I purchased this book expecting challenging and wide ranging examples of this medium. What I got was endless pages of 2 cherries done over and over when these samples exploring technique could have fit on 2 pages and given room for more challenging examples. This book is a bust.

I find it hard to explain why I was so disappointed in this book. Perhaps it is the redundancy of subjects(cherries), yet the cherry part was interesting in the fact that it compared a same subject with different techniques. Still it lacks something.

The other examples of pictures that were in the book were overwhelming for me. It is as if I were already expected to know how to draw the pictures. I did not find there to be enough step by step instruction.

I also have another book by Gary Greene- Textures. That book is far more inspiring and instructional than this one is.

This book just does not whet my appetite for watercolor pencils enough to make me want to race to my pencils and start drawing right away. Instead, it just makes me sigh, and put the tin away for yet another day.

This topic could be covered in a far more inspirational and effective way than was done in this book. And the examples should be more exciting and motivating than they are.

A must have book for water-soluble CP users. At last, one book that shows everything that is possible with these pencils.

The introductory section lists tools and materials in a comprehensive way, allowing the user to compare brands and see what suits their style best. A short section - the cherries referred to above - then shows the wide range of different effects that can be achieved, and I found this informative and useful.

The bulk of the book is taken up by fabulous artists - including of course Mr Greene, but also Rhonda Farfan (Colored Pencil Society of America President) and Bernard Poulin (CPSA Advisor) - showing step by step how they achieve fabtastic art work! What more could you ask?

This book has more errors than should ever be allowed in a professional product. There are typo's in both text and examples. The CD does not contain the source code from the book and I vote this the worst source ever of any computer based information I have found to date. It has left me very unsure of the publishers (QUE) standards and I may never purchase another QUE book again. I simply do not trust them. Spend your hard earned money on a different choice

"Special Edition Using Java, Second Edition" is an excellent reference to JDK 1.0.2. However, today (April 15), only a month and a half after being billed as "Computer Programming Expert Editor's Recommended Book, 03/01/97", it is a dated reference and the cover claims of JDK 1.1 coverage fall short--they are preliminary and peripheral to primary Java programming topics. For example, there is no coverage of the major changes in the Java event model of JDK 1.1, which permeate almost every application. I recommend waiting for better JDK 1.1 coverage, hopefully in Joseph Weber's new version, "Special Edition Using Java 1.1" which has not yet been released, but for which Amazon is taking orders today

This book is nothing if not large. This was QUEs attempt to capture the entire spectrum of JAVA and make it easy to understand (a task that they accomplished) but then the standards changed again. This is still a great book for learning Java; but, you will have to move on to other resources for news on the updates

I liked that this book followed Dicken's "A Christmas Carol." I liked that Marley was replaced by Lucas Chandler's father. It's just the rest of the book and the other ghostly visitations are rather hurried. The book does not portray the Earl of Lyons (Lucas) as being pinchpenny or cruel (except in very vague references) so I did not perceive him as a Scrooge. I think it would have made the story more interesting if he had been shown that way. Then redemption would have been more of a Christmas Blessing as the title indicates.

The story revolves around Elinor Browning, a penniless and proud widow with a young son. Her distant relative Simon Nelson endeavors to find her a position with Lucas (his cousin) as a governess to his young daughter, Annabelle. Simon appears to care very much for Elinor and encourages her to marry him several times in the book - I almost wished she would! Of course Lucas accepts her as a governess on a temporary basis and she sets out to make his house a home and a rather insipid romance develops between them. I found Lucas a sympathetic fellow, burdened with a child that could not have been his own and plagued by well meaning relatives. Elinor rather bullies the servants into creating Christmas joy and his aunt even plans to hold a Christmas party at his mansion without his consent.

