I found this book buried in the back of my local public library, and am extremely happy that I did. I think I can say, without any hyperbole, it's one of the best books I've read in my life. I've read it about a dozen times, and each time I find something new to laugh at.

An oral history of a deranged movie producer's rise to the top, fall from grace, and return to power, there are more laughs and over the top situations in this book than in any other. The discussion of the flying pigs had me on the floor, crying my eyes out because it was so funny. While the situations are over the top, never once does the book cross over into being ridiculous or unbelievable.

I don't know of there being any real problem with the book. As I said, I've read the book many times and each time I finish I'm amazed at how excellent a writer James Robert Baker was. It's a shame he decided to end his life; I've also read his first novel, "Fuel-Injected Dreams," which is quite good as well. ...

Bottom line: if you get a chance to read this, do so immediately. You won't be disappointed.

One of the out-and-out funniest and most on-target books about Hollywood I've read. This is definitely one of those books that gets better with repeated readings; you find something new every time. Other than the fact that every character in the book is bisexual (a predilection of the admittedly gay author of the book), I've yet to find another novel about the movie biz that is as telling, funny and touching all at the same time. Highly recommended.

Looking at the world through the skewed eyeslits of Hunter S. Thompson creates altered perception and thank God for it. Without a foundation in his world of paranoid, cryptofascist metaphors there is not a hope that you could begin to appreciate the ways both subtle and hammerlike that James Robert Baker japslaps the entire stomping grounds Hollywoods best and brightest. I picked it up in Germany before a trip to Greece in '90 and not only have I read it nine times but it is in simply deplorable condition due to manic thumbing of pages by close friends and those with a sense of humor that have torn through these pages at warp speed. Most of those were men but not all. There are scenes depicted in this book that are so visually stunning and dramatic it makes the fact that your attention is riveted to the laserthin beam of twisted irony that runs throughout as electricity through a conduit that much funnier. The review that should have been on what was once the front cover of my copy of "Boy Wonder" should have stated that it was the literary equivalent of flying down the freeway at midnight with the top down and the dronelike buzzing of cocaine frazzled fingers massaging your scalp. Only then would the rightous hands of the gifted few be lured into exploring the inner reaches of a parralel world. One that skitters along the wavecrest of reality only to pick up speed before crashing onto the cacophonous frenzy of slewed wit and sarcasm. Check this first novel out and beg Amazon.com to aquire more copies and hurry!!! This is a cult train that you simply MUST be on!! END

This is a great deal for learning about CMOS for the first time. The book is very well written and explains everything well. Also, you have access to great (and free) software to use in the aid of learning the material.

I'm finishing up a video course in analog IC design. This book was recommended to me by a co-worker to help understand the course material. While it wasn't the course textbook (in my opinion it should have been) it did contain all of the course topics. It provided numerous examples and clear discussions. The book's website was invaluable for the solutions to problems and SPICE simulation examples (it also had a free SPICE simulator and a layout program for windows!).

The level of the book is at the senior/graduate level. I recommend that any student interested in custom analog or digital IC design get it. I would also say, from my colleagues input, that it is also a very good reference book.

In summary, it is one of the few books I have purchased with such a hefty price that I felt was worth it!

I think this book is very good for a comprehensive study of CMOS circuit design.It includes almost everything that one needs to know in CMOS.There were a few things I would like to say about it.Though it is a very good book I think if one wants specific knowledge of Layout in CMOS he can use Dan Clein's book,Analog layout Alan Hastings,for Modelling tsividis,analog circuit design razavi,Johns and martins' book on analog circuit design etc....By far it is a good book which has everything in it....but for deeper study one needs other books too.....

Good book for students.....

This is a book about cops, for cops, and by cops. The author has done an excellent job of organizing their stories about what it means be a member of the blue team. There are over a hundred such accounts compiled, and each one has a ring of authenticity, colored by a layer of humor and cynicism that goes often goes with the territoty. The often raw and gritty language, coupled with their vividly described experiences, gives the reader a birdseye view of the underbelly of the beast.

The only problem with the book is that policing has undergone a substantial change in the past several years, which is, of course, not reflected in this book, as it was published in 1985. Read in that context, the book is somewhat anachronistic. Still, it is one that will be enjoyed by those with a penchant for police war stories. If you are an avid cop buff, add one star to my rating.

