this collection of poems really covers the bases.. if you dont write poetry you can merely substititute one of these poems for use in romantic situations... coming from three different people they have managed to meld the poems together into a common yet individual theme. this roxy chick must be a hellbitch, she probably gets backstage at all the rock shows... my only complaint is the lack of pornographic pictures to go along with the poems.

This book gives you a good look at the work of three lively poets whose poems catch the basic rhythms of the street. This will especially appeal to those who enjoy live readings, as the voices here are bold and engaged rather than locked inside their minds. Cirillo's work in particular interests me, especially when he stretches out and mixes humor, narrative and reflection. There is a bit of the heart-broken romantic peeking out from his poems, and he is sly enough to know it and not fall prey to sloppy emotionalism or cliche. Buy this collection and have a Dabba-Do time! I did. JC

It's amazing how three diverse men can articulate so simply, yet profoundly, universal experiences. Their poetry grabs you and thrusts you back into a time of your own past- to relive an intensely real moment, if only for the time it takes you to peruse a few dynamic lines. Although I have little background reading poetry other than Dr. Seuss, I've experienced my own "Love stories and Train Wrecks" (Gainer), have felt like giving up if in store for me is "One More Heartbreak to go" (Staple), and am at the age of 25 "Waiting for Greatness" (Cirillo).

I visited the auction site in WED\19\5\1999. Unfortunately, I didn't buy anything because of the outrageous prices. I believe and garanty that if the prices were lower, this site would be one of the most visited sites on the web. Personnaly I will check constantly to see the prices have been arranged properly.

Virtually every Beatles song ever recorded appears in this two-volume set. It includes even some of the Beatles cover songs such as "Kansas City" and "A Taste of Honey".

What you get are the standard sheet music versions of these songs, nicely printed and easy to read. The book is at an intermediate level. Typical Hal Leonard scores: a base line in the spirit of the recording, chords voiced in the center and melody on top. Not always very pianistic, but the songs are transcribed pretty well harmonically. Also tab is included and of course lyrics. Some of the songs include the Beatles solo, fills or intros. For instance the instrumetal part of Polythene Pam, Savoy Truffle or Yer Blues. All the songs I've played so far except "Penny Lane" are in the key they were recorded in. It seems "Penny Lane" is in B, the music is in C.

If you want to know every note the Beatles played, get the "The Beatles Complete Scores" also sold by Amazon.com. However, to me its hard to read and not really playable. So if you just want to just get in and play, this is preferable.

It's quite a luxury to have not just thier hits but all their music together. After playing something like "Let it Be" you can just turn a few pages and delve into something you'd never expect to play like "Piggies", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" or virtually play through all of "Abbey Road". While the Beatles aren't Gods to me, it really hits you how talented these guys were when you've got it all in front of you like this.

A great collection of all of the Beatles songs from A-I. A definite must for Beatles fans who would like to learn to play their songs. This book rocks--And so can you!

Becky Weston is now a first year associate at the law firm of Roth, Tolbert and Anderson in upscale La Jolla after having worked her way through law school while working as a receptionist at the firm. She divorced her physician husband years ago and has raised two children while also caring for her elderly mother. In a cruel twist of fate, her ex-husband died and left his new spiteful wife as the executor of the trust fund upon which Becky is dependent for her son's tuition at a private college. When her mother falls and breaks a hip the delicate balance of her life starts to crumble. The trust fund payments are reduced, her younger daughter needs a prom dress, her son's tuition payments are overdue, and she must check her mother into an assisted living facility.

When Becky is chosen by a college friend, who is now a glamorous anti-aging guru, to be the lawyer for her firm everyone, including Becky, is amazed at this coup. She hadn't known Bobbie Crystol very well during school, and is puzzled by this appointment, but vows to do her best to represent the company's interests. Some of the rumors she starts to hear about the company concern her, and she is suspicious of the treatments and supplements that are offered at the spa to which she is invited as a guest.

Becky also meets again the man who had been her therapist during her divorce, and wonders what kind of relationship she can have with a man who already knows her innermost secrets and weaknesses. He seems too good to be true, but the balance is off, because he knows so much about her and she so little about him.

Throughout the book, Becky struggles with balancing her home and work life and questions the ethics of her profession and her associates at the firm. The expectations of a fledgling lawyer overwhelm her, and she wonders whether she can make the commitment to spending the rest of her working life as a workaholic.

I enjoyed and commiserated with the challenges faced by Becky and the way in which she faced them head-on and resolved them. I hope the author considers writing this wonderful, resilient character into the plot of future novels.

