It's hard to overstate the beauty of the photography in this book. Peter Lee demonstrates remarkable skill in giving each image the respect it deserves. Potters, pottery fans, and photographers alike will delight in the richness of "Warren MacKenzie: An American Potter."

I "borrowed" a copy of this book almost ten years ago from my elementary school library, I read it then and re-read it many times. It is fantastic. It was published in the 70's and it would be really hard to find but worth the effort.

Bishop takes us for a wild ride in this book. Combining meta-fiction (making the text of the book self-reference itself) with outrageous parody of the horror genre (it gets awesomelly surreal!), he comes out with an absurdist comedy that manages to be scary at the same time.

The story in few words: Writer and recent widow Stevie Crye's electric typewriter breaks up, leaving her without the tool of her trade. She gets her machine fixed by a creepy thecnician, and she gets an unexpected extra oomph when the typewriter begins typing by itself. At first, the machine transcripts Stevie's nightmares. Gradually, it CONSTRUCTS her nightmares, and provides her with hallucinations that taint her waking hours. (Or are the hallucinations the real thing?) When Stevie reads these compositions, they are the chapters of the book, verbatim.

If you read the Animal Man comics during Grant Morrison's run, you might have an idea of what to expect on the matter of trippiness. If you didn't, suffice it to say that you may experience the same confussion as Stevie when Bishop reminds you that all you're reading is just fiction, and yet the ficticious characters fight to show their free will within the constraints of plot.

My ten-month-old loves this book! It is one of the very few which actually keep her attention. Not only does she love feeling the "soft tummy" of Jeremy Fisher and the fluffy tails throughout the book, but she also loves "finding" Peter Rabbit behind the lettuce and seeing herself in the mirror on the last page. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "Whose Tail Peter Rabbit?"

This book offers great advice for anyone in sales, but especially for those selling professional services. If you're a self-employed professional or want to become a rainmaker in your company, this book will teach you an effective sales method that will help you beat the competition every day of the week. Despite what the subtitle implies, the advice in this book is of perennial interest and not just good for bad economies. If you take the author's advice and work in the "invisible market" before anyone else even knows there's a sale to be made, your success rate will be good, no matter what the economic climate.

At last, a book all about women and ceramics. Accessible, yet thoroughly informed by cultural theory, it covers a wide historical range, and gives a comprehensive overview of the diverse relationships between women and ceramics. It is well illustrated, with many in-depth case studies. An invaluable aid to ceramics students at all levels. This book has been needed for a long time.

The coping strategies in this book are refreshing, and there are a lot of novel ideas that are truly helpful. Dr. Potter seems to know her stuff, and the book is informative as well as pleasant. I don't know that it will make you stop worrying forever, but trying the various strategies for dealing with worry and anxiety will be fun, and they certainly can't hurt. I would recommend this book for anyone who has a problem with excessive worrying, or even for the occasional worrier who needs a lift.

I am impressed with Potter's experience as an editor and as an agent. I find a lot of knowledge and wisdom in his book, which is very helpful to me. He not only knows all the nuts and bolts, he also gives excellent advice on how to get along with editors and publishers. I will refer briefly to two of many fine sections: one, option clauses; two, bad publishing. He explains, candidly, the kinds of problems that may come up for a writer and he suggests how to avoid them. It is a fine work.

I have read all four Harry Potter books and have, generally, enjoyed the purely fictitious stories of magic and wisardry. J.K. Rowling is an interesting writer in the first two books, but, I'm not so sure about 3 and 4, especially 4. It seems that there are different, less talented, people writing -- especially 4. And why are these books listed under education? They're fun to read, for sure. But, I don't see them as educational, at all. I hope our kids in America are reading other things, as well, that maybe add to their knowledge and intelligence. If you like books that are presented within the framework of fantasy, I would recommend reading, while awaiting Harry Potter 5, a book called "West Point:..." by Norman Thomas Remick to participate in a journey through time by another Harry, and find out (and learn!) all the things he learns on that journey.

I am a 28 year old guy, but even though I've heard some ignoramuses tease other friends about being Harry Potter fans at middle age, I believe t it is only because they're too lazy to sit down and read the books and would rather see the movie and miss half the fun. These books show an author of great imagination spanning age groups and continents and having a rather good idea about what fantasy novels should be like.

Its quite unlike the boring Enid Blyton stuff where you always have a bunch of boring, British brats acting too big for their boots and finally solving mysteries that their even-more boring adults could not solve. Harry Potter wastes no time in Blyton-style gibberish and goes straight for the jugular.

Its total excitement and I read all four books in 5 days. The best of course, is HP and the Sorcerer's Stone, because it does a wonderful job of introducing such a intricate plot and concept to even children. The Chamber of Secrets of course is darker, with more death and violence and a scary monster that travels inside of walls and kills. Voldemort of course if still trying to kill HP and rise to power again.