I'm a brand new police officer. Actually I don't even take my oath until later in October. This book is an excellent read, but I also feel like it's somewhat dated. Most of the interviews were conducted in 1983 and 1984. There's a whole new generation of police officer out there now. Attitudes have changed, training has changed, and I suppose society has changed somewhat. When I first read this book back in 1986 my father was still a cop with six years to go before he retired. At the time the book was dead on. Now, though it is still truthful in spirit, I feel like cops have chnged in many respects. It would be nice to see an update. I would also like Mr. Baker to go farther out into this country of ours and speak to cops in the Western U.S., the South and so on. I get the definite impression that many of his interviews were conducted with NYPD officers and Long Island cops. Contrary to what some may think law enforcement is different in various parts of the nation, just like attitudes and beliefs are different in our many regions. It's still a very good book. Don't let my quibbles discourage you from reading it.

As a New York City Auxiliary Police Officer, I am still baby powder-fresh in the world of law enforcement. This book has shown me how to stay on my toes and make the right decisions. An excellent look into what it means to be blue. A must for all law enforcement, a tool for all anti-police. Excellent.

I've been baking bread for 20 years and am very particular about the bread books I buy. Ortiz's book is without equal. Some of the recipes may seem long and complicated, but trust me, they *can* be adapted to the schedule of a working person, and really, those tiny quantities of yeast really do work.

When I outgrew my bread machine, five years ago, a (chef) friend of mine loaned me his copy of Ortiz's book. Within a couple of weeks I was on my way, using a sourdough starter that I made from scratch, by following Joe's step-by -step directions, to bake good, basic sourdough loaves.

In "The Village Baker", the author shares his travels, experiences and conversations with some truly skilled and honest regional bakers in Italy, France and Germany. Throughout the book, related recipes follow the account of the respective village baker's professional lifestyle and dedication to his craft. The book contains in-depth descriptions of all aspects of bread making, including a short section on decorative bread techniques. Recipes are provided for both serious amateurs and professionals alike.

Eventually, I had to go out and get my own copy of the book, and have since read through it many times. The Village Baker is a wonderful blend of technical reference, human interest, and travel writing.

Joe Ortiz's book changed my life. I had been baking straight yeasted breads for several years. These were good, decent breads, but plain. I longed for a more complex loaf - one with the irregular holes in the crumb, one that had a chewier texture, and longer shelf life. Joe Ortiz's book showed me how to achieve all those goals. His book also explains why certain methods produce different results. Another of the helpful features of his book is that he distinguishes his recipes by fermentation method(i.e. sourdough, sponge, old dough, or straight yeast), which makes it a book a beginning baker can use, and grow with as the baker's skill develops (the straight yeasted doughs are the easist). I think this is a must-have book for any serious, or semi-serious homebaker. This is THE book for the homebaker who wants to take their baking up to the next level.

So why only three stars, well first let me say that the rules and mechanics of the Alternity system are second to none and are straight forward enough to allow the GM to do what he is supposed to and tell a good story. Where this book falls down though are the specifics sections.

Alternity is a generic Sci-fi rules system which you can use to run games in the far-future (featuring spaceships, aliens, and whatnot) through to cyber-punk (near future with large corporations running the show and bionic implants enabling charcters to perform the impossible) right down to modern day (conspiracies, alien abductions, ghost, vampires etc...). So whilst the rules work for all these settings some of the specifics dont, for example the spaceship section is a waste of time if you are running a near future setting. Now this information isnt badly presented and I found it very interesting even if it wasnt going to play a part in my campaign. IMO it would have been better to leave these specifics to seperate volumes where they can be dealt with in detail.

So in conclusion, the Alternity system is good and you should play it, its a shame that this book doesnt live up to the systems potential.

This is the other Book you'll need to play Alternity(the other one is the players handbook). If you fimilar with other TSR products like AD&D there is no suprize that you need a Players Handbook and Game Masters guide.

This new system that TSR made is nothing like any of their other products, to put it simply this isn't AD&D in the future it's a whole new game. The rules are simple so you can get into the action right away, there is also a brand new combat system that makes combat a lot fast so you won't spend and entire evening on one combat round.

I must recomend the Alternity books to anyone who loves to play in Far Future settings battling Hodes of Aliens and humans...

A core rulebook for TSR's new science fiction roleplaying game, the Alternity Gamemaster Guide provides ideas and essential rules for running an Alternity campaign. Alternity brings flexibility to the sci-fi gaming universe, allowing the gamemaster to create any sort of campaign, from friendly exploration and alien contacts to gritty, grim wars of vast planetary destruction.

