She writes very clearly and includes exersises at the end of each chapter. Her book can be also used as a desk reference. The chapters are organized in such way, that makes it easy to find everything. The book also includes a CD with 42 very useful and fun Tutorials.

I find this book is very useful to me. If you love PhotoImpact 5.0, you will love skating through this book with Stephanie Baker-Thomas. I highly recommend her book to anybody who wants to have fun with this great graphic program.

I had PhotoImpact 5.0 on my hard drive for four months without really using it because of the time it takes to learn a new program.

A friend of mine recommended that I take a look at Stephanie's web site. I was so impressed by her site that I puchased "Skating Throught PhotoImapct 5.0".

I found the book to be easy to understand, the example screen shots exactly matching my own (so I knew I was doing it correctly), along with the CD that makes PI fun and my images look great!

It is a welcome addition to the library of any serious artist!

I now used PhotoImpact 5.0 more than any other image enhancing program I own.

Thanks Stephanie for making it so easy!!!!!!!!!

This book is everything you'll ever need to know about using Photoimpact 5. Every feature of the program is meticulously documented (no mean feat!). I liked that there were so many examples and that the illustrations were carefully chosen to demonstrate the PURPOSE behind that function. Put simply, you can tell the author is a psychologist. She anticipates what you'll want to do with this program, so all the examples and tutorials are highly relevant. Additionally, she knows where you'll get stuck and spends time demystifying the few quirks the program has.

The CD of tutorials is worth the book price alone. Work your way through them and you'll be turning out graphics of truly astonishing and professional quality with very little effort.

If, like me, you bought and downloaded your copy of Photoimpact 5 from the web, and got no paper manual, this book is a total Godsend. It's everything I was looking for. Excellent.

No matter how you felt about Clinton's Impeachment, you will learn a lot from this book. If you were interested in how Clinton's staff felt during this trying time, it's in there. If you were curious about how Democrats in the House and Senate came to the decision to back Clinton, no matter what, it's in there. If you wanted to know how the move to impeach stayed alive despite bumps in the road along the way - such as the midterm elections and Newt Gingrich's resignation - it's in there. If you wondered what it was like for House Managers thrust into a media circus, it's in there.

The Breach will be an excellent source for people studying Clinton's impeachment in the future, but it's also a fun, informative and interesting book for those of us who lived through it. Even if you were glued to the TV the whole time, you'll learn that you missed a lot.

The most significant thing I learned is that Clinton had so many chances to avoid being impeached. The Republican members of the Judiciary Committee were quite reluctant at times. They met with their Democrat counterparts, members of the Clinton defense team and others to find some sort of suitable substitute for impeachment that would withstand constitutional scrutiny yet still have some meaning. These efforts were fruitless mainly because President Clinton and his representatives chose to go to political war rather than accept an iota of responsibility.

In the end, perhaps Clinton should be grateful. If not for the impeachment, his presidency would be a lot like the 90's sitcom Seinfeld: about nothing. For the President who searched like crazy for a legacy, this is a big part of it. And Peter Baker has done an excellent job. This is a substantive must-read book for anyone interested in this episode.

For all of us who followed the story on the evening news, it's interesting to see the real story behind the headlines, especially how slyly the Democrats orchestrated the entire impeachment process in their favor. In fact, I was astounded to read how the Republicans tried, more or less in earnest, to resolve the matter in a non-partisan fashion while the Democrats did everything in their power to polarize the issue and then play themselves as the victims of partisan politics--"win by losing", as Gephart aptly put it. Interesting indeed . . . Also of note is Baker's observations on President Clinton, how he was unable to admit he did anything wrong, how his own party, Cabinet and closest aides believed he deliberately lied under oath, how difficult it was for those who stood up for him to admit they had been had . . . Fascinating!

Overall, a very well-documented, even-handed book by Baker. Well worth the read.

Rev. Eric Roberts

High Priest, Temple of the Sacred Craft

The story opens with two men trying to plot the perfect brutal assault crimes without getting caught. They discuss theories and discard methods that haven't worked. Let me tell you it's unnerving to read something discussed so casually. Cut to the courthouse where a man is set to go on trial for brutally assaulting and raping three women and one who didn't survive the nightmare. Up on the rooftop lies an assassin waiting for the perfect shot to take the man out. The moment arrives, he fires, escapes to his awaiting car only blocks away. He starts the engine, boom-his car explodes. Meanwhile back on the job for his first day after an eighteen-month medical leave is a state policeman. He had witnessed the agonizing death of his wife while taking down the man known as the "Candy Man", a pedophile who killed ten small children and just happened to be the his next door neighbor. Thrown into the mix is three women who form the Survivors Club to deal with the trauma they have each went through. Three women, who come from different walks in life, with nothing in common other than they have survived every woman's worst nightmare. This is pretty intense stuff especially when you consider it's just the first three chapters of the book. But hey, Ms. Gardner doesn't let up there, chapter after chapter throws new curves that keeps this story as fresh and compelling as the first three chapters.

This book was mesmerizing. I'm sure there will be those out there who will criticize the fact that there was no romance in the book, or those who will think Ms. Gardner strayed into the unbelievable area on DNA and police procedures. But for someone who reads strictly for entertainment, this book has it all. Grab a copy and settle down for a fascinating journey with The Survivors Club. You won't be sorry.

The book centers around a state detective hot on the trail of a double murder. Griffin had just returned to work after a bereavement leave ~~ he had just lost his wife to cancer ~~ only on the day he arrives to work, an accused serial rapist, who was on his way to court for the first day of trial, was shot to death by a sniper. Then a few blocks away, the sniper was blown up as he entered his car. The suspicions soon focused on the three "survivors" ~~ three women who were raped by the accused serial rapist, Eddie. And that was just the first chapter.

This book will be hard to put down ~~ Gardner strings you along with tempting bits every chapter ~~ and no matter what you do, you can't resist it. She delves into the psychological aspects of the rape victims as well into Griffin's mindset as he tracks down the mystery of the rapists and murders. You find yourself relating to the darker sides of the story and you really shouldn't read this alone at night ~~ it will spook you! She delivers this book with a fast-paced, page-turner story ~~ and I highly recommend this book for everyone's summer reading. It's fabalous and she's also a great writer to boost. You can't beat this one!

7-9-03

In life we also face obstacles that limit our ability. To overcome each different obstacle, one must use strength, mind, and perseverance to move on and succeed in life.

Odysseus overcame these obstacles by problem solving and thinking ahead. The Odyssey really captures the essences of life lessons through out time. The book was excellent. I mean where else can you find bloody battles, passionate love scenes, giant maelstroms, and the occasional six-headed monster.

I recommend this book to any reader, whether in High School, College, or just the average reader. The Odyssey is a definite classic.

The rules are explained simply and concisely with all the tables and charts well organized and easy to find. More importantly, unlike much of the game products out there, this book is vividly written with inspiration and flair, bringing alive the technology, citizens, and cultures of the setting. All this is finished off by quality art as well. This terrific book prompted me to add the Alternity game to my gaming cabinet. If I can find any fault at all, it is that some sections like equipment and starships are a little brief - I suppose the publishers wanted to leave room for future supplements (what else is new?). A fine effort, nonetheless.

Pros: The looseness of the system, in more ways than one. Its capable of being played any time from now to the far future (actually you could even play it from any point in human history too, they have equipment for primitive civilizations). Characters are freeform too. When I first saw the 'professions' that were presented I thought they were remakes of AD&D classes, but they're not, you're allowed a lot of control, with minimal interference from the rules. The system manages to be tight though, despite its genericness.

Cons: I don't like the fact that they presented alien races for us in the player's handbook. Though its easy enough to make new ones, the ones they present are kind of odd. Also, if you look at the rules for weapons and starship/drive technology, they present very strict types, ands not the kinds I personally like. The good news is you can fix these things with a minimum of work. So, if you are looking for a new RPG, or the thing I expect will boost attention in Sci Fi RPGs, I recommend this book.

Many contemporary issues and minds are covered, but the old key questions and subjects are often explored with more detail. I found the book lacking consistency, some areas seeming very
academic and hard to digest, while others appeared to lack depth, but perhaps some of that is caused by my own current limitations at this level of knowledge.

A small problem in this edition annoyed me - There is no decent index of articles. This book is about 800 pages, and all you get is a list of the included articles at the end (With a few mistakes but no indication of pages). Where are the page numbers? An alphabetical list without the page numbers it utterly useless in a fat reference book. Perhaps Baker expected us write each page number on the article index as we read... :-)

The articles are presented in alphabetical order with plenty of cross references to catch related articles. There is an article index at the back of the book. There is also an index of biblical & apocraphyl scriptures used and on what page these verses are mentioned.

Articles range from a few paragraphs to several pages. However, depending on the topic of interest, with related articles a person would have a chapter's worth of material. Each article ends with a list of sources for that article. The bibliography for this book is very large. Dr. Geisler has gathered and summarized a vast amount of material.

Although this book is mainly a reference book, it is organized & written in a fashion that one could easily get as much from this as if reading a standard book on apologetics... actually more so.

I highly recommend this book to pastors, youth leaders, seminary students, and Christians who want to learn about & defend the Christian faith.

I'm glad this little book found me, as I was hungry to read something of quality.

Wynter Morrison is a woman adrift. She's been cut loose from her secure mooring by a wayward husband (a jerk of the first water) and she's unsure what comes next. Forced from her home in an upscale LA neighborhood, Wynter finds herself on a plane to Seattle to visit her childhood friend, CM.

On her trip, Wynter discovers a small neighborhood bakery complete with an odd cast of characters. When the bottom drops out from her LA world, she relocates to Seattle and starts to work at the bakery. The routine of bread making in the middle of the night soothes her and gives her direction.

It's been a long time since I've read such a well crafted first novel. I loved the characters...flaws and all...and I loved Hendricks' detailed description of the process of bread making...

This is an author to watch...

Enjoy!