I felt Lucas's revelations about the ghostly visit from his father were mishandled in this novel. When he confides in Elinor that he has seen the ghost of his father, she hardly reacts at all, rather then running for the door from the madman which is what I would have done. Since she seemed so practical and down to earth, I couldn't believe this was her reaction. There were some interesting scenes including parties, illness and run-ins with Annabelle's biological father (her mother's lover) but the entire novel seemed disjointed. I couldn't empathize with any of these characters. A quick read but could have been much better --

Back Cover plot description: Lucas Chandler, Earl of Lyons, has lived like a hermit in his Grosvenor Square mansion since his wife's death, yet it's more than grief he feels--it's betrayal. His daughter Annie is quite possibly not his at all, thanks to his wife's perfidy. But raising Annie still requires a governess, and Elinor Browning, a war widow with a small son, seems as qualified a candidate as any...until she insists on spreading her Christmas cheer through his home, that is. Elinor's sunny optimism is only the first chink in the armor Lucas has developed. The apperance of his dead father in the form of a ghost is another. Either Lucas has lost his wits or his self-imposed prison--and it's effect on Annie --requires further soul-searching. When serveral more opinionated ghosts join the fray, it's not long before he bares his soul to understanding Elinor--and realizes that her gentle love may be just the gift he's longed for this joyous Christmas.

The plot is a take off on Dicken's "A Christmas Carol". Nice easy read, likable characters and a hero who slowly realizes what he has been missing. The plot could have moved a little faster, but it was OK. If you like Christmas Regency stories, give this one a try.

Whether or not "A Christmas Blessing" strikes a chord with you is going to depend heavily on just how attached you are to Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol."

The death of his faithless wife has turned Lucas Chandler, the Earl of Lyons, into a cold and reclusive being. And even though it's been a year since her death, the earl still leads a solitary life, forsaking friends and family, and literally ignoring his young daughter, Annabelle. But things are about to change for the earl, and the catalyst for this change comes in the form of a young war widow, Elinor Browning. Feeling that Annabelle needs the guiding hand of a woman, the earl's family inveigles him to hire Elinor as Annabelle's governess. Little does the earl expect how much Elinor will shake up and change his life forever.

Left penniless by her husband's death, and with a young 4 year old son to raise, Elinor is determined to earn enough money so that she can provide for her son instead on relying on her richer relations. And the post of being governess to the earls' daughter could mean the end of all her monetary woes. But the situation at the earl's London home fills her with unease. The house is like a tomb -- cold and cheerless. And the earl seems to have no interest whatsoever for his affection starved daughter. And with Christmas just around the corner, and the staff about to mutiny unless the Christmas festivities are observed this year, Elinor realises just how much her work is cut out for her! In spite of the stubborn earl, Elinor is determined to get him to notice his daughter, to shed his gloomy ways and to take joy in life again. Who will succeed in this clash of wills? Will Elinor get the earl to see the error of his ways? Stir in a couple of ghosts and a few well meaning relatives, and perhaps a frozen and resentful heart will actually thaw thanks to the love and acceptance of a warm and understanding young woman...

Maria Greene does an excellent job of taking a familiar plot ("A Christmas Carol") and making it uniquely hers. I liked the manner in which she slowly allowed for the earl's character to gradually change and to let go of all his old grievances and hurts. It made the transformation all the more believable. I also liked the slow manner in which the romance between the earl and Elinor unfolded as well. Elinor and the earl were perfect foils for each other. True, all this took place over a few weeks, but the pacing was such that all these developments and changes were credible and made sense. And while I did find myself agreeing with the earl about the unnecessary hysteria that the Christmas season seems to engender, I will admit that "A Christmas Blessing" did make for a cheery and festive read.

When I read Regency genre books I expect Regency period behavior, not contemporary culture in masquerade, and I certainly don't expect a two or three page sex scene, either. If you want to write sex scenes, do it in a Regency Historical or a contemporary. It's not really a bad book, but the main character does not act anything like a young girl of 18 or 20 should behave in this time period, and I also wasn't able to sympathize with her, even if she did have a lot of problems with her family life. In fact, there wasn't ANYONE in the book I found really likeable or to whom I cared what happened, with the exception of Lizzie, the cute little five year old, and the two great aunts.

On the plus side, Ms. Greene does know how to write. Her words flow nicely and it reads well... Perhaps with more work on making her Regencies fit the period better, her next book will be better.

I was three-quarters through the book before I found out why Lady Catherine was walking down the path to self-destruction. She believed she was a "wanton." A prologue or flash-back to earlier incidents [later revealed] would have helped in this.