The Prisoner of Azkaban should be fun when it comes out as a movie because of all the Animagus, werewolf and Patronus stuff. I especially look forward to how the movie will depict the Dementors, the horrible soul-sucking blind guards of the fortress of Azkaban which is used by the ministry as a jail for Dark Wizards such as the Death-Eaters, who are followers of Voldemort. The Goblet of Fire is not as much fun, the Triwizard Tournament being a let-down, but heats up considerably at the end with all the characters getting ready for a major show-down in the next parts. It felt really incomplete as if Rowling was saving stuff for the next part. Its drawn-out with well over 800 or so pages and it is quite a pain.

On the whole, I would suggest anyone under the age of 100 to read these books and to feel as free as a child again, with nothing to check the imagination but your mind. I loved the books.

I cannot possibly say how amazed and impressed I was with the first four Harry Potter novels. I openly admit that I approached them with a negative mindset, because I normally do not like to be drawn in by hype. However, I received countless positive testimonials from trusted (and well-read) friends and family, and decided over my winter holiday from my university to read the first book, and to see the film.

I borrowed the book from a friend, and sat down to read it. Despite my skepticism, I found that I was immediately drawn in and literally could not put the book down. As soon as I finished reading it, I proceeded directly to the nearest bookstore and bought the whole set. I read them all in a literary marathon, always burning to know what happened next.

I think that this series is one among many quality fantasy series of books, but what sets it apart in my mind are many unique factors. It is both innocent and mature, both fantastical and yet grounded in some identifiable reality. But what really brings the story home for me is the set of characters. I think that almost anyone reading these books can identify with the hopes, dreams, personalities, or challenges of one or more of the characters. Rowling's skillful writing manages to not only make us care about them, but allows us to empathise with the problems and challenges they face.

Overall, this series gets five stars from me for being innovative, engaging, fun, insightful, and even educational. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it taught me things about myself along the way. I would openly recommend these books to anyone who needs to add a spark of happiness to their life. If they could convert a cynic like me, they must posess a little touch of "magic."

Being a diehard Harry Potter fanatic since the age of 13 (I'm 15 now), I waited roughly 7 hours to get this book from my nearest bookstore, and it was totally worth it. The 5th installment in the Harry Potter series is a thrilling one, full of new settings, characters, and emotions, all expertly woven into an incredible plotline. The book delivers non-stop action, but this time without the comedy and cheerful flippancy that the precursors to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had. Instead the story has realistic undertones that set the mood of the book very well: the readers should not fool themselves into thinking that Phoenix will be another light-hearted tale of Harry Potter and his friends and their adventures in the magical world. Rather, they should prepare for incredible plot twists and gasp-inducing cliffhangers. I cried numerous times, and the intensity of what was contained within each chapter made me stop between each one to catch my breath. JK Rowling has produced yet another awe-inspiring work of art, and I await the 6th book with alacrity.

I'm 24, and I love Harry Potter. Okay, I'm not obsessive, but just don't tell my friends I finished the book less than 48 hours after buying it opening day (and yes, I have to work as well). Like the previous books, I'm thrilled to see something that's encouraging kids and adults alike to read. Though parents should maybe read it first, since some parts might be a bit disturbing for younger fans, this one has definitely continued the standard renowned as Harry Potter. This book was nearing 750 pages. For most kids (and some adults too) that's quite a feat to be proud of. This book is written remarkably well, managing to keep your attention and imagination spinning through Harry's few highs and lows. The Order of the Phoenix has many lows- Be prepared for tears and depression. When things can't get worse it normally does. But this is Harry Potter. It has to have a happy ending.. doesn't it?

I have been waiting for Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix since I fininshed Goblet of Fire.

As Ms. Rowling promised, this is darker than the previous books. There are still smiles, and wordplay, though, for example, a new house-elf named "Kreacher."

In this book, Harry is very angry at times, and in my opinion, rightfully so. However, his major relationships are maintained.

We learn more about the school days of James and Lily Potter, and a lot more about Professor Snape.

Mrs. Weasley gets one of her dearest wishes early on.

A major character does die, but I found this death to be less surprising than the death in Goblet of Fire. No less sad, but less surprising.

We learn a lot more of the inner workings of the Ministry of Magic, and it may be slow going at times, but the action always picks up in a few more pages..

Dumbledore finally tells Harry why he has to spend at least part of the summer with the Dursleys.

This is the first book in the series, in my opinion, that really cannot be read without reading the others first.

And yes, there is a new Defense Against The Dark Arts professor, and it's not a good one like Professor Lupin, who reappears in this book.