As both an amateur actor and somebody who just appreciates a good laugh, I'm a big fan of just about everything the Reduced Shakespeare Company has done... however, reading this book by two of the RSC members was something of a let-down.

Reed and Austin, if I may call them that, presume a bit too much familiarity as they write. I got the jokes and the tone they intended, but I also got the impression that anyone who wasn't already familiar with their work would have been left pretty cold. "Who are these guys? Where do they get off?" is a response I imagine them getting.

Also, while the alternating-chapter device is cute, each of them employs a running gag (in Reed's case, the story of tormenting a poor Pastor, in Austin's, struggles with his own Atheism) that really meander and get stale for about half of the book before you realize that, rather than gags, these are actually attempts at a plot. I really would have preferred they'd gotten rid of these segments and just concentrate on what does work -- the satire.

And when they concentrate on what they're good at, it's great. Reed's chapter on the story of Moses, which he mixes up with the film career of Charlton Heston, is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time.

But the good stuff is too few and far-between for the casual reader. If you're a die-hard fan of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, it's worth it. Otherwise, you'd be better off reading some of their other stuff first.

I think it's safe to say that there probably aren't any other books out there that put stories from The Bible into a blender with references to Oprah, Harry Potter, Pink Floyd, and K-Tel Records and hit "puree"! At least not with such delicious results.

The authors are members of the renowned Reduced Shakespeare Company - and their irreverant and witty spirit is intact in this book. Who else but these two brilliant, misguided fools would tell the "Story of Moses' and include bits of Planet of the Apes and Indiana Jones? Funny is funny and they're funny. The book gives the reader an accessible look at the stories of the Bible (as well as the mental and physical breakdowns of both authors during the writing of the book!).

I particularly enjoyed the little details -- even the Foreword and Bibliography is funny. DO NOT miss reading the Index (which is my personal favorite part of the book). The section on the parallels between The Bible and Hollywood are a direct hit. I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to have their funny bone tickled. I would also check out their other books of the plays they've performed -- they're really great too.

If they have a Batman meeting another Marvel charecter crossover, it feels very down to Earth, but when they do it with other Marvel or DC characters, it seems very phooney. Here we have once again the idea that DC and Marvel are two different universes, all right, I guess I could go along with that, but the Surfer and Green Landarn do not have much in commen, at the end, the Silver Surfer returns to the Marvel Universe and I felt like saying to him "Got room for one more passenger on that surf board."

This is the first time I see two heroes team against two villains who instead of plotting together are destroying each other. All characters are true to their nature. Green Lantern is Kyle Rayner who is still new to the power he has inherited, Thanos as always is scheming manipulator, Parallax is still obsessed with resurrecting the dead and the Surfer is the Surfer. Each hero finds himselves teaming with the other's arch enemy and the interaction is wonderful. The only thing I hate about this book is that this begins the new fact that the DC and Marvel Universes are separate and distinct and that the inhabitants of either universe will have to find a way to go to the other universe. Does this invalidate previous DC/Marvel teamings? It sure feels that way. The story is good and the separate universe theory worked for it, it's just that it opens a can of worms when the theory doesn't work out well.

Why would anyone waste their time and the publishers time to print such garbage. I know that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I being an A&M student do not particulary like Texas, but I would not go as far as to say I hate it and could give you 300 reasons why....

After watching my country get torn apart by the bastards running the oil companies, looking at the pathetic president and his disgusting lack of foreign policy, and beginning to realize that we're all probably gonna get nuked by "Dubya's" retaliation to an attack we had nothing to even do with, I doubt you can truly measure the unbridled hatred I feel towards the "yeeha state". This book - I didn't purchase it from here, but I have it nonetheless - just allows me to sink into the rage that I have to supress in front of my (70% Texan) schoolmates everyday.

It did not meet my expectations. I feel that there are many books on this subject that give much more information

If your looking for a book to give you the basics of living trusts...this book is for you. I purchased it so I could ask an attorney intelligent quesions regarding my estate. At 150-200 per hour I didn't feel like going in totally in the dark. This book gave me some good ideas and allowed me to better understand what to expect and ask when meeting with my attorney

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Contemporary French Cinema is certainly helpful as it is one of only a few books to be published in English about French cinema from 1980 on. Unfortunately, as is common with many contemporary cultural studies, the book lacks a historical perspective, and therefore explores some avenues that may be relatively insignificant, while glancing over others that perhaps should have been studied more closely. This book is also a little too unorganized, with Austin moving rather uneloquently between subjects, movements, and genres. Still, it gives a nice overview of stylistic tendencies and movements of contemporary French film.

If you agree or disagree with the author is matter of opinion, but I can say ont thing it did generated alot of emotions, this can be a positive or negative depending on your view.

Grown-ups (and older children) who are fans of MadeleineL'Engle's Austin family books will love this short Christmas story.

It is a picture book, but it really isn't a children's story in the same sense as L'Engle's _The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas._  For one thing, Full House is told (in the first person) from Mrs. Austin's perspective rather than 7 yo Vicky's.  It takes place a few years after _24 Days_.   Rob is no longer a baby, and Suzy is 8.   In the story, Mrs. Austin, her father, and the children come home from Christmas Eve service to find their former babysitter huddled on the doorstep.  It turns out that Evie is pregnant.  Here is an excerpt:

"I remembered hearing that her father seldom came home without stopping first at the tavern, and that her mother had the reputation of being no better than she should be.  And yet I knew that their response to Evie's pregnancy would be one of righteous moral indignation..."

Not typical picture-book text, and while I loved it myself, it's probably not something I would read to my 6 and 8 year olds.

BTW, the ENTIRE text of the story is also found in the grown-up book A Miracle on Tenth Street, which is a collection of short stories, essays, poems, journal entries, etc...mostly about Christmas.  (It also includes the text of 24 Days.)

Although Romney Pringle isn't as interesting and memorable as E.W. Hornung's character, Raffles, I still enjoyed the clever plots of each chapter. Pringle's personality is held a bit in the dark, but the surprising story conclusions make up for it.

This book was a lot more useful than its appearance is attractive. It is a part of a series known as Talking Points, so it likely follows a pattern that appears to be high interest and low-level reading. The information will be very helpful and interesting to student researchers, but they would be much more likely to choose a different book that perhaps looks more appealing. Nonetheless, it fulfills a great need for general books on such a topic as there are many dealing with specific instances that tend not to go into the scientific theories that this resource highlights. The chapters are divided into the topics of definition of genocide, the history of it, causes, responses to it, holding nations and people accountable through trials, and avoiding genocide. There are the basic features of a glossary, index and a list of resources which will be very helpful to students. In addition, there are many side boxes throughout the text that propose questions of morality, discuss case studies, showcase quotes, and supply many other types of additional information. The color and black and white pictures on every page are generally very good and often shocking, even though they could have been better presented. This book will serve as a good resource on this controversial topic.