I did enjoy the "good-guy" gentleman farmer Philip Woodmere. He made the book worth reading. Also, the ending is a little spicier than most Regencies but appropriate to the over-all storyline.

Other characters in the book are not well-developed. The reasons WHY they felt the way they did was not made known. WHY did her father feel that the scandal of rejection by Staverton meant she had lost her virtue? If he had suspected Verwood of it, I might have believed it. WHY did Verwood want to marry her?

The interaction of Lady Catherine and the two great aunts and the "civilization" of the servants was a very strange side story. I also found her friends to be an annoyance rather than useful to this tale. Perhaps they are to be introduced again in later books.

An ok read, but won't make my favorites listing.

"The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" is a retelling of that age-old story of how a young girl, told over and over again by her family that she's wild and wanton, begins to believe her own bad press, and seems poised to make the biggest mistake of her life. Elena Greene took such great care to paint Catherine's plight in such a sympathetic manner, that my feelings of compassion and empathy were easily aroused on Catherine's behalf, and I rooted for her to find the love and understanding that was so absent for her within her own immediate family before she did something totally rash that would blight her life forever.
When Catherine's father foils her attempt to elope with Lord Vernwood, Catherine little expects (eventhough she realises that he has little love for her) that he would exile her to her grandaunts' home in the Lake District. And in order to ensure that she does not runaway from them, he even provides her with two jailers in the form of two rather burly and surly servants. However, Catherine is determined to runaway to Vernwood. Apparently her 'nearest and dearest' have done a very good job of convincing her that she is a very wild and wanton young girl, and she's sure that only marriage to a rake could save her from becoming a "fallen" woman. A rake like Vernwood, although she doesn't love him, should "save" her. Unfortunately, her plans fall through when Catherine comes across a young child who has fallen into a fast moving stream. Catherine saves the child's life; but before she can effect a quick getaway, her jailers turn up and grimly escort her back to her grandaunts' home. The next day, the child's brother, Philip Woodmere, turns up at her grandaunts' home to thank her properly for her gallant rescue of his sister. Philip is drawn to Catherine's beauty and defiant air, and senses that there is more to this complex young woman than meets the eye. With her grandaunts' approval, he attempts to become her friend, and to entertain her during her stay at the Lake District. It doesn't take too long before the pair begin to fall in love with each other. However there are several obstacles to their blossoming relationship. To begin with everyone expects Philip to marry his childhood friend and neighbour, Charlotte. Furthermore, Catherine is the daughter of a duke, and Philip is only a gentleman farmer. Her father would never countenance such a match no matter that he wants Catherine off his hands. And then there is Catherine's notion that the love of a good man would not be enough to keep her from straying. Can true love prevail against such overwhelming odds?
The one thing one must keep in mind when reading "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" is that Catherine is quite young, and has never really had the benefit of an affectionate and older woman's counsel, so that she easily believes what everyone tells her about her wildness. Add to that the stifling and loveless atmosphere in her father's house, and you get a young girl ripe to commit the biggest folly of her life. Elena Greene depicts all this brilliantly. This uncertainty, if Catherine will fall into folly, or if Philip's love will save her, is maintained throughout the novel, right till the very end. And it this doubt that makes this novel such compelling reading -- in spite of the fact that this is a 'light' Regency romance novel, things look as if they could go either way. And this is what makes "The Incorrigible Lady Catherine" worthwhile reading.

well this book, dont like me, is very short, and dont have nothing new, if you want a good book for learn 3ds (beginer) buy 3d bible or something like that, becaus this book dont help you... is better read tutorials online than buy this kind of books..

ciao

This is a very good book, that covers a lot of different stuff. It really does cover most topics quite well, and has lots of good tips.

Well although the book is well written like a "Tales from the Crypt" screenplay. It does no more than promoting hatred one against another. Details are too well described to be taken seriously. It seemed like the author actually video taped the events and watched before writing this book. By all means, if you have time and do not like Turks or Muslims, buy it.