Use of this book assumes ownership and working knowledge of the Alternity Player's Handbook. It covers the basics of running a roleplaying game for novices, Alternity's special quirks for the experienced gamemaster, adventure and campaign design, and fast-play rules for the impatient. Sections deal with details of handling character creation, personal statistics and their effects, hero careers, and non-player characters. Tips are given for designing new hero careers, alien races beyond the five provided in the Player's Handbook, and a variety of vehicles, star systems, individual planets, spacecraft, and alien artifacts. The Guide contains many short tables for effects and characteristics, and for determining species lifespans (as determined by technology level). Brief optional rules are also presented for mutants, psionics, cyborgs, artificial intelligence, and "special effects" (any magic, miracle, or superpower beyond the other rules provided).

For players' displeasure there are statistics for 15 dangerous animals from good old Terra and 20 generic alien creature types to modify for every alien need. TSR fantasy fans will find an appendix of conversion rules for bringing AD&D characters, races, equipment, and spells into an Alternity game.

For ease in using published adventures and accessories, a sample nonplayer character statistics form with explanatory notes is provided. Also included are forms for ship design, ship status, and solar system design/record. There is an index of both this book and the Player's Handbook.

Alternity Gamemaster's Guide is an essential element in what promises to be an exciting new game in the science fiction game genre.

--Sharon Daugherty for Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine

I wanted a book about artisanal baking so that I could learn from the masters, so to speak. Up until now I'd only baked a dozen or so loaves from recipes gleaned from the internet so at first I thought the baking instructions would be too advanced for me. I plunged in, however, starting with the baguettes,and really loved the results. My most recent endeavor was the Focaccia, which was a big hit with my family.

The author is very exacting in her measurements and clear with her instructions, which I need. (I'm sure, however, that as I become comfortable with baking and read books by other artisanal bakers, I'll relax a bit and trust my own creative process). This book is a great teacher as it goes through explanations of flours, interviews with bakers about their methods and tools, and descriptions of how doughs should look and feel. The book is a fine guide to bread baking and certainly isn't relegated to mere coffee table status in my house!

No one book stands out as the definitive manual for artisan bread baking, but this is definitely one to go alongside the other classics on your bookshelf: "Crust and Crumb," "The Village Baker," "Breads of LaBrea," "Bread Alone," etc. For me, Steve Sullivan's recipe for his rustic baguette was worth the price of the book. Anyone who has been to Acme and tasted one of those baguettes will attest, it doesn't get much better. I took my family there for breakfast while on vacation, and for as much bread as they have tasted in my kitchen, they knew they were experiencing something special. And, with the exception of his chapter in the Chez Panise cookbook, Steve doesn't appear to make his recipes known. Ms Glezer's instructions are a little confusing, but I figured it out and had great results the first time out. Now, on to some of those other recipes.

For the more experienced bread baker, or those who are facinated with bread baking, this book is wonderful! There are great recipes, and also great stories about the bakers who do this for a living. I personally love the list in the book that divides the recipes between 1-day, 2-day and basic recipes. It helps you decide which recipes are worth looking at if you only have so much time to bake.

The Camera, book 1 of 3 in the Ansel Adams Photography Series, is well written with many illustrations of the subjects in each chapter. It also includes many of Ansel's own photo's as examples. The chapters are written for the the novice as well as for the journeyman who want to refresh one's memory on the basics. The latter chapters get more involved with technical information. Book 2 and 3, "The Negative" and " The Print" are eqully well written with an introduction to Ansel's own Zone system. A must read for serious photographers or the novice interested in advanced techniques and/ or terminology. Ansel will go down in history not only as a great photographer but teacher and writer as well. I highly recommend this series to anyone interested in taking better pictures.

This is an excellent book for any person interested in photography, any level. Here you'll find advice from how to place a tripod to how to get aesthetical results with stereographic pictures of the moon.

Merits and demerits and other features of equipment (cameras, lenses, filters, ...) and techniques (focusing, shuttering, panning, ...) are also pointed out.

I've just finished reading the whole book, but take for sure I'll read it many times from now as a pretty helpful manual.

Ansel Adams is indeed one of the most highly regarded photographers ever, and in this first of three instructional books, he reveals much of the foundational wisdom that he gathered over a lifetime taking pictures. The focus of this book is the camera and deals with all types and formats of film cameras and techniques for using them to take wonderful photos.

This book is one of the most common and cherished textbooks used in beginning photography but is indispensable for any interested in better understanding camera arts.

After reading an interview at TSR.com with Richard Baker about this book I could hardly wait to get my hands on it. I was not dissapointed in the least. The main character Jack Ravenwild is now one of my favorite FR characters ever. This book is so witty that it will have you laughing out loud as you read it. It has its fair share of intrigue and adventure that will keep you up at night because you cannot put this book down. My only complaint is that it could have been at least fifty pages longer. The end seemed a bit rushed but overal the books entirety FAR outweighs this slight setback. I hope that we will get to see more of Jack in future FR books. I highly recomend this book to any fan of the forgotten realms series or anyone who enjoys good books.

The City of Ravens is a witty, fast-paced, and engaging read from page one. Jack Ravenwild, the protagonist, gets himself into and out of more scrapes than you can shake a stick at while trying to get ahead in a fantasy city portrayed with a liberal amount of sarcasm and black humor. It reminded me a lot of Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, or Jack Vance's Cugel the Clever -- not what I'd expected from a Forgotten Realms novel, and a fun change of pace. I'm going to make a point of reading more of Richard Baker's stuff in the future.

The reviewer who said that the book was written entirely in first person is incorrect, by the way. It's a third person narrative, and Jack is the point of view character throughout the story.

This was a great book about a funny man named Jack who was both a minor sorcerer and a major thief. Because of the fact that he is ambitious and semi greedy, all his plans to gain money across Raven's Bluff put him into big trouble with the law and many other people after him. This book is great as a stand alone novel, most people would be able to read it without having read any other Forgotten Realms book. It has tons of action, a lot of mystery, a little bit of romance (Jack in love), magic, thievery, sword battles, humor, you name it, this book has it. I read it in a few days, but I know someone who read it in one sitting. Try it, its cool.

This book has useful (though not terribly complete) introductions to each of the plays, focusing mainly on comparing various Folio and Quarto editions of the plays. It also contains some nice pictures, though I wish the Latin in them were translated or shown at a legible size. It has very nice appendicies nothing the first appearances of all the characters in the plays, and a timeline showing what historical events were occuring in relation to works written by Shakespeare and events in his life, as well as to plays by other playwrights and other literature produced at that time. The pages are relatively thin and the print small. However (this referes to the '74 edition, maybe they have changed it since then) the plays are a royal pain to read. The pages are about a foot high and the notes are at the bottom. There is no marking to indicate whether a line has a note, so the reader must read a line or two, glance down at the notes, read another few lines, look at the notes again, and so on. Were it not for this major annoyance, this would be a very good (and very complete) edition of Shakespeare's works.

While I sympathize somewhat with the review below -- the introductions do quibble a bit over the differences between Folio and Quarto versions, the exact source material etc. -- I found this to be an excellent version of the complete works. The essay before each play is very helpful toward understanding the literary context of the play--they _do_ talk about the characters and the action of the play, in a way that nicely complements the text. The illustrations (some black and white, some color) are also interesting and helpful. The book contains both a general introduction, which is accessible, if slightly daunting, to a reader who might not be intimately familiar with all of the plays, serving to excite interest at least. It also contains an essay on 20th century Shakespeare criticism, which introduces many of the newer movements in Shakespeare criticism that are not included in the general introduction (which focuses more on the Elizabethan historical period, and more immediate reactions to the plays). The footnotes, while they are not indicated on the line itself, are located on the same page. In looking at several other editions, I found that footnotes were sometimes actually endnotes--i.e. located in one section at the end of the play, which would be very disruptive to reading. Happily, this is not the case in this edition.

The book, as the title claims, includes all of Shakespeare's plays, Sonnets, and poems. The appendices include many other interesting tidbits that help shine some light on old Billy's life, including his will, in which he enigmatically bequeathed a "second-best bed" to his wife. Other documents are included, often with explanations to help the reader to understand (as the documents are printed verbatim, the Elizabethan spelling and punctuation is a slight impediment).

Overall, I found this to be the best of the paperback and hardcover editions I examined.

This one-volume edition of Shakespeare's works is the most complete I found on the market: it includes "The Two Noble Kinsmen", Shakespeare's addition to "Sir Thomas More" (with photographical reproduction of the pages believed to be in his handwrite), the currently hot debated poem "A Funeral Elegy by W. S." and, above all, "The Reign of King Edward III", a new play recently accepted in the canon by many authoritative editors (Arden, Cambridge, Oxford). The text of each work is carefully edited and accompanied by helpful glossarial notes, a textual discussion with short bibliography, and an impressive collation which allows the reader to find variant readings and emendations. An exhaustive critical introduction precedes each play and poem, dealing with authorship, date, sources, textual differences between quarto and folio texts, and of course the principal thematic issues. What makes this a superb edition - and indeed a real "companion" to Shakespeare studies! - is the great amount of subsidiary material, including a general introduction - focusing on Shakespeare's life, art, language, style, and on the Elizabethan historical and theatrical background - and a series of useful essays on various themes: critical approaches to the plays and poems, philological issues, history of the plays on the stage, television and cinema. There are also many interesting documents, synoptic tables, glossaries, indexes, illustrated tables (both coloured and b&w) , the reproduction of the introductory pages of the First Folio of 1623, and a rich bibliography. I personally consider this book a must have for every teacher, scholar, or simply amateur of the greatest of all poets. Buy it!

I loved this book because it validated many things I have been thinking for some time and pulled all these ideas together in a usable formula for pursuing happiness in life.

I couldn't stop writing in the margins. I am now just looking for more. I want to immediately re-read this book and use it in everyday life. Also, I want to talk to the author about applying this to other aspects of life... like raising children to lead happy lives.

AMAZING!

I have known Dan Baker, PhD for about 15 years. I work with him at the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch Health Resort. This is a review, however, by a fan and appreciative reader of "What Happy People Know." For years guests who have seen him professionally have raved about Dr. Dan Baker. I now really know why! His book helped me.
The professional reviewer who said that it may be "too simplistic" or "New Age" must not have read it! Dan is not a purveyor of fairy tales. His book is as much about life's pain as it is about joy. The remarkable and real people about whom he writes are resilient human beings who have not succumbed to defeat. They typify the best in all of us. They are examples of success, but rather than fitting the model of what is wrong with people, they model what is wonderful about humankind. They are not in denial of pain, but recognize it and experience it fully. What makes them unique (or are they?) is their courage in rising above the horrors which have befallen them. One man who lost his entire business, all of his employees, and his son in the New York Trade Center disaster survived because of his love for those people. One can pass this off as 'superficial' but it is the common thread that enables all of us to make it through tough times. With numerous interesting citations of research, showing physiological and psychological benefits of the feeling of appreciation, the book despells any notion that this is a shallow endeavor. Life IS hard, but is filled too with beauty and love. Research is mentioned from the Heart Math Institute on improved heart rate variability with Freeze Frame technique - a volitional mind/body technique in which one focuses on feelings of love or appreciation. Some studies have indicated that improved heart rate variability may correlate better than cholesterol or blood pressure to morbidity/mortality. Sadly, however, the study of happiness or positive emotions are deemed "new age?"
In writings Dan discusses from the Bible to Victor Frankel ("Man's Search for Meaning"), finding joy, or love, or appreciation has been credited by wise people as worthy of our concern and study. It reflects the heartless cynicism of our age that someone would think that mere emotions such as love are trivial. In reading this book, the reader will experience a thoughtful, wise, and engaging strategy for living. Rather than fitting some New Age self help book, Dr. Baker's book espouses Dostoyevsky's advice, "in suffering is redemption."
Reading the book I was reminded of my own successes, hewn from my passions and joys and realized, again, that my joy fuels success better than the fear of failure. It filled me with excitment, saddened me to remember some of the wonderful guests with whom I've loved working too. I found the book intellectually arresting, very humorous at times, and it left me teary eyed at the end. In it Dan Baker provides a means of finding the joy in one's own life. He does not claim it to be easy. Life is not. Will it work for severely disturbed people? I don't know. It will not work for those expecting help from just reading a book - one must do the work he describes. Some people will not get this fact. But can ANYONE truly rise above baseline survival without using at least some of his ideas? I doubt it. He has cogently, with his "Positive Pyschology" collegues, not reinvented humanity -just begun to understand the best of humanity. It will feel like coming home to you, because it espouses truths you know to be true in your heart.

dr. dan baker has written a book that everyone can read and understand with ease.. we've been taught that happiness is elusive when in fact it's a learned response to lifes experiences. Without any airy fairy explanations, dr. baker leads the way for us to find happiness when life perhaps has other plans for us. The examples given in this book are worth the price of the book alone.. We sometimes think there is a magic bullet that will make us happy.... lots of money will buy us happiness.. things will make us happy... when in fact, the only thing that can make us happy is how we respond to what happens in our life and dr. baker has captured the words for our feelings.. Bravo, dr. dan.