Written in the same vain as Jane Heller, this novel portrays a middle-aged single mom, stuck in what we call the "sandwich generation." Alternately worried about her kids and her elderly mom, while trying to juggle a career as a newly-graduated corporate attorney, this novel is realistic in showing her struggles, but always with a keen sense of humor. Just enough love interest and intrigue to keep you going. A perfect novel, and I'll look for more of Catherine Todd's books.

I have enjoyed Ms. Todd's books for years, before she was writing this genre, and her sparkle and sense of humor make this an extremely fun and absorbing read. Highly recommended!

I'm thoroughly happy with this book as it is very easy to understand and follow. However, one or two of the tutorials are very dodgy indeed. Like for example the Tidal Wave effect on the CD is not very good, the wave looks extremely fake and out of place. But apart from that, the rest of this book is very well made and presented. A must buy for any intermediate users.

One of the big gripes I hear from people using tutorial books for software is that they are linear. (They make you start with the apple, then they let you model the tree, and somewhere way down they road you get to model Johnny Appleseed.) This is not the case with 3dMax 3 Magic. Each chapter introduces a new technique on a new tutorial model. In one chapter you are shown how to make realistic looking water surfaces, in another you are being shown how to make the best looking car paint I've ever seen. Like the title of this review states, this is a goodie bag. It is for the Intermediate to Advanced user who wants a "How To" on some of the things Max 3 has to offer. The Authors of the book assume that you atleast know your way around the application. I'm happy to have this book on my shelf, right next to my computer!

This is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to enhance their abilities with 3D Studio MAX 3. It goes beyond the MAX tutorials to show you how to create effects that obviously took some of these professionals a long time to perfect. The car paint material chapter alone is worth the price of the book. My only complaint is that it's too short.

The only real problem I have with this book was that the American edition has been abridged. Over 150 pages have been cut. As a result much of the portrait of Camus as a philosopher has been deleted. So I would recomend reading the French edition if at all possible

This book provides an interesting portrait of someone whom most would now qualify as one of the more interesting (if not most important) authors of the twentieth century. This book documents his early life (somewhat disappointingly for anyone who has read 'The First Man'-- Camus' own account) through his dallainces with careers and women to his litery triumphs.

This is a well-written and researched book, with the only negative from me that Camus comes out a lot less heroic and a lot more bitter and stereotypically hepcat and existentialist, which was a disappointment for I, who had raised him toward being a god....

A must read for anyone interested in Camus....

If you want camus' angle on his life, read the first man, if you want an outsiders opinion, oliver todd is as good as it gets. Todd is a stickler for detail which is what anyone reading a biography really wants, so it's a must read on my list

This book was a delight to read. It's fairly easy to read (except for chapters such as 'Searching for "Mr. Right"' when really big theological words are used). The Hafer brothers are funny, even though it seems that sometimes they are trying too hard. Still, the book provides a lot of laughs and there are a few serious messages sprinkled throughout. A fun book that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

This is the funniest book I have ever read. I even read parts of it outloud to other people. Todd and Jedd can go ahead and shamelessly plug away. Some of us are waiting for Snickers II!

Wow! A Christian humor book that is truly funny! The Hafer Brothers are the Christian Marketplaces answer to the Smother's Brothers . . . they are truly funny! Each story is filled with things that anyone who has attended church their whole childhood can relate to! From getting in trouble to funny things that happen during church! Todd and Jedd do a great tribute to their upbringing . . .what a way to grow up! Snickers makes you feel like you are right there with them. This book would make a great gift for a minister, or anyone really who has grown up in the church! I will look forward to their next book!

TALES FROM THE BALLPARK is a quick read that contains poignant, funny, sad, and informative stories. All of the tales are short (one or two pages) and cover a wide range of subjects - stories about fans, the minors, umpires, old players and modern players.

If you are looking for an in depth book about baseball, this one isn't for you. But if you just want to be entertained for an evening, I would heartily recommend this book.

This book is very entertaining from start to finish. It's hard to put the book down once you start because the stories in it keep you glued to the book. The first book was great also. I just hope that Mike Shannon has a third installment in the works. There are a few glaring mistakes in the book that I must point out. Shannon refers to current Arizona 1st baseman Greg Colbrunn as "Colburn" and he states that Barry Bonds broke into the majors with the Pirates in '89 wearing number 24 when he actually entered in '86 wearing number 7, since Denny Gonzalez wore 24 back then.

Shannon has done it again. How often do we read baseball anecdote books, only to skip 3/4 of the stories, having already read them elsewhere. Well, it won't happen with Mike Shannon's books! It's clear that solid research has resulted in stories that are always unique and usually hilarious. I loved it, and you will too. Check out Tales From The Dugout, too. you won't be disappointed.

It is so nice to find an American who can write with the seemingly innate beautiful language abilities of the British. I am very curious as to where the author, Charles Todd, went to school. I find it difficult to believe that an American public school turned out someone with the ability to write as this many does. Maybe he attended private schools...but I will bet that he is an avid reader. It shows through in his own writing.