Although this book is written in a 19th century style with fanciful language and some non-politically correct notions of Turks, it is nonetheless a vital primary account and time period piece concerning the 1894-96 massacres of 200,000-300,000 Armenian Christians. This vivid account, written in 1896 by an American, some twenty years before the Armenian Genocide of 1915, is an invaluable historical document explaining the condition of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and the general attitude of the Turks towards the Armenians. Thus describing the pre-cursor to the later Genocide, this book is a must read for the uninformed and any revisionists who still argue that the wholesale, planned massacres of Armenians never took place.

Herman Bang is one of many Scandinavian authors who do not receive much attention outside the north of Europe. Writing a biography in English about this most intriguing and skillful Danish writer may well be a way to attract more interest in his work. I am myself working on a ph.d-thesis about Bang and therefore began to read Greene-Gantzberg's book with great interest - even more so because I had enjoyed her previous book "Herman Bang og det fremmede", an insightful report on Bang's stays abroad, brimming with information and only some slight mistakes to discover in it (like the incorrect list of Bang's works in German translation). Unfortunately I was soon to realize that despite its title this new book was not a biography but contained nothing but some rather short remarks about Bang's life followed by some criticism on his works. The content was more or less a superficial resumee of the Bang criticism of the last 50 years or so (up to the late 1980s), the only (questionable) benefit being that it is now available to English speaking readers. The English of the book itself is very poor though - probably due to a lack of proof reading which resulted in many "little" words like articles and prepositions being left out - very annoying to read even for a non-native speaker like me! Evidently Greene-Gantzberg's Danish proof readers who took care of "Herman Bang og det fremmede" did a much better job! Where the content is concerned I have to say that I was not only disappointed to see that the author had obviously based her book entirely on rather old (if not wrong) findings and decided to ignore the latest research completely, I was also shocked by the fact that she often makes no mention of her sources (Some remarks in Steffen Steffensens article on Thomas Mann and Scandinavia are almost quoted word by word, yet the article itself is never mentioned). The bibliography at the end of the book is conspicuously short and lists just a couple of standard works. I could go on like that for quite some time but I'd better leave it at that. Greene-Gantzberg has not written a biography of Herman Bang, she doesn't even come close to Jacobsen's achievement (who wrote the 4 volume Danish biography of Bang in the 1960s) and her book lacks elegance (aswell as correctness) of language just as much as the declaration of her sources!(Obligatory for any kind of literary criticism that wants to be taken seriously!) Again: the only thing that could be said in favour of the book is the fact that it may help to draw some attention to Bang in the English speaking world.

When I posted a review of Vivian Greene-Gantzberg's Book "Biography of Danish Impressionist Herman Bang" last year i severely criticized all the short comings of that book. I have not changed my mind about it in the meantime but I have learned that the author, whose earlier work I admire very much, died before being able to revise the manuscript. Under these circumstances I find a review as harsh as mine unfair to the late author. Clearly the publisher is to blame here. I would therefore like to say that the book is not as good as it could have been but it's still the most detailed account of Herman Bang's life as well as the longest piece of literary criticism on Bang's work available in English. I recommend it to anybody who wants to know more about this fascinating author and cannot read either Danish or German.

I live in outback Australia books are my only opportunity to learn about Directing so I must be choosy.Directing 101 is so general in its descriptions of film makeing and directing. Half this book is a Glossary.If you live outside America this book is not for you. I feel cheated

This book has really helped to add a new, challenging perpective to the craft. It keeps the reader centered and helps him sharpen his skills. I found it of great help. This is a terrific book that you go back to many times, because its simplicity and practicality are an amazing guide to all those out there whose hollywood dreams have to be fulfilled.

This was not an impressive attempt by Peter Wolfe. His knowledge of Greene appears to be limited. I was terribly disappointed in this book.

This is an informative book about popular culture (what makes a thriller a thriller, with good information about Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Wallace at times, too) and about Greene's earlier novels. I suspect the other reviewer is a student of the author (he teaches in St. Louis) who may be disgruntled over a course grade and attempting some web sabotage. People who like Greene will like this book.

I bought this book through the marketplace thinking I was purchasing the text book. Wrong! The description needs to be updated to indicate this is a study guide workbook. The text is over [$$$] new.

I have read this book and used it in my classes. It is a truly outstanding book and I strongly recommend it to anyone wanting a rigourous but student-friendly text.