "Running Microsoft Excel 2000" book, as well as a "Microsoft Excel 2000 Step by Step Interactive" software. The software in the kit is excellent!

For me the real value in this book comes from the section on analyzing data. The author discusses the worksheet functions but then delves into common analysis situations. Their coverage of financial analysis discusses all of the different financial functions and how to use each of them. The statistical analysis section talks about each of the different distributions supported and when each should be used. Finally they present a what-if analysis section that shows how to use Excel's solver and scenario manager.

The book even touches on Visual Basic, but only enough to get your feet wet with Excel's macros.

All in all a very good book.. much more than I was expecting from a general "how to use Excel" book.

The book is highly recommended. Indeed, it should be read by all Georgians prior to selecting a new flag design, lest they find themselves with symbols that reflect the worst of the state's history, instead of its best.

Collected here are the speeches of the particulars, both secessionist and Unionist Georgians. All the speeches are fascinating and enlightening, particularly the Unionist speech of Alexander Stephens, as cogent and impressive a declaration of conservative principles as has ever been written or uttered by anyone. This book is worth buying for that speech alone.

Like others before me, my copy of the book will be a treasured part of my library. Unfortunately, my copy was severely damaged when my home was flooded during the El Nino rains a few years back and I spend my time searching book repositories in search of a copy of this treasure.

One of the reviewers here suggests that this book has no value or merit yet there does not appear to be a copy left available. Perhaps this disgruntled reviewer would like to clear up some space on his shelves and would give me the opportunity to purchase his copy where it will hold a hallowed place on my shelves.

By way of disclosure, I have to admit that Craig and I have corresponded via e-mail and exchanged prints with each other as well over the last several years.

While it's true that *Studio Nudes* uses the same setup for every shot, this approach is not unprecedented and does tend to focus attention on the subject matter. Let's not lose sight of the fact that this method applies to this particular project. Morey is quite capable of doing many kinds of photography, for I've seen portraits and even some color work, as well as some black and whites that were set up differently.

I can only assume that something happened to the book Kedgemon possesses. My own print is absolutely flawless and the prints exquisite even to the degree of almost having the patina of actual photographic prints.

I like Print 31 also, but it is far from the only good print in the book, and while I've gotten several prints from Mr. Morey, that was not even one of the ones I requested. This is truly one of those books where it is hard to pick favorites, since every selection is so outstanding.

I should add, I think, that this is not the case of likes defending likes. My own photography is about as different as it could be from his. We work in different formats, he in medium and I in 35mm. I also do a lot of color work, whereas (at least it's my impression) Craig is mostly black and white. Craig is pretty much a formalist, his camera on a tripod, whereas my own style is mise en scene and hand-held. Even so, I can't get enough of his nudes.

Truly if six stars were available, I'd have to give it six.

"Studio Nudes" is one of the finest example of b&w erotic nude photography I have seen.

The photos balance on the fine line between classic nude imagery and explicit sexuality.

Morey captures the essence of the subject without resorting to trite coy expressions or overdone posing. The lighting is exquisite. Plates 12, 15, and 31 are true masterpieces of the genre. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the art of nude photography."