Todd's series involving an English detective after World War I are unique. Many people write period mysteries, few pull it off. It's difficult to draw a picture of that time period in so few words that will not clash or take away from the mystery. Todd manages to do that. When the reader becomes involved in thes story, it's almost as if someone reaches above the reader's head and manages to dim the light. Todd draws graphics with words, giving the reader a sense of stepping back into another world...time slows down, the bustle we are used to in this day and age disappear, the difference of how people treated one another, the destitution left by a war and the 1918 outbreak of influenza on not only material goods but on the people in England...all of this and more is conveyed by Todd's writing.

I really enjoyed this mystery. It moves at a pace in keeping with the time period. Rutledge's problem with his 'inner voice,' Hamish (a Scot who was a member of Rutledge's troop who died) is less obvious in this book. I did not find Hamish's presence to be a bother...actually, knowing what I do from medical school about acute traumatic events on the brain, it actually makes sense. Even though Hamish is still present, he seems to be losing his control over Rutledge's mind. Or rather Rutledge seems to be gaining more control over his own thoughts, which you would expect to happen. The story about a deeply troubled family is very convoluted, but for all that it makes for enjoyable reading...

Karen Sadler
University of Pittsburgh

Wings of Fire is Charles Todd's second Ian Rutledge mystery. The sequel to A Test of Wills it goes above and beyond the first. Todd once again crafts a very enthralling and complicated story that is complex and ever changing as are the numerous characters, making for a very exciting read. Inspector Rutledge, still haunted by the voice of a slain soldier, travels to Cornwall, England to look into a double suicide. The deceased are brother and sister, Olivia Marlowe and Nicholas Cheney, members of a very prominent and complicated family, the Treveylans, who are at the very heart of the mystery. Olivia is a famous poet, whose war poetry gave many of the men in the trenches, including Rutledge, a link to reality and sanity. On the surface there appears to be no foul play in the deaths, but as Rutledge digs deeper he discovers a myriad of secrets in the family's history that may be the key to discovering what really happened the night the siblings died. Todd slowly and carefully introduces us to each of the intriguing characters, even those already dead, and brings to life the very large and complicated family. Keeping the many characters straight can sometimes be a daunting task, but you come to realize that each of them has their own importance in the story. Todd gradually brings together a very intricately woven and often confusing story so that everything becomes clear once the truth it revealed. A slow read at times, but once the story gets going a truly captivating book. I would recommend this book anyone who appreciates a well-written mystery.

I am an avid mystery reader. I am loyal to certain writers -- so much so that I often begin to pick up on their pattern. However, I have found a special place in my heart for historical mysteries -- Anne Perry's two series and the Amelia Peabody series are examples.

Ordinarily, I start to figure it out by the middle. Todd's book not only kept me guessing until the very last page, it satisfied a hunger for historical detail that is not anachronistic.

This book kept me up all night. I simply could not put it down as I found myself thinking about the characters in the dark trying to fall asleep.

I have two of Todd's books and will be ordering a third soon. I recommend the book and the author very highly.

Keizo Yukawa, an museum curator in Japan, embarks on an intense and excruciating test when he accepts the job of head curator at a new private museum dedicated to the enigmatic artist Takenoko. As Yukawa's story unfolds, Takenoko's parallels it in the margins of this imaginative and thought-provoking work. One by one, Yukawa meets the family of Ichiro Ono, the museum owner. Each one introduces a tiny piece of the puzzle that is the Ono family history and draws Yukawa deeper into the part he has to play in the mystery.

Illustrations by L.J.C. Shimoda add an authenticity and depth to this well-researched and beautifully written book. If you're interested in Japanese culture, the question of aesthetics, or just looking for a book that diverges in a lively way from the norm, pick up this book.

A very strong book bringing us on a fast tour of modern life, 365 views draws us into the lives of many different characters, yet manages to strongly characterize each person. Each character develops and suprises. The story is intriguing, and the style also interesting. Reminiscent of Haruki Murakami.

Most writers have enough trouble managing one viewpoint throughout a novel. Meet Todd Shimoda, the brilliant author who uses three intertwined narratives to tell the story of 365 Views Of Mount Fuji.

This is a story of the conflict between tradition and desire, expectations and personal freedom. Keizo Yukawa thinks he knows what he wants, but a move to a new job in a strange new environment will make him question his goals.

The story of Yukawa is the main thread of narrative. Sidebars provide insight into the strange characters that he encounters. Beautiful, traditional illustrations in the margin are a flickering glimpse of the past and the present.

Blending the ancient world with the growing techno-society produces a mesmerizing tour through the mind of modern